Ipsi gloria et imperium cum aeterno Patre et Spiritu sancto, et in cuncta saecula saeculorum. Amen.
SECUNDA EXPOSITIO SUPER PSALMUM CXIX.
Veniamus ad psalmum qui post centesimum decimum octavum psalmum lectus est. Centesimus decimus octavus psalmus (ut frequenter diximus) litteratus est, hoc est, alphabetites est: ab aleph enim incipit usque ad extremam litteram Hebraeam, quae Hebraice dicitur thau. Et singuli versus, a sin– gulis litteris incipiunt. Viginti duae sunt litterae Hebraicae, et octoni versae a singulis litteris incipiunt. Verbi causa, ab a littera, quae dicitur aleph, oct(??) versus incipiunt. Rursum cum illi finiti fuerint, a secunda littera quae dicitur beth, alii octo versus incipiunt. Et in tertio illis finitis, ab altera quae vocatur cimel, alii octo versus incipiunt. Ergo centesimus decimus octavus psalmus alpbabetites est. Si volumus legere epistolam, non possumus legere, nisi prius sciamus litteras. Sic Igitur et nos non possumus Scripturas cognoscere, nisi prinum alphabetum noverimus. Centesimus ergo decimus octavus psalmus alphabetites moralis est, et instruit vitam nostram. Et quia nunc non est temporis de universe psalmo dicere, dicamus nunc de primo graduum psalmo, qui sic incipit;
To him be glory and dominion with the eternal Father and the Holy Spirit, and for all ages of ages. Amen.
THE SECOND EXPOSITION ON PSALM 119.
Let us come to the psalm which is read after the one hundred eighteenth psalm. The one hundred eighteenth psalm (as we have often said) is lettered, that is, it is alphabetical: for it begins from aleph all the way to the last Hebrew letter, which in Hebrew is called thau. And the individual verses begin with individual letters. There are twenty-two Hebrew letters, and eight verses begin with each individual letter. For example, from the letter a, which is called aleph, eight verses begin. Again, when those have been finished, from the second letter, which is called beth, another eight verses begin. And when those are finished in the third place, from another letter, which is called gimel, another eight verses begin. Therefore the one hundred eighteenth psalm is alphabetical. If we wish to read a letter, we cannot read it unless we first know the letters. So then we too cannot know the Scriptures unless we first know the alphabet. Therefore the one hundred eighteenth psalm is alphabetical and moral, and it instructs our life. And because it is not now the time to speak about the whole psalm, let us now speak about the first of the gradual psalms, which begins thus:
Ad Dominum cum tribularer clamavi, et exaudivit me. Propterea autem vocantur graduum psalmi, ut frequenter diximus, quoniam gradibus quibusdam ad majora conscendimus. Nuuc non est temporis de omnibus psalmis graduum disputare, et dicere, quomodo per singulos psalmos gradus fiant, ut ad summa veniamus. Interim dicamus nunc de primo gradu, relinquentes mysterium quare decimus quintus gradus dicatur; eamdem enim rem frequenter dicere, taedium est audientibus. Unde et Apostolus quindecim dies se testatur fecisse apud Petrum in Jerosolyma, ut conferret utrumque Testamentum, et septenarium, et octonarium (Galat. ii). Multa sunt quae dicantur. Ad Dominum cum tribularer clamavi, et axaudivit me. Quicomque adhuc in imo gradu est, respicit altissimum graduum decimum quintum. Quicumque in quinto decimo fuerit, jam juxta templum est, et istud templum, cujus nunc ruinas videmus, offendit Dominum suum. Et quid dixit Dominus? Surgite, abeamus hinc (Joan. xiv). Et quid dicit In alio loco? Relinquetur vobis domus vestra deserta (Luc. xiii). Dominus egressus est, et templum corruit. Hoc igitur templum in circuitu quindecim gradus habet. Signa aliqua videmus: numerate, et videbitis ita esse ut dicimus. Levitae igitur, et sacerdotes, unusquisque secundum ordinem stabat in gradibus. Verbi causa: Qui pontifex erat, stabat in primo gradu, hoc est, in quinto decimo gradu sursum.
To the Lord when I was in trouble I cried, and he heard me. For this reason, as we have often said, they are called psalms of degrees, because by certain steps we ascend to greater things. Now it is not the time to dispute about all the psalms of degrees, and to say how through each individual psalm steps are made, so that we may come to the highest things. For the present let us speak about the first step, leaving aside the mystery of why it is called the fifteenth step; for to say the same thing frequently is wearisome to hearers. Hence also the Apostle testifies that he spent fifteen days with Peter in Jerusalem, so that he might compare each Testament, both the sevenfold and the eightfold (Gal. 2). There are many things that could be said. To the Lord when I was in trouble I cried, and he heard me. Whoever is still on the lowest step looks toward the highest, the fifteenth, of the steps. Whoever is on the fifteenth is already near the temple, and that temple, whose ruins we now see, offended its Lord. And what did the Lord say? Rise, let us go from here (John 14). And what does he say in another place? Your house will be left to you desolate (Luke 13). The Lord departed, and the temple fell. This temple, then, has fifteen steps around it. We see certain signs: count, and you will see that it is as we say. The Levites, therefore, and the priests, each one stood on the steps according to his order. For example: he who was the high priest stood on the first step, that is, on the fifteenth step upward.
In secundo vero gradu stabant sacerdotes, et in ipsis sacerdotibus erat diversitas. In tertio rursum minores stabant. In quarto rursum stabant Levitae. Et inter Levitas erat multa diversitas: quicumque erat extremus, ille in novissimo gradu erat. Considerate quoniam terrenum hoc templum, coelestis templi figura est: Stella enim a stella differt in claritate: ita et resurrectio mortuorum (II Cor. xv). Felix qui in quinto decimo gradu in coelesti Jerusalem, et in templo esse meruerit. Tamen quia illud grande est, et illud puto esse apostolorum, martyrumque sanctorum: nos oremus, ut saltem in ultimo gradu templi Domini esse mereamur. In diversis quidem stant gradibus, sed unum psalmum in laudes Domini canunt. Diversa loca sunt: sed una laus Domini. Hoc quod diximus de coelesti Jerusalem, nunc Interim in isto saeculo constituti, puto diebus omnibus exerceri. Alius nostrum in primo gradu est, non desperet secundum; qui in secundo gradu est, non desperet tertium. Felices martyres, quorum multi de novissimo gradu, in primum gradum ascendere meruerunt. Qui vivit in isto saeculo, non potest statim de primo ad summum conscendere. Non debemus igitur contenti esse primo gradu, semper debemus ad majora conari. Nec qui in novissimo est, desperet primum; nec qui in primo est, debet esse securus: potest enim cadere in ultimum.
But in the second degree stood the priests, and among the priests themselves there was diversity. In the third again stood the lesser ones. In the fourth again stood the Levites. And among the Levites there was great diversity: whoever was the lowest, he was in the last degree. Consider that this earthly temple is a figure of the heavenly temple: for star differs from star in brightness, so also is the resurrection of the dead (2 Cor 15). Blessed is he who has merited to be in the fifteenth degree in the heavenly Jerusalem and in the temple. Yet because that is great, and I think it belongs to the apostles and holy martyrs, let us pray that we may merit to be at least in the last degree of the Lord's temple. They stand indeed in different degrees, but they sing one psalm in the praises of the Lord. The places are different, but the praise of the Lord is one. What we have said of the heavenly Jerusalem, I think is now, while we are established in this world, carried out in all our days. One of us is in the first degree; let him not despair of the second; he who is in the second degree, let him not despair of the third. Blessed are the martyrs, many of whom from the last degree have merited to ascend to the first degree. He who lives in this world cannot at once climb from the first to the highest. We ought not, therefore, to be content with the first degree; we ought always to strive for greater things. Nor should he who is in the last despair of the first; nor should he who is in the first be secure, for he can fall to the last.
Ego puto illud esse quod significat etiam Jacob scala, quando fugit Jacob Esau fratrem suum. Et venit, inquit, in Bethel, et dormivit ibi, et posuit lapidem ad caput suum (Gen. xxviii). Videte nostrum, fugiebat hominem crudelissimum, fugiebat fratrem, et auxilium invenit in lapide. Lapis ille Christus est: lapis hic his qui persecutionem patiuntur, auxilium est. Caeterum Judaeis incredulis, lapis offensionis, et petra scandali (I Petr. ii). Et vidit, inquit, ibi Jacob scalam erectam de terra usque ad coelum, et in coelo, inquit. Dominum. Et vidit, inquit, angelos ascendentes et descendentes. Videte quid dicat: Vidit angelos conscendentes: vidit Paulum conscendentem. Vidit angelos descendentes: Judas proditor corruebat. Vidit angelos ascendentes: sanctos homines de terra ad coelum pergentes. Vidit angelos descendentes: diabolum et daemones cum exercitu suo de coelo praecipitatos. Grandis est difficultas de terris ad coelestia conscendere. Facilius ruimus quam conscendimus, facile ruimus: in ascendendo grandis labor est, grandis sudor est. Si fuero in primo gradu, quantum mihi restat usque ad coelum! Si fuero in secundo, si in tertio, si in quarto, si in decimo, quid mihi prodest nisi ad summum pervenero? Fac mihi istam scalam quindecim habere gradus: veni usque ad quartum decimum; nisi quintum decimum tenuero, quid mihi prodest quod ad quartum decimum veni?
I think that this is what Jacob's ladder also signifies, when Jacob fled from his brother Esau. And he came, it says, to Bethel, and slept there, and placed a stone at his head (Gen. 28). See our man: he was fleeing a most cruel man, he was fleeing his brother, and he found help in a stone. That stone is Christ: this stone is help for those who suffer persecution. But for unbelieving Jews, a stone of stumbling and a rock of scandal (1 Pet. 2). And he saw, it says, there Jacob a ladder set up from earth up to heaven, and in heaven, it says, the Lord. And he saw, it says, angels ascending and descending. See what he says: He saw angels ascending: he saw Paul ascending. He saw angels descending: Judas the traitor was falling. He saw angels ascending: holy men going from earth to heaven. He saw angels descending: the devil and demons cast down from heaven with their army. Great is the difficulty of ascending from earthly things to heavenly things. We fall more easily than we ascend, we fall easily: in ascending there is great labor, great sweat. If I have been on the first step, how much remains for me up to heaven! If I have been on the second, if on the third, if on the fourth, if on the tenth, what does it profit me unless I have reached the top? Suppose I have this ladder with fifteen steps: I have come as far as the fourteenth; unless I hold the fifteenth, what does it profit me that I came to the fourteenth?
Et si ad quintum decimum venero et corruero, major ascensus, major ruina est. Simulque considera sacramentum: quia grandis labor est, et grandis sudor, de terris ad coelum conscendere. Vultis scire qui sunt isti gradus? Qui est primus gradus? Ego puto primum gradum esse jejunium: adhuc enim juxta terram est: recedimus de terra, conscendimus: tamen adhuc de terrenis, et corporalibus cogitamus. Dicat aliquis: quid mihi prodest jejunium? ego quaero, ut anima mea pura sit apud Dominum: quanti non jejunant, et sancti sunt! Ego non hoc dico. Si Paulus apostolus castigabat corpus suum, et servituti subjiciebat: ne aliis praedicans, ipse reprobus inveniretur (I Cor. ix); si dicit: Video autem aliam legem resistentem legi mentis meae, et ducentem me in captivitatem; et postea dicit: Infelix ego homo, quis me liberabit de corpore mortis hujus! si ille insidias corporis timet, nos securi sumus? Si ille dicit: Quando infirmor, tunc fortior sum: infirmitas corporis, sanitas animae est. Hoc totum quare dico: Quia abstinentia primus gradus est, et non statim putemus quod si jejunaverimus, concendamus ad regna coelorum. Jejunia nos non ducunt ad regna coelorum: sed sine jejuniis, non conscendimus ad regna coelorum. Sola non prosunt, cum aliis prosunt. Hoc totum quare dixi? Quia quasi fundamentum est ascendentibus ad majora.
And if I come to the fifteenth and fall, the ascent is greater, the fall is greater. And at the same time consider the mystery: because it is great labor and great sweat to climb from the earth to heaven. Do you wish to know who these steps are? Which is the first step? I think the first step is fasting: for it is still near the earth: we withdraw from the earth, we climb: yet we still think of earthly and bodily things. Let someone say: what does fasting profit me? I seek that my soul be pure before the Lord: how many do not fast, and are holy! I do not say this. If the apostle Paul chastised his body and brought it into subjection, lest while preaching to others he himself be found reprobate (1 Cor. 9); if he says: But I see another law resisting the law of my mind and leading me into captivity; and afterward he says: Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from the body of this death! if he fears the snares of the body, are we secure? If he says: When I am weak, then I am stronger: weakness of body is health of soul. Why do I say all this? Because abstinence is the first step, and let us not immediately think that if we have fasted, we climb to the kingdoms of heaven. Fasts do not lead us to the kingdoms of heaven: but without fasts, we do not climb to the kingdoms of heaven. Alone they do not profit, with other things they profit. Why did I say all this? Because it is, as it were, the foundation for those ascending to greater things.
Secundus vero gradus est: saeculo renuntiare, nihil de saeculo quaerere, terrena contemnere. Aliquis dicat: Et hoc facere secundus est? Ego dico secundum. Nihil est terrena dimittere: vitia animae dimittere, grande est. Si enim jejunavero, hoc est, si fuero in primo gradu: si dimisero possessiones meas, hoc est, si fuero in secundo gradu, quid mihi prodest, si rixosus sum, si iracundus sum, si detractor sum, si invidus sum? Nihil grande est terrena dimittere: majora sunt vitia, quae dimittenda sunt. Sed dicat aliquis, difficile est: grande est: durum est. Et ideo grande est, quia difficile est: athleta non coronatur, nisi legitime certaverit. Nulli faciat desperationem, arduus ascensus est, difficilis est: desperatio nascitur. Noli desperare, o homo, in quinto decimo gradu Dominus supra est: intuetur te: dat auxilium. Si in primo gradu es, et videtur tibi grande esse spatium inter primum, et quintum decimum: noli respicere gradum, sed coelum aspice. Et vide quid dicat. Non dixit: Vidi Dominum stantem in quinto decimo gradu: nos enim ad stantem, et erectum Dominum pervenire non poteramus; sed vide quid dicat: Vidi Dominum innitentem super scalam (Gen. xxxviii). Vide quid dicat de eo qui stabat: Incurvavit se, et humiliavit se, ut nos possemus ascendere. Dominus incurvus est propter te, humiliavit se: securus ascende.
The second step, however, is this: to renounce the world, to seek nothing from the world, to despise earthly things. Someone may say: And is this, too, a second step? I say it is the second. To let go of earthly things is nothing; to let go of the vices of the soul is a great thing. For if I have fasted, that is, if I have been on the first step; if I have given up my possessions, that is, if I have been on the second step, what does it profit me if I am quarrelsome, if I am hot-tempered, if I am a slanderer, if I am envious? It is no great thing to let go of earthly things; the vices that must be let go are greater. But let someone say, It is difficult; it is a great thing; it is hard. And for that very reason it is great, because it is difficult: the athlete is not crowned unless he has competed according to the rules. Let no one create despair for himself: the ascent is steep, it is difficult; despair is born from this. Do not despair, O man: on the fifteenth step the Lord is above; he watches you; he gives help. If you are on the first step, and the distance between the first and the fifteenth seems great to you, do not look at the step, but look at heaven. And see what it says. It did not say: I saw the Lord standing on the fifteenth step; for we could not reach a Lord standing and erect; but see what it says: I saw the Lord leaning upon the ladder. See what it says about him who stood: He bent down and humbled himself, so that we might be able to ascend. The Lord is bent down for your sake, he has humbled himself: ascend without fear.
Iste igitur, qui nunc in primo gradu est, non est in tribulatione: jam enim recessit de tribulatione, jam in primo gradu posuit pedem. Non enim dicit: Nunc tribulor, nunc clamo; sed quia in primo gradu est, refert quid passus est. Et quid dicit? Ad Dominum cum tribularer, clamavi, et exaudivit me. Antequam in primo gradu pedem ponerem, tribulabar, quia non poteram terrena dimittere. Ad Domi– num eum tribularer clamavi, et exaudivit me. Videtur iste versiculus nihil habere intrinsecus. Versiculus parvus est: sed tres sensus habet in se pariter conglutinatos. Quid enim dicit? Cum tribularer, ecce unum, clamavi; et post clamorem quid? et audivit me. In uno versu prior tribulatio, clamatio, exauditio. Non dixit: Quando securus eram, quando laetus eram, clamavi, sed quando tribulabar, clamavi. Petitis, inquit, et non exaudimini: quia negligenter petitis (Jac. iv). Ad Dominum cum tribularer, cla– mavi, et exaudivit me. Quid me exaudivit? Fecit me stare in primo gradu? verum ad comparationem quinti decimi gradus, quid est esse in primo gradu? Dimisi terrena, necdum ad alta conscendi: ergo non debeo esse securus, in caeteris gradibus debeo au– xilium Dei postulare.
This one, therefore, who is now on the first step, is not in tribulation; for he has already withdrawn from tribulation, he has already set his foot on the first step. For he does not say: Now I am in tribulation, now I cry out; but because he is on the first step, he recounts what he suffered. And what does he say? To the Lord, when I was in tribulation, I cried out, and he heard me. Before I set my foot on the first step, I was in tribulation, because I could not let go of earthly things. To the Lord, when I was in tribulation, I cried out, and he heard me. This little verse seems to have nothing within it. The verse is small, but it has three meanings in itself, joined together equally. For what does it say? When I was in tribulation—behold, that is one; I cried out—and after the cry, what? And he heard me. In one verse there is first tribulation, crying out, and being heard. He did not say: When I was secure, when I was glad, I cried out; but when I was in tribulation, I cried out. You ask, he says, and you are not heard, because you ask negligently (James 4). To the Lord, when I was in tribulation, I cried out, and he heard me. What did he hear me do? Did he make me stand on the first step? But compared with the fifteenth step, what is it to be on the first step? I have let go of earthly things, I have not yet ascended to high things; therefore I ought not to be secure; on the remaining steps I ought to ask for the help of God.
Domine, libera animam meam a labiis iniquis, et a lingua dolosa. Dicit, hoc, de omnibus haeresibus. Dicit de Judaeis, dicit de Arianis, dicit de Manichaeis, dicit de caeteris haeresibus. Quando dicit Arianus: Pater major, Filius minor, quid dicemus nos? Domine, libera animam meam a labiis iniquis, et a lingua dolosa. Quando dicit Manichaeus, et similis Manichaeorum: Dominus non resurrexit in corporis veritate, et ut scias non fuisse verum corpus, clausis ingressus est ostiis (Joan. xx), nos quid dicemus? Domine, libera animam meam a labiis iniquis, et a lingua dolosa. Majora vulnera sunt linguae, quam gladii. Gladius interficit corpus, animam non interficit. Lingua mala res est, malum magnum: modicum quidem membrum, sed magna exulcerat. Quanta mala habeat lingua, legite Epistolam sancti Jacobi (Cap. iii). Lingua nihil medium habet; aut grande malum est, aut grande bonum. Grande bonum, si Christum Deum confitetur; grande malum, si Christum Deum negat. Ergo ne putet aliquis et dicat interim, opere non peccavi: si peccavi, lingua peccavi. Quod est majus peccatum, quam blasphemia in Deum? et tamen lingua peccat. Diabolus cur de coelo cecidit? quia furtum fecit? quia homicidium fecit? quia adulterium commisit? Et haec quidem mala sunt, sed diabolus non propter hoc cecidit, sed propter linguam suam cecidit.
Lord, free my soul from wicked lips and from a deceitful tongue. He says this concerning all heresies. He says it concerning the Jews, he says it concerning the Arians, he says it concerning the Manichaeans, he says it concerning the rest of the heresies. When the Arian says: The Father is greater, the Son is lesser, what shall we say? Lord, free my soul from wicked lips and from a deceitful tongue. When the Manichaean, and one like the Manichaeans, says: The Lord did not rise again in the truth of a body, and so that you may know that it was not a true body, he entered through closed doors (John 20), what shall we say? Lord, free my soul from wicked lips and from a deceitful tongue. The wounds of the tongue are greater than those of the sword. The sword kills the body, it does not kill the soul. The tongue is an evil thing, a great evil: a small member indeed, but it causes great festering. How many evils the tongue has, read the Epistle of Saint James (Chapter 3). The tongue has nothing in between; it is either a great evil or a great good. A great good, if it confesses Christ as God; a great evil, if it denies Christ as God. Therefore let no one think and say for the moment, I have not sinned in deed: if I have sinned, I have sinned with the tongue. What sin is greater than blasphemy against God? and yet it is the tongue that sins. Why did the devil fall from heaven? because he committed theft? because he committed murder? because he committed adultery? And these things are indeed evils, but the devil did not fall because of this, but he fell because of his tongue.
Quod enim dixit: In coelum ascendant, super sidera coeli ponam thronum meum, et ero similis Altisstmo (Isa. xiv). Non ergo putent monachi se debere esse securos, et dicant interim: Grandia crimina non facimus in monasterio, non adulteror, non furtum facio, non homicidium facio, non parricidium facio, et caetera quae grandia vitia sunt. Grande scelus est, quando detraho fratri meo, lingua mea fratrem interficio. Qui enim odit fratrem suum, homicida est (Joan. iii). Videte quid dicat Salomon: In manu linguae, mors et vita (Prov. xviii). Videte quid dicat: In manu linguae. Vides quantum malum sit lingua: et manum habet. Quid enim dicit? In manu linguae. Grande vilium est detrahere fratribus, tacere non posse, circuire cellas, aliis detrahere. Ego peccator sum: Iste peccator est, quid ad te? Teipsum considera ne cadas. Quid in alterius ruina exsultas? Numquid si ego cecidero, tu stabis? Licet ruina mea sit, ruina fratris, timor tuus esse debet, non exsultatio. Ille cecidit; laetaris, an tristis es? Responde mihi: Frater cecidit; aut laetus es, aut tristis. Si laetus es, utquid in alterius ruina laetus es? Si autem tristis es, quid circuis? quid aliis narras? tristitiam tuam Deus videat, et ipse frater sentiat, non fratrum aures audiant. Domine, libera animam meam a labiis iniquis, et a lingua dolosa.
For what he said: I will ascend into heaven, I will set my throne above the stars of heaven, and I will be like the Most High (Isa. 14). Therefore monks should not think they ought to be secure and say in the meantime: We commit no great crimes in the monastery; I do not commit adultery, I do not steal, I do not commit murder, I do not commit parricide, and the rest of the great vices. It is a great crime when I slander my brother; with my tongue I kill my brother. For whoever hates his brother is a murderer (1 John 3). See what Solomon says: In the hand of the tongue are death and life (Prov. 18). See what he says: In the hand of the tongue. You see how great an evil the tongue is: and it has a hand. For what does he say? In the hand of the tongue. It is a great vice to slander brothers, to be unable to keep silent, to go around the cells, to slander others. I am a sinner; that man is a sinner—what is it to you? Consider yourself, lest you fall. Why do you exult in another's ruin? Surely if I fall, will you stand? Although my ruin is my own, the ruin of a brother ought to be your fear, not your exultation. He has fallen; are you glad, or are you sad? Answer me: A brother has fallen; either you are glad, or you are sad. If you are glad, why are you glad in another's ruin? But if you are sad, why do you go around? Why do you tell others? Let God see your sadness, and let the brother himself feel it, not the ears of brothers hear it. Lord, free my soul from wicked lips and from a deceitful tongue.
Quid detur tibi, aut quid apponatur tibi, ad linguam dolosam? Spiritus sanctus respondet prophetae dicenti: Domine, libera animam meam a labiis iniquis, et a lingua dolosa: quid detur tibi, aut quid apponatur tibi, ad linguam dolosam? Respondet ei, et dicit, tu qui dicis: Domine, libera animam meam a labiis iniquis, et a lingua dolosa, quid tibi vis dari? Et postquam datum tibi fuerit, quid tibi rursum apponi vis ad linguam dolosam? Videte quid dicat: Non dixit, contra linguam dolosam, sed, ad linguam dolosam. Si dixisset, contra linguam dolosam, videretur de adversario dicere. Videte quid sit sacramentum Prophetae, immo sancti in primo gradu constituti. Dico simplicius, propter simpliciores. Quid dicit? Domine, libera animam meam a labiis iniquis, et a lingua dolosa. Verbi causa, a labiis adversarii mei, qui mihi detrahit. Sed Dominus aliud respondet. Et quid dixit? Non dixit, quid detur tibi, aut quid apponatur tibi, contra linguam dolosam? hoc est, non dixit, quid desideras tibi fieri contra adversarium tuum? Sed quid dicit? Quid detur tibi, aut quid apponatur tibi, ad linguam dolosam? Non dixit, contra linguam: sed, ad linguam. Videte quid dicat ad linguam dolosam: ad tuam linguam, non adversarii. Si enim adversarius tibi detrahit, nihil tibi nocet: tu te interficis, si alii detrahas. Verbi gratia: Si detrahat mihi frater, mihi quid nocuit?
What shall be given to you, or what shall be added to you, against a deceitful tongue? The Holy Spirit answers the prophet as he says: O Lord, deliver my soul from unjust lips and from a deceitful tongue: what shall be given to you, or what shall be added to you, against a deceitful tongue? He answers him and says: You who say, O Lord, deliver my soul from unjust lips and from a deceitful tongue—what do you wish to be given to you? And after it has been given to you, what do you wish to be added to you again against a deceitful tongue? See what he says: he did not say “against a deceitful tongue,” but “to a deceitful tongue.” If he had said “against a deceitful tongue,” he would seem to be speaking about an adversary. See what the prophet’s mystery is—or rather, that of the saint established in the first degree. I speak more simply, for the sake of the simpler ones. What does he say? O Lord, deliver my soul from unjust lips and from a deceitful tongue. For example, from the lips of my adversary, who slanders me. But the Lord answers otherwise. And what did he say? He did not say, “What shall be given to you, or what shall be added to you, against a deceitful tongue?”—that is, he did not say, “What do you desire to be done to you against your adversary?” But what does he say? What shall be given to you, or what shall be added to you, to a deceitful tongue? He did not say “against the tongue,” but “to the tongue.” See what he says “to a deceitful tongue”: to your own tongue, not the adversary’s. For if an adversary slanders you, he harms you not at all; you kill yourself if you slander others. For example: if a brother slanders me, how has he harmed me?
Si dicat me homicidam, si dicat me adulterum, si sceleratum, si mendacem, mihi quid nocuit? E duobus enim unum est: aut verum dicit, aut mentitur. Si verum dicit, non mihi illud nocet quod ille dixit: sed quia vere ego feci. Si autem mentitur, mendacium ipsius non mihi nocet: sed interficit animam loquentem. Infelices sumus, miseri sumus. Quando aliquem habemus inimicum: dum putamus quod contra ipsum facimus, contra nos facimus. Detrahimus illi, huc illueque circuimus, omnibus dicimus de eo: putamus quod illi noceamus? Illi non nocemus, sed nostras interficimus animas, quod mentimur. Os enim quod mentitur, occidit animam (Sap. i). Quid detur tibi, aut quid apponatur tibi, ad linguam dolosam? Quasi bonus medicus, qui dicit: ad hanc infirmitatem, ad hoc vulnus, quid tibi vis imponi: quod tibi vis emplastrum imponi? Quomodo si dicat aliquis ad vulneratum aliquem: Quid detur tibi, aut quid apponatur tibi, ad vulnus quo doles? Interrogat Dominus, non quod ignoret, sed quod iste qui rogabat, sciat quomodo rogare debeat.
If he calls me a murderer, if he calls me an adulterer, if he calls me a criminal, if he calls me a liar, how has he harmed me? For one of two things is the case: either he tells the truth, or he lies. If he tells the truth, that which he said does not harm me, but rather the fact that I truly did it. If, however, he lies, his lie does not harm me, but it kills the soul of the one who speaks. We are unhappy, we are wretched. When we have someone as an enemy, while we think that we are acting against him, we are acting against ourselves. We slander him, we go around here and there, we say things about him to everyone: do we think that we harm him? We do not harm him, but we kill our own souls, because we lie. For the mouth that lies kills the soul (Wisdom 1). What shall be given to you, or what shall be added to you, against a deceitful tongue? It is as if a good physician were to say: for this illness, for this wound, what do you wish to have applied to you, what plaster do you wish to have applied to you? As if someone were to say to a wounded man: What shall be given to you, or what shall be added to you, for the wound that grieves you? The Lord asks, not because he does not know, but so that the one who was asking may know how he ought to ask.
Sagittoe potentis aculoe, cum carbonibus desolatoriis. Sagittoe potentis acutoe. Nunc respondet ad Dominum, quid petat. Quia dixerat Dominus: Quid detur tibi, aut quid apponatur tibi? Nunc iste dicit, quid petat: Domine, hoc peto: sagittas potentis acutas, cum carbonibus desolatoriis. Videte quid dicat. Venenum linguae meae, et detractionem meam, nulla res potest foras projicere: nisi sagittae tuae, quae solitudinem faciunt linguae meae. Lingua mea tumet, venenum habet intrinsecus: nisi sagittis tuis compuncta fuerit, et percussa, venenum non egreditur. Debemus exemplum dare: si quando in corpore vulnus est, et in ipso vulnere jam putridae carnes sunt, et cancer est, et fuferil pus intrinsecus; nisi apertum fuerit, non egreditur pus. Et si egressum fuerit pus, nisi cauteriatum fuerit, rursum renascitur pus. Vide igitur quid dicat: Quia tumet lingua mea, et pus habet, et venenum habet, primum sagittis vulnera, ut pus possit exire: deinde carbones tuos, et ignem pone, ut quidquid malum fuerit, excoquat, et desertum faciat. Vide igitur, quid dicat: Sagilloe potentis aculoe, cum carbonibus desolatoriis. Utinam detur nobis iste carbo desolatorius. Utinam et nos dicamus: Nonne cor nostrum erat ardens in via, cum aperiret nobis Scripturas (Luc. xxiv). Dicit et Isaias ad Babylonem: Habes carbones ignis, sedebis super eos: hi erunt tibi in adjutorium (Isai. xlvii).
The sharp arrows of the mighty, with desolating coals. The sharp arrows of the mighty. Now he responds to the Lord as to what he should ask for. Because the Lord had said: What shall be given to you, or what shall be added to you? Now this one says what he asks for: Lord, this I ask: the sharp arrows of the mighty, with desolating coals. See what he says. The poison of my tongue, and my detraction, no thing can cast out: unless your arrows, which make a solitude of my tongue. My tongue swells, it has poison within: unless it has been pierced and struck by your arrows, the poison does not come out. We ought to give an example: if at any time there is a wound in the body, and in that very wound there are already putrid flesh, and it is a cancer, and there is foul pus within; unless it has been opened, the pus does not come out. And if the pus has come out, unless it has been cauterized, the pus is born again. See therefore what he says: Because my tongue swells, and has pus, and has poison, first wound it with arrows, so that the pus can come out: then place your coals and fire, so that whatever is evil it may burn out and make desolate. See therefore what he says: The sharp arrows of the mighty, with desolating coals. Would that this desolating coal be given to us. Would that we too might say: Was not our heart burning on the way, when he opened the Scriptures to us (Luke 24). Isaiah also says to Babylon: You have coals of fire, you shall sit upon them: these shall be for your help (Isaiah 47).
Et Apostoli antequam acciperent Spiritum sanctum, habebant in lingua sua adhuc aliquos tumores huma– nos; propterea Spiritus sanctus descendit in specie ignis in linguas eorum (Act. ii), ut quidquid puris habebant, Spiritus sanctus decoqueret. Dicamus et aliud exemplum; Isaias cum vidisset Dominum se– dentem super thronum excelsum et elevatum, quid dicit? Vae mihi misero, quia compunctus sum, quia labia immunda habeo, et in medio populi immunda labia habentis, ego sedeo (Isai. vi). Vide, quid dicit? Vae mihi misero, quia immunda labia habeo. Et postea quid dicit? Quoniam labia habebat immunda, propterea mittitur unus de Seraphim, et tollit carbonem ignis de altari, et tangit labia ipsius et linguam, et purgat eam. Et quid dicit? Ecce hoc tetigi labia tua, et mundavi linguam tuam. Et statim quid dicit? Quem mittam ad populum istum, et quis ibit? O mysteria Scripturarum! quamdiu habebat linguam dolosam, et labia immunda, non ei dicitur, quem mittam, et quis ibit? mundantur labia ipsius, et statim mittitur ad loquendum. Ergo qui labia immunda habet, non potest prophetare, non potest mitti in obsequium Dei. Cum carbonibus desolatoriis. Utinam praestetur nobis et ista solitudo, ut quodcumque malum est, tollat de lingua nostra: ut ubi spinae sunt, ubi vepres sunt, ubi urticae sunt, mittatur ignis Domini, et universa exurat, et fiat solitudo Christi.
And the Apostles, before they received the Holy Spirit, still had certain human swellings in their tongue; therefore the Holy Spirit descended in the form of fire upon their tongues (Acts 2), so that whatever impure things they had, the Holy Spirit might burn away. Let us give another example as well. When Isaiah had seen the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, what does he say? Woe to me, miserable man, because I am pricked to the heart, because I have unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people that has unclean lips (Isa. 6). See what he says: Woe to me, miserable man, because I have unclean lips. And afterward what does he say? Because he had unclean lips, therefore one of the Seraphim is sent, and he takes a burning coal of fire from the altar, and touches his lips and his tongue, and cleanses it. And what does he say? Behold, this has touched your lips, and I have cleansed your tongue. And immediately what does he say? Whom shall I send to this people, and who will go? O the mysteries of the Scriptures! As long as he had a deceitful tongue and unclean lips, it is not said to him, Whom shall I send, and who will go? His lips are cleansed, and immediately he is sent to speak. Therefore he who has unclean lips cannot prophesy, cannot be sent into the service of God. With desolating coals. Would that this solitude too were granted to us, that whatever is evil it might take away from our tongue: so that where there are thorns, where there are briars, where there are nettles, the fire of the Lord may be sent, and burn up all things, and there may be made a solitude of Christ.
Heu mihi, quia incolatus meus prolongatus est! Hoc sanctus dicit, qui corpus non desiderat, qui terram non quaerit, qui coelum cupit. Heu mihit quia incola– tus meus prolongatus est. Quando aegrotamus; quando febricitamus: quando suspicamur pos mori; quando jaciamus brachia: quando timemus: quando commeatum petimus, istum versiculum non possumus dicere. Iste sanus erat, non agrotabat, et quid dicebat? Heu mihi! quia incolatus meus prolongatus est. Quamdiu enim sumus in tabernaculo corporis hujus, peregrinamur a Domino (II Cor. v). Heu mihi quia incolatus meus prolongatus est. Incolatus meus: Non dixit, habitatio mea, sed incolatus meus: in saeculo enim praesenti non habemus habitationem, sed peregrinationem. Unde et Apostolus dicit; Quasi advenae et peregrini. Advena ego sum, et peregrinus (I Petr. ii). Heu mihi, quia incolatus meus prolongatus est. Quo dicit, hoc est: Infelix ego quamdiu sum in isto corpore. Quis nostrum hoc potest dicere? Si octogenarii fuerimus, timemus mori: et si centenarii sumus, et aegrotamus, tamen commeatum et spatium postulamus. Hoc totum quare facimus? Quia peccatorum nos conscientia remordet. Scimus enim, quia si recedamus de corpore, non imus ad Christum, sed ad gehennam. Apostolus quid dicit? Cupio dissolvi, et esse cum Christo (Philipp. i). Da mihi securitatem: quia post mortem futurus sum cum Christo: etiam nunc mori cupio.
Woe is me, that my sojourning has been prolonged! The saint says this, he who does not long for the body, who does not seek the earth, who desires heaven. Woe is me, that my sojourning has been prolonged. When we are sick, when we are feverish, when we suspect that we are about to die, when we cast about our arms, when we are afraid, when we beg for provisions, we cannot say this verse. That man was healthy, he was not sick, and what did he say? Woe is me! that my sojourning has been prolonged. For as long as we are in the tabernacle of this body, we are absent from the Lord (2 Cor. 5). Woe is me, that my sojourning has been prolonged. My sojourning: he did not say my dwelling, but my sojourning; for in the present world we have not a dwelling, but a pilgrimage. Hence also the Apostle says: As strangers and pilgrims. I am a stranger and a pilgrim (1 Pet. 2). Woe is me, that my sojourning has been prolonged. What he means is this: Wretched am I, as long as I am in this body. Who among us can say this? If we are eighty years old, we fear to die; and if we are a hundred and are sick, we still ask for provisions and more time. Why do we do all this? Because the consciousness of our sins gnaws at us. For we know that if we depart from the body, we do not go to Christ, but to hell. What does the Apostle say? I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ (Phil. 1). Give me the assurance that after death I will be with Christ, and even now I desire to die.
Ergo iste quia sanctus est, propteraa dicit: Heu mihi, quia incolatus meus prolongatus est. Habitavi cum habitantibus Cedar. Cedar in lingus nostra inter– pretatur, tenebroe. Vide ergo quid dicat: In quo loce sumus: in quali mundo sumus? Habitavi cum habi– tantibus Cedar. Diu fui in tenebris: diu vixi in tenebris: diu fui in corpore mortis hujus. Multum incola fuit anima mea. Vide sanctus quid dicat: Ei si decem annos vixi, multum incola fuit anima mea. Quae enim beatitudo est, ad comparationem coelestium, esse in terrenis? Multa sunt quae dicantur: sed jam ad finem festinat oratio.
Cum his qui oderunt pacem, eram pacificus: cum loquebar illis, impugnabant me gratis. Infelices nos, linguam nostram continere non possumus non detrahere: si nos aliquis offenderit, quasi vultum ostendimus pacatum, caeterum cor habet venenum, Mo– nachi dicimur, et licet non simus quales esse debemus, tamen dicimur. Hora tertia oramus: hora sexta oramus: nona, lucernarium facimus: media nocte consurgimus: deinde gallicinio oramus. Videte quibus horis semper ad obsequium Dei suscitamur. Videte quid dicat, hora tertia, sexta, nona, lucer– narium, medio noctis, gallicinio, mane primo. Hoc totum facimus, et non consideramus, quia si inimicitias habet anima nosiracontra fratrem, sine causa oramus. In Evangelio enim quid dicitur?
Therefore, because this man is holy, he says: Woe is me, that my sojourning has been prolonged. I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Cedar. Cedar in our language is interpreted as darkness. See, then, what he says: In what place are we? In what kind of world are we? I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Cedar. For a long time I was in darkness; for a long time I lived in darkness; for a long time I was in this body of death. My soul has been much a sojourner. See what the saint says: Even if I lived ten years, my soul has been much a sojourner. For what blessedness is it, in comparison with heavenly things, to be among earthly things? There are many things that could be said, but already the discourse hastens to its end.
With those who hated peace, I was peaceful; when I spoke to them, they attacked me without cause. We unhappy ones cannot restrain our tongue from speaking ill; if someone has offended us, we show, as it were, a peaceful face, but otherwise the heart holds poison. We are called monks, and although we are not such as we ought to be, nevertheless we are called so. At the third hour we pray; at the sixth hour we pray; at the ninth we light the lamps; at midnight we rise; then at cockcrow we pray. See at what hours we are always roused to the service of God. See what he says: at the third hour, the sixth, the ninth, at the lighting of the lamps, at midnight, at cockcrow, at early morning. We do all this, and we do not consider that if our soul has enmities against a brother, we pray in vain. For what is said in the Gospel?
Si offers munus tuum ad altare, et recordatus fueris Ibi, quod aliquid fiater tuus habet adversus te (Matth. v). Videte quid dicat: Non dixit, si habes aliquid contra fratrem tuum; sed, si aliquid frater tuus habet contra te. Rem quasi injustam videtur nobis imponere; si enim dixisset, si habes aliquid contra fratrem tuum, in nostra erat potestate quod habebamus. Nunc vero quid dicit? Si recordatus fueris, quod aliquid habet frater tuus adversus te. Respondeo ei: Domine, non est hoc in mea potestate, si frater mens habet aliquid contra me, ego nihil habeo contra eum. Si ille habet contra me, ad me quid pertinet? Et quare non vis suscipere munus meum, et dicis, si offers munus tuum ad altare, et ibi recordatus fueris quod frater tuus aliquid habet contra te: dimitte munus tuum, et vade prius reconciliari fratri tuo, et sic offeras munus tuum? Ecce ego nihil habeo; si ille habet, ad me quid pertinet? Respondet tibi Dominus: Et quid dicit? Male serve, intelligo animum tuum: Nihil habes contra fratrem tuum? nihil habes? amas illum? Quare ergo salvari eum non vis? Si amas illum, vade, roga eum ne ille contra te habeat, ut salvari possit. Sed ostendis quia non diligis eum; quia salvari eum non vis; vade, roga eum, mitte te ei ad pedes ejus, diebus et noctibus deprecare, dicito: munus meum dimisi ad altare, propter te victimas offerre non possum. Ille compungitur, et quid dicit?
If you offer your gift at the altar, and you remember there that your brother has something against you (Matthew 5). See what he says: He did not say, if you have something against your brother; but, if your brother has something against you. He seems to impose on us a matter as if unjust; for if he had said, if you have something against your brother, what we had would be in our power. But now what does he say? If you remember that your brother has something against you. I answer him: Lord, this is not in my power, if my brother has something against me, I have nothing against him. If he has something against me, what does it concern me? And why do you not want to receive my gift, and say, if you offer your gift at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you: leave your gift, and go first to be reconciled to your brother, and so offer your gift? Behold, I have nothing; if he has, what does it concern me? The Lord answers you: And what does he say? Wicked servant, I understand your mind: You have nothing against your brother? Nothing? You love him? Why, then, do you not want him to be saved? If you love him, go, ask him not to have anything against you, so that he can be saved. But you show that you do not love him; because you do not want him to be saved; go, ask him, cast yourself at his feet, entreat him day and night, say: I have left my gift at the altar, for your sake I cannot offer sacrifices. He is stung, and what does he say?
Si iste qui me rogat, non offert munus suum, ego qui rogatas sum, et non ignosco, quid facturus sum? Propterea dicit et Apostolus, ut inimicis nostris manducare demus, et bibere (Rom. xii). Et quid dicit? Haec enim, inquit, faciens, carbones ignis congregas super caput ejus. Dicat aliquis, hoc inimici faciunt; ideo bene faciunt adversario, ut carbones ignis congregent super caput ejus. Sed aliud dicitur: si tibi ille male fecerit, et tu ei bene feceris, carbones ignis congregas super caput ejus, hoc est, inundas vitia ejus, et excoquis malitiam ejus, ut ad poenitentiam convertatur. Videte ergo quid dicat sanctus propheta. Cum his qui oderunt pacem, eram pacificus. Non dixit, qui volebant pacem: sed, qui oderunt pacem. Illi oderant pacem, et ego amabam eos qui oderant pacem. Ideo dicit et Apostolus: Quantum ex vobis est, cum omnibus hominibus pacem habentes (Rom. xii). Rogemus fratrem, Si inimicus noster est, rogemus et bis, et ter, et seplies. Tamen et si peccaverit frater meus, quotiens dimittam illi, septies? Dico tibi, non se– pties, sed septuagies septies, hoc est quadringenties nonagies (Matth. xviii). Si voluerimus computare de mane usque ad vesperam, tanta peccata facere non possumus, quadringenta nonaginta. Tamen quid dicit Dominus? Si septuagies septies peccaverit in die, et conversus rogaverit te, dimitte ei. Sed dicis, non ex toto corde convertitur, mentitur.
If this man who asks me does not offer his gift, and I who am asked do not forgive, what am I to do? Therefore the Apostle also says that we should give our enemies food and drink (Rom. 12). And what does he say? "For in doing this," he says, "you heap coals of fire upon his head." Let someone say that this is what enemies do; therefore they do well to their adversary, so that they heap coals of fire upon his head. But something else is meant: if that man has done you evil, and you have done him good, you heap coals of fire upon his head—that is, you overwhelm his vices and burn out his malice, so that he may be converted to repentance. See, then, what the holy prophet says: "With those who hated peace, I was peaceful." He did not say, "those who wanted peace," but "those who hated peace." They hated peace, and I loved those who hated peace. Therefore the Apostle also says: "As far as it depends on you, have peace with all men" (Rom. 12). Let us ask our brother—if he is our enemy, let us ask him both twice and three times and seven times. Yet "if my brother sins, how often shall I forgive him—seven times?" "I say to you, not seven times, but seventy times seven," that is, four hundred and ninety (Matt. 18). If we wished to count from morning until evening, we cannot commit so many sins—four hundred and ninety. Yet what does the Lord say? "If he sins against you seventy times seven in a day, and turning back asks you, forgive him." But you say, "He does not turn back with his whole heart; he is lying.
Nos dimittamus Deo judicium; rogat me, deprecatur, non dicit hoc vere, Deus novit: Ego vocem audio, Christus cor intelligit: ego suscipio quod audio, suscipiat Christus quod novit. Deinde vide mercedem tuam: mentitur ille, tu verum suscipis; illius interfectio est, tua salus est. Hoc totum quare locutus sum? Quoniam in monasteriis, et maxime in coenobiis, solent esse ista vitia. Non erubescimus, non dolemus: dimisimus matres, dimisimus patres, dimisimus fratres, dimisimus sorores, dimisimus uxores, dimisimus filios, dimisimus patrias nostras, dimisimus domos, dimisimus cellulas nostras, di– misimus cellas, in quibus nati sumus, et nutriti, et dimisimus servulos, cum quibus nutriti sumus: venimus in monasterium, et propterea haec dimisimus omnia, ut propter rem frivolam rixam cum fratribus faciamus in monasterio? Dimisimus possessionem, dimisimus patriam, dimisimus saeculum, et propter calamum rixam facimus in monasterio? Si verbum amarum audiero, ferre non possum: aestuat in corde meo; scribitur in medullis meis diebus decem aut quindecim, non potest tolli de corde meo, loquor fratri meo, qui mihi injuriam fecerat, et pacem labiis promitto, et corde venenum teneo. Frequenter et oculi et vultus, mentis indicium sunt. Quando cor nostrum vulneratum est contra aliquem, non possumus eum aspicere rectis oculis: vultus Ipse et oculi, quasi speculum anima? nostrae sunt.
We leave judgment to God. He asks me, he entreats me, he does not say "this is true, God knows it." I hear the voice; Christ understands the heart. I receive what I hear; let Christ receive what he knows. Then consider your reward: he lies, you receive the truth; his is death, yours is salvation. Why have I said all this? Because in monasteries, and especially in cenobia, these vices are customary. We do not blush, we do not grieve. We have left mothers, we have left fathers, we have left brothers, we have left sisters, we have left wives, we have left children, we have left our homelands, we have left our houses, we have left our little cells, we have left the cells in which we were born and raised, and we have left the servants with whom we were raised. We have come into the monastery, and for this we have left all these things, so that over a trifling matter we may make a quarrel with our brothers in the monastery? We have left possessions, we have left our homeland, we have left the world, and over a pen do we make a quarrel in the monastery? If I hear a bitter word, I cannot bear it; it seethes in my heart; it is written in my marrow for ten or fifteen days, it cannot be taken from my heart. I speak to my brother who has done me injury, and I promise peace with my lips, and I hold poison in my heart. Frequently both the eyes and the countenance are the indication of the mind. When our heart has been wounded against someone, we cannot look upon him with straight eyes; the countenance itself and the eyes are, as it were, the mirror of our soul.
Quid dicit Scriptura? Et non poterant loqui ei quidquam pacificum (Gen. xxxvii), non poterat lingua mentiri, quod cor intus non continebat. Hoc igitur dico, vobis ipsis et mihi, neque enim ad hoc praedico, ut quasi me securum faciam: occasio istius versiculi compulit nos ita dicere. Grande malum est lingua, Domine, libera animam meam a labiis iniquis et a lingua dolosa. Non ab alterius lingua, sed a mea lingua libera. Nihil mihi nocet lingua alterius: mea lingua mihi inimica est. Domine, libera animam meam: Me libera a lingua mea, lingua mea gladius est: interficit animam meam. Puto quod inimico meo noceam, et nescio quod meipsum occido. Pugnant adversarii, quando loquor illis, et ege pacifica loquor. Ilii habeant inimicalem animum, nos vero habeamus pacificalem animum, siquidem scriptum est et in Paralipomenon: Et egressi sunt, inquit, Alii Israel ad pugnandum mente pacifica. Aliquis vadit ad pugnam, et mentem pacificam habet: sed Christianorum arma, pax est: pax Christi, quas exsuperat omnem sensum (Philip. iv). Beati pacifici: non solum qui pacem faciunt inter rixantes, sed qui in seipsis pacem faciunt. Beati pacifici. Si alii rixam faciunt, et ego medius intercedam, et faciam inter eos pacem, et ipse non habeam pacem in mente mea: quid mihi prodest quod illi pacem fecerunt? Beati pacifici, quoniam filii Dei vocabuntur (Matth. v).
What does Scripture say? And they could not speak to him anything peaceful (Gen 37); the tongue could not lie about what the heart did not hold within. This, then, I say to you yourselves and to myself—for I do not preach this in order to make myself, as it were, secure; the occasion of this little verse has compelled us to speak thus. The tongue is a great evil, O Lord; free my soul from unjust lips and from a deceitful tongue. Not from another's tongue, but from my own tongue set me free. Another's tongue harms me nothing; my own tongue is my enemy. O Lord, free my soul: free me from my tongue; my tongue is a sword—it kills my soul. I think that I am harming my enemy, and I do not know that I am killing myself. Adversaries fight when I speak to them, and I speak peaceful things. Let them have a hostile mind; let us have a peaceful mind, since it is written also in Paralipomenon: And they went out, it says, the others of Israel to fight with a peaceful mind. Someone goes to battle and has a peaceful mind; but the weapons of Christians are peace—the peace of Christ, which surpasses all understanding (Phil 4). Blessed are the peacemakers: not only those who make peace among quarreling parties, but those who make peace within themselves. Blessed are the peacemakers. If others quarrel, and I step in between and make peace among them, and I myself do not have peace in my mind, what does it profit me that they have made peace? Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God (Mt 5).
Beati pacifici qui loquuntur his qui oderant pacem, pacifica. Beati pacifici. Christus pax est. Si enim Salomon interpretatur, Christus: Salomon autem interpretatur, pacificius: ergo Christus Deus noster, pax est. Vadens ad coelum, nobis vexillum dimisit, dicens: Pacem meam do vobis, pacem meam relinquo vobis (Joan. xiv). Servemus quod Christus donavit: habeamus pacem: Servemus pacem, et illa nos servat in Christo Jesu: cui sit gloria in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Blessed are the peacemakers who speak peaceful things to those who hated peace. Blessed are the peacemakers. Christ is peace. For if Solomon is interpreted as Christ—and Solomon is interpreted as peacemaker—then Christ our God is peace. Going to heaven, he left us a standard, saying: My peace I give you, my peace I leave you (John 14). Let us keep what Christ has given; let us have peace. Let us keep peace, and it keeps us in Christ Jesus, to whom be glory for ages of ages. Amen.