Hinc alibi dicit apostolus: Si linguis hominum loquar et angelorum, charitatem non habeam, factus sum velut æs sonans aut cymbalum tinniens. ET PAX CHRISTI EXSULTET IN CORDIBUS TESTRIS. Pax nostra Christus est, dicente Apostolo: Ipse est pax nostra, qui fecit utraque unum. Et iterum: Pax Dei quæ exsuperat omnem sensum, custodiat corda vestra et intelligentias vestras. Exsultat enim in cordibus sanctorum, cum eos exsultare facit. De qua exsultatione propheta dicit: Exsultabunt sancti in gloria. Huic simile est quod alibi: Misit Deus Spiritum Filii sui in corda clamantem: AMa Pater, et: Ipse Spiritus testimonium reddet spiritui nostro, quod sumus filii Dei.
IN QUO ET VOCATI ESTIS, id est in Christo, qui vos vocavit de tenebris in admirabile lumen suum. Unum corpus dicit sanctam Ecclesiam, quauquam in partes divisa sit, membris fidelium tamen collecta unum est corpus. Vos estis corpus Christi dicit Apostolus, et membra de membris, et: Sicut in uno corpore multa membra habemus. ET GRATI ESTOTE. Id est gratiosi, acceptabiles ad omnes. Sicut idem de se dicit: Sicut et ego per omnia omnibus placeo. VERBUM CHRISTI, id est doctrina Christi, et Evangelium Christi, HABITET IN VOBIS ABUNDANTER, ut hoc quod intelligitis opere compleatis. Abundanter enim in quolibet, cum recte intelligit, et opere implet; superabundanter, cum aliis erogat.
Hence elsewhere the apostle says: If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. AND LET THE PEACE OF CHRIST EXULT IN YOUR HEARTS. Our peace is Christ, as the Apostle says: He himself is our peace, who has made both one. And again: The peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds. For he exults in the hearts of the saints when he makes them exult. Of this exultation the prophet says: The saints shall exult in glory. Similar to this is what is said elsewhere: God sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying: Abba, Father, and: The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the sons of God.
IN WHICH ALSO YOU ARE CALLED, that is, in Christ, who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. He calls the holy Church one body, although it is divided into parts, yet gathered together in the members of the faithful it is one body. You are the body of Christ, says the Apostle, and members of his members, and: As in one body we have many members. AND BE GRATEFUL. That is, gracious, acceptable to all. As the same apostle says of himself: As I also in all things please all men. THE WORD OF CHRIST, that is, the doctrine of Christ, and the Gospel of Christ, LET IT DWELL IN YOU ABUNDANTLY, so that what you understand you may fulfill in deed. For it dwells abundantly in anyone when he understands rightly and fulfills in deed; it dwells superabundantly when he distributes it to others.
Propter illud quod Dominus dicit: Quis putas est fidelis dispensator et prudens quem constituit Dominus super familiam suam? Et iterum: Omnis scriba doctus in regno cælorum, similis est homini patrifamilias, qui profert de thesauro suo nova et vetera. IN OMNI SAPIENTIA, id est in Veteri et in Novo Testamento. Qui enim recipit Novum Testamentum, et respuit Vetus, non est doctus omni sapientia. Aiiter: in omni sapientia, in littera et intellectu spirituali, in allegoria ut hoc quod legit spiritualiter disserere valeat. DOCENTES ET COMMONENTES. Docentes alios, commonentes vosmetipsos. Id ipsum est quod aliis discipulis dicit: Qui docet in doctrina, qui exhortatur in exhortando. Quod ibi dicit, qui docet in doctrina, hoc et hic dicit docentes. Et quod ibi, qui exhortatur, hoc et hic commonentes vOSMETIPSOS. Unde et ad Titum: Hæc loquere et exhortare. Sed in quo se commonere deberent, evidenter aperuit cum subjunxit: IN PSALMIS ET HYMNIS. Psalmus pertinet ad corpus, hymnus ad mentem, canticum ad fortitudinem...
Because of what the Lord says: Who, do you think, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the Lord has set over his household? And again: Every scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a man, a father of a family, who brings forth from his treasure things new and old. IN ALL WISDOM, that is, in the Old and in the New Testament. For he who receives the New Testament and rejects the Old is not instructed in all wisdom. Otherwise: in all wisdom, in the letter and in the spiritual understanding, in allegory, so that what he reads he may be able to discuss spiritually. TEACHING AND ADMONISHING. Teaching others, admonishing yourselves. It is the same thing that he says to other disciples: He who teaches, in doctrine; he who exhorts, in exhorting. What he says there, he who teaches in doctrine, this he also says here, teaching. And what he says there, he who exhorts, this he also says here, admonishing YOURSELVES. Hence also to Titus: Speak these things and exhort. But in what they ought to admonish themselves he clearly revealed when he added: IN PSALMS AND HYMNS. The psalm pertains to the body, the hymn to the mind, the canticle to fortitude...
XVI.
Lectio Epistolae beati Pauli apostoli ad Titum (II, 11): Apparuit gratia Dei Salvatoris nostri omnibus hominibus, etc.
COMMENTUM LUCULENTJI.
Titus interpretatur quaerens bonum sive luctatus. Secutus est Paulum apostolum, et pastor ecclesiae sive magister ab eodem constitutus est, cum dicit: Hujus rei gratia reliqui te Cretæ ut quæ desunt corrigas et constituas episcopos per civitates, sicut ego tibi disposui. Omnis qui bonum quaerit, id est Dominum ac vitam aeternam, Epistolam hanc ad se noscat conscriptam, per quam erudiatur. Dupliciter intelligi potest quod dicit. APPARUIT GRATIA SALVATORIS; hoc est vel ipse Salvator, de quo Joannes: Vidimus glonam ejus, gloriam quasi unigeniti a Patre. Qui apparuit ad hoc ut in se credentibus daret bravium vitae æternæ, quod nullus volet consequi, nisi gratuita Dei misericordia. Aut certe gratia sancti Evaogelii, quæ per universum claruit mundum, Domino praecipiente discipulis: Ite in mundum universum; prædicate Evangelium omni creaturæ. De qua gratia dicit propheta: Exæquavit gratiam in gratiam. Et Joannes: De pleniludine ejus omnes accepimus gratiam pro gratia. OMNIBUS HOMINIBUS, sive Judæis, sive omnibus nationibus quae in eum crediderunt. Ad hoc illis apparuit, ut, relicta creatura, adorent Creatorem. ERUDIENS NOS. Id est, docens nos. Eruditus enim dicitur doctus, imbutus atque instructus.
XVI.
The reading of the Epistle of the blessed apostle Paul to Titus (2:11): The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men, etc.
THE COMMENTARY OF LUCULENTUS.
Titus is interpreted as "seeking the good" or "having struggled." He followed the apostle Paul, and was appointed by him as pastor or teacher of the church, when he says: For this cause I left you in Crete, that you should correct what is lacking and appoint bishops in every city, as I arranged for you. Everyone who seeks the good, that is, the Lord and eternal life, should know that this Epistle was written for him, so that through it he may be instructed. What he says can be understood in two ways. THE GRACE OF THE SAVIOR HAS APPEARED; that is, either the Savior himself, of whom John says: We have seen his glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father. He appeared for this purpose, to give to those who believe in him the prize of eternal life, which no one will desire to obtain except by the free mercy of God. Or certainly the grace of the holy Gospel, which shone forth through the whole world, the Lord commanding his disciples: Go into the whole world; preach the Gospel to every creature. Of this grace the prophet says: He has made grace equal to grace. And John: Of his fullness we have all received grace for grace. TO ALL MEN, whether Jews or all nations that believed in him. It appeared to them for this purpose, that, forsaking the creature, they might adore the Creator. INSTRUCTING US. That is, teaching us. For one who is learned, imbued, and instructed is called "eruditus.
Sicut e contra, inerudilus dicitur brutus, ideo quod carere videtur sensu vel prudentia. Erudire dicitur, quasi a rure sublevare. Erudire nos voluit, qui ligna et lapides colebamus, se cognoscere fecit. Sicut ad Jerusalem peccatricem per Jeremiam prophetam dicitur: Erudire, Jerusalem, nec recedat anima a te. Et bene post decalogum doctrinæ, quid senex? quid anus? quid virginea? quid adolescentes? quid ad extremum servos admonere debuisset? omnes in unum comprehendit dicens: Apparuit enim gratia Salvatoris nostri omnibus hominibus, erudiens nos; quia nulla est apud illum differentia, Judæi et Græci, Barbari et Scythæ, servi et domini, circumcisi et præputia habentis, masculi et feminæ, sed omnes in Christo unum sumus. Non est enim persouarum acceptor, qui omnes vult salvos fieri, et ad agnitionem veritatis venire. Omnes enim ad regnum suum vocat; omnes post offensam Patri nostro sumus reconciliandi, non per merita nostra, sed per gratiam Salvatoris, id est Filii. Quae gratia patris, aut gratia Filii? qua redempti sumus, cui dicitur per prophetam: Pro nihilo salvabis nos.
Just as, on the other hand, the unlearned man is called brutish, for the reason that he seems to lack sense or prudence. To instruct (erudire) is said, as it were, to lift up from the countryside (a rure sublevare). He willed to instruct us, who used to worship wood and stones; He made Himself known. As it is said to sinful Jerusalem through the prophet Jeremiah: Instruct, Jerusalem, and let not your soul depart from you. And well, after the teaching of the Decalogue, what should the old man be admonished? What the old woman? What the virgin? What the young men? What, finally, the servants? He comprehended all in one, saying: For the grace of our Savior has appeared to all men, instructing us; because there is no difference with Him between Jew and Greek, Barbarian and Scythian, slave and master, circumcised and uncircumcised, male and female, but we are all one in Christ. For He is not a respecter of persons, who wills all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For He calls all to His kingdom; we must all be reconciled to our Father after our offense, not through our own merits, but through the grace of the Savior, that is, of the Son. Which grace—the grace of the Father, or the grace of the Son?—by which we have been redeemed, to whom it is said through the prophet: You will save us for nothing.
UT ABNEGANTES IMPIETATEM. Impietatem, idololatriam, vel infidelitatem dicit: ipsa est impietas quam Zacharias propheta vidit sedere super massam plumbeam, in foramine amphoræ. SÆCULARIA DESIDERIA dicit actus carnales, quos Apostolus exponit: Manifesta sunt opera carnis, quæ sunt fornicatio, immunditia, luxuria, idolorum servitus. Et adjungit virtutes cum dicit: Fructus Spiritus est gaudium, pax, patientia, longanimitas, bonitas, benignitas. Ita hoc in loco omnia vitia comprehendit cum ait: Declina a malo. Perstringit et virtutem cum ait: Et fac bonum. SOBRIE. Sobrietas, ut a majoribus traditur, uaa est ex quatuor virtutibus principalibus. Quatuor viitutes principales, prudentia, fortitudo, temperantia, justitia. Sobrictas ipsa est temperantia; est enim temperantia in cibo et potu, propter illud quod Dominus ait: Attendite ne graventur corda vestra in crapula et ebrietate. Sed in cogitatione quoque et locutione et operatione, in oruni actu nostro temperati esse debemus, quia omne quod nimis est, sive de sursum sit, sive de deorsum, in vitium reputabitur. ET JUSTE, id est fideliter. Justus ex fide vivit. Unde et Joannes: Omnis qui facit justitiam, ex Deo est. Cujus participes sunt, pudicitia, castitas, et horum similia. ET PIE VIVAMUS, hoc est religiose. Ne enim immoderata sit justitia, pietas comitanda est » quae pars est justitiæ.
RENOUNCING IMPIETY. He calls impiety idolatry, or unbelief: this is the very impiety that the prophet Zechariah saw sitting upon the leaden mass, in the mouth of the amphora. WORLDLY DESIRES he calls carnal acts, which the Apostle sets forth: Manifest are the works of the flesh, which are fornication, uncleanness, luxury, the service of idols. And he adds the virtues when he says: The fruit of the Spirit is joy, peace, patience, long-suffering, goodness, kindness. Thus in this place he comprehends all vices when he says: Decline from evil. He touches also upon virtue when he says: And do good. SOBERLY. Sobriety, as is handed down by the ancients, is one of the four principal virtues. The four principal virtues are prudence, fortitude, temperance, justice. Sobriety is itself temperance; for temperance is in food and drink, on account of that which the Lord says: Take heed lest your hearts be weighed down with gluttony and drunkenness. But in thought also and in speech and in action, in every act of ours we ought to be temperate, because everything that is excessive, whether it be from above or from below, will be reckoned as a vice. AND JUSTLY, that is, faithfully. The just man lives by faith. Whence also John: Everyone who does justice is of God. Its partners are modesty, chastity, and the like. AND LET US LIVE PIOUSLY, that is, religiously. For lest justice be immoderate, piety must accompany it, which is a part of justice.
Et siout beatus Augustinus dicit, Dei cultor intelligitur. IN HOC SÆCULO, id est in præsenti vita, propter illud quod Dominus ait: Qui perseveraverit usque in finem, hic salvus erit. Quae pietas ADVENTUM GLORIÆ ET SALVATORIS NOSTRI JESU CHRISTI exspectat, secura de fide et opere suo; sicut e coatra impietas reformidat. BEATAM SPEM dicit caelestem patriam. Est enim spes exspectatio futurorum bonorum. Spes dicta est, quasi recte gradiendi pes. De qua Apostolus: Spes quæ videtur, non est spes. Contraria est illi desperatio, cui nulla est pœnitendi facultas. Quandiu enim homo peccalum amat, iuturam beatitudinem non sperat; sed ille fiducialiter exspectat, qui ejus praeceptis in omnibus obtemperat. De qua non potuit amplius sentire, ut eam beatificaret, quam cum ait: EXSPECTANTES beatam apem. Bene beatam spem, quia nec ocutus vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit, quod præparavit Dominus diligentibus se. Nullus enim narrare potest qualis est illa beatitudo sanctorum; quod Joannes considerans dicebat: Nunc filii Dei.utut, et nondum apparet quod erimus.
And as blessed Augustine says, he is understood as a worshipper of God. IN THIS WORLD, that is, in the present life, on account of that which the Lord said: He who perseveres to the end, this one will be saved. Which piety awaits THE ADVENT OF THE GLORY AND OF OUR SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, secure concerning its faith and its work; just as, on the contrary, impiety dreads it. THE BLESSED HOPE he calls the heavenly fatherland. For hope is the expectation of future goods. Hope is so called, as it were, the foot of walking rightly. Concerning which the Apostle says: Hope that is seen is not hope. Its contrary is despair, which has no capacity for repenting. For as long as a man loves sin, he does not hope for future blessedness; but he awaits it with confidence who obeys its commandments in all things. Concerning which he could not think anything more to beatify it than when he says: AWAITING the blessed hope. Well does he say blessed hope, because neither has eye seen, nor ear heard, nor has it ascended into the heart of man, what the Lord has prepared for those who love him. For no one can tell what that blessedness of the saints is like; considering which John was saying: Now we are children of God, and it has not yet appeared what we shall be.
Et adventum gloriæ MAGNI DEI. Adventum gloriae dicit diem judicii, quando omnes astabimus ante tribunal Christi. Bone magni Dei, quia magnus veniet, qui primo humilis venit, sicut ipse dicit: Cum sederit rex in solio regni sui, congregabuntur ante eum omnes gentes. Et iterum: Tunc videbunt Filium hominis venientem in nube, cum potestate.agna et majestate. De hoc dicit et Petrus: Inveniatur in londem et gloriam et revelationem Jesu Christi Domini nostri, et Salvatoris nostri Jesu Christi. Notandum quod in hac brevi Epistola bis Deum neminavit Dominum Jesum; supra ubi ait: Apparuit gratia Salvaloris nostri Dei. Et hic cum dicit: adventum gloriæ magni Dei et Salvatoris notlri Jesu Christi. Jesus proprium nomen est, interpretatur Salvator sive saliaris. Christus vero ab unctione dicitur. Chrisma namque unctio interpi etatur. UNCTUS est ipse specialiter prae omnibus dono Spiritus sancti, sicut dicit propheta: Unxit te De...., Deus tuus oleo lætitiæ præ consortibus tuis. Idcirco autem apostolus bis Deum nominavit, ut plus mulceat audientes. Sicut etiam in Psalmis dicitur: Deus, Deus meus, respice in me. QUI DEDIT SEMETIPSUM PRO NOBIS. Jesus Filius Dei dedit semetipsum pro nobis, quia pro salute totius generis humani se immolari permisit in ara crucis. Sicut idem apostolus dicit: Tradidit semetipsum pro nobis oblationem et hostiam Deo in odorem suavitatis.
And the coming of the glory of the GREAT GOD. He calls the day of judgment the coming of glory, when we shall all stand before the tribunal of Christ. Good, of the great God, because great will he come who first came humble, as he himself says: When the king shall sit on the throne of his kingdom, all nations shall be gathered before him. And again: Then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud, with power and great majesty. Of this Peter also says: Let him be found unto praise and glory and the revelation of Jesus Christ our Lord, and of our Savior Jesus Christ. It should be noted that in this brief Epistle he twice named God as the Lord Jesus; above where he says: The grace of our God our Savior has appeared. And here when he says: the coming of the glory of the great God and of our Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus is a proper name, it is interpreted as Savior or saving. But Christ is said from anointing. For chrisma is interpreted as anointing. He is anointed especially above all others with the gift of the Holy Spirit, as the prophet says: God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions. Therefore the apostle twice named God, so that he might the more soothe the hearers. As also in the Psalms it is said: God, my God, look upon me. WHO GAVE HIMSELF FOR US. Jesus the Son of God gave himself for us, because for the salvation of the whole human race he allowed himself to be sacrificed on the altar of the cross. As the same apostle says: He delivered himself for us as an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling odor.
Quare ergo culpamus Judaeos vel Judam, cum dicat Apostolus, quia ipse se tradidit? Sciendum tamen est quia tradidit cum Judas propter avaritiam, Judaei propter invidiam Deus Pater pro nostra demptione, Filius ipse se tradidit pro nostra charitate. Sicut in Apocalypsi dicit Joannes: Qui dilexit not, et lavit nas a peccatis nostis in sanguine suo. Aliter ergo eum Judas tradidit, aliter Judæi, aliter Pater, aliter ipse se tradidit.
UT NOS REDIMERET AB OMNI INIOUITATE. Redemit uos ab omni iniquitate, fundeodo pro nobis sanguinem suum; eodem dicente: Empti enim estis pretio magno. Et propheta dicit: Gratis venundati estis. Ab omni iniquitate. In baptismo, ubi originalia et actualia peccata dimittuntur; sive, sicut dictum est, fundendo sanguinem suum pro nobis, juxta præfatum testimonium: Qui dilexit not et lavit no a peccatis nostris in sanguine suo. Quod dicit Joannes: Fecit not Deo nostro regnum, sacerdotes Deo Patri, hoc et hic dicit Apostolus. POPULUM ACCEPTABILEM, id est placitum vel perfectum, ut Deo sit acceptus, et qui ante diaboli, nunc Dei est populos, dicentes cum Psalmista: Nos autem populus ejus et oves pascuae ejus. SECTATOREM BONORUM OPERUM, fd est, virtutum. Sicut idem dicit: Ut in omnibus exhibeamus nosmetipsos sicut Dei ministros, in multa patientia, in vigiliis, in jejuniis, et charitate non ficta, per arma justitiæ a dextris et a sinistris.
Why then do we blame the Jews or Judas, when the Apostle says that he handed himself over? Yet it must be known that Judas handed him over because of greed, the Jews because of envy, God the Father for our redemption, and the Son himself handed himself over out of love for us. As John says in the Apocalypse: Who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. In one way, then, Judas handed him over, in another way the Jews, in another way the Father, and in another way he handed himself over.
THAT HE MIGHT REDEEM US FROM ALL INIQUITY. He redeemed us from all iniquity by shedding his blood for us; as the same one says: For you were bought with a great price. And the prophet says: You were sold for nothing. From all iniquity: in baptism, where original and actual sins are forgiven; or, as has been said, by shedding his blood for us, according to the testimony already cited: Who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. What John says—He has made us a kingdom to our God, priests to God the Father—this the Apostle also says here. AN ACCEPTABLE PEOPLE, that is, pleasing or perfect, so that it may be acceptable to God, and a people who once belonged to the devil, now to God, saying with the Psalmist: But we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. A FOLLOWERS OF GOOD WORKS, that is, of virtues. As the same one says: That in all things we may show ourselves as ministers of God, in much patience, in watchings, in fastings, and in unfeigned love, through the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left.
Ergo sectatores debemus esse bonorum operum, ut in bonis operibus crescamus. In illis videlicet quæ Apostolus enumerat dicens: Fructus Spiritus est. Hæc loquere et exhortare. Loquere verbis, hoc est praedica; exhortare exemplis; quod dicis, fac prius. Tunc enim erit apta locutio, si quod praedicat magisler, prius operatus fuerit, sicut de Domino scriptum est: Quia cœpit Jesus facere et docere. Sed e diverso nonnulli majora dicunt, minora facere nolunt, sicut Scribæ et Pharisæi, de quibus scriptum est: Alligant onera gravia et imponunt in humero: hominum, digito autem suo volunt [Ita Cod.] ea movere. Et quia noverat beatus Paulus apostolus scriptum: Qui solverit unum de mandatis istis minimis et docuerit sic homines, minimus vocabitur in regno coelorum; ideo exhortari curavit discipulum, ut qua docebat verbis, operibus impleret prius.
Therefore we ought to be followers of good works, so that we may grow in good works—namely, in those which the Apostle enumerates when he says: The fruit of the Spirit is. Speak these things and exhort. Speak with words, that is, preach; exhort with examples; do first what you say. For then will your speech be fitting, if the teacher has first practiced what he preaches, as it is written of the Lord: That Jesus began to do and to teach. But on the contrary, some say greater things and are unwilling to do lesser things, like the Scribes and Pharisees, of whom it is written: They bind heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but with their own finger they are unwilling [so the Codex] to move them. And because the blessed Paul the Apostle knew that it was written: Whoever shall break one of these least commandments and shall so teach men shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven, therefore he took care to exhort his disciple, that what he taught in words he should first fulfill in works.
XVII.
Lectio Epistolæ beati Paoli apostoli ad Hebræos (I, 1): Multifarie multisque modis olim Deus loquens patribus in prophetis, etc.
COMMENTUM LUCULENTII.
Hebræi ab Heber sumpserunt nomen, qui fuit septimus ab Adam. Hebræus interpretatur transiens, Hebraei transeuntes, quam gentem Deus multum dilexit, in tantum ut dicat: Israel primogenitus meus; et sanctus Israel Domino, primitiæ frugum ejut. Legimus in libro Geneseos quod congregati filii Noae post aquas dinuvit in terra Senaar cœperuet ædificare turrem, de qua dixerunt, quod cacumen ilius pertingeret usque ad cœlum, et si iterum inondasset diluvium non perirent, sicut dudum illi qui ante eos exstitetant. Non reminiscentes quod dixerat Deus ad Noe J Ponam arcum meum in nubibus cœli, et recordaber fœderis mei, ut non perdam aquis diluvii omnem carnem. Creverant enim nimis, et simul habitare non poterant: autequam dividerentur in regiones vel terras, voluerunt sibi acquirere nomen sempiternale. Habueruntque lateres pro saxis et bitumum [ Ita Cod. ] pro caemento, et cœperunt ædificare cujus operis auctor exstitit Nemphrot. Videus vero Deus eorum irrevocabile propositum, ait: Venite ascendamus et confundamus ibi linguam eorum. Sicque factum est ut qui unam loquebantur, dividerentur in septuaginta duo. Lingua vero, qua omnes loquebantur antea, non remansit nisi solummodo iu domo Heber.
XVII.
The reading of the Epistle of the blessed apostle Paul to the Hebrews (1:1): God, who at many times and in many ways spoke in times past to the fathers in the prophets, etc.
COMMENTARY OF LUCULENTUS.
The Hebrews took their name from Heber, who was the seventh from Adam. Hebrew is interpreted as "passer-over," Hebrews as "those who pass over," a people whom God loved so much that he says: Israel is my firstborn; and Israel is holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his crops. We read in the book of Genesis that the sons of Noah, gathered after the waters of the flood in the land of Shinar, began to build a tower, of which they said that its top would reach all the way to heaven, and that if a flood should inundate again they would not perish, as those who had existed before them had lately perished. They did not remember that God had said to Noah: I will set my bow in the clouds of heaven, and I will remember my covenant, that I will not destroy all flesh by the waters of the flood. For they had grown very numerous, and could not dwell together; before they were divided into regions or lands, they wished to acquire for themselves an everlasting name. And they had bricks for stones and bitumen for mortar, and they began to build, the author of which work was Nimrod. But God, seeing their irrevocable purpose, said: Come, let us go up and confound their language there. And so it came about that those who spoke one language were divided into seventy-two. But the language that all had spoken before remained only in the house of Heber.
De cujus domo longo post tempore natus est Abraham, quem Deus multum dilexit. Dedit ei circumCisionem signaculum fidei, et reputatum est ei ad justitiam: insuper promissum est ei quod in semine ejus benedicentur omnes gentes, his verbis dicens: In semine tuo benedicentur omnes gentes. Quod exponens A postolus: Non dicit, inquit, et seminibus quasi in multis, sed quasi in uno, ct semini tuo qui est Christus. Dedit ei lsaac filium suum in senectute, quem die octavo circumcidit in typum nostri SalvaLoris: ct lsaac Jacob, et Jacob duodecim patriarchas, qui ducti fame descenderuut in Ægyptum, ubi multiplicati nimis afflicti sunt vehementer. Sed in manu valida liberati, in signis et portentis de Ægypto educti, transierunt mare Rubrum, per quadraginta annos manna aliti sunt, non sunt attrita vesiimenta eorum. Deus dediti illis legem, templum, aram, mensam, panes propositionis, velum interius, victimas, holocausta, sacrificia. Insuper oromisit ei Filium suum de eadem stirpe nasciturum. Qui veniens adimplevit quae Pater promiserat, quia de eorum stirpe secundum carnem natus est, sicut testatur Paulus: Dico enim Christum Jesum ministrum fuisse circumcisionis propter veritatem Dei ad confirmandas promissiones patrum. Quem videntes non sicut debuerant receperunt, sed ejicientes extra vineam occiderunt.
From whose house, long afterward, Abraham was born, whom God greatly loved. He gave him circumcision as the seal of faith, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness; moreover it was promised to him that in his seed all nations would be blessed, saying in these words: In your seed all nations will be blessed. Expounding this, the Apostle says: He does not say, "and to seeds," as though in many, but as though in one, "and to your seed," who is Christ. He gave him his son Isaac in his old age, whom he circumcised on the eighth day as a type of our Savior; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs, who, driven by famine, went down into Egypt, where, having multiplied exceedingly, they were afflicted severely. But freed by a mighty hand, led out of Egypt with signs and wonders, they crossed the Red Sea, were fed with manna for forty years, and their garments were not worn out. God gave them the law, the temple, the altar, the table, the showbread, the inner veil, victims, burnt offerings, sacrifices. Moreover he promised him his Son, to be born of the same stock. Coming, he fulfilled what the Father had promised, because he was born of their stock according to the flesh, as Paul testifies: For I say that Christ Jesus was a minister of circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises of the fathers. Seeing him, they did not receive him as they ought, but casting him out of the vineyard, they killed him.
Non de omnibus dico, quia ex eis processit radix sancta et massa, hoc est sancti apostoli et primi credentes, sed quam plures in cæcitate remanserunt; de quibus scriptum est: Cæcitas ex parte contigit in Israel donec plenitudo gentium introeat, et sic omnis Israel salvus erit. Hi vero qui in infidelitate remanserunt, eos qui ad idem veniebant eorum substantiam diripiebant, sed ipsi palienter substinebant. Quos collandat apostolus Paulus: Nam et vincti compassi estis, et rapinam bonorum Metrorum cum gaudio suscepistis. Eorum curam gerens per singulos annos collectam faciebat dicens fratribus: Recordamini fratrum qui sunt iu Jerusalem; mittebatque eis.
Scribens etiam Epistolam misit eis, in qua voluit ostendere, omnia quæ tunc ad litteram gerebantur, sabbatum scificet, circumcisionem, neomeniam, et cætera quæ lex 'præcipiebat, omnia typica fuisse, et in adventu Filii Dei spiritualiter fuisse adimpleta. De qua Epistola multi Latinorum dicunt, quod non ait apostoli Pauli, eo quod nomen ipsius in capite prætitulatum non sit, sed Barnabe juxta Tertulłianum, vel Iutae, aut Clementis, aut alicujus ex discipulis apostolorum. Quibus respoqdendum est, quia si apostoli Pauli non est, pro eo quod nomen ipsius in capite praetitulatum non est, ergo nec alicujus illorum erit, quia nullus eorum habetur in capite. Sed omnino scire debemus ipsius esse hanc Epistolam.
I do not say this of all, because from them came forth the holy root and the lump, that is, the holy apostles and the first believers, but very many remained in blindness; of whom it is written: Blindness in part has happened in Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles come in, and so all Israel shall be saved. But those who remained in unbelief plundered the substance of those who were coming to the same faith, yet they themselves patiently endured. The apostle Paul praises them: For you were made partakers with those in bonds, and you accepted the plundering of your goods with joy. Caring for them, he made a collection every year, saying to the brethren: Remember the brethren who are in Jerusalem; and he sent it to them.
Writing also an Epistle, he sent it to them, in which he wished to show that all things which were then done according to the letter—namely the sabbath, circumcision, the new moon, and the rest which the law commanded—were all typical, and were spiritually fulfilled at the coming of the Son of God. Concerning this Epistle many of the Latins say that it is not the apostle Paul's, because his name is not prefixed at the head, but Barnabas's according to Tertullian, or Jude's, or Clement's, or someone else's from among the disciples of the apostles. To whom it must be answered that if it is not the apostle Paul's, for the reason that his name is not prefixed at the head, then it will belong to none of those either, because none of them is found at the head. But we ought altogether to know that this Epistle is his.
Quod vero nomen suum in capite prætitulare noluit, ob varias causas egit. Prima causa exstitit, quia noverat ibi Deum et magistrum suum fundamentum posuisse. Ideo non fuit ausus funda. mentum ponere præter id quod positum est, quod est Christus Jesus. Secunda causa fuit, quia non acceperat in eis ofQcium prædicationis, sed in gentibus, dicente Spiritu sancto: Segregate mihi Paulum et Barnabam, in opus quo assumpsi eos. Quia unisquisque suam provinciam ad prædicandum acceperat, unde ipse ait: Qui operatus est Petro in apostolatu circumcisionis, operatus est et mihi inter gentes. Tertia causa fuit quia exosum eum habebant Judæi, eo quod evacuaret omnem ritum legis. Quidam enim ad fidem venientes, iUlios suos baptizare pariter et circumcidere volebant, quod Paulus funditus prohibuit dicens: Si circumcidimini, Christus vobis nihil proderit, in Christo enim Jesu neque circumcisio aliquid valet, neque præputium, sed fides quæ prædilectionem operatur. Quod si nomen suum prætitulasset in ea, forsitan non eam reciperent, quia quilibet homo eum quem odio habet, non solum epistolam ejus non recipit, sed etiam nomen illius audire non vult. Quarta causa humilitatis exstitit, sciens eorum superbiam et suam humilitatem, nomen suum noluit ante ponere. Hujus rei causa etiam beatus Joannes, in capite Epistolae suae non protulit.
But the fact that he was unwilling to have his own name as a title at the head of it, he did for various reasons. The first reason was that he knew that God and his master had laid the foundation there. Therefore he did not dare to lay a foundation other than that which has been laid, which is Christ Jesus. The second reason was that he had not received the office of preaching among them, but among the Gentiles, as the Holy Spirit said: Set apart for me Paul and Barnabas for the work to which I have taken them up. Because each one had received his own province for preaching, which is why he himself said: He who worked in Peter for the apostleship of the circumcision worked also in me among the Gentiles. The third reason was that the Jews held him in hatred, because he did away with every rite of the law. For some who came to the faith wished to baptize their children and circumcise them as well, which Paul utterly forbade, saying: If you are circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing; for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value, but faith which works through love. But if he had prefixed his name to it, perhaps they would not receive it, because any man whatsoever does not only not receive a letter from one whom he hates, but does not even wish to hear his name. The fourth reason was one of humility: knowing their pride and his own humility, he was unwilling to place his name first. For this reason also blessed John did not put it at the head of his Epistle.
Dicunt etiam eam ideo non esse Pauli, quia caeteras Epistolas non sic rhetorico sermone composuit, et ex Veteri Novoque Testamento fulcivit, quomodo ista composita est quae ad Hebraeos legitur. Quibus respondendum est, quia caeteras Epistolas in peregrina scripsit lingua, hanc vero in propria, caeteras in Graeca, hanc in Hebræa. Nec mirum si cloquentior, quae in propria lingua scripta est, quam quae in Graeca. Dignum enim sic erat ut ea quam in propria lingua scribebat plus luculento sermone componeret, et Veteri Novoque Testamento fulciret. Cujus sensum et ordinem tenens evangetista Lucas post excessum apostoli Pauli Graeco sermone composuit. Sed jaM nunc ipsam apostoticam Epistolam tractemus quæ ita exordium hafbet.
MULTIFARIE MULTISQUE MODIN OLIM DEUS LOQUENS PATRIBUS IN PROPHETIS. Quod dicit multifarie, ostendit quoddam vaticinium fuisse ex Filio Dei. Phari Graece, Latine loqui dicitur. Multifarie dicit, multis locutionibus. Multis eniti modis locutus est Dominus anterioribus Patribus, qui fuerunt in Veteri Testamento: aliquoties per visiones, aliquoties per similitudines, anquoties per modos. Per visiones, ut est illud: Ego quoque visiones multiplicavi, et in manibus prophetarum assimilatus sum. Locutus est per similitudines, sicut multis locis inveniri dicitur. Sic Ezechiel cum aft: Et tu, fili hominis, perfode tibi parietem manu.
They also say that it is for this reason not Paul's, because he did not compose the other Epistles with such rhetorical speech, and did not support them from the Old and New Testament in the way this one which is read to the Hebrews is composed. To these it must be answered that he wrote the other Epistles in a foreign tongue, but this one in his own; the others in Greek, this one in Hebrew. Nor is it surprising if it is more eloquent, being written in his own tongue, than those which are in Greek. For it was fitting that the one he was writing in his own tongue he should compose with more brilliant speech and support from the Old and New Testament. Holding to its sense and order, the evangelist Luke composed it in Greek speech after the departure of the apostle Paul. But now let us treat the apostolic Epistle itself, which has its beginning thus.
GOD, WHO SPOKE IN MANY WAYS AND IN MANY MANNERS LONG AGO TO THE FATHERS IN THE PROPHETS. In saying "in many ways," he shows that there was a certain prophecy from the Son of God. Phari in Greek is called loqui in Latin. He says "in many ways," that is, in many utterances. The Lord spoke in many modes to the earlier Fathers who were in the Old Testament: sometimes through visions, sometimes through similitudes, sometimes through modes. Through visions, as is that passage: I also multiplied visions, and was represented by the hands of the prophets. He spoke through similitudes, as is said to be found in many places. Thus Ezekiel, when he says: And you, son of man, dig through the wall with your hand.
Per verba, sicut Isaiæ prophetae: Verbum Domini quod factum est ad Isaiam prophetam. Per revelationem, sicut Danieli. Per se ipsum, sicut Abrahæ: Exi de terra tua. Et Moysi: Loquebatur Moyses cum Deo facie ad faciem. Et hoc est quod dicit: Multifarie et multis modis. Olim, dicit ante, in Veteri Testamento scilicet. Novissime, dicit novislimo tempore, diebus incarnationis Domini. De quibus diebus idem Paulus dicit: Nos sumus, in quos fines sœculorum devenerunt. Et Joannes: Filioli, novissima hera est. Et iterum Paulus: At ubi venit plenitudo temporis, misit Deus Filium suum. Cum vero dicit: NOVISSIMIS DIEBUS ISTIS, LOCUTUS EST NOBIS IN FILIO; ac si dicat: quid mirum si patribus misit prophe as, et per cos eis locutus est, qui nobis per Filium est locutus? lllis prophetas destinavit, nobis Filium suum misit, et per eum loqui nobis dignatus est. De quo Matthæus dicit: Erat docens eos sicut potestatem habens, non sicut Scribarum et Pharisæorum. Ipse qui quondam per patriarcbas et prophetas loquebatur, per semetipsum loqui dignatus est.
Through words, as to the prophet Isaiah: The word of the Lord which was made to Isaiah the prophet. Through revelation, as to Daniel. Through himself, as to Abraham: Go out from your land. And to Moses: Moses spoke with God face to face. And this is what he says: In many ways and in many manners. Formerly, he says—that is, in the Old Testament. In these last times, he says—in the most recent time, the days of the Lord's incarnation. Of these days the same Paul says: We are those upon whom the ends of the ages have come. And John: Little children, it is the last hour. And again Paul: But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son. But when he says: IN THESE LAST DAYS HE HAS SPOKEN TO US IN HIS SON, it is as if he were saying: what wonder is it if he sent prophets to the fathers and spoke to them through them, who has spoken to us through his Son? To them he appointed prophets, to us he sent his Son, and through him he deigned to speak to us. Of whom Matthew says: He was teaching them as one having authority, not as the Scribes and Pharisees. He who once spoke through the patriarchs and prophets deigned to speak through himself.
QUBM CONSTITUIT HÆREDEM UNIVERSORUM. Hæreditas ab hero, id est a Deo dicta est, quod ea libera potestate donetur. Constituit Pater Filium hæredem universorum, id est totius mundi cum dicit: Omnia subjecisti sub pedibus ejus. Unde et idem Filius dicit: Ego autem constitutus sum rex ab eo. Resurgens ergo a mortuis datam sibi asserit potestatem; sicut idem: Data est mihi omnis potestas in coelo et in terra. Et iterum: Pater non judicat quemquam, sed omne judicium dedit Filio. Ergo non jam portio Domini tantum Jacob, et sors ejus tantummodo Israel, sed omnes gentes et nationes, toto orbe diffusas, in hæredilatem sanguinis Chrisli amplectimur. Ut in nomine Jesu omne genu flectalur; in id quod homo constitutus est a Patre, et omnia ei subjecta sunt ab eo; in id quod æqualis Patri, idem Filius dicit: Omnia mea tua sunt, et tua mea. PER QUEM FECIT SÆCULA. Subauditur per filium. Utitur hoc apud hæreticos qui dicebant: Si est Christus, erat tempus quando non erat, sed in hoc eos destruit cum dicit: Per quem fecit et sæcula. Quod enim dicit, et quem constituit hæredem universorum, ad humanitatem pertinet. Quod vero addidit, per quem fecit et sæcula, ad divinitatem. Per Filium euim fecit Deus Pater saecula, sicut habes scriptum: In principio fecit Deus cætum et terram. Ostendit eum ante omnia sæcula fuisse cum Patre, et cum eo omnia condidisse. Unde et Joannes: Omnia per ipsum facta sunt.
WHOM HE APPOINTED HEIR OF ALL THINGS. "Heir" (heres) is so called from "hero," that is, from God, because it is given by free power. The Father appointed the Son heir of all things, that is, of the whole world, when he says: You have subjected all things under his feet. Whence the same Son also says: But I have been appointed king by him. Rising therefore from the dead, he asserts the power given to him; as the same says: All power has been given to me in heaven and on earth. And again: The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son. Therefore no longer is the Lord's portion only Jacob, and his lot only Israel, but we embrace all peoples and nations, diffused throughout the whole world, as the inheritance of the blood of Christ. That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow; in that he was appointed man by the Father, and all things are subjected to him by him; in that he is equal to the Father, the same Son says: All things that are mine are yours, and yours are mine. THROUGH WHOM HE MADE THE AGES. "Through the Son" is understood. He uses this against the heretics who said: If he is Christ, there was a time when he was not; but he destroys them in this, when he says: Through whom he also made the ages. For what he says, "and whom he appointed heir of all things," pertains to his humanity. But what he adds, "through whom he made the ages," pertains to his divinity. For through the Son God the Father made the ages, as you have it written: In the beginning God made heaven and earth. He shows that he was with the Father before all ages, and created all things with him. Whence also John: All things were made through him.
Et ipse in Sapientia loquitur: Dominus possedit me in initio viarum suarum. Sicut enim neminem judicat Pater, sed omnia dicit judicare per Filium, quem judicem genuit, sic etiam dicitur operari per Filium, quem constat opificem genuisse.
QUI CUM SIT SPLENDOR GLORIÆ. Ipse est onim splen. dor gloriae, hoc est Deus de Deo, numen 4e lumiue, omnipotens de omnipotente, Filius de Patre, qui dicit: Ego sum lux. Et de quo Joannes: Erat lux vera quæ illuminat omnem hominem venientem in hunc mundum. ET FIGURA SUBSTANTIÆ EJUS. Cum audis figuram, noli scandalizari; figuram enim vel characterem hoc in loco non pro similitudine, sed pro veritate in. telligere debes, qualiter si videris imagioem pictam in pariete et dicas: Ecce bomo, ecce manus, ecce pedes. Sed aliter est imago, aliter tu; illa per similitudinem, tu per veritatem. PORTANSQUE OMNIA VERBO VIRTUTIS SUÆ. Verbum et veritas Christus est, de quo Paulus: Christus Dei virtus et Dei sapientia, Et de quo Joannes: In principio erat verbum. Dicit autem Apostolus de Filio Dei, quod portans omnia, destruit Arianorum vesaniam, qui dicunt, quod Pater praecipit dicens: Fiat lux et Filius obedierit; quia ostendit, quod suo verbo cuncta perfecit, portam, inquit, omnia, id est gubernans. Continet naroque cadentia, et ad nihilum tendentia.
And he himself speaks in Wisdom: "The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways." For just as the Father judges no one, but is said to judge all things through the Son, whom he begot as judge, so also he is said to work through the Son, whom it is established he begot as craftsman.
WHO BEING THE SPLENDOR OF GLORY. He himself is indeed the splendor of glory, that is, God from God, light from light, almighty from the almighty, the Son from the Father, who says: "I am the light." And of whom John says: "He was the true light which enlightens every man coming into this world." AND THE FIGURE OF HIS SUBSTANCE. When you hear "figure," do not be scandalized; for "figure" or "character" in this place you ought to understand not as likeness but as truth—just as if you were to see an image painted on a wall and say: "Behold a man, behold hands, behold feet." But the image is one thing, you another; that by likeness, you by truth. AND BEARING ALL THINGS BY THE WORD OF HIS POWER. Christ is the Word and the Truth, of whom Paul says: "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God," and of whom John says: "In the beginning was the Word." But the Apostle says of the Son of God that, bearing all things, he destroys the madness of the Arians, who say that the Father commanded, saying, "Let there be light," and the Son obeyed; because he shows that by his word he accomplished all things—"bearing," he says, "all things," that is, governing. For he contains things that fall and tend toward nothing.
Sicut enim absque ullo labore cuncta creavit ex nihilo, juxta quod scriptum est: Qui manet in æternum, cuncta creavit iimul; sic omnia regit et continet et portat absque labore. In ipso enim vivimus, movemur et sumus, et omnia in ipso constant, sicut idem apostolus alibi ail. Neque enim aliquid subsistere poterat, nisi per se omnia contineret. Et hoc est quod ipse Filius dicil Judaeis: Pater meus usque modo operatur, et ego operor. Tam enim missus est gubernare mundum quam creare. Quando enim creatus est mundus, ex nihilo facla sunt omnia ut essent. In gubernatione vero agitur ut ea quae sunt ad nihilum non redigantur nec pereant.
PURGATIONEM PECCATORUM FACIENS. Postquam enim apostolus ostendit, quia omnia gubernaret et contineret Filius quæ fecit, voluit etiam manifestare ejus curam, ejus misericordiam, quam erga nos exhibuit, dicens: Purgationem peccatorum faciens. Fecit enim purgationem peccatorum, quando pendens in croce, aperto latere ejus manavit sanguis et aqua pro redemptione nostra, dicente apostolo: Empti enim esIi. pretio magno. Et illud: Qui dilexit nos et lavit nos a peccatis nostris in sanguine suo. De hac purgatione peccatorum per Petrum dicitur: Qui peccata nostra ipse perMut in corpore suo super lignum, Facit quotidie purgationem peccatorum per bapiismum; de quo dicitur: Quotquot credidistis, Christum induistis.
For just as he created all things from nothing without any labor, according to what is written: "He who abides forever created all things at once," so he rules, sustains, and bears all things without labor. For in him we live, move, and have our being, and all things hold together in him, as the same apostle says elsewhere. Nor could anything subsist unless he contained all things through himself. And this is what the Son himself says to the Jews: "My Father works until now, and I work." For he was sent as much to govern the world as to create it. For when the world was created, all things were made from nothing so that they might exist. In governance, however, it is brought about that the things which exist are not reduced to nothing nor perish.
MAKING PURIFICATION OF SINS. For after the apostle showed that the Son governs and sustains all things which he made, he wished also to make manifest his care, his mercy, which he showed toward us, saying: Making purification of sins. For he made purification of sins when, hanging on the cross, with his side opened, blood and water flowed from it for our redemption, as the apostle says: "For you were bought with a great price." And that: "Who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood." Concerning this purification of sins it is said through Peter: "Who himself bore our sins in his body on the tree." He makes purification of sins daily through baptism; concerning which it is said: "As many of you as have believed, you have put on Christ.
Facit etiam purgationem peccatorum, cum fidelibus suis corpus et sanguinem suum dat comedendum ipse qui dicit: Ego sum panis vivus qui de cælo descendi; et: Caro mea vere est cibus, et sanguis meus vere est potus. Et iterum: nisi manducaveritis carnem Filii hominis, et biberitis ejus sanguinem, non habebitis vitam in vobis. Et: Qui manducat meam carnem et bibit meum sanguinem, in me manet et ego in ipso. Iturus namque ad passionem discipulis ait: Hoc est corpus meum quod pro vobis tradetur in remissionem peccatorum. Sicut enim ignis liquefacit ceram, et sicut flamma comburit stipulam, sic minora peccata per participationem corporis et sanguinis Christianum
XVIII.
Lectio Epistolæ I beati Petri apostoli (v, 6): Charissimi, humiliamini sub potenti manu Dei, ut vos extollat in tempore visitalionis, etc.
COMMENTUM LUCULENTII.
Humiliatio enim ultima intelligitur; nam unusquisque se humiliare debet jejunando, orando, obediendo, patienter adversa tolerando, propter illud quod scriptum est: Omnia qui se exaltat humiliabitur, et qui se humiliat exaltabitur. Humiliari nos præcipit apostolus Petrus dicens: HUMILIAMINI SUB POTENTI MANU DEI. Humilitas enim multiformis est gratia. Humiles non oportet esse propter illud quod Dominus ait: Discite a me quia mitis, sum, et humilis corde. Et alibi: Super quem requiescam, nisi super humilem, et quietum, et trementem sermones meos?
He also makes purification from sins, when he gives his body and blood to his faithful to eat, he who says: I am the living bread that came down from heaven; and: My flesh is truly food, and my blood is truly drink. And again: unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you. And: He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him. For about to go to his passion, he said to his disciples: This is my body which is handed over for you for the remission of sins. For just as fire melts wax, and as flame burns up stubble, so lesser sins through the participation of the body and blood of a Christian
XVIII.
Reading of the Epistle of blessed Peter the apostle (v, 6): Dearest ones, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in the time of visitation, etc.
THE LUCULENT COMMENTARY.
For humiliation is understood as the final one; for each one ought to humble himself by fasting, praying, obeying, patiently enduring adversities, on account of that which is written: Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. The apostle Peter commands us to be humbled, saying: HUMBLE YOURSELVES UNDER THE MIGHTY HAND OF GOD. For humility is a multiform grace. It is not fitting for the humble to be so on account of that which the Lord said: Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart. And elsewhere: On whom shall I rest, except on the humble, and quiet, and one who trembles at my words?
Sub potenti manu Dei. Manus enim Dei aliquoties intelligitur Eilius, aliquoties protectio divina; Filius intelligitur manus, ut est illud propheticum: Emitte manum tuam de alto. Protectio divina, ut est illud: Facta est super me manus Domini. Sed in hoc loco protectio divina intelligitur, teste psalmista: Protexisti me, Deus, a conventu malignantium. Sub cujus manu nos humiliari debemus, scilicet sub divina protectione, ut nos exaltare.dignetur in die visitationis. Et IN TEMPORE VISITATIONIS; hoc est in die judicii quando omnes humiles exaltari merebuntur, et superbi humiliari, sicut jam superius dictum est: Omnis qui se exaltat humiliabitur, et qui se humiliat exaltabitur. Et omnes reprobi una cum capite suo projicientur in infernum. OMNEM SOLLICITUUINEM VESTRAM PROJICIENTES IN EUM, QUONIAM IPSI CURA EST DE VOBIS. Simile est illud quod ait Psamista: Jacta cogitatum tuum in Domino. Et Dominus in Evangelio: Nolite solliciti esse dicentes: Quid manducabimus, aut quid bibemus? scit enim Pater vester quid vobis opus est. Ideo omnem sollicitudinem nostram in eum projicerc debemus, a quo omne bonum largiri credimus. Et quidquid perfectum, quidquid bonum est quod agit homo, ab ipso accipit, teste Jacobo qui dicit: Omne datum optimum et omne donum perfectum desursum est. Et alibi scriptum: Quis speravit in Domino et confusus est?
Under the mighty hand of God. For the hand of God is sometimes understood as the Son, sometimes as divine protection; the Son is understood as the hand, as in that prophetic saying: Send forth your hand from on high. Divine protection, as in that saying: The hand of the Lord was upon me. But in this place divine protection is understood, as the psalmist testifies: You have protected me, O God, from the assembly of the wicked. Under whose hand we ought to humble ourselves, namely under divine protection, so that he may deign to exalt us in the day of visitation. And IN THE TIME OF VISITATION; that is, in the day of judgment, when all the humble will merit to be exalted, and the proud to be humbled, as has already been said above: Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. And all the reprobate together with their head will be cast into hell. CASTING ALL YOUR ANXIETY UPON HIM, FOR HE CARES FOR YOU. Similar is what the psalmist says: Cast your thought upon the Lord. And the Lord in the Gospel: Do not be anxious, saying: What shall we eat, or what shall we drink? For your Father knows what you need. Therefore we ought to cast all our anxiety upon him, from whom we believe every good thing is bestowed. And whatever perfect thing, whatever good thing a man does, he receives from him, as James testifies, who says: Every best gift and every perfect gift is from above. And elsewhere it is written: Who has hoped in the Lord and been confounded?
SOBRII ESTOTE. Sobrietas enim nou solum corporis, sed et animae intelligenda est. Sicut enim sobrius debet esse homo exterior, parcus videlicet a cibo et potu, propter illud quod Dominus dicit: Attendite ne graventur corda vestra in crapula et ebrietate; ita bomo interior in vigiliis, jejuniis, et orationibus, et caeteris bonis operibus. ET VIGILATE juste. Vigilare nos oportet propter illud quod scriptum est: Et vigilate juste, et nolite peccare. Et Dominus in Evangelio: Vigilate ne fiat fuga vestra hieme, vel sabbato. Et iterum: Hoc autem scitote quia si sciret paterfamilias qua hora fur veniret, vigilaret utique. Sed hoc in loco propter quid nos oportet vigilare, insequenter ostenditur, QUIA ADVERSARIUS VESTER DIABOLUS TAMQUAM LEO RUGIENS CIRCUIT QUÆRENS QUEM DEVORET. Diabolus enim adversarius atque hostis est generis humani, qui ab initio mundi semper sanctos persequi non destitit, atque caulas fidelium dispergere nititur. Leo namque dicitur diabolus, non propter fortitudinem, sed propter sævitiam; quia non solum occulte insidiatur, verum etiam aperte sævit.
BE SOBER. For sobriety must be understood not only of the body but also of the soul. For just as the outer man ought to be sober—sparing, that is, in food and drink—because of what the Lord says: Take heed lest your hearts be weighed down with surfeiting and drunkenness; so the inner man ought to be sober in vigils, fasts, and prayers, and other good works. AND WATCH justly. We ought to watch because of what is written: And watch justly, and do not sin. And the Lord in the Gospel: Watch, lest your flight be in winter or on the sabbath. And again: But know this, that if the master of the house knew at what hour the thief would come, he would surely watch. But why we ought to watch in this place is shown in what follows: BECAUSE YOUR ADVERSARY THE DEVIL, AS A ROARING LION, GOES ABOUT SEEKING WHOM HE MAY DEVOUR. For the devil is the adversary and enemy of the human race, who from the beginning of the world has never ceased to persecute the saints and strives to scatter the folds of the faithful. For the devil is called a lion, not because of strength, but because of savagery; since he not only lies in wait secretly, but also rages openly.
Occulte insidiatur, quia nonnunquam per nefarias cogitationes suadet aliquem, per gastrimargiam, per ebrietatem, per avaritiam, supplantat iracundia, vel luxuria inquinat: aliquem vero ut leo sævit, aperte persequitur hominem, sicut hic dicit Petrus apostoius; Adversarius vester diabolus tanquam leo rugiens, circuit quærens quem devoret. Diabolus enim circuit unumquemque nostrum, prospiciens sibi aditum per quem irrumpere possit, atque decipere, in qua parte ad peccandum videt esse procliviorem in ea amplius inardescit. Scilicet aut per dexteram; tentans enim hominem in majora vitia, si decipere non prævalet, minora infert, et de bono quod videt superbiam ingerit, ut sic per dexteram partem ingrediatur. Quia, ut dixi ab initio, ex quo primus homo justus Abel a Cain fratre suo per invidiam est interemptus, usque ad ultimum sanctum, qui in fiuem nasciturus est, diabolus persequi non cessat. CUI RESISTITE FORTES IN FII E. Imitamini ergo Christum, qui diabolum tentatorem in deserto vicit. Et nota, quia cum dicit resistite, addidit in fide, quia nulla virtus sic poterit diabolum prostrare quomodo fides perfecta, de qua Dominus: Si haberetis fidem ut granum sinapis diceretis huic monti, transire, obediret vobis.
He lies in wait secretly, because sometimes he persuades someone through wicked thoughts, through gluttony, through drunkenness, through greed; he trips him up through anger, or defiles him through lust. But against someone else he rages like a lion and openly persecutes the man, as the apostle Peter says here: Your adversary the devil, like a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour. For the devil goes about each one of us, looking out for an entrance through which he may burst in and deceive; in whatever part he sees a man more inclined to sin, in that part he burns more fiercely. Namely, either through the right side; for when he tempts a man toward greater vices, if he cannot deceive him, he brings in lesser ones, and from the good he sees he instills pride, so that he may enter in by the right side. Because, as I said from the beginning, from the time the first man, the just Abel, was killed by his brother Cain out of envy, even to the last saint who is to be born at the end, the devil does not cease to persecute. RESIST HIM, STRONG IN THE FAITH. Imitate therefore Christ, who conquered the devil as tempter in the desert. And note that when he says resist, he added in the faith, because no virtue can so prostrate the devil as perfect faith, of which the Lord says: If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you would say to this mountain, move, and it would obey you.
SciENTES EAMDEM PASSIONEM Ei QUÆ IN MUNDO EST, VESTRÆ FRATERNITATIS FIERI. Eamdem passionem dicit in mundo, scilicet quam universa patitur Ecclesia. Nullus enim fidelis in mundo est, qui bravium vitae aeternae percipere cupiat, ut sine passione ad portum pervenire possit, juxta quod scriptum est: Multæ tribulationes justorum, et de his omnibus Liberavit eos. Et ideo, si fuerimus socii passionis, simul et rcsurreclionis erimus. Et alibi: Non coronabitur, nisi qui legitime certaverit. Et Paulus apostolus: Forit pugnæ, intus timores. Attamen non sunt condignae passiones hujus temporis ad futuram gloriam, quæ revelabitur in nobis. DEUS AUTEM OMNIS GRATIÆ, QUI VOCAVIT NOS IN ÆTERNAM SUAM GRATIAM IN CHRISTO JESU MODICUM PASSOS. Vocavit enim nos Deus in aeternam suam gloriam primo de tenebris in admirabile lumen suum, quia quos præscivit et prædestinavit conformes fieri imaginis filii sui, ut sit ipse primogenitus in mulIi. fratribus. Tamen praesentis temporis gloria non est aeterna, quia nonnunquam deficit, de qua dicil Joannes: Filioli, nunc filii Dei sumus, et nonduni apparet quid erimus. Illa eat aeterna, quæ permanet cum Deo, in qua ibunt sancti de virtute in virtutem. Et hoc in Christo Jesu quia per Filium sumus reddinpti, et per ipsum remunerati. Deus Pater per Filium suum nos redemit, per quem et vocavit, quem pro redemptione generis humani incarnari constituit.
KNOWING THAT THE SAME SUFFERING WHICH IS IN THE WORLD IS BEING BROUGHT ABOUT FOR YOUR BROTHERHOOD. He says that the same suffering is in the world, namely that which the whole Church endures. For there is no faithful person in the world who desires to receive the prize of eternal life in such a way that he could reach the harbor without suffering, according to what is written: Many are the tribulations of the righteous, and out of all these he delivered them. And therefore, if we have been sharers in the suffering, we shall be sharers also in the resurrection. And elsewhere: He shall not be crowned unless he has competed lawfully. And the apostle Paul: Fights without, fears within. Yet the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the future glory that will be revealed in us. BUT THE GOD OF ALL GRACE, WHO HAS CALLED US INTO HIS ETERNAL GRACE IN CHRIST JESUS, HAVING SUFFERED A LITTLE. For God has called us into his eternal glory, first from darkness into his marvelous light, because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be made conformable to the image of his Son, so that he himself might be the firstborn among many brothers. Yet the glory of the present time is not eternal, because sometimes it fails, of which John says: Little children, now we are children of God, and it has not yet appeared what we shall be. That glory is eternal which remains with God, in which the saints shall go from virtue to virtue. And this is in Christ Jesus, because through the Son we have been redeemed and through him rewarded. God the Father has redeemed us through his Son, through whom he also called us, whom he appointed to be incarnate for the redemption of the human race.
Modicum passos. Bene dicit, modicum passos, quia passiones hujus temporis modicæ sunt ad comparationem futuræ beatitudinis. Sic enim sit Dbminus: Nolite timere eos qui eccidunt corpus, animam autem non possunt occidere. IPSE PERFICIET, scilicet Deus, qui vocavit nos in æternam suam gloriam, perficiet corpore, CONFIRMABIT animo, SOLIDABIT spiritu: perficiet in perseverantia boni ope ris, confirmabit præmio, solidabit bravio vitae æternæ.
Having suffered a little while. He says well, “having suffered a little while,” because the sufferings of this time are slight in comparison with the future blessedness. For so the Lord says: Do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. HE HIMSELF WILL PERFECT, namely God, who has called us into his eternal glory, will perfect us in body, WILL CONFIRM us in mind, WILL ESTABLISH us in spirit: he will perfect us in perseverance in good work, confirm us by reward, establish us by the prize of eternal life.