{"slug":"stoa0040.stoa075.opp-lat1","id":"latin:ogl-pl:stoa0040.stoa075.opp-lat1","title":"Quaestionum Septemdecim In Evangelium Secundum Matthaeum","title_source":"Quaestionum Septemdecim In Evangelium Secundum Matthaeum","author":"Augustinus","genre":"other","date":"","tradition":"latin","coverage":"not-located","coverage_claim":{"status":"not-located","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},"publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","generated":"2026-11-15T06:59:18Z","cost_usd":0.012165},"source":{"registry_id":"latin:ogl-pl:stoa0040.stoa075.opp-lat1","work_id":"stoa0040.stoa075.opp-lat1","edition":"ogl-pl","language":"","license":"Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/patrologia_latina-dev/blob/master/data/stoa0040/stoa075/stoa0040.stoa075.opp-lat1.xml"},"stats":{"passages":25,"english_words":6298,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":24376,"commentary_units":143,"commentary_kinds":8,"derived_notes":10,"ambiguities":39,"work_notes":6,"external_links":0,"timeline":6},"summary":{"work":"stoa0040.stoa075.opp-lat1","abstract":"The Quaestionum Septemdecim In Evangelium Secundum Matthaeum is a set of seventeen exegetical questions on the Gospel of Matthew, traditionally attributed to Augustine of Hippo. The work addresses apparent contradictions and interpretive difficulties in the Matthean text, often employing allegorical harmonization. Its dating is uncertain but generally placed in Augustine's later episcopal period (c. 400–430). The text survives in multiple medieval manuscripts, frequently grouped with other Augustinian opuscula, and was cited by later medieval commentators such as Thomas Aquinas. The attribution to Augustine has been questioned, and the work is not listed in Possidius's standard chronology. The present edition follows the Maurist text reprinted in Migne's Patrologia Latina.","historical_context":"The work is attributed to Augustine of Hippo (354–430) and likely composed in North Africa during his episcopate (c. 400–430), a period when Augustine produced numerous exegetical and polemical writings. The genre—a set of questions on a Gospel—reflects a common late-antique Christian literary form used to resolve textual difficulties and harmonize Gospel accounts. The text survives in Latin manuscripts, often transmitted alongside other Augustinian opuscula, indicating its use in monastic and scholastic contexts. Its citation by Thomas Aquinas in the Catena Aurea shows its influence on medieval Gospel exegesis. The attribution to Augustine is not secure: the work is absent from Possidius's Indiculus, and some scholars doubt its authenticity. The edition lacks a critical apparatus, relying on the Maurist text; the reader should consult the CCL for manuscript details.","significance":"This work exemplifies late-antique Latin exegetical methods, particularly the harmonization of Gospel contradictions through allegory. Its influence on medieval commentators like Thomas Aquinas underscores its role in shaping Western Gospel interpretation. The disputed authorship highlights ongoing scholarly debates about the Augustinian corpus and the transmission of patristic texts.","timeline":[{"date":"c. 400–430","event":"Probable composition during Augustine's episcopate in Hippo Regius (North Africa)."},{"date":"5th–6th c.","event":"Earliest manuscript transmission, often grouped with other Augustinian opuscula."},{"date":"c. 1260","event":"Thomas Aquinas cites the work in the Catena Aurea, indicating its medieval reception."},{"date":"17th c.","event":"Maurist (Benedictine) edition of Augustine's works includes this text."},{"date":"1841–1842","event":"Reprint in Migne's Patrologia Latina, volume 35."},{"date":"20th–21st c.","event":"Scholarly debate over authenticity; not included in Possidius's chronology."}],"relations":[{"work":"De Consensu Evangelistarum","relation":"Similar harmonistic exegetical method by Augustine, addressing Gospel contradictions.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Catena Aurea","relation":"Thomas Aquinas cites this work in his Gospel commentary.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Possidius's Indiculus","relation":"This work is absent from the standard list of Augustine's writings.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Quaestiones in Heptateuchum","relation":"Another Augustinian work in question-and-answer exegetical format.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Maurist Edition of Augustine","relation":"The present edition follows the Maurist text as reprinted in Migne's PL.","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[],"cautions":["The dating is uncertain; no firm external evidence places it more precisely than c. 400–430.","The attribution to Augustine has been questioned; the work is not in Possidius's standard chronology.","The surviving text may be incomplete; the title promises seventeen questions but the opening section contains only three.","The edition lacks a critical apparatus; manuscript variants are not provided.","Chapter and verse notations in the text are corrupt and reflect post-Augustinian systems."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000516,"generated":"2026-11-15T06:59:18Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Open Greek and Latin Patrologia Latina","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/patrologia_latina-dev/blob/master/data/stoa0040/stoa075/stoa0040.stoa075.opp-lat1.xml"}],"checks":{"work":"stoa0040.stoa075.opp-lat1","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":25,"translated":25,"commentary_passages":25,"commentary_units":143,"english_words":6298,"source_letters":24255,"commentary_kinds":8},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The work is a set of seventeen questions on the Gospel of Matthew, attributed to Augustine. It addresses exegetical problems, often harmonizing apparent contradictions in the Gospel text.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The dating of this work is uncertain; it is generally placed in Augustine's later episcopal period (c. 400–430) based on style and content, but no firm external evidence exists.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The text survives in multiple medieval manuscripts, often grouped with other Augustinian opuscula. The present edition follows the Maurist (Benedictine) text as reprinted in Migne's Patrologia Latina.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This work was cited by medieval commentators such as Thomas Aquinas in the Catena Aurea, and it influenced later harmonistic Gospel exegesis in the Latin tradition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The edition does not include a critical apparatus of manuscript variants; the reader should consult the Maurist edition or CCL for textual details.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The attribution to Augustine has been questioned by some scholars; the work is not included in the standard chronology of Augustine's writings by Possidius.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"derived_work_notes":[{"kind":"coverage","severity":"info","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},{"kind":"limit","severity":"caution","text":"The English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve."},{"kind":"register","severity":"info","text":"Register: other in Latin; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 25 narrative."},{"kind":"caution","severity":"caution","text":"9 passage(s) are fragmentary in the source; the English bridges each break and says so in the note."},{"kind":"scripture","severity":"info","text":"1 scriptural phrase match(es) noted: John 1:1."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: ogl-pl — Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License"}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":25},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"QUÆESTIONUM SEPTEMDECIM IN EVANGELIUM SECUNDUM MATTH.\n\nTiber unus.\n\nQUÆST. I. [MATTH. cap. n, J 16.] Quod dictum est, occisos infantes a bimatu et infra, significatum es! huniiles habentes geminam charitatem, tanquam parvulos bimos posse mori pro Christo.\n\nII. [Ib., 27.] Qnod dico vobis in tenebris, id est, cum adhuc in timore carnali estis, quia in tenebris est timor; dicite in lumine, hoc est, in fiducia veritatis, accepto Spiritu sancto: Et quod in aure auditis, prædicate super tecla, id est, quod in secreto auditis, calcato carnis domicilio prædicate.\n\nIII [Ib. x, 34-36.] Nolite arbitrari quia venerim pacem mittere in terram; non veni pacem mittere, sed gladium: veni enim separare hominem adversus patrem suum. Quia renuntiat quis diaholo, qui fuit filius cjus. El filiam adversus matrem suam: plebem Dei ad ver.. sus mundanam civitatem, hoc est perniciosam generis humani societatem, quam nunc Babylonia, nunc Ægypto, nunc Sodoma, nunc aliis atque aliis nominibus Scriptura significat. Nurum adversus socrum: Ecclesiam adversus Synagogam, quæ sccundum carnem Christum peperit sponsum Ecclesiæ. Dividuntur autem gladio spiritus, quod est verbum Dei (Ephes. vi, 17). Et inimici hominis domestici ejus: cum quibus, antea consuetudine implicatus erat.","english":"SEVENTEEN QUESTIONS ON THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW\n\nBook One.\n\nQUESTION I. [Matt. ch. 2, v. 16.] That which was said, that infants from two years old and under were killed, signified that the humble, possessing a twofold charity, like two-year-old little ones, could die for Christ.\n\nII. [Ibid., v. 27.] \"What I say to you in the darkness,\" that is, while you are still in carnal fear, because fear is in darkness; \"say in the light,\" that is, in the confidence of truth, having received the Holy Spirit. And \"what you hear in the ear,\" preach \"upon the housetops,\" that is, what you hear in secret, preach after trampling upon the dwelling-place of the flesh.\n\nIII. [Ibid. x, 34-36.] Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but the sword: for I have come to separate a man against his father. Because someone renounces the devil, who was his son. And a daughter against her mother: the people of God against the worldly city, that is, the pernicious society of the human race, which Scripture sometimes signifies as Babylon, sometimes as Egypt, sometimes as Sodom, and at other times by other names. A daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law: the Church against the Synagogue, which according to the flesh bore Christ, the spouse of the Church. But they are divided by the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God (Eph. vi, 17). And the enemies of a man are his own household: those with whom he was formerly entangled by custom.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"QUÆESTIONUM SEPTEMDECIM IN EVANGELIUM SECUNDUM MATTH.","severity":"info","text":"The title announces seventeen questions, but the surviving text contains only three in this opening section; the work may be incomplete or the numbering reflects a larger plan.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"MATTH. cap. n, J 16","severity":"info","text":"The citation 'cap. n, J 16' is corrupt; it likely refers to Matthew 2:16, but the standard chapter and verse system postdates Augustine. The reference to infants killed from two years old and under echoes the Matthean infancy narrative.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"gladio spiritus, quod est verbum Dei (Ephes. vi, 17)","severity":"info","text":"The citation 'Ephes. vi, 17' is erroneous; the phrase 'sword of the spirit' and 'word of God' appear in Ephesians 6:17 in some Vetus Latina manuscripts, but modern Bibles place it at Ephesians 6:17 only in certain traditions.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Nolite arbitrari quia venerim pacem mittere in terram; non veni pacem mittere, sed gladium","severity":"info","text":"This saying, attributed to Jesus, is not found in the canonical Gospels; it may derive from apocryphal or Manichaean sources, reflecting Augustine's polemical context against dualist interpretations of Matthew 10:34-36.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"bimatu et infra","severity":"info","text":"'Bimatu' (two years old) is a rare Latin term; Augustine uses it to specify the age of the slaughtered infants, linking the number two to the twofold charity (geminam charitatem) in his allegorical interpretation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"QUÆST. I. [MATTH. cap. n, J 16.]","severity":"caution","text":"The chapter and verse notation 'cap. n, J 16' is garbled; 'n' may stand for '2' (caput secundum) and 'J 16' for verse 16, but the reference is uncertain and may reflect scribal corruption.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The chapter and verse references in the Latin are corrupt or non-standard, making precise scriptural identification uncertain.","The source of the saying about bringing not peace but the sword is unclear; it may be apocryphal or a paraphrase."],"confidence":"medium","notes":[{"kind":"lacuna","severity":"caution","text":"The source is fragmentary here: the edition marks a break or an editorial bracket, and the English carries across it. Treat the bridge as supplied, not translated."}]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"IV. [Ib. VIII, 1-3.] Quod autem descendens demonte, posteaquam præcepta illic discipulis et multitudini dedit, leprosum statim, extendens manum suam, curat; significat eos qui de illis implendis dubitabant, suo auxilio ab hujusmodi varietate mundari.\n\nV. [Ib. VIII, 20.] Quod Dominus dixit scribæ qui eum sequi voluit, Vulpes foveas habent, ei volucres caeli tabernacula; Filius autem hominis non habet ubi caput suum reclinet, intelligitur miraculis Domini coinmotus propter inanem jactantiam euin sequi voluisse, quam significant aves: finxisse autem discipuli obsequium, quæ fictio vulpium nomine significata est. Reclinatione vero capitis humilitatem suam significavit, quoe in illo simulatore ac superbo non habebat locum.\n\nVI. lib. vm, 22.] Dimitte mortuos sepelire mortuos suos. Mortuos hic non credentes dixit: mortuos autem suos, qui nihilominus sine fide de corpore exirent.","english":"IV. [Matt. 8:1-3.] That he, descending from the mountain, after he had given precepts there to the disciples and the multitude, immediately heals a leper, stretching forth his hand, signifies that those who doubted about fulfilling those precepts are cleansed by his help from that kind of variety.\n\nV. [Matt. 8:20.] That the Lord said to the scribe who wished to follow him, \"Foxes have dens, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head,\" is understood to mean that the scribe, moved by the Lord's miracles, wished to follow him out of empty boastfulness, which the birds signify; but that he feigned the obedience of a disciple, which feigning is signified by the name of foxes. By the laying down of the head, he signified his own humility, which had no place in that pretender and proud man.\n\nVI. [Matt. 8:22.] \"Let the dead bury their dead.\" He called those who do not believe \"the dead\"; and \"their dead,\" those who, nonetheless, would depart from the body without faith.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"IV. [Ib. VIII, 1-3.]","severity":"info","text":"The passage numbers IV, V, and VI correspond to successive questions in Augustine's series, each keyed to a specific Gospel passage. The structure follows a pattern: citation, then allegorical interpretation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Matt. 8:1-3","severity":"info","text":"Augustine refers to the healing of a leper after the Sermon on the Mount. The Latin 'leprosum' matches the Vulgate's 'leprosus' in Matt. 8:2.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"varietate","severity":"info","text":"'Varietate' (variety) here likely denotes the moral or spiritual inconsistency of those doubting the precepts, not physical leprosy. Augustine uses it as a metaphor for doctrinal confusion.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Vulpes foveas habent","severity":"info","text":"The saying 'Foxes have dens, birds have nests' is not a direct Gospel quotation but an apocryphal or traditional saying attributed to Jesus. Augustine treats it as authentic, reflecting early Christian oral tradition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Dimitte mortuos sepelire mortuos suos","severity":"info","text":"This saying (Matt. 8:22) is often cited in patristic literature as a call to abandon unbelievers. Augustine's interpretation distinguishes 'mortuos' (unbelievers) from 'mortuos suos' (those dying without faith), a nuance echoed by later commentators.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Ib. VIII, 22","severity":"caution","text":"The verse reference 'VIII, 22' does not correspond to any standard chapter-verse division in Matthew; it likely reflects an early or non-standard numbering system. The saying is not found in canonical Matthew.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The source of the saying about foxes and birds is uncertain; it may be from an apocryphal gospel or oral tradition. The verse numbering for Matt. 8:22 is non-standard and may indicate a different textual tradition."],"confidence":"high","notes":[{"kind":"lacuna","severity":"caution","text":"The source is fragmentary here: the edition marks a break or an editorial bracket, and the English carries across it. Treat the bridge as supplied, not translated."}]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"VII. [Ib. x, 14.] Excutite pulverem de pedibus vestris: ut ad contestationem laboris terreni, quem pro illis inaniter suscepissent; aut ut ostenderent usque adeo se ab ipsis nihil terrenum quaerere, ut etiam pulverem de terra eorum sibi non paterentur adhærere.\n\nVIII. [Ib. x, 16.] Estote ergo prudentes sicut serpentes: ad cavendum malum, in capite custodiendo, qnod est Christus. Nam serpens totum corpus pro capite objicit persequenti: vel quod per angustias sa coarctans vetcri tunica exutus innovatur. Quod imitanlur quibus dictum est, Intrate per angustam portam (Matth. VII, 13); cum vetere homine exuuntur. Nam si cavendum malum ita moneret, ut violenter resistendum csset malis, non supra dixisset, Mitto vos sicut oves in medio luporum. Simplices autem sicut co • lumbas esse voluit, ad nulli nocendum. Nam hoc genus avis nullum omnino animalium necat; non solum grandium, contra quæ vires non habet, sed etiam minutissimorum, quibus ctiam perparvi passeres aluntur. Est autem omnibus irrationalibus animanti bus una qua'dam inter se societas, sicut etiam rationalibus sua, id est hominibus, non solum secum, sed etiam cum Angelis. Discunt ergo ex similitudine columbarum nulli prorsus nocere ad societatem suani pertinenti participatione rationis.","english":"VII. [Matt. 10:14.] Shake the dust from your feet: either to attest to the earthly toil which they had undertaken in vain for them, or to show that they sought nothing earthly from them to such an extent that they would not even allow the dust of their land to adhere to themselves.\n\nVIII. [Matt. 10:16.] Therefore be prudent as serpents: for the purpose of avoiding evil, by guarding the head, which is Christ. For the serpent offers its whole body to its pursuer in place of the head; or because, by constricting itself through narrow passages, it is renewed, having shed its old skin. This is imitated by those to whom it was said, \"Enter through the narrow gate\" (Matt. 7:13), when they are divested of the old man. For if it were so advising to avoid evil that one should violently resist evil men, it would not have said above, \"I send you as sheep among wolves.\" But it wished them to be simple as doves, so as to harm no one. For this kind of bird kills no animal at all; not only the large ones, against which it has no strength, but also the very smallest, on which even very small sparrows feed. Now there is a certain fellowship among all irrational animals, just as there is also among rational ones, that is, among men, not only with each other but also with angels. Therefore they learn from the likeness of doves to harm no one at all who belongs to their fellowship by participation in reason.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Matt. 10:14","severity":"info","text":"Augustine interprets 'Shake the dust from your feet' as a symbolic renunciation of earthly gain, not a literal command.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Matt. 10:16","severity":"info","text":"The verse 'Be prudent as serpents' is glossed with a double allegory: guarding the head (Christ) and renewal through narrow passages (Matt. 7:13).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"serpents","severity":"info","text":"Augustine draws on classical and patristic natural history: the serpent's self-sacrifice for its head and its molting as symbols of spiritual protection and renewal.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"doves","severity":"info","text":"The dove's harmlessness is contrasted with the serpent's prudence; Augustine notes doves kill no animals, even the smallest, to illustrate non-violence toward rational beings.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"VII–VIII","severity":"info","text":"These two units form a pair: VII addresses renunciation of earthly ties, VIII addresses moral conduct (prudence vs. harmlessness), linked by the theme of apostolic mission.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"serpents","severity":"info","text":"Augustine's allegorization of serpentine prudence influenced medieval moral exegesis, e.g., in Gregory the Great's Moralia, though the dove-simplicity motif is less common.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin 'excutite pulverem' may be a direct quotation or a paraphrase; Augustine's dual interpretation ('either...or') leaves the literal sense ambiguous.","The phrase 'in capite custodiendo, quod est Christus' could be read as 'guarding the head, which is Christ' or 'guarding in the head, which is Christ'; the former is adopted."],"confidence":"high","notes":[{"kind":"lacuna","severity":"caution","text":"The source is fragmentary here: the edition marks a break or an editorial bracket, and the English carries across it. Treat the bridge as supplied, not translated."}]},{"i":4,"ref":"p4","source":"IX. [Ib. XI. 25.] Confiteor tibi, Pater, Domine cæli et terras. Notandum confessionem poni in laude Dei. Non enim peccata Dominus confitebatur, quae nulla habcbat, præsertim quiaeum exsultantem hoc dixisse alius evangelista commemorat (Luc. x, 21): quanquam et verba ipsa quae dicit non habeant dubitationem, quod in laude Dei dicantur. Ergo confessionem vocat Scriptura generaliter quidquid manifeste, sicut cernitur, enuntiatur. Nam et illud quod ait, Si quis me confessus fuerit coram hominibus, cou. fitebor et ego eum coram Patre meo (Matth. x, 32); vel sicut alibi est, coram Angelis Dei (Lnc. XII, 8): non utique peccata confitetur qui Christum confitetur. Quod si propterea putant aliqui confessionem vocari, quia pro crimine objiciatur Christi nomen tempore persecutionis; numquid ita etiam Christus coram Patre vel coram Angelis hominem qui se confessus fuerit confitetur? Est etiam in Ecclesiastico ita positum, Et hæc dicetis in confessione, Opera Domini universa, quoniam bona valde (Eccli. XXXIX, 20, 21). Quo in loco indubitanter Dei laudes exaggerantur. Hæc dicta sunt propter imperitiam fratrum; qui cum legente lectore audiunt hoc verbum, pectora statim tundunt, non attendentes quo loco dicatur, quasi non possit nisi peccatorum esse confessio.","english":"IX. [Matt. 11:25.] I confess to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. It should be noted that confession is used here in praise of God. For the Lord was not confessing sins, which he had none, especially since another evangelist records that he said this while rejoicing (Luke 10:21): although the words themselves that he speaks leave no doubt that they are uttered in praise of God. Therefore, Scripture generally calls confession whatever is clearly enunciated, as it is perceived. For also that saying, If anyone confesses me before men, I will also confess him before my Father (Matt. 10:32); or as it is elsewhere, before the Angels of God (Luke 12:8): certainly he who confesses Christ does not confess sins. But if some think it is called confession for this reason, because the name of Christ is thrown up as a charge in time of persecution; does Christ also confess the man who has confessed him before the Father or before the Angels in that way? There is also a passage in Ecclesiasticus placed thus, And you shall say these things in confession, All the works of the Lord, because they are very good (Ecclus. 39:20, 21). In which passage the praises of God are undoubtedly magnified. These things have been said on account of the inexperience of the brethren; who, when they hear this word from a reader reading, immediately beat their breasts, not attending to where it is said, as if it could not be anything other than a confession of sins.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Matt. 11:25","severity":"info","text":"Augustine cites Matthew 11:25 as the lemma for this section, though the verse numbering follows the Vulgate; modern editions often place the same saying at Matthew 11:25–26.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"confessio","severity":"info","text":"Augustine argues that confessio in Scripture can denote praise or open declaration, not exclusively the acknowledgment of sins. He supports this with Ecclesiasticus 39:20–21, where confessio magnifies God’s works.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Matt. 10:32","severity":"info","text":"Augustine cites Matthew 10:32 (Vulgate numbering) to show that confessing Christ is not a confession of sins but an affirmation of faith, paralleling the usage in the present passage.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Luke 12:8","severity":"info","text":"The variant reading ‘before the Angels of God’ is attributed to Luke 12:8, though the exact reference is uncertain; Augustine uses it to reinforce the non-penitential sense of confessio.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Augustine addresses the ‘inexperience of the brethren’ who, upon hearing confessio, immediately beat their breasts—a ritual gesture of penitence. This reflects early Christian liturgical practice where confessio was often associated with penance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Augustine’s distinction between confessio as praise and as penitential acknowledgment influenced later medieval theology, particularly in discussions of the Eucharist and the nature of liturgical confession.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The exact verse numbering for the Lucan parallel (Luke 12:8) is uncertain; Augustine may be citing from memory or a variant tradition."],"confidence":"high","notes":[{"kind":"lacuna","severity":"caution","text":"The source is fragmentary here: the edition marks a break or an editorial bracket, and the English carries across it. Treat the bridge as supplied, not translated."}]},{"i":5,"ref":"p5","source":"X. [lb. XII, 1-8.] Notandum de co quod illicite facium videretur Judæis, quod discipuli sabbato spicas evulsissent, unum exemplum datum regiæ potestatis de David, alterum sacerdotalis de iis qui per ministerium templi sabbatum violant: ut multo minus ad ipsum evulsarum sabbato spicarum crimen pertineat, qni verus rex et verus sacerdos est, et ideo Dominus sabba'i.\n\nXI. [lb. xit, 25-30, 36-43.] 1. Cum autem dormirent homines, venit inimicus ejus et superseminavit zizania in medio tritici, et abiit. Cum negligentius agerent præpositi Ecclesiæ, aut cum dormitionem mortis acCiperent Apostoli, venit diabolus et superseminavit eos quos malos filios Dominus interpretatur. Sed recte quaeritur utrum haeretici siut, an male viventes catholici. Possunt enim dici filii mali etiam hæretici, quia ex eodem Evangelil semine et Christi nomine procreati, pravis opinionibus ad falsa dogmata convertuntur. Sed quod dicit eos in medio tritici seminatos, quasi videntur illi significari qui unius communionis sunt: verumtamen quoniam Dominus agrum ipsum, non Ecclesiam, sed hunc mundum interpretatus est, bene intelliguntur hæretici, quia non societate unius Ecclesiæ vel unius fidei, sed societate solius nominis christiani in hoc mundo permiscentur bonis: ut illi qui in eadem fide mali sunt, palea potius quam zizania deputentur; quia palea etiam fundamentum ipsum habet cum frumento, radicemque communem.","english":"X. [Matt. 12:1-8.] It should be noted that, regarding what seemed to the Jews an unlawful act—that the disciples had plucked ears of grain on the Sabbath—one example was given of royal authority, from David, and another of priestly authority, from those who violate the Sabbath through the ministry of the temple: so that the charge of plucking ears of grain on the Sabbath applies much less to him who is the true king and true priest, and therefore the Lord of the Sabbath.\n\nXI. [Matt. 12:25-30, 36-43.] 1. But while the men were sleeping, his enemy came and oversowed tares in the midst of the wheat, and went away. When the stewards of the Church were acting too negligently, or when the Apostles were receiving the sleep of death, the devil came and oversowed those whom the Lord interprets as evil sons. But it is rightly asked whether these are heretics, or evil-living Catholics. For even heretics can be called evil sons, because, born from the same seed of the Gospel and the name of Christ, they are turned by perverse opinions to false doctrines. But the fact that it says they were sown in the midst of the wheat seems to signify those who are of one communion; nevertheless, since the Lord interpreted the field itself not as the Church but as this world, heretics are well understood, because they are mingled with the good not by the fellowship of one Church or one faith, but by the fellowship of the Christian name alone in this world: so that those who are evil within the same faith are to be considered chaff rather than tares; because chaff also has the same foundation as the grain, and a common root.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"X. [lb. XII, 1-8.]","severity":"info","text":"The passage is divided into two numbered sections (X and XI), each introduced by a lemma referencing Matthew. This structure is typical of Augustine's Quaestiones, where each question is keyed to a specific Gospel passage.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Matt. 12:1-8","severity":"info","text":"Section X addresses Matt. 12:1-8, which recounts the disciples plucking grain on the Sabbath and Jesus' defense using David and temple priests. Augustine's note explains the typological justification.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Matt. 12:25-30, 36-43","severity":"info","text":"Section XI covers Matt. 12:25-30 and 36-43, the parable of the tares. Augustine interprets the field as the world, not the Church, and the tares as heretics mingled by the Christian name.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"zizania","severity":"info","text":"The Latin 'zizania' (tares) is a loanword from Greek ζιζάνια, used in the Vulgate for Matt. 13:25. Augustine distinguishes tares (heretics) from chaff (bad Catholics), noting chaff shares the same root as wheat.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"sabbato spicas evulsissent","severity":"info","text":"The issue of plucking grain on the Sabbath reflects Jewish legal concerns about harvesting on the day of rest. Augustine cites David's example (1 Sam. 21:1-6) and temple service as precedents for permissible Sabbath work.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"haeretici","severity":"info","text":"Augustine's identification of tares with heretics became a standard patristic interpretation, influencing later medieval and Reformation debates about the visible church and the presence of false believers.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin 'dormitionem mortis' (sleep of death) may refer to the death of the Apostles or to their spiritual negligence; Augustine's text allows both readings."],"confidence":"high","notes":[{"kind":"lacuna","severity":"caution","text":"The source is fragmentary here: the edition marks a break or an editorial bracket, and the English carries across it. Treat the bridge as supplied, not translated."}]},{"i":6,"ref":"p6","source":"In illa plane sagena, qua concluduntur et mali et boni pisces (Matth. XIII, 50), non absurde mali catholici intelliguntur. Aliud est enim mare, quod magis mundum istum significat; aliud sagena, qUae unius fidei vel unius Ecclesiæ communionem videtur ostendere. Inter haercticos et malos catholicos hoc interest; quod hæretici falsa credunt, illi autem vera credentes non vivunt ita ut credunt.\n\nSolet autem eliam quaeri, schismatici quid ab hæcreticis distent; et boc inveniri quod schismaticos non fides diversa faciat, sed communionis disrupta societas. Sed utrum inter zizania numerandi sint, dubitari potesta Magis autem videntur spicis corruptis esse similiores, sicut scriptum est, Vento autem corrumpetur filius iniquus (Sap. IV, 4): Vel paleis aristarum fractis, vel scissis et de segete abruptis. Quo enim altiores, id est, superbiores, eo fragiliores levioresque sunt. Nec tamen consequens est ut omnis hæreticus vel schismaticus corporaliter ab Ecclesia separetur. Si enim falsa de Deo credit, vel de aliqua parte doctrinæ quae ad fidei pertinet aedificationem, ita ut non quaerentis cunctatione temperatus sit, sed inconcusse credentis, nec omnino scientis opinione atque errore discordans, hæreticus est, et foris est animo, quamvis corporalitcr intus videatur.","english":"In that net, clearly, in which both bad and good fish are enclosed (Matt. 13:47-48), bad Catholics are not absurdly understood. For the sea is one thing, which more signifies this world; the net is another, which seems to show the communion of one faith or one Church. Between heretics and bad Catholics there is this difference: that heretics believe false things, while the latter, believing true things, do not live as they believe.\n\nMoreover, it is also often asked what distinguishes schismatics from heretics, and it is found that it is not a different faith that makes schismatics, but a broken fellowship of communion. But whether they are to be counted among the tares can be doubted. They seem, however, more similar to corrupted ears of grain, as it is written, \"But the son of iniquity will be corrupted by the wind\" (Wis. 4:4): or to the chaff of broken awns, or to ears split and torn from the crop. For the higher, that is, the prouder, they are, the more fragile and lighter they are. Yet it does not follow that every heretic or schismatic is bodily separated from the Church. For if someone believes falsely about God, or about some part of doctrine which pertains to the edification of faith, in such a way that it is not tempered by the hesitation of an inquirer, but by the unshaken belief of one who believes and is not at all knowing, and is discordant by opinion and error, he is a heretic, and is outside in mind, even if he seems bodily within.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Matth. XIII, 50","severity":"info","text":"The reference to Matt. 13:47-48 (Vulgate numbering) describes the net that encloses both good and bad fish, a parable of the kingdom of heaven.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Sap. IV, 4","severity":"info","text":"The citation of Wisdom 4:4 (Vulgate) provides a scriptural basis for comparing schismatics to corrupted grain: 'But the son of iniquity will be corrupted by the wind.'","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"sagena","severity":"info","text":"The Latin 'sagena' (net) is used metaphorically for the communion of one faith or one Church, distinct from the sea (the world).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"zizania","severity":"info","text":"The term 'zizania' (tares) echoes the parable of the wheat and tares (Matt. 13:24-30), here applied to schismatics, though Augustine doubts their inclusion.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"schismatici","severity":"info","text":"Augustine distinguishes heretics (false belief) from schismatics (broken communion), a standard patristic distinction, but notes that schismatics may not be bodily separated from the Church.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"dubitari potesta","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase 'dubitari potesta' (it can be doubted) indicates Augustine's uncertainty about classifying schismatics as tares, reflecting a nuanced pastoral concern.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin 'sagena' is ambiguous: it could refer to the net of the Church or a specific fishing net in the parable; Augustine interprets it as the communion of faith.","The phrase 'dubitari potesta' is a textual variant; the standard reading is 'dubitari potest' (it can be doubted)."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":7,"ref":"p7","source":"Multos enim tales portat Ecelesia, quia non ita defendunt fal-, sitatem sententiæ suæ, ut intentam multitudinem faciant: quod si fecerint, tunc pelluntur. Itcm, quicumque invident bonis, ita ut quaerant occasioncs excludendi cos, aut degradandi; vcl crimina sua sic defendere parati sunt, si objecit vel prodita fuerint, ut etiam conventiculorum segregationcs vel Ecclesiæ perturbationes cogitent excitare; jam schismatici sunt, et ab unitate corde discissi, etiamsi non inventis occasionibus aut occultatis factis suis Sacramento Ecclesiæ corporali conversatione socientur.\n\nQuapropter illi soli catholici mali recte deputantur, qui quamvis vera credant quae ad fidei doctrinam pertinent, et si quid forte nesciunt quærendum existiment, et salva pietate discutiant sine aliquo praejudicio ipsius veritatis, et bonos vel quos bonos putant ament atque honorent quantum possunt; tamen nagitiose atque facinorose vivunt, contra quam vivenduin esse credunt. Tales enim etiamsi prodantur aut accusentur, pro disciplina Ecclesiæ salutisque suæ causa correpti, vel a communione suspensi, nullo modo sibi recedendum esse a communione catholica existimant, quocumque permissi fuerint satisfactionis quærentes locum: et aliquando per pœniten(iam in frumenta mutantur, sive correpti, sive remoti, sive etiam verbo Dei nullo nominatim accusante aut increpante perterriti.","english":"For the Church bears many such, because they do not defend the falsehood of their opinion in such a way as to create a hostile multitude: if they do that, then they are expelled. Likewise, whoever envy the good, so that they seek occasions for excluding or degrading them; or are prepared to defend their own crimes in such a way, if they are objected to or betrayed, that they think to stir up segregations of conventicles or disturbances of the Church; they are already schismatics, and are cut off from unity in heart, even if, through not finding occasions or through their deeds being concealed, they are associated with the Sacrament of the Church by bodily intercourse.\n\nTherefore, only those bad Catholics are rightly considered, who, although they truly believe what pertains to the doctrine of the faith, and if they happen not to know something, they think it should be sought, and discuss it with piety preserved without any prejudice to the truth itself, and love and honor the good, or those whom they think good, as much as they can; yet they live wickedly and criminally, contrary to how they believe they ought to live. For such, even if they are betrayed or accused, when corrected for the sake of the discipline of the Church and their own salvation, or suspended from communion, in no way do they think that they should withdraw from Catholic communion, wherever they are permitted to seek a place of satisfaction: and sometimes through penance they are changed into grain, whether corrected, or removed, or even terrified by the word of God with no one accusing or rebuking them by name.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"schismatici","severity":"info","text":"Augustine defines schismatics not by external separation but by inner division of heart, even if they remain in bodily communion with the Church.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"catholici mali","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'bad Catholics' is a technical category: those who hold orthodox belief but live wickedly, yet remain in communion and seek penance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"in frumenta mutantur","severity":"info","text":"The metaphor of being 'changed into grain' alludes to the parable of the net (Matt 13:47-48), where good fish are separated from bad; here it signifies conversion through penance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"conventiculorum segregationes","severity":"info","text":"Conventicles (conventicula) were unauthorized religious gatherings, often associated with Donatist or other schismatic groups; Augustine contrasts them with legitimate Church assemblies.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This passage continues the distinction between heretics and bad Catholics introduced in the previous passage, now specifying the criteria for schism and the possibility of reform.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Ecelesia","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin text has 'Ecelesia' (line 1), a scribal variant for 'Ecclesia'; this is a common medieval spelling and does not indicate a different meaning.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'in frumenta mutantur' is ambiguous: it could mean 'they are changed into grain' (i.e., become good fish) or 'they are changed into wheat' (a Eucharistic or agricultural metaphor). The context of the net parable supports the former."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":8,"ref":"p8","source":"Aliquando autem etiam sub nomine pænitentium ita vivunt ut solent, aut non multo minus, quidam etiam amplius; nullo modo tamen a catholica unitate discedunt. Quibus ita viventibus si mors obrepserit, paleæ deputantur usque in finem. Hoc etiam ipsi credunt: nam si aliter credunt, et inconcusse teuent, jam inter hæreticos numevandi sunt, putantes omnibus Deum, ctiam in magna iniquitate usque in finem vitae perseverantubus, tantum quia Ecclesiae unitatem, non sincera dilectione (nam bene viverent2 ), sed magis poenarum timore tenuerunt, veniam daturum. Isti ergo non hoc credunt, vel non firmiter opinantur, etsi adhuc forsitan quaerunt: sed magis eos decipit spes dilationis, dum se diutius victuros putant, et perditos mores aliquando in melius mutaturos. Contra quos dicitur: Ne tardes converti ad Deum, neque differas de die in diem: subito enim veniet ira ejus, et in tempore vindictæ disperdet te (Eccli. v, 8, 9). Illi enim convertuntur, qui recte vivere incipiunt; hoc est enim ad Deum redire: qui autem concupiscentias suas perseveranter sequuntur, dorsum quodammodo habent ad Deum, quamvis in unitate constituti sæpe illum retorto collo conentur aspicere. Ergo et isti, ut ait Propheta, caro sunt, et spiritus ambulans et..on revertens (Psal. LXXVII, 39).","english":"Sometimes, however, even under the name of penitents, they live as they are accustomed, or not much less, and some even more; yet in no way do they depart from Catholic unity. If death overtakes those living in this way, they are counted as chaff until the end. They themselves also believe this: for if they believe otherwise, and hold it unshakably, they are already to be numbered among heretics, thinking that God grants forgiveness to all, even to those persisting in great iniquity until the end of life, merely because they held to the unity of the Church, not out of sincere love (for then they would live well), but rather from fear of punishments. Therefore, these do not believe this, or do not firmly hold it, even if they still perhaps seek it: but rather the hope of delay deceives them, while they think they will live longer and will at some point change their corrupt ways for the better. Against these it is said: Do not delay turning to God, nor put it off from day to day; for His wrath will come suddenly, and at the time of vengeance it will destroy you (Ecclus. 5:8-9). For those who begin to live rightly are converted; this is to return to God: but those who persistently follow their own lusts have their back, as it were, turned to God, although placed in unity they often try to look at Him with twisted neck. Therefore these also, as the Prophet says, are flesh, and a spirit walking and not returning (Ps. 77:39).","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Eccli. v, 8, 9","severity":"info","text":"Augustine cites Ecclesiasticus 5:8-9, a deuterocanonical book, to warn against delaying conversion. The Vulgate text reads: 'Ne tardes converti ad Deum, neque differas de die in diem.'","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Psal. LXXVII, 39","severity":"info","text":"The reference to Psalm 77:39 (LXX numbering) is obscure; the Vulgate Psalm 77 corresponds to Psalm 78 in the Hebrew numbering. The phrase 'spiritus ambulans et non revertens' is not found in standard Psalm texts, suggesting a textual corruption or a variant reading.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"paleæ","severity":"info","text":"'Paleæ' (chaff) is a metaphor for those within the Church who are not true believers, derived from Matthew 3:12 and patristic usage. Augustine uses it to distinguish nominal Catholics from heretics.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"catholica unitate","severity":"info","text":"Augustine's emphasis on 'Catholic unity' reflects the Donatist controversy, where the Donatists argued that traditores (those who handed over scriptures during persecution) were outside the Church. Augustine insists that even sinners remain in the Church if they do not separate.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"et..on revertens","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin text at the end is corrupt: 'et..on revertens' likely represents a lacuna or misreading. The English draft reads 'and not returning,' but the original Psalm reference is uncertain. The passage may be garbled in transmission.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Aliquando autem","severity":"info","text":"This passage continues Augustine's argument distinguishing three groups: heretics, chaff (nominal Catholics), and the faithful. The 'sometimes' (aliquando) introduces a further nuance about penitents who live badly but remain in the Church.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Psalm reference (Ps. 77:39) is unclear; the quoted phrase does not match known Psalm texts, possibly due to a scribal error or a lost variant.","The phrase 'et..on revertens' is corrupt; the intended reading may be 'et non revertens' (and not returning), but the lacuna obscures the sense."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":9,"ref":"p9","source":"Sed tamen, ut dictum est, propter eamdem fidem atque unitatem Ecclesie, neque inter zizania, quoniam illa extra radicata sunt, neque inter aristarum paleam, quae se eliam frumentis audet aspera dissensione et fragili elatione superimponere, sed quamvis subjectam frumentis, lamen inter paleam quæ ultima ventilatione separanda est, nwnerantur.\n\nBoni autem catbolici sunt, qui et fidem integram sequuntur et mores bonos: quod autem ad fidei doctrinam pertinet, ita quærunt, si quid quærendum habent, ut absit concertatio periculosa, vel quærenti, vel ei cum quo quæritur, vel eis qui disserentes audiunt. Ita autem docent, si quid docendum habent, ut usitata et confirmata secnrissime, et fidentissime, et lenissime, ut possunt, insinuent: inusitata vero, etiamsi veritatis manifestatione liquidissima perceperunt, quærendi potius quam præcipiendi aut affirmandi modo, propter audientis infirmitatem. Si enim tantum habet pondus aliquod verum, ut vires discentia excedat; suspendendum est ut extendat crescenlem, non imponendum ut obterat parvulum. Inde est illud Domini: Sed Filius hominis cum venerit, putas, inveniet fidem in terra (Luc. XVIII, 8)? Aliquando autem et occultandum est, sed cum spe hortatoria, ut non faciat desperatio frigidiores, sed desiderium capaciores. Inde est illud ejusdem Domini: Multa habeo vobis dicere; sed non potestis por'are modo (Joan. XVI, 12).","english":"Nevertheless, as has been said, on account of the same faith and unity of the Church, they are numbered neither among the tares, since those are rooted out, nor among the chaff of the awns, which dares to impose itself upon the grains with harsh dissension and fragile pride, but, although subject to the grains, they are counted among the chaff which is to be separated at the final winnowing.\n\nThe good Catholics, however, are those who both follow the faith wholeheartedly and maintain good morals: and as pertains to the teaching of the faith, they inquire, if they have anything to inquire, in such a way that dangerous contention is absent, whether for the one inquiring, or for the one with whom the inquiry is made, or for those who listen to the disputants. And they teach, if they have anything to teach, in such a way that they instill what is customary and confirmed most securely, most confidently, and most gently, as they are able; but what is unusual, even if they have perceived it with the clearest manifestation of truth, they present in a manner of inquiring rather than of commanding or affirming, on account of the weakness of the hearer. For if some truth has so much weight that it exceeds the strength of the learner, it should be suspended so that it may stretch the growing one, not imposed so that it may crush the little one. Hence that saying of the Lord: \"But when the Son of Man comes, do you think he will find faith on earth?\" (Luke 18:8). Sometimes, moreover, it must even be concealed, but with encouraging hope, so that despair does not make men colder, but desire makes them more capable. Hence that saying of the same Lord: \"I have many things to say to you; but you cannot bear them now\" (John 16:12).","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"zizania","severity":"info","text":"The Latin 'zizania' (Greek ζιζάνια) refers to tares or darnel, a weed that resembles wheat. Augustine uses it here to denote heretics who are 'rooted out' from the Church, contrasting with the 'chaff' (palea) that remains within the Church until final separation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Luke 18:8","severity":"info","text":"Augustine cites Luke 18:8, but the verse is not found in modern critical editions of Luke; it may be a variant or apocryphal saying. The citation likely reflects a non-canonical tradition or a scribal error in Augustine's source.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"John 16:12","severity":"info","text":"The citation of John 16:12 is accurate: 'I have many things to say to you; but you cannot bear them now.' Augustine uses it to support the pedagogical principle of concealing truth when the hearer is not ready.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"palea","severity":"info","text":"Augustine distinguishes between 'zizania' (tares, heretics) and 'palea' (chaff, lax Catholics). The chaff remains within the Church until the final winnowing (ventilatio), a metaphor for eschatological judgment, reflecting his pastoral concern for those in communion but imperfect in life.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This passage contrasts two groups: those who are in the Church but morally lax (counted as chaff), and 'good Catholics' who combine orthodox faith with good morals. The latter's method of teaching—gentle, cautious, and adaptive—is elaborated with scriptural support.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Augustine's pedagogical principle—that truth should be suspended or concealed for the weak learner—influenced later medieval catechetical and homiletic theory, especially in discussions of disciplina arcani and the accommodation of doctrine to audience capacity.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The citation of Luke 18:8 is not found in the canonical Gospel; it may be a misremembered or apocryphal saying.","The Latin 'aristarum paleam' is rendered as 'chaff of the awns'; 'arista' specifically means the beard or awn of grain, but the phrase is metaphorical for worthless husks."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":10,"ref":"p10","source":"Quod vcr6 ad mores pertinet, hoc bene et breviter dicitur: aut confligendum est cum amore temporalium bonorum, ut non vincat; aut etiam edomitas subditusque esse debet, ut cum surgere coeperit, facile reprimatur; aut ita exstinctus, ut se omnino nulla ex parte commoveat. Ex quo fit ut etiam ipsam mortem propter veritatem alii fortiter obeant, alii æquanimiter, alii libenter. Quae tria genera fructus sunt fertilis terrae, triceni, et sexageni, et centeni (Matth. XIII, 8, 23). In horum aliquo genere inveniendus est tempore mortis suæ, si quis de bac vita recte cogitat emigrare.\n\nToleranda sunt autem non solum zizania usque ad messem, quae cum diabolus aspersis pravis erroribus falsisque opinionibus superseminasset, hoc est, præ. cedente nomine Christi haereses superjecisset, magis ipse latuit atque occultissimus factus est; hoc est enim, El abiit: sed etiam palea usque ad ventilationem. Nec probatur fortius gravitas frumentorum, nisi paleæ perturbationibus, quas qui comprimere non potuerit veritate defensa, cesserit unitate servata. Quanquam in bac parabola Dominus, sicut in ejus expositione conclusit, non quædam, sed omnia scandala, et eos qui faciunt iniquitatem, zizaniorum nomine significasse intelligitur.","english":"As for what pertains to morals, this is well and briefly said: either one must struggle with the love of temporal goods, so that it does not conquer; or it must be subdued and kept subject, so that when it begins to arise, it is easily repressed; or it is so extinguished that it stirs itself in no part at all. From this it comes about that even death itself for the sake of truth is met by some bravely, by others with equanimity, by others willingly. These three kinds are the fruit of fertile land: thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold (Matt. 13:8, 23). In some one of these kinds must be found, at the time of his death, whoever rightly intends to depart from this life.\n\nBut not only the tares are to be tolerated until the harvest, which, when the devil had oversown them with base errors and false opinions—that is, had cast heresies over the preceding name of Christ—he himself more lay hidden and became most secret; for this is what \"He went away\" means—but also the chaff is to be tolerated until the winnowing. Nor is the strength of the grains more strongly proven except by the disturbances of the chaff, which, if one could not suppress by defending the truth, he yielded by preserving unity. Although in this parable the Lord, as he concluded in its exposition, is understood to have signified by the name of tares not some, but all scandals and those who commit iniquity.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Matth. XIII, 8, 23","severity":"info","text":"Augustine cites Matthew 13:8 and 13:23, the Parable of the Sower, where the hundredfold, sixtyfold, and thirtyfold fruits are mentioned. The reference is to the Vulgate numbering.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"zizania","severity":"info","text":"The Latin 'zizania' (tares) is a transliteration of Greek ζιζάνια, used in the Vulgate for Matthew 13. Augustine interprets it as a figure for scandals and iniquity, not limited to heretics.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"palea","severity":"info","text":"The chaff (palea) represents weak or nominal Christians who are tolerated until the final winnowing (judgment). This agricultural imagery was common in patristic exegesis of Matthew 13.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The passage moves from moral application (three degrees of resistance to temporal goods) to ecclesiological allegory (tares and chaff as heretics and weak believers), linking the Parable of the Sower to church discipline.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Augustine's distinction between tares (heretics) and chaff (lax Christians) influenced later medieval treatments of heresy and toleration, notably in canon law discussions of coercion.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"El abiit","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase 'El abiit' (He went away) is obscure; it may be a corruption or a gloss on the devil's departure after sowing heresies. The Latin text here is uncertain.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'El abiit' is unclear; possibly a scribal error or a reference to a lost source.","The exact referent of 'triceni, et sexageni, et centeni' (thirtyfold, sixtyfold, hundredfold) in Matthew 13 is ambiguous; Augustine applies it to moral states, not literal harvest yields."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":11,"ref":"p11","source":"XII. [Ib. XIII, 26-50.] i. Cum autem crevisset herba,et fructum fecisset, tunc apparuerunt ei zizania. Cum enin spiritualis homo esse coeperit dijudicans omnia (I Cor. II, 15), tunc ei errores incipiunt apparere. Servi autem dixerunt ei: Vis, imus, et colligimus ea? Utrum ipsi sunt servi, quos paulo post messores appellat? an quia in expositione parabolae messores dixit esse Angelos, nec quisquam facile dicere ausus fuerit Angelos nescisse quis zizania superseminaverit, et ea tunc apparuisse Angelis cum herba fructum fecisset; magis oportet intelligi homines ipsos fideles servorum nomine hoc loco significatos, quos etiam bonum semen dicit? Nec mirum si et bonum semen ipsi dicumtur, et servi patrisfamilias: sicut et de se ait, quod et ipse sit janua, ipse sit pastor (Joan. x, 7, 11). Ex diversis enim significationibus una res etiam plores et diversas similitudines recipit. Praesertim quia cum ad servos loqueretur, non alt, In tempore messis dicam vobis, ColligiU primum zizania; sed Dicam, inquit, messoribus. Undo intelligitur colligendorum zizanioram ad comburendum alia esse ministeria, nec quemquam Ecclesiæ filium debere arbitrari ad se hoc officium pertinere,","english":"XII. [Ibid. XIII, 26-50.] i. But when the herb had grown and had produced fruit, then the tares appeared to him. For when a man begins to be a spiritual man, discerning all things (1 Cor. II, 15), then errors begin to appear to him. But the servants said to him: Do you wish that we go and gather them? Are these the same servants whom he shortly after calls reapers? Or because in the exposition of the parable he said that the reapers were Angels, and no one would easily dare to say that the Angels did not know who had oversown the tares, and that they appeared to the Angels only when the herb had produced fruit; it is more fitting to understand that the faithful men themselves are signified in this place by the name of servants, whom he also calls the good seed? Nor is it strange if they are called both the good seed and the servants of the householder: just as he says of himself, that he himself is the door, he himself is the shepherd (John x, 7, 11). For from different significations, one thing can receive several and diverse similitudes. Especially because, when speaking to the servants, he does not say, At the time of the harvest I will tell you, Gather the tares first; but he says, I will tell, he says, to the reapers. Whence it is understood that the gathering of the tares for burning pertains to other ministries, and that no son of the Church ought to think that this office belongs to him,","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"I Cor. II, 15","severity":"info","text":"The citation 'I Cor. II, 15' refers to 1 Corinthians 2:15, which in the Vulgate reads 'spiritualis ... diiudicans omnia' (the spiritual man judges all things).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Joan. x, 7, 11","severity":"info","text":"The reference 'Joan. x, 7, 11' points to John 10:7 and 10:11, where Christ calls himself the door and the shepherd.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"zizania","severity":"info","text":"The Latin 'zizania' (tares/weeds) is a transliteration of the Greek ζιζάνια, used in the Vulgate for Matthew 13:26-30. Augustine here interprets it as errors that appear to the spiritual man.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"servi","severity":"info","text":"Augustine debates whether the 'servants' (servi) in the parable are the same as the 'reapers' (messores) or represent faithful men, reflecting patristic exegetical concern with allegorical consistency.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"XII. [Ib. XIII, 26-50.] i.","severity":"info","text":"This passage is the twelfth question in the work, keyed to Matthew 13:26-50. The 'i.' marks the first sub-section of this question, continuing the sequential exposition of the parable.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"nec quemquam Ecclesiæ filium debere arbitrari ad se hoc officium pertinere","severity":"info","text":"Augustine warns that no son of the Church should think the office of gathering tares (i.e., judging errors) belongs to him, reflecting early Christian caution against lay usurpation of ecclesiastical authority.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin 'servi' could refer to the same figures as 'messores' (reapers) or to faithful men; Augustine opts for the latter, but the text leaves the identification ambiguous.","The phrase 'colligendorum zizanioram ad comburendum' (gathering of the tares for burning) may imply a specific liturgical or disciplinary practice, but the exact referent is not specified."],"confidence":"high","notes":[{"kind":"lacuna","severity":"caution","text":"The source is fragmentary here: the edition marks a break or an editorial bracket, and the English carries across it. Treat the bridge as supplied, not translated."}]},{"i":12,"ref":"p12","source":"i, Cum igitur esse quisque spiritualis cœperit, cognoscit errores haereticorum, et omnino dijudicat atque discernit quidquid audierit aut legcrit abhorrere a regula vcritatis: sed douec in cisdem spiritualibus perficiatur, et quodammodo maturescat in fructum quem herba dedit, potest eum movere, quare sub nomine christiano tam multæ hæreticorum exstiterint falsitates. Inde est quod servi dicunt, Nonne bonum semen seminasti in agro tuo? unde ergo habet zizania? Deinde cum cognoverit hanc excogitasse fraudem diabolum, cum contra tanti nominis auctoritatem nihil se valere sentiret, ut fallacias suas eodem noinine obtegeret; potest ei suboriri voluntas, ut tales homines de rebus humanis auferat, si aliquam temporis habeat facultatem; sed utrum facere debeat, justitiam Dei consulit utrum hoc ei præcipiat, vel permittat, et hoc officium esse hominum velit: hine est quod servi dicunt, Vis, imus, et colligimus ca? Quibus quia Veritas ipsa respondet, non ita hominem constitutum esse in hac vita, ut certus csse possit qualis quisque futurus sit postea, cujus in praesentia eernit errorem, vei quid etiam error ejus conferat ad provectum bonorum; non esse tales auferendos de bac vita, ne cum.","english":"i. Therefore, when anyone begins to be a spiritual man, he recognizes the errors of heretics, and altogether judges and discerns whatever he has heard or read to be abhorrent from the rule of truth. But until he is perfected among these same spiritual men, and in a way matures into the fruit which the herb has given, it can move him why so many falsehoods of heretics have arisen under the Christian name. Hence it is that the servants say, \"Did you not sow good seed in your field? Whence then have you tares?\" Then, when he has learned that the devil devised this fraud, when he felt that he could do nothing against the authority of so great a name, so as to cover his own deceits with the same name, there can arise in him a desire to remove such men from human affairs, if he has some opportunity of time; but whether he ought to do so, he consults the justice of God, whether this is commanded or permitted to him, and whether God wishes this to be the office of men. Hence it is that the servants say, \"Do you wish, shall we go and gather them?\" To whom, because Truth itself responds, that man is not so constituted in this life that he can be certain what sort anyone will be afterwards, whose error he discerns in the present, or what even his error contributes to the advancement of the good; that such men are not to be removed from this life, lest with...","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"spiritualis","severity":"info","text":"Augustine uses 'spiritualis' to denote a Christian advanced in discernment, contrasting with the merely literal or carnal believer.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"zizania","severity":"info","text":"'Zizania' (tares/weeds) is a biblical term from the parable (Matt 13:24-30), here allegorized as heretical errors.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Nonne bonum semen seminasti in agro tuo?","severity":"info","text":"This question echoes the servants' words in the parable of the tares (Matt 13:27), though not a direct Vulgate quotation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"external","lemma":"haereticorum","severity":"info","text":"Augustine wrote amid the Donatist and Manichaean controversies; his concern with heretical 'falsitates' reflects contemporary ecclesiastical conflicts.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"external","lemma":"auferendos de bac vita","severity":"info","text":"Augustine's argument against removing heretics from life anticipates later debates on religious coercion, notably in his correspondence with the Donatists.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"legcrit","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin 'legcrit' is likely a scribal error for 'legerit' (he has read); the sense is clear from context.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin text breaks off mid-sentence ('ne cum'), leaving the conclusion of Augustine's argument incomplete in this passage."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":13,"ref":"p13","source":"malos conatur interficere, bonos interficiat, quod forte futuri sunt; aut bonis obsit, quibus et inviti forte utiles sunt: sed tunc opportune fieri, cum jam in fine non restat vel tempus commutandae vitæ, vel proficiendi ad veritatem ex occasione atque comparatione alieni erroris; tunc autem hoc non ab hominibus, sed ab Angelis fieri: inde est quod respondet paterfamilias, Non; ne forte colligentes zizania, eradicetis, simul et triticum: sed in lempore messis dicam messoribus, et ca tera. Atque hoc modo eos patientissimos et tranquillissimos reddit..\n\nQuaeri autem potest, quod ait, Alligate fasciculos ad comburendum, cur non unum fascem, aut unum acervum zizaniorum fieri dixit? Nisi forte propter varietatem hærelioorum, et non solum a tritico, verum etiam a seipsis discrepantium, ipsa uniuscujusque hæreseos propria conventicula, in quibus singillatim sua communione devincti sunt, nomine fasciculorum designavit: ut jam tunc incipiant aliigari ad comburendum, cum a catholica communione segregati suas proprias quasi ecclesias habere cœperint; ut combustio earum sit in fine sæculi, modo alligaLie fasciculorum. Sed si ita esset, non jam multæ resipiscendo, at in Catholicam remeando ab errore desciscerent. Qoapropter et alligatio fasciculorum in fine tutura est, ut non confuse, sed pro modo perversitatis suæ uniuscujusque erroris pertinacia puniatur.","english":"He tries to kill the bad, but he might kill the good, who perhaps are yet to become good; or he might harm the good, to whom even unwillingly the bad are sometimes useful. But that is done opportunely when at the end there no longer remains time for changing one's life, or for advancing to the truth from the occasion and comparison of another's error; and then this is done not by men, but by Angels. Hence it is that the paterfamilias answers, \"No; lest in gathering the tares, you also uproot the wheat; but at harvest time I will tell the reapers,\" and so on. And in this way he renders them most patient and tranquil.\n\nIt may be asked, however, why he said, \"Bind them into bundles for burning,\" and did not say \"one bundle\" or \"one heap of tares\"? Unless perhaps because of the variety of heretics, who disagree not only with the wheat but also among themselves, he designated by the name of \"bundles\" the individual conventicles of each heresy, in which they are separately bound by their own communion: so that they begin to be bound for burning already when, separated from Catholic communion, they have begun to have their own quasi-churches; and their burning is at the end of the age, now by the binding of the bundles. But if it were so, many would not already come to their senses and, returning to the Catholic Church, abandon their error. Therefore, the binding of the bundles is to be in the future, so that the obstinacy of each error is punished not indiscriminately, but according to the measure of its own perversity.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"paterfamilias","severity":"info","text":"The paterfamilias is the householder in the parable of the wheat and tares (Matthew 13:24–30), whom Augustine interprets as Christ or the Church authority, delaying judgment until the harvest (end times).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Alligate fasciculos ad comburendum","severity":"info","text":"This phrase echoes Matthew 13:30, where the householder orders the tares to be bound into bundles for burning, a detail Augustine uses to discuss the separation of heretics at the end of the age.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"fasciculorum","severity":"info","text":"Augustine interprets 'bundles' (fasciculorum) as the distinct conventicles of each heresy, reflecting the 4th–5th century context of multiple Christian groups (e.g., Donatists, Arians) with separate communions.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Quaeri autem potest","severity":"info","text":"This phrase introduces a new quaestio, a typical structural marker in Augustine's exegetical works, signaling a shift from narrative explanation to a specific textual problem.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"catholica communione","severity":"info","text":"Augustine's reference to 'Catholic communion' reflects the post-Nicene consolidation of orthodox identity, where separation from the universal Church was seen as heretical, influencing later medieval heresiology.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin 'in lempore messis' is a scribal error for 'in tempore messis' (at harvest time), corrected in the English draft.","The phrase 'modo alligaLie fasciculorum' is corrupt; likely intended as 'modo alligationis fasciculorum' (by the binding of the bundles)."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":14,"ref":"p14","source":"Ne forte colligentes zizania, eradicetis, simul et triticum. Utrum quia ctiam boni cum adhuc infirmi sunt, opus habent in qulbusdam malorum commixtione, sive ut per eos exerceantur, sive ut eorum comparatione magna illis exhortatio fiat, ut nitantur ad melius, quibus sublatis altitudo charitatis quasi evulsa marcescat, quod est eradicari? Nam sic ait Apostolus: Ut in charitate radicati et fundati, possitis comprehendere (Ephes. III, i7, 18). An forte ideo simul eradicatur triticum, cum auferuntur zizania, quia multi primo zizania sunt, et postea triticum fiunt? qui nisi patienter, cum mali sunt, tolerentur, ad laudabilem mutationem non perveniunt: itaque si evulsi fucrint, simul eradicatur et triticum, quod futuri essent, si eis parceretur.\n\nXIII. LIb. XIII, 45, 46.] Simile est regnum cœlorum homini negotiatori quœrenti bonas margarilas. Inventa aultem una pretiosa margarita, abiit et vendidit omnia quœ habuit, et emit eam. Quæstio est cur a numero plurali ad singularem transierit, ut cum quærat homo bonas margaritas, unam inveniat pretiosam, quam venditis omnibus quæ habet, cmat. Aut ergo iste bonos homines quærens, cum quibus utiliter vivat, invenit unum proc omnibus sine peccato, mediatorem Dei et hominum, hominem Christum Jesum ( I Tim.","english":"Lest while gathering the tares, you uproot the wheat as well. Whether because even the good, when they are still weak, have need of the mixture of some evil persons, either so that they may be exercised through them, or so that by comparison with them a great exhortation may be made to them, that they may strive for the better, and when these are removed, the height of charity, as if torn out, withers, which is to be uprooted? For the Apostle says thus: \"So that, rooted and grounded in charity, you may be able to comprehend\" (Ephesians 3:17, 18). Or perhaps the wheat is uprooted at the same time when the tares are removed, because many are first tares, and afterwards become wheat? Who, unless they are patiently tolerated when they are evil, do not arrive at a praiseworthy change: and so if they have been plucked out, the wheat is uprooted at the same time, which they would have been, if they had been spared.\n\nXIII. [Book XIII, 45, 46.] The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking good pearls. But having found one precious pearl, he went and sold everything he had, and bought it. The question is why it passes from the plural number to the singular, so that when the man seeks good pearls, he finds one precious one, which, having sold everything he has, he buys. Either, therefore, this man, seeking good men with whom to live usefully, finds one without sin for all, the mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ephes. III, i7, 18","severity":"info","text":"Augustine cites Ephesians 3:17-18, but the Vulgate reference is to Ephesians 3:17 (radicati et fundati in caritate). The Latin text's verse numbers reflect an older chapter division.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"I Tim.","severity":"info","text":"The reference to 1 Timothy is incomplete in the Latin; it likely points to 1 Timothy 2:5 (mediator Dei et hominum, homo Christus Jesus), a common Christological prooftext.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"XIII. LIb. XIII, 45, 46.","severity":"info","text":"The marginal note 'XIII. LIb. XIII, 45, 46.' indicates a new question (XIII) and a source reference to Augustine's De Genesi ad Litteram, Book XIII, sections 45-46, though the content here is from the Gospel parable.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"zizania","severity":"info","text":"The term 'zizania' (tares) is a Latin borrowing from Greek, used in the Vulgate for Matthew 13:24-30. Augustine's allegorical reading of tares as evil persons and wheat as good is standard patristic exegesis.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Simile est regnum cœlorum homini negotiatori quœrenti bonas margarilas","severity":"info","text":"This parable of the pearl merchant is not in the canonical Gospels; it appears in the Gospel of Thomas (logion 76) and in patristic sources like Clement of Alexandria. Augustine treats it as a genuine dominical saying.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Utrum quia ctiam boni","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin 'ctiam' is a scribal error for 'etiam' (also). The text is otherwise sound, but this minor corruption does not affect the sense.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The incomplete citation 'I Tim.' leaves the exact verse uncertain; the most likely referent is 1 Timothy 2:5.","The source of the pearl parable is ambiguous; it is non-canonical but treated as authoritative by Augustine."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":15,"ref":"p15","source":"II, 5): aut præcepta quaerens, quibus servatis cum hominibus recte conversetur, invenit dilectionem proximi, in quo uno dicit Apostolus omnia contineri; ut, Non occides, non mœchaberis, non furaberis, non falsum testimonium dices, et si quod est aliud mandatum, singulæ margaritae sint, quæ in hoc sermone recapitulantur, Diliges proximum tuum tanquam teipsum (Rom. XIII, 8, 9). Aut bonos intellectus homo quærit, et invenit unum iilud quo cuncti continentur, in principio Verbum, -et Verbum apud Deum, et Verbum Deum (Joan. i, 1), lucidum candore veritatis, et solidum firmitate æternitatis, et undique sui simile pulchritudine divinitatis, qui Deus, penetrata carnis testudine, intelligendus est. Ille enim ad margaritam ipsam jam pervenerat, quae in tegumentis mortalitatis, quasi concharuM obstaculo, in profundo hujus saeculi, atque inter duritias saxeas Judæorum aliquando latuerat: ille ergo ad ipsam margaritam jam pervenerat, qui ait, Et si noveramus Christum secundum carnem, sed nunc jam non novimus (II Cor. v, 16). Nec ullus omnino intellectus margaritæ nomine dignus est, nisi ad quem discussis omnibus carnalibus tegminibus pervenitur, quibus sive per verba humana, sive per similitudines circumpositas operitur, ut purus et solidus et nusquam a se dissonans, certa ratione cernatur.","english":"II, 5): or seeking precepts by which, when observed, he may conduct himself rightly among men, he finds the love of neighbor, in which one precept the Apostle says all are contained; so that, \"You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness,\" and whatever other commandment there may be, are individual pearls which are recapitulated in this saying: \"You shall love your neighbor as yourself\" (Rom. 13:8-9). Or a man seeks good understandings, and finds that one by which all are contained: \"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God\" (John 1:1), lucid with the whiteness of truth, and solid with the firmness of eternity, and everywhere like itself with the beauty of divinity, which God, having penetrated the shell of the flesh, is to be understood. For that man had already arrived at the pearl itself, which in the coverings of mortality, as if by the obstacle of a shell, in the depth of this world, and among the stony hardnesses of the Jews, had at some time lain hidden: therefore that man had already arrived at the pearl itself who said, \"And if we knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him no longer\" (2 Cor. 5:16). And no understanding at all is worthy of the name of pearl, except that which is reached by having shaken off all fleshly coverings, by which it is covered either through human words or through similitudes placed around it, so that it may be perceived, pure and solid and nowhere dissonant from itself, by certain reason.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Diliges proximum tuum tanquam teipsum","severity":"info","text":"Augustine cites Rom. 13:8-9 as the source of the commandment to love one's neighbor as oneself, which he says recapitulates all other precepts.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"In principio Verbum, et Verbum apud Deum, et Verbum Deum","severity":"info","text":"The reference is to John 1:1, which Augustine presents as the one understanding that contains all others, describing the Word as lucid, solid, and beautiful.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Et si noveramus Christum secundum carnem, sed nunc jam non novimus","severity":"info","text":"Augustine quotes 2 Cor. 5:16 (Vulgate numbering) to illustrate the man who has reached the pearl, having transcended carnal knowledge of Christ.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"margaritae","severity":"info","text":"Augustine uses 'pearls' as a metaphor for individual precepts or understandings, which are recapitulated in a single, higher principle (love of neighbor or the Word).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"concharum obstaculo","severity":"info","text":"The image of a pearl hidden in a shell (concharum obstaculo) is a common patristic metaphor for truth concealed beneath material or scriptural coverings.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Aut ... Aut","severity":"info","text":"The passage presents two parallel options for the seeker: finding precepts (love of neighbor) or finding understandings (the Word), both leading to a single, all-containing truth.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin 'iilud' is a typographical variant for 'illud' (that one).","The phrase 'in tegumentis mortalitatis' could be read as 'in the coverings of mortality' or 'in the coverings of death'; the translation follows the former."],"confidence":"high","notes":[{"kind":"scripture","severity":"info","ref":"John 1:1","text":"The English carries the scriptural phrase “in the beginning was the word”, which matches John 1:1. The match is on the English draft; check the Coptic before quoting the verse."}]},{"i":16,"ref":"p16","source":"Quos tamen omnes veros et firmos et perfectos intellectus unus ille continet, per quem facta sunt omnia, quod est Verbum Dei (Joan. I, 3). Quodlibet autem horum trium sit, vel si aliquid aliud occurrere potuerit, quod margaritæ unius et pretiosa nomine bene significetur, pretium ejus est nos ipsi: qui ad eam possidendam non sumus liberi, nisi omnibus pro nostra liberatione contemptis, quoe temporaliter possidentur. Venditis enim rebus nostris, nullum ea rum majus accipimus pretium, quam nos ipsos; quia talibus implicati, nostri non eramus: ut rursus nos ipsos pro illa margarita demus, non quia tanti valeaDIUS I, sed quia plus dare non possumus.\n\nXIV. [lb. XIII, 15.].Et oculos suos clauscrunt, nequando oculis videant: id est, ipsi causa fuerunt ut Deus eis oculos clauderet. Alius enim evangelista dicit, Excœcavit oculos eorum. Sed utrum ut nunquam videant? an verone vel sic aliquando videant, caecitate sua sibi displicentes, et se dolentes, et ex hoc humiliati atque commoti ad confitenda peccata sua, et pie quaerendum Dominum i Sic enim Marcus hoc dicit, Nequando convertantur, et dimittantur eia peccata (Marc. IV, 12). Ubi intelliguntur peccatis suis meruisse ut non intelligerent, et tamen hoc ipsum misericorditer eis factum, ut peccata sua cognoscerent, et conversi veniam mererentur. Quod autem Joannes hunc locum ita dicit.","english":"Yet all these true, firm, and perfect understandings are contained in that one through which all things were made, which is the Word of God (John 1:3). Whichever of these three it may be, or if something else could occur that is well signified by the name of a single and precious pearl, its price is ourselves: who are not free to possess it unless we despise, for our liberation, all things that are temporally possessed. For when our goods are sold, we receive no greater price for them than ourselves; because entangled in such things, we were not our own: so that we may again give ourselves for that pearl, not because we are worth that much, but because we cannot give more.\n\nXIV. [lb. XIII, 15.]. \"And they closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes\": that is, they themselves were the cause that God closed their eyes. For another evangelist says, \"He blinded their eyes.\" But is it so that they may never see? Or that they may even then see in some way, displeased with their own blindness, and grieving over it, and through this humbled and moved to confess their sins, and to piously seek the Lord? For Mark says this: \"Lest they should turn back, and their sins be forgiven them\" (Mark 4:12). Where it is understood that they deserved by their sins not to understand, and yet this was mercifully done to them, so that they might recognize their sins, and having turned, might deserve forgiveness. But what John says of this passage is as follows.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Joan. I, 3","severity":"info","text":"The citation 'Joan. I, 3' refers to John 1:3, 'et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum' (Vulgate). Augustine identifies the 'one understanding' with the Word of God.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":["ogl-pl"]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Marc. IV, 12","severity":"info","text":"The citation 'Marc. IV, 12' refers to Mark 4:12, likely a variant reading or memory slip; the Vulgate Mark 4:12 reads 'et convertebantur et dimittebantur peccata eorum' (and they turned and their sins were forgiven).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":["ogl-pl"]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"margarita","severity":"info","text":"Augustine uses 'margarita' (pearl) as a metaphor for the ultimate truth or the Word of God, drawing on patristic exegesis of the 'precious pearl' as a symbol of divine wisdom or the kingdom of heaven.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"XIV. [lb. XIII, 15.]","severity":"info","text":"The section heading 'XIV. [lb. XIII, 15.]' indicates a new question in the series, likely corresponding to Matthew 13:15, though the verse numbering differs from modern Bibles.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":["ogl-pl"]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"Excæcavit oculos eorum","severity":"info","text":"Augustine notes a parallel in another evangelist who says 'He blinded their eyes,' likely referring to a variant in the synoptic tradition; this reflects early Christian harmonization of Gospel accounts.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"nequando convertantur","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase 'nequando convertantur' (lest they should turn back) is ambiguous: it may mean 'lest they convert' or 'lest they turn around,' and Augustine explores both possibilities for the purpose of divine mercy.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'nequando convertantur' in the Mark citation is ambiguous between 'lest they turn back' and 'lest they convert,' affecting interpretation of divine intent.","The reference 'Marc. IV, 12' may be a misremembered or variant verse; the Vulgate Mark 4:12 does not exactly match Augustine's quotation."],"confidence":"high","notes":[{"kind":"lacuna","severity":"caution","text":"The source is fragmentary here: the edition marks a break or an editorial bracket, and the English carries across it. Treat the bridge as supplied, not translated."}]},{"i":17,"ref":"p17","source":"Propterea non poterant credere, quia iterum dixit Isaias, Excæcavit oculos eorum, et induravit cor eorum, ut non vidcant oculis, et intelligant corde, et convertantur, et sanem eos» (Joan. XII,39, 40); adversari videtur huic sententiæ, et omnino co. gere ut quod hic dictum est, Nequando oculis videant, non accipiatur, Ne vel sic aliquando oculis videant, sed prorsus, Ut non videant: quandoquidem aperte ila dicit, Ut oculis non videant. Et quod ait, Propterea non poterant credere, satis ostendit non ideo factam illam cxcæcationem, ut ea commoti et dolentes se non intelligere, converterentur aliquando per poenitentiam; non enim possent hoc facere, nisi prius crederent, ut credendo converterentur, conversione sanarentur, sanitale intelligerent: sed ideo potius cxcaecatos, ut non crederent. Dicit eniin apertissime, Propterea non poterant credere.","english":"Therefore they were unable to believe, because Isaiah said again, \"He blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they do not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, nor be converted, and I heal them\" (John 12:39, 40); this seems to contradict this sentence, and altogether compels that what is said here, \"Lest they ever see with their eyes,\" is not to be taken as \"Lest they ever at some time see with their eyes,\" but absolutely, \"So that they do not see\": since he clearly says that, \"So that they do not see with their eyes.\" And what he says, \"Therefore they were unable to believe,\" sufficiently shows that that blinding was not done so that, moved and grieving that they do not understand, they might at some time be converted through penance; for they could not do this unless they first believed, so that by believing they would be converted, by conversion healed, by health understand: but rather they were blinded so that they would not believe. For he says most openly, \"Therefore they were unable to believe.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Isaias","severity":"info","text":"Augustine cites Isaiah through a Johannine quotation (John 12:39-40). The source is likely a conflation of Isaiah 6:10 and 29:9-10, but the exact reference is unclear.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"excæcavit","severity":"info","text":"The Latin verb excæcavit (from excaecare) means 'blinded' and is used here to render the Greek ἐτύφλωσεν (etyphlōsen) in John 12:40. Augustine's choice emphasizes a deliberate act of blinding.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Propterea non poterant credere","severity":"info","text":"This passage presents a dialectical structure: Augustine juxtaposes two interpretations of Isaiah's words—one that sees blinding as a prelude to conversion, another that sees it as preventing belief—and argues for the latter.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"poenitentiam","severity":"info","text":"Augustine's reference to conversion through penance (poenitentiam) reflects early Christian sacramental practice, where penance was a prerequisite for reconciliation and understanding.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"adversari videtur","severity":"info","text":"Augustine's engagement with a seeming contradiction between Isaiah and his own argument anticipates later scholastic methods of resolving scriptural discrepancies.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The exact Isaiah passage Augustine conflates is uncertain; the Johannine citation may combine multiple Old Testament texts."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":18,"ref":"p18","source":"Quod si ita est, quis non exsurgat in defensionem Judaeorum,ut eos extra culpam fuisse proclamet, quod non crediderunt? Propterea enim non poterant credere, quia excæcavit oculos eorum. Sed quoniam potius Deus extra culpam debet intelligi, cogimur fateri aliis quibusdam peccatis ita eos excaecari meruisse: qua tamen excaecatione non potuerunt credere. Verba enim Joannis ista sunt: Propterea non poterant credere, quia iterum dixit Isaias, Excœcavit oculos eorum. Frustra itaque conamur intelligere, ideo fuisse cæcatos, ut converterentur I, cum ideo converti non poterant, quia non credebant, et idco credere non poterant, quia excæcati erant. An forte non absurde dicimus, quosdam Judæorum fuisse sanabiles; sed tanto tamen superbiæ tumore periclitatos, ut cis expedierit primo non credere, ct ad hoc fuisse caecatos, ut non intelligerent Dominum loquentem per parabolas, quibus non intellectis, non in eum crederent. non credentes autem, cum cæteris desperatis crucift-, gerent eum; atque ita post ejus resurrectionem converterentur, quando jam de reatu mortis Domini amplius humiliati, vehementius diligerent a quo sibi tantum scelus dimissum esse gauderent: quoniam tanta erat eorum superbia, ut tali humiliatione esset dejicienda? Quod incongrue dictum esse quilibet arbitretur, si non ita contigisse in Actibus Apostolorum manifestissime legerit (Acl. II, 57).","english":"If this is so, who would not rise to the defense of the Jews, proclaiming them to have been without fault because they did not believe? For this reason they were unable to believe, because He blinded their eyes. But since God must rather be understood to be without fault, we are compelled to confess that they deserved to be blinded in this way by certain other sins; yet by that blinding they were unable to believe. For these are the words of John: \"Therefore they were unable to believe, because Isaiah said again, 'He blinded their eyes.'\" In vain, therefore, do we try to understand that they were blinded in order that they might be converted, since they could not be converted because they did not believe, and they could not believe because they were blinded. Or perhaps we do not absurdly say that certain of the Jews were curable, but were endangered by such a swelling of pride that it was expedient for them first not to believe, and for this purpose they were blinded so that they would not understand the Lord speaking through parables, and by not understanding these, they would not believe in Him; and not believing, they would crucify Him along with the other hopeless ones; and thus after His resurrection they would be converted, when, already more humiliated by the guilt of the Lord's death, they would more vehemently love Him from whom they rejoiced that such a great crime had been forgiven them—since their pride was so great that it had to be cast down by such humiliation? Let anyone who thinks this was said incongruously consider whether it did not happen thus, as he reads most clearly in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:37).","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Excœcavit oculos eorum","severity":"info","text":"Augustine quotes Isaiah (likely 6:10) as cited in John 12:39–40, where the LXX reads 'ἐτύφλωσεν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν'.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Act. II, 57","severity":"info","text":"The reference to Acts 2:37 (Vulgate numbering) points to the conversion of many Jews after Peter's sermon, which Augustine uses as a parallel for his proposed scenario.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"defensionem Judaeorum","severity":"info","text":"Augustine engages a contemporary anti-Jewish polemic, arguing that Jewish unbelief was not without cause but resulted from divine blinding due to prior sins, a common patristic theme.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"An forte non absurde dicimus","severity":"info","text":"This passage presents a hypothetical resolution to the paradox of divine blinding and human responsibility, structured as a concessive argument ('or perhaps we do not absurdly say').","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"in Actibus Apostolorum manifestissime legerit","severity":"info","text":"Augustine appeals to Acts 2:37 as a scriptural precedent for the conversion of Jews after the crucifixion, reinforcing his exegetical solution.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin 'Excœcavit oculos eorum' is ambiguous as to which Isaiah verse is intended; Augustine likely conflates Isa 6:10 with the Johannine citation.","The phrase 'Act. II, 57' uses an older chapter/verse numbering; in modern Bibles it corresponds to Acts 2:37."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":19,"ref":"p19","source":"Non ergo abhorretquod ait Joannes, Propterea non poterant credere. quia excæcavit oculos eorum ut non videant, ab ca sententiaquaintelligimusidco excaecatos utconverterentur; hoc est, ideo eis pcr obscuritates parabolarum occultatas sententias Domini, ut post ejus resurrectionem salubriore pœnitentia resipiscerent: quia per obscuritatem sermonis excaecati, ditia Domini non intellexerunt, et ea non intelligendo, non in eum crediderunt, non credendo crucifixerunt cuni; atque ita post ejus resurrectionem miraculis, quae in ejus nomine fichant, exterriti, majore criminis reatu compuncti sunt et prostrati ad pœnitentiam, deinde accepta indulgentia ad obedientiam, flagrantissima dilectione conversi.\n\nNam quibus non profuit illa cæcitas ad conversionem, quæ per linguam parabolarum fiebat, ita de illis propheta alio loco dicit, quod etiam Apostolus commemoravit cum de obscuritate linguarum ageret: In aliis linguis, et in aliis labiis loquar populo huic, ei nec sic me exaudient, dicit Dominus ( I Gor. xiv,; Isai. XXVIII, 14). Non enim diceretur, Nec sic me exaudient, nisi ad hoc fieret, ut vcl sic exaudirent: id est, ut eis ad humilem confessionem, et sollicitam inqnisilionem, et obedientem conversionem, et ferventem dilectionem valeret. Est vero etiam ista ratio medicinæ corporalis.","english":"Therefore, what John says—\"For this reason they were unable to believe, because He blinded their eyes so that they would not see\"—is not inconsistent with the understanding that they were blinded in order that they might be converted; that is, they were blinded by the hidden meanings of the Lord's parables so that after His resurrection they might come to their senses through a more salutary repentance. For, blinded by the obscurity of the speech, they did not understand the Lord's sayings, and by not understanding them, they did not believe in Him, and by not believing, they crucified Him; and thus, after His resurrection, terrified by the miracles that were performed in His name, they were stung by a greater sense of guilt and prostrated themselves in repentance, and then, having received forgiveness, they turned to obedience with the most ardent love.\n\nFor as for those for whom that blindness, which occurred through the language of parables, did not lead to conversion, the prophet says of them in another place—and the Apostle also recalled this when he was dealing with the obscurity of languages: \"In other languages and with other lips I will speak to this people, and even then they will not hear me,\" says the Lord (1 Cor. 14; Isa. 28:14). For it would not be said, \"And even then they will not hear me,\" unless this were done so that they might hear in this way; that is, so that it might avail them for humble confession, diligent inquiry, obedient conversion, and fervent love. And indeed, this is also a principle of bodily medicine.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"In aliis linguis, et in aliis labiis loquar populo huic, ei nec sic me exaudient","severity":"info","text":"Augustine cites Isa 28:14 (LXX) via 1 Cor 14:21, though the Vulgate differs. The conflation of prophecy and Pauline usage is typical of his exegetical method.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"excæcavit","severity":"info","text":"The verb excæcavit ('blinded') is central to Augustine's paradox: divine blinding both punishes and enables conversion. The term recurs from John's Gospel (cf. Jn 12:40, Vetus Latina).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"pœnitentia resipiscerent","severity":"info","text":"Augustine's notion of 'salubriore pœnitentia' reflects late antique medical metaphors for spiritual healing, common in his anti-Pelagian writings.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Non ergo abhorret ... ab ca sententia","severity":"info","text":"This passage resolves a tension between John's claim (blinding prevents belief) and the earlier argument (blinding leads to conversion). The 'non abhorret' signals a harmonizing move.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"medicinæ corporalis","severity":"info","text":"The analogy to bodily medicine echoes Augustine's frequent use of therapeutic imagery for divine pedagogy, e.g., in De catechizandis rudibus.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"quod etiam Apostolus commemoravit","severity":"info","text":"Augustine's appeal to 1 Cor 14:21 as an apostolic warrant for obscurity of language influenced medieval theories of biblical polysemy.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin text has 'pcr obscuritates' (p. 19, line 4) which is likely a typographical error for 'per obscuritates'; the sense is clear.","The citation 'I Gor. xiv,; Isai. XXVIII, 14' conflates two sources; the exact verse in 1 Cor is 14:21, not 14:1-40."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":20,"ref":"p20","source":"Nam et pleraque medicamenta prius affligunt ut sanent, et ipsa collyria quæ ad oculos pertinent, si ea opus cst intrinsecus infundi, nisi sensum videndi prius claudant et perturbent, prodesse non possunt.\n\nNec moveat quod idem propheta dicit, Niti credideritis, non intelligetis (Isai. VII, 9, aec. LXX); quasi contrarium sit quod Joannes ait, Propterea non poterant credere, quia excœcavit oculos eorum; id est, quia illac parabolæ ita dicebantur, ut ab eis non possent intelligi. Dicit enim aliquis: Si ut intelligerent credere debebant, quomodo propterea non poterant credere, quia non intelligebant, hoc est, quia excæcavit oculos. corum? Sed quod ait Isaias, Nisi credideritis, non intelligeris, de illa intelligentia dictum est, in qua semper manebitur, rerum ineffabilium: cum autem dicitur quod credatur, nisi quod dicitur intelligatur, credi non potest. Intelligenda sunt ergo dicta, ut credantur quae dici potuerunt: credenda autem quae dici potuerunt, ut intelligantur quæ dici non possunt.","english":"For many medicines first afflict in order to heal, and the very eye-salves that pertain to the eyes, if it is necessary to infuse them internally, cannot be beneficial unless they first close and disturb the sense of sight.\n\nNor should it disturb us that the same prophet says, \"Unless you believe, you will not understand\" (Isaiah 7:9, according to the LXX); as if it were contrary to what John says, \"For this reason they were unable to believe, because He blinded their eyes\"; that is, because those parables were spoken in such a way that they could not be understood by them. For someone says: If they had to believe in order to understand, how is it that for this reason they were unable to believe, because they did not understand, that is, because He blinded their eyes? But what Isaiah says, \"Unless you believe, you will not understand,\" is said about that understanding in which one will always abide, of ineffable things: whereas when it is said that something is believed, unless what is said is understood, it cannot be believed. Therefore, the things that are said must be understood, so that those things which could be said may be believed; but those things which could be said must be believed, so that those things which cannot be said may be understood.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"collyria","severity":"info","text":"Augustine uses the medical analogy of eye-salves (collyria) that must first disturb sight to heal, paralleling the temporary blinding by parables that leads to eventual understanding.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Isaiah 7:9 (LXX)","severity":"info","text":"Augustine cites Isaiah 7:9 according to the Septuagint: 'Unless you believe, you will not understand.' This verse is central to his argument on the relationship between faith and understanding.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"John (Gospel)","severity":"info","text":"Augustine references John's statement about the disciples' inability to believe because their eyes were blinded, likely alluding to John 12:37-40 or a similar passage on spiritual blindness.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Nisi credideritis, non intelligetis","severity":"info","text":"This phrase from Isaiah was a key proof-text in early Christian epistemology, often used to assert the priority of faith over reason, a theme Augustine develops here.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Sed quod ait Isaias...","severity":"info","text":"Augustine structures his argument by posing an objection ('Dicit enim aliquis') and then resolving it through a distinction between two kinds of understanding: one of ineffable things and one of spoken words.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Augustine's resolution","severity":"info","text":"Augustine's distinction between understanding for belief and belief for understanding influenced later medieval debates on faith and reason, notably in Anselm and Aquinas.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The exact Johannine passage Augustine refers to is not specified; it may be a conflation of several verses on blindness and unbelief."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":21,"ref":"p21","source":"X V. [ Ib. XIII, 34.] Et line parabolis non loquebatur eia. Non quia nihil proprie locutus est, sed quia nullum fero sermonem explicavit, ubi non aliquid per parabolam significavit, quamvis in co aliqua et proprie dixerit: ita ut sæpe inveniatur totus sermo ejus, parabolis explicatus, totus autcm proprie dictus nullus inveniatur. Explicatos autem sermones dico, quando ex aliqua occasione rerum incipit loqui quousque terminet quidquid ad ipsam rem pertinet, ct transeat ad aliud. Nonnunquam sane alius evangelista contexit, quod alius diversis temporibus dictum indicat. Non enim omuimedo secundum rerum gestarum ordinem, sed secundum suae quisque recordationis facultatem, narrationem quam exorsus est ordinavit.\n\nXVI. [Ib. XIII, 51,52, 44.] Intellexistis hœc omnia? Dicunt ei: Etiam. Air illis: Ideo omnis scriba doctus in regno cælorum, similis cst homini patrifamilias, qui profert de thesauro suo nova et vetera. Utrum ista conclusione exponere voluit quem dixerit thesaurum in agro absconditum: quoniam sanctæ Scripturæ intelligantur, quae nomine duorum Testamentorum, Novi etVeteris, concluduntur; quemadmodum apud alium evangelistam, gladium bis acutum tali conclusione videtur exponere (Apoc.","english":"V. [Ibid. XIII, 34.] And he was not speaking in parables. Not because he said nothing literally, but because he never unfolded any speech in which he did not signify something through a parable, although in it he also said some things literally: so that often his entire discourse is found to be set forth in parables, but an entire discourse spoken literally is found nowhere. Now I call discourses \"unfolded\" when, from some occasion of events, he begins to speak until he finishes whatever pertains to that matter and passes on to another. Sometimes, of course, one evangelist connects what another indicates was said at different times. For not everyone arranged the narrative he undertook according to the order of events, but according to the capacity of his own recollection.\n\nXVI. [Ibid. XIII, 51, 52, 44.] \"Have you understood all these things?\" They say to him: \"Yes.\" He says to them: \"Therefore every scribe learned in the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings forth new and old things from his treasury.\" Whether by this conclusion he wished to explain what he meant by the treasure hidden in the field: because the Holy Scriptures are understood, which are comprised under the name of the two Testaments, the New and the Old; just as in another evangelist, he seems to explain the two-edged sword by such a conclusion (Apoc.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"X V. [Ib. XIII, 34.]","severity":"info","text":"The passage is divided into two numbered sections (V and XVI), each keyed to Matthew 13. This structure reflects Augustine's method of commenting on specific verses in sequence.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"parabolis","severity":"info","text":"Augustine uses 'parabolis' (parables) to denote figurative speech, distinguishing it from 'proprie' (literal speech). He argues that Christ's discourse is never entirely literal but always contains parabolic elements.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Apoc.","severity":"info","text":"The text ends with an incomplete citation of 'Apoc.' (likely Revelation or Apocalypse). This may refer to a passage where a two-edged sword is explained, possibly Revelation 1:16 or a similar verse, but the reference is truncated.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"thesaurum in agro absconditum","severity":"info","text":"The 'treasure hidden in the field' alludes to Matthew 13:44, where Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a treasure. Augustine interprets this as the Holy Scriptures, comprising the Old and New Testaments.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Apoc.","severity":"caution","text":"The citation 'Apoc.' is ambiguous: it could refer to the Apocalypse of John (Revelation) or another apocryphal text. The sentence breaks off, leaving the intended parallel unclear.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The citation 'Apoc.' is incomplete and its referent uncertain.","The phrase 'gladium bis acutum' (two-edged sword) is not identified with a specific biblical verse."],"confidence":"high","notes":[{"kind":"lacuna","severity":"caution","text":"The source is fragmentary here: the edition marks a break or an editorial bracket, and the English carries across it. Treat the bridge as supplied, not translated."}]},{"i":22,"ref":"p22","source":"i, i6)?An quia in parabolis ista locutus est; et cum quaesisset ab cis utrum intellexissent, responderunt se inlellexisse; fortasse ista similitudine ultima patrisfamilias proferentis de thesauro suo nova et vetera, ostendere voluit eum doctum habendum esse in Ecelesia. qui etiam Scripturas vetercs parabolis explicatas intellexerit, ab istis novis accipiens regulas? Quia et ista Dominus per parabolas enuntiavit, quamvis ipse Christus esset finis illorum; id esi, ut in eo illa vetera complerentur: ut si ipse in quo illa complentur et manifestantur, per parabolas adhuc loquitur, donee ejus passio vc-.lum lum discindat, ut nihil sit occultum quod non rcveletur; multo magis illa quae ad commendandam tantam salutem tam longe de illo scripta sunt, parabolis operta esse noverimus: quæ cum Judaei ad litteram acciperent, noluerunt esse docti in regno collorum, neque transire ad Christum, ut auferretur velamen quod sopra cor eorum positum est 1.","english":"Or is it because he spoke these things in parables; and when he asked them whether they had understood, they replied that they had understood; perhaps by that last similitude of the householder bringing forth new and old from his treasury, he wished to show that one is to be considered learned in the Church who has also understood the old Scriptures explained through parables, receiving the rules from these new ones? Because the Lord also uttered these things through parables, although he himself was the fulfillment of those old things; that is, so that in him those old things would be completed: so that if he in whom those things are completed and made manifest still speaks through parables, until his passion tears the veil, so that nothing hidden remains unrevealed; much more must we know that those things which were written so far in advance for the commendation of such great salvation are covered by parables: which, when the Jews took literally, they refused to be learned in the kingdom of heaven, nor to cross over to Christ, so that the veil placed over their hearts might be removed.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"similitudine ultima patrisfamilias proferentis de thesauro suo nova et vetera","severity":"info","text":"Augustine refers to the parable of the householder (paterfamilias) bringing new and old from his treasury, likely alluding to Matthew 13:52, where the householder parable concludes the discourse on parables.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"passio velum discindat","severity":"info","text":"The tearing of the veil at Christ's passion echoes the rending of the temple veil in Matthew 27:51, but Augustine uses it metaphorically for revelation through Christ's death.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Judaei ad litteram acciperent","severity":"info","text":"Augustine contrasts Jewish literal interpretation of Old Testament prophecies with Christian allegorical reading, a common patristic trope (cf. De Civitate Dei 20.4).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Quia et ista Dominus per parabolas enuntiavit","severity":"info","text":"This passage continues Augustine's argument that Christ's parabolic speech itself fulfills Old Testament prophecy, forming a chiastic link between old and new revelation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"regno collorum","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'regno collorum' (kingdom of heaven) is a Latin rendering of Matthew's βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν, central to Augustine's ecclesiology and eschatology.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"i, i6)?An quia","severity":"caution","text":"The opening 'i, i6)?' is a corruption in the source edition; the intended text likely begins 'An quia' (Or is it because), as reflected in the English draft.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The opening corruption 'i, i6)?' obscures the original Latin; the reading 'An quia' is adopted from the English draft and context."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":23,"ref":"p23","source":"XVII. [Ib. XIII, et 56.] i. Fratres ejus, Jacobus, et Joseph, et Simon, et Judas, et sorores ejus, nonne omnes apud nos sunt? unde ergo huic omnia ista? Et scandalizabantur in eo. Fratres apud Judæos dici solere cognatos usque adeo probatur, ut non solum ex propinquo generationisgradu, sicut sunt filii fratrum et sorornm; qui etiam apud nos usitatissime fratres dicuntur; sed eliam avunculus et sororis filius, sicut sibi erant dacob et Laban, fratres appellati inveniantur (Gen.XXIX, ). Non ergo mirum cst dictos esse fratres Domini ex materno genere quoscumque cognatos; cum etiam ex cognatione Joseph dici potuerint fratres ejus ab eis, qui illum patrern Domini csse arbitrabantur.\n\nGeneralem justitiam non violat quis, nisi libidine transgressus fuerit aut placitum societatis humanæ, sicut est ftirtum, rapina, adulterium, incestus, et hujusmodi; aut naturam, sicut est contumelia, cædes, homicidium, concubitus masculorum vel pecorum; aut modum in concessis, sicut est superbum amplius verberare quam oportet, vel superfluum edere vel bibere amplius quam oportet, cum ipsa conjuge eoncumbere amplius quam oportet, ct similia.","english":"XVII. [Ibid. XIII, and 56.] i. His brothers, James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas, and his sisters, are they not all among us? Whence, then, does he have all these things? And they were scandalized in him. That relatives are commonly called brothers among the Jews is proved to such an extent that not only are those from a close degree of generation, such as the sons of brothers and sisters, who even among us are very commonly called brothers, but also an uncle and a sister's son, as Jacob and Laban were to each other, are found to have been called brothers (Gen. XXIX). It is not, therefore, surprising that whatever relatives of the Lord from the maternal line were called his brothers; since they could also have been called his brothers by those who thought Joseph to be the father of the Lord, on account of his kinship with Joseph.\n\nNo one violates general justice unless he has transgressed through lust or the compact of human society, such as theft, robbery, adultery, incest, and the like; or nature, such as insult, assault, murder, intercourse with males or beasts; or the measure in permitted things, such as proudly beating more than is fitting, or eating or drinking more than is fitting, or having intercourse with one's own wife more than is fitting, and similar things.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"Fratres ejus, Jacobus, et Joseph, et Simon, et Judas","severity":"info","text":"The list of brothers (James, Joseph, Simon, Judas) reflects a tradition that Jesus had siblings, which Augustine here explains as relatives (cognati) called 'brothers' in Jewish usage.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Gen. XXIX","severity":"info","text":"Augustine cites Genesis 29 to illustrate that Jacob and Laban, uncle and nephew, were called 'brothers' in the Old Testament, supporting his argument that 'brothers of the Lord' need not be literal siblings.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"fratres","severity":"info","text":"Augustine notes that 'fratres' in Jewish usage can mean relatives beyond siblings, including cousins, uncles, and nephews, as shown by Jacob and Laban.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Generalem justitiam non violat quis...","severity":"info","text":"The second paragraph shifts abruptly from the discussion of Jesus' brothers to a moral taxonomy of sins against justice, suggesting a possible textual break or a new quaestio.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"concubitus masculorum vel pecorum","severity":"info","text":"Augustine's classification of sins against nature includes male-male intercourse and bestiality, reflecting late antique Christian moral teaching that influenced later canon law.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The connection between the two paragraphs is unclear; the second may be a separate quaestio or a fragment."],"confidence":"high","notes":[{"kind":"lacuna","severity":"caution","text":"The source is fragmentary here: the edition marks a break or an editorial bracket, and the English carries across it. Treat the bridge as supplied, not translated."}]},{"i":24,"ref":"p24","source":"Bene intelligitur Spiritus sanctus ideo primum linguarum donum dedisse hominibus, qum pacto et placito hominum institutæ sunt, et forinsecus per sensus corporis consuetudine audiendi discuntur, ut cis ostenderet quam facile posset sapientes facere per sapientiam Dei, quæ in eis interna est.\n\nItem voluntas Verbi sempiterni stabilis est semper, quia simul babet omnia: nostra autem voluntas ideo non stat, quia non habet simul omnia; ideo modo hoc, modo illud volumus. Item sic fuerunt in illo Verbo omnia quae facta sunt, et ipsa susceptio hominis sic ab eo præcognita est, quomodo si pictor velit pingere totam domum, et cogitet vel noverit locum ubi etiam se pingere debeat: totum in arte habet, et in præparatione, et in voluntate, quamvis certis et suis quæque temporibus explicet. Sic omnis creatura et ipse homo qui ejusdem Sapientiæ personam mystice et inenarrabili susceptione gestaturus erat, in ipsa sapientia tanquam Dei arte sempiterna semper erat, quamvis suis quæque temporibus efficiat, quae pertendit a fine usque ad finem fortiter, at disponit omnia suaviter atque in se manens innovat omnia (Sap. vin, i, et VII, 27).,","english":"It is well understood that the Holy Spirit first gave the gift of tongues to men, because languages are established by human compact and agreement, and are learned externally through the senses of the body by the habit of hearing, so that He might show them how easily He could make them wise through the wisdom of God, which is internal in them.\n\nLikewise, the will of the eternal Word is always stable, because it possesses all things simultaneously; but our will does not stand still, because it does not possess all things simultaneously; therefore we will now this, now that. Likewise, all things that were made were in that Word, and the assumption of man Himself was thus foreknown by Him, just as if a painter wishes to paint an entire house, and thinks of or knows the place where he must also paint himself: he has the whole in his art, and in his preparation, and in his will, although he unfolds each thing at its own proper times. Thus every creature, and man himself who was to bear the person of that same Wisdom by a mystical and ineffable assumption, was always in that Wisdom as in the eternal art of God, although each thing brings itself forth at its own proper times, which extends from end to end mightily, yet arranges all things gently, and while remaining in itself renews all things (Wisdom 8:1, and 7:27).","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The passage shifts from the previous discussion of Jesus' relatives to a theological reflection on the Holy Spirit's gift of tongues and the eternal nature of the Word.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Sap. viii, 1, et VII, 27","severity":"info","text":"The closing citation refers to Wisdom 8:1 and 7:27, which describe divine wisdom as extending mightily and arranging all things gently while remaining in itself.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The analogy of a painter who includes himself in the depicted house illustrates the doctrine of the pre-existence of all things, including the Incarnation, in the divine Word.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"voluntas Verbi sempiterni","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'will of the eternal Word' contrasts the stable, simultaneous possession of all things in God with the temporal, successive nature of human will.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The passage is structured as a series of parallel statements introduced by 'Item' and 'Item sic', each developing a distinct theological point about the Word and wisdom.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin text contains a possible scribal error: 'qum pacto' may be a corruption of 'quae pacto' or 'quum pacto'; the translation follows the sense of 'by human compact'."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":25,"ref":"p25","source":"Item quomodo quis velit velle mori, si sic velle mori pervenerat, qui jam habet sanam fidem et videt quo sibi perveniendum sit, ad hoc jam proficit, ut libenter de hac vita discedat. Non enim hoc est videre quo sibi perveniendum sit, quod est etiam amare illud, et ibi jam esse desiderare: quod in cujus animo effectum fuerit, necesse est ut libenter moriatur. Frustra itaque dicunt quidam, qui jam sanam fidem tenent, ideo se nolle mori ut proficiant, cum ipse profectus eorum in eo profectu sit, ut mori velint. Si ergo verum loqui volunt, non dicant, Idco mori nolo, ut proficiam; sed, ideo mori nolo, quia parum profeci. Itaque mori nolle fidelibus non consilium Cit ut proficiant, sed indicium quod parum profecerint. Proinde quod nolunt, ut perfecti sint; velint, et perlecti sunt.","english":"Likewise, how can anyone wish to be willing to die, if such a willingness to die had already been attained by one who already has sound faith and sees whither he must go? For he already makes progress to the point that he gladly departs from this life. For seeing whither one must go is not the same as also loving that place and already desiring to be there; when this has been effected in someone’s soul, it is necessary that he die willingly. Therefore, some who already hold sound faith speak in vain when they say that they are unwilling to die in order to make progress, since their very progress consists in this progress: that they be willing to die. If, therefore, they wish to speak truly, let them not say, “I am unwilling to die in order to make progress,” but rather, “I am unwilling to die because I have made too little progress.” Thus, for the faithful, unwillingness to die is not a counsel to make progress, but an indication that they have made too little progress. Consequently, what they are unwilling to do in order to be perfect, let them be willing, and they are perfect.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Augustine argues that the desire to die willingly is a sign of spiritual progress, not a goal to be postponed for further progress.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"profectus","severity":"info","text":"The Latin 'profectus' (progress) is used here in a technical sense: the faithful's advance toward perfection, which includes the willingness to die.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This passage concludes the work by resolving the paradox of willing death: unwillingness to die indicates insufficient progress, not a strategy for further progress.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Augustine's distinction between seeing the goal and loving it echoes his earlier discussion of the Holy Spirit's gift of tongues and internal wisdom.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This argument influenced later medieval discussions on the will and spiritual perfection, particularly in monastic and scholastic contexts.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin 'perlecti sunt' (they are perfect) may be a scribal error for 'perfecti sunt' (they are perfect), as the context demands."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]}]}