St. Thomas Aquinas, Catena Aurea (Golden Chain)
Gospel of Matthewtranslated by
John Henry Parker, v. I, J.G.F. and J. Rivington
London, 1842
Dedication translated by Joseph Kenny, O.P.
CONTENTS
Chapters:
INTRODUCTION
*1* *2* *3* *4* *5* *6* *7* *8* *9* *10* *11* *12* *13* *14* *15* *16* *17* *18* *19* *20* *21* *22* *23* *24* *25* *26* *27* *28
Catena aurea in quatuor Evangelia The Golden Chain on the Four Gospels Dedicatio Dedication Sanctissimo ac reverendissimo patri domino Urbano, divina providentia Papae quarto, frater Thomas de Aquino, ordinis fratrum praedicatorum, cum devota reverentia, pedum osculo beatorum. To the most holy and reverend Father, Lord Urban IV, by divine providence Pope. I, brother Thomas of Aquino, of the Order of Friars Preachers, devoutly and reverently kiss your holy feet. Fons sapientiae unigenitum Dei verbum praesidens in excelsis, per quod pater sapienter fecerat et suaviter disposuerat universa, in fine temporum carnem sumere voluit, ut sub tegumento naturae corporeae, splendorem eius humanus intuitus posset inspicere, quem in celsitudine maiestatis divinae attingere non valebat. Diffuderat siquidem radios suos, sapientiae videlicet suae indicia, super omnia opera quae creavit; quodam vero ampliori privilegio imaginem propriam hominum animabus impresserat, quam tamen diligentius expresserat in cordibus ipsum amantium secundum sui muneris largitatem. Sed quid est hominis anima in tam immensa creatura, ut divinae sapientiae vestigia possit comprehendere ad perfectionem? Quinimmo et sapientiae lux infusa hominibus per peccati tenebras et occupationum temporalium caligines fuerat obumbrata; et intantum est quorumdam cor insipiens obscuratum, ut Dei gloriam in idola vana converterent, et quae non conveniunt facerent, in sensum reprobum incidentes. The font of wisdom, the only-begotten Word of God, presiding in the highest, through whom the Father made everything wisely, and smoothly arranged it, at the end of time decided to take flesh, so that under the garment of a bodily nature our human gaze could view his splendor, which it could not reach when he was in the heights of divine majesty. Certainly, he spread his rays, the evidence of his wisdom, on all the works which hecreated. But he impressed his image in a more privileged way on human souls, and still more expressed this image in the hearts of those who love him, according to his great munificence. But what is the soul of man in such immense creation, that it could perfectly comprehend the traces of divine wisdom? Moreover, the light of wisdom that had been infused in men was obscured by the darkness of sin and the fog of temporal occupations. Moreover, the stupid heartsof som were so darkened that they turned the glory of God into useless idols, doing things that were improper, and falling into a damnable mentality. Divina vero sapientia, quae ad sui fruitionem hominem fecerat eum sui inexpertem esse non sinens, totum se in humanam naturam contulit, eam modo sibi assumendo mirabili, ut errantem hominem ad se totaliter revocaret. Huius igitur sapientiae claritatem nube mortalitatis velatam, primus apostolorum princeps fide conspicere meruit, et eam constanter absque errore et plenarie confiteri, dicens tu es Christus filius Dei vivi. O beata confessio, quam non caro et sanguis, sed pater caelestis revelat. Haec in terris fundat Ecclesiam, aditum praebet in caelum, peccata meretur solvere, et contra eam portae non praevalent Inferorum. Huius igitur fidei ac confessionis heres legitime, sanctissime pater, pio studio mens vestra invigilat, ut tantae sapientiae lux fidelium corda perfundat et haereticorum confutet insanias, quae portae Inferorum merito designantur. But divine wisdom, which had made man to enjoy himself, would not allow him to have no experience of himsel. So he entered human nature totally, assuming it to himself in a wonderful way, so that he could call wandering man back totally to himself. The first prince of apostles merited to see by faith the brightness of this wisdom, covered with the cloud of mortality, and he constantly, fully, and without error testified to it, saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." O blessed testimony, which flesh and blood did not reveal, but the heavenly Father. This testimony gives foundation to the Church on earth, opens the way to heaven, merits the power to forgive sins, and the gates of hell do not prevail against it. You, the rightful heir to this faith and testimony, most holy Father, and your mind is religiously watchful, to let the light of such great wisdom pervade the hearts of the faithful, and refute the madness of heretics, which are rightly called the "gates of hell". Sane si, secundum Platonis sententiam, beata censetur respublica cuius rectores operam sapientiae dare contigerit, illi siquidem sapientiae quam imbecillitas intellectus humani erroribus plerumque commaculat, quanto magis sub vestro regimine beatus censeri potest populus Christianus, ubi tanta diligentia excellentissimae illi sapientiae curam impenditis, quam Dei sapientia carnalibus membris induta et verbis docuit et operibus demonstravit? Et huius siquidem diligentiae studio vestrae sanctitati complacuit mihi committere Matthaei Evangelium exponendum, quod iuxta propriam facultatem executus, sollicite ex diversis doctorum libris praedicti Evangelii expositionem continuam compilavi, pauca quidem certorum auctorum verbis, ut plurimum ex Glossis adiiciens, quae, ut ab eorum dictis possent discerni, sub Glossae titulo praenotavi. Certainly if, according to Plato's opinion, the nation is blessed whose rulers are occupied with wisdom, that wisdom which in fact the stupidity of the human intellect often mixes with errors, how much more blessed must the Christian people under your rule be reckoned, since you devote such great concern for that wisdom, which God's wisdom clothed in bodily limbs taught by words and demonstrated by works? Because of this zeal for wisdom, it pleased your Holiness to commission me to expound the Gospel of Matthew. I did so according to my ability, scouring different books of the Doctors, to make a continuous commentary. The words of some authors are few, where I usually added from the Glosses. In this case, I headed such quotations under the title of "Gloss". Sed et in sanctorum doctorum dictis hoc adhibui studium, ut singulorum auctorum nomina, nec non in quibus habeantur libri assumpta testimonia describantur, hoc excepto quod libros et expositionem supra loca quae exponebantur, non oportebat specialiter designari: puta, sicubi nomen inveniatur Hieronymi, de libro mentione non facta, datur intelligi quod hoc dicat super Matthaeum, et in aliis ratio similis observetur, nisi in his quae de commentario Chrysostomi super Matthaeum sumuntur, oportuit inscribi in titulo super Matthaeum, ut per hoc ab aliis quae sumuntur de ipsius homiliario distinguantur. As for quotations from the holy Doctors, I mention the name of each, and the books from which the quotations come, except where this was unnecessary. For instance, in mentioning Jerome, with no reference to a book, you can infer that it is his Commentary on Matthew. The same holds for the others, except for the Commentary of Chrysostom on Matthew, where the Commentary had to be mentions to distinguish it from his sermons. In assumendis autem sanctorum testimoniis, plerumque oportuit aliqua rescindi de medio ad prolixitatem vitandam, nec non ad manifestiorem sensum vel, secundum congruentiam expositionis, litterae ordinem commutari; interdum etiam sensum posui, verba dimisi, praecipue in homiliario Chrysostomi, propter hoc quod est translatio vitiosa. In quoting the testimony of the saints, much had to be omitted, both to avoid being over-long, and to make the meaning clearer, or to change the order of the commentary to fit the Scriptural text. Sometimes I just summarized the meaning, not quoting verbatim, especially in the sermons of Chrysostom, because the translation was bad. Fuit autem mea intentio in hoc opere non solum sensum prosequi litteralem, sed etiam mysticum ponere; interdum etiam errores destruere, nec non confirmare Catholicam veritatem. Quod quidem necessarium fuisse videtur, quia in Evangelio praecipue forma fidei Catholicae traditur et totius vitae regula Christianae. Prolixum igitur praesens opus non videatur alicui. Fieri enim non potuit ut haec omnia sine diminutione prosequerer, et tot sanctorum sententias explicarem, omnimoda brevitate servata. My intention in this work was to present not merely the literal meaning, but also the mystical meaning, and sometimes also to refute errors and confirm the Catholic truth. This seemed necessary, because especially in the Gospel the form of Catholic faith is transmitted, as well as the whole rule of Christian life. I hope therefore that the present work does not seem too long for anybody. I could not pursue all the material without summarizing, nor explain the opinions of so many saints if I abbreviated too much. Suscipiat itaque vestra sanctitas praesens opus, vestro discutiendum corrigendumque iudicio, vestrae sollicitudinis et obedientiae meae fructum, ut dum a vobis emanavit praeceptum et vobis reservetur finale iudicium, ad locum unde exeunt flumina revertantur. Therefore, may your Holiness receive this work, presented to your judgment for discussion and correction. It is the fruit of your sollicitude and my obedience. Since it originated from your precept and its final judgment is reserved to you, let the rivers return to their source.
Caput 1 Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 1 [p. 9] Lectio 1 Ver. 1. The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.
Hieronymus: Quia faciem hominis Matthaeus significat, quasi de homine exorsus est scribere, dicens liber generationis. Jerome, Ez, i. 5. Hier. Prolog. in Com. in Matt.: 'The face of a man' (in Ezekiel's vision) signifies Matthew, who accordingly opens his Gospel with the human genealogy of Christ. Rabanus: Quo exordio satis ostendit generationem Christi secundum carnem suscepisse narrandam. Rabanus: By this exordium he shews that it is the birth of Christ according to the flesh that he has undertaken to narrate. Chrysostomus, super Matth.: Iudaeis enim Evangelium scripsit, quibus superfluum erat exponere divinitatis naturam, quam cognoscebant; necessarium autem fuit eis mysterium incarnationis ostendere. Ioannes autem cum gentibus Evangelium scripsit, quae non cognoscebant si Deus filium habet; ideo necessarium fuit primum illis ostendere quia est filius Dei Deus, deinde quia carnem suscepit. Pseudo-Chrys., Hom. in Matt., Hom. i: Matthew wrote for the Jews, and in Hebrew [ed. note: It seems to be the general witness of antiquity that there was a Hebrew copy of St. Matthew's Gospel, whether written before or after the Greek. This Hebrew copy was interpolated by the Ebionites.]; to them it was unnecessary to explain the divinity which they recognized; but necessary to unfold the mystery of the Incarnation. John wrote in Greek for the Gentiles who knew nothing of a Son of God. They required therefore to be told first, that the Son of God was God, then that this Deity was incarnate. Rabanus: Cum autem parvam libri particulam teneat generatio, dixit liber generationis. Consuetudo enim Haebraeorum est ut voluminibus ex eorum principiis imponant nomina, ut est Genesis. Rabanus: Though the genealogy occupies only a small part of the volume, he yet begins thus, "The book of the generation." For it is the manner of the Hebrews to name their books from that with which they open; as Genesis. Glossa: Planior autem sensus esset: hic est liber generationis, sed hic est mos in multis, ut visio Isaiae, subaudis: haec est: generationis autem singulariter dicitur, quamvis multae per ordinem replicentur, quia propter Christi generationem ceterae hic indicuntur. Gloss. Ordinaria: The full expression would be "This is the book of the generation;" but this is a usual ellipse; e.g. "The vision of Isaiah," for, 'This is the vision.' "Generation," he says in the singular number, though there be many here given in succession, as it is for the sake of the one generation of Christ that the rest are here introduced. Chrysostomus in Matth: Vel ideo librum hunc generationis nominat, quia haec est totius dispensationis summa, et radix bonorum omnium, Deum hominem factum esse: hoc enim facto alia secundum rationem sequebantur. Chrys., Hom. in Matt., Hom. ii: Or he therefore entitles it, "The book of the generation," because this is the sum of the whole dispensation, the root of all its blessings; viz. [p. 10] that God become man; for this once effected, all other things followed of course. Remigius: Dicit autem liber generationis Iesu Christi quia noverat scriptum esse: liber generationis Adae; et ideo sic exorsus est, ut opponeret librum libro. Adam novum Adae veteri, quia omnia per istum sunt restaurata quae per illum sunt corrupta. Rabanus: He says, "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ," because he knew it was written, 'The book of the generation of Adam.' He begins thus then, that he may oppose book to book, the new Adam to the old Adam, for by the one were all things restored which had been corrupted by the other. Hieronymus in Matth.: In Isaia autem legimus: generationem eius quis enarrabit? Non ergo putemus Evangelistam prophetae esse contrarium, ut quod ille impossibile dixit esse effatu, hic narrare incipiat, quia ibi de generatione divinitatis, hic de incarnatione dictum est. Jerome, Hier. Comm. in Matt., ch. 1: We read in Isaiah, "Who shall declare His generation?" [Isa 53:8] But it does not follow that the Evangelist contradicts the Prophet, or undertakes what he declares impossible; for Isaiah is speaking of the generation of the Divine nature; St. Matthew of the incarnation of the human. Chrysostomus in Matth: Nec tamen parva aestimes te audire, hanc audiens generationem. Est enim valde auditu mirabile quod ineffabilis Deus ex muliere nasci dignatus est, et habere progenitores David et Abraham. Chrys.: And do not consider this genealogy a small thing to hear: for truly it is a marvellous thing that God should descend to be born of a woman, and to have as His ancestors David and Abraham. Remigius: Si autem aliquis dixerit quia propheta de nativitate humanitatis dixit, non est respondendum ad interrogationem prophetae. Nullus generationem domini narravit, sed perrarus, quia Matthaeus et Lucas. Remigius: Though any affirm that the prophet (Isaiah) does speak of His human generation, we need not answer to his enquiry, "Who shall declare it?" - "No man;" but, "Very few;" because Matthew and Luke have. Rabanus: In hoc autem quod dicit Iesu Christi, regalem et sacerdotalem in eo exprimit dignitatem; nam Iesus, qui nominis huius praesagium praetulit, primus post Moysen in populo Israel ducatum tenuit; Aaron vero mystico consecratus unguento, primus in lege sacerdos fuit. Rabanus: By saying, "of Jesus Christ," he expresses both the kingly and priestly office to be in Him, for Jesus, who first bore this name, was after Moses, the first who was leader of the children of Israel; and Aaron, anointed by the mystical ointment, was the first priest under the Law. Augustinus de quaest. novi et veteris testamenti: Quod autem per olei unctionem praestabat Deus illis qui in reges vel sacerdotes ungebantur, hoc praestitit spiritus sanctus homini Christo, addita expiatione: spiritus enim sanctus purificavit quod de Maria virgine in corpus salvatoris profecit; et haec est unctio corporis salvatoris, quare Christus est appellatus. Hilary, Quaest. Nov. et Vet. Test. q. 40: What God conferred on those, who, by the anointing of oil were consecrated as kings or priests, this the Holy Spirit conferred on the Man Christ; adding moreover a purification. The Holy Spirit cleansed that which taken of the Virgin Mary was exalted into the Body of the Saviour, and this is that anointing of the Body of the Saviour's flesh whence He was called Christ. [ed. note: This passage is from a work commonly ascribed to Hilary the Deacon. The Fathers bear out its doctrine; e.g. "Since the flesh is not holy in itself, therefore it was sanctified even in Christ, the Word which dwelt in it, through the Holy Ghost, sanctifying His own Temple, and changing it into the energy of His own Nature. For therefore is Christ's Body understood to be both holy and hallowing, as being made a Temple of the Word united to it bodily, as Paul says." Cyril Alex. lib. v. in Joann. p. 992. In like manner, Gregory of Nazianzus speaks of "The Father of the True and really Anointed (Christ), whom He has anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows, anointing the manhood with the Godhead, so as to make both one." Orat. 5. fin] Because the impious craft of the Jews denied that Jesus was born of the seed of David, he adds, "The son of David, the son of Abraham." [p. 11] Chrysostomus super Matth: Quia vero impia prudentia Iudaeorum negabat Iesum de David semine esse natum, subdit filii David, filii Abraham. Quare autem non sufficiebat dicere illum filium Abrahae solius, aut David solius? Quia ad ambos de Christo nascituro ex eis promissio fuerat facta: ad Abraham quidem sic: et in semine tuo benedicentur omnes gentes terrae; ad David autem ita: de fructu ventris tui ponam super sedem tuam. Ideo ergo utriusque filium dixit, ut utriusque promissiones in Christo adimpletas ostenderet. Deinde, quia Christus tres dignitates fuerat habiturus: rex, propheta, sacerdos. Abraham propheta fuit et sacerdos, sicut Deus ad illum dicit in Genesi: accipe mihi vaccam triennem; propheta autem, sicut ait dominus ad Abimelech de illo: propheta est, et orabit pro te. David rex fuit et propheta; sacerdos autem non fuit. Ideo ergo amborum filius nominatus est, ut utriusque patris triplex dignitas originali iure recognosceretur in Christo. Chrys.: But why would it not have been enough to name one of them, David alone, or Abraham alone? Because the promise had been made to both of Christ to be born of their seed. To Abraham, "And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." [Gen 22:18] To David, "Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy seat." [Ps 137:11] He therefore calls Christ the Son of both, to shew that in Him was fulfilled the promise to both. Also because Christ was to have three dignities; King, Prophet, Priest; but Abraham was prophet and priest; priest, as God says to him in Genesis, "Take an heifer;" [Gen 15:9] Prophet, as the Lord said to Abimelech concerning him, "He is a prophet, and shall pray for thee." [Gen 20:7] David was king and prophet, but not priest. Thus He is expressly called the son of both, that the threefold dignity of His forefathers might be recognized by hereditary right in Christ. Ambrosius super Lucam: Ideo etiam duos generis auctores elegit: unum qui de cognatione populorum promissum accepit, alterum qui de generatione Christi oraculum consecutus est. Et ideo, licet sit ordine successionis posterior, prior tamen describitur quia plus est, promissum accepisse de Christo, quam de Ecclesia, quae est per Christum potior est enim qui salvat eo quod salvatur. Ambrose, in Luc. iii: He therefore names specially two authors of His birth - one who received the promise concerning the kindreds of the people, the other who obtained the oracle concerning the generation of Christ; and though he is later in order of succession is yet first named, inasmuch as it is greater to have received the promise concerning Christ than concerning the Church, which is through Christ; for greater is He who saves than that which is saved. Hieronymus in Matth.: Ordo etiam praeposterus, sed necessario commutatus. Si enim primum posuisset Abraham, et postea David, rursus ei repetendus fuisset Abraham, ut generationis series texeretur. Jerome: The order of the names is inverted, but of necessity; for had he written Abraham first, and David afterwards, he would have to repeat Abraham again to preserve the series of the genealogy. Chrysostomus super Matth: Altera autem ratio est, quia regni dignitas maior est quam naturae, nam etsi Abraham praecedat in tempore, David praecedebat in dignitate. Pseudo-Chrys.: Another reason is that royal dignity is above natural, though Abraham was first in time, yet David is honour. Glossa: Quia vero ex hoc titulo apparet totum hunc librum conscribi de Iesu Christo, necessarium est praecognoscere quid sit sentiendum de ipso, sic enim melius exponi poterunt quae in hoc libro de eo dicuntur. Gloss.: But since from this title it appears that the whole book is concerning Jesus Christ, it is necessary first to know what we must think concerning Him; for so shall be better explained what this book relates of Him. Augustinus de quaest. Evang: Error autem haereticorum de Christo tribus generibus terminatur: aut de divinitate, aut de humanitate, aut de utroque falluntur. Aug., de Haer: [The error of the heretics about Christ is limited to three areas: They err either about his divinity, or his humanity, or the two together.] Augustinus de Haeres: Cerinthus ergo et Ebion Iesum Christum hominem tantum fuisse dixerunt, quos secutus Paulus Samosatenus, Christum non semper fuisse, sed eius initium, ex quo de Maria natus est, asseverat, nec enim aliquid amplius quam hominem putat; et haec haeresis postea a Photino confirmata est. Aug., de Haer, et 10: Cerinthus then and Ebion made Jesus Christ only man; Paul of Samosata, following them, asserted Christ not to have had an existence from eternity, but to have begun to be from His birth of the Virgin Mary; he also thought Him nothing more than man. This heresy was afterwards confirmed by Photinus. Athanasius contra Haeret.: Ioannes autem apostolus istius insaniam longe ante spiritu sancto conspiciens, eum alto imperitiae sopore demersum suae vocis praeconio excitat, dicens: in principio erat verbum. Ei ergo quod in principio erat apud Deum non relinquitur in novissimo tempore ut originis suae ab homine principium sumpserit. Item inquit: pater, clarifica me illa gloria quam habui apud te priusquam mundus fieret. Audiat Photinus eum gloriam ante principium possedisse. Pseudo-Athan., Vigil. Tapsens. (Athan. Ed. Ben., vol ii, p. 646): The Apostle John, seeing long before by the Holy Spirit this man's madness, rouses him from his deep sleep of error by the preaching of his voice, saying, "In the beginning was the [p. 12] Word." [John 1:1] He therefore, who in the beginning was with God, could not in this last time take the beginning of His being from man. He says further, (let Photinus hear his words,) "Father, glorify Me with that glory which I had with Thee before the world was." [John 17:5] Augustinus de Haeres: Nestorii autem perversitas fuit ut hominem tantummodo ex beata Maria virgine genitum praedicaret, quem verbum Dei non in unitatem personae, et in societatem inseparabilem recepisset; quod Catholicorum aures nequaquam ferre potuerunt. Aug., de Haeres. 19: The error of Nestorius was, that he taught that a man only was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom the Word of God received not into Unity of person and inseparable fellowship; a doctrine which Catholic ears could not endure. Cyrillus Alex. ad monachos Aegypti: Ait enim apostolus de unigenito quod cum in forma Dei esset, non rapinam arbitratus est esse se aequalem Deo. Quis est ergo ille qui est in forma Dei? Aut quomodo exinanitus est, et descendit ad humilitatem secundum hominis formam? Et quidem si praedicti haeretici in duo dividentes Christum, idest in hominem et verbum, hominem dicunt sustinuisse exinanitionem, separantes ab eo Dei verbum, praeostendendum est quia in forma et in aequalitate intelligitur et fuit patris sui, ut exinanitionis sustineret modum. Sed nihil creaturarum est, si secundum propriam intelligatur naturam, in patris aequalitate quomodo ergo exinanitus dicitur, et ex qua eminentia ut esset homo descendit? Aut quomodo intelligitur assumpsisse tamquam non habens in principio servi formam? Sed aiunt quod verbum patri aequale existens habitavit in homine nato per mulierem: et haec exinanitio. Certe audio filium dicentem sanctis apostolis: si quis diligit me, verbum meum custodiet, et pater meus diliget eum, et ad eum veniemus, et mansionem apud eum faciemus. Audis quomodo in eis qui se diligunt, se et sibi cohabitare dixit Deum patrem? Putas ergo, ipsum exinanitum et vacuatum dabimus et servi formam accepisse, quia in diligentium se animabus facit mansionem? Quid autem spiritus habitans in nobis, putatis, et ipse humanationis dispensationem adimplet? Cyril of Alexandria, Ep. i. ad Monachos Egypti.: Saith the Apostle of the Only-begotten, "Who being in the form of God, thought it no robbery to be equal with God." [Phil 2:6] Who then is this who is in the form of God? or how emptied He Himself, and humbled Himself to the likeness of man? If the abovementioned heretics dividing Christ into two parts, i.e. the Man and the Word, affirm that it was the Man that was emptied of glory, they must first shew what form and equality with the Father are understood to be, and did exist, which might suffer any manner of emptying. But there is no creature, in its own proper nature, equal with the Father; how then can any creature be said to be emptied? or from what eminence to descend to become man? Or how can he be understood to have taken upon Him, as though He had not at first, the form of a servant? But, they say, the Word being equal with the Father dwelt in Man born of a woman, and this is the emptying. I hear the Son truly saying to the Holy Apostles, "If any man love Me, he will keep My saying, and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him." [John 14:23] Hear how He saith that He and the Father will dwell in them that love Him. Do you then suppose that we shall grant that He is there emptied of His glory, and has taken upon Him the form of a servant, when He makes His abode in the hearts of them that love Him? Or the Holy Spirit, does He fulfil an assumption of human flesh when He dwells in our hearts? Abbas Isidorus ad Atribium presbyterum: Verum ne universa annumeremus, unum, ad quod universa intendunt, dicemus quia illum qui Deus erat, humilia loqui, et dispensativum simul et utile est, et nihil inviolabili naturae praeiudicat. Eum vero qui homo est, divina et supernaturalia quaedam loqui summae praesumptionis est malum; nam regi quidem licet etiam et humiliter agere, militi vero non licet imperiales voces emittere. Si igitur Deus erat humanatus, etiam humilia locum habent; si vero homo tantum erat, excelsa non habent locum. Isidore, Epist. lib. iv. 166: But not to mention all arguments, let us bring forward that one to which all arguments point, that, for one who was God to assume a lowly guise both has an obvious use, and is an adaptation and in nothing contradicts the course of nature. But for one who is man to speak things divine and supernatural is the highest presumption; for though a king may [p. 13] humble himself a common soldier may not take on him the state of an emperor. So, if He were God made man, all lowly things have place; but if mere man, high things have none. Augustinus de Haeres: Sabellium discipulum Noeti quidam perhibent, qui dicebat Christum eumdem et patrem et spiritum sanctum. Aug., de Haeres. 41: Sabellius they say was a disciple of Noctus, who taught that the same Christ was one and the same Father and Holy Spirit. Athanasius contra Haeret.: huius autem insanissimi furoris audaciam caelestium testimoniorum auctoritate frenabo ad demonstrandum propriae substantiae filii personam, non illa quae homini suscepto congruere cavillatur, assumens, sed illa in medium proferens testimonia, quae sine ullo ancipitis intelligentiae scrupulo divinitati eius competere omnes pariter confitentur. In Genesi enim Deum dixisse legimus: faciamus hominem ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram. Ecce pluraliter dicit faciamus, alium videlicet indicans ad quem loquentis factus est sermo. Si unus est, ad imaginem suam fecisse diceretur; nunc autem alius et alterius imaginem apertius fecisse describitur. Pseudo-Athan., Vigil. Tapsens. (ibid. p. 644): The audaciousness of this most insane error I will curb by the authority of the heavenly testimonies, and demonstrate the distinct personality of the proper substance of the Son. I shall not produce things which are liable to be explained away as agreeable to the assumption of human nature; but shall offer such passages as all will allow to be decisive in proof of His divine nature. In Genesis we find God saying, "Let Us make man in Our own Image." By this plural number shewing, that there was some other person to whom He spoke. Had He been one, He would have been said to have made Him in His own Image, but there is another; and He is said to have made man in the Image of that other. Glossa: Alii vero veram Christi humanitatem negaverunt. Valentinus enim dixit Christum a patre missum spiritale vel caeleste corpus attulisse, nihilque assumpsisse de Maria virgine, sed per illam tamquam per rivum aut fistulam sine assumpta carne transisse. Nos autem non ideo credimus natum ex Maria virgine, quod aliter in vera carne existere atque hominibus apparere non posset, sed quia sic scriptum est in ea Scriptura, cui nisi crediderimus, nec Christiani nec salvi esse poterimus. Si autem de caelesti, vel aerea, vel humida creatura corpus assumptum vellet commutare in humanae carnis verissimam qualitatem, hoc eum potuisse facere quis negaret? Gloss.: Other denied the reality of Christ's human nature. Valentinus said that Christ sent from the Father, carried about a spiritual or celestial body, and took nothing of the Virgin, but passed through her as through a channel, taking nothing of her flesh. But we do not therefore believe Him to have been born of the Virgin, because by no other means He could have truly lived in the flesh, and appeared among men; but because it is so written in the Scripture, which if we believe not we cannot either be Christians, or be saved. But even a body taken of spiritual, or ethereal, or clayey substance, had He willed to change into the true and very quality of human flesh, who will deny His power to do this? Augustinus de Haeres: Manichaei vero dixerunt, phantasma esse dominum Iesum Christum, nec femineo posse nasci ex utero. Aug. de Haer., The Manichaeans said that the Lord Jesus Christ was a phantasm, and could not be born of the womb of a woman. Augustinus, Lib. 83 quaest.: Sed si phantasma fuit corpus Christi, fefellit Christus; et si fallit, veritas non est. Est autem veritas Christus; non ergo phantasma fuit corpus eius. Aug. But if the body of Christ was a phantasm, He was a deceiver, and if a deceiver, then He was not the truth. But Christ is the Truth; therefore His Body was not a phantasm. Glossa: Et quia principium huius Evangelii, et etiam Evangelii secundum Lucam, manifeste ostendit Christum natum ex femina, ex quo apparet vera Christi humanitas, ergo utriusque Evangelii principia negant. Gloss.: And as the opening both of this Gospel, and of that according to Luke, manifestly proves Christ's birth of a woman, and hence His real humanity, they reject the beginning of both these Gospels. Augustinus contra Faustum: Unde Faustus dicit: Evangelium quidem a praedicatione Christi et esse coepit et nominari, in quo ipse nusquam se natum ex hominibus dicit. At vero genealogia adeo non est Evangelium, ut nec eius scriptor ausus fuerit eam Evangelium nominare. Quid enim scribit? Liber generationis Iesu Christi filii David; non ergo liber Evangelii Iesu Christi, sed liber generationis. At vero Marcus, quia generationem scribere non curavit, sed tantum praedicationem filii Dei, quod est Evangelium, vide quam competenter sit exorsus: Evangelium, inquit, Iesu Christi filii Dei, ut hinc satis appareat genealogiam non esse Evangelium; namque et in ipso Matthaeo, post inclusum Ioannem in carcere, tunc legitur Iesum coepisse praedicare Evangelium regni. Ergo quicquid ante hoc narratur, genealogiam esse constat, non Evangelium. Ad Ioannem ergo et Marcum me contuli, quorum mihi principia non immerito placuerunt, quia nec David nec Mariam inducunt, nec Ioseph.
Aug., cont. Faust, ii, 1: Faustus affirms, that "the Gospel both begins, and begins to be so called, from the preaching of [p. 14] Christ, in which He no where affirms Himself to have been born of men. [ed. note: The Ebionites, as well as the Manichees, rejected the beginning of St. Matthew, vid. Epiphan. II arr. xxx. 23. And the Marcionites the beginning of St. Luke. Epiph. Haer. xlii, 11. But what exact portion they rejected is doubtful.] Nay, so far is this genealogy from being part of the Gospel, that the writer does not venture so to entitle it; beginning, 'The book of the generation,' not 'The book of the Gospel.' Mark again, who cared not to write of the generation, but only of the preaching of the Son of God, which is properly The Gospel, begins thus accordingly, "The Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God." Thus then, all that we read in Matthew before the words, "Jesus began to preach the Gospel of the kingdom," [Matt 4:!4] is a part of the genealogy, not of the Gospel. I therefore betook myself to Mark and John, with whose prefaces I had good reason to be satisfied, as they introduce neither David, nor Mary, nor Joseph."
Contra quem Augustinus: quid ergo respondebit apostolo dicenti: memor esto Iesum Christum resurrexisse a mortuis, ex semine David, secundum Evangelium meum? Quod autem erat apostoli Pauli Evangelium, hoc etiam ceterorum apostolorum et omnium fidelium; hoc enim alibi dicit: sive ego, sive illi Evangelium praedicaverunt. To which Augustine replies, What will he say then to the Apostle's words, "Remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ of the seed of David according to my Gospel." [2 Tim 2:8] But the Gospel of the Apostle Paul was likewise that of the other Apostles, and of all the faithful, as he says, "Whether I, or they, thus have we preached the Gospel." Augustinus de Haeres: Ariani autem patrem et filium et spiritum sanctum nolunt esse unius eiusdemque substantiae, naturae, aut existentiae; sed esse filium creaturam patris, spiritum vero sanctum creaturam creaturae, hoc est, ab ipso filio creatum volunt. Christum etiam sine anima carnem suscepisse arbitrantur. Aug., de Haer., 49: The Arians will not have the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to be of one and the same substance, nature, and existence; but that the Son is a creature of the Father, and Holy Spirit a creature of a creature, i.e. created by the Son; further, they think that Christ took the flesh without a soul. Augustinus de Trinit.: Sed Ioannes in eo declarat filium non tantum Deum esse, sed etiam eiusdem cum patre substantiae, quia cum dixisset: et Deus erat verbum, addidit: omnia per ipsum facta sunt. Unde apparet ipsum factum non esse, per quem facta sunt omnia; et si factus non est, creatus non est; et sic eiusdem cum patre substantiae est; omnis enim substantia quae Deus non est, creatura est. But John declares the Son to be not only God, but even of the same substance as the Father; [margin note: ref Id. de Trin. i. 6] for when he had said, "The Word was God," he added, "all things were made by Him;" whence it is clear that He was not made by Whom all things were made; and if not made, then not created; and therefore of one substance with the Father, for all that is not of one substance with the Father is creature. Augustinus contra Felicianum: Nescio enim quid nobis mediatoris persona contulerit, qui melius nostrum non redimens, carnem, quae sine anima nec beneficium possit sentire, suscepit. Si enim venit Christus salvum facere quod perierat, quia totus homo periit, totus beneficio salvatoris indiget; et ideo Christus veniendo, totum salvat, corpus et animam assumendo. I know not what benefit the person of the Mediator has conferred upon us, if He redeemed not our better part, but took upon Him our flesh only, which without the soul cannot have consciousness of the benefit. But if Christ came to save that which had perished, [p. 15] the whole man had perished, and therefore needs a Saviour; Christ then in coming saves the whole man, taking on Him both soul and body. Augustinus Lib. 83 quaest: Quomodo etiam ipsi respondent tam manifestis obiectionibus ex evangelica Scriptura, in qua contra eos dominus tam multa commemorat? Ut est illud: tristis est anima mea usque ad mortem; et: potestatem habeo ponendi animam meam; et multa huiusmodi. Qui si dicant in parabolis eum locutum esse, habemus Evangelistarum rationes, qui res gestas narrantes, sicut eum corpus habuisse testantur, sic eum indicant habere animam per affectiones quae non possunt esse nisi in anima. Eis enim narrantibus legimus: et miratus est Iesus, et iratus, et multa huiusmodi. How too do they answer innumerable objections from the Gospel Scriptures, in which the Lord speaks so many things manifestly contrary to them? as is that, "My soul is sorrowful even unto death," [Matt 26:38] and, "I have power to lay down My life;" [John 10:18] and many more things of the like kind. Should they say that He spoke thus in parables, we have at hand proofs from the Evangelists themselves, who in relating His actions, bear witness as to the reality of His body, so of His soul, by mention of passions which cannot be without a soul; as when they say, "Jesus wondered, was angry," and others of like kind. Augustinus de Haeres: Apollinaristae autem sicut Ariani, Christum dixerunt carnem solam sine anima suscepisse. In qua quaestione testimoniis evangelicis victi, mentem, quae rationalis est anima hominis, defuisse animae Christi, sed pro hac ipsum verbum in ea fuisse dixerunt. The Apollinarians also as the Arians affirmed that Christ had taken the human flesh without the soul [margin note: Id. de Haeres. 55]. But overthrown on this point by the weight of Scripture proof, they then said that part which is the rational soul of man was wanting to the soul of Christ, and that its place was filled by the Word itself. Augustinus Lib. 83 quaest: Sed si ita est, belluam quamdam cum figura humani corporis Dei verbum suscepisse crederetur. But if it be so, then we must believe that the Word of God took on Him the nature of some brute with a human shape and appearance. Augustinus de Haeres: De ipsa vero eius carne sic a recta fide dissensisse perhibentur ut dicerent carnem illam et verbum unius eiusdemque substantiae esse, contentiosissime asseverantes verbum carnem factum, hoc est; verbi aliquid in carnem fuisse mutatum atque conversum, non autem carnem de Mariae carne suscepisse. But even concerning the nature of Christ's body, there are some who have so far swerved from the right faith, as to say, that the flesh and the Word were of one and the same substance, most perversely insisting on that expression, The Word was made flesh; which they interpret that some portion of the Word was changed into flesh, not that He took to Him flesh of the flesh of the Virgin. [ed. note: Some of the Apollinarians thus hold. vid. Nyssen. vol. ii, p. 694. A.Theodor. Eranist. p. 174. ed. Schulz. The same doctrine was afterwards ascribed to the Eutychians, vid. Vigil. Taps. in Eutych. iv. Theod. Haer. iv. 13] Cyrillus ad Ioannem Antiochenum: Furere autem arbitramur eos qui suspicati sunt, quod mutationis obumbratio circa divinam verbi naturam potest contingere: manet enim quod est semper, et non mutatur, nec conversionis est capax. Cyril, Ep. ad Joan. Antioch. tom. 6, Ep. 107: We account those persons mad who have suspected that so much as the shadow of change could take place in the nature of the Divine Word; it abides what it ever was, neither is nor can be changed. Leo ad Constantinopolitanos: Nos autem non ita dicimus Christum hominem ut aliquid ei desit quod ad humanam certum est pertinere naturam, sive animam sive mentem rationabilem, sive carnem, quae non de femina sumpta sit, sed facta de verbo in carnem converso atque mutato. Quae ter falsa Apollinaristarum haeresis tres varias protulit partes. Leo, Epist. 59, ad Const.: We do not speak of Christ as man in such a sort as to allow that any thing was wanting to Him, which it is certain pertains to human nature, whether soul, or rational mind, or flesh, and flesh such as was taken of the Woman, not gained by a change or conversion of the Word into flesh. These three several errors, that thrice false heresy of the Apollinarists has brought forward. Leo ad Palaestinos: Eutyches quoque tertium Apollinaris dogma delegit, ut, negata humanae carnis atque animae veritate, totum dominum nostrum Iesum Christum unius assereret esse naturae, tamquam verbi divinitas ipsa se in carnem animamque verteret, et concipi, nasci aut nutriri, et cetera huiusmodi, eius tantum essentiae fuerit, scilicet divinae, quae nihil horum in se sine carnis recepit veritate, quoniam natura unigeniti, natura est patris, natura est spiritus sancti, simul impassibilis et sempiterna. Verum si ab Apollinaris perversitate haereticus iste decesserit, ne convinceretur deitatem passibilem sentire atque mortalem, et tamen verbi incarnati, id est verbi et carnis, unam audet pronuntiare naturam; non dubie in Manichaei et Marcionis transit insaniam, et dominum Iesum Christum simultorie omnia credit egisse, nec humanum ipsum corpus, sed phantasticam corporis speciem oculis apparuisse cernentium. Eutyches also chose out this third dogma of Apollinaris, which denying [p. 16] the verity of the human body and soul, maintained that our Lord Jesus Christ was wholly and entirely of one nature, as though the Divine Word had changed itself into flesh and soul, and as though the conception, birth, growth, and such like, had been undergone by that Divine Essence, which was incapable of any such changes with the very and true flesh; for such as is the nature of the Only-begotten, such is the nature of the Father, and such is the nature of the Holy Ghost, both impassible and eternal. But if to avoid being driven to the conclusion that the Godhead could feel suffering and death, he departs from the corruption of Apollinaris, and should still dare to affirm the nature of the incarnate Word, that is of the Word and the flesh, to be the same, he clearly falls into the insane notions of Manichaeus and Marcion, and believes that the Lord Jesus Christ did all His actions with a false appearance, that His body was not a human body, but a phantasm, which imposed on the eyes of the beholders. Idem ad Iulianum: In eo vero quod Eutyches in episcopali iudicio ausus est dicere ante incarnationem duas fuisse in Christo naturas, post incarnationem autem unam, necessarium fuit ut ad reddendam rationem professionis suae sollicitis interrogationibus urgeretur. Arbitror enim eum talia loquentem hoc habere persuasum quod anima quam salvator assumpsit, prius in caelis sit commorata quam de Maria virgine nasceretur. Sed hoc Catholicae mentes auresque non tolerant, quia nil secum dominus de caelo veniens nostrae conditionis exhibuit, nec animam eius, quae anterior extitisset, nec carnem, quae non materni corporis esset, accepit. Unde quod in Origene merito damnatum est, qui animarum antequam corporibus insererentur non solum miras, sed et diversas fuisse asseruit actiones, necesse est quod in isto plectatur. But what Eutyches ventured [margin note: Id. Ep. 35 ad Julian] to pronounce as an episcopal decision, that in Christ before His incarnation were two natures, but after His incarnation only one, it behoved that he should have been urgently pressed to give the reason of this his belief. I suppose that in using such language he supposed the soul which the Saviour took, to have had its abode in heaven before it was born of the Virgin Mary [ed. note, e: This opinion, which involves Nestorianism, the opposite error to Eutychianism or Monophysitism, is imputed to Eutyches by Flavian, ap. Leon. Ep. xxii. 3. Ephraem, Antioch, ap Phot. p. 805. Leont. de Sectis 7 init]. This Catholic hearts and ears endure not, for that the Lord when He came down from heaven shewed nothing of the condition of human nature, nor did He take on Him any soul that had existed before, nor any flesh that was not taken of the flesh of His mother. Thus what was justly condemned in Origen [ed. note, f: Vid. Origen in Joan. t. i. n. 37. t. xx. n. 17. Patriarch. ii. 6. n. 4. ix. Cels. i. 32, 33], must needs be rebuked in Eutyches, to wit, that our souls before they were placed in our bodies had actions not only wonderful but various. Remigius: Has igitur haereses in principio Evangelii sui Evangelistae destruunt, nam Matthaeus cum narrat eum duxisse originem per reges Iudaeorum, verum hominem eum ostendit, et veram carnem habuisse. Similiter et Lucas, qui sacerdotalem stirpem et personam describit. Marcus autem, cum ait: initium Evangelii Iesu Christi filii Dei, et Ioannes cum ait: in principio erat verbum manifestant eum ante omnia saecula semper fuisse Deum apud Deum patrem. Remig: These heresies therefore the Apostles overthrow in the opening of their Gospels, as Matthew in relating how He derived His descent from the kings of the Jews proves Him to have been truly man and to have had true flesh. Likewise Luke, when he [p. 17] describes the priestly stock and person; Mark when he says, "The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God;" and John when he says, "In the beginning was the Word;" both shew Him to have been before all ages God, with God the Father.
Lectio 2 2. Abraham began Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren.
Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Matthaeus Evangelista ostendit generationem Christi secundum carnem se suscepisse narrandam, quia genealogiam Christi exorsus est. Lucas autem tamquam sacerdotem in expiandis peccatis magis assignans, non ab initio Evangelii sui, sed a Baptismo Christi generationes enarrat, ubi testimonium Ioannes perhibuit dicens: ecce qui tollit peccata mundi. In generationibus etiam Matthaei significatur nostrorum susceptio peccatorum a domino Christo. In generationibus autem Lucae significatur abolitio nostrorum peccatorum ab ipso, ideo generationes Christi Matthaeus descendens enarrat, Lucas autem ascendens. Humanam autem Christi generationem Matthaeus descendendo describens, ab Abraham generationes commemorat. Aug., de Con. Evan., ii, 1: Matthew, by beginning with Christ's genealogy, shews that he has undertaken to relate Christ's birth according to the flesh. But Luke, as rather describing Him as a Priest for the atonement of sin, gives Christ's genealogy not in the beginning of his Gospel, but at His baptism, when John bare that testimony, "Lo, He that taketh away the sins of the world." [John 1:29] In the genealogy of Matthew is figured to us the taking on Him of our sins by the Lord Christ: in the genealogy of Luke, the taking away of our sins by the same; hence Matthew gives them in a descending, Luke in an ascending, series. But Matthew, describing Christ's human generation in descending order, begins his enumeration with Abraham. Ambrosius super Lucam: Prior enim Abraham meruit fidei testimonium, quia credidit Deo, et reputatum est ei ad iustitiam. Ideo etiam auctor generis debuit significari, quia instaurandae Ecclesiae sponsionem primus emeruit, cum dicitur: benedicentur in te omnes tribus terrae. Et iterum David delatum est quod Iesus filius eius diceretur, unde huic praerogativa servatur ut ab eo generationis dominicae manaret exordium. Ambrose, in Luc. cap. 3. lib. iii. n. 7,8: For Abraham was the first who deserved the witness of faith; "He believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." It behoved therefore that he should be set forth as the first in the line of descent, who was the first to deserve the promise of the restoration of the Church, "In thee shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." And it is again brought to a period in David, for that Jesus should be called his Son; hence to him is preserved the privilege, that from him should come the beginning of the Lord's genealogy. Chrysostomus in Matth: Evangelista igitur Matthaeus generationem dominicae carnis per seriem parentum volens commendare memoriae, ordiens a patre Abraham, dicit Abraham genuit Isaac. Cur non dixit: Ismael, quem primitus genuit? Sequitur Isaac autem genuit Iacob. Cur non dixit: Esau, qui eius primogenitus fuit? Quia scilicet per illos ad David pervenire non posset. Chrys., Hom. iii, and Aug. City of God, 15, 15: Matthew then, desiring to preserve in memory the lineage of the Lord's humanity through the succession of His parents, begins with Abraham, saying, "Abraham begat Isaac." Why does he not mention Ismael, his first-born? And again, "Isaac began Jacob;" why does he not speak of Esau his first-born? Because through them he could not have come down to David. Glossa: Omnes tamen fratres Iudae, cum ipso in generatione computat, quod etiam ideo factum est, quia Ismael et Esau non remanserunt in cultu unius Dei; fratres vero Iudae in populo sunt computati. Gloss.: Yet he names all the brethren of Judah with him in the lineage. Ismael and Esau had not remained in the worship of the true God; but the brethren of Judah were reckoned in God's people. [p. 18] Chrysostomus in Matth: Vel propterea duodecim patriarcharum meminit, ut eam quae ex progenitorum nobilitate est, elationem auferret. Etenim multi horum ex ancillis nati fuerunt, sed omnes similiter erant patriarchae et tribuum principes. Chrys., Hom. iii: Or, he names all the twelve Patriarchs that he may lower that pride which is drawn from a line of noble ancestry. For many of these were born of maidservants, and yet were Patriarchs and heads of tribes. Glossa: Ideo autem Iudam nominatim posuit, quia de illo tantum dominus descendit. In singulis autem patribus non solum debet notari historia, sed allegoria et moralitas: allegoria quidem in quo unusquisque patrum Christum praefiguret; moralitas in hoc notatur quod ex singulis patribus in nobis aliqua virtus per significationem nominis vel exemplum aedificetur. Abraham ergo in multis locis figuram Christi portat, et praeterea in nomine: Abraham enim pater multarum gentium interpretatur, et Christus est pater multorum fidelium. Abraham etiam de cognatione sua exiit, et in terra aliena demoratus est, et Christus, derelicto Iudaico populo, ad gentes per praedicatores suos exivit. Gloss: But Judah is the only one mentioned by name, and that because the Lord was descended from him only. But in each of the Patriarchs we must note not their history only, but the allegorical and moral meaning to be drawn from them; allegory, in seeing whom each of the Fathers foreshewed; moral instruction in that through each one of the Fathers some virtue may be edified in us either through the signification of his name, or through his example. [ed. note: Origen considered that there were three senses of Scripture, the literal or historical, the moral, and the mystical or spiritual, corresponding to the three parts of man, body, and soul, and spirit. Hom. in Lev. ii, 5, de Princio iv, p. 168. By the moral sense is meant, as the name implies, a practical application of the text; by mystical one which interprets it of the invisible and the spiritual world.] Abraham is in many respects a figure of Christ, and chiefly in his name, which is interpreted the Father of many nations, and Christ is Father of many believers. Abraham moreover went out from his own kindred, and abode in a strange land; in like manner Christ, leaving the Jewish nation, went by His preachers throughout the Gentiles. Chrysostomus super Matth: Isaac autem interpretatur risus. Risus autem sanctorum est, non stulta cachinnatio labiorum, sed rationabile gaudium cordis, quod fuit mysterium Christi. Sicut enim ille parentibus in ultima senectute donatus est laetitia suis, ut cognoscatur quia non erat filius naturae, sed gratiae, sic et Christus in novissimo fine productus est a matre Iudaea gaudium cunctis; sed iste per virginem, ille de anu, ambo contra spem naturae. Pseudo-Chys.: Isaac is interpreted, 'laughter,' but the laughter of the saints is not the foolish convulsion of the lips, but the rational joy of the heart, which was the mystery of Christ. For as he was granted to his parents in their extreme age to their great joy, that it might be known that he was not the child of nature, but of grace, thus Christ also in this last time came of a Jewish mother to be the joy of the whole earth; the one of a virgin, the other of a woman past the age, both contrary to the expectation of nature. Remigius: Iacob supplantator interpretatur, et de Christo dicitur: supplantasti insurgentes in me subtus me. Iacob genuit Iudas et fratres eius. Remig.: Jacob is interpreted, 'supplanter,' and it is said of Christ, "Thou hast cast down beneath Me them that rose up against Me." [Ps 18:43] Chrysostomus super Matth: Et noster Iacob genuit duodecim apostolos in spiritu, non in carne; verbo, non in sanguine. Iudas autem interpretatur confessor, quoniam Christi erat imago, qui confessor patris erat futurus, dicens: confiteor tibi, pater, domine caeli et terrae. Pseudo-Chrys.: Our Jacob in like manner begot the twelve Apostles in the Spirit, not in the flesh; in word, not in blood. Judah is interpreted, 'confessor,' for he was a type of Christ who was to be the confessor of His Father, as He spake, "I confess to Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth." Glossa: Moraliter autem Abraham nobis virtutem fidei per exempla Christi significat, cum de eo legatur: Abraham credidit Deo, et reputatum est ei ad iustitiam. Isaac significat spem, quia interpretatur risus, fuit enim gaudium parentum; spes vero similiter est gaudium nostrum, dum aeterna bona sperare facit et de eis gaudere. Abraham ergo genuit Isaac quia fides generat spem. Iacob autem significat caritatem. Caritas enim amplectitur duas vitas: activam per dilectionem proximi, contemplativam per dilectionem Dei; activa per Liam, contemplativa per Rachel significatur. Lia enim laborans interpretatur, quia activa in labore est; Rachel visum principium, quia per contemplativam principium, id est Deus, videtur. Nascitur ergo Iacob de duobus parentibus, quia caritas nascitur de fide et spe; quod enim credimus et speramus, diligimus. Gloss: Morally; Abraham signifies to us the virtue of faith in Christ, as an example himself, as it [p. 19] is said of him, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted unto Him for righteousness." Isaac may represent hope; for Isaac is interpreted, 'laughter,' as he was the joy of his parents; and hope is our joy, making us to hope for eternal blessings and to joy in them. "Abraham begat Isaac," and faith begets hope. Jacob signifies, 'love,' for love embraces two lives; active in the love of our neighbour, contemplative in the love of God; the active is signified by Leah, the contemplative by Rachel. For Leah is interpreted 'labouring,' [ed. note, h: Leah full of labour, Jerom. de nomin. Hebr. from לאה, to weary one's self.] for she is active in labour; Rachel 'having seen the beginning,' [ed. note, i: Rachel, in ewe, (as Gen. xxxi, 38, &c.) Jerom. ibid. who also gives the interpretation in the text, from ראה and חלל (החלה beginning.] because by the contemplative, the beginning, that is God, is seen. Jacob is born of two parents, as love is born of faith and hope; for what we believe, we both hope for and love.
Lectio 3 3 Ἰούδας δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν φάρες καὶ τὸν ζάρα ἐκ τῆς θαμάρ, φάρες δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ἑσρώμ, ἑσρὼμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ἀράμ, 4 ἀρὰμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ἀμιναδάβ, ἀμιναδὰβ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ναασσών, ναασσὼν δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν σαλμών, 5 σαλμὼν δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν βόες ἐκ τῆς ῥαχάβ, βόες δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ἰωβὴδ ἐκ τῆς ῥούθ, ἰωβὴδ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ἰεσσαί, 6 ἰεσσαὶ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν δαυὶδ τὸν βασιλέα.
3-6. And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; and Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; and Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; and Jesse begat David the king.
Glossa: Praetermissis aliis filiis Iacob, Evangelista Iudae prosequitur generationem dicens Iudas autem genuit Phares et Zaram de Thamar. Gloss: Passing over the other sons of Jacob, the Evangelist follows the family of Judah, saying, "But Judah begat Phares and Zara of Thamar." Augustinus de Civit. Dei: Nec Iudas primogenitus, nec istorum geminorum aliquis fuit primogenitus Iudae; sed ante illos iam tres genuerat. Eos itaque tenuit in ordine generationum per quos ad David, atque inde quo intenderet, perveniret. Augustine, City of God, 15, 15: Neither was Judah himself first-born, nor of these two sons was either his first-born; he had already had three before them. So that he keeps in that line of descent, by which he shall arrive at David, and from him whither he purposed. Hieronymus: Notandum autem in genealogia salvatoris nullam sanctarum assumi mulierum, sed eas quas Scriptura reprehendit, ut qui propter peccatores venerat, de peccatoribus nascens, omnium peccata deleret, unde et in sequentibus Ruth Moabitis ponitur. Jerome: It should be noted, that none of the holy women are taken into the Saviour's genealogy, but rather such as Scripture has condemned, that He who came for sinners being born of sinners might so put away the sins of all; thus Ruth the Moabitess follows among the rest. Ambrosius super Lucam: Lucas autem has declinavit, ut immaculatam sacerdotalis generis seriem declararet. Sed sancti Matthaei consilium a rationis iustitia non abhorret, nam cum evangelizaret secundum carnem generatum esse qui omnium peccata susciperet, subiectum iniuriis, subditum passioni. Nec hoc quidem putavit exortem asserendum esse pietatis, ut maculatae quoque originis non recusaret iniuriam; simul ne puderet Ecclesiam de peccatoribus congregari, cum dominus de peccatoribus nasceretur; postremo ut beneficium redemptionis etiam a suis maioribus inchoaret, ne quis putaret originis maculam impedimento posse esse virtuti, nec se insolens de sui nobilitate iactaret. Ambrose, in Luc. 3: But Luke has avoided the mention of these, that he might set forth the series of the priestly race immaculate. But the plan of St. Matthew did not exclude the [p. 20] righteousness of natural reason; for when he wrote in his Gospel, that He who should take on Him the sins of all, was born in the flesh, was subject to wrongs and pain, he did not think it any detraction from His holiness that He did not refuse the further humiliation of a sinful parentage. Nor, again, would it shame the Church to be gathered from among sinners, when the Lord Himself was born of sinners; and, lastly, that the benefits of redemption might have their beginning with His own forefathers: and that none might imagine that a stain in their blood was any hindrance to virtue, nor again any pride themselves insolently on nobility of birth. Chrysostomus in Matth: Post hoc monstratur omnes obnoxios fuisse peccatis: instat enim Thamar fornicatio Iudam accusans, et David a fornicaria muliere genuit Salomonem. Si autem a magnis lex non est impleta, nec a minoribus; et sic omnes peccaverunt, et necessaria facta est Christi praesentia. Chrys.: Besides this, it shews that all are equally liable to sin; for here is Thamar accusing Judah of incest, and David begat Solomon with a woman with whom he had committed adultery. But if the Law was not fulfilled by these great ones, neither could it be by their less great posterity, and so all have sinned, and the presence of Christ is become necessary. Ambrosius super Lucam: Vide autem quia non otiose Matthaeus utrumque significavit, cum Phares tantummodo commemorationem causa deposceret, quia hic in utroque mysterium est. Per geminos enim gemina describitur vita populorum: una secundum legem, altera secundum fidem. Ambrose: Observe that Matthew does not name both without a meaning; for though the object of his writing only required the mention of Phares, yet in the twins a mystery is signified; namely, the double life of the nations, one by the Law, the other by Faith. Chrysostomus super Matth: Per Zaram enim significatur Iudaicus populus, qui primus apparuit in luce fidei, quasi de vulva tenebrosa mundi procedens. Et ideo significatus est cocco circumcisionis, putantibus omnibus, quia ipse populus Dei erat futurus, sed posita est ante faciem eius lex, quasi sepes vel maceria. Sic ergo impeditus est populus Iudaicus per legem, sed temporibus Christi rupta est sepes legis, quae erat inter Iudaeos et gentes, sicut ait apostolus: medium parietem maceriae solvens. Sic factum est ut gentilis per Phares significatus, postquam rupta est lex per Christi mandata, primus ad fidem procedat; et postea sequitur Iudaicus populus. Sequitur Phares autem genuit Esron. Pseudo-Chys.: By Zarah is denoted the people of the Jews, which first appeared in the light of faith, coming out of the dark womb of the world, and was therefore marked with the scarlet thread of the circumciser, for all supposed that they were to be God's people; but the Law was set before their face as it had been a wall or hedge. Thus the Jews were hindered by the Law, but in the times of Christ's coming the hedge of the Law was broken down that was between Jews and Gentiles, as the Apostle speaks, "Breaking down the middle wall of partition;" [Eph 2:14] and thus it fell out that the Gentiles, who were signified by Phares, as soon as the Law was broken through by Christ's commandments, first entered into the faith, and after followed the Jews. Glossa: Iudas genuit Phares et Zaram antequam intraret Aegyptum, in quam ambo postea cum patre transierunt. In Aegypto vero Phares genuit Esron. Esron autem genuit aram. Aram autem genuit Aminadab, Aminadab autem genuit Naasson; et tunc Moyses eduxit eos de Aegypto. Naasson autem fuit dux sub Moyse in tribu Iuda per desertum, in quo genuit Salmon. Iste Salmon fuit princeps de tribu Iuda, qui cum Iosue terram promissionis intravit. Gloss: Judah begat Phares and Zarah before he went into Egypt, whither they both accompanied their father. In Egypt, "Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; Aram begat Aminadab; Aminadab begat Naasson;" and then Moses led them out of Egypt. Naasson was head of the tribe of Judah under Moses in the desert, where he begat Salmon; and this Salmon it was who, as prince of the tribe [p. 21] of Judah, entered the land of promise with Joshua. Chrysostomus super Matth: Quoniam autem ex aliqua causa, secundum providentiam Dei, posita horum patrum nomina credimus. Sequitur Naasson autem genuit Salmon. Iste Salmon mortuo patre fuit princeps in tribu Iuda, qui cum Iosue terram promissionis intravit. Pseudo-Chrys.: But as we believe that the names of these Fathers were given for some special reason under the providence of God, it follows, but "Naasson begat Salmon." This Salmon after his father's death entered the promised land with Joshua as prince of the tribe of Judah. He took a wife of the name of Rahab. This Rahab is said to have been that Rahab the harlot of Jericho who entertained the spies of the children of Israel, and hid them safely. For Salmon being noble among the children of Israel, inasmuch as he was of the tribe of Judah, and son of the prince thereof, beheld Rahab so ennobled through her great faith, that she was worthy whom he should take to wife. Salmon is interpreted 'receive a vessel,' [ed. note: שלמון. Probably as if from מאן Ch. a vessel; perhaps נשא למאן ] perhaps as if invited in God's providence by his very name to receive Rahab a vessel of election. Glossa: Iste Salmon in terra promissionis genuit de illa Rahab Booz. Booz autem genuit Obed ex Ruth. Gloss: This Salmon in the promised land begat Booz of this Rahab. Booz begat Obeth of Ruth. Chrysostomus super Matth: Quomodo autem Booz accepit uxorem Moabitidem nomine Ruth, exponere aestimavi superfluum, cum de his Scriptura sit omnibus manifesta. Hoc autem dicimus solum, quoniam Ruth, pro merito fidei suae nupsit Booz, quia deos patrum suorum repulit et Deum viventem elegit. Et Booz pro merito fidei suae illam accepit uxorem, ut ex coniugio tali sanctificato genus nasceretur regale. Pseudo-Chrys.: How Booz took to wife a Moabitess whose name was Ruth, I thought it needless to tell, seeing the Scripture concerning them is open to all. We need but say thus much, that Ruth married Booz for the reward of her faith, for that she had cast off the gods of her forefathers, and had chosen the living God. And Booz received her to wife for reward of his faith, that from such sanctified wedlock might be descended a kingly race. Chrysostomus super Matth: Accepit autem uxorem nomine Rahab. Haec autem Rahab dicitur fuisse Rahab meretrix de Iericho, quae suscepit exploratores filiorum Israel, abscondit eos, et servavit incolumes. Cum autem Salmon nobilis esset inter filios Israel, quia de tribu erat Iuda et quia filius principis erat, vidit Rahab sic fidelem quasi magnam aliquam constitutam, meruit accipere in uxorem. Forsitan autem et ideo interpretatur Salmon, quasi per ipsum nomen invitaretur a providentia Dei ut acciperet vas electionis Rahab. Interpretatur enim Salmon accipe vas. Sequitur Salmon autem genuit Booz de Rahab. ["He took a wife named Rahab." But this Rahave is said to have been Rahab, the harlot of Jericho, who received the Israelite spies, hid them, and kept them unharmed. Although Salmon was a nobleman among the Israelites, because he was of the tribe of Judah and was the son of a prince, he saw Rahab as faithful and of great character, worthy for him to marry. Perhaps the name Salmon was therefore interpreted to mean that he was invited by God's providence to accept Rahab, the vessel of election. For Salmon is interpreted as "accept the vessel". Next: "Salmon begot Booz from Rahab."] Ambrosius super Luc: Quomodo autem Ruth, cum esset alienigena, Iudaeo nupsit, et qua ratione in Christi generatione eius putaverit Evangelista copulae commemorationem esse faciendam, quae legis serie moechabatur? Quia ergo non de legitima salvator generatione manavit, videtur esse deforme, nisi ad apostolicam sententiam revertatis, quia non est lex posita iustis, sed iniustis. Haec enim cum esset alienigena et Moabitis, praesertim cum lex Moysi prohiberet has nuptias, Moabitasque excluderet ab Ecclesia, quomodo introivit in Ecclesiam nisi quia sancta et immaculata moribus supra legem facta est? Destinationem ergo legis excessit et meruit inter maiores dominici generis computari, propter cognationem mentis electam, non corporis. Magnum autem nobis exemplum est quod in illa nostrum omnium, qui ex gentibus collecti sumus, ingrediendi in Ecclesiam domini figura praecessit. Ambrose: But how did Ruth who was an alien marry a man that was a Jew? and wherefore in Christ's genealogy did His Evangelist so much as mention a union, which in the eye of the law was bastard? Thus the Saviour's birth of a parentage not admitted by the law appears to us monstrous, until we attend to that declaration of the Apostle, "The Law was not given for the righteous, but for the unrighteous." [1 Tim 1:9] For this woman who was an alien, a Moabitess, a nation with whom the Mosaic Law forbad all intermarriage, and shut them totally out of the Church, how did she enter into the Church, unless that she were holy and unstained in her life above the Law? Therefore she was exempt from this restriction of the Law, and deserved to be numbered in the Lord's lineage, chosen from the kindred of her mind, not of her body. To us she is a great example, for [p. 22] that in her was prefigured the entrance into the Lord's Church of all of us who are gathered out of the Gentiles. Hieronymus in epistola ad Paulinum: Ruth etiam Moabitis Isaiae explet vaticinium dicentis: emitte agnum, domine, dominatorem terrae, de petra deserti ad montem filiae Sion. Sequitur Obed autem genuit Iesse. Jerome: Ruth the Moabitess fulfils the prophecy of Isaiah, "Send forth, O Lord, the Lamb that shall rule over the earth, out of the rock of the desert to the mount of the d aug hter of Sion." [Isa 16:1] Glossa: Iesse pater David binomius est, quia frequentius vocatus est Isai. Sed quia propheta vocat eum non Isai, sed Iesse, dicens: egredietur virga de radice Iesse ut ostenderet illam prophetiam completam in Maria et in Christo, Evangelista posuit Iesse. Sequitur Iesse autem genuit David regem. Gloss: Jesse, the father of David, has two names, being more frequently called Isai. But the Prophet says, "There shall come a rod from the stem of Jesse;" [Isa 11:1] therefore to shew that this prophecy was fulfilled in Mary and Christ, the Evangelist puts Jesse. Remigius: Sed quaerendum est quare sanctus Evangelista solum David nominaverit regem, quod ideo dixit ut ostenderet eum primum fuisse regem in tribu Iuda. Ipse autem Christus est Phares divisor, ut est illud: dividet agnos ab haedis. Est et Zaram oriens, ut est illud: ecce vir, oriens nomen eius. Est Esron sagitta, ut est illud: posuit me sicut sagittam electam. Remig.: It is asked, why this epithet King is thus given by the holy Evangelist to David alone? Because he was the first king in the tribe of Judah. Christ Himself is Phares 'the divider,' as it is written, "Thou shalt divide the sheep from the goats;" [Matt 25:33] He is Zaram [ed. note, l: זרח; in Zech. 6:12, it is זרח ], 'the east,' "Lo the man, the east is His name;" [Zech 6:12]; He is Esrom [ed. note, m: חצרון, as if from חץ, and so Jerome.], 'an arrow,' "He hath set me as a polished shaft." [Isa 49:2] Rabanus: Vel atrium, propter abundantiam gratiae et latitudinem caritatis. Aram electus, secundum illud: ecce puer meus electus: vel excelsus, secundum illud: excelsus super omnes gentes dominus. Ipse est Aminadab, idest voluntarius, qui dicit: voluntarie sacrificabo tibi. Idem est et Naasson, idest augurium, qui novit praeterita, praesentia et futura. Vel serpentinus, secundum illud: Moyses exaltavit serpentem in deserto: est et Salmon, id est sensibilis, qui dicit: ego sensi de me virtutem exisse. Raban.: Or following another interpretation, according to the abundance of grace, and the width of love. He is Aram the chosen [ed. note, n: רם to be lofty, vid. infr. p.23], according to that, "Behold my Servant whom I have chosen." [Isa 42:1] He is Aminadab, that is 'willing,' [ed. note, o: עמי נדב My people is willing, - Jerome; comp. עמך נדבת, Ps 110:3], in that He says, "I will freely sacrifice to Thee." [Isa 54:6] Also He is Naasson [ed. note, p: נחשן, from נחש to augur from serpents, and so Jerome], i.e. 'augury,' as He knows the past, the present, and the future; or, 'like a serpent,' according to that, "Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness." [John 3:14] He is Salmon [ed. note, q: And so Jerome], i.e. 'the feeleth,' as He said, "I feel that power is gone forth out of me." [Luke 8:46] Glossa: Ipse accipit Rahab, id est Ecclesiam de gentibus. Rahab enim fames, vel latitudo, vel impetus, quia Ecclesia gentium esurit et sitit iustitiam et impetu doctrinae philosophos et reges convertit. Ruth etiam interpretatur videns vel festinans, et significat Ecclesiam, quae puro corde videt Deum et festinat ad bravium supernae vocationis. Gloss: Christ Himself espouses Rahab, i.e. the Gentile Church; for Rahab [ed. note,: רחב, to be wide or broad. (רהב might רעב hunger)] is interpreted either 'hunger' or 'breadth' or 'might;' for the Church of the Gentiles hungers and thirsts after righteousness, and converts philosophers and kings by the might of her doctrine. Ruth is interpreted either 'seeing' or 'hastening' [ed. note, s: And so Jerome, from ראה, and perhaps רוץ for the second.], and denotes the Church which in purity of heart sees God, and hastens to the prize of the heavenly call. Remigius: Est et Booz in quo robur, ut est illud: cum exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad me. Est et Obed serviens, ut est illud. Filius hominis non venit ministrari, sed ministrare. Est et Iesse incensum, secundum illud: ignem veni mittere in terram. Ipse est David manu fortis, secundum illud: dominus fortis et potens; desiderabilis, secundum illud: veniet desideratus cunctis gentibus; pulcher aspectu, secundum illud: speciosus forma prae filiis hominum. Remig. Christ is also Booz [ed. note, t: And so Jerome; perhaps בעז = بعز activity; here, as if בעז "with might."], because He is strength, for, [p. 23] "When I am lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me." [John 12:32] He is Obeth, 'a servant' [ed. note, u: עובד Obed, and so Jerome], for "the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister." [Matt 20:28] He is Jesse, or 'burnt' [ed. note, x: As if from אש ], for, "I am come to send fire on earth." [Luke 12:49] He is David [ed. note, y: And so Jerome], 'mighty in arm,' for, "the Lord is great and powerful;" [Ps 24:8] 'desirable,' for, "He shall come, the Desire of all nations;" [Hag 2:7] 'beautiful to behold,' according to that, "Beautiful in form before the sons of men." [Ps. 45:3] Glossa: Interim videamus quas virtutes isti patres in nobis aedificent, quia fides, spes et caritas omnium virtutum sunt fundamentum. Sequentes virtutes sunt quasi superadditiones. Iudas interpretatur confessio. Duplex est autem confessio: est altera fidei, altera peccatorum. Si ergo post tres supradictas virtutes peccatur, necessaria est non solum fidei, sed peccatorum confessio. Post Iudam sequitur Phares et Zaram. Phares divisio, Zaram oriens interpretatur, et Thamar amaritudo. Confessio enim generat divisionem a vitiis, et ortum virtutum, et amaritudinem poenitentiae. Post Phares sequitur Esron, qui sagitta interpretatur, postquam enim aliquis divisus est a vitiis et saecularibus debet fieri sagitta, ut in aliis vitia praedicando perimat. Sequitur aram, qui interpretatur electus, vel excelsus, quia postquam aliquis a mundo remotus est, et aliis proficit, necesse est ut Deo electus, hominibus celebris, excelsus in virtutibus habeatur. Naasson interpretatur augurium, hoc autem augurium non est saeculare, sed caeleste. De hoc gloriabatur Ioseph, fratribus mandans: vos detulistis scyphum domini mei, in quo augurari solebat. Scyphus est divina Scriptura, ubi est potus sapientiae, in hac auguratur sapiens, quia ibi videt futura, id est caelestia. Sequitur Salmon, idest sensibilis. Postquam enim aliquis studet in divina Scriptura, fit sensibilis, idest discernens gustu rationis, quid bonum, quid malum, quid dulce, quid amarum. Sequitur Booz, idest fortis. Instructus enim in Scripturis, fit ad omnia adversa toleranda fortis. Gloss: Let us now see what virtues they be which these fathers edify in us; for faith, hope, and charity are the foundation of all virtues; those that follow are like additions over and above them. Judah is interpreted 'confession,' of which there are two kinds, confession of faith, and of sin. If then, after we be endowed with the three forementioned virtues, we sin, confession not of faith only but of sin is needful for us. Phares is interpreted, 'division,' Zamar 'the east,' and Thamar, 'bitterness.' [ed note, z: תמרורים bitterness, from מרר Jer. 31:15, Hos 12:15] Thus confession begets separation from vice, the rise of virtue, and the bitterness of repentance. After Phares follows Esron, 'an arrow,' for when one is separated from vice and secular pursuits, he should become a dart wherewith to slay by preaching the vices of others. Aram is interpreted 'elect' or 'lofty' [ed. note, a: Lofty from רום ], for as soon as one is detached from this world, and profiteth for another, he must needs be held to be elect of God, famous amongst men, high in virtue. Naasson is 'augury,' but this augury is of heaven, not of earth. It is that of which Joseph boasted when he said, "Ye have taken away the cup of my Lord, wherewith He is wont to divine." [Gen 44:5] The cup is the divine Scripture wherein is the draught of wisdom; by this the wise man divines, since in it he sees things future, that is, heavenly things. Next is Salomon [ed. note, b: שלם peace, and so Jerome], 'that perceiveth,' for he who studies divine Scripture becomes perceiving, that is, he discerns by the taste of reason, good from bad, sweet from bitter. Next is Booz, that is, 'brave,' for who is well taught in Scripture becomes brave to endure all adversity. Chrysostomus super Matth: Iste autem fortis est filius Rahab, id est Ecclesiae. Rahab enim interpretatur latitudo vel dilatata, quia enim ex omnibus finibus terrae vocata est Ecclesia gentium, latitudo appellatur. Pseudo-Chrys.: This brave one is the son of Rahab, that is, of the Church; for Rahab signifies 'breadth' or 'spread out,' for because the [p. 24] Church of the Gentiles was called from all quarters of the earth, it is called, 'breadth.' Rabanus: Sequitur Obed, id est servitus. Non enim idoneus est ad servitutem nisi qui fortis est; quae servitus generatur ex Ruth, idest festinantia. Oportet enim promptum esse servum, non pigrum. Gloss: Then follows Obeth, i.e. 'servitude,' for which none is fit but he who is strong; and this servitude is begotten of Ruth, that is 'haste,' for it behoves a slave to be quick, not slow. Chrysostomus super Matth: Nunc autem qui divitias et non mores, pulchritudinem et non fidem, et quod in meretricibus quaeri solet, hoc in coniugibus optant, non generant subditos filios vel sibi vel Deo, sed contumaces et contra se et contra Deum, ut filii eorum sint poena irreligiositatis eorum. Iste Obed genuit Iesse, id est refrigerium, nam quicumque est subditus Deo et parentibus suis, tales filios generat, Deo praestante, a quibus refrigeratur. Pseudo-Chrys.: They who look to wealth and not temper, to beauty and not faith, and require in a wife such endowments as are required in harlots, will not beget sons obedient to their parents or to God, but rebellious to both; that their children may be punishment of their ungodly wedlock. Obeth begat Jesse, that is, 'refreshment,' for whoever is subject to God and his parents, begets such children as prove his 'refreshment.' Glossa: Vel Iesse, id est incensum. Si enim servimus ex amore et timore, erit devotio in corde, quae ex igne et desiderio cordis suavissimum incensum offert Deo. Postquam autem aliquis idoneus est servus et sacrificium Deo factus, sequitur ut sit David, id est manu fortis qui contra hostes fortiter dimicavit et Idumaeos tributarios fecit. Similiter ipse debet carnales, id est homines, verbo et exemplo Deo subiugare. Gloss: Or Jesse may be interpreted, 'incense.' [ed. note: See p. 29, note i] For if we serve God in love and fear, there will be a devotion in the heart, which in the heat and desire of the heart offers the sweetest incense to God. But when one is become a fit servant, and a sacrifice of incense to God, it follows that he becomes David (ie. 'of a strong hand'), who fought mightily against his enemies, and made the Idumeans tributary. In like manner ought he to subdue carnal men to God by teaching and example.
Lectio 4 δαυὶδ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν σολομῶνα ἐκ τῆς τοῦ οὐρίου, 7 σολομὼν δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ῥοβοάμ, ῥοβοὰμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ἀβιά, ἀβιὰ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ἀσάφ, 8 ἀσὰφ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ἰωσαφάτ,
6-8. David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; and Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; and Asa begat Josaphat.
Glossa: Secundi quaterdenarii generationis seriem Evangelista decurrit, quae a regibus continetur; et ideo a David incipit qui primus in tribu Iudae regnavit, dicens David rex genuit Salomonem ex ea quae fuit Uriae. The Evangelist has now finished the first fourteen generations, and is come to the second, which consists of royal personages, and therefore beginning with David, who was the first king in the tribe of Judah, he calls him "David the king." Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Quia enim in generationibus Matthaei significatur nostrorum susceptio peccatorum, ideo ipse a David per Salomonem descendit, in cuius matre ille peccavit. Lucas vero ad David per Nathan ascendit, per quem prophetam Deus peccatum illius expiavit, quia in generationibus Lucae significatur abolitio peccatorum. Aug., de Cons. Evan., ii, 4: Since in Matthew's genealogy is shewed forth the taking on Him by Christ of our sins, therefore he descends from David to Solomon, in whose mother David had sinned. Luke ascends to David through Nathan, for through Nathan the prophet of God punished David's sin; because Luke's genealogy is to shew the putting away of our sins. Augustinus in libro Retract.: Dicendum tamen fuit per cuius nominis prophetam, ne putaretur idem fuisse homo, cum alter fuerit, quamvis et ipse hoc nomine vocaretur. Aug., Lib. Retract., ii, 16: That [p. 25] is it, must be said, through a prophet of the same name, for it was not Nathan the son of David who reproved him, but a prophet of the same name. Remigius: Quaerendum est autem quare Evangelista Bersabee proprio nomine non nominavit sicut ceteras mulieres. Quod ideo est quia ceterae mulieres quamvis reprehensibiles fuissent, tamen laudabiles erant virtutibus. Bersabee vero non solum fuit conscia adulterii, sed etiam homicidii mariti sui, et ideo proprio nomine eam non nominavit in genealogia domini. Remig.: Let us enquire why Matthew does not mention Bathsheba by name as he does the other women. Because the others, though deserving of much blame, were yet commendable for many virtues. But Bathsheba was not only consenting in the adultery, but in the murder of her husband, hence her name is not introduced in the Lord's genealogy. Glossa: Tacet etiam nomen Bersabee, ut nominando Uriam, reducat ad memoriam illud maximum scelus quod in eum fecit. Gloss: Besides, he does not name Bathsheba, that, by naming Urias, he may recall to memory that great wickedness which she was guilty of towards him. Ambrosius super Lucam: At vero sanctus David in eo est praecellentior quod hominem se ipse cognovit, et commissum super arrepta Uriae uxore peccatum poenitentiae curavit lacrymis abluendum, ostendens nobis neminem propriae virtuti debere confidere; habemus enim adversarium magnum, qui vinci a nobis sine Dei adiutorio non possit. Et plerumque in illustribus viris gravia peccata reperies, ut quasi homines tentationi potuisse succumbere cognoscas, ne virtutibus egregiis plusquam homines crederentur. Ambrose: But the holy David is the more excellent in this, that he confessed himself to be but man, and neglected not to wash out with the tears of repentance the sin of which he had been guilty, in so taking away Urias' wife. Herein shewing us that none ought to trust in his own strength, for we have a mighty adversary whom we cannot overcome without God's aid. And you will commonly observe very heavy sins befalling to the share of illustrious men, that they may not from their other excellent virtues be thought more than men, but that you may see that as men they yield to temptation. Chrysostomus super Matth: Salomon autem interpretatur pacificus, quoniam omnibus in circuitu gentibus pacificatis et tributa reddentibus pacificum habuit regnum. Salomon autem genuit Roboam. Roboam interpretatur a multitudine populi. Multitudo enim mater est seditionis, quia quod a pluribus peccatur, plerumque manet invindicabile. Paucitas autem magistra est disciplinae. Pseudo-Chrys.: Solomon is interpreted, 'peace-maker,' because having subdued all the nations round about, and made them tributary, he had a peaceful reign. Roboam in interpreted, 'by a multitude of people,' for multitude is the mother of sedition; for where many are joined in a crime, that is commonly unpunishable. But a limit in numbers is the mistress of good order.
Lectio 5 ἰωσαφὰτ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ἰωράμ, ἰωρὰμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ὀζίαν, 9 ὀζίας δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ἰωαθάμ, ἰωαθὰμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ἀχάζ, ἀχὰζ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ἑζεκίαν, 10 ἑζεκίας δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν μανασσῆ, μανασσῆς δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ἀμώς, ἀμὼς δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ἰωσίαν, 11 ἰωσίας δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ἰεχονίαν καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς μετοικεσίας βαβυλῶνος.
8-11. And Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias; and Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias; and Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias; and Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon.
Hieronymus: In quarto autem regum volumine legimus de Ioram Ochoziam fuisse generatum. Quo mortuo, Iosabeth filia Ioram regis, soror Ochoziae, tulit Ioas filium fratris sui, et eum internecioni, quae exercebatur ab Athalia, subtraxit. Cui successit in regnum filius eius Amasias. Post quem regnavit filius eius Azarias, qui appellatur Ozias, cui successit Ioatham filius eius. Cernis ergo quod, secundum fidem historiae, tres reges in medio fuerunt, quos Evangelista praetermisit. Ioram quoque non genuit Oziam, sed Ochoziam et reliquos quos numeravimus. Verum quia Evangelistae propositum erat tessaradecades in diverso temporis statu ponere, et quia Ioram generi se miscuerat impiissimae Iezabelis, idcirco usque ad tertiam generationem eius memoria tollitur, ne in sanctae nativitatis ordine poneretur. Jerome: In the fourth book of Kings we read, that Ochozias was the son of Joram. On his death, Josabeth, sister of [p. 26] Ochozias and daughter of Joram, took Joash, her brother's son, and preserved him from the slaughter of the royal seed by Athalias. To Joash succeeded his son Amasias; after him his son Azarias, who is called Ozias; after him his son Joatham. Thus you see according to historical truth there were three intervening kings, who are omitted by the Evangelist. Joram, moveover, begot not Ozias, but Ochozias, and the rest as we have related. But because it was the purpose of the Evangelist to make each of the three periods consist of fourteen generations, and because Joram had connected himself with Jezebel's most impious race, therefore his posterity to the third generation is omitted in tracing the lineage of the holy birth. Hilarius in Matth.: Purgata vero labe familiae gentilis, iam regalis in quarta generationum consequentium origo numeratur. Hilary: Thus the stain of the Gentile alliance being purged, the royal race is again taken up in the fourth following generation. Chrysostomus super Matth: Quod spiritus sanctus per prophetam contestatus est, dicens ut dispergeret omnem masculum de domo Achab et Iezabel, implevit Iehu filius Nansi, et accepit promissionem, ut usque ad quartam generationem sedeant filii eius in sede regni supra Israel. Quanta ergo benedictio facta est super domum Achab, tanta maledictio facta est super domum Ioram propter filiam iniqui Achab et Iezabel, ut usque ad quartam generationem praecidantur filii eius de regum numero, et sic peccatum eius descendit in filios eius, sicut fuerat scriptum: reddam peccata patrum in filios, usque ad tertiam et quartam generationem. Videte ergo quam periculosum est inire coniugia ex genere impiorum. Pseudo-Chrys.: What the Holy Spirit testified through the Prophet, saying, that He would cut off every male from the house of Ahab, and Jezebel, that Jehu the son of Nausi fulfilled, and received the promise that his children to the fourth generation should sit on the throne of Israel. As great a blessing then as was given upon the house of Ahab, so great a curse was given on the house of Joram, because of the wicked daughter of Ahab and Jazebel, that his sons to the fourth generation should be cut out of the number of the Kings. Thus his sin descended on his posterity as it had been written, "I will visit the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation." [Ex 20:5] Thus see how dangerous it is to marry with the seed of the ungodly. Augustinus de quaest. novi et Vet. testamenti: Vel non immerito sublati sunt de numero ceterorum Ochozias, Ioas et Amasias. Sic enim eorum continuavit impietas, ut nullum intervallum haberet. Salomon autem merito patris dimissum in regno est; Roboam autem merito filii; illi autem tres maligne agentes erasi sunt. Ad perditionem enim generis exemplum est quando iugiter malignitas panditur. Sequitur Ozias autem genuit Ioatham. Ioatham autem genuit Achaz. Achaz autem genuit Ezechiam. Aug., Hilsr. Amast. V. et N. Test. q. 85: Or, Ochozias, Joash, and Amasias, were excluded from the number, because their wickedness was continuous and without interval. For Solomon was suffered to hold the kingdom for his father's deserts, Roboam for his son's. But these three doing evil successively were excluded. This then is an example how a race is cut off when wickedness is shewn therein in perpetual succession. "And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias." Glossa: Cui, cum esset sine liberis, dictum est: dispone domui tuae, quia morieris. Ideo flevit non propter longiorem vitam, cum sciret inde Salomonem placuisse Deo, quod non petiisset ampliores annos, sed quia dubitabat ne promissio Dei impleretur, cum se sciret esse de David, per quem oportebat venire Christum, et ipse erat sine liberis. Sequitur Ezechias autem genuit Manassen. Manasses autem genuit Amon. Amon autem genuit Iosiam. Iosias autem genuit Iechoniam et fratres eius in transmigratione Babylonis. Gloss: This Ezekias was he to whom, when he had no children, it was said, "Set thy house in order, for thou shalt die." [Isa 38:1] He wept, not from desire of longer life, for he knew that Solomon had thereby pleased God, that he had not [p. 27] asked length of days; but he wept, for he feared that God's promise should not be fulfilled, when himself, being in the line of David of whom Christ should come, was without children. "And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias." Chrysostomus super Matth: Sed non sic positum est in libro regum, ubi talis est ordo: Iosias genuit Eliacim, postea vocatum Ioakim; Ioakim autem genuit Ieconiam. Sed Ioakim sublatus est de numero regum, quia non populus Dei constituerat eum in regnum, sed Pharao per potentatum. Si enim iustum fuit ut propter solam commixtionem generis Achab tollerentur tres reges de numero regum, quare non erat iustum ut similiter tolleretur Ioakim, quem Pharao vi hostili fecerat regem? Et sic Iechonias, qui est filius Ioakim, nepos autem Iosiae, sublato patre de numero regum, ipse est positus pro eo, quasi filius Iosiae. Pseudo-Chrys.: But the order in the Book of Kings is different [2 Ki 23], thus namely; Josias begot Eliakim, afterwards called Joakim; Joakim begot Jechonias. But Joakim is not reckoned among the Kings in the genealogy, because God's people had not set him on the throne, but Pharoah by his might. For if it were just that only for their intermixture with the race of Ahab, three kings should be shut out of the number in the genealogy, was it not just that Joakim should be likewise shut out, whom Pharaoh had set up as king by hostile force? And thus Jechonias, who is the son of Joakim, and the grandson of Josiah, is reckoned among the kings as the son of Josiah, in place of his father who is omitted. Hieronymus: Vel aliter. Sciamus Iechoniam priorem ipsum esse qui Ioakim, secundum autem filium, non patrem: quorum primus per k et m, secundus per ch et n scribitur. Quod scriptorum vitio et longitudine temporum apud Graecos Latinosque confusum est. Jerome: Otherwise, we may consider the first Jeconias to be the same as Joakim, and the second to be the son not the father, the one being spelt with k and m, the second by ch and n. This distinction has been confounded both by Greeks and Latins, by the fault of writers and the lapse of time. Ambrosius super Lucam: Duos enim fuisse Ioakim regnorum libri indicant, sic enim scriptum est: dormivit Ioakim cum patribus eius, et regnavit Ioachin filius eius pro eo. Filius autem est cui Ieremias nomen imposuit Iechoniam. Et bene s. Matthaeus a propheta voluit discrepare, ut non Ioachin et Iechoniam vocaret simul, quia maiorem fructum dominicae pietatis astruxit. Generis enim nobilitatem dominus in hominibus non requisivit, sed de captivis et peccatoribus congrue nasci voluit qui remissionem veniebat praedicare captivis. Non igitur suppressit alterum Evangelista, sed utrumque significavit quod uterque Iechonias dictus sit. Ambrose, in Luc., cap. 2: That there were two kings of the name of Joakim, is clear from the Book of Kings. "And Joakim slept with his fathers, and Joachim his son reigned in his stead." [2 Ki 24:6] This son is the same whom Jeremiah calls Jeconias. And rightly did St. Matthew purpose to differ from the Prophet, because he sought to shew therein the great abundance of the Lord's mercies. For the Lord did not seek among men nobility of race, but suitably chose to be born of captives and of sinners, as He came to preach remission of sin to the captives. The Evangelist therefore did not conceal either of these; but rather shewed them both, inasmuch as both were called Jeconias. Remigius: Sed quaeri potest quare dicat Evangelista eos natos in transmigratione, cum nati fuissent antequam transmigratio fuerit facta. Ideo autem dicit hoc quia ad hoc nati sunt ut de regno totius populi pro suis et aliorum peccatis captivi ducerentur. Et quia praescius erat Deus eos esse ducendos captivos, idcirco dixit eos natos in transmigratione. De his autem quos sanctus Evangelista in genealogia domini simul ponit, sciendum quia aut similes fuerunt fama aut infamia: Iudas et fratres eius laudabiles fuerunt fama; similiter Phares et Zara, Iechonias et fratres eius notabiles fuerunt infamia. Remig.: But it may be asked, why the Evangelist says they were born in the carrying away, when they were born before the carrying away. He says this because they were born for this purpose, that they should be led captive, from the dominion of the whole nation, for their own and others' sins. And because God foreknew that they were [p. 28] to be carried away captive, therefore he says, they were born in the carrying away to Babylon. But of those Evangelist places together in the Lord's genealogy, it should be known, that they were alike in good or ill fame. Judas and his brethren were notable for good, in like manner Phares and Zara, Jechonias and his brethren, were notable for evil. Glossa: Mystice autem David est Christus, qui Goliam, id est Diabolum, superavit. Urias autem, id est lux mea Deus, est Diabolus, qui dicit. Similis ero altissimo; cui Ecclesiam coniugatam Christus de solario paternae maiestatis adamavit, et pulchram factam sibi matrimonio copulavit. Vel Urias, id est Iudaicus populus, qui per legem de luce gloriatur. Sed huic Christus legem abstulit, quam de se loqui docuit. Bersabee autem est puteus satietatis, id est abundantia gratiae spiritualis. Gloss: Mystically, David is Christ, who overcame Golias, that is, the Devil. Urias, i.e. God is my light, is the Devil who says, "I will be like the Highest." [Isa 14:14] To Him the Church was married, when Christ on the Throne of the majesty of His Father loved her, and having made her beautiful, united her to Himself in wedlock. Or Urias is the Jewish nation who through the Law boasted of their light. From them Christ took away the Law, having taught it to speak of Himself. Bersabee is 'the well of satiety,' that is, the abundance of spiritual grace. Remigius: Vel Bersabee interpretatur puteus septimus, sive puteus iuramenti, per quod significatur fons Baptismatis, in quo datur donum spiritus septiformis et fit ibi adiuratio contra Diabolum. Est et Christus Salomon pacificus, secundum illud apostoli: ipse est pax nostra. Est Roboam latitudo populi, secundum illud: multi venient ab oriente et ab occidente. Remig.: Bersabee is interpreted, 'the seventh well,' or, 'the well of the oath' [ed. note, c: באר שבע the well of the oath, the origin of the name is given, Gen 21:28-31. "satiety" as if from שבע ], by which is signified the grant of baptism, in which is given the gift of the sevenfold Spirit, and the oath against the Devil is made. Christ is also Solomon, i.e. the peaceful, according to that of the Apostle, "He is our peace." [Eph 2:14] Roboam [ed. note, d: So Jerome, from רחב; or the foolishness of the people, Ecclus. 47. 23] is, 'the breadth of the people,' according to that, "Many shall come from the East and from the West." Rabanus: Vel impetus populi, quia velociter populus convertit ad fidem. Raban.: Or; 'the might of the people,' because he quickly converts the people to the faith. Remigius: Ipse est Abias, id est pater dominus, secundum illud: unus est pater vester qui in caelis est; et iterum: vos vocatis me magister et domine. Est et Asa, idest attollens, secundum illud: qui tollit peccata mundi. Est et Iosaphat, idest iudicans, secundum illud: pater omne iudicium dedit filio. Est et Ioram, id est excelsus, secundum illud: nemo ascendit in caelum, nisi qui de caelo descendit. Est et Ozias, idest robustus domini, secundum illud: fortitudo mea et laus mea dominus. Est et Ioatham consummatus vel perfectus, secundum illud apostoli: finis legis, Christus. Est et Achaz convertens, secundum illud: convertimini ad me. Remig.: He is also Abias, that is, 'the Lord Father,' according to that, "One is your Father who is in heaven." [Matt 23:9] And again, "Ye call me Master and Lord." [John 13:13] He is also Asa [ed. note, e: So Jerome; as if from נשה=נסה; but אסא means a physician], that is, 'lifting up,' according to that, "Who taketh away the sins of the world." [John 1:29] He is also Josaphat, that is, 'judging,' for, "The Father hath committed all judgment unto the Son." [John 5:22] He is also Joram, that is, 'lofty,' according to that, "No man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven." [John 3:13] He is also Ozias, that is, 'the Lord's strength,' for "The Lord is my strength and my praise." [Ps 118:14] He is also Jotham [ed. note, f: And so Jerome, from תמם ], that is, 'completed,' or 'perfected,' for "Christ is the end of [p. 29] the Law." [Rom 10:4] He is also Ahaz [ed. note, g: אחז to seize or hold, and so Jerome.], that is, 'turning,' according to that, "Be ye turned to Me." [Zech 1:3] Rabanus: Vel comprehendens, quia nemo novit patrem nisi filius. Raban.: Or, 'embracing,' because, "None knoweth the Father but the Son." [Matt 11:27] Remigius: Est et Ezechias fortis dominus vel dominus confortavit, secundum illud: confidite, ego vici mundum. Ipse est Manasses obliviosus sive oblitus, secundum illud: peccatorum vestrorum non recordabor amplius. Est et Amon fidelis, secundum illud: fidelis dominus in omnibus verbis suis. Est et Iosias, ubi est incensum domini, secundum illud: factus in agonia, prolixius orabat. Remig.: His is also Ezekias, that is, 'the strong Lord,' or, 'the Lord shall comfort;' according to that, "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." [John 16:33] He is also Manasses, that is, 'forgetful,' or, 'forgotten,' according to that, "I will not remember your sins any more." [Ezek 28] He is also Aaron [ed note, h: A strong mountain; Jerome. It has no Hebrew root.], that is, 'faithful,' according to that, "The Lord is faithful in all His words." [Ps 145:17] He is also Josias, that is, 'the incense of the Lord,' [ed. note, i: A sacrifice to the Lord, - Jerome; from אשה fire in the ritual service, or incense, Lev 24:7], as, "And being in an agony, He prayed more earnestly." [Luke 22:44] Rabanus: Quod vero incensum orationem significat, Psalmista testatur dicens: dirigatur oratio mea sicut incensum in conspectu tuo. Vel domini salus, secundum illud: salus autem mea in sempiternum erit. Raban.: And that incense signifies prayer, the Psalmist witnesses, saying, "Let my prayer come up as incense before Thee." [Ps 141:2] Or, 'The salvation of the Lord,' according to that, "My salvation is for ever." [Isa 55] Remigius: Ipse Iechonias praeparans, vel domini praeparatio, secundum illud: si abiero, et praeparavero locum. Remig.: He is Jechonias [ed. note, k: יכניהו "the Lord establisheth," also "prepareth."], that is, 'preparing,' or 'the Lord's preparation,' according to that, "If I shall depart, I will also prepare a place for you." [John 14:3] Glossa: Moraliter autem post David sequitur Salomon, qui interpretatur pacificus. Tunc enim aliquis fit pacificus, motibus sedatis illicitis, et quasi iam in aeterna tranquillitate positus, cum Deo servit et alios ad eum convertit. Sequitur Roboam, id est populi latitudo: postquam enim non habet quod in se vincat, amplecti alios debet et late populum Dei ad superna trahere secum. Sequitur Abias, idest pater dominus: his enim praemissis potest se profiteri filium Dei, et tunc esse Asa, idest attollens, ut de virtute in virtutem ad patrem suum ascendat; et tunc erit Iosaphat, idest iudicans, ut alios iudicet et a nemine iudicetur. Ita fit Ioram, idest excelsus, quasi in caelestibus habitans; unde efficitur Ozias, idest robustus domini, quasi robur suum Deo attribuens et in suo proposito perseverans. Et sequitur Ioathan, idest perfectus, quia quotidie in maius proficit. Et sic fit Achaz, idest comprehendens: ex operatione enim augmentatur agnitio, secundum illud: annuntiaverunt opera Dei, et facta eius intellexerunt. Sequitur Ezechias, idest fortis dominus, quia Deum fortem esse intelligit; et ideo in amorem eius conversus fit Manasses, idest obliviosus, temporalia tradens oblivioni; et ex hoc fit Amon, idest fidelis: qui enim temporalia contemnit, neminem in re sua defraudat. Et fit Iosias, idest salutem domini secure expectans: Iosias enim salus domini interpretatur. Gloss: Morally; After David follows Solomon, which is interpreted, 'peaceful.' For one then becomes peaceful, when unlawful motions being composed, and being as it were already set in the everlasting rest, he serves God, and turns others to Him. Then follows Roboam, that is, 'the breadth of the people.' For when there is no longer any thing to overcome within himself, it behoves a man to look abroad to others, and to draw with him the people of God to heavenly things. Next is Abias, that is, 'the Lord Father,' for these things premised, He may proclaim Himself the Son of God, and then He will be Asa, that is, 'raising up,' and will ascend to His Father from virtue to virtue: and He will become Josaphat, that is, 'judging,' for He will judge others, and will be judged of none. Thus he becomes Joram, that is, 'lofty,' as it were dwelling on high; and is made Oziah, that is, 'the strong One of the Lord,' as attributing all his strength to God, and persevering in his path. Then follows Jotham, that is, 'perfect,' for he groweth daily for greater perfection. And thus he becomes Ahaz, that is, 'embracing,' for by obedience knowledge is increased according [p. 30] to that, "They have proclaimed the worship of the Lord, and have understood His doings." Then follows Ezekias, that is, 'the Lord is strong,' because he understands that God is strong, and so turning to His love, he becomes Manassas, 'forgetful,' because he gives up as forgotten all worldly things; and is made thereby Amon, that is, 'faithful,' for whoso despises all temporal things, defrauds no man of his goods. Thus he is made Josias, that is, 'in certain hope of the Lord's salvation;' for Josias in intepreted 'the salvation of the Lord.'
Lectio 6 12 μετὰ δὲ τὴν μετοικεσίαν βαβυλῶνος ἰεχονίας ἐγέννησεν τὸν σαλαθιήλ, σαλαθιὴλ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ζοροβαβέλ, 13 ζοροβαβὲλ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ἀβιούδ, ἀβιοὺδ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ἐλιακίμ, ἐλιακὶμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ἀζώρ, 14 ἀζὼρ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν σαδώκ, σαδὼκ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ἀχίμ, ἀχὶμ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ἐλιούδ, 15 ἐλιοὺδ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ἐλεάζαρ, ἐλεάζαρ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ματθάν, ματθὰν δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰακώβ,
12-15. And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel; and Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor; and Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; and Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob.
Chrysostomus super Matth: Post transmigrationem inter privatas personas primo ponit Iechoniam quasi privatum et ipsum. Pseudo-Chrys.: After the carrying away, he sets Jeconiah again, as now become a private person. Ambrosius super Lucam: De quo Ieremias dicit: scribe virum istum abdicatum: quia non exsurget ex semine eius sedens in throno David. Quomodo autem ex semine Iechoniae nullus regnaturus dicitur per prophetam? Si enim Christus regnavit, ex semine autem Iechoniae Christus est, propheta mentitus est. Sed illic futuros ex semine Iechoniae non negatur; et ideo de semine eius Christus est; et quod regnaverit Christus, non contra prophetam est: non enim saeculari honore regnavit; ipse enim dixit: regnum meum non est de hoc mundo. Iechonias autem genuit Salathiel. Ambrose: Of whom Jeremiah speaks. "Write this man dethroned; for there shall not spring of his seed one sitting on the throne of David." [Jer 22:30] How is this said of the Prophet, that none of the seed of Jeconias should reign? For if Christ reigned, and Christ was of the seed of Jeconiah, then has the Prophet spoken falsely. But it is not there declared that there shall be none of the seed of Jeconiah, and so Christ is of his seed; and that Christ did reign, is not in contradiction to the prophecy; for He did not reign with worldly honours, as He said, "My kingdom is not of this world." [John 18:36] Chrysostomus super Matth: De Salathiel quidem nihil legimus vel boni vel mali; tamen putamus sanctum eum fuisse, et in captivitate assidue Deum petiisse pro ipsa calamitate quae contigerat Israel: ideo petitionem Dei eum appellatum fuisse; interpretatur enim petitio Dei. Salathiel autem genuit Zorobabel, qui interpretatur fluitio postposita, vel ex commixtione, vel hic doctor Babyloniae. Legi (si verum est nescio) quia sacerdotale et regale genus mixtum est in Zorobabel. Propter istum autem reversi sunt filii Israel in terram propriam quia cum contenderent tres pro sua sententia, vicit Zorobabel, et pronuntiata est omnibus fortior veritas esse; propter quod Darius concessit ei filios Israel redire in sua; et ideo recte secundum providentiam Dei nominatus est Zorobabel, idest doctor Babyloniae. Quae enim maior doctrina quam ostendere veritatem dominatricem esse omnium rerum? Pseudo-Chrys.: Concerning Salathiel [ed. note, l: This Gloss. from Pseudo-Chrys. is not found in Nicolai's edition.], we have read nothing either good or bad, but we suppose him to have been a holy man, and in the captivity to have constantly besought God in behalf of afflicted Israel, and that hence he was named, Salathiel, 'the petition of God.' [ed. note, m: שאלתי אל "I have asked of God."] "Salathiel begot Zorobabel," which is interpreted, 'flowing postponed,' or, 'of the confusion,' or here, 'the doctor of Babylon.' [ed. note, n (p.31): The teacher of Babylon; Jerome; perhaps from זר "crown;" זרב Ch. flowed, poured away," Syr. "contracted, bound;" hence another of the meanings in the text.] I have read, but know not [p. 31] whether it be true, that both the priestly line and the royal line were united in Zorobabel; and that it was through him that the children of Israel returned into their own country. For that in a disputation held between three, of whom Zorobabel was one, each defending his own opinion, Zorobabel's sentence, that Truth was the strongest thing, prevailed; and that for this Darius granted him that the children of Israel should return to their country; and therefore after this providence of God, he was rightly called Zorobabel, 'the doctor of Babylon.' For what doctrine greater than to shew that Truth is the mistress of all things? Glossa: Sed hoc videtur esse contrarium generationi quae legitur in Paralipomenon. Dicitur enim ibi Iechonias genuisse Salathiel et Phadaia, et Phadaia Zorobabel, et Zorobabel Mosollam, Ananiam et Salamith sororem eorum. Sed scimus multa in Paralipomenon vitio scriptorum depravata. Unde multae et indeterminatae genealogiarum veniunt quaestiones, quas iubet apostolus evitari. Vel potest dici Salathiel et Phadaia eumdem esse, quasi binomium. Vel Salathiel et Phadaia fratres esse, et filios eiusdem nominis habuisse; et historiographum secutum fuisse generationem Zorobabel filii Salathiel. De Abiud usque ad Ioseph nulla historia invenitur in Paralipomenon; sed alii multi annales leguntur fuisse apud Hebraeos, qui dicebantur verba dierum, de quibus Herodes rex alienigena dicitur multos combussisse ut ordo regiae stirpis confunderetur. Et forsitan Ioseph nomina parentum ibi legerat, vel alio quoquo modo retinuerat. Unde Evangelista seriem istius generationis poterat scire. Notandum tamen, quod prior Iechonias domini resurrectio, sequens domini praeparatio dicitur. Utrumque autem convenit domino Christo, qui dicit: ego sum resurrectio et vita; et: vado parare vobis locum. Salathiel, idest petitio mea Deus, illi convenit qui dicit: pater sancte, serva illos quos dedisti mihi. Gloss: But this seems to contradict the genealogy which is read in Chronicles. For there it is said, that Jeconias begot Salathiel and Phadaias, and Phadaias begot Zorobabel, and Zorobabel Mosollah, Ananias, and Solomith their sister. [1 Chron 3:17] But we know that many parts of the Chronicles have been corrupted by time, and error of transcribers. Hence come many and controverted questions of genealogies which the Apostle bids us avoid. [1 Tim 1:4] Or it may be said, that Salathiel and Phadaias are the same man under two different names. Or that Salathiel and Phadaias were brothers, and both had sons of the same name, and that the writer of the history followed the genealogy of Zorobabel, the son of Salathiel. From Abiud down to Joseph, no history is found in the Chronicles; but we read that the Hebrews had many other annals, which were called the Words of the Days, of which much was burned by Herod, who was a foreigner, in order to confound the descent of the royal line. And perhaps Joseph had read in them the names of his ancestors, or knew them from some other source. And thus the Evangelist could learn the succession of this genealogy. It should be noted, that the first Jeconiah is called the resurrection of the Lord, the second, the preparation of the Lord. Both are very applicable to the Lord Christ, who declares, "I am the resurrection, and the life;" [John 11:25] and, "I go to prepare a place for you." [John 14:2] Salathiel, i.e. 'the Lord is my petition,' is suitable to Him who said, "Holy Father, keep them whom Thou hast given Me." [John 17:11] Remigius: Est etiam Zorobabel, idest magister confusionis, secundum illud: magister vester cum publicanis et peccatoribus manducat. Ipse est Abiud, idest pater meus iste, secundum illud: ego et pater unum sumus. Est et Eliacim, idest Deus resuscitans, secundum illud: resuscitabo eum in novissimo die. Est et Azor, idest adiutus, secundum illud: qui me misit, mecum est. Ipse est et Sadoch iustus, sive iustificatus, secundum illud: traditus iustus pro iniustis. Est et Achim, idest frater meus iste, secundum illud: qui fecerit voluntatem patris mei, hic meus frater est. Est etiam Eliud, idest Deus meus iste, secundum illud: Deus meus et dominus meus. Remig.: He is also Zorobabel, [p. 32] that is, 'the master of confusion,' according to that, "Your Master eateth with publicans and sinners." [Matt 9:11] He is Abiud, that is, 'He is my Father,' according to that, "I and the Father are One." [John 10:30] He is also Eliacim [ed. note: So Jerome, אל יקים "God will raise up"], that is, 'God the Reviver,' according to that, "I will revive him again in the last day." [John 6:54] He is also Azor, that is, 'aided,' according of that, "He who sent Me is with Me." [John 8:29] He is also Sadoch, that is, 'the just,', or, 'the justified,' according to that, "He was delivered, the just for the unjust." [1 Pet 3:18] He is also Achim, that is, 'my brother is He,' according to that, "Whoso doeth the will of My Father, he is My brother." [Matt 12:50] He is also Eliud, that is, 'He is my God,' according to that, "My Lord, and my God." [John 20:28] Glossa: Est et Eleazar, idest Deus meus adiutor, secundum illud: Deus meus adiutor meus. Est et Mathan, idest donans vel donatus, secundum illud: dedit dona hominibus et: sic Deus dilexit mundum ut filium suum daret unigenitum. Gloss: He is also Eleazar, i.e. 'God is my helper,' as in the seventeenth Psalm, "My God, my helper." He is also Mathan, that is, 'giving,' or, 'given,' for, "He gave gifts for men;" [Eph 4:8] and, "God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son." [John 3:16] Remigius: Est et Iacob supplantans, quia non solum ipse supplantavit Diabolum, sed et huius potestatem suis fidelibus dedit, secundum illud: ecce dedi vobis potestatem calcandi supra serpentes. Est et Ioseph, idest apponens, secundum illud: ego veni ut vitam habeant, et abundantius habeant. Remig.: He is also Jacob, 'that supplanteth,' for not only hath He supplanted the Devil, but hath given His power to His faithful people; as, "Behold I have given you power to tread upon serpents." [Luke 10:19] He is also Joseph, that is, 'adding,' according to that, "I came that they might have life, and that they might have it abundantly." Rabanus: Sed videamus quid moraliter isti patres significent: quia post Iechoniam, qui dicitur praeparatio domini, sequitur Salathiel, idest petitio mea Deus; qui enim praeparatus est non petit nisi solum Deum. Sed iterum fit Zorobabel, idest magister Babylonis, scilicet terrenorum hominum, quos facit cognoscere de Deo quod pater est, quod sonat Abiud; et tunc ille populus resurgit a vitiis: unde sequitur Eliacim, qui resurrectio interpretatur. Et idem ad bene operandum adiutus, quod sonat Azor, fit Sadoch, idest iustus; et tunc dicit fidelis dilectionem proximi. Ipse est frater meus, quod sonat Achim; et per dilectionem Dei dicit Deus meus, quod sonat Eliud. Et sequitur Eleazar, idest Deus meus adiutor, quia recognoscit Deum suum adiutorem. Ad quid autem tendit, ostendit Mathan, qui dicitur donum vel donans: expectat enim Deum datorem; et sicut luctatus est in principio et vitia supplantavit, sic et in fine vitae, quod ad Iacob pertinet; et sic pervenitur ad Ioseph, idest ad augmentum virtutum. Raban.: But let us see what moral signification these names contain. After Jeconias, which means 'the preparation of the Lord,' follows Salathiel, i.e. 'God is my petition,' for he who is rightly prepared, prays not but of God. Again, he becomes Zorobabel, 'the master of Babylon,' that is, of the men of the earth, whom he makes to know concerning God, that He is their Father, which is signified in Abiud. Then that people rise again from their vices, whence follows Eliacim, 'the resurrection;' and thence rise to good works, which is Azor, and becomes Sadoch, i.e. 'righteous;' and then they are taught the love of their neighbour. He is my brother, which is signified in Achim; and through love to God he says of Him, 'My God,' which Eliud signifies. Then follows Eleazar, i.e. 'God is my helper;' he recognizes God as his helper. But whereto he tends is shewn in Matthan, which is interpreted 'gift,' or 'giving;' for he looks to God as his benefactor; and as he wrestled with and overcame his vices [p. 33] in the beginning, so he does in the end of life, which belongs to Jacob, and thus he reaches Joseph, that is, 'The increase of virtues.'
Lectio 7 16 ἰακὼβ δὲ ἐγέννησεν τὸν ἰωσὴφ τὸν ἄνδρα μαρίας, ἐξ ἧς ἐγεννήθη Ἰησοῦς ὁ λεγόμενος Χριστός.
16. And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
Glossa: Post omnes generationes patrum ponit ultimo generationem Ioseph viri Mariae, propter quam omnes aliae introducuntur, dicens Iacob autem genuit Ioseph. Gloss: In the last place, after all the patriarchs, he sets down Joseph the husband of Mary, for whose sake all the rest are introduced, saying, "But Jacob begot Joseph." Hieronymus: Hunc locum obiicit nobis Iulianus Augustus de dissonantia Evangelistarum: cur Matthaeus Ioseph filium dixit Iacob, et Lucas filium eum appellaverit Heli; non intelligens consuetudinem Scripturarum, quod alter secundum naturam, alter secundum legem ei pater sit. Scimus enim hoc per Moysen Deo iubente praeceptum, ut si frater aut propinquus absque liberis mortuus fuerit, alius eius accipiat uxorem ad suscitandum semen fratris vel propinqui sui. Super hoc Africanus, temporum scriptor, et Eusebius Caesariensis plenius disputaverunt. Jerome: This passage is objected to us by the Emperor Julian in his Discrepancy of the Evangelists. Matthew calls Joseph the son of Jacob, Luke makes him the son of Heli. He did not know the Scripture manner, one was his father by nature, the other by law. For we know that God commanded by Moses, that if a brother or near kinsman died without children, another should take his wife, to raise up seed to his brother or kinsman. [Deut 25] But of this matter Africanus the chronologist [ed. note: In his Epist. ad Aristidem, vid. Reuth Reliqu. vol. ii, p. 114. Africanus], and Eusebius of Caesarea, have disputed more fully. Ex historia autem ecclesiastica: Mathan enim et Melchi diversis temporibus ex una eademque uxore Iescha nomine singulos filios procrearunt. Quia Mathan per Salomonem descendit, uxorem eam primum ceperat, et relicto filio uno Iacob nomine, defunctus est. Post cuius obitum, quoniam lex viduam alii viro non vetat nubere, Melchi, qui per Mathan genus ducit, cum esset ex eadem tribu, sed non ex eodem genere, relictam Mathan accepit uxorem, ex qua ipse suscepit filium nomine Heli, per quos ex diverso patrum genere efficiuntur Iacob et Heli uterini fratres; quorum alter, idest Iacob, fratris Heli sine liberis defuncti uxorem ex mandato legis accipiens, genuit Ioseph, natura quidem generis suum filium; propter quod et scribitur Iacob autem genuit Ioseph. Secundum legis vero praeceptum, Heli efficitur filius Iacob quia frater erat et ad suscitandum fratris semen acceperat uxorem eius. Et per hoc recta invenitur atque integra generatio et ea quam Matthaeus enumerat et ea quam Lucas, qui legalem successionem, quae velut adoptione quadam erga defunctos constat, competenti satis per hoc designavit indicio, observans ne in huiusmodi successionibus genuisse aliquem nominaret. Euseb., Hist. Eccles. i, 7: For Matthan and Melchi at different periods had each a son by one and the same wife Jesca. Matthan, who traced through Solomon, first had her, and died leaving one son, Jacob by name. As the Law forbade not a widow, either dismissed from her husband, or after the death of her husband, to be married to another, so Melchi, who traced through Matthan, being of the same tribe but of another race, took this widow to his wife, and begat Heli his son. Thus shall we find Jacob and Heli, though of a different race, yet by the same mother, to have been brethren. One of whom, namely Jacob, after Heli his brother was deceased without issue, married his wife, and begat on her the third, Joseph, by nature indeed and reason his own son. Whereupon also it is written, "And Jacob begat Joseph." But by the Law, he was the son of Heli; for Jacob, being his brother, raised up seed to him. Thus the genealogy, both as recited by Matthew, and by Luke, stands right and true; Matthew saying, "And Jacob begot Joseph;" Luke saying, "Which was the son, as it was supposed, (for he adds this withal,) of Joseph, [p. 34] which was the son of Heli, which was the son of Melchi." Nor could he have more significantly or properly expressed that way of generation according to the Law, which was made by a certain adoption that had respect to the dead, carefully leaving out the word "begetting" throughout even to the end. Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Commodius enim filius eius dictus est a quo fuerat adoptatus, quam si diceretur ab illo genitus cuius carne non erat natus. Matthaeus autem dicens Abraham genuit Isaac, et in hoc perseverans donec diceret Iacob genuit Ioseph, satis expressit eum patrem produxisse secundum ordinem generationum a quo Ioseph non adoptatus, sed genitus erat. Quamquam si etiam Lucas genitum diceret Ioseph ab Heli, nec sic nos hoc verbum perturbare deberet; neque enim absurde quisquam dicitur non carne sed caritate genuisse quem sibi filium adoptaverit. Augustine, de Cons. Evan., ii, 2: He is more properly called his son, by whom he was adopted, than had he been said to have been begotten of him of whose flesh he was not born. Wherefore Matthew, in saying, "Abraham begot Isaac," and continuing the same phrase throughout down to "Jacob begot Joseph," sufficiently declares that he gives the father according to the order of nature, so as that we must hold Joseph to have been begotten, not adopted, by Jacob. Though even if Luke had used the word, "begotten," we need not have thought it any serious objection; for it is not absurd to say of an adopted son that he is begotten, not after the flesh, but by affection. Ex historia Eccles.: Haec autem non nobis ad lubitum reperta aut absque ullis auctoribus commentata sunt, sed ipsi salvatoris nostri secundum carnem propinqui, seu studio tanti seminis demonstrandi, seu edocendi quae secundum veritatem gesta sunt, haec tradiderunt. Euseb.: Neither does this lack good authority; nor has it been suddenly devised by us for this purpose. For the kinsmen of our Saviour according to the flesh, either out of desire to shew forth this their so great nobility of stock, or simply for the truth's sake, have delivered it unto us. Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Merito autem Lucas, qui non ab initio Evangelii sui sed a Baptismo Christi generationes enarrat tamquam sacerdotem in expiandis peccatis magis assignans, adoptionis originem ipse suscepit, quia per adoptionem efficimur filii Dei credendo in filium Dei. Per carnalem vero generationem, quam Matthaeus prosequitur, filius Dei potius propter nos homo factus est. Satis autem ostendit Lucas se dixisse Ioseph filium Heli, quod illi fuerit adoptatus, cum Adam filium dixerit Dei per gratiam, quam postea peccando amisit, tamquam filius in Paradiso constitutus sit. Aug., de Cons. Evan., ii, 4: And suitably does Luke, who relates Christ's ancestry not in the opening of his Gospel, but at his baptism, follow the line of adoption, as thus more clearly pointing Him out as the Priest that should make atonement for sin. For by adoption we are made the sons of God, by believing in the Son of God. But by the descent according to the flesh which Matthew follows, we rather see that the Son of God was for us made man. Luke sufficiently shews that he called Joseph the son of Heli, because he was adopted by Heli, by his calling Adam the son of God, which he was by grace, as he was set in Paradise, though he lost it afterwards by sinning. Chrysostomus in Matth: Positis igitur progenitoribus universis et finiens in Ioseph, addit virum Mariae, monstrans quod propter illam et hunc in genealogia posuit. Chrys., Hom. 4: Having gone through all the ancestry, and ended in Joseph, he adds, "The husband of Mary," thereby declaring that is was for her sake that he was included in the genealogy. Hieronymus: Cum autem virum audieris, tibi suspicio non subeat nuptiarum; sed recordare consuetudinis Scripturarum, quod sponsae uxores, et sponsi viri vocantur. Jerome: When you hear this word, "husband," do not straight bethink you of wedlock, but remember the Scripture manner, which calls persons only betrothed husband and wife. Gennadius de ecclesiasticis dogmatibus: Natus est autem Dei filius ex homine, idest ex Maria, et non per hominem, idest ex viri coitu, sicut Ebion dicit; unde signanter subdit de qua natus est Iesus. Gennadius, de Eccles. Dog., 2: The Son of God was born of human flesh, that is of Mary, and not by man after the way of nature, as Ebion says; and accordingly it is significantly [p. 35] added, "Of her Jesus was born." Augustinus de Haeres: Quod est contra Valentinum, qui dixit Christum nihil assumpsisse de virgine, sed per illam tamquam per rivum aut fistulam pertransisse. Aug., De Haeres, ii: This is said against Valentinus, who taught that Christ took nothing of the Virgin Mary, but passed through her as through a channel or pipe. Augustinus contra Faustum: Cur autem carnem ex utero feminae assumere voluerit, summa consilii penes ipsum est: sive quod utrumque sexum hoc modo honorandum iudicavit assumendo formam viri et nascendo de femina, sive aliqua alia causa quam non temere dixerim. Wherefore it pleased Him to take flesh of the womb of a woman, is known in His own secret counsels; whether that He might confer honour on both sexes alike, by taking the form of a man, and being born of a woman, or from some other reason which I would not hastily pronounce on. Augustinus de quaest. novi et Vet. Testam.: Quod autem per olei unctionem praestabat Deus his qui in reges ungebantur, hoc praestitit spiritus sanctus homini Christo addita expiatione; quare natus, Christus est appellatus; et hoc est quod dicitur qui vocatur Christus. Hilary, Quaest. Nov. et Vet. Test. q. 49: What God conveyed by the anointing of oil to those who were anointed to be kings, this the Holy Spirit conveyed upon the man Christ, adding thereto the expiation; wherefore when born He was called Christ; and thus it proceeds, "who is called Christ." Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Non tamen erat fas ut eum ob hoc a coniugio Mariae separandum putaret quod non ex eius concubitu, sed virgo peperit Christum; hoc enim exemplo magnifice insinuatur fidelibus coniugatis et servata pari consensu continentia, posse permanere coniugium non permixto corporis sexu, sed custodito mentis affectu; praesertim quia nasci eis filius potuit sine ullo complexu carnali. Aug., de Cons. Evan., ii, 1: It was not lawful that he should think to separate himself from Mary for this, that she brought forth Christ as yet a Virgin. And herein may the faithful gather, that if they be married, and preserve strict continence on both sides, yet may their wedlock hold with union of love only, without carnal; for here they see that it is possible that a son be born without carnal embrace. Augustinus de Nupt. et Conc.: Omne autem nuptiarum bonum impletum est in illis parentibus Christi: fides, proles et sacramentum; prolem cognoscimus ipsum dominum, fidem quia nullum adulterium, sacramentum quia nullum divortium. Aug., de Nupt. et Concup., i, 11: In Christ's parents was accomplished every good benefit of marriage, fidelity, progeny, and a sacrament. The progeny we see in the Lord Himself; fidelity, for there was no adultery; sacrament, for there was no divorce. Hieronymus: Quaerat autem diligens lector, et dicat: cum Ioseph non sit pater domini salvatoris, quid pertinet ad dominum generationis ordo deductus usque ad Ioseph? Cui respondebimus primo, non esse consuetudinis Scripturarum ut mulierum in generationibus ordo texatur, deinde ex una tribu fuisse Ioseph et Mariam unde ex lege eam accipere cogebatur ut propinquam et quod simul censentur in Bethlehem, ut de una videlicet stirpe generati. Jerome: The attentive reader may ask, Seeing Joseph was not the father of the Lord and Saviour, how does his genealogy traced down to him in order pertain to the Lord? We will answer, first, that it is not the practice of Scripture to follow the female line in its genealogies; secondly, that Joseph and Mary were of the same tribe, and that he was thence compelled to take her to wife as a kinsman, and they were enrolled together at Bethlehem, as being come of one stock. Augustinus de Nupt. et Conc.: Fuit et series generationis usque ad Ioseph producenda ne in illo coniugio virili sexui, utique potiori, fieret iniuria, cum veritati nihil deperiret quia ex semine David erat Maria. Augustine: Also, the line of descent ought to be brought down to Joseph, that in wedlock no wrong might be done to the male sex, as the more worthy, providing only nothing was taken away from the truth; because Mary was of the seed of David. Augustinus contra Faustum: Nos ergo credimus etiam Mariam fuisse in cognatione David quia eis Scripturis credimus quae utrumque dicunt: et Christum ex semine David secundum carnem, et eius matrem Mariam, non cum viro concumbendo, sed virginem. Hence then we believe that Mary was in the line of David; namely, because we believe the Scripture which affirms two things, both that Christ was of the seed of David according to the flesh, and that He should be conceived of Mary not by knowledge of man, but as yet a virgin. Concilium Ephesinum: Cavendus autem est hic Nestorii error qui sic dicit: cum divina Scriptura dictura est aut nativitatem Christi, quae ex Maria virgine est, aut mortem, nusquam videtur ponens Deus, sed aut Christus aut filius aut dominus, quoniam haec tria naturarum significativa duarum: aliquando quidem huius, aliquando vero illius, aliquando autem et illius et istius. Accipe autem ad hoc testimonium: Iacob genuit Ioseph virum Mariae, de qua natus est Iesus qui dicitur Christus. Deus enim verbum secunda ex muliere non eguit nativitate. The Council of Ephesus: Herein we [p. 36] must beware of the error of Nestorius, who thus speaks; "When Divine Scripture is to speak either of the birth of Christ which is of the Virgin Mary, or His death, it is never seen to put God, but either, Christ, or Son, or Lord; since these three are significative of the two natures, sometimes of this, sometimes of that, and sometimes of both this and that together. And here is a testimony to this, 'Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.' For God the Word needed not a second birth of a woman." Augustinus contra Felicianum: Sed non alius Dei et alius hominis, sed idem Christus Dei et hominis filius fuit. Et sicut in uno homine aliud animus et aliud corpus, sic in mediatore Dei et hominum aliud Dei filius, aliud hominis filius fuit, unus tamen ex utroque Christus dominus fuit. Aliud, inquam, pro discretione substantiae, non alius pro unitate personae. Pseudo-Aug., Vigil. Cont. Fel. 12. ap. Aug. t. 8. p. 45: But not one was the Son of God, and another the son of a man; but the same Christ was the son of both God and man. And as in one man, the soul is one and the body is another, so in the mediator between God and man, the Son of God was one, and the son of man another; yet of both together was one Christ the Lord. Two in distinction of substance, one in unity of Person. Sed obiicit haereticus: nescio quomodo natum doceatis ex tempore quem coaeternum patri dicitis iam fuisse. Nasci enim est velut quidam motus rei non extantis antequam nascatur, id agens beneficio nativitatis ut sit. Quo colligitur, eum qui erat nasci non potuisse, et si nasci potuit, non fuisse. But the heretic objects; "how can you teach Him to have been born in time whom you say was before coeternal with His Father? For birth is as it were a motion of a thing not in being, before it be born, bringing about this, that by benefit of birth it come into being. Whence it is concluded, that He who was in being cannot be born; if He could be born He was not in being." Ad quod respondetur ab Augustino: Fingamus, sicut plerique volunt, esse in mundo animam generalem quae sic ineffabili motu semina cuncta vivificet ut non sit concreta cum genitis; nempe cum haec in uterum passibilem materiam ad usus suos formatura pervenerit, unam facit secum esse personam eius rei, quam non eamdem constat habere substantiam; et fit, operante anima et patiente materia, ex duabus substantiis unus homo, cum anima aliud doceatur esse, aliud caro. Sicque animam nasci fatemur ex utero, quam ad uterum venientem vitam dicimus contulisse concepto. Nasci, inquam, ex matre dicitur qui ex hac sibi corpus aptavit in quo nasci posset, non quia antequam nasceretur, quantum ad se attinet, ipsa penitus non fuisset. Sic ergo, immo multo incomprehensibilius atque sublimius, natus est susceptione perfecti hominis de matre filius Dei, qui per omnipotentiam singularem omnibus genitis est causa nascendi. (To this it is replied by Augustine:) Let us imagine, as many will have it, that the universe has a general soul, which by some unspeakable motion gives life to all seeds, so as that itself is not mixed up with the things it produces. When this then passes forth into the womb to form passible matter to its own uses, it makes one with itself the person of that thing which it is clear has not the same substance. And thus, the soul being active and the matter passive, of two substances is made one man, the soul and the flesh being distinct; thus it is that our confession is, that that soul is born of the womb which in coming to the womb we say conferred life on the thing conceived. He, I say, is said to be born of His mother, who shaped to Himself a body out of her, in which He might be born; not as though before He was born, His mother might, as far as pertained to Him, not have been in being. In like manner, yea in a manner yet more incomprehensible and sublime, the Son of God was born, by taking on Him perfect manhood of his Mother. He [p. 37] who by his singular almighty power is the cause of their being born to all things that are born.
Lectio 8 17 πᾶσαι οὖν αἱ γενεαὶ ἀπὸ ἀβραὰμ ἕως δαυὶδ γενεαὶ δεκατέσσαρες, καὶ ἀπὸ δαυὶδ ἕως τῆς μετοικεσίας βαβυλῶνος γενεαὶ δεκατέσσαρες, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς μετοικεσίας βαβυλῶνος ἕως τοῦ Χριστοῦ γενεαὶ δεκατέσσαρες.
17. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
Chrysostomus super Matth: Positis generationibus ab Abraham usque ad Christum, eas in tres partes divisit per generationes quatuordecim quia ter completis quatuordecim generationibus mutatus est in Iudaeis status hominum. Ab Abraham enim usque ad David fuerunt sub iudicibus, a David usque ad transmigrationem Babylonis sub regibus, a transmigratione usque ad Christum sub pontificibus. Hoc ergo vult demonstrare: sicut semper completis quatuordecim generationibus mutatus est hominum status, sic completis quatuordecim generationibus a transmigratione ad Christum necesse est a Christo mutari similiter hominum statum; quod et factum est. Post Christum enim omnes gentes sub uno Christo iudice, rege et pontifice factae sunt; unde quando iudices, reges et pontifices Christi dignitatem praefigurabant, semper principia eorum in figura fuerunt Christi: primus iudicum Iesus Nave, primus regum David, primus pontificum Iesus filius Iosedech. Hoc in figura Christi fuisse, dubitat nemo. Pseudo-Chrys.: Having enumerated the generations from Abraham to Christ, he divides them into three divisions of fourteen generations, because three times at the end of fourteen generations the state of the people of the Jews was changed. From Abraham to David they were under Judges; from David to the carrying away into Babylon under Kings; from the carrying away to Christ under the High Priests. What he would shew then is this: like as ever at the end of fourteen generations the state of men has changed, so there being fourteen generations completed from the carrying away to Christ, it must needs be that the state of men be changed by Christ. And so since Christ all the Gentiles have been made under one Christ Judge, King, and Priest. And for that Judges, Kings, and Priests prefigured Christ's dignity, their beginnings were always in a type of Christ; the first of the Judges was Joshua the son of Nave; the first of the Kings, David; the first of the Priests, Jesus son of Josedech. That this was typical of Christ none doubts. Chrysostomus in Matth: Vel ideo in tres partes divisit omnes generationes demonstrans quod neque regimine transmutato facti sunt meliores, sed sub iudicibus, regibus, pontificibus et sacerdotibus in eisdem permanserunt malis; propter quod et captivitatem Babylonis commemorat manifestans quod neque ex hoc sunt correcti. Descensus autem in Aegyptum non meminit quia Aegyptios non timebant sicut Babylonios vel Assyrios, et quia illud erat antiquum, hoc autem recens et quia illuc non propter peccata deducti fuerant sicut in Babylonem. Chrys.: Or he divided the whole genealogy into three parts to shew that not even by the change of their government were they made better, but under Judges, Kings, High Priests, and Priests, held the same evil course. For which cause also he mentions the captivity in Babylon, shewing that neither by this were they corrected. But the going down into Egypt is not mentioned, because they were not still in terror of the Egyptians as they were of the Assyrians or Parthians; and because that was a remote, but this a recent event; and because they had not been carried thither for sin as they had to Babylon. Ambrosius super Lucam: Illud autem non praetermittendum putamus quod a David temporibus usque ad Iechoniam, cum septemdecim fuerint reges Iudaeae, quatuordecim generationes Matthaeus posuit. Oportet autem cognoscere, posse plures esse successiones, pauciores generationes; possunt enim diutius vivere aliqui et serius generare, aut certe penitus exortes generationis existere; itaque non quae regum, eadem generationum tempora. Ambrose, in Luc., c. 3: Let us not think this is to be overlooked, that though there were seventeen Kings of Judaea between David and Jeconiah, Matthew only recounts fourteen. We must observe that there [p. 38] might be many more successions to the throne than generations of men; for some may live longer and beget children later; or might be altogether without seed; thence the number of Kings and of generations would not coincide. Glossa: Vel potest dici tres reges esse praetermissos, ut superius dictum est. Gloss: Or we may say that there are three Kings overlooked, as was said above. Ambrosius super Lucam: Rursus ergo cum a Iechonia usque ad Ioseph generationes duodecim computentur, postea quatuordecim generationes descriptas esse commemoravit. Sed si diligenter advertas, hic quoque quatuordecim generationum poteris invenire rationem. Duodecim enim a Ioseph numerantur, tertiadecima est Christus; duos autem Ioakim, idest duos Iechonias fuisse historia indicat, patrem et filium. Non igitur suppressit alterum Evangelista, sed utrumque significat. Ita, addito minori Iechonia, generationes quatuordecim computantur. Ambrose: Again, from Jeconiah to Joseph are computed twelve generations; yet he afterwards calls these also fourteen. But if you look attentively, you will be able to discover the method by which fourteen are reckoned here. Twelve are reckoned including Joseph, and Christ is the thirteenth; and history declares that there were two Joakims, that is two Jeconiahs, father and son. The Evangelist has not passed over either of these, but has named them both. Thus, adding the younger Jeconiah, fourteen generations are computed. Chrysostomus super Matth: Vel unus Iechonias bis numeratur in Evangelio, semel ante transmigrationem, iterum autem post transmigrationem. Hic enim Iechonias, cum esset unus, duas habuit conditiones: fuit enim et rex ante transmigrationem, quasi rex factus a populo Dei; factus est et privatus post transmigrationem. Ideo ante transmigrationem numeratur inter reges quasi rex, post transmigrationem autem inter privatos. Pseudo-Chrys.: Or, the same Jeconiah is counted twice in the Gospel, once before the carrying away, and again after the carrying away. For this Jeconiah being one person had two different conditions; before the carrying away he was King, as being made King by the people of God; but he became a private man at the carrying away; hence he is reckoned once among the Kings before the carrying away; and after the carrying away once among private men. Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Vel ideo unus in illis progenitoribus bis numeratur, idest Iechonias, a quo facta est quaedam in extraneas gentes deflexio quoniam in Babyloniam transmigratus est. Ubi autem ordo a rectitudine flectitur ut eat in diversum, tamquam angulum facit; illud autem quod in angulo est bis numeratur. Et hic iam Christum praefigurat a circumcisione ad praeputium migraturum, et lapidem angularem futurum. Aug., de Cons. Evan, ii, 4: Or, one of Christ's forefathers is counted twice, because in him, Jeconiah to wit, there was made a passing off to strange nations since he was carried to Babylon. Wherever a series turns out of the right line to go in any other direction there is an angle made, and that part that is in the angle is reckoned twice. Thus here is a figure of Christ, who passes from the circumcision to the uncircumcision, and is made a cornerstone. Remigius: Ideo autem quatuordecim posuit generationes quia denarius significat Decalogum, quaternarius vero quatuor libros Evangelii; unde in hoc ostendit concordiam legis et Evangelii. Ideo etiam quaterdenarium numerum triplicavit, ut ostenderet quia perfectio legis, prophetiae et gratiae, in fide sanctae Trinitatis consistit. Remig.: He made fourteen generations, because the ten denotes the Decalogue, and the four the four books of the Gospel; whence this shews the agreement of the Law and the Gospel. And he put the fourteen three times over, that he might shew that the perfection of law, prophecy, and grace, consists in the faith of the Holy Trinity. Glossa: Vel in hoc numero septiformis gratia spiritus sancti significatur; hic enim numerus ex septem conficitur; quod autem geminatur significat gratiam spiritus sancti corpori et animae esse necessariam ad salutem. Sic ergo haec generatio dividitur in tres tessaradecades: prima est ab Abraham usque ad David, ita quod David ibi includitur; sed secunda a David usque ad transmigrationem, ita quod David ibi non includitur, sed transmigratio sub eo continetur; tertia est a transmigratione usque ad Christum, in qua si dicamus Iechoniam bis numeratum, transmigratio inclusa est. In prima significantur homines ante legem, in qua quosdam homines naturalis legis invenies, scilicet Abraham, Isaac et Iacob, usque ad Salomonem; in secunda significantur homines sub lege: omnes enim qui in ea inveniuntur sub lege fuerunt; in tertia homines gratiae quia terminatur ad Christum qui gratiae dator fuit, in qua etiam liberatio a captivitate Babyloniae facta est significans liberationem a captivitate per Christum factam. Gloss: Or in this number is signified the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit. The number is made up of seven, doubled, to shew that the grace of the Holy Spirit is needed both for soul and body to salvation. Also the genealogy is divided into three portions of fourteen thus. The first from Abraham [p. 39] to David, so as that David is included in it; the second from David to the carrying away, in which David is not included, but the carrying away is included; the third is from the carrying away to Christ, in which if we say that Jeconiah is included, then the carrying away is included. In the first are denoted the men before the Law, in which you will find some of the men of the Law of nature, such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all as far as Solomon. In the second are denoted the men under the Law; for all who are included in it were under the Law. In the third are found the men of grace; for it is finished in Christ, who was the giver of grace; and because in it was the deliverance from Babylon, signifying the deliverance from captivity that was made by Christ. Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Cum autem quaterdenas generationes tribus distinxisset articulis, non tamen eas dixit in summa, ut diceret: fiunt omnes quadraginta et duae. Unus enim in illis progenitoribus bis numeratur, scilicet Iechonias; sic ergo non quadraginta et duae, quod faciunt ter quatuordecim, sed propter unam bis numeratam quadraginta et una generationes fiunt. Matthaeus igitur, qui regiam in Christo constituerat insinuare personam, excepto Christo quadraginta homines in generationum serie numeravit. Numerus enim iste illud tempus significat quo in hoc saeculo regi nos oportet a Christo, secundum disciplinam laboriosam, quam significat illa virga ferrea de qua in Psalmis legitur: reges eos in virga ferrea. Quod autem numerus iste hanc temporalem vitam aeternamque significet, illa interim causa de proximo occurrit, quod et tempora annorum quadripartitis vicibus currunt, et mundus ipse quatuor partibus terminatur, ab oriente et occidente, Aquilone et meridie. Quadraginta autem quatuor habent decem. Porro ipsa decem ab uno usque ad quatuor progrediente numero consummantur. Aug.: After having divided the whole into three periods of fourteen generations, he does not sum them all up and say, The sum of the whole is forty and two; because one of those fathers, that is Jeconiah, is reckoned twice; so that they do not amount to forty-two, as three times fourteen does, but because one is reckoned twice over, there are only forty-one generations. Matthew therefore, whose purpose was to draw out Christ's kingly character, counts forty successions in the genealogy exclusive of Christ. This number denotes the time for which we must be governed by Christ in this world, according to that painful discipline which is signified by the iron rod of which it is written in the Psalms, "Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron." That this number should denote this our temporal life, a reason offers at hand, in this, that the seasons of the year are four, and that the world itself is bounded by four sides, the east, the west, the north, and the south. But forty contains ten four times. Moreover, ten itself is made up by a number proceeding from one to four. Glossa: Vel denarius ad Decalogum refertur, quaternarius ad praesentem vitam quae per quatuor tempora transit; vel per decem vetus testamentum, per quatuor novum. Gloss: Or, the ten refers to the decalogue, the four to this life present, which passes through four seasons; or by the ten is meant the Old Testament, by the four the New. Remigius: Si quis autem voluerit dicere quod sunt quadraginta et duae generationes, quia non est unus Iechonias, sed duo, dicendum est quod et iste numerus congruit sanctae Ecclesiae; nascitur enim a septenario et senario: nam sexies septem quadraginta et duo faciunt. Senarius refertur ad laborem, septenarius vero ad requiem. Remig.: But if any, maintaining that it is not the same Jeconiah, but two different persons, make the number forty and two, we then shall say that the Holy Church is signified; for this number is the product of seven, and six; (for six times seven make forty-two;) the six denotes labour, and the seven rest. [p. 40]
Lectio 9 18 τοῦ δὲ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἡ γένεσις οὕτως ἦν. μνηστευθείσης τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ μαρίας τῷ ἰωσήφ, πρὶν ἢ συνελθεῖν αὐτοὺς εὑρέθη ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχουσα ἐκ πνεύματος ἁγίου.
18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as His mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Chrysostomus super Matth: Quoniam superius dixerat Iacob autem genuit Ioseph cui desponsata Maria genuit Iesum, ne aliquis audientium sic aestimaret esse nativitatem quomodo praecedentium patrum, ipse ordinem narrationis suae praecidens dicit Christi autem generatio sic erat, ac si dicat: generatio quidem eorum quos exposuimus patrum sic fuit quemadmodum retuli; Christi autem generatio non sic, sed ita erat: cum esset desponsata mater. Pseudo-Chrys.: Having said above, "And Jacob begat Joseph," to whom Mary being espoused bare Jesus; that none who heard should suppose that His birth was as that of any of the forementioned fathers, he cuts off the thread of his narrative, saying, "But Christ's generation was thus." As though he were to say, The generation of all these fathers was as I have related it; but Christ's was not so, but as follows, "His mother Mary being espoused." Chrysostomus in Matth: Quasi enim aliquid novum dicturus praemittit modum generationis dicere, ne audiens virum Mariae aestimes natum esse lege naturae. Chrys.: He announces that he is to relate the manner of the generation, shewing therein that he is about to speak some new thing; that you may not suppose when you hear mention of Mary's husband, that Christ was born by the law of nature. Remigius: Potest autem ad superiora referri hoc modo: sic erat Christi generatio sicut dixi; idest: Abraham genuit Isaac. Remig.: Yet it might be referred to the foregoing in this way, The generation of Christ was, as I have related, thus, "Abraham begat Isaac." Hieronymus: Sed quare non de simplici virgine, sed de desponsata concipitur? Primum, ut per generationem Ioseph origo Mariae monstraretur; secundo, ne lapidaretur a Iudaeis ut adultera; tertio, ut in Aegyptum fugiens haberet solatium mariti. Martyr etiam Ignatius quartam addit causam: ut partus, inquiens, eius celaretur Diabolo, dum eum putat non de virgine, sed de uxore generatum. Jerome: But why is He conceived not of a Virgin merely, but of a Virgin espoused? First, that by the descent of Joseph, Mary's family might be made known; secondly, that she might not be stoned by the Jews as an adulteress; thirdly, that in her flight into Egypt she might have the comfort of a husband. The Martyr Ignatius [margin note: vid. Ign. ad Eph. 19] adds yet a fourth reason, namely, that His birth might be hid from the Devil, looking for Him to be born of a wife and not of a virgin. Chrysostomus super Matth: Ideo autem et desponsata et domi habita: nam quemadmodum in ea quae in domo viri concipit, intelligitur conceptio naturalis, ita in ea quae extra domum concepit, est suspecta coniunctio. Pseudo-Chrys.: Therefore both espoused and yet remaining at home; for as in her who should conceive in the house of her husband, is understood natural conception; so in her who conceives before she be taken to her husband, there is suspicion of infidelity. Hieronymus contra Helvidium: Sciendum autem quod Helvidius, quidam homo turbulentus, accepta materia disputandi, blasphemare contra Dei matrem incepit; cuius prima propositio fuit: Matthaeus loquitur sic: cum esset desponsata. Ecce, inquit, habes desponsatam, non commendatam, ut dicitis; et utique non ob aliud desponsatam nisi quoniam nupturam. Jerome, Hieron. cont. Helvid. in princ.: It is to be known, that Helvidius, a certain turbulent man, having got matter of disputation, takes in hand to blaspheme against the Mother of God. His first proposition was, Matthew begins thus, "When she was espoused." Behold, he says, you have her espoused, but as ye say, not yet committed; but surely not espoused for any other reason than as being to be married. Origenes: Desponsata fuit quidem Ioseph, non tamen in concupiscentia iuncta. Mater eius, inquit, mater immaculata, mater incorrupta, mater intacta. Mater eius; cuius eius? Mater est Dei, unigeniti, domini, regis, omnium plasmatoris et redemptoris cunctorum. Origen: She was indeed espoused to Joseph, but not united in wedlock; that is to say, His mother immaculate, His mother incorrupt, [p. 41] His mother pure. His mother! Whose mother? The mother of God, of the Only-begotten, of the Lord, of the King, of the Maker of all things, and the Redeemer of all. Cyrillus ad Ioannem Antioch.: Quid enim videbit aliquis in sancta virgine praeter alias? Si Dei mater non sit, sed Christi vel domini, ut Nestorius dicit, nihil enim absurdum est etiam si voluerit quis matrem uniuscuiusque unctorum Christi nominare genitricem. Sola vero praeter illas sancta virgo et Christi genitrix intelligitur ac dicitur. Genuit enim non purum hominem, secundum vos, sed incarnatum potius, et hominem factum ex Deo patre verbum. Sed forsitan illud ais: dic mihi, putasne divinitatis mater facta est virgo? Et ad hoc quoque dicimus quia natum est ex ipsa Dei substantia eius verbum et sine principio temporis semper coexistens genitori; in novissimis autem temporibus, quoniam caro factum est, hoc est unitum carni animam habenti rationalem, natum etiam dicitur carnaliter per mulierem. Assimilatur autem quodammodo nativitati quae est secundum nos, hoc sacramentum; matres etenim terrenorum ministrant naturae coagulatam paulatim carnem perficiendam in specie humana. Immittit autem animali spiritum Deus. Sed licet sint istae solummodo terrenorum corporum matres, attamen parientes, totum animal et non partem peperisse dicuntur. Tale autem aliquid gestum percipimus in generatione Emmanuel; natum enim est ex patris substantia Dei verbum; quia vero carnem assumpsit propriam eam faciens, necessarium est confiteri quia natus est secundum carnem per mulierem. Quia igitur et Deus vere est, quomodo dubitabit quispiam sanctam virginem Dei dicere genitricem? Cyril, Epist. ad Monach. Egypt. (Ep. p. 7): What will any one see in the Blessed Virgin more than in other mothers, if she be not the mother of God, but of Christ, or the Lord, as Nestorius says? For it would not be absurd should any one please to name the mother of any anointed person, the mother of Christ. Yet she alone and more than they is called the Holy Virgin, and the mother of Christ. For she bare not a simple man as ye say, but rather the Word incarnate, and made man of God the Father. But perhaps you say, Tell me, do you think the Virgin was made the mother of His divinity? To this also we say, that the Word was born of the very substance of God Himself, and without beginning of time always coexisted with the Father. But in these last times when He was made flesh, that is united to flesh, having a rational soul, He is said to be born of a woman after the flesh. Yet is this sacrament in a manner brought out like to birth among us; for the mothers of earthly children impart to their nature that flesh that is to be perfected by degrees in the human form; but God sends the life into the animal. But though these are mothers only of the earthly bodies, yet when they bear children, they are said to bear the whole animal, and not a part of it only. Such do we see to have been done in the birth of Emmanuel; the Word of God was born of the substance of His Father; but because He took on Him flesh, making it His own, it is necessary to confess that He was born of a woman according to the flesh. Where seeing He is truly God, how shall any one doubt to call the Holy Virgin the Mother of God? Leo Papa in sermone de Nativ.: Non autem te Dei conceptus turbet, partus te non confundat auditus, quando virginitas quicquid est humani pudoris excusat. Aut quae hic verecundiae laesio, ubi iniit deitas cum amica sibi semper integritate consortium, ubi est interpres Angelus, fides pronuba, dispensatio castitas, donatio virtus, iudex conscientia, causa Deus, conceptio integritas, virginitas partus, virgo mater? Chrysologus, Serm. 148: If you are not confounded when you hear of the birth of God, let not His conception disturb you, seeing the pure virginity of the mother removes all that might shock human reverence. And what offence against our awe and reverence is there, when the Deity entered into union with purity that was always dear to Him, where an Angel is mediator, faith is bridesmaid, where chastity is the giving away, virtue the gift, conscience the judge, God the cause; where the conception is inviolateness, the birth virginity, and the mother a virgin. [ed. note: The allusions here made may be illustrated by a passage in the Ad Uxor. ii. 1, of Tertullian, who, with reference to the civil usages, speaks of "the [cont. p. 42] happiness of that Marriage, which the Church "brings about, (conciliat,)" the "Oblation" confirms, the Blessing "seals," the Angles "witness," and the Father "ratifies," In Chrysologus the Angel brings about, (interpres ost,) virtue is the oblation or bride's gift, and a pure conscience is the witness.] Cyrillus ad Ioannem Antioch.: Sed si de caelo et non ex ipsa sanctum corpus Christi factum esse diceremus, ut Valentinus, quomodo intelligeretur Dei genitrix Maria? Nomen autem matris ostendit cum subdit Maria. Cyril, Epist. ad Joan. Antioch. (Ep. p. 107): But if [p. 42] we were to say that the holy Body of Christ came down from heaven, and was not made of His mother, as Valentinus does, in what sense could Mary be the Mother of God? Gloss: The name of His Mother is added, "Mary." Beda super Lucam: Interpretatur autem Maria stella maris Hebraice, domina Syriace, quia et lucem salutis et dominum mundo edidit. Cui autem desponsata fuerit ostendit subdens Ioseph. Bede, in Luc., c. 3: Mary in interpreted, 'Star of the Sea,' after the Hebrew; 'Mistress,' after the Syriac; as she bare into the world the Light of salvation, and the Lord. [ed. note, r: their rebellion. S. Ambrose interprets it "God from my race," and "the bitterness of the sea." de Instit. Virg. 33. It is not necessary to give the origin of these various interpretations.] Gloss: And to whom she was betrothed is shewn, Joseph. Chrysostomus super Matth: Ideoque fabro lignario Maria desponsata erat, quoniam Christus Ecclesiae sponsus omnium salutem hominum operaturus erat per lignum crucis. Pseudo-Chrys.: Mary was therefore betrothed to a carpenter, because Christ the Spouse of the Church was to work the salvation of all men through the wood of the Cross. Chrysostomus in Matth: Quod autem sequitur antequam convenirent, non dicitur: antequam duceretur in domum sponsi; etenim iam intus erat. Consuetudo enim multoties veteribus erat in domo desponsatas habere, quod et nunc quoque fieri videtur, et generi Lot intus cum ipso erant. Chrys.: What follows, "Before they came together," does not mean before she was brought to the bridegroom's house, for she was already within. For it was a frequent custom among the ancients to have their betrothed wives home to their house before marriage; as we see done now also, and as the sons-in-law of Lot were with him in the house. Glossa: Sed dicitur antequam convenirent ad carnis commixtionem. Gloss: But the words denote carnal knowledge. Chrysostomus super Matth: Ut non ex compassione carnis et sanguinis nasceretur, qui ideo natus est ut carnis et sanguinis solveret passionem. Pseudo-Chrys.: That He should not be born of passion, of flesh and blood, who was therefore born that He might take away all passion of flesh and blood. Augustinus de Nupt. et Concup.: Nuptialis etiam concubitus ibi non fuit quia in carne peccati fieri non poterat sine ulla carnis concupiscentia quae accidit ex peccato, sine qua concipi voluit qui futurus erat sine peccato, ut hinc etiam doceret omnem quae de concubitu nascitur, carnem esse peccati; quandoquidem sola, quae non inde nata est, non fuit caro peccati. Aug., de Nupt. et Concup., i, 12: There was no carnal knowledge in this wedlock, because in sinful flesh this could not be without carnal desire which came of sin, and which He would be without, who was to be without sin; and that hence He might teach us that all flesh which is born of sexual union is sinful flesh, seeing that Flesh alone was without sin, which was not so born. Augustinus in sermone 6 de Nativ.: Nascitur etiam ab intacta femina Christus quia fas non erat ut virtus per voluptatem, castitas per luxuriam, per corruptionem incorruptio nasceretur. Nec poterat nisi novo ordine adventare de caelo qui vetustum mortis destruere veniebat imperium. Regnum igitur tenuit virginitatis quae regem genuit castitatis. Ideo etiam dominus noster virgineum sibi requisivit hospitium habitandi, ut nobis ostenderet Deum in casto corpore portari debere. Ergo qui scripsit lapideas tabulas sine stylo ferreo, ipse gravidavit Mariam spiritu sancto; unde dicitur inventa est in utero habens de spiritu sancto. Pseudo-Aug., in App. 122 et. al.: Christ was also born of a pure virgin, because it was not holy that virtue should be born of pleasure, chastity of self-indulgence, incorruption of corruption. Nor could He come from heaven but after some new manner, who came to destroy the ancient empire of death. Therefore she received the crown of virginity who bare the King of chastity. Farther, our Lord sought out for Himself a virgin abode, wherein to be received, that He might shew us that God ought to be borne in a chaste body. Therefore He that wrote on tables of stone without an iron pen, the same wrought in Mary by the Holy [p. 43] Spirit; "She was found with child of the Holy Ghost." Hieronymus: Non ab alio inventa est nisi a Ioseph, qui pene licentia maritali omnia noverat. Jerome: And found by none other than by Joseph, who knew all, as being her espoused husband. Chrysostomus super Matth: Nam, sicut historia non incredibilis docet, quando gesta sunt quae refert Lucas, Ioseph absens erat; nec enim conveniens est putare praesente Ioseph introisse Angelum ad Mariam et dixisse quae dixit, et Mariam respondisse quaecumque respondit. Et si credamus Angelum potuisse intrare ad eam et loqui, plane tamen Mariam abiisse in montana et mansisse cum Elisabeth mensibus tribus possibile non fuit praesente Ioseph, quia necesse erat ut absentationis eius et mansionis diutinae requireret causas. Postquam autem rediit peregre post tot menses, invenit eam gravidam manifeste. Pseudo-Chrys.: For, as a not incredible account relates, Joseph was absent when the things were done which Luke writes. For it is not easy to suppose that the Angel came to Mary and said those words, and Mary made her answer when Joseph was present. And even if we suppose thus much to have been possible, yet it could not be that she should have gone into the hill country, and abode there three months when Joseph was present, because he must needs have enquired the causes of her departure and long stay. And so when after so many months he returned from abroad, he found her manifestly with child. Chrysostomus in Matth: Proprie autem dicit inventa est, quod de non excogitatis dici consuetum est. Ne autem molestes Evangelistam interrogando qualiter sit natus ex virgine, breviter expedivit se dicens de spiritu sancto; quasi dicat: spiritus sanctus est qui est hoc miraculum operatus. Neque enim Gabriel neque Matthaeus amplius dicere potuerunt. Chrys.: He says exactly "was found," for so we use to say of things not thought of. And that you should not molest the Evangelist by asking in what way was this birth of a virgin, he clears himself shortly, saying, "Of the Holy Ghost." As much as to say, it was the Holy Ghost that wrought this miracle. For neither Gabriel nor Matthew could say any futher. Glossa: Hoc ergo quod dicitur est ex spiritu sancto, Evangelista ex parte sua adduxit, ut cum diceretur habere in utero, omnis mala removeretur suspicio a mentibus audientium. Gloss., ap Anselm: Therefore the words, "Is of the Holy Ghost," were set down by the Evangelist, to the end, that when it was said that she was with child, all wrong suspicion should be removed from the minds of the hearers. Augustinus in sermone de Trin.: Non autem, sicut quidam sceleratissime opinantur, spiritum sanctum dicimus fuisse pro semine, sed potentia ac virtute creatoris dicimus operatum. Pseudo-Aug., Serm. 236 in App.: But not, as some impiously think, are we to suppose, that the Holy Spirit was as seed, but we say that He wrought with the power and might of a Creator. [ed. note: And thus S. Hilary speaks of the sementiva ineuntis Spiritus "efficacia." de Trin. ii, 26] Ambrosius de spiritu sancto: Quod enim ex aliquo est, aut ex substantia est aut ex potestate eius est: ex substantia, sicut filius qui a patre; ex potestate, sicut ex Deo omnia, quomodo et in utero habuit Maria ex spiritu sancto. Ambrose, De Spir. Sanct., ii, 5: That which is of any thing is either of the substance or the power of that thing; of the substance, as the Son who is of the Father; of the power, as all things are of God, even as Mary was with Child of the Holy Spirit. Augustinus Ench. ad Laurentium: Profecto autem iste modus quo natus est Christus de spiritu sancto insinuat nobis gratiam Dei, qua homo nullis praecedentibus meritis, in ipso exordio naturae suae quo esse coepit, verbo Dei copularetur in tantam personae unitatem ut idem ipse esset filius Dei. Sed cum illam creaturam quam virgo concepit et peperit, quamvis ad solam personam filii pertinentem tota Trinitas fecerit (neque enim separabilia sunt opera Trinitatis), cur in ea facienda solus spiritus sanctus nominatus est? An et quando unus trium in aliquo opere nominatur, universa operari Trinitas intelligitur? Aug., Enchir. c. 40: Furthermore, this manner in which Christ was born of the Holy Spirit suggests to us the grace of God, by which man without any previous merits, in the very beginning of his nature, was united with the Word of God into so great unity of person, that he was also made son of God. [margin note: Aug., Enchir. c. 38] But inasmuch as the whole Trinity wrought to make this creature which was conceived of the Virgin, though pertaining only to the person of the Son, (for the works of the Trinity are indivisible,) why is [p. 44] the Holy Spirit only named in this work? Must we always, when one of the Three is named in any work, understand that the whole Trinity worked in that? Hieronymus contra Helvidium: Sed inquit Helvidius: neque de non conventuris Evangelista dixisset priusquam convenirent, quia nemo de non pransuro dicit: antequam pranderet; quasi si quis diceret: antequam in portu pranderem ad Africam navigavi, non posset stare sententia nisi ei in portu prandendum sit quandoque; aut non potius sit intelligendum sic quod ante, licet saepe et sequentia indicet, tamen nonnumquam ea tantum quae prius cogitabantur ostendit; nec necesse sit ut cogitata fiant cum ideo aliud intervenerit ne ea quae cogitata sunt fierent. Jerome, Hieron. Cont. Helvid. in princip.: But says Helvidius; Neither would the Evangelist have said, "Before they came together," if they were not to come together afterwards; as none would say, Before dinner, where there was to be no dinner. As if one should say, Before I dined in harbour, I set sail for Africa, would this have no meaning in it, unless he were at some times or other to dine in the harbour? Surely we must either understand it thus, - that "before," though it often implies something to follow, yet often is said of things that follow only in thought; and it is not necessary that the things so thought of should take place, for that something else has happened to prevent them from taking place. Hieronymus: Non ergo sequitur ut postea convenerint, sed Scriptura quod factum non sit ostendit. Jerome: Therefore it by no means follows that they did come together afterwards; Scripture however shews not what did happen. Remigius: Vel hoc verbum conveniendi, non ipsum concubitum, sed tempus significat nuptiarum, idest quando ea quae fuerat sponsa incipit esse uxor. Est enim sensus antequam convenirent, idest antequam rite solemnia nuptiarum celebrarent. Remig.: Or the word "come together" may not mean carnal knowledge, but may refer to the time of the nuptials, when she who was betrothed begins to be wife. Thus, "before they came together," may mean before they solemnly celebrated the nuptial rites. Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Hoc quemadmodum factum sit, quod hic praetermisit, Lucas exponit post commemoratum conceptum Ioannis ita enarrans: in mense autem sexto missus est Angelus; et infra: spiritus sanctus superveniet in te. Hoc ergo est quod Matthaeus commemoravit dicens inventa est in utero habens de spiritu sancto. Nec contrarium est, quia Lucas exposuit quod Matthaeus praetermisit; sicut non est contrarium, quia Matthaeus deinceps continet quod Lucas praetermisit. Sequitur enim Ioseph autem vir eius cum esset iustus, usque ad eum locum ubi scriptum est de magis quod per aliam viam reversi sunt in regionem suam. Si quis autem velit unam narrationem ex omnibus quae de Christi nativitate dicuntur ab alterutro, si haec praetermittuntur, ordinare sic potest: Christi generatio sic erat: fuit in diebus Herodis usque ibi: mansit autem Maria cum illa quasi mensibus tribus, et reversa est in domum suam. Et tunc addendum est quod hic dicitur: et inventa est in utero habens de spiritu sancto. Aug., de Cons. Evan., ii, 5: How this was done Matthew omits to write, but Luke relates after the conception of John, "In the sixth month the Angel was sent;" and again, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee." This is what Matthew relates in these words, "She was found with child of the Holy Ghost." And it is no contradiction that Luke has described what Matthew omits; or again that Matthew relates what Luke has omitted; that namely which follows, from "Now Joseph her husband being a just man," to that place where it is said of the Magi, that "They returned into their own country another way." If one desired to digest into one narrative the two accounts of Christ's birth, he would arrange thus; beginning with Matthew's words, "Now the birth of Christ was on this wise;" then taking up with Luke, from "There was in the days of Herod," [Luke 1:5] to, "Mary abode with her three months," and "returned to her house;" then taking up again Matthew, add, "She was found with child of the Holy Ghost." [Matt 1:10] [p. 45]
Lectio 10 19 ἰωσὴφ δὲ ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς, δίκαιος ὢν καὶ μὴ θέλων αὐτὴν δειγματίσαι, ἐβουλήθη λάθρᾳ ἀπολῦσαι αὐτήν.
19. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.
Chrysostomus in Matth: Cum dixisset Evangelista quod ex spiritu sancto et sine concubitu inventa est in utero habens, ne suspectum habeas Christi discipulum quasi grandia de suo magistro fingentem, introducit Ioseph per ea quae passus est, ad fidem quae dicta sunt conferentem; unde dicit Ioseph autem vir eius cum esset iustus. Chrys.: The Evangelist having said that she was found with child of the Holy Ghost, and without knowledge of man, that you should not herein suspect Christ's disciple of inventing wonders in honour of his Master, brings forward Joseph confirming the history by his own share in it; "Now Joseph her husband, being a just man." Augustinus in Serm. 14 de Nativ.: Intelligens enim Ioseph Mariae uterum gravidari, turbatur quod Mariam quam de templo domini acceperat et nondum cognoverat gravidam sentiebat; secumque aestuabat disputans et dicens: quid faciam? Prodo aut taceo? Si prodidero, adulterio non consentio, sed vitium crudelitatis incurro quia secundum Moysi sententiam lapidandam eam esse cognosco. Si tacuero, malo consentio et cum adulteris portionem meam pono. Quoniam ergo tacere malum est, adulterium prodere peius est, dimittam eam a coniugio. Pseudo-Aug., Serm. in App. s. 195: Joseph, understanding that Mary was with child, is perplexed that it should be thus with her whom he had received from the temple of the Lord, and had not yet known, and resolved within himself, saying, What shall I do? Shall I proclaim it, or shall I overlook it? If I proclaim it, I am indeed not consenting to the adultery; but I am running into the guilt of cruelty, for by Moses' law she must be stoned. If I overlook it, I am consenting to the crime, and take my portion with the adulterers. Since then it is an evil to overlook the things, and worse to proclaim the adultery, I will put her away from being my wife. Ambrosius super Lucam: Pulchre autem docuit sanctus Matthaeus quid facere debeat iustus qui opprobrium coniugis deprehenderit, ut incruentum ab homicidio, castum ab adulterio praestare se debeat. Et ideo dicit cum esset iustus. Ubique ergo in Ioseph iusti gratia et persona servatur ut testis ornetur; lingua enim iusti loquitur iudicium veritatis. Ambrose, in Luc., ii, 5: St. Matthew has beautifully taught how a righteous man ought to act, who has detected his wife's disgrace; so as at once to keep himself guiltless of her blood, and yet pure from her defilements; therefore it is he says, "Being a just man." Thus is preserved throughout in Joseph the gracious character of a righteous man, that his testimony may be the more approved; for, the tongue of the just speaketh the judgment of truth. Hieronymus: Sed quomodo Ioseph, cum crimen celet uxoris, iustus describitur? In lege enim praeceptum est non solum reos, sed conscios criminis obnoxios esse peccato. Jerome: But how is Joseph thus called, "just," when he is ready to hide his wife's sin? For the Law enacts, that not only the doers of evil, but they who are privy to any evil done, shall be held to be guilty. Chrysostomus in Matth: Sed sciendum quod iustum hic virtuosum in omnibus dicit. Est enim iustitia specialis quaedam, ut avaritiam non habere, et altera universalis virtus; et sic nomine iustitiae maxime utitur Scriptura. Iustus igitur existens, idest benignus et mitis, voluit occulte dimittere eam, quae non solum traductioni, sed etiam poenae secundum legem obnoxia videbatur. Sed Ioseph utrumque remisit quasi supra legem vivens. Sicut enim sol antequam radios monstret mundum clarificat, sic et Christus antequam nasceretur multa signa perfectae virtutis apparere fecit. Chrys.: But it should be known, that "just" here is used to denote one who is in all things virtuous. For there is a particular justice, namely, the being free from covetousness; and another universal virtue, in which sense Scripture generally uses the word justice. Therefore being "just," that is, kind, merciful, he "was minded to put away privily" her who according to the Law was liable not only to dismissal, but to death. But Joseph remitted both, as though living above the Law. For as the sun lightens up the world, [p. 46] before he shews his rays, so Christ before He was born caused many wonders to be seen. Augustinus de Verb. Dom: Vel aliter: si solus nosti quia aliquis peccaverit in te, eum vis coram hominibus arguere, non es corrector sed proditor. Unde vir iustus Ioseph tanto flagitio quod de uxore fuerat suspicatus, magna benignitate pepercit. Aestuabat utique certa adulterii suspicio; et tamen, quia ipse solus sciebat, noluit eam divulgare sed occulte dimittere, volens prodesse peccanti, non punire peccantem. Aug.: Otherwise; if you alone have knowledge of a sin that any has committed against you, and desire to accuse him thereof before men, you do not herein correct, but rather betray him. But Joseph, "being a just man," with great mercy spared his wife, in this great crime of which he suspected her. The seeming certainty of her unchastity tormented him, and yet because he alone knew of it, he was willing not to publish it, but to send her away privily; seeking rather the benefit than the punishment of the sinner. Hieronymus: Vel hoc testimonium Mariae est quod Ioseph sciens illius castitatem et admirans quod evenerat, celat silentio cuius mysterium nesciebat. Jerome: Or this may be considered a testimony to Mary, that Joseph, confident in her purity, and wondering at what had happened, covered in silence that mystery which he could not explain. Remigius: Videbat enim gravidam quam noverat castam; et quia legerat: egredietur virga de radice Iesse, unde novit Mariam duxisse originem et legerat etiam: ecce virgo concipiet, non diffidebat hanc prophetiam in ea esse implendam. Rabanus: He beheld her to be with child, whom he knew to be chaste; and because he had read, "There shall come a Rod out of the stem of Jesse," of which he knew that Mary was come [ed. note: Jerome in loc. Ambros. de Spir. S. ii. 5. and Pseudo-Augustine (t. vi. p. 570.) so apply these words, considering Christ the 'Branch' or flower (flos) which is spoken of in the clause following. Cyril Alex. et Theod. in loc. explain it of Christ.], and had also read, "Behold, a virgin shall conceive," he did not doubt that this prophecy should be fulfilled in her. Origenes: Sed si suspicionem in ea non habebat, quomodo iustus erat ut immaculatam dimitteret? Ideo ergo dimittere volebat quoniam magnum sacramentum in ea esse cognoscebat cui approximare se indignum aestimabat. Origen: But if he had no suspicion of her, how could he be a just man, and yet seek to put her away, being immaculate? He sought to put her away, because he saw in her a great sacrament, to approach which he thought himself unworthy. Glossa: Vel cum vellet eam dimittere iustus erat; cum occulte, pius notatur, eam ab infamia defendens. Et hoc est: cum esset iustus voluit dimittere eam; cum nollet eam traducere in publicum, idest diffamare, voluit hoc facere occulte. Gloss, ap Anselm: Or, in seeking to put her away, he was just; in that he sought it privily, is shewn his mercy, defending her from disgrace; "Being a just man, he was minded to put her away;" and being unwilling to expose her in public, and so to disgrace her, he sought to do it privily. Ambrosius super Lucam: Nemo autem quam non accepit, dimittit; et ideo quam volebat dimittere, fatebatur acceptam. Ambrose, in Luc., ii, 1: But as no one puts away what he has not received; in that he was minded to put her away, he admits to have received her. Glossa: Vel cum nollet eam traducere in domum suam ad cohabitationem assiduam voluit occulte dimittere eam, idest tempus nuptiarum mutare; vera enim virtus est cum nec pietas sine iustitia nec sine pietate servatur iustitia, quae separatae ab invicem dilabuntur. Vel iustus erat per fidem, qua credebat Christum de virgine nasciturum; unde voluit se humiliare ante tantam gratiam. Gloss, part ap. Anselm, part in Ordinaria: Or, being unwilling to bring her home to his house to live with him for ever, "he was minded to put her away privily;" that is, to change the time of their marriage. For that is true virtue, when neither mercy is observed without justice, nor justice without mercy; both which vanish when severed one from the other. Or he was just because of his faith, in that [p. 47] he believed that Christ should be born of a virgin; wherefore he wished to humble himself before so great a favour.
Lectio 11 20 ταῦτα δὲ αὐτοῦ ἐνθυμηθέντος ἰδοὺ ἄγγελος κυρίου κατ' ὄναρ ἐφάνη αὐτῷ λέγων, ἰωσὴφ υἱὸς δαυίδ, μὴ φοβηθῇς παραλαβεῖν μαρίαν τὴν γυναῖκά σου, τὸ γὰρ ἐν αὐτῇ γεννηθὲν ἐκ πνεύματός ἐστιν ἁγίου:
20. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
Remigius: Quia, sicut dictum est, cogitabat Ioseph occulte Mariam dimittere, hoc autem si fecisset perpauci essent qui non magis suspicarentur eam esse meretricem quam virginem, idcirco repente consilium Ioseph divino mutatum est consilio; unde dicitur: haec autem eo cogitante. Remig.: Because Joseph was minded, as has been said, to put Mary away privily, which if he had done, there would have been few who would not rather have thought her a harlot than a virgin, therefore this purpose of Joseph was changed by Divine revelation, whence it is said, "While he thought on these things." Glossa: In quo notatur animus sapientis, qui nihil temere vult incipere. Gloss., ap Anselm: In this is to be noted the wise soul that desires to undertake nothing rashly. Chrysostomus in Matth: Notatur etiam mansuetudo Ioseph quia nulli enarravit suam suspicionem, neque ei quae suspecta erat; sed in se cogitabat. Chrys.: Also observe the mercifulness of Joseph, that he imparted his suspicions to none, not even to her whom he suspected, but kept them within himself. Augustinus in Serm. 14 de Nativ.: Sed Ioseph ista cogitante, non timeat Maria David filia, quoniam sicut David veniam contulit sermo propheticus, sic Mariam liberat Angelus salvatoris. Ecce enim iterum virginis ille paranymphus Gabriel advenit; unde sequitur ecce Angelus domini apparuit Ioseph. Pseudo-Aug., Serm. in App. 195: Yet though Joseph think on these things, let not Mary the daughter of David be troubled; as the word of the Prophet brought pardon to David, so the Angel of the Saviour delivers Mary. Behold, again appears Gabriel the bridesman of this Virgin; as it follows, "Behold the Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph." Glossa: Hoc igitur verbo apparuit significatur potestas apparentis, qui quando vult et quomodo, exhibet se videndum. Ambrose: In this word "appeared" is conveyed the power of Him that did appear, allowing Himself to be seen where and how He pleases. Rabanus: Quomodo autem Angelus Ioseph apparuerit, demonstratur cum dicitur in somnis, idest quomodo Iacob scalam vidit per imaginationem quamdam oculis cordis ostensam. Raban.: How the Angel appeared to Joseph is declared in the words, "In his sleep;" that is, as Jacob saw the ladder offered by a kind of imagining to the eyes of his heart. Chrysostomus in Matth: Ideo autem non apparuit manifeste Ioseph sicut pastoribus quia valde fidelis erat; pastores autem indigebant quasi rudes. Virgo autem indiguit quasi primo de maximis instruenda. Similiter etiam Zacharias indiguit ante conceptionem prolis mirabili visione. Chrys.: He did not appear so openly to Joseph as to the Shepherds, because he was faithful; the shepherds needed it, because they were ignorant. The Virgin also needed it, as she had first to be instructed in these mighty wonders. In like manner Zacharias needed the wonderful vision before the conception of his son. Glossa: Apparens Angelus nomen exprimit, genus commemorat et timorem excludit dicens: Ioseph fili David. Ioseph, eum ex nomine quasi notum et familiarem sibi ostendit. Gloss., part Int., part Anselm: The Angel appearing calls him by name, and adds his descent, in order to banish fear, "Joseph, son of David;" Joseph, as though he were known to him by name and his familiar friend. Chrysostomus super Matth: Filium David eum nominans, voluit eum adducere in memoriam promissionis Dei ad David, ut de semine eius Christus nasceretur. Pseudo-Chrys.: By addressing him as son of David, he sought to recall to his memory the promise of God to David, that of [p. 48] his seed should Christ be born. Chrysostomus in Matth: Dicens autem noli timere, monstrat eum iam timere ne offenderet Deum quasi adulteram habens; alias neque cogitasset eam expellere. Chrys.: But by saying, "Be not afraid," he shews him to be in fear that he had offended God, by having an adulteress; for only as such would he have ever thought of putting her away. Severianus: Sponsus etiam ne timeat admonetur quia pius animus, dum compatitur, plus pavescit, ac si dicat: hic non est mortis causa, sed vitae, quia quae vitam parturit non meretur occidi. Chrysologus: As her betrothed husband also he is admonished not to be afraid; for the mind that compassionates has most fear; as though he were to say, Here is no cause of death, but of life; she that brings forth life, does not deserve death. Chrysostomus super Matth: Dicens etiam ne timeas, cognitionem se cordis eius ostendere voluit, ut per hoc futurorum bonorum, quae de Christo erat dicturus, faceret fidem. Pseudo-Chrys.: Also by the words, "Fear not," he desired to shew that he knew the heart; that by this he might have the more faith in those good things to come, which he was about to speak concerning Christ. Ambrosius super Lucam: Non autem te moveat quod eam coniugem vocat; non enim virginitatis ereptio, sed coniugii testificatio, nuptiarum celebratio declaratur. Ambrose, in Luc., ii, 5: Be not troubled that he calls her his wife; for she is not herein robbed of her virginity, but her wedlock is witnessed to, and the celebration of her marriage is declared. Hieronymus contra Helvidium: Non tamen est putandum quod ex eo quod uxor est appellata, sponsa esse desierit, cum hanc esse consuetudinem Scripturae noverimus, quod sponsos viros, et sponsas appellet uxores sicut Deuteronomii testimonio approbatur: si quis (inquit) invenerit virginem desponsatam viro in campo, et vim faciens dormierit cum ea, moriatur, quia humiliavit uxorem proximi sui. Jerome: But we are not to think that she ceased to be betrothed, because she is here called wife, since we know that this is the Scripture manner to call the man and woman, when espoused, husband and wife; and this is confirmed by that text in Deuteronomy, "If one finds a virgin that is betrothed to a man in the field, and offer violence to her, and lie with her, he shall die, because he hath humbled his neighbour's wife." [Deut 22:25] Chrysostomus in Matth: Dicit autem noli timere accipere, idest domi retinere; iam enim mente dimissa erat. Chrys.: He says, "Fear not to take unto thee;" that is, to keep at home; for in thought she was already dismissed. Rabanus: Vel noli timere accipere eam nuptiali conventu et assidua cohabitatione. Raban.: Or, "to take her," that is, in marriage union and continual converse. Chrysostomus super Matth: Propter tres autem causas apparuit Angelus Ioseph hoc dicens ei. Primo, ne iustus homo ignorans faceret rem iniustam ex proposito iusto. Deinde propter honorem ipsius matris; nam si dimissa fuisset, apud infideles turpi suspicione carere non poterat. Tertio, ut intelligens Ioseph sanctam conceptionem, diligentius se custodiret ab illa quam prius. Ideo tamen non ante conceptionem virginis venit ad Ioseph, ut nec cogitaret haec quae cogitavit nec pateretur quae passus est Zacharias culpam infidelitatis incurrens de conceptione coniugis iam longaevae; incredibilior enim erat res virginem posse concipere quam anum. Pseudo-Chrys.: There were three reasons why the Angel appeared to Joseph with this message. First, that a just man might not be led into an unjust action, with just intentions. Secondly, for the honour of the mother herself, for had she been put away, she could not have been free from evil suspicion among the unbelievers. Thirdly, that Joseph, understanding the holy conception, might keep himself from her with more care than before. He did not appear to Joseph before the conception, that he should not think those things that Zacharias thought, nor suffer what he suffered in falling into the sin of unbelief concerning the conception of his wife in her old age. For it was yet more incredible that a virgin should conceive, than that a woman past the age should conceive. Chrysostomus in Matth: Vel ideo turbato iam Ioseph Angelus venit ut appareat Ioseph sapientia, et ut hoc ipsum fieret ei eorum quae dicebantur demonstratio. Dum enim audit ab Angelo quae intra se cogitaverat, indubitabile signum erat quod a Deo mitteretur, cuius solius est scire cordis secreta. Sermo etiam Evangelistae insuspicabilis fit, demonstrans Ioseph passum quod probabile est virum pati. Virgo etiam omnem malam suspicionem effugit, ex hoc quod vir qui zelotypiam passus est, eam suscepit et post conceptionem servavit. Ideo autem virgo Ioseph haec quae Angelus nuntiarat, non dixit, quia non aestimabat sibi credi a sponso et maxime iam in suspicionem adducto. Virgini autem ante conceptionem annuntiat Angelus, ne si post conceptionem differret, in angustia esset. Oportebat autem extra turbationem esse illam matrem quae omnium conditorem recepit. Non solum autem Angelus ab iniqua commixtione virginem excusat, sed et supra naturam concepisse demonstrat, non solum timorem auferens, sed et laetitiam addens; unde subdit quod enim in ea natum est, de spiritu sancto est. Chrys.: Or, The Angel appeared to Joseph when he was in this perplexity, that his wisdom might be apparent to Joseph, and that this [p. 49] might be a proof to him of those things that he spoke. For when he heard out of the mouth of the Angel those very things that he thought within himself, this was an undoubted proof, that he was a messenger from God, who alone knows the secrets of the heart. Also the account of the Evangelist is beyond suspicion, as he describes Joseph feeling all that a husband was likely to feel. The Virgin also by this was more removed from suspicion, in that her husband had felt jealousy, yet took her home, and kept her with him after her conception. She had not told Joseph the things that the Angel had said to her, because she did not suppose that she should be believed by her husband, especially as he had begun to have suspicions concerning her. But to the Virgin the Angel announced her conception before it took place, lest if he should defer it till afterwards she should be in straits. And it behoved that Mother who was to receive the Maker of all things to be kept free from all trouble. Not only does the Angel vindicate the Virgin from all impurity, but shews that the conception was supernatural, not removing his fears only, but adding matter of joy; saying, "That which is born in her is of the Holy Spirit." Glossa: Aliud est nasci in ea, et aliud ab ea: nasci ab ea, est prodire in lucem; nasci in ea est idem quod concipi. Vel secundum praesentiam Angeli quam habet ex Deo, cui futurum quasi praeteritum est, natum dicitur. Gloss. ord: To be "born in her," and "born of her," are two different things; to be born of her is to come into the world; to be born in her, is the same as to be conceived. Or the word, "born," is used according to the foreknowledge of the Angel which he has of God, to whom the future is as the past. Augustinus de quaest. Nov. et Vet. Testam: Sed si de spiritu sancto natus est Christus, cur dictum est: sapientia aedificavit sibi domum? Domus ista gemina ratione debet intelligi. Primum enim domus Christi Ecclesia est, quam aedificavit sibi sanguine suo; deinde potest et corpus eius dici domus eius, sicut dicitur templum eius. Factum autem spiritus sancti, factum filii Dei est, propter naturae et voluntatis unitatem; sive enim pater faciat sive filius sive spiritus sanctus, Trinitas est quae operatur; et quidquid tres fecerint, Dei unius est. Pseudo-Aug., Hil. Quaest. N. et V. Test. q. 52: But if Christ was born by the agency of the Holy Ghost, how is that said, "Wisdom hath built herself an house?" [Prov 9:1] That house may be taken in two meanings. First, the house of Christ is the Church, which He built with His own blood; and secondly, His body may be called His house, as it is called His temple. But the work of the Holy Spirit, is also the work of the Son of God, because of the unity of their nature and their will; for whether it be the Father, or the Son, or the Holy Spirit, that doeth it, it is the Trinity that works, and what the Three do, is of One God. Augustinus Enchir: Numquid tamen ideo dicturi sumus patrem hominis Christi esse spiritum sanctum, ut Deus pater verbum genuerit, spiritus sanctus hominem? Quod ita absurdum est, ut nullae fideles aures id valeant sustinere. Quomodo ergo dicimus Christum natum de spiritu sancto, si non eum genuit spiritus sanctus? An quia fecit eum? Inquantum enim homo est, factus est, sicut apostolus dicit: factus ex semine David, secundum carnem. Neque enim quia mundum istum fecit Deus, dici eum fas est Dei filium aut natum ex Deo, sed factum vel creatum vel conditum. Hic autem, cum confiteamur eum natum de spiritu sancto et Maria virgine, quomodo non sit filius spiritus sancti, et sit filius Mariae virginis? Non ergo concedendum est quicquid de aliqua re nascitur, continuo eiusdem rei filium nuncupandum. Ut enim omittam aliter de homine nasci filium, aliter capillum, pediculum et lumbricum, quorum nihil est filius, certe homines qui nascuntur ex aqua et spiritu, non aquae filios recte eos dixerit quispiam, sed Dei patris, et matris Ecclesiae. Sic ergo de spiritu sancto natus est et filius Dei patris est, non spiritus sancti. Aug., Enchir., 38: But shall we therefore say that the Holy Spirit is the Father of the man Christ, that as God the Father begot the Word, so the Holy Spirit begot the man? This is such an absurdity, that the ears of the faithful cannot bear it. [p. 50] How then do we say that Christ was born by the Holy Spirit, if the Holy Spirit did not beget Him? Did He create Him? For so far as He is man He was created, as the Apostle speaks; "He was made of the seed of David according to the flesh." [Rom 1:3] For though God made the world, yet is it not right to say that it is the Son of God, or born by Him, but that it was made, or created, or formed by Him. But seeing that we confess Christ to have been born by the Holy Spirit, and of the Virgin Mary, how is He not the Son of the Holy Spirit, and is the Son of the Virgin? It does not follow, that whatever is born by any thing, is therefore to be called the son of that thing; for, not to say that of man is born in one sense a son, in another a hair, or vermin, or a worm, none of which are his son, certainly those that are born of water and the Spirit none would call sons of water; but sons of God their Father, and their Mother the Church. Thus Christ was born of the Holy Spirit, and yet is the Son of God the Father, not of the Holy Spirit.
Lectio 12 21 τέξεται δὲ υἱὸν καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν, αὐτὸς γὰρ σώσει τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτῶν.
21. And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.
Chrysostomus in Matth: Quia hoc quod Angelus ad Ioseph dixerat supra humanam cogitationem et legem naturae erat, non solum ex praeteritorum revelatione confirmat quae dixerat, sed etiam ex futuris, dicens pariet autem filium. Chrys.: What the Angel thus told Joseph, was beyond human thought, and the law of nature, therefore he confirms his speech not only be revealing to him what was past, but also what was to come; "She shall bring forth a Son." Glossa: Ut enim non videretur Ioseph amplius coniugio non esse necessarius cum conceptio esset facta sine eius auxilio, ostendit quod quamvis non sit necessarius conceptui, tamen utilis est procurationi quia ipsa pariet filium, et tunc matri et filio erit necessarius: matri, ut ab infamia defendat, filio, ut eum nutriat et circumcidat; quae circumcisio notatur ubi dicit et vocabis nomen eius Iesum. In circumcisione enim solet dari nomen. Gloss., ap Anselm: That Joseph should not suppose that he was no longer needed in this wedlock, seeing the conception had taken place without his intervention, the Angel declares to him, that though there had been no need of him in the conception, yet there was need of his guardianship; for the Virgin should bear a Son, and then he would be necessary both to the Mother and her Son; to the Mother to screen her from disgrace, to the Son to bring Him up and to circumcise Him. The circumcision is meant when he says, "And thou shalt call His name Jesus;" for it was usual to give the name in circumcision. Chrysostomus super Matth: Non autem dixit: pariet tibi filium sicut ad Zachariam: ecce Elisabeth uxor tua pariet tibi filium; quia mulier quae ex viro concipit, marito suo filium parit, quia magis ex illo est quam de ipsa; haec autem quae non de viro conceperat, non viro filium peperit, sed sibi tantummodo. Pseudo-Chrys.: He said not, "Shall bear thee a Son," as to Zacharias, "Behold, Elisabeth thy wife shall bear thee a son." For the woman who conceives of her husband, [p. 51] bears the son to her husband, because he is more of him than of herself; but she who had not conceived of man, did not bear the Son to her husband, but to herself. Chrysostomus in Matth: Vel indeterminate hoc posuit ut ostendat quod eum peperit orbi terrarum universo. Chrys.: Or, he left it unappropriated, to shew that she bare Him to the whole world. Rabanus: Dicit autem vocabis nomen, et non imponens, quia ab aeterno impositum est. Raban.: "Thou shalt call His name," he says, and not, "shalt give Him a name," for His name had been given from all eternity. Chrysostomus in Matth: Hinc autem ostendit admirabilem esse partum, quia Deus est qui nomen desuper per Angelum mittit, nec nomen quodcumque, sed quod est infinitorum bonorum thesaurus. Ideoque interpretatur illud Angelus, bonam substituens spem, et ex hoc ad credendum quod dicebatur inducit. Facilius namque sollicitamur ad prospera et promptius fidem accommodamus secundis. Chrys.: This further shews that this birth should be wonderful, because it is God that sends down His name from above by His Angel; and that not any name, but one which is a treasure of infinite good. Therefore also the Angel interprets it, suggesting good hope, and by this induces him to believe what was spoken. For we lean more easily to prosperous things, and yield our belief more readily to good fortune. Hieronymus: Iesus enim Hebraeo sermone salvator dicitur. Etymologiam ergo nominis significat dicens ipse enim salvum faciet populum suum a peccatis eorum. Jerome: Jesus is a Hebrew word, meaning Saviour. He points to the etymology of the name, saying, "For He shall save His people from this sins." Remigius: Ostendit enim eumdem totius mundi salvatorem, et nostrae salutis auctorem. Salvat quidem non incredulos, sed populum suum, hoc est in se credentes salvat non tam a visibilibus hostibus quam potius invisibilibus; hoc est, a peccatis salvat non armis pugnando sed peccata relaxando. Remig.: He shews the same man to be the Saviour of the whole world, and the Author of our salvation. He saves indeed not the unbelieving, but His people; that is, He saves those that believe on Him, not so much from visible as from invisible enemies; that is, from their sins, not by fighting with arms, but by remitting their sins. Severianus: Veniant et audiant qui requirunt: quis est quem Maria genuit? Ipse enim salvum faciet populum suum, non alterius salvum faciet populum. Unde? A peccatis eorum. Esse Deum qui peccata donat si Christianis non credis, crede infidelibus, vel Iudaeis dicentibus: nemo potest peccata dimittere nisi solus Deus. Chrysologus: Let them approach to hear this, who ask, Who is He that Mary bare? "He shall save His people;" not any other man's people; from what? "from their sins." That it is God that forgives sins, if you do not believe the Christians so affirming, believe the infidels, or the Jews who say, "None can forgive sins but God only." [Luke 5:1]
Lectio 13 22 τοῦτο δὲ ὅλον γέγονεν ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ κυρίου διὰ τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος, 23 ἰδοὺ ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ ἕξει καὶ τέξεται υἱόν, καὶ καλέσουσιν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐμμανουήλ, ὅ ἐστιν μεθερμηνευόμενον μεθ' ἡμῶν ὁ θεός.
22. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23. Behold, a Virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His Name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Remigius: Mos fuit Evangelistae, ea quae dicit, de veteri testamento confirmare propter Iudaeos qui in Christum crediderant, ut agnoscerent ea esse completa in gratia Evangelii quae praedicta fuerant in veteri testamento; et subdit hoc autem totum factum est. Quaerendum autem est in hoc loco quare dixerit hoc totum factum esse, cum superius solam conceptionem narraverit. Sed sciendum quod hoc ideo dixit, ut demonstraret quod ante in praesentia Dei factum fuit quam fieret apud homines. Sive quia praeteritarum rerum erat narrator, totum factum esse dixit, quia quando hoc scripsit, iam totum factum erat. Remig.: It is the custom of the Evangelist to confirm what he says out of the Old Testament, for the sake of those Jews who believed on Christ, that they might recognize as fulfilled in the grace of the Gospel, the things that were foretold in the Old Testament; therefore he adds, "Now all this was done." [p. 52] Here we must enquire why he should say "all this was done," when above he has only related the conception. It should be known that he says this to shew, that in the presence of God "all this was done" before it was done among men. Or he says, "all" this was done, because he is relating past events; for when he wrote, it was all done. Rabanus: Vel hoc totum factum esse dicit, quod virgo desponsaretur, quod casta servaretur, quod gravida inveniretur, quod per Angelum revelaretur ut adimpleretur quod dictum est. Non enim hoc impleretur quod virgo conciperet et pareret, nisi desponsata esset, ne lapidaretur, et nisi ab Angelo secretum detegeretur, et ita eam Ioseph acciperet, ne dimissa per infamiam efflueret et lapidatione periret. Si ergo ante partum periret, cessaretur prophetia quae ait: pariet filium. Gloss., ap Anselm: Or, he says, "all this was done," meaning, the Virgin was betrothed, she was kept chaste, she was found with child, the revelation was made by the Angel, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken. For that the Virgin should conceive and should bring forth would never have been fulfilled, had she not been espoused that she should not be stoned; and had not her secret been disclosed by the Angel, and so Joseph taken her unto him, that she was not dismissed to disgrace and to perish by stoning. So had she perished before the birth, that prophecy would have been made void which says, "She shall bring forth a Son." [Isa 7:14] Glossa: Vel potest dici quod ut non ponitur causaliter: non enim ideo impletum est quia implendum erat; ponitur autem consecutive sicut et in Genesi: suspendit alterum in patibulo, ut coniectoris veritas probaretur, quia uno suspenso, coniectoris veritas est probata; sic et in hoc loco intelligendum est, quod hoc facto quod praedictum est, prophetia impleta est. Gloss: Or it may be said, that the word "that" does not here denote the cause; for the prophecy was not fulfilled merely because it was to be fulfilled. But it is put consecutively, as in Genesis, "He hung the other on the gallows, that the truth of the interpreter might be proved;" [Gen 40:22] since by the weighing of one, truth is established. So also in this place we must understand it as if it were, that which was foretold being done, the prophecy was accomplished. Chrysostomus in Matth: Vel aliter. Quia vidit Angelus abyssum divinae misericordiae, naturae leges solutas, et eum qui erat omnibus superior, ad hominem, qui erat omnibus inferior, descendisse, haec et huiusmodi uno verbo ostendit dicens hoc autem totum factum est, quasi dicat: ne putes quod haec nunc tantum Deo placeant, olim praeordinata sunt; decenter enim Angelus non virgini, sed Ioseph prophetiam inducit, quasi in prophetis meditanti et experto. Et primo quidem virginem coniugem appellaverat, nunc autem virginem propheta inducit, ut hoc etiam a propheta audiret quasi diu praemeditatum. Unde ad fidem eorum quae dicebantur inducit Isaiam, vel magis Deum; non enim dicit: ut impleretur quod dictum est ab Isaia, sed quod dictum est a domino per Isaiam. Chrys.: Otherwise; the Angel seeing the depths of the Divine mercy, the laws of nature broken through and reconciliation made, He who was above all made lower than all; all these wonders, all this he comprises in that one saying, "Now all this hath happened;" as though he had said, Do not suppose that this is newly devised of God, it was determined of old. And he rightly cites the Prophet not to the Virgin, who as a maiden was untaught in such things, but to Joseph, as to one much versed in the Prophets. And at first he had spoken of Mary as "thy wife," but now in the words of the Prophet he brings in the word, "Virgin," that he might hear this from the Prophet, as a thing long before determined. Therefore to confirm what he had said, he introduces Isaiah, or rather God; for he does not say, Which was spoken by Isaiah, but, "Which was spoken of the Lord by the Prophet." Hieronymus super Isaiam: Quoniam autem praemittitur in propheta: dabit dominus ipse vobis signum, novum debet esse atque mirabile. Si autem iuvencula vel puella, ut Iudaei volunt, et non virgo pariat, quale signum poterat appellari, cum hoc nomen aetatis sit, non integritatis? Et revera virgo Hebraice bethula appellatur, quae in praesenti loco non scribitur in propheta; sed pro hoc verbo positum est halma, quod praeter Lxx omnes adolescentulam transtulerunt. Porro halma apud eos ambiguum est; dicitur enim et adolescentula et abscondita; ergo halma non solum puella vel virgo, sed virgo abscondita dicitur, et secreta, quae nunquam virorum patuerit aspectibus, sed magna parentum diligentia custodita sit. Lingua quoque Punica, quae de Hebraeorum fontibus manare dicitur, proprie virgo halma appellatur. In nostro quoque sermone halma dicitur sancta; omniumque pene linguarum verbis utuntur Hebraei; et quantum cum mea pugno memoria, numquam me arbitror halma de muliere nupta legisse, sed de ea quae est virgo, ut non virgo solummodo sit, sed in annis adolescentiae; potest enim fieri ut virgo sit vetula. Ista autem virgo erat in annis puellaribus, vel certe virgo, non puella quae adhuc virum nosse non posset. Jerome, in Isa 7:14; Since it is introduced in the Prophet by the words, [p. 53] "The Lord Himself shall give you a sign," it ought to be something new and wonderful. But if it be, as the Jews will have it, a young woman, or a girl shall bring forth, and not a virgin, what wonder is this, since these are words signifying age and not purity? Indeed the Hebrew word signifying "Virgin" (Bethula) is not used in this place, but instead the word, 'Halma,' [ed. note, a: עןלמה, &c.] which except the LXX all render 'girl.' But the word, 'Halma,' has a twofold meaning; it signifies both 'girl,' and 'hidden;' therefore 'Halma' denotes not only 'maiden' or 'virgin,' but 'hidden,' 'secret;' that is, one never exposed to the gaze of men, but kept under close custody by her parents. In the Punic tongue also, which is said to be derived from Hebrew sources, a virgin is properly called 'Halma.' In our tongue also 'Halma' means holy; and the Hebrews use words of nearly all languages; and as far as my memory will serve me, I do not think I ever met with Halma used of a married woman, but of her that is a virgin, and such that she be not merely a virgin, but in the age of youth; for it is possible for an old woman to be a maid. But this was a virgin in years of youth, or at least a virgin, and not a child too young for marriage. Hieronymus: Pro eo autem quod Evangelista Matthaeus dicit in utero habebit, in propheta, quia futurum praedicit, significat quod futurum sit: et scripsit accipiet; Evangelista autem, quia non de futuro, sed de praeterito narrat historiam, mutavit accipiet et posuit habebit; qui autem habet, nequaquam accepturus est. Dicit autem ecce virgo in utero habebit, et pariet filium. For that which Matthew the Evangelist says, "Shall have in her womb," the Prophet who is foretelling something future, writes, "shall receive." The Evangelist, not foretelling the future but describing the past, changes "shall receive," into "shall have;" but he who has, cannot after receive that he has. He says, "Lo, a Virgin shall have in her womb, and shall bear a Son." Leo ad Flavianum: Conceptus quippe est de spiritu sancto intra uterum virginis matris, quae ita illum salva virginitate edidit, quemadmodum salva virginitate concepit. Leo, Serm. 23, 1: The conception was by the Holy Spirit within the womb of the Virgin; who, as she conceived in perfect chastity, in like manner brought forth her Son. Augustinus in Serm. 11 de Nativ.: Qui enim dirupta corporum membra in aliis poterat reintegrare tangendo, quanto magis in sua matre quod invenit integrum non violavit nascendo? Crevit enim in eius partu corporis integritas potius quam decrevit, et virginitas ampliata est potius quam fugata. Pseudo-Aug., in App. s. 123: He, who by a touch could heal the severed limbs of others, how much more could He, in His own birth, preserve whole that which He found whole? In this parturition, soundness of the Mother's body was rather strengthened than weakened, and her virginity rather confirmed than lost. Theodotus in Serm. Ephesini Concilii.: Quia vero Photinus purum hominem dicit qui natus est, Dei non dicens partum, et qui ex vulva processit hominem proponit a Deo divisum, dicat nunc quomodo natura humana per vulvam virginalem nata, virginitatem vulvae servavit incorruptam? Nullius enim hominis mater virgo permansit. Sed quia natus est carne Deus verbum, custodit virginitatem, seipsum verbum esse ostendens; neque enim nostrum verbum cum paritur corrumpit mentem, neque Deus verbum partum eligens peremit virginitatem. Sequitur et vocabunt nomen eius Emmanuel. Theodotus, Hom. 1 and 2. in Conc. Eph. ap. Hard. t. i. pp. 1643, 1655: Inasmuch as Photinus affirms that He that was now born was mere man, not allowing the divine birth, and maintains that He who now issued from the womb was the man separate from the God; let him shew how it was possible that human nature, born of the Virgin's womb, should have preserved the [p. 54] virginity of that womb uncorrupted; for the mother of no man ever yet remained a virgin. But forasmuch as it was God the Word who was now born in the flesh, He shewed Himself to be the Word, in that He preserved His mother's virginity. For as our word when it is begot does not destroy the mind, so neither does God the Word in choosing His birth destroy the virginity. Chrysostomus in Matth: Consuetudo quidem est Scripturae res quae contingunt pro nominibus ponere. Nihil ergo est aliud quod dicit vocabunt nomen eius Emmanuel, quam videbunt Deum cum hominibus; unde non dicit vocabis sed vocabunt. Chrys.: As it is the manner of Scripture to convey a knowledge of events under the form of a name, so here, "They shall call His name Emmanuel," means nothing else than, They shall see God among men. Whence he says not, 'Thou shalt call,' but "They shall call." Rabanus: Primo quidem Angeli psallentes, secundo apostoli praedicantes, adhuc et sancti martyres, deinde cuncti credentes. Raban.: First, Angels hymning, secondly, Apostles preaching, then Holy Martyrs, and lastly, all believers. Hieronymus super Isaiam: Septuaginta autem et tres reliqui transtulerunt similiter vocabis, pro quo hic scriptum est vocabunt; quod in Hebraeo non habetur; verbum enim charatim, quod omnes interpretati sunt vocabis, potest intelligi et vocabit, quod ipsa scilicet virgo quae concipiet et pariet Christum, Emmanuel appellatura sit nomine, quod interpretatur nobiscum Deus. Jerome, in Isa 7:14; The LXX and three others translate, 'Thou shalt call,' instead of which we have here, "They shall call," which is not so in the Hebrew; for the word, 'Charathi,' [ed. note: קראת ] which all render "Thou shalt call," may mean, 'And she shall call,' that is, The Virgin that shall conceive and shall bear Christ, shall call His name Emmanuel, which is interpreted, 'God with us.' e. Sed magis credendum est quod aliquis translator sit interpretatus ne haberetur hoc nomen obscurum apud Latinos. Hoc denique nomine duae substantiae, divinitatis scilicet et humanitatis, in una persona domini Iesu Christi designantur, quia qui ante omnia saecula ineffabiliter genitus est a Deo patre, idem ipse in fine temporum factus est Emmanuel, idest nobiscum Deus, ex virgine matre. Quod autem dicitur nobiscum Deus, potest intelligi hoc modo: nobiscum factus est, idest passibilis mortalis et per omnia nostri similis absque peccato, sive quia substantiam nostrae fragilitatis quam assumpsit, substantiae suae divinitatis in unitate personae coniunxit. Remigius: Quaerendum autem est quis est interpretatus hoc nomen: propheta aut Evangelista aut aliquis translator? Sed sciendum quod propheta non est interpretatus, sancto autem Evangelistae quid necesse fuerat interpretari, cum scriberet Hebraeo sermone? Fortassis quia hoc nomen obscurum erat apud Hebraeos, idcirco dignum erat interpretatione. Sed magis credendum est quod aliquis translator sit interpretatus ne haberetur hoc nomen obscurum apud Latinos. Hoc denique nomine duae substantiae, divinitatis scilicet et humanitatis, in una persona domini Iesu Christi designantur, quia qui ante omnia saecula ineffabiliter genitus est a Deo patre, idem ipse in fine temporum factus est Emmanuel, idest nobiscum Deus, ex virgine matre. Quod autem dicitur nobiscum Deus, potest intelligi hoc modo: nobiscum factus est, idest passibilis mortalis et per omnia nostri similis absque peccato, sive quia substantiam nostrae fragilitatis quam assumpsit, substantiae suae divinitatis in unitate personae coniunxit. Remig.: It is a question who interpreted this name? The Prophet, or the Evangelist, or some translator? It should be known then, that the Prophet did not interpret it; and what need had the Holy Evangelist to do so, seeing he wrote in the Hebrew tongue? Perhaps that was a difficult and rare word in Hebrew, and therefore needed interpretation. It is more probable that some translator interpreted it, that the Latins might not be perplexed by an unintelligible word. In this name are conveyed at once the two substances, the Divinity and Humanity in the one Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He who before all time was begot in an unspeakable manner by God the Father, the same in the end of time was made "Emmanuel," that is, "God with us," of a Virgin Mother. This "God with us" may be understood in this way. He was made with us, passible, mortal, and in all things like unto us without sin; or because our frail substance which He took on Him, He joined in one Person to His Divine substance. Hieronymus super Isaiam: Sed sciendum quod Hebraei hoc de Ezechia filio Achaz prophetari arbitrantur, quod ipso regnante capta sit Samaria; quod omnino probari non potest. Siquidem Achaz filius Ioathan regnavit super Iudaeam et Ierusalem annis sexdecim, cui successit in regnum filius eius Ezechias annos natus viginti tres, et regnavit super Iudaeam et Ierosolymam annis viginti novem; quomodo ergo quam vidit primo anno Achaz prophetiam, de Ezechiae conceptu dicitur et nativitate, cum eo tempore cum regnare coeperat Achaz, iam novem esset Ezechias annorum? Nisi forte sextum Ezechiae regni annum quo capta est Samaria, infantiam eius appellari dicant, non aetatis, sed imperii; quod coactum esse ac violentum etiam stultis patet. Quidam de nostris Isaiam prophetam duos filios habuisse contendit, Iasub et Emmanuel, et Emmanuel de prophetissa uxore sua esse generatum in typum domini salvatoris. Hoc autem fabulosum est. Jerome: It should be known, that the Hebrews believe this prophecy to refer to Ezekias, the son of Ahaz, because in his reign Samaria was taken; but this cannot be established. Ahaz [p. 55] son of Jotham reigned over Judaea and Jerusalem sixteen years, and was succeeded by his son Ezekias, who was twenty-three years old, and reigned over Judaea and Jerusalem twenty-nine years; how then can a prophecy prophesied in the first year of Ahaz refer to the conception and birth of Ezekias, when he was already nine years of age? Unless perhaps the sixth year of the reign of Ezekias, in which Samaria was taken, they think is here called his infancy, that is, the infancy of his reign, not of his age; which even a fool must see to be hard and forced. A certain one of our interpreters contends, that the Prophet Isaiah had two sons, Jashub and Emmanuel; and that Emmanuel was born of his wife the Prophetess as a type of the Lord and Saviour. But this is a fabulous tale. Petrus Alphonsus: Non enim scitur quod aliquis homo illius temporis Emmanuel sit vocatus. Petrus Alfonsus, Dial. tit. 7: For we know not that any man of that day was called Emmanuel. Sed obiicit Hebraeus: quomodo stare poterit quod hoc propter Christum dictum sit et Mariam, cum ab Achaz usque ad Mariam multa centena annorum transierunt? Sed licet ad Achaz loqueretur propheta, non solum tamen ad eum vel de suo tempore dicta est prophetia. Propter hoc enim dictum est: audite domus David, non: audite Achaz. Iterum: dabit dominus ipse vobis signum; addit ipse, ac si diceret: non alius; ex quo potest intelligi ipsum dominum signum esse futurum. Quod etiam pluraliter ait vobis et non tibi, innuit non propter Achaz vel ad ipsum solum hoc dictum fuisse. But the Hebrew objects, How can it be that this was said on account of Christ and Mary, when many centuries intervened between Ahaz and Mary? But though the Prophet was speaking to Ahaz, the prophecy was yet not spoken to him only or of his time only; for it is introduced, "Hear, O house of David;" [Isa 7:13] not, 'Hear, O Ahaz.' Again, "The Lord Himself shall give you a sign;" meaning He, and none other; from which we may understand that the Lord Himself should be the sign. And that he says "to you," (plur.) and not 'to thee,' shews that this was not spoken to Ahaz, or on his account only. Hieronymus super Isaiam: Est ergo sic intelligendum quod dicitur ad Achaz: iste puer qui nascetur ex virgine, domus David, nunc appelletur Emmanuel, idest nobiscum Deus, quia a rebus ipsis (probabiliter, a duobus regibus inimicis liberata) patebit Deum te habere praesentem. Postea autem vocabitur Iesus, idest salvator, eo quod universum genus homini sit salvaturus. Non mireris ergo, o domus David, ad rei novitatem, si virgo Deum pariat quae tantam habeat potestatem ut multo post tempore nasciturus te nunc liberet invocatus. Jerome: What is spoken to Ahaz then is to be thus understood. This Child, that shall be born of a Virgin of the house of David, shall now be called Emmanuel, that is, God with us, because the events (perhaps delivery from the two hostile kings) will make it appear that you have God present with you. But after He shall be called Jesus, that is, Saviour, because He shall save the whole human race. Wonder not, therefore, O house of David, at the newness of this thing, that a Virgin should bring forth a God, seeing He has so great might that though yet to be born after a long while, He delivers you now when you call upon Him. Augustinus contra Faustum: Quis autem dementissimus diceret cum Manichaeo, enervis esse fidei de Christo sine teste non credere, cum apostolus dicat: quomodo credent ei quem non audierunt? Aut quomodo audient sine praedicante? Ut autem non contemnerentur neque fabulosa ducerentur quae apostoli nuntiabant, demonstrantur haec a prophetis fuisse praedicta, quia etsi attestabantur miracula, non defuissent qui magicae potentiae cuncta illi tribuerent, nisi talis eorum cogitatio contestatione prophetica vinceretur. Magicis enim artibus longe antequam nasceretur, prophetas sibi constituere a quibus praenuntiaretur, nemo utique diceret: si etiam dixerimus homini gentili crede Christo quia Deus est et responderit: unde credo? Prolataque auctoritate prophetarum, eis se nolle credere dixerit, ostendimus fidem prophetarum ex his quae ventura cecinerunt et venisse cernuntur. Credo enim quod eum non lateret quantas a regibus huius saeculi persecutiones prius pertulerit Christiana religio; videat nunc ipsos reges terrae Christi imperio subiugatos omnesque gentes eidem servientes, quae omnia per prophetas fuerunt praedicta. Hoc ergo audiens de Scriptura prophetica et cernens in universa terra completa, moveretur ad fidem. Aug., Cont. Faust., 12, 45, and 13, 7: Who so mad as to say with Manichaeus, that it is a weak faith not to believe i Christ without a witness; whereas the Apostle says, "How shall they believe on Him of whom they have not heard? Or how shall they hear without a preacher?" [Rom 10:14] That those things which were preached by the Apostle might [p. 56] not be contemned, nor thought to be fables, they are proved to have been foretold by the Prophets. For though attested by miracles, yet there would not have been wanting men to ascribe them all to magical power, had not such suggestions been overcome by the additional testimony of prophecy. For none could suppose that long before He was born, He had raised up by magic prophets to prophesy of Him. For if we say to a Gentile, Believe on Christ that He is God, and he should answer, Whence is it that I should believe on Him? we might allege the authority of the Prophets. Should he refuse assent to this, we establish their credit from their having foretold things to come, and those things having truly come to pass. I suppose he could not but know how great persecutions the Christian religion has formerly suffered from the Kings of this world; let him now behold those very Kings submitting to the kingdom of Christ, and all nations serving the same; all which things the Prophets foretold. He then hearing these things out of the Scriptures of the Prophets, and beholding them accomplished throughout the whole earth, would be moved to faith. Glossa: Horum ergo errorem Evangelista excludit dicens ut adimpleretur quod dictum est a domino per prophetam. Prophetia autem alia est ex praedestinatione Dei, quam necessarium est evenire omnibus modis ut sine nostro impleatur arbitrio, ut illa de qua modo agimus: unde dicit ecce, ad demonstrandum certitudinem prophetiae; alia est ex praescientia Dei, cui nostrum admiscetur arbitrium et cooperante gratia consequimur praemium, vel ab ea iuste relicti tormentum; alia non ex praescientia, sed est quaedam comminatio more humano facta, sicut illud: adhuc quadraginta dies et Ninive subvertetur, intelligendo nisi Ninivitae corrigantur. Gloss, in Anselm: This error then is barred by the Evangelist saying, "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the Prophet." Now one kind of prophecy is by the preordination of God, and must needs be fulfilled, and that without any free choice on our part. Such is that of which we now speak; wherefore he says, "Lo," to shew the certainty of prophecy. There is another kind of prophecy which is by the foreknowledge of God, and with this our free will is mixed up; wherein by grace working with us we obtain reward, or if justly deserted by it, torment. Another is not of foreknowledge, but is a kind of threat made after the manner of men; as that, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown;" [Jonah 3] understanding, unless the Ninevites amend themselves.
Lectio 14 24 ἐγερθεὶς δὲ ὁ ἰωσὴφ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕπνου ἐποίησεν ὡς προσέταξεν αὐτῷ ὁ ἄγγελος κυρίου καὶ παρέλαβεν τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ: 25 καὶ οὐκ ἐγίνωσκεν αὐτὴν ἕως οὗ ἔτεκεν υἱόν: καὶ ἐκάλεσεν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν.
24. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 25. And knew her not till she had brought forth her first-born Son: and he called his name, Jesus.
Remigius: Eo audito rediit vita quo ingressa est mors. Per inobedientiam enim Adae omnes perditi sumus, per obedientiam Ioseph omnes ad pristinum statum incipimus revocari; nam his verbis magna nobis virtus obedientiae commendatur, quibus dicitur exurgens autem Ioseph fecit sicut praeceperat ei Angelus domini. [p. 57] Remig.: Life returned by the same entrance through which death had entered in. By Adam's disobedience we were ruined, by Joseph's obedience we all begin to be recalled to our former condition; for in these words is commended to us the great virtue of obedience, when it is said, "And Joseph rising from sleep, did as the Angel of the Lord had commanded him." Glossa: Non tantum quod praecepit Angelus fecit, sed etiam sicut praecepit. Quisquis etiam a Deo monetur, solvat moras, surgat a somno, faciat quod iubetur. Et accepit Mariam coniugem suam. Gloss. ord. et ap. Anselm ex Beda cit.: He not only did what the Angel commanded, but as he commanded it. Let each one who is warned of God, in like manner, break off all delays, rise from sleep, and do that which is commanded him. Chrysostomus super Matth: Non in domum accepit eam, nec enim adhuc dimiserat eam de domo, sed de animo suo deposuerat eam, et iterum in animum suum eam recepit. Pseudo-Chrys.: "Took unto him" not took home to him; for he had not sent her away; he had put her away in thought only, and now took her again in thought. Remigius: Vel accepit celebratis nuptiis ut coniux vocaretur, non tamen ut concumberet, quia sequitur et non cognoscebat eam. Remig.: Or, Took her so far, as that the nuptial rites being complete, she was called his wife; but not so far as to lie with her, as it follows, "And knew her not." Hieronymus contra Helvidium: Sed Helvidius superfluo labore desudat, cognoscendi verbum ad coitum magis quam ad scientiam esse referendum, quasi hoc quisquam negaverit et eas ineptias quas redarguit aliquando prudens quispiam suspicari potuerit. Deinde vult dicere quod donec sive usque adverbium certum tempus significet, quo completo fiat aliud quod usque ad illud tempus non fiebat, ut hic: non cognoscebat eam donec peperit filium. Apparet, inquit, cognitam esse post partum, cuius cognitionem filii tantum generatio differebat. Et ad hoc approbandum congerit de Scripturis exempla quam plurima. Ad quod respondemus: et non cognoscebat, et usque, vel donec in Scripturis dupliciter intelligenda. Et de eo quidem scriptum est, non cognoscebat, ad coitum esse referendum ipse disseruit, nullo dubitante quin ad scientiam saepe referatur, ut ibi: remansit puer Iesus in Ierusalem et non cognoverunt parentes eius. Sic etiam donec in Scriptura saepe certum tempus, sicut ipse disseruit, significat, saepe infinitum, ut est illud: donec consenescatis, ego sum. Numquid postquam illi senuerint, Deus desistit? Et salvator in Evangelio: ecce ego vobiscum sum usque ad consummationem saeculi. Ergo post consummationem saeculi a discipulis abscedet? Et apostolus: oportet illum regnare donec ponat inimicos sub pedibus eius. Numquid postquam illi sub pedibus erunt, regnare desistet? Intelligat ergo ea de quibus posset ambigi, si non fuissent scripta, significari, cetera vero nostrae intelligentiae derelinqui; iuxta quod Evangelista illud indicat de quo scandalum poterat moveri, non eam cognitam esse a viro usque ad partum, ut multo magis intelligeremus cognitam non fuisse post partum. Jerome, Cont. Helvid. c. 5: Helvidius is at much superfluous trouble to make this word "know" refer to carnal knowledge rather than to acquaintance, as though any had ever denied that; or as if the follies to which he replies had ever occurred to any person of common understanding. He then goes on to say, that the adverb, 'until,' denotes a fixed time when that should take place, which had not taken place before; so that here from the words, "He knew her not until she had brought forth her first-born Son," it is clear, he says, that after that he did know her. And in proof of this he heaps together many instances from Scripture. To all this we answer, that the word 'until' is to be understood in two senses in Scripture. And concerning the expression, "knew her not," he has himself shewn, that it must be referred to carnal knowledge, none doubting that it is often used of acquaintance, as in that, "The child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem, and His parents knew not of it." [Luke 2:43] In like manner, 'until' often denotes in Scripture, as he has shewn, a fixed period, but often also an infinite time, as in that, "Even to your old age I am He." [Isa 46:4] Will God then cease to be when they are grown old? Also the Saviour in the Gospel, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of this world." [Matt 28:20] Will He then leave His disciples at the end of the world? Again, the Apostle says, "He must reign till He has put His enemies under His feet." [1 Cor 15:25] Be it understood then, that which if it had not been written might have been [p. 58] doubted, is expressly declared to us; other things are left to our own understanding. [ed. note: In other words, "till," need not imply a termination at a certain point of time, but may be giving us information up to a point from which onwards there is already no doubt. Supposing an Evangelist thought the very notion shocking that Joseph should have considered the Blessed Virgin as his wife after he was a witness of her bearing God the Son, he would only say that the vision had its effect upon him up to that time when it was no longer necessary. Just as if, in speaking of a man like Augustine, one said, that, in consequence of some awful occurrence, he was in the habit of saying prayers till the time of his conversion, no one would suppose that he left them off on being converted.] So here the Evangelist informs us, in that wherein there might have been room for error, that she was not known by her husband until the birth of her Son, that we might thence infer that much less was she known afterwards. Chrysostomus super Matth: Ut si quis dicat: donec ille vixit, non est hoc locutus, numquid per hoc significavit quia post mortem ille locutus est? Quod fieri non potest. Sic et Ioseph ante partum credibile fuit ut non cognosceret eam quia nondum cognoscebat mysterii dignitatem; postquam vero cognovit quia est facta unigeniti Dei templum, quomodo poterat hoc usurpare? Sed sequentes Eunomium putant, quia illi ausi sunt hoc dicere, quod Ioseph hoc ausus fuit, sicut insanus neminem reputat esse sanum. Pseudo-Chrys.: As one might say, 'He told it not so long as he lived;' would this imply that he told it after his death? Impossible. So it were credible that Joseph might have known her before the birth, while he was yet ignorant of the great mystery; but after that he understood how she had been made a temple of the Only-begotten of God, how could he occupy that? The followers of Eunomius think, as they have dared to assert this, that Joseph also dared to do it, just as the insane think all men equally mad with themselves. Hieronymus contra Helvidium: Ad summum illud requiro, cur se abstinuerit Ioseph usque ad partus diem. Respondebit utique: quia Angelum audierat dicentem quod in ea natum est. Qui ergo somnio tantum credidit ut uxorem non auderet tangere, hic postquam pastores audierat, magos viderat, miracula tanta cognoverat, templum Dei, spiritus sancti sedem, domini sui matrem audebat attingere? Jerome, cont. Hevlid. 8: Lastly, I would ask, Why then did Joseph abstain at all up to the day of birth? He will surely answer, Because of the Angel's words, "That which is born in her, &c." He then who gave so much heed to a vision as not to dare to touch his wife, would he, after he had heard the shepherds, seen the Magi, and known so many miracles, dare to approach the temple of God, the seat of the Holy Ghost, the Mother of his Lord? Chrysostomus super Matth: Potest etiam dici quod verbum cognoscendi hic accipitur pro agnitione; vere enim non agnovit eam ante, cuius fuerat dignitatis; et postquam peperit, tunc cognovit eam, qua speciosior et dignior facta fuerat quam totus mundus, quia quem totus mundus capere non poterat, in angusto cubiculo uteri sui sola suscepit. Pseudo-Chrys.: It may be said, that "know" here signifies simply, to understand; that whereas before he had not understood how great her dignity, after the birth he then "knew" that she had been made more honourable and worthy than the whole world, who had carried in her womb Him whom the whole world could not contain. Hilarius: Vel aliter. Propter sanctissimae Mariae glorificationem a Ioseph cognosci non potuit donec peperit; dominum enim gloriae habens in utero quomodo cognosceretur? Si Moysi cum Deo colloquentis glorificata est facies ut non possent intendere in eum filii Israel, quanto magis Maria agnosci vel intueri non poterat, quae dominum potentiae in utero habebat? Post partum autem a Ioseph agnita invenitur specie faciei, non tactu libidinis. Gloss: Otherwise; On account of the glorification of the most holy Mary, she could not be known by Joseph until the birth; for she who had the Lord of glory in her womb, how should she be known? If the face of Moses talking with God was made glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look thereon, how much [p. 59] more could not Mary be known, or even looked upon, who bare the Lord of glory in her womb? After the birth she was known of Joseph to the beholding of her face, but not to be approached carnally. Hieronymus in Matthaeum: Ex hoc autem quod dicitur filium suum primogenitum, quidam perversissime suspicantur et alios filios habuisse Mariam dicentes primogenitum non dici nisi qui habeat et fratres, cum hic mos Scripturarum sit ut primogenitum non eum vocent quem fratres sequuntur, sed eum qui primus natus sit. Jerome: From the words, "her first-born Son," some most erroneously suspect that Mary had other sons, saying that first-born can only be said of one that has brethren. But this is the manner of Scripture, to call the first-born not only one who is followed by brethren, but the first-birth of the mother. Hieronymus contra Helvidium: Alioquin si non est primogenitus nisi quem sequuntur et fratres, tamdiu sacerdotibus primogenita non debentur quamdiu et alia fuerint procreata. Jerome, Cont. Helvid. 10: For if he only was first-born who was followed by other brethren, then no first-birth could be due to the Priests, till such time as the second birth took place. Glossa: Vel primogenitus dicitur inter omnes electos per gratiam; proprie autem unigenitus Dei patris vel Mariae dicitur. Sequitur et vocavit nomen eius Iesum, die octavo quo fiebat circumcisio et nomen imponebatur. Gloss. ord.: Or; He is "first-born" among the elect by grace; but by nature the Only-begotten of God the Father, the only Son of Mary. "And called His name Jesus," on the eighth day on which the circumcision took place, and the Name was given. Remigius: Liquet autem hoc nomen fuisse notissimum sanctis patribus et Dei prophetis, maxime illi qui dicebat: defecit in salutari tuo anima mea; et: exultavit cor meum in salutari tuo; et illi qui dicebat: exultabo in Deo Iesu meo. Remig.: It is clear that this Name was well known to the Holy Fathers and the Prophets of God, but to him above all, who spake, "My soul fainted for Thy salvation;" [Ps 119:81] and, "My soul hath rejoiced in Thy salvation." [Ps 13:5] Also to him who spake, "I will joy in God my Saviour." [Heb 3:18]
Caput 2 Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 2 [p. 60] Lectio 1 1 τοῦ δὲ Ἰησοῦ γεννηθέντος ἐν βηθλέεμ τῆς ἰουδαίας ἐν ἡμέραις ἡρῴδου τοῦ βασιλέως, ἰδοὺ μάγοι ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν παρεγένοντο εἰς ἱεροσόλυμα 2 λέγοντες, ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ τεχθεὶς βασιλεὺς τῶν ἰουδαίων; εἴδομεν γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὸν ἀστέρα ἐν τῇ ἀνατολῇ καὶ ἤλθομεν προσκυνῆσαι αὐτῷ.
1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2. Saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him.
Augustinus in Serm. 5 de Epiph.: Post miraculum virginei partus quo uterus divino numine plenus, salvo pudoris signo, Deum hominem profudit, inter obscuras cubiculi latebras et praesepis angustias, in quibus infinita maiestas membris contractioribus stabulabat, dum pendet ad ubera et vilium patitur Deus involumenta pannorum, repente novum de caelo sidus terris effulsit, et, totius mundi dissipata caligine, noctem convertit in diem ne dies celaretur in nocte; unde Evangelista dicit cum ergo natus esset Iesus in Bethlehem et cetera. Aug.: After the miraculous Virgin-birth, a God-man having by Divine power proceeded from a virgin womb; in the obscure shelter of such a cradle, a narrow stall, wherein lay Infinite Majesty in a body more narrow, a God was suckled and suffered the wrapping of vile rags - amidst all this, on a sudden a new star shone in the sky upon the earth, and driving away the darkness of the world, changed night into day; that the day-star should not be hidden by the night. Hence it is that the Evangelist says, "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem." Remigius: In principio autem huius evangelicae lectionis tria ponit: personam, cum dicitur cum natus esset Iesus; locum, cum ait in Bethlehem Iudae; tempus, cum addit in diebus Herodis regis. Et haec tria ad confirmationem narrandae rei ponuntur. Remig.: In the beginning of this passage of the Gospel he puts three several things; the person, "When Jesus was born," the place, "in Bethlehem of Judaea," and the time, "in the days of Herod the king." These three circumstances verify his words. Hieronymus in Matth.: Putamus autem ab Evangelista primum editum, sicut in Hebraico legimus, Iudae, non Iudaeae. Quae est enim aliarum gentium Bethlehem, ut ad distinctionem eius hic Iudaeae poneretur? Iudae autem idcirco scribitur, quia et aliam Bethlehem in Iudaea legimus in libro Iesu filii Nave. Jerome: We think the Evangelist first wrote, as we read in the Hebrew, 'Judah,' not 'Judaea.' For in what other country is there a Bethlehem, that this needs to be distinguished as in 'Judaea?' But 'Judah' is written, because there is another Bethlehem in Galilee. Glossa: Duae enim Bethlehem sunt: alia quae est in terra Zabulon, altera quae in terra Iuda, quae prius vocata est Ephrata. Gloss. ord.: There are two Bethlehems; [Josh 19:15] one in the tribe of Zabulon, the other in the tribe of Judah, which was before called Ephrata. Augustinus de Cons. Evang: De civitate autem Bethlehem Matthaeus Lucasque consentiunt. Sed quomodo et qua causa ad eam venerint Ioseph et Maria, Lucas exponit, Matthaeus praetermittit. E contra de magis ab oriente venientibus Lucas tacet, Matthaeus dicit. Aug., de Cons. Evan., 2, 15: Concerning the place, Bethlehem, Matthew and Luke agree; but the cause and manner of their being there, Luke relates, Matthew omits. Luke again omits the account of the Magi, which Matthew gives. [p. 61] Chrysostomus super Matthaeum Sed videamus quid ad utilitatem respiciat quod Evangelista tempus designat quo Christus nascitur, dicens in diebus Herodis regis, quod dicit ut prophetiam Danielis impletam demonstraret, quae post LXX septimanas annorum Christum nasciturum esse praedicit. Nam ex illo tempore usque ad regnum Herodis LXX septimanarum anni sunt consummati; vel ideo quia quamdiu Iudaica gens sub Iudaicis regibus, quamvis peccatoribus, tenebatur, prophetae mittebantur ad remedium eius; nunc autem quando lex Dei sub potestate regis iniqui tenebatur et iustitia Dei sub dominatione Romana premebatur, nascitur Christus, quia magna et desperabilis infirmitas medicum artificiosiorem quaerebat. Pseudo-Chrys.: Let us see to what serves this designation of time, "In the days of Herod the king." It shews the fulfilment of Daniel's prophecy, wherein he spake that Christ should be born after seventy weeks of years. For from the time of the prophecy to the reign of Herod, the years of seventy weeks were accomplished. Or again, as long as Judaea was ruled by Jewish princes, though sinners, so long prophets were sent for its amendment; but now, whereas God's law was held under the power of an unrighteous king, and the righteousness of God enslaved by the Roman rule, Christ is born; the most desperate sickness required the better physician. Rabanus: Vel ideo regis alienigenae mentionem fecit, ut impleretur prophetia quae dixit: non auferetur sceptrum de Iuda nec dux de femore eius, donec veniat qui mittendus est. Rabanus: Otherwise, he mentions the foreign king to shew the fulfilment of the prophecy. "The Sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a Lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come." [Gen 49:10] Ambrosius super Lucam: Fertur autem quod Idumaei latrones Ascalonem ingressi, Antipatrum inter alios adduxerunt captivum. Is igitur imbutus mysteriis Iudaeorum, Hircano Iudaeae regi amicitia copulatur, quem pro se ad Pompeium Hircanus direxit; et quia legationis fructu potitus est, per eam gratiam partem regni affectavit. Occiso autem Antipatro, filius eius Herodes sub Antonio senatus consulto Iudaeis regnare praeceptus est; in quo claret Herodem nulla affinitate gentis Iudaeorum regnum quaesisse. Ambrose, in Luc., iii, 41: It is said, that some Idumaean robbers coming to Ascalon, brought with them among other prisoners Antipater. [ed. note: The same account of Herod's parentage is given by Africanus, Euseb. Hist. i. 7. but Josephus says (Antiq. xiv. 1. n. 3. de Bell. Jud. i. 6. n. 2.) that Herod was an Idumaean, of noble birth, and that his father Antipas was governor of Idumaea under Alexander Jannaeus.] He was instructed in the law and customs of the Jews, and acquired the friendship of Hyrcanus, king of Judaea, who sent him as his deputy to Pompey. He succeeded so well in the object of his mission, that he laid claim to a share of the throne. He was put to death, but his son Herod was under Antony appointed king of Judaea, by a decree of the Senate; so it is clear that Herod sought the throne of Judaea without any connection or claim of birth. Chrysostomus in Matth: Dicitur autem Herodis regis, dignitatem addens, quia et alius fuit Herodes qui Ioannem interfecit. Chrys.: "Herod the king," mentioning his dignity, because there was another Herod who put John to death. Chrysostomus super Matth: Dum ergo hoc tempore natus esset, ecce magi veniunt, hoc est confestim ut natus est, magnum Deum ostendentes in parvulo homine. Pseudo-Chrys.: "When He was born... behold wise men," that is, immediately on His birth, shewing that a great God existed in a little one of man. Rabanus: Magi vero sunt qui de singulis rebus philosophantur; sed sermo communis magos pro maleficis accepit; qui aliter tamen habentur apud gentem suam, eo quod sint philosophi Chaldaeorum, et ab huius artis scientia reges quoque et principes eiusdem gentis omnia sapiunt, et ipsi primum ortum domini intellexerunt. Rabanus: The Magi are men who enquire into the nature of things philosophically, but common speech uses Magi for wizards. In their own country, however, they are held in other repute, being the philosophers of the Chaldaeans, in whose lore kings and princes of that nation are taught, and by which themselves knew the birth of the Lord. Augustinus in Serm. 4 de Epiph.: Isti autem magi quid fuerunt nisi primitiae gentium? Israelitae pastores, magi gentiles; illi prope, isti longe, utrique tamen ad angularem lapidem cucurrerunt. Manifestatus est ergo Iesus non doctis nec iustis; praevalet namque imperitia in rusticitate pastorum, et impietas in sacrilegiis magorum. Utrosque sibi lapis ille angularis attribuit, quippe qui venerit stulta eligere ut confunderet sapientes, et non vocare iustos, sed peccatores, ut nullus magnus superbiret, nullus infirmus desperaret. Aug., Serm. 202: What were these Magi but the first [p. 62] fruits of the Gentiles? Israelitish shepherds, gentile Magians, one from far, the other from near, hastened to the one Corner-stone. Aug., Serm. 200: Jesus then was manifested neither to the learned nor the righteous; for ignorance belonged to the shepherds, impiety to the idolatrous Magi. Yet does that Corner-stone attract them both to Itself, seeing He came to choose the foolish things of this world to confound the wise, and not to call the righteous, but sinners; that nothing great should exalt himself, none weak should despair. Glossa: Hi autem magi reges fuerunt, qui etsi tria munera obtulisse dicuntur, non ideo non plures quam tres fuisse probantur, sed ut per eos gentes, quae ex tribus filiis Noe natae sunt, venturae ad fidem praefigurarentur. Vel tot fuerunt principes, qui plures duxerunt in comitatu suo. Venerunt autem non post annum, quia tunc inveniretur in Aegypto, non in praesepio, sed tertiadecima die. Ad ostendendum autem unde venirent, dicitur ab oriente. Gloss: These Magi were kings, and though their gifts were three, it is not to be thence inferred that themselves were only three in number, but in them was prefigured the coming to the faith of the nations sprung from the three sons of Noah. Or, the princes were only three, but each brought a large company with him. They came not after a year's end, for He would then have been found in Egypt, not in the manger, but on the thirteenth day. To shew whence they came it is said, "from the East." Remigius: Sciendum est autem quia varia est de magis opinio. Quidam enim dicunt eos fuisse Chaldaeos; Chaldaei enim stellam pro Deo colebant, et idcirco dixerunt quod nuncupativus eorum Deus ostenderit Deum verum natum. Alii vero dicunt Persas eos fuisse. Nonnulli dicunt illos de ultimis finibus terrae fuisse. Alii vero dicunt illos fuisse nepotes Balaam, quod magis est credendum; Balaam enim inter cetera quae prophetavit dixit: orietur stella ex Iacob. Illi vero habentes hanc prophetiam, mox ut viderunt stellam novam, intellexerunt regem natum, et venerunt. Remig.: It should be known that opinions vary respecting the Magi. Some say they were Chaldaeans, who are known to have worshipped a star as God; thus their fictitious Deity shewed them the way to the true God. Others think that they were Persians; others again, that they came from the utmost ends of the earth. Another and more probable opinion is, that they were descendants of Balaam, who having his prophecy, "There shall rise a Star out of Jacob," [Num 24:17] as soon as they saw the star, would know that a King was born. Hieronymus in Matth.: Et sic hanc stellam futuram vaticinio Balaam noverant, cuius erant successores. Sed quaerendum est: si Chaldaei vel Persae aut de ultimis finibus terrae fuerunt, quomodo in tam brevi spatio Hierosolymam venire potuerunt? Jerome: They knew that such a star would rise by the prophecy of Balaam, whose successors they were. But whether they were Chaldaeans, or Persians, or came from the utmost ends of the earth, how in so short a space of time could they arrive at Jerusalem? Remigius: Sed sciendum est quod aliqui solent dicere quod puer qui tunc natus est, in tam brevi spatio temporis de ultimis finibus terrae ad se perducere potuit. Remig.: Some used to answer, 'No marvel if that boy who was then born could draw them so speedily, though it were from the ends of the earth.' Glossa: Vel non mirandum est eos in tredecim diebus venisse in Bethlehem, cum equos Arabicos et dromedarios haberent, qui scilicet sunt veloces ad iter. Gloss: Or, they had dromedaries and Arabian horses, whose great swiftness brought them to Bethlehem in thirteen days. Chrysostomus super Matth: Vel per biennium ante Christi nativitatem profecti sunt, et stella eos praecedebat, et neque esca neque potus defecit in peris eorum. Pseudo-Chrys.: Or, they had set out two years before the Saviour's birth, and though they travelled all that time, neither meat nor drink failed in their scrips. Remigius: Vel si fuerunt successores Balaam, reges isti non longe distant a terra promissionis; idcirco in tam brevi spatio temporis Ierusalem venire potuerunt. Sed tunc quaerendum est quare Evangelista dicat eos ab oriente venisse. Quod ideo est, quia ab illa regione venerunt quae in Orientali parte Iudaeis posita est. Pulchre autem ipsi ab oriente venisse dicuntur, quia omnes qui ad dominum veniunt, ab ipso et per ipsum veniunt; ipse est oriens, secundum illud: ecce vir, oriens nomen eius. Remig.: Or, if they were the descendants of Balaam, their kings are not far distant from the land of promise, and [p. 63] might easily come to Jerusalem in that so short time. But why does he write "From the East?" Because surely they came from a country eastward of Judaea. But there is also great beauty in this, They "came out of the East," seeing all who come to the Lord, come from Him and through Him; as it is said in Zechariah, "Behold the Man whose name is the East." [Zech 6:12] Chrysostomus super Matth: Vel ab oriente venerunt. Unde dies nascitur, inde initium fidei processit, quia fides lumen est animarum. Ab oriente ergo venerunt, sed Hierosolymam. Pseudo-Chrys.: Or, whence the day springs, thence came the first-fruits of the faith; for faith is the light of the soul. Therefore they came from the East, but to Jerusalem. Remigius: Quamvis dominus ibi natus non esset quia licet agnoscerent nativitatis tempus, locum tamen non cognoverunt. Ierusalem enim regia civitas est, et crediderunt quod talis puer non nisi in urbe regia nasci debuisset. Sive ideo venerunt ut adimpleretur quod scriptum est: de Sion exibit lex, et verbum domini de Ierusalem, quia ibi primo annuntiatus est Christus; sive ut studio magorum damnaretur pigritia Iudaeorum. Venerunt ergo Hierosolymam, dicentes: ubi est qui natus est rex Iudaeorum? Remig.: Yet was not the Lord born there; thus they knew the time but not the place of His birth. Jerusalem being the royal city, they believed that such a child could not be born in any other. Or it was to fulfil that Scripture, "The Law shall go out of Sion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." [Isa 2:3] And there Christ was first preached. Or it was to condemn the backwardness of the Jews. Augustinus in Serm. 2 de Epiph.: Cum autem multi nati atque defuncti essent reges Iudaeorum, numquid quemquam eorum adorandum magi quaesierunt? Non, quia nec quemquam eorum de caelo loquentem didicerunt. Non itaque regi Iudaeorum, quales esse illic solebant, hunc tam magnum honorem longinqui alienigenae ab eodem regno prorsus extranei a se deberi arbitrantur. Sed talem natum esse didicerant, in quo adorando se salutem, quae secundum Deum est, consecuturos minime dubitarent; neque enim aetas erat saltem cui adulatio humana serviret, non de membris purpura, non in capite diadema fulgebat, non pompa famulantium, non terror exercitus, non gloriosa fama praeliorum hos ad eum viros ex remotis terris cum tanto voto supplicationis attraxerunt. Iacebat in praesepio puer, ortu recens, exiguus corpore, contemptibilis paupertate. Sed magnum aliquid latebat in parvo, quod illi homines primitiae gentium, non terra portante, sed caelo narrante didicerant; unde sequitur vidimus enim stellam eius in oriente. Annuntiant et interrogant, credunt et quaerunt, tamquam significantes eos qui ambulant per fidem et desiderant speciem. Pseudo-Aug., Append. Serm. 132: Many kings of Judaea had been born and died before, yet had Magi ever sought out any of them for adoration? No, for they had not been taught that any of these spoke from heaven. To no ordinary King of Judaea had these men, aliens from the land of Judaea, ever thought such honour due. But they had been taught that this Child was one, in worshipping whom they would certainly secure that salvation which is of God. Neither His age was such as attracts men's flattery; His limbs not robed in purple, His brow not crowned with a diamond, no pompous train, no awful army, no glorious fame of battles, attracted these men to Him from the remotest countries, with such earnestness of supplication. There lay in a manger a Boy, newly born, of infantine size, of pitiable poverty. But in that small Infant lay hid something great, which these men, the first-fruits of the Gentiles, had learned not of earth but of heaven; as it follows, "We have seen His star in the east." They announce the vision and ask, they believe and enquire, as signifying those who walk by faith and desire sight. Chrysostomus in Matth: Sciendum autem, quod Priscillianistae haeretici, qui nasci unumquemque hominem sub constitutionibus stellarum putant, hoc in adiutorium sui erroris assumunt, quod nova stella exiit, cum dominus in carne apparuit, cuius fuisse fatum eamdem quae apparuit stellam putant. Greg., M. in Evan., i. 10. n. 4: It should be known that the Priscillianists, heretics who believe every man to be born under the aspect of some planet. cite this text in support of their error; the new star which appeared at the Lord's birth they consider to have been his fate. Augustinus contra Faustum: Et secundum Faustum hic stella inducitur, quae confirmat Genesim, ut recte genesidium hoc magis nuncupari possit quam Evangelium. Aug., contr. Faust, ii, 1: And, according to Faustus this [p. 64] introduction of the account of the star would lead us rather to call this part of the history, 'The Nativity,' than 'The Gospel.' Gregorius in Evang: Sed absit a fidelium cordibus ut esse quid fatum dicant. Gregory: But far be it from the hearts of the faithful to call any thing, 'fate.' Augustinus de Civ. Dei: Nam homines quando fatum audiunt, usitata loquendi consuetudine non intelligunt nisi vim positionis siderum, qualis est quando quis nascitur sive concipitur; quod aliqui alienant a Dei voluntate. Et hi ab auribus omnium repellendi sunt, qui qualiumcumque deorum volunt esse cultores. Aliqui vero stellas hanc putant habere potestatem traditam sibi a summa Dei potestate: qui magnam caelo faciunt iniuriam, in cuius velut splendidissima curia opinantur scelera facienda decerni; qualia si aliqua terrena civitas decrevisset, genere humano decernente fuerat evertenda. Aug., City of God, book v, ch. 1: For by the word, 'fate,' in common acceptation, is meant the disposition of the stars at the moment of a person's birth or conception; to which some assign a power independent of the will of God. These must be kept at a distance from the ears of all who desire to be worshippers of Gods of any sort. But others think the stars have this virtue committed to them by the great God; wherein they greatly wrong the skies, in that they impute to their splendent host the decreeing of crimes, such as should any earthly people decree, their city should in the judgment of mankind deserve to be utterly destroyed. Chrysostomus super Matth: Si ergo aliquis adulter et homicida fiat per stellam, magna est iniquitas illarum stellarum, magis illius qui creavit stellas; nam cum sit praescius futurorum Deus, ex quo tanta iniquitas futura per stellas, si voluit ei dare, non est bonus; si noluit ei dare, et non potuit, impotens est. Si etiam stellae est quod aut mali sumus aut boni, ergo nec bonum nostrum laudandum est, nec malum vituperandum, quia nec in nobis est voluntarius actus; ut quid enim mali mei poenam suscipiam, quod non voluntate, sed necessitate commisi? Ipsa denique mandata Dei ne peccent homines, aut hortamenta ut faciant bonum, hanc insipientiam destruunt. Quis enim iubet aliquem ne faciat malum quod non potest declinare, aut faciat bonum ad quod non potest pervenire? Pseudo-Chrys.: If then any should become an adulterer or homicide through means of the planets, how great is the evil and wickedness of those stars, or rather of Him who made them? For as God knows things to come, and what evils are to spring from those stars; if He would not hinder it, He is not good; if He would but could not, He is weak. Again, if it be of the star that we are either good or bad, we have neither merit nor demerit, as being involuntary agents; and why should I be punished for sin which I have done not wilfully, but by necessity? The very commands of God against sin, and exhortations to righteousness, overthrow such folly. For where a man has not power to do, or where he has not power to forbear, who would command him either to do or to forbear? Gregorius Nyssenus Philos.: Insipientes vero sunt orationes omnibus secundum fatum existentibus; exulat autem et providentia Dei cum pietate, cum his et homo organum solum invenitur superni circularis motus; ab hoc enim moveri ad operationes aiunt non solum partes corporis, sed animae excogitationes; et universaliter qui hoc dicunt, quae in nobis sunt, et contingentis naturam destruunt; et ita nihil aliud est hoc quam omnia evertere. Ubi etiam de reliquo erit liberum arbitrium? Liberum enim oportet esse quod est in nobis. Gregory Nyss.: How vain moreover is prayer for those who live by fate; Divine Providence is banished from the world together with piety, and man is made the mere instrument of the sidereal motions. For these they say move to action, not only the bodily members, but the thoughts of the mind. In a word, they who teach this, take away all that is in us, and the very nature of a contingency; which is nothing less than to overturn all things. For where will there be free will? but that which is in us must be free. Augustinus de Civ. Dei: Non usquequaque autem absurde dici potest, ad solas corporum differentias afflatus quosdam valere sidereos, sicut solaribus accessibus et decessibus videmus anni tempora variari, et lunaribus incrementis atque decrementis augeri et minui quaedam genera rerum, sicut conchas et mirabiles aestus Oceani; non autem animi voluntates positionibus siderum subdi. Quod si dicantur stellae significare ista potius quam facere, quid est quod nunquam dicere potuerunt cur in vita geminorum, in actionibus, in eventibus, professionibus, actibus, honoribus, ceterisque rebus ad humanam vitam pertinentibus, atque in ipsa morte plerumque sit tanta diversitas, ut similiores sint multi extranei quam ipsi inter se gemini, per exiguum temporis intervallum in nascendo separati, in conceptu autem per concubitum uno etiam momento seminati? Quod ergo conantur efficere de intervallo exigui temporis quod ipsi inter se gemini dum nascerentur habuerunt, non tantum valet quanta invenitur in geminorum voluntatibus, actibus, moribus casibusque diversitas. Quidam vero non astrorum constitutionem, sed omnium connexionem seriemque causarum, quam Dei summi tribuunt voluntati et potestati, fati nomine appellant. Si quis ergo res humanas fato tribuit quia ipsam Dei voluntatem vel potestatem fati nomine appellat, sententiam teneat, linguam corrigat, quoniam fati nomen solet a loquentibus poni in siderum constitutione. Unde voluntatem Dei fati vocabulo non nuncupamus, nisi forte ut fatum a fando, idest a loquendo, dictum intelligamus. Scriptum est enim: semel locutus est Deus: duo haec audivi. Unde non est multum cum eis de verbi controversia laborandum atque certandum. Augustine, City of God, Book 5, ch. 6: It cannot be said to be utterly absurd to suppose that sidereal afflatus should influence the state of the body, when we see that it is by the approach and departure of the sun that the seasons of the year are [p. 65] varied, and that many things, as shells and the wonderful tides of the Ocean, increase or decrease as the moon waxes or wanes. But not so, to say that the dispositions of the mind are subject to sidereal impulse. Do they say that the stars rather foreshew than effect these results? how then do they explain, that in the life of twins, in their actions, their successes, professions, honours, and all other circumstances of life, there will often be so great diversity, that men of different countries are often more alike in their lives than twins, between whose birth there was only a moment's, and between whose conception in the womb there was not a moment's, interval. And the small interval between their births is not enough to account for the great difference between their fates. Some give the name of fate not only to the constitution of the stars, but to all series of causes, at the same time subjecting all to the will and power of God. This sort of subjection of human affairs and fate is a confusion of language which should be corrected, for fate is strictly the constitution of the stars. The will of God we do not call 'fate,' unless indeed we will derive the word from 'speaking;' as in the Psalms, "God hath spoken once, twice have I heard the same." [Ps 62:11] There is then no need of much contention about what is merely a verbal controversy. Augustinus contra Faustum: Si autem sub fato stellarum nullius hominis Genesim ponimus ut liberum arbitrium voluntatis ab omni necessitatis vinculo vindicemus, quanto minus illius temporalem generationem sub astrorum conditionem credimus factam, qui est universorum aeternus creator et dominus? Itaque illa stella quam viderunt magi, Christo secundum carnem nato, non ad decretum dominabatur, sed ad testimonium famulabatur. Proinde non ex illis erat stellis quae ab initio creaturae itinerum suorum ordinem sub creatoris lege custodiunt, sed novo virginis partu novum sidus apparuit, quod ministerium officii sui etiam ipsis magis quaerentibus Christum, cum ante faciem praeiret, exhibuit, donec eos usque ad ipsum locum ubi Deus verbum infans erat, praeeundo perduceret. Quidam autem astrologi ita constituerunt nascentium hominum fata sub stellis, ut aliquam stellarum, homine aliquo nato, circuitus sui ordinem reliquisse, et ad eum qui natus est, perrexisse asseverent. Sortem quippe nascentis astrorum ordini colligari arbitrantur, non astrorum ordinem ad hominis nati diem posse mutari. Quapropter si stella illa ex his erat quae in caelo peragunt ordines suos quomodo poterat discernere quid Christus acturus erat, quae nato Christo iussa est relinquere quod agebat? Si autem, ut probabilius creditur, ad demonstrandum Christum, quae non erat, exorta est; non ideo Christus natus quia illa extitit, sed illa extitit quia Christus natus est; unde si dici oporteret, non stellam Christo, sed Christum stellae, fatum fuisse diceremus: ipse quippe illi, non illa huic nascendi attulit causam. Aug., cont. Faust. ii, 5: But if we will not subject the nativity of any man to the influence of the stars, in order that we may vindicate the freedom of the will from any chain of necessity; how much less must we suppose sidereal influences to have ruled at His temporal birth, who is eternal Creator and Lord of the universe? The star which the Magi saw, at Christ's birth according to the flesh, did not rule His fate, but ministered as a testimony to Him. Further, this was not of the number of those stars, which from the beginning of the creation observe their paths of motion according to the law of their Maker; but a star that first appeared at the birth, ministering to the Magi who sought Christ, by going before them till it brought them to the place where the infant God the Word was. According to some astrologers such is the connexion of human fate with the stars, that on the birth of some men stars have been known to leave their courses, and go directly to the new-born. The fortune indeed of him [p. 66] that is born they suppose to be bound up with the course of the stars, not that the course of the stars is changed after the day of any man's birth. If then this star were of the number of those that fulfil their courses in the heavens, how could it determine what Christ should do, when it was commanded at His birth only to leave its own course? If, as is more probable, it was first created at His birth, Christ was not therefore born because it arose, but the reverse; so that if we must have fate connected with the stars, this star did not rule Christ's fate, but Christ the stars. Chrysostomus super Matth: Non est hoc etiam astronomiae opus a stellis scire eos qui nascuntur, sed ab hora nativitatis futura praedicere; hi autem tempus nativitatis non cognoverunt, ut hinc sumentes initium a stellarum motu futura cognoscerent, sed e converso. Dicunt ergo vidimus stellam eius. Chrys.: The object of astrology is not to learn from the stars the fact of one's birth; but from the hour of their nativity to forecast the fate of those that are born. But these men knew not the time of the nativity to have forecast the future from it, but the converse. Glossa: Idest propriam, quia hanc creavit ad ostensionem sui. Gloss. interlin.: 'His star,' i.e. the star He created for a witness of Himself. Augustinus in Serm. 2 de Epiph.: Pastoribus Angeli, magis stella Christum demonstrat: utrisque loquitur lingua caelorum, quia lingua cessaverat prophetarum. Caelos Angeli habitant, et sidera exornant: utrisque ergo caeli enarrant gloriam Dei. Gloss. ord.: To the Shepherds, Angels, and the Magians, a star points out Christ; to both speaks the tongue of Heaven, since the tongue of the Prophets was mute. The Angels dwell in the heavens, the stars adorn it, to both therefore "the heavens declare the glory of God." Gregorius in Evang: Et rationabiliter Iudaeis, tamquam ratione utentibus, rationale animal, idest Angelus, praedicare debuit. Gentiles vero, quia ratione uti nesciebant, ad cognoscendum dominum non per vocem, sed per signa perducuntur, quia et illis prophetiae tamquam fidelibus, et istis signa tamquam infidelibus data sunt. Eisdem autem gentibus Christum, cum perfectae esset aetatis, apostoli praedicant, eumque parvulum et necdum per humanitatis officium loquentem stella gentibus denuntiat: quia nimirum rationis ordo poscebat ut loquentem iam dominum loquentes nobis praedicatores, et necdum loquentem elementa muta praedicarent. Greg., Hom. in Ev. Lib. i. Hom. 10: To the Jews who used their reason, a rational creature, i.e. an Angel, ought to preach. But the Gentiles who knew not to use their reason are brought to the knowledge of the Lord, not by words, but by signs; to the one prophecy, as to the faithful; to the other signs, as to the unbelievers. One and the same Christ is preached, when of perfect age, by Apostles; when an infant, and not yet able to speak, is announced by a star to the Gentiles; for so the order of reason required; speaking preachers proclaimed a speaking Lord, mute signs proclaimed a mute infant. Leo Papa in Serm. 3 de Epiph.: Ipse etiam Christus expectatio gentium, de quibus quondam beatissimo patri Abrahae innumerabilis fuit promissa successio, non carnis semine, sed fidei fecunditate generanda; et ideo stellarum multitudini comparata, ut ab omnium gentium patre, non terrena, sed caelestis progenies speraretur. Ad credendum ergo promissae posteritatis heredes in sideribus designati, ortu novi sideris excitantur, ut in quo caelum est adhibitum in testimonium, caeli famuletur obsequium. Leo, Serm. 33, 2: Christ Himself, the expectation of the nations, that innumerable posterity once promised to the most blessed patriarch Abraham, but to be born not after the flesh, but by the Spirit, therefore likened to the stars for multitude, that from the father of all nations, not an earthly but an heavenly progeny might be looked for. Thus the heirs of that promised posterity, marked out in the stars, are roused to the faith by the rise of a new star, and where the heavens had been at first called in to witness, the aid of Heaven is continued. [p. 67] Chrysostomus in Matth: Quoniam autem non caelestium una stellarum haec fuit, manifestum est; nulla enim alia stellarum hac via procedit; haec enim ab oriente in meridiem ferebatur, ita enim Palaestina ad Persidem iacet. Secundo autem a tempore quo videbatur: non enim in nocte apparuit tantum, sed in media die; quod non est virtutis stellae, sed nec etiam lunae. Tertio, ab eo quod apparebat et occultabatur rursus: cum enim intraverunt Hierosolymam, occultavit seipsam; deinde ubi Herodem reliquerunt, seipsam monstravit. Neque etiam proprium quemdam gressum habebat, sed cum oportebat ire magos, ibat: quando autem stare oportebat, stabat, sicut et de columna nubis erat in deserto. Quarto, quia non sursum manens partum virginis ostendebat, sed deorsum descendens hoc faciebat; quod non est stellae motus, sed virtutis cuiusdam rationalis; unde videtur haec stella virtutis invisibilis fuisse in talem apparentiam formata. Chrys.: This was manifestly not one of the common stars of Heaven. First, because none of the stars moves in this way, from east to south, and such is the situation of Palestine with respect to Persia. Secondly, from the time of its appearance, not in the night only, but during the day. Thirdly, from its being visible and then again invisible; when they entered Jerusalem it hid itself, and then appeared again when they left Herod. Further, it had no stated motion, but when the Magi were to go on, it went before them; when to stop, it stopped like the pillar of cloud in the desert. Fourthly, it signified the Virgin's delivery, not by being fixed aloft, but by descending to earth, shewing herein like an invisible virtue formed into the visible appearance of a star. Remigius: Nonnulli dicunt hanc stellam fuisse spiritum sanctum, ut ipse qui postea super baptizatum dominum descendit in specie columbae, in specie stellae apparuerit magis. Alii dicunt fuisse Angelum ut ipse qui apparuit pastoribus, apparuerit etiam magis. Remig.: Some affirm this star to have been the Holy Spirit; He who descended on the baptized Lord as a dove, appearing to the Magi as a star. Others say it was an Angel, the same who appeared to the shepherds. Glossa: Sequitur etiam in oriente. Utrum stella in oriente orta sit, an ipsi ibi positi natam et occidentem viderint, ambiguum est: potuit enim nasci in oriente et eos in Ierusalem perducere. Gloss. ord: "In the east." It seems doubtful whether this refers to the place of the star, or of those that saw it; it might have risen in the east, and gone before them to Jerusalem. Augustinus in Serm. de Epiph.: Sed dicturus es: a quibus audierunt quod talis, scilicet stella, Christum natum significaret? Profecto ab Angelis aliqua monitione revelationis. Quaeris fortassis: ab Angelis bonis an malis? Christum quidem et Angeli mali, hoc est Daemones, filium Dei esse confessi sunt. Sed cur non et a bonis hoc audierunt quando in Christo adorando salus eorum iam quaerebatur, non iniquitas damnabatur? Potuerunt ergo illis et Angeli dicere: stella quam vidistis, Christus est. Ite, adorate illum ubi natus est, et simul iudicate qualis quantusque natus sit. Aug., Serm. 374: Will you ask, from whom had they learned that such an appearance as a star was to signify the birth of Christ? I answer from Angels, by the warning of some revelation. Do you ask, was it from good or ill Angels? Truly even wicked spirits, namely the daemons, confessed Christ to be the Son of God. But why should they not have heard it from good Angels, since in this their adoration of Christ their salvation was sought, not their wickedness condemned? The Angels might say to them, 'The Star which ye have seen is the Christ. Go ye, worship Him, where He is now born, and see how great is He that is born.' Leo Papa in Serm. 4 de Epiph.: Vel praeter illam stellae speciem quae corporeum incitavit obtutum, fulgentior veritatis radius eorum corda perdocuit; et hoc quidem ad illuminationem fidei pertinebat. Leo, Sermon 34, 3: Besides that star thus seen with the bodily eye, a yet brighter ray of truth pierced their hearts; they were enlightened by the illumination of the true faith. Augustinus de quaest. Nov. et Vet. Testam: Vel Iudaeorum natum regem intellexerunt, cum stella indice temporalis rex soleat designari. Hi enim magi Chaldaei non malevolentia astrorum cursum, sed rerum curiositate speculabantur. Sicut enim datur intelligi, traditionem Balaam sequebantur, qui dixit: orietur stella ex Iacob. Unde videntes stellam extra ordinem mundi hanc intellexerunt quam Balaam futuram indicem regis Iudaeorum prophetaverat. Pseudo-Aug., Hil. Quaest. V. and N. Test. q. 63: They might think that a king of Judaea was born, since the birth of temporal princes is sometimes attended by a star. These Chaldean Magi inspected the stars, not with malevolence, but with the true desire of knowledge; following, it may be supposed, the tradition from Balaam; so that [p. 68] when they saw this new and singular star, they understood it to be that of which Balaam had prophesied, as marking the birth of a King of Judaea. Leo Papa in Serm. 4 de Epiph.: Potuerunt autem illis credita et intellecta sufficere, ut corporali intuitu non inquirerent quod plenissimo visu mentis inspexerant; sed diligentia sagacis officii ad videndum usque puerum perseverans nostri temporis hominibus serviebat, ut sicut omnibus nobis profuit quod post resurrectionem domini vestigia vulnerum eius Thomae apostoli exploravit manus, ita ad nostram utilitatem proficeret quod infantiam ipsius magorum probavit aspectus; unde dicunt venimus adorare eum. Leo: What they knew and believed might have been sufficient for themselves, that they needed not to seek to see with the bodily eye, what they saw so clearly with the spiritual. But their earnestness and perseverance to see the Babe was for our profit. It profited us that Thomas, after the Lord's resurrection, touched and felt the marks of his wounds, and so for our profit the Magians' eyes looked on the Lord in His cradle. Chrysostomus super Matth: Sed numquid nesciebant quia in Ierusalem regnabat Herodes? Numquid non intelligebant quia quicumque, rege vivente, alterum regem pronuntiat aut adorat, punitur in sanguine? Sed dum considerabant regem futurum non timebant praesentem; adhuc non viderant Christum, et iam parati erant mori pro eo. O beati magi, qui ante conspectum crudelissimi regis, priusquam Christum cognoscerent, Christi facti sunt confessores. Pseudo-Chrys.: Were they then ignorant that Herod reigned in Jerusalem? Or that it is a capital treason to proclaim another King while one yet lives? But while they thought on the King to come, they feared not the king that was; while as yet they had not seen Christ, they were ready to die for Him. O blessed Magi! who before the face of a most cruel king, and before having beheld Christ, were made His confessors.
Lectio 2 3 ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἡρῴδης ἐταράχθη καὶ πᾶσα ἱεροσόλυμα μετ' αὐτοῦ, 4 καὶ συναγαγὼν πάντας τοὺς ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ γραμματεῖς τοῦ λαοῦ ἐπυνθάνετο παρ' αὐτῶν ποῦ ὁ Χριστὸς γεννᾶται. 5 οἱ δὲ εἶπαν αὐτῷ, ἐν βηθλέεμ τῆς ἰουδαίας: οὕτως γὰρ γέγραπται διὰ τοῦ προφήτου: 6 καὶ σύ, βηθλέεμ γῆ Ἰούδα, οὐδαμῶς ἐλαχίστη εἶ ἐν τοῖς ἡγεμόσιν Ἰούδα: ἐκ σοῦ γὰρ ἐξελεύσεται ἡγούμενος, ὅστις ποιμανεῖ τὸν λαόν μου τὸν Ἰσραήλ.
3. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4. And when he had gathered all the Chief Priests and Scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 5. And they said unto him, "In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 6. 'And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.' "
Augustinus in Serm. de Epiph.: Sicut magi desiderant redemptorem, ita Herodes timet successorem; unde sequitur audiens autem Herodes rex, turbatus est. Aug.: As the Magi seek a Redeemer, so Herod fears a successor. Glossa: Rex dicitur ut ex collatione eius qui quaeritur, hic intelligatur extraneus. Gloss. ord.: "The King," he is called, though in comparison with him whom they are seeking he is an alien and a foreigner. Chrysostomus super Matth: Et ideo turbatur audiens regem natum Iudaeis ex genere Iudaeorum, cum esset ipse genere Idumaeus, ne regno revoluto iterum ad Iudaeos, ipse a Iudaeis expelleretur, et semen eius post ipsum praecideretur a regno: semper enim grandis potestas maiori timori subiecta est; sicut enim rami arborum in excelso positarum, etiam si levis aura flaverit, moventur, sic et sublimes homines etiam levis nuntii fama conturbat; humiles autem, sicut in convalle, plerumque in tranquillitate consistunt. Pseudo-Chrys.: Herod "was troubled" when he heard that a King was born of Jewish lineage, lest, himself being an Idumaean, the kingdom should return again to native princes, and himself be expelled, and his seed after [p. 69] him. Great station is ever obnoxious to great fears; as the boughs of trees planted in high ground move when never so little wind blows, so high men are troubled with little rumours; while the lowly, like trees in the valley, remain at peace. Augustinus in Serm. 2 de Epiph.: Quid autem erit tribunal iudicantis, quando superbos reges timere faciebat nativitas infantis? Pertimeant reges ad patris dexteram iam sedentem, quem rex impius timuit adhuc matris ubera lambentem. Aug., Serm. 200, 2: If His birth as an infant makes proud kings tremble, what will His tribunal as a Judge do? Let princes fear Him sitting at the right hand of His Father, whom this impious king feared while He hanged yet on His mother's breast. Leo Papa in Serm. 4 de Epiph.: Superfluo tamen, Herodes, timore turbaris: non capit Christum regio tua, nec mundi dominus potestatis tuae coepit esse contentus angustiis. Quem in Iudaea regnare non vis, ubique regnat. Leo: Thou art troubled, Herod, without cause. Thy nature cannot contain Christ, nor is the Lord of the world content with the narrow bounds of thy dominion. He, whom thou wouldest not should reign in Judaea, reigns every where. Glossa: Vel non solum propter se timuit, sed propter iram Romanorum; decreverant enim Romani ne quis rex vel Deus sine eorum consilio diceretur. Gloss. ord.: Perhaps he was troubled not on his own account, but for fear of the displeasure of the Romans. They would not allow the title of King or of God to any without their permission. Gregorius in Evang: Caeli autem rege nato, rex terrae turbatus est, quia nimirum terrena altitudo confunditur cum celsitudo caelestis aperitur. Greg., Hom. in Evan., 1, 10: At the birth of a King of Heaven, a king of earth is troubled; surely, earthly greatness is confounded, when heavenly greatness shews itself. Leo Papa in Serm. 6 de Epiph.: Herodes etiam Diaboli personam gerit, cuius sicut tunc fuit incentor, ita nunc quoque est indefessus imitator. Cruciatur enim vocatione gentium, et quotidiana potestatis suae destructione torquetur. Leo, Serm. 36, 2: Herod represents the Devil; who as he then instigated him, so now he unweariedly imitates him. For he is grieved by the calling of the Gentiles, and by the daily ruin of his power. Chrysostomus super Matth: Uterque ergo zelo proprio turbatur, et sui regni successorem timebat: Herodes terrenum, Diabolus autem caelestem. Ecce autem et Iudaicus populus turbatur, qui magis de auditu isto gaudere debuerat quia rex Iudaeus surgere dicebatur. Sed turbabantur quia de adventu iusti non poterant gaudere iniqui. Aut certe turbantur ne forte iratus Iudaico regi genus eius vexaret; unde sequitur et omnis Hierosolyma cum illo. Pseudo-Chrys.: Both have their own causes of jealousy, both fear a successor in their kingdom; Herod an earthly successor, the Devil a spiritual. Even Jerusalem is troubled, which should have rejoiced at that news, when a Jewish King was said to be risen up. But they were troubled, for the wicked cannot rejoice at the coming of the good. Or perhaps it was in fear that Herod should wreak his wrath against a Jewish King on his race. Glossa: Volens illi favere quem timebat; populus enim plus iusto eis favet quos crudeles sustinet. Sequitur et congregans omnes principes sacerdotum et Scribas populi. Ubi nota diligentiam inquirentis, ut si invenerit, faciat quod postea se velle ostendit; sin autem, excusatus sit Romanis. Gloss. ord.: "Jerusalem was troubled with him," as willing to favour him whom it feared; the vulgar always pay undue honour to one who tyrannizes over it. Observe the diligence of his enquiry. If he should find him, he would do to him as he shewed afterwards his disposition; if he should not, he would at least be excused to the Romans. Remigius: Scribae autem dicti sunt, non tantum ab officio scribendi, sed potius ab interpretatione Scripturarum; erant enim legis doctores. Sequitur sciscitabatur ab eis ubi Christus nasceretur. Hic attendendum est, quia non dixit: ubi Christus natus est, sed ubi nasceretur. Callide enim interrogavit eos, ut posset agnoscere si de rege nato laetarentur. Christum autem vocat, quia noverat inungi regem Iudaeorum. Remig.: They are called Scribes, not from the employment of writing, but from the interpretation of the Scriptures, for they were doctors of the law. Observe, he does not enquire where Christ is born, but where He should be born; the subtle purpose of this was to see if they would shew pleasure at [p. 70] the birth of their King. He calls Him Christ, because he knew that the King of the Jews was anointed. Chrysostomus super Matth: Ut quid autem interrogat Herodes, qui non credebat Scripturis? Aut si credebat, quomodo sperabat posse interficere illum quem regem futurum esse dicebant? Sed Diabolus instigabat, qui credebat quod Scripturae non mentiuntur. Sic sunt omnes peccatores, qui hoc ipsum quod credunt, perfecte credere non permittuntur; quod enim credunt, veritatis est virtus, quae non potest esse occulta; quod autem non credunt, excaecatio est inimici. Si enim perfecte crederent, sic viverent quasi post modicum transituri de hoc mundo, non quasi in aeternum mansuri. Sequitur at illi dixerunt: in Bethlehem Iudae. Pseudo-Chrys.: Why does Herod make this enquiry, seeing he believed not the Scriptures? Or if he did believe, how could he hope to be able to kill Him whom the Scriptures declared should be King? The Devil instigated Herod; who believed that Scripture lies not. Such is the faith of devils, who are not permitted to have perfect belief, even of that which they do believe. That they do believe, it is the force of truth constrains them; that they do not believe, it is that they are blinded by the enemy. If they had perfect faith, they would live as about to depart from this world soon, not as to possess it for ever. Leo Papa in Serm. 1 de Epiph.: Magi quidem humano sensu significatum sibi regis ortum existimaverunt in civitate regia esse quaerendum. Sed qui servi susceperat formam, et non iudicare venerat, sed iudicari, Bethlehem praeelegit nativitati, Hierosolymam passioni. Leo, Serm. 31, 2: The Magi, judging as men, sought in the royal city for Him, whom they had been told was born a King. But He who took the form of a servant, and came not to judge but to be judged, chose Bethlehem for His birth, Jerusalem for His death. Theodorus in Serm. Conc. Ephes.: Si enim maximam Romam elegisset civitatem, potentia civium mutationem orbis terrarum factam putarent; si filius fuisset imperatoris, potestati utilitatem adscriberent. Sed quid fecit? Omnia egena et vilia elegit, ut divinitas cognosceretur orbem transformasse terrarum. Propterea pauperculam elegit matrem, pauperiorem patriam, egenus fit pecuniis, et hoc tibi exponit praesepe. Theodotus, Serm. 1, ap. Conc. Eph.: Had He chosen the mighty city of Rome, it might have been thought that this change of the world had been wrought by the might of her citizens; had He been the son of the emperor, his power might have aided Him. But what was His choice? All that was mean, all that was in low esteem, that in this transformation of the world, divinity might at once be recognized. Therefore He chose a poor woman for His mother, a poor country for His native country; He has no money, and this stable is His cradle. Gregorius in Evang: Bene etiam in Bethlehem nascitur: Bethlehem quippe domus panis interpretatur: ipse namque est qui ait: ego sum panis vivus, qui de caelo descendi. Gregory, Hom. in Evan., 8, 1: Rightly is He born in Bethlehem, which signifies the house of bread, who said, "I am the living bread, who came down from heaven." Chrysostomus super Matth: Cum autem debuissent celare mysterium regis praefiniti a Deo, maxime in conspectu alienigenae regis, facti sunt non praedicatores operum Dei, sed proditores mysteriorum eius; et non solum manifestant mysterium, sed etiam propheticum protulerunt exemplum; unde subiungunt sic enim scriptum est per prophetam, scilicet Michaeam: et tu Bethlehem terra Iuda. Pseudo-Chrys.: When they should have kept secret the mystery of the King appointed of God, especially before a foreign king, straightway they became not preachers of the word of God, but revealers of His mystery. And they not only display the mystery, but cite the passage of the prophet, viz. Micah. Glossa: Hoc sic ponit ut ab eis dictum est, qui etsi non verba, veritatem sensus quodammodo ponunt. Gloss. ord.: He quotes this prophecy as they quote who give the sense and not the words. Hieronymus de optimo interpretandi genere.: Unde hic reprehenduntur Iudaei de ignorantia, quoniam prophetia dicit: tu Bethlehem Ephrata, illi dixerunt tu Bethlehem terra Iuda. Jerome, Epist. 57: The Jews are here blamed for ignorance; for whereas the prophecy says, "Thou Bethlehem Ephrata;" they said, 'Bethlehem in the land of Judah.' Chrysostomus super Matth: Sed adhuc ipsam prophetiam praecidentes, interficiendorum parvulorum facti sunt causa: sic enim scriptum erat: ex te exiet rex, qui pascet populum meum Israel, et dies eius a diebus saeculi. Si ergo integram prophetiam protulissent, considerans Herodes quia non erat rex terrenus cuius dies a diebus saeculi erant, in tantum furorem non exarsisset. Pseudo-Chrys.: By cutting short the prophecy, they became the cause of the murder of [p. 71] the Innocents. For the prophecy proceeds, "From thee shall go forth a King who shall feed My people Israel, and His day shall be from everlasting." Had they cited the whole prophecy, Herod would not have raged so madly, considering that it could not be an earthly King whose days were spoken of as "from everlasting." Hieronymus super Matthaeum, et super Michaeam: Est autem sensus prophetiae talis: tu Bethlehem terra Iuda vel Ephrata (quod ideo dicitur, quia est alia Bethlehem in Galgalis sita), quamvis parvus vicus sis inter millia civitatum Iuda, tamen ex te nascetur Christus, qui erit dominator Israel, qui secundum carnem de David est, de me tamen natus est ante saecula; et ideo dicitur: egressus eius ab initio a diebus aeternitatis quia in principio verbum erat apud Deum. Sed hoc ultimum, ut dictum est, Iudaei tacuerunt, alia vero mutaverunt, vel propter ignorantiam, ut dictum est, vel ad maiorem manifestationem, ut Herodi alienigenae intellectum prophetiae aperirent; unde pro eo quod propheta dixit Ephrata, quod erat nomen antiquum et forte Herodi ignotum, dixerunt terra Iuda; pro eo autem quod propheta dixerat: minima es in milibus Iuda, volens ostendere parvitatem eius quantum ad populi multitudinem, dixerunt nequaquam minima es in principibus Iuda, volentes ostendere magnitudinem dignitatis provenientem ex dignitate principis nascituri quasi dicerent: magna es inter civitates ex quibus principes prodierunt. Jerome, in Mich. v. 2: The following is the sense of the prophecy. Thou, Bethlehem, of the land of Judah, or Ephrata, (which is added to distinguish it from another Bethlehem in Galilee,) though thou art a small village among the thousand cities of Judah, yet out of thee shall be born Christ, who shall be the Ruler of Israel, who according to the flesh is of the seed of David, but was born of Me before the worlds; and therefore it is written, "His goings forth are of old. In the beginning was the Word." Gloss: This latter half of the prophecy the Jews dropped; and other parts they altered, either through ignorance, (as was said above,) or for perspicuity, that Herod who was a foreigner might better understand the prophecy; thus for "Ephrata," they said, "land of Judah;" and for "little among the thousands of Judah," which expresses its smallness contrasted with the multitude of the people, they said, "not the least among the princes," willing to shew the high dignity that would come from the birth of the Prince. As if they had said, "Thou art great among cities from which princes have come." Remigius: Vel talis est sensus: quamvis minima videaris inter urbes principatum habentes, tamen non es minima, quia ex te exiet dux qui regat populum meum Israel. Dux autem iste Christus est, qui populum fidelem regit et gubernat. Remig.: Or the sense is; though little among cities that have dominion, yet art thou not the least, for "out of thee shall come the Ruler, who shall rule My people Israel;" this Ruler is Christ, who rules and guides His faithful people. Chrysostomus in Matth: Intende autem certitudinem prophetiae; non enim dixit quod in Bethlehem erit, sed quod de Bethlehem exiet, ostendens quod ibi solum nasceretur. Quomodo autem habet rationem de Zorobabel haec dicta esse ut quidam dicunt? Non enim exitus eius fuit a principio ex diebus saeculi, neque etiam ex Bethlehem exivit, cum non in Iudaea, sed in Babylonia natus sit. Est etiam ad hoc, testimonium quod dicit: nequaquam minima es, quia ex te exiet: nullus enim alius illustrem fecit villam in qua nasceretur quam Christus. Post nativitatem enim a finibus orbis terrarum veniunt visuri praesepe et tugurii locum. Non autem dixit: ex te exiet filius Dei, sed dux qui pascet populum meum Israel: oportebat enim in principio condescendere ut non scandalizarentur, et quae ad salutem hominum pertinebant praedicare, ut magis inducerentur. Mystice autem dicit qui regat populum meum Israel. Israel enim hic dicit eos qui crediderunt ex Iudaeis; si autem non omnes Christus rexit, eorum est accusatio. De gentibus autem interim tacuit ne scandalizaret Iudaeos. Vide autem mirabilem dispensationem: Iudaei enim et magi simul se invicem docent: Iudaei a magis audiunt quod Christum in orientis regione stella praedicabat, et magi a Iudaeis quod prophetae antiquitus eum nuntiaverunt; ut geminato testimonio confirmati, ardentiori fide expeterent quem et stellae claritas et prophetiae manifestabat auctoritas. Chrys.: Observe the exactness of the prophecy; it is not He shall be in Bethlehem, but shall come out of Bethlehem; shewing that He should be only born there. What reason is there for applying this to Zorobabel, as some do? For his goings forth were not from everlasting; nor did he go forth from Bethlehem, but was born in Babylonia. The expression, "art not the least," is a further proof, for none but Christ could make the town where He was born illustrious. And after that birth, there came men from the utmost ends of the earth to see the stable and manger. He calls Him not 'the Son of God,' but "the Ruler who shall govern My people Israel;" [p. 72] for thus He ought to condescend at the first, that they should not be scandalized, but should preach such things as more pertained to salvation, that they might be gained. "Who shall rule My people Israel," is said mystically, for those of the Jews who believed; for if Christ ruled not all the Jews, theirs is the blame. Meanwhile he is silent respecting the Gentiles, that the Jews might not be scandalized. Mark this wonderful ordinance; Jews and Magi mutually instruct each other; the Jews learn of the Magi that a star had proclaimed Christ in the east, the Magi from the Jews that the Prophets had spoken of Him of old. Thus confirmed by a twofold testimony, they would look with more ardent faith for One whom the brightness of the star and the voice of the Prophets equally proclaimed. Augustinus in Serm. de Epiph.: Poterat enim stella quae magos perduxit ad locum ubi erat cum matre virgine Deus infans, ad ipsam eos perducere civitatem; sed tamen subtraxit se, nec eis prorsus apparuit, donec de civitate in qua Christus nasceretur et ipsi Iudaei dicerent in Bethlehem Iuda: similes facti fabris arcae Noe, qui aliis ubi evaderent, praestiterunt, et ipsi diluvio perierunt; similes lapidibus milliariis viam ostenderunt, nec ipsi ambulare potuerunt. Audierunt et abierunt inquisitores, dixerunt et remanserunt doctores. Nunc quoque Iudaei simile aliquid nobis exhibere non desinunt: nonnulli enim Paganorum, quando eis de Scripturis testimonia clare proferimus, ut noverunt Christum ante prophetatum, suspecti ne forte a Christianis ista conficta sint, malunt credere codicibus Iudaeorum; et sicut tunc magi fecerunt, Iudaeos dimittunt inaniter lectitare, ipsi pergunt fideliter adorare. Aug., Serm. 374. 2, 373. 4: The star that guided the Magi to the spot where was the Infant God with His Virgin Mother, might have conducted them straight to the town; but it vanished, and shewed not itself again to them till the Jews themselves had told them "the place where Christ should be born;" Bethlehem of Judaea. Like in this to those who built the ark for Noah, providing others with a refuge, themselves perished in the flood; or like to the stones by the road that shew the miles, but themselves are not able to move. The enquirers heard and departed; the teachers spake and remained still. Even now the Jews shew us something similar; for some Pagans, when clear passages of Scripture are shewn them, which prophesy of Christ, suspecting them to be forged by the Christians, have recourse to Jewish copies. Thus they leave the Jews to read unprofitably, and go on themselves to believe faithfully.
Lectio 3 7 τότε ἡρῴδης λάθρᾳ καλέσας τοὺς μάγους ἠκρίβωσεν παρ' αὐτῶν τὸν χρόνον τοῦ φαινομένου ἀστέρος, 8 καὶ πέμψας αὐτοὺς εἰς βηθλέεμ εἶπεν, πορευθέντες ἐξετάσατε ἀκριβῶς περὶ τοῦ παιδίου: ἐπὰν δὲ εὕρητε ἀπαγγείλατέ μοι, ὅπως κἀγὼ ἐλθὼν προσκυνήσω αὐτῷ. 9 οἱ δὲ ἀκούσαντες τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπορεύθησαν,
7. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, "Go and search diligently for the young Child; and when ye have found Him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship Him also." 9. Whey they had heard the king, they departed. [p. 73]
Chrysostomus super Matth: Postquam audivit Herodes responsum duplici modo credibile: primum quia a sacerdotibus fuerat dictum, deinde quia exemplo prophetico fuerat comprobatum, non tamen ad devotionem flectitur nascituri regis, sed ad malitiam interfectionis eius per dolum. Vidit enim quia non poterat magos nec blandimentis flectere nec minis terrere nec auro corrumpere, ut consentirent in interfectionem regis futuri; ideo illos decipere cogitavit; unde dicitur tunc Herodes clam vocatis magis. Occulte autem vocavit eos ut non viderent Iudaei quos habebat suspectos, ne forte quasi regem suae gentis amantes proderent consilium eius. Diligenter didicit ab eis tempus stellae. Pseudo-Chrys.: As soon as Herod had heard the answer, though doubly authenticated, both by the authority of the Priests, and the passage from the Prophets, he yet turned not to worship the King that was to be born, but sought how he might put Him to death by subtilty. He saw that the Magi were neither to be won by flattery, nor awed by threats, nor bribed by gifts, to consent to this murder; he sought therefore to deceive them; "he privily called the wise men;" that the Jews, whom he suspected, might not know of it. For he thought they would incline the rather to a King of their own nation. Remigius: Idcirco diligenter, quia callidus erat et timebat ne non reverterentur ad eum, ut tunc sciret quid ageret de puero occidendo. Remig.: "Diligently enquired;" craftily, for he feared they would not return to him, and then he should know how he should do to put the young Child to death. Augustinus in Serm. 7 de Epiph.: Ferme autem biennio ante visa est stella mirantibus quid esset. Sed tunc intelligitur indicatum eis cuius esset stella quae iamdiu videbatur, quando natus est qui per illam significabatur. Sed postquam Christo nato revelatum est magis, venerunt ab oriente, et tertiadecima die adoraverunt eum, quem ante paucos dies natum fuisse didicerunt. Pseudo-Aug., Serm. in App. 131, 3: The star had been seen, and with great wonder, nearly two years before. We are to understand that it was signified to them whose the star was, which was visible all that time till He, whom it signified, was born. Then as soon as Christ was made known to them they set out, and came and worshipped Him in thirteen days from the east. [ed. note: This is written upon the notion that the Magi presented themselves to Christ twelve days after His birth, according to the Latin date for celebrating the event. It seems really to have taken place after the Purification, on the return of St. Mary to Bethlehem. However, Aug. (Cons. Evan., ii. 11) places it before the Purification.] Chrysostomus in Matth: Vel ante multum tempus haec stella apparuit, quoniam multum tempus in itinere erant magi consumpturi, ut confestim cum natus esset, Christo assisterent, eum in fasciis adorantes, ut mirabilior appareret. Chrys.: Or, the star appeared to them long time before, because the journey would take up some time, and they were to stand before Him immediately on His birth, that seeing Him in swaddling clothes, He might seem the more wonderful. Glossa: Secundum alios vero a die nativitatis Christi creditur stella tantum apparuisse, et peracto officio, cum nova esset, desiit esse. Ait enim Fulgentius: puer natus novam stellam fabricavit. Cognito autem loco et tempore, personam pueri vult non ignorare; unde dicit ite, et interrogate diligenter de puero. Illud praeceperat quod absque praecepto erant facturi. Gloss: According to others, the star was first seen on the day of the nativity, and having accomplished its end, ceased to be. Thus Fulgentius [margin note: Serm. de Epiph.] says, "The Boy at His birth created a new star." Though they now knew both time and place, he still would not have them ignorant of the person of the Child, "Go," he says, "and enquire diligently of the young Child;" a commission they would have executed even if he had not commanded it. Chrysostomus in Matth: Non autem dicit interrogate de rege, sed de puero: ei enim etiam nomen potestatis inviderat. Chrys.: "Concerning the young Child," he says, not 'of the King;' he envies Him the regal title. Chrysostomus super Matth: Ergo ut ad hoc eos induceret, devotionem promittebat, et per eam gladium acuebat et malitiam cordis sui humilitatis colore depingebat. Talis est consuetudo omnium malignorum: quando aliquem in occulto gravius laedere volunt, humilitatem illi et amicitias fingunt. Unde dicit et cum inveneritis, renuntiate mihi, ut et ego veniens adorem eum. Pseudo-Chrys.: To induce them to do this, he put on the colour of devotion, beneath which he whetted the sword, hiding the malice of his heart under colour of [p. 74] humility. Such is the manner of the malicious, when they would hurt any one in secret, they feign meekness and affection. Gregorius in Evang: Adorare eum se velle simulat, ut quasi hunc, si invenire possit, extinguat. Sequitur qui cum audissent regem, abierunt. Greg., Hom. in Ev. i. 10. 3: He feigns a wish of worshipping Him only that he may discover Him, and put him to death. Remigius: Audierunt magi Herodem ut quaererent dominum, sed non ut ad eum reverterentur. Significabant enim bonos auditores, qui bona quae audiunt a malis praedicatoribus faciunt; sed tamen opera illorum non imitantur. Remig.: The Magi obeyed the King so far as to seek the Lord, but not to return to Herod. Like in this to good hearers; the good they hear from wicked preachers, that they do; but do not imitate their evil lives.
Lectio 4 9b καὶ ἰδοὺ ὁ ἀστὴρ ὃν εἶδον ἐν τῇ ἀνατολῇ προῆγεν αὐτοὺς ἕως ἐλθὼν ἐστάθη ἐπάνω οὗ ἦν τὸ παιδίον.
9. And, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.
Chrysostomus super Matth: Ex hoc loco ostenditur, quia cum stella deduxisset magos prope Ierusalem, abscondita est ab eis, ut relicti a stella cogerentur in Ierusalem interrogare de Christo simul et manifestare propter duo: primo ad confusionem Iudaeorum, quia gentiles stellae tantummodo visione confirmati, Christum per alienas provincias requirebant, et Iudaei ab infantia prophetias legentes de Christo, et in suis finibus natum non susceperunt; demum ut interrogati sacerdotes unde nascitur Christus, ad praeiudicium suum responderent de Bethlehem, quia qui Herodem docuerant de Christo, ipsi ignorabant de illo; et ideo post interrogationem et responsionem habitam subditur et ecce stella quam viderant in oriente, antecedebat eos, ut considerantes obsequium stellae, regis intelligerent dignitatem. Pseudo-Chrys.: This passage shews, that when the star had brought the Magi nearly to Jerusalem, it was hidden from them, and so they were compelled to ask in Jerusalem, "where Christ should be born?" and thus to manifest Him to them; on two accounts, first, to put to confusion the Jews, inasmuch as the Gentiles instructed only by sight of a star sought Christ through strange lands, while the Jews who had read the Prophets from their youth did not receive Him, though born in their country. Secondly, that the Priests, when asked where Christ should be born, might answer to their now condemnation, and while they instructed Herod, they were themselves ignorant of Him. "The star went before them," to shew them the greatness of the King. Augustinus in Serm. de Epiph.: Et ut Christo plenum redderet obsequium, temperavit gradum, donec magos perduceret ad puerum. Obsequium praebuit, non imperium adduxit: supplices ostendit, hospitium radiavit amplissimo lumine, et tecta nati perfudit, sicque discessit; unde sequitur usque dum veniens staret supra ubi erat puer. Aug.: To perform its due service to the Lord, it advanced slowly, leading them to the spot. It was ministering to Him, and not ruling His fate; its light shewed the suppliants and filled the inn, shed over the walls and roof that covered the birth; and thus it disappeared. Chrysostomus super Matth: Quid autem mirum si soli iustitiae orituro stella ministrabat divina? Stetit enim supra caput pueri, quasi dicens: hic est; ut quia loquendo monstrare non poterat, stando demonstraret. Pseudo-Chrys.: What wonder that a divine star should minister to the Sun of righteousness about to rise. It stood over the Child's head, as it were, saying, 'This is He;' proving by its place what it had no voice to utter. Glossa: Hic autem apparet quod stella in aere posita erat, et domui in qua puer erat multum vicina; aliter enim domum non discrevisset. Gloss. Anselm: It is evident that the star must have been in the air, and close above the house where the Child was, else it would not have pointed out the exact house. Ambrosius super Luc: Haec autem stella via est, et via Christus est, quia secundum incarnationis mysterium Christus est stella: ipse enim est stella splendida et matutina; unde ubi Herodes est, non videtur; ubi autem Christus, rursum videtur, et viam monstrat. Ambrose, in Luc. 2, 45: The star is the way, and the way is Christ; and according to the mystery of the incarnation, Christ is a [p. 75] star. He is a blazing and a morning-star. Thus where Herod is, the star is not seen; where Christ is, there it is again seen, and points out the way. Remigius: Vel stella significat gratiam Dei, Herodes Diabolum. Qui autem per peccatum se Diabolo subdit, mox gratiam perdit; quod si per poenitentiam recesserit, mox gratiam invenit, quae non dimittit donec perducat ad domum pueri, idest Ecclesiam. Remig.: Or, the star figures the grace of God, and Herod the Devil. He, who by sin puts himself in the Devil's power, loses that grace; but if he return by repentance, he soon finds that grace again which leaves him not till it have brought him to the young Child's house, i.e. the Church. Glossa: Vel stella est illuminatio fidei, quae ad proximum ducit, quam dum divertunt ad Iudaeos, magi amittunt: quia dum a malis consilium quaerunt, veram illuminationem perdunt. Gloss. ord.: Or, the star is the illumination of faith, which leads him to the nearest aid; while they turn aside to the Jews, the Magi lose it; so those who seek counsel of the bad, lose the true light.
Lectio 5 10 ἰδόντες δὲ τὸν ἀστέρα ἐχάρησαν χαρὰν μεγάλην σφόδρα. 11 καὶ ἐλθόντες εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν εἶδον τὸ παιδίον μετὰ μαρίας τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ, καὶ πεσόντες προσεκύνησαν αὐτῷ, καὶ ἀνοίξαντες τοὺς θησαυροὺς αὐτῶν προσήνεγκαν αὐτῷ δῶρα, χρυσὸν καὶ λίβανον καὶ σμύρναν.
10. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
Glossa: Postquam praemisit stellae obsequium, subiungit Evangelista magorum gaudium dicens videntes autem stellam, gavisi sunt gaudio magno valde. Gloss: This service of the star is followed by the rejoicing of the Magi. Remigius: Et sciendum quod non satis fuit dicere Evangelistae gavisi sunt, sed addidit gaudio magno et valde. Remig.: And it was not enough to say, "They rejoiced," but "they rejoiced with exceeding great joy." Chrysostomus super Matth: Gavisi sunt quia spes eorum non erat decepta, sed amplius confirmata, quod tanti itineris non sine causa susceperunt laborem. Pseudo-Chrys.: They rejoiced, because their hopes were not falsified but confirmed, and because the toil of so great travel had not been undertaken in vain. Glossa: Gaudio gaudet qui propter Deum gaudet, qui est verum gaudium. Addidit autem et magno, quia de magno gaudebant. Gloss. ord.: He rejoices indeed who rejoices on God's account, who is the true joy. "With great joy," he says, for they had great cause. Chrysostomus super Matth: Per mysterium enim stellae intelligebant quoniam dignitas tunc nati regis excedebat mensuram omnium mundalium regum. Addidit etiam valde. Pseudo-Chrys.: By the mystery of this star they understood that the dignity of the King then born exceeded the measure of all worldly kings. Remigius: Quia voluit ostendere quod magis gaudent homines de rebus perditis quam semper possessis. Subditur autem et intrantes domum, invenerunt. Remig.: He adds, "greatly," shewing that men rejoice more over what they have lost than over what they possess. Leo Papa in Serm. 4 de Epiph.: Quantitate parvum, alienae opis indigum, fandi impotentem, et in nullo ab humanae infantiae generalitate discretum; quia sicut fidelia erant testimonia quae in eo maiestatem invisibilis divinitatis ostenderent, ita probatissimum debebat esse, sempiternam illam essentiam filii Dei veram suscepisse hominis naturam. Cum Maria matre eius. Leo, Serm. in Epiph., 4. 3: Though in stature a babe, needing the aid of others, unable to speak, and different in nothing from other infants, yet such faithful witnesses, shewing the unseen Divine Majesty which was in Him, ought to have proved most certainly that was the Eternal Essence of the Son of [p. 76] God that had taken upon Him the true human nature. Chrysostomus super Matth: Non diademate coronata aut in lecto aureo recumbente, sed vix tunicam habente unam, non ad ornamentum corporis, sed ad tegumentum nuditatis, qualem habere potuit carpentarii uxor peregre constituta. Si ergo regem terrenum quaerentes venissent, magis fuissent confusi quam gavisi, quia tanti itineris laborem sine causa suscepissent. Nunc autem quia caelestem regem quaerebant, etsi nihil regale videbant, in eo tamen solius stellae testimonio contenti, gaudebant oculi eorum contemptibilem puerum aspicere, quia spiritus in corde eorum terribilem eum monstrabat; unde procidentes adoraverunt eum; vident enim hominem et agnoscunt Deum. Pseudo-Chrys.: "Mary His mother," not crowned with a diadem or laying on a golden couch; but with barely one garment, not for ornament but for covering, and that such as the wife of a carpenter when abroad might have. Had they therefore come to seek an earthly king, they would have been more confounded than rejoiced, deeming their pains thrown away. But now they looked for a heavenly King; so that though they saw nought of regal state, that star's witness sufficed them, and their eyes rejoiced to behold a despised Boy, the Spirit shewing Him to their hearts in all His wonderful power, they fell down and worshipped, seeing the man, they acknowledged the God. Rabanus: Divino autem nutu factum est quod abierat Ioseph, ne aliqua malae suspicionis occasio daretur gentibus. Rabanus: Joseph was absent by Divine command, that no wrong suspicions might occur to the Gentiles. Glossa: Qui licet morem suae gentis in donis offerendis sequantur Arabes enim auro, thure et diversis generibus aromatum abundant tamen aliquid mysterii muneribus demonstrare volebant; unde sequitur apertis thesauris, obtulerunt ei munera: aurum, thus et myrrham. Gloss, Anselm: in these offerings we observe their national customs, gold, frankincense, and various spices abounding among the Arabians; yet they intended thereby to signify something in mystery. Gregorius in Evang: Aurum quippe regi congruit, thus vero in Dei sacrificium ponebatur, myrrha autem mortuorum corpora condiuntur. Greg., Hom. in Evan., 1, 106: Gold, as to a King; frankincense, as sacrifice to God; myrrh, as embalming the body of the dead. Augustinus in Serm. de Epiph.: Aurum igitur solvitur quasi regi magno, thus immolatur ut Deo, myrrha praebetur quasi pro salute omnium morituro. Aug.: Gold, as paid to a mighty King; frankincense, as offered to God; myrrh, as to one who is to die for the sins of all. Chrysostomus super Matth: Haec autem etsi tunc non intelligebantur secundum quale mysterium ista gerebant, vel quid significaret unumquodque munus, eorum nihil contrarium est: gratia enim quae illos haec omnia facere hortabatur, ipsa ordinaverat universa. Pseudo-Chrys.: And though it were not then understood what these several gifts mystically signified, that is no difficulty; the same grace that instigated them to the deed, ordained the whole. Remigius: Et sciendum quod isti non singula obtulerunt, sed singuli tria; et singuli cum suis muneribus regem, Deum et hominem praedicaverunt. Remig.: And it is to be known that each did not offer a different gift, but each one the three kings, each one thus proclaiming the King, the God, and the man. Chrysostomus super Matth: Erubescant ergo Marcion et Paulus Samosatenus, qui nolunt videre quae magi viderunt, qui Ecclesiae sunt progenitores, Deum in carne adorantes. Nam quod in carne vera sit, panni monstrant et praesepe; quoniam autem non ut purum hominem adorant, sed ut Deum, demonstrant dona quae Deo offerre decens erat. Confundantur et Iudaei videntes se praeventos a magis, et neque post illos venire studentes. Chrys.: Let Marcion and Paul of Samosata then blush, who will not see what the Magi saw, those progenitors of the Church adoring God in the flesh. That He was truly in the flesh, the swaddling clothes and the stall prove; yet that they worshipped Him not as mere man, but as God, the gifts prove which it was becoming to offer to a God. Let the Jews also be ashamed, seeing the Magi coming before them, and themselves not even earnest to tread in their path. Gregorius in Evang: Potest et in his aliud intelligi. Auro namque sapientia designatur, Salomone teste, qui ait: thesaurus desiderabilis requiescit in ore sapientis; thure, quod Deo incenditur, virtus orationis exprimitur, secundum illud: dirigatur oratio mea sicut incensum in conspectu tuo; per myrrham vero carnis mortificatio figuratur. Nato ergo regi aurum offerimus, si in conspectu eius sapientiae lumine splendemus; thus offerimus, si per orationum studia Deo redolere valeamus; myrrham offerimus, si carnis vitia per abstinentiam mortificamus. Greg.: Something further may yet be meant here. Wisdom is typified by gold; as Solomon saith in the Proverbs, "A treasure to be desired is in the mouth of the wise." By frankincense, which is burnt before God, the power of prayer [p. 77] is intended, as in the Psalms, "Let my speech come before thee as incense." [Ps 141:2] In myrrh is figured mortification of the flesh. To a king at his birth we offer gold, if we shine in his sight with the light of wisdom; we offer frankincense, if we have power before God by the sweet savour of our prayers; we offer myrrh, when we mortify by abstinence the lusts of the flesh. Glossa: Tres autem viri qui offerunt, significant gentes de tribus partibus mundi venientes. Thesauros aperiunt dum fidem cordis per confessionem ostendunt. Bene autem in domo docentes ne thesaurum bonae conscientiae iactando propalemus. Offerunt tria munera, hoc est fidem sanctae Trinitatis; vel apertis thesauris Scripturarum, historicum, moralem, et allegoricum sensum offerunt, vel logicam, physicam et Ethicam, dum illa fidei servire faciunt. Gloss, Anselm: The three men who offer, signify the nations who come from the three quarters of the earth. They open their treasures, i.e. manifest the faith of their hearts by confession. Rightly "in the house," teaching that we should not vaingloriously display the treasure of a good conscience. They bring "three" gifts, i.e. the faith in the Holy Trinity. Or opening the stores of Scripture, they offer its threefold sense, historical, moral and allegorical; or Logic, Physic, and Ethics, making them all serve the faith.
Lectio 6 12 καὶ χρηματισθέντες κατ' ὄναρ μὴ ἀνακάμψαι πρὸς ἡρῴδην,
δι' ἄλλης ὁδοῦ ἀνεχώρησαν εἰς τὴν χώραν αὐτῶν.12. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
Augustinus in Serm. de Epiph.: Herodes impius factus ex timore crudelis voluit desaevire. Sed quomodo poterat capere eum qui ipsas fraudes venerat amputare? Ut ergo eius fraus elideretur, sequitur et responso accepto. Aug.: The wicked Herod, now made cruel by fear, will needs do a deed of horror. But how could he ensnare him who had come to cut off all fraud? His fraud is escaped as it follows, "And being warned." Hieronymus: Qui enim munera obtulerunt domino, consequenter responsum accipiunt. Responsum, quod Graece krematisthentes dicitur, non per Angelum fit, sed per ipsum dominum, ut meritorum Ioseph privilegium demonstretur. Jerome: They had offered gifts to the Lord, and receive a warning corresponding to it. This warning (in the Greek 'having received a response') is given not by an Angel, but by the Lord Himself, to shew the high privilege granted to the merit of Joseph. Glossa: Fit autem haec responsio per ipsum dominum quia nullus alius viam reversionis instituit nisi ille qui dicit: ego sum via. Non tamen loquitur puer ad eos ne divinitas ante tempus reveletur, et ut vera humanitas habeatur. Dicit autem et responso accepto; sicut enim Moyses tacitus clamat, sic isti pie affectu interrogabant quid divina iuberet voluntas. Dicit autem per aliam viam reversi sunt in regionem suam, quia infidelitati miscendi non erant Iudaeorum. Gloss. ord.: This warning is given by the Lord Himself; it is none other that now teaches these Magi the way they should return, but He who said, "I am the way." [John 14:6] Not that the Infant actually speaks to them, that His divinity may not be revealed before the time, and His human nature may be thought real. But he says, "having received an answer," for as Moses prayed silently, so they with pious spirit had asked what the Divine will bade. "By another way," for they were not to be mixed up with the unbelieving Jews. Chrysostomus in Matth: Intuere autem magorum fidem, qualiter non scandalizati sunt in seipsis dicentes: si magnus est puer hic, quae necessitas fugae est et occultae recessionis? Hoc enim est verae fidei non quaerere causas eorum quae fieri praecipiuntur, sed suaderi solum ab eis. Chrys., Hom. 8: See the faith of the Magi; they were not offended, nor said within themselves, What need now of flight? or [p. 78] of secret return, if this Boy be really some great one? Such is true faith; it asks not the reason of any command, but obeys. Chrysostomus super Matth: Si autem magi Christum quasi terrenum regem quaesissent, invenientes eum, apud ipsum mansissent; tunc autem adoraverunt et reversi sunt. Cum autem reversi fuissent, manserunt colentes Deum magis quam ante, et praedicantes multos erudierunt. Et denique cum Thomas ivisset ad provinciam illam, adiuncti sunt ei; et baptizati, facti sunt executores praedicationis ipsius. Pseudo-Chrys.: Had the Magi sought Christ as an earthly King, they would have remained with Him when they had found Him; but they only worship, and go their way. After their return, they continued in the worship of God more steadfast than before, and taught many by their preaching. And when afterwards Thomas reached their country, they joined themselves to him, and were baptized, and did according to his preaching. [ed. note: S. Thomas is said to have preached to the Parthians, Persians, or Indians. Euseb. Hist. iii. 1. Clem. Recogn. ix. 29. Greg. Naz. Or. 25. p. 438. The Margi are mentioned, Pseudo-Hippol. de Duod. Apost. (ed. Fabr. Append. p. 30) Combefis conjecturing Mardi.] Gregorius in Evang: Magnum vero nobis aliquid magi innuunt, quod in regionem suam per aliam viam revertuntur. Regio quippe nostra Paradisus est, ad quem Iesu cognito redire per viam qua venimus prohibemur. A regione etenim nostra superbiendo, inobediendo, visibilia sequendo, cibum vetitum gustando discessimus; sed ad eam necesse est ut flendo, obediendo, visibilia contemnendo, atque appetitum carnis refrenando redeamus. Greg., Hom. in Ev. i. 10. 7: We may learn much from this return of the Magi another way. Our country is Paradise, to which, after we have come to the knowledge of Christ we are forbidden to return the way we came. We have left this country by pride, disobedience, following things of sight, tasting, forbidden food; and we must return to it by repentance, obedience, by contemning things of sight, and overcoming carnal appetite. Chrysostomus super Matth: Nec etiam erat possibile ut qui ab Herode ad Christum venissent, redirent ad Herodem: qui enim relicto Christo ad Diabolum transeunt per peccatum, frequenter per poenitentiam revertuntur ad Christum. Qui enim fuit in innocentia, dum nescit quid sit malum, facile decipitur; sed cum expertus fuerit malum quod invenit et recordatus bonum quod perdidit, compunctus redit ad Deum. Qui autem relicto Diabolo venit ad Christum, difficile redit ad Diabolum, quia dum gaudet in bonis quae invenit et recordatur mala quae evasit, difficile redit ad malum. Pseudo-Chrys.: It was impossible that they, who left Herod to go to Christ, should return to Herod. They who have by sin left Christ and passed to the devil, often return to Christ; for the innocent, who knows not what is evil, is easily deceived, but having once tasted the evil he has taken up, and remembering the good he has left, he returns in penitence to God. He who has forsaken the devil and come to Christ, hardly returns to the devil; for rejoicing in the good he has found, and remembering the evil he has escaped, with difficulty returns to that evil.
Lectio 7 14 ὁ δὲ ἐγερθεὶς παρέλαβεν τὸ παιδίον καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ νυκτὸς καὶ ἀνεχώρησεν εἰς αἴγυπτον, 15 καὶ ἦν ἐκεῖ ἕως τῆς τελευτῆς ἡρῴδου: ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ κυρίου διὰ τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος, ἐξ αἰγύπτου ἐκάλεσα τὸν υἱόν μου.
13. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, and take the young Child and His mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him. [p. 79] 14. When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night, and departed into Egypt: 15. And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt have I called my Son."
Rabanus: Hic praetermittit Matthaeus diem purificationis, in qua oportebat primogenitum offerri in templo, et agnum vel par turturum aut columbarum. Et quamvis timerent Herodem, tamen non sunt ausi transgredi legem, quin ad templum puerum deferrent. Cum itaque rumor de puero iam inciperet dilatari, mittitur Angelus qui in Aegyptum faciat puerum transportari; unde dicit Angelus domini apparuit in somnis Ioseph. Rabanus: Here Matthew omits the day of purification when the first-born must be presented in the Temple with the lamb, or a pair of turtle doves, or pigeons. Their fear of Herod did not make them bold to transgress the Law, that they should not present the Child in the temple. As soon then as the rumour concerning the Child begins to be spread abroad, the Angel is sent to bid Joseph carry Him into Egypt. Remigius: Per hoc quod semper Angelus Ioseph in somnis apparuisse dicitur, mystice designatur quia illi qui a curis terrenis et saecularibus negotiis quiescunt, perfrui angelica visione merentur. Dicit ergo ei: surge et accipe puerum et matrem eius. Remig.: by this that the Angel appears always to Joseph in sleep, is mystically signified that they who rest from mundane cares and secular pursuits, deserve angelic visitations. Hilarius in Matth.: Cum desponsatam eam iusto significabat, coniugem nuncupavit; sed post partum mater tantum Iesu ostenditur, ut quemadmodum iusto Ioseph deputaretur Mariae in virginitate coniugium, ita venerabilis esse ostenderetur in Iesu matre virginitas. Hilary: The first time when he would teach Joseph that she was lawfully espoused, the Angel called the Virgin his espoused "wife;" but after the birth she is only spoken of as the Mother of Jesus. As wedlock was rightfully imputed to her in her virginity, so virginity is esteemed venerable in her as the mother of Jesus. Chrysostomus super Matth: Non autem dicit: accipe matrem et puerum eius: sed e converso, quia non propter matrem puer natus est, sed propter puerum mater praeparata est. Sequitur et fuge in Aegyptum. Quomodo autem filius Dei ante hominem fugit, aut quis liberet de inimicis, si et ipse inimicos suos timet? Et primum quidem oportet ut regulam humanae naturae quam suscepit conservet et in hac parte, quia humanae naturae et puerilitati convenit fugere potestatem minantem; deinde ut ceteri Christiani, cum necessitas persecutionis advenerit, fugere non erubescant. Sed quare in Aegyptum? Recordatus est enim dominus, qui non in finem irascitur, quanta mala fecerit super Aegyptum; ideo mittit filium suum in eam et dat illi magnae reconciliationis signum, ut decem plagas Aegypti una medicina sanaret; ut populus qui ante fuerat persecutor populi primogeniti, custos fieret filii unigeniti; ut quia illi violenter dominati sunt, isti cum devotione servirent; ut iam non irent ad mare rubrum demergendi, sed vocarentur ad aquas Baptismatis vivificandi. Pseudo-Chrys.: He says not, 'the Mother and her young Child,' but, "the young Child and His mother;" for the Child was not born for the mother, but the mother prepared for the Child. How is this that the Son of God flies from the face of man? or who shall deliver from the enemy's hand, if He Himself fears His enemies? First; He ought to observe, even in this, the law of that human nature which He took on Him; and human nature and infancy must flee before threatening power. Next, that Christians when persecution makes it necessary should not be ashamed to fly. But why into Egypt? The Lord, "who keepeth not His anger for ever," remembered the woes He had brought upon Egypt, and therefore sent His Son thither, and gives it this sign of great reconciliation, that with this one remedy He might heal the ten plagues of Egypt, and the nation that had been the persecutor of this first-born people, might be the guardian of His first-born Son. As formerly [p. 80] they had cruelly tyrannized, now they might devoutly serve; nor go to the Red Sea to be drowned, but be called to the waters of baptism to receive life. Augustinus in Serm. de Epiph.: Audi etiam magni mysterii sacramentum. Moyses aliquando in Aegypto perfidis clauserat diem; illuc Christus adveniens sedentibus in tenebris reddidit lucem; fugit ut illuminaret, non fugit ut lateret. Sequitur et esto ibi usque dum dicam tibi; futurum est enim ut Herodes quaerat puerum ad perdendum eum. Putabat enim infelix tyrannus salvatoris adventu regali se solio detrudendum, sed non ita est: non ad hoc venerat Christus ut alienam gloriam invaderet, sed ut suam donaret. Sequitur qui consurgens, accepit puerum et matrem eius nocte et secessit in Aegyptum. Aug.: Hear the sacrament of a great mystery. Moses before had shut up the light of day from the traitors the Egyptians; Christ by going down thither brought back light to them that sat in darkness. He fled that he might enlighten them, not that he might escape his foes. Aug., Serm. 218, App.: The miserable tyrant supposed that by the Saviour's coming he should be thrust from his royal throne. But it was not so; Christ came not to hurt others' dignity, but to bestow His own on others. Hilarius in Matth.: Scilicet idolis plenam: iam enim post Iudaeorum insectationem Iudaeam relinquens, Christus ad gentes inanissimis religionibus deditas, colendus infertur. Hilary: Egypt full of idols; for after this enquiry for Him among the Jews, Christ leaving Judaea goes to be cherished among nations given to the vainest superstitions. Hieronymus in Matth.: Quando igitur tollit puerum et matrem eius ut in Aegyptum transeat, nocte tollit et in tenebris; quando vero revertitur in Iudaeam, nec nox nec tenebrae ponuntur in Evangelio. Jerome: When he takes the Child and His mother to go into Egypt, it is in the night and darkness, when to return into Judaea, the Gospel speaks of no light, no darkness. Chrysostomus super Matth: Omnis enim perfectionis angustia nox est, refrigerium autem dies. Pseudo-Chrys.: The straitness of every persecution may be called night - the relief from it in like manner, day. Rabanus: Vel quia luce vera recedente, lucis ipsius osores in tenebris remanserunt, ipsa vero redeunte illuminantur. Rabanus: For when the true light withdraws, they who hate the light are in darkness, when it returns they are again enlightened. Chrysostomus in Matth: Vide autem statim ipso nato tyrannum insanire, et quod mater cum puero ad extraneam effugatur regionem, ut si tu incipiens alicui spirituali rei deservire, videaris tribulari, non turberis, sed omnia viriliter feras, hoc habens exemplum. Chrys.: See how immediately on His birth the tyrant is furious against Him, and the mother with her Child is driven into foreign lands. So should you in the beginning of your spiritual career seem to have tribulation, you need not to be discouraged, but bear all things manfully, having this example. Beda: Quod enim dominus a parentibus sublatus est in Aegyptum, significat electos saepius malorum improbitate suis effugandos ex sedibus, vel etiam exilio damnandos. Si quidem ipse qui suis erat praecepturus: cum vos persecuti fuerint in una civitate, fugite in aliam, primus fecit quod praecepit, fugiendo hominem quasi homo in terra, quem stella magis paulo ante adorandum monstravit ex caelo. Bede, Hom. in Nat. Innocent: The flight into Egypt signifies that the elect are often by the wickedness of the bad driven from their homes, or sentenced to banishment. Thus He, who, we shall see below, gave the command to His own, "When they shall persecute you in one city, flee ye to another," first practised what He enjoined, as a man flying before the face of man on earth. He whom but a little before a star had proclaimed to the Magi to be worshipped as from heaven. Remigius: Quod autem dominus in Aegyptum iturus esset praedixerat Isaias cum ait: ecce dominus ascendet super nubem levem et ingredietur Aegyptum et disperdet simulacra Aegypti. Consuetudo autem fuit istius Evangelistae omnia quae dixit confirmare, et hoc ideo, quia Iudaeis scribebat; ideoque subiungit ut adimpleretur quod dictum est a domino per prophetam dicentem: ex Aegypto vocavi filium meum. Remig.: Isaiah had foretold this flight into Egypt. "Lo! the Lord shall ascend on a light cloud, and shall come into Egypt, and shall scatter the idols of Egypt." [Isa 19:1] It is the practice of this Evangelist to confirm all he says; and that because he is writing to the Jews, therefore he adds, "that it might be fulfilled, &c." Hieronymus de optimo genere interpretandi: Hoc Lxx interpretes non habent; sed in Osee propheta iuxta Hebraicam scribitur veritatem: quia puer Israel est, et dilexi eum et ex Aegypto vocavi filium meum, pro quo Lxx transtulerunt: quia parvulus est Israel, et dilexi eum, ex Aegypto vocavi filium meum. Jerome, Epist., 57. 7: This is not in the LXX; but in Osee according to the genuine [p. 81] Hebrew text we read; "Israel is my child, and I have loved him," and "from Egypt have I called my Son;" where the LXX render, "Israel is my child, and I have loved him, and called my sons out of Egypt." Hieronymus super Osee: Hoc autem testimonio utitur Evangelista, quia haec typice referuntur ad Christum. Notandum enim, quod in hoc propheta et in aliis ita de adventu Christi et de vocatione gentium praenuntiatur, ut radix historiae non penitus deseratur. Jerome, in Osee, 11, 2: The Evangelist cites this text because it refers to Christ typically. For it is to be observed, that in this Prophet and in others, the coming of Christ and the call of the Gentiles are foreshewn in such a manner, that the thread of history is never broken. Chrysostomus in Matth: Est etiam prophetiae lex multa multoties dici de aliis, compleri autem in aliis; sicut de Simeone et levi dictum est: dividam eos in Iacob et dispergam in Israel; quod non in eis, sed in nepotibus completum est, quod et hic apparet. Christus enim natura Dei filius est, et sic in eo vere prophetia completur. Chrys.: It is a law of prophecy, that in a thousand places many things are said of some and fulfilled of others. As it is said of Simeon and Levi, "I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel;" [Gen 49:7] which was fulfilled not in themselves, but in their descendants. So here Christ is by nature the Son of God, and so the prophecy is fulfilled in Him. Hieronymus: Possumus autem et hunc locum conciliare, et inducemus testimonium ex numeris: Deus ex Aegypto vocavit eum; gloria eius sicut Unicornis. Jerome: Let those who deny the authenticity of the Hebrew copies, shew us this passage in the LXX, and when they have failed to find it, we will shew it them in the Hebrew. We may also explain it in another way, by considering it as quoted from Numbers, "God brought him out of Egypt; his glory is as it were that of a unicorn." [Num 23:22] Remigius: Per Ioseph autem designatur ordo praedicatorum, per Mariam sacra Scriptura, per puerum notitia salvatoris, per persecutionem Herodis persecutio quam passa est Ecclesia in Hierosolymis, per fugam Ioseph in Aegyptum transitus praedicatorum ad gentes infideles: Aegyptus enim tenebrae interpretatur; per tempus quo fuit in Aegypto spatium temporis ab ascensione domini usque ad adventum Antichristi; per obitum Herodis extinctio invidiae in cordibus Iudaeorum. Remig.: In Joseph is figured the order of preachers, in Mary Holy Scripture; by the Child the knowledge of the Saviour; by the cruelty of Herod the persecution which the Church suffered in Jerusalem; by Joseph's flight into Egypt the passing of the preachers to the unbelieving Gentiles, (for Egypt signifies darkness;) by the time that he abode in Egypt the space of time between the ascension of the Lord and the coming of Anti-Christ; by Herod's death the extinction of jealousy in the hearts of the Jews.
Lectio 8 16 τότε ἡρῴδης ἰδὼν ὅτι ἐνεπαίχθη ὑπὸ τῶν μάγων ἐθυμώθη λίαν, καὶ ἀποστείλας ἀνεῖλεν πάντας τοὺς παῖδας τοὺς ἐν βηθλέεμ καὶ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ὁρίοις αὐτῆς ἀπὸ διετοῦς καὶ κατωτέρω, κατὰ τὸν χρόνον ὃν ἠκρίβωσεν παρὰ τῶν μάγων.
16. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.
Chrysostomus super Matth: Postquam parvulus Iesus magos suo imperio subiugavit, non potestate corporis, sed gratia spiritus, irascebatur Herodes, quia quos ipse sedens in throno regni suadere non potuit, his Iesus parvulus placuit in praesepio iacens. Deinde contemnentes eum, magi addiderunt causas doloris; unde dicitur tunc Herodes videns quoniam illusus esset a magis, iratus est valde. Illa enim regum ira magna et inextinguibilis est quam regni zelus accendit. Sed quid fecit? Mittens occidit omnes pueros. Sicut enim bestia vulnerata, quicquid oculis eius occurrit, quasi auctorem sui vulneris dilaniat, sic et ille delusus a magis iram suam super parvulos diffundebat. Dicebat enim cogitans in furore: certe magi puerum invenerunt, quem regnaturum dicebant: nam rex regni zelo repletus, de his omnia timet, omnia suspicatur. Ideo ergo misit, et interfecit omnes parvulos, ut unum inveniret in omnibus. Pseudo-Chrys.: When the infant Jesus had subdued the Magi, not by the might of His flesh, but the grace of His [p. 82] Spirit, Herod "was exceeding wrath," that they whom he, sitting on his throne, had no power to move, were obedient to an Infant lying in a manger. Then by their contempt of him the Magi gave further cause of wrath. For when kings' wrath is stirred by fear for their crowns, it is a great and inextinguishable wrath. But what did he? "He sent and slew all the children." As a wounded beast rends whatsoever meeteth it as if the cause of its smart, so he mocked by the Magi spent his fury on children. He said to himself in his fury, 'Surely the Magi have found the Child whom they said should be King;' for a king in fear for his crown fears all things, suspects all. Then he sent and slew all those infants, that he might secure one among so many. Augustinus in Serm. de Epiph.: Et dum insequitur Christum, regi nostro coaevum procuravit exercitum stolis victricibus candidatum. Aug.: And while he thus persecutes Christ, he furnished an army (or martyrs) clothed in white robes of the same age as the Lord. Augustinus in Serm. 3 de Innocent.: Ecce profanus hostis beatis parvulis nunquam tantum prodesse potuisset obsequio, quantum profuit odio: nam quantum contra eos iniquitas abundavit, tantum gratia benedictionis effulsit. Aug., Serm. 220. App.: Behold how this unrighteous enemy never could have so much profited these infants by his love, as he did by his hate; for as much as iniquity abounded against them, so much did the grace of blessing abound on them. Idem. O parvuli beati. Ille de vestra corona dubitabit in passione pro Christo qui etiam parvulis Baptismum prodesse non existimat Christi: nam qui natus habere potuit praedicatores Angelos, narratores caelos, adoratores magos, potuit et illis, ne pro eo sic morerentur, praestare, si sciret illa morte perituros, et non potius maiore felicitate victuros. Absit ut ad liberandos homines Christus veniens, de illorum praemio qui pro illo interficerentur, nihil egerit, qui pendens in ligno pro eis a quibus interficiebatur, oravit. Aug., Serm. 373, 3: O blessed infants! He only will doubt of your crown in this your passion for Christ, who doubts that the baptism of Christ has a benefit for infants. He who at His birth had Angels to proclaim Him, the heavens to testify, and Magi to worship Him, could surely have prevented that these should not have died for Him, had He not known that they died not in that death, but rather lived in higher bliss. Far be the thought, that Christ who came to set men free, did nothing to reward those who died in His behalf, when hanging on the cross He prayed for those who put Him to death. Rabanus: Non est autem contentus vastatione Bethlehem, sed et adiacentia loca vastavit; nec ullam misericordiam aetatis habuit, a filio unius noctis usque ad filium duorum annorum, qui omnes occideret; unde subdit in Bethlehem et in omnibus finibus eius a bimatu et infra. Rabanus: He is not satisfied with the massacre at Bethlehem, but extends it to the adjacent villages; sparing no age from the child of one night old, to that of two years. Augustinus: In caelo enim viderant magi ignotissimam stellam non ante paucos dies, sed ante finem biennii, sicut inquirenti Herodi patefecerunt; unde a bimatu et infra occidit infantes; propter quod sequitur secundum tempus quod exquisierat a magis. Aug., Serm. 132, App.: The Magi had seen this unknown star in the heavens, not a few days, but two years before, as they had informed Herod when he enquired. This caused him to fix "two years old and under;" as it follows, "according to the time he had enquired of the Magi." Augustinus: Vel quia timebat ne puer cui sidera famulantur, speciem suam paulo super aetatem vel infra transformaret, vel aetatem sui temporis occultaret; ideo videtur pueros a bimatu usque ad pueros unius diei interfecisse. Gloss. ord.: Or because he feared that the Child to whom even stars ministered, might transform His appearance to greater or under that of His own age, or might conceal all those of that age: hence it [p. 83] seems to be that he slew all from one day to two years old. Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Vel aliquorum magis propinquantium periculorum terroribus agitatus, Herodes ab illa cura, scilicet interficiendi pueros, mente abrepta, in aliis potius occupatur; vel potuit credere, magos fallaci stellae visione deceptos, posteaquam non invenerunt quem natum putaverant, erubuisse ad se redire; atque ita timore depulso, a persequendo puero quievit, et sic completis diebus purgationis, tute cum illo ascendere in templum potuerunt. Quis enim non videat unum illum diem regem multis occupatum latere potuisse? Deinde vulgatis rebus quae in templo dictae factaeque fuerant, Herodes sensit se a magis illusum; ac deinde, sicut hic dicitur, multos infantes occidit. Aug., de Cons. Evan., 2, 11: Or, disturbed by pressure of still more imminent dangers, Herod's thoughts are drawn to other thoughts than the slaughter of children, he might suppose that the Magi, unable to find Him whom they had supposed born, were ashamed to return to him. So the days of purification being accomplished, they might go up in safety to Jerusalem. And who does not see the one day they may have escaped the attention of a King occupied with so many cares, and that afterwards when the things done in the Temple came to be spread abroad, then Herod discovered that he had been deceived by the Magi, and then sent and slew the children. Beda in Hom. in festo Innocent.: In hac autem morte puerorum, omnium Christi martyrum pretiosa est mors designata: quod parvuli occisi sunt, significat per humilitatis meritum ad martyrii perveniendum gloriam; quod in Bethlehem et in omnibus finibus eius occisi sunt, ostendit in Iudaea, unde Ecclesiae coepit origo, et ubique per orbem persecutionem saevituram; quod bimi occisi sunt, doctrina et operatione perfectos indicat; qui vero infra, simplices; quod illi quidem occisi sunt, et Christus evasit, insinuat corpora martyrum ab impiis posse perimi, sed Christum ab eis non posse auferri. Bede, Hom. in Nat. Innocent: In this death of the children the precious death of all Christ's martyrs is figured; that they were infants signifies, that by the merit of humility alone can we come to the glory of martyrdom; that they were slain in Bethlehem and the coasts thereof, that the persecution shall be both in Jerusalem whence the Church originated, and throughout the world; in those of two years old are figured the perfect in doctrine and works; those under that age the neophytes; that they were slain while Christ escaped, signifies that the bodies of the martyrs may be destroyed by the wicked, but that Christ cannot be taken from them.
Lectio 9 17 τότε ἐπληρώθη τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ ἰερεμίου τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος, 18 φωνὴ ἐν ῥαμὰ ἠκούσθη, κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὀδυρμὸς πολύς: ῥαχὴλ κλαίουσα τὰ τέκνα αὐτῆς, καὶ οὐκ ἤθελεν παρακληθῆναι, ὅτι οὐκ εἰσίν.
17. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, 18. In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
Chrysostomus in Matth: Quia Evangelista horrore implevit auditorem, crudelem occisionem narrans, rursus mitigationem apponit ostendens quod haec non facta sunt Deo nequeunte prohibere atque ignorante, sed per prophetam praedicente; unde dicit tunc impletum est. Chrys., Hom. ix: The Evangelist by this history of so bloody a massacre, having filled the reader with horror, now again sooths his feelings, shewing that these things were not done because God could not hinder, or knew not of them; but as the Prophet had foretold. Hieronymus super Ierem.: Hoc Ieremiae testimonium Matthaeus, non secundum Hebraicam veritatem nec iuxta Lxx protulit. Ex quo perspicuum est Evangelistas et apostolos non interpretationem alicuius secutos, sed tamquam Hebraeos, quod legebant Hebraice, suis sermonibus expressisse. Jerome, In Hierem, 31, 15: This passage of Jeremiah has been quoted by Matthew neither according to the Hebrew nor the LXX version. This shews that the [p. 84] Evangelists and Apostles did not follow any one's translation, but according to the Hebrew manner expressed in their own words what they had read in Hebrew. Hieronymus in Matth.: Quod autem dicitur in Rama, non putamus loci nomen esse, quod est iuxta Gabaa, sed Rama excelsum interpretatur; ut sit sensus: vox in excelso audita est, idest longe lateque dispersa. By Ramah we need not suppose that the town of that name near Gibeah is meant; but take it as signifying 'high.' A voice was heard 'aloft,' that is, spread far and wide. Chrysostomus super Matth: Vel quoniam de morte innocentium mittebatur, ideo in excelso audiebatur, secundum illud: vox pauperis penetrat nubes. Quod autem dicit ploratus, fletum parvulorum ostendit; quod autem dicit ululatus, matrum significat lamentum. In parvulis autem mors faciebat finem doloris, in matribus autem semper per memoriam reparatur; et ideo dicit: ululatus multus; Rachel plorans filios suos. Pseudo-Chrys.: Or, it was heard on high, because uttered for the death of the innocent, according to that, "The voice of the poor entereth into the heavens." The 'weeping' means the cries of the children; 'lamentation,' refers to the mothers. In the infants themselves their death ends their cries, in the mothers it is continually renewed by the remembrance of their loss. Hieronymus: De Rachel natus est Beniamin, in cuius tribu non est Bethlehem. Quaeritur ergo quomodo Rachel filios Iudae, idest filios Bethlehem, quasi suos ploret. Respondebimus breviter, quia sepulta sit iuxta Bethlehem in Ephrata, et ex corpusculi hospitio matris nomen accepit. Sive quoniam Iuda et Beniamin duae tribus iunctae erant, et Herodes praeceperat, non solum in Bethlehem interfici pueros, sed et in omnibus finibus eius; per occisionem Bethlehem intelligimus multos etiam de Beniamin fuisse caesos. Jerome: Rachel's son was Benjamin, in which tribe Bethlehem is not situated. How then does Rachel weep for the children of Judah as if they were her own? We answer briefly. She was buried near Bethlehem in Ephrata, and was regarded as the mother, because her body was there entertained. Or, as the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin were contiguous, and Herod's command extended to the coasts of Bethlehem as well as to the town itself, we may suppose that many were slain in Benjamin. Augustinus de quaest. Nov. et Vet. Testam: Vel quia filii Beniamin, qui ad Rachel pertinent, olim a reliquis tribubus extincti sunt, et in praesenti et in futuro erasi. Tunc ergo Rachel coepit filios suos plangere quando filios sororis suae in tali causa vidit occisos, ut aeternae vitae heredes existerent: cui enim aliquid adversum evenit, ex felicitate alterius infausta sua miserius luget. Pseudo-Aug., Hil. Quaest. N. and N. Test. 9. 62: Or, The sons of Benjamin, who were akin to Rachel, were formerly cut off by the other tribes, and so extinct both then and ever after. Then therefore Rachel began to mourn her sons, when she saw those of her sister cut off in such a cause, that they should be heirs of eternal life; for he who has experienced any misfortune, is made more sensible of his losses by the good fortune of a neighbour. Remigius: Assumpsit autem sanctus Evangelista ad exaggerandam magnitudinem luctus, ut diceret etiam Rachelem mortuam plorasse filios suos et noluit consolari, quia non sunt. Remig.: The sacred Evangelist adds, to shew the greatness of the mourning, that even the dead Rachel was roused to mourn her sons; and "would not be comforted because they were not." Hieronymus: Et hoc secundum duplicem intelligentiam: sive quod eos in aeternum mortuos existimaret, sive quod se consolari nollet de his quos scivit esse victuros; ut sit sensus: noluit consolari, de hoc quod non essent. Jerome: This may be understood in two ways; either she thought them dead for all eternity, so that no consolation could comfort her; or, she desired not to receive any comfort for those who she knew had gone into life eternal. Hilarius in Matth.: Non enim non erant hi qui mortui putabantur: in aeternitatis enim profectum per martyrii gloriam efferebantur; consolatio autem rei amissae erat praestanda, non auctae. Rachel Ecclesiae typum praetulit diu sterilis, nunc fecundae. Huius ploratus ex filiis, non idcirco quia peremptos dolebat, auditur, sed quia ab his perimebatur quos primum genitos filios retinere voluisset. Hilary: It could not be that they "were not" who seemed now dead, but by glorious martyrdom they were advanced to eternal life; and consolation is for those who have suffered loss, not for those who have reaped a gain. Rachel affords a type of the Church long barren now at length fruitful. [p. 85] She is heard weeping for her children, not because she mourned them dead, but because they were slaughtered by those whom she would have retained as her first-born sons. Rabanus: Vel significat Ecclesiam quidem plorare sanctorum de hoc saeculo ablationem, sed non ita velle se consolari, ut qui saeculum morte vicerunt, rursus ad saeculi certamina secum redeant toleranda, quia non sunt ultra revocandi in mundum. Rabanus: Or, The Church weeps the removal of the saints from this earth, but wishes not to be comforted as though they should return again to the struggles of life, for they are not to be recalled into life. Glossa: Vel non vult consolari in praesenti, quia non sunt, sed omnem spem et consolationem ad aeternam transmittit vitam. Gloss. ord.: She "will not be comforted" in this present life, for that they are not, but transfers all her hope and comfort to the life to come. Rabanus: Bene autem Rachel, quia ovis vel videns dicitur, Ecclesiam figurat, cuius tota intentio ut Deum contempletur, invigilat; et ipsa est ovis centesima quam pastor in humeris reportat. Rabanus: Rachel is well set for a type of the Church, as the word signifies 'a sheep' or 'seeing;' [margin note: see Ch. 1, note i, p. 19] her whole thought being to fix her eye in contemplation of God; and she is the hundredth sheep that the shepherd layeth on his shoulder.
Lectio 10 19 τελευτήσαντος δὲ τοῦ ἡρῴδου ἰδοὺ ἄγγελος κυρίου φαίνεται κατ' ὄναρ τῷ ἰωσὴφ ἐν αἰγύπτῳ 20 λέγων, ἐγερθεὶς παράλαβε τὸ παιδίον καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ πορεύου εἰς γῆν Ἰσραήλ, τεθνήκασιν γὰρ οἱ ζητοῦντες τὴν ψυχὴν τοῦ παιδίου.
19. But when Herod was dead, behold, an Angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20. Saying, "Arise, and take the young Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for they are dead which sought the young Child's life.
Ex historia Eccles.: Cum pro sacrilegio, quod Herodes in salvatorem commiserat et scelere quod in aequaevos eius peregerat, ultio eum divina perurgeret in mortem, corpus eius, ut Iosephus refert, morbus invasit diversus, ita ut diceretur a vatibus, non morbi corporis haec, sed divinae ultionis esse supplicia. Ipse autem furore iam plenus nobiliores et primarios ex omni Iudaea ad se colligi, et recludi iubet in carcere, mandans, statim ut spiritum exhalasset, omnes interfici ut eius obitum omnis Iudaea defleret invita. Paulo autem antequam novissimum spiritum redderet, Antipatrum filium suum iugulavit, post duos pueros ante necaverat, scilicet Alexandrum et Aristobulum. Talis igitur Herodis finis, qui digna supplicia scelere quod in Bethlehem erga parvulos gesserat, et pro insidiis salvatoris exactus est: ab Evangelista designatur cum dicit defuncto autem Herode. Euseb., Eccles. Hist., 1, 8: For the sacrilege which Herod had committed against the Saviour, and his wicked slaughter of the infants of the same age, the Divine vengeance hastened his end; and his body, as Josephus relates, was attacked by a strange disease; so that the prophets declared that they were not human ailments, but visitations of Divine vengeance. Filled with mad fury, he gives command to seize and imprison the heads and nobles out of all parts of Judaea; ordering that as soon as ever he should breathe his last, they should be all put to death, that so Judaea, though unwillingly, might mourn at his decease. Just before he died he murdered his son, Antipater,(besides two boys put to death before, Alexander and Aristobulus.) Such was the end of Herod, noticed in those words of the Evangelist, "when Herod was dead," and such the punishment inflicted. Hieronymus: Multi propter ignorantiam historiae labuntur in errorem, putantes eumdem esse Herodem a quo in passione dominus irridetur, et qui nunc mortuus esse refertur. Ergo Herodes ille, qui cum Pilato postea amicitias fecit, huius Herodis filius est, frater Archelai, quem Tiberius Caesar Lugdunum relegavit, fratremque eius Herodem successorem regni fecit. Primo ergo Herode defuncto, ecce apparuit Angelus domini in somnis Ioseph in Aegypto dicens: surge, et accipe puerum et matrem eius. Jerome: Many here err from ignorance of history, supposing the Herod who mocked our [p. 86] Lord on the day of His passion, and the Herod whose death is here related, were the same. But the Herod who was then made friends with Pilate was son of this Herod and brother to Archelaus; for Archelaus was banished to Lyons in Gaul, and his father Herod made king in his room, as we read in Josephus. Dionysius de caelesti hierarchia.: Vide quoniam et ipse Iesus super caelestibus essentiis superexistens, ad id quod secundum nos est immutabiliter veniens, non refugit ad se ordinatam et assumptam humanam ordinationem, sed obediens subditur Dei patris per Angelos dispositionibus et per Angelos ipsos annuntiatur Ioseph a patre disposita filii ad Aegyptum recessio, et iterum ad Iudaeam ex Aegypto transductio. Pseudo- Dionysius, Dion. De Cael. Hierarch. 4: See how Jesus Himself, though far above all celestial beings, and coming unchanged to our nature, shunned not that ordinance of humanity which He had taken on Him, but was obedient to the dispositions of His Father made known by Angels. For even by Angels is declared to Joseph the retreat of the Son into Egypt, so ordained of the Father, and His return again to Judaea. Chrysostomus super Matth: Vides enim quia Ioseph ad ministerium Mariae erat electus: eunte enim illa in Aegyptum et redeunte, quis ministerium ei tantae necessitatis impleret nisi desponsata fuisset? Nam prima quidem facie Maria puerum nutriebat et Ioseph conservabat; revera autem puer et matrem nutriebat et Ioseph tuebatur. Sequitur et vade in terram Israel: quasi medicus enim descendit in Aegyptum, ut visitaret eam languentem erroribus, non ut remaneret in ea. Ratio autem reversionis assignatur cum subditur defuncti sunt enim qui quaerebant animam pueri. Pseudo-Chrys.: See how Joseph was set for ministering to Mary; when she went into Egypt and returned, who would have fulfilled to her this so needful ministry, had she not been betrothed? For to outward view, Mary nourished and Joseph defended the Child; but in truth the Child supported His mother and protected Joseph. "Return into the land of Israel;" for He went down into Egypt as a physician, not to abide there, but to succour it sick with error. But the reason of the return is given in the words, "They are dead, &c." Hieronymus: Ex hoc loco intelligimus non solum Herodem, sed etiam sacerdotes et Scribas eo tempore necem domini fuisse meditatos. Jerome: From this we see that not Herod only, but also the Priests and Scribes had sought the Lord's death at that time. Remigius: Sed si multi fuerunt, quomodo in tam brevi spatio extincti sunt? Quia, ut dictum est, Herode mortuo, occisi sunt omnes maiores qui in custodia tenebantur. Remig.: But if they were many who sought his destruction, how came they all to have died in so short a time? As we have related above, all the great men among the Jews were slain at Herod's death. Chrysostomus super Matth: Quod dicitur consilio factum esse, quia consenserunt Herodi, ut inquireret puerum et occideret, quia scriptum est: turbatus est Herodes, et omnis Hierosolyma cum illo. Pseudo-Chrys.: And that is said to have been done by the counsel of God for their conspiring with Herod against the Lord; as it is said, "Herod was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him." Remigius: Aut certe locutus est Evangelista per speciem tropi, quando multi ponuntur pro uno. In hoc autem quod dicit animam pueri, destruuntur haeretici qui dixerunt Christum non sumpsisse animam, sed loco animae habuisse divinitatem. Remig.: Or the Evangelist uses a figure of speech, by which the plural is used for the singular. These words, "the Child's life," overthrow those heretics [margin note: or "soul," i.e. the Apollinarians] who taught that Christ did not take a soul, but had His Divinity in place of a soul. Beda in Hom. de Innocent.: Quod autem occisis pro domino pueris, Herodes non longe post obiit, et Ioseph dominum cum matre ad terram Israel reduxit, significat omnes persecutiones quae contra Ecclesiam erant movendae, persecutorum morte vindicandas, et pacem Ecclesiae denuo reddendam, et sanctos qui latuerant ad sua loca reversuros. Vel quod defuncto Herode, redit ad terram Israel Iesus, denuntiat quod Enoch et Elia praedicantibus, Iudaei, sopita modernae invidiae flamma, fidem veritatis accipient. Bede, Hom. in Nat. Innocent: This slaughter of the infants for the Lord's sake, the death of Herod soon after, and Joseph's return with the Lord and his mother to the land of Israel, is a figure shewing that all the persecutions moved against the Church will be avenged by the death of the persecutor, peace restored to the Church, [p. 87] and the saints who had concealed themselves return to their own places. Or the return of Jesus to the land of Israel on the death of Herod shews, that, at the preaching of Enoch and Elijah [see note, c, below], the Jews, when the fire of modern jealousy shall be extinguished, shall receive the true faith. [ed. note, c: That Enoch and especially Elias will come at the end of the world and by their preaching convert the Jews is affirmed by Tertullian, (de Anima 35. de Resur. c. 22) Origen, (in Joann, i. tom. 5. in Matt. tom. 13) Hilary, (in Matt. xx. 10. xxvi. 5) Chrysostom, (in Matt. xvii. 10) Augustine, (City of God 20, 29. Op. Imp. contra Julian. vi. 30) Pope Gregory, (in Job. lib. xiv. 23. in Joann. Hom. vii. 1) and Damascene, (de Fid. Orth. iv. 26 fin]
Lectio 11 21 ὁ δὲ ἐγερθεὶς παρέλαβεν τὸ παιδίον καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰσῆλθεν εἰς γῆν Ἰσραήλ. ἀκούσας δὲ ὅτι ἀρχέλαος βασιλεύει τῆς ἰουδαίας ἀντὶ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ ἡρῴδου ἐφοβήθη ἐκεῖ ἀπελθεῖν: χρηματισθεὶς δὲ κατ' ὄναρ ἀνεχώρησεν εἰς τὰ μέρη τῆς γαλιλαίας, 23 καὶ ἐλθὼν κατῴκησεν εἰς πόλιν λεγομένην ναζαρέτ, ὅπως πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ τῶν προφητῶν ὅτι ναζωραῖος κληθήσεται.
21. And he arose, and took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: 23. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, "He shall be called a Nazarene.
Glossa: Angelicae admonitioni Ioseph non inobediens fuit; unde sequitur qui consurgens, accepit puerum et matrem eius et venit in terram Israel. Non enim determinaverat Angelus in quo loco terrae Israel; ut dubitante Ioseph, iterum revertatur, et frequentiori visitatione Angeli certior redderetur; unde sequitur audiens autem quod Archelaus regnaret in Iudaea pro Herode patre suo, timuit illo ire. Gloss: Joseph was not disobedient to the angelic warning, but "he arose, and took the young Child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel." The Angel had not fixed the particular place, so that while Joseph hesitates, the Angel returns, and by the often visiting him confirms his obedience. Iosephus Antiq. Iud. et de bello Iud.: Habuit siquidem Herodes uxores novem, ex quarum septem numerosam suscepit sobolem: primogenitus eius Antipater ex Iosida, Alexander et Aristobulus ex Mariamne, Archelaus ex Mathaca Samaritide, Herodes Antipas, qui postea tetrarcha fuit, et Philippus, ex Cleopatra Hierosolymitide. Tribus igitur primis ab Herode interfectis, et post mortem eius occasione testamenti patris, Archelao gubernationem regni usurpante, et causa de successione regni ad Caesarem Augustum delata, tandem de consilio senatus omnem Herodis monarchiam distribuit: mediam partem, scilicet Idumaeam et Iudaeam, tradens Archelao sub nomine tetrarchiae, pollicitus se facturum eum regem, si se dignum praebuisset; mediam vero partem in duas secuit tetrarchias: cessitque Galilaea in partem Herodis tetrarchae, Ituraeae vero et Trachonitidis regio Philippo. Factus est ergo post Herodem defunctum Archelaus quasi diarchus, quod dominii genus hic regnum appellat. Josephus: Herod had nine wives, by seven of whom he had a numerous issue. By Josida, his first born Antipater - by Mariamine, Alexander and Aristobulus - by Mathuca, a Samaritan woman, Archelaus - by Cleopatra of Jerusalem, Herod, who was afterwards tetrarch, and Philip. The three first were put to death by Herod; and after his death, Archelaus seized the throne by occasion of his father's will, and the question of the succession was carried before Augustus Caesar. After some delay, he made a distribution of the whole of Herod's dominions in accordance with the Senate's advice. [p. 88] To Archelaus he assigned one half, consisting of Idumaea and Judaea, with the title of tetrarch, and a promise of that of king if he shewed himself deserving of it. The rest he divided into two tetrarchates, giving Galilee to Herod the tetrarch, Ituraea and Trachonitis to Philip. Thus Archelaus was after his father's death a duarch, which kind of sovereignty is here called a kingdom. Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Sed hic aliquis quaeret: quomodo, sicut Lucas narrat, ibant parentes eius per omnes annos pueritiae Christi in Ierusalem, si Archelai timore ibi prohibebantur accedere? Hoc dissolvere non est difficile: fieri enim poterat ut per diem festum, inter tam ingentem turbam latenter ascenderent mox reversuri, cum tamen aliis diebus habitare metuerent: ut nec solemnitate praetermissa essent irreligiosi, nec continua mansione perspicui. Iste quoque intellectus patet; ut quod Lucas dicit per omnes annos eos ascendere solitos in Ierusalem, tunc accipiamus factum cum iam non metueretur Archelaus, qui, secundum historiam Ioseph, solum novem annis regnavit. Sequitur et admonitus in somnis secessit in partes Galilaeae. Sed forte hic quispiam moveatur: cum Matthaeus dixerit, ideo timuisse Ioseph cum puero redeuntem ire in Iudaeam quia pro patre suo Herode Archelaus filius eius regnabat, quomodo potuit ire in Galilaeam, ubi alius filius eius Herodes tetrarcha erat, ut Lucas testatur? Quasi vero ipsa sint tempora quibus puero timebatur, quae Lucas commemoravit, quae usque adeo mutata erant ut in ipsa Iudaea non rex esset Archelaus, sed praeses Pilatus. Aug., De Con. Evan. ii. 10: Here is may be asked, How then could his parents go up every year of Christ's childhood to Jerusalem, as Luke relates, if fear of Archelaus now prevented them from approaching it? This difficulty is easily solved. At the festival they might escape notice in the crowd, and by returning soon, where in ordinary times they might be afraid to live. So they neither became irreligious by neglecting the festival, nor notorious by dwelling continually in Jerusalem. Or it is open to us to understand Luke when he says, they "went up every year," as speaking of a time when they had nothing to fear from Archelaus, who, as Josephus relates, reigned only nine years. There is yet a difficulty in what follows; "Being warned in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee." If Joseph was afraid to go into Judaea because one of Herod's sons, Archelaus, reigned there, how could he go into Galilee, where another of his sons Herod was tetrarch, as Luke tells us? As if the times of which Luke is speaking were times in which there was any longer need to fear for the Child, when even in Judaea things were so changed, that Archelaus no longer ruled there, but Pilate was governor. Glossa: Sed tunc quaeritur: quare non timuit Ioseph in Galilaeam ire, cum et ibi Archelaus regnaret? Sed melius potuit latere cum puero in Nazareth, quam in Ierusalem, ubi erat caput regni et assiduus Archelaus. Gloss. ord.: But then we might ask, why was he not afraid to go into Galilee, seeing Archelaus ruled there also? He could be better concealed in Nazareth than in Jerusalem, which was the capital of the kingdom, and where Archelaus was constantly resident. Chrysostomus in Matth: Immo quia regionem ortus sui mutavit, res in posterum caligine obducta est. Omnis quippe impetus persequentis in Bethlehem eiusque fines desaevierat. Venit igitur Ioseph in Nazareth et periculum fugiens et in patriam rediens; unde sequitur et veniens habitavit in civitate quae vocatur Nazareth. Chrys.: And when he had once left the country of His birth, all the occurrences passed out of mind; the rage of persecution had been spent in Bethlehem and its neighbourhood. By choosing Nazareth therefore, Joseph both avoided danger, and returned to his country. Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Forte et hoc movet, quomodo dicat Matthaeus, propterea cum puero Iesu parentes eius isse in Galilaeam, quia metu Archelai in Ierusalem ire noluerint; cum propterea magis esse in Galilaea videantur, quia civitas eorum erat Nazareth Galilaeae, sicut Lucas non tacuit. Sed intelligendum est, quia ubi Angelus in somnis in Aegypto dixit ad Ioseph: vade in terram Israel, sic intellectum primo esse a Ioseph, ut putaret rectius esse pergere in Iudaeam: ipsa enim primitus intelligi potuit terra Israel. Postquam vero comperit ibi regnare Archelaum, noluit obiicere se periculo, cum posset terra Israel etiam Galilaea intelligi, quia et ipsam populus Israel incolebat. Quamquam possit et aliter solvi: quia potuit videri parentibus Christi non esse habitandum ibi cum puero, nisi in Ierusalem ubi erat templum domini; et illuc ivissent, nisi Archelai praesentia terrerentur. Non autem divinitus iubebantur in Iudaea vel in Ierusalem habitare, ut de Archelao quod timebant deberent contemnere; sed in terra Israel, in qua etiam, ut dictum est, poterat intelligi Galilaea. Aug., de Con. Evan., ii, 9: This may perhaps occur to some, that Matthew says His parents went with the Child Jesus to Galilee because they feared Archelaus, when it should seem most probable that they chose Galilee because Nazareth was [p. 89] their own city, as Luke has not forgot to mention. We must understand, that when the Angel in the vision in Egypt said to Joseph, "Go into the land of Israel," Joseph understood the command to be that he should go straight into Judaea, that being properly "the land of Israel." But finding Archelaus ruling there, he would not court the danger, as "the land of Israel" might be interpreted to extend to Galilee, which was inhabited by children of Israel. Or we may suppose His parents supposed that Christ should dwell no where but in Jerusalem, where was the temple of the Lord, and would have gone thither had not the fear of Archelaus hindered them. And they had not been commanded from God to dwell positively in Judaea, or Jerusalem, so as that they should have despised the fear of Archelaus, but only in the land of Israel generally, which they might understand of Galilee. Hilarius in Matth.: Verum typica ratio conservata est: Ioseph enim apostolorum tenet speciem, quibus Christus circumferendus est creditus. Hi tamquam Herode mortuo, idest populo eius in passione domini deperdito, Iudaeis praedicare sunt iussi (missi enim erant ad oves perditas domus Israel); sed manente hereditariae infidelitatis dominatu, metuunt et recedunt; admoniti per visum, spiritus sancti donum in gentibus contemplantes, ad eas conferunt Christum. Hilary: But the figurative intepretation holds good any way. Joseph represents the Apostles, to whom Christ is entrusted to be borne about. These, as though Herod were dead, that is, his people being destroyed in the Lord's passion, are commanded to preach the Gospel to the Jews; they are sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But finding the seed of their hereditary unbelief still abiding, they fear and withdraw; admonished by a vision, to wit, seeing the Holy Ghost poured upon the Gentiles, they carry Christ to them. Rabanus: Vel hoc ultima tempora Ecclesiae designat, quando plurimis Iudaeorum ad praedicationem Enoch et Eliae conversis, ceteri ad instinctum Antichristi contra fidem pugnabunt. Pars igitur Iudaeae in qua regnabat Archelaus, Antichristi sequaces ostendit; Nazareth autem Galilaeae, quo transfertur Christus, partem eiusdem gentis quae fidem est susceptura designat: unde Galilaea transmigratio, Nazareth autem flos virtutum interpretatur, quia Ecclesia quo ardentius a terrenis ad caelestia transmigrat, eo magis virtutum flore et germine abundat. Rabanus: Or, we may apply it to the last times of the Jewish Church, when many Jews having turned to the preaching of Enoch and Elijah, the rest filled with the spirit of Antichrist shall fight against the faith. So that part of Judaea where Archelaus rules, signifies the followers of Antichrist; Nazareth of Galilee, whither Christ is conveyed, that part of the nation that shall embrace the faith. Galilee means, 'removal;' Nazareth, 'the flower of virtues;' for the Church the more zealously she removes from the earthly to the heavenly, the more she abounds in the flower and fruit of virtues. Glossa: Huic autem prophetae testimonium adiungit dicens ut impleretur quod dictum est per prophetas, quoniam Nazaraeus vocabitur. Gloss: To this he adds the Prophet's testimony, saying, "That is might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Prophets, &c." Hieronymus: Si fixum de Scripturis posuisset exemplum, nunquam diceret quod dictum est per prophetas; sed simpliciter: quod dictum est per prophetam. Nunc autem pluraliter prophetas vocans, ostendit se non verba de Scripturis sumpsisse, sed sensum. Nazaraeus interpretatur sanctus; sanctum autem dominum futurum omnis Scriptura commemorat. Possumus et aliter dicere: quod etiam eisdem verbis iuxta Hebraicam veritatem in Isaia scriptum sit: exiet virga de radice Iesse, et Nazaraeus de radice eius consurget. Jerome: Had he meant to quote a particular text, he would not have written 'Prophets,' but 'the Prophet.' By thus using the plural he evidently [p. 90] does not take the words of any one passage in Scripture, but the sense of the whole. Nazarene is interpreted, 'Holy,' [ed. note, d: נדר ] and that the Lord would be Holy, all Scripture testifies. Otherwise we may explain that it is found in Isaiah rendered to the strict letter of the Hebrew. [margin note: c. 11. 1] "There shall come a Rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Nazarene shall grow out of His roots." [ed. note, e: As if נצר ] Chrysostomus super Matth: Aut forte legerunt et aliquos prophetas ita dicentes, qui non sunt nobis canonizati, sicut Nathan et Esdra. Et quoniam hoc prophetatum erat, manifestat Philippus dicens ad Nathanaelem: quem scripsit Moyses in lege, invenimus Iesum a Nazareth. Unde etiam prius Christiani Nazaraei vocabantur; sed apud Antiochiam mutatum est hoc nomen, et dicti sunt Christiani. Pseudo-Chrys.: They might have read this in some Prophets who are not in our canon, as Nathan or Esdras. That there was some prophecy to this purport is clear from what Philip says to Nathanael. "Him of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth." [John 1:15] Hence the Christians were at first called Nazarenes, at Antioch their name was changed to that of 'Christians.' Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Haec autem omnia quae sunt a narratione magorum et deinceps, Lucas tacet. Hoc proinde cognoscendum, quod deinceps ad cetera valeat: sic unumquemque Evangelistarum contexere narrationem suam, ut tanquam nihil praetermittentis series digesta videatur; tacitis enim quae non vult dicere, sic ea quae vult dicere illis quae dicebat adiungit ut ipsa continuo sequi videantur; sed cum alter dicit ea quae alter tacuit, diligenter ordo consideratus indicat locum ubi ea potuerint a quo praetermissa sunt, transiliri. Aug., de Con. Evan., ii, 5: The whole of this history, from the account of the Magi inclusively, Luke omits. Let it be here noticed once for all, that each of the Evangelists writes as if he were giving a full and complete history, which omits nothing; where he really passes over any thing, he continues his thread of history as if he had told all. Yet by a diligent comparison of their several narratives, we can be at no loss to know where to insert any particular that is mentioned by one and not by the other.
Caput 3 Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 3 [p. 91] Lectio 1 1 ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις παραγίνεται ἰωάννης ὁ βαπτιστὴς κηρύσσων ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τῆς ἰουδαίας 2 [καὶ] λέγων, μετανοεῖτε, ἤγγικεν γὰρ ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. 3 οὗτος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ ῥηθεὶς διὰ ἠσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος, φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν ὁδὸν κυρίου, εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τὰς τρίβους αὐτοῦ.
1. In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2. And saying, "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 3. For this is he that was spoken of by the Prophet Esaias, saying, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight."
Chrysostomus super Matth: Sol appropians, antequam appareat, mittit radios suos et facit albescere orientem, ut praecedens aurora adventum diei demonstret; sic dominus natus in mundo, antequam appareat, per doctrinam spiritus sui fulgore transmisso illuminavit Ioannem, ut praecedens ille adventum annuntiet salvatoris: et ideo post ortum Christi enarratum, doctrinam eius enarraturus Evangelista et Baptismum, in quo testimonium habuit, de praecursore et Baptista praemittit, dicens in diebus autem illis venit Ioannes Baptista praedicans in deserto. Pseudo-Chrys.: The Sun as he approaches the horizon, and before he is yet visible, sends out his rays and makes the eastern sky to glow with light, that Aurora going before may herald the coming day. Thus the Lord at His birth in this earth, and before He shews Himself, enlightens John by the rays of His Spirit's teaching, that he might go before and announce the Saviour that was to come. Therefore after having related the birth of Christ, before proceeding to His teaching and baptism, (wherein he received such testimony,) he first premises somewhat of the Baptist and forerunner of the Lord. "In those days, &c." Remigius: His autem verbis, beati Ioannis non solum tempus et locum et personam, sed etiam officium et studium demonstrat. Tempus generale demonstrat cum dicit in diebus autem illis. Remig.: In these words we have not only time, place, and person, respecting St. John, but also his office and employment. First the time, generally; "In those days." Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Hoc autem tempus Lucas per terrenas potestates expressit cum dixit: anno quintodecimo. Sed intelligere debemus Matthaeum cum diceret in diebus illis, in multo longiori spatio accipi voluisse. Mox enim ut narravit regressum de Aegypto Christum, quod utique tempore pueritiae vel infantiae factum est, ut possit stare quod Lucas de illo cum duodecim esset annorum narravit, continuo intulit in diebus autem illis: non utique pueritiae tantum illius dies insinuans, sed omnes dies ab eius nativitate usque quo praedicare coepit Ioannes. Aug., de Cons. Evan., ii, 6: Luke describes the time by the reigning sovereigns. [Luke 3:1] But Matthew must be understood to speak of a wider space of time by the phrase 'those days,' than the fifteenth year of Tiberius. Having related Christ's return from Egypt, which must be placed in early boyhood or even infancy, to make it agree with what Luke has told of His being in the [p. 92] temple at twelve years old, he adds directly, "In those days," not intending thereby only the days of His childhood, but all the days from His birth to the preaching of John. Remigius: Personam ostendit cum dicit venit Ioannes; idest, manifestavit se, qui tamdiu prius latuerat. Remig.: The man is mentioned in the words "came John," that is, shewed himself, having abode so long in obscurity. Chrysostomus: Sed quare necessarium fuit ut Ioannes Christum praeveniret operum testimonio Christum praedicante? Primo quidem ut hinc Christi dignitatem discas, quod sicut pater, ita et ipse prophetas habet, secundum illud Zachariae: et tu, puer, propheta altissimi vocaberis. Deinde ut nullam causam inverecundiae Iudaeis relinquat: quod et ipse demonstrat dicens: venit Ioannes neque manducans neque bibens, et dicunt: Daemonium habet. Venit filius hominis manducans et bibens, et dicunt: ecce homo edax. Sed et aliter necessarium erat ab alio prius dici quae de Christo erant, et non ab ipso; alias Iudaei quid dixissent, qui post testimonium Ioannis dixerunt: tu testimonium perhibes de teipso? Testimonium tuum non est verum. Chrys.: But why must John thus go before Christ with a witness of deeds preaching Him? First; that we might hence learn Christ's dignity, that He also, as the Father has, has prophets, in the words of Zacharias, "And thou, Child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest." [Luke 1:76] Secondly; That the Jews might have no cause for offence; as He declared, "John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a gluttonous man." [Luke 7:33-34] It needeth moreover that the things concerning Christ should be told by some other first, and not by Himself; or what would the Jews have said, who after the witness of John made complaint, "Thou bearest witness of thyself, thy witness is not true." [John 8:!3] Remigius: Officium subiungit cum dicit Baptista: in quo domini viam praeparavit: nisi enim baptizari homines consuescerent, Baptismum Christi abhorrerent. Studium ostendit cum ait praedicans. Remig., ap. Anselm: His office; "the Baptist;" in this he prepared the way of the Lord, for had not men been used to be baptized, they would have shunned Christ's baptism. His employment; "Preaching." Rabanus: Quia etiam Christus praedicaturus erat: postquam enim visum fuit idoneum tempus, scilicet circa triginta annos, incipiens praedicationem suam, viam domini praeparavit. Rabanus: For because Christ was to preach, as soon as it seemed the fit time, that is, about thirty years of age, he began by his preaching to make ready the way for the Lord. Remigius: Locum subiungit dicens in deserto Iudaeae. Remig.: The place; "the desert of Judaea." Maximus: Ubi ad praedicationem eius nec insolens turba perstreperet nec infidelis auditor rediret, sed hi tantum audire possent qui praedicationem cura divini cultus expeterent. Maximus, Hom. in Joan. Bap. nat. 1: Where neither a noisy mob would interrupt his preaching, and whither no unbelieving hearer would retire; but those only would hear, who sought to his preaching from motives of divine worship. Hieronymus super Isaiam: Vel in hoc considerandum est quod salutare Dei et gloria domini non praedicatur in Ierusalem sed in solitudine Ecclesiae et in deserta gentium multitudine. Jerome, in Isa 40. 3: consider how the salvation of God, and the glory of the Lord, is preached not in Jerusalem, but in the solitude of the Church, in the wilderness to multitudes. Hilarius in Matth.: Vel etiam ad Iudaeam venit desertam Dei frequentatione, non populi, ut praedicationis locus, eorum quibus praedicatio erat missa, solitudinem testaretur. Hilary: Or, he came to Judaea, desert by the absence of God, not of population, that the place of preaching might witness the few to whom the preaching was sent. Glossa: Vel typice desertum significat vitam a mundi illecebris segregatam, quae poenitentibus competit. Gloss. ap. Anselm: The desert typically means a life removed from the temptations of the world, such as befits the penitent. Augustinus de utilitate poenitentiae: Nisi autem poeniteat aliquem vitae veteris, novam non potest inchoare. Aug. Serm.: Unless one repent him of his former life, he cannot begin a new life. Hilarius: Et ideo poenitentiam, regno caelorum appropinquante, pronuntiat, per quam est reditus ab errore, recursus a crimine, et post vitiorum pudorem professio desinendi, dicens poenitentiam agite. Hilary: He therefore preaches repentance when the Kingdom of Heaven approaches; by which [p. 93] we return from error, we escape from sin, and after shame for our faults, we make profession of forsaking them. Chrysostomus super Matth: Ubi manifestat in ipso principio, quia benigni regis est nuntius: non enim peccatoribus minus intendebat, sed indulgentiam promittebat. Solent reges nato sibi filio, indulgentiam in regno suo donare; sed ante transmittunt acerbissimos exactores. Deus autem nato sibi filio, volens donare indulgentiam peccatorum, praemisit quasi exactorem exigentem, et dicentem poenitentiam agite. O exactio quae non fecit pauperes, sed divites reddit. Nam cum quis debitum iustitiae suae reddiderit, Deo nihil praestat, sed sibi lucrum suae salutis acquirit. Poenitentia enim cor emundat, sensus illuminat et ad susceptionem Christi praeparat humana praecordia; unde subiungit appropinquabit enim regnum caelorum. Pseudo-Chrys.: In the very commencement he shews himself the messenger of a merciful Prince; he comes not with threats to the offender, but with offers of mercy. It is a custom with kings to proclaim a general pardon on the birth of a son, but first they send throughout their kingdom officers to exact severe fines. But God willing at the birth of His Son to give pardon of sins, first sends His officer proclaiming, "Repent ye." O exaction which leaves none poor, but makes many rich! For even when we pay our just debt of righteousness we do God no service, but only gain our own salvation. Repentance cleanses the heart, enlightens the sense, and prepares the human soul for the reception of Christ, as he immediately adds, "For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Hieronymus: Primus Baptista Ioannes regnum caelorum praedicat, ut praecursor domini hoc honoretur privilegio. Jerome: John Baptist is the first to preach the Kingdom of Heaven, that the forerunner of the Lord may have this honourable privilege. Chrysostomus in Matth: Ideoque quod nunquam Iudaei audierunt neque etiam a prophetis, caelos et regnum quod ibi est, praedicat, et nihil de cetero de terra dicit. Sic ergo ex novitate eorum quae dicuntur erigit eos ad quaerendum eum qui praedicatur. Chrys.: And he preaches what the Jews had never heard, not even from the Prophets, Heaven, namely, and the Kingdom that is there, and of the kingdoms of the earth he says nothing. Thus by the novelty of those things of which he speaks, he gains their attention to Him whom he preaches. Remigius: Regnum autem caelorum quatuor modis dicitur: nempe Christus, secundum illud: regnum Dei intra vos est; sancta Scriptura, secundum illud: auferetur a vobis regnum Dei, et dabitur genti facienti fructum eius; sancta Ecclesia, secundum illud: simile est regnum caelorum decem virginibus; supernum solium, secundum illud: multi venient ab oriente et occidente, et recumbent in regno caelorum; et hoc totum hic potest intelligi. Remig.: "The Kingdom of Heaven" has a fourfold meaning. It is said, of Christ, as "The Kingdom of God is within you." [Luke 17:21] Of Holy Scripture, as, "The Kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." [Matt 21:43] Of the Holy Church, as, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto ten virgins." [Matt 25:1] Of the abode above, as, "Many shall come from the East and the West, and shall sit down in the Kingdom of Heaven." [Matt 8:11] And all these significations may be here understood. Glossa: Dicit autem appropinquabit regnum caelorum, quia nisi appropinquaret, nemo redire posset, quia infirmi et caeci via, quae est Christus, carebant. Gloss. ord.: "The Kingdom of Heaven" shall come nigh you; for if it approached not, none would be able to gain it; for weak and blind they had not the way, which was Christ. Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Haec autem verba Ioannis alii Evangelistae praetermiserunt. Iam vero quod sequitur hic est qui dictus est per Isaiam prophetam dicentem: vox clamantis in deserto: rectas facite semitas eius, ambigue positum est, nec elucet utrum ex persona sua Evangelista commemoraverit, an adhuc verba eiusdem Ioannis secutus adiunxerit, ut totum hoc Ioannes dixisse intelligatur: poenitentiam agite: appropinquabit enim regnum caelorum. Hic est enim de quo dictum est per Isaiam prophetam. Neque enim hoc movere debet quia non ait: ego sum, sed hic est; nam et Matthaeus dixit: invenit hominem sedentem in telonio, et non dixit: invenit me. Quod si ita est, non est mirum si et interrogatus quid diceret de seipso, sicut narrat Ioannes Evangelista, respondit: ego vox clamantis in deserto. Aug., de Cons. Evan., ii, 12: The other Evangelists omit these words of John. What follows, "This is He, &c." it is not clear whether the Evangelist speaks them in his own person, or whether they are part of John's preaching, and the whole from "Repent ye," to "Esaias the prophet," is to be assigned to John. It is of no importance [p. 94] that he says, "This is he," and not, "I am he;" for Matthew speaking of himself says, "He found a man sitting at the toll-office;" [Matt 9:9] not "He found me." Though when asked what he said of himself, he answered, as is related by John the Evangelist, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness." Gregorius in Evang: Sicut autem, quia unigenitus filius verbum patris vocatur, secundum illud: in principio erat verbum. Ex ipsa autem nostra locutione cognoscimur, quia vox sonat ut verbum possit audiri. Adventum itaque domini Ioannes praecurrens vox dicitur, quia per eius ministerium patris verbum ab hominibus auditur. Greg., Hom. in Ev., i. 7: It is well known that the Only-begotten Son is called the Word of the Father; as in John, "In the beginning was the Word." [John 1:1] But it is by our own speech that we are known; the voice sounds that the words may be heard. Thus John the forerunner of the Lord's coming is called, "The voice," because by his ministry the voice of the Father is heard by men. Chrysostomus super Matth: Vox etiam est sonus confusus, nullum secretum cordis ostendens, sed hoc tantummodo significans quia vult aliquid dicere ille qui clamat; verbum autem est sermo mysterium cordis aperiens. Ad haec, vox inter homines et animalia communis est; verbum autem est hominum tantum. Ideo ergo Ioannes dictus est vox, non verbum, quia per eum Deus sua consilia non demonstravit, sed hoc solum quod Deus aliquid facere in hominibus meditabatur; postea autem per filium suum plenissime mysterium suae voluntatis aperuit. Pseudo-Chrys.: The voice is a confused sound, discovering no secret of the heart, only signifying that he who utters it desires to say somewhat; it is the word that is the speech that openeth the mystery of the heart. Voice is common to men and other animals, word peculiar to man. John then is called the voice and not the word, because God did not discover His counsels through him, but only signified that He was about to do something among men; but afterwards by His Son he fully opened the mystery of his will. Rabanus: Qui recte vox clamantis ob fortitudinem praedicationis dicitur. Tribus autem modis clamor accidit: hoc est, si longe positus est cui loquatur, si surdus, si per indignationem; et haec humano generi acciderunt. Rabanus: He is rightly called, "The voice of one crying," on account of the loud sound of his preaching. Three things cause a man to speak loud; when the person he speaks to is at a distance, or is deaf, or if the speaker be angry; and all these three were then found in the human race. Glossa: Est igitur Ioannes quasi vox verbi clamantis: verbum enim clamat in voce, idest Christus in Ioanne. Gloss: John then is, as it were, the voice of the word crying. The word is heard by the voice, that is, Christ by John. Beda: Sicut etiam clamavit in omnibus qui a principio aliquid divinitus dixerunt; et tamen iste solus est vox: quia per eum praesens verbum ostenditur, quod alii longe nuntiaverunt. Bede, Gloss. ord. in cap. iv. 1: In like manner has He cried from the beginning through the voice of all who have spoken aught by inspiration. And yet is John only called, "The voice;" because the Word which others shewed after off, he declares as nigh. Gregorius in Evang: Ipse autem Ioannes est clamans in deserto, quia derelictae ac destitutae Iudaeae solatium redemptoris annuntiat. Greg., Hom. in Ev., i. 7. 2: "Crying in the desert," because he shews to deserted and forlorn Judaea the approaching consolation of her Redeemer. Remigius: Quantum autem ad historiam attinet, in deserto clamabat, quia remotus erat a turbis Iudaeorum. Quid autem clamet, insinuat cum subiungit parate viam domini. Remig.: Though as far as historical fact is concerned, he chose the desert, to be removed from the crowds of people. What the purport of his cry was is insinuated, when he adds, "Make ready the way of the Lord." Chrysostomus super Matth: Sicut enim magno regi in expeditionem venturo praeparatores praecedunt qui sordida abluunt, dirupta componunt, sic et dominum nostrum praecessit Ioannes, qui ab humanis cordibus poenitentiae scopis peccatorum sordes eiiceret, et quae dissipata fuerant, spiritualium praeceptorum ordinatione componeret. Pseudo-Chrys.: As a great King going on a progress is preceded by couriers to cleanse what is foul, repair what is broken down; so John preceded the Lord to cleanse the human heart from the filth [p. 95] of sin, by the besom of repentance, and to gather by an ordinance of spiritual precepts those things which had been scattered abroad. Gregorius in Evang: Omnis autem qui fidem rectam et bona opera praedicat, domino ad corda audientium viam parat, rectas domino semitas facit, dum mundas animo cogitationes per sermonem bonae praedicationis format. Greg., Hom. in Ev. i. 20. 3: Every one who preacheth right faith and good works, prepares the Lord's way to the hearts of the hearers, and makes His paths straight, in cleansing the thoughts by the word of good preaching. Glossa: Vel fides est via qua verbum ad cor descendit: cum mores in melius mutantur, fiunt semitae rectae. Gloss. interlin.: Or, faith is the way by which the word reaches the heart; when the life is amended the paths are made straight.
Lectio 2 4 αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ ἰωάννης εἶχεν τὸ ἔνδυμα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τριχῶν καμήλου καὶ ζώνην δερματίνην περὶ τὴν ὀσφὺν αὐτοῦ, ἡ δὲ τροφὴ ἦν αὐτοῦ ἀκρίδες καὶ μέλι ἄγριον.
4. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
Chrysostomus super Matth: Postquam ostendit quia ipse est vox clamantis in deserto, prudenter Evangelista subiunxit ipse autem Ioannes habebat vestimentum de pilis camelorum, in quo ostenditur quae sit vita ipsius: nam ipse quidem testificabatur de Christo, vita autem eius de ipso. Nemo autem potest esse alterius testis idoneus, nisi prius fuerit suus. Pseudo-Chrys.: Having said that he is the voice of one crying in the desert, the Evangelist well adds, "John had his clothing of camel's hair;" thus shewing what his life was; for he indeed testified of Christ, but his life testified of himself. No one is fit to be another's witness till he has first been his own. Hilarius in Matth.: Fuerant enim praedicanti Ioanni et locus opportunior et vestitus utilior et cibus aptior. Hilary: For the preaching of John no place more suitable, no clothing more useful, no food more fitted. Hieronymus: De pilis enim camelorum habebat vestimentum, non de lana. Aliud austerae vestis indicium est, aliud luxuriae mollioris. Jerome: His raiment of camel's hair, not of wool - the one the mark of austerity in dress, the other of a delicate luxury. Chrysostomus super Matth: Servis autem Dei non convenit habere vestimentum ad speciem visionis vel ad carnis delectamentum, sed tantum ad tegumentum nuditatis. Habebat enim Ioannes vestem non mollem neque delicatam, sed cilicinam, gravem et asperam, et conterentem corpus potius quam foventem, ut de virtute animae eius ipse habitus corporis loqueretur. Sequitur et zonam pelliceam circa lumbos suos. Consuetudo enim erat apud Iudaeos ut zonis laneis uterentur: ideo iste, quasi durius aliquid facere volens, zona pellicea cingebatur. Pseudo-Chrys.: It becomes the servants of God to use a dress not for elegant appearance, or for cherishing of the body, but for a covering of the nakedness. Thus John wears a garment not soft and delicate, but hairy, heavy, rough, rather wounding the skin than cherishing it, that even the very clothing of his body told of the virtue of his mind. It was the custom of the Jews to wear girdles of wool; so he desiring something less indulgent wore one of skin. Hieronymus: Porro quod sequitur, esca eius erat locustae et mel silvestre, habitatori solitudinis congruum est, ut non delicias ciborum, sed necessitates humanae carnis expleret. Jerome: Food moreover suited to a dweller in the desert, no choice viands, but such as satisfied the necessities of the body. Rabanus: Tenui victu contentus, et ex minutis volatilibus et melle invento in truncis arborum. In dictis autem Arnulphi Galliarum episcopi reperimus minimum genus locustarum fuisse in deserto Iudaeae, quae corpusculis in modum digiti manus exilibus et brevibus in herbis facile capiuntur, coctaeque in oleo pauperem praebent gustum. Similiter narrat, in eodem deserto esse arbores habentes lata folia et rotunda, lactei coloris, et melliti saporis, quae natura fragilia manibus fricantur et eduntur, et hoc est quod mel silvestre dicitur. Rabanus: Content with poor fare; to wit, small insects and honey gathered from the trunks of trees. In the sayings of Arnulphus [ed. note: Arnulphus, who visited Palestine 705; his travels to the Holy Land written from his mouth by Adamannus, Abbot of Lindisferne, are still extant.], Bishop of Gaul, we find that there was a very small kind of locust in the deserts of Judaea, with bodies about the thickness of a finger and short; they are easily taken among the grass, and when cooked in oil form a poor [p. 96] kind of food. He also relates, that in the same desert there is a kind of tree, with a large round leaf, of the colour of milk and taste of honey, so friable as to rub to powder in the hand, and this is what is intended by wild honey. Remigius: Sub hoc autem habitu vestimentorum et vilitate ciborum ostendit se peccata totius generis humani deflere. Remig.: In this clothing and this poor food, he shews that he sorrows for the sins of the whole human race. Rabanus: Potest et habitus et gustus eius, qualitatem internae conversationis exprimere: nam austerioribus utebatur indumentis quia vitam peccantium increpavit. Rabanus: His dress and diet express the quality of his inward conversation. His garment was of an austere quality, because he rebuked the sinner's life. Hieronymus: Zona quidem pellicea, qua cinctus fuit et Elias, mortificationis est indicium. Jerome: His girdle of skin, which Elias also bare, is the mark of mortification. Rabanus: Locustas et mel silvestre edebat quia dulcius sapiebat turbis praedicatio eius; sed citius finem sortita est: in melle enim dulcedo, in locustis est alacer volatus, sed cito deciduus. Rabanus: He ate locusts and honey, because his preaching was sweet tot he multitude, but was of short continuance; and honey has sweetness, locusts a swift flight but soon fall to the ground. Remigius: Per Ioannem autem, qui Dei gratia interpretatur, significatur Christus, qui mundo gratiam attulit; per vestimentum illius designatur Ecclesia gentium. Remig.: In John (which name is interpreted 'the grace of God,') is figured Christ who brought grace into the world; in his clothing, the Gentile Church. Hilarius in Matth.: Cum exuviis immundarum pecudum, quibus gentiles pares existimantur, Christi praedicator induitur, fitque sanctificatum habitu prophetali quidquid in eis vel inutile fuerat vel sordidum. Zonae autem praecinctio, efficax in omne opus bonum est apparatus, ut ad omne ministerium Christi simus accincti. In esum etiam eliguntur locustae fugaces hominum, et ad omnem adventum nostri sensus evolantes: nos scilicet, qui ab omni sermone et congressu ipsis quibusdam corporis saltibus efferebamur voluntate vagi, in operibus inutiles, in verbis queruli, sede peregrini; nunc sumus sanctorum alimonia et satietas prophetarum electi, simul cum melle silvestri, dulcissimum ex nobis cibum non ex alveariis legis, sed ex truncis silvestrium arborum praebituri. Hilary: The preacher of Christ is clad in the skins of unclean beasts, to which the Gentiles are compared, and so by the Prophets' dress is sanctified whatever in them was useless or unclean. The girdle is a thing of much efficacy to every good work, that we may be girt for every ministry of Christ. For his food are chosen locusts, which fly the face of man, and escape from every approach, signifying ourselves who were borne away from every word or speech of good by a spontaneous motion of the body, weak in will, barren in works, fretful in speech, foreign in abode, are now become the food of the Saints, chosen to fill the Prophets' desire, furnishing our most sweet food not from the hives of the law, but from the trunks of wild trees.
Lectio 3 5 τότε ἐξεπορεύετο πρὸς αὐτὸν ἱεροσόλυμα καὶ πᾶσα ἡ ἰουδαία καὶ πᾶσα ἡ περίχωρος τοῦ ἰορδάνου, 6 καὶ ἐβαπτίζοντο ἐν τῷ ἰορδάνῃ ποταμῷ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ἐξομολογούμενοι τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν.
5. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, 6. And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
Chrysostomus super Matth: Conversatione Ioannis exposita, convenienter subiungit tunc exibat ad eum; amplius enim resonabat conversatio vitae eius in eremo, quam vox clamoris ipsius. Pseudo-Chrys.: Having described the preaching of John, he goes on to say, "There went out to him," for his severe life preached yet more loudly in the desert than the voice of his crying. Chrysostomus in Matth: Erat enim mirabile in humano corpore tantam patientiam videre: quod denique et Iudaeos magis attrahebat, magnum Eliam in eo videntes. Conferebat autem ad stuporem quod dereliquerat eos gratia prophetarum, et post longum tempus reversa videbatur ad eos. Praedicationis etiam modus immutatus ad id proderat: nihil enim assuetorum apud alios prophetas audiebant, puta praelia et victorias Babylonicas et Persicas, sed caelos, et quidem illic regnum, et supplicium Gehennae. Dicit autem tunc exibat ad eum Ierosolyma et omnis Iudaea et omnis regio circa Iordanem, et baptizabantur ab eo in Iordane. Chrys.: For it was wonderful to see such [p. 97] fortitude in a human body; this it was that chiefly attracted the Jews, seeing in him the great Elias. It also contributed to fill them with wonder that the grace of Prophecy had long failed among them, and now seemed to have at length revived. Also the manner of his preaching being other than that of the old prophets had must effect; for now they heard not such things as they were wont to hear, such as wars, and conquests of the king of Babylon, or of Persia; but of Heaven and the Kingdom there, and the punishment of hell. Glossa: Baptismo praecurrente, non peccata dimittente. Gloss. interlin.: This baptism was only a forerunning of that to come, and did not forgive sins. [ed. note: Tertullian (de Bapt. 10. 11) S. Jerome (adv. Lucifer. 7) S. Gregory (Hom. in Evang. vii. 3) Theophylact in Marc. ch. i. S. Augustine (de Bapt. e Donat. v. 10) considered that S. John's baptism gave a sort of suspensive or implicit remission, to be realized in the Atonement; and S. Cyril. Hieros. Cat. iii. 7-9. S. Greg. Nyss. in laud. Bas. t. 3. p. 482. vid. Dr. Pusey on Baptism, Ed. 2. pp. 242-271] Remigius: Baptismus enim Ioannis figuram gerebat catechumenorum: nam sicut modo catechizantur pueri, ut digni fiant sacramento Baptismatis, ita Ioannes baptizabat, ut baptizati ab eo, postea devote vivendo digni fierent accedere ad Christi Baptismum. In Iordane autem baptizabat, ut ibi aperiretur ianua regni caelestis ubi datus est aditus filiis Israel terram promissionis intrandi. Sequitur confitentes peccata sua. Remig.: The baptism of John bare a figure of the catechumens. As children are only catechized that they may become meet for the sacrament of Baptism; so John baptized, that they who were thus baptized might afterwards by a holy life become worthy of coming to Christ's baptism. He baptized in Jordan, that the door of the Kingdom of Heaven might be there opened, where an entrance had been given to the children of Israel into the earthly kingdom of promise. Chrysostomus super Matth: Ad comparationem enim sanctitatis Ioannis quis poterat arbitrari se iustum? Sicut enim vestis candida si fuerit posita iuxta nivem, ad comparationem nivis sordida invenietur, sic ad comparationem Ioannis omnis homo videbatur immundus; et ideo peccata sua confitebantur. Confessio autem peccatorum testimonium est conscientiae timentis Deum. Perfectus enim timor solvit omnem pudorem. Illic autem turpitudo confessionis aspicitur ubi futuri iudicii poena non creditur. Et quia ipsum erubescere poena est gravis, ideo iubet nos Deus confiteri peccata nostra ut verecundiam patiamur pro poena: nam et hoc ipsum pars iudicii est. Pseudo-Chrys.: Compared with the holiness of John, who is there that can think himself righteous? As a white garment if placed near snow would seem foul by the contrast; so compared with John every man would seem impure; therefore they confessed their sins. Confession of sin is the testimony of a conscience fearing God. And perfect fear takes away all shame. But there is seen the shame of confession where there is no fear of the judgment to come. But as shame itself is a heavy punishment, God therefore bids us confess our sins that we may suffer this shame as punishment; for that itself is a part of the judgment. Rabanus: Bene autem qui baptizandi erant, exire ad prophetam dicuntur, quia nisi quis ab infirmitate recedat, pompae Diaboli ac mundi illecebris abrenuntiet, Baptismum salubre consequi non poterit. Bene autem in Iordane, qui descensio eorum dicitur, baptizantur: quia de superbia vitae ad humilitatem verae confessionis descenderant. Exemplum autem iam tunc confitendi peccata ac meliorem vitam promittendi baptizandis dabatur. Rabanus: Rightly are they who are to be baptized said to go out to the Prophet; for unless one depart from sin, and renounce the pomp of the Devil, and the temptations of the world, he cannot receive a healing baptism. Rightly also in Jordan, which means their [p. 98] descent, because they descended from the pride of life to the humility of an honest confession. Thus early was an example given to them that are to be baptized of confessing their sins and professing amendment.
Lectio 4 7 ἰδὼν δὲ πολλοὺς τῶν φαρισαίων καὶ σαδδουκαίων ἐρχομένους ἐπὶ τὸ βάπτισμα αὐτοῦ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, γεννήματα ἐχιδνῶν, τίς ὑπέδειξεν ὑμῖν φυγεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς μελλούσης ὀργῆς; 8 ποιήσατε οὖν καρπὸν ἄξιον τῆς μετανοίας: 9 καὶ μὴ δόξητε λέγειν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς, πατέρα ἔχομεν τὸν ἀβραάμ, λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν ὅτι δύναται ὁ θεὸς ἐκ τῶν λίθων τούτων ἐγεῖραι τέκνα τῷ ἀβραάμ. 10 ἤδη δὲ ἡ ἀξίνη πρὸς τὴν ῥίζαν τῶν δένδρων κεῖται: πᾶν οὖν δένδρον μὴ ποιοῦν καρπὸν καλὸν ἐκκόπτεται καὶ εἰς πῦρ βάλλεται.
7. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, "O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8. Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: 9. And think not to say within yourselves, 'We have Abraham to our father:' for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 10. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire."
Gregorius regula Pastor.: Pro qualitate audientium formari debet sermo doctorum, ut ad sua singulis congruat, et tamen a communis aedificationis arce nunquam recedat. Greg., De Cur. Past., iii, prologue: The words of the teachers should be fitted to the quality of the hearers, that in each particular it should agree with itself and yet never depart from the fortress of general edification. Glossa: Unde necesse fuit ut post doctrinam quam Ioannes turbis tradiderat, Evangelista etiam illius doctrinae faceret mentionem qua instruxit eos qui provectiores videbantur; et ideo dicit videns autem multos Pharisaeorum et Sadducaeorum venientes ad Baptismum suum. Gloss: It was necessary that after the teaching which he used to the common people, the Evangelist should give an example of the doctrine he delivered to the more advanced; therefore he says, "Seeing many of the Pharisees, &c." Isidorus in Lib. Etymol.: Pharisaei et Sadducaei inter se contrarii sunt: nam Pharisaei ex Hebraeo in Latinum interpretantur divisi, eo quod traditionum et observationum iustitiam praeferunt: unde divisi vocantur a populo quasi per iustitiam. Sadducaei interpretantur iusti: vindicant enim sibi quod non sunt, corporum resurrectionem negant, et animam cum corpore interire praedicant. Hi tantum quinque libros legis recipiunt, prophetarum vaticinia respuunt. Isid. Hisp. Orig. 8. 4: The Pharisees and Sadducees opposed to one another; Pharisee in the Hebrew signifies, 'divided;' because choosing the justification of traditions and observances they were 'divided' or 'separated' from the people by this righteousness. Sadducee in the Hebrew means 'just;' for these laid claim to be what they were not, denied the resurrection of the body, and taught that the soul perished with the body; they only received the Pentateuch, and rejected the Prophets. Glossa: Hos ergo qui inter Iudaeos maiores videbantur, videns Ioannes ad Baptismum suum venire, dixit eis: progenies viperarum, quis vobis demonstrabit fugere a ventura ira? Gloss: When John saw those who seemed to be of great consideration among the Jews come to his baptism, he said [p. 99] to them, "O generation of vipers, &c." Remigius: Consuetudo Scripturarum est ab imitatione operum nomina imponere, secundum illud Ezech.: pater tuus Amorrhaeus; sic et isti ab imitatione viperarum, progenies viperarum dicuntur. Remig.: The manner of Scripture is to give names from the imitation of deeds, according to that of Ezekiel, "Thy father was an Amorite;" [Ezek 16:3] so these from following vipers are called "generation of vipers." Chrysostomus super Matth: Sicut enim artificiosus medicus si viderit aegrotantis colorem, intelligit speciem passionis, sic Ioannes venientium ad se Pharisaeorum pravas cogitationes intellexit; forsitan enim apud se cogitaverunt: imus, et confitemur peccata nostra; nullum laborem nobis imponit; baptizemur, et consequamur indulgentiam peccatorum. Insipientes, numquid facta digestione impuritatis, non est necessaria sumptio medicinae? Sic multa diligentia necessaria est homini post confessionem et Baptismum, ut vulnus peccatorum perfecte sanetur; ideo dicit progenies viperarum. Natura enim viperarum est, quod statim cum momorderit hominem, currit ad aquam, quam si non invenerit, moritur; ideo istos dicebat progeniem viperarum, quia peccata mortifera committentes currebant ad Baptismum, ut sicut viperae per aquam tantum pericula mortis evaderent. Item viperarum natura est rumpere viscera matrum suarum, et sic nasci. Quoniam ergo Iudaei assidue persequentes prophetas corruperunt matrem suam synagogam, ideo progenies viperarum nuncupantur. Item viperae a foris speciosae sunt et quasi pictae, intus autem veneno repletae; ita et isti pulchritudinem sanctitatis ostendebant in vultu. Pseudo-Chrys.: As a skilful physician from the colour of the skin infers the sick man's disease, so John understood the evil thoughts of the Pharisees who came to him. They thought perhaps, We go, and confess our sins; he imposes no burden on us, we will be baptized, and get indulgence for sin. Fools! if ye have eaten of impurity, must ye not needs take physic? So after confession and baptism, a man needs much diligence to heal the wound of sin; therefore he says, "Generation of vipers." It is the nature of the viper as soon as it has bit a man to fly to the water, which, if it cannot find it, straightway dies; so this "progeny of vipers," after having committed deadly sin, ran to baptism, that, like vipers, they might escape death by means of water. Moreover it is the nature of vipers to burst the insides of their mothers, and so to be born. The Jews then are therefore called "progeny of vipers," because by continual persecution of the prophets they had corrupted their mother the Synagogue. Also vipers have a beautiful and speckled outside, but are filled with poison within. So these men's countenances wore a holy appearance. Remigius: Cum ergo dicitur quis demonstrabit vobis fugere a ventura ira? Subauditur: nisi Deus. Remig.: When then he asks, "who will shew you to flee from the wrath to come," - 'except God' must be understood. Chrysostomus super Matth: Vel quis vobis demonstrabit? Num Isaias propheta? Absit: si enim ipse vos docuisset, non spem in aqua poneretis tantum, sed etiam in operibus bonis: ille enim dicit: lavamini et mundi estote; auferte nequitiam ab animabus vestris, discite bene facere. Numquid etiam David dicens: lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor? Absit: ille enim sic dicit postea: sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus. Si ergo essetis discipuli David, cum gemitu ad Baptismum veniretis. Pseudo-Chrys.: Or "who hath shewed you?" Was it Esaias? Surely no; had he taught you, you would not put your trust in water only, but also in good works; he thus speaks, "Wash you, and be clean; put your wickedness away from your souls, learn to do well." [Isa 1:16] Was it then David? who says, "Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow;" [Ps 51:7] surely not, for he adds immediately, "The sacrifice of God is a broken spirit." If then ye had been the disciple of David, ye would have come to baptism with mournings. Remigius: Si vero quis demonstrabit sub futuro legatur tempore, hic est sensus: quis doctor, quis praedicator dabit vobis consilium ut possitis evadere iram aeternae damnationis? Remig.: But if we read, "shall shew," in the future, this is the meaning, 'What teacher, what preacher, shall be able to give you such counsel, as that ye may escape the wrath of everlasting damnation?' Augustinus de Civ. Dei: Deus autem propter quamdam operum similitudinem, non propter affectionum infirmitatem, secundum Scripturas, irascitur, nec tamen ulla passione turbatur: hoc enim verbum vindictae usurpavit effectus, non ille turbulentus affectus. Si ergo vultis effugere, facite dignum fructum poenitentiae. Aug., City of God, book 9, ch. 5: God is described in Scripture, from some likeness of effects, not from being subject to such weakness, as being angry, and yet is He never moved by any passion. [p. 100] The word, 'wrath,' is applied to the effects of his vengeance, not that god suffers any disturbing affection. Gloss: If they ye would escape this wrath, "Bring forth fruits meet for repentance." Gregorius in Evang: In quibus verbis notandum est, quod non solum fructus poenitentiae, sed dignos poenitentiae admonet esse faciendos. Sciendum enim est, quia quisquis illicita nulla commisit, huic iure conceditur ut licitis utatur; at si quis in culpam lapsus est, tanto a se debet licita abscindere quanto se meminit et illicita perpetrasse. Uniuscuiusque ergo conscientia convenitur, ut tanto maiora quaerat bonorum operum lucra per poenitentiam, quanto graviora sibi intulerit damna per culpam. Sed Iudaei de generis nobilitate gloriantes, idcirco se agnoscere peccatores nolebant quia de Abrahae stirpe descenderant; et ideo recte dicitur et ne velitis dicere intra vos: patrem habemus Abraham. Greg., Hom. in Ev. 20. 8: Observe, he says not merely "fruits of repentance," but "fruits meet for repentance." For he who has never fallen into things unlawful, is of right allowed the use of all thing lawful; but if any hath fallen into sin, he ought so far to put away from him even things lawful, as far as he is conscious of having used unlawful things. It is left then to such man's conscience to seek so much the greater gains of good works by repentance, the greater loss he has brought on himself by sin. The Jews who gloried in their race, would not own themselves sinners because they were Abraham's seed. "Say not among yourselves we are Abraham's seed." Chrysostomus in Matth: Haec autem dixit, non prohibens illos dicere ex illo se esse, sed prohibet in hoc confidere, virtuti animae non insistentes. Chrys., Hom. 11: He does not forbid them to "say" they are his, but to trust in that, neglecting virtues of the soul. Chrysostomus super Matth: Quid enim prodest ei quem sordidant mores, generatio clara? Aut quid nocet illi generatio vilis, quem mores adornant? Melius est enim alicui ut in eo glorientur parentes quia talem filium habent, quam ut ipse in parentibus glorietur. Sic et vos nolite gloriari dicentes quia patrem habemus Abraham; sed magis erubescite, quia filii estis eius, et sanctitatis eius non estis heredes. De adulterio enim natus videtur qui non assimilat patrem. Parentum igitur gloriam excludit dicens et ne velitis dicere. Pseudo-Chrys.: What avails noble birth to him whose life is disgraceful? Or, on the other hand, what hurt is a low origin to him who has the lustre of virtue? It is fitter that the parents of such a son should rejoice over him, than he over his parents. So do not you pride yourselves on having Abraham for your father, rather blush that you inherit his blood, but not his holiness. He who has no resemblance to his father is possibly the offspring of adultery. These words then only exclude boasting on account of birth. Rabanus: Quia ergo praeco veritatis ad dignum poenitentiae fructum faciendum eos incitare volebat, ad humilitatem provocabat, sine qua nullus poenitere potest, subdens dico enim vobis quoniam potens est Deus de lapidibus istis suscitare filios Abrahae. Rabanus: Because as a preacher of truth he wished to stir them up, to "bring forth fruit meet for repentance," he invites them to humility, without which no one can repent. [adding "I say to you that God can raise children for Abraham from these stones."] Remigius: Fertur, quod in eo loco praedicavit Ioannes circa Iordanem, ubi iubente Deo duodecim lapides de medio alveo Iordanis sublati positi sunt. Potuit ergo fieri ut hos demonstrando diceret de lapidibus istis. Remig.: There is a tradition, that John preached at that place of the Jordan, where the twelve stones taken from the bed of the river had been set up by command of God. He might then be pointing to these, when he said, "Of these stones." Hieronymus: In quo Dei indicat potentiam, quod qui de nihilo cuncta fecerat, posset et de saxis durissimis populum procreare. Jerome: He intimates God's great power, who, as he made all things out of nothing, can make men out of the hardest stone. Glossa: Prima enim sunt rudimenta fidei credere Deum posse quicquid voluerit. Gloss. ord.: It is faith's first lesson to believe that God is able to do whatever He will. Chrysostomus: Ex lapidibus autem generari homines, simile est ei quod ex Sara processit Isaac; unde et propheta dicit: aspicite ad petram de qua excisi estis. Huius igitur prophetiae eos memores faciens, monstrat quod possibile est nunc etiam simile fieri. Chrys.: That men should be made out of stones, is like Isaac coming from Sarah's womb; "Look into the rock," says Isaiah, "whence ye were hewn." Reminding them thus of this prophecy, he shews that it is possible that the like might even how happen. Rabanus: Vel aliter. Lapidum nomine gentes significatae sunt, quae lapides coluerunt. Rabanus: [p. 101] Otherwise; the Gentiles may be meant who worshipped stones. Chrysostomus, super Matth.: Item lapis durus est ad opus; sed cum factum fuerit opus ex eo, deficere nescit; sic et gentes cum difficultate crediderunt quidem, tamen credentes permanent in aeternum in fide. Pseudo-Chrys.: Stone is hard to work, but when wrought to some shape, it loses it not; so the Gentiles were hardly brought to the faith, but once brought they abide in it for ever. Hieronymus: Lege Ezechielem: auferam, inquit, a vobis cor lapideum, et dabo vobis cor carneum. In lapide duritia, in carne mollitudo monstratur. Jerome: "These stones" signify the Gentiles because of their hardness of heart. See Ezekiel, "I will take away from you the heart of stone, and give you the heart of flesh." Stone is emblematic of hardness, flesh of softness. Rabanus: De lapidibus ergo filii Abrahae suscitati sunt, quia dum gentiles in Abrahae semine, idest in Christo, crediderunt, eius filii facti sunt cuius semini sunt uniti. Sequitur iam enim securis ad radicem arboris posita est. Rabanus: Of stones there were sons raised up to Abraham; forasmuch as the Gentiles by believing in Christ, who is Abraham's seed, because his sons to whose seed they were united. Chrysostomus super Matth: Securis est acutissima ira consummationis, quae totum praecisura est mundum. Sed si posita est, quare non praecidit? Quia rationales sunt arbores et in potestate habent facere bonum aut non facere; ut videntes ad radices suas positam esse securim, timeant et faciant fructum. Ergo denuntiatio irae, quod est securis positio, etsi in malis nihil agat, tamen a malis segregat bonos. Pseudo-Chrys.: The axe is that most sharp fury of the consummation of all things, that is to hew down the whole world. But if it be already laid, how hath it not yet cut down? Because these trees have reason and free power to do good, or leave undone; so that when they see the axe laid to their root, they may fear and bring forth fruit. This denunciation of wrath then, which is meant by the laying of the axe to the root, though it have no effect on the bad, yet will sever the good from the bad. Hieronymus: Vel securis est praedicatio Evangelii, iuxta Ieremiam qui verbum domini comparat securi caedenti petram. Jerome: Or, the preaching of the Gospel is meant, as the Prophet Jeremiah also compares the Word of the Lord to an axe cleaving the rock. [Jer 23:29] Gregorius in Evang: Vel securis est redemptor noster, qui velut ex manubrio et ferro, ex divinitate constans et humanitate, tenetur ex humanitate, sed incidit ex divinitate; quae videlicet securis ad radicem arboris posita est, quia etsi per patientiam expectat, videtur tamen quid factura est. Omnis enim arbor quae non facit fructum bonum, excidetur, et in ignem mittetur: quia unusquisque perversus paratam citius Gehennae concremationem invenit qui hic fructum boni operis facere contemnit. Securim autem non iuxta ramos positam, sed ad radicem dicit: cum enim malorum filii tolluntur, rami infructuosae arboris abscinduntur; cum vero tota simul progenies cum parente tollitur, infructuosa arbor a radice abscissa est, ne remaneat unde prava iterum soboles succrescat. Greg., Hom. in Ev., 20. 9: Or, the axe signifies the Redeemer, who as an axe of halt and blade, so consisting of the Divine and human nature, is held by His human, but cuts by His Divine nature. And though this axe be laid at the root of the tree waiting in patience, it is yet seen what it will do; for each obstinate sinner who here neglects the fruit of good works, finds the fire of hell ready for him. Observe, the axe is laid to the root, not to the branches; for that when the children of wickedness are removed, the branches only of the unfruitful tree are cut away. But when the whole offspring with their parent is carried off, the unfruitful tree is cut down by the root, that there remain not whence the evil shoots should spring up again. Chrysostomus in Matth: Cum autem dicit omnis, excludit primatum, quod est a nobilitate; quasi dicat: etsi nepos fueris Abrahae, sustinebis poenam sine fructu manens. Chrys.: By saying, "Every," he cuts off all privilege of nobility: as much as to say, Though thou be the son of Abraham, if thou abide fruitless thou shalt suffer the punishment. Rabanus: Quatuor autem sunt species arborum: quarum una tota est arida, cui assimilantur Pagani; altera viridis, sed sine fructu, cui assimilantur hypocritae; tertia viridis et fructuosa, sed venenosa, cui assimilantur haeretici; quarta viridis est, et fructum bonum gignit, cui assimilantur viri Catholici. Rabanus: There are four sorts of tree; the first totally withered, to which the Pagans may be likened; [p. 102] the second, green but unfruitful, as the hypocrites; the third, green and fruitful, but poisonous, such are heretics; the fourth, green and bringing forth good fruit, to which are like the good Catholics. Gregorius in Evang: Igitur omnis arbor non faciens fructum bonum, excidetur et in ignem mittetur: quia paratam Gehennae concremationem invenit qui hic boni operis fructum facere contemnit. Greg.: "Therefore every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be cut down, and cast into the fire," because he who here neglects to bring forth the fruit of good works finds a fire in hell prepared for him.
Lectio 5 11 ἐγὼ μὲν ὑμᾶς βαπτίζω ἐν ὕδατι εἰς μετάνοιαν: ὁ δὲ ὀπίσω μου ἐρχόμενος ἰσχυρότερός μού ἐστιν, οὗ οὐκ εἰμὶ ἱκανὸς τὰ ὑποδήματα βαστάσαι: αὐτὸς ὑμᾶς βαπτίσει ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ πυρί: 12 οὗ τὸ πτύον ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ διακαθαριεῖ τὴν ἅλωνα αὐτοῦ, καὶ συνάξει τὸν σῖτον αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην, τὸ δὲ ἄχυρον κατακαύσει πυρὶ ἀσβέστῳ.
11. "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12. Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
Glossa: Quia in praecedentibus verbis Ioannes explicaverat quod supra summarie de agenda poenitentia praedicavit, restabat ut etiam distinctius praedicaret quod de regni caelorum appropinquatione iam dixerat; ideo dixit ego quidem baptizo vos in aqua in poenitentiam. Gloss. non occ.: As in the preceding words John had explained more at length what he had shortly preached in the words, "Repent ye," so now follows a more full enlargement of the words, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." Gregorius in Evang: Ioannes non in spiritu, sed in aqua baptizat, quia peccata solvere non valebat: corpora quidem per aquam lavat, sed tamen animas per veniam non lavat. Greg., Hom. in Ev., 7. 3: John baptizes not with the Spirit but with water, because he had no power to forgive sins; he washes the body with water, but not at the same time the soul with pardon of sin. Chrysostomus in Matth: Cum enim nondum esset oblata hostia neque peccatum solutum esset nec spiritus descendisset in aquam, qualiter fieret remissio peccatorum? Sed quia Iudaei nequaquam propria sentiebant peccata, et hoc erat eis causa malorum, advenit Ioannes, in cognitionem eos ducens propriorum peccatorum, poenitentiam memorando. Chrys., Hom. 10, 1: For while as yet the sacrifice had not been offered, nor remission of sin sent, nor the Spirit had descended on the water, how could sin be forgiven? But since the Jews never perceived their own sin, and this was the cause of all their evils, John came to bring them to a sense of them by calling them to repentance. Gregorius in Evang: Cur ergo baptizat qui peccata non relaxat, nisi ut praecursionis suae ordinem servans, qui nasciturum nascendo praevenerat, baptizaturum quoque dominum baptizando praeveniret? Greg.: Why then does he baptize who could not remit sin, but that he may preserve in all things the office of forerunner? As his birth had preceded Christ's birth, so his baptism should precede the Lord's baptism. Chrysostomus super Matth: Vel missus erat Ioannes ad baptizandum, ut ad Baptismum venientibus praesentiam filii Dei in corpore praedicaret, sicut ipse testatur alibi dicens: ut manifestetur in Israel, ideo ego veni in aqua baptizare. Pseudo-Chrys.: Or, John was sent to baptize, that to such as came to his baptism he might announce the presence among them of the Lord in the flesh, as himself testifies in another place, "That He might be manifested to Israel, therefore am I come to baptise with water." [John 1:31] Augustinus super Ioannem: Vel ideo baptizat quia oportebat baptizari Christum. Sed quare non solus ipse baptizatus est a Ioanne, si ad hoc missus erat Ioannes per quem baptizaretur Christus? Quia si solus dominus baptizatus esset Baptismate Ioannis, non deessent qui putarent Baptismum Ioannis maiorem esse quam Baptismum Christi, usque adeo ut solus Christus eo baptizari meruisset. Aug., in Joann. Tract. v. 5: Or, he baptizes, because it behoved Christ [p. 103] to be baptized. But if indeed John was sent only to baptize Christ, why was not He alone baptized by John? Because had the Lord alone been baptized by John, there would not have lacked who should insist that John's baptism was greater than Christ's, inasmuch as Christ alone had the merit to be baptized by it. Rabanus: Vel ideo baptizat ut poenitentes hoc signaculo ab impoenitentibus secernendo, ad Baptismum dirigat Christi. Rabanus: Or, by this sign of baptism he separates the penitent from the impenitent, and directs them to the baptism of Christ. Chrysostomus super Matth: Quia ergo propter Christum baptizabat, ideo ad ipsum venientibus Christum praedicat appariturum et eminentiam potestatis eius annuntiat, dicens qui autem post me venturus est, fortior me est. Pseudo-Chrys.: Because then he baptized on account of Christ, therefore to them who came to him for baptism he preached that Christ should come, signifying the eminence of His power in the words, "He who cometh after me is mightier than I." Remigius: Sciendum est autem, quod quinque modis venit Christus post Ioannem: nascendo, praedicando, baptizando, moriendo et ad Inferos descendendo. Et pulchre dominus dicitur fortior Ioanne, quia ille purus homo, hic vero Deus et homo. Remig.: There are five points in which Christ comes after John, His birth, preaching, baptism, death, and descent into hell. A beautiful expression is that, "mightier than I," because he is mere man, the other is God and man. Rabanus: Ac si Ioannes dicat: ego quidem fortis sum ad poenitentiam invitando, ille peccata remittendo; ego regnum caelorum praedicando, ille donando; ego in aqua baptizando, ille in spiritu. Rabanus: As though he had said, I indeed am mighty to invite to repentance, He to forgive sins; I to preach the kingdom of heaven, He to bestow it; I to baptize with water, He with the Spirit. Chrysostomus in Matth: Cum autem audieris: quia fortior me est, ne aestimes secundum comparationem me hoc dicere; neque enim inter servos illius ordinari sum dignus, ut vilissimam ministerii susciperem particulam; unde subdit cuius non sum dignus calceamenta portare. Chrys.: When you hear "for He is mightier than I," do not suppose this to be said by way of comparison, for I am not worthy to be numbered among his servants, that I might undertake the lowest office. Hilarius in Matth.: Apostolis utique circumferendae praedicationis gloriam derelinquens, quibus speciosis pedibus pacem Dei erat debitum nuntiare. Hilary: Leaving to the Apostles the glory of bearing about the Gospel, to whose beautiful feet was due the carrying the tidings of God's peace. Chrysostomus super Matth: Vel per pedes Christi intelligere possumus Christianos, praecipue apostolos, ceterosque praedicatores, inter quos erat Ioannes Baptista; calceamenta autem sunt infirmitates quibus operit praedicatores. Haec ergo calceamenta Christi omnes praedicatores portant; et Ioannes etiam portabat; sed se dignum non esse portare pronuntiat, ut maiorem ostenderet gratiam Christi meritis suis. Pseudo-Chrys.: Or, by the feet of Christ we may understand Christians, especially the Apostles, and other preachers, among whom was John Baptist; and the shoes are the infirmities with which he loads the preachers. These shoes all Christ's preachers wear; and John also wore them; but declares himself unworthy, that he might shew the grace of Christ, and be greater than his deserts. Hieronymus: In alio Evangelio ait: cuius non sum dignus solvere corrigiam calceamenti. Hic humilitas, ibi ministerium demonstratur, quia Christus cum sponsus sit, et Ioannes non mereatur sponsi corrigiam solvere, ne vocetur domus eius, iuxta legem Moysi, et exemplum Ruth, domus discalceati. Jerome: In the other Gospels it is, "whose shoe latchet I am not worthy to loose." Here his humility, there his ministry is intended; Christ is the Bridegroom, and John is not worthy to loose the Bridegroom's shoe, that his house be not called according to the Law of Moses and the example of Ruth, "The house of him that hath his shoe loosed." [Deut 25:10] Chrysostomus super Matth: Quia vero nemo potest dare dignius beneficium quam ipse est nec facere alterum quod ipse non est, recte subdit ille vos baptizabit in spiritu sancto et igni. Ioannes quidem cum sit corporalis, spiritualem Baptismum dare non potest, sed baptizat in aqua, quae corpus est; et ideo corpus cum corpore baptizat. Christus autem spiritus est, quia Deus est. Spiritus etiam sanctus, spiritus est; anima quoque spiritus est: ideo spiritus cum spiritu spiritum nostrum baptizat. Baptismus autem spiritus proficit, quia ingrediens spiritus circumplectitur animam, et quasi muro quodam inexpugnabili circuit eam, et non permittit ut carnales concupiscentiae praevaleant contra eam. Non quidem facit ut caro non concupiscat, sed tenet animam ut ei non consentiat. Et quoniam Christus iudex est, baptizat in igne, idest in tentationibus; in igne autem baptizare non potest homo purus. Ille enim tentandi habet licentiam qui remunerandi habet potestatem. Hic autem Baptismus tribulationis, idest ignis, comburit carnem ut non germinet concupiscentias: nam caro spirituales quidem poenas non timet, sed carnales. Ideo ergo dominus super servos suos carnales tribulationes mittit, ut timens angustias suas caro non concupiscat malum. Vides ergo quia spiritus repellit concupiscentias, et praevalere non sinit; ignis autem ipsas concupiscentiarum radices comburit. Pseudo-Chrys.: But since no one can give a benefit more worthy than he himself is, nor to make another what himself is not, he adds, "He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." [p. 104] John who is carnal cannot give spiritual baptism; he baptizes with water, which is matter; so that he baptizes matter with matter. Christ is Spirit, because He is God; the Holy Ghost is Spirit, the soul is spirit; so that Spirit with Spirit baptizes our spirit. The baptism of the Spirit profits as the Spirit enters and embraces the mind, and surrounds it as it were with an impregnable wall, not suffering fleshly lusts to prevail against it. It does not indeed prevail that the flesh should not lust, but holds the will that it should not consent with it. And as Christ is Judge, He baptizes in fire, i.e. temptation; mere man cannot baptize in fire. He alone is free to tempt, who is strong to reward. This baptism of tribulation burns up the flesh that it does not generate lust, for the flesh does not fear spiritual punishment, but only such as is carnal. The Lord therefore sends carnal tribulation on his servants, that the flesh fearing its own pains, may not lust after evil. See then how the Spirit drives away lust, and suffers it not to prevail, and the fire burns up its very roots. Hieronymus: Vel in spiritu sancto et igni: quia ignis est spiritus sanctus, quo descendente, sedit quasi ignis super linguas credentium. Et impletus est sermo domini dicens: ignem veni mittere in terram, sive quia, in praesenti, spiritu baptizamur, et in futuro, igni, secundum illud apostoli: uniuscuiusque opus quale sit, ignis probabit. Jerome: Either the Holy Ghost Himself is a fire, as we learn from the Acts, when there sat as it were fire on the tongues of the believers; and thus the word of the Lord was fulfilled who said, "I am come to send fire on the earth, I will that it burn." [Luke 12:49] Or, we are baptized now with the Spirit, hereafter with fire; as the Apostle speaks, "Fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is." [1 Cor 3:13] [ed. note, e: The fire here spoken of is interpreted by S. Austin, (Enchir. 68) and Pope Gregory, (Dial. iv. 40) of the "troubles of this life;" by S. Ambrose, (in Ps. 118, 20. n. 15. apparently, Hil. in Ps. 118, 3. n. 12) of the "severity of the divine judgment;" by S. Chrysostom, and Theophylact, (in loc.) and Pseudo-Athanasius, (Quaest. in Ep. Paul. 98. t. 2. p. 328. Ed. Ben.) of "hell-fire;" by Ambrosiaster, (in loc.) S. Jerome, perhaps, (in Isa. 1. fin.) and also by S. Austin and Pope Gregory, of a "purgatorial fire."] Chrysostomus in Matth: Non autem dicit: dabit vobis spiritum sanctum, sed baptizabit vos in spiritu sancto, copiam gratiae metaphorice ostendens. Per hoc etiam monstratur quod sola voluntate etiam in fide indiget ad iustificandum, non laboribus et sudoribus; et sicut facile est baptizari, ita facile est per eum transmutari et fieri meliores. In igne vero vehementiam gratiae, quae vinci non possit, demonstrat; et ut intelligatur quod similes antiquis et magnis prophetis repente suos faciat: propter hoc enim ignis meminit, quia plures visionum prophetalium per ignem apparuerunt. Chrys.: He does not say, shall give you the Holy Ghost, but "shall baptize you in the Holy Ghost," shewing in metaphor the abundance of the grace. This further shews, that even under the faith there is need of the will alone for justification, not of labours and toilings; and even as easy a thing as it is to be baptized, even so easy a thing it is to be changed and made better. [ed. note, f: This sentence is not here found in the original.] By fire he signifies the strength of grace which cannot be overcome, and that it may be understood that He makes His own people at once [p. 105] like to the great and old prophets, most of the prophetic visions were by fire. Chrysostomus super Matth: Patet ergo quod Baptismus Christi non solvit Ioannis Baptismum, sed in se inclusit: qui enim baptizatur in nomine Christi, utrumque Baptismum habet, et aquae et spiritus: quia Christus et spiritus erat, et corpus suscepit, ut et corporale et spirituale Baptisma daret. Ioannis autem Baptismus non includit in se Baptismum Christi, quia quod minus est, maius in se includere non potest. Ideo apostolus cum invenisset quosdam Ephesios Ioannis Baptismate baptizatos, iterum baptizavit eos in nomine Christi, quia in spiritu non erant baptizati, quoniam et Christus iterum baptizavit eos qui a Ioanne fuerant baptizati, sicut sermo Ioannis demonstrat, dicens ego vos baptizo in aqua, ille vos baptizabit in spiritu. Nec videbatur iterum baptizare, sed semel: quia enim amplius erat Baptisma Christi quam Ioannis, novum dabatur, et non iteratum. Pseudo-Chrys.: It is plain then that the baptism [ed. note: Two sentences about rebaptizing, wanting in some copies of the original, are omitted by Aquinas. This comment on St. Matthew has apparently passed successively through the hands of opposite controversialists upon the Arian question. It may be observed that the Eunomians rebaptized, and that the second General Council rejects their baptism.] of Christ does not undo the baptism of John, but includes it in itself; he who is baptized in Christ's name hath both baptisms, that of water and that of the Spirit. for Christ is Spirit, and hath taken to Him the body that He might give both bodily and spiritual baptism. John's baptism does not include in it the baptism of Christ, because the less cannot include the greater. Thus the Apostle having found certain Ephesians baptized with John's baptism, baptized them again in the name of Christ, because they had not been baptized in the Spirit: thus Christ baptized a second time those who had been baptized by John, as John himself declared he should, "I baptize you with water; but He shall baptize you with the Spirit." And yet they were not baptized twice but once; for as the baptism of Christ was more than that of John, it was a new one given, not the same repeated. Hilarius in Matth.: Salutis igitur nostrae et iudicii tempus designat in domino, dicens baptizabit vos in spiritu sancto et igni, quia baptizatis in spiritu sancto reliquum sit consummari igne iudicii; unde subditur cuius ventilabrum in manu sua. Hilary: He marks the time of our salvation and judgment in the Lord; those who are baptized in the Holy Ghost it remains that they be consummated by the fire of judgment. Rabanus: Per ventilabrum, idest palam, discretio iusti examinis designatur, quod habet dominus in manu, idest in potestate, quia pater omne iudicium dedit filio. Sequitur et permundabit aream suam. Rabanus: By the fan is signified the separation of a just trial; that it is in the Lord's hand, means, 'in His power,' as it is written, "The Father hath committed all judgment to the Son." Chrysostomus super Matth: Area idest Ecclesia, horreum vero regnum caeleste, ager autem hic mundus. Mittens ergo dominus apostolos ceterosque doctores quasi messores, praecidit omnes gentes de mundo et in aream Ecclesiae congregavit. Hic ergo triturandi sumus, hic ventilandi: omnes enim homines in rebus carnalibus delectantur, sicut grana in palea. Sed qui fidelis est et boni cordis habet medullam, mox ut leviter tribulatus fuerit, negligens carnalia, currit ad dominum; si autem modicae fidei fuerit, vix cum grandi tribulatione; qui autem omnino infidelis est et vacuus, quantumcumque tribulatus fuerit, non transit ad Deum. Triticum autem cum primum trituratum fuerit, iacet cum paleis in uno loco confusum, postea autem ventilatur ut separetur; sic et in una Ecclesia fideles cum infidelibus habentur commixti; ideo movetur persecutio quasi ventus, ut ventilabro Christi iactati, qui iam disiuncti fuerant actibus, separentur et locis. Et vide quia non dixit: mundabit aream suam: sed permundabit: necesse est enim ut diversis modis tentetur Ecclesia donec permundetur. Et primum quidem ventilaverunt illam Iudaei, deinde gentiles, modo haeretici, postmodum perventilabit Antichristus. Sicut enim quando modica est aura, non permundatur tota tritici massa, sed leviores paleae iactantur, graviores autem remanent, sic et modo modico flatu tentationis sufflante pessimi homines recedunt. Si autem surrexerit maior tempestas, etiam illi qui videntur esse stabiles, sunt exituri. Ideo necessaria est tentatio maior, ut permundetur Ecclesia. Pseudo-Chrys.: "The floor," is the Church, "the barn," is the kingdom of heaven, "the field," is the world. The Lord sends forth His Apostles and other teachers, as reapers to reap all nations of the earth, and gather them into the floor of the Church. Here were must be threshed and winnowed, for all men are delighted in carnal things as grain delights in the husk. But whoever is faithful and has the marrow of a good heart, as soon as he has a light tribulation, neglecting carnal things runs to the Lord; but if his faith be feeble, hardly with heavy sorrow; and he who is altogether void of faith, however he may be troubled, passes not over to God. The wheat when first thrashed lies in one heap with chaff and straw, and is after winnowed to separate it; so the [p. 106] faithful are mixed up in one Church with the unfaithful; but persecution comes as a wind, that, tossed by Christ's fan, they whose hearts were separate before, may be also now separated in place. He shall not merely cleanse, but "thoroughly cleanse;" therefore the Church must needs be tried in many ways till this be accomplished. And first the Jews winnowed it, then the Gentiles, now the heretics, and after a time shall Antichrist thoroughly winnow it. For as when the blast is gentle, only the lighter chaff is carried off, but the heavier remains; so a slight wind of temptation carries off the worst characters only; but should a greater storm arise, even those who seem steadfast will depart. There is need then of heavier persecution that the Church should be cleansed. Remigius: Hanc etiam aream, scilicet Ecclesiam, dominus mundat in hac vita, cum vel per iudicium sacerdotum mali de Ecclesia tolluntur, vel per mortem de hac vita abscinduntur. Remig.: This His floor, to wit, the Church, the Lord cleanses in this life, both when by the sentence of the Priests the bad are put out of the Church, and when they are cut off by death. Rabanus: Universaliter autem areae purgatio in fine perficietur, quando mittet Angelos suos filius hominis et colliget de regno suo omnia scandala. Rabanus: The cleansing of the floor will then be finally accomplished, when the Son of Man shall send His Angels, and shall gather all offences out of His kingdom. Gregorius Moralium: Nam post trituram vitae praesentis, in qua nunc triticum sub paleis gemit, ita illo extremi iudicii ventilabro triticum paleaque discernitur, ut nec in tritici horreum paleae transeant, nec in palearum ignem horrei grana dilabantur; et hoc est quod sequitur et congregabit triticum suum in horreum, paleas autem comburet igni inextinguibili. Greg., Mor. 34. 5: After the threshing is finished in this life, in which the grain now groans under the burden of the chaff, the fan of the last judgment shall so separate between them, that neither shall any chaff pass into the granary, nor shall the grain fall into the fire which consumes the chaff. Hilarius in Matth.: Triticum suum, perfectos scilicet credentium fructus, dicit caelestibus horreis recondendum; paleas vero infructuosorum hominum inanitatem. Hilary: The wheat, i.e. the full and perfect fruit of the believer, he declares, shall be laid up in heavenly barns; by the chaff he means the emptiness of the unfruitful. Rabanus: Verum hoc inter paleas et zizania distat, quod paleae non alio quam triticorum semine prodeunt, zizania vero diverso. Paleae ergo sunt qui fidei sacramentis imbuuntur, sed solidi non sunt; zizania vero qui et opere et professione secernuntur a bonorum sorte. Rabanus: There is this difference between the chaff and the tares, in that the chaff is produced of the same seed as the wheat, but the tares from one of another kind. The chaff therefore are those who enjoy the sacraments of the faith, but are not solid; the tares are those who in profession as well as in works are separated from the lot of the good. Remigius: Ignis autem inextinguibilis dicitur poena aeternae damnationis: sive quia quos semel suscepit, nunquam extinguit, sed semper cruciat; sive ad differentiam ignis Purgatorii, qui ad tempus accenditur et extinguitur. Remig.: The unquenchable fire is the punishment of eternal damnation; either because it never totally destroys or consumes those it has once seized on, but torments them eternally; or to distinguish it from purgatorial fire which is kindled for a time and again extinguished. Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Si autem quaeritur quae verba potius Ioannes Baptista dixerit, utrum quae Matthaeus an quae Lucas an quae Marcus eum dixisse commemorat, nullo modo hic laborandum esse iudicat qui prudenter intelligit ipsas sententias esse necessarias cognoscendae veritati, quibuslibet verbis fuerint explicatae. Et in hoc apparet non debere nos arbitrari mentiri quemquam, si pluribus reminiscentibus rem quam audierunt vel viderunt, non eodem modo atque eisdem verbis eadem res fuerit indicata. Quisquis autem dicit Evangelistis per spiritus sancti potentiam hoc potuisse concedi ut nec in genere verborum nec in ordine nec in numero discreparent, non intelligit quanto amplius Evangelistarum excellit auctoritas, tanto magis per eos fuisse firmandam ceterorum hominum vera loquentium securitatem. Quod autem alius dixit cuius non sum dignus calceamenta portare, alius vero: calceamenti corrigiam solvere, non verbis tantum, sed et re ipsa videtur aliud esse. Merito ergo quaeri potest quid horum Ioannes dixerit. Verum enim videtur narrasse qui hoc potuit narrare quod ille dixit; qui autem aliud, etsi non est mentitus certe vel oblitus, aliquid pro alio dixisse putabitur. Omnem autem falsitatem abesse ab Evangelistis decet, non solum eam quae mentiendo promitur, sed etiam eam quae obliviscendo. Ita si ad rem pertinet aliquid aliud intelligere ex utroque dictorum, recte existimandum est Ioannem utrumque dixisse, sive aliud alio tempore, sive confestim. Si autem nihil intendit Ioannes cum de calceamentis domini diceret, nisi excellentiam eius et suam humilitatem, quodlibet dictorum dixerit, eamdem tamen sententiam tenuit, quisquis etiam verbis suis per calceamentorum commemorationem eamdem significationem humilitatis expressit; unde ab eadem voluntate non aberravit. Utilis ergo modus, et memoriae commendandus, non esse mendacium cum quis voluntatem eius explicat de quo aliquid narrat, etiam dicens aliquid aliud quod ille non dixit; voluntatem tamen suam explicavit eamdem quam et ille cuius verba commemorat. Ita enim salubriter dicimus nihil aliud esse quaerendum quam quid velit ille qui loquitur. Aug., de Cons. Evan., ii. 12: If any asks which were the actual words spoken by John, whether those reported by Matthew, or by Luke, or by [p. 107] Mark, it may be shewn, that there is no difficulty here to him who rightly understands that the sense is essential to our knowledge of the truth, but the words indifferent. And it is clear we ought not to deem any testimony false, because the same fact is related by several persons who were present in different words and different ways. Whoever thinks that the Evangelists might have been so inspired by the Holy Ghost that they should have differed among themselves neither in the choice, nor the number, nor the order of their words, he does not see that by how much the authority of the Evangelists is preeminent, so much the more is to be by them established the veracity of other men in the same circumstances. But the discrepancy may seem to be in the thing, and not only in words, between, "I am not worthy to bear His shoes," and "to loose His shoe-latchet." Which of these two expressions did John use? He who has reported the very words will seem to have spoken truth; he who has given other words, though he have not hid, or been forgetful, yet had he said one thing for another. But the Evangelists should be clear of every kind of falseness, not only that of lying, but also that of forgetfulness. If then this discrepancy be important, we may suppose John to have used both expressions, either at different times, or both at the same time. But if he only meant to express the Lord's greatness and his own humility, whether he used one or the other the sense is preserved, though any one should in his own words repeat the same profession of humility using the figure of the shoes; their will and intention does not differ. This then is a useful rule and one to be remembered, that it is no lie, when one fairly represents his meaning whose speech one is recounting, though one uses other words; if only one shews our meaning to be the same with his. Thus understood it is a wholesome direction that we are to enquire only after the meaning of the speaker.
Lectio 6 13 τότε παραγίνεται ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀπὸ τῆς γαλιλαίας ἐπὶ τὸν ἰορδάνην πρὸς τὸν ἰωάννην τοῦ βαπτισθῆναι ὑπ' αὐτοῦ. 14 ὁ δὲ ἰωάννης διεκώλυεν αὐτὸν λέγων, ἐγὼ χρείαν ἔχω ὑπὸ σοῦ βαπτισθῆναι, καὶ σὺ ἔρχῃ πρός με; 15 ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν, ἄφες ἄρτι, οὕτως γὰρ πρέπον ἐστὶν ἡμῖν πληρῶσαι πᾶσαν δικαιοσύνην. τότε ἀφίησιν αὐτόν.
13. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. 14. But John forbad Him, saying, "I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?" [p. 108] 15. And Jesus answering said unto him, "Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." Then he suffered Him.
Glossa: Postquam praedicatione sui praecursoris Christus mundo praenuntiatus est, tandem qui diu latuerat, hominibus se manifestare voluit; unde dicitur tunc venit Iesus a Galilaea in Iordanem ad Ioannem, ut baptizaretur ab eo. Gloss., non occ.: Christ having been proclaimed to the world by the preaching of His forerunner, now after long obscurity will manifest Himself to men. Remigius: Est sciendum quod in his verbis describuntur personae, loca, tempus et officium. Tempus, cum dicit tunc. Remig.: In this verse is contained person, place, time, and office. Time, in the word, "Then." Rabanus: Quando scilicet tricenarius erat: in quo ostendit nullum vel sacerdotem vel praedicatorem debere institui, nisi sit perfectae aetatis. Ioseph tricenarius regimen Aegypti suscepit; David ea aetate regnum inchoavit; Ezechiel sub eodem tempore prophetiam promeruit. Rabanus: That is, when He was thirty years old, shewing that none should be ordained priest, or even to preach till He be of full age. Joseph at thirty years was made governor of Egypt; David began to reign, and Ezekiel his prophesying at the same age. Chrysostomus in Matth: Quia etiam post Baptismum hanc legem cessare oportebat, hac aetate ad Baptismum venit, qui potest omnia peccata suscipere, ut lege servata, nullus dicat quia ideo eam solvit quia implere non potuit. Chrys., Hom. 10, 1: Because after his baptism Christ was to put an end to the Law, He therefore came to be baptized at this age, that having so kept the Law, it might not be said that He cancelled it, because He could not observe it. Chrysostomus super Matth: Tunc etiam, scilicet quando Ioannes praedicaverat: poenitentiam agite, ut confirmaret praedicationem ipsius et ut testimonium acciperet a Ioanne. Sicut autem cum processerit Lucifer, lux solis non expectat occasum Luciferi, sed eo procedente, egreditur, et suo lumine obscurat illius candorem, sic et Christus non expectavit ut cursum suum Ioannes impleret, sed adhuc eo docente apparuit. Pseudo-Chrys.: "Then," that is when John preached, that He might confirm his preaching, and Himself receive his witness. But as when the morning-star has risen, the sun does not wait for that star to set, but rising as it goes forward, gradually obscures its brightness; so Christ waited not for John to finish his course, but appeared while he yet taught. Remigius: Personae ponuntur cum dicit venit Iesus ad Ioannem, idest Deus ad hominem, dominus ad servum, rex ad militem, lux ad lucernam. Loca designantur cum dicit a Galilaea in Iordanem. Galilaea enim transmigratio interpretatur. Quicumque ergo vult baptizari, transmigret de vitiis ad virtutes, et veniendo ad Baptismum se humiliet: Iordanis enim interpretatur descensus. Remig.: The Persons are described in the words, "came Jesus to John;" that is, God to man, the Lord to His servant, the King to His soldier, the Light to the lamp. The Place, "from Galilee to Jordan." Galilee means 'transmigration.' Whoso then will be baptized, must pass from vice to virtue, and humble himself in coming to baptism, for Jordan means, 'descent.' Augustinus in Serm. de Epiph.: Multa autem mirabilia in hoc flumine saepius facta esse Scriptura sancta commemorat, inter cetera dicens: Iordanis conversus est retrorsum. Ante quidem retrorsum aquae conversae fuerant, modo retrorsum peccata conversa sunt; sicut etiam Elias in Iordane divisionem fecit aquarum, et Christus dominus in eodem Iordane separationem operatus est peccatorum. Ambrose, Ambrosiaster. Serm. x. 5: Scripture tells of many wonders wrought at various times in this river; as that, among others, in the Psalms, "Jordan was driven backwards;" [Ps 114:3] before the water was driven back, now sins are turned back in its current; as Elijah divided the waters of old, so Christ the Lord wrought in the same Jordan the separation of sin. Remigius: Officium designatur cum sequitur ut baptizaretur ab eo. Remig.: The office to be performed; "that He might be baptized of him;" not baptism to the remission of sins, but to leave the water sanctified for those after to be baptized. Chrysostomus super Matth: Non ut ipse remissionem peccatorum acciperet per Baptismum, sed ut sanctificatas aquas relinqueret postmodum baptizandis. Aug., non occ., cf. Ambrosiaster, Serm. 12. 4: The Saviour willed to be baptized not that He might [p. 109] Himself be cleansed, but to cleanse the water for us. [ed. note: This is the doctrine of S. Austin, in Joan. iv. 14. Op. Imp. contr. Julian iv. 63. Ambros. in Luke ii, 83, &c. &c. vid. Pusey on Baptism, p. 279. ed. 2] Augustinus: Salvator enim ideo baptizari voluit, non ut sibi munditiam acquireret, sed ut nobis fluentia mundaret. Ex quo ipse in aquam demergitur, ex eo omnium peccata abluit aqua. Nec mirum quod aquam, hoc est substantiam corporalem, ad purificandam animam dicimus pervenire: pervenit plane, et penetrat conscientiae universa latibula. Quamvis enim ipsa sit subtilis et tenuis, benedictione tamen Christi facta subtilior, occultas vitae causas ac secreta mentis subtiliore rore pertransit. Subtilior enim est benedictionum cursus quam aquarum meatus. Unde quae de salvatoris Baptismate benedictio fluxit, tamquam fluvius spiritalis, omnium gurgitum tractus, universorum fontium venas implevit. From the time that Himself was dipped in the water, from that time has He washed away all our sins in water. And let none wonder that water, itself corporeal substance, is said to be effectual to the purification of the soul; it is so effectual, reaching to and searching out the hidden recesses of the conscience. Subtle and penetrating in its own nature, made yet more so by Christ's blessing, it touches the hidden springs of life, the secret places of the soul, by virtue of its all-pervading dew. The course of blessing is even yet more penetrating than the flow of waters. Thus the blessing which like a spiritual river flows on from the Saviour's baptism, hath filled the basins of all pools, and the courses of all fountains. Chrysostomus super Matth: Ad hoc autem ad Baptismum venit, ut qui humanam suscepit naturam, totum humanae naturae inveniatur implesse mysterium: nam quamvis ipse non erat peccator, tamen naturam suscepit peccatricem. Propterea etsi pro se Baptismate non egebat, tamen aliis carnalis natura opus habebat. Pseudo-Chrys.: He comes to baptism, that He who has taken upon Him human nature, may be found to have fulfilled the whole mystery of that nature; not that He is Himself a sinner, but He has taken on Him a nature that is sinful. And therefore though He needed not baptism Himself, yet the carnal nature in others needed it. Augustinus in Serm. de Epiph.: Item ideo baptizari voluit, quia voluit facere quod faciendum omnibus imperabat; ut bonus magister doctrinam suam non tam verbis insinuaret, quam actibus exerceret. Ambrose, Ambrosiaster, Serm. 12. 1: Also like a wise master inculcating His doctrines as much by His own practice, as by word of mouth, He did that which He commanded all His disciples to do. Augustinus super Ioannem: Hinc ergo dignatus est a Ioanne baptizari, ut cognoscerent servi quanta alacritate debeant currere ad Baptisma domini, quando ipse non dedignatus est accipere Baptisma servi. Aug., in Joann. Tract. v. 2: He deigned to be baptized of John that the servants might see with what readiness they ought to run to the baptism of the Lord, when He did not refuse to be baptized of His servant. Hieronymus: Item baptizari voluit, ut Baptismate suo Ioannis Baptisma comprobaret. Jerome: Also that by being Himself baptized, He might sanction the baptism of John. Chrysostomus in Matth: Quia vero Baptismus poenitentiae erat, et in demonstrationem delictorum inducebatur, ne aliquis aestimaret quod hac ratione Christus ad Iordanem venit, ideo venienti dixit ego a te debeo baptizari et tu venis ad me? Quasi dicat: ut tu me baptizes, est idonea ratio, ut iustus efficiar, et dignus caelo; ut autem ego te baptizem, quae est ratio? Omne bonum de caelo descendit in terram, non de terra ascendit in caelum. Chrys., Hom. 12: But since John's baptism was to repentance, and therefore shewed the presence of sin, that none might suppose Christ's coming to the Jordan to have been on this account, John cried to Him, "I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?" As if he had said, Pseudo-Chrys.: That Thou shouldest baptize me there is good cause, that I may be made righteous and worthy of heaven; but that I should baptize Thee, what cause is there? Every good gift comes down from heaven upon earth, not ascends from earth to heaven. Hilarius in Matth.: Denique a Ioanne baptizari prohibetur ut Deus, et ita in se fieri oportere ut homo docet; unde sequitur respondens autem Iesus dixit ei: sine modo. Hilary: John reject Him from baptism as God; He teaches him, [p. 110] that it ought to be performed on Him as man. Hieronymus: Pulchre dixit modo, ut ostenderet Christum in aqua a Ioanne, Ioannem a Christo in spiritu baptizandum. Sive aliter sine modo, ut qui formam servi assumpsi, expleam et humilitatem eius; alioquin scito te in die iudicii meo esse Baptismate baptizandum. Vel sine modo, ut dicat dominus: habeo et aliud Baptisma, quo et baptizandus sum. Tu me baptizas in aqua, ut ego te baptizem pro me in sanguine tuo. Jerome: Beautifully said is that "now," to shew that as Christ was baptized with water by John, so John must be baptized by Christ with the Spirit. Or, suffer now that I who have taken the form of a servant should fulfil all that low estate; otherwise know that in the day of judgment thou must be baptized with my baptism. Or, the Lord says, 'Suffer this now; I have also another baptism wherewithal I must be baptized; thou baptizest Me with water, that I may baptize thee for Me with thy own blood.' Chrysostomus super Matth: In quo etiam ostendit quia postea Christus baptizavit Ioannem, quamvis etiam in apocryphis libris hoc manifeste scriptum sit. Sed sine modo ut iustitiam Baptismatis non verbis sed factis adimpleam: prius suscipiam, postea praedicabo; unde sequitur sic enim decet nos omnem implere iustitiam; ubi non hoc significat, ut si fuerit baptizatus, adimpleat omnem iustitiam, sed sic: idest, quemadmodum Baptismatis iustitiam prius factis implevit, postea praedicavit, sic et omnem aliam iustitiam, secundum illud: coepit Iesus facere et docere. Aut ita: sic oportet nos implere omnem iustitiam Baptismi, idest secundum dispensationem humanae naturae; sic enim implevit iustitiam nascendi, crescendi et similium. Pseudo-Chrys.: In this he shews that Christ after this baptized John; which is expressly told in some apocryphal books. [ed. note: Apocryphis ap. Aquin. in secretioribus libris, in the present text of Pseudo-Chrysost. The same opinion is imputed to S. Gregory Naz. S. Austin, &c. but apparently without reason, vid. Tillemont Memoirs St. Joan. B. note 7. It was an objection familiar with the heretics whether the Apostles were baptized, vid. Tertull. in Bapt. 12] Suffer now that I fulfil the righteousness of baptism in deed, and not only in word; first submitting to it, and then preaching it; for "so it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." Not that by being baptized He fulfils all righteousness, but "so," in the same manner, that is, as He first fulfilled the righteousness of baptism by His deeds, and after preached it, so He might all other righteousness, according to that of the Acts, "All things that Jesus began both to do and to teach." [Acts 1:1] Or thus, "all righteousness," according to the ordinance of human nature; as He had before fulfilled the righteousness of birth, growth, and the like. Hilarius in Matth.: Erat et per eum omnis implenda iustitia, per quem solum lex poterat impleri. Hilary: For by Him must all righteousness have been fulfilled, by whom alone the Law could be fulfilled. Hieronymus: Non autem addit iustitiam legis, sive naturae, ut utrumque intelligamus. Jerome: "Righteousness;" but he adds neither 'of the Law;' nor 'of nature,' that we may understand it of both. Remigius: Vel sic: decet nos implere omnem iustitiam, idest, ostendere exemplum omnis implendae iustitiae in Baptismo, sine quo non aperitur aditus regni caelestis. Vel etiam discant superbi exemplum humilitatis, ut non dedignentur baptizari ab humilibus membris meis, dum viderint me baptizatum a te Ioanne servo meo. Illa autem est vera humilitas quam comes obedientia sequitur; unde subditur tunc dimisit eum, idest, ad ultimum assensum praebuit ut baptizaret eum. Remig.: Or thus; "It becometh us to fulfil all righteousness," that is, to give an example of perfect justification in baptism, without which the gate of the kingdom of heaven is not opened. Hence let the proud take an example of humility, and not scorn to be baptized by My humble members when they see Me baptized by John My servant. That is true humility which obedience accompanies; as it continues, "then he suffered Him," that is, at last consented to baptize Him.
Lectio 7 16 βαπτισθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εὐθὺς ἀνέβη ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕδατος: καὶ ἰδοὺ ἠνεῴχθησαν [αὐτῷ] οἱ οὐρανοί, καὶ εἶδεν [τὸ] πνεῦμα [τοῦ] θεοῦ καταβαῖνον ὡσεὶ περιστερὰν [καὶ] ἐρχόμενον ἐπ' αὐτόν:
16. And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him.
Augustinus in Serm. de Epiph.: Quia, ut dictum est, cum salvator noster abluitur, iam tunc in nostrum Baptismum tota aqua mundatur, ut secuturis postmodum populis lavacri gratia ministretur. Oportuit etiam Christi Baptismo ea designari quae per Baptismum consequuntur fideles; unde dicitur baptizatus autem Iesus, confestim ascendit de aqua. Ambrose, Ambrosiaster, Serm. 12. 4: For, as we have said, when the Saviour was washed, then the water was cleansed for our baptism, that a laver might be ministered to the people who were to come. Moreover, it behoved that in Christ's baptism should be signified those things which the faithful obtain by baptism. Chrysostomus super Matth: Factum Christi ad mysterium pertinet omnium qui postmodum fuerant baptizandi; et ideo dixit confestim, et non dixit simpliciter ascendit: quia omnes qui digne baptizantur in Christo, confestim de aqua ascendunt; idest, proficiunt ad virtutes et ad dignitatem sublevantur caelestem; qui enim in aquam ingressi fuerant carnales et filii Adae peccatores, confestim de aqua ascendunt spirituales filii Dei facti. Si autem quidam ex sua culpa nihil proficiunt baptizati, quid ad Baptismum? Pseudo-Chrys.: This action of Christ's has a figurative meaning pertaining to all who were after Him to be baptized; and therefore he says, "straightway He ascended," and not simply "He ascended," for all who are worthily baptized in Christ, straightway ascend from the water; that is, make progress in virtues, and are carried on towards a heavenly dignity. They who had gone down to the water carnal and sinful sons of Adam, straightway ascend from the water spiritual sons of God. But if some by their own faults make no progress after baptism, what is that to the baptism? Rabanus: Quia ergo nobis dominus sui corporis intinctu Baptismi lavacrum dedicavit, nobis quoque post acceptum Baptisma caeli aditum patere et spiritum sanctum dari demonstravit; unde sequitur et aperti sunt ei caeli. Rabanus: As by the immersion of His body He dedicated the laver of baptism, He has shewn that to us also, after baptism received, the entrance to heaven is open and the Holy Spirit is given, as it follows, "and the heavens were opened." Hieronymus in Matth.: Non reseratione elementorum, sed spiritualibus oculis, sicut et Ezechiel in principio voluminis sui apertos esse commemorat. Jerome: Not by an actual cleaving of the visible element, but to the spiritual eye, as Ezekiel also in the beginning of his book relates that he saw them. Chrysostomus super Matth: Si enim ipsa creatura caelorum rupta fuisset, non dixisset aperti sunt ei, quia quod corporaliter aperitur, omnibus est apertum. Sed dicet aliquis: quid enim? Ante oculos filii Dei clausi fuerant caeli, qui etiam in terra constitutus erat in caelo? Sed sciendum quod sicut secundum dispensationem humanam baptizatus est, sic secundum humanam dispensationem aperti sunt ei caeli; secundum autem naturam divinam erat in caelis. Pseudo-Chrys.: For had the actual creation of the heavens been opened, he would not have said, "were opened to Him," for a physical opening would have been open to all. But some one will say, What, are the heavens then closed to the eye of the Son of God, who even when on earth is present in heaven? But it must be known, that as He was baptized according to the ordinance of humanity that He had taken on Him, so the heavens were opened to His sight as to His human nature, though as to His divine He was in heaven. Augustinus: Sed numquid tunc primo aperti ei caeli etiam secundum humanam naturam? Fides enim Ecclesiae et credit et tenet quod non minus aperti sunt ei caeli ante quam post. Ideo ergo dicitur quod aperti sunt ei caeli, quia omnibus renatis aperitur ianua regni caelestis. Remig.: But was this then the first time that the heavens were opened to Him according to His human nature? The faith of the Church both believes and holds that the heavens were no less open to him before than after. [p. 112] It is therefore said here, that the heavens were opened, because to all them who are born again the door of the kingdom of heaven is opened. Chrysostomus super Matth: Forte enim erant invisibilia quaedam obstacula prius, quibus obsistentibus animae defunctorum non poterant introire caelos. Nullam enim animam ante Christum arbitror ascendisse in caelum ex quo peccavit Adam et clausi sunt caeli. Sed ecce baptizato Christo aperti sunt tantum; postquam vero tyrannum vicit per crucem, quia non erant necessariae portae caelo nunquam claudendo, non dicunt Angeli: aperite portas: iam enim erant apertae; sed: tollite portas. Vel baptizatis aperiuntur caeli, et vident ea quae sunt in caelo, non carnalibus oculis videndo, sed spiritualibus fidei credendo. Aut ita: caeli sunt Scripturae divinae, quas omnes legunt, non tamen omnes intelligunt, nisi qui fuerint sic baptizati ut accipiant spiritum sanctum. Unde et apostolis primitus erant clausae Scripturae prophetarum; sed accepto spiritu sancto, reseratae sunt eis omnes Scripturae. Tamen quocumque modo intelligatur, caeli aperti sunt ei, idest omnibus propter eum; sicut si imperator alicui pro alio petenti dicat: hoc beneficium non illi do, sed tibi: idest, propter te illi. Pseudo-Chrys.: Perhaps there were before some unseen obstacles which hindered the souls of the dead from entering the skies. I suppose that since Adam's sin no soul had mounted the skies, but the heavens were continually closed. When, lo! on Christ's baptism they were again opened; after He had overcome by the Cross the great tyrant death, henceforward the heaven, never more to be closed, needed not gates, so that the Angels say not, 'Open ye gates,' for they were open, but "take away the gates." [Ps 24:7] Or the heavens are opened to the baptized, and they see those things which are in heaven, not by seeing them with the bodily eye, but by believing with the spiritual eye of faith. Or thus; The heavens are the divine Scriptures, which all read but all do not understand, except they who have been so baptized as to receive the Holy Spirit. Thus the Scriptures of the Prophets were at the first sealed to the Apostles, but after they had received the Holy Spirit, all Scripture was opened to them. However, in whatever way we interpret, the heavens were opened to Him, that is to all, on His account; as if the Emperor were to say to any one preferring a petition for another, This boon I grant not to him but to you; that is, to him, for your sake. Glossa: Vel tantus splendor circumfulsit Christum in Baptismo, ut Empyreum videretur caelum reseratum esse. Gloss. non occ.: Or, so bright a glory shone round about Christ, that the blue concave seemed to be actually cloven. Chrysostomus in Matth: Si autem tu non vides, non incredulus sis; etenim in principiis spiritualium rerum semper sensibiles apparent visiones, propter illos qui nullam intelligentiam incorporalis naturae suscipere possunt; ut si postea non fiat, ex his quae semel facta sunt, recipiant fidem. Chrys.: But though you see it not, be not therefore unbelieving, for in the beginnings of spiritual matters sensible visions are always offered, for their sakes who can form no idea of things that have no body; which if they occur not in later times, yet faith may be established by those wonders once wrought. Remigius: Sicut autem omnibus per Baptismum renatis aperitur ianua regni caelestis, ita omnes in Baptismate accipiunt dona spiritus sancti; ideo subditur et vidit spiritum Dei descendentem sicut columbam, et venientem super se. Remig.: As to all those who by baptism are born again, the door of the kingdom of heaven is opened, so all in baptism receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Augustinus in Serm. 1 in Dom. infra Oct. Epiph.: Christus enim postquam natus est hominibus renascitur sacramentis; ut quemadmodum tunc eum miramur incorrupta matre progenitum, ita et nunc suscipiamus illum pura unda submersum. Filium enim genuit mater, et casta est; Christum lavit unda, et sancta est. Denique spiritus sanctus, qui tunc illi in utero affuit, modo eum in gurgite circumfulsit; qui tunc Mariam castificavit, nunc fluenta sanctificat. Unde dicit et vidit spiritum Dei descendentem. Aug., App. Serm. 135. 1: Chris after He had been once born among men, is born a second time in the sacraments, that as we adore Him then born of a pure mother, so we may now receive Him immersed in pure water. His mother brought forth her Son, and is yet virgin; the wave washed Christ, and is holy. Lastly, that Holy Spirit which was present to Him in the [p. 113] womb, now shone round Him in the water, He who then made Mary pure, now sanctifies the waters. Chrysostomus super Matth: Ideo autem spiritus sanctus speciem columbae suscepit, quoniam prae omnibus animalibus haec cultrix est caritatis. Omnes autem iustitiae species quas habent servi Dei in veritate, possunt habere servi Diaboli in simulatione; solam autem caritatem sancti spiritus non potest immundus spiritus imitari. Ideo ergo hanc privatam speciem caritatis tibi servavit spiritus sanctus, quia per nullius testimonium sic cognoscitur ubi est spiritus sanctus, sicut per gratiam caritatis. Pseudo-Chrys.: The Holy Ghost took the likeness of a dove, as being more than other animals susceptible of love. All other forms of righteousness which the servants of God have in truth and verity, the servants of the Devil have in spurious imitation; the love of the Holy Spirit alone an unclean spirit cannot imitate. And the Holy Ghost has therefore reserved to Himself this special manifestation of love, because by no testimony is it so clearly seen where He dwells as by the grace of love. Rabanus: Significantur etiam quatuor virtutes in baptizatis per columbam. Columba enim secus fluenta habitat, ut, viso accipitre, mergat se et evadat; meliora grana eligit, alienos pullos nutrit, non lacerat rostro, felle caret, in cavernis petrae nidificat, gemitum pro cantu habet; ita et sancti secus divinae Scripturae fluenta resident, ut incursum Diaboli evadant; sanas sententias quibus pascantur eligunt, non haereticas; homines qui Diaboli fuerunt pulli, idest imitatores, doctrina nutriunt et exemplo; bonas sententias lacerando non pervertunt haereticorum more; ira irreconciliabili carent; in plagis mortis Christi, qui petra firma est, nidum ponunt, idest suum refugium et spem; sicut etiam alii delectantur in cantu, ita ipsi in gemitu pro peccatis. Rabanus, ap. Anselm: Seven excellencies in the baptized are figured by the dove. The dove has her abode near the rivers, that when the hawk is seen, she may dive under water and escape; she chooses the better grains of corn; she feeds the young of other birds; she does not tear with her beak; she lacks a gall; she has her rest in the caverns of the rocks; for her song she has a plaint. Thus the saints dwell beside the streams of Divine Scripture, that they may escape the assaults of the Devil; they choose wholesome doctrine, and not heretical for their food; they nourish by teaching and example, men who have been the children of the Devil, i.e. the imitators; they do not pervert good doctrine by tearing it to pieces as the heretics do; they are without hate irreconcileable; they build their nest in the wounds of Christ's death, which is to them a firm rock, that is their refuge and hope; as others delight in song, so do they in groaning for their sin. Chrysostomus in Matth: Veteris etiam recordatur historiae: in diluvio enim apparuit hoc animal, ramum ferens olivae et communem orbis tranquillitatem annuntians; quae omnia typus erant futurorum. Etenim nunc columba apparet liberatorem nobis demonstrans, et pro ramo olivae adoptionem generi humano affert. Chrys.: It is moreover an allusion to ancient history; for in the deluge this creature appeared bearing an olive branch, and tidings of rest to the world. All which things were a type of things to come. For now also a dove appears pointing out to us our liberator, and for an olive branch bringing the adoption of the human race. Augustinus de Trin: Est autem in promptu intelligere cur spiritus sanctus missus dicatur, cum in ipsum dominum corporali specie velut columba descendit: facta est enim quaedam creaturae species ex tempore, in qua visibiliter ostenderetur spiritus sanctus. Haec autem operatio visibiliter expressa, et oculis oblata mortalibus missio spiritus sancti dicta est; non ut appareret invisibilis eius substantia, sed ut corda hominum exterioribus visis commota, ad occultam aeternitatem converterentur. Non autem sic assumpta est creatura, in qua spiritus sanctus apparuit, in unitatem scilicet personae, sicut assumpta est humana illa forma ex virgine. Neque enim columbam beatificavit spiritus aut sibi in personae suae unitatem in aeternum coniunxit. Proinde, quamquam illa columba spiritus dicta sit, ut ostenderetur per columbam spiritum demonstratum, non tamen ita possumus dicere spiritum sanctum et Deum et columbam, sicut dicimus filium et Deum et hominem; nec sicut dicimus filium agnum Dei, non solum Ioanne Baptista dicente, sed etiam Ioanne Evangelista vidente agnum occisum in Apocalypsi: illa quippe visio prophetica non est exhibita oculis corporeis per formas corporeas, sed in spiritu per spiritales imagines corporum. De illa vero columba nullus unquam dubitavit quin oculis visa sit; nec sicut dicimus filium petram (scriptum est enim 1 Cor. 10, 4: petra erat Christus), ita possumus dicere spiritum columbam. Illa enim petra iam erat in creatura, et per actionis modum nuncupata est nomine Christi quem significabat; non autem sic illa columba, quae ad haec tantummodo significanda repente extitit. Magis autem simile hoc mihi videtur flammae illi quae in rubo apparuit Moysi, et illi quam populus in eremo fiebant dum lex daretur in monte. Ad hoc sequebatur, et fulguribus ac tonitruis quae enim rerum illarum corporalis extitit species, ut aliquid significaret atque praeteriret. Propter has ergo corporales formas missus dicitur spiritus sanctus; illae vero species corporales ad demonstrandum quod opus fuit, ad tempus apparuerunt, et postea destiterunt. Aug., de Trin., ii, 5: It is easy to understand how the Holy Ghost should be said to be sent, when as it were a dove in visible shape descended on the Lord; that is, there was created a certain appearance for the time in which the Holy Spirit might be visibly shewn. And this operation thus made visible and offered to mortal view, is called the mission of the Holy Spirit, not that His invisible substance was seen, but that the hearts of men might be roused by the external appearance to contemplate [p. 114] the unseen eternity. Yet this creature in the shape of which the Spirit appeared, was not taken into unity of person, as was that human shape taken of the Virgin. For neither did the Spirit bless the dove, nor unite it with Himself for all eternity, in unity of person. Further, though that dove is called the Spirit, so far as to shew that in this dove was a manifestation of the Spirit, yet can we not say of the Holy Spirit that He is God and dove, as we say of the Son that He is God and man; and yet it is not as we say of the Son that He is "the Lamb of God," as not only has John Baptist declared, but as John the Evangelist saw the vision of the Lamb slain in the Apocalypse. For this was a prophetic vision, not put before the bodily eyes in bodily shape, but seen in the Spirit in spiritual images. But concerning this dove none ever doubted that is was seen with the bodily eye; not that we say the Spirit is a dove as we say Christ is a Rock; (for "that Rock was Christ.) [1 Cor 10:4] For that Rock already existed as a creature, and from the resemblance of its operation was called by the name of Christ, (whom it figured;) not so this dove, which was created at the moment for this single purpose. It seems to me to be more like the flame which appeared to Moses in the bush, or that which the people followed in the wilderness, or to the thunderings and lightnings which were when the Law was given from the mount. For all these were visible objects intended to signify something, and then to pass away. For that such forms have been from time to time seen, the Holy Spirit is said to have been sent; but these bodily forms appeared for the time to shew what was required, and then ceased to be. Hieronymus in Matth.: Sedit autem super caput Iesu, ne quis putaret vocem patris ad Ioannem factam, non ad dominum; unde sequitur et venientem super se. Jerome: It sat on the head of Jesus, that none might suppose the voice of the Father spoken to John, and not to the Lord.
Lectio 8 17 καὶ ἰδοὺ φωνὴ ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν λέγουσα, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός, ἐν ᾧ εὐδόκησα.
17. And lo a voice from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Augustinus in Serm. de Epiph.: Non enim ut ante per Moysen aut per prophetas, nec per typos aut figuras, venturum in carne pater filium docuit, sed palam venisse monstravit, dicens hic est filius meus. Aug., non occ.: Not as before by Moses and the Prophets, neither in type or figure did the Father teach that the Son should come, but openly shewed Him to be already come, "This is my Son." Hilarius in Matth.: Vel ut ex his quae consummabantur in Christo, cognosceremus post aquae lavacrum et de caelestibus portis sanctum in nos spiritum involare et caelestis nos gloriae unctione perfundi et paternae vocis adoptione filios Dei fieri. Hilary: Or, that from these things thus fulfilled upon Christ, we might learn that after the washing of water [p. 115] the Holy Spirit also descends on us from the heavenly gates, on us also is shed an unction of heavenly glory, and an adoption to be the sons of God, pronounced by the Father's voice. Hieronymus in Matth.: Mysterium autem Trinitatis in Baptismate demonstratur. Dominus baptizatur, spiritus descendit in habitu columbae, patris vox filio testimonium perhibentis auditur. Jerome: The mystery of the Trinity is shewn in this baptism. the Lord is baptized; the Spirit descends in the shape of a dove; the voice of the Father is heard giving testimony to the Son. Augustinus in Serm. de Epiph.: Nec mirum si in dominico lavacro mysterium non defuit Trinitatis, cum nostrum lavacrum Trinitatis compleat sacramentum. Voluit enim dominus primo circa se exhibere quod erat postea humano generi praecepturus. Ambrose, Ambrosiaster, Serm. 10. 1: And no wonder that the mystery of the Trinity is not wanting to the Lord's laver, when even our laver contains the sacrament of the Trinity. The Lord willed to shew in His own case what He was after to ordain for men. Augustinus de fide ad Petrum.: Quamvis autem pater et filius et spiritus sanctus sint una natura, firmissime tamen tene tres esse personas; patremque solum esse qui dixit hic est filius meus dilectus, et filium solum esse super quem illa vox patris insonuit, et spiritum sanctum solum esse qui in specie columbae super Christum baptizatum descendit. Pseudo-Aug., Fulgent. de Fide ad Petrum. c. 9: Though Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one nature, yet do thou hold most firmly that They be Three Persons; that it is the Father alone who said, "this is my beloved Son;" the Son alone over whom that voice of the Father was heard; and the Holy Ghost alone who in the likeness of a dove descended on Christ at His baptism. Augustinus de Trin: Haec autem opera sunt totius Trinitatis. In sua quippe substantia pater et filius et spiritus sanctus unum sunt, sine ullis intervallis temporum vel locorum; in meis autem vocibus separati sunt pater, filius et spiritus sanctus, nec simul dici poterunt; et in litteris visibilibus sua separatim locorum spatia tenuerunt: quia similitudine utcumque cognoscitur, inseparabilem in seipsa Trinitatem per visibilis creaturae speciem separabiliter demonstrari. Quod autem solius patris vox sit, ostenditur ex hoc quod dicit hic est filius meus. Aug., de Trin. 4. 21: Here are deeds of the whole Trinity. In their own substance indeed Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are One without interval of either place or time; but in my mouth they are three separate words, and cannot be pronounced at the same time, and in written letters they fill each their several places. By this comparison may be understood how the Trinity in Itself indivisible may be manifested dividedly in the likeness of a visible creation. That the voice is that of the Father only is manifest from the words, "This is my Son." Hilarius in libro de Trin.: Non solum nomine contestatus est eum esse filium, sed proprietate. Multi enim nos filii Dei sumus, sed non talis est hic filius; hic enim et proprius et verus est filius: origine, non adoptione; veritate, non nuncupatione; nativitate, non creatione. Hilary, de Trin. iii. 11: He witnesses that He is His Son not in name merely, but in very kindred. Sons of God are we many of us; but not as He is a Son, a proper and true Son, in verity, not in estimation, by birth, not adoption. Augustinus super Ioannem: Pater autem diligit filium, sed quomodo pater filium, non quomodo dominus servum; sed quomodo unicum, non quomodo adoptatum. Et ideo subditur in quo mihi complacui. Aug., in Joann. tr. 14. 11: The Father loves the Son, but as a father should, not as a master may love a servant; and that as an own Son, not an adopted; therefore He adds, "in whom I am well-pleased." Remigius: Vel si ad humanitatem Christi referatur, si legatur in quo mihi complacui, quia istum solum reperi sine peccato. Si vero legatur in quo mihi complacuit, subauditur placitum meum constituere, ut per eum agerem quae agenda sunt, idest genus humanum redimerem. Remig.: Or if it be referred to the human nature of Christ, the sense is, I am pleased in Him, whom alone I have found without sin. Or according to another reading, "It hath pleased me" to appoint Him, by whom to perform those things I would perform, i.e. the redemption of the human race. Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Haec autem verba et alii duo, Marcus et Lucas, similiter narrant; sed de verbis vocis quae de caelo facta est, variant locutionem, salva tamen sententia. Quod enim Matthaeus ait dictum hic est filius meus dilectus, et alii duo dicunt: tu es filius meus dilectus, ad eamdem sententiam explicandam valet; vox enim caelestis unum horum dixit; sed Evangelista ostendere voluit ad id valere quod dictum est hic est filius meus, ut illis potius qui audiebant indicaretur quod ipse esset filius Dei; atque ita dictum referre voluit: tu es filius meus, ac si illi diceretur hic est filius meus. Non enim Christo indicabatur quod sciebat; sed audiebant qui aderant, propter quos vox facta est. Iam vero quod alius dicit in quo mihi complacui, alius: in te complacuit mihi, si quaeris quid horum illa voce sonuerit, quodlibet accipe, dum intelligas eos qui non eamdem locutionem retulerunt, eamdem retulisse sententiam; quod enim Deus in filio sibi complacuit, admonetur aliquis ex eo quod dictum est: in te complacuit; quod autem in filio pater placuerit hominibus, admonetur ex eo quod dictum est: in te complacuit mihi, seu intelligatur hoc dictum esse ab omnibus Evangelistis, tamquam diceretur: in te complacitum meum constitui; hoc est, implere quod mihi placet. Aug., de Cons. Evan., ii, 14: These words Mark and Luke give in the same way; in the words of the voice that came from Heaven, their expression varies though the sense is the [p. 116] same. For both the words as Matthew gives them, "This is my beloved Son," and as the other two, "Thou art my beloved Son," express the same sense in the speaker; (and the heavenly voice, no doubt, uttered one of these,) but one shews an intention of addressing the testimony thus borne to the Son to those who stood by; the other of addressing it to Himself, as if speaking to Christ He had said, "This is my Son." Not that Christ was taught what He knew before, but they who stood by heard it, for whose sake the voice came. Again, when one says, "in whom I am well-pleased;" another, "in thee it hath pleased me," if you ask which of these was actually pronounced by that voice; take which you will, only remembering that those who have not related the same words as were spoken have related the same sense. That God is well-pleased with His Son is signified in the first; that the Father is by the Son pleased with men is conveyed in the second form, "in thee it hath well-pleased me." Or you may understand this to have been the one meaning of all the Evangelists, In Thee have I put My good pleasure, i.e. to fulfil all My purpose.
Caput 4 Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 4 [p. 117] Lectio 1 1 τότε ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀνήχθη εἰς τὴν ἔρημον ὑπὸ τοῦ πνεύματος, πειρασθῆναι ὑπὸ τοῦ διαβόλου. 2 καὶ νηστεύσας ἡμέρας τεσσεράκοντα καὶ νύκτας τεσσεράκοντα
ὕστερον ἐπείνασεν.
1. Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil. 2. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward hungry.
Chrysostomus super Matth: Postquam baptizatus est dominus a Ioanne in aqua, ducitur a spiritu in desertum ut baptizaretur igne tentationis; unde dicitur tunc Iesus ductus est in desertum a spiritu. Tunc, scilicet quando pater clamavit de caelo: hic est filius meus dilectus. Pseudo-Chrys.: The Lord being baptized by John with water, is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be baptized by the fire of temptation. 'Then,' i.e. when the voice of the Father had been given from heaven. Chrysostomus in Matth: Quisquis ergo post Baptismum maiores sustines tentationes, non turberis; etenim propter hoc accepisti arma ut non cadas, sed ut praelieris. Ideo autem tentationem a te Deus non prohibet, primum quidem, ut discas quoniam multo factus es fortior; deinde ut magnitudine donorum non extollaris; tertio ut Diabolus experientia cognoscat quod perfecte ab eo abscessisti; quarto ut per hoc fortior reddaris; quinto ut crediti tibi thesauri signum accipias: neque enim Diabolus superveniret tibi ad tentandum, nisi te in maiori honore effectum videret. Chrys., Hom. 13: Whoever thou art then that after thy baptism sufferest grievous trials, be not troubled thereat; for this thou receivedst arms, to fight, not to sit idle. God does not hold all trial from us; first, that we may feel that we are become stronger; secondly, that we may not be puffed up by the greatness of the gifts we have received; thirdly, that the Devil may have experience that we have entirely renounced him; fourthly, that by it we may be made stronger; fifthly, that we may receive a sign of the treasure entrusted to us; for the Devil would not come upon us to tempt us, did he not see us advanced to greater honours. Hilarius in Matth.: In sanctificatis enim maxime Diaboli tentamenta grassantur quia victoria ei est magis optata de sanctis. Hilary: The Devil's snares are chiefly spread for the sanctified, because a victory over the saints is more desired than over others. Gregorius in Evang: Dubitari autem a quibusdam solet a quo spiritu sit ductus Iesus in desertum, propter hoc quod subditur assumpsit eum Diabolus in sanctam civitatem. Sed vere et absque ulla quaestione convenienter accipitur ut a spiritu sancto ductus esse credatur, ut illuc eum suus spiritus duceret ubi hunc ad tentandum spiritus malignus invenit. Greg., Hom. in Ev., 16, 1: Some doubt what Spirit it was that led Jesus into the desert, for that it is said after, "The Devil took him into the holy city." But true and without question agreeable to the context is the received opinion, that it was the Holy Spirit; that His own Spirit should lead Him thither where the evil spirit should find Him and try Him. Augustinus de Trin: Cur seipsum quoque tentandum praebuit? Ut ad superandas tentationes mediator esset, non solum per adiutorium, verum etiam per exemplum. Aug., de Trin., 4, 13: Why did He offer Himself to temptation? That He might be our mediator in vanquishing temptation not by aid only, but by example. Chrysostomus super Matth: Est autem ductus a spiritu sancto, non quasi minor maioris praecepto: non enim solum ductus dicitur qui alicuius potestate ducitur, sed etiam ille qui alicuius rationabili exhortatione placatur, sicut scriptum est de Andrea, quod invenit Simonem fratrem suum et adduxit eum ad Iesum. Pseudo-Chrys.: He was led by the Holy Spirit, not as an [p. 118] inferior at the bidding of a greater. For we say, "led," not only of him who is constrained by a stronger than he, but also of him who is induced by reasonable persuasion; as Andrew "found his brother Simon, and brought him to Jesus." Hieronymus: Ducitur autem non invitus aut captus, sed voluntate pugnandi. Jerome: "Led," not against His will, or as a prisoner, but as by a desire for the conflict. Chrysostomus super Matth: Ad homines enim Diabolus vadit ut tentet eos; quoniam autem adversus Christum Diabolus ire non poterat, ideo contra Diabolum Christus processit; unde dicitur ut tentaretur a Diabolo. Pseudo-Chrys.: The Devil comes against men to tempt them, but since He could not come against Christ, therefore Christ came against the Devil. Gregorius in Evang: Sed sciendum nobis est, quia tribus modis tentatio agitur: suggestione, delectatione et consensu; et nos cum tentamur, plerumque in delectationem aut in consensum labimur, quia de carnis peccato propagati in nobisipsis etiam gerimus unde certamina toleramus; Deus vero, qui in utero virginis incarnatus, in mundum sine peccato venerat, nihil contradictionis in semetipso tolerabat. Tentari ergo per suggestionem potuit, sed eius mentem peccati delectatio non momordit; atque ideo omnis diabolica illa tentatio, foris, non intus fuit. Greg.: We should know that there are three modes of temptation; suggestion, delight, and consent; and we when we are tempted commonly fall into delight or consent, because being born of the sin of the flesh, we bear with us whence we afford strength for the contest; but God who incarnate in the Virgin's womb came into the world without sin, carried within Him nothing of a contrary nature. He could then be tempted by suggestion; but the delight of sin never gnawed His soul, and therefore all that temptation of the Devil was without not within Him. Chrysostomus in Matth: Tunc autem maxime instat Diabolus ad tentandum cum viderit solitarios; unde etiam in principio mulierem tentavit sine viro eam inveniens; unde et sic per hoc etiam Diabolo datur occasio tentandi quod ducitur in desertum. Chrys.: The Devil is wont to be most urgent with temptation, when he sees us solitary; thus it was in the beginning he tempted the woman when he found her without the man, and now too the occasion is offered to the Devil, by the Saviour's being led into the desert. Glossa: Hoc desertum est in Ierusalem et Iericho ubi morabantur latrones, qui locus vocatur dammin, idest sanguinis, propter effusionem sanguinis quam ibi latrones faciebant; unde et homo cum descendisset a Ierusalem in Iericho incidisse dicitur in latrones, gerens figuram Adae, qui a Daemonibus victus est. Conveniens ergo fuit ut ibi Christus Diabolum superaret ubi Diabolus hominem sub figura superasse dictum est. Gloss. ap. Anselm: This desert is that between Jerusalem and Jericho, where the robbers used to resort. It is called Hammaim, i.e. 'of blood,' from the bloodshed which these robbers caused there; hence the man was said (in the parable) to have fallen among robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, being a figure of Adam, who was overcome by daemons. It was therefore fit that the place where Christ overcame the Devil, should be the same in which the Devil in the parable overcomes man. Chrysostomus super Matth: Non solum autem Christus ductus est in desertum a spiritu, sed et omnes filii Dei habentes spiritum sanctum: non enim sunt contenti sedere otiosi, sed spiritus sanctus urget eos aliquid magnum apprehendere opus, quod est ire in desertum quantum ad Diabolum, quia non est ibi iniustitia, qua Diabolus delectatur. Omne etiam bonum est extra carnem et mundum, quia non est secundum voluntatem carnis et mundi. Ad tale ergo desertum omnes filii Dei exeunt ut tententur: ut puta si non proposuisti ducere uxorem, duxit te spiritus sanctus in desertum, idest extra fines carnis et mundi, ut tenteris concupiscentia carnis: quomodo enim tentatur libidine qui tota die est cum uxore? Scire debemus, quod filii Dei non tentantur a Diabolo nisi in desertum exierint; filii autem Diaboli in carne et mundo constituti confringuntur et parent; sicut bonus homo, si uxorem habuerit, non fornicatur, sed sufficit ei uxor sua; malus autem etiam habens uxorem, fornicatur, et non est uxore contentus; et sic in omnibus invenies. Filii ergo Diaboli non exeunt ad Diabolum ut tententur. Quid enim opus habet ad certamen exire qui non desiderat vincere? Qui autem gloriosiores sunt filii Dei, extra fines carnis exeunt contra illum quia victoriae gloriam concupiscunt. Propterea et in hoc Christus exiit ad Diabolum ut tentaretur ab eo. Pseudo-Chrys.: Not Christ only is led into the desert by the Spirit, but also all the sons of God who have the Holy Spirit. For they are not content to sit idle, but the Holy Spirit stirs them to take up some great work, i.e. to go out into the desert where they shall meet with the Devil; for there is no righteousness wherewith the Devil is pleased. For all good is without the flesh and the world, because it is not according to the will of the flesh and the world. To such a desert then all [p. 119] the sons of God go out that they may be tempted. For example, if you are unmarried, the Holy Spirit has by that led you into the desert, that is, beyond the limits of the flesh and the world, that you may be tempted by lust. But he who is married is unmoved by such temptation. Let us learn that the sons of God are not tempted but when they have gone forth into the desert, but the children of the Devil whose life is in the flesh and the world are then overcome and obey; the good man, having a wife is content; the bad, though he have a wife is not therewith content, and so in all other things. The children of the Devil go not out to the Devil that they may be tempted. For what need that he should seek the strife who desires not victory? But the sons of God having more confidence and desirous of victory, go forth against him beyond the boundaries of the flesh. For this cause then Christ also went out to the Devil, that He might be tempted of him. Chrysostomus in Matth: Ut autem discas quam magnum bonum est ieiunium, et qualiter scutum est adversum Diabolum, et quoniam post Baptismum non lasciviae, sed ieiunio intendere oportet, ipse ieiunavit, non eo indigens, sed nos instruens. Chrys.: But that you may learn how great a good is fasting, and what a mighty shield against the Devil, and that after baptism you ought to give attention to fasting and not to lusts, therefore Christ fasted, not Himself needing it, but teaching us by His example. Chrysostomus super Matth: Et ut quadragesimi nostri ieiunii poneret mensuram, quadraginta diebus et quadraginta noctibus ieiunavit; unde sequitur et cum ieiunasset quadraginta diebus et quadraginta noctibus. Pseudo-Chrys.: And to fix the measure of our quadragesimal fast, be fasted forty days and forty nights. Chrysostomus in Matth: Non autem ultra processit ieiunando quam Moyses et Elias ne incredibilis videretur carnis assumptio. Chrys.: But He exceeded not the measure of Moses and Elias, lest it should bring into doubt the reality of His assumption of the flesh. Gregorius in Evang: Ipse autem auctor omnium in quadraginta diebus nullum omnino cibum sumpsit. Nos quoque quantum possumus, Quadragesimae tempore carnem nostram per abstinentiam affligamus. Quadragenarius autem numerus custoditur, quia virtus Decalogi per libros quatuor sancti Evangelii impletur; denarius etenim quater ductus, in quadragenarium surgit. Vel quia in hoc mortali corpore ex quatuor elementis subsistimus, per cuius voluptatem praeceptis dominicis contraimus, quae per Decalogum sunt accepta. Qui ergo per carnis desideria Decalogi mandata contempsimus, dignum est ut eamdem carnem quaterdecies affligamus. Vel sicut in lege offerre debemus decimas rerum, ita ei offerre contendimus decimas dierum. A prima enim dominica Quadragesimae usque ad paschalis solemnitatis gaudia sex hebdomadae veniunt, quarum dies quadraginta et duo sunt, ex quibus dum sex dies dominici ab abstinentia subtrahuntur, remanent triginta sex. Dum vero per tercentum sexaginta quinque dies annus ducitur, nos autem per trigintasex dies affligimur, quasi anni nostri decimas Deo damus. Greg., Hom. in Ev., 16, 5: The Creator of all things took no food whatever during forty days. We also, at the season of Lent as much as in us lies afflict our flesh by abstinence. The number forty is preserved, because the virtue of the decalogue is fulfilled in the books of the holy Gospel; and ten taken four times amounts to forty. Or, because in this mortal body we consist of four elements by the delights of which we go against the Lord's precepts received by the decalogue. And as we transgress the decalogue through the lusts of this flesh, it is fitting that we afflict the flesh forty-fold. Or, as by the Law we offer the tenth of our goods, so we strive to offer the tenth of our time. And from the first Sunday of Lent to the rejoicing of the paschal festival is a space of six weeks, or forty-two days, subtracting from which the six Sundays which are not kept there remain thirty-six. Now as the year [p. 120] consists of three hundred and sixty-five, by the affliction of these thirty-six we give the tenth of our year to God. Augustinus in Lib. 83 quaest.: Vel aliter. Omnis sapientiae disciplina est creatorem creaturamque cognoscere. Creator est Trinitas: pater et filius et spiritus sanctus; creatura vero partim est invisibilis, sicut anima, cui ternarius numerus tribuitur (diligere enim Deum tripliciter iubemur: ex toto corde, ex tota anima et ex tota mente), partim visibilis, sicut corpus, cui quaternarius debetur propter calidum et frigidum, humidum et siccum. Denarius ergo numerus, qui totam insinuat disciplinam, quater ductus, id est numero qui corpori debetur, multiplicatus, quia per corpus administratio geritur, quadragesimum numerum conficit, cuius partes aequales ad quinquaginta perveniunt; unum enim et duo et quatuor et quinque et octo et decem et viginti, quae sunt partes quadragenarii, simul iuncta, efficiunt quinquaginta. Et ideo tempus quo ingemiscimus et dolemus quadragenario numero celebratur. Status autem beatitudinis, in quo erit gaudium, quinquagesimae celebratione praefiguratur, idest a Pascha usque ad Pentecosten. Aug., Lib. 83. Quest. q. 81: Otherwise; The sum of all wisdom is to be acquainted with the Creator and the creature. The Creator is the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; the creature is partly invisible, - as the soul to which we assign a threefold nature, (as in the command to love God with the whole heart, mind, and soul,) - partly visible as the body, which we divide into four elements; the hot, the cold, the liquid, the solid. The number ten then, which stands for the whole law of life, taken four times, that is, multiplied by that number which we assign for the body, because by the body the law is obeyed or disobeyed, makes the number forty. All the aliquot parts in this number, viz. 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 20, taken together make up the number 50. Hence the time of our sorrow and affliction is fixed at forty days; the state of blessed joy which shall be hereafter is figured in the quinquagesimal festival, i.e. the fifty days from Easter to Pentecost. Augustinus in Serm. de Quadragesima: Non autem quia Christus post acceptum Baptismum continuo ieiunavit, regulam observationis dedisse credendum est, ut post Christi Baptismum continuo ieiunare necesse sit. Sed quando acriori certamine cum tentatore confligitur, ieiunandum est, ut corpus impleat de castigatione militiam et animus impetret de humiliatione victoriam. Aug., Serm. 210, 2: Not however because Christ fasted immediately after having received baptism, are we to suppose that He established a rule to be observed, that we should fast immediately after His baptism. But when the conflict with the tempter is sore, then we ought to fast, that the body may fulfil its warfare by chastisement, and the soul obtain victory by humiliation. Chrysostomus super Matth: Sciebat autem dominus cogitationem Diaboli, quia volebat eum tentare: audierat enim quia Christus natus est in hoc mundo Angelis praedicantibus, pastoribus referentibus, magis quaerentibus et Ioanne ostendente. Unde dominus processit contra eum, non quasi Deus, sed quasi homo; magis autem quasi Deus et homo. Nam per quadraginta dies non esurire non erat hominis; aliquando autem esurire non erat Dei. Unde esurivit, ne manifeste intelligatur Deus, et sic Diaboli spem tentandi extingueret, suam autem victoriam impediret; unde sequitur postea esuriit. Pseudo-Chrys.: The Lord knew the thoughts of the Devil, that he sought to tempt Him; he had heard that Christ had been born into this world with the preaching of Angels, the witness of shepherds, the inquiry of the Magi, and the testimony of John. Thus the Lord proceeded against him, not as God, but as man, or rather both as God and man. For in forty days of fasting not to have been "an hungred" was not as man; to be ever "an hungred" was not as God. He was "an hungred" then that the God might not be certainly manifested, and so the hopes of the Devil in tempting Him be extinguished, and His own victory hindered. Hilarius in Matth.: Nam post quadraginta dies, non in quadraginta diebus esuriit. Igitur cum dominus esuriit, non inediae surrepsit operatio, sed naturae suae hominem dereliquit. Non enim erat a Deo Diabolus, sed a carne vincendus. Qua rerum ratione indicat, post quadraginta dierum consummationem, quibus post passionem in saeculo erat commoratus, esuritionem se humanae salutis habiturum; quo in tempore expectatum Deo patri munus, hominem quem assumpserat, reportavit. Hilary: He was "an hungred," not during the forty days, but after them. Therefore when the Lord hungred, it was not that the effects of abstinence then first came upon Him, but that His humanity was left to its own strength. For the Devil was to be overcome, not by the God, but by the flesh. By this [p. 121] was figured, that after those forty days which He was to tarry on earth after His passion were accomplished, He should hunger for the salvation of man, at which time He carried back again to God His Father the expected gift, the humanity which He had taken on Him.
Lectio 2 3 καὶ προσελθὼν ὁ πειράζων εἶπεν αὐτῷ, εἰ υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ θεοῦ, εἰπὲ ἵνα οἱ λίθοι οὗτοι ἄρτοι γένωνται. 4 ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν, γέγραπται, οὐκ ἐπ' ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ παντὶ ῥήματι ἐκπορευομένῳ διὰ στόματος θεοῦ.
3. And when the Tempter came to Him, he said, "If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." 4. But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.' "
Chrysostomus super Matth: Quia Diabolus videns per quadraginta dies Christum ieiunantem desperaverat, postquam esurientem sensit, iterum coepit sperare; unde sequitur et accedens tentator. Si ergo ieiunaveris et tenteris, ne dicas quia perdidi fructum ieiunii mei; nam etsi non tibi profuit ieiunium tuum ut non tenteris, tamen proficiet ut a tentationibus non vincaris. Pseudo-Chrys.: The Devil who had begun to despair when he saw that Christ fasted forty days, now again began to hope when he saw that "he was an hungred;" and "then the tempter came to him." If then you shall have fasted and after been tempted, say not, I have lost the fruit of my fast; for though it have not availed to hinder temptation, it will avail to hinder you from being overcome by temptation. Gregorius in Evang: Sed si ipsum ordinem tentationis aspicimus, pensamus quanta magnitudine nos a tentatione liberamur. Antiquus enim hostis primum hominem ex gula tentavit cum cibum ligni vetitum ad comedendum suasit; ex vana gloria, cum diceret: eritis sicut dii; ex avaritia, cum diceret: scientes bonum et malum: avaritia enim non solum pecuniae est, sed etiam altitudinis, cum supra modum sublimitas ambitur. Quibus autem modis primum hominem stravit, istis modis secundo homini tentato succubuit. Per gulam tentat, cum dicit dic ut lapides isti panes fiant; per vanam gloriam cum dicit si filius Dei es, mitte te deorsum; per sublimitatis avaritiam, cum regna mundi ostendit, dicens haec omnia tibi dabo. Greg.: If we observe the successive steps of the temptation, we shall be able to estimate by how much we are freed from temptation. The old enemy tempted the first man through his belly, when he persuaded him to eat of the forbidden fruit; through ambition when he said, "Ye shall be as gods;" through covetousness when he said, "Knowing good and evil;" for there is a covetousness not only of money, but of greatness, when a high estate above our measure is sought. By the same method in which he had overcome the first Adam, in that same was he overcome when he tempted the second Adam. He tempted through the belly when he said, "Command that these stones become loaves;" through ambition when he said, "If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence;" through covetousness of lofty condition in the words, "All these things will I give thee." Ambrosius super Lucam: Inde autem coepit unde iam vicerat, scilicet a gula; unde dixit ei si filius Dei es, dic ut lapides isti panes fiant. Quid autem sibi vult talis sermonis exorsus, nisi quia cognoverat Dei filium esse venturum, sed venisse per infirmitatem corporis non putabat? Aliud explorantis, aliud tentantis est; et Deo se profitetur credere, et homini conatur illudere. Ambrose, Ambros. in Luc., c. 4. 3: He begins with that which had once been the means of his victory, the palate; "If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves." What means such a beginning as this, but that he knew that the Son of God was to come, yet believed not that He was come on account of His fleshly [p. 122] infirmity. His speech is in part that of an enquirer, in part that of a tempter; he professes to believe Him God, he strives to deceive Him as man. Hilarius in Matth.: Eam ergo in tentando conditionem operis proposuit, per quam in Deo ex mutatione lapidum in panes virtutem potestatis agnosceret, et in homine oblectamento cibi potentiam esurientis illuderet. Hilary: And therefore in the temptation he makes a proposal of such a double kind by which His divinity would be made known by the miracle of the transformation, the weakness of the man deceived by the delight of food. Hieronymus: Sed duobus contrariis teneris, o Diabole: si ad imperium eius possunt lapides panes fieri, ergo frustra tentas eum qui tantae potentiae est; si autem non potest facere, frustra Dei filium suspicaris. Jerome: But thou art caught, O Enemy, in a dilemma. If these stones can be made bread at His word, your temptation is vain against one so mighty. If He cannot make them bread, your suspicions that this is the Son of God must be vain. Chrysostomus super Matth: Sicut autem Diabolus omnes excaecabat, sic modo invisibiliter a Christo est excaecatus. Post quadraginta enim dies esurientem sensit, et per quadraginta non esurientem non intellexit. Cum suspicatus est eum non esse filium Dei, non cogitavit quoniam fortis athleta ad ea quae infirma sunt descendere potest; infirmus autem ad ea quae fortia sunt ascendere non potest. Magis ergo ex eo quod per tot dies non esuriit, intelligere debuit quia Deus est, quam ex eo quod post tot dies esuriit, quia homo est. Sed dicit: Moyses et Elias quadraginta dies ieiunaverunt, et homines erant. Sed illi ieiunantes esuriebant et sustinebant, iste quadraginta diebus non esuriit, sed postea. Esurire enim et non manducare, patientiae est humanae; non esurire autem, divinae naturae. Pseudo-Chrys.: But as the Devil blinds all men, so is he now invisibly made blind by Christ. He found Him "an hungred" at the end of forty days, and knew not that He had continued through those forty without being hungry. When he suspected Him not to be the Son of God, he considered not that the mighty Champion can descend to things that be weak, but the weak cannot ascend to things that are high. We may more readily infer from His not being "an hungred" for so many days that He is God, than from His being "an hungred" after that time that He is man. But it may be said, Moses and Elias fasted forty days, and were men. But they hungred and endured, He for the space of forty days hungred not, but afterwards. To be hungry and yet refuse food is within the endurance of man; not be hungry belongs to the Divine nature only. Hieronymus: Propositum autem Christi erat humilitate vincere; unde adversarium vicit testimoniis legis, non potestate virtutis, ut hoc ipso et hominem plus honoraret et adversarium plus puniret, cum hostis generis humani non quasi a Deo, sed quasi ab homine vinceretur; unde sequitur qui respondens, dixit ei: scriptum est: non in solo pane vivit homo, sed in omni verbo quod procedit de ore Dei. Jerome: Christ's purpose was to vanquish by humility; Leo, Serm. 39, 3: hence he opposed the adversary rather by testimonies out of the Law, than by miraculous powers; thus at the same time giving more honour to man, and more disgrace to the adversary, when the enemy of the human race thus seemed to be overcome by man rather than by God. Gregorius in Evang: Sic ergo tentatus a Diabolo dominus, sacri eloquii praecepta respondit; et qui tentatorem suum mergere in abyssum poterat, virtutem suae potentiae non ostendit, quatenus nobis praeberet exemplum ut quoties a pravis hominibus aliquid patimur, ad doctrinam excitemur potius quam ad vindictam. Greg.: So the Lord when tempted by the Devil answered only with precepts of Holy Writ, and He who could have drowned His tempter in the abyss, displayed not the might of His power; giving us an example, that when we suffer any thing at the hands of evil men, we should be stirred up to learning rather than to revenge. Chrysostomus super Matth: Non autem dixit: non in solo pane vivo, ne videatur de se dictum esse; sed non in solo pane vivit homo, ut posset Diabolus dicere si filius Dei es. Abscondit se ut non ostendatur; quod potest, si homo est; astute excusat se, ne ostendatur non posse. Pseudo-Chrys.: He said not, 'I live not,' but, "Man doth not live by bread alone," that the Devil might still ask, "If thou be the Son of God." If He be God, it is as though He shunned [p. 123] to display what He had power to do; if man, it is a crafty will that His want of power should not be detected. Rabanus: Testimonium autem hoc de Deuteronomio sumptum est. Ergo si quis non vescitur verbo Dei, iste non vivit, quia sicut corpus humanum non vivit sine terreno cibo, ita et anima vivere non potest sine Dei verbo. Procedere autem verbum de ore Dei dicitur cum voluntatem suam per Scripturarum testimonia revelat. Rabanus: This verse is quoted from Deuteronomy. [margin note: c. 8. 3] Whoso then feeds not on the Word of God, he lives not; as the body of man cannot live without earthly food, so cannot his soul without God's word. This word is said to proceed out of the mouth of God, where he reveals His will by Scripture testimonies.
Lectio 3 5 τότε παραλαμβάνει αὐτὸν ὁ διάβολος εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν πόλιν, καὶ ἔστησεν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὸ πτερύγιον τοῦ ἱεροῦ, 6 καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ, εἰ υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ θεοῦ, βάλε σεαυτὸν κάτω: γέγραπται γὰρ ὅτι τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ ἐντελεῖται περὶ σοῦ καὶ ἐπὶ χειρῶν ἀροῦσίν σε, μήποτε προσκόψῃς πρὸς λίθον τὸν πόδα σου. 7 ἔφη αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς, πάλιν γέγραπται, οὐκ ἐκπειράσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου.
5. Then the Devil taketh Him up into the holy city, and setteth Him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6. And saith unto Him, "If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down; for it is written, 'He shall give His Angels charge concerning Thee:' and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone." 7. Jesus said unto Him, "It is written again, 'Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.' "
Chrysostomus super Matth: Cum ex praemisso Christi responso nihil certum discere Diabolus potuisset utrum Christus Deus esset an homo, assumpsit eum ad aliam tentationem, dicens apud se: iste qui fame non vincitur, etsi filius Dei non est, tamen sanctus est. Valent enim homines sancti fame non vinci; sed postquam omnem necessitatem carnis vicerunt, per vanam gloriam cadunt; ideo coepit eum tentare in gloria vana; propter quod sequitur tunc assumpsit eum Diabolus in sanctam civitatem. Pseudo-Chrys.: From this first answer of Christ, the Devil could learn nothing certain whether He were God or man; he therefore betook him to another temptation, saying within himself; This man who is not sensible of the appetite of hunger, if not the Son of God, is yet a holy man; and such do attain strength not to be overcome by hunger; but when they have subdued every necessity of the flesh, they often fall by desire of empty glory. Therefore he began to tempt Him by this empty glory. Hieronymus: Assumptio ista non ex imbecillitate domini venit, sed de inimici superbia, qui voluntatem salvatoris necessitatem putat. Jerome: "Took him," not because the Lord was weak, but the enemy proud; he imputed to a necessity what the Saviour did willingly. Rabanus: Sancta autem civitas Ierusalem dicebatur, in qua templum Dei erat et sancta sanctorum et cultus unius Dei secundum legem Moysi. Rabanus: Jerusalem was called the Holy City, for in it was the Temple of God, the Holy of holies, and the worship of the one God according to the law of Moses. Remigius: In quo ostenditur quia Diabolus fidelibus Christi etiam in sanctis locis insidiatur. Remig.: This shews that the Devil lies in wait for Christ's faithful people even in the sacred places. Gregorius in Evang: Sed ecce dum dicitur Deus homo in sanctam civitatem a Diabolo assumptus, humanae aures audire expavescunt; iniquorum tamen omnium Diabolus caput est. Quid autem mirum si se ab illo permisit in montem duci, qui se permisit a membris illius crucifigi? Gregory: Behold when it is said that this God was taken by the Devil into the holy city, pious ears tremble to hear, and yet the Devil is head and chief among the wicked; what wonder that He suffered Himself to be led up a mountain by the wicked one himself, who suffered Himself to be crucified by his members. [p. 124] Glossa: Diabolus enim semper ad alta ducit elevando per iactantiam, ut praecipitare possit; ideo sequitur et statuit eum supra pinnaculum templi. Gloss. ord.: The Devil places us on high places by exalting with pride, that he may dash us to the ground again. Remigius: Pinnaculum sedes erat doctorum: templum enim non habebat culmen erectum sicut nostrae domus habent, sed et planum erat desuper more Palaestinorum, et in ipso templo tria tabulata erant. Et sciendum, quia in pavimento pinnaculum erat, et in unoquoque tabulato pinnaculum erat. Sive ergo statuerit eum in illo pinnaculo quod erat in pavimento, sive in illis quae erant in primo, secundo vel tertio tabulato, intelligendum est quod in illo statuisset eum unde aliquod praecipitium esse potuit. Remig.: The "pinnacle" is the seat of the doctors; for the temple had not a pointed roof like our houses, but was flat on the top after the manner of the country of Palestine, and in the temple were three stories. It should be known that "the pinnacle" was on the floor, and in each story was one pinnacle. Whether then he placed Him on the pinnacle in the first story, or that in the second, or the third, he placed Him whence a fall was possible. Glossa: Nota vero, haec omnia corporeis sensibus esse completa: si enim verba ad invicem conferuntur, in specie hominis Diabolum apparuisse verisimile est. Gloss. ord.: Observe here that all these things were done with bodily sense, and by careful comparison of the context it seems probable that the Devil appeared in human form. Chrysostomus Sup. Matth.: Sed forte dicis: quomodo in corpore constitutum videntibus omnibus statuit supra templum? Sed forsitan Diabolus sic eum assumebat ut ab omnibus videretur; ipse autem, nesciente Diabolo, invisibiliter sic agebat ut a nemine videretur. Pseudo-Chrys.: Perhaps you may say, How could he in the sight of all place Him bodily upon the temple? Perhaps the Devil so took Him as though He were visible to all, while He, without the Devil being aware of it, made Himself invisible. Glossa: Ideo autem duxit eum supra pinnaculum, cum vellet eum de vana gloria tentare, quia in cathedra doctorum multos deceperat inani gloria, et ideo putavit istum positum in sede magisterii inani gloria extolli posse; unde sequitur et dixit: si filius Dei es, mitte te deorsum. Gloss, ap. Anselm: He set Him on a pinnacle of the temple when he would tempt Him through ambition, because in this seat of the doctors he had before taken many through the same temptation, and therefore thought that when set in the same seat, He might in like manner be puffed up with vain pride. Hieronymus: In omnibus enim tentationibus hoc agit Diabolus ut intelligat si filius Dei sit. Dicit autem mitte te, quia vox Diaboli, qua semper homines cadere deorsum desiderat, persuadere potest, praecipitare non potest. Jerome: In the several temptations the single aim of the Devil is to find if He be the Son of God, but he is so answered as at last to depart in doubt; He says, "Cast thyself," because the voice of the Devil, which is always called men downwards, has power to persuade them, but may not compel them to fall. Chrysostomus super Matth: Per hanc autem propositionem quomodo poterat cognoscere si est filius Dei, an non? Volare enim per aerem non est proprie opus Dei, quia nulli utile est. Si ergo aliquis volaverit provocatus, propter ostentationem solam hoc facit, et est potius ex Diabolo quam ex Deo. Si ergo homini sapienti sufficit esse quod est et non est necessarium ei apparere quod non est, quanto magis filius Dei ostendere se necessarium non habet, de quo nemo potest tantum cognoscere quantum est apud se? Pseudo-Chrys.: How does he expect to discover by this proposition whether He be the Son of God or not? For to fly through the air is not proper to the Divine nature, for it is not useful to any. If then any were to attempt to fly when challenged to it, he would be acting from ostentation, and would belong rather to the Devil than to God. If it is enough to a wise man to be what he is, and he has no wish to seem what he is not, how much more should the Son of God hold it not necessary to shew what He is; He of whom none can know so much as He is in Himself? Ambrosius super Lucam: Sed quia Satanas transfigurat se sicut Angelum lucis et de Scripturis ipsis divinis laqueum fidelibus parat, utitur testimoniis Scripturarum, non ut doceat, sed ut fallat; unde sequitur scriptum est enim: quia Angelis suis mandavit de te. Ambrose: But as Satan transfigures himself into an Angel of light, and spreads a snare for the faithful, even from the divine Scriptures, so now he uses its texts, not to instruct [p. 125] but to deceive. Hieronymus: Hoc enim in Psalmo 90, 11 legimus; verum ibi non de Christo, sed de viro sancto prophetia est. Male ergo Diabolus interpretatur Scripturas. Jerome: This verse we read in the ninetieth Psalm, [Ps 91:11] but that is a prophecy not of Christ, but of some holy man, so the Devil interprets Scripture amiss. Chrysostomus super Matth: Vere enim filius Dei Angelorum manibus non portatur, sed ipse magis Angelos portat; et si portatur manibus Angelorum, non ut offendat ad lapidem pedem suum, quasi infirmus, sed propter honorem, quasi dominus. O Diabole, quoniam filius Dei manibus portatur legisti, et quia super aspidem et basiliscum calcat, non legisti? Sed illud quidem exemplum profert quasi superbus, hoc autem tacet quasi astutus. Pseudo-Chrys.: For the Son of God in truth is not borne of Angels, but Himself bears them, or if He be borne in their arms, it is not from weakness, lest He dash His foot against a stone, but for the honour. O thou Devil, thou hast read that the Son of God is borne in Angels' arms, hast thou not also read that He shall tread upon the asp and basilisk? But the one text he brings forward as proud, the other he omits as crafty. Chrysostomus in Matth: Intuere etiam quia testimonia a domino allata sunt convenienter, a Diabolo autem indecenter: non enim quod scriptum est Angelis suis mandavit de te, et in manibus tollent te, suadet proiicere seipsum et praecipitare. Chrys.: Observe that Scripture is brought forward by the Lord only with an apt meaning, but by the Devil irreverently; for that where it is written, "He shall give his Angels charge over thee," is not an exhortation to cast Himself headlong. Glossa: Est ergo sic exponendum. Ait enim Scriptura de quolibet bono homine, quod Angelis suis, id est administratoribus spiritibus, praecepit de ipso quod in manibus suis, idest in auxiliis suis, tollant eum et custodiant ne offendat pedem, idest affectum mentis, ad lapidem idest ad veterem legem scriptam in lapideis tabulis. Vel per lapidem potest intelligi omnis peccati occasio et ruinae. Gloss. ap. Anselm: We must explain thus; Scripture says of any good man, that He has given it in charge to His Angels, that is to His ministering spirits, to bear him in their hands, i.e. by their aid to guard him that he dash not his foot against a stone, i.e. keep his heart that it stumble not at the old law written in tables of stone. Or by the stone may be understood every occasion of sin and error. Rabanus: Notandum est autem, quod salvator noster licet permisisset se a Diabolo supra pinnaculum templi poni, tamen renuit ad imperium eius descendere, nobis exemplum donans, ut quisquis imperaverit viam veritatis arctam nos ascendere, obtemperemus. Si autem vult nos de altitudine veritatis et virtutum ad ima erroris et vitiorum praecipitare, non illum audiamus. Rabanus: It should be noted, that though our Saviour suffered Himself to be placed by the Devil on a pinnacle of the temple, yet refused to come down also at his command, giving us an example, that whosoever bids us ascend the strait way of truth we should obey. But if he would again cast us down from the height of truth and virtue to the depth of error we should not hearken to him. Hieronymus: Falsas autem de Scripturis Diaboli sagittas veris Scripturarum frangit clypeis; unde sequitur ait illi rursus Iesus: scriptum est: non tentabis dominum Deum tuum. Jerome: The false Scripture darts of the Devil He brands with the true shield of Scripture. Hilarius in Matth.: Diaboli enim conatus contundens, et Deum se protestatur et dominum. Hilary: Thus beating down the efforts of the Devil, He professes Himself both God and Lord. Chrysostomus super Matth: Non autem dixit: non tentabis me dominum Deum tuum; sed ita: non tentabis dominum Deum tuum, quod poterat dicere omnis homo Dei tentatus a Diabolo, quoniam et qui hominem Dei tentat, Deum tentat. Pseudo-Chrys.: Yet He says not, Thou shalt not tempt me thy Lord God; but, "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God;" which every man of God when tempted by the Devil might say; for whoso tempts a man of God, tempts God. Rabanus: Vel aliter. Suggerebatur ei quasi homini ut aliquo signo exploraret quantum Deus posset. Rabanus: Otherwise, it was a suggestion to Him, as man, that He should seek by requiring some miracle to know the greatness of God's power. Augustinus contra Faustum: Pertinet autem ad sanam doctrinam, quando habet homo quid faciat, non tentare dominum Deum suum. Aug., contr. Faust., 22, 36: It is a part of sound doctrine, that when man has any other means, he should not tempt the Lord his God. Theodotus: Tentat enim Deum qui sine ratione obiiciens se periculo, quidpiam agit. Theod. non occ.: And it is to tempt [p. 126] God, in any thing to expose one's self to danger without cause. Hieronymus: Et notandum, quod necessaria testimonia de Deuteronomio tantum protulit, ut secundae legis sacramenta monstraret. Jerome: It should be noted, that the required texts are taken from the book of Deuteronomy only, that He might shew the sacraments of the second Law.
Lectio 4 8 πάλιν παραλαμβάνει αὐτὸν ὁ διάβολος εἰς ὄρος ὑψηλὸν λίαν, καὶ δείκνυσιν αὐτῷ πάσας τὰς βασιλείας τοῦ κόσμου καὶ τὴν δόξαν αὐτῶν, 9 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ, ταῦτά σοι πάντα δώσω ἐὰν πεσὼν προσκυνήσῃς μοι. 10 τότε λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ὕπαγε, σατανᾶ: γέγραπται γάρ, κύριον τὸν θεόν σου προσκυνήσεις καὶ αὐτῷ μόνῳ λατρεύσεις. 11 τότε ἀφίησιν αὐτὸν ὁ διάβολος, καὶ ἰδοὺ ἄγγελοι προσῆλθον καὶ διηκόνουν αὐτῷ.
8. Again, the Devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9. And saith unto Him, "All these things will I give Thee, if Thee wilt fall down and worship me." 10. Then saith Jesus unto him, "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, 'Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.' " 11. Then the Devil leaveth Him, and, behold Angels came and ministered unto Him.
Chrysostomus super Matth: Diabolus ex secundo responso incertus, transit ad tertiam tentationem: quia enim Christus retia ventris disruperat, retia vanae gloriae transiverat, ponit ei retia avaritiae; propter quod dicitur iterum assumpsit eum Diabolus in montem excelsum valde, quem scilicet Diabolus circuiens omnem terram excelsiorem ceteris cognoscebat. Quanto enim excelsior fuerit mons, tanto ex eo spatiosior terra videtur; unde sequitur et ostendit ei omnia regna mundi et gloriam eorum. Ostendit autem ita non ut ipse regna vel civitates eorum vel populos vel argentum vel aurum videret, sed partes terrae in quibus unumquodque regnum vel civitas posita erat: ut puta, si ascendens super excelsum locum digito extenso dicam tibi: ecce ibi est Roma aut Alexandria, non sic ostendo tibi ut ipsas videas civitates, sed partes terrae in quibus positae sunt; sic et Diabolus poterat Christo singula loca demonstrare digito et uniuscuiusque regni honores et statum verbis exponere: nam ostensum dicitur etiam quod exponitur ad intelligendum. Pseudo-Chrys.: The Devil, left in uncertainty by this second reply, passes to a third temptation. Christ had broken the nets of appetite, had passed over those of ambition, he now spreads for Him those of covetousness; "He taketh him up into a very high mountain," such as in going round about the earth he had noticed rising above the rest. The higher the mountain, the wider the view from it. He shews Him not so as that they truly saw the very kingdoms, cities, nations, their silver and their gold; but the quarters of the earth where each kingdom and city lay. As suppose from some high ground I were to point out to you, see there lies Rome, there Alexandria; you are not supposed to see the towns themselves, but the quarter in which they lie. Thus the Devil might point out the several quarters with his finger, and recount in words the greatness of each kingdom and its condition; for that is said to be shewn which is in any way presented to the understanding. Origenes super Lucam: Vel aliter. Non est arbitrandum quod regna ei mundi ostendens, Persarum verbi gratia regnum Indorumque ostenderit; sed ostendit ei regnum suum, quomodo regnaret in mundo, idest quomodo alii regnentur a fornicatione, alii ab avaritia. Origen, in Luc., Hom. 30: We are not to suppose that when he shewed him the kingdoms of the world, he presented before Him the kingdom of Persia, for instance, or India; but he shewed his own kingdom, how he reigns in the world, that is, how some are governed by fornication, some by avarice. Remigius: Gloriam eorum appellat aurum, argentum et lapides pretiosos et temporalia bona. Remig.: By "their glory," [p. 127] is meant, their gold and silver, precious stones and temporal goods. Rabanus: Ostendit autem haec Diabolus domino, non quod ipse visum eius amplificare potuerit aut aliquid ignotum demonstrare, sed vanitatem pompae mundanae, quam ipse diligebat, quasi speciosam ac desiderabilem verbis ostendens, in amorem Christo suggerens venire volebat. Rabanus: The Devil shews all this to the Lord, not as though he had power to extend his vision or shew Him any thing unknown. But setting forth in speech as excellent and pleasant, that vain worldly pomp wherein himself delighted, he thought by suggestion of it, to create in Christ a love of it. Glossa: Qui non concupiscentiae oculo intuetur sicut nos, sed sicut medici vident morbos sine laesione. Gloss. ord.: He saw not, as we see, with the eye of lust, but as a physician looks on disease without receiving any hurt. Hieronymus: Sequitur et dixit illi: haec omnia tibi dabo. Arrogans et superbus de iactantia loquitur: non enim potest omnia regna dare, cum sciamus plerosque sanctos viros a Deo reges factos. Jerome: An arrogant and vain vaunt; for he hath not the power to bestow all kingdoms, since many of the saints have, we know, been make kings of God. Chrysostomus super Matth: Sed eas quae per iniquitatem fiunt in mundo, ut puta per furtum aut per periuria acquisitas divitias Diabolus dat. Non ergo Diabolus quibus vult divitias dare potest, sed his qui volunt ab illo recipere. Pseudo-Chrys.: But such things as are gotten by iniquity in this world, as riches, for instance, gained by fraud or perjury, these the Devil bestows. The Devil therefore cannot give riches to whom he will, but to those only who are willing to receive them of him. Remigius: Miranda etiam est Diaboli dementia. Illi promittebat dare regna terrena qui suis fidelibus dat regna caelestia, et gloriam mundi ei qui est caelestis gloriae dominus. Remig.: Wonderful infatuation in the Devil! To promise earthly kingdoms to Him who gives heavenly kingdoms to His faithful people, and the glory of earth to Him who is Lord of the glory of heaven! Ambrosius super Lucam: Habet autem ambitio domesticum periculum: ut enim dominetur aliis prius servit, curvatur obsequio ut honore dominetur, et dum vult esse sublimior fit remissior. Unde aperte subditur si cadens adoraveris me. Ambrose, in Luc., c. iv, 11: Ambition has its dangers at home; that it may govern, it is first others' slave; it bows in flattery that it may rule in honour; and while it would be exalted, it is made to stoop. Glossa: Ecce antiqua Diaboli superbia. Sicut enim in principio voluit se similem Deo facere, ita nunc volebat divinum sibi usurpare cultum, dicens si cadens adoraveris me. Ergo qui adoraturus est Diabolum, ante corruit. Sequitur tunc dicit ei Iesus: vade, Satana. Gloss. non occ.: See the Devil's pride as of old. In the beginning he sought to make himself equal with God, now he seeks to usurp the honours due to God, saying, "If thou wilt fall down and worship me." Who then worships the Devil must first fall down. Chrysostomus super Matth: In quo finem tentandi Diabolo ponit, ne progrediatur ulterius tentans. Pseudo-Chrys.: With these words He puts an end to the temptations of the Devil, that they should proceed not further. Hieronymus: Non autem, ut plerique putant, eadem Satanas et Petrus condemnantur sententia. Petro enim dicitur: vade retro me, Satana, idest sequere me qui contrarius es meae voluntati; huic autem dicitur vade, Satana; et non ei dicitur retro, ut subaudiatur: vade in ignem aeternum qui paratus est tibi et Angelis tuis. Jerome: The Devil and Peter are not, as many suppose, condemned to the same sentence. To Peter it is said, "Get thee behind me, Satan;" i.e. follow thou behind Me who art contrary to My will. But here it is, "Go, Satan," and is not added, 'behind Me,' that we may understand "into the fire prepared for thee and thy angels." Remigius: Vel, secundum alia exempla: vade retro, idest, reminiscere, recordare in quanta gloria conditus fuisti et in quantam miseriam cecidisti. Remig.: Other copies read, "Get thee behind me;" i.e. remember thee in what glory thou wast created, and into what misery thou hast fallen. Chrysostomus super Matth: Videndum autem quia Christus cum passus fuisset tentationis iniuriam, dicente sibi Diabolo si filius Dei es, mitte te deorsum, non est turbatus neque Diabolum increpavit. Nunc autem quando Diabolus usurpavit sibi Dei honorem, exasperatus est, et repulit eum dicens vade, Satana, ut nos illius discamus exemplo nostras quidem iniurias magnanimiter sustinere, Dei autem iniurias nec usque ad auditum sufferre, quoniam in propriis iniuriis esse quempiam patientem laudabile est, iniurias autem Dei dissimulare nimis est impium. Pseudo-Chrys.: Observe how Christ when Himself suffered wrong at the hands of the Devil, being tempted of him, saying, "If thou be the Son of God, cast [p. 128] thyself down," yet was not moved to chide the Devil. But now when the Devil usurps the honour of God, he is wroth, and drives him away, saying, "Go thy way, Satan;" that we may learn by His example to bear injuries to ourselves with magnanimity, but wrongs to God, to endure not so much as to hear; for to be patient under our own wrongs is praiseworthy, to dissemble when God is wronged is impiety. Hieronymus: Dicens autem Diabolus salvatori si cadens adoraveris me, e contrario audit, quod ipse magis adorare eum debeat dominum et Deum suum. Jerome: When the Devil says to the Saviour, "If thou wilt fall down and worship me," he is answered by the contrary declaration, that it more becomes him to worship Jesus as his Lord and God. Augustinus contra sermonem Arianorum: Unde sequitur scriptum est enim: dominum Deum tuum adorabis et illi soli servies. Unus dominus Deus noster est ipsa Trinitas, cui soli servitutem pietatis iure debemus. Aug., cont. Serm. Arian, 29: The one Lord our God is the Holy Trinity, to which alone we justly owe the service of piety. Augustinus de Civ. Dei: Nomine autem servitutis, cultus Deo debitus intelligitur: latriam quippe nostri, ubicumque sanctarum Scripturarum positum est, interpretati sunt servitutem; sed ea servitus quae debetur hominibus, secundum quam praecepit apostolus servos dominis suis subditos esse debere, Graece nuncupari solet dulia; latria vero aut semper, aut tam frequenter ut pene semper, ea servitus dicitur quae pertinet ad colendum Deum. Aug., City of God, book 10, ch. 1: By service is to be understood the honour due to God; as our version renders the Greek words, 'latria,' wherever it occurs in Scripture, by 'service' (servitus), but that service which is due to men (as where the Apostle bids slaves be subject to their master) is in Greek called 'dulia;' while 'latria,' always, or so often that we say always, is used of that worship which belongs to God. Chrysostomus super Matth: Diabolus autem, sicut, rationabiliter intelligi potest, non quasi obediens praecepto recessit, sed divinitas Christi et spiritus sanctus qui erat in eo excussit inde Diabolum; unde sequitur tunc reliquit eum Diabolus. Quod ad nostram proficit consolationem, quia non tamdiu homines Dei Diabolus tentat quamdiu vult, sed quamdiu Christus permittit. Etsi permittit eum paulisper tentare, tamen repellit propter infirmam naturam. Pseudo-Chrys.: The Devil, we may fairly suppose, did not depart in obedience to the command, but the Divine nature of Christ, and the Holy Spirit which was in Him drove him thence, and "then the Devil left him." Which also serves for our consolation, to see that the Devil does not tempt the men of God so long as he wills, but so long as Christ suffers. And though He may suffer him to tempt for a short time, yet in the end He drives him away because of the weakness of our nature. Augustinus de Civ. Dei: Post tentationem vero sancti Angeli spiritibus immundis metuendi domino ministrabant, et per hoc magis magisque innotescebat Daemonibus quantus esset; unde sequitur et ecce Angeli accesserunt et ministrabant ei. Aug., City of God, book 9, ch. 21: After the temptation the Holy Angels, to be dreaded of all unclean spirits, ministered to the Lord, by which it was made yet more manifest to the daemons how great was His power. Chrysostomus super Matth: Non autem dixit: descendentes Angeli, ut ostendat quia semper ad ministerium eius erant in terris, sed tunc praecipiente domino recesserunt ab eo, ut locus Diabolo adversus Christum daretur, ne forte videns Angelos circa eum non appropinquaret ad eum. In quibus autem rebus illi ministrabant scire non possumus: utrum ad sanationes infirmitatum, an ad correctiones animarum, an ad effugationem Daemonum, quae omnia per Angelos facit, unde eis facientibus ipse facere videtur; tamen manifestum est quod non propter necessitatem impotentiae eius ei ministrabant, sed propter honorem potestatis ipsius: non enim dicitur quod adiuvent eum, sed quod ministrent. Pseudo-Chrys.: He says not 'Angels descended from heaven,' that it may be known that they were ever on the earth to minister to Him, but had now by the Lord's command departed from Him, to give opportunity for the Devil to approach, who perhaps when he saw Him surrounded by Angels would not have come near Him. But in what matters they ministered to Him, we cannot know, whether in the healing diseases, or purifying souls, or casting out daemons; for all these things He does by the ministration of Angels, so that what they do, Himself [p. 129] appears to do. However it is manifest, that they did not now minister to Him because His weakness needed it, but for the honour of His power; for it is not said that they 'succoured Him,' but that they "ministered to Him." Gregorius in Evang: Ex his autem unius personae utraque natura ostenditur: quia et homo est quem Diabolus tentat, et idem ipse Deus est cui ab Angelis ministratur. Gregory, non occ. vid. in Ezek. i. 8. n. 24. in 1 Reg. i. I. n. 1. 2: In these things is shewn the twofold nature in one person; it is the man whom the Devil tempts; the same is God to whom Angels minister. Chrysostomus super Matth: Nunc breviter perstringamus quid significent Christi tentationes. Ieiunium est abstinentia rei malae, esuries est desiderium eius, usus eius est panis. Qui ergo peccatum sibi convertit ad usum, lapidem convertit in panem. Respondeat ergo Diabolo persuadenti, quia non in solo usu illius rei vivit homo, sed in observantia mandatorum Dei. Quando vero quis inflatus fuerit quasi sanctus, ductus est quasi super templum, et quando aestimaverit se consistere in sanctimoniae summitate, positus est supra pinnaculum templi. Et haec tentatio sequitur primam, quia victoria tentationis gloriationem operatur et fit causa iactantiae. Sed vide quod Christus ieiunium ultro susceperit. Super templum autem Diabolus eum duxit, ut tu ad abstinentiam laudabilem sponte procedas; extolli autem ad fastigium sanctitatis non acquiescas; fuge exaltationem cordis et non patieris ruinam. Ascensio autem montis est processio ad altitudinem divitiarum et gloriae huius mundi quae de superbia cordis descendit. Cum ergo volueris dives fieri, quod est ascendere in montem, incipis cogitare de divitiis et honoribus acquirendis, et tunc princeps mundi gloriam regni sui tibi ostendit. Tertio loco providet tibi causas, ut si volueris illa consequi, servias ei negligens iustitiam Dei. Pseudo-Chrys.: Now let us shortly review what is signified by Christ's temptations. The fasting is abstinence from things evil, hunger is the desire of evil, bread is the gratification of the desire. He who indulges himself in any evil thing, turns stones into bread. Let him answer to the Devil's persuasions that man does not live by the indulgence of desire alone, but by keeping the commands of God. When any is puffed up as though he were holy he is led to the temple, and when he esteems himself to have reached the summit of holiness he is set on a pinnacle of the temple. And this temptation follows the first, because victory over temptation begets conceit. But observe that Christ had voluntarily undertaken the fasting; but was led to the temple by the Devil; therefore do you voluntarily use praiseworthy abstinence, but suffer yourself not to be exalted to the summit of sanctity; fly high-mindedness, and you will not suffer a fall. The ascent of the mountain is the going forward to great riches, and the glory of this world which springs from pride of heart. When you desire to become rich, that is, to ascend the mountain, you begin to think of the ways of gaining wealth and honours, then the prince of this world is shewing you the glory of his kingdom. In the third place He provides you reasons, that if you seek to obtain all these things, you should serve him, and neglect the righteousness of God. Hilarius in Matth.: Victo autem a nobis calcatoque Diaboli capite, Angelorum ministeria et virtutum in nos caelestium officia non defutura ostenditur. Hilary: When we have overcome the Devil and bruised his head, we see that Angels' ministry and the offices of heavenly virtues will not be wanting in us. Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Lucas has tentationes non eodem ordine persecutus est; unde incertum est quid prius factum sit: utrum regna terrae prius demonstrata sint et postea in pinnaculum templi levatus sit, an e converso; nihil tamen ad rem, dum omnia facta esse manifestum sit. Aug., de Cons. Evan., ii, 16: Luke has not given the temptations in the same order as Matthew; so that we do not know whether the pinnacle of the temple, or the ascent of the mountain, was first in the action; but it is of no importance, so long as it is only clear that all of them were truly done. Glossa: Sed quod dicit Lucas magis videtur secundum historiam esse, sed Matthaeus has refert tentationes secundum hoc quod in Adam factae sunt. Gloss. ap. Anselm: Though Luke's order seems the more historical; Matthew relates the temptations as they were done to Adam.
Lectio 5 12 ἀκούσας δὲ ὅτι ἰωάννης παρεδόθη ἀνεχώρησεν εἰς τὴν γαλιλαίαν. 13 καὶ καταλιπὼν τὴν ναζαρὰ ἐλθὼν κατῴκησεν εἰς καφαρναοὺμ τὴν παραθαλασσίαν ἐν ὁρίοις ζαβουλὼν καὶ νεφθαλίμ: 14 ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ ἠσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος, 15 γῆ ζαβουλὼν καὶ γῆ νεφθαλίμ, ὁδὸν θαλάσσης, πέραν τοῦ ἰορδάνου, γαλιλαία τῶν ἐθνῶν, 16 ὁ λαὸς ὁ καθήμενος ἐν σκότει φῶς εἶδεν μέγα, καὶ τοῖς καθημένοις ἐν χώρᾳ καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου φῶς ἀνέτειλεν αὐτοῖς.
12. Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, He departed into Galilee; 13. And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: 14. That is might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaeas the prophet, saying, 15. "The land of Zabulon, and the land of Naphthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; 16. The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
Rabanus: Postquam Matthaeus de quadraginta dierum ieiunio et de tentatione Christi et de Angelorum ministerio narravit, continuo subiecit dicens cum autem audisset Iesus quia Ioannes traditus esset. Rabanus: Matthew having related the forty days' fast, the temptation of Christ, and the ministry of Angels, proceeds, "Jesus having heard that John was cast into prison." Chrysostomus super Matth: Sine dubio a Deo, quia in virum sanctum nemo potest aliquid nisi tradiderit eum Deus. Sequitur secessit in Galilaeam, scilicet de Iudaea, ut passionem suam opportuno tempori reservaret, deinde ut nobis fugiendi periculum daret exemplum. Pseudo-Chrys.: By God without doubt, for none can effect any thing against a holy man, unless God deliver him up. "He withdrew into Galilee," that is, out of Judaea; both that He might reserve His passion to the fit time, and that He might set us an example of flying from danger. Chrysostomus in Matth: Non enim accusabile est non proicere seipsum in periculum, sed incidentem non stare viriliter. Recedit etiam de Iudaea, Iudaicam invidiam mitigans, simul quidem prophetiam complens et magistros orbis terrarum piscari studens, qui in Galilaea morabantur. Attende etiam qualiter ad gentes abiturus a Iudaeis accepit causam: etenim cum praecursorem in vincula misissent, impellunt Iesum transire ad Galilaeam gentium. Chrys.: It is not blameworthy not to throw one's self into peril, but when one has fallen into it, not to endure manfully. He departed from Judaea both to soften Jewish animosity, and to fulfil a prophecy, seeking moreover to fish for those masters of the world who dwelt in Galilee. Note also how when He would depart to the Gentiles, He received good cause from the Jews; His forerunner was thrown into prison, which compelled Jesus to pass into Galilee of the Gentiles. Glossa: Ut autem refert Lucas, venit Nazareth, ubi erat nutritus, et ibi intravit in synagogam, ubi legit et dixit multa, propter quae voluerunt eum praecipitare de monte; et tunc descendit Capharnaum; unde modo ait Matthaeus et relicta civitate Nazareth, venit et habitavit Capharnaum. Gloss. ap. Anselm: He came as Luke writes to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and there entering into the synagogue, He read and spoke many things, for which they sought to throw Him down from the rock, and thence He went to Capernaum; for which Matthew has only, "And leaving the town of Nazareth, He came and dwelt at Capernaum." Hieronymus: Nazareth est in Galilaea vicus iuxta montem Thabor; Capharnaum est oppidum in Galilaea gentium iuxta stagnum Genesareth; et ideo dicit maritima. Gloss. ord.: Nazareth is a village in Galilee near Mount Tabor; Capernaum a town in Galilee of the Gentiles near the Lake of Gennesaret; and [p. 131] this is the meaning of the word, "on the sea coast." Glossa: Addit etiam in finibus Zabulon et Nephthalim, ubi prima captivitas Hebraeorum fuit ab Assyriis. Ubi ergo prima legis oblivio est, ibi prima Evangelii praedicatio, ut de loco quasi medio difflueret ad gentes et Iudaeos. He adds further "in the borders of Zabulon and Naphtali," where was the first captivity of the Jews by the Assyrians. Thus where the Law was first forgotten, there the Gospel was first preached; and from a place as it were between the two it was spread both to Jews and Gentiles. Remigius: Reliquit autem unam, scilicet Nazareth, ut praedicando et miracula faciendo plures illuminaret; in quo facto reliquit praedicatoribus exemplum, ut eo tempore et illis in locis studeant praedicare, quando multis prodesse possunt. Sequitur ut adimpleretur quod dictum est per Isaiam prophetam: terra Zabulon et terra Nephthalim et cetera. In prophetia ita habetur: primo tempore alleviata est terra Zabulon et terra Nephthalim, et novissimo aggravata est via maris, trans Iordanem, Galilaeae gentium. Remig.: He left one, viz. Nazareth, that He might enlighten more by His preaching and miracles. Thus leaving an example to all preachers that they should preach at a time and in places where they may do good, to as many as possible. In the prophecy, the words are these - "At that first time the land of Zabulon and the land of Naphtali was lightened, and at the last time was increased the way of the sea beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles." [Isa 9:1] Hieronymus super Isaiam: Dicitur autem primo tempore alleviata esse ab onere peccatorum, quia in regionibus duarum tribuum, primum salvator Evangelium praedicavit, novissimo vero tempore aggravata est fides eorum, plurimis Iudaeorum in errore permanentibus. Mare autem hic lacum appellat Genesareth, qui Iordane influente efficitur, in cuius litore Capharnaum et Tiberias et Bethsaida et Corozaim sitae sunt, in qua maxime regione Christus praedicavit. Vel, secundum Hebraeos in Christum credentes, hae duae tribus Zabulon et Nephthalim ab Assyriis captae sunt, et Galilaea deserta est, quam propheta dicit esse alleviatam, eo quod peccata populi sustineret; sed postea reliquae tribus, quae habitabant trans Iordanem et in Samaria, ductae sunt in captivitatem et hoc, inquiunt, Scriptura nunc dicit, quod regio, cuius populus primum captivatus est, ipsa primum lucem praedicantis viderit Christi. Vel, secundum Nazaraeos, adveniente Christo, primo terra Zabulon et Nephtalim est Pharisaeorum erroribus liberata, postea per Evangelium apostoli Pauli ingravata est, idest multiplicata praedicatio in terminos gentium. Jerome, Hieron. in Esai. c. 9. 1: They are said at the first time to be lightened from the burden of sin, because in the country of these two tribes, the Saviour first preached the Gospel; "at the last time" their faith "was increased," most of the Jews remaining in error. By the sea here is meant the Lake of Gennesaret, a lake formed by the waters of the Jordan, on its shores are the towns of Capernaum, Tiberias, Bethsaida, and Corozaim, in which district principally Christ preached. Or, according to the interpretation of those Hebrews who believe in Christ, the two tribes Zabulon and Naphtali were taken captive by the Assyrians, and Galilee was left desert; and the prophet therefore says that it was lightened, because it had before suffered the sins of the people; but afterwards the remaining tribes who dwelt beyond Jordan and in Samaria were led into captivity; and Scripture here means that the region which had been the first to suffer captivity, now was the first to see the light of Christ's preaching. The Nazarenes again interpret that this was the first part of the country that, on the coming of Christ, was freed from the errors of the Pharisees, and after by the Gospel of the Apostle Paul, the preaching was increased or multiplied throughout all the countries of the Gentiles. Glossa: Hic autem in Evangelio diversi nominativi ad idem verbum reducuntur; ita et terra Zabulon et terra Nephthalim, quae est via maris, quae est trans Iordanem, scilicet populus Galilaeae gentium, qui ambulabat in tenebris. Gloss. ap. Anselm: But Matthew here so quotes the passage as to make them all nominative cases referring to one verb. The land of Zabulon, and the land of Naphtali, which is the way of the sea, and which is beyond Jordan, viz. the people of Galilee of the Gentiles, the people which walked in darkness. [p. 132] Hieronymus in Lib. de locis Hebr.: Nota autem, quod duae Galilaeae sunt: una quae dicitur Iudaeorum, et alia quae dicitur gentium. Divisa est enim tempore Salomonis, qui dedit viginti civitates in Galilaea Hyram regi Tyri, quae pars dicta est postea Galilaea gentium; reliqua Iudaeorum. Vel legendum est trans Iordanem Galilaeae gentium, ita, inquam, ut populus, qui vel sedebat vel ambulabat in tenebris, lucem viderit, nequaquam parvam, ut aliorum prophetarum, sed magnam, scilicet illius qui in Evangelio loquitur: ego sum lux mundi. Et qui habitabant in regione umbrae mortis, lux orta est eis. Inter mortem et umbram mortis hoc interesse puto, quod mors eorum est qui cum operibus mortis ad Inferos perrexerunt; umbra autem mortis eorum est qui dum peccant, nondum de hac vita egressi sunt: possunt enim, si voluerint, agere poenitentiam. Gloss. ord.: Note that there are two Galilees; one of the Jews, the other of the Gentiles. This division of Galilee had existed from Solomon's time, who gave twenty cities in Galilee to Hyram, King of Tyre; this part was afterwards called Galilee of the Gentiles; the remained, of the Jews. Jerome, Hieron.: Or we must read, "beyond Jordan, of Galilee of the Gentiles;" so, I mean, that the people who either sat, or walked in darkness, have seen light, and that not a faint light, as the light of the Prophets, but a great light, as of Him who in the Gospel speaks thus, "I am the light of the world." Between death and the shadow of death I suppose this difference; death is said of such as have gone down to the grave with the works of death; the shadow of such as live in sin, and have not yet departed from this world; these may, if they will, yet turn to repentance. Chrysostomus super Matth: Vel in regione umbrae mortis sedebant gentiles, quia colebant idola et Daemones. Iudaei autem, qui legis opera faciebant, in tenebris erant quia Dei iustitia nondum erat eis manifesta. Pseudo-Chrys.: Otherwise, the Gentiles who worshipped idols, and daemons, were they who sat in the region of the shadow of death; the Jews, who did the works of the Law, were in darkness, because the righteousness of God was not yet manifested to them. Chrysostomus in Matth: Ut autem discas quod neque lumen neque tenebras sensibiles ait, de lumine dixit lumen magnum, quod alibi dicitur lumen verum; tenebras autem exponens nominavit umbram mortis. Deinde monstrans quod non ipsi quaerentes invenerunt, sed Deus ipsis apparuit, dixit quod lumen ortum est et effulsit: non enim prius ipsi ad lumen cucurrerunt, etenim in ultimis malis homines erant ante Christi praesentiam: neque enim ambulabant in tenebris, sed sedebant; quod signum erat quia non sperabant liberari; sicut enim nescientes quo oporteret progredi, ita comprehensi a tenebris sedebant, iam non potentes stare. Tenebras autem vocat hic errorem et impietatem. Chrys.: But that you may learn that he speaks not of natural day and night, he calls the light, "a great light," which is in other places called "the true light;" and he adds, "the shadow of death," to explain what he means by darkness. The words "arose," and "shined," shew, that they found it not of their own seeking, but God Himself appeared to them, they did not first run to the light; for men were in the greatest miseries before Christ's coming; they did not walk but safe in darkness; which was a sign that they hoped for deliverance; for as not knowing what way they should go, shut in by darkness they sat down, having now no power to stand. By darkness he means here, error and ungodliness. Rabanus: Allegorice autem Ioannes est vox praecedens verbum et alii prophetae. Postquam autem propheta cessavit et ligatus est, accessit verbum complens quod praedicaverat vox, idest propheta. Et secessit in Galilaeam, idest de figuris ad veritatem. Vel in Galilaeam, idest in Ecclesiam, ubi est transmigratio de vitiis ad virtutes. Nazareth interpretatur flos, Capharnaum villa pulcherrima. Reliquit ergo florem figurarum, quo fructus Evangelii significabatur et venit in Ecclesiam, quae est Christi virtutibus pulchra. Et maritima est, quia iuxta fluctus saeculi posita, quotidie tunditur procellis persecutionum. Inter Zabulon et Nephthalim sita est, idest Iudaeis communis et gentibus. Zabulon enim habitaculum fortitudinis dicitur: quia apostoli, qui de Iudaea electi sunt, fortes fuerunt. Nephthalim dilagatio, quia gentium Ecclesia per orbem dilatata est. Rabanus, ap. Anselm: In allegory, John and the rest of the Prophets were the voice going before the Word. When prophecy ceased and was fettered, then came the Word, fulfilling what the Prophet had spoken of it, "He departed into Galilee," i.e. from figure to verity. Or, into the Church, which is a passing from vice to virtue. Nazareth is interpreted 'a flower,' Capernaum, 'the beautiful village;' He left therefore the flower of figure, (in which was mystically intended the fruit of the Gospel,) and came [p. 133] into the Church, which was beautiful with Christ's virtues. It is "by the sea-coast," because placed near the waves of this world, it is daily beaten by the storms of persecution. It is situated between Zabulon and Naphtali, i.e. common to Jews and Gentiles. Zabulon is interpreted, 'the abode of strength;' because the Apostles, who were chosen from Judaea, were strong. Nephtali, 'extension,' because the Church of the Gentiles was extended through the world. Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Ioannes autem Evangelista, priusquam iret Iesus in Galilaeam, dicit de Petro et Andrea et Nathanaele, et de miraculo in Cana Galilaeae; quae omnia ceteri Evangelistae praetermiserunt, id contexentes suis narrationibus quod Iesus reversus sit in Galilaeam; unde intelligitur fuisse interpositos aliquos dies, quibus illa de discipulis gesta sunt quae interponuntur a Ioanne. Aug., de Cons. Evan., ii, 17: John relates in his Gospel the calling of Peter, Andrew, and Nathanael, and the miracle of Cana, before Jesus' departure into Galilee; all these things the other Evangelists have omitted, carrying on the thread of their narrative with Jesus' return into Galilee. We must understand then that some days intervened, during which the things took place concerning the calling of the disciples which John relates. Remigius: Sed illud solertius attendendum est, quare Ioannes dicat dominum iisse in Galilaeam antequam Ioannes missus fuisset in carcerem. Nam post vinum de aqua factum et descensum eius in Capharnaum et post ascensum eius in Ierusalem, dicitur in Evangelio Ioannis, quod rediit in Iudaeam et baptizabat, et nondum erat missus Ioannes in carcerem. Hic autem dicitur, quod postquam traditus fuit Ioannes, secessit in Galilaeam; et hoc quidem dicit Marcus. Non autem debet hoc contrarium videri: nam Ioannes primum adventum domini in Galilaeam descripsit, qui scilicet fuit ante incarcerationem Ioannis. Sed et de secundo adventu alibi facit mentionem, cum ait quod Iesus reliquit Iudaeam et abiit iterum in Galilaeam; et de hoc tantum secundo adventu in Galilaeam, qui scilicet fuit post incarcerationem Ioannis, alii Evangelistae dicunt. Remig.: But this should be considered with more care, viz. that John says that the Lord went into Galilee, before John the Baptist was thrown into prison. According to John's Gospel after the water turned into wine, and his going down to Capernaum, and after his going up to Jerusalem, he returned to Judaea and baptized, and John was not yet cast into prison. But here it is after John's imprisonment that He retires into Galilee, and with this Mark agrees. But we need not suppose any contradiction here. John speaks of the Lord's first coming into Galilee, which was before the imprisonment of John. He speaks in another place of His second coming into Galilee [John 4:3], and the other Evangelists mention only this second coming into Galilee which was after John's imprisonment. Eusebius Hist. Eccl.: Ioannem enim tradunt usque ad ultimum pene vitae suae tempus absque ullius Scripturae indiciis Evangelium praedicasse; sed cum trium Evangeliorum ad ipsum notitia pervenisset, probasse quidem veritatem dictorum, deesse tamen vidit aliqua, et maxime quae primo praedicationis suae tempore dominus gesserat. Certum est enim, quod in aliis tribus Evangeliis haec videntur sola contineri quae in eo gesta sunt anno quo Ioannes Baptista vel inclusus est in carcerem vel punitus. Matthaeus enim post tentationem Christi continuo subiecit audiens autem quia Ioannes traditus esset; et Marcus similiter. Lucas vero priusquam aliquid de actibus Christi referret, dicit quod Herodes conclusit Ioannem in carcerem. Rogatus est ergo Ioannes apostolus, ut ea quae praeterierant priores ante traditionem Ioannis, salvatoris gesta conscriberet: et ideo dicit in Evangelio suo: hoc fecit initium signorum Iesus. Euseb., H. E. iii. 24: It is related that John preached the Gospel almost up to the close of his life without setting forth any thing in writing, and at length came to write for this reason. The three first written Gospels having come to his knowledge, he confirmed the truth of their history by his own testimony; but there was yet some things wanting, especially an account of what the Lord had done at the first beginning of His preaching. And it is true that the other three Gospels seem to contain only those things which were done in that year in which John the Baptist was put into prison, or executed. For Matthew, after the [p. 134] temptation, proceeds immediately, "Hearing that John was delivered up;" and Mark in like manner. Luke again, even before relating one of Christ's actions, tells that "Herod had shut up John in prison." The Apostle John then was requested to put into writing what the preceding Evangelists had left out before the imprisonment of John; hence he says in his Gospel, "this beginning of miracles did Jesus."
Lectio 6 17 ἀπὸ τότε ἤρξατο ὁ Ἰησοῦς κηρύσσειν καὶ λέγειν, μετανοεῖτε, ἤγγικεν γὰρ ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.
17. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, "Repent: for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand."
Chrysostomus super Matth: Ille debet Christi iustitiam praedicare qui ventri suo contradicere potest, qui saeculi istius bona contemnit, qui vanam gloriam non desiderat. Et ideo dicitur exinde coepit Iesus praedicare, idest ex quo tentatus, famem vicit in deserto, avaritiam sprevit in monte, vanam gloriam repercussit in templo. Vel exinde coepit praedicare, ex quo traditus est Ioannes: nam si praedicante Ioanne praedicare coepisset, vilem reddidisset Ioannem, et inveniretur praedicatio Ioannis esse superflua quantum ad istius doctrinam, sicut si uno tempore sol cum Lucifero oriatur, gratiam Luciferi celat. Pseudo-Chrys.: Christ's Gospel should be preached by him who can control his appetites, who condemns the goods of this life, and desires not empty honours. "From this time began Jesus to preach," that is, after having been tempted, He had overcome hunger in the desert, despised covetousness on the mountain, rejected ambitious desires in the temple. Or from the time that John was delivered up; for had He begun to preach while John was yet preaching, He would have made John be lightly accounted of, and John's preaching would have been though superfluous by the side of Christ's teaching; as when the sun rises at the same time with the morning star, the star's brightness is hid. Chrysostomus in Matth: Ideo etiam non praedicavit donec Ioannes in carcerem mitteretur, ne ex hoc multitudo scinderetur; propter quod etiam Ioannes nullum fecit signum, ut per miracula omnes traherentur ad Christum. Chrys.: For another cause also He did not preach till John was in prison, that the multitude might not be split into two parties; or as John did no miracle, all men would have been drawn to Christ by His miracles. Rabanus: In hoc etiam docet ne quis ab inferiori persona sermonem contemnat; unde apostolus: si cui sedenti revelatum fuerit, prior taceat. Rabanus: In this He further teaches that none should despise the words of a person inferior to Him; as also the Apostle, "If any thing be revealed to him that sits, let the first hold his peace." [1 Cor 14:30] Chrysostomus super Matth: Sapienter autem inde praedicationis suae sumpsit initium, non ut conculcet Ioannis doctrinam, sed ut magis confirmet, et testem eum verum fuisse demonstret. Pseudo-Chrys.: He did wisely in making now the beginning of His preaching, that He should not trample upon John's teaching, but that He might the rather confirm it and demonstrate him to have been a true witness. Hieronymus: In quo etiam ostendit se eiusdem esse Dei filium, cuius ille fuerat propheta, et ideo dicit poenitentiam agite. Jerome: Shewing also thereby that He was Son of that same God whose prophet John was; and therefore He says, "Repent ye." Chrysostomus super Matth: Non enim statim iustitiam praedicavit quam omnes cognoscebant, sed poenitentiam, qua omnes indigebant. Quis ergo ausus est dicere: volo bonus esse, et non possum? Poenitentia enim correctio est voluntatis; et si vos mala non terrent, ut scilicet poenitentiam agatis, saltem bona delectent; unde sequitur appropinquavit enim regnum caelorum, idest beatitudo regni caelestis; ac si dicat: parate vos per poenitentiam, quia appropinquavit tempus mercedis aeternae. Pseudo-Chrys.: He does not straightway preach righteousness which all knew, but repentance, which all needed. Who then dared to say, 'I desire to be good, but am not able?" [p. 135] For repentance corrects the will; and if ye will not repent through fear of evil, at least ye may for the pleasure of good things; hence He says, "the kingdom of heaven is at hand;" that is, the blessings of the heavenly kingdom. As if He has said, Prepare yourselves by repentance, for the time of eternal reward is at hand. Remigius: Et notandum, quia non dicit: appropinquavit regnum Chananaeorum aut Iebuzaeorum, sed regnum caelorum. Lex enim promittebat bona temporalia, sed dominus regna caelestia. Remig.: And note, He does not say the kingdom of the Canaanite, or the Jebusite, is at hand; the "the kingdom of heaven." The law promised worldly goods, but the Lord heavenly kingdoms. Chrysostomus in Matth: Considerandum etiam, quod in hac praedicatione nihil de seipso manifeste praedicabat, quod interim conveniens erat, quia nondum de eo decentem habebant opinionem. Incipiens etiam, nihil grave et onerosum dixit, sicut Ioannes dixerat securim exscindendae arbori imminentem, et huiusmodi; sed in principio benigna proposuit, regnum caelorum evangelizans. Chrys.: Also observe how that in this His first address He says nothing of Himself openly; and that very suitably to the case, for they had yet no right opinion concerning Him. In this commencement moreover He speaks nothing severe, nothing burdensome, as John had concerning the axe laid to the root of the condemned tree, and the lie; but he puts first things merciful, preaching the glad tidings of the kingdom of heaven. Hieronymus: Mystice autem: Ioanne tradito, Christus incipit praedicare, quia desinente lege, consequenter oritur Evangelium. Jerome: Mystically interpreted, Christ begins to preach as soon as John was delivered to prison, because when the Law ceased, the Gospel commenced.
Lectio 7 18 περιπατῶν δὲ παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν τῆς γαλιλαίας εἶδεν δύο ἀδελφούς, σίμωνα τὸν λεγόμενον πέτρον καὶ ἀνδρέαν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ, βάλλοντας ἀμφίβληστρον εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν: ἦσαν γὰρ ἁλιεῖς. 19 καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς, δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου, καὶ ποιήσω ὑμᾶς ἁλιεῖς ἀνθρώπων. 20 οἱ δὲ εὐθέως ἀφέντες τὰ δίκτυα ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ. 21 καὶ προβὰς ἐκεῖθεν εἶδεν ἄλλους δύο ἀδελφούς, ἰάκωβον τὸν τοῦ ζεβεδαίου καὶ ἰωάννην τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ, ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ μετὰ ζεβεδαίου τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῶν καταρτίζοντας τὰ δίκτυα αὐτῶν: καὶ ἐκάλεσεν αὐτούς. 22 οἱ δὲ εὐθέως ἀφέντες τὸ πλοῖον καὶ τὸν πατέρα αὐτῶν ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ.
18. And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 19. And He saith unto them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." 20. And they straightway left their nets, and followed Him. 21. And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. 22. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed Him.
4 l. 773>734 l. 7 Chrysostomus super Matth: Antequam Christus aliquid dicat vel faciat, vocat apostolos, ut nihil illos lateat nec verborum Christi nec operum, ut postmodum fiducialiter dicere possint: non possumus quae vidimus et audivimus non loqui. Hinc est quod dicitur ambulans Iesus iuxta mare Galilaeae. Pseudo-Chrys.: Before He spoke or did any thing, Christ called Apostles, that neither word nor deed of His should be [p. 136] hid from their knowledge, so that they may afterwards say with confidence, "What we have seen and heard, that we cannot but speak." [Acts 4:20] Rabanus: Mare Galilaeae idem est quod stagnum Genesareth, mare Tiberiadis et lacus salinarum. Rabanus: The sea of Galilee, the lake of Gennesaret, the sea of Tiberias, and the salt lake, are one and the same. Glossa: Decenter autem per piscatoria vadit loca, piscatores piscaturus; unde sequitur vidit duos fratres, Simonem, qui vocatur Petrus, et Andream fratrem eius. Gloss. ord.: He rightly goes on fishing places, when about to fish for fishermen. Remigius: Vidit autem non tam corporaliter quam spiritualiter ad corda eorum respiciens. Remig.: "Saw," that is, not so much with the bodily eye, as spiritually viewing their hearts. Chrysostomus in Matth: In mediis autem operationibus existentes eos vocavit, monstrans quod omnibus occupationibus sequelam suam praeponere oportet; unde sequitur mittentes retia in mare, quod quidem eorum officio congruebat; propter quod sequitur erant enim piscatores. Chrys.: He calls them while actually working at their employment, to shew that to follow Him ought to be preferred to all occupations. They were just then "casting a net into the sea," which agreed with their future office. Augustinus de Verb. Dom: Non enim elegit reges aut senatores aut philosophos aut oratores, immo elegit plebeios, pauperes et indoctos piscatores. Aug., Serm. 197, 2: He chose not kings, senators, philosophers, or orators, but he chose common, poor, and untaught fishermen. Augustinus super Ioann.: Si enim doctus eligeretur, fortassis ideo se diceret electum, quia doctrina eius eligi meruit. Dominus autem noster Iesus Christus volens superborum frangere cervices, non quaesivit per oratorem piscatorem, sed de piscatore lucratus imperatorem. Magnus Cyprianus orator, sed prius Petrus piscator. Aug., Tract. in Joann. 8, 7: Had one learned been chosen, he might have attributed the choice to the merit of his learning. But our Lord Jesus Christ, willing to bow the necks of the proud, sought not to gain fishermen by orators, but gained an Emperor by a fisherman. Great was Cyprian the pleader, but Peter the fisherman was before him. Chrysostomus super Matth: Futurae etiam dignitatis gratiam artificii opera prophetabant: nam sicut qui retia iactat in aquam, nescit quos pisces comprehensurus est, sic doctor, quando divini sermonis retia super populum iactat, nescit qui sunt accessuri ad Deum. Sed quoscumque Deus excitaverit, illi adhaerent eius doctrinae. Pseudo-Chrys.: The operations of their secular craft were a prophecy of their future dignity. As he who casts his net into the water knows not what fishes he shall take, so the teacher casts the net of the divine word upon the people, not knowing who among them will come to God. Those whom God shall stir abide in his doctrine. Remigius: De his autem piscatoribus loquitur dominus per Ieremiam dicens: mittam in vos piscatores meos et piscabuntur vos. Unde et hic subditur venite post me. Remig.: Of these fishermen the Lord speaks by Jeremiah. "I will send my fishers among you, and they shall catch you." [Jer 16:16] Glossa: Non tam pedibus, quam affectu et imitatione. Et faciam vos fieri piscatores hominum. Gloss. interlin.: "Follow me," not so much with your feet as in your hearts and your life. Chrysostomus super Matth: Idest doctores; ut cum rete verbi Dei comprehendatis homines de mundo tempestuoso et periculoso ubi homines non ambulant, sed feruntur, quia Diabolus cum delectatione compellit eos in mala, ubi alterutrum homines se comedunt, sicut pisces fortiores devorant iuniores - ut translati vivant in terra, corporis Christi membra facti. Pseudo-Chrys.: "Fishers of men," that is, teachers, that with the net of God's word you may catch men out of this world of storm and danger, in which men do not walk but are rather borne along, the Devil by pleasure drawing them into sin where men devour one another as the stronger fishes do the weaker, withdrawn from hence they may live upon the land, being made members of Christ's body. Gregorius in Evang: Nulla autem Petrus et Andreas Christum miracula facere viderant, nihil ab eo de praemio aeternae retributionis audierant, et tamen ad unum domini praeceptum, hoc quod possidere videbantur, obliti sunt; unde sequitur at illi continuo, relictis retibus, secuti sunt eum. In quo affectum debemus potius pensare quam censum. Multum enim reliquit qui sibi nihil retinuit, multum dimisit qui cum re possessa et concupiscentiis renuntiavit. A sequentibus ergo tanta dimissa sunt quanta a non sequentibus concupisci potuerunt. Exteriora enim nostra domino quantumlibet parva sufficiunt, nec perpendit quantum in eius sacrificio, sed ex quanto proferatur. Aestimationem quippe pretii regnum Dei non habet, sed tantum valet quantum habes. Greg., Hom. in Evan., v. 1: Peter and Andrew had seen Christ work no miracle, had heard from him no word of the promise of the eternal reward, yet at this single bidding of the Lord they forgot all that they had seemed to possess, and "straightway left their nets, and followed Him." In which deed we ought rather to consider their wills than [p. 137] the amount of their property. He leaves much who keeps nothing for himself, he parts with much, who with his possessions renounces his lusts. Those who followed Christ gave up enough to be coveted by those who did not follow. Our outward goods, however small, are enough for the Lord; He does not weight the sacrifice by how much is offered, but out of how much it is offered. The kingdom of God is not to be valued at a certain price, but whatever a man has, much or little, is equally available. Chrysostomus super Matth: Non autem praedicti discipuli secuti sunt Christum, doctoris cupientes honorem, sed operis lucrum: sciebant enim quam pretiosa est anima hominis, quam grata est apud Deum salus ipsius et quanta est merces. Pseudo-Chrys.: These disciples did not follow Christ from desire of the honour of a doctor, but because they coveted the labour itself; they knew how precious is the soul of man, how pleasant to God is his salvation, and how great its reward. Chrysostomus in Matth: Tantae igitur promissioni crediderunt, et per sermones quibus sunt capti, crediderunt se alios posse piscari. Chrys.: To so great a promise they trusted, and believed that they should catch others by those same words by which themselves had been caught. Chrysostomus super Matth: Haec igitur cupientes, secuti sunt, omnibus relictis; in quo nos docuerunt quia nemo potest terrena possidere et perfecte ad caelestia pervenire. Pseudo-Chrys.: These were their desires, for which they "left all and followed;" teaching us thereby that none can possess earthly things and perfectly attain to heavenly things. Glossa: In his ergo datum est exemplum illis qui censum deserunt pro Christi amore. Subditur autem exemplum eorum qui etiam carnales affectus pro Deo postponunt; unde dicitur et procedens inde, vidit alios duos. Nota, quia vocat binos et binos, sicut alibi legitur quod misit eos binos et binos ad praedicandum. Gloss. ap. Anselm: These last disciples were an example to such as leave their property for the love of Christ; now follows an example of others who postponed earthly affection to God. Observe how He calls them two and two, and He afterwards sent them two and two to preach. Gregorius in Evang: Quatenus hic nobis tacitus innuat, quia qui caritatem erga alterum non habet, praedicationis officium suscipere nullatenus debet. Duo enim sunt praecepta caritatis, et minus quam inter duos caritas haberi non potest. Greg., Hom. in Ex., 17, 1: Hereby we are also silently admonished, that he who wants affection towards others, ought not to take on him the office of preaching. The precepts of charity are two, and between less than two there can be no love. Chrysostomus super Matth: Super caritatem etiam fraternitatis Ecclesiae recte posuit fundamenta, ut ex radicibus caritatis exuberans quasi humor ascendat in ramos; et hoc super naturalem caritatem, ut non solum per gratiam, sed etiam per naturam ipsa caritas firmior habeatur; unde dicit fratres: sic enim fecit Deus et in veteri testamento, super Moysen et Aaron fratres, ponens aedificationis initium. Quoniam autem abundantior est gratia novi testamenti quam veteris, ideo primum populum aedificavit super unam fraternitatem, hunc autem super duas. Iacobum, inquit, Zebedaei, et Ioannem fratrem eius in navi cum Zebedaeo patre eorum, reficientes retia sua, quod est maximae paupertatis indicium: vetera enim reficiebant qui nova unde emerent non habebant. Et quod ad maiorem pietatem eorum pertinet, in tanta paupertate sic patri suo succurrebant, ut secum eum baiularent, in navi, non ut ille istos adiuvaret in opere, sed ut isti illum consolarentur sua praesentia. Pseudo-Chrys.: Rightly did He thus build the foundations of the brotherhood of the Church on love, that from such roots a copious sap of love might flow to the branches; and that too on natural or human love, that nature as well as grace might bind their love more firmly. They were moreover "brothers;" and so did God in the Old Testament lay the foundations of His building on Moses and Aaron, brothers. But as the grace of the New Testament is more abundant than that of the Old, therefore the first people were built upon one pair of brethren, but the new people upon two. They were "washing their nets," a proof of the extremest indigence; they repaired the old because they had not whence they should buy new. And [p. 138] what shews their great filial piety, in this their great poverty they deserted not their father, but carried him with them in their vessel, not that he might aid in their labour, but have the enjoyment of his sons' presence. Chrysostomus in Matth: Non parva autem est hic demonstratio virtutis, inopiam facile ferre, ex iustis nutriri laboribus, colligari invicem amoris virtute, patrem inopem habere secum et in eius obsequio laborare. Chrys.: It is no small sign of goodness, to bear poverty easily, to live by honest labour, to be bound together by virtue of affection, to keep their poor father with them, and to toil in his service. Chrysostomus super Matth: Aestimare autem primos velociores ad praedicandum, quia retia mittebant, istos autem quasi pigriores quia adhuc retia componebant, non sumus ausi, quia differentiam eorum cognoscere solius est Christi. Forte ergo illi propter Petrum dicti sunt mittentes retia, qui praedicavit Evangelium, sed non composuit; isti autem propter Ioannem componentes, qui Evangelium composuit. Sequitur et vocavit eos: erant enim habitatione cives, dilectione concordes, artificio pares, fraternitatis coniuncti pietate. Ideo simul vocavit eos, ne tot bonis coniunctos dissimilis vocatio separaret. Pseudo-Chrys.: We may not dare to consider the former disciples as more quick to preach, because they were "casting their nets;" and these latter as less active, because they were yet making ready only; for it is Christ alone that may know their differences. But, perhaps we may say that the first were "casting their nets," because Peter preached the Gospel, but committed it not to paper - the others were making ready their nets, because John composed a Gospel. He "called them" together, for by their abode they were fellow-townsmen, in affection attached, in profession agreed, and united by brotherly tenderness. He called them then at once, that united by so many common blessings they might not be separated by a separate call. Chrysostomus in Matth: Vocando autem nihil eis promisit, sicut prioribus; obedientia enim eorum qui praevenerant, viam eis ad credendum praeparaverat. Sed et multa de ipso audierant, scilicet tamquam familiares et consanguinitate coniuncti. Sequitur illi autem, relictis retibus et patre, secuti sunt eum. Chrys.: He made no promise to them when He called them, as He had to the former, for the obedience of the first had made the way plain for them. Besides, they had heard many things concerning Him, as being friends and townsmen of the others. Chrysostomus super Matth: Tria enim sunt quae relinquere debet qui venit ad Christum: actus carnales, qui per retia piscationis significantur; substantiam mundialem, quae per navem; et parentes, qui per patrem. Reliquerunt ergo navem, ut fierent ecclesiasticae navis gubernatores; reliquerunt retia, ut non pisces afferrent ad civitatem terrenam, sed homines ad caelestem; reliquerunt unum patrem, ut spirituales patres omnium fierent. Pseudo-Chrys.: There are three things which we must leave who would come to Christ; carnal actions, which are signified in the fishing nets; worldly substance, in the ship; parents, which are signified in their father. They left their own vessel, that they might become governors of the vessel of the Church; they left their nets, as having no longer to draw out fishes on to the earthly shore, but men to the heavenly; they left their father, that they might become the spiritual fathers of all. Hilarius in Matth.: Eis igitur artem et patriam domum relinquentibus, docemur, Christum secuturi, et saecularis vitae sollicitudine et paternae domus consuetudine non teneri. Hilary: By this that they left their occupation and their father's house we are taught, that when we would follow Christ we should not be holden of the cares of secular life, or of the society of the paternal mansion. Remigius: Mystice autem per mare designatur iste mundus, propter amaritudinem et fluctuationem. Galilaea autem interpretatur volubilis, sive rota, et significat mundi volubilitatem. Ambulavit igitur Iesus iuxta mare dum ad nos per incarnationem venit: quia non carnem peccati, sed similitudinem carnis peccati suscepit ex virgine. Per duos fratres duo populi designantur qui ab uno Deo patre creati sunt, quos vidit quando eos misericorditer respexit. Per Petrum enim, qui interpretatur agnoscens, et dicitur Simon, idest obediens, designatur Iudaicus populus, qui per legem Deum agnovit et praeceptis eius obedivit; per Andream, qui interpretatur virilis sive decorus, intelligitur gentilis populus qui post agnitionem Dei viriliter in fide permansit. Nos populum vocavit quando praedicatores in mundum misit, dicens venite post me, idest relinquite deceptorem et sequimini creatorem. De utroque etiam populo facti sunt hominum piscatores, idest praedicatores. Relictis autem navibus, idest carnalibus desideriis, et retibus, idest mundi cupiditatibus, secuti sunt Christum. Per Iacobum etiam intelligitur Iudaicus populus, qui per cognitionem Dei Diabolum supplantavit; per Ioannem gentilis populus, qui sola gratia salvatus est. Zebedaeus autem, quem relinquunt, et interpretatur fugitivus sive labens, significat mundum qui transit et Diabolum qui de caelis lapsus est. Per Petrum etiam et Andream mittentes retia in mare, designantur illi qui in prima aetate, dum de navi corporis sui mittunt retia carnalis concupiscentiae in mare huius saeculi, vocantur a domino. Per Iacobum et Ioannem reficientes retia designantur illi qui post peccata ante adversitates veniunt ad Christum recuperantes quae perdiderunt. Remig.: Mystically, by the sea is figured this world, because of its bitterness and its tossing waves. Galilee is interpreted, 'rolling,' or 'a wheel,' and shews the changeableness of the world. [p. 139] Jesus "walked by the sea" when He came to us by incarnation, for He took on Him of the Virgin not the flesh of sin, but the likeness of the flesh of sin. By the two brothers, two people are signified born of one God their Father; He "saw" them when He looked on them in His mercy. In Peter, (which is interpreted 'owning,') who is called Simon, (i.e. obedient,) is signified the Jewish nation, who acknowledged God in the Law, and obeyed His commandments; Andrew, which is interpreted 'manly' or 'graceful,' signifies the Gentiles, who after they had come to the knowledge of God, manfully abode in the faith. He called us His people when He sent the preachers into the world, saying, "Follow me;" that is, leave the deceiver, follow your Creator. Of both people there were made fishers of men, that is, preachers. Leaving their ships, that is, carnal desires, and their nets, that is, love of the world, they followed Christ. By James is understood the Jewish nation, which through their knowledge of God overthrew the Devil; by John the Gentile world, which was saved of grace alone. Zebedee whom they leave, (the name is interpreted flying or falling,) signifies the world which passes away, and the Devil who fell from Heaven. By Peter and Andrew casting their net into the sea, are meant those who in their early youth are called by the Lord, while from the vessel of their body they cast the nets of carnal concupiscence into the sea of this world. By James and John mending their nets are signified those who after sin before adversity come to Christ recovering what they had lost. Rabanus: Duae naves duas Ecclesias figurant: eam quae ex circumcisione, et eam quae ex praeputio vocata est. Quilibet etiam fidelis fit Simon, Deo obediendo; Petrus, peccatum suum agnoscendo; Andreas, viriliter labores patiendo; Iacobus, vitia supplantando. Rabanus: The two vessels signify the two Churches; the one was called out of the circumcision, the other out of the uncircumcision. Any one who believes becomes Simon, i.e. obedient to God; Peter by acknowledging his sin, Andrew by enduring labours manfully, James by overcoming vices, Glossa: Et Ioannes, ut totum gratiae Dei adscribat. Et ideo quarta tantum vocatio ponitur, per quos praedicatores Dei a quatuor mundi partibus vocatos signetur. Gloss. ap. Anselm: and John that he may ascribe the whole to God's grace. The calling of four only is mentioned, as those preachers by whom God will call the four quarters of the world. Hilarius in Matth.: Vel in hoc futurorum Evangelistarum numerus figuratur. Hilary: Or, the number that was to be of the Evangelists is figured. Remigius: Per hoc etiam quatuor virtutes principales designantur: prudentia enim refertur ad Petrum, propter divinam cognitionem; iustitia ad Andream, propter operum virilitatem; fortitudo ad Iacobum, propter Diaboli supplantationem; temperantia ad Ioannem, propter divinae gratiae effectum. Remig.: Also, the four principal virtues are here designed; Prudence, in Peter, from his [p. 140] confession of God; Justice, we may refer to Andrew for his manful deeds; Fortitude, to James, for his overthrow of the Devil; Temperance, to John, for the working in him of divine grace. Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Sane movere potest quomodo Ioannes dicat non in Galilaea, sed iuxta Iordanem Andream secutum esse dominum cum alio cuius nomen tacetur; deinde Petrum ab illo nomen accepisse; ceteri autem tres Evangelistae de piscatione vocatos eos dicunt, satis inter se convenienter, maxime Matthaeus et Marcus; nam Lucas Andream non nominat, qui tantum intelligitur in eadem navi fuisse. Hoc etiam videtur distare quod tantum Petro a domino dictum esse commemorat Lucas: ex hoc iam homines eris capiens quod Matthaeus et Marcus ambobus dixisse narrant. Sed potuit prius Petro dici secundum Lucam, et ambobus postea secundum alios duos. Sed quod de Ioanne diximus, diligenter considerandum est, cum et locorum plurimum intersit et temporis et ipsius vocationis. Sed intelligendum est, Petrum et Andream non sic vidisse dominum iuxta Iordanem ut ei iam inseparabiliter inhaererent, sed tantum cognovisse quis esset, et eum miratos ad propria remeasse. Forte autem quod praetermiserat recapitulat, quia sine ulla consequentis temporis differentia dicit ambulans autem iuxta mare. Quaeri etiam potest quomodo binos et binos seorsum eos vocaverit, sicut narrat Matthaeus et Marcus, cum Lucas dicat Iacobum et Ioannem tamquam socios Petri ad adiuvandum vocatos fuisse, et simul subductis ad terram navibus Christum secutos? Unde intelligendum est hoc primo esse factum quod Lucas insinuat, et eos ad capturam piscium ex more remeasse: non enim erat dictum Petro quod pisces nunquam esset capturus, cum post resurrectionem hoc fecerit, sed quod homines esset capturus; postea hoc factum est quod Matthaeus et Marcus narrant: non enim subductis ad terram navibus, tamquam cura redeundi secuti sunt eum, sed tamquam iubentem ut sequerentur. Aug., de Cons. Evan., ii, 17: It might move enquiry, why John relates that near Jordan, not in Galilee, Andrew followed the Lord with another whose name he does not mention; and again, that Peter received that name from the Lord. Whereas the other three Evangelists write that they were called from their fishing, sufficiently agreeing with one another, especially Matthew and Mark; Luke not naming Andrew, who is however understood to have been in the same vessel with him. There is a further seeming discrepancy, that in Luke it is to Peter only that it is said, "Henceforth thou shalt catch men;" Matthew and Mark write that is was said to both. As to the different account in John, it should be carefully considered, and it will be found that it is a different time, place, and calling that is there spoken of. For Peter and Andrew had not so seen Jesus at the Jordan that they adhered inseparably ever after, but so as only to have known who He was, and wondering at Him to have gone their way. Perhaps he is returning back to something he had omitted, for he proceeds without marking any difference of time, "As he walked by the sea of Galilee." It may be further asked, how Matthew and Mark relate that He called them separately two and two, when Luke relates that James and John being partners of Peter were called as it were to aid him, and bringing their barks to land followed Christ. We may then understand that the narrative of Luke relates to a prior time, after which they returned to their fishing as usual. For it had not been said to Peter that he should no more catch fish, as he did do so again after the resurrection, but that he "should catch men." Again, at a time after this happened that call of which Matthew and Mark speak; for they draw their ships to land to follow Him, not as careful to return again, but only anxious to follow Him when He bids them.
Lectio 8 23 καὶ περιῆγεν ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ γαλιλαίᾳ, διδάσκων ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς αὐτῶν καὶ κηρύσσων τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τῆς βασιλείας καὶ θεραπεύων πᾶσαν νόσον καὶ πᾶσαν μαλακίαν ἐν τῷ λαῷ. 24 καὶ ἀπῆλθεν ἡ ἀκοὴ αὐτοῦ εἰς ὅλην τὴν συρίαν: καὶ προσήνεγκαν αὐτῷ πάντας τοὺς κακῶς ἔχοντας ποικίλαις νόσοις καὶ βασάνοις συνεχομένους [καὶ] δαιμονιζομένους καὶ σεληνιαζομένους καὶ παραλυτικούς, καὶ ἐθεράπευσεν αὐτούς. 25 καὶ ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ ὄχλοι πολλοὶ ἀπὸ τῆς γαλιλαίας καὶ δεκαπόλεως καὶ ἱεροσολύμων καὶ ἰουδαίας καὶ πέραν τοῦ ἰορδάνου.
23. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of [p. 141] the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. 24. And His fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto Him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and He healed them. 25. And there followed Him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.
Chrysostomus super Matth: Omnis rex pugnaturus contra adversarium, prius congregat exercitum, et sic vadit ad pugnam; sic et dominus contra Diabolum pugnaturus, prius congregavit apostolos, et sic coepit Evangelium praedicare; unde sequitur et circuibat Iesus. Pseudo-Chrys.: Kings, when about to go to war with their enemies, first gather an army, and so go out to battle; thus the Lord when about to war against the Devil, first collected Apostles, and then began to preach the Gospel. Remigius: In quo doctorum vita instruitur: ut enim non sint pigri, docentur per hoc quod dicitur circuibat Iesus. Remig.: An example of life for doctors; that they should not be inactive, they are instructed in these words, "And Jesus went about." Chrysostomus super Matth: Quia enim illi ut debiles ad medicum venire non poterant, ipse sicut studiosus medicus circuibat graviter aegrotantes. Et dominus quidem circuibat singulas regiones; qui autem sunt unius regionis pastores considerando debent circuire populi singulas passiones, ut ad remedium passionis eorum aliquod medicamentum in Ecclesia proferatur. Pseudo-Chrys.: Because they being weak could not come to their physician, He as a zealous Physician went about to visit those who had any grievous sickness. The Lord went round the several regions, and after His example the pastors of each region ought to go round to study the several dispositions of their people, that for the remedy of each disease some medicine may be found in the Church. Remigius (Rabanus in hoc loco id habet): Ut autem non sint acceptores personarum docentur praedicatores per hoc quod subiungitur totam Galilaeam. Ut autem vacui non discurrant, docentur per hoc quod subditur docens. Ut autem non paucis, sed multis prodesse studeant, monentur per hoc quod sequitur in synagogis. Remig.: That they should not be acceptors of persons the preachers are instructed in what follows, "the whole of Galilee." That they should not go about empty, by the word, "teaching." That they should seek to benefit not few but many, in what follows, "in their synagogues." Chrysostomus in Matth: Hinc quoque Iudaeos docebat, quod nec esset Dei adversarius nec animarum seductor, sed quod patri consentiens advenisset. Chrys.: [ed. note: A passage is here inserted in Nicolai's edition which is not in the original. It is of no doctrinal importance.] By which too He shewed the Jews that He came not as an enemy of God, or a seducer of souls, but as consenting with his Father. Remigius: Ut autem non errores neque fabulas, sed salutaria praedicent, docentur per hoc quod subditur praedicans Evangelium regni. Distat autem inter docens et praedicans: docens enim refertur ad praesentia, praedicans ad futura: docebat enim de praesentibus mandatis, praedicabat de futuris promissis. Remig.: That they should not preach error nor fable, but sound doctrine, is inculcated in the words, "preaching the Gospel of the kingdom." 'Teaching' and 'preaching' [p. 142] differ; teaching refers to things present, preaching to things to come; He taught present commandments and preached future promises. Chrysostomus super Matth: Vel docebat iustitias naturales, quas scilicet ratio naturalis docet: ut castitatem, humilitatem, et huiusmodi, quas per seipsos omnes bona esse intelligunt: de quibus necessaria est doctrina, non tantum propter manifestationem eorum, quantum propter excitationem cordis. Praevalentibus enim delectationibus carnalibus, scientia iustitiae naturalis quasi in oblivionem deducta obdormit. Cum ergo coepit doctor reprehendere carnalia mala, eius doctrina non novam scientiam introducit, sed oblitam commonefacit. Praedicabat autem Evangelium annuntiando bona, quae antiqui manifeste nec audierant, ut beatitudinem caelestem, mortuorum resurrectionem, et huiusmodi. Vel docebat interpretando prophetias de ipso: Evangelium praedicabat denuntiando in se bona futura. Pseudo-Chrys.: Or, He taught natural righteousness, those things which natural reason teaches, as chastity, humility, and the like, which all men of themselves see to be goods. Such things are necessary to be taught not so much for the sake of making them known as for stirring the heart. For beneath the prevalence of carnal delights the knowledge of natural righteousness sleeps forgotten. When then a teacher begins to denounce carnal sins, his teaching does not bring up a new knowledge, but recalls to memory one that had been forgotten. But He preached the Gospel, in telling of good things which the ancients had manifestly not heard of, as the happiness of heaven, the resurrection of the dead, and the like. Or, He taught by interpreting the prophecies concerning Himself; He preached by declaring the benefits that were to come from Himself. Remigius: Ut autem doctores doctrinam suam virtutibus commendare studeant, docentur per hoc quod subditur sanans omnem languorem et omnem infirmitatem in populo. Infirmitas quidem est corporum, languor autem animarum. Remig.: That the teacher should study to commend his teaching by his own virtuous conduct is conveyed in those words, "healing every sort of disease and malady among the people;" maladies of the body, diseases of the soul. Chrysostomus super Matth: Vel per languorem, animae aliquam passionem intelligimus, ut avaritiam, libidinem, et huiusmodi; per infirmitatem autem infidelitatem, per quam aliquis infirmatur in fide. Vel per languores intelliguntur graviores corporis passiones, per infirmitates autem leviores. Sicut autem passiones corporales divinitatis virtute sanabat, sic spirituales verbo pietatis. Primo autem docet et postea sanat; propter duo: primo, quia praemittitur quod magis necessarium est: verba enim pietatis aedificant animam, non miracula; deinde quia verba per miracula commendantur, et non e converso. Pseudo-Chrys.: Or, by disease we may understand any passion of the mind, as avarice, lust, and such like, by malady unbelief, that is, weakness of faith. Or, the diseases are the more grievous pains of the body, the maladies the slighter. As He cured the bodily pains by virtue of His divine power, so He cured the spiritual by the word of His mercy. He first teaches, and then performs the cures, for two reasons. First, that what is needed most may come first; for it is the word of holy instruction, and not miracles, that edify the soul. Secondly, because teaching is commended by miracles, not the converse. Chrysostomus in Matth: Considerandum autem, quod quando novum fit aliquid, ac politicae cuiusdam introductio, signa Deus facere consuevit praestans suae potentiae pignora his qui legem eius accepturi sunt. Sic cum hominem facturus esset, prius mundum creavit, ac tum demum facto homini legem in Paradiso dedit; et cum sancto Noe legem positurus esset, magna utique mirabilia monstravit; sed et Iudaeis quidem, cum legem laturus esset prius prodigia magna ostendit, ac tum demum eis praecepta legis imposuit. Ita hic sublimem quamdam vivendi introducturus disciplinam, auctoritatem mandatis suis praestruxit claritate signorum: quia enim aeternum regnum, quod praedicabat, non apparebat, ex his quae videntur, etiam illud quod nondum apparebat, manifestum fecit. Chrys.: We must consider that when some great change is being wrought, as the introduction of a new polity, God is wont to work miracles, giving pledges of His power to those who are to receive His laws. Thus when He would make man, He first created a world, and then at length gave man in paradise a law. When He would dispense a law to the holy Noah, he shewed truly great wonders; and again when He was about to ordain the Law for the Jews, He first shewed great prodigies, and then at [p. 143] length gave them the commandments. So now when about to introduce a sublime discipline of life, He first provided a sanction to His instructions by mighty signs, because the eternal kingdom He preached was not seen, by the things which did appear, He made sure that which as yet did not appear. Glossa: Sed quia praedicatores debent habere bonum testimonium ab his qui foris sunt, ne, si vita despicitur, praedicatio contemnatur, subditur et abiit opinio eius in totam Syriam. Gloss. ap. Anselm: Because preachers should have good testimony from those who are without, lest if their life is open to censure, their preaching be contemned, he adds, "And the fame of him went abroad through all Syria." Rabanus: Syria est omnis regio ab Euphrate usque ad mare magnum, a Cappadocia usque ad Aegyptum, in qua est provincia Palaestina, in qua habitant Iudaei. Rabanus: Syria here is all the region from Euphrates to the Great sea, from Cappodocia to Egypt, in which is the country of Palestine, inhabited by Jews. Chrysostomus in Matth: Intende autem moderationem Evangelistae, quia non unumquemque nobis enarrat curatorum, sed brevibus verbis copiositatem transcurrit signorum; unde sequitur et obtulerunt ei omnes male habentes. Chrys.: Observe the reserve of the Evangelist; he does not give an account of any one of the various cases of healing, but passes in one brief phrase an abundance of miracles, "they brought to him all their sick." Remigius: Per quos varias vult intelligi infirmitates, sed leviores. Cum vero dicit variis languoribus et tormentis comprehensos, illos vult intelligi de quibus subinfertur et qui Daemonia habebant. Remig.: By these he would have us understand various but slighter diseases; but when he says, "seized with divers sicknesses and torments," he would have those understood, of whom it is subjoined, "and who had daemons." Glossa: Languor diuturnus est; tormentum est morbus acutus, ut dolor lateris, et huiusmodi; qui autem Daemonia habebant, sunt qui a Daemonibus vexabantur. Gloss: 'Sickness' means a lasting ailment; 'torment' is an acute pain, as pleurisy, and such like; they "who had daemons" are they who were tormented by the daemons. Remigius: Lunatici enim dicti sunt a luna, quae dum menstruis temporibus crescit et decrescit, ipsi vexantur. Remig.: 'Lunatics' are so called from the moon; for as it waxes in its monthly seasons they are tormented. Hieronymus: Daemones enim observantes lunaria tempora, creaturam infamare cupiebant, ut in creatorem blasphemiae redundarent. Jerome: Not really smitten by the moon, but who were believed to be so through the subtlety of the daemons, who by observing the seasons of the moon, sought to bring an evil report against the creature, that is might redound to the blasphemy of the Creator. Augustinus de Civ. Dei: Illiciuntur tamen Daemones ad inhabitandum per creaturas (quas non ipsi, sed Deus condidit) delectabilibus pro sua diversitate diversis, non ut animalia cibis, sed ut spiritus signis, quae cuiusque delectationi congruunt. Aug., City of God, book 21, ch. 6: Daemons are enticed to take up their abode in many creatures, (created not by themselves but God,) by delights adapted to their various natures; not that they are animals, drawn by meats; but spirits attracted by signs which agree with each one's taste. Rabanus: Paralytici autem sunt corpore dissoluti: paralysis enim Graece, Latine dicitur dissolutio. Sequitur et curavit eos. Rabanus: Paralytics are those whose bodies have their nerves slackened or resolved from a Greek word, signifying this. Chrysostomus super Matth: Cum in quibusdam locis dicatur: multos curavit, hic simpliciter dicitur et curavit eos, signans quod omnes curavit, sicut et novitius medicus intrans civitatem, omnes ad se venientes curat propter suam opinionem commendandam. Pseudo-Chrys.: In some places it is, "He cured many;" but here, "He cured them," meaning, 'all;' as a new physician first entering a town cures all who come to him to beget a good opinion concerning himself. Chrysostomus in Matth: A nullo autem eorum fidem exquisivit, quoniam nondum virtutis suae demonstrationem dederat, et illi e longinquo venientes et aegros adducentes, non parvam ostenderant fidem. Sequitur et secutae sunt eum turbae multae. Chrys.: He requires no direct profession of faith from them, both because He had not yet given them any proofs of His miraculous [p. 144] power, and because in bringing their sick from far they had shewn no small faith. Rabanus: Quae quadripartitae sunt alii propter caeleste magisterium, ut discipuli; alii ob curationem infirmitatum; alii sola fama et curiositate, volentes experiri an verum esset quod dicebatur; alii per invidiam, volentes eum in aliquo capere et accusare. Mystice autem Syria interpretatur elata, Galilaea volubilis vel rota, idest Diabolus et mundus, qui et superbus est et ad ima semper rotatur; in quo fama Christi per praedicationem innotuit: daemoniaci enim sunt idololatrae; lunatici, instabiles; paralytici, pigri et dissoluti. Rabanus: The crowds that followed Him consisted of four sorts of men. Some followed for the heavenly teaching as disciples, some for the curing of their diseases, some from the reports concerning Him alone, and curiosity to find whether they were true; others from envy, wishing to catch Him in some matter that they might accuse Him. Mystically, Syria is interpreted 'lofty,' Galilee, 'turning:' or 'a wheel;' that is, the Devil and the world; the Devil is both proud and always turned round to the bottom; the world in which the fame of Christ went abroad through preaching: the daemoniacs are the idolaters; the lunatics, the unstable; the paralytics, the slow and careless. Glossa: Turbae autem quae sequuntur dominum, sunt de Ecclesia, quae spiritualiter est Galilaea transmigrans ad virtutes; et Decapolis decem praecepta servans; et Hierosolyma et Iudaea, quam visio pacis et confessio illustrat; et trans Iordanem, quia Baptismo transito, terram promissionis intrat. Gloss. ap. Anselm: The crowds that follow the Lord, are they of the Church, which is spiritually designated by Galilee, passing to virtuousness; Decapolis is he who keeps the Ten Commandments; Jerusalem and Judaea, he who is enlightened by the vision of peace and confession; and beyond Jordan, he who having passed the waters of Baptism enters the land of promise. Remigius: Vel sequitur dominum de Galilaea, idest de volubilitate mundi, et Decapoli, quae est regio decem urbium, et significat Decalogi transgressores, et de Hierosolyma, quia scilicet prius innoxia pace detinebatur, et de Iudaea, idest de confessione diabolica, et de trans Iordanem, qui prius erant in Paganismo constituti, sed transeuntes per aquam Baptismi venerunt ad Christum. Remig.: Or, they follow the Lord "from Galilee," that is, from the unstable world; from Decapolis, (the country of ten towns,) signifying those who break the Ten Commandments; "and from Jerusalem," because before it was preserved unhurt in peace; "and from Jordan," that is, from the confession of the Devil; "and from beyond Jordan," they who were first planted in paganism, but passing the water of Baptism came to Christ.
Caput 5 Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 5 [p. 145] Lectio 1 1 ἰδὼν δὲ τοὺς ὄχλους ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ ὄρος: καὶ καθίσαντος αὐτοῦ προσῆλθαν αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ: 2 καὶ ἀνοίξας τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ ἐδίδασκεν αὐτοὺς λέγων, 3 μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.
1. And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain: and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him. 2. And He opened His mouth, and taught them, saying, 3. "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for their is the kingdom of heaven."
Chrysostomus super Matth: Omnis artifex secundum professionem suam, opportunitatem operis videns gaudet: carpentarius enim si viderit arborem bonam, concupiscit eam praecidere ad opus artificii sui; et sacerdos, cum viderit Ecclesiam plenam, gaudet animus eius et delectatur ut doceat. Sic et dominus videns magnam congregationem populi, excitatus est ad docendum; unde dicit: videns autem turbas Iesus, ascendit in montem. Pseudo-Chrys.: Every man in his own trade or profession rejoices when he sees an opportunity of exercising it; the carpenter if he sees a goodly tree desires to have it to cut down to employ his skill on, and the Priest when he sees a full Church, his heart rejoices, he is glad of the occasion to teach. So the Lord seeing a great congregation of people was stirred to teach them. Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Vel hic potest videri multas turbas vitare voluisse, et ob hoc ascendisse in montem ut solis discipulis loqueretur. Aug., de Cons. Evan., ii, 19: Or He may be thought to have sought to shun the thickest crowd, and to have ascended the mountain that He might speak to His disciples alone. Chrysostomus in Matth: Per hoc autem quod non in civitate et foro, sed in monte et solitudine sedit, erudivit nos nihil ad ostentationem facere, et a tumultibus ascendere, et praecipue cum philosophandum est ac de rebus seriis disserendum. Chrys., Hom. 4: By not choosing His seat in the city, and the market place, but on a mountain in a desert, He has taught us to do nothing with ostentation, and to depart from crowds, above all when we are to be employed in philosophy, or in speaking of serious things. Remigius: Hoc enim sciendum est, quod tria refugia legitur dominus habuisse: navim, montem et desertum; ad quorum alterum, quotiescumque a turbis opprimebatur, conscendebat. Remig.: This should be known, that the Lord had three places of retirement that we read of, the ship, the mountain, and the desert; to one of these He was wont to withdraw whenever He was pressed by the multitude. Hieronymus in Matth.: Nonnulli autem simpliciorum fratrum putant dominum ea quae sequuntur in oliveti monte docuisse; quod nequaquam ita est: ex praecedentibus enim et sequentibus in Galilaea monstratur locus, quem putamus esse vel Thabor, vel quemlibet alium montem excelsum. Jerome: Some of the less learned brethren suppose the Lord to have spoken what follows from the Mount of Olives, which is by no means the case; what went before and what follows fixes the place in Galilee - Mount Tabor, [ed. note: Mount Tabor is asserted by the Fathers and by tradition coming down to the present day to be the scene of the Transfiguration. But S. Jerome seems to be the only author who speaks of it as the scene of the Sermon on the Mount. The mount of the Beatitudes according to modern travellers lies near to Capernaum, and ten miles north of Mount Tabor. See Grewell Diss. vol. ii. 294. Pococke's Descrip. of the East, vol. ii. 67] [p. 146] we may suppose, or any other high mountain. Chrysostomus super Matth: Ascendit autem in montem: primo quidem ut impleret prophetiam Isaiae dicentis: super montem ascende tu; deinde ut ostendat quoniam in altitudine spiritalium virtutum consistere debet qui docet Dei iustitiam, pariter et qui audit: nemo enim potest in valle stare et de monte loqui. Si in terra stas, de terra loquere; si autem de caelo loqueris, in caelo consiste. Vel ascendit in montem, ut ostendat quod omnis qui vult discere mysteria veritatis, in montem Ecclesiae debet ascendere; de quo propheta: mons Dei, mons pinguis. Chrys.: "He ascended a mountain," first, that He might fulfil the prophecy of Esaias, "Get thee up into a mountain;" [Isa 40:9] secondly, to shew that as well he who teaches, as he who hears the righteousness of God should stand on a high ground of spiritual virtues; for none can abide in the valley and speak from a mountain. If thou stand on the earth, speak of the earth; if thou speak of heaven, stand in heaven. Or, He ascended into the mountain to shew that all who would learn the mysteries of the truth should go up into the Mount of the Church of which the Prophet speaks, "The hill of God is a hill of fatness." [Ps 68:15] Hilarius in Matth.: Vel ascendit in montem, quia in paternae maiestatis celsitudine positus, caelestis vitae praecepta constituit. Hilary: Or, He ascends the mountain, because it is placed in the loftiness of His Father's Majesty that He gives the commands of heavenly life. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Vel ascendit in montem, ut significet, quia minora erant praecepta iustitiae quae a Deo data sunt per prophetas populo Iudaeorum, quem timore adhuc alligari oportebat; per filium autem suum maiora populo quem caritate iam convenerat liberari. Sequitur et cum sedisset, accesserunt ad eum discipuli eius. Aug., de Serm. Dom. in Mont. i. 1: Or, He ascends the mountain to shew that the precepts of righteousness given by God through the Prophets to the Jews, who were yet under the bondage of fear, were the lesser commandments; but that by His own Son were given the greater commandments to a people which He had determined to deliver by love. Hieronymus: Ideo autem non stans, sed sedens, loquitur, quia non poterant eum intelligere in sua maiestate fulgentem. Jerome: He spoke to them sitting and not standing, for they could not have understood Him had He appeared in His own Majesty. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Vel quod sedens docebat, pertinet ad dignitatem magistri. Accesserunt autem ad eum discipuli eius, ut audiendis verbis illius hi essent etiam corpore viciniores qui praeceptis implendis animo appropinquabant. Aug.: Or, to teach sitting is the prerogative of the Master. "His disciples came to him," that they who is spirit approached more nearly to keeping His commandments, should also approach Him nearest with their bodily presence. Rabanus: Mystice autem sessio domini, incarnatio eius est: quia nisi dominus incarnatus esset, humanum genus ad eum accedere non potuisset. Rabanus: Mystically, this sitting down of Christ is His incarnation; had He not taken flesh on Him, mankind could not have come unto Him. Augustinus de Cons. Evang: Movet autem quod Matthaeus in monte dicit hunc habitum esse sermonem a domino sedente; Lucas autem in loco campestri a domino stante. Haec igitur diversitas facit videri alium fuisse illum, alium istum. Qui enim prohibet Christum quaedam alibi repetere quae ante iam dixerat, aut iterum facere quae ante iam fecerat? Quamquam etiam possit illud occurrere: in aliqua excellentiori parte montis primo cum solis discipulis dominum fuisse, quando ex eis duodecim elegit; deinde cum eis descendisse non de monte, sed de ipsa montis celsitudine in campestrem locum, idest, in aliquam aequalitatem quae in latere montis erat et multos capere poterat, atque ibi stetisse donec ad eum turbae congregarentur; ac postea cum sedisset, accessisse propinquius discipulos eius, atque ita illis ceterisque turbis praesentibus, unum habuisse sermonem, quem Matthaeus Lucasque narrant diverso narrandi modo, sed eadem veritate rerum. Aug., de Cons. Evan., ii, 19: It cause a thought how it is that Matthew relates this sermon to have been delivered by the Lord sitting on the mountain; Luke, as He stood in the plain. This diversity in their accounts would lead us to think that the occasions were different. Why should not Christ repeat once more what He said before, or do once more what He had done before? Although another method of reconciling the two may occur to us; namely, that our Lord was first with His disciples alone on some more lofty peak of the mountain when He chose the twelve; that He then descended with them not from the mountain entirely, but from the top to some expanse of level ground in the side, capable of holding [p. 147] a great number of people; that He stood there while the crowd was gathering around Him, and after when He had sat down, then His disciples came near to Him, and so to them and in the presence of the rest of the multitude He spoke the same sermon which Matthew and Luke give, in a different manner, but with equal truth of facts. Gregorius Moralium: Sublimia autem praecepta domino in monte dicturo praemittitur aperiens os suum, docebat eos, qui dudum aperuerat ora prophetarum. Greg., Moral., iv, 1: When the Lord on the mountain is about to utter His sublime precepts, it is said, "Opening his mouth he taught them," He who had before opened the mouth of the Prophets. Remigius: Ubicumque autem legitur dominus aperuisse os, inspiciendum est, quia magna sunt quae sequuntur. Remig.: Wherever it is said that the Lord opened His mouth, we may know how great things are to follow. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Vel dicit aperiens os suum, ut ipsa mora commendet aliquanto longiorem futurum esse sermonem. Aug., de Serm. in Mount. i, 1: Or, the phrase is introductory of an address longer than ordinary. Chrysostomus in Matth: Vel hoc dicit, ut discas quoniam nunc quidem docebat os aperiens in loquendo, nunc autem vocem, quae est ab operibus, emittens. Chrys.: Or, that we may understand that He sometimes teaches by opening His mouth in speech, sometimes by that voice which resounds from His works. Augustinus: Si quis autem pie sobrieque consideravit, inveniet in hoc sermone, quantum ad mores opportunos pertinet, perfectum vitae Christianae modum; unde sic ipse sermo concluditur: omnis qui audit verba mea haec et facit ea, similabo eum viro sapienti. Aug.: Whoever will take the trouble to examine with a pious and sober spirit, will find in this sermon a perfect code of the Christian life as far as relates to the conduct of daily life. Accordingly the Lord concludes it with the words, "Every man who heareth these words of mine and doeth them, I will liken him to a wise man, &c." Augustinus de Civ. Dei: Nulla autem est causa philosophandi, nisi finis boni; quod autem beatum facit, ipse est finis boni. Et ideo a beatitudine incipit dicens beati pauperes spiritu. Aug., City of God, book 19, ch. 1: The chief good is the only motive of philosophical enquiry; but whatever confers blessedness, that is the chief good; therefore He begins, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Praesumptio quidem spiritus, audaciam et superbiam significat. Vulgo etiam magnum spiritum superbi habere dicuntur, et recte, nam spiritus ventus vocatur; qui vero nesciat superbos inflatos dici, quasi vento distentos? Quapropter recte hic intelliguntur pauperes spiritu humiles et timentes Deum, idest non habentes inflantem spiritum. Aug., de Serm. in Mont., i, 1: Augmentation of 'spirit' generally implies insolence and pride. For in common speech the proud are said to have a great spirit, and rightly - for wind is a spirit, and who does not know that we say of proud men that they are 'swollen,' 'puffed up.' Here therefore by "poor in spirit" are rightly understood 'lowly,' 'fearing God,' not having a puffed up spirit. Chrysostomus in Matth: Vel spiritum hic elationem et animum dicit: quia enim sunt multi humiles nolentes, rerum necessitate coacti, non est laus; unde illos beatificat qui se ex electione humiliant. Ideo autem hic incipit radicitus evellens superbiam, quia haec fuit radix et fons malitiae universae; contra quam ponit humilitatem, velut quoddam stabile fundamentum; qua subiecta, cum stabilitate alia superaedificantur; hac autem destructa, pereunt quaecumque congregaveris bona. Chrys.: Or, He here calls all loftiness of soul and temper spirit; for as there are many humble against their will, constrained by their outward condition, they have no praise; the blessing is on those who humble themselves by their own choice. Thus He begins at once at the root, pulling up pride which is the root and source of all evil, setting up as its opposite humility as a firm foundation. If this be well laid, other virtues may be firmly built thereon; if that be sapped, whatever good you gather upon it perishes. [p. 148] Chrysostomus super Matth: Ideo autem dixit manifeste beati humiles spiritu, ut sic humiles ostendat, ut semper adiutorium Dei sint mendicantes; unde in Graeco dicitur beati ptochi, mendici, vel egeni. Sunt enim multi naturaliter humiles, et non ex fide, qui non pulsant adiutorium Dei; sed solum qui secundum fidem sunt humiles. Pseudo-Chrys.: "Blessed are the poor in spirit," [ed. note, a: The Bened. ed. reads 'beati egeni' - and has this marginal note, 'Hinc sequitur hune Graece non scripsisse' - but S. Thos. reads 'beati πτωχοι ptochi;' it may be remarked moreover that the author follows the order of verses 4 and 5 according to the Greek; all the Latin Fathers (with the single exception of Hilary on Ps. 118) following the order of the Vulgate.] or, according to the literal rendering of the Greek, 'they who beg,' that the humble may learn that they should be ever begging at God's almshouse. For there are many naturally humble and not of faith, who do not knock at God's almshouse; but they alone are humble who are so of faith. Chrysostomus in Matth: Vel quia pauperes spiritu hic dicit formidantes et trementes Dei iussiones, quomodo dominus per Isaiam commendat. Quid autem amplius quam simpliciter humiles? Humilium enim hic quidem mediocriter est, hic autem superabundanter. Chrys.: Or, the poor in spirit may be those who fear and tremble at God's commandments, whom the Lord by the Prophet Isaiah commends. Though why more than simply humble? Of the humble there may be in this place but few, in that again an abundance. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Superbi ergo appetant regna terrarum; sed humilium est regnum caelorum. Aug.: The proud seek an earthly kingdom, of the humble only is the kingdom of Heaven. Chrysostomus super Matth: Nam sicut cetera vitia deponunt ad Inferos, maxime tamen superbia, sic et omnes virtutes inducunt in regnum caelorum, maxime tamen humilitas, quia proprium est ut qui se humiliat exaltetur. Pseudo-Chrys.: For as all other vices, but chiefly pride, casts down to hell; so all other virtues, but chiefly humility, conduct to Heaven; it is proper that he that humbles himself should be exalted. Hieronymus: Vel beati pauperes spiritu, qui scilicet propter spiritum sanctum voluntarie sunt pauperes. Jerome: The "poor in spirit" are those who embrace a voluntary poverty for the sake of the Holy Spirit. Ambrosius de Offic.: Inde autem incipit beatitudo iudicio divino, ubi aerumna aestimatur humana. Ambrose, de Officiis, i, 16: In the eye of Heaven blessedness begins there where misery begins in human estimation. Glossa: Pauperibus autem in praesenti convenienter promittuntur divitiae caeli. Gloss. interlin.: The riches of Heaven are suitably promised to those who at this present are in poverty.
Lectio 2 5 μακάριοι οἱ πραεῖς, ὅτι αὐτοὶ κληρονομήσουσιν τὴν γῆν.
5. "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." [ed. note, b: Verses 4 and 5 are transposed in the Vulgate.]
5 l. 276>765 l. 2 Ambrosius super Lucam: Cum simpliciter contentus fuero inops, superest ut mores meos temperem. Quid enim mihi prodest carere saecularibus, nisi fuero mitis? Congrue igitur sequitur beati mites. Ambrose, in Luc. c. v. 20: When I have learned contentment in poverty, the next lesson is to govern my heart and temper. For what good is it to me to be without worldly things, unless I have besides a meek spirit? It suitably follows therefore, "Blessed are the meek." Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Mites sunt qui cedunt improbitatibus et non resistunt malo, sed vincunt in bono malum. Aug., Serm. in Mont. i, 2: The meek are they who resist not wrongs, and give way to evil; but overcome evil of good. Ambrosius super Lucam: Mitiga ergo affectum tuum, ut non irascaris, aut certe iratus ne peccaveris. Praeclarum est enim motum temperare consilio; nec minoris virtutis dicitur prohibere iracundiam, quam omnino non irasci, cum plerumque illud lentius, hoc fortius aestimetur. Ambrose: Soften therefore your temper that you be not angry, at least that you "be angry, and sin not." It is a noble thing to govern passion by reason; [p. 149] nor is it a less virtue to check anger, than to be entirely without anger, since one is esteemed the sign of a weak, the other of a strong, mind. Augustinus: Rixentur igitur immites et dimicent pro terrenis et temporalibus rebus; sed beati mites, quoniam ipsi hereditabunt terram de qua evelli non possunt; illam, inquam, terram de qua dicitur: portio mea in terra viventium. Significat enim quamdam stabilitatem hereditatis perpetuae, ubi anima per bonum affectum tamquam loco suo requiescit, sicut corpus in terra, et inde cibo suo alitur, sicut corpus ex terra: ipsa est requies et vita sanctorum. Aug.: Let the unyielding then wrangle and quarrel about earthly and temporal things, "the meek are blessed, for they shall inherit the earth," and not be rooted out of it; that earth of which it is said in the Psalms, "Thy lot is in the hand of the living," [Ps 142:5] meaning the fixedness of a perpetual inheritance, in which the soul that hath good dispositions rests as in its own place, as the body does in an earthly possession, it is fed by its own food, as the body by the earth; such is the rest and the life of the saints. Chrysostomus super Matth: Vel terra hic, sicut quidam dicunt, quamdiu est in hoc statu, terra mortuorum est, quia vanitati subiecta est; cum autem liberata fuerit de corruptione, fit terra vivorum, ut mortales hereditent immortalem. Alterum exponentem legi, quasi caelum, in quo habitaturi sunt sancti, dicatur terra vivorum, quod quantum ad inferiorem regionem caelum est, quantum autem ad superius caelum dicitur terra. Alii dicunt, quia corpus nostrum terra est, et quamdiu subiacet morti, terra est mortuorum; cum autem fuerit conforme factum gloriae corporis Christi, erit terra vivorum. Pseudo-Chrys.: This earth as some interpret, so long as it is in its present condition is the land of the dead, seeing it is "subject to vanity;" but when it is freed from corruption it becomes the land of the living, that the mortal may inherit an immortal country. I have read another exposition of it, as if the heaven in which the saints are to dwell is meant by "the land of the living," because compared with the regions of death it is heaven, compared with the heaven above it is earth. Others again say, that this body as long as it is subject to death is the land of the dead, when it shall be made like unto Christ's glorious body, it will be the land of the living. Hilarius in Matth.: Vel hereditatem terrae mitibus dominus pollicetur, idest eius corporis quod ipse assumpsit habitaculum: et quia per mansuetudinem mentis nostrae habitat Christus in nobis, nos quoque clarificati corporis eius gloria vestiemur. Hilary: Or, the Lord promises the inheritance of the earth to the meek, meaning of that Body, which Himself took on Him as His tabernacle; and as by the gentleness of our minds Christ dwells in us, we also shall be clothed with the glory of His renewed body. Chrysostomus in Matth: Vel aliter, Christus hic spiritualibus sensibilia immiscuit: quoniam enim aestimatur qui mitis est omnia sua perdere, contrarium promittit, dicens quod cum stabilitate sua possidet qui non est protervus; qui autem aliter est, multoties animam et hereditatem paternam perdit. Quia vero propheta dixerat: mansueti hereditabunt terram, a consuetis verbis contexit sermonem. Chrys.: Otherwise; Christ here has mixed things sensible with things spiritual. Because it is commonly supposed that he who is meek loses all that he possesses, Christ here gives a contrary promise, that he who is not forward shall possess his own in security, but that he of a contrary disposition many times loses his soul and his paternal inheritance. But because the Prophet had said, "The meek shall inherit the earth," [Ps 36:11] He used these well known words in conveying His meaning. Glossa: Mites etiam, qui seipsos possederunt, hereditatem patris in futuro possidebunt. Plus autem est possidere quam habere: multa enim habemus quae statim amittimus. Gloss. ord.: The meek, who have possessed themselves, shall possess hereafter the inheritance of the Father; to possess is more than to have, for we have many things which we lose immediately.
Lectio 3 4 μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται.
4. "Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted."
Ambrosius super Lucam: Cum hoc feceris, ut scilicet sis pauper et mitis, memento quia peccator es, et lugeto peccata tua; unde sequitur beati qui lugent. Et bene tertia benedictio est peccata deflentis, quia Trinitas est quae peccata condonat. Ambrose: When you have done thus much, attained both poverty and meekness, remember that you are a sinner, mourn your sins, as He proceeds, "Blessed are they that mourn." And it is suitable that the third blessing should be of those that mourn for sin, for it is the Trinity that forgives sin. Hilarius in Matth.: Lugentes enim hic dicuntur non orbitates aut contumelias aut damna moerentes, sed peccata vetera flentes. Hilary: Those that mourn, that is, not loss of kindred, affronts, or losses, but who weep for past sins. Chrysostomus super Matth: Et qui sua quidem peccata lugent, beati sunt, sed mediocriter; beatiores autem sunt qui aliena lugent peccata: tales convenit esse omnes doctores. Pseudo-Chrys.: And they who weep for their own sins are blessed, but much more so who weep for others' sins; so should all teachers do. Hieronymus: Luctus enim hic non mortuorum ponitur communi lege naturae, sed peccatis et vitiis mortuorum. Sic flevit Samuel Saulem, et Paulus eos qui post immunditiam poenitentiam egerunt. Jerome: For the mourning here meant is not for the dead by common course of nature, but for the dead in sins, and vices. Thus Samuel mourned for Saul, thus the Apostle Paul mourned for those who had not performed penance after uncleanness. Chrysostomus super Matth: Cum autem consolatio sit lugentium cessatio luctus, qui sua peccata lugent, consolabuntur indulgentiam consecuti. Pseudo-Chrys.: The "comfort" of mourners is the ceasing of their mourning; they then who mourn their own sins shall be consoled when they have received remittance thereof. Chrysostomus in Matth: Et licet talibus sufficiat venia frui, non terminat retributionem in peccatorum remissione, sed et multarum facit participes consolationum et hic et in futuro. Semper enim maiores laboribus Deus dat retributiones. Chrys.: And though it were enough for such to receive pardon, yet He rests not His mercy only there, but makes them partakers of many comforts both here and hereafter. God's mercies are always greater than our troubles. Chrysostomus super Matth: Qui vero aliena peccata lugent, consolabuntur: qui cum in saeculo illo providentiam cognoverint Dei et intellexerint quod qui perierunt non fuerunt Dei, de cuius manu nemo rapere potest, de eis, luctu derelicto, in sua beatitudine laetabuntur. Vel aliter. Pseudo-Chrys.: But they also who mourn for others' sin shall be comforted, inasmuch as they shall own God's providence in that worldly generation, understanding that they who had perished were not of God, out of whose hand none can snatch. For these leaving to mourn, they shall be comforted in their own blessedness. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Luctus est tristitia de amissione carorum. Conversi autem ad Deum ea quae in hoc mundo cara habebant amittunt: non enim gaudent his rebus quibus ante gaudebant; et donec fiant in illis amor aeternorum, nonnulla moestitia sauciantur. Consolabuntur ergo spiritu sancto, qui maxime propterea Paraclitus nominatur, idest consolator, ut temporalem amittentes, aeterna laetitia perfruantur, et ideo dicit quoniam ipsi consolabuntur. Aug., Serm. in Mont., i, 2: Otherwise; mourning is sorrow for the loss of what is dear; but those that are turned to God lose the things that they held dear in this world; and as they have now no longer any joy in such things as before they had joy in, their sorrow may not be healed till there is formed within them a love of eternal things. They shall then be comforted by the Holy Spirit, who is therefore chiefly called, The Paraclete, that is, "Comforter;' so that for the loss of their temporal joys, they shall gain eternal joys. Glossa: Vel per luctum duo genera compunctionis intelliguntur: scilicet pro miseriis huius mundi, et pro desiderio caelestium; unde filia Caleph petivit irriguum superius et inferius. Huiusmodi autem luctum non habet nisi pauper et mitis, qui cum mundum non diligat, quod miser est recognoscit, et ideo caelum concupiscit. Convenienter ergo lugentibus promittitur consolatio, ut qui tristatus est in praesenti, gaudeat in futuro. Maior est autem retributio lugentis quam pauperis et mitis: plus enim est gaudere in regno, quam habere et possidere: multa enim cum dolore possidemus. Gloss. ap. Anselm: Or, by mourning, two kinds of sorrow are intended; one for the miseries of this world, one for lack of heavenly things; so Caleb's [p. 151] daughter asked both "the upper and the lower springs." This kind of mourning none have but the poor and the meek, who as not loving the world acknowledge themselves miserable, and therefore desire heaven. Suitably, therefore, consolation is promised to them that mourn, that he who has sorrow at this present may have joy hereafter. But the reward of the mourner is greater than that of the poor or the meek, for "to rejoice" in the kingdom is more than to have it, or to possess it; for many things we possess in sorrow. Chrysostomus in Matth: Notandum autem, quod hanc beatitudinem non simpliciter, sed omnino cum intensione et cumulo posuit; ideoque non dixit: qui moerent, sed qui lugent. Siquidem praeceptum istud totius philosophiae magisterium est. Si enim qui filios vel proximos mortuos lugent, toto illo doloris sui tempore nec pecuniarum nec gloriae amore tenentur, non invidia consumuntur, non iniuriis permoventur nec aliis vitiis obsidentur, utpote solis luctibus mancipati; multo magis qui propria peccata lugent, sicut ea lugere dignum est, celsiorem hanc philosophiam debent ostendere. Chrys.: We may remark that this blessing is given not simply, but with great force and emphasis; it is not simply, 'who have grief,' but "who mourn." And indeed this command is the sum of all philosophy. For if they who mourn for the death of children or kinsfolk, throughout all that season of their sorrow, are touched with no other desires, as of money, or honour, burn not with envy, feel not wrongs, nor are open to any other vicious passion, but are solely given up to their grief; much more ought they, who mourn their own sins in such manner as they ought to mourn for them, to shew this higher philosophy.
Lectio 4 6 μακάριοι οἱ πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην, ὅτι αὐτοὶ χορτασθήσονται.
6. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."
5 l. 478>785 l. 4 Ambrosius super Lucam: Postquam delicta deflevi, esurire incipio et sitire iustitiam. Aeger enim cum in gravi morbo est, non esurit; unde sequitur beati qui esuriunt et sitiunt iustitiam. Ambrose: As soon as I have wept for my sins, I begin to hunger and thirst after righteousness. He who is afficted with any sort disease, hath ho hunger. Hieronymus: Non nobis sufficit velle iustitiam, nisi iustitiae patiamur famem, ut sub hoc exemplo, nunquam nos satis iustos, sed semper esurire iustitiae opera intelligamus. Jerome: It is not enough that we desire righteousness, unless we also suffer hunger for it, by which expression we may understand that we are never righteous enough, but always hunger after works of righteousness. Chrysostomus super Matth: Quoniam omne bonum quod non ex amore ipsius boni faciunt homines, ingratum est ante Deum. Esurit autem iustitiam qui secundum iustitiam Dei desiderat conversari; sitit autem iustitiam qui scientiam eius acquirere cupit. Pseudo-Chrys.: All good which men do not from love of the good itself is unpleasing before God. He hungers after righteousness who desires to walk according to the righteousness of God; he thirsts after righteousness who desires to get the knowledge thereof. Chrysostomus in Matth: Iustitiam autem dicit vel universalem, vel particularem avaritiae contrariam. Quia enim de misericordia dicturus erat, praemonstrat qualiter misereri oporteat, quia non ex rapina neque ex avaritia; unde etiam quod est avaritiae proprium, scilicet esurire et sitire, iustitiae attribuit. Chrys.: He may mean either general righteousness, or that particular virtue which is the opposite of covetousness. As He was going on to speak of mercy, He shews before hand of what kind our mercy should be, that it should not be of the gains of plunder or covetousness, hence He ascribes to righteousness that [p. 152] which is peculiar to avarice, namely, to hunger and thirst. Hilarius in Matth.: Sitientibus autem et esurientibus iustitiam, beatitudinem tribuit, significans extensam in Dei doctrinam sanctorum aviditatem perfecta in caelo satietate repleri; et hoc est quod dicitur quoniam ipsi saturabuntur. Hilary: The blessedness which He appropriates to those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shews that the deep longing of the saints for the doctrine of God shall receive perfect replenishment in heaven; then "they shall be filled." Chrysostomus super Matth: Scilicet largitatem remunerantis Dei: quoniam maiora erunt praemia Dei quam sanctorum desideria. Pseudo-Chrys.: Such is the bounty of a rewarding God, that His gifts are greater than the desires of the saints. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Vel illo cibo saturabuntur in praesenti, de quo dominus dicit: meus cibus est ut faciam voluntatem patris mei, quod est iustitia, et illa aqua de qua: quisque biberit, fiet ei fons aquae salientis in vitam aeternam. Aug.: Or He speaks of food with which they shall be filled at this present; to wit, that food of which the Lord spake, "My food is to do the will of my Father," that is, righteousness, and that water of which whoever drinks it shall be in him "a well of water springing up to life eternal." Chrysostomus in Matth: Vel rursus sensibile praemium statuit: quia enim plurimos divites facere putatur avaritia, dicit hoc esse contrarium, magisque id praestare iustitiam: qui enim iustitiam diligit, tutissime omnia possidet. Chrys.: Or, this is again a promise of a temporal reward; for as covetousness is thought to make many rich, He affirms on the contrary that righteousness rather makes rich, for He who loves righteousness possesses all things in safety.
Lectio 5 7 μακάριοι οἱ ἐλεήμονες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἐλεηθήσονται.
7. "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy."
5 79>795 Glossa: Iustitia et misericordia ita coniunctae sunt, ut altera ab altera debeat temperari: iustitia enim sine misericordia crudelitas est; misericordia sine iustitia, dissolutio; unde de misericordia post iustitiam subdit beati misericordes. Gloss.: Justice and mercy are so united, that the one ought to be mingled with the other; justice without mercy is cruelty; mercy without justice, profusion - hence He goes on to the one from the other. Remigius: Misericors dicitur, quasi miserum habens cor, quia alterius miseriam quasi suam reputat et de malo alterius quasi de suo dolet. Remig.: The merciful is he who has a sad heart; he counts others' misery his own, and is sad at their grief as at his own. Hieronymus: Misericordia hic non solum in eleemosynis intelligitur, sed in omni peccato fratris, si alter alterius onera portemus. Jerome: Mercy here is not said only of alms, but is in every sin of a brother, if we bear one another's burdens. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Beatos autem dicit esse qui subveniunt miseris, quoniam eis ita rependitur ut de miseria liberentur; unde sequitur quoniam ipsi misericordiam consequentur. Aug.: He pronounces those blessed who succour the wretched, because they are rewarded in being themselves delivered from all misery; as it follows, "for they shall obtain mercy." Hilarius in Matth.: Intantum enim Deus benevolentiae nostrae in omnes delectatur affectu, ut suam misericordiam sit solis misericordibus praestaturus. Hilary: So greatly is God pleased with our feelings of benevolence towards all men, that He will bestow His own mercy only on the merciful. Chrysostomus in Matth: Videtur autem esse aequalis retributio, sed est multo maior: non enim est aequalis humana misericordia et divina. Chrys.: The reward here seems at first to be only an equal return; but indeed it is much more; for human mercy and divine mercy are not to be put on an equality. Glossa: Merito ergo misericordibus misericordia impenditur, ut plus accipiant quam meruissent; et sicut plus recipit qui ultra saturitatem habet quam ille qui habet tantum ad saturitatem, sic maior est gloria misericordiae quam praecedentium. Gloss. ap. Anselm: Justly is mercy dealt out to the merciful, that they should receive more than they had deserved; and as he who has more than enough receives more than he who has [p. 153] only enough, so the glory of mercy is greater than of the things hitherto mentioned.
Lectio 6 8 μακάριοι οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ, ὅτι αὐτοὶ τὸν θεὸν ὄψονται.
8. "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."
Ambrosius super Lucam: Qui misericordiam defert, misericordiam amittit, nisi mundo corde misereatur: nam si iactantiam quaerit, nullus est fructus; unde sequitur beati mundo corde. Ambrose, in Luc., vi, 22: The merciful loses the benefit of his mercy, unless he shews it from a pure heart; for if he seeks to have whereof to boast, he loses the fruit of his deeds; the next that follows therefore is, "Blessed are the pure of heart." Glossa. Convenienter autem sexto loco ponitur cordis munditia, quia sexto die homo conditus est ad imaginem Dei, quae quidem obtenebrata erat in homine per culpam, sed in mundis cordibus reformatur per gratiam. Merito autem post praedicta sequitur, quia, nisi illa praecedant, mundum cor in homine non creatur. Gloss. ap. Anselm: Purity of heart comes properly in the sixth place, because on the sixth day man was created in the image of God, which image was shrouded by sin, but is formed anew in pure hearts by grace. It follows rightly the beforementioned graces, because if they be not there, a clean heart is not created in a man. Chrysostomus in Matth: Mundos autem hic ait vel eos qui universalem virtutem possident et nullius sibi malitiae conscii sunt, vel eos qui in temperantia consistunt, quae maxime necessaria est ad videndum Deum, secundum illud Pauli: pacem sequimini cum omnibus, et sanctimoniam, sine qua nemo videbit Deum. Quia enim multi miserentur quidem, sed impudica agunt, monstrans quod non sufficit primum, scilicet misereri, hoc de munditia opposuit. Chrys.: By the pure are here meant those who possess a perfect goodness, conscious to themselves of no evil thoughts, or again those who live in such temperance as is mostly necessary to seeing God according to that of St. Paul, "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see God." For as there are many merciful, yet unchaste, to shew that mercy alone is not enough, he adds this concerning purity. Hieronymus: Mundus autem Deus a mundo corde concupiscitur: templum enim Dei non potest esse pollutum; et hoc est quod dicitur quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt. Jerome: The pure is known by purity of heart, for the temple of God cannot be impure. Chrysostomus super Matth: Qui enim omnem iustitiam facit et cogitat, mente sua Deum videt quoniam iustitia figura est Dei, Deus enim iustitia est. Secundum ergo quod aliquis eripuerit se a malis et fecerit bona, secundum hoc Deum videt, aut parum aut amplius aut interdum aut semper, secundum possibilitatem humanam. In saeculo autem illo mundi corde Deum videbunt facie ad faciem, non in speculo et in aenigmate, sicut hic. Pseudo-Chrys.: He who in thought and deed fulfils all righteousness, "sees God" in his heart, for righteousness is an image of God, for God is righteousness. So far as any one has rescued himself from evil, and works things that are good, so far does he "see God," either hardly, or fully, or sometimes, or always, according to the capabilities of human nature. But in that world to come the pure in heart shall see God face to face, not in a glass, and in enigma as here. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Stulti autem sunt qui Deum videre istis exterioribus oculis quaerunt, cum corde videatur, sicut alibi scriptum est: in simplicitate cordis quaerite illum; hoc enim est simplex cor quod mundum cor. Aug., Serm. in Mont., i, 2: They are foolish who seek to see God with the bodily eye, seeing He is seen only by the heart, as it is elsewhere written, "In singleness of heart seek ye Him;" the single heart is the same as is here called the pure heart. Augustinus de Civ. Dei: Si autem tantum poterunt in corpore spirituali oculi etiam ipsi spirituales quantum possunt isti quales nunc habemus, proculdubio per eos Deus videri non poterit. Aug., City of God, book 22, ch. 29: But if spiritual eyes in the spiritual body shall be able only to see so much as they we now have can see, undoubtedly God will not be able to be seen of them. Augustinus de Trin: Haec autem visio merces est fidei; cui mercedi per fidem corda mundantur, sicut scriptum est: mundans fide corda eorum. Hoc autem probatur illa maxime sententia: beati mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt. Aug., de Trin., i, 8: This seeing God is the reward of faith; to which end our [p. 154] hearts are made pure by faith, as it is written, "cleansing their hearts by faith;" [Acts 15:9] but the present verse proves this still more strongly. Augustinus super Gen. ad Litt.: Nemo autem videns Deum vivit vita ista qua mortaliter vivitur et istis sensibus corporis. Sed nisi ab hac vita quisque funditus moriatur, sive omnino exiens de corpore, sive ita alienatus a carnalibus sensibus ut merito nesciat, sicut ait apostolus: utrum in corpore an extra corpus sit, non in illam subvehitur visionem. Aug., de Genesi ad Literam. xii. 26: No one seeing God can be alive with the life men have on earth, or with these our bodily senses. Unless one die altogether out of this life, either by totally departing from the body, or so alienated from carnal lusts that he may truly say with the Apostle, "whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell," he is not translated that he should see this vision. Glossa: Maiorem autem remunerationem isti habent quam primi, sicut qui in curia regis non solum prandet, sed etiam faciem regis videt. Gloss. non occ.: The reward of these is greater than the reward of the first; being not merely to dine in the King's court, but further to see His face.
Lectio 7 9 μακάριοι οἱ εἰρηνοποιοί, ὅτι αὐτοὶ υἱοὶ θεοῦ κληθήσονται.
9. "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."
5 l. 781>815 l. 7 Ambrosius super Lucam: Cum interiora tua vacua feceris ab omni labe peccati, ne dissensiones contentionesque ex affectu tuo prodeant, a te pacem incipe, ut sic pacem aliis feras; unde sequitur beati pacifici. Ambrose: When you have made your inward parts clean from every spot of sin, that dissentions and contentions may not proceed from your temper, begin peace within yourself, that so you may extend it to others. Augustinus de Civ. Dei: Est autem pax tranquillitas ordinis. Ordo autem est parium dispariumque sua cuique loca tribuens dispositio. Sicut autem nemo est qui gaudere nolit, ita nemo est qui pacem habere nolit; quandoquidem ipsi qui bella volunt, nihil aliud quam ad gloriosam pacem cupiunt bellando pervenire. Aug., City of God, book 19, ch. 13: Peace is the fixedness of order; by order, I mean an arrangement of things like and unlike giving to each its own place. And as there is no man who would not willingly have joy, so is there no man who would not have peace; since even those who go to war desire nothing more than by war to come to a glorious peace. Hieronymus: Pacifici autem dicuntur beati, qui primum in corde suo, deinde et inter fratres dissidentes faciunt pacem. Quid enim prodest alios per te pacari, cum in tua anima sint bella vitiorum? Jerome: The peacemakers [margin note: pacifici] are pronounced blessed, they namely who make peace first within their own hearts, then between brethren at variance. For what avails it to make peace between others, while in your own heart are wars of rebellious vices. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Pacifici autem in semetipsis sunt qui omnes animi sui motus componentes et subiicientes rationi, carnalesque concupiscentias habentes edomitas, fiunt regnum Dei, in quo ita ordinata sunt omnia ut quod est in homine praecipuum et excellens imperet ceteris reluctantibus quae sunt nobis bestiisque communia; atque idipsum quod excellit in homine, idest mens et ratio, subiiciatur potiori quod est ipsa veritas, filius Dei. Neque enim imperare inferioribus potest nisi superioribus subiiciatur. Et haec est pax quae datur in terra hominibus bonae voluntatis. Aug., Serm. in Mont., i, 2: The peacemakers within themselves are they who having stilled all disturbances of their spirits, having subjected them to reason, have overcome their carnal desires, and become the kingdom of God. There all things are so disposed, that that which is most chief and excellent in man, governs those parts which we have in common with the brutes, though they struggle against it; nay even that in man which is excellent is subjected to a yet greater, namely, the very Truth, the Son of God. For it would not be able to govern what is inferior to it, if it were not subject to what is above [p. 155] it. And this is the peace which is given on earth to men of good will. Augustinus in Lib. Retract: Non tamen cuiquam provenire potest in hac vita ut lex repugnans legi mentis omnino non sit in membris. Sed hoc nunc pacifici agunt domando concupiscentias carnis, ut ad pacem plenissimam quandoque veniatur. Aug., Retract., i, 19: No man can attain in this life that there be not in his members a law resisting the law of his mind. But the peacemakers attain thus far by overcoming the lusts of the flesh, that in time they come to a most perfect peace. Chrysostomus super Matth: Pacifici autem ad alios sunt non solum qui inimicos in pace reconciliant, sed etiam illi qui immemores malorum, diligunt pacem. Pax enim illa beata est quae in corde posita est, non tantum in verbis. Qui autem pacem diligunt, filii sunt pacis. Pseudo-Chrys.: The peacemakers with others are not only those who reconcile enemies, but those who unmindful of wrongs cultivate peace. That peace only is blessed which is lodged in the heart, and does not consist only in words. And they who love peace, they are the sons of peace. Hilarius in Matth.: Pacificorum autem beatitudo, adoptionis est merces; et ideo dicitur quoniam filii Dei vocabuntur. Parens enim omnium Deus noster est, neque aliter transire in nuncupationem familiae eius licebit, nisi fraternae invicem caritatis pace vivamus. Hilary: The blessedness of the peacemakers is the reward of adoption, "they shall be called the sons of God." For God is our common parent, and no other way can we pass into His family than by living in brotherly love together. Chrysostomus in Matth: Vel cum pacifici dicantur qui non adversum se mutuo dimicant, sed alios dissidentes in concordiam revocant, iure etiam filii Dei appellantur, quia unigeniti hoc praecipuum fuit opus: distantia copulare, conciliare pugnantia. Chrys.: Or, if the peacemakers are they who do not contend one with another, but reconcile those that are at strife, they are rightly called the sons of God, seeing this was the chief employment of the Only-begotten Son, to reconcile things separated, to give peace to things at war. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Vel quia in pace perfectio est, ubi nihil repugnat; pacifici filii Dei dicuntur, quoniam nihil resistit Deo, et utique filii Dei similitudinem patris debent habere. Aug.: Or, because peace is then perfect when there is no where any opposition, the peacemakers are called the sons of God, because nothing resists God, and the children ought to bear the likeness of their Father. Glossa: Maximam ergo dignitatem habent pacifici; sicut qui filius regis dicitur in domo regia summus est. Septimo autem loco beatitudo haec ponitur, quia in sabbato verae requiei dabitur pax, sed aetatibus transactis. Gloss. ap. Anselm: The peacemakers have thus the place of highest honour, inasmuch as he who is called the king's son, is the highest in the king's house. This beatitude is placed the seventh in order, because in the sabbath shall be given the repose of true peace, the six ages being passed away.
Lectio 8 10 μακάριοι οἱ δεδιωγμένοι ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.
10. "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Chrysostomus in Matth: Posita pacificorum beatitudine, ne aliquis existimaret quod semper pacem sibi quaerere sit bonum, subdit beati qui persecutionem patiuntur propter iustitiam, hoc est propter virtutem, propter defensionem aliorum, propter pietatem: iustitiam enim consuevit pro omni virtute animae ponere. Chrys.: "Blessed are they who suffer persecution for righteousness' sake," that is for virtue, for defending others, for piety, for all these things are spoken of under the title of righteousness. This follows the beatitude upon the peacemakers, that we may not be led to suppose that it is good to seek peace at all times. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Pace enim intrinsecus constituta ac firmata, quascumque persecutiones ille qui foras missus est, forinsecus concitaverit aut gesserit, auget gloriam quae secundum Deum est. Aug., Serm. in Mont., i, 2: When peace is once firmly established within, [p. 156] whatever persecutions he who has been cast without raises, or carries on, he increases that glory which is in the sight of God. Hieronymus: Signanter autem addit propter iustitiam: multi enim propter sua peccata persecutionem patiuntur, et non sunt iusti. Simulque considera quod octava verae circumcisionis beatitudo martyrio terminetur. Jerome: "For righteousness' sake" He adds expressly, for many suffer persecution for their sins, and are not therefore righteous. Likewise consider how the eighth beatitude of the true circumcision is terminated by martyrdom. [margin note: vid. Phil. 3:2-3] Chrysostomus super Matth: Non autem dixit: beati qui a gentibus persecutionem patiuntur, ne putes illum solum beatum qui persecutionem patitur propter idola non colenda; ideo et ab haereticis persecutionem patiens propter veritatem non relinquendam, beatus est, quia propter iustitiam patitur. Sed et si quis ex potentibus, qui Christiani videntur, forsitan propter sua peccata correctus a te, fuerit te persecutus, beatus es cum Ioanne Baptista. Si enim verum est quod prophetae martyres sunt, qui a suis occisi sunt, sine dubio qui propter causam Dei aliquid patitur, etsi a suis patitur, mercedem martyrii habet. Et ideo non posuit Scriptura personas persequentium, sed solam causam persecutionis, ut non aspicias quis te persequitur, sed propter quod. Pseudo-Chrys.: He said not, Blessed are they who suffer persecution of the Gentiles; that we may not suppose the blessing pronounced on those only who are persecuted for refusing to sacrifice to idols; yea, whoever suffers persecution of heretics because he will not forsake the truth is likewise blessed, seeing he suffers for righteousness. Moreover, if any of the great ones, who seem to be Christians, being corrected by you on account of his sins, shall persecute you, you are blessed with John the Baptist. For if the Prophets are truly martyrs when they are killed by their own countrymen, without doubt he who suffers in the cause of God has the reward of martyrdom though he suffers from his own people. Scripture therefore does not mention the persons of the persecutors, but only the cause of persecution, that you may learn to look, not by whom, but why you suffer. Hilarius in Matth.: Sic ergo ad postremum eos in beatitudine numerat quibus omnia pro Christo pati, qui iustitia est, pronus affectus est. His igitur et regnum servatur, qui in contemptu saeculi sunt pauperes spiritu; unde dicit quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum. Hilary: Thus, lastly, He includes those in the beatitude whose will is ready to suffer all things for Christ, who is our righteousness. For these then also is the kingdom preserved, for they are in the contempt of this world poor in spirit. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Vel octava beatitudo tamquam ad caput redit, quia consummatum perfectumque ostendit et probat. Itaque in prima et in octava nominatum est regnum caelorum: septem enim sunt quae perficiunt; nam octava clarificat et perfectum demonstrat; ut per hos gradus perficiantur et ceteri, tamquam accipiatur rursus exordium. Aug.: Or, the eighth beatitude, as it were, returns to the commencement, because it shews the perfect complete character. In the first then and the eighth, the kingdom of heaven is named, for the seven go to make the perfect man, the eighth manifests and proves his perfectness, that all may be conducted to perfection by these steps. Ambrosius super Lucam: Vel aliter: primum regnum caelorum sanctis propositum est in absolutione corporis, secundum post resurrectionem esse cum Christo. Post resurrectionem enim terram incipies tuam possidere absolutus a morte, et in ipsa possessione consolationem reperies. Consolationem sequitur delectatio, delectationem divina miseratio. Cui autem miseretur dominus, et vocat et sic vocatus videt vocantem. Qui autem viderit, in ius divinae generationis assumitur, et tunc demum quasi Dei filius caelestis regni divitiis delectatur. Ille igitur incipit, hic repletur. Ambrose, in Luc., vi. 23: Otherwise; the first kingdom of heaven was promised to the Saints, in deliverance from the body; the second, that after the resurrection they should be with Christ. For after your resurrection you shall begin to possess the earth delivered from death, and in that possession shall find comfort. Pleasure follows comfort, and Divine mercy pleasure. But on whom God has mercy, him He calls, and he whom He calls, beholds Him that called him. He who beholds God is adopted into the rights of divine birth, and then at length [p. 157] as the son of God is delighted with the riches of the heavenly kingdom. The first then begins, the last is perfected. Chrysostomus in Matth: Ne autem mireris si secundum unamquamque beatitudinem regnum non audis, quia cum dicit consolabuntur, misericordiam consequentur, et cetera huiusmodi, per haec universa nihil aliud quam regnum caelorum occulte insinuat, ut nihil sensibile expectes. Neque enim beatus est qui in his coronatur quae cum praesenti vita discedunt. Chrys.: Wonder not if you do not hear 'the kingdom' mentioned under each beatitude; for in saying "shall be comforted, shall find mercy," and the rest, in all these the kingdom of heaven is tacitly understood, so that you must not look for any of the things of sense. For indeed he would not be blessed who was to be crowned with those things which depart with this life. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Diligenter autem attendendus est numerus harum sententiarum: his enim septem gradibus congruit operatio spiritus sancti septiformis quam Isaias describit; sed ille a summo, hic ab imo: quia ibi docetur filius Dei ad ima descensurus, hic homo de imis ad similitudinem Dei ascensurus. In his prius est timor, qui congruit hominibus humilibus, de quibus dicitur beati pauperes spiritu, idest non alta sapientes, sed timentes. Secunda est pietas, quae convenit mitibus: qui enim pie quaerit, honorat, non reprehendit, non resistit, quod est mitem fieri. Tertia est scientia, quae convenit lugentibus, qui didicerunt quibus malis nunc vincti sunt, quae quasi bona petierunt. Quarta, quae est fortitudo, congruit esurientibus et sitientibus, quia desiderantes gaudium de veris bonis, laborant, a terrenis cupientes averti. Quinta, consilium, convenit misericordibus, quia unicum remedium est de tantis malis erui, dimittere aliis et dare. Sexta est intellectus, et convenit mundis corde, qui purgato oculo possunt videre quod oculus non vidit. Septima est sapientia, quae convenit pacificis, in quibus nullus motus est rebellis, sed obtemperant spiritui. Unum autem praemium, quod est regnum caelorum, varie nominatum est. In prima, sicut oportebat, positum est regnum caelorum, quod est perfectae sapientiae initium, ac si diceretur: initium sapientiae timor domini. Mitibus hereditas tamquam testamentum patris cum pietate quaerentibus; lugentibus consolatio, tamquam scientibus quid amiserunt et in quibus mersi sunt; esurientibus saturitas, tamquam refectio laborantibus ad salutem; misericordibus misericordia, tamquam optimo consilio utentibus, ut hoc eis exhibeatur quod exhibent; mundis corde facultas videndi Deum, tamquam purum oculum ad intelligenda aeterna gerentibus; pacificis Dei similitudo. Et ista quidem in hac vita possunt compleri, sicut completa esse in apostolis credimus: nam quod post hanc vitam promittitur, nullis verbis exponi potest. Aug.: The number of these sentences should be carefully attended to; to these seven degrees of blessedness agree the operation of that seven-form Holy Spirit which Isaiah described. But as He began from the highest, so here He begins from the lowest; for there we are taught that the Son of God will descend to the lowest; here that man will ascend from the lowest to the likeness of God. Here the first place is given to fear, which is suitable for the humble, of whom it is said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit," that is, those who think not high things, but who fear. The second is piety, which belongs to the meek; for he who seeks piously, reverences, does not find fault, does not resist; and this is to become meek. The third is knowledge, which belongs to those that mourn, who have learned to what evils they are enslaved which they once pursued as goods. The fourth, which is fortitude, rightly belongs to those who hunger and thirst, who seeking joy in true goods, labour to turn away from earthly lusts. The fifth, counsel, is appropriate for the merciful, for there is one remedy to deliver from so great evils, viz. to give and to distribute to others. The sixth is understanding, and belongs to the pure in heart, who with purged eye can see what eye seeth not. The seventh is wisdom, and may be assigned to the peacemakers, in whom is no rebellious motion, but they obey the Spirit. Thus the one reward, the kingdom of heaven, is put forth under various names. In the first, as was right, is placed the kingdom of heaven, which is the beginning of perfect wisdom; as if it should be said, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." To the meek, an inheritance, as to those who with piety seek the execution of a father's will. To those that mourn, comfort, as to persons who know what they had lost, and in what they were immersed. To the hungry, [p. 158] plenty, as a refreshment to those who labour for salvation. To the merciful, mercy, that to those who have followed the best counsel, that may be shewed which they have shewed to others. To the pure in heart the faculty of seeing God, as to men bearing a pure eye to understand the things of eternity. To the peacemakers, the likeness of God. And all these things we believe may be attained in this life, as we believe they were fulfilled in the Apostles; for as to the things after this life they cannot be expressed in any words.
Lectio 9 11 μακάριοί ἐστε ὅταν ὀνειδίσωσιν ὑμᾶς καὶ διώξωσιν καὶ εἴπωσιν πᾶν πονηρὸν καθ' ὑμῶν [ψευδόμενοι] ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ: 12 χαίρετε καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε, ὅτι ὁ μισθὸς ὑμῶν πολὺς ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς: οὕτως γὰρ ἐδίωξαν τοὺς προφήτας τοὺς πρὸ ὑμῶν.
11. "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. 12. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."
Rabanus: Superiores sententias generaliter dirigebat; iam incipit loqui praesentes compellans, praedicens eis persecutiones quas pro nomine eius passuri erant, dicens beati estis cum maledixerint vobis homines et persecuti vos fuerint et dixerint omne malum adversum vos. Rabanus: The preceding blessings were general; He now begins to address His discourse to them that were present, foretelling them the persecutions which they should suffer for His name. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Quaeri autem potest quid intersit quod ait cum vobis maledicent et dicent omne malum, cum maledicere hoc sit malum dicere. Sed aliter est maledictum iactatum cum contumelia coram illo qui maledicitur, aliter cum absentis fama laeditur. Persequi autem est vim inferre, vel insidiis appetere. Aug.: It may be asked, what difference there is between 'they shall revile you,' and 'shall speak all manner of evil of you;' to revile, it may be said, being but to speak evil of. But a reproach thrown with insult in the face of one present is a different thing from a slander cast on the character of the absent. To persecute includes both open violence and secret snares. Chrysostomus super Matth: Si autem verum est, quoniam qui calicem aquae porrexerit, merces eius non perit, consequenter qui vel unius levissimi verbi iniuriam fuerit passus, vacuus non erit a mercede. Ut autem blasphematus sit beatus, duo convenire debent: ut et mendaciter blasphemetur, et propter Deum; alioquin si unum defuerit, non est beatitudinis merces. Et ideo dicit mentientes propter me. Pseudo-Chrys.: But if it be true that he who offers a cup of water does not lose his reward, consequently he who has been wronged but by a single word of calumny, shall not be without a reward. But that the reviled may have a claim to this blessing, two things are necessary, it must be false, and it must be for God's sake; otherwise he has not the reward of this blessing; therefore He adds, "falsely for my sake." Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Quod propter illos dictum puto qui volunt de persecutionibus et de fama suae turpitudinis gloriari, et ideo dicere ad se pertinere Christum, quod multa de illis dicuntur mala, cum et vera dicantur, quando et de errore illorum dicuntur; et si aliquando falsa iactantur, non tamen propter Christum ista patiuntur. Aug., Serm. in Mont., i, 5: This I suppose was added because of those who wish to boast of persecutions and evil reports of their shame, and therefore claim to belong to Christ because many evil things are said of them; but either these [p. 159] are true, or when false yet they are not for Christ's sake. Gregorius super Ezech: Quid autem poterit obesse si homines vobis derogent, et sola vos conscientia defendat? Sed tamen linguas detrahentium sicut nostro studio non debemus excitare ne ipsi pereant, ita per suam malitiam excitatam debemus aequanimiter tolerare, ut nobis meritum crescat; unde et hic dicitur gaudete et exultate, quoniam merces vestra copiosa est in caelis. Greg., Hom. in Ezech. i. 9, 17: What hurt can you receive when men detract from you, though you have no defence but only your own conscience? But as we ought not to stir up wilfully the tongues of slanderers, lest they perish for their slander, yet when their own malice has instigated them, we should endure it with equanimity, that our merit may be added to. "Rejoice," He says, "and exult, for your reward is abundant in heaven." Glossa: Gaudete mente quidem, et exultate corpore, quia merces vestra non tantum magna est, sicut aliorum, sed copiosa est in caelis. Gloss. ap. Anselm: Rejoice, that is, in mind, exult with the body, for your reward is not great only but "abundant in heaven." Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Non hic caelos puto dici superiores partes huius visibilis mundi: non enim merces vestra in rebus visibilibus collocanda est; sed in caelis, dictum puto in spiritalibus firmamentis, ubi habitat sempiterna iustitia. Sentiunt ergo istam mercedem qui gaudent spiritualibus, sed ex omni parte perficietur cum mortale hoc induerit immortalitatem. Aug., Serm. in Mont., i, 5: Do not suppose that by heaven here is meant the upper regions of the sky of this visible world, for your reward is not to be placed in things that are seen, but by "in heaven" understand the spiritual firmament, where everlasting righteousness dwells. Those then whose joy is in things spiritual will even here have some foretaste of that reward; but it will be made perfect in every part when this mortal shall have put on immortality. Hieronymus: Gaudere et exultare debemus, ut merces nobis in caelestibus praeparetur. Hoc qui vanam sectatur gloriam, implere non potest. Jerome: This it is in the power of any one of us to attain, that when our good character is injured by calumny, we rejoice in the Lord. He only who seeks after empty glory cannot attain this. Let us then rejoice and exult, that our reward may be prepared for us in heaven. Chrysostomus super Matth: Quia quantum aliquid laetatur de laude hominum, tantum de vituperatione tristatur. Qui vero gloriam concupiscis in caelo, opprobria non times in terris. Pseudo-Chrys.: For by how much any is pleased with the praise of men, by so much is he grieved with their evil speaking. But if you seek your glory in heaven, you will not fear any slanders on earth. Gregorius super Ezech: Aliquando tamen detractores debemus compescere, ne dum de nobis mala disseminant, eorum qui audire a nobis bona poterant, corda innocentia corrumpant. Gregory, Hom. in Ezech., i, 9, 17: Yet ought we sometimes to check our defamers, lest by spreading evil reports of us, they corrupt the innocent hearts of those who might hear good from us. Glossa: Non solum autem praemio, sed etiam exemplo eos ad patientiam provocat, cum subdit sic enim persecuti sunt prophetas qui fuerunt ante vos. Gloss. non occ.: He invites them to patience not only by the prospect of reward, but by example, when He adds, "for so persecuted they the Prophets who were before you." Remigius: Magnam enim consolationem accipit homo in tribulatione positus, dum recordatur passiones aliorum a quibus exemplum patientiae accipit; ac si diceret: mementote quia illius vos estis apostoli cuius illi fuerunt prophetae. Remig.: For a man in sorrow receives great comfort from the recollection of the sufferings of others, who are set before him as an example of patience; as if He had said, Remember that ye are His Apostles, of whom also they were Prophets. Chrysostomus in Matth: Simul etiam insinuat coaequalitatem sui honoris ad patrem, ac si dicat: sicut illi propter patrem, ita et vos propter me patiemini. Cum etiam dixit prophetas qui fuerunt ante vos, monstrat et ipsos prophetas iam factos. Chrys.: At the same time He signifies His equality in honour with His Father, as if He had said, As they suffered for my Father, so shall ye suffer for me. And in saying, "The Prophets who were before you," He teaches that they themselves are already become Prophets. [p. 160] Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Persecutionem autem hic generaliter posuit et in maledictis et in laceratione famae. Aug.: "Persecuted" He says generally, comprehending both reproaches and defamation of character.
Lectio 10 13 ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ ἅλας τῆς γῆς: ἐὰν δὲ τὸ ἅλας μωρανθῇ, ἐν τίνι ἁλισθήσεται; εἰς οὐδὲν ἰσχύει ἔτι εἰ μὴ βληθὲν ἔξω καταπατεῖσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων.
13. "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men."
Chrysostomus in Matth: Quoniam sublimia praecepta apostolis dederat et multo quam in lege veteri maiora, ne turbarentur, ac dicerent: quonam modo haec implere poterimus? Eos laudum admixtione permulcet, dicens vos estis sal terrae, per quod ostendit quam necessario ista praecipiat. Non enim pro vestra, inquit, salute tantummodo, aut pro una solum gente, sed pro universo prorsus orbe haec vobis doctrina committitur. Proinde non oportet vos adulari atque palpare, sed e contrario salis instar mordicare. Quod si homines mordendo ac perstringendo, male audieritis, gaudete: hoc enim salis est opus, laxa quaeque mordicare atque restringere. Sic itaque aliorum maledictio nihil vobis afferet incommodi; sed vestrae potius firmitatis testimonium est. Chrys.: When He had delivered to His Apostles such sublime precepts, so much greater than the precepts of the Law, that they might not be dismayed and say, How shall we be able to fulfil these things? He sooths their fears by mingling praises with His instructions, saying, "Ye are the salt of the earth." This shews them how necessary were these precepts for them. Not for your own salvation merely, or for a single nation, but for the whole world is this doctrine committed to you. It is not for you then to flatter and deal smoothly with men, but, on the contrary, to be rough and biting as salt is. When for thus offending men by reproving them ye are reviled, rejoice; for this is the proper effect of salt to be harsh and grating to the depraved palate. Thus the evil-speaking of others will bring you no inconvenience, but will rather be a testimony of your firmness. Hilarius in Matth.: Est autem hic proprietas quaerenda dictorum, quam et apostolorum officium et ipsius salis natura monstrabit. Hoc igitur in omnem usum humani generis effectum incorruptionem corporibus, quibus fuerit aspersum, impertit, et ad omnem sensum conditi saporis aptissimum est. Apostoli autem sunt rerum caelestium praedicatores et aeternitatis velut salitores, merito sal terrae nuncupati, quia per virtutem doctrinae quasi salientes, aeternitati corpora servant. Hilary: There may be here seen a propriety in our Lord's language which may be gathered by considering the Apostle's office, and the nature of salt. This, used as it is by men for almost every purpose, preserves from decay those bodies which are sprinkled with it; and in this, as well as in every sense of its flavour as a condiment, the parallel is most exact. The Apostles are preachers of heavenly things, and thus, as it were, salters with eternity; rightly called "the salt of the earth," as by the virtue of their teaching, they, as it were, salt and preserve bodies for eternity. Remigius: Sal etiam, per aquam et ardorem solis et flatum venti in naturam alteram commutatur; sic et apostolici viri per aquam Baptismi et ardorem dilectionis et flatum spiritus sancti in spiritalem regenerationem commutati sunt. Sapientia etiam caelestis, per apostolos praedicata, exsiccat humores carnalium operum, aufert foetorem et putredinem malae conversationis et vermem libidinosae cogitationis et illum de quo dicit propheta: vermis eorum non moritur. Remig.: Moreover, salt is changed into another kind of substance by three means, water, the heat of the sun, and the breath of the wind. Thus Apostolic men also were changed into spiritual regeneration by the water of baptism, the heat of love, and the breath of the Holy Spirit. That heavenly wisdom also, which the Apostles preached, dries [p. 161] up the humours of carnal works, removes the foulness and putrefaction of evil conversation, kills the work of lustful thoughts, and also that worm of which it is said "their worm dieth not." [Isa 66:24] Remigius: Sunt apostoli sal terrae, idest hominum terrenorum, qui amando terram, terra vocantur. Remig.: The Apostles are "the salt of the earth," that is, of worldly men who are called the earth, because they love this earth. Hieronymus: Vel apostoli sal terrae appellantur, quia per illos universum hominum conditur genus. Jerome: Or, because by the Apostles the whole human race is seasoned. Chrysostomus super Matth: Doctor enim cum fuerit omnibus praedictis virtutibus ornatus, tunc est quasi optimum sal, et totus populus de illo conditur videndo eum et audiendo. Pseudo-Chrys.: A doctor when he is adorned with all the preceding virtues, then is like good salt, and his whole people are salted by seeing and hearing him. Remigius: Et sciendum, quia nullum sacrificium offerebatur Deo in veteri testamento nisi prius condiretur sale: quia nullus potest laudabile sacrificium Deo offerre absque sapore caelestis sapientiae. Remig.: It should be known, that in the Old Testament no sacrifice was offered to God unless it were first sprinkled with salt, for none can present an acceptable sacrifice to God without the flavour of heavenly wisdom. Hilarius: Verum quia conversioni homo subiacet, ideo apostolos sal terrae nuncupatos monet in traditae sibi potestatis virtute persistere, cum subdit quod si sal evanuerit, in quo salietur? Hilary: And because man is ever liable to change, He therefore warns the Apostles, who have been entitled "the salt of the earth," to continue steadfast in the might of the power committed to them, when He adds, "If the salt have lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted?" Hieronymus: Idest si doctor erraverit, a quo alio doctore emendabitur? Jerome: That is, if the doctor have erred, by what other doctor shall he be corrected? Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Et si vos, per quos condiendi sunt populi, metu persecutionum temporalium, amiseritis regna caelorum, qui erunt homines per quos a vobis error auferatur? Alia littera habet si sal infatuatum fuerit, ostendens fatuos esse iudicandos qui temporalium bonorum vel copiam sectantes vel inopiam metuentes amittunt aeterna, quae nec dari possunt ab hominibus nec auferri. Aug., Serm. in Mont., i, 6: If you by whom the nations are to be salted shall lose the kingdom of heaven through fear of temporal persecution, who are they by whom your error shall be corrected? Another copy has, "If the salt have lost all sense," shewing that they must be esteemed to have lost their sense, who either pursuing abundance, or fearing lack of temporal goods, lose those which are eternal, and which men can neither give nor take away. Hilarius (ut supra): Si autem doctores infatuati nil saliant, et ipsi sensu accepti saporis amisso vivificare non possunt corrupta, redduntur inutiles; unde sequitur ad nihilum valet ultra, nisi ut mittatur foras et conculcetur ab hominibus. Hilary: But if the doctors having become senseless, and having lost all the savour they once enjoyed, are unable to restore soundness to things corrupt, they are become useless; and "are thenceforth fit only to be cast out and trodden by men." Hieronymus: Exemplum de agricultura sumptum est. Sal enim ut in condimentum ciborum et ad siccandas carnes necessarium est, ita alium usum non habet. Certe legimus in Scripturis urbes quasdam ira victorum sale seminatas, ut germen nullum in ipsis oriretur. Jerome: The illustration is taken from husbandry. Salt, though it be necessary for seasoning of meats and preserving flesh, has no further use. Indeed we read in Scripture of vanquished cities sown with salt by the victors, that nothing should thenceforth grow there. Glossa: Postquam ergo illi qui capita sunt aliorum, defecerint, nulli usui apti sunt, nisi ad hoc ut mittantur foras ab officio docendi. Gloss. ap. Anselm: When then they who are the heads have fallen away, they are fit for no use but to be cast out from the office of teacher. Hilarius (ut supra): Vel etiam de Ecclesiae promptuariis proiecti, pedibus incedentium conterantur. Hilary: Or even cast out from the Church's store rooms to be trodden under foot by those that walk. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Non autem calcatur ab hominibus qui patitur persecutionem, sed qui persecutionem timendo infatuatur. Calcari enim non potest nisi inferior; inferior autem non est qui quamvis corpore multa in terra sustineat, corde tamen in caelo fixus est. Aug.: Not he that suffers persecution [p. 162] is trodden under foot of men, but he who through fear of persecution falls away. For we can tread only on what is below us; but he is no way below us, who however much he may suffer in the body, yet has his heart fixed in heaven.
Lectio 11 14 ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου. οὐ δύναται πόλις κρυβῆναι ἐπάνω ὄρους κειμένη: 15 οὐδὲ καίουσιν λύχνον καὶ τιθέασιν αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τὸν μόδιον ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τὴν λυχνίαν, καὶ λάμπει πᾶσιν τοῖς ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ. 16 οὕτως λαμψάτω τὸ φῶς ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὅπως ἴδωσιν ὑμῶν τὰ καλὰ ἔργα καὶ δοξάσωσιν τὸν πατέρα ὑμῶν τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.
14. "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid." 15. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but upon a lampstand, and it shines on all in the house. 16. So let you light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Chrysostomus super Matth: Sicut doctores propter bonam conversationem sunt sal quo populus conditur, ita propter verbum doctrinae sunt lux qua ignorantes illuminantur. Prius autem est bene vivere quam bene docere; et ideo postquam apostolos dixerat sal, consequenter vocat eos lucem, dicens vos estis lux mundi. Vel quia sal in eo statu tenet rem ne ad deterius mutetur, lux ad melius perducit illustrando. Propter quod apostoli dicti sunt prius sal propter Iudaeos et propter populum Christianum, a quibus Deus cognoscitur, quos servant in Dei scientia; lux autem propter gentes quas ad scientiae lumen perducunt. Gloss: As the doctors by their good conversation are the salt with which the people is salted; so by their word of doctrine they are the light by which the ignorant are enlightened. Pseudo-Chrys.: But to live well must go before to teach well; hence after He had called the Apostles "the salt," He goes on to call them "the light of the world." Or, for that salt preserves a thing in its present state that it should not change for the worse, but that light brings it into a better state by enlightening it; therefore the Apostles were first called salt with respect to the Jews and that Christian body which had the knowledge of God, and which they keep in that knowledge; and now light with respect to the Gentiles whom they bring to the light of that knowledge. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Oportet autem hic mundum non caelum et terram, sed homines qui sunt in mundo, intelligi, vel qui diligunt mundum, quibus illuminandis apostoli missi sunt. Aug.: By the world here we must not understand heaven and earth, but the men who are in the world; or those who love the world for whose enlightenment the Apostles were sent. Hilarius in Matth.: Natura enim luminis est ut lucem, quocumque circumferatur, emittat, illatumque aedibus tenebras interimat, luce dominante. Igitur mundus extra cognitionem Dei positus, obscuris tenebatur ignorantiae tenebris, cui per apostolos scientiae lumen invehitur, et cognitio Dei claret, et de parvis eorum corpusculis, quocumque incesserint, lux tenebris ministratur. Hilary: It is the nature of a light to emit its rays whithersoever it is carried about, and when brought into a house to dispel the darkness of that house. Thus the world, placed beyond the pale of the knowledge of God, was held in the darkness of ignorance, till the light of knowledge was brought to it by the Apostles, and thenceforward the knowledge of God shone bright, and from their small bodies, whithersoever they went about, light is ministered to the darkness. Remigius: Sicut autem sol dirigit radios suos, ita et dominus, qui est sol iustitiae, direxit apostolos suos ad effugandas humani generis tenebras. Remig.: For as the sun sends forth his beams, so the Lord, the Sun of righteousness, sent forth his Apostles to dispel the night of the human race. Chrysostomus in Matth: Intellige autem quam magna eis promittit, ut qui in regione propria cogniti non erant, ad fines orbis terrarum eorum veniret fama. Nec persecutiones quas praedixerat, eos potuerunt occultare, sed propter hoc magis praeclari redduntur. Chrys.: Mark how great His promise to them, men who were scarce known in their own country that the fame of them should reach to the ends of the earth. The persecutions which He had foretold, were not able to dim their light, yea they made it but more conspicuous. Hieronymus: Ne autem apostoli abscondantur ob metum, sed tota libertate se prodant, docet eos fiduciam praedicandi, cum consequenter dicit non potest civitas abscondi supra montem posita. Jerome: He instructs them what should be the boldness of their preaching, that as [p. 163] Apostles they should not be hidden through fear, like lamps under a corn-measure, but should stand forth with all confidence, and what they have heard in the secret chambers, that declare upon the house tops. Chrysostomus in Matth: Per hoc etiam eos docet esse sollicitos de propria vita, quasi in oculis omnium positos, sicut civitas quae est supra montem posita, vel lucerna supra candelabrum lucens. Chrys.: Thus shewing them that they ought to be careful of their own walk and conversation, seeing they were set in the eyes of all, like a city on a hill, or a lamp on a stand. Chrysostomus super Matth: Haec autem civitas Ecclesia sanctorum est, de qua dicitur: gloriosa dicta sunt de te, civitas Dei. Cives eius sunt omnes fideles, de quibus apostolus: vos estis cives sanctorum. Haec ergo civitas posita est supra montem Christum, de quo Daniel: lapis abscissus sine manibus factus est mons magnus. Pseudo-Chrys.: This city is the Church of which it is said, "Glorious things are spoken of thee, thou city of God." [Ps 87:3] Its citizens are all the faithful, of whom the Apostle speaks, "Ye are fellow-citizens of the saints." [Eph 2:19] It is built upon Christ the hill, of whom Daniel thus, "A stone hewed without hands" [Dan 2:34] became a great mountain. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Vel posita est supra montem, idest supra magnam iustitiam, quam significat mons, in quo disputat dominus. Aug.: Or, the mountain is the great righteousness, which is signified by the mountain from which the Lord is now teaching. Chrysostomus super Matth: Non potest ergo civitas abscondi posita supra montem, etiam si ipsa voluerit: mons enim qui eam portat, facit eam omnibus manifestam; sic et apostoli et sacerdotes, qui fundati sunt in Christo, non possunt esse absconditi etiam si voluerint, quia Christus eos manifestat. Pseudo-Chrys.: "A city set on a hill cannot be hidden" though it would; the mountain which bears makes it to be seen of all men; so the Apostles and Priests who are founded on Christ cannot be hidden even though they would, because Christ makes them manifest. Hilarius in Matth.: Vel civitatem, carnem quam assumpserat nuncupat, quia in eo per naturam suscepti corporis, quaedam humani generis congregatio continetur, et nos per consortium carnis suae sumus habitatio civitatis. Abscondi ergo non potest, quia in altitudine positus celsitudinis Dei, admiratione operum suorum offertur omnibus contemplandus. Hilary: Or, the city signifies the flesh which He had taken on Him; because that in Him by this assumption of human nature, there was as it were a collection of the human race, and we by partaking in His flesh become inhabitants of that city. He cannot therefore be hid, because being set in the height of God's power, He is offered to be contemplated of all men in admiration of his works. Chrysostomus super Matth: Quare autem sanctos suos Christus manifestet et non sinat eos esse absconditos, per alteram comparationem ostendit, cum subditur neque accendunt lucernam et ponunt eam sub modio, sed supra candelabrum. Pseudo-Chrys.: How Christ manifests His saints, suffering them not to be hid, He shews by another comparison, adding, "Neither do men light a lamp to put it under a corn-measure," but on a stand. Chrysostomus in Matth: Vel per hoc quod dixit non potest civitas abscondi, demonstravit suam virtutem; in hoc autem quod subdit neque accendunt lucernam, eos inducit ad liberam praedicationem, ac si diceret: ego quidem lucernam accendi; ut vero perseveret ardens, vestri erit studii, non solum propter vos, sed propter alios qui illuminabuntur, sed et propter gloriam Dei. Chrys.: Or, in the illustration of the city, He signified His own power, by the lamp He exhorts the Apostles to preach with boldness; as though He said, 'I indeed have lighted the lamp, but that it continue to burn will be your care, not for your own sakes only, but both for others who shall receive its light and for God's glory.' Chrysostomus super Matth: Lucerna est verbum divinum, de quo dictum est: lucerna pedibus meis verbum tuum. Accendentes lucernam sunt pater et filius et spiritus sanctus. Pseudo-Chrys.: The lamp is the Divine word, of which it is said, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet." [Ps 119:105] They who light this lamp are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Quid autem putamus dictum esse et ponunt eam sub modio? Ut occultatio tantum lucernae accipienda sit (tanquam si diceret: nemo accendit lucernam et occultat eam), an aliquid etiam modius significat, ut hoc sit ponere lucernam sub modio, superiora facere corporis commoda quam praedicationem veritatis? Sub modio ergo lucernam ponit quisquis lucem doctrinae bonae commodis temporalibus obscurat et tegit. Et bene modius dicitur res corporalis, sive propter retributionem mensurae, quia ea quisquis recipit quae gessit in corpore, sive quia temporalia bona, quae corpore peraguntur, circa dierum mensuram, quam significat modius, inchoantur, et transeunt; aeterna vero et spiritualia nullo tali fine coercentur. Super candelabrum autem lucernam ponit qui corpus suum ministerio verbi subiicit, ut superior sit praedicatio veritatis et inferior servitus corporis: per ipsam enim corporis servitutem excelsior lucet doctrina, dum per vocem et ceteros corporis motus in bonis operibus insinuatur discentibus. Aug.: With what meaning do we suppose the words, "to put it under a corn-measure," were said? To express concealment simply, or that the "corn-measure" has a special [p. 164] signification? The putting the lamp under the corn-measure means the preferring bodily ease and enjoyment to the duty of preaching the Gospel, and hiding the light of good teaching under temporal gratification. The corn-measure aptly denotes the things of the body, whether because our reward shall be measured out to us, [2 Cor 5:10] as each one shall receive the things done in the body; or because worldly goods which pertain to the body come and go within a certain measure of time, which is signified by the corn-measure, whereas things eternal and spiritual are contained within no such limit. He places his lamp upon a stand, who subdues his body to the ministry of the word, setting the preaching of the truth highest, and subjecting the body beneath it. For the body itself serves to make doctrine shine more clear, while the voice and other motions of the body in good works serve to recommend it to them that learn. Chrysostomus super Matth: Vel modii sunt homines mundiales: quoniam sicut modii desuper quidem vacui sunt, subtus autem pleni, sic omnes mundi amatores in rebus spiritualibus insensati sunt, in terrenis autem sapientes; et ideo quasi modius verbum Dei tenet absconditum, quando propter aliquam causam terrenam verbum Dei non est ausus palam proloqui, nec fidei veritatem. Candelabrum est Ecclesia, quae baiulat verbum vitae, et omnis ecclesiasticus vir. Pseudo-Chrys.: Or, men of the world may be figured in the "corn-measure" as these are empty above, but full beneath, so worldly men are foolish in spiritual things, but wise in earthly things, and therefore like a corn-measure they keep the word of God hid, whenever for any worldly cause he had not dared to proclaim the word openly, and the truth of the faith. The stand for the lamp is the Church which bears the word of life, and all ecclesiastical persons. [margin note: Phil 2:15] Hilarius: Vel synagogam dominus modio comparavit, quae susceptos fructus intra se tantum receptans, certum modium dimensae observantiae continebat. Hilary: Or, the Lord likened the Synagogue to a corn-measure, which only receiving within itself such fruit as was raised; contained a certain measure of limited obedience. Ambrosius super Lucam: Et ideo nemo fidem suam intra mensuram legis includat, sed ad Ecclesiam conferat, in qua septiformis spiritus relucet gratia. Ambrose. non occ.: And therefore let none shut up his faith within the measure of the Law, but have recourse to the Church in which the grace of the sevenfold Spirit shines forth. Beda: Vel ipse Christus accendit lucernam, qui testam humanae naturae flamma suae divinitatis implevit, quam nec credentibus abscondere, nec modio supponere, hoc est sub mensura legis includere, vel intra unius gentis terminos noluit cohibere. Candelabrum Ecclesiam dicit, cui lucernam superposuit, quia nostris in frontibus fidem suae incarnationis affixit. Bede, in Loc. quoad sens.: Or, Christ Himself has lighted this lamp, when He filled the earthen vessel of human nature with the fire of His Divinity, which He would not either hide from them that believe, nor put under a bushel that is shut up under the measure of the Law, or confine within the limits of any one oration. The lampstand is the Church, on which He set the lamp, when He affixed to our foreheads the faith of His incarnation. Hilarius in Matth.: Vel lucerna Christi ponitur in candelabro, idest in ligno per passionem suspensa, quae lumen aeternum est in Ecclesia habitantibus praebitura; et ideo dicit ut luceat omnibus qui in domo sunt. Hilary: Or, the lamp, i.e. Christ Himself, is set on its stand when He was suspended on the Cross in His passion, to give light for ever to those that dwell in the Church; "to give light," He says, "to all that are in the house." Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Si quis enim domum vult accipere Ecclesiam, non est absurdum. Vel domus est ipse mundus, propter id quod superius ait vos estis lux mundi. Aug.: For it [p. 165] is not absurd if any one will understand "the house" to be the Church. Or, "the house" may be the world itself, according to what He said above, "Ye are the light of the world." Hilarius (ut supra): Tali etiam lumine monet fulgere apostolos, ut ex admiratione operis eorum Deo laus impartiatur; unde sequitur sic luceat lux vestra coram hominibus, ut videant opera vestra bona. Hilary: He instructs the Apostles to shine with such a light, that in the admiration of their work God may be praised, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works." Chrysostomus super Matth: Idest sic illuminate docentes ut non vestra tantum audiant verba, sed et opera videant; et quos illuminaveritis per verbum quasi lux, condiatis per exemplum quasi sal. Per illos autem doctores qui docent et faciunt magnificatur Deus, nam disciplina domini ex moribus familiae demonstratur; et ideo sequitur et glorificent patrem vestrum qui in caelis est. Pseudo-Chrys.: That is, teaching with so pure a light, that men may not only hear your words, but see your works, that those whom as lamps ye have enlightened by the word, as salt ye may season by your example. For by those teachers who do as well as teach, God is magnified; for the discipline of the master is seen in the behavior of the family. And therefore it follows, "and they shall glorify your Father which is in heaven." Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Si tantummodo diceret ut videant opera vestra bona, finem constituisse videretur in laudibus hominum, quas quaerunt hypocritae; sed addidit et glorificent patrem vestrum qui in caelis est, ut hoc ipsum quod homo per bona opera placet hominibus, non ibi finem constituat, sed referat ad laudem Dei, et propterea placeat hominibus ut in illo glorificetur Deus. Aug., Serm. in Mont., i, 7: Had He only said, "That they may see your good works," He would have seemed to have set up as an end to be sought the praised of men, which the hypocrites desire; but by adding, "and glorify your Father," he teaches that we should not seek as an end to please men with our good works, but referring all to the glory of God, therefore seek to please men, that in that God may be glorified. Hilarius: Non quod ab hominibus oporteat gloriam quaerere, sed ut dissimulantibus nobis, opus nostrum his inter quos vivimus, in honorem Dei eluceat. Hilary: He means not that we should seek glory of men, but that though we conceal it, our work may shine forth in honour of God to those among whom we live.
Lectio 12 17 μὴ νομίσητε ὅτι ἦλθον καταλῦσαι τὸν νόμον ἢ τοὺς προφήτας: οὐκ ἦλθον καταλῦσαι ἀλλὰ πληρῶσαι. 18 ἀμὴν γὰρ λέγω ὑμῖν, ἕως ἂν παρέλθῃ ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ, ἰῶτα ἓν ἢ μία κεραία οὐ μὴ παρέλθῃ ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου ἕως ἂν πάντα γένηται. 19 ὃς ἐὰν οὖν λύσῃ μίαν τῶν ἐντολῶν τούτων τῶν ἐλαχίστων καὶ διδάξῃ οὕτως τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, ἐλάχιστος κληθήσεται ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν:
17. "Think not that I am come to destroy the Law, or the Prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
5 l. 1286>865 l. 12 Glossa: Postquam hortatus est audientes ut se praeparent ad omnia sustinenda pro iustitia, et non absconderent quod accepturi erant, sed ea benevolentia discerent, ut ceteros docerent, incipit eos informare qui doceant, tamquam si quaereretur: quid est hoc quod non vis abscondi, pro quo iubes omnia tolerari? Numquid aliquid dicturus es extra ea quae in lege sunt scripta? Ideo inquit nolite autem putare quoniam veni solvere legem aut prophetas. Gloss. ord.: Having now exhorted His hearers to undergo all things for righteousness' sake, and also not to hide what they should receive, but to learn more for others' sake, that they [p. 166] may teach others, He now goes on to tell them what they should teach, as though He had been asked, 'What is this which you would not have hid, and for which you would have all things endured? Are you about to speak any thing beyond what is written in the Law and the Prophets;' hence it is He says, "Think not that I am come to subvert the Law or the Prophets." Chrysostomus super Matth: Quod propter duas causas dicit: primum ut discipulos his verbis ad suum provocaret exemplum; ut sicut ipse omnem legem adimplebat, sic et illi studerent implere. Denique futurum erat ut calumniarentur eum Iudaei, quasi legem solventem; unde priusquam incurrat calumniam, calumniae satisfacit, ne putaretur sic venisse ut simpliciter legem praedicaret, sicut prophetae fecerant. Pseudo-Chrys.: And that for two reasons. First, that by these words He might admonish His disciples, that as He fulfilled the Law, so they should strive to fulfil it. Secondly, because the Jews would falsely accuse them as subverting the Law, therefore he answers the calumny beforehand, but in such a manner as that He should not be thought to come simply to preach the Law as the Prophets had done. Remigius: Duo dixit: negat venisse se solvere, et affirmat venisse se implere: et ideo addit non enim veni legem solvere, sed implere. Remig.: He here asserts two things; He denies that He was come to subvert the Law, and affirms that He was come to fulfil it. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: In hac autem sententia duplex est sensus: nam adimplere legem aut est addendo aliquid quod minus habet, aut faciendo quod habet. Aug., Serm. in Mont., i, 8: In this last sentence again there is a double sense; to fulfil the Law, either by adding something which it had not, or by doing what it commands. Chrysostomus in Matth: Implevit igitur Christus prophetas complendo omnia quae per eos de ipso fuerant dicta; legem autem, primo quidem nihil transgrediendo legalium, secundo iustificando per fidem quod lex per litteram facere non valebat. Chrys., Hom. 16: Christ then fulfilled the Prophets by accomplishing what was therein foretold concerning Himself - and the Law, first, by transgressing none of its precepts; secondly, by justifying by faith, which the Law could not do by the letter. Augustinus contra Faustum: Demum etiam, quia sub gratia positis in hac mortali vita difficile erat implere quod in lege scriptum est: non concupisces, ille per carnis suae sacrificium sacerdos effectus impetrat nobis indulgentiam; etiam hinc adimplens legem, ut quod per nostram infirmitatem minus possumus, per illius perfectionem curetur, cuius capitis membra effecti sumus. Puto etiam sic esse accipiendum quod dicitur non veni legem solvere, sed adimplere; his videlicet additamentis, quae vel ad expositionem pertinent antiquarum sententiarum, vel ad conversationem in eis. Aperuit enim dominus, etiam iniquum motum ad nocendum fratri, in homicidii genere deputari. Maluit etiam nos dominus non iurantes non recedere a vero, quam verum iurantes appropinquare periurio. Sed cur, o Manichaei, legem non accipitis et prophetas, cum Christus eos se non venisse solvere dixerit, sed adimplere? Aug., cont. Faust., 19, 7. et seq.: And lastly, because even for them who were under grace, it was hard in this mortal life to fulfil that of the Law, "Thou shalt not lust," He being made a Priest by the sacrifice of His flesh, obtained for us this indulgence, even in this fulfilling the Law, that where through our infirmity we could not, we should be strengthened through His perfection, of whom as our head we all are members. For so I think must be taken these words, "to fulfil" the Law, by adding to it, that is, such things as either contribute to the explanation of the old glosses, or to enable to keep them. For the Lord has shewed us that even a wicked motion of the thoughts to the wrong of a brother is to be accounted a kind of murder. The Lord also teaches us, that it is better to keep near to the truth without swearing, than with a true oath to come near to blasphemy. But how, ye Manichaeans, do you not receive the Law and the Prophets, seeing Christ here says, that He is come not to subvert but to fulfil them? Ad hoc respondet Faustus haereticus: quis hoc testatur dixisse Iesum? Matthaeus. Quomodo ergo Ioannes non id testatur, qui fuit in monte; Matthaeus hoc scripsit, qui postquam Iesus descendit de monte, secutus est eum? To this the heretic [p. 167] Faustus replies [ed. note: Faustus was of Milevis in Africa and a Bishop and controversialist of the Manichees. He was a man of considerable abilities. Augustine was first his hearer, and in after years his opponent; and in his work against him he answers him seriatim. In this way the treatise of Faustus is preserved to us.], Whose testimony is there that Christ spoke this? That of Matthew. How was it then that John does not give this saying, who was with Him in the mount, but only Matthew, who did not follow Jesus till after He had come down from the mount? Ad hoc Augustinus respondet: si nemo de Christo vera dixit nisi qui vidit eum vel audivit, hodie de eo vera dicit nullus. Cur ergo ex ore Ioannis non potuit vera Matthaeus audire de Christo, si ex libro Ioannis possumus vera loqui de eo nos tanto tempore post nati? Hinc enim non solum Matthaei, sed etiam Lucae ac Marci Evangelium, et non impari auctoritate, receptum est. Huc accedit, quia et ipse dominus potuit narrare Matthaeo quod egerat, antequam eum vocasset. Aperte autem dicite non vos credere Evangelio; nam qui in Evangelio non nisi quod vultis creditis, vobis potius quam Evangelio creditis. To this Augustine replies, If none can speak truth concerning Christ, but who saw and heard Him, there is no one at this day who speaks truth concerning Him. Why then could not Matthew hear from John's mouth the truth as Christ had spoken, as well as we who are born so long after can speak the truth out of John's book? In the same manner also it is, that not Matthew's Gospel, but also these of Luke and Mark are received by us, and on no inferior authority. And, that the Lord Himself might have told Matthew the things He had done before He called him. But speak out and say that you do not believe the Gospel, for they who believe nothing in the Gospel but what they wish to believe, believe themselves rather than the Gospel. Item Faustus: Probemus et Matthaeum hoc non scripsisse, sed alium, nescio quem, sub nomine eius. Quid enim dicit? Cum transisset Iesus, vidit sedentem hominem ad telonium, Matthaeum nomine. Et quis ergo scribens de seipso dicat: vidit hominem, et non vidit me? To this Faustus rejoins, We will prove that this was not written by Matthew, but by some other hand, unknown, in his name. For below he says, "Jesus saw a man sitting at the toll-office, Matthew by name." [Matt 9:9] Who writing of himself say, 'saw a man,' and not rather, 'saw me?' Ad quod Augustinus: ita Matthaeus de se, tamquam de alio scripsit, sicut et Ioannes fecit dicens: conversus Petrus vidit alium discipulum quem diligebat Iesus manifestum est enim hunc morem fuisse scriptorum cum gesta narrarent. Augustine: Matthew does no more than John does, when he says, "Peter turning round saw that other disciple whom Jesus loved;" as it is well known that this is the common manner of Scripture writers, when writing their own actions. Item Faustus: Quid quod etiam ex ipso sermone quo praecepit non putare quia venerit legem solvere, magis intelligi datur quia solveret? Neque enim nihil tale eo faciente Iudaei suspicari hoc possent. Faustus again, But what say you to this, that the very assurance that He was not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets, was the direct way to rouse their suspicions that He was? For He had yet done nothing that could lead the Jews to think that this was His object. Ad quod Augustinus: Hoc quidem valde infirmum est: non enim negamus Iudaeis non intelligentibus videri potuisse Christum destructorem esse legis et prophetarum. Augustine: This is a very weak objection, for we do not deny that to the Jews who had no understanding, Christ might have appeared as threatening the destruction of the Law and the Prophets. Item Faustus: Quid quod etiam lex et prophetae nec adimpletione gaudent, cum in Deuteronomio dicatur: haec praecepta quae mando tibi observabis, nec addas quicquam eis nec minuas? Faustus; But what if the Law and the Prophets do not accept this fulfilment, according to that in Deuteronomy, "These commandments [p. 168] I give unto thee, thou shalt keep, thou shalt not add any thing to them, nor take away." Ad quod Augustinus: non intelligit Faustus quid sit legem implere, cum hoc de verborum adiectione putat accipiendum. Plenitudo enim legis caritas est, quam dominus dedit mittendo fidelibus spiritum sanctum. Impletur ergo lex, vel cum fiunt quae ibi praecepta sunt, vel cum exhibentur quae ibi prophetata sunt. Augustine: Here Faustus does not understand what it is to fulfil the Law, when he supposes that it must be taken of adding words to it. The fulfilment of the Law is love, which the Lord hath given in sending His Holy Spirit. The Law is fulfilled either when the things there commanded are done, or when the things there prophesied come to pass. Item Faustus: Quod novum testamentum Iesum condidisse fatemur, quid aliud quam destructionem fatemur veteris testamenti? Faustus; But in that we confess that Jesus was author of a New Testament, what else is it than to confess that He has done away with the Old? Ad quod Augustinus: in veteri testamento figurae erant futurorum, quas rebus per Christum praesentatis auferri oportebat, ut eo ipso lex et prophetae implerentur, in quibus scriptum est daturum Deum novum testamentum. Augustine; In the Old Testament were figure of things to come, which, when the things themselves were brought in by Christ, ought to have been taken away, that in that very taking away the Law and the Prophets might be fulfilled wherein it was written that God gave a New Testament. Item Faustus: Hoc igitur si dixit Christus, aut aliud significans dixit, aut (quod absit) mentiens dixit, aut omnino nec dixit. Sed Iesum quidem mentitum fuisse nullus dicat; ac per hoc aliter dictum est, aut nec omnino dictum est. Me quidem iam adversus capituli huius necessitudinem Manichaea fides reddidit tutum, quae principio mihi non cunctis quae ex salvatoris nomine leguntur scripta, passim credere persuasit. Esse enim multa zizania, quae in contagium boni seminis Scripturis bene omnibus noctivagus quidam seminator insparsit. Faustus; Therefore if Christ did say this thing, He either said it with some other meaning, or He spoke falsely, (which God forbid,) or we must take the other alternative, He did not speak it at all. But that Jesus spoke falsely none will aver, therefore He either spoke it with another meaning, or He spake it not at all. For myself I am rescued from the necessity of this alternative by the Manichaean belief, which from the first taught me not to believe all those things which are read in Jesus' name as having been spoken by Him; for that there be many tares which to corrupt the good seed some nightly sower has scattered up and down through nearly the whole of Scripture. Ad quod Augustinus: Manichaeus docuit impiam perversitatem, ut ex Evangelio quod haeresim tuam non impedit hoc accipias, quod autem impedit non accipias. Nos autem docuit apostolus piam provisionem: ut quisquis nobis annuntiaverit praeter id quod accepimus, anathema sit. Dominus autem exposuit quid sint zizania, non aliqua falsa veris Scripturis immissa, sicut tu interpretaris, sed homines filios maligni. Augustine; Manichaeus taught an impious error, that you should receive only so much of the Gospel as does not conflict with your heresy, and not receive whatever does conflict with it. We have learned of the Apostle that religious caution, "Whoever preaches unto you another Gospel than that we have preached, let him be accursed." [Gal 1:8] The Lord also has explained what the tares signify, not things false mixed with the true Scriptures, as you interpret, but men who are children of the wicked one. Item Faustus: Cum te Iudaeus interpellabit, cur legis et prophetarum praecepta non serves, quae Christus dixit non se venisse solvere, sed adimplere, cogeris aut vanae superstitioni succumbere, aut capitulum profiteri falsum, aut te Christi negare discipulum. Faustus; Should a Jew then enquire of you why you do not keep the precepts of the Law and the Prophets which Christ here declares He came not to destroy but to fulfil, you will be driven either to accept an empty superstition, or to repudiate [p. 169] this chapter as false, or to deny that you are Christ's disciple. Ad quod Augustinus: nullas ex hoc capitulo Catholici patiuntur angustias, quasi legis et prophetarum praecepta non servent, quia caritatem Dei et proximi habent, in quibus praeceptis pendet lex et prophetae. Et quaecumque ibi rebus gestis vel sacramentorum celebrationibus vel locutionum modis figurate prophetata sunt, in Christo et Ecclesia compleri cognoscunt. Unde nec vanae superstitioni succumbimus, nec istud Evangelii capitulum falsum esse dicimus, nec Christi discipulos nos negamus. Qui ergo dicit: si Christus legem et prophetas non solvisset, illa sacramenta legis et prophetarum in Christianorum celebrationibus permanerent, potest dicere: si Christus legem et prophetas non solvisset, adhuc promitteretur nasciturus, passurus, resurrecturus; cum ideo magis hoc non solverit sed adimpleverit, quia iam non promittitur nasciturus, passurus, resurrecturus, quod illa sacramenta quodammodo personabant; sed annuntiatur quod natus sit, passus sit, resurrexit, quod haec sacramenta, quae a Christianis aguntur, iam personant. Patet ergo quanto errore delirent qui putant, signis sacramentisque mutatis, etiam res ipsas esse diversas, quas ritus propheticus pronuntiavit promissas, et evangelicus demonstrat impletas. Augustine; The Catholics are not in any difficulty on account of this chapter as though they did not observe the Law and the Prophets; for they do cherish love to God and their neighbour, "on which hang all the Law and the Prophets." And whatever in the Law and the Prophets was foreshewn, whether in things done, in the celebration of sacramental rites, or in forms of speech, all these they know to be fulfilled in Christ and the Church. Wherefore we neither submit to a false superstition, nor reject the chapter, nor deny ourselves to be Christ's disciples. He then who says, that unless Christ had destroyed the Law and the Prophets, the Mosaic rites would have continued along with the Christian ordinances, may further affirm, that unless Christ had destroyed the Law and the Prophets, He would yet be only promised as to be born, to suffer, to rise again. But inasmuch as He did not destroy, but rather fulfil them, His birth, passion, and resurrection, are now no more promised as things future, which were signified by the Sacraments of the Law; but He is preached as already born, crucified, and risen, which are signified by the Sacraments now celebrated by Christians. It is clear then how great is the error of those who suppose, that when the signs or sacraments are changed, the things themselves are different, whereas the same things which the Prophetic ordinance had held forth as promises, the Evangelic ordinance points to as completed. Item Faustus: Quaerendum est si hoc Christus dixit, cur dixerit: utrum nec compalpandi Iudaeorum furoris causa, qui sancta sua ab eo conculcari videntes, nec audiendum quidem eum existimabant; aut ut nos, qui ei credebamus ex gentibus, instrueret legis subire iugum. Si autem haec non ei fuit causa dicendi, illa debet esse quam dixit; nec ipsum mentitus est. Sunt enim tria genera legum: unum Hebraeorum, quod peccati ac mortis Paulus appellat; aliud gentium, quod naturale vocat, dicens: gentes naturaliter, quae legis sunt, faciunt; tertium est veritatis, de qua dixit: lex spiritus vitae. Item prophetae: alii sunt Iudaeorum, de quibus notum est; alii gentium, de quibus Paulus dicit: dixit quidam proprius eorum propheta; alii veritatis, de quibus Iesus dicit: mitto ad vos sapientes et prophetas. Et quidem si observationes Hebraicas adimpletionis gratia protulisset, dubium non erat quin de Iudaeorum lege et prophetis dixisset; ubi vero sola recenset antiquiora praecepta, idest non occides, non moechaberis, quae olim promulgata fuerant per Henoch et Seth et ceteros iustos, cui non videatur hoc eum dixisse de veritatis lege et prophetis? Ubi vero Iudaeorum quaedam visus est nominasse, penitus eradicavit, praecipiendo contraria: ut est illud: oculum pro oculo, dentem pro dente. Faustus: Supposing these to be Christ's genuine words, we should enquire what was His motive for speaking thus, whether to soften the blind hostility of the Jews, who when they saw their holy things trodden under foot by Him, would not have so much as given Him a hearing; or whether He really said them to instruct us, who of the Gentiles should believe, to submit to the yoke of the Law. If this last were not His design, then the first must have been; nor was there any deceit or fraud in such purpose. For of laws there be three sorts. The first that of the Hebrews, called the "law of sin and death," [Rom 8:2] by Paul; the second that of the Gentiles, which he calls the law of nature, saying, "By nature the Gentiles do the deeds of the law;" [Rom 2:14] the third, the law of [p. 170] truth, which he means, "The law of the Spirit of life." Also there are Prophets some of the Jews, such as are well known; others of the Gentiles as Paul speaks, "A prophet of their own hath said;" [Tit 1:12] and others of the truth of whom Jesus speaks, "I send unto you wise men and prophets." [Matt 23:34] Now had Jesus in the following part of this Sermon brought forward any of the Hebrew observances to shew how he had fulfilled them, no one would have doubted that it was of the Jewish Law and Prophets that He was now speaking; but when He brings forward in this way only those more ancient precepts, "Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery," which were promulged of old to Enoch, Seth, and the other righteous men, who does not see that He is here speaking of the Law and Prophets of truth? Wherever He has occasion to speak of any thing merely Jewish, He plucks it up by the very roots, giving precepts directly the contrary; for example, in the case of that precept, "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." Ad quod Augustinus: manifestum est quam legem et quos prophetas Christus non venerit solvere, sed implere. Ipsa enim est lex quae per Moysen data est. Non autem, sicut Faustus opinatur, quaedam dominus adimplevit, quae ab antiquis iustis iam dicta erant ante legem Moysi, sicut non occides, quaedam vero solvit, quae propria videbantur legis Hebraeorum. Nos enim dicimus, et haec pro tempore bene fuisse tunc instituta, et nunc a Christo non soluta, sed adimpleta, ut patebit per singula. Hoc etiam non intelligebant qui in ea perversitate manserunt ut gentes cogerent iudaizare, haeretici scilicet qui Nazaraei dicuntur. Augustine; Which was the Law and which the Prophets, that Christ came "not to subvert but to fulfil," is manifest, to wit, the Law given by Moses. And the distinction which Faustus draw between the precepts of the righteous men before Moses, and the Mosaic Law, affirming that Christ fulfilled that one but annulled the other, is not so. We affirm that the Law of Moses was both well suited to its temporary purpose, and was not now subverted, but fulfilled by Christ, as will be seen in each particular. This was not understood by those who continued in such obstinate error, that they compelled the Gentiles to Judaize - those heretics, I mean, who were called Nazarenes. Chrysostomus super Matth: Quoniam vero omnia quae ab initio mundi usque ad finem erant futura, mystice erant prophetata in lege, ne videatur aliquid eorum quae fiunt non antea cognovisse, propterea dicit: non potest fieri ut transeat caelum et terra, donec omnia quae in lege prophetata sunt, rebus ipsis fuerint adimpleta; et hoc est quod dicit amen quippe dico vobis, donec transeat caelum et terra, iota unum aut unus apex non praeteribit a lege, donec omnia fiant. Pseudo-Chrys.: But since all things which should befall from the very beginning of the world to the end of it, were in type and figure foreshewn in the Law, that God may not be thought to be ignorant of any of those things that take place, He therefore here declares, that heaven and earth should not pass till all things thus foreshewn in the Law should have their actual accomplishment. Remigius: Amen, Hebraeus sermo est, et Latine dicitur vere, fideliter, sive fiat. Duabus autem de causis hoc sermone utitur dominus: sive propter duritiam illorum qui tardi erant ad credendum, sive propter credentes, ut profundius attenderent ea quae sequuntur. Remig.: "Amen" is a Hebrew word, and my be rendered in Latin, 'vere,' 'fidenter,' or 'fiat;' that is, 'truly,' 'faithfully,' or 'so be it.' [p. 171] The Lord uses it either because of the hardness of heart of those who were slow to believe, or to attract more particularly the attention of those that did believe. Hilarius in Matth.: Per hoc autem quod ait donec transeat caelum et terra, caelum quidem et terram maxima elementa non arbitramur esse solvenda. Hilary: From the expression here used, "pass," we may suppose that the constituting elements of heaven and earth shall not be annihilated. [ed. note: The text of Hil. has 'maxima, ut arbitramur, elementa esse solvends.'] Remigius: Permanebunt enim essentialiter, sed transibunt per renovationem. Remig.: But shall abide in their essence, but "pass" through renewal. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Per hoc autem quod ait iota unum, aut unus apex non transibit a lege, nihil potest aliud intelligi nisi vehemens expressio perfectionis, quae per litteras singulas demonstrata est; inter quas litteras iota minor est ceteris, quia uno ductu fit; apex etiam est ipsius aliqua in summo particula. Quibus verbis ostendit in lege ad effectum et minima quaeque perduci. Aug., Serm. in Mont. i, 8: By the words "one iota or one point shall not pass from the Law," we must understand only a strong metaphor of completeness, drawn from the letters of writing, iota being the least of the letters, made with one stroke of the pen, and a point being a slight dot at the end of the same letter. The words there shew that the Law shall be completed to the very least matter. Rabanus: Apte quoque Graecum iota, et non iod Hebraeum posuit, quia iota in numero, decem significat, et Decalogum legis enumerat, cuius quidem apex et perfectio est Evangelium. Rabanus: He fitly mentions the Greek iota, and not the Hebrew job, because the iota stands in Greek for the number ten, and so there is an allusion to the Decalogue of which the Gospel is the point and perfection. Chrysostomus super Matth: Si autem ingenuus homo vel in vili mendacio inventus fuerit, erubescit, et vir sapiens verbum quod dixit, non relinquit in vacuum, quomodo verba divina sine exitu vacua poterant permanere? Unde concludit qui ergo solverit unum de mandatis istis minimis et docuerit sic homines, minimus vocabitur in regno caelorum. Puto autem quod ipse dominus manifeste hoc respondit, quae sunt minima mandata monstrans, dicendo si quis solverit unum de mandatis istis minimis, id est quae modo dicturus sum. Pseudo-Chrys.: If even an honourable man blushes to be found in a falsehood, and a wise man lets not fall empty any word he has once spoken, how could it be that the words of heaven should fall to the ground empty? Hence He concludes, "Whoso shall break the least of these commandments, &c." And, I suppose, the Lord goes on to reply Himself to the question, Which are the least commandments? Namely, these which I am now about to speak. Chrysostomus in Matth: Non enim pro veteribus legibus hoc dixit, sed pro his quae ipse erat praecepturus; quae quidem minima vocat, licet magna. Sicut enim multoties de se humilia locutus est, ita et de suis praeceptis humiliter loquitur. Vel aliter. Chrys.: He speaks not this of the old laws, but of those which He was now going to enact, of which he says, "the least," though they were all great. For as He so oft spoke humbly of Himself, so does He now speak humbly of His precepts. Chrysostomus super Matth: Mandata Moysi in actu facilia sunt: non occides, non adulterabis; ipsa enim criminis magnitudo voluntatem faciendi repercutit; et ideo in remuneratione modica sunt, in peccato autem magna. Mandata autem Christi, idest: non irascaris, non concupiscas, in actu difficilia sunt; et ideo in remuneratione magna, in peccato autem minima. Minima igitur dicit ista Christi mandata: non irascaris, non concupiscas; ergo illi qui levia peccata committunt, minimi sunt in regno Dei; idest qui iratus fuerit, et grande peccatum non fecerit, a poena quidem securus est, scilicet damnationis aeternae; non tamen est in gloria, scilicet quam consequuntur illi qui etiam haec minima implent. Pseudo-Chrys.: Otherwise; the precepts of Moses are easy to obey; "Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery." The very greatness of the crime is a check upon the desire of committing it; therefore the reward of observance is small, the sin of transgression great. But Christ's precepts, "Thou shalt not be angry, Thou shalt not lust," are hard to obey, and therefore in their reward they are great, in their transgression, 'least.' It is thus He speaks of these precepts of Christ, such as "Thou shalt not be angry, Thou shalt not lust,' as 'the least;' and [p. 172] they who commit these lesser sins, are the least in the kingdom of God; that is, he who has been angry and not sinned grievously is secure from the punishment of eternal damnation; yet he does not attain that glory which they attain who fulfil even these least. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Vel e converso illa quae praecepta sunt in lege, dicuntur minima; quae autem Christus dicturus est, sunt maxima. Mandata autem minima significantur per unum iota et unum apicem. Qui ergo solverit, et docuerit sic, idest secundum quod solvit, minimus vocabitur in regno caelorum. Et fortasse ideo non erit, quia ibi nisi magni esse non possunt. Aug.: Or, the precepts of the Law are called 'the least,' as opposed to Christ's precepts which are great. The least commandments are signified by the iota and the point. "He," therefore, "who breaks them, and teaches men so," that is, to do as he does, "shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven." Hence we may perhaps conclude, that it is not true that there shall none be there except they be great. Glossa: Solvere autem est non agere quod recte quis intelligit, vel non intelligere quae depravavit, aut minuere integritatem superadditionis Christi. Gloss. ord.: By 'break,' is meant, the not doing what one understands rightly, or the not understanding what one has corrupted, or the destroying the perfectness of Christ's additions. Chrysostomus in Matth: Vel cum audieris minimum in regno caelorum, nihil suspicare quam supplicium et Gehennam. Regnum enim consuevit dicere non solum regni utilitatem, sed tempus resurrectionis, et adventum Christi terribilem. Chrys.: Or, when you hear the words, "least in the kingdom of heaven," imagine nothing less than the punishment of hell. For He oft uses the word 'kingdom,' not only of the joys of heaven, but of the time of the resurrection, and of the terrible coming of Christ. Gregorius in Evang: Vel per regnum caelorum Ecclesia intelligenda est, in qua doctor qui solvit mandatum, minimus vocatur, quia cuius vita despicitur, restat ut eius praedicatio contemnatur. Greg., Hom. in Ev., 12, 1: Or, by the kingdom of heaven is to be understood the Church, in which that teacher who breaks a commandment is called least, because he whose life is despised, it remains that his preaching be also despised. Hilarius in Matth.: Vel minima dicit domini passionem et crucem: quae si quis tamquam erubescenda non confitebitur, erit minimus, idest novissimus, ac pene nullus; confitenti vero magnam in caelo vocationis gloriam pollicetur; unde sequitur qui autem fecerit et docuerit, hic magnus vocabitur in regno caelorum. Hilary: Or, He calls the passion, and the cross, the least, which if one shall not confess openly, but be ashamed of them, he shall be least, that is, last, and as it were no man; but to him that confesses it He promises the great glory of a heavenly calling. Hieronymus: Suggillat in hoc Pharisaeos, qui contemptis mandatis Dei, statuebant proprias traditiones, quod non eis prosit doctrina in populo, si vel parvum quod in lege est destruant. Possumus autem et aliter intelligere: quod magistri eruditio, etiam si parvo peccato obnoxia sit, deducat eum de gradu maximo; nec prosit docere iustitiam quam minima culpa destruit; beatitudoque perfecta sit, quae sermone docueris, opere complere. Jerome: This head is closely connected with the preceding. It is directed against the Pharisees, who, despising the commandments of God, set up traditions of their own, and means that their teaching the people would not avail themselves, if they destroyed the very least commandment in the Law. We may take it in another sense. The learning of the master if joined with sin however small, loses him the highest place, nor does it avail any to teach righteousness, if he destroys it in his life. Perfect bliss is for him who fulfils in deed what he teaches in word. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Vel aliter. Qui solverit illa minima, scilicet praecepta legis, et sic docuerit, minimus vocabitur; qui autem fecerit, illa minima, et sic docuerit non iam magnus habendus est, sed tamen, non tam minimus quam ille qui solvit. Ut autem sit magnus, facere debet et docere quae Christus docet. Aug.: Otherwise; "he who breaks the least of these commandments," that is, of Moses' Law, "and teaches men so, shall be called the least; but he who shall do (these least), and so teach," shall not indeed [p. 173] be esteemed great, yet not so little as he who breaks them. That he should be great, he ought to do and to teach the things which Christ now teaches.
Lectio 13 20 λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ περισσεύσῃ ὑμῶν ἡ δικαιοσύνη πλεῖον τῶν γραμματέων καὶ φαρισαίων, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθητε εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν. 21 ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐρρέθη τοῖς ἀρχαίοις, οὐ φονεύσεις: ὃς δ' ἂν φονεύσῃ, ἔνοχος ἔσται τῇ κρίσει. 22 ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι πᾶς ὁ ὀργιζόμενος τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ ἔνοχος ἔσται τῇ κρίσει: ὃς δ' ἂν εἴπῃ τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ, ῥακά, ἔνοχος ἔσται τῷ συνεδρίῳ: ὃς δ' ἂν εἴπῃ, μωρέ, ἔνοχος ἔσται εἰς τὴν γέενναν τοῦ πυρός.
20. "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. 21. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22. But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."
Hilarius in Matth.: Pulcherrimo ingressu opus legis coepit excedere, aditum in caelum apostolis, nisi iustitiam Pharisaeorum anteissent, denuntians non futurum; et hoc est quod dicit dico enim vobis. Hilary: Beautiful entrance He here makes to a teaching beyond the works of the Law, declaring to the Apostles that they should have no admission to the kingdom of heaven without a righteousness beyond that of Pharisees. Chrysostomus in Matth: Iustitiam autem hic dicit universalem virtutem. Intende autem gratiae additamentum: discipulos enim suos adhuc rudes magistris qui in veteri testamento erant, vult esse meliores. Scribas autem ac Pharisaeos non dixit iniquos, quia non dixisset eos habere iustitiam. Vide etiam quoniam hic vetus testamentum confirmat, comparationem faciens eius ad novum: plus enim et minus eiusdem generis est. Scribarum autem et Pharisaeorum iustitiae sunt mandata Moysi; superimpletiones autem istorum mandatorum sunt mandata Christi. Hoc est ergo quod dicit: nisi quis supra legis mandata, etiam haec mea praecepta, quae apud illos minima existimabantur, impleverit, non intrabit in regnum caelorum: quoniam illa de poena liberant, quae scilicet transgressoribus legis debetur, non autem in regnum inducunt; haec autem et de poena liberant, et in regnum inducunt. Cum autem sit idem solvere minima mandata, et non custodire, quare supra de solvente dicit quod minimus vocabitur in regno Dei, hic autem de non conservante: non introibit in regnum caelorum? Sed vide quia minimum esse in regno idem est quod non intrare in regnum. Esse autem aliquem in regno non est regnare cum Christo, sed esse tantum in populo Christi; tamquam si dicat de solvente, quod inter Christianos quidem erit, tamen minimus Christianus. Qui autem intrat in regnum, fit particeps regni cum Christo. Consequenter et iste qui non intrat in regnum caelorum, gloriam quidem non habebit cum Christo, erit tamen in regno caelorum, idest in numero eorum super quos Christus caelorum rex regnat. Chrys.: By righteousness is here meant universal virtue. But observe the superior power of grace, in that He requires of His disciples who were yet uninstructed to be better than those who were masters unto the Old Testament. Thus He does not call the Scribes and Pharisees unrighteous, but speaks of "their righteousness." And see how ever herein He confirms the Old Testament that He compares it with the New, for the greater and the less are always of the same kind. Pseudo-Chrys.: The righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees are the commandments of Moses; but the commandments of Christ are the fulfilment of that Law. This then is His meaning; Whosoever in addition to the commandments of the Law shall not fulfil My commandments, shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. For those indeed save from the punishment due to transgressors of the Law, but do not bring into the kingdom; but My commandments both deliver from punishment, [p. 174] and bring into the kingdom. But seeing that to break the least commandments and not to keep them are one and the same, why does He say above of him that breaks the commandments, that "he shall be the least in the kingdom of heaven," and here of him who keeps them not, that he "shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven?" See how to be the least in the kingdom is the same with not entering into the kingdom. For a man to be in the kingdom is not to reign with Christ, but only to be numbered among Christ's people; what He says then of him that breaks the commandments is, that he shall indeed be reckoned among Christians, yet the least of them. but he who enters into the kingdom, becomes partaker of His kingdom with Christ. Therefore he who does not enter into the kingdom of heaven, shall not indeed have a part of Christ's glory, yet shall he be in the kingdom of heaven, that is, in the number of those over whom Christ reigns as King of heaven. Augustinus de Civ. Dei: Vel aliter. Nisi abundaverit iustitia vestra plusquam Scribarum et Pharisaeorum, idest super eos qui solvunt quod docent, quia de iis alibi dictum est: dicunt enim et non faciunt; ac si dicat: nisi ita abundaverit iustitia vestra, ut vos non solvatis, sed faciatis potius quod docetis, non intrabitis in regnum caelorum. Alio ergo modo intelligendum est regnum caelorum ubi ambo sunt, et ille scilicet qui solvit quod docet, et ille qui facit, sed minimus ille, iste magnus: quod quidem regnum caelorum est Ecclesia praesens. Alio autem modo regnum caelorum dicitur quo non intrat nisi ille qui facit, et hoc est Ecclesia qualis in futuro erit. Aug., City of God, book 20, ch. 9: Otherwise, "unless your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees," that is, exceed that of those who break what themselves teach, as it is elsewhere said of them, "They say, and do not;" [Matt 23:3] just as if He had said, Unless your righteousness exceed in this way that ye do what ye teach, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. We must therefore understand something other than usual by the kingdom of heaven here, in which are to be both he who breaks what he teaches, and he who does it, but the one "least," the other, "great;" this kingdom of heaven is the present Church. In another sense is the kingdom of heaven spoken of that place where none enters but he who does what he teaches, and this is the Church as it shall be hereafter. Augustinus contra Faustum: Hoc autem nomen regnum caelorum, quod tam crebro nominat dominus, nescio utrum in libris veteris testamenti quisquam inveniat; proprie enim pertinet ad revelationem novi testamenti quod ori eius etiam nominandum servabatur quem regem ad regendum servos suos vetus testamentum praefigurabat. Hic ergo finis, quo praecepta referenda sunt, occultus erat in veteri testamento, quamvis secundum eum etiam tunc viverent sancti, qui futuram eius revelationem videbant. Aug., cont. Faust., 19, 31: This expression, the kingdom of heaven, so often used by our Lord, I know not whether any one would find in the books of the Old Testament. It belongs properly to the New Testament revelation, kept for His mouth whom the Old Testament figured as a King that should come to reign over His servants. This end, to which its precepts were to be referred, was hidden in the Old Testament, though even that had its saints who looked forward to the revelation that should be made. Glossa: Vel hoc quod dicit nisi abundaverit, referendum est ad intellectum Pharisaeorum et Scribarum, non ad continentiam veteris testamenti. Gloss. non occ.: Or, we may explain by referring to the way in which the Scribes and Pharisees understood the Law, not to [p. 175] the actual contents of the Law. Augustinus contra Faustum: Pene enim omnia quae monuit vel praecepit dominus, ubi adiungebat ego autem dico vobis, inveniuntur et in illis veteribus libris. Sed quia non intelligebant homicidium nisi peremptionem corporis humani, aperuit dominus omnem iniquum motum ad nocendum fratri in homicidii genere deputari; unde subdit audistis quia dictum est antiquis: non occides. Aug., cont. Faust., 19, 30: For almost all the precepts which the Lord gave, saying, "But I say unto you," are found in those ancient books. But because they knew not of any murder, besides the destruction of the body, the Lord shews them that every evil thought to the hurt of a brother is to be held for a kind of murder. Chrysostomus super Matth: Volens Christus ostendere quia ipse est Deus, qui aliquando locutus est in lege et qui nunc mandat in gratia, illud mandatum quod ponitur in lege, ante omnia, scilicet prohibitiva, quae sunt contra proximum, et nunc ponit in principio mandatorum suorum. Pseudo-Chrys.: Christ willing to shew that He is the same God who spoke of old in the Law, and who now gives commandments in grace, now puts first of all his commandments, [margin note: vid. Matt 19:18] that one which was the first in the Law, first, at least, of all those that forbade injury to our neighbour. Augustinus de Civ. Dei: Non autem quod audivimus non occides, virgultum vellere nefas ducimus, secundum Manichaeorum errorem, nec de irrationabilibus animalibus dictum intelligimus, quia iustissima ordinatione creatoris, vita et mors eorum nostris usibus subditur. Unde restat quod de homine intelligamus quod dictum est non occides: non alterum, ergo nec te; neque enim qui se occidit, aliud quam hominem occidit. Nequaquam autem contra hoc praeceptum fecerunt qui auctore Deo bella gesserunt, ac personam gerentes publicae potestatis iustissimae rationis imperio sceleratos morte punierunt. Et Abraham non solum non est culpatus crudelitatis crimine, verum etiam laudatus est nomine pietatis, quod voluit filium obedienter occidere. Hi ergo excipiuntur quos Deus occidi iubet sive lege data, sive ad personam pro tempore expressa iussione: non autem ipse occidit qui ministerium dat iubenti, sicut adminiculum gladio utenti; nec Samson aliter excusatur, quod seipsum cum hostibus ruina domus oppressit, nisi quod latenter spiritus hoc iusserat, qui per illum miracula faciebat. Aug., City of God, book 1, ch. 20: We do not, because we have heard that, "Thou shalt not kill," deem it therefore unlawful to pluck a twig, according to the error of the Manichees, nor consider it to extend to irrational brutes; by the most righteous ordinance of the Creator their life and death is subservient to our needs. There remains, therefore, only man of whom we can understand it, and that not any other man, nor you only; for he who kills himself does nothing else but kill a man. Yet have not they in any way done contrary to this commandment who have waged wars under God's authority, or they who charged with the administration of civil power have by most just and reasonable orders inflicted death upon criminals. Also Abraham was not charged with cruelty, but even received the praise of piety, for that he was willing to obey God in slaying his son. Those are to be excepted from this command whom God commands to be put to death, either by a general law given, or by particular admonition at any special time. For he is not the slayer who ministers to the command, like a hilt to one smiting with a sword, nor is Samson otherwise to be acquitted for destroying himself along with his enemies, than because he was so instructed privily of the Holy Spirit, who through him wrought the miracles. Chrysostomus in Matth: Per hoc autem quod dicit dictum est antiquis, ostendit multum tempus esse ex quo mandatum hoc acceperant. Hoc ergo dicit, ut auditores ad sublimiora progredi praecepta cunctantes acrius incitet; ut si quispiam doctor dicat puero negligenti: nescis iam quantum temporis syllabarum meditatione consumpseris? Et ideo subdit ego autem dico vobis, quoniam omnis qui irascitur fratri suo, reus erit iudicio. In quo considera legislatoris potestatem: nullus enim antiquorum prophetarum ita locutus est, sed sic: haec dicit dominus, quia illi ut servi ea quae sunt domini annuntiabant, hic autem ut filius ea quae sunt patris, quae etiam sua sunt; et illi conservis praedicabant, hic autem suis servis legem ponebat. Chrys.: This, "it was said by them of old time," shews that it was long ago that they had received this precept. He says this that He might rouse His sluggish hearers to proceed to more sublime precepts, as a teacher might say to an indolent boy, Know you not how long time you have spent already in merely learning to spell? In that, "I say unto you," mark the authority of the legislator, none of the old Prophets spoke thus; but [p. 176] rather, "Thus saith the Lord." They as servants repeated the commands of their Lord; He as a Son declared the will of His Father, which was also His own. They preached to their fellow servants; He as master ordained a law for his slaves. Augustinus de Civ. Dei: Duae quidem sunt sententiae philosophorum de animi passionibus. Stoicis enim non placet huiusmodi passiones cadere in sapientem; Peripatetici vero has passiones in sapientem cadere dicunt, sed moderatas, rationique subiectas; sicut cum ita praebetur misericordia ut iustitia conservetur. In disciplina autem Christiana non tam quaeritur utrum prius animus irascatur aut tristetur, sed unde. Aug., City of God, 4, 4: There are two different opinions among philosophers concerning the passions of the mind: the Stoics do not allow that any passion is incident to the wise man; the Peripatetics affirm that they are incident to the wise man but in a moderate degree and subject to reason; as, for example, when mercy is shewn in such a manner that justice is preserved. But in the Christian rule we do not enquire whether the mind is first affected with anger or with sorrow, but whence. Chrysostomus super Matth: Qui enim sine causa irascitur, reus erit; qui vero cum causa, non erit reus: nam si ira non fuerit, nec doctrina proficit nec iudicia stant nec crimina compescuntur. Itaque qui cum causa non irascitur, peccat; patientia enim irrationabilis vitia seminat, negligentiam nutrit, et non solum malos, sed etiam bonos invitat ad malum. Pseudo-Chrys.: He who is angry without cause shall be judged; but he who is angry with cause shall not be judged. For if there were no anger, neither teaching would profit, nor judgments hold, nor crimes be controlled. So that he who on just cause is not angry, is in sin; for an unreasonable patience sows vices, breeds carelessness, and invites the good as well as the bad to do evil. Hieronymus: In quibusdam ergo codicibus additur sine causa; ceterum in veris definita sententia est: et ira penitus tollitur. Si enim iubemur orare pro persequentibus, omnis irae occasio tollitur. Radendum ergo est sine causa, quia ira viri iustitiam Dei non operatur. Jerome: Some copies add here the words, without cause; but by the true reading [ed. note: Vid. also in Eph. iv. 31. Augustine says the same speaking of Greek codd. Retract. i. 19. Cassian rejects it too, Institut. viii. 20. Erasmus, Bengel. follow. vid. Wetstein. in loc. who would keep the word on the ground of a "consensus," of Greek and Latin Fathers and Versions. There is an agreement of existed MSS. also.] the precept is made unconditional, and anger altogether forbidden. For when we are told to pray for them that persecute us, all occasion of anger is taken away. The words "without cause" then must be erased, for "the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." Chrysostomus super Matth: Sed tamen iracundia quae cum causa est, non est iracundia, sed iudicium: iracundia enim proprie intelligitur commotio passionis; qui autem cum causa irascitur, ira illius non est ex passione; ideo iudicare dicitur, non irasci. Pseudo-Chrys.: Yet that anger which arises from just cause is indeed not anger, but a sentence of judgment. For anger properly means a feeling of passion; but he whose anger arises from just cause does not suffer any passion, and is rightly said to sentence, not to be angry with. Augustinus in Lib. Retract: Illud etiam dicimus intuendum quid sit irasci fratri suo: quoniam non fratri irascitur qui peccato fratris irascitur. Qui ergo fratri, non peccato irascitur, sine causa irascitur. Aug., Retract., i, 19: This also we affirm should be taken into consideration, what is being angry with a brother; for he is not angry with a brother who is angry at his offence. He then it is who is angry without cause, who is angry with his brother, and not with the offence. Augustinus, de Civ. Dei: Irasci autem fratri ut corrigatur, nullus sanae mentis reprehendit: huiusmodi enim motus de amore boni et de sancta caritate venientes, vitia dicenda non sunt, cum rectam rationem sequantur. Aug., City of God, book 14, ch. 9: But to be angry with a brother to the end that he may be corrected, there is [p. 177] no man of sound mind who forbids. Such sort of motions as come of love of good and of holy charity, are not to be called vices when they follow right reason. Chrysostomus super Matth: Puto autem quod non de iracundia carnis loquitur Christus, sed de iracundia animae: caro enim non potest obedire, ut non conturbetur. Quando ergo homo irascitur et non vult facere quod ira compellit, caro eius irata est, animus autem eius non est iratus. Pseudo-Chrys.: But I think that Christ does not speak of anger of the flesh, but anger of the heart; for the flesh cannot be so disciplined as not to feel the passion. When then a man is angry but refrains from doing what his anger prompts him, his flesh is angry, but his heart is free from anger. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Sic ergo in hoc primo est unum, idest ira sola; in secundo autem sunt duo, scilicet ira et vox, quae iram signat; unde sequitur qui autem dixerit fratri suo: racha, reus erit Concilio. Nonnulli de Graeco trahere voluerunt interpretationem huius vocis, putantes pannosum dici racha, quoniam Graece dicitur pannus idest racos. Probabilius autem est non esse vocem significantem aliquid, sed indignantis animi motum exprimentem. Has autem voces grammatici interiectiones vocant, velut cum dicitur a dolente: heu. Aug., Serm. in Mont., i, 9: And there is this same distinction between the first case here put by the Saviour and the second: in the first case there is one thing, the passion; in the second two, anger and speech following thereupon, "He who saith to his brother, Raca, is in danger of the council." Some seek the interpretation of this word in the Greek, and think that "Raca" means ragged, from the Greek ραχος, a rag. But more probably it is not a word of any meaning, but a mere sound expressing the passion of the mind, which grammarians call an interjection, such as the cry of pain, 'hen.' Chrysostomus in Matth: Vel racha est verbum contemptus et parvipensionis. Sicut enim nos vel famulis vel iunioribus iniungentes dicimus: vade tu, dic illi tu, ita et qui Syrorum utuntur lingua, racha dicunt, pro tu. Dominus enim et quae parvissima sunt evellit, et cum honore nobis invicem uti iubet. Chrys.: Or, Racha is a word signifying contempt, and worthlessness. For where we in speaking to servants or children say, Go thou, or, Tell thou him; in Syriac they would say Racha for 'thou.' For the Lord descends to the smallest trifles even of our behaviour, and bids us treat one another with mutual respect. Hieronymus: Vel racha Hebraeum verbum est, et dicitur chenos, idest inanis aut vacuus, quem nos possumus vulgata iniuria absque cerebro nuncupare. Signanter autem addidit qui dixerit fratri suo: frater enim noster nullus est nisi qui eumdem nobiscum habet patrem. Jerome: Or, Racha is a Hebrew word signifying, 'empty,' 'vain;' as we might say in the common phrase of reproach, 'empty-pate.' Observe that He says brother; for who is our brother, but he who has the same Father as ourselves? Chrysostomus super Matth: Indigna autem res est dicere hominem vacuum, qui habet in se spiritum. Pseudo-Chrys.: And it were an unworthy reproach to him who has in him the Holy Spirit to call him 'empty.' Augustinus: In tertio autem significantur tria: ira, et vox quae iram significat, et in voce vituperationis expressio; unde dicitur qui autem dixerit: fatue, reus erit Gehennae ignis. Gradus itaque sunt in istis peccatis: primo, ut quisquis irascitur, motum retineat corde conceptum. Iam si extorsit vocem non significantem aliquid, sed animi motum ipsa eruptione testantem, plus est quam si ira surgens silentio premeretur. Sed adhuc plus est, si etiam verbum proferatur, quod iam certam vituperationem designat. Aug.: In the third case are three things; anger, the voice expressive of anger, and a word of reproach, "Thou fool." Thus here are three different degrees of sin; in the first when one is angry, but keeps the passion in his heart without giving any sign of it. If again he suffers any sound expressive of the passion to escape him, it is more than had he silently suppressed the rising anger; and if he speaks a word which conveys a direct reproach, it is a yet greater sin. Chrysostomus super Matth: Sicut autem nemo est vacuus qui habet spiritum sanctum, ita nemo est vacuus qui Christum cognoscit; sed si racha idem est quod vacuus, quantum ad sensum verbi, unum est dicere fatue et racha; sed differunt quantum ad dicentis propositum: racha enim verbum vulgare erat apud Iudaeos, quod non ex ira neque odio, sed ex aliquo motu vano dicebant, magis fiduciae causa, quam iracundiae. Sed forte dices: si racha iracundiae causa non dicitur, quare peccatum est? Quia contentionis causa dicitur, non aedificationis; si enim nec bonum verbum dicere debemus nisi pro aedificatione, quanto magis illud quod in se naturaliter malum est? Pseudo-Chrys.: But as none is empty who has the Holy Spirit, so none is a fool who has the knowledge of Christ; and if Racha signifies 'empty,' it is one and the same thing, as far as the [p. 178] meaning of the word goes, to say Racha, or 'thou fool.' But there is a difference in the meaning of the speaker; for Racha was a word in common use among the Jews, not expressing wrath or hate, but rather in a light careless way expressing confident familiarity, not anger. But you will perhaps say, if Racha is not an expression of wrath, how is it then a sin? Because it is said for contention, not for edification; and if we ought not to speak even good words but for the sake of edification, how much more not such as are in themselves bad? Augustinus: Vide etiam nunc tres reatus: iudicii, Concilii et Gehennae ignis; in quibus quosdam gradus factos admonet a levioribus ad graviora: nam in iudicio adhuc defensionis locus datur; ad Concilium autem pertinere videtur sententiae prolatio, quando inter se iudices conferunt quo supplicio damnari oporteat; in Gehenna vero ignis certa est damnatio et poena damnati. Unde patet quantum intersit inter iustitiam Pharisaeorum et Christi: ibi enim occisio reum facit iudicio, hic autem ira facit reum iudicio, quod horum trium est levissimum. Aug.: Here we have three arraignments, the judgement, the council, and hell-fire, being different stages ascending from the lesser to the greater. For in the judgment there is yet opportunity for defence; to the council belongs the respite of the sentence, what time the judges confer among themselves what sentence ought to be inflicted; in the third, hell-fire, condemnation is certain, and the punishment fixed. Hence is seen what a difference is between the righteousness of the Pharisees and Christ; in the first, murder subjects a man to judgment; in the second, anger alone, which is the least of the three degrees of sin. Rabanus: Gehennam hic salvator Inferni cruciatum nominat, quam nomen traxisse putant a valle idolis consecrata, quae est iuxta Ierusalem, repleta olim cadaveribus quam et Iosiam contaminasse in libro regum legimus. Rabanus: The Saviour here names the torments of hell, Gehenna, a name thought to be derived from a valley consecrated to idols near Jerusalem, and filled of old with dead bodies, and defiled by Josiah, as we read in the Book of Kings. Chrysostomus in Matth: Hic autem primum Gehennae nomen posuit, postquam de regno caelorum supra dixerat, ostendens quod illud dare, est ex suo amore, hoc autem ex nostra desidia. Multis autem hoc grave videtur, si pro solo verbo tantam patiemur poenam; propter quod quidam dicunt hoc hyperbolice dictum esse. Sed timeo ne verbis hic nosmetipsos decipientes, illic opere ultimum patiamur supplicium. Non ergo aestimes hoc esse onerosum: plures enim poenarum et peccatorum a verbis habent principium: etenim parva verba multoties homicidium pepererunt et civitates integras everterunt. Nec enim parvum aestimes fratrem stultum vocare, auferens ei prudentiam et intellectum, quo homines sumus et ab irrationabilibus distamus. Chrys.: This is the first mention of hell, though the kingdom of Heaven had been mentioned some time before, which shews that the gifts of the one come of His love, the condemnation of the other of our sloth. Many thinking this a punishment too severe for a mere word, say that this was said figuratively. But I fear that if we thus cheat ourselves with words here, we shall suffer punishment in deed there. Think not then this too heavy a punishment, when so many sufferings and sins have their beginning in a word; a little word has often begotten a murder, and overturned whole cities. And yet it is not to be thought a little word that denies a brother reason and understanding by which we are men, and differ from the brutes. Chrysostomus super Matth: Vel reus erit Concilio: idest, ut sit unus ex Concilio eorum qui adversus Christum fuerunt, sicut apostoli in suis canonibus interpretantur. Pseudo-Chrys.: "In danger of the council;" that is, (according to the interpretation given by the Apostles in the Constitutions,) [p. 179] in danger of being one of that Council which condemned Christ. [ed. note, e: This remark is not found in the Apostolical Constitutions as we now have them. The text in question, however, is quoted in ii. 32 and 50. So again the comment on Matt. vi. 3. is not found in the Constitutions, though the text is quoted. vid. Coteler, in Constit. iii. 14. The passage quoted in Matt. xxvi. 18, is found in Constit. viii. 2. vid. also Usser. Dissert. ix. Pearson. Vind. Ign. p. 1. c. 4 fin.] Hilarius in Matth.: Vel qui spiritu sancto plenum convicio vacuitatis insinuat, fit reus Concilio sanctorum contumeliam spiritus sancti sanctorum iudicio animadversione luiturus. Hilary: Or, he who reproaches with emptiness one full of the Holy Spirit, will be arraigned in the assembly of the Saints, and by their sentence will be punished for an affront against that Holy Spirit Himself. Augustinus: Quisquis autem dixerit: quo graviori supplicio punitur homicidium, si Gehenna ignis punitur convicium? Cogit intelligi esse differentiam Gehennarum. Aug.: Should any ask what greater punishment is reserved for murder, if evil-speaking is visited with hell-fire? This obliges us to understand, that there are degrees in hell. Chrysostomus in Matth: Vel iudicium et Concilium sunt poenae in praesenti: Gehenna autem poena futura. Ideo autem irae iudicium apposuit, ut ostendat quod non est possibile hominem omnino esse sine passionibus, sed refrenare eas possibile est; et propterea determinatam poenam non apposuit, ne videretur prorsus iram prohibere. Concilium autem posuit nunc pro iudicio Iudaeorum, ne videatur semper nova inducere ac peregrina docere. Chrys.: Or, "the judgment," and "the council" denote punishment in this word; "hell-fire" future punishment. He denounces punishment against anger, yet does not mention any special punishment, shewing therein that it is not possible that a man should be altogether free from the passion. The Council here means the Jewish senate, for He would not seem to be always superseding all their established institutions, and introducing foreign. [ed. note, f: In this quotation only the last sentence is found in Chrys.] Augustinus: In istis autem tribus sententiis subauditio verborum intuenda est. Habet enim prima sententia omnia verba necessaria, ut nihil subaudiatur. Qui irascitur, inquit, fratri suo, sine causa, secundum quosdam; in secunda vero, cum ait qui autem dixerit fratri suo: racha, subauditur sine causa; nam in tertia, ubi ait qui autem dixerit: fatue, duo subaudiuntur: fratri suo et sine causa. Et hoc est unde defenditur quod apostolus Galatas vocat stultos, quos etiam fratres nominat: non enim id facit sine causa. Aug.: In all these three sentences there are some words understood. In the first indeed, as many copies read "without cause," there is nothing to be supplied. In the second, "He who saith to his brother, Racha," we must supply the words, "without cause;" and again, in "He who says, Thou fool," two things are understood, "to his brother," and, "without cause." All this forms the defence of the Apostle, when he calls the Galatians fools, though he considers them his brethren; for he did it not without cause.
Lectio 14 23 ἐὰν οὖν προσφέρῃς τὸ δῶρόν σου ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον κἀκεῖ μνησθῇς ὅτι ὁ ἀδελφός σου ἔχει τι κατὰ σοῦ, 24 ἄφες ἐκεῖ τὸ δῶρόν σου ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου, καὶ ὕπαγε πρῶτον διαλλάγηθι τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου, καὶ τότε ἐλθὼν πρόσφερε τὸ δῶρόν σου.
23. "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24. Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."
Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Si irasci non est fas fratri, aut dicere racha, aut fatue, multo minus in animo tenere aliquid, ut in odium indignatio convertatur; et ideo subdit si ergo offers munus tuum ad altare, et ibi recordatus fueris quia frater tuus habet aliquid adversum te, et cetera. Aug., Serm. in Mont., i, 10: If it be not lawful to be angry with a brother, [p. 180] or to say to him Racha, or Thou fool, much less is it lawful to keep in the memory any thing which might convert anger into hate. Hieronymus: Non dixit: si tu habes aliquid adversus fratrem tuum, sed si frater tuus habet aliquid adversum te, ut durior tibi reconciliationis imponatur necessitas. Jerome: It is not, If thou hast ought against thy brother; but "If thy brother has ought against thee," that the necessity of reconciliation may be more imperative. Augustinus: Tunc enim ipse habet adversus nos, si nos eum in aliquo laesimus: nam nos adversus illum habemus, si ille nos laeserit, ubi non est opus pergere ad reconciliationem: non enim veniam postulabis ab eo qui tibi fecit iniuriam; sed tantum dimittas, sicut tibi a domino dimitti cupis quod ipse commiseris. Aug.: And he has somewhat against us when we have wronged him; and we have somewhat against him when he has wronged us, in which case there were no need to go to be reconciled to him, seeing we had only to forgive him, as we desire the Lord to forgive us. Chrysostomus super Matth: Si autem ille te laeserit, et prius rogaveris, magnam habebis mercedem. Pseudo-Chrys.: But if it is he that hath done you the wrong, and yet you be the first to seek reconciliation, you shall have a great reward. Chrysostomus in Matth: Sed si aliquis propter amorem proximi ei reconciliari non curat, ad hoc eum inducit ut saltem eius opus non remaneat imperfectum, et praecipue in loco sacro; unde subdit relinque ibi munus tuum ante altare, et vade prius reconciliari fratri tuo. Chrys.: If love alone is not enough to induce us to be reconciled to our neighbour, the desire that our work should not remain imperfect, and especially in the holy place, should induce us. Chrysostomus super Matth: Ecce a discordantibus accipere non vult sacrificium. Hinc ergo perpendite quantum sit malum discordiae, propter quod et illud abiicitur per quod culpa relaxatur. Vide autem misericordiam Dei, quomodo hominum utilitates amplius aspicit quam suos honores: plus enim diligit concordiam fidelium quam munera: quamdiu enim fideles homines aliquam dissensionem habuerint, munus eorum non suscipitur, oratio eorum non exauditur. Nemo enim inter duos inimicos potest esse fidelis amicus amborum; ideo et Deus non vult esse amicus fidelium, quamdiu inter se fuerint inimici. Et nos ergo fidem Deo non servamus, si inimicos eius non diligimus et amicos eius odimus. Qualis autem praecessit offensio, talis debet sequi reconciliatio. Si cogitatu offendisti, cogitatu reconciliare; si verbis offendisti, verbis reconciliare; si operibus offendisti, operibus reconciliare. Omne enim peccatum quo modo committitur, eo modo de ipso poenitentia agitur. Greg., Hom. 1 in Ezech. viii. 9: Lo He is not willing to accept sacrifice at the hands of those who are at variance. Hence then consider how great an evil is strife, which throws away what should be the means of remission of sin. Pseudo-Chrys.: See the mercy of God, that He thinks rather of man's benefit than of His own honour; He loves concord in the faithful more than offering at His altar; for so long as there are dissensions among the faithful, their gift is not looked upon, their prayer is not heard. For no one can be a true friend at the same time to two who are enemies to each other. In like manner, we do not keep our fealty to God, if we do not love His friends and hate His enemies. But such as was the offence, such should also be the reconciliation. If you have offended in thought, be reconciled in thought; if in words, be reconciled in words; if in deeds, in deeds by reconciled. For so it is in every sin, in whatsoever kind it was committed, in that kind is the penance done. Hilarius in Matth.: Reconciliata autem humana pace, reverti in divina iubet, in Dei caritatem de caritate hominum transituros. Et ideo sequitur et tunc veniens offeres munus tuum. Hilary: He bids us when peace with our fellow-men is restored, then to return to peace with God, passing from the love of men to the love of God; "Then go and offer thy gift." Augustinus: Si autem quod hic dicitur, accipiatur ad litteram, fortassis aliquis credit ita fieri oportere, si frater sit praesens: non enim diutius differri potest, cum munus tuum relinquere ante altare iubearis. Si vero de absente, et, quod fieri potest, etiam trans mare constituto aliquid tale veniat in mentem, absurdum est credere ante altare munus relinquendum, quod post terras et maria pererrata offeras Deo. Et ideo prorsus intro ad spiritualia refugere cogimus, ut quod dictum est, sine absurditate possit intelligi. Altare itaque spiritualiter fidem accipere possumus. Munus enim quod offerimus Deo sive doctrina, sive oratio, vel quicquid aliud, Deo acceptum esse non potest nisi fide fulciatur. Si ergo fratrem in aliquo laesimus, pergendum est ad reconciliationem, non pedibus corporis, sed motibus animi, ubi te humili affectu prosternas fratri in conspectu eius, cuius munus es oblaturus. Ita enim, ac si praesens sit, poteris eum non simulato animo lenire veniam postulando, atque inde veniens, idest intentionem revocans ad id quod agere coeperas, offeras munus tuum. Aug.: If this direction be taken literally, it might lead some to suppose that this ought indeed to be so done if our brother is present, for that no long time can be meant when we are bid to leave our offering there before the altar. For if he be [p. 181] absent, or possibly beyond sea, it is absurd to suppose that the offering must be left before the altar, to be offered after we have gone over land and sea to seek him. Wherefore we must embrace an inward, spiritual sense of the whole, if we would understand it without involving any absurdity. The gift which we offer to God, whether learning, or speech, or whatever it be, cannot be accepted of God unless it be supported by faith. If then we have in aught harmed a brother, we must go and be reconciled with him, not with the bodily feet, but in thoughts of the heart, when in humble contrition you may cast yourself at your brother's feet in sight of Him whose offering you are about to offer. For thus in the same manner as though He were present, you may with unfeigned heart seek His forgiveness; and returning thence, that is, bringing back again your thoughts to what you had first begun to do, may make your offering.
Lectio 15 25 ἴσθι εὐνοῶν τῷ ἀντιδίκῳ σου ταχὺ ἕως ὅτου εἶ μετ' αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ, μήποτέ σε παραδῷ ὁ ἀντίδικος τῷ κριτῇ, καὶ ὁ κριτὴς τῷ ὑπηρέτῃ, καὶ εἰς φυλακὴν βληθήσῃ: 26 ἀμὴν λέγω σοι, οὐ μὴ ἐξέλθῃς ἐκεῖθεν ἕως ἂν ἀποδῷς τὸν ἔσχατον κοδράντην.
25. "Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing."
Hilarius in Matth.: Quia nullum tempus vacuum affectu placabilitatis dominus esse permittit, cito in vitae nostrae via reconciliari nos adversario praecepit, ne in mortis tempus non inita pace transeamus; et ideo dicit esto consentiens adversario tuo cito dum es cum eo in via, ne forte tradat te adversarius iudici. Hilary: The Lord suffers us at no time to be wanting in peaceableness of temper, and therefore bids us be reconciled to our adversary quickly, while on the road to life, lest we be cast into the season of death before peace by joined between us. Hieronymus: Pro eo quod nos habemus in Latinis codicibus consentiens, in Graecis scriptum est eunoon, quod interpretatur benevolus, aut benignus. Jerome: The word here in our Latin books is 'consentiens,' in Greek, ευνοων, which means, 'kind,' 'benevolent.' Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Sed videamus quis sit adversarius, cui iubemur esse benevoli. Aut enim Diabolus est, aut homo, aut caro, aut Deus, aut praeceptum eius. Sed Diabolo non video qualiter iubeamur esse benevoli aut consentientes: ubi enim benevolentia, ibi amicitia; nec quisquam dixerit amicitiam cum Diabolo esse faciendam; neque concordare cum illo expedit cui semel renuntiando bellum indiximus; neque consentire illi oportet, cui si nunquam consensissemus, nunquam in istas incidissemus materias. Aug., Serm. in Mont, i, 11: Let us see who this adversary is to whom we are bid to be benevolent. It may then be either the Devil, or man, or the flesh, or God, or His commandments. But I do not see how we can be bid be benevolent, or agreeing with the Devil; for where there is good will, there is friendship, and no one will say that friendship should be made with the Devil, or that it is well to agree with him, having [p. 182] once proclaimed war against him when we renounced him; nor ought we to consent with him, with whom had we never consented, we had never come into such circumstances. Hieronymus: Quidam tamen dicunt a salvatore praecipi ut simus benevoli erga Diabolum, ne faciamus eum poenam sustinere pro nobis, quem dicunt pro nobis esse torquendum, si ei consenserimus vitia suggerenti. Quidam cautius disputant, in Baptismate singulos pactum inire cum Diabolo ei abrenuntiando. Si ergo servaverimus pactum, benevoli et consentientes sumus adversario, et nequaquam in carcere recludendi. Jerome: Some, from that verse of Peter, "Your adversary the Devil, &c." [1 Pet 5:8] will have the Saviour's command to be, that we should be merciful to the Devil, not causing him to endure punishment for our sakes. For as he puts in our way the incentives to vice, if we yield to his suggestions, he will be tormented for our sakes. Some follow a more forced interpretation, that in baptism we have each of us made a compact with the Devil by renouncing him. If we observe this compact, then we are agreeing with our adversary, and shall not be cast into prison. Augustinus: Non autem video quomodo accipiam, ab homine nos iudici tradi, ubi Christum iudicem intelligo, ante cuius tribunal omnes exhiberi oportet. Quomodo ergo iudici traditurus est qui ante iudicem pariter exhibetur? Et etiam si occidendo quis nocuerit homini, non erit iam tempus quo concordet cum eo in via, idest in hac vita; nec tamen ideo non sanabitur poenitendo. Carni vero multo minus video quomodo consentientes esse iubeamur; magis enim peccatores ei consentiunt: qui vero eam servituti subiiciunt, non ei consentiunt, sed eam sibi consentire cogunt. Aug.: I do not see again how it can be understood of man. For how can man be said to deliver us to the Judge, when we know only Christ as the Judge, before whose tribunal all must be sisted [?]. How then can he deliver to the Judge, who has himself to appear before Him? Moreover if any has sinned against any by killing him, he has no opportunity of agreeing with him in the way, that is in this life; and yet that hinders not but that he may be rescued from judgment by repentance. Much less do I see how we can be bid be agreeing with the flesh; for they are sinners rather who agree with it; but they who bring it into subjection, do not agree with it, but compel it to agree with them. Hieronymus: Quomodo etiam caro mittenda erit in carcerem si animae non consenserit, cum et anima et caro pariter recludendae sint, nec quicquam possit caro facere nisi quod animus imperaverit? Jerome: And how can the body be cast into prison if it agree not with the spirit, seeing soul and body must go together, and that the flesh can do nothing but what the soul shall command? Augustinus: Fortassis ergo iubemur Deo consentire, quia ab eo peccando recessimus, ut adversarius noster dici possit dum nobis resistit: Deus enim superbis resistit. Quisquis ergo in hac vita non fuerit reconciliatus Deo per mortem filii eius, tradetur ab illo iudici, idest filio, cui pater iudicium dedit. Quomodo autem potest recte dici homo esse in via cum Deo, nisi quia Deus ubique est? Aut si non placet dici impios esse cum Deo, qui ubique praesto est, sicut non dicimus caecos esse cum luce quae eos circumfundit, unum reliquum est ut hic adversarium praeceptum Dei intelligamus, quod adversatur peccare volentibus, et datum est nobis ad hanc vitam ut sit nobiscum in via; cui oportet nos consentire cito, legendo, praeaudiendo, deferendo ei culmen auctoritatis, ut quod aliquis intelligit non oderit propter hoc quod adversatur peccatis suis, sed magis diligat propter correctionem; quod vero obscurum est, oret ut intelligat. Aug.: Perhaps then it is God with whom we are here enjoined to agree. He may be said to be our adversary, because we have departed from Him by sin, and "He resisteth the proud." Whosoever then shall not have been reconciled in this life with God through the death of His Son, shall be by Him delivered to the Judge, that is, the Son, to whom He has committed all judgment. And man may be said to be "in the way with God," because He is every where. But if we like not to say that the wicked are with God, who is every where present, as we do not say that the blind are with that light which is every where around them, there only remains the law of God which we can understand by our adversary. For this law is an adversary [p. 183] to such as love to sin, and is given us for this life that it may be with us in the way. To this we ought to agree quickly, by reading, hearing, and bestowing on it the summit of authority, and that when we understand it, we hate it not because it opposes our sins, but rather love it because it corrects them; and when it is obscure, pray that we may understand it. Hieronymus: Sed ex praecedentibus manifestus est sensus, quod dominus nos ad concordiam proximi cohortatur; nam supra dictum est vade reconciliari fratri tuo. Jerome: But from the context the sense is manifest; the Lord is exhorting us to peace and concord with our neighbour; as it was said above, Go, be reconciled to thy brother. Chrysostomus super Matth: Festinat enim dominus ut ad amicitiam festinemus inimicorum nostrorum quamdiu vivimus in hac vita, sciens quam periculosum est si unus ex inimicis pace non facta mortuus fuerit. Si enim inimicantes per mortem iveritis ante iudicem, tradet te Christo, convincens te reum iudicio eius. Tradet autem te iudici, etiam si te prius rogaverit: qui enim rogat prius inimicum, reum facit eum ante Deum. Pseudo-Chrys.: The Lord is urgent with us to hasten to make friends with our enemies while we are yet in this life, knowing how dangerous for us that one of our enemies should die before peace is made with us. For if death bring us while yet at enmity to the Judge, he will deliver us to Christ, proving us guilty by his judgment. Our adversary also delivers us to the Judge, when he is the first to seek reconciliation; for he who first submits to his enemy, brings him in guilty before God. Hilarius in Matth.: Vel adversarius tradet vos iudici, quia manens in eum simultatis vestrae ira vos arguit. Hilary: Or, the adversary delivers you to the Judge, when the abiding of your wrath towards him convicts you. Augustinus: Iudicem intelligo Christum: pater enim omne iudicium dedit filio; ministrum autem intelligo Angelum: et Angeli, inquit Matthaeus, ministrabant ei; et cum Angelis suis venturum credimus ad iudicandum. Unde sequitur et iudex tradat te ministro. Aug.: by the Judge I understand Christ, for, "the Father hath committed all judgment to the Son;" [John 5:22] and by the officer, or minister, an Angel, for "Angels came and ministered unto Him;" and we believe that He will come with his Angels to judge. Chrysostomus super Matth: Vel ministro, idest Angelo poenarum crudeli, et ille mittet te in carcerem Gehennae; unde sequitur et in carcerem mittaris. Pseudo-Chrys.: "The officer," that is, the ministering Angel of punishment, and he shall cast you into the prison of hell. Augustinus: Carcerem autem intelligo poenas, videlicet tenebrarum. Et ne quis istum carcerem contemneret, sequitur amen dico tibi: non exies inde donec reddas novissimum quadrantem. Aug.: By the prison I understand the punishment of the darkness. And that none should despise that punishment, He adds, "Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt not come out thence till thou hast paid the very last farthing." Hieronymus: Quadrans genus nummi est quod habet duo minuta; hoc est ergo: non egredieris de carcere donec etiam minuta peccata persolvas. Jerome: A farthing is a coin containing two mites. What He says then is, 'Thou shalt not go forth thence till thou hast paid for the smallest sin.' Augustinus: Aut enim pro eo positum est quod nihil relinquitur impunitum; sicut cum volumus exprimere aliquid ita exactum ut nihil relinqueretur, dicimus usque ad fecem; vel significantur sub nomine quadrantis novissimi terrena peccata. Quarta enim pars elementorum huius mundi, et ea novissima, terra invenitur. In hoc autem quod dictum est solvas, significatur poena aeterna. Et sicut positum est donec, ubi dictum est: sede a dextris meis, donec ponam inimicos tuos sub pedibus tuis (non enim cum fuerint inimici sub pedibus positi, desinit regnare), ita et hic accipi potest non exies donec solveris quadrantem; semper non exiturum, quia solvet semper novissimum quadrantem, dum sempiternas poenas peccatorum terrenorum luet. Aug.: Or it is an expression to denote that there is nothing that shall go unpunished; as we say 'To the dregs,' when we are speaking of any thing so emptied that nothing is left in it. Or by "the last farthing" [margin note: quadrans] may be denoted earthly sins. For the fourth and last element of this world is earth. "Paid," that is in eternal punishment; and "until" used in the same sense as in that, "Sit thou on my right hand until I make thy enemies thy footstool;" [Ps 110:1] for He does not cease to reign [p. 184] when His enemies are put under His feet. So here, "until thou hast paid," is as much as to say, thou shalt never come out thence, for that he is always paying the very last farthing while he is enduring the everlasting punishment of earthly sins. Chrysostomus super Matth: Vel si quidem in hoc saeculo pacem feceris, etiam gravissimi operis poteris accipere indulgentiam; si autem semel condemnatus fueris, missus in carcerem, non solum de gravibus peccatis, sed etiam de verbo otioso, quod potest significari per quadrantem, exigentur a te supplicia. Pseudo-Chrys.: Or, If you will make your peace yet in this world, you may receive pardon of even the heaviest offences; but if once damned and cast into the prison of hell, punishment will be exacted of you not for grievous sins only, but for each idle word, which may be denoted by "the very last farthing." Hilarius in Matth.: Quia enim caritas plurimum peccatorum tegit, novissimum poenae quadrantem solvemus, nisi pretio ipsius culpa criminum redimatur. Hilary: For because "charity covereth a multitude of sins," we shall therefore pay the last farthing of punishment, unless by the expense of charity we redeem the fault of our sin. Chrysostomus super Matth: Vel angustiae huius mundi appellantur carceres, in quas plerumque peccantes mittuntur a Deo. Pseudo-Chrys.: Or, the prison is worldly misfortune which God often sends upon sinners. Chrysostomus in Matth: Vel loquitur hic de iudicibus qui sunt in mundo isto et de via quae est ad hoc iudicium et de carcere isto, ut non solum a futuris, sed et a praesentibus auditorem inducat, quae sunt ante oculos, et magis consueverunt movere; sicut et Paulus dicit: si male feceris, time potestatem: non enim sine causa gladium portat. Chrys.: Or, He here speaks of the judges of this world, of the way which leads to this judgment, and of human prisons; thus not only employing future but present inducements, as those things which are before the eyes affect us most, as St. Paul also declares, "If thou doest evil fear the power, for he beareth not the sword in vain." [Rom 13:4]
Lectio 16 27 ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐρρέθη, οὐ μοιχεύσεις. 28 ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι πᾶς ὁ βλέπων γυναῖκα πρὸς τὸ ἐπιθυμῆσαι αὐτὴν ἤδη ἐμοίχευσεν αὐτὴν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ.
27. "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, 'Thou shalt not commit adultery:' 28. But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."
Chrysostomus in Matth: Postquam dominus quid primum mandatum contineret edocuit, scilicet non occides, instituto pergens ordine provehitur ad secundum, dicens audistis quia dictum est antiquis: non moechaberis. Chrys., Hom. xvii: The Lord having explained how much is contained in the first commandment, namely, "Thou shalt not kill," proceeds in regular order to the second. Augustinus de decem chordis: Idest, non ibis ad aliquam aliam praeter uxorem tuam. Si enim hoc exigis ab uxore, non vis hoc reddere uxori, cum debeas in virtute praecedere uxorem. Turpe autem est ut vir dicat hoc non posse fieri. Quod femina facit, vir non potest? Noli autem dicere: uxorem non habeo, ad meretricem pergo, nec hoc praeceptum violo, quod dicit non moechaberis; iam enim nosti pretium tuum, iam nosti quod manduces, quod bibas. Abstine ergo te a fornicationibus. Cum enim imaginem Dei (quod es tu) corrumpis per fornicationes et defluentias libidinis, ipse etiam dominus, qui scit quid tibi utile sit, hoc praecipit, ne per illicitas voluptates corruat templum eius, quod esse coepisti. Aug., Serm. ix, 3 and 10: "Thou shalt not commit adultery," that is, Thou shalt go no where but to thy lawful wife. For if you exact this of your wife, you ought to do the same, for the husband ought to go before the wife in virtue. It is a shame for the husband to say that this is impossible. Why not the husband as well as the wife? And let not him that is unmarried suppose that he does not break this commandment by fornication; you know the price wherewith you have been bought, you know what [p. 185] you eat and what your drink [ed. note, g: Nic. inserts here, from the original, 'immo quem manduces, quem bibas.'] therefore keep yourself from fornications. Forasmuch as all such acts of lust pollute and destroy God's image, (which you are,) the Lord who knows what is good for you, gives you this precept that you may not pull down His temple which you have begun to be. Augustinus contra Faustum: Sed quoniam putabant Pharisaei, tantummodo corporalem cum femina illicitam commixtionem vocari moechiam, demonstravit dominus talem concupiscentiam nihil aliud esse, dicens ego autem dico vobis quia omnis qui viderit mulierem ad concupiscendum eam, iam moechatus est eam in corde suo. Quod autem lex praecipit: non concupisces uxorem proximi tui, videbatur Iudaeis intelligendum esse de ablatione non de concubitu. Aug., cont. Faust. 19, 23: He then goes on to correct the error of the Pharisees, declaring, "Whoso looketh upon a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery already with her in his heart." For the commandment of the Law, "Thou shalt not lust after thy neighbour's wife," [Ex 20:17] the Jews understood of taking her away, not of committing adultery with her. Hieronymus: Inter pathos, et propathian, idest inter passionem et propassionem, hoc interest, quod passio reputatur in vitium, propassio, licet vitii culpam habeat, tamen non tenetur in crimine. Ergo qui viderit mulierem, et anima eius fuerit titillata, hic propassione percussus est. Si ergo consenserit, de propassione transivit ad passionem, et huic non voluntas peccandi deest, sed occasio. Quicumque igitur viderit ad concupiscendum, idest sic aspexerit ut concupiscat, et facere disponat, recte moechatus dicitur in corde suo. Jerome: Between παθος and προπαθεια, that is between actual passion and the first spontaneous movement of the mind, there is this difference: passion is at once a sin; the spontaneous movement of the mind, though it partakes of the evil of sin, is yet not held for an offence committed. [ed. note, h: In this passage S. Jerome, who seems to have introduced the word propassio, προπαθεια, into theology, uses it somewhat in a sense of his own; viz. as involving something of the nature of sin; vid. also Comm. in Ezek. xviii, 1, 2. The word is more commonly applied to our Lord, as denoting the mode and extent in which His soul was affected by what in others became παθος. In us passion precedes reason, in Him it followed, or was a προπαθεια. vid. S. Jerome in Matt. xxvi. 37. Leon. Ep. 35. Damasc. F. O. iii. 20 &c. &c.] When then one looks upon a woman, and his mind is therewith smitten, there is propassion; if he yields to this he passes from propassion to passion, and then it is no longer the will but the opportunity to sin that is wanting. "Whosoever," then, "looketh on a woman to lust after her," that is, so looks on her as to lust, and cast about to obtain, he is rightly said to commit adultery with her in his heart. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Nam tria sunt quibus impletur peccatum: scilicet suggestio quae per memoriam fit, sive per corporis sensus; quod si frui delectaverit, delectatio illicita refrenanda est; si autem consensio facta fuerit, plenum peccatum est. Verumtamen delectatio ante consensum vel nulla est, vel tenuis; cui consentire peccatum est. Si autem et in factum processerit, videtur satiari et extingui cupiditas. Sed postea cum suggestio repetitur, maior accenditur delectatio, quae adhuc minor est quam illa quae in consuetudinem vertitur; quam vincere difficile est. Aug., Serm. in Mont., i, 12: For there are three things which make up a sin; suggestion either through the memory, or the present sense; if the thought of the pleasure of indulgence follows, that is an unlawful thought, and to be restrained; if you consent then, the sin is complete. For prior to the first consent, the pleasure is either none or very slight, the consenting to which makes the sin. But if consent proceeds on into overt act, then desire seems to be satiated and quenched. And when suggestion is again repeated, the contemplated pleasure is greater, which previous to habit formed was but small, but now more difficult to overcome. Gregorius Moralium: Quisquis vero incaute exterius respicit, plerumque in delectationem peccati cadit, atque obligatus desideriis, incipit velle quod noluit. Valde namque est quod caro deorsum trahit, et semel species formae cordi per oculos alligata, vix magni luctaminis manu solvitur. Providendum ergo nobis est: quia intueri non debet quod non licet concupisci. Ut enim munda mens in cogitatione servetur, a lascivia voluptatis suae deprimendi sunt oculi, quasi quidam raptores ad culpam. Greg., Mor., xxi, 2: But whoso casts his eyes about without caution [p. 186] will often be taken with the pleasure of sin, and ensnared by desires begins to wish for what he would not. Great is the strength of the flesh to draw us downwards, and the charm of beauty once admitted to the heart through the eye, is hardly banished by endeavour. We must therefore take heed at the first, we ought not to look upon what it is unlawful to desire. For that the heart may be kept pure in thought, the eyes, as being on the watch to hurry us to sin, should be averted from wanton looks. Chrysostomus in Matth: Si ergo studeas venustis vultibus oculos frequenter infigere, profecto capieris, etiam si secundo et tertio possis fortasse animum continere. Neque enim extra naturam aleamque humanam consistis. Qui enim in se flammam cupiditatis accenderit, etiam absente muliere quam vidit, iugiter apud se turpium rerum simulacra depingit, et nonnumquam ad flagitium ipsum etiam opere pervenit. Si qua vero ideo ornatur et comitur, ut in se oculos hominum irritet, etiam si nullum pulchritudine sua potuerit vulnerare, dabit tamen extrema supplicia: paravit quippe venenum, porrexit poculum, etiam si nullus qui biberet inventus sit. Quod autem ad solos viros videtur dirigere, etiam feminis competit: cum enim capiti loquitur, toti profecto corpori admonitio communis est. Chrys.: If you permit yourself to gaze often on fair countenances you will assuredly be taken, even though you may be able to command your mind twice or thrice. For you are not exalted above nature and the strength of humanity. She too who dresses and adorns herself for the purpose of attracting men's eyes to her, though her endeavor should fail, yet shall she be punished hereafter; seeing she mixed the poison and offered the cup, though none was found who would drink thereof. For what the Lord seems to speak only to the man, is of equal application to the woman; inasmuch as when He speaks to the head, the warning is meant for the whole body.
Lectio 17 29 εἰ δὲ ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου ὁ δεξιὸς σκανδαλίζει σε, ἔξελε αὐτὸν καὶ βάλε ἀπὸ σοῦ: συμφέρει γάρ σοι ἵνα ἀπόληται ἓν τῶν μελῶν σου καὶ μὴ ὅλον τὸ σῶμά σου βληθῇ εἰς γέενναν. 30 καὶ εἰ ἡ δεξιά σου χεὶρ σκανδαλίζει σε, ἔκκοψον αὐτὴν καὶ βάλε ἀπὸ σοῦ: συμφέρει γάρ σοι ἵνα ἀπόληται ἓν τῶν μελῶν σου καὶ μὴ ὅλον τὸ σῶμά σου εἰς γέενναν ἀπέλθῃ.
29. "And if they right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30. And if they right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell."
Glossa: Quia non solum peccata vitanda sunt, sed et occasiones peccatorum tollendae, postquam docuit vitare moechiae peccatum, non solum in opere, sed etiam in corde, consequenter docet occasiones peccatorum abscindere, dicens quod si oculus tuus dexter scandalizat te. Gloss, non occ.: Because we ought not only to avoid actual sin, but even put away every occasion of sin, therefore having taught that adultery is to be avoided not in deed only, but in heart, He next teaches us to cut off the occasions of sin. Chrysostomus super Matth: Sed, si secundum prophetam, non est sanitas in carne nostra, quot membra quis habet, debet abscindere, ut secundum malitiam carnis, sufficiat poena membrorum. Sed videamus si sic possibile est intelligere de oculo corporali vel manu. Sicut totus homo, cum conversus fuerit ad Deum, mortuus est peccato, sic et oculus, cum desierit male aspicere, eiectus est peccato; sed neque sic convenit. Si enim dexter oculus scandalizat, sinister quid facit? Numquid contradicit dextero, ut quasi innocens reservetur? Pseudo-Chrys.: But if according to that of the Prophet, "there is no whole part in our body," [Ps 38:3] it is needful that we cut off every limb that we have that the punishment [p. 187] may be equal to the depravity of the flesh. Is it then possible to understand this of the bodily eye or hand? As the whole man when he is turned to God is dead to sin, so likewise the eye when it has ceased to look evil is cut off from sin. But this explanation will not suit the whole; for when He says, "thy right eye offends thee," what does the left eye? Does it contradict the right eye, and it is preserved innocent? Hieronymus: In dextero ergo oculo et dextera manu, et fratrum et uxoris et liberorum atque affinium et propinquorum innititur affectus; quem si ad contemplandam veram lucem nobis impedimento cernimus, debemus truncare huiusmodi portiones. Jerome: Therefore by the right eye and the right hand we must understand the love of brethren, husbands and wives, parents and kinsfolk; which if we find to hinder our view of the true light, we ought to sever from us. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Quemadmodum autem in oculo contemplatio, sic in manu actio recte intelligitur. Per oculum autem intelligimus dilectissimum amicum: solet enim ab eis qui vehementer volunt exprimere dilectionem suam, ita dici: diligo eum ut oculum meum. Oportet autem intelligi per oculum amicum consiliarium, quia oculus iter demonstrat. Quod autem additum est, dexter, fortasse ad augendam vim dilectionis valet: dextrum enim oculum homines magis formidant amittere. Vel quia dexter est, intelligitur consiliarius in rebus divinis, sinister autem oculus est consiliarius in rebus terrenis; ut sic ille sit sensus: quicquid illud est quod ita diligis ut pro dextero oculo habeas, si scandalizat te, idest si impedimento est tibi ad veram beatitudinem, eiice eum, et proiice abs te. De sinistro autem scandalizante superfluum erat dicere, quando quidem nec dextero parcendum est. Dextera autem manus accipitur dilectus adiutor in divinis operibus; sinistra autem in operibus quae huic vitae et corpori sunt necessaria. Aug., Serm. in Mont., i, 13: As the eye denotes contemplation, so the hand aptly denotes action. By the eye we must understand our most cherished friend, as they are wont to say who would express ardent affection, 'I love him as my own eye.' And a friend too who gives counsel, as the eye shews us our way. The "right eye," perhaps, only means to express a higher degree of affection, for it is the one which men most fear to lose. Or, by the right eye may be understood one who counsels us in heavenly matters, and by the left one who counsels in earthly matters. And this will be the sense; Whatever that is which you love as you would your own right eye, if it "offend you," that is, if it be an hindrance to your true happiness, "cut it off and cast it from you." For if the right eye was not to be spared, it was superfluous to speak of the left. The right hand also is to be taken of a beloved assistant in divine actions, the left hand in earthly actions. Chrysostomus super Matth: Vel aliter vult Christus ut non solum de periculo nostri peccati curemus, sed etiam ne ad nos pertinentes turbae aliquid agant: ut puta si habes aliquem amicum qui res tuas bene aspicit, quasi proprius oculus, aut qui procurat res tuas quasi propria manus, si eum agnoveris aliquid turpiter agere, proiice eum longe abs te, quia scandalizat te: quia non solum pro nostro peccato, sed etiam proximorum, quos prohibere possumus, dabimus rationem. Pseudo-Chrys.: Otherwise; Christ would have us careful not only of our own sin, but likewise that even they who pertain to us should keep themselves from evil. Have you any friend who looks to your matters as your own eye, or manages them as your own hand, if you know of any scandalous or base action that he has done, cast him from you, he is an offence; for we shall give account not only of our own sins, but also of such of those of our neighbours as it is in our power to hinder. Hilarius in Matth.: Fit ergo innocentiae gradus celsior: carere enim non solum propriis vitiis, sed etiam extrinsecus incidentibus admonemur. Hilary: Thus a more lofty step of innocence is appointed us, in that we are admonished to keep free, not only from sin ourselves, but from such as might touch us [p. 188] from without. Hieronymus: Vel aliter. Quia supra de concupiscentia mulieris dixerat, recte nunc cogitationem et sensum in diversa volitantem oculum nuncupavit. Per dexteram autem et ceteras corporis partes, voluntatis ad effectum initia demonstrantur. Jerome: Otherwise; As above He had placed lust in the looking on a woman, so now the thought and sense straying hither and thither He calls 'the eye.' By the right hand and the other parts of the body, He means the initial movements of desire and affection. Chrysostomus super Matth: Oculus enim iste carnalis speculum est interioris oculi. Habet autem et corpus suum sensum, quod est oculus sinister, et appetitum, quod est manus sinistra. Partes autem animae, dexterae vocantur, quoniam in libero arbitrio anima est creata, et sub lege iustitiae, ut recte videat et agat. Pars autem corporis, quae non habet liberum arbitrium, et est sub lege peccati, sinistra dicitur. Non autem carnis sensum vel appetitum praecidere iubet: desideria enim carnis retinere possumus, ut non faciamus quod desiderat caro; praecidere autem non possumus, ut non desideret. Quando autem ex proposito volumus malum et cogitamus, tunc dexter sensus et dextera voluntas nos scandalizant, et ideo hic praecidere iubet. Possunt enim praecidi propter arbitrii libertatem. Vel aliter. Omne bonum generaliter quod nos vel alios scandalizat, praescindere debemus a nobis; sicut si visito aliquam mulierem causa religionis, bonus respectus est oculus dexter; sed si assidue visitans decidi in laqueum desiderii eius, vel etiam quidam videntes scandalizantur, dexter oculus scandalizat, quod bonum est scandalizat: oculus enim dexter est bonus respectus, idest intentio; manus dextera, bona voluntas. Pseudo-Chrys.: The eye of flesh is the mirror of the inward eye. The body also has its own sense, that is, the left eye, and its own appetite, that is, the left hand. But the parts of the soul are called right, for the soul was created both with free-will and under the law of righteousness, that it might both see and do rightly. But the members of the body being not with free-will, but under the law of sin, are called the left. Yet He does not bid us cut off the sense or appetite of the flesh; we may retain the desires of the flesh, and yet not do thereafter, but we cannot cut off the having the desires. But when we wilfully purpose and think of evil, then our right desires and right will offend us, and therefore He bids us cut them off. And these we can cut off, because our will is free. Or otherwise; Every thing, however good in itself that offends ourselves or others, we ought to cut off from us. For example, to visit a woman with religious purposes, this good intent towards her may be called a right eye, but if often visiting her I have fallen into the net of desire, or if any looking on are offended, then the right eye, that is, something in itself good, offends me. For the "right eye" is good intention, the "right hand" is good desire. Glossa: Vel oculus dexter est vita contemplativa, quae scandalizat in desidiam mittendo, vel arrogantiam, vel cum ex infirmitate contemplari ad purum non valemus. Dextera autem manus est bona operatio, vel vita activa, quae scandalizat dum per saeculi frequentiam et occupationis taedio illaqueamur. Si quis ergo non potest frui contemplativa, non torpeat otio ab activa, vel ne, dum occupatur actibus, arescat ab interna dulcedine. Gloss. ord.: Or, the "right eye" is the contemplative life which offends by being the cause of indolence or self-conceit, or in our weakness that we are not able to support it unmixed. The "right hand" is good works, or the active life, which offends us when we are ensnared by society and the business of life. If then any one is unable to sustain the contemplative life, let him not slothfully rest from all action; or on the other hand while he is taken up with action, dry up the fountain of sweet contemplation. Remigius: Sed quare eiiciendus sit dexter oculus et dextera manus abscindenda, manifestat cum subdit expedit enim, et cetera. Remig.: The reason why the right eye and the right hand are to be cast away is subjoined in that, "For it is better, &c." Chrysostomus super Matth: Quoniam enim alter alterius membra sumus, melius est ut sine uno tali membro salvemur, quam ut volentes tales habere, et ipsi pereamus cum eis. Vel melius est ut sine uno respectu aut uno bono opere salvemur, quam dum omnia opera bona volumus facere, cum omnibus pereamus. Pseudo-Chrys.: For as we are every one members one of another, it is better that we should be saved without some one of these members, [p. 189] than that we perish together with them. Or, it is better that we should be saved without one good purpose, or one good work, than that while we seek to perform all good works we perish together with all.
Lectio 18 31 ἐρρέθη δέ, ὃς ἂν ἀπολύσῃ τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, δότω αὐτῇ ἀποστάσιον. 32 ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι πᾶς ὁ ἀπολύων τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ παρεκτὸς λόγου πορνείας ποιεῖ αὐτὴν μοιχευθῆναι, καὶ ὃς ἐὰν ἀπολελυμένην γαμήσῃ μοιχᾶται.
31. "It hath been said, 'Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:' 32. But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery."
Glossa: Docuerat superius dominus alienam uxorem non esse concupiscendam; consequenter hic docet suam non esse dimittendam, dicens dictum est autem: quicumque dimiserit uxorem suam, det illi libellum repudii. Gloss, non occ.: The Lord had taught us above that our neighbour's wife was not to be coveted, He now proceeds to teach that our own wife is not to be put away. Hieronymus: In posteriori parte istum locum plenius dominus et salvator exponit, quod Moyses libellum repudii dari iusserit propter duritiam cordis maritorum, non dissidium concedens, sed auferens homicidium. Jerome: For touching Moses' allowance of divorce, the Lord and Saviour more fully explains in conclusion, that it was because of the hardness of the hearts of the husbands, not so much sanctioning discord, as checking bloodshed. Chrysostomus super Matth: Quando enim Moyses filios Israel eduxit de Aegypto, genere quidem erant Israelitae, moribus autem Aegyptii. Propter mores gentilium contingebat ut vir odiret uxorem, et quia dimittere illam non permittebatur, paratus erat interficere eam aut assidue affligere. Ideo iussit dari libellum repudii, non quia bonum erat, sed quia remedium erat mali peioris. Pseudo-Chrys.: For when Moses brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, they were indeed Hebrews in race, but Egyptians in manners. And it was caused by the Gentile manners that the husband hated the wife; and if he was not permitted to put her away, he was ready either to kill her or ill-treat her. Moses therefore suffered a bill of divorcement, not because it was a good practice in itself, but was the prevention of a worse evil. Hilarius in Matth.: Sed dominus aequitatem in omnes concilians, manere eam maxime in coniugiorum pace praecepit; unde subdit ego autem dico vobis, quia omnis qui dimiserit uxorem suam, et cetera. Hilary: But the Lord who brought peace and goodwill on earth, would have it reign especially in the matrimonial bond. Augustinus contra Faustum: Quod hic praecepit dominus de uxore non dimittenda, non est contrarium ei quod lex praecipit, ut Manichaeus dicebat; neque enim ait lex: qui voluerit dimittat uxorem, cui esset contrarium non dimittere; sed utique nolebat dimitti uxorem a viro, qui hanc interposuit moram, ut in dissidium animus praeceps libelli conscriptione refractus absisteret, praesertim quia, ut perhibetur apud Hebraeos, scribere litteras Hebraeas nulli fas erat nisi Scribis solis, qui excellentiorem profitebantur scientiam. Ad hos igitur lex mittere voluit eum quem iussit libellum dare repudii, si dimisisset uxorem, qui inter ipsum et uxorem pacifice agendo, concordiam suaderent, et libellum non scriberent nisi in animo nimis perverso consilium concordiae non valeret. Sic ergo neque primorum hominum legem per verborum additamenta implevit, neque illam quae per Moysen data est, quasi contrariorum oppositione destruxit, ut Manichaeus dicebat; sed potius omnia ex Hebraeorum lege commemorata ita commendavit ut quicquid ex persona sua insuper loqueretur, vel ad expositionem requirendam valeret, si quid illa obscure posuisset, vel ad tutius observandum quod illa voluisset. Aug., cont. Faust., xix, 26: The Lord's command here that a wife is not to be put away, is not contrary to the command in the Law, as Manichaeus affirmed. Had the Law allowed any who would to put away his wife, to allow none to put away were indeed the very opposite of that. But the difficulty which Moses is careful to put in the way, shews that he was no good friend to the practice at all. For he required a bill of divorcement, the delay and difficulty of drawing out which would often cool headlong rage and disagreement, especially as by the Hebrew custom, it was the Scribes alone who were permitted to use the Hebrew letters, in [p. 190] which they professed a singular skill. To these then the law would send him whom it bid to give a writing of divorcement, when he would put away his wife, who mediating between him and his wife, might set them at one again, unless in minds too wayward to be moved by counsels of peace. Thus then He neither completed, by adding words to it, the law of them of old time, nor did He destroy the Law given by Moses by enacting things contrary to it, as Manichaeus affirmed; but rather repeated and approved all that the Hebrew Law contained, so that whatever He spoke in His own person more than it had, had in view either explanation, which in divers obscure places of the Law was greatly needed, or the more punctual observance of its enactments. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Qui ergo dimittendi moram quaesivit, significavit quantum potuit duris hominibus, se nolle dissidium. Dominus ergo ad illud confirmandum, ut non facile uxor dimittatur, solam causam fornicationis excepit, dicens excepta causa fornicationis; ceteras vero universas molestias, si quae forte extiterint, iubet pro fide coniugali fortiter sustineri. Aug., Serm. in Mont., i, 14: By interposing this delay in the mode of putting away, the lawgiver shewed as clearly as it could be shewn to hard hearts, that he hated strife and disagreement. The Lord then so confirms this backwardness in the Law, as to except only one case, "the cause of fornication;" every other inconvenience which may have place, He bids us bear with patience in consideration of the plighted troth of wedlock. Chrysostomus super Matth: Si enim extraneorum vitia supportare debemus, dicente apostolo: invicem onera vestra portate, quanto magis uxorum? Vir autem Christianus non solum se inquinare non debet, sed nec aliis inquinandi occasionem praebere; alioquin illorum crimen ad istius redundat peccatum qui aliis committendi criminis factus est causa. Qui ergo dimittens uxorem occasionem dedit adulteriorum committendorum, ut et illa adulteretur in alterum et alter in illam, pro adulteriis huiusmodi condemnatur; et ideo dicit quod qui dimiserit uxorem suam, facit eam moechari. Pseudo-Chrys.: If we ought to bear the burdens of strangers, in obedience to that of the Apostles, "Bear ye one another's burdens," [Gal 6:2] how much more that of our wives and husbands? The Christian husband ought not only to keep himself from any defilement, but to be careful not to give others occasion of defilement; for so is their sin imputed to him who gave the occasion. Whoso then by putting away his wife gives another man occasion of committing adultery, is condemned for that crime himself. Augustinus: Ulterius etiam moechum dicit virum qui eam duxerit quae dimissa est a viro, scilicet per libellum repudii; et ideo subdit et qui dimissam duxerit, adulterat. Aug.: Yea, more, He declares the man who marries her who is put away an adulterer. Chrysostomus in Matth: Non enim dicas quoniam vir suus eam dimisit, quia etiam postquam dimissa est, remanet dimittentis uxor. Chrys.: Say not here, It is enough her husband has put her away; for even after she is put away she continues the wife of him that put her away. Augustinus: Huius autem rei apostolus terminum ostendit, qui tamdiu observandum dicit quamdiu vir eius vivit. Illo autem mortuo dat nubendi licentiam. Si autem non conceditur alteri nubere mulieri vivente viro a quo recessit, multo minus fas est illicita cum quibuslibet stupra committere; neque enim contra istud praeceptum, quo dominus dimitti coniugem vetat, facit qui cum ea non carnaliter, sed spiritualiter vivit, cum non eam dimittat. Beatiora namque sunt coniugia eorum qui inter se pari consensu continentiam servant. Oritur autem hic quaestio: cum dominus causa fornicationis permittat dimitti uxorem, qualiter hic intelligenda sit fornicatio: utrum ut eam fornicationem credamus dictam quae stupris committitur, an quemadmodum Scripturae solent fornicationem vocare omnem illicitam corruptionem, sicut est idololatria, vel avaritia, et omnis iam transgressio legis per illicitam concupiscentiam. Sed si licet, secundum apostolum, ut dimittatur coniux infidelis, quamvis melius sit non dimittere, et tamen non licet secundum praeceptum domini ut dimittatur coniux, nisi causa fornicationis; fornicatio est etiam ipsa infidelitas. Porro si infidelitas fornicatio est, et idololatria infidelitas, et avaritia idololatria, non est dubitandum et avaritiam fornicationem esse. Quis ergo iam quamlibet illicitam concupiscentiam potest recte a fornicationis genere separare, si avaritia fornicatio est? Aug.: The Apostle has fixed the limit here, requiring her to abstain from a fresh marriage as long as her husband lives. After his death he allows her to marry. But if the woman may not marry while her former husband is alive, much less may she yield herself to unlawful indulgences. But this command of the Lord, forbidding to put away a wife, is not broken by him who lives with her not carnally [p. 191] but spiritually, in that more blessed wedlock of those that keep themselves chaste. A question also here arises as to what is that fornication which the Lord allows as a cause of divorce; whether carnal sin, or, according to the Scripture use of the word, any unlawful passion, as idolatry, avarice, in short all transgression of the Law by forbidden desires. For if the Apostle permits the divorce of a wife if she be unbelieving, (though indeed it is better not to put her away,) and the Lord forbids any divorce but for the cause of fornication, unbelief even must be fornication. And if unbelief be fornication, and idolatry unbelief, and covetousness idolatry, it is not to be doubted that covetousness is fornication. And if covetousness be fornication, who may say of any kind of unlawful desire that it is not a kind of fornication? Augustinus in Lib. Retract: Nolo tamen putare lectorem in re tam difficili istam sibi disputationem nostram debere sufficere: non enim omne peccatum fornicatio est spiritalis: neque enim omnem peccantem Deus perdit, qui quotidie sanctos suos exaudit dicentes: dimitte nobis debita nostra, cum perdat omnem qui fornicatur ab eo. Utrum etiam propter hanc liceat dimittere uxorem, latebrosissima quaestio est; licere tamen propter istam quae in stupris committitur, nulla quaestio est. Aug., Retract., i, 19, 6: Yet I would not have the reader think this disputation of ours sufficient in a matter so arduous; for not every sin is spiritual fornication, nor does God destroy every sinner, for He hears His saints daily crying to Him, "Forgive us our debts;" but every man who goes a whoring and forsakes Him, him He destroys. Whether this be the fornication for which divorce is allowed is a most knotty question - for it is no question at all that it is allowed for the fornication by carnal sin. Augustinus in Lib. 83 quaest.: Si enim aliquis asserat solam illam fornicationem dominum admittere ad causam relinquendae coniugis, quae concubitu illicito perpetratur, potest dicere dominum de utroque fideli dixisse, ut neutri liceat alterum relinquere nisi causa fornicationis. Aug., lib. 83, Quaest. q. ult.: If any affirm that the only fornication for which the Lord allows divorce is that of carnal sin, he may see that the Lord has spoken of believing husbands and wives, forbidding either to leave the other except for fornication. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Non tantum fornicantem uxorem dimittere conceditur, sed quisquis eam quoque uxorem dimittit a qua ipse cogitur fornicari, causa fornicationis utique dimittit, non tantum illius, sed et suae: illius, quia fornicatur; suae, ne fornicetur. Aug., Serm. in Mont., i, 16: Not only does He permit to put away a wife who commits fornication, but whoso puts away a wife by whom he is driven to commit fornication, puts her away for the cause of fornication, both for his own sake and hers. Augustinus de fide et operibus: Eodem etiam modo eam rectissime dimittit, si viro suo dicat: non ero uxor tua nisi nihil de latrocinio divitias congreges, aut si quid aliud vel facinorosum vel flagitiosum in viro monuerit. Tunc enim ille cui hoc uxor dicit, si veraciter poenitens est, membrum quod eum scandalizat amputabit. Aug., de Fid. et Op. 16: He also rightly puts away his wife to whom she shall say, I will not be your wife unless you get me money by robbery; or should require any other crime to be done by him. If the husband here be truly penitent, he will cut off the limb that offends him. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Nihil autem est iniquius quam fornicationis causa uxorem dimittere, si et ipse convincitur fornicari; occurrit enim illud: in quo alterum iudicas, teipsum condemnas. De eo autem quod dicit et qui dimissam duxerit, adulterat, potest quaeri utrum sicut moechatur ille qui eam ducit, sic et illa quam ducit: iubetur enim ab apostolo et illa manere innupta, aut viro reconciliari. Sed tamen si discesserit a viro, multum interest utrum dimittat an dimittatur: si enim ipsa virum dimiserit et alteri nupserit, videtur cupiditate mutandi coniugii virum priorem reliquisse; quae adulterina cogitatio est; sed si dimittatur a viro, inveniri non potest quomodo, cum vir et mulier pari consensu misceatur, unus eorum moechatus sit, et non alter. Huc accedit quia si moechatur ille ducendo eam quae dimissa est a viro, ipsa facit eum moechari; quod hic dominus vetat. Aug., Serm. in Mont., i, 16: Nothing can be more unjust than to put away a wife for fornication, and yourself to be guilty of that sin, for then is that happened, "Wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself." [Rom 2:1] When He says, "And he who marrieth her who is put away, committeth adultery," a question arises, does the woman also in this case [p. 192] commit adultery? For the Apostle directs either that she remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband. There is this difference in the separation, namely, which of them was the cause of it. If the wife put away the husband and marry another, she appears to have left her first husband with the desire of change, which is an adulterous thought. But if she have been put away by her husband, yet he who marries her commits adultery, how can she be quit of the same guilt? And further, if he who marries her commits adultery, she is the cause of his committing adultery, which is what the Lord is here forbidding.
Lectio 19 33 πάλιν ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐρρέθη τοῖς ἀρχαίοις, οὐκ ἐπιορκήσεις, ἀποδώσεις δὲ τῷ κυρίῳ τοὺς ὅρκους σου. 34 ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν μὴ ὀμόσαι ὅλως: μήτε ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, ὅτι θρόνος ἐστὶν τοῦ θεοῦ: 35 μήτε ἐν τῇ γῇ, ὅτι ὑποπόδιόν ἐστιν τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ: μήτε εἰς ἱεροσόλυμα, ὅτι πόλις ἐστὶν τοῦ μεγάλου βασιλέως: 36 μήτε ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ σου ὀμόσῃς, ὅτι οὐ δύνασαι μίαν τρίχα λευκὴν ποιῆσαι ἢ μέλαιναν. 37 ἔστω δὲ ὁ λόγος ὑμῶν ναὶ ναί, οὒ οὔ: τὸ δὲ περισσὸν τούτων ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ ἐστιν.
33. "Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, 'Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:' 34. But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by Heaven; for it is God's throne; 35. Nor by the earth; for it is His footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. 36. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."
5 l. 1993>935 l. 19 Glossa: Docuerat supra dominus non esse iniuriam proximo inferendam, prohibendo iram cum homicidio, concupiscentiam cum adulterio, et dimissionem uxoris cum libello repudii; nunc autem consequenter docet ab iniuria Dei abstinendum, cum prohibet non solum periurium tamquam malum, sed etiam iuramentum tamquam mali occasionem; unde dicit iterum audistis quia dictum est antiquis: non periurabis. Dicitur enim in Levitico: non periurabis in nomine meo; et ne creaturas facerent sibi deos, praecepit reddere Deo iuramenta, et non iurare per creaturas; unde subditur redde autem domino iuramenta tua; idest, si iurare contigerit, per creatorem iurabis, non per creaturam; unde dicitur in Deuteronomio: dominum Deum tuum timebis, et per nomen eius iurabis. Gloss. non occ.: The Lord has hitherto taught to abstain from injuring our neighbour, forbidding anger with murder, lust with adultery, and the putting away a wife with a bill of divorce. He now proceeds to teach to abstain from injury to God, forbidding not only perjury as an evil in itself, but even all oaths as the cause of evil, saying, "Ye have heard it said by them of old, Thou shalt not forswear thyself." It is written in Leviticus, "Thou shalt not forswear thyself in my name;" [Lev 19:12] and that they should not make gods of the creature, they are commanded to render to God their oaths, and not to swear by any creature, "Render to the Lord thy oaths;" that is, if you shall have occasion to swear, you shall swear by [p. 193] the Creator and not by the creature. As it is written in Deuteronomy, "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and shalt swear by his name." [Deut 6:13] Hieronymus: Hoc autem quasi parvulis fuerat lege concessum, ut quomodo victimas immolabant Deo, ne eas idolis immolarent, sic et iurare permitterentur in Deum non quod recte hoc facerent, sed quod melius esset Deo hoc exhibere quam Daemoniis. Jerome: This was allowed under the Law, as to children; as they offered sacrifice to God, that they might not do it to idols, so they were permitted to swear by God; not that the thing was right, but that it were better done to God than to daemons. Chrysostomus super Matth: Nemo enim frequenter iurat qui non aliquando periuret; sicut qui fecit consuetudinem multa loqui, aliquando loquitur importuna. Pseudo-Chrys.: For no man can swear often, but he must sometimes forswear himself; as he who has a custom of much speaking will sometimes speak foolishly. Augustinus contra Faustum: Quia vero periurare grave peccatum est, longius autem remotus est a periurio qui nec iurare consuevit quam qui verum iurare proclivis est, maluit nos dominus non iurantes non recedere a vero, quam verum iurantes, appropinquare periurio; unde subdit ego autem dico vobis: non iurare omnino. Aug., cont. Faust., xix. 23: Inasmuch as the sin of perjury is a grievous sin, he must be further removed from it who uses no oath, than he who is ready to swear on every occasion, and the Lord would rather that we should not swear and keep close to the truth, than that swearing we should come near to perjury. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: In quo Pharisaeorum iustitiam, quae est non peierare, confirmat: non enim potest periurare qui non iurat. Sed quoniam ille iurat qui adhibet Deum testem, considerandum est ne contra hoc praeceptum domini apostolus fecisse videatur, quia saepe hoc modo iuravit cum dixit: quae scribo vobis ecce coram Deo, quia non mentior. Et: testis est mihi Deus, cui servio in spiritu meo. Nisi forte quis dicat tunc cavendam esse iurationem cum aliquid dicitur per quod iuratur: ut non iuraverit, quia non dixit per Deum, sed dixit testis est mihi Deus. Ridiculum est hoc putare; sed tamen etiam sciat hoc modo iurasse apostolum dicentem: quotidie morior per gloriam vestram, fratres. Quod ne quis ita existimet dictum tamquam si diceretur: vestra gloria me fecit quotidie mori, Graeca exemplaria diiudicant, in quibus quod scriptum est, ni tin kauchisin himeteran, idest per gloriam vestram, non nisi a iurante dicitur. Aug., Serm. in Mont., i, 17: This precept also confirms the righteousness of the Pharisees, not to forswear; inasmuch as he who swears not at all cannot forswear himself. But as to call God to witness is to swear, does not the Apostle break this commandment when he says several times to the Galatians, "The things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not." [Gal 1:20] So the Romans, "God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit." [Rom 1:9] Unless perhaps some one may say, it is no oath unless I use the form of swearing by some object; and that the Apostle did not swear in saying, "God is my witness." It is ridiculous to make such a distinction; yet the Apostle has used even this form, "I die daily, by your boasting." [1 Cor 15:31] That this does not mean, your boasting has caused my dying daily, but is an oath, is clear from the Greek, which is. Augustinus contra mendacium: Sed pleraque in verbis intelligere non valentes, in factis sanctorum colligimus quemadmodum oporteat accipi quod facile in aliam partem duceretur, nisi exemplis revocaretur. Iuravit apostolus in epistolis suis, et sic ostendit quomodo accipiendum est quod dictum est dico autem vobis non iurare omnino, ne scilicet iurando, ad facilitatem iurandi veniatur, ex facilitate autem iurandi veniatur ad consuetudinem, a consuetudine in periurium decidatur. Et ideo non invenitur iurasse nisi scribens, ubi consideratio cautior non habet linguam praecipitem. Et tamen dominus omnino ait non iurare: non enim concessit ut id liceret scribentibus. Sed quia praecepti violati reum Paulum praesertim in epistolis conscriptis nefas est dicere, est intelligendum illud quod positum est, omnino, ad hoc positum, ut quantum in te est non affectes, vel quasi pro bono cum aliqua delectatione appetas iusiurandum. Aug., de Mendac. 15: But what we could not understand by mere words, from the conduct of the saints we may gather in what sense should be understood what might easily be drawn the contrary way, unless explained by example. The Apostle has used oaths in his Epistles, and by this shews us how that ought to be taken, "I say unto you, Swear not at all," namely, lest by allowing ourselves to swear at all we come to readiness in swearing, from readiness we come to a habit of swearing, and from a habit of swearing we fall into perjury. And so the Apostle is not found to have used an oath but only in writing, the greater thought and caution which that requires not allowing of slip of the tongue. Yet is the [p. 194] Lord's command so universal, "Swear not at all," that He would seem to have forbidden it even in writing. But since it would be an impiety to accuse Paul of having violated this precept, especially in his Epistles, we must understand the word "at all" as implying that, as far as lays in your power, you should not make a practice of swearing, not aim at it as a good thing in which you should take delight. Augustinus contra Faustum: In scriptis ergo ubi est consideratio maior, pluribus locis apostolus iurasse invenitur, ne quisquam putaret etiam verum iurando peccari, sed potius intelligeret humanae fragilitatis corda non iurando tutius a periurio conservari. Aug., cont. Faust., xix, 23: Therefore in his writings, as writing allows of greater circumspection, the Apostle is found to have used an oath in several places, that none might suppose that there is any direct sin in swearing what is true; but only that our weak hearts are better preserved from perjury by abstaining from all swearing whatever. Hieronymus: Denique considera, quod hic salvator non per Deum iurare prohibuit, sed per caelum, per terram et per Hierosolymam et per caput tuum: hanc enim per elementa iurandi pessimam consuetudinem semper habuere Iudaei. Qui iurat, aut veneratur aut diligit eum per quem iurat; Iudaei autem per Angelos et urbem Ierusalem et templum et elementa iurantes, creaturas venerabantur Dei honore; cum in lege praeceptum sit ut non iuremus nisi per dominum Deum nostrum. Jerome: Lastly, consider that the Saviour does not here forbid to swear by God, but by the Heaven, the Earth, by Jerusalem, by a man's head. For this evil practice of swearing by the elements the Jews had always, and are thereof often accused in the prophetic writings. For he who swears, shew either reverence or love for that by which he swears. Thus when the Jews swore by the Angels, by the city of Jerusalem, by the temple and the elements, they paid to the creature the honour and worship belonging to God; for it is commanded in the Law that we should not swear but by the Lord our God. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Vel ideo additum est neque per caelum, quia Iudaei non putabant se teneri iuramento, si per ista iurassent; ac si dicat: cum iuras per caelum et terram, non te arbitreris non debere domino iusiurandum tuum, quia per eum iurare convinceris cuius caelum thronus est et cuius terra scabellum est; quod non est sic dictum quasi habeat Deus collocata membra in caelo et in terra, ut nos cum sedemus: sed illa sedes Dei iudicium significat. Et quoniam in hoc universo mundi corpore maximam speciem caelum habet, sedere in caelo dicitur tamquam praestantior sit excellenti pulchritudine vis divina; terramque dicitur calcare, quod minimam speciem ordinet in extremis. Spiritualiter autem sanctas animas caeli nomine significat, et terrae, peccatrices: quoniam: spiritualis omnia iudicat. Peccatori autem dictum est: terra es et in terram ibis. Et qui in lege manere voluit, sub lege ponitur; et ideo congruenter dicit scabellum pedum eius. Sequitur neque per Hierosolymam, quia civitas est magni regis; quod melius dicitur quam si diceret mea, cum tamen hoc dixisse intelligatur. Et quia ipse utique est dominus. Domino iusiurandum debet qui per Hierosolymam iurat. Sequitur neque per caput tuum iuraveris. Quid enim poterat quisquam magis ad se pertinere arbitrari quam caput suum? Sed quomodo nostrum est ubi potestatem faciendi unum capillum album aut nigrum non habemus? Propter quod dicitur quia non potes unum capillum album facere aut nigrum. Ergo Deo debet iusiurandum quisquis etiam per caput suum iurare voluerit. Et hinc etiam cetera intelliguntur. Aug., Serm. in Mont., i, 17: Or; It is added, "By the Heaven, &c." because the Jews did not consider themselves bound when they swore by such things. As if He had said, When you swear by the Heaven and the Earth, think not that you do not owe your oath to the Lord your God, for you are proved to have sworn by Him whose throne the heaven is, and the earth His footstool; which is not meant as though God had such limbs set upon the heaven and the earth, after the manner of a man who is sitting; but that seat signifies God's judgment of us. And since in the whole extent of this universe it is the heaven that has the highest beauty, God is said to sit upon the heavens as shewing divine power to be more excellent than the most surpassing show of beauty; and He is said to stand upon the earth, as putting to lowest use a lesser beauty. Spiritually by the heavens are denoted holy souls, by the earth the sinful, seeing "He that is spiritual judgeth all things." [1 Cor 2:15] But to the sinner it is said, "Earth thou [p. 195] art, and unto earth thou shalt return." [Gen 3:19] And he who would abide under a law, is put under a law, and therefore He adds, "it is the footstool of His feet. Neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King;" this is better said than 'it is mine;' though it is understood to mean the same. And because He is also truly Lord, whoso swears by Jerusalem, owes his oath to the Lord. "Neither by thy head." What could any think more entirely his own property than his own head? But how is it ours when we have not power to make one hair black or white? Whoso then swears by his own head also owes his vows to the Lord; and by this the rest may be understood. Chrysostomus in Matth: Attendite autem, quod elementa mundi extollit, non ex propria natura, sed ex habitudine quam habent ad Deum, ne idololatriae daretur occasio. Chrys.: Note how He exalts the elements of the world, not from their own nature, but from the respect which they have to God, so that there is opened no occasion of idolatry. Rabanus: Qui autem iurare prohibuit, quomodo loqui oporteat docuit, subdens sit autem sermo vester: est, est, non, non; idest quod est, sufficiat dicere: est; quod non est, sufficiat dicere: non est. Sive ideo dicitur bis, est, est, non, non, ut quod ore affirmas, operibus probes; et quod verbis negas, factis non confirmes. Rabanus: Having forbidden swearing, He instructs us how we ought to speak, "Let your speech be yea, yea; nay, nay." That is, to affirm any thing it is sufficient to say, 'It is so;' to deny, to say, 'It is not so.' Or, "yea, yea; nay, nay," are therefore twice repeated, that what you affirm with the mouth you should prove in deed, and what you deny in word, you should not establish by your conduct. Hilarius in Matth.: Vel aliter. In fidei simplicitate viventibus iurare opus non est cum quibus semper quod est, est, quod non, non; et per hoc eorum et opus et sermo omnis in verbo est. Hilary: Otherwise; They who live in the simplicity of the faith have not need to swear, with them ever, what is is, what is not is not; by this their life and their conversation are ever preserved in truth. Hieronymus: Evangelica igitur veritas non recipit iuramentum, cum omnis sermo fideli pro iuramento sit. Jerome: Therefore Evangelic verity does not admit an oath, since the whole discourse of the faithful is instead of an oath. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Quapropter qui intelligit non in bonis sed in necessariis iurationem habendam, refrenet se quantum potest, ut non ea utatur nisi in necessitate, cum videt pigros esse homines ad credendum quod utile est credere, nisi iuratione firmetur. Hoc ergo est bonum et appetendum, quod hic dicitur sit sermo vester: est, est, non, non. Quod autem his abundantius est, a malo est, idest, si iurare cogeris, scias de necessitate venire infirmitatis eorum quibus aliquid suades; quae utique infirmitas malum est. Itaque non dixit: quod amplius est, malum est; tu enim non malum facis qui bene uteris iuratione, ut alteri persuadeas quod utiliter persuades; sed a malo est illius cuius infirmitate iurare cogeris. Aug.: And he who has learned that an oath is to be reckoned not among things good, but among things necessary, will restrain himself as much as he may, not to use an oath without necessity, unless he sees men loth to believe what it is for their good they should believe, without the confirmation of an oath. This then is good and to be desired, that our conversation be only, "yea, yea; nay, nay; for what is more than this cometh of evil." That is, if you are compelled to swear, you know that it is by the necessity of their weakness to whom you would persuade any thing; which weakness is surely an evil. What is more than this is thus evil; not that you do evil in this just use of an oath to [p. 196] persuade another to something beneficial for him; but it is an evil in him whose weakness thus obliges you to use an oath. Chrysostomus in Matth: Vel a malo est, idest ab infirmitate eorum quibus lex iurare permisit. Ita enim Christus non monstrat veterem legem Diaboli esse; sed a veteri imperfectione ducit ad abundantem novitatem. Chrys.: Or; "of evil," that is, from their weakness to whom the Law permitted the use of an oath. Not that by this the old Law is signified to be from the Devil, but He leads us from the old imperfection to the new abundance.
Lectio 20 38 ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἐρρέθη, ὀφθαλμὸν ἀντὶ ὀφθαλμοῦ καὶ ὀδόντα ἀντὶ ὀδόντος. 39 ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν μὴ ἀντιστῆναι τῷ πονηρῷ: ἀλλ' ὅστις σε ῥαπίζει εἰς τὴν δεξιὰν σιαγόνα [σου], στρέψον αὐτῷ καὶ τὴν ἄλλην: 40 καὶ τῷ θέλοντί σοι κριθῆναι καὶ τὸν χιτῶνά σου λαβεῖν, ἄφες αὐτῷ καὶ τὸ ἱμάτιον: 41 καὶ ὅστις σε ἀγγαρεύσει μίλιον ἕν, ὕπαγε μετ' αὐτοῦ δύο. 42 τῷ αἰτοῦντί σε δός, καὶ τὸν θέλοντα ἀπὸ σοῦ δανίσασθαι μὴ ἀποστραφῇς.
38. "Ye have heard that it hath been said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:' 39. But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. 41. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away."
Glossa: Quia superius docuerat dominus non esse proximo iniuriam inferendam, nec irreverentiam domino, consequenter hic docet qualiter se Christianus habere debeat ad iniuriam sibi inferentes; unde dicit audistis quia dictum est: oculum pro oculo, et dentem pro dente. Gloss. non occ.: The Lord having taught that we are not to offer injury to our neighbour, or irreverence to the Lord, now proceeds to shew how the Christian should demean himself to those that injure him. Augustinus contra Faustum: Quod quidem ad reprimendas flammas odiorum in se invicem saevientium et immoderatos animos refrenandos ita praeceptum est. Quis enim facile contentus est tantum rependere vindictae quantum accipit iniuriae? Nonne videmus leviter laesos homines moliri caedem, sitire sanguinem vixque invenire in malis inimici unde satientur? Huic igitur immoderatae ac iniustae ultionis lex iustum modum figens, poenam talionis instituit; hoc est, ut qualem quisque intulit iniuriam, tale supplicium rependat; quod non fomes, sed limes furoris est; non ut id quod sopitum erat, hinc accenderetur, sed ne id quod ardebat, ultra extenderetur; imposita est enim iusta vindicta, quae iuste debetur ei qui passus fuerit iniuriam. Quod autem debetur, etsi benigne remittitur, non tamen inique repetitur. Itaque cum peccet qui immoderate vult vindicari, non peccet autem qui iuste vult vindicari, remotior est a peccato qui non vult omnino vindicari; et ideo subdit ego autem dico vobis non resistere malo. Poteram autem et ego sic ponere: dictum est antiquis: non iuste vindicabis; ego autem dico vobis: ne vindicetis, quod adimpletio est, si per haec verba, quod legi defuit, a Christo additum mihi videretur; ac non potius id quod lex volebat efficere, ne iniuste se quisquam vindicaret, conservari tutius, si omnino non vindicaret. Aug., cont. Faust., xix, 25: This law, "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth," was enacted to repress the flames of mutual hate, and to be a check on their undisciplined spirits. For who when he would take revenge, was ever content to return just so much harm as he had received? Do we not see men who have suffered some trifling hurt, straightway plot murder, thirst for blood, and hardly find evil enough that they can do to their enemies for the satisfying their rage? To this immeasured and cruel fury the Law puts bounds when it enacts a "lex talionis;" that is, that whatever wrong or hurt any man has done to another, he should suffer just the same in return. This is not to encourage but to check rage; for it does not rekindle what was extinguished, but hinders the flames already kindled from further spread. It enacts a just [p. 197] retaliation, properly due to him who has suffered the wrong. But that mercy forgives any debt, does not make it unjust that payment had been sought. Since then he sins who seeks an unmeasured vengeance, but he does not sin who desires only a just one; he is therefore further from sin who seeks no retribution at all. I might state it yet thus; It was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not take unequal retaliation; But I say unto you, Ye shall not retaliate; this is a completion of the Law, if in these words something is added to the Law which was wanting to it; yea, rather that which the Law sought to do, namely, to put an end to unequal revenge, is more safely secured when there is no revenge at all. Chrysostomus super Matth: Sine hoc enim mandato, legis mandatum stare non potest, quia si secundum legis mandatum omnibus reddere mala pro malis coeperimus, omnes efficiemur mali, eo quod persequentes abundant. Si autem, secundum Christi praeceptum, non resistitur malo, et si mali non leniuntur, tamen boni permanebunt bonis. Pseudo-Chrys.: For without this command, the commands of the Law could not stand. For if according to the Law we begin all of us to render evil for evil, we shall all become evil, since they that do hurt abound. But if according to Christ we resist not evil, though they that are evil be not amended, yet they that are good remain good. Hieronymus: Dominus ergo noster, vicissitudinem tollens, truncat initia peccatorum: in lege namque culpa emendatur, hic peccatorum auferuntur exordia. Jerome: Thus our Lord by doing away all retaliation, cuts off the beginnings of sin. So the Law corrects faults, the Gospel removes their occasions. Glossa: Vel potest dici, quod dominus hoc dixit, iustitiae veteris legis aliquid addens. Gloss, non occ.: Or it may be said that the Lord said this, adding somewhat to the righteousness of the old Law. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Pharisaeorum enim iustitia minor est, non excedere vindictae modum: et hoc est pacis inchoatio; perfecta autem pax est talem penitus nolle vindictam. Intra illud ergo primum quod praeter legem est, ut maius malum pro minori malo reddatur, et hoc quod dominus perficiendis discipulis dicit, ne pro malo ullum malum reddatur, medium locum tenet ut tantum reddatur quantum et acceptum est; per quod a summa discordia ad summam concordiam transitus factus est. Quisquis enim malum prior infert, maxime a iustitia distat; quisquis autem nulli prior malefecit, sed tamen laesus rependit gravius, recessit aliquantum a summa iniquitate; qui vero tantum reddit quantum accepit, iam aliquid donat: iustum est enim eum qui laesit prior, gravius laedi. Hanc ergo inchoatam minimam iustitiam ille perficit qui legem venit implere. Duos autem gradus qui intersunt, intelligendos relinquit: nam est qui non reddat tantum, sed minus; et hinc ascendit, qui omnino nil rependerit; quod parum videtur domino, nisi et amplius sit paratus suscipere. Quapropter non ait non reddere malum pro malo, sed non resistere adversus malum; ut non solum non rependas quod tibi fuerat irrogatum, sed etiam non resistas quin aliud irrogetur. Hoc enim est quod convenienter exponitur: sed si quis te percusserit in dexteram maxillam tuam, praebe ei et alteram: quod ad misericordiam pertinere maxime sentiunt qui eis quos multum diligunt, serviunt, vel pravis vel phreneticis, a quibus multa saepe patiuntur; et si eorum salus id exigat, praebent se etiam ut plura patiantur. Docet ergo dominus medicus animarum, ut discipuli sui, eorum quorum saluti consulere vellent, imbecillitates aequo animo tolerarent. Omnis namque improbitas ex imbecillitate animi venit; quia nihil Innocentius est eo qui in virtute perfectus est. Aug., Serm. in Mont., i, 19: For the righteousness of the Pharisees is a less righteousness, not to transgress the measure of equal retribution; and this is the beginning of peace; but perfect peace is to refuse all such retribution. Between that first manner than, which was not according to the Law, to wit, that a greater evil should be returned for a less, and this which the Lord enjoins to make His disciples perfect, to wit, that no evil should be returned for evil, a middle place is held by this, that an equal evil should be returned, which was thus the passage from extremest discord to extremest peace. Whoso then first does evil to another departs furthest from righteousness; and who does not first do any wrong, but when wronged repays with a heavier wrong, has departed somewhat from the extreme injustice; he who repays only what he has received, gives up yet something more, for it were but strict right that he who is the first aggressor should receive a greater hurt than he inflicted. This righteousness thus partly begun, He perfects, who is [p. 198] come to fulfil the Law. The two steps that intervene He leaves to be understood; for there is who does not repay so much, but less; and there is yet above him, he who repays not at all; yet this seems too little to the Lord, if you be not also ready to suffer wrong. Therefore He says not, "Render not evil for evil," but, "Resist not against evil," not only repay not what is offered to you, but do not resist that it should not be done to you. For thus accordingly He explains that saying, "If any man smite thee on thy right cheek, offer to him the left also." Which as being a high part of mercy, is known to those who serve such as they love much; from whom, being morose, or insane, they endure many things, and if it be for their health they offer themselves to endure more. The Lord then, the Physician of souls, teaches His disciples to endure with patience the sicknesses of those for whose spiritual health they should provide. For all wickedness comes of a sickness of the mind; nothing is more innocent than he who is sound and of perfect health in virtue. Augustinus de mendacio: Ea vero quae in novo testamento a sanctis facta sunt, valent ad exempla intelligendarum Scripturarum, quae in praeceptis digesta sunt, velut cum legimus in Evangelio Lucae: accepisti alapam et cetera. Exemplum autem patientiae nullum quam ipsius domini excellentius invenimus; et ipse cum alapa percussus esset, non ait: ecce alteram maxillam, sed ait: si male dixi, exprobra de malo; si autem bene, quid me caedis? Ubi ostendit illam praeparationem alterius maxillae in corde faciendam. Aug., de Mendac., 15: The things which are done by the Saints in the New Testament profit for examples of understanding those Scriptures which are modelled into the form of precepts. Thus we read in Luke; "Whoso smiteth thee on the one cheek, turn to him the other also." [Luke 6:29] Now there is no example of patience more perfect than that of the Lord; yet He, when He was smitten, said not, 'Behold the other cheek,' but, "If I have spoken amiss, accuse me wherein it is amiss; but if well, why smitest thou me? [John 18:23] hereby shewing us that turning of the other cheek should be in the heart. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Paratus enim fuit dominus non solum in alteram maxillam caedi pro salute omnium, sed in toto corpore crucifigi. Quaeri autem potest quid sit dextera maxilla. Sed cum facies sit qua quisque cognoscitur, in faciem caedi, secundum apostolum est contemni ac despici. Sed quoniam facies non potest dici dextera et sinistra, et tamen nobilitas est secundum Deum et secundum saeculum, ita distribuitur tamquam in dexteram maxillam et sinistram, ut in quocumque discipulo Christi contemptum fuerit quod Christianus est, multo magis in se contemni paratus sit, si quos huiusmodi saeculi honores habet. Omnia autem in quibus improbitatem aliquam patimur, in duo genera dividuntur: quorum unum est quod restituit non potest, alterum quod potest. Sed in illo quod restitui non potest, vindictae solatium quaeri solet. Quid enim prodest quod percussus repercutis? Numquid propterea quod in corpore laesum est restituitur? Sed tumidus animus talia fomenta desiderat. Aug., Serm. in Mont., i, 19: For the Lord was ready not only to be smitten on the other cheek for the salvation of men, but to be crucified with His whole body. It may be asked, What does the right cheek expressly signify? As the face is that whereby any man is known, to be smitten of the face is according to the Apostle to be contemned and despised. But as we cannot say 'right face,' and 'left face,' and yet we have a name twofold, one before God, and one before the world, it is distributed as it were into the right cheek, and left cheek, that whoever of Christ's disciples is despised for that he is a Christian, may be ready to be yet more [p. 199] despised for any of this world's honours that he may have. All things wherein we suffer any wrong are divided into two kinds, of which one is what cannot be restored, the other what may be restored. In that kind which cannot be restored, we are wont to seek the solace of revenge. For what does it boot if when smitten you smite again, is the hurt done to your body thereby repaid to you? But the mind swollen with rage seeks such assuagements. Chrysostomus super Matth: Numquid autem si repercusseris eum, compescuisti eum, ut te non percutiat? Sed magis excitasti eum ut adhuc percutiat. Nam iracundia per iracundiam non compescitur, sed amplius irritatur. Pseudo-Chrys.: Or has your return blow at all restrained him from striking you again? It has rather roused him to another blow. For anger is not checked by meeting anger, but is only more irritated. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Unde dominus potius misericorditer perferendam alterius infirmitatem iudicat, quam alieno supplicio suam mitigandam; neque tamen hic ea vindicta prohibetur quae ad correctionem valet: ipsa enim pertinet ad misericordiam, nec impedit illud propositum quo quisquam paratus est ab eo quem correctum esse vult plura perferre. Requiritur tamen ut et ille vindicet cui ordine rerum potestas data est, et ea voluntate vindicet qua pater in filium parvulum, quem odisse non potest. Sancti autem viri nonnulla peccata morte punierunt, quo et viventibus utilis metus incuteretur, et illis qui morte puniebantur non ipsa mors noceret, sed peccatum quod augeri posset si viverent. Inde est quod Elias multos morte affecit; de quo cum exemplum cepissent discipuli, reprehendit in eis dominus non exemplum prophetae, sed ignorantiam vindicandi, animadvertens eos non amore correctionis, sed odio desiderare vindictam. Sed postquam eos docuit diligere proximum, infuso etiam spiritu sancto, non defuerunt tales vindictae: nam et verbis Petri Ananias et uxor eius exanimes ceciderunt; et Paulus apostolus tradidit quemdam Satanae in interitum carnis; et ideo quidam adversus corporales vindictas quae sunt in veteri testamento, nescio qua caecitate saeviunt, quo animo facta sunt, nescientes. Aug., Serm. in Mont., i, 20: Whence the Lord judges that others' weakness should rather be borne with compassion, than that our own should be soothed by others' pain. For that retribution which tends to correction is not here forbidden, for such is indeed a part of mercy; nor does such intention hinder that he, who seeks to correct another, is not at the same time ready himself to take more at his hands. But it is required that he should inflict the punishment to whom the power is given by the course of things, and with such a mind as the father has to a child in correcting him whom it is impossible he should hate. And holy men have punished some sins with death, in order that a wholesome fear might be struck into the living, and so that not his death, but the likelihood of increase of his sin had he lived, was the hurt of the criminal. Thus Elias punished many with death, and when the disciples would take example from him they were rebuked by the Lord, who did not censure this example of the Prophet, but their ignorant use of it, seeing them to desire the punishment not for correction's sake, but from angry hate. But after He had inculcated love of their neighbour, and had given them the Holy Spirit, there wanted not instances of such vengeance; as Ananias and his wife who fell down dead at the words of Peter, and the Apostle Paul delivered some to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. Yet do some, with a kind of blind opposition, rage against the temporal punishments of the Old Testament, not knowing with what mind they were inflicted. Augustinus ad Bonifacium comitem: Quis autem mente sobrius regibus dicat: non ad vos pertinet quis velit esse, sive religiosus sive sacrilegus? Quibus dici non potest: non ad vos pertinet in regno vestro, quis velit pudicus esse aut impudicus. Melius est quidem ad Deum colendum doctrina homines duci, quam poena compelli; multis autem profuit, quod experimentis probavimus, prius dolore vel timore cogi, ut postea possint doceri, aut quod iam verbis didicerant, opere sectari. Sicut enim meliores sunt quos dirigit amor, ita plures sunt quos corrigit timor. Agnoscant in apostolo Paulo prius cogentem Christum, et postea docentem. Aug., Epist. 185, 5: But who that is of sober mind would say to kings, It is nothing [p. 200] of your concern who will live religiously, or who profanely? It cannot even be said to them, that it is not their concern who will live chastely, or who unchastely. It is indeed better that men should be led to serve God by right teaching than by penalties; yet has it benefitted many, as experience has approved to us, to be first coerced by pain and fear, that they might be taught after, or to be made to conform in deed to what they had learned in words. The better men indeed are led of love, but the more part of men are wrought by fear. Let them learn in the case of the Apostle Paul, how Christ first constrained, and after taught him. Augustinus de Serm. Dom: Tenebitur ergo in hoc iniuriarum genere quod per vindictam luitur, iste modus a Christianis: ut accepta iniuria non surgat odium, sed paratus sit animus plura perpeti, nec correctionem negligat qui vel consilio ve