{"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/0":{"o":"Dum sacris mentem placet exercere loquelis, Cœlestique animum pascere pane juvat: Quosdam, ceu prato, libuit decerpere flores, Distinctisque ipsos texere versiculis. Ut proprias canerent epigrammata singula causas, Et pars quæque suo congrueret titulo. Nec nostræ hoc opis est, sed ab illo sumitur hic ros, Qui siccam rupem fundere jussit aquas. Ut quod in affectum cordis, pietate magistra, Venerit, hoc promat carmine læta fides.","t":"[Preface]\nWhile it pleases me to exercise the mind with sacred words,\nand it delights me to feed the soul with heavenly bread,\nI have chosen to pluck certain flowers, as from a meadow,\nand to weave them into separate little verses,\nso that each epigram might sing its own theme,\nand each part fit its own title.\nNor is this of our own strength; this dew is taken from him\nwho bade the dry rock pour out waters,\nso that what has come into the heart's affection, with piety as teacher,\nglad faith may bring out in song.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> pref. (PL 51:499; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/0)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/1":{"o":"Innocentia vera est, quæ nec sibi nec alteri nocet. Quoniam qui diligit iniquitatem, odit animam suam. Et nemo non prius in se, quam in alterum peccat. Perfecte bonus est, et vero dicitur insons. Nec sibi, nec cuiquam quod noceat faciens. Nam quicumque alium molitur lædere, primum Ipsum se jaculo percutiet proprio. Et cum forte animum non sit subitura facultas, Non dubium in cordis viscere vulnus habet. Nec fugit infecti sceleris mens prava reatum, Cui nimis hoc solum quod voluit nocuit.","t":"[Sentence] True innocence is that which harms neither itself nor another. For he who loves iniquity hates his own soul. And no one sins against another without first sinning against himself.\n\n[Epigram]\nHe is perfectly good, and truly called innocent,\nwho does nothing that harms himself or anyone.\nFor whoever schemes to hurt another\nwill first strike himself with his own dart.\nAnd even if the means to carry out his intent should not come,\nhe surely bears a wound in the depths of his heart.\nNor does the depraved mind escape the guilt of a crime not done:\nthis alone, that it willed it, has done it great harm.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 1 (PL 51:499; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/1)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/10":{"o":"Sicut corpori noxium est corpoream escam non posse percipere, ita animæ periculosum est spiritales delicias fastidire. Ut perdunt propriam mortalia corpora vitam, Si nequeunt escas sumere corporeas: Sic animae, nisi deliciis rationis alantur. Dum Verbi æterni pane carent, pereunt. Nam quid erit quod dira procul fastidia pellat, Cum se ipso refugit mens saturare Deo?","t":"[Sentence] As it is harmful to the body to be unable to take bodily food, so it is dangerous for the soul to loathe spiritual delights.\n\n[Epigram]\nAs mortal bodies lose their own life\nif they cannot take bodily food,\nso souls, unless they are fed on the delights of reason,\nperish while they lack the bread of the eternal Word.\nFor what will drive dire loathing far away\nwhen the mind shrinks from filling itself with God himself?","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 10 (PL 51:501; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/10)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/100":{"o":"Nulli irascenti ira sua videtur injusta: unde ab omni indignatione cito redeundum est ad mansuetudinis lenitatem. Nam pertinax motus facile in ejus odium transit, cui non celeriter ignoscitur. Nemo suae mentis motus non æstimat æquos, Quodque volunt homines, se bene velle putant. Unde animus celeri pace est revocandus ab ira: Ne robur saevis tempora dent odiis. Offensas sibimet parcentia corda remittant, Nam nemo est qui non indigeat venia: Quam nostri memores mundi inter vana vicissim, Omnibus in causis, et damus, et petimus.","t":"[Sentence] To no angry man does his anger seem unjust; so from all indignation one must quickly return to the gentleness of meekness. For a persistent emotion easily passes into hatred of the one who is not quickly forgiven.\n\n[Epigram]\nNo one fails to judge the motions of his own mind fair,\nand whatever men want, they think they want rightly.\nSo the mind must be called back from anger by a quick peace,\nlest time give strength to savage hatreds.\nLet sparing hearts forgive offenses against themselves,\nfor there is no one who does not need pardon;\nmindful of ourselves amid the vanities of the world,\nin every cause we both give it and ask for it in turn.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 100 (PL 51:529; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/100)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/101":{"o":"Cultor justitiæ, divinae et pacis amator, Quem vocat ad summum vita beata bonum: Scandere constanter dextros adnitere calles, Despiciens lævæ noxia plana viae. Tutius est duros mundi tolerare labores, Infestique hostis praelia sæva pati, Quam victum officiis animum submittere blandis, Captaque servili subdere colla jugo. Tempore in occiduo non longi est usus honoris, Et celeri lapsu gaudia falsa fluunt. Finem igitur proprii sapiens speculabitur ævi, Et via qua currit, quo ferat aspiciet. Nam mundo innexis pars est cum principe mundi; At servis Christi gloria Christus erit. Corporeos inter sensus, moribundaque membra Multa animus patitur carnis ab hospitio: Quae vitæ, de qua vivit, contraria quaerens, Legem vult mentis solvere lege sua. Sed prudens praesul famulam frenare rebellem Æterni Regis discat ab imperio; Et verum accipiens supero de lumine lumen, Noctem peccati cordis ab aede fuget. Nam quia cuncta Deus bona condidit, ipsaque nostri Exsilii regio est pulchra decore suo; Auditus, visus, gustus, cunIcUlis, odorque, Praeberi gaudent undique quod placeat. Fitque nocens homini praesentis temporis usus, Si captum blandis inferiora ligant. Mens igitur sapiens superas enitere ad arces, Et summis fieri suesce beata bonis, Delicias jam nunc promissi concipe regni, Virtute atque fide quod cupis esse tene. Neve ad spem dubiam frustra te currere credas; Naturae in Christo prospice liba tuae. A quo susceptum si te non ambigis esse, Totus homo in capitis corpore semper eris. Tantum ut jussa velis nutu observare docentis, Quis quod ait verbo, praevenit auxilio. In Deitate gradus, mensura et tempora non sunt: Et, quod idem est, majus non habet atque minus. Corporeae longe moles formaeque recedant, Virtus summa caret finibus et spatiis: Quod Pater, hoc simul est Verbum Patris, hoc utriusque Spiritus. Hic Deus est unus, et una fides: Per quam verorum spes non incerta bonorum Sublimem ignito scandit amore viam. Et prægustata superi dulcedine roris, Doctrinis pasci gaudet apostolicis. Tu qui ergo indignas non vis incurrere curas; Innecti vanis occiduisque cave. Mortalis vim brevitas non multa requirit, Paucorum exigui temporis usus eget. Esse volens, gaudere optans, scire abdita quærens, Ut te non teneant iulia, summa pete. Delectare Deo rege, in coelestibus esto, Et quæ spe sequeris, credita amore tene. Nulla in te maneant hominis vestigia primi, Nec formam veteris gestet imago novi. Exsulta agnoscens te Verbi in carne renatum, Cujus si pars es, pars tua Christus erit. Qui, ne damnandi legeres mala gaudia mundi, Promissum ad regnum se tibi fecit iter.","t":"[Epigram]\nTiller of justice and lover of divine peace,\nwhom the blessed life calls to the highest good,\nstrive steadily to climb the paths on the right,\nscorning the harmful plains of the left-hand road.\nIt is safer to endure the hard labors of the world\nand suffer the savage battles of the hostile enemy\nthan to submit the conquered mind to flattering favors\nand put the captive neck under the servile yoke.\nIn this setting time the enjoyment of honor is not long,\nand false joys flow away in a swift fall.\nSo the wise man will look to the end of his own life,\nand see where the way on which he runs is carrying him.\nFor those entangled in the world have their part with the prince of the world;\nbut for the servants of Christ, Christ will be their glory.\n\n[Epigram 102: On chastising the desires of the flesh]\n\nAmid the bodily senses and the dying limbs\nthe soul suffers much from its lodging in the flesh,\nwhich, seeking what is contrary to the life by which it lives,\nwants to undo the law of the mind by its own law.\nBut let the prudent ruler learn from the command of the eternal King\nto bridle the rebellious handmaid,\nand, receiving true light from the light above,\nlet it drive the night of sin from the dwelling of the heart.\nFor since God made all things good, and the very region\nof our exile is fair in its own beauty,\nhearing, sight, taste, touch, and smell\nare glad to be offered what pleases them on every side;\nand the use of this present time becomes harmful to man\nif lower things bind him, captive, with their charms.\nSo, wise mind, strive up to the citadels above,\nand grow used to being made blessed by the highest goods.\nConceive already now the delights of the promised kingdom;\nhold fast by virtue and faith what you desire to be.\nAnd do not think you run in vain toward an uncertain hope:\nlook in Christ at the firstfruits of your own nature.\nIf you do not doubt that you have been taken up by him,\nyou will always be a whole man in the body of the head;\nonly be willing to keep the commands at the nod of the teacher,\nwho forestalls with his help what he says with his word.\n\n[Epigram 103: On the height of faith, hope, and love]\n\nIn the Godhead there are no degrees, measures, or times,\nand what is the same has no greater and less.\nLet bodily masses and shapes withdraw far off:\nthe highest power is without bounds and spaces.\nWhat the Father is, that at once is the Word of the Father, and that\nthe Spirit of both. Here is one God, and one faith,\nthrough which the hope of true goods, not uncertain,\nclimbs the lofty way with fiery love,\nand, having foretasted the sweetness of the dew from above,\nrejoices to be fed on the apostles' teaching.\nYou, then, who do not wish to fall into unworthy cares,\nbeware of being entangled in vain and perishing things.\nMortal brevity does not require much strength;\nthe use of a short time needs few things.\nWishing to be, longing to rejoice, seeking to know hidden things,\nseek the highest, so that the lowest do not hold you.\nDelight in God as king; be in heavenly things;\nand hold fast by love what, believing, you pursue in hope.\nLet no traces of the first man remain in you,\nnor let the image of the new man bear the form of the old.\nExult, recognizing that you are reborn in the flesh of the Word:\nif you are part of him, Christ will be your portion.\nHe, lest you choose the evil joys of a damnable world,\nmade himself your way to the promised kingdom.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 101 (PL 51:529–531; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/101)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/104":{"o":"Quod Pater cum Christo facit, Christus facit; et quod Christus cum Patre facit, Pater facit; nec seorsum aliquid agit inseparabilis charitas, majestas, potestas. Sicut ipse Dominus dicit, Ego et Pater unum sumus. Cum Pater in Verbo sit semper, et in Patre Verbum, Sitque unus Verbi Spiritus atque Patris; Sic de personis tribus est tibi non dubitandum, Unum, ut docta fides, confiteare Deum. Corde Patris genitum creat, et regit omnia Verbum, Nec tamen est aliquid quod sine Patre gerat. Unus enim amborum motus, ratio una volendi est, Par virtus, idem spiritus, unus amor.","t":"[Sentence] What the Father does with Christ, Christ does; and what Christ does with the Father, the Father does; nor does the inseparable love, majesty, and power do anything separately, as the Lord himself says, \"I and the Father are one.\"\n\n[Epigram]\nSince the Father is always in the Word, and the Word in the Father,\nand the Spirit of the Word and of the Father is one,\nyou must not be in doubt about the three persons,\nbut, as learned faith does, confess one God.\nThe Word begotten from the Father's heart creates and rules all things,\nand yet there is nothing he does without the Father.\nFor the two have one motion, one reason for willing,\nequal power, the same spirit, one love.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 104 (PL 51:531; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/104)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/105":{"o":"Dei Filius Deus vitam habere in semetipso, sicut habet Pater, non participando adeptus est, sed nascendo. Vitam enim genuit Pater vita; nec differt in aliquo essentia gignentis et geniti, cum sic ex Patre sit Filius, ut consempiternæ æqualitatis, non una quidem persona, sed una sit Deitas. Sic Deus est magnus, de se valet, et manet in se, Cui summum et proprium est, semper id esse quod est. Splendet enim verum vero de lumine lumen, Ut Genitum agnoscens noverit Ingenitum. Una trium Deitas, una est essentia cunctis. Idem est et Verbi Spiritus atque Patris. Nullum opus abjunctum, nulla est non aequa potestas, In cunctis unum, non tria, principium. Nemo fidelium, quamvis multum profecerit, dicat, Sufficit mihi. Qui enim dixerit, remansit, et hæsit in via ante finem, qui non perseverabit usque in finem. Cum pia mens in laude Dei superata laboras, Gaude, quod tantum te bene vincit opus. Teque aliquid superi cognosce hausisse vigoris, Si sibi non satis est, quod cupis atque sapis, Quære bonum sine fine bonum, et persiste reperto: Quærere non habeant talia vota modum. Nam qui se nullo jam munere credit egere, Crescere non cupiens, perdit adepta tepens.","t":"[Sentence] The Son of God, being God, obtained to have life in himself, as the Father has, not by participation but by being born. For the Father, who is Life, begot Life; and the essence of the one who begets and of the one begotten differs in nothing, since the Son is from the Father in such a way that, being of coeternal equality, they are not indeed one person, but one Godhead.\n\n[Epigram]\nSo God is great, strong of himself, and abides in himself,\nwhose highest and proper being is always to be what he is.\nFor true light shines from true light,\nso that one who recognizes the Begotten may know the Unbegotten.\nThe Godhead of the three is one; there is one essence for all;\nthe same is the Spirit of the Word and of the Father.\nNo work is separate, no power is unequal;\nin all there is one beginning, not three.\n\n[Epigram 106: On seeking God with perseverance]\n\n[Sentence] Let none of the faithful, however far he has advanced, say, \"It is enough for me.\" For whoever says it has stopped and stuck fast on the road before the end, as one who will not persevere to the end.\n\n[Epigram]\nWhen the pious mind labors, overwhelmed, in the praise of God,\nrejoice that so great a work overcomes you so well;\nand know that you have drawn something of the strength from above\nif what you desire and know is not enough for itself.\nSeek the good, the good without end, and when you have found it, hold fast:\nlet such longings set no limit to their seeking.\nFor he who believes he now needs no further gift,\nnot wishing to grow, grows lukewarm and loses what he has gained.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 105 (PL 51:531; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/105)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/11":{"o":"Numquam multi sunt qui ad non esse tendunt. Quid enim tam obnoxium paucitati, quam quod est debitum perditioni? Esse Deo verum et proprium est, cui quisquis adhæret, Æterni in regni lumine semper erit. Nam qui justitiam spernunt, non esse laborant, Inque nihil tendunt, et nihil esse queunt. Non ergo illorum poterit pars multa videri, Quorum in sanctorum nullus erit numero. Sed vere magni, et multi sine fine manebunt, In Christo quorum gloria perpes erit.","t":"[Sentence] Those who tend toward not-being are never many. For what is so liable to fewness as what is owed to perdition?\n\n[Epigram]\nTo be belongs truly and properly to God; whoever clings to him\nwill be forever in the light of the eternal kingdom.\nFor those who spurn justice labor toward not-being,\nand tend toward nothing, and can be nothing.\nSo their part can never seem many,\nnone of whom will be in the number of the saints.\nBut those truly great and many will remain without end\nwhose glory in Christ will be everlasting.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 11 (PL 51:501; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/11)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/12":{"o":"Non concupiscit Deus pœnam reorum, tamquam saturari desiderans ultione. Sed quod justum est cum tranquillitate decernit, et recta voluntate disponit, ut etiam mali non sint inordinati. Nulla Deum oblectat miserorum poena reorum, Nec scelerum vindex ira movet placidum. Omnipotentis enim recta et tranquilla voluntas, Quidquid decerni convenit, hoc statuit. Ut nullis pateat Regis censura querelis, Cum juste accipiet debitus ordo malos.","t":"[Sentence] God does not long for the punishment of the guilty as though he desired to be sated with vengeance. But he decrees what is just with calm, and arranges it by his right will, so that even the wicked are not out of order.\n\n[Epigram]\nNo punishment of wretched guilty men delights God,\nnor does wrath, the avenger of crimes, disturb his calm.\nFor the right and tranquil will of the Almighty\nestablishes whatever it is fitting to decree,\nso that the King's sentence lies open to no complaints,\nsince the order they deserve will justly take in the wicked.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 12 (PL 51:501; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/12)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/13":{"o":"Bonum intellectum habet qui quod faciendum recte intelligit fara. Alioquin talis est sine opere intelligentia, qualis est sine timore sapientia, cum sit scriptum, Initium sapientiæ timor Domini. Scriptorum Domini plene videt omne profundum, Implet qui factis cognita verba piis. Nam nimis a sensu doctrinæ devius errat, Si quæ curavit scire, fugit facere.","t":"[Sentence] He has good understanding who rightly understands what is to be done and does it. Otherwise he is like understanding without work, as wisdom is without fear, since it is written, \"The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.\"\n\n[Epigram]\nHe sees fully all the depth of the Lord's Scriptures\nwho fulfills in pious deeds the words he has learned.\nFor he strays far from the sense of the teaching\nif he shuns doing what he took care to know.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 13 (PL 51:501–503; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/13)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/14":{"o":"Habet jam in hac vita requiem suam anima quæ de morte infidelitatis exempta est, et non ab operibus justitiæ, sed ab iniquitatis se abstinet actione, ut vivens Deo et mundo mortua, in humilitatis et mansuetudinis placida tranquillitate requiescat. Est et in hac vita multis requies data sanctis, Quorum animas mundus non tenet occiduus: Quos desideriis nullis peritura fatigant, Et quibus omne bonum est Christus, et omnis honor. Utuntur terra ut coelo, fugientia temnunt, Quod credunt, quod amant, quod cupiunt, Deus est.","t":"[Sentence] The soul that has been freed from the death of unbelief already has its rest in this life; it rests not from the works of justice but from the doing of iniquity, so that, living to God and dead to the world, it may rest in the calm tranquility of humility and meekness.\n\n[Epigram]\nEven in this life rest is given to many saints,\nwhose souls the setting world does not hold;\nwhom no desires for perishing things weary,\nand for whom Christ is every good and every honor.\nThey use the earth as heaven, they scorn what passes;\nwhat they believe, what they love, what they long for, is God.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 14 (PL 51:503; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/14)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/15":{"o":"Quisquis bene cogitat quid Deo voveat, et quæ vota persolvat, seipsum voveat, et reddat. Hoc exigitur, hoc debetur: imago Cæsaris reddatur Cæsari, imago Dei reddatur Deo. Sed sicut videndum est quid et cui offeras, ita etiam considerandum est ubi offeras. Quia veri sacrificii extra catholicam Ecclesiam locus non est. Quid voveat Domino quisquis bene corde volutat, Ipsum se totum præparet ac voveat, Major enim offerri nequit hostia mentis in ara, Nec Christi ex templo suavior exit odor, Quam cum homo castorum profert libamina morum, Et de virtutum munere sacra litat. Sic tamen, ut norit qui reddit vota Tonanti Unum divinis coitibus esse locum, In toto mundo quem vera Ecclesia praebet, Et sine quo nullum justitiæ est meritum.","t":"[Sentence] Whoever thinks carefully about what he should vow to God and what vows he should pay, let him vow himself and render himself. This is demanded, this is owed: let the image of Caesar be rendered to Caesar, the image of God to God. But just as one must see what and to whom you offer, so one must also consider where you offer. For there is no place of true sacrifice outside the Catholic Church.\n\n[Epigram]\nWhoever turns over carefully in his heart what to vow to the Lord,\nlet him make ready his whole self and vow it.\nFor no greater victim can be offered on the altar of the mind,\nnor does a sweeter odor go up to Christ from the temple,\nthan when a man brings the libations of chaste conduct\nand offers holy sacrifice from the gift of the virtues;\nyet so that he who pays his vows to the Thunderer knows\nthat there is one place for the divine assemblies,\nwhich the true Church provides in the whole world,\nand without which there is no merit of justice.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 15 (PL 51:503; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/15)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/16":{"o":"Duae sunt retributiones justitiæ, cum aut bona pro bonis, aut mala redduntur pro malis. Tertia est retributio gratiæ, cum per regenerationem remittuntur mala, et retribuuntur bona. Atque ita manifestatur quia universae viae Domini misericordia et veritas. Illam autem impiorum retributionem, qua pro bonis mala restituunt, Deus nescit; qui nisi retribueret bona pro malis, non essent quibus retribueret bona pro bonis. Justitiæ merces gemina est, vel cum bona rectis, Vel pravis digne cum dura restituit. Salvatrix autem cunctorum gratia Christi, Non pensans meritum, diluit omne malum. Credentesque omnes renovans baptismate sacro, Dat bona, quæ propter det meliora bonis.","t":"[Sentence] There are two retributions of justice: when either good is returned for good, or evil for evil. A third is the retribution of grace, when through regeneration evils are forgiven and goods are given in return. And so it is shown that all the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth. But that retribution of the impious by which they return evil for good, God does not know; for unless he returned good for evil, there would be none to whom he could return good for good.\n\n[Epigram]\nThe reward of justice is twofold: either when it returns good things\nto the upright, or, deservedly, evil things to the wicked.\nBut the grace of Christ, savior of all,\nnot weighing merit, washes away all evil;\nand renewing all believers by holy baptism,\nit gives good things, for the sake of which it may give better things to the good.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 16 (PL 51:503; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/16)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/17":{"o":"Omnis qui ad supernam pertinet civitatem, peregrinus est mundi: et dum temporali utitur vita, in patria vivit aliena, ubi inter multa illecebrosa et multa fallacia Deum nosse et amare paucorum est quibus fit præceptum Domini lucidum illuminans oculos, ut nec in Dei, nec in proximi charitate fallantur. Coelestem ad patriam Christo redimente vocatus, Vitam labentis temporis hospes agit. Dumque ad promissam requiem non per sua tendit, Mundanæ patitur multa pericla viæ, Quae nunc obsessa adversis, nunc plena secundis Aut frangit trepidos, obligat aut dubios. Inter quos laqueos currentem ad gaudia vera Non capiet mundus, cui via Christus erit.","t":"[Sentence] Everyone who belongs to the heavenly city is a pilgrim in the world; and while he makes use of temporal life, he lives in a foreign country, where, among many allurements and many deceptions, to know and love God belongs to few: to those for whom the commandment of the Lord becomes bright, enlightening the eyes, so that they are deceived neither in the love of God nor in the love of neighbor.\n\n[Epigram]\nCalled to the heavenly homeland by Christ's redeeming,\nthe guest lives out a life of gliding time.\nAnd while he travels toward the promised rest, not by his own strength,\nhe suffers many dangers on the world's road,\nwhich, now beset with adversity, now full of prosperity,\neither breaks the fearful or snares the wavering.\nAmid these snares the world will not catch\nthe one running to true joys, whose way will be Christ.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 17 (PL 51:503; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/17)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/18":{"o":"Nemo est cujus animam corruptibile corpus et inhabitatio terrena non aggravet. Sed annitendum est ut cupiditates carnis spiritus vigore superentur; et interior homo, qui semper sibi sentit resisti semper se divino exspectet auxilio adjuvari. Nulla anima est, quæ non mortali carne gravetur, Nec de corporea conditione gemat. Sed confirmare invalidam, et frenare rebellem, Legitimum et proprium est mentis opus dominæ. Quæ jus naturæ, ut moderamine temperet aequo, Et subdat sceptris noxia quæque suis, A Domino auxilium, et vires petat, ut valeat se Vincere, nec sensus incitet ipsa suos. Nam nullos famulæ poterit compescere motus, Si fuerit Christi semper amore potens.","t":"[Sentence] There is no one whose soul the corruptible body and the earthly dwelling do not weigh down. But one must strive that the desires of the flesh be overcome by the vigor of the spirit; and the inner man, who always feels himself resisted, must always expect to be helped by divine aid.\n\n[Epigram]\nThere is no soul that is not weighed down by mortal flesh\nand does not groan over its bodily condition.\nBut to strengthen the weak and curb the rebellious\nis the lawful and proper work of the mind as mistress.\nThat it may temper the right of nature with fair control\nand subject every harmful thing to its scepter,\nlet it seek help and strength from the Lord, so that it may be able\nto conquer itself, and not itself stir up its senses.\nFor it will be able to restrain no motions of its servant\nunless it is always made strong by the love of Christ.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 18 (PL 51:503–505; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/18)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/19":{"o":"Angusta est via quae ducit ad vitam Et tamen per ipsam, nisi dilato corde, non curritur, quia iter virtutum, quo gradiuntur pauperes Christi, amplum est fidelium spei, etiam si arctum sit infidelium vanitati. Arcta via est verae quae ducit ad atria vitæ, Nec recipit carnis gaudia mentis iter. Amplis incedit spatiis terrena voluptas, Angusto virtus limite celsa petit. Et tamen hi calles, quos mundi vana pavescunt, Quædam magnificis æquora sunt animis. Difficilisque nimis per dura, per ardua gressus, Commendat fidei quod tolerare juvat.","t":"[Sentence] Narrow is the way that leads to life; and yet it is not run except with an enlarged heart, because the road of the virtues, on which the poor of Christ walk, is wide for the hope of the faithful, even if it is narrow for the vanity of unbelievers.\n\n[Epigram]\nNarrow is the way that leads to the halls of true life,\nand the mind's road does not admit the joys of the flesh.\nEarthly pleasure walks in wide spaces;\nvirtue seeks the heights by a narrow path.\nAnd yet these paths, at which the vanities of the world take fright,\nare as open plains to great souls;\nand the step, very hard over rough and steep ground,\ncommends to faith what it delights to endure.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 19 (PL 51:505; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/19)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/2":{"o":"Sic diligendi sunt homines, ut eorum non diligantur errores, quia aliud est amare quod facti sunt, et aliud est odisse quod faciunt. Naturæ quisquis propriæ non spernis honorem, In quocumque hominum quæ tua noscis ama. Sic tamen, ut pravos vitet concordia mores, Nullaque sint pacis foedera cum vitiis. Namque quod artificis summi fecit manus, unum est: Quæque auctore bono condita sunt, bona sunt. Divinum in nullo figmentum despiciatur, Sola malis studiis addita non placeant.","t":"[Sentence] Men are to be loved in such a way that their errors are not loved; for it is one thing to love what they were made, and another to hate what they do.\n\n[Epigram]\nYou who do not scorn the honor of your own nature,\nlove in every man what you know to be your own;\nyet so that concord shuns depraved ways,\nand there are no treaties of peace with vices.\nFor what the hand of the highest craftsman made is one,\nand whatever was founded by a good author is good.\nLet God's handiwork be despised in no one;\nlet only what bad pursuits have added displease.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 2 (PL 51:499; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/2)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/20":{"o":"Hoc affectu et hoc desiderio colendus est Deus, ut sui cultus ipse sit merces. Nam qui Deum ideo colit, ut aliud quam ipsum promereatur, non Deum colit, sed id quod assequi concupiscit. Hac desiderii Deus est pietate colendus, Justitiae ut merces tota sit ipse Deus. Nam sperans alio se munere posse beari, Non quem poscit amat, sed quod habere cupit.","t":"[Sentence] God is to be worshipped with this affection and this desire: that he himself is the reward of his worship. For he who worships God in order to earn something other than God himself does not worship God, but what he longs to obtain.\n\n[Epigram]\nGod is to be worshipped with this devotion of desire,\nthat God himself be the whole reward of justice.\nFor one who hopes that he can be made blessed by some other gift\nloves not him whom he asks, but what he wants to have.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 20 (PL 51:505; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/20)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/21":{"o":"De occultis cordis alieni temere judicare peccatum est; et eum cujus non videntur opera nisi bona, ex suspicione reprehendere iniquum est. Cum eorum quæ homini sunt incognita solus Deus judex sit justus, qui et inspector est verus. Culpare in quoquam quæ non sunt nota, malignum est, Praesertim si quae cognita sunt bona sunt. Non pateant faciles sævis rumoribus aures. Quae nescire juvat, credere non libeat. Linquantur secreta Deo, qui si quid opertum est Inspicit, et nullis indiget indiciis.","t":"[Sentence] To judge rashly of the secrets of another's heart is a sin; and to blame on suspicion one whose works are seen to be only good is unjust. For of the things unknown to man God alone is the just judge, who is also the true inspector.\n\n[Epigram]\nTo blame in anyone what is not known is malicious,\nespecially if what is known is good.\nLet ears not lie easily open to savage rumors;\nwhat it is good not to know, let it not please us to believe.\nLet secrets be left to God, who sees whatever is hidden\nand needs no evidence.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 21 (PL 51:505; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/21)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/22":{"o":"Divini est muneris, cum et recta cogitamus, et pedes nostros a falsitate et injustitia continemus. Quoties enim bona agimus, Deus in nobis atque nobiscum ut operemur operatur. Non dubie nostri Deus est et rector, et auctor, Cum toto affectu quae bona sunt gerimus. Ex operum specie clarebunt intima cordis, Quisve hominis mentem spiritus intus alit. Sanctus enim sanctos facit, et de lumine lumen Exoritur: nullus fit bonus absque Bono.","t":"[Sentence] It is of the divine gift when we both think rightly and keep our feet from falsehood and injustice. For whenever we do good, God works in us and with us that we may work.\n\n[Epigram]\nWithout doubt God is our ruler and author\nwhen we do what is good with our whole affection.\nFrom the look of the works the depths of the heart will shine out,\nand which spirit feeds a man's mind within.\nFor the Holy One makes holy ones, and light rises\nfrom light: no one becomes good without the Good.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 22 (PL 51:505; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/22)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/23":{"o":"Justo judicio Dei datur plerumque peccatoribus optata potestas qua sanctos ipsius persequantur, ut qui Spiritu Dei juvantur et aguntur, fiant per laborum exercitia clariores. Quod plerumque mali in sanctos sævire sinuntur, Quodque bonis pravi sæpe nocere queunt; Absque Dei nutu non fit, qui corda suorum, His etiam bellis glorificanda probat. Crescunt virtutum palmæ, crescuntque coronae, Mutantur mundi praelia pace Dei.","t":"[Sentence] By God's just judgment the power they desire is often given to sinners, by which they persecute his saints, so that those who are helped and led by the Spirit of God may become more glorious through the exercise of labors.\n\n[Epigram]\nThat the wicked are often allowed to rage against the saints,\nand that the depraved can often harm the good,\ndoes not happen without the nod of God, who tests the hearts of his own,\nto be glorified even by these wars.\nThe palms of the virtues grow, and the crowns grow,\nand the battles of the world are changed into the peace of God.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 23 (PL 51:505; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/23)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/24":{"o":"Non est vera scientia boni, nisi ad hoc comprehendatur, ut agatur. Non enim utiliter meditatur legem Dei, qui laborat ut memoria teneat quod actione non implet. Scit legem, docteque tenet jussa Omnipotentis, Qui quod novit agens, diligit id quod agit. Non satis est Domini præceptum volvere lingua: Is meminit legis, qui memor est operis.","t":"[Sentence] There is no true knowledge of the good unless it is grasped in order to be done. For he does not meditate profitably on the law of God who labors to hold in memory what he does not fulfill in action.\n\n[Epigram]\nHe knows the law and holds the commands of the Almighty learnedly\nwho, doing what he knows, loves what he does.\nIt is not enough to roll the Lord's command on the tongue:\nhe remembers the law who is mindful of the work.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 24 (PL 51:505; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/24)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/25":{"o":"Qui legem Dei diligit, probat se in omnibus iniquis id quod contra legem est odisse, non homines. Legem spernentes odit cum legis amator, Non homines odit, sed reprobat quod agunt.","t":"[Sentence] He who loves the law of God proves that in all the wicked he hates what is against the law, not the men.\n\n[Epigram]\nWhen the lover of the law hates those who spurn the law,\nhe does not hate the men, but rejects what they do.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 25 (PL 51:505; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/25)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/26":{"o":"Mandata Dei scrutari nisi quieta mens non potest. Ut ergo religiosum exerceatur studium, abigenda sunt jurgia malignorum. Scrutari legem possunt utcumque quieti, Si mundi a strepitu libera corda vacent. Ut mens ergo piis studiis intenta juvetur, Praelia divinus carnea vincat amor. Nam templum Domini per sacra silentia crescit, Et tacite struitur non ruitura domus.","t":"[Sentence] Only a quiet mind can search the commandments of God. So, that religious study may be practiced, the quarrels of the malicious must be driven off.\n\n[Epigram]\nThe quiet can search the law as fully as may be,\nif their hearts are free and at leisure from the din of the world.\nSo, that the mind intent on pious studies may be helped,\nlet divine love conquer the battles of the flesh.\nFor the temple of the Lord grows through sacred silences,\nand a house that will not fall is built in quiet.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 26 (PL 51:505; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/26)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/27":{"o":"Nemo tam eruditus, nemo tam doctus est, qui superna illustratione non egeat. Non enim ita ulla divinorum bonorum augmenta sufficiunt, ut non semper supersit aliquid quod mens rationalis et intelligendum desideret et gerendum. Doctrinæ Domini penetralia, tempore in isto, Ad plenum nulli pervia sunt homini. Semper enim sanctis superest quo crescere possint: Et perfectorum gloria principium est. Virtutem virtus pariat, de lumine lumen Prodeat, atque omnis palma gradum faciat. Nam cur non cupide mens quaerat quæ Deus effert, Cui danda ut recte posceret ipse dedit?","t":"[Sentence] No one is so learned, no one so taught, that he does not need illumination from above. For no increases of divine goods are enough that there does not always remain something which the rational mind desires both to understand and to do.\n\n[Epigram]\nThe inner rooms of the Lord's teaching, in this time,\nlie fully open to no man.\nFor the saints always have something left by which they may grow,\nand even for the perfect, glory is a beginning.\nLet virtue beget virtue, let light come forth\nfrom light, and let every palm become a step.\nFor why should the mind not eagerly seek what God brings forth,\nwhen he himself gave it the power to ask rightly for what is to be given?","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 27 (PL 51:505–507; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/27)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/28":{"o":"Si omnes homines simul consideremus, quorum alii misericordia salvi fiunt, alii veritate damnantur, universae viæ Domini, id est, misericordia et veritas, suo fine distinctæ sunt, Si autem solos sanctos intueamur, non discernuntur hæ viæ Domini. Individua enim ibi est et a misericordia veritas, et a veritate misericordia, quia beatitudo sanctorum et de munere gratiæ est, et de retributione justitiæ. Omnibus in rebus geminum est opus Omnipotentis. Totum aut justitia est quod gerit, aut pietas. Quae simul in terras descendunt lucis ab arce; Ne cuiquam parti desit utrumque bonum. Et quoniam cuncti auxilio miserantis egemus, Præcedit semper gratia justitiam, Damnantem elatos, salvantem justificatos, Quos Deus et donis auxerit et meritis.","t":"[Sentence] If we consider all men together, of whom some are saved by mercy and others condemned by truth, all the ways of the Lord, that is, mercy and truth, are distinguished by their ends. But if we look at the saints alone, these ways of the Lord are not separated. For there truth is inseparable from mercy, and mercy from truth, because the blessedness of the saints is both of the gift of grace and of the retribution of justice.\n\n[Epigram]\nIn all things the work of the Almighty is twofold:\nall that he does is either justice or kindness.\nThese come down together to earth from the citadel of light,\nso that neither good is lacking to any part.\nAnd since we all need the help of one who has mercy,\ngrace always goes before justice,\ncondemning the proud, saving the justified,\nwhom God has increased both with gifts and with merits.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 28 (PL 51:507; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/28)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/29":{"o":"Christianae perfectionis est pacificum esse, etiam cum pacis inimicis, spe correctionis, non consensu malignitatis; ut si nec exemplum, nec cohortationem dilectionis sequantur, causas tamen non habeant quibus odisse nos debeant. Monitus in sanctis pulchra est concordia pacis, Cum multis unum convenit, atque placet. Nec tamen hoc cohibenda modo sunt fœdera amoris, Ut solis pax sit tribuenda bonis. Injustis etiam præstetur justa voluntas, Nec quemquam spernant vota benigna hominem. Non ut amicitiæ vitiis socientur iniquis, Adsit sed pravis ut medicina animis. Quæ si pace sua non sedat turbida corda, Nobis non possit nostra perire quies.","t":"[Sentence] It belongs to Christian perfection to be peaceable even with the enemies of peace, in hope of correcting them, not in consent to their malice; so that if they follow neither the example nor the exhortation of love, they may at least have no grounds for which they ought to hate us.\n\n[Epigram]\nBeautiful among the saints is the concord of peace,\nwhen one agrees with many and is pleasing to them.\nYet the bonds of love are not to be so confined\nthat peace is given to the good alone.\nLet a just goodwill be shown even to the unjust,\nand let kindly wishes spurn no man;\nnot that friendship be joined to wicked vices,\nbut that medicine be at hand for depraved souls.\nAnd if it does not calm troubled hearts with its peace,\nour own quiet cannot be lost to us.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 29 (PL 51:507; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/29)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/3":{"o":"Vera æternitas et vera immortalitas non est nisi in Deitate Trinitatis: cui quod est esse perfectum est; quia natura initio carens, et incremento non indigens, sicut nullum finem, ita nullam recipit mutabilitatem. Creaturæ autem, etiam illæ quibus Deus æternitatem dedit, vel daturus est, non penitus omnis finis alienæ sunt, quia non sunt extra commutationem; dum illis finis est, et temporalis institutio, et localis motio, et ipsa in augmentum sui facta immutatio. Æternus vere est solus Deus omnicreator, Qui in se vivens permanet esse quod est. Hoc Pater, hoc Verbum Patris, hoc est Spiritus almus, Quorum natura est una, eademque simul. Non coeptum, aut auctum, non hic mutabile quidquam est, Quod subeat leges temporis, aut numeri. Virtus, praeteritis prior ulteriorque futuris, Nil recipit varium, nil habet occiduum. Nam rerum, quas ut voluit sapientia fecit, Multis vita quidem est præstita perpetua. Sed quodcumque potest sese amplius aut minus esse Quodam fine ipsi quod fuerat moritur. Sic nihil aeternum quod commutabile factum est. Et quod cuncta super, semper idem Deus est.","t":"[Sentence] True eternity and true immortality exist only in the Godhead of the Trinity, for whom what it is, is perfect being; because a nature that lacks beginning and needs no increase admits, as no end, so no changeableness. But creatures, even those to whom God has given or will give eternity, are not wholly strangers to every end, because they are not outside change: for they have an end, a beginning in time, motion in place, and the very change that is made for their growth.\n\n[Epigram]\nTruly eternal is God alone, the creator of all,\nwho, living in himself, remains being what he is.\nThis is the Father, this the Word of the Father, this the kindly Spirit,\nwhose nature is one and the same together.\nNothing here was begun or increased, nothing is changeable,\nnothing that would undergo the laws of time or number.\nA power prior to things past and beyond things to come,\nit admits nothing varied, has nothing that sets.\nFor of the things which Wisdom made as it willed,\nto many indeed everlasting life has been granted;\nbut whatever can be more or less itself\ndies, by some end, to what it had been.\nSo nothing that was made changeable is eternal,\nand God, who is above all, is always the same.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 3 (PL 51:499; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/3)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/30":{"o":"Custodit nos Dominus ab omni malo, non ut nihil patiamur adversi, sed ut ipsis adversitatibus anima non lædatur. Cum enim tentatio adest, fit quidam in id quod nos impugnat introitus; et cum bono fine, id est, sine vulnere animæ, tentatio consummatur, ad aeternam requiem de profundo temporalis laboris exitur. Sæpe quidem Dominus sic cuncta adversa repellit, Ut nullo attingi vulnere possit homo. Sed mirabilior tunc est manus Omnipotentis, Illata afflictum cum mala non superant. Laudetur custos, virtutem dans toleranti, Intima corrumpat ne furor exterior. Nam non certanti nulla est speranda corona, Palmam, qua capitur gloria, finis habet.","t":"[Sentence] The Lord keeps us from all evil, not so that we suffer nothing adverse, but so that the soul is not harmed by the adversities themselves. For when temptation is present, there is a kind of going in to what attacks us; and when the temptation is completed with a good end, that is, without wound to the soul, there is a going out from the depth of temporal labor to eternal rest.\n\n[Epigram]\nOften indeed the Lord so drives back all adversities\nthat man can be touched by no wound.\nBut the hand of the Almighty is more wonderful\nwhen the evils brought upon the afflicted do not overcome him.\nLet the guardian be praised, who gives strength to the one who endures,\nlest the fury outside corrupt what is within.\nFor no crown is to be hoped for by one who does not contend:\nthe end holds the palm by which glory is won.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 30 (PL 51:507; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/30)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/31":{"o":"Ad cœlestis Jerusalem consortium non ascendunt, nisi qui toto corde profitentur non esse proprii operis sed divini muneris quod ascendunt. Coelestem ad patriam tendens, cognosce vocantem, Cujus proveheris, si bene curris, ope. Nam si te virtute tua ad cœlestia credis Scandere, de superis pulsus ad ima cades.","t":"[Sentence] None ascend to the fellowship of the heavenly Jerusalem except those who profess with their whole heart that it is not of their own work but of divine gift that they ascend.\n\n[Epigram]\nAs you make for the heavenly homeland, recognize the one who calls you,\nby whose help you are carried forward, if you run well.\nFor if you believe you will climb to heaven\nby your own virtue, you will be thrust from on high and fall to the depths.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 31 (PL 51:507; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/31)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/32":{"o":"Omnes qui in Christo volunt pie vivere, necesse est ut ab impiis et dissimilibus patiantur opprobria; et despiciantur tamquam stulti et insani, qui præsentia bona perdant, et invisibilia sibi ac futura promittant. Sed hæc despectio et hæc irrisio in ipsos retorquebitur, cum et abundantia eorum in egestatem, et superbia transierit in confusionem. Impia pars mundi parti est infesta piorum, Nec tolerare potest dissimiles animos: Ridens nolentes opibus praesentibus uti, Sperantesque sibi credita posse dari. Sed spernenda haec sunt populis opprobria sanctis, Quæ stulte jaciunt corda aliena Deo. Nam spes nostra ex hoc visu fit certior omni, Quod spondeus quidquid credimus, hoc Deus est.","t":"[Sentence] All who will to live piously in Christ must suffer reproaches from the impious and from those unlike them, and be despised as foolish and mad, as people who lose present goods and promise themselves invisible and future ones. But this contempt and this mockery will be turned back on the mockers, when their abundance has passed into want and their pride into confusion.\n\n[Epigram]\nThe impious part of the world is hostile to the part of the pious,\nand cannot bear souls unlike itself:\nit laughs at those who will not use present wealth\nand hope that what they believe can be given them.\nBut holy peoples should scorn these reproaches,\nwhich hearts estranged from God foolishly hurl.\nFor our hope becomes surer from this whole spectacle,\nsince the one who pledges whatever we believe is God.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 32 (PL 51:507; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/32)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/33":{"o":"Tota fidelium salus, tota patientiæ fortitudo ad eum qui in sanctis suis est mirabilis referenda est; quia nisi in illis Deus esset, furori impiorum fragilitas humana succumberet. Cum constans anima adversis non frangitur ullis, Et fidei virtus intemerata manet: Norit inesse sibi Dominum patientia fortis, Inque ejus donum quod steterit referat. Nam quod non cecidit propriis si viribus aptat, Hoc ipso quo se stare putat cecidit.","t":"[Sentence] The whole salvation of the faithful, the whole strength of patience, must be referred to him who is wonderful in his saints; because unless God were in them, human frailty would give way to the fury of the impious.\n\n[Epigram]\nWhen the steadfast soul is broken by no adversities,\nand the strength of faith remains undefiled,\nlet strong patience know that the Lord is within it,\nand refer to his gift the fact that it has stood.\nFor if it credits to its own strength that it did not fall,\nby that very thing by which it thinks it stands, it has fallen.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 33 (PL 51:507–509; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/33)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/34":{"o":"Ita et a plebibus principes, et a servis domini sunt ferendi, ut sub exercitatione tolerantiæ sustineantur temporalia, et sperentur æterna. Auget enim merita virtutis, quod propositum non violat religionis. Reddendum est quidquid mundi bene postulat ordo, Propositumque piæ non violat fidei. Mitibus et sanctis nulla est spernenda potestas: Æquum servire est regibus, et dominis. Ut Christi famulis ad verum prosit honorem Dilexisse bonos, et tolerasse malos.","t":"[Sentence] Princes are to be borne by their peoples, and masters by their slaves, in such a way that temporal things are endured in the exercise of patience and eternal things are hoped for. For it increases the merits of virtue that it does not violate the purpose of religion.\n\n[Epigram]\nWhatever the order of the world rightly demands is to be rendered,\nand it does not violate the purpose of pious faith.\nNo power is to be spurned by the meek and holy:\nit is right to serve kings and masters,\nso that it may profit Christ's servants toward true honor\nto have loved the good and endured the bad.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 34 (PL 51:509; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/34)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/35":{"o":"Recti corde de præceptis Dei et constitutionibus mundi non queruntur, quia justum est æquanimiter omnia accipi, quæ judicaturus voluit tolerare. Dum mutabilium decurrunt tempora rerum, Dumque suis mundus motibus atteritur; Rectorum est adversa pati, et tolerare modeste Nec querulo in quoquam voce movere Deum. Cujus judicio nulli parcetur iniquo, Et perpes justos gloria suscipiet.","t":"[Sentence] The upright of heart do not complain about the commands of God and the arrangements of the world, because it is just to accept with an even mind everything which he who is to judge has willed to be endured.\n\n[Epigram]\nWhile the times of changing things run their course,\nand the world is worn down by its own motions,\nit belongs to the upright to suffer adversity and endure it modestly,\nand not to stir up God against anyone with a complaining voice.\nBy his judgment no unjust man will be spared,\nand everlasting glory will receive the just.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 35 (PL 51:509; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/35)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/36":{"o":"Omnis sancti aedificii status, sicut Deo cooperante proficit, ita Deo custodiente consistit. Quoniam utilis præpositorum custodia est, cum Spiritus Dei populo suo præsidet, et non solum greges, sed etiam ipsos dignatur custodire pastores. Cum lapides vivi pacis compage ligantur, Inque pares numeros convenit una domus, Claret opus Domini, qui totam construit aulam. Effectumque piis dat studiis hominum. Quorum perpetui decoris structura manebit, Si perfecte auctor protegat, atque regat.","t":"[Sentence] The whole standing of the holy building, as it advances with God cooperating, so it holds firm with God guarding it. For the watch of those set over others is useful when the Spirit of God presides over his people, and deigns to guard not only the flocks but the shepherds themselves.\n\n[Epigram]\nWhen living stones are bound by the joint of peace,\nand one house comes together in equal measures,\nthe work of the Lord shines out, who builds the whole hall\nand gives effect to the pious efforts of men.\nIts structure of everlasting beauty will remain\nif its author perfectly protects and rules it.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 36 (PL 51:509; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/36)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/37":{"o":"Æternæ civitatis æterna sunt gaudia, et stantium dierum perpes infinitas nec variabitur nec labetur, quia incommutabili pace potientur, quorum omnium erit bonum, quod fuerit etiam singulorum. Semper erunt quod sunt æternæ gaudia vitæ; Gaudendi quoniam causa erit ipse Deus. Nec varios parit motus diversa voluntas. Unum erit in cunctis lumen, et unus amor, Inque bonis summis posita experientia felix, Nec volet augeri, nec metuet minui.","t":"[Sentence] The joys of the eternal city are eternal, and the everlasting infinity of its standing days will neither vary nor slip away, because they will enjoy an unchangeable peace, in which the good of all will be what is also the good of each.\n\n[Epigram]\nThe joys of eternal life will always be what they are,\nsince the cause of rejoicing will be God himself.\nNor will differing wills bring forth varied motions:\none light will be in all, and one love;\nand happy experience, set amid the highest goods,\nwill neither wish to be increased nor fear to be lessened.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 37 (PL 51:509; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/37)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/38":{"o":"Lex Christi perfectio charitatis est, qua Deus proximusque diligitur: et per quam dicitur Conditori legis, Dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Bene enim exspectat promissionem Dei, qui mandatum ejus exsequitur: nec frustra sperat parcendum peccatis suis, qui ignoscit alienis. Verus amor Christi vera est custodia legis, Et mandata Dei complet amans homines. Quorum ignoscentes culpis sua crimina solvunt, Quodque aliis tribuunt, hoc sibi prospiciunt, Det peccatori veniam peccator, et æqua Conciliet Dominum conditione sibi. Cujus judicium de nostro examine pendet, Quod serimus metimus, quod damus accipimus,","t":"[Sentence] The law of Christ is the perfection of love, by which God and neighbor are loved, and through which it is said to the founder of the law, \"Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.\" For he who carries out God's command rightly expects God's promise, and he who pardons the sins of others does not hope in vain that his own will be spared.\n\n[Epigram]\nTrue love of Christ is the true keeping of the law,\nand he who loves men fulfills God's commands.\nThose who forgive the faults of others loose their own crimes,\nand what they grant to others they provide for themselves.\nLet a sinner give pardon to a sinner, and on fair\nterms win the Lord over to himself,\nwhose judgment hangs on our own weighing:\nwhat we sow we reap; what we give we receive.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 38 (PL 51:509; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/38)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/39":{"o":"Nihil Deus jubet quod sibi prosit, sed illi cui jubet. Ideo verus est Dominus, qui servo non indiget, et quo servus indiget. Non ideo quidquam mandat Deus, ut sibi prosit, Nec servi officio verus eget Dominus. Cujus præceptis augetur qui famulatur, Fitque minor quisquis negligit imperium. Nam Deus omnipotens, simul omnitenensque potestas, Nil perdit proprium, nil capit occiduum. Numquam non habuit quod habet, dans quidquid haberi Proderit, et sumens non nisi quod dederit.","t":"[Sentence] God commands nothing that profits himself, but only what profits the one he commands. That is why he is the true Lord: he does not need the servant, and the servant needs him.\n\n[Epigram]\nGod does not command anything so that it may profit him,\nnor does the true Lord need the service of a servant.\nBy his precepts the one who serves is increased,\nand whoever neglects his command becomes less.\nFor God almighty, at once the power that holds all things,\nloses nothing of his own, takes in nothing that passes away.\nHe never lacked what he has, giving whatever\nit will profit us to have, and taking only what he has given.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 39 (PL 51:509; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/39)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/4":{"o":"Patientia Dei vera est, qua parcit contemptus, parcitque negatus; et magis vult vitam peccatoris quam mortem; eruditio est pœnitudinis, et oblatio correctionis. Nec ulla ipsius opera misericordia vacant, quando homini et indulgentia consulit, et flagello. Multa diu summi differt patientia Regis, Suspendens æqui pondera Judicii. Et dum plectendis parcit clementia factis Dat spatium, quo se crimine purget homo, Denique committunt homines mala crimina semper, Dat spatium, ut pereant crimina, non homines. Verbere nonnumquam castigans corde paterno, Ne cito consumant sæva flagella reos. Sic pietate Dei terrarum non vacat orbis, Et nihil est quod nos non trahat ad veniam: Cum Rex salvandis ipsa quoque consulit Ira, Ut curat medicus vulnera vulneribus.","t":"[Sentence] God's patience is true: by it he spares when he is despised, and spares when he is denied, and wills the life of the sinner rather than his death. It is a schooling in repentance and an offer of correction. Nor are any of his works empty of mercy, since he provides for man both by indulgence and by the scourge.\n\n[Epigram]\nThe patience of the highest King long puts off many things,\nholding back the weights of fair judgment.\nAnd while clemency spares deeds that deserve punishment,\nit gives man space in which to cleanse himself of crime.\nIn short, though men are always committing evil crimes,\nhe gives space so that the crimes may perish, not the men.\nSometimes he chastises with the rod, with a father's heart,\nlest savage scourges quickly consume the guilty.\nSo the world is not empty of God's kindness,\nand there is nothing that does not draw us toward pardon,\nsince the King makes even his wrath serve those who are to be saved,\nas the physician heals wounds with wounds.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 4 (PL 51:499; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/4)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/40":{"o":"Id quod in tempore novum est, non est novum apud Deum qui condidit tempora, et sine tempore habet omnia, quæ suis quibusque temporibus, pro eorum varia ætate, distribuat. Insolitum si quid labentia tempora promunt, Hoc mirum mundus dicit, habetque novum. Sed rerum Auctori nullus non cognitus ordo est; Cernenti quidquid sæcula cuncta ferunt, Quæ non incerto volvunt magna agmina motu. Sed sub judicio stantque fluuntque Dei, Ut nihil existat naturæ in partibus ullis, Quod non ille suo temperet arbitrio,","t":"[Sentence] What is new in time is not new with God, who founded the times and holds without time all the things which he distributes in their several times according to their various ages.\n\n[Epigram]\nIf the gliding times bring out something unusual,\nthe world calls it a wonder and counts it new.\nBut to the Author of things no order is unknown;\nhe sees whatever all the ages bring,\nwhich roll their great hosts in no uncertain motion,\nbut both stand and flow under the judgment of God,\nso that nothing exists in any part of nature\nwhich he does not govern by his own will.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 40 (PL 51:509; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/40)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/41":{"o":"Mutabilium dispositionem immutabilis ratio Dei continet, ubi sine tempore simul sunt quae in temporibus non simul fiunt quia tempora non simul currunt. Lex æterna Dei stabili regit omnia nutu, Nec mutat vario tempore consilium. Utque locis praesens simul est Deus omnibus unus, Sic ævi metas secum habet, et numeros. Nec serum aut properum sibi sentit in ordine rerum, Cui cuncta assistant acta, et agenda simul.","t":"[Sentence] The unchangeable reason of God holds the arrangement of changeable things, where, without time, those things are together which in time do not happen together, because times do not run together.\n\n[Epigram]\nThe eternal law of God rules all things by a steady nod,\nand does not change its counsel as the times vary.\nAnd as God, being one, is present at once in all places,\nso he holds with him the bounds and numbers of the ages.\nNor does he find anything late or hasty in the order of things,\nsince all things done and to be done stand before him together.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 41 (PL 51:509–511; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/41)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/42":{"o":"Nihil est infelicius felicitate peccantium qua pœnalis nutritur impunitas, et mala voluntas velut hostis interior, roboratur. Qui se peccatis gaudet feliciter uti, Infelix nimis est prosperitate sua. Dumque capit miseros effectus prava voluntas, A vera semper luce fit exterior. Sumens pestifera de consuetudine robur, Et sua complectens vincula mortis amor. Deficiant potius vana oblectamina mundi, Subdanturque pio colla domanda jugo, Inque putres fibras descendat cura medentis: Ut blandum morbum pellat amica salus.","t":"[Sentence] Nothing is unhappier than the happiness of sinners, by which a penal impunity is fed and the evil will, like an enemy within, is strengthened.\n\n[Epigram]\nHe who rejoices to enjoy his sins with good fortune\nis all too unhappy in his prosperity.\nAnd while the depraved will gains its wretched ends,\nit moves ever further outside the true light,\ntaking strength from a pestilent habit,\nthe love of death embracing its own chains.\nRather let the vain delights of the world fail,\nand let necks that must be tamed be put under the pious yoke,\nand let the physician's care go down into the rotten flesh,\nso that kindly health may drive out the flattering disease.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 42 (PL 51:511; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/42)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/43":{"o":"Legis littera quæ dicit non esse peccandum, si Spiritus vivificans desit, occidit. Sciri enim peccatum facit potius quam caveri: et ideo magis augeri quam minui, quia malæ concupiscentiæ etiam prævaricatio legis accedit. Inde peccati lex est plectenda vetando, Quæ, nisi cor mundet Spiritus, interimit. Nullus enim est insons sola formidine pœnæ, Qui sanctum et justum non amat imperium, Hunc tamen affectum non lex, sed gratia confert: Quodque jubet legis littera, velle facit.","t":"[Sentence] The letter of the law, which says that one must not sin, kills if the life-giving Spirit is absent. For it causes sin to be known rather than avoided, and therefore increased rather than lessened, because to evil desire is added also the transgression of the law.\n\n[Epigram]\nHence the law, by forbidding, must punish sin,\nand, unless the Spirit cleanses the heart, it kills.\nFor no one is innocent by fear of punishment alone\nwho does not love the holy and just command.\nYet it is not the law but grace that confers this affection,\nand makes us will what the letter of the law commands.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 43 (PL 51:511; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/43)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/44":{"o":"Lex data est ut gratia quæreretur, et gratia data est ut lex impleretur. Neque enim suo vitio non implebatur, sed vitio prudentiæ carnis, quod vitium per legem demonstrandum, per gratiam sanandum fuit. Non servit jussis legis prudentia carnis, Peccati stimulos nec superare potest. Sed quia mens anceps patitur mala corporis aegri, Quærere divinum cogimur auxilium. Lex igitur facit ut poscatur gratia Christi, Ardua qua legis jussa queant fieri. Nec jam non valeant carnales vincere sensus, Quos justæ legis conditor ipse juvat.","t":"[Sentence] The law was given that grace might be sought, and grace was given that the law might be fulfilled. For it was not by its own fault that the law was not fulfilled, but by the fault of the prudence of the flesh; and this fault had to be shown by the law and healed by grace.\n\n[Epigram]\nThe prudence of the flesh does not serve the commands of the law,\nnor can it overcome the goads of sin.\nBut because the wavering mind suffers the ills of the sick body,\nwe are driven to seek divine help.\nThe law, then, brings it about that the grace of Christ is asked for,\nby which the hard commands of the law can be done.\nAnd those whom the founder of the just law himself helps\nare no longer unable to conquer their fleshly senses.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 44 (PL 51:511; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/44)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/45":{"o":"Hoc promittit Deus, quod ipse facit. Non enim ipse promittit, et alius facit, quod jam non est promittere, sed prædicere. Ideo non ex operibus, sed ex vocante; ne ipsorum sit, non Dei, et merces non imputetur secundum gratiam, sed secundum debitum, atque ita gratia jam non sit gratia. Quae Deus omnipotens promittit, perficit ipse, Nec proprium externis viribus implet opus. Hinc secura fides sperat quod credit, amatque Auctorem, qui quod spondet, et efficiet. Nam si quae Dominus promittit, non operatur, Sed solum humanum prævidet arbitrium: Non hæc dona ejus, sed sunt prædicta vocanda. Ceu quisquam ex proprio sit bonus, absque Deo. Quod quia non recipit pietas, veroque repugnat, Gratia non reparet, gratia justificet. Quæ sic in cunctis implet sua dona vocatis, Ut quorum dux est, fiat et ipsa comes.","t":"[Sentence] God promises what he himself does. For he does not promise and another do it; that would no longer be promising but foretelling. Therefore it is \"not from works, but from him who calls,\" lest it be theirs and not God's, and the reward be reckoned not according to grace but according to debt, and so grace be no longer grace.\n\n[Epigram]\nWhat God almighty promises, he himself accomplishes,\nand does not fulfill his own work by outside powers.\nHence faith, secure, hopes for what it believes, and loves\nthe Author, who will also carry out what he pledges.\nFor if what the Lord promises he does not work,\nbut only foresees human choice,\nthese are not to be called his gifts, but predictions,\nas though anyone could be good of himself, without God.\nSince piety does not accept this, and it fights against the truth,\nlet grace restore us, let grace justify us;\ngrace, which so fulfills its gifts in all who are called\nthat it becomes the companion of those whose guide it is.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 45 (PL 51:511; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/45)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/46":{"o":"Sicut non impediunt ab æterna vita justum quædam peccata venialia, sine quibus hæc vita non ducitur, sic ad salutem æternam nihil prosunt impio aliqua bona opera, sine quibus difficilime vita cujuslibet pessimi hominis invenitur. Ut quaedam tenues maculæ in splendore piorum, Major virtutum quas vacuat numerus, Æternæ donis nequeunt obsistere vitae, Nec merita obscurat grandia culpa levis: Sic aliquid plerumque boni pars impia gestat, Magni mole mali quod facile obruitur. Nec prodest quiddam recti sapuisse malignis, Si verum et summum non coluere Deum. Una fides igitur, spes una est, atque amor unus, Qua fiat justus, sitque beatus homo. Nam bona, quae pravis naturæ ex dote supersunt, Augent peccati pondera, non minuunt.","t":"[Sentence] Just as certain venial sins, without which this life is not lived, do not keep the just man from eternal life, so some good works, without which the life of even the worst man is very rarely found, are of no use to the impious for eternal salvation.\n\n[Epigram]\nAs certain slight stains in the splendor of the pious,\nwhich the greater number of their virtues cancels out,\ncannot stand in the way of the gift of eternal life,\nand a light fault does not obscure great merits,\nso the impious part often carries something good,\nwhich is easily buried by the mass of great evil.\nNor does it profit the malicious to have known something right,\nif they have not worshipped the true and highest God.\nOne faith, then, one hope, and one love\nis that by which a man becomes just and is blessed.\nFor the goods that remain to the depraved from the dowry of nature\nincrease the weight of their sin, not lessen it.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 46 (PL 51:511; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/46)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/47":{"o":"Cum mala voluntas potestatem accipit efficiendi quod cupit, ex judicio Dei venit, apud quem non est iniquitas. Punit enim etiam isto modo nec ideo injuste quia occulte. Cæterum iniquus puniri se ignorat, nisi cum manifesto supplicio senserit nolens, quantum mali sit, quod perpetravit volens. Cum datur injusto peccandi optata potestas, Ut mala mens prave quod cupit efficiat, Ira Dei magna est, qua multos sic quoque punit, Ut quibus exsultant criminibus pereant. Crescit enim occulte cum longo pœna reatu, Ausibus illicitis si nihil obstiterit. Et magis errantibus ne parcant flagra timendum est, Quam ne non fiat quod voluisse nocet.","t":"[Sentence] When an evil will receives the power to accomplish what it desires, this comes from the judgment of God, with whom there is no iniquity. For he punishes in this way too, and not unjustly because hiddenly. But the unjust man does not know he is being punished, unless by some open penalty he feels, against his will, how much evil there is in what he did by his will.\n\n[Epigram]\nWhen the unjust are given the power to sin that they desire,\nso that the evil mind may perversely accomplish what it wants,\ngreat is the wrath of God, by which he punishes many in this way too,\nso that they perish by the very crimes in which they exult.\nFor the penalty grows hiddenly along with long-standing guilt,\nif nothing has stood in the way of their lawless daring.\nAnd it is more to be feared that the scourges spare the erring\nthan that what it harms to have willed is not carried out.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 47 (PL 51:511–513; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/47)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/48":{"o":"Omnia vitia in male factis tantummodo valent; sola superbia etiam in recte factis cavenda est. Omne genus vitii proprio tantum valet actu, Et peccata suam quæque gerunt speciem. Sola est innumeris armata superbia telis, Cui possint vires et bene gesta dare.","t":"[Sentence] All vices have force only in evil deeds; pride alone must be guarded against even in deeds rightly done.\n\n[Epigram]\nEvery kind of vice has force only in its own act,\nand sins each bear their own form.\nPride alone is armed with countless darts,\nfor even good deeds can give it strength.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 48 (PL 51:513; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/48)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/49":{"o":"Interest plurimum qualis sit usus, vel earum rerum quæ prosperæ dicuntur, vel earum quæ dicuntur adversæ. Nam bonus temporalibus nec bonis extollitur, nec malis frangitur; malus autem ideo hujusmodi infelicitate punitur, quia felicitate corrumpitur. In rebus mundi non idem est omnibus usus, Nec cuncti paribus cuncta ferunt animis. Namque bonos non blanda inflant, non aspera frangunt. Sed fidei invictæ gaudia vera juvant. Terræ autem, et feni breviter florentis amator Seu caret optans, seu fruitur, miser est.","t":"[Sentence] It matters very much what use is made either of the things called prosperous or of those called adverse. For the good man is neither lifted up by temporal goods nor broken by evils; but the bad man is punished by this kind of unhappiness because he is corrupted by happiness.\n\n[Epigram]\nIn the things of the world the use is not the same for all,\nnor do all bear all things with equal minds.\nFor flattering things do not puff up the good, nor harsh things break them;\nthe true joys of unconquered faith sustain them.\nBut the lover of the earth, and of the grass that blooms for a short while,\nis wretched whether he lacks it and longs for it, or enjoys it.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 49 (PL 51:513; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/49)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/5":{"o":"Divina bonitas ideo maxime irascitur in hoc sæculo, ne irascatur in futuro: et misericorditer adhibet temporalem severitatem, ne æternam juste inferat ultionem. Cum Deus exserta peccantes verberat ira, Ut norint homines quid mereantur agit. Nam dum mortalis peraguntur tempora carnis, Auxilium miseris ipsa flagella ferunt. Et vindicta brevis sic noxia crimina finit: Ne sine fine habeat debita pœna reos.","t":"[Sentence] The divine goodness is most angry in this age so as not to be angry in the age to come, and mercifully applies temporal severity so as not to inflict, justly, eternal vengeance.\n\n[Epigram]\nWhen God strikes sinners with wrath put forth,\nhe acts so that men may know what they deserve.\nFor while the times of mortal flesh are being lived out,\nthe very scourges bring help to the wretched;\nand a brief punishment thus ends harmful crimes,\nlest the penalty owed should hold the guilty without end.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 5 (PL 51:499–501; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/5)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/50":{"o":"Mala mors putanda non est, quam bona vita præcesserit. Non enim facit malam mortem, nisi quod sequitur mortem. Non itaque multum curandum est necessario morituris, quid accidat ut moriantur, sed moriendo quo ire cogantur. Cuncta bonis prosunt, quos et mors ipsa beatos Efficit, ut sumant praemia principium. Ille igitur finis malus est, quem pœna sequetur, Et qui perpetui porta doloris erit. Non quo absumentur lacrymæ, cunctique labores: Ut veteris pereant omnia signa mali.","t":"[Sentence] A death that a good life has preceded is not to be thought evil. For nothing makes death evil except what follows death. So those who must die need not care much what happens to make them die, but where they will be forced to go by dying.\n\n[Epigram]\nAll things profit the good, whom even death itself\nmakes blessed, so that they take up their rewards as a beginning.\nThat end, then, is evil which punishment will follow,\nand which will be the gate of everlasting pain;\nnot the end by which tears and all labors will be consumed,\nso that every sign of the old evil may perish.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 50 (PL 51:513; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/50)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/51":{"o":"Ita non amittitur corporis sanctitas, manente animi sanctitate, etiam corpore oppresso: sicut amittitur sanctitas corporis, violata animi puritate, etiam corpore intacto. Mens illæsa nihil violato corpore perdit: Invitam carnis vulnera non maculant. Nec crimen facti recipit non mixta voluntas: Velle magis facinus, quam tolerare nocet. Sic autem ad cordis penetralia cuncta recurrunt, Ut plerumque animus sit sine carne reus. Dum, quod ab intacto semotum est corpore, sola Concipit, et tectis molibus intus agit.","t":"[Sentence] So holiness of body is not lost while holiness of mind remains, even when the body is overpowered; just as holiness of body is lost when purity of mind is violated, even if the body is untouched.\n\n[Epigram]\nThe unharmed mind loses nothing when the body is violated:\nthe wounds of the flesh do not stain one who is unwilling.\nNor does a will that had no part receive the crime of the deed:\nto will a crime harms more than to suffer it.\nSo all things go back to the inner rooms of the heart,\nso that the mind is often guilty without the flesh,\nwhen it alone conceives what is far removed from the untouched body,\nand within carries out its hidden schemes.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 51 (PL 51:513; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/51)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/52":{"o":"Major animus merito dicendus est, qui vitam ærumnosam magis eligit ferre quam fugere; et humanum judicium, maximeque vulgare, quod plerumque caligine erroris involvitur, præ conscientiæ luce ac puritate, contemnere. Qui valet adversis oneratam ducere vitam, Et tolerare magis vult mala, quam fugere, Majoris multo est animi, quam ferre pavescens Indocti injustum judicium populi. Mens etenim recta, et puri sibi conscia cordis, Hoc plus splendescit, quo magis atteritur.","t":"[Sentence] He is rightly to be called the greater soul who chooses to bear a life of hardship rather than flee it, and to despise human judgment, especially that of the crowd, which is mostly wrapped in the darkness of error, in comparison with the light and purity of conscience.\n\n[Epigram]\nHe who is able to lead a life burdened with adversities,\nand would rather endure evils than flee them,\nis of a far greater soul than one who, in fear, cannot bear\nthe unjust judgment of the untaught crowd.\nFor the upright mind, conscious of a pure heart,\nshines the more the more it is worn down.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 52 (PL 51:513; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/52)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/53":{"o":"Justis quidquid malorum ab iniquis dominis irrogatur, non pœna est criminis, sed virtutis examen. Nam bonus, etiam si serviat, liber est. Malus autem, etiam si regnet, servus est; nec unius domini, sed quod est gravius, tot dominorum quot vitiorum. Oppressis quoties justis dominantur iniqui, Non est puniti supplicium meriti; Sed virtus fidei sub tali examine crescit, Nec servile gravat libera corda jugum. Solus peccator servit male; qui licet amplo Utatur regno, sat miser est famulus; Cum mens carnalis, nimium dominante tyranno, Tot servit sceptris dedita quot vitiis.","t":"[Sentence] Whatever evils unjust masters inflict on the just is not punishment for a crime but a testing of virtue. For the good man, even if he is a slave, is free; but the bad man, even if he reigns, is a slave, and not of one master but, what is heavier, of as many masters as he has vices.\n\n[Epigram]\nWhenever the unjust lord it over the oppressed just,\nit is not the punishment of a deserved fault;\nrather the strength of faith grows under such testing,\nand the servile yoke does not weigh down free hearts.\nThe sinner alone is a slave in the bad sense; though he may enjoy\na wide kingdom, he is a wretched enough servant,\nsince the fleshly mind, with the tyrant ruling all too much,\nserves as many scepters as the vices it is given to.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 53 (PL 51:513; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/53)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/54":{"o":"Nemo quidquam Domino recte voveret, nisi ab ipso acciperet quod voveret. Optima vota Deo, quorum est dator ipse, voventur. Hoc sursum dignum est ire, quod inde venit.","t":"[Sentence] No one would rightly vow anything to the Lord unless he received from him what he would vow.\n\n[Epigram]\nThe best vows are vowed to God when he himself is their giver:\nit is fitting that what comes from above should go up there.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 54 (PL 51:513; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/54)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/55":{"o":"Omnis substantia quæ Deus non est, creatura est; et quæ creatura non est, Deus est. Nulla igitur differentia est in deitate Trinitatis: quoniam quod Deo minus est. Deus non est. Natura omnipotens una est, quæ cuncta creavit, Et proprie quod sunt, omnibus esse dedit. Quodque Deo minus est, non est Deus. A Patre natum Verbum, et qui amborum Spiritus est, Deus est. Una eademque trium quoniam est essentia, quæ se Numquam vel major, vel minor esse potest.","t":"[Sentence] Every substance that is not God is a creature, and what is not a creature is God. Therefore there is no difference in the Godhead of the Trinity, since what is less than God is not God.\n\n[Epigram]\nThe almighty nature is one, which created all things,\nand gave to all things to be properly what they are.\nAnd what is less than God is not God. The Word born of the Father,\nand the Spirit who is of both, is God,\nsince the three have one and the same essence,\nwhich can never be greater or less than itself.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 55 (PL 51:513–515; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/55)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/56":{"o":"Tales nos amat Deus, quales futuri sumus ipsius dono, non quales sumus nostro merito. Tales a Domino, quales formamur, amamur; Non quales nostris exstitimus meritis. Sanctificet, doceat, plantet, riget, excolat, ornet: Et sibi perpetuo quod placeat, faciat. Nam nihil est hominis, quod digne possit amari, Perficiat proprium ni bonus auctor opus.","t":"[Sentence] God loves us such as we shall be by his gift, not such as we are by our own merit.\n\n[Epigram]\nWe are loved by the Lord as he is forming us,\nnot as we have stood by our own merits.\nLet him sanctify, teach, plant, water, cultivate, adorn,\nand make what will please him forever.\nFor there is nothing in man that can worthily be loved\nunless the good author completes his own work.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 56 (PL 51:515; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/56)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/57":{"o":"Ordo temporum in æterna Dei sapientia, sine tempore est, nec aliqua sunt apud illum nova, qui fecit quæ futura sunt. Artifice in summo sine tempore temporis ordo est, Inque Deo rerum non variat series. Æterno auctori simul adsunt omnia semper, Cum quo in factorum est ordine, quidquid erit.","t":"[Sentence] The order of times in the eternal wisdom of God is without time, and nothing is new with him who made the things that are to be.\n\n[Epigram]\nIn the highest craftsman the order of time is without time,\nand in God the series of things does not vary.\nTo the eternal author all things are always present together,\nand with him whatever will be already stands in the order of things made.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 57 (PL 51:515; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/57)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/58":{"o":"Voluntas Dei est prima et summa causa omnium corporalium, spiritaliumque motionum. Nihil enim fit visibiliter ac sensibiliter, quod non de invisibili atque intelligibili summi imperatoris aula aut jubeatur, aut permittatur, secundum ineffabilem justitiam praemiorum atque poenarum, gratiarum et retributionum, in ista totius creaturæ amplissima quadam immensaque republica. Principium mundi Deus est, quo cuncta movemur, Et quae permittit, vel jubet auctor, agunt. Hinc mutabilium rerum immutabilis ordo Æterni servit legibus artificis. Inque suos fines procedit quaeque voluntas, Nec variis meritis Arbiter æquus abest: Corda regens, vires tribuens, peccata remittens, Mitis subjectis, implacidus tumidis. Ut nec pœna malum quemquam, nec gloria justum Suscipiat, nisi tum laude et honore Dei.","t":"[Sentence] The will of God is the first and highest cause of all bodily and spiritual motions. For nothing happens visibly and perceptibly which is not either commanded or permitted from the invisible and intelligible court of the highest emperor, according to the ineffable justice of rewards and punishments, of graces and retributions, in this most ample and immense commonwealth of the whole creation.\n\n[Epigram]\nGod is the beginning of the world, by whom we are all moved,\nand things do what the author permits or commands.\nHence the unchangeable order of changeable things\nserves the laws of the eternal craftsman.\nEach will goes on to its own ends,\nand the fair Arbiter is not absent from their varied merits:\nruling hearts, giving strength, forgiving sins,\ngentle to the submissive, unappeased by the swollen,\nso that no punishment receives the wicked, no glory the just,\nexcept with the praise and honor of God.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 58 (PL 51:515; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/58)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/59":{"o":"Eam Deus innocentiam probat, qua homo non metu pœnæ fit innocens, sed amore justitiæ. Nam qui timore non peccat, quamvis non noceat cui vult nocere, sibi tamen plurimum nocet, et abstinens ab iniquo opere, sola tamen reus est voluntate. Scire volens, in qua rerum sis parte locandus, Discute quid timeas, quidve sit id quod amas. Nam cuncti hoc gemino nascuntur fomite motus, Respondentque suis germina principiis. Et quod quisque bonum sibi tempore duxit in ista, Hoc summi Regis judicio capiet.","t":"[Sentence] God approves that innocence by which a man is made innocent not by fear of punishment but by love of justice. For he who does not sin out of fear, though he does not harm the one he wants to harm, yet harms himself very greatly; and though he abstains from the wicked work, he is guilty by his will alone.\n\n[Epigram]\nIf you wish to know in what part of things you are to be placed,\nexamine what you fear, or what it is you love.\nFor all motions are born of this twofold kindling,\nand the shoots answer to their roots.\nAnd whatever good each one has chosen for himself in this time,\nthis he will receive by the judgment of the highest King.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 59 (PL 51:515; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/59)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/6":{"o":"Vera est confessio benedicentis, cum idem sonus est et oris, et cordis. Bene autem loqui, et male vivere, nihil est aliud quam sua se voce damnare. Laus vera in Dominum depromitur ore precantis, Si quæ voce fluunt, intima cordis habent, Non prodest cuiquam solis bona dicere verbis, Ni pia mens habeat, quod bene lingua sonat. Nam fari recte, miserum est, et vivere prave. Damnat nota malum regula justitiæ.","t":"[Sentence] The confession of one who blesses is true when the sound of the mouth and of the heart is the same. To speak well and live badly is nothing other than to condemn oneself with one's own voice.\n\n[Epigram]\nTrue praise is brought forth to the Lord from the mouth of one who prays\nif what flows from the voice holds the depths of the heart.\nIt profits no one to say good things in words alone\nunless a pious mind holds what the tongue sounds well.\nFor to speak rightly and live wickedly is wretched:\nthe well-known rule of justice condemns the wicked man.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 6 (PL 51:501; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/6)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/60":{"o":"Christiano recta gaudendi causa non praesens sæculum, sed futurum est. Et ita est utendum temporalibus, ne obsint æternis: ut in via, quo peregrini ambulant, hoc placeat quod ducit ad patriam. Angelicos cives, et Christi in membra renatos, Non trahat ad veterem carnis Origo hominem. Multa quidem in nostros mundus bona procreat usus, Et pleno tellus servit opima sinu. Sed terrae hospitibus, cœli super astra vocatis, Virtutis palma est spernere blanda soli; Et sic præsentis spatium percurrere vitæ, Ipsa peregrinis ne via sit laqueus. Nam declinantes pro summis ferre laborem, Terrenorum avidos infima suscipient. Excedit supereminentia Deitatis non solum usitati eloquii nostri, sed etiam intelligentiæ facultatem. Verius enim cogitatur Deus quam dicitur, et verius est quam cogitatur. Non parva autem notitiae pars est, si ante quam scire possimus quid sit Deus, possumus scire quid non sit, Nulla quidem mens est mortali in corpore vivens, Quae plena videat cognitione Deum. Sed miris operum signis ostenditur auctor, Rectoremque suum condita quæque canunt. Unde licet fandi vires, animique vigorem Vincat, et excedat gloria lausque Dei, Nos tamen officio cordis gaudemus et oris, Et tanto oblectat succubuisse bono. Hinc fidei virtus, hinc flamina oriuntur amoris, Quod latet, exercet; quod superat, reparat.","t":"[Sentence] For the Christian the right cause of rejoicing is not the present age but the age to come. And temporal things are to be used so that they do not hinder eternal ones: as on the road on which pilgrims walk, what pleases is what leads to the homeland.\n\n[Epigram]\nCitizens with the angels, reborn into the members of Christ,\nlet them not be dragged back by the origin of the flesh to the old man.\nThe world indeed brings forth many goods for our use,\nand the rich earth serves us from a full bosom.\nBut for guests on earth, who are called above the stars of heaven,\nthe palm of virtue is to scorn the soil's allurements,\nand so to run through the span of the present life\nthat the road itself is not a snare to the pilgrims.\nFor those who turn away from bearing labor for the highest things,\ngreedy for earthly things, will receive the lowest.\n\n[Epigram 61: On the ineffable excellence of the Godhead]\n\n[Sentence] The surpassing eminence of the Godhead exceeds not only the capacity of our usual speech but even of our understanding. For God is thought of more truly than he is spoken of, and he is more truly than he is thought of. And it is no small part of knowledge if, before we can know what God is, we can know what he is not.\n\n[Epigram]\nThere is indeed no mind living in a mortal body\nthat sees God with full knowledge.\nBut the author is shown by the wonderful signs of his works,\nand all created things sing of their ruler.\nSo, though the glory and praise of God\novercome and exceed the powers of speech and the vigor of the mind,\nwe nevertheless rejoice in the duty of heart and mouth,\nand it delights us to be overcome by so great a good.\nHence the strength of faith, hence the flames of love arise:\nwhat is hidden exercises it; what surpasses it restores it.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 60 (PL 51:515; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/60)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/61":{"o":"Diabolus superbus hominem superbientem seduxit ad mortem; Christus humilis hominem obedientem reduxit ad vitam. Quia sicut ille elatus cecidit, et dejecit consentientem; sic iste humiliatus surrexit, et erexit credentem. Lætifer immodico naturæ elatus honore Angelus, inde hominem subruit, unde ruit. Sed Christus miserans deceptum fraude maligni, In se illi ad vitam posse redire dedit: Si caveat pactis hostis servire superbi Sectari et studeat formam humilis Domini. Qui Patris in deitate manens Deus omnicreator, Verus de sacra Virgine natus homo est. Sic nostrum assumens Matris de corpore corpus, Esset ut assumptæ carnis origo Deus: In quo per lavacrum, fidei virtute renata, Cœleste accipiet gens nova principium. Nil hominis primi retinens, sed plena secundi, Splendore in capitis glorificanda sui.","t":"[Sentence] The proud devil led proud man to death; the humble Christ led obedient man back to life. For as the one, lifted up, fell and threw down the one who consented, so the other, humbled, rose and raised up the one who believes.\n\n[Epigram]\nThe death-bringing angel, lifted up by an immoderate honor of his nature,\nundermined man by the very thing by which he fell.\nBut Christ, pitying the one deceived by the fraud of the malicious one,\ngave him the power to return to life in himself,\nif he takes care not to serve the pacts of the proud enemy\nand strives to follow the form of the humble Lord;\nwho, remaining in the Godhead of the Father, God the creator of all,\nwas born true man of the holy Virgin,\nthus taking our body from his Mother's body,\nso that God might be the origin of the flesh he assumed;\nin him, through the washing, reborn by the power of faith,\na new people will receive a heavenly beginning,\nretaining nothing of the first man, but full of the second,\nto be glorified in the splendor of its head.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 61 (PL 51:515–517; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/61)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/63":{"o":"Omnes beati habent quod volunt, quamvis non omnes qui habent quod volunt continuo sint beati. Continuo autem sunt miseri, qui vel non habent quod volunt, vel id habent quod non recte volunt. Propior ergo est beatitudini voluntas recta, etiam non adepta quæ cupit, quam prava, etiam si quod concupivit obtinuit. Non semper vere est felix impleta voluntas: Cum sæpe injustis sint mala vota animis. Recta igitur cupiens, etiam si non sit adeptus, Persistendo tamen velle bonum, bonus est. At pravus, quod fert animo, si non habet actu, Tam miser est quam si quod cupit obtineat.","t":"[Sentence] All the blessed have what they want, though not all who have what they want are therefore blessed. But those are at once wretched who either do not have what they want or have what they do not rightly want. So a right will, even if it has not obtained what it desires, is nearer to blessedness than a depraved will, even if it has obtained what it desired.\n\n[Epigram]\nA will that is satisfied is not always truly happy,\nsince unjust souls often have evil wishes.\nHe who desires right things, then, even if he has not obtained them,\nis still good by persisting in willing the good.\nBut the depraved man, if he does not have in deed what he holds in mind,\nis as wretched as if he obtained what he desires.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 63 (PL 51:517; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/63)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/64":{"o":"Magna hominis miseria est cum illo non esse, sine quo non potest esse. In quo enim est, sine dubio sine illo non est: et tamen si ejus non meminit, eumque non intelligit, neque diligit, cum illo non est. Majestate Dei concluditur omne quod usquam est: Qua sine nil rerum stare, vel esse potest. Huic homo si recte famulatur, proximus hæret; Si resilit, misero degit in exsilio. Omnia sic Dominus discriminat ordine justo. Quo sint summa bonis, ima parata malis.","t":"[Sentence] It is a great misery for man not to be with him without whom he cannot be. For he in whom man is, man is without doubt not without him; and yet if he does not remember him, nor understand him, nor love him, he is not with him.\n\n[Epigram]\nEverything that exists anywhere is enclosed by the majesty of God,\nwithout which nothing can stand or be.\nIf man serves him rightly, he clings close to him;\nif he springs away, he lives in wretched exile.\nSo the Lord distinguishes all things in just order,\nso that the highest are made ready for the good, the lowest for the wicked.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 64 (PL 51:517; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/64)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/65":{"o":"Divinitas Verbi æqualis Patri facta est particeps mortalitatis nostræ, non de suo, sed de nostro, ut et nos efficeremur participes divinitatis ejus, non de nostro, sed de ipsius. Omnipotens Genitor, Natusque, et Spiritus almus, Una in personis par tribus est deitas; Quae genus humanum, prostratum fraude maligni, Ad vitam hac fecit posse redire via: Naturæ ut nostræ Christus causæque Redemptor, Mortalis fieret, non minuens quod erat; Perque habitum servi vacuaret jura tyranni, Et lethum letho vinceret innocuo. Hinc Verbum carni insertum, carnemque receptans, Nec se confundit corpore, nec geminat: Sic naturam hominis virtute augente superna; Esset ut in vero lumine lumen homo. Qui vires mortis cum vitæ absorbuit haustu Factum est æternum quod fuit occiduum.","t":"[Sentence] The divinity of the Word, equal to the Father, was made a partaker of our mortality, not from what was his own but from what was ours, so that we too might be made partakers of his divinity, not from what is ours but from what is his.\n\n[Epigram]\nThe almighty Father, the Son, and the kindly Spirit\nare one equal Godhead in three persons;\nwhich made the human race, laid low by the fraud of the malicious one,\nable to return to life by this way:\nthat Christ, the redeemer of our nature and our cause,\nshould become mortal without lessening what he was,\nand through the garb of a servant should make void the tyrant's rights,\nand conquer death by an innocent death.\nHence the Word, grafted into flesh and taking flesh to himself,\nneither confuses himself with the body nor becomes two;\nthus the power from above enlarges human nature,\nso that man might be light in the true light.\nWhen he swallowed up the powers of death with the draught of life,\nwhat was perishing was made eternal.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 65 (PL 51:517; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/65)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/66":{"o":"Catholica fides Dominum Jesum Christum et verum Deum, et verum hominem credit et prædicat. Utrumque enim scriptum est, et utrumque verum est. Qui Deum tantummodo asserit Christum, medicinam negat qua sanatus est. Qui hominem tantum asserit Christum, potentiam negat qua creatus est, utrumque ergo, anima fidelis ac recta, suscipe. Et Deus Christus est, et homo Christus est. Qualis Deus Christus? Æqualis Patri, unum cum Patre. Qualis homo Christus? Virginis filius, habens de homine mortalitatem, non habens iniquitatem. Quisquis consilio æterno contraria sentis, Et Verbum in nostra carne manere negas, Divinae pietatis opus dissolvere quæris, Speque sua mundum dispoliare cupis. Nam quis ventura quemquam salvabit ab ira? Quisve hominis primi crimine liber erit, Si deitas Verbi non nostræ est insita carni, Aut Christus falsi corporis umbra fuit? Quis genitus puer est intactæ Virginis alvo? Quæ natura annis crevit, et aucta cibis? In qua prole patrem mundi se credidit Abram? Quæve ejus stirps est omnia sanctificans? Quod regale genus simul est et pontificale? Quisve idem David filius et Dominus, Peccati servis, et mortis compede vinctis, Unam est dignatus ferre Redemptor opem? Qui nostri generis carnem cum morte receptans, Nostra hosti, ut nobis vinceret, opposuit, Et carne exuta, dominantem perculit hostem: Ut caperet palmam præda vetusta novam.","t":"[Sentence] The catholic faith believes and preaches the Lord Jesus Christ both true God and true man. For both are written, and both are true. Whoever asserts that Christ is God only denies the medicine by which he was healed. Whoever asserts that Christ is man only denies the power by which he was created. So, faithful and upright soul, accept both. Christ is God, and Christ is man. What kind of God is Christ? Equal to the Father, one with the Father. What kind of man is Christ? The Virgin's son, having mortality from man, not having iniquity.\n\n[Epigram]\nYou who hold views contrary to the eternal counsel,\nand deny that the Word abides in our flesh,\nseek to undo the work of divine kindness,\nand want to strip the world of its hope.\nFor who will save anyone from the wrath to come?\nOr who will be free from the crime of the first man,\nif the Godhead of the Word was not implanted in our flesh,\nor Christ was the shadow of a false body?\nWhat child was born from the womb of the untouched Virgin?\nWhat nature grew with the years and was increased by food?\nIn what offspring did Abram believe himself the father of the world?\nOr what is his seed that sanctifies all?\nWhat lineage is at once royal and priestly?\nOr who is at once David's son and Lord,\nwho as Redeemer deigned to bring one help\nto the slaves of sin and to those bound in the fetter of death?\nIt is he who, taking the flesh of our race together with death,\nset what is ours against the enemy, that he might conquer for us,\nand, putting off the flesh, struck down the ruling enemy,\nso that the old prey might win a new palm.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 66 (PL 51:517; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/66)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/67":{"o":"Perfectum odium est, quod nec justitia nec scientia caret; id est, ut nec propter vitia homines oderis, nec vitia propter homines diligas. Recte ergo in malis odimus malitiam, et diligimus creaturam: ut nec propter vitium natura damnetur, nec propter naturam vitium diligatur. Recta volens animus sapiens, et amator honesti, Quosdam odio dignos judicat esse suo. Nec tamen hos toto depellit fœdere, guarus Naturam errantum dividere a vitiis. Sic generi indulgens proprio, ut peccata recidi Optet, et ut damnet crimina, non homines.","t":"[Sentence] Perfect hatred is that which lacks neither justice nor knowledge; that is, you neither hate men because of their vices, nor love vices because of the men. So in the wicked we rightly hate the malice and love the creature, so that neither is the nature condemned because of the vice, nor the vice loved because of the nature.\n\n[Epigram]\nThe wise mind, willing right things and loving the honorable,\njudges some men worthy of its hatred.\nYet it does not drive them from every bond,\nknowing how to divide the nature of the erring from their vices,\nso indulging its own kind that it wishes the sins cut away,\nand condemns crimes, not men.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 67 (PL 51:517–519; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/67)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/68":{"o":"Difficilia et laboriosa sunt figmenta mendacii. Qui autem verum vult dicere non laborat. Quietiores enim sunt boni quam mali; et absolutiora sunt verba veridicorum quam commenta fallacium. Fallaces curis semper torquentur amaris, Et mala mens numquam gaudia pacis habet. Lubrica dum trepido mendacia plasmate fingit, Consumens totum tempus in arte mali. At simplex animus, commenti et liber iniqui, Nil amat injustum, nil gerit implacidum. Sectator veri potietur luce serena, Est quoniam mendax, noxque, dolorque sibi.","t":"[Sentence] The fabrications of a lie are difficult and laborious; but he who wishes to speak the truth does not labor. For the good are quieter than the wicked, and the words of truth-tellers are freer than the inventions of deceivers.\n\n[Epigram]\nThe deceitful are always tormented with bitter cares,\nand the evil mind never has the joys of peace,\nwhile it shapes its slippery lies with trembling art,\nspending all its time in the craft of evil.\nBut the simple mind, free of wicked invention,\nloves nothing unjust, does nothing unpeaceful.\nThe follower of truth will enjoy a serene light,\nsince the liar is night and pain to himself.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 68 (PL 51:519; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/68)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/69":{"o":"Virtutum gradibus scandite lucis iter. Arduus atque arctus fert ad cœlestia callis: Devexa ad mortem ducit, et ampla via: Qua fallax tumidi incedit sapientia mundi Commentisque suis ludificata ruit, Et mala corporei sequitur dum gaudia sensus, Exsulat a vero lumine cæca procul: Nec falsarum habitu virtutum ornata juvatur. Perdit mens veri nescia, quidquid agit. Noverit ergo Deum sapiens, totisque medullis Diligat, inque ipso se quoque amator amet. Sit bonus et justus, sit verax, atque benignus, Sit forma et speculum, lux et imago Dei. In Christo factus novus, et jam carne vetusta Exutus, vilem mente relinquat humum. Ut sacri templi quacumque in parte locetur, Magnum erit, in capitis corpore quidquid erit.","t":"[Sentence] Climb the road of light by the steps of the virtues.\n\n[Epigram]\nSteep and narrow is the path that carries to heavenly things;\nthe sloping and wide way leads to death.\nOn it walks the deceitful wisdom of the swollen world,\nwhich, mocked by its own inventions, falls headlong;\nand while it follows the evil joys of bodily sense,\nit is exiled, blind, far from the true light;\nnor is it helped by being adorned in the dress of false virtues:\nthe mind that does not know the truth loses whatever it does.\nLet the wise man, then, know God, and love him with all his heart's marrow,\nand, as a lover, love himself too in him.\nLet him be good and just, truthful and kind;\nlet him be the form and mirror, the light and image of God.\nMade new in Christ, and now stripped of the old flesh,\nlet him leave the base ground behind in his mind,\nso that in whatever part of the holy temple he is placed,\nwhatever is in the body of the head will be great.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 69 (PL 51:519; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/69)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/7":{"o":"Dilectio Dei et proximi propria et specialis virtus est piorum, atque sanctorum, cum cæteræ virtutes et bonis et malis possint esse communes. Plurima sanctorum bona sunt communia multis, Et quiddam recti constat inesse malis, Sed pia pars summæ tendens virtutis ad arcem, Omne operum meritum vincit amore Dei, Quo pariter quemcumque hominum sic diligit, ut se: Hoc optans aliis quod cupit ipse sibi. Unde istis geminis virtutum qui caret alis, Coelorum ad regnum non habet unde volet.","t":"[Sentence] Love of God and of neighbor is the proper and special virtue of the pious and holy, while the other virtues can be common to the good and the wicked.\n\n[Epigram]\nMany goods of the saints are shared by many,\nand something of right is found to be in the wicked.\nBut the pious part, striving toward the citadel of highest virtue,\nsurpasses all merit of works by the love of God,\nby which it loves any man alike, as itself,\nwishing for others what it desires for itself.\nSo he who lacks these twin wings of the virtues\nhas nothing with which to fly to the kingdom of heaven.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 7 (PL 51:501; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/7)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/70":{"o":"Bonæ sunt in Scripturis sanctis mysteriorum Dei profunditates, quæ ob hoc teguntur ne vitescant; ob hoc quæruntur, ut exerceant; ob hoc aperiuntur, ut pascant. Quamvis in sacris libris, quos nosce laboras, Plurima sint, lector, clausa et opaca tibi, Invigilare tamen studio ne desine sancto. Exercent animum dona morata tuum. Gratior est fructus quem spes productior edit: Ultro objectorum vilius est pretium. Oblectant adoperta etiam mysteria mentem: Qui dedit ut quæras, addet ut invenias.","t":"[Sentence] Good are the depths of God's mysteries in the holy Scriptures: they are covered so that they may not become cheap; they are sought so that they may exercise us; they are opened so that they may feed us.\n\n[Epigram]\nThough in the sacred books, reader, which you labor to know,\nvery many things are closed and dark to you,\ndo not cease to keep watch in holy study.\nGifts that are delayed exercise your mind.\nThe fruit that a longer hope brings forth is more welcome;\nthe price of what is freely offered is cheaper.\nEven hidden mysteries delight the mind:\nhe who has given you to seek will add that you find.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 70 (PL 51:519; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/70)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/71":{"o":"Orans cum sudore sanguineo Dominus Jesus Christus, significabat de toto corpore suo, quod est Ecclesia, emanaturas martyrum passiones. Ferre parans Christus poenam, mortemque propinquam, Invictamque suis ingenerare fidem, Cum prece sanguineas fundebat corpore guttas, Et pretium mundi sudor erat Domini. Nec crucis asperitas poterat terrere volentem Quæ regnaturæ gloria carnis erat. Sed cruor ille pares sanctis spondebat honores, Orturis toto corpore martyribus. Nam, cum sacra seges terrarum impleverit orbem, Omnis ab hoc uno semine messis erit.","t":"[Sentence] When the Lord Jesus Christ prayed with a bloody sweat, he signified that the sufferings of the martyrs would flow from his whole body, which is the church.\n\n[Epigram]\nAs Christ prepared to bear punishment and a death now near,\nand to engender an unconquered faith in his own,\nwhen in prayer he poured bloody drops from his body,\nthe Lord's sweat was the price of the world.\nNor could the harshness of the cross frighten him who willed it,\nfor it was the glory of the flesh that was to reign.\nBut that blood pledged like honors to the saints,\nthe martyrs who were to arise in the whole body.\nFor when the holy crop has filled the world,\nthe whole harvest will be from this one seed.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 71 (PL 51:519; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/71)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/72":{"o":"Sacramentum pietatis in judicium sibi sumit indignus. Bene enim esse non potest male accipienti quod bonum est. Magnum praesidium est sacro libamine pasci, Si cor participis crimina nulla premunt. Nam geminat sibimet peccati pondera quisquis Quæ bona sunt sumit, quæ mala non refugit.","t":"[Sentence] The unworthy man takes the sacrament of piety as judgment on himself. For what is good cannot be good for one who receives it badly.\n\n[Epigram]\nIt is a great protection to be fed by the holy offering,\nif no crimes weigh on the heart of the one who partakes.\nFor whoever takes what is good and does not flee what is evil\ndoubles for himself the weight of his sin.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 72 (PL 51:519; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/72)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/73":{"o":"Qui laudat Deum in miraculis beneficiorum, laudet etiam in terroribus ultionum. Nam ei blanditur, et minatur. Si non blandiretur, nulla esset exhortatio; si non minaretur, nulla esset correctio. Qui laudat Dominum de mundi conditione, Et rerum in specie praedicat artificem, Laudet et æternam mortem flammasque minantem, Et justi Regis judicium metuat. Spes de promissis nihil ambigat; omne dabit Rex Quod parat, et meritis gratia major erit; Si properent sontes peccati abrumpere nodos, Ante diem mortis, dum locus est veniæ.","t":"[Sentence] Let him who praises God in the wonders of his benefits praise him also in the terrors of his punishments. For he both coaxes and threatens. If he did not coax, there would be no exhortation; if he did not threaten, there would be no correction.\n\n[Epigram]\nLet him who praises the Lord for the founding of the world,\nand proclaims the craftsman in the beauty of things,\npraise him also when he threatens eternal death and flames,\nand fear the judgment of the just King.\nLet hope doubt nothing of the promises: the King will give all\nthat he prepares, and grace will be greater than merits,\nif the guilty hurry to break the knots of sin\nbefore the day of death, while there is room for pardon.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 73 (PL 51:519; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/73)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/74":{"o":"Remedia conversionis ad Deum nullis sunt cunctationibus differenda: ne tempus correctionis pereat tarditate. Qui enim poenitenti indulgentiam promisit, dissimulanti diem crastinum non spopondit. Converti ad mores rectos, et vivere sancte In Christo meditans, quod cupit acceleret. Cedant virtuti vanarum obstacula rerum, Ne perdat voti tempora lenta fides. Quid juvat in longum causas producere morbi? Cur dubium exspectat cras hodierna salus? Scimus correctis veniam non esse negandam, Sed nulli nostrum est ultima nota dies.","t":"[Sentence] The remedies of conversion to God are not to be put off by any delays, lest the time for correction be lost through slowness. For he who promised pardon to the penitent did not promise tomorrow to the one who dissembles.\n\n[Epigram]\nLet him who thinks of turning to right conduct\nand living holily in Christ hasten what he desires.\nLet the obstacles of vain things yield to virtue,\nlest a slow faith lose the time of its vow.\nWhat good is it to prolong the causes of disease?\nWhy should today's salvation wait for a doubtful tomorrow?\nWe know that pardon is not to be denied to those who are corrected,\nbut to none of us is our last day known.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 74 (PL 51:519–521; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/74)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/75":{"o":"Omnia quae timentur rationabiliter declinantur: Deus sic timendus est, ut ab ipso ad ipsum confugiatur. Utile prudenti est mundana adversa cavere, Et quod vitandum prospiciat, fugere. Sed cum peccati merito manus Omnipotentis, Omnia concludens arctat ubique reum: Unum profugium tutum est Deus ipse timenti, A quo discedens, ne pereat, redeat. Converti namque ad Dominum certissima vita est, Et pacem offensi quaerere, sola salus, Qui terret, parcit; qui percutit, ipse medetur. Vivere vis, illi subdere, quem metuis.","t":"[Sentence] All things that are feared are reasonably avoided; but God is to be feared in such a way that one flees from him to him.\n\n[Epigram]\nIt is useful for the prudent man to guard against the world's adversities,\nand to flee what he foresees must be avoided.\nBut when, because of sin's deserts, the hand of the Almighty,\nenclosing all things, hems in the guilty everywhere,\nthe one safe refuge for the one who fears is God himself:\nlet him who departs from him return, lest he perish.\nFor to be turned to the Lord is the surest life,\nand to seek the peace of the one offended the only salvation.\nHe who terrifies, spares; he who strikes, himself heals.\nYou want to live? Submit to him whom you fear.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 75 (PL 51:521; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/75)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/76":{"o":"Virginitas carnis, corpus intactum; virginitas animæ, fides incorrupta. Carnis virginitas intacto corpore habetur; Virginitas animae est intemerata fides, Qua sine corporei nil prodest cura pudoris; Sed mentis pietas auget utrumque bonum.","t":"[Sentence] Virginity of the flesh is an untouched body; virginity of the soul is an uncorrupted faith.\n\n[Epigram]\nVirginity of the flesh is kept in an untouched body;\nvirginity of the soul is an undefiled faith,\nwithout which care for bodily chastity profits nothing;\nbut piety of mind increases both goods.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 76 (PL 51:521; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/76)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/77":{"o":"Multa nos in facultatibus nostris habere superflua probabimur, si necessaria sola retineamus. Nam vana quærentibus nihil sufficit; et alienorum quodam modo retentor est, qui profutura pauperibus inutiliter habet. Magnum peccatum est amor immoderatus habendi, Et plus quam vitæ sufficiat, cupiens. Nam quod nos vestit, quod pascit, cura salutis, Si vanis sit mens libera, non onerat. Si qua igitur superant, quorum non indiget usus, Debilibus prosint, atque juvent inopes. Quisquis enim cupide non expendenda recondit; Quae nulli tribuit, pauperibus rapuit.","t":"[Sentence] We shall be found to have many superfluous things among our possessions if we keep only what is necessary. For to those who seek vain things nothing is enough; and he who uselessly holds what would profit the poor is, in a way, a keeper of what belongs to others.\n\n[Epigram]\nAn immoderate love of having is a great sin,\nand desiring more than is enough for life.\nFor what clothes us, what feeds us, the care of health,\ndoes not burden the mind, if it is free of vain things.\nIf, then, anything is left over that use does not need,\nlet it benefit the weak and help the needy.\nFor whoever greedily stores away what ought to be spent\nhas robbed the poor of what he gave to no one.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 77 (PL 51:521; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/77)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/78":{"o":"In magna egestate sunt qui de iniquitate sunt divites: justitiae opes et sapientiae thesauros non habent. Qui autem Domino serviunt, ea bona acquirunt, quae perire non possunt. Terrenis opibus cum dives gaudet iniquus, Veris se miserum nescit egere bonis. Nam quid erit, quod non momento temporis uno Perdere mundana conditione queat? Cui licet, adversis cessantibus, omnia parcant; Lege tamen mortis sit faciendus inops. At bona justorum nullis obnoxia damnis, Hostes, furta, ignes, et mare non metuunt. Indemnis servat proprium sapientia censum, Nec perdunt meritum paxque fidesque suum. Omnis virtutum semper substantia salva est, Invitis Christi munera nemo rapit.","t":"[Sentence] Those who are rich from iniquity are in great want: they do not have the wealth of justice or the treasures of wisdom. But those who serve the Lord acquire goods that cannot perish.\n\n[Epigram]\nWhen the unjust rich man rejoices in earthly wealth,\nhe does not know that, wretched, he lacks the true goods.\nFor what will there be that he cannot lose\nin a single moment of time by the condition of the world?\nThough, with adversities ceasing, everything should spare him,\nyet by the law of death he must be made poor.\nBut the goods of the just, liable to no losses,\nfear neither enemies, nor thefts, nor fires, nor the sea.\nWisdom keeps its own wealth unharmed,\nand peace and faith do not lose their merit.\nAll the substance of the virtues is always safe;\nno one snatches Christ's gifts from the unwilling.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 78 (PL 51:521; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/78)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/79":{"o":"Non sufficit abstinere a malo, nisi fiat quod bonum est. Et parum est nemini nocere, nisi studens, multis prodesse. Dignus laude quidem est, vitam sine crimine ducens, Et quæcumque sibi sunt nocitura, cavens. Sed non hoc pietas contenta est limite claudi, Nec justo, vetitis abstinuisse, sat est. Major cura boni est, fratrum relevare labores, Et ferre optatum tristibus auxilium: Pascere jejunos, nudos vestire, ligatos Solvere, discordes conciliare sibi, Et quaecumque homines miseri solatia quaerunt, Hæc, ut possibile est, promere corde pio. Ut recti vere cupidus, vereque benignus, Quae mala sunt fugiat, quae bona sunt faciat.","t":"[Sentence] It is not enough to abstain from evil unless what is good is done. And it is little to harm no one unless one is eager to benefit many.\n\n[Epigram]\nHe is indeed worthy of praise who leads a life without crime\nand guards against whatever would harm him.\nBut piety is not content to be shut within this limit,\nnor is it enough for the just man to have kept from forbidden things.\nThe greater care of the good is to relieve the labors of their brothers\nand bring to the sorrowful the help they long for:\nto feed the hungry, clothe the naked, set the bound\nfree, reconcile the quarreling to one another,\nand whatever comforts wretched men seek,\nto bring these out, as far as possible, with a pious heart;\nso that, truly eager for the right and truly kind,\nhe may flee what is evil and do what is good.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 79 (PL 51:521; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/79)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/8":{"o":"Doctrina apostolica tam salubris tamque vitalis est, ut pro capacitate utentium neminem sui relinquat exsortem. Quia sive sint parvuli, sive magni, sive infirmi, sive fortes, habent in ea et unde alantur, et unde satientur. Exueret ut Deus tetra caligine mundum, Doctrinæ accendit lumen apostolicæ: Quae nullis animis, nullis non congruit annis, Lacte rigans parvos, pane cibans validos. Non tempus, non sexus huic, non causa resistit, Omnes erudit, alit, justificat, vegetat. Sumite quæ magnae apposuit Sapientia mensae, Et variis pasti discite deliciis. Quarum pars totum est epulum, et quo quisque juvatur, Inde capit vitam, quam parit una fides.","t":"[Sentence] The apostolic teaching is so wholesome and so life-giving that, according to the capacity of those who use it, it leaves no one without a share. For whether they are little or great, weak or strong, they have in it both what nourishes them and what fills them.\n\n[Epigram]\nTo strip the world of foul darkness,\nGod lit the light of the apostolic teaching,\nwhich suits all minds and all ages,\nwatering the little with milk, feeding the strong with bread.\nNo time, no sex, no condition resists it:\nit teaches, nourishes, justifies, and quickens all.\nTake what Wisdom has set out on her great table,\nand, fed on varied delights, learn.\nAny part of them is the whole feast; and from what helps each one\nhe takes the life which the one faith brings forth.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 8 (PL 51:501; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/8)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/80":{"o":"Peccator cum peccat, non ideo a Domino non videtur, quia male agentis poena differtur: gravius autem in eum decernitur, cui etiam ipsa correctio denegatur. Gaudet transgressor peccato impune potitus, Si non infertur debita poena reo. Ceu nulla offendant hominum commissa Tonantem, Aut aliqua Excelsi notitiam lateant. Sed vetitorum avidis gravior tunc ira timenda est, Cum sese removent verbera justitiae. Nam quid erit morbi, quod non dominabitur illi, Cui supera auxilium jam medicina negat?","t":"[Sentence] When the sinner sins, he is not therefore unseen by the Lord because the punishment of the evildoer is put off; rather, a heavier sentence is decreed against the one to whom even correction itself is denied.\n\n[Epigram]\nThe transgressor rejoices in enjoying his sin unpunished,\nif the penalty owed is not brought upon the guilty,\nas though the deeds of men did not offend the Thunderer,\nor anything lay hidden from the knowledge of the Most High.\nBut those greedy for forbidden things must fear a heavier wrath\nprecisely when the scourges of justice withdraw.\nFor what disease will there be that will not master him\nto whom heavenly medicine now denies its help?","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 80 (PL 51:521–523; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/80)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/81":{"o":"Non potest umquam fraudari delectationibus suis, cui Christus est gaudium. Æterna enim exsultatio est quæ bono lætatur æterno. Felices fere faciunt, semperque beatos, De vero et summo gaudia nata bono. Nam mundi ex opibus brevis ac peritura voluptas, Edita perpetuæ semina mortis habet. Non placeat vanis animum submittere rebus, Pestiferisque avidam mentem onerare cibis. Cor mundum et sapiens fructu virtutis alatur, Et Christi in nostro pectore regnet amor, Quo semel impletus, numquam vacuabitur illo. Æterna æterni flumina fontis erunt.","t":"[Sentence] He whose joy is Christ can never be cheated of his delights. For that exultation is eternal which rejoices in the eternal good.\n\n[Epigram]\nJoys born of the true and highest good\nmake men truly happy, and blessed forever.\nFor the brief and perishing pleasure that comes from the world's wealth\nholds within it the seeds of everlasting death.\nLet it not please us to subject the soul to vain things,\nand to load the greedy mind with poisonous foods.\nLet the pure and wise heart be fed with the fruit of virtue,\nand let the love of Christ reign in our breast;\nonce filled with it, the heart will never be emptied of it:\nthe streams of the eternal fountain will be eternal.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 81 (PL 51:523; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/81)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/82":{"o":"Deo, qui ubique est, non locis, sed actionibus, aut longinqui, aut proximi sumus, quia sicut separat dissimilitudo, ita nos illi conjungit imitatio. Ambitum mundi totum Deus implet et ambit, Nec praesens ulli desinit esse loco. A quo longinquus multum est, nimiumque remotus, Quisquis sinceræ luce caret fidei: Cujus si radiis depulsa nocte nitescat, Divino impletus lumine lumen erit. Non igitur terrarum orbis, non aequora ponti Invia circuitu sunt obeunda vago, Ut possit rerum dominator et auctor adiri, Quem templo in cordis mens pia semper habet. A quo ut dissimilis tetra in deserta recedit, Sic vitæ merito proximus est similis.","t":"[Sentence] To God, who is everywhere, we are far or near not by places but by actions; for as unlikeness separates us from him, so imitation joins us to him.\n\n[Epigram]\nGod fills and encircles the whole compass of the world,\nand never ceases to be present in any place.\nVery far from him, and all too remote,\nis whoever lacks the light of sincere faith;\nif, the night driven off, he shines with its rays,\nfilled with divine light he will be light.\nSo we need not travel over the earth, or the trackless\nexpanses of the sea, in a wandering circuit,\nto be able to approach the ruler and author of things,\nwhom the pious mind always holds in the temple of the heart.\nAs the one unlike him withdraws into foul deserts,\nso the one like him is near by the merit of his life.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 82 (PL 51:523; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/82)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/83":{"o":"Omnis infidelium vita peccatum est et nihil est bonum sine summo bono. Ubi enim deest agnitio æternæ et incommutabilis veritatis, falsa virtus est, etiam in optimis moribus. Quamvis multa homini post vulnera prima super sint, Quae vitam hanc faciant laudis habere decus: Si tamen ingenio claro et probitatis amori Fons desit Dei, subdita corda rigans; Cunctarum frugum marcescit inutile germen, Nec fruitur vero lumine falsus honor. Ignoratus enim Deus, et non credita virtus, Quæ vera ad summum provehit arte bonum, Non sinit eniti regna ad coelestia mentem, Obstructam vanis, occiduisque gravem. Perque omnes calles errat sapientia mundi, Et tenebris addit, quae sine luce gerit.","t":"[Sentence] The whole life of unbelievers is sin, and nothing is good without the highest good. For where the knowledge of the eternal and unchangeable truth is lacking, virtue is false, even in the best of morals.\n\n[Epigram]\nThough after the first wounds many things remain to man\nwhich give this life the beauty of praise,\nyet if a bright talent and the love of uprightness\nlack the fountain of God, which waters submissive hearts,\nthe useless shoot of every crop withers,\nand false honor does not enjoy the true light.\nFor God unknown, and a virtue not believed\nthat leads by true art to the highest good,\ndo not let the mind strive up to the heavenly kingdom,\nobstructed by vain things and weighed down by what perishes;\nand the wisdom of the world wanders along every path,\nand adds to the darkness what it does without light.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 83 (PL 51:523; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/83)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/84":{"o":"Male celebrat sabbatum, qui ab operibus bonis vacat. Otium autem ab iniquitate debet esse perpetuum, quia bona conscientia non inquietum, sed tranquillum facit. Non recto servat legalia sabbata cultu, Qui pietatis opus credit in his vetitum. Nulla dies actus hominum non damnat iniquos Omnia conveniunt tempora justitiæ. Nec corrumpuntur virtutibus otia sancta; Tantum a peccatis libera corda vacent.","t":"[Sentence] He keeps the sabbath badly who is idle from good works. But rest from iniquity ought to be perpetual, because a good conscience makes one not restless but calm.\n\n[Epigram]\nHe does not keep the sabbaths of the law with right worship\nwho believes that the work of piety is forbidden on them.\nThere is no day that does not condemn the wicked acts of men;\nall times are fit for justice.\nNor is holy leisure spoiled by virtues;\nonly let hearts be free and at rest from sins.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 84 (PL 51:523; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/84)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/85":{"o":"Libera semper est servitus apud Deum; cui non necessitas servit, sed charitas. Libertas nulla est melior, majorve potestas, Quam servire Deo, cui bene servit amor. Absque jugo posita est ditionis amica voluntas: Quæ viget affectu, non gemit imperio.","t":"[Sentence] Service is always free with God, whom not necessity but love serves.\n\n[Epigram]\nThere is no better liberty, no greater power,\nthan to serve God, whom love serves well.\nThe willing heart is set free of the yoke of dominion:\nit thrives by affection and does not groan under command.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 85 (PL 51:523; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/85)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/86":{"o":"Quo primum vitio superatus est homo, hoc ultimum vincit. Cum enim omnia peccata superaverit, manet periculum ne mens bene sibi conscia in se potius quam in Domino glorietur. Qua primum in mortem est homo pulsus fraude maligni, Hanc illi extremam bella peracta movent. Sublimes ut eum palmas clarasque coronas Sumpserit, atque hostem subdiderit pedibus, Virtuti propriae velit assignare triumphum, Non Domino, cujus munus opusque fuit. In quo uno semper superat qui non superatur; Quo dignante manum subdere, nemo cadit.","t":"[Sentence] The vice by which man was first overcome is the last he overcomes. For when he has overcome all sins, there remains the danger that the mind, well aware of its own goodness, may glory in itself rather than in the Lord.\n\n[Epigram]\nThe fraud of the malicious one by which man was first driven into death\nis the last that the finished wars stir up against him:\nthat when he has taken lofty palms and bright crowns,\nand put the enemy beneath his feet,\nhe should want to ascribe the triumph to his own virtue,\nnot to the Lord, whose gift and work it was.\nIn him alone the one who is not overcome always overcomes;\nwhen he deigns to lend his hand, no one falls.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 86 (PL 51:523–525; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/86)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/87":{"o":"Non poterit hominis labor finiri, nisi hoc diligat quod ei non possit auferri. Ancipitis vitae qui vis superare labores, Dilige quod semper verus amator habet. Instant terrenis infesta pericula rebus, Fervent pro damnis praelia, proque lucris. Et nihil est inter carnalia vota quietum, Nec pax sollicitis, nec modus est cupidis. In solo est mens tuta Deo, quem linquere nolens, Numquam erit aeterno non opulenta bono.","t":"[Sentence] Man's labor cannot end unless he loves what cannot be taken from him.\n\n[Epigram]\nYou who wish to overcome the labors of an uncertain life,\nlove what the true lover always has.\nHostile dangers press upon earthly things;\nbattles rage over losses and gains;\nand nothing is at rest among fleshly wishes,\nno peace for the anxious, no limit for the greedy.\nIn God alone is the mind safe; unwilling to leave him,\nit will never lack eternal good.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 87 (PL 51:525; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/87)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/88":{"o":"Adulantium linguæ alligant animas in peccatis. Delectat enim ea facere, in quibus non solum non metuitur reprehensor, sed etiam laudator auditur. Lingua assentatrix vitium peccantis acervat, Et delectatum crimine laude ligat. Nulla sit ut lapso reparandæ cura salutis, Blanditur sonti dum malesuasus honor. Libera sit potius vox correcturis amici, Serpere nec fibris caeca venena sinat. Nec credens medici verbis fallacibus æger, Noxia laudatæ vulnera pestis amet.","t":"[Sentence] The tongues of flatterers bind souls in their sins. For it is delightful to do those things for which one not only does not fear a reprover but even hears a praiser.\n\n[Epigram]\nThe assenting tongue heaps up the sinner's vice,\nand binds with praise the one who delights in crime,\nso that the fallen has no care to restore his salvation,\nwhile ill-advised honor flatters the guilty.\nRather let a friend's voice be free to correct,\nand not let blind poisons creep through the vitals;\nnor let the sick man, believing the deceitful words of a physician,\nlove the harmful wounds of a plague that is praised.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 88 (PL 51:525; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/88)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/89":{"o":"Qui etiam non percepto regenerationis lavacro, pro Christi confessione moriuntur, tantum eis valet ad abolenda peccata, quantum si abluerentur fonte baptismatis. Si mundo moritur divino fonte renascens, Fitque novus vita, qui sepelitur aqua: Fraudati non sunt sacro baptismate Christi, Fons quibus ipsa sui sanguinis unda fuit. Et quidquid leri fert mystica forma lavacri, Id totum implevit gloria martyrii.","t":"[Sentence] Those who die for the confession of Christ without having received the washing of regeneration are helped by it toward the abolishing of their sins as much as if they had been washed in the font of baptism.\n\n[Epigram]\nIf one who is reborn in the divine font dies to the world,\nand one who is buried in the water becomes new in life,\nthose are not cheated of the holy baptism of Christ\nfor whom the wave of their own blood was the font.\nAnd whatever the mystical form of the washing confers,\nthe glory of martyrdom has wholly fulfilled.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 89 (PL 51:525; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/89)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/9":{"o":"Deum quaerens, gaudium quærit. Sic ergo quaerat, ut non in se, sed in Domino gaudeat. Accedendo enim ad Deum, illuminatur ignorantia et corroboratur infirmitas, data sibi et intelligentia qua videat, et charitate qua serviat. Scire Deum cupiens, gaudere et vivere quærit, Si verum et summum norit amare Deum. Cui tribuat quidquid recte sapit, optat, agitque, Et sine quo carnis gloria pulvis erit. Non ergo in quoquam sua munera deserit auctor, Perque suum Dominus se manifestat opus, Inque illis habitat dives penetralibus hospes, Qua gaudent hoc se comta quod ipse dedit.","t":"[Sentence] He who seeks God seeks joy. Let him seek, then, so as to rejoice not in himself but in the Lord. For by drawing near to God ignorance is enlightened and weakness strengthened, understanding being given him by which to see, and love by which to serve.\n\n[Epigram]\nHe who desires to know God seeks to rejoice and to live,\nif he knows how to love the true and highest God,\nto whom he should ascribe whatever he rightly knows, wishes, and does,\nand without whom the glory of the flesh will be dust.\nSo the author does not abandon his gifts in anyone,\nand the Lord shows himself through his own work,\nand dwells, a rich guest, in those inner rooms\nwhere they rejoice to be adorned with what he himself gave.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 9 (PL 51:501; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/9)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/90":{"o":"Justitia nostra, quamvis vera sit, propter verum boni finem ad quem refertur, tamen tanta est in hac vita, ut potius remissione peccatorum constet quam perfectione virtutum. Magna quidem in multis est excellentia sanctis, Quorum animos superi gratia roris alit. Sed dum mens quædam patitur mala corporis ægri, Et pugnam interius exteriora movent; Numquam ita perfecto capitur victoria bello, Vera ut securus pace fruatur homo. Inter discordes motus contagia serpunt, Ipsaque virtutum gaudia vulnus habent. Ut faciat cunctis longa experientia notum, Non esse hoc plenam tempore justitiam: Ni Dominus miserando lavet delicta suorum; Et dans virtutum munera, det veniam.","t":"[Sentence] Our justice, though it is true because of the true end of the good to which it is referred, is yet such in this life that it consists rather in the forgiveness of sins than in the perfection of virtues.\n\n[Epigram]\nGreat indeed is the excellence of many saints,\nwhose souls the grace of heavenly dew nourishes.\nBut while the mind suffers certain ills of the sick body,\nand outward things stir up battle within,\nthe victory is never won in a war so completed\nthat man may enjoy true peace in safety.\nAmid discordant motions contagions creep in,\nand even the joys of the virtues have a wound;\nso that long experience makes it known to all\nthat there is no full justice in this time,\nunless the Lord in mercy washes away the faults of his own,\nand, giving them the gifts of the virtues, gives them pardon.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 90 (PL 51:525; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/90)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/91":{"o":"Incognitis causis operum divinorum, non nihil novimus, cum scimus non sine ratione Omnipotentem facere, unde infirmus humanus animus rationem non potest reddere. Divinorum operum secretas noscere causas Humanis non est possibile ingeniis. Nec nullo tamen intuitu speculatur operta, Qui multa ut lateant scit placuisse Deo. In quo mens imbuta fide simul omnia discit, Perque operum speciem suspicit artificem, Fingentem rebus formas, loca, tempora, motus, Mensuris, numeris, ponderibusque suis. Scrutari ne cura procax abstrusa laboret, Cui cuncta in Christo nosse, et habere datur.","t":"[Sentence] When the causes of divine works are unknown, we do know something, since we know that the Almighty does not act without reason in matters for which the weak human mind cannot give a reason.\n\n[Epigram]\nTo know the secret causes of divine works\nis not possible for human minds.\nYet he does not contemplate hidden things with no insight at all\nwho knows that it has pleased God that many things be hidden.\nIn him the mind steeped in faith learns all things at once,\nand through the beauty of the works looks up to the craftsman,\nwho shapes for things their forms, places, times, and motions\nby his own measures, numbers, and weights.\nLet no impudent care labor to search out what is concealed,\nfor to the mind it is given to know and to have all things in Christ.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 91 (PL 51:525; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/91)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/92":{"o":"Non est desperandum de malis, sed pro ipsis, studiosius supplicandum. Quia numerus sanctorum de numero semper est auctus impiorum. Ut morbo oppressis præstanda est cura medendi, Donec in ægroto corpore vita manet; Sic pravis, multa et vitiorum mole gravatis, Sanctarum pietas est adhibenda precum. Ut dum possibile est mutari corda malorum, Horrescat noctis devia lucis amor, Conversisque novam mentem det gratia Christi, Qua fiunt homines justificante boni. In tranquillitate pacis comprehendenda est doctrina sapientiae, quæ inter tribulationum turbines difficulter agnoscitur. Nec facile inveniuntur in adversitate præsidia, quae non fuerint in pace quæsita. Dum non perturbant animum discrimina mundi, Dumque diem pacis praelia nulla premunt; Exercere fidem divinis convenit armis, Consilioque omnes anticipare minas. Tranquillam et curis vacuam sapientia mentem Imbuet, et placidi pectoris hospes erit. Nam quod non fuerit conceptum corde quieto, Acquiri in sævo turbine non poterit.","t":"[Sentence] We must not despair of the wicked, but pray for them all the more zealously, because the number of the saints has always been increased from the number of the impious.\n\n[Epigram]\nAs the care of healing must be given to those oppressed by disease\nas long as life remains in the sick body,\nso the devotion of holy prayers must be applied\nto the depraved, weighed down by the great mass of their vices,\nso that, while it is possible for the hearts of the wicked to be changed,\nthe love of light may shudder at the byways of night,\nand the grace of Christ may give the converted a new mind,\nby which, as he justifies them, men become good.\n\n[Epigram 93: On seeking defenses in peace]\n\n[Sentence] The teaching of wisdom must be grasped in the tranquility of peace, for it is recognized only with difficulty amid the whirlwinds of tribulations. Nor are defenses easily found in adversity that were not sought in peace.\n\n[Epigram]\nWhile the dangers of the world do not disturb the mind,\nand no battles press upon the day of peace,\nit is fitting to exercise faith with divine arms\nand forestall all threats by counsel.\nWisdom will fill the tranquil mind, free of cares,\nand will be the guest of a calm breast.\nFor what was not conceived in a quiet heart\ncannot be acquired in a savage whirlwind.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 92 (PL 51:525–527; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/92)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/94":{"o":"Potest homo invitus amittere temporalia bona; numquam vero, nisi volens, perdit æterna. Omne bonum mundo concretum, et tempore partum Quacumque amitti conditione potest. Et quamvis damnis vigilanter cura resistat, Sæpe tamen propriis dispoliatur homo. At bona, quæ vere bona sunt, nec fine tenentur, Semper habet, quisquis semper habere cupit. Nec vim ferre potest Christo subnixa voluntas, In quo persistens omnia vincit amor.","t":"[Sentence] A man can lose temporal goods against his will; but he never loses eternal ones unless he wills it.\n\n[Epigram]\nEvery good put together in the world and gotten in time\ncan be lost under any circumstance.\nAnd though care resists losses watchfully,\nyet a man is often stripped of what is his.\nBut the goods that are truly good and are bounded by no end\nare always had by whoever always desires to have them.\nNor can a will that rests on Christ suffer violence,\nfor in him love, persevering, conquers all.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 94 (PL 51:527; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/94)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/95":{"o":"Fideliter supplicans Deo pro necessitatibus hujus vitæ et misericorditer auditur, et misericorditer non auditur. Quid enim infirmo sit utile, magis novit medicus quam ægrotus. Si autem id postulat quod Deus præcipit et promittit, fiet omnino quod poscit. Quia accipit charitas, quod parat veritas. Inter mundanae mala conflictantia vitæ, Sæpe quibus Domini corripitur populus, Qui tempestatum varia sub clade laborant, Noscant se justi ferre flagella Dei: Atque ipsum toto gemitu planctuque precentur, Ut, qua scit, miseris auxilietur ope. Non etenim proprio arbitrio curabitur aeger. Nec vero leges ipse dabit medico. Morbida rimetur penetralia dextra salutis, Et depressa gravi viscera peste levet. Absque dolore quidem nequeunt mala sueta repelli: Sed quod læserunt dulcia, amara novant. Pæniteat morum, et vitiis virtute fugatis, Regnum peccati respuat aula Dei. Ad veniam tendunt justi pia verbera Regis. Ira brevis rectis gaudia longa dabit.","t":"[Sentence] One who prays faithfully to God for the needs of this life is both mercifully heard and mercifully not heard. For what is useful to the sick the physician knows better than the patient. But if he asks for what God commands and promises, what he asks will certainly be done, because love receives what truth prepares.\n\n[Epigram]\nAmid the conflicting evils of worldly life,\nwith which the Lord's people is often chastised,\nlet those who labor under the varied disasters of the storms\nknow that they bear the just scourges of God;\nand let them pray to him with all their groaning and lament\nto help the wretched with the help he knows best.\nFor the sick man will not be cured by his own choice,\nnor will he himself lay down laws for the physician.\nLet the right hand of salvation probe the diseased inner parts,\nand relieve the bowels weighed down by heavy plague.\nWithout pain, indeed, accustomed evils cannot be driven off;\nbut what sweet things have harmed, bitter things renew.\nLet there be repentance of our ways, and, with vices put to flight by virtue,\nlet God's court cast out the reign of sin.\nThe kindly blows of the just King tend toward pardon;\na brief anger will give long joys to the upright.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 95 (PL 51:527; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/95)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/96":{"o":"Actio in hac vita pia est, Deum colere et in ejus gratia contra vitia interna pugnare, eisque usque ad illicita instigantibus cogentibusve non cedere: et ubi ceditur indulgentiam, atque ut non cedatur adjutorium Dei, affectu religiosae pietatis exposcere. In paradiso autem, si nemo peccasset, non esset actio pietatis expugnare vitia, quia felicitatis esset per mansio vitia non habere. Numquam bella bonis, numquam discrimina desunt, Et cum quo certet, mens pia semper habet. Quae carnem oblectant, sancto sunt noxia cordi, Contra animi legem prælia corpus habet. Pulsant exterius diversis motibus hostes, Intus civile est et sociale malum. Ut possit mundi illecebris vitiisque resisti, Vis est corporei mortificanda hominis. Sed quae mens recto famulam sub jure tenebit, Edomitæ ut regnet carnis in officiis; Excelso nisi quae servit, bene subdita Regi, Unde est facta volens, fiat et inde valens?","t":"[Sentence] The work of piety in this life is to worship God and, in his grace, to fight against the vices within, and not to yield to them when they urge or drive toward what is unlawful; and, where one yields, to ask pardon, and, that one may not yield, to ask God's help with the affection of religious devotion. But in paradise, if no one had sinned, the work of piety would not be to fight down vices, because it would belong to the happiness of that dwelling not to have vices.\n\n[Epigram]\nWars are never lacking to the good, nor dangers,\nand the pious mind always has someone to fight.\nWhat delights the flesh is harmful to the holy heart;\nthe body wages war against the law of the mind.\nEnemies knock outside with various motions;\nwithin is a civil and a social evil.\nThat the world's allurements and vices may be resisted,\nthe force of the bodily man must be put to death.\nBut what mind will hold its handmaid under right law,\nand reign over the services of the tamed flesh,\nunless it serves the lofty King, well subjected to him,\nso that from the source by which it was made willing it may also be made able?","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 96 (PL 51:527; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/96)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/97":{"o":"Omnia per Verbum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est nihil. Cum itaque universae natura per Verbum Dei factæ sint, iniquitas per ipsum facta non est. Quia iniquitas nulla substantia est, et peccatum non natura est, sed vitium naturæ, id appetentis quod non est ordinis sui. Per Verbum omnipotens Deus omnia condidit unus, A quo natura est nulla creata mali. Et quod non fecit dives sapientia Verbi, Non habet in rerum conditione locum. Nulla igitur vitiis substantia, nullaque vita est, Quae vegetet corpus, materiamque suam. Sed cum libertas discedit ab ordine recto, Nec servant proprium quæ bona sunt, modulum, In culpa et vitio est vagus in contraria motus, Fitque malum veram deseruisse viam. In quam si toto properet quis corde reverti, Nullus neglecti limitis error erit: Totaque deleti peccati poena peribit, Condita in integrum restituente Deo. Deus cum aliquid male poscitur, dando irascitur, non dando miseretur. Cum Deus effectum precibus non præstat iniquis, Multum concedit, quod nocitura negat. Errantes voto non vult delinquere facto, Iratus sineret, quod prohibet placidus. Discat felici supplex gaudere repulsa, Incipiatque animo pellere quod voluit. Parcentemque Deum noscat sibi, cum ruiturus Non exaudiri, ne rueret, meruit.","t":"[Sentence] \"All things were made through the Word, and without him nothing was made.\" Since, then, the natures of the universe were made through the Word of God, iniquity was not made through him; for iniquity is no substance, and sin is not a nature but a vice of nature, desiring what is not of its own order.\n\n[Epigram]\nThrough the Word the one almighty God founded all things,\nand by him no nature of evil was created.\nAnd what the rich wisdom of the Word did not make\nhas no place in the founding of things.\nSo vices have no substance, and no life\nthat would quicken a body and its matter.\nBut when freedom departs from right order,\nand good things do not keep their proper measure,\nthere is in guilt and vice a wandering motion toward contraries,\nand evil consists in having deserted the true way.\nIf anyone hastens to return to it with his whole heart,\nthere will be no error from the boundary he neglected,\nand the whole penalty of the sin blotted out will perish,\nas God restores what he created to wholeness.\n\n[Epigram 98: On petitions contrary to God]\n\n[Sentence] When something is wrongly asked of God, he is angry in giving it, and merciful in not giving it.\n\n[Epigram]\nWhen God does not grant the prayers of the wicked,\nhe grants much by denying what would harm.\nHe does not want those who err in their wishes to sin in deed:\nin anger he would allow what in kindness he forbids.\nLet the suppliant learn to rejoice in a happy refusal,\nand begin to drive from his mind what he wanted;\nand let him know that God was sparing him when, about to fall,\nhe deserved not to be heard, so that he would not fall.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 97 (PL 51:527–529; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/97)."},"prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/99":{"o":"Nullo modo judiciis hominum comparanda sunt judicia Dei, quem non dubitandum est esse justum, etiam quando facit quod hominibus videtur injustum. Judicium humanum, quod falli saepe necesse est, Non semper recipit regula justitiae. At Domini in cunctis æqua est veraxque potestas, Aspectum cujus nulla remota latent. Talis laudetur judex, timeatur, ametur, Qui vere justus permanet atque bonus: Adversos revocans, conversis cuncta remittens, Atque malis veniam dando bonos faciens. Non ergo audacter mens veri nescia culpet, Quod placuit summi judicis arbitrio. Sed subdat sese justo ignorantia Regi, Qui numquam quae sunt non bona velle potest.","t":"[Sentence] In no way are the judgments of God to be compared with the judgments of men; we must not doubt that he is just, even when he does what seems unjust to men.\n\n[Epigram]\nHuman judgment, which must often be deceived,\ndoes not always keep the rule of justice.\nBut the Lord's power is fair and true in all things,\nand nothing remote is hidden from his sight.\nLet such a judge be praised, feared, and loved,\nwho remains truly just and good:\ncalling back the hostile, forgiving all to the converted,\nand making the wicked good by giving them pardon.\nSo let not a mind that does not know the truth boldly blame\nwhat has pleased the will of the highest judge;\nbut let ignorance submit itself to the just King,\nwho can never will what is not good.","f":"Prosper of Aquitaine, <i>Epigr.</i> 99 (PL 51:529; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/99)."}}