Exposition of Psalm 118 11.13.1–12.11.1
Latin text: CSEL 62 (Latin text: Schenkl/Petschenig, CSEL 62, digitized by Open Greek and Latin (csel-dev, University of Leipzig), CC BY-SA 4.0).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Exposition 11, chapter 13
11.13.1CSEL 62:241
Sequitur uersus tertius: q u oinam f actus sum sicut uter in gelicidio; uistificationes s tuas non sum oblitu s. uox ista uox iusti est qui mortificauerit suum corpus. recte enim uter dicitur iustus, qui expoliatus, non nudus inueniatur; uter namque de exuuiis fit animantis mortui. igitur et nos peccato moriamur, ut uiuamus deo.
The third verse follows: “For I have become like a wineskin in the frost; I have not forgotten your statutes.” This voice is the voice of the righteous man who has mortified his body. For the righteous man is rightly called a wineskin, who, stripped, is not found naked; for a wineskin is made from the skin of a dead animal. Let us too, then, die to sin, so that we may live to God.
Ps 119:83 (118:83 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 5:3 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rom 6:11 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 83: the righteous man is like a wineskin, made from dead skin: he has died to sin to live to God.
- Ps 118:83 (Ps 119:83); 2 Cor 5:3; Rom 6:11. The digital text’s “q u oinam f actus” and “uistificationes s … oblitu s” are read as “quoniam factus” and “iustificationes … oblitus”.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.13.1 (CSEL 62:241; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-13-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-13-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.13.2CSEL 62:241
repleti spiritus iucunditate et suauitate laetitiae erimus exuuiae spiritales, carentes infirmitate corporea et integro mentis sinu infusam nobis diuinorum mysteriorum gratiam reseruantes. de his utribus dicitur, quia uinum nouum in utres nouos mittunt qui uolunt utrumque seruare, et corpus et gratiam.
Filled with the gladness of the Spirit and the sweetness of joy, we shall be spiritual skins, lacking bodily weakness and keeping in the whole bosom of the mind the grace of the divine mysteries poured into us. Of these wineskins it is said that those who wish to preserve both, both body and grace, put new wine into new wineskins.
Matt 9:17 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Filled with the Spirit, we become new wineskins that keep the new wine of grace.
- Matt 9:17. The digital text’s “nuuom” is read as “nouum”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): uinum nuuom → uinum nouum.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.13.2 (CSEL 62:241; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-13-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-13-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.13.3CSEL 62:241
non effluat igitur tuus hic uter, non rimosus sit, non terreno inueterascat situ, ne uinum nouum ueteres utres rumpat, scindantur utres, fundatur gratia. non iterum sole iniquitatis et nimia ui caloris arescant, sed feruentium uiscerum cupiditates diuersae niuali quodam frigore temperentur.
Let this wineskin of yours, then, not leak, not be cracked, not grow old with earthly mold, lest the new wine burst old wineskins, the skins be torn, and grace be poured out. Nor again let them dry up from the sun of iniquity and excessive force of heat, but let the various desires of the burning inner parts be tempered by a kind of snowy cold.
Matt 9:17 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Keep the wineskin sound and cool, lest the new wine of grace be lost.
- Matt 9:17. The digital text’s “nonum” is read as “nouum”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): uinum nonum → uinum nouum.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.13.3 (CSEL 62:241; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-13-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-13-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.13.4CSEL 62:241
frigescat aestus libidinis et quodam continentiae gelu ieiuniorumque restrictus matutina oratione perfletur, quando sicut ros ita super terram nostram dei uerba descendunt, sicut imber super gramen et sicut nix super faenum. nescit utrem bonum ista nix laedere, nix quae diuini splendore fulget eloquii. nix haec refrigerat, non adurit, fecundat sata, non internecat. nix haec praeceptio continentiae est, quae calorem facit frigere corporeum et omnem naturae interioris restinguit ardorem.
Let the heat of lust grow cold, and, held in by a kind of frost of continence and fasting, let it be blown upon by morning prayer, when the words of God come down upon our earth like dew, like rain upon the grass and like snow upon the hay. This snow does not know how to harm a good wineskin, the snow that shines with the splendor of the divine word. This snow cools, does not burn; it makes the crops fruitful, does not kill them. This snow is the precept of continence, which makes bodily heat grow cold and quenches all the burning of the inner nature.
Deut 32:2 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The cooling snow of God’s word, continence, and fasting quench the heat of lust.
- Deut 32:2 (Greek form). The digital text’s “fngescat” is read as “frigescat”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): fngescat → frigescat.
Topics: Fasting, Prayer, Sexual morality
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.13.4 (CSEL 62:241; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-13-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-13-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.13.5CSEL 62:241–242
et forte ideo cum Iesus resurrectionis suae demonstraret gloriam, uestimenta eius erant candida sicut nix, ut non solum ipse alienus aestimaretur contagione peccati, uerum etiam quicumque resuscitatur congelatis coniugii cupiditatibus resurgere frigidus uideretur; in resurrectione enim neque nubunt neque uxores ducunt, sed erunt sicut angeli in caelo. boni ergo utres frigidi, hoc est in gelicidio constricti pruinis, non libidinis calore resoluti.
And perhaps that is why, when Jesus showed the glory of his resurrection, his garments were white as snow, so that not only he himself might be judged free of the contagion of sin, but also whoever is raised might seem to rise cold, with the desires of marriage frozen; for in the resurrection they neither marry nor take wives, but will be like the angels in heaven. Good wineskins, then, are cold, that is, bound with hoarfrost in the frost, not loosened by the heat of lust.
Matt 28:3 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 17:2 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 22:30 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ’s snow-white garments signify the resurrection life, in which there is no marrying.
- Matt 28:3; Matt 17:2; Matt 22:30.
Topics: Eschatology, Resurrection of the body
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.13.5 (CSEL 62:241–242; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-13-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-13-5
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 11, chapter 14
11.14.1CSEL 62:242
Utrem autem corpus hoc dici licet ex pluribus locis, tamen etiam inde intellege, quod Adam et Eua, ubi imaginem deposuere caelestis quam ante portabant, imaginem terreni hominis induentes tunicas dicti sunt uestiti esse pellicias; corporales enim eos de spiritalibus fecerat culpa commissa. nec illud absurdum ad intellegendum, quod ita se dicat factum Dauid sicut utrem in gelicidio, eo quod in asperitate licet positus glaciali mortificauerit tamen corpus suum,
That this body may be called a wineskin is permitted from many places, yet understand it also from this, that Adam and Eve, when they laid aside the image of the heavenly one which they bore before, putting on the image of the earthly man, are said to have been clothed in tunics of skin; for the fault committed had made them bodily from spiritual. Nor is it absurd to understand that David says he was made like a wineskin in the frost because, though placed in icy harshness, he nevertheless mortified his body,
Gen 3:21 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 15:49 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The body is a wineskin: Adam and Eve were clothed in skins after the fall.
- Gen 3:21; 1 Cor 15:49. Ambrose’s view that the fall made them “bodily” is translated as written.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.14.1 (CSEL 62:242; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-14-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-14-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.14.2CSEL 62:242
ne sentiret hiemis illius asperitatem quam saluator dicit grauem futuram esse fugientibus. sicut enim glaciem non sentit uter, quia pellis est mortui, ita mortuus peccato propheta frigus peccati sentire non poterat, uel certe quod non frangatur necessitatibus nec resistat caro menti, sed mollior ductu animae se inflectat imperiis et in hoc mundi gelicidio non
so as not to feel the harshness of that winter which the Savior says will be grievous to those who flee. For just as a wineskin does not feel ice, because it is the skin of a dead animal, so the prophet, dead to sin, could not feel the cold of sin; or certainly because the flesh is not broken by necessities nor resists the mind, but, softer, bends to the soul’s guidance and commands, and in this frost of the world does not
Matt 24:20 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 6:2 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Dead to sin like a dead skin, the prophet did not feel the cold of sin.
- Matt 24:20; Rom 6:2.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.14.2 (CSEL 62:242; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-14-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-14-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.14.3CSEL 62:242–243
arescat, uel quia corpus adflictionis sumus et mortem domini Iesu semper in nostro corpore circumferre debemus. hic est uter qui castigat corpus suum, non ut ille incrassatus et obesus populus, qui sedit manducare et bibere, et surrexerunt ludere. hic est uter qui inebriat non uino, sed spiritu, in quo non botryo amaritudinis, non draconum furor, non furor aspidum, sed poculum inebrians quam praeclarum. in hoc ergo gloriatur Dauid, quia factus est sicut uter in gelicidio, operationem peccati non sentiens.
dry up; or because we are a body of affliction and must always carry about the death of the Lord Jesus in our body. This is the wineskin that chastises its body, not like that fattened and gross people who sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. This is the wineskin that makes drunk not with wine but with the Spirit, in which there is no cluster of bitterness, no fury of dragons, no fury of asps, but “the inebriating cup, how excellent!” In this, then, David glories, that he has become like a wineskin in the frost, not feeling the working of sin.
2 Cor 4:10 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 9:27 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 32:6 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 10:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Eph 5:18 (allusion, high confidence) · Deut 32:32 (allusion, high confidence) · Deut 32:33 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 23:5 (22:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The good wineskin chastises the body and is filled not with wine but with the Spirit.
- 2 Cor 4:10; 1 Cor 9:27; Exod 32:6 (1 Cor 10:7); Eph 5:18; Deut 32:32–33; Ps 23:5 (LXX 22:5).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): uel Quia corpus → uel quia corpus.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.14.3 (CSEL 62:242–243; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-14-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-14-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 11, chapter 15
11.15.1CSEL 62:243
Et bene peccatum gelicidio conparatur. sicut enim gelicidium ad nullum usum utile est, ad nullam operationem, sic culpa nulli prodest usui, nulli operationi, et ideo sicut gelicidium declinanda est, ne noceat et adurat. bonum ergo mihi fieri sicut utrem in gelicidio, ut possim non obliuisci iustificationes domini, ut earum liquore perfusus refrigeret omnis feruor internae cupiditatis.
And well is sin compared to frost. For just as frost is useful for no purpose, for no work, so guilt profits no use, no work, and so like frost it must be avoided, lest it harm and burn. It is good, then, for me to become like a wineskin in the frost, so that I may not forget the Lord’s statutes, so that, soaked with their liquid, every heat of inner desire may be cooled.
Ps 119:83 (118:83 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Sin, like frost, is useless; the soul soaked in God’s statutes is cooled from desire.
- Ps 119:83.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.15.1 (CSEL 62:243; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-15-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-15-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.15.2CSEL 62:243
non ergo uacuum, sed plenum hunc utrem esse oportet, plenum spiritus, plenum iustificationum, ut peccata mea ipse confitear, ut luxuriam carnis meae conprimam; moriendum est enim mundo, ut uiuamus deo. si autem uiuamus carni, mors utique est carnis prudentia; uiuere non possumus deo, quia inimica deo carnalis ista sapientia et uita est saecularis.
This wineskin, then, must be not empty but full: full of the Spirit, full of statutes, so that I may confess my sins myself, so that I may restrain the luxury of my flesh; for we must die to the world so that we may live to God. But if we live to the flesh, surely the prudence of the flesh is death; we cannot live to God, because this carnal wisdom and worldly life is hostile to God.
Gal 6:14 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rom 8:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 8:7 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The wineskin must be full of the Spirit; living to the flesh is death and enmity with God.
- Gal 6:14; Rom 8:6–7.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.15.2 (CSEL 62:243; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-15-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-15-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 11, chapter 16
11.16.1CSEL 62:243
Sequitur uersus quartus: quot s un t dies serui t u i? qu and o f aci e s mihi de per s equentibus me iudicium? potest sic accipi: quot sunt dies serui tui?, quasi dicat: quanti sunt dies humani, quantum tempus, quantum spatium? cur inuidetur tam breui uitae, ne tranquillo cursu istius saeculi perfruamur? cur in breui spatio tam multi persequentium nos laquei tenduntur? adsit iam iudicium in quo poena est perfidorum, in quo persecutoribus digna impietatis suae pretia redduntur.
The fourth verse follows: “How many are the days of your servant? When will you execute judgment for me on those who persecute me?” It can be taken thus: “How many are the days of your servant?”, as though he said: how many are human days, how much time, how much space? Why is so short a life envied, so that we may not enjoy the tranquil course of this world? Why in a short space are so many snares of those who persecute us stretched out? Let the judgment now be present in which is the punishment of the faithless, in which the persecutors receive the due price of their ungodliness.
Ps 119:84 (118:84 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 84: life is short, yet beset by persecutors; the psalmist asks for God’s judgment.
- Ps 118:84 (Ps 119:84). The spaced letters of the verse in the digital text are translated as written.
Topics: Persecution, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.16.1 (CSEL 62:243; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-16-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-16-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.16.2CSEL 62:243
uel sic: quo usque insultare poterunt, quo usque inequitare, qui nos diuersis modis quaerunt adfligere? non serus erit terminus; etenim quasi propheta celeritatem transcurrendae istius uitae non annorum, sed dierum aestimatione subducit dicens: quot sunt dies serui tui? et bene dies dixit, ut non solum moras annuas prophetica uisione transcurreret, uerum etiam splendidum sibi uitae huius curriculum uirtutum lumine declararet.
Or thus: how long will they be able to insult, how long to ride roughshod, who seek in various ways to afflict us? The end will not be late; for, as a prophet, he reckons the speed of passing through this life not by years but by days, saying: “How many are the days of your servant?” And he well said “days,” so that he might not only pass over the delays of years by prophetic vision, but also declare the course of this life bright for himself by the light of the virtues.
Ps 119:84 (118:84 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The persecutors’ time is short; he counts life in days, made bright by virtue.
- Ps 119:84.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.16.2 (CSEL 62:243; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-16-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-16-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.16.3CSEL 62:243–244
meritoque securus ait: quando facies mihi de persequentibus me iudicium? mihi, inquit, iudicium de persequentibus facies, non de me persequentibus iudicium dabis, quoniam non resurgunt impii in iudicio. sed mihi, inquit, da iudicium, ut, cum remuneraris innocentiam, fidem prouehis, misericordiam coronas, impii persecutores meritorum praemiis prophetico ore promissis iudicentur.
And rightly, secure, he says: “When will you execute judgment for me on those who persecute me?” For me, he says, you will execute judgment on my persecutors; you will not give judgment on me to my persecutors, since the ungodly do not rise in the judgment. But give judgment for me, he says, so that, when you reward innocence, advance faith, crown mercy, the ungodly persecutors may be judged by the rewards of merits promised by prophetic mouth.
Ps 119:84 (118:84 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 1:5 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: He asks God to judge for him against his persecutors, who will not stand in the judgment.
- Ps 119:84; Ps 1:5.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.16.3 (CSEL 62:243–244; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-16-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-16-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 11, chapter 17
11.17.1CSEL 62:244
Non absurdum etiam illud, ut, quia breues dies et pauci sunt istius uitae, non diutius gratiam suam dominus circa prophetam suum differat, sed ipsi iudicium de persequentibus faciat. nam hic quoque iudicium est de persecutoribus, siquidem qui non credit in Christo iam iudicatus est. iudicium autem hoc est, quod dedit seruulis suis dominus Iesus dicens: habebitis potestatem calcandi super serpentes et scorpiones et super omnem uirtutem inimici. et uerum iudicium, in quo torquetur inimicus, sicut ipse confessus est dicens: quid uenisti ante tempus torquere nos?
Nor is this absurd, that, because the days of this life are short and few, the Lord should not delay his grace toward his prophet any longer, but should execute judgment for him on his persecutors. For here too there is judgment on the persecutors, since he who does not believe in Christ is already judged. And this is the judgment which the Lord Jesus gave to his little servants, saying: “You will have power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon all the power of the enemy.” And it is a true judgment, in which the enemy is tormented, as he himself confessed, saying: “Why have you come before the time to torment us?”
John 3:18 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 10:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 8:29 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Judgment on persecutors already happens: unbelievers are judged, and Christ gave his servants power over the enemy.
- John 3:18; Luke 10:19; Matt 8:29. The stray “10” and the garbled “requere” in the digital text are translated as “torquere”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray line number and OCR slip in the digital text): ante tempus 10 requere nos → ante tempus torquere nos.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.17.1 (CSEL 62:244; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-17-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-17-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 11, chapter 18
11.18.1CSEL 62:244
Hoc ergo deposcit uirtutum stabilitate fundatus propheta, ut subiciatur sibi non homo, sed ille qui locum sibi in homine uindicauit. unde et apostolus ipsum magis in hominis peccato putauit esse damnandum, ipsum subiciendum, de quo ait:
This, then, the prophet, grounded in the stability of the virtues, asks: that not a man be subjected to him, but he who claimed a place for himself in man. Hence the apostle too thought that he rather should be condemned in the sin of man, he should be subjected, of whom he says:
Notes and citation
Summary: The prophet asks that the devil, not a man, be subjected to him.
Topics: The devil and demons
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.18.1 (CSEL 62:244; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-18-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-18-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.18.2CSEL 62:244–245
conterat deus satanan sub pedibus uestris cito. ex hoc ergo persecutore iudicium sibi fieri gestit, ut fidei propheticae uestigiis aduersarius conteratur et comminuat eum sub pedibus suis propheta sicut puluerem et in hac corporis sui militia constitutus, quamuis breues dies uitae sint, triumphum tamen de aduersario adipiscatur, quo reformati hominis in ueterem gratiam, quem ante delictorum uinculis tenebat adstrictum et feruentis libidinis lassabat aestu, libertatem ingemescat, potestatem sentiat.
“May God crush Satan under your feet soon.” From this persecutor, then, he longs to have judgment executed for him, so that the adversary may be crushed by the footsteps of prophetic faith and the prophet may grind him under his feet like dust and, placed in this warfare of his body, though the days of life are short, may yet obtain a triumph over the adversary, so that he may groan at the freedom of the man reformed to his former grace, whom he held bound before with the chains of offenses and wearied with the heat of burning lust, and may feel his power.
Rom 16:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 18:42 (17:43 LXX) (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: He longs for Satan to be crushed under the feet of faith, freeing the reformed man.
- Rom 16:20; Ps 18:42 (LXX 17:43).
Topics: The devil and demons
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.18.2 (CSEL 62:244–245; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-18-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-18-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.18.3CSEL 62:245
subiectus est igitur aduersarius secundum domini sententiam. etenim dominus Iesus ueniens in hunc mundum per uirginis partum subiecit animae nostrae omnes contrarias potestates, ut fide tua, uerbo tuo, conuersatione tua et operibus conterantur. si ergo non conteris aduersarium, tua culpa est, qui permissa non uteris potestate. in nobis est igitur, ut aut subiciatur aduersarius aut resultet.
The adversary, then, has been subjected according to the Lord’s sentence. For the Lord Jesus, coming into this world through the Virgin’s childbearing, subjected to our soul all the opposing powers, so that they may be crushed by your faith, your word, your conduct, and your works. If, then, you do not crush the adversary, it is your fault, who do not use the power granted. It is in us, then, that the adversary be either subjected or rebound.
Luke 10:19 (allusion, high confidence) · Col 2:15 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ has subjected the hostile powers to us; if we do not crush the devil, it is our own fault.
- Luke 10:19; Col 2:15.
Topics: The devil and demons
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.18.3 (CSEL 62:245; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-18-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-18-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.18.4CSEL 62:245
si enim actus noster displiceat, incipit aduersarius superbire, si autem bonis inhaereamus operibus, exerceamus studia castitatis iustitiae continentiae, calcamus serpentem et scorpionem. calcamus enim illum pedibus castitatis, conterimus scorpionem, ne possit excutere, calcamus uestigiis continentiae, uerecundiae iustitiaeque gressibus. possumus ergo et in hac breui uita triumphum de aduersariis habere perpetuum.
For if our action displeases, the adversary begins to grow proud; but if we cling to good works, practice the pursuits of chastity, righteousness, continence, we tread on the serpent and the scorpion. For we tread on him with the feet of chastity, we crush the scorpion lest he can shake us off, we tread on him with the footsteps of continence, with the steps of modesty and righteousness. We can, then, even in this short life have a perpetual triumph over our adversaries.
Luke 10:19 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: By chastity, continence, and righteousness we tread on the serpent and scorpion.
- Luke 10:19.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.18.4 (CSEL 62:245; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-18-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-18-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 11, chapter 19
11.19.1CSEL 62:245
Sequitur uersus quintus: narrauerunt mihi iniusti exercitationes, sed non sicut lex tua, domine. bene optat iudicium sibi fieri de persequentibus, qui non solum opera iusti inpedire, uerum etiam fidem superflua narratione conati sunt. etenim quasi fabulae cuiusdam naenias narratas sibi dicit ἀδολεσχίας, hoc est superfluas loquacitates. narratores enim superflui sicut hirundines disputationis suauitatem natiuae loquacitatis continuatione corrumpunt, ut Aristotelis sententia est.
The fifth verse follows: “The unrighteous have told me idle tales, but not as your law, Lord.” He well wishes judgment to be executed for him on his persecutors, who tried to hinder not only the works of the righteous man but also his faith by superfluous storytelling. For he says that the trifles of some fable, as it were, were told him, adoleschias, that is, superfluous talkativeness. For superfluous storytellers, like swallows, spoil the sweetness of a discussion by the continuance of their native talkativeness, as is the opinion of Aristotle.
Ps 119:85 (118:85 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 85: the unrighteous tell idle tales, like chattering swallows, unlike God’s law.
- Ps 118:85 (Ps 119:85, Greek ἀδολεσχίας). The saying about swallows is attributed to Aristotle (source uncertain; compare the proverb in Aristotle, Rhetoric 3.3.4). The digital text’s “dom in e” is read as “domine”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (split word in the digital text): lex tua, dom in e → lex tua, domine.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristotle, Rh. 3.3.4 (Aristotle (works); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.19.1 (CSEL 62:245; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-19-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-19-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 11, chapter 20
11.20.1CSEL 62:245–246
Superflua igitur loquitur haereticus qui non loquitur ueritatem, non loquitur secundum legem. qui autem fundatus in lege est, nouit a ueris falsa discernere, spiritalis eruditione doctrinae haeretica ab euangelicis dogmata separare. ideoque, ne multi decipiantur, iubetur a domino tacere peccator; peccatori enim dixit deus: quare tu enarras iustitias meas?
The heretic, then, speaks superfluous things, who does not speak the truth, does not speak according to the law. But he who is grounded in the law knows how to distinguish false from true and by the instruction of spiritual teaching to separate heretical doctrines from those of the gospel. And so, lest many be deceived, the sinner is commanded by the Lord to be silent; for to the sinner God said: “Why do you declare my righteous deeds?”
Ps 50:16 (49:16 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The heretic’s talk is idle; one grounded in the law can tell heresy from the gospel.
- Ps 50:16 (LXX 49:16).
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.20.1 (CSEL 62:245–246; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-20-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-20-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.20.2CSEL 62:246
conticescat igitur perfidia quae tramitem ueritatis non nouit, quae dei praecepta non seruat. cur enim per os suum adsumunt peccatores euangelium ueritatis, in quorum ore ueritas non est? omnia autem praecepta dei ueritas, Christus autem ueritas. non est ergo Christus in disputationibus perfidorum, qui dicit perfido: os tuum abundauit nequitia et lingua tua concinnauit dolum;
Let unbelief, then, fall silent, which does not know the path of truth, which does not keep God’s precepts. For why do sinners take up the gospel of truth in their mouth, in whose mouth there is no truth? But all God’s precepts are truth, and Christ is truth. Christ, then, is not in the disputations of the faithless, he who says to the faithless: “Your mouth abounded in wickedness, and your tongue framed deceit;”
Ps 50:16 (49:16 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 50:19 (49:19 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · John 14:6 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ, the truth, is not in the arguments of unbelievers, whose mouths are full of deceit.
- Ps 50:16, 19 (LXX 49:16, 19); Ps 119:86; John 14:6.
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.20.2 (CSEL 62:246; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-20-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-20-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.20.3CSEL 62:246
lingua enim, quae uult adstruere mendacium, dolum utique nectit adsertis. sed huiusmodi fur est et cum fure concurrens. multi enim fures sunt, qui uerbum dei non ad utilitatem suam furantur et rapiunt, sed ad fraudem, et Patrimonium quoddam cae-
for the tongue that wishes to establish a lie surely weaves deceit with assertions. But such a one is a thief and runs with the thief. For there are many thieves who steal and seize the word of God not for their profit but for fraud, and twist a kind of patrimony of the heavenly
Ps 50:18 (49:18 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Heretics steal God’s word and twist it for fraud.
- Ps 50:18 (LXX 49:18). The digital text’s “Patrimonium” is read as “patrimonium”.
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.20.3 (CSEL 62:246; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-20-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-20-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.20.4CSEL 62:246
lestium scripturarum in sua furta detorquent, adulterina sibi conpendia colligentes dolo magis quam ueritate quaesita. sed hi sunt qui miscent aquam uino tamquam caupones pessimi, adulterantes sermonem dei et insincerum proferentes, quicquid perfido et tamquam ebrio ore deprompserint, et ideo aliena loquuntur a lege. unde bene eos propheta refugit atque reprehendit, sciens quid praescripto legis acceperit.
Scriptures into their thefts, gathering adulterous gains for themselves sought by deceit rather than truth. But these are those who mix water with wine like the worst tavern-keepers, adulterating the word of God and bringing forth what is insincere, whatever they have produced from a faithless and as it were drunken mouth, and so they speak things foreign to the law. Hence the prophet well flees and rebukes them, knowing what he has received by the prescription of the law.
Isa 1:22 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 2:17 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 4:2 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Heretics adulterate God’s word like dishonest tavern-keepers watering wine.
- Isa 1:22 (Greek form); 2 Cor 2:17; 2 Cor 4:2. The digital text’s “ni sunt” is read as “hi sunt”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): sed ni sunt → sed hi sunt.
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.20.4 (CSEL 62:246; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-20-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-20-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 11, chapter 21
11.21.1CSEL 62:246
Recte ergo ait sequenti uersiculo: omnia praecepta tua ueritas: iniuste per s e cuti sunt w e, adi u u a m e. quasi bonus miles bella non refugit nec conflictus quamuis grauium proeliorum bellator pauescit adsuetus, sed fidelis et prouidus adspirare sibi diuinitus orat auxilia et piae deuotionis fidelia sibi adiumenta deposcit.
Rightly, then, he says in the following verse: “All your precepts are truth; they have persecuted me unjustly; help me.” Like a good soldier, he does not flee wars, nor does the warrior accustomed to conflicts tremble at even grave battles, but, faithful and provident, he prays that help be breathed on him from heaven and asks for himself the faithful aids of godly devotion.
Ps 119:86 (118:86 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 86: like a good soldier, the psalmist does not flee persecution but asks God’s help.
- Ps 118:86 (Ps 119:86). The spaced and garbled letters of the verse in the digital text are translated as written.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.21.1 (CSEL 62:246; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-21-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-21-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.21.2CSEL 62:246–247
ideoque non petit, ut persecutiones quiescant, sed in persecutionibus postulat se iuuari. sciebat enim, quod o mnes qui uolunt pie uiuere in Christo Iesu persecutiones patiuntur. mauult ergo persecutiones pati, ut pie uiuere possit in Christo. et bene non unam persecutionem, sed multas persecutiones dixit nec expressit uocabula persequentium, quia multi persecutores non solum quos uidemus, sed etiam quos non uidemus. persequuntur nequitiae spiritales, persequitur haereticus Iudaeus gentilis. omnes ergo sub persecutoribus qui uolunt pie uiuere, quia, ubi multi persecutores, nullum a persecutionibus uacat tempus pie uiuere gestienti.
And so he does not ask that persecutions cease, but asks to be helped in persecutions. For he knew that all who wish to live godly in Christ Jesus suffer persecutions. He prefers, then, to suffer persecutions so that he may be able to live godly in Christ. And well he spoke not of one persecution but of many persecutions, and did not name the persecutors, because there are many persecutors, not only those we see but also those we do not see. Spiritual forces of wickedness persecute; the heretic, the Jew, the Gentile persecute. All, then, who wish to live godly are under persecutors, because, where there are many persecutors, there is no time free from persecutions for one eager to live godly.
2 Tim 3:12 (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 6:12 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: All who would live godly in Christ face persecution from many enemies, seen and unseen.
- 2 Tim 3:12; Eph 6:12. Ambrose’s list of persecutors is translated as written.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.21.2 (CSEL 62:246–247; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-21-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-21-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.21.3CSEL 62:247
et fortasse, cum persecutiones non patimur, tamquam condemnati habemur, quia nequaquam pie uiuere uelimus in Christo. nam utique, cum sit definita sententia, quod omnes qui uolunt pie uiuere in Christo Iesu persecutiones patiuntur, uidetur is qui persecutionem non patitur abdicatus, quod non sit piae intentionis in Christo; deuotionem etenim fidei proelia persequuntur; si desint certamina, uereor ne deesse uideatur qui certare desierit.
And perhaps, when we do not suffer persecutions, we are held as condemned, because we in no way wish to live godly in Christ. For surely, since the sentence is fixed that all who wish to live godly in Christ Jesus suffer persecutions, he who does not suffer persecution seems disowned, as not being of godly intention in Christ; for battles pursue the devotion of faith; if contests are lacking, I fear lest he seem to be lacking who has ceased to contend.
2 Tim 3:12 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: If we suffer no persecution, we should fear that we are not truly living godly in Christ.
- 2 Tim 3:12.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.21.3 (CSEL 62:247; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-21-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-21-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.21.4CSEL 62:247
omnia, inquit, praecepta tua ueritas. quae praecepta nisi illa: si me persecuti sunt, et uos persequentur? haec praecepta Dauid, anterior licet incarnationis sacramento, iam tamen audiebat in spiritu et quasi Christi discipulus non subtrahebat se passionibus, sed certaminibus offerebat.
“All your precepts,” he says, “are truth.” What precepts but these: “If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you too”? These precepts David, though earlier than the sacrament of the incarnation, already heard in the Spirit, and, like a disciple of Christ, he did not withdraw himself from sufferings but offered himself to contests.
Ps 119:86 (118:86 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · John 15:20 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: David, as though Christ’s disciple, heard in the Spirit that the faithful will be persecuted, and did not shrink from it.
- Ps 119:86; John 15:20.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.21.4 (CSEL 62:247; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-21-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-21-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.21.5CSEL 62:247
sciebat hoc sibi ad gloriam fructuosum, hoc ad custodiam salutis tutum, ut frequentibus exercitiis iusti pietas confirmaretur; cito enim fides inexercitata languescit et crebris otiosa temptatur incommodis. remissas excubias callidus insidiator inrumpit, adsuetum autem bello uirum externa fraus instruit et ad gloriosae prouehit palmam uictoriae. pax ergo fideli corruptelae materia est.
He knew that this was fruitful for him for glory, safe for the keeping of salvation, that the godliness of the righteous should be strengthened by frequent exercises; for an unexercised faith quickly grows faint and, idle, is tempted by frequent troubles. The cunning ambusher breaks in on slackened watches, but external fraud trains the man accustomed to war and advances him to the palm of glorious victory. Peace, then, is to the faithful a material of corruption.
Notes and citation
Summary: Trials strengthen faith; idle peace exposes it to corruption.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.21.5 (CSEL 62:247; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-21-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-21-5
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 11, chapter 22
11.22.1CSEL 62:247–248
Quam pulchre nobis persecutionis processere tempora! intentus sicut medicus erat intimae ad deum mentis affectus. illi adhaerebat nec ullas cogitationes obstrepentes sibi precantis animus sentiebat. totis uisceribus fundebatur oratio et quidam miscebatur sermo cum domino.
How beautifully the times of persecution went for us! The affection of the inmost mind toward God was intent, like a physician’s. It cleaved to him, and the soul of one praying felt no thoughts making noise against it. Prayer was poured out with the whole heart, and a kind of conversation was mingled with the Lord.
Notes and citation
Summary: In times of persecution, the soul clung to God and prayed with its whole heart.
- The phrase “sicut medicus” is uncertain in the text; translated as it stands.
Topics: Persecution, Prayer
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.22.1 (CSEL 62:247–248; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-22-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-22-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.22.2CSEL 62:248
cotidiana meditatio habebat iam contemptum periculi et usum calcandae mortis receperat. quod amisimus exercitium, temptant otia quos bella non fregerant. periculosa igitur et pacis otia; in pace plures persecutiones esse coeperunt. nullus erat tempore persecutionis adulator qui callida mentem adulatione temptaret.
Daily meditation already had contempt of danger and had acquired the practice of trampling on death. The exercise that we have lost, leisure now tempts those whom wars had not broken. Dangerous, then, is the leisure of peace too; in peace more persecutions have begun to exist. In the time of persecution there was no flatterer to tempt the mind with cunning flattery.
Notes and citation
Summary: Persecution trained Christians to despise death; the leisure of peace now brings subtler dangers, such as flattery.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.22.2 (CSEL 62:248; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-22-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-22-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.22.3CSEL 62:248
non uacabat animo corporis delectatione dissolui et huiusmodi quae secundis rebus excitari solent admittere passiones. ideo apostoli cum caederentur includerentur, exultabant, quod illis iniuriis aeternae gratiae meritum lucrabantur, qui digni fuerant pro Christi nomine iniurias sustinere. non illis erat cura de patrimonio, studium de potestatibus et honoribus, non de praelatione, quae etiam iustos exagitare consueuit, sed ille se praeferri putabat, qui esset pluribus uerberibus flagellatus.
The soul had no leisure to be dissolved by the delight of the body and to admit passions of this kind that are wont to be roused in prosperity. That is why the apostles, when they were beaten and shut up, rejoiced that by those injuries they gained the merit of eternal grace, they who had been counted worthy to suffer injuries for the name of Christ. They had no care for their inheritance, no zeal for powers and honors, none for precedence, which is wont to harass even the righteous; but he thought himself preferred who had been scourged with more blows.
Acts 5:41 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 5:40 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 11:23 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The persecuted apostles rejoiced to suffer for Christ and counted the most beaten as the most honored.
- Acts 5:40–41; 2 Cor 11:23–25.
Topics: Persecution, Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.22.3 (CSEL 62:248; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-22-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-22-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 11, chapter 23
11.23.1CSEL 62:248
Merito ergo Dauid occasiones expetit triumphandi et certandi copiam pro deuotionis eruditione non metuit, qui nouerat persecutiones iniquorum proficere ad incrementa uirtutis. non enim dixit: quia persecutiones patior, adiuua me, sed:
Rightly, then, David seeks occasions for triumph and does not fear an abundance of contests for the training of devotion, he who knew that the persecutions of the wicked profit the growth of virtue. For he did not say, “Because I suffer persecutions, help me,” but:
Ps 119:86 (118:86 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: David welcomes contests, knowing persecution helps virtue grow.
- Ps 119:86. The stray “\\” in the digital text is not translated.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray marks in the digital text): adiuua me\\ sed: → adiuua me, sed:.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.23.1 (CSEL 62:248; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-23-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-23-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.23.2CSEL 62:248
iniuste, inquit, persecuti sunt me, adiuua me. potest enim quis et persecutiones pati, sed non iniuste, quia est etiam iusta persecutio, si oderimus obscenos, si infesti simus iniustis, si iniquos uelimus opprimere, ne pluribus noceant, si auarum fraudis suae conpendiis exuamus, si execremur insolentiam superborum. qui autem pro fide, pro iustitia, pro castitate persecutionem patitur, bene is dicit: iniuste persecuti sunt me, adiuua me.
“They have persecuted me unjustly,” he says; “help me.” For someone can also suffer persecution, but not unjustly, because there is also a just persecution: if we hate the obscene, if we are hostile to the unjust, if we wish to restrain the wicked lest they harm more, if we strip the greedy man of the gains of his fraud, if we curse the insolence of the proud. But he who suffers persecution for faith, for righteousness, for chastity, well says: “They have persecuted me unjustly; help me.”
Ps 119:86 (118:86 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 5:10 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Only one persecuted for faith, righteousness, or chastity can say he is persecuted unjustly.
- Ps 119:86; Matt 5:10. The digital text’s “in-_ quit” is read as “inquit”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-break debris in the digital text): iniuste, in-_ quit → iniuste, inquit.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.23.2 (CSEL 62:248; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-23-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-23-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 11, chapter 24
11.24.1CSEL 62:248–249
Sequitur uersus septimus: paulo minus consummau er unt me ira terra, ego o autem non dereliqui mandata tua. non superfluo diuinum quaesiuit auxilium, qui sciebat sibi aduersus fortes esse certamen pluraque sibi proelia praeparata dimicaturo nunc aduersus nequitias spiritales quae sunt in caelestibus, nunc aduersus calorem sanguinis et innumeras corporis huius inlecebras, quarum nexu uario et diuturna conluctatione lassatus pudendo corruisset certamine, nisi fidei se radice tenuisset.
The seventh verse follows: “They almost made an end of me on the earth, but I have not forsaken your commandments.” Not superfluously did he seek divine help, he who knew that he had a contest against the strong and that many battles were prepared for him as he was about to fight, now against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places, now against the heat of the blood and the countless enticements of this body, by whose various knot and long wrestling, wearied, he would have fallen in a shameful contest, had he not held himself by the root of faith.
Ps 119:87 (118:87 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 6:12 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 87: the psalmist, nearly destroyed by spiritual and bodily foes, held fast by faith to God’s commandments.
- Ps 118:87 (Ps 119:87); Eph 6:12. The digital text’s “consummau er unt me ira terra, ego o” and “lassa- TUS Pudendo” are read as “consummauerunt me in terra, ego” and “lassatus pudendo”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-break debris and OCR slips in the digital text): lassa- TUS Pudendo → lassatus pudendo.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.24.1 (CSEL 62:248–249; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-24-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-24-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.24.2CSEL 62:249
discamus cauere quem gerimus. hic nobis hostis domesticus, hic inimicus grauis nostri ipsius corporis. inflammatur uino, ardet libidine, decore mulieris occursantis accenditur, spe alitur, desperatione uritur, inlecebris exuritur, non euaporat effectu, timore turbatur, metu frangitur, luxuria mollitur, lasciuia dissoluitur, labore adficitur, sollicitudine fatigatur, passione conteritur.
Let us learn to beware of what we carry. This is our enemy within the house, this the grave enemy, our own body. It is inflamed by wine, burns with lust, is kindled by the beauty of a woman it meets, is fed by hope, scorched by despair, burned up by enticements, does not evaporate by fulfillment, is disturbed by fear, broken by dread, softened by luxury, dissolved by wantonness, afflicted by labor, wearied by care, worn down by suffering.
Matt 10:36 (allusion, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Our own body, swept by every passion, is the enemy within the house.
- Matt 10:36 (“enemies of one’s household”).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.24.2 (CSEL 62:249; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-24-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-24-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.24.3CSEL 62:249
miraris, si inter tot aduersarias passionum uices se etiam iustus tenere uix possit, cum inpares simus etiam singularum certamini passionum? quem uel sola libido non uindicet, quem non subiuget auaritia, quem formido non quatiat, quem luxuria non euaporat, quem lasciuia non emolliat, quem non supblantet ebrietas?
Do you wonder if, among so many hostile turns of the passions, even the righteous man can hardly hold himself, when we are unequal even to the contest with each passion alone? Whom does lust alone not claim, whom does greed not subjugate, whom does fear not shake, whom does luxury not dissipate, whom does wantonness not soften, whom does drunkenness not trip up?
Notes and citation
Summary: Even the righteous can barely withstand so many passions, each of which can overcome us alone.
- The digital text’s “aduersanas” and “supblantet” are read as “aduersarias” and “subplantet”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): aduersanas → aduersarias.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.24.3 (CSEL 62:249; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-24-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-24-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 11, chapter 25
11.25.1CSEL 62:249
Quasi conscius igitur carnalis infirmitatis et explorator persecutionis hostilis dicit: paulo minus consummauerunt me in terra. in hac utique terra, in qua Adam primus corruit et pudenda prolapsione deiectus totius gressum futurae posteritatis inflexit; in hac terra, in qua Cain munera fraterna dolens suis esse praelata ruina est stratus inuidiae; denique uox fraterni sanguinis clamauit a terra.
As one conscious, then, of fleshly weakness and a scout of the enemy’s persecution, he says: “They almost made an end of me on the earth.” On this earth, surely, on which Adam first fell and, cast down by a shameful slip, bent the step of all his future posterity; on this earth, on which Cain, grieving that his brother’s gifts were preferred to his own, was laid low by the ruin of envy; indeed the voice of his brother’s blood cried from the earth.
Ps 119:87 (118:87 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 3:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 4:5 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 4:10 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On this earth Adam fell and Cain, consumed by envy, killed his brother.
- Ps 119:87; Gen 3:6; Gen 4:4–10.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.25.1 (CSEL 62:249; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-25-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-25-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.25.2CSEL 62:249
in hac terra Noe sanctus, quem totius orbis diluuia in tantis procellis et fluctibus Peruigilem probauerunt, ubi tamen otioso curas laxauit corpore, somnum ebrietatis offendit, contumeliam paternae pietatis incurrit, docens periculosa otia securae esse uirtuti.
On this earth holy Noah, whom the floods of the whole world proved watchful in such storms and waves, yet, when he relaxed his cares with idle body, fell into the sleep of drunkenness and incurred the insult to fatherly dignity, teaching that leisure is dangerous to secure virtue.
Gen 9:21 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 9:22 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Noah, watchful through the flood, fell into drunkenness in idle security.
- Gen 9:20–22. The digital text’s “Peruigilem” is read as “peruigilem”.
Topics: Self-control in food and drink
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.25.2 (CSEL 62:249; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-25-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-25-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.25.3CSEL 62:249–250
in hac terra Loth reuerendi parentis imitator, quem non luxuriantis Sodomitanae plebis decolorauit inpuritas, non flamma Sodomae ardentis inuoluit, ueniabilis quidem ignorantiae, pudendae tamen commixtionis non euasit incestum; uritur ille flammis mulierum quem sulphurea flamma non ussit.
On this earth Lot, imitator of his revered kinsman, whom the impurity of the luxurious people of Sodom did not discolor nor the flame of burning Sodom envelop, pardonable indeed for his ignorance, yet did not escape the incest of a shameful union; he is burned by the flames of women whom the sulphurous flame did not burn.
Gen 19:24 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 19:33 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 19:35 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Lot, untouched by Sodom’s fire, was burned by the incest of his daughters.
- Gen 19:24–36. Ambrose judges Lot pardonable for ignorance; translated as written.
Topics: Sexual morality
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.25.3 (CSEL 62:249–250; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-25-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-25-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 11, chapter 26
11.26.1CSEL 62:250
In hac terra etiam Dauid propemodum consummatum esse se dixit, siquidem paene motos pedes suos et gressus suos paulo minus sensit effusos, quia diuitias saeculares et successus corporalium prosperorum loco beatitudinis aestimauit peccatoribus abundare.
On this earth David too said he was almost made an end of, since he felt his feet almost moved and his steps nearly poured out, because he thought that worldly riches and the successes of bodily prosperity abound for sinners in place of blessedness.
Ps 73:2 (72:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 73:3 (72:3 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: David nearly slipped when he envied the prosperity of sinners.
- Ps 73:2–3 (LXX 72:2–3).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.26.1 (CSEL 62:250; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-26-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-26-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.26.2CSEL 62:250
propter quod etiam flagellatus est, sed flagella iusto remedia salutis sunt; castigat enim dominus quem recipit. unde etiam Dauid conuersus ad domini caritatem atque in eius eruditus praeceptis, non ignorans, eo quod caducis caduca fortuito quodam deferantur euentu et quia non diuitiarum abundantia, sed uirtutum gratia uitae probabilis merita pensantur, dilexit magis quam dereliquit mandata dei, quibus solis potuit ingruentes nequitias spiritales et insurgentes huius corporis adpetitus in hac tam fragilis naturae infirmitate superare. magna igitur uirtus, quae sub tantis persecutionibus constituta et paene obpressa tamen suum non est oblita praesidium nec mandata dei dereliquit.
Because of this he was also scourged, but scourges to the righteous are remedies of salvation; for the Lord chastises him whom he receives. Hence David too, turned to the love of the Lord and instructed in his precepts, not ignorant that perishable things are brought to the perishable by a kind of chance outcome, and that the merits of a commendable life are weighed not by abundance of riches but by the grace of the virtues, loved rather than forsook the commandments of God, by which alone he could overcome, in this so great weakness of a frail nature, the onrushing spiritual forces of wickedness and the rising appetites of this body. Great, then, is the virtue which, placed under such great persecutions and almost overwhelmed, nevertheless did not forget its protection nor forsake God’s commandments.
Ps 73:14 (72:14 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Heb 12:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 119:87 (118:87 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Chastised, David learned that virtue, not riches, counts, and held fast to God’s commandments, his only protection.
- Ps 73:14 (LXX 72:14); Heb 12:6; Ps 119:87.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.26.2 (CSEL 62:250; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-26-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-26-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 11, chapter 27
11.27.1CSEL 62:250
Ideoque, quia solum sibi deum profuisse cognouit, preces ad dominum dirigens ait uersu sequenti: secundum m isericordiam tuam uiuifica me, et c-usto d iam testi m onia ori s tui. quam uiuificationem sui postulet, supra diximus, quia non id precatus est quod habebat, sed quod desiderabat, id est ut uiueret in aeternum, intellegens uitae beatitudinem in hoc
And so, because he knew that God alone had profited him, directing his prayers to the Lord he says in the following verse: “According to your mercy give me life, and I will keep the testimonies of your mouth.” What giving of life he asks for, we have said above, because he did not pray for what he had, but for what he desired, that is, to live for ever, understanding that the blessedness of life cannot be in this
Ps 119:88 (118:88 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On verse 88: the psalmist asks for eternal life, which cannot be found in this body.
- Ps 118:88 (Ps 119:88). The spaced letters of the verse and “hce” in the digital text are read as written and as “hoc”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): uitae beatitudinem in hce → uitae beatitudinem in hoc.
Topics: Eschatology, Heaven and eternal reward
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.27.1 (CSEL 62:250; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-27-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-27-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.27.2CSEL 62:250–251
fluctuanti et infido nobis corpore esse non posse, cuius inbecillitas propositum animae derelinquat. opus est ergo dei misericordia, ut continua et perpetua sit in hoc corpore uiuificatio, ut cotidie iustus deo uiuat peccatoque moriatur. si enim culpa moriatur in nobis, erit uita deo uiuens et custodia praeceptorum caelestium perseuerans, quam utique ille custodit qui uiuificatur a domino.
wavering and unfaithful body of ours, whose weakness abandons the soul’s purpose. There is need, then, of God’s mercy, so that the giving of life in this body may be continual and perpetual, so that the righteous man may daily live to God and die to sin. For if guilt dies in us, there will be a life living to God and a persevering keeping of the heavenly precepts, which surely he keeps who is given life by the Lord.
Rom 6:11 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God’s mercy must give life daily, so that we die to sin and live to God, keeping his precepts.
- Rom 6:11.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.27.2 (CSEL 62:250–251; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-27-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-27-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 11, chapter 28
11.28.1CSEL 62:251
Denique uiuificari se ante poscit a domino et postea custodiam testimoniorum caelestium pollicetur; non enim communis haec uita custodit caeleste mandatum, sed illa quae munere fulcitur aeterno per operationem gratiae spiritalis. possumus etiam sic intellegere: quia iam propheta quae erant legis agnouerat, optat aduentus dominici misericordiam, ut accipiat praecepta quibus lex adimpleatur, ut non solum adulterium sciret esse uitandum, sed etiam concupiscentiam adulterii declinandam.
Indeed he first asks to be given life by the Lord and afterwards promises the keeping of the heavenly testimonies; for this common life does not keep the heavenly commandment, but that which is supported by an eternal gift through the working of spiritual grace. We can also understand it thus: since the prophet had already learned what belonged to the law, he desires the mercy of the Lord’s coming, so as to receive the precepts by which the law is fulfilled, so that he might know not only that adultery must be avoided but also that the desire of adultery must be shunned.
Matt 5:17 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 5:27 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Only grace-given life keeps God’s commandments; the psalmist longs for Christ’s coming, which fulfills the law by forbidding even adulterous desire.
- Matt 5:17, 27–28.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.28.1 (CSEL 62:251; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-28-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-28-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.28.2CSEL 62:251
os enim patris Iesus dominus locutus est in euangelio eum, qui uiderit mulierem ad concupiscendum eam, in corde suo adulterium perpetrasse. quantum euangelio profecerunt studia castitatis, quo non solum turpioris facti, sed etiam studii degeneris ablegatur obprobrium!
For Jesus the Lord, the Father’s mouth, said in the gospel that he who looks at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery in his heart. How much the pursuits of chastity have advanced by the gospel, by which the reproach not only of the shameful deed but also of degenerate desire is banished!
Matt 5:28 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ, the Father’s mouth, forbade even adultery in the heart, advancing chastity.
- Matt 5:28.
Topics: Ethics, Sexual morality
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.28.2 (CSEL 62:251; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-28-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-28-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 11, chapter 29
11.29.1CSEL 62:251
Qui sunt autem, de quibus dicit quod paulo minus consummauerunt eum in terra, nisi persecutores? de quorum uno ait do- minus Iesus: ite dicite uulp illi, hoc est de Herode. et alibi cum se fraudulenter interrogari aduerteret, dixit: u ulpes foueas habent et uolucres caeli nidos, ubi requiescant, eo quod fraudulenter in terrestrium passionum quibusdam latibulis demorentur.
But who are those of whom he says that they almost made an end of him on the earth but persecutors? Of one of them the Lord Jesus says, “Go, tell that fox,” that is, of Herod. And elsewhere, when he noticed that he was being questioned deceitfully, he said: “Foxes have holes and the birds of the sky nests, where they may rest,” because they deceitfully linger in certain lairs of earthly passions.
Ps 119:87 (118:87 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 13:32 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 8:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 9:58 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The persecutors are foxes like Herod, lurking in the lairs of earthly passions.
- Ps 119:87; Luke 13:32; Matt 8:20; Luke 9:58. The digital text’s “do- minus”, “uulp illi”, “u ulpes”, and “caelinidos, ubirequiescant” are read as “dominus”, “uulpi illi”, “uulpes”, and “caeli nidos, ubi requiescant”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (words joined in the digital text): caelinidos, ubirequiescant → caeli nidos, ubi requiescant.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.29.1 (CSEL 62:251; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-29-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-29-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.29.2CSEL 62:251
inde etiam Samson binas uulpes sibi nexuit, ad quarum caudas alligauit faces et dimisit eas per messes allophylorum, per hanc figuram significans, quod inprobi ac fraudulenti homines et maxime haeretici liberam linguam habeant ad latrandum, sed exitus inpeditos, aut litigiosa principia, finem uero fraudis suae incendio deputatum.
Hence too Samson tied foxes together two by two, to whose tails he bound torches, and sent them out through the crops of the foreigners, signifying by this figure that wicked and deceitful men, and especially heretics, have a free tongue for barking but hampered outcomes, or contentious beginnings, but an end of their fraud assigned to burning.
Judg 15:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Judg 15:5 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Samson’s foxes with torches signify deceitful men and heretics, whose end is burning.
- Judg 15:4–5. The digital text’s “ae fraudulenti” is read as “ac fraudulenti”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): inprobi ae fraudulenti → inprobi ac fraudulenti.
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.29.2 (CSEL 62:251; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-29-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-29-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.29.3CSEL 62:251–252
ideoque et trecentas uulpes dimisit, eo quod perfidi crucis quidem se praedicatione commendare desiderant, sed mysterium eius tenere non possunt, qui hac praedicatione composita et falsa atque simulata urere magis fructus conantur
And so he also sent out three hundred foxes, because the faithless desire to commend themselves by the preaching of the cross, but cannot hold its mystery, who, by this preaching, composed, false, and feigned, try rather to burn the fruits
Judg 15:4 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The three hundred foxes (the number of the cross) figure heretics who preach the cross falsely.
- Judg 15:4. The number 300, written T in Greek, was read as a figure of the cross. The digital text’s “ldecque” and “uuipes” are read as “ideoque” and “uulpes”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slips in the digital text): ldecque et trecentas uuipes → ideoque et trecentas uulpes.
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.29.3 (CSEL 62:251–252; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-29-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-29-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
11.29.4CSEL 62:252
alienos, cum utique uera crux domini non exurat aliena merita, sed fecundet. meritoque scriptum est in Canticis canticorum. prendite nobis uulpes pusillas exterminantes uineas, ut uineae nostrae floreant. quo ostenditur, quod uel dominus Iesus uel ecclesia fraudulentorum dolos a uineis suis exterminandos esse praecipiant, ne pauxillulis uineis noceant, quia adultis iam uitibus nocere non possunt. haereticus enim inperfectum temptare potest, non potest subplantare perfectum.
of others, whereas the true cross of the Lord does not burn others’ merits but makes them fruitful. And rightly it is written in the Song of Songs: “Catch us the little foxes that destroy the vineyards, so that our vineyards may flourish.” By this it is shown that either the Lord Jesus or the church commands that the deceits of the fraudulent be driven out from their vineyards, lest they harm the little vineyards, because they cannot harm vines already grown. For the heretic can tempt the imperfect, he cannot trip up the perfect.
Song 2:15 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The little foxes of the Song are heretics, who can harm the young in faith but not the mature.
- Song 2:15. The digital text’s “cura utique” and “canticorum. prendite” are read as “cum utique” and “canticorum: prendite”.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text): alienos, cura utique → alienos, cum utique.
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 11.29.4 (CSEL 62:252; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-29-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/11-29-4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 12, chapter 1
12.1.1CSEL 62:252
Labd littera duodecima incipit, cuius interpretatio cor uel, ut alia habet interpretatio, seruo. unde uidetur admonere uel prudenter haec intellegenda uel sollicite seruanda praecepta. nam hoc primus statim uersiculus admonet; cor etenim sibi mundum creari
The twelfth letter, Lamed, begins here. It is interpreted “heart,” or, as another interpretation has it, “I keep.” So it seems to admonish us either to understand these precepts wisely or to keep them carefully. For the very first verse at once admonishes this; for that a clean heart be created for him
Ps 51:10 (50:12 LXX) (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Ambrose introduces the letter Lamed, interpreted as “heart” or “I keep.”
- The sentence runs on into 12.1.2. The prayer for a clean heart is Ps 51:10 (LXX 50:12).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 12.1.1 (CSEL 62:252; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-1-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-1-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
12.1.2CSEL 62:252
in superioribus hic propheta, ut legimus, postulauit, cor sibi prudens dari orauit a domino filius huius Salomon. qui ergo habet cor mundum, qui habet cor prudens, ipse intellegit seriem subditorum uersuum atque uirtutem. unde et alibi inuenimus cor solum, id est uel singulare uel quod nulla inlecebra saeculi huius inpediat et carnis possit interturbare sapientia. qui autem habet cor, seruat mandata dei, quemadmodum legisti de Maria, quae conseruabat omnia domini saluatoris in corde suo uel dicta uel gesta.
the prophet asked in the earlier verses, as we read, and his son Solomon prayed the Lord that a wise heart be given him. So the one who has a clean heart, who has a wise heart, understands the sequence and the force of the verses that follow. Hence we also find elsewhere “the heart alone,” that is, either single, or one that no allurement of this world hinders and that the wisdom of the flesh cannot throw into confusion. And the one who has a heart keeps the commandments of God, as you have read of Mary, who kept in her heart all the words or deeds of the Lord and Savior.
1 Kgs 3:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 33:15 (32:15 LXX) (echo, low confidence) · Luke 2:19 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 2:51 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: A clean and wise heart understands Scripture and keeps God’s commandments, as Mary kept Christ’s words in her heart.
- Solomon’s prayer: 1 Kgs 3:9. “The heart alone” probably echoes Ps 33:15 (LXX 32:15), “who fashioned their hearts singly”; uncertain. Mary: Luke 2:19, 51.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 12.1.2 (CSEL 62:252; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-1-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-1-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 12, chapter 2
12.2.1CSEL 62:252–253
Circumcidamus ergo cor nostrum, nihil corporeum, nihil uile quaeramus; uile autem omne terrenum. nihil ergo terrenum, nihil saeculare, nihil corporeum, nihil leue atque mutabile in eloquiis constituamus caelestibus - eloquia enim domini eloquia casta —, ut in his mysteriorum caelestium inmaculata et pudica sinceritas spiritali interpretatione resplendeat. non adulterina quadam opinione misceamus terrena diuinis et illud inuiolabile sacramentum propheticae uisionis aut perennis oraculi naturae nostrae aestimatione uiolemus.
Let us therefore circumcise our heart; let us seek nothing bodily, nothing base, and everything earthly is base. Let us therefore place nothing earthly, nothing worldly, nothing bodily, nothing light and changeable in the heavenly words, for “the words of the Lord are pure words,” so that in them the spotless and chaste integrity of the heavenly mysteries may shine out through a spiritual interpretation. Let us not, by some adulterous opinion, mix earthly things with divine, nor violate the inviolable sacrament of the prophetic vision or of the everlasting oracle by judging it after our own nature.
Deut 10:16 (allusion, medium confidence) · Jer 4:4 (allusion, low confidence) · Ps 12:6 (11:7 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Scripture must be read spiritually, without mixing earthly notions into God’s pure words.
- Circumcision of the heart: Deut 10:16; Jer 4:4. Quotation: Ps 12:6 (LXX 11:7).
Topics: Scripture and canon, Interpreting Scripture
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 12.2.1 (CSEL 62:252–253; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-2-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-2-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
12.2.2CSEL 62:253
ideo enim addidit: argentum igne examinatum, purgatum terrae, probatum septuplum, ut tamquam boni nummularii spiritu examinemus prophetici sermonis argentum, secernentes domini pecuniam atque ab omni labe terrena salutaris fontis infusione purgantes, ut Christo digne sentire uideamur, qui ait: nolite thesaurizare uobis in terra, ubi aerugo et tinea exterminat, sed thesaurizate uobis in caelo.
For this is why he added: “silver tried in the fire, purged of earth, proved sevenfold,” so that, like good money-changers, we may by the Spirit test the silver of the prophetic word, setting apart the Lord’s money and cleansing it from every earthly stain by pouring on it the saving spring, so that we may be seen to think worthily of Christ, who says: “Do not store up treasure for yourselves on earth, where rust and moth destroy, but store up treasure for yourselves in heaven.”
Ps 12:6 (11:7 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 6:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 6:20 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Like good money-changers we must test Scripture’s silver and store up heavenly treasure.
- Ps 12:6 (LXX 11:7) continued; Matt 6:19–20. “Good money-changers” echoes the saying attributed to Jesus in early writers, “Be approved money-changers.”
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split in the digital text): probatum s eptuplum → probatum septuplum.
Extrabiblical texts: Agraphon Be approved money-changers (Sayings of Jesus outside the Gospels (agrapha); echo)
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 12.2.2 (CSEL 62:253; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-2-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-2-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 12, chapter 3
12.3.1CSEL 62:253
Thesaurus tuus est fides pietas misericordia, thesaurus tuus Christus est. noli eum aestimare de terris, hoc est de creaturis, quia dominus totius creaturae est. maledictus, inquit, homo qui spem habet in homine, sed mihi salus per hominem uenit. uide tamen quid scriptura uetus dixerit: et homo est, et quis cognoscet eum? ille igitur homo non humana mihi, sed diuina potestate omnia peccata donauit, deus in corpore dominus Iesus, mundum reconcilians sibi quem redimebat a culpa.
Your treasure is faith, godliness, mercy; your treasure is Christ. Do not think of him as from the earth, that is, from among creatures, for he is the Lord of all creation. “Cursed,” it says, “is the man who puts his hope in man”; yet salvation came to me through a man. But see what the old Scripture said: “He is also a man, and who will know him?” That man, then, forgave me all my sins not by human but by divine power: God in a body, the Lord Jesus, reconciling to himself the world that he was redeeming from guilt.
Jer 17:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Jer 17:9 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 5:19 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ is our treasure; though a man, he forgave sins by divine power as God in a body.
- Jer 17:5; Jer 17:9 in the LXX form (“and he is a man, and who will know him?”), read of Christ; 2 Cor 5:19.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split in the digital text): spem habet i n homine → spem habet in homine; et homo est, e t quis → et homo est, et quis.
Topics: Christology, Forgiveness of sins
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 12.3.1 (CSEL 62:253; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-3-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-3-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 12, chapter 4
12.4.1CSEL 62:253–254
Thesaurus noster pretiosus intellectus est. si terrenus intellectus fuerit, si fragilis, haeretica eum tinea et impietatis aerugo consumet. leuemus ergo et erigamus sensus nostros nec inpossibile iudicemus, ut haec humani corporis infirmitas ad cognitionem mysteriorum caelestium prouehatur, cum iam ad nos dominus Iesus, in quo absconditi erant scientiae sapientiaeque thesauri, diuina sua miseratione descenderit, ut clausa reseraret, aperiret latentia, reuelaret occulta. ueni ergo, domine Iesu, aperi nobis et istius prophetici sermonis ianuam; multis enim clausa est, etsi prima specie aperta uideatur.
Our precious treasure is understanding. If our understanding is earthly, if it is frail, the moth of heresy and the rust of ungodliness will consume it. Let us therefore lift and raise up our minds, and not judge it impossible that this weakness of the human body should be carried forward to the knowledge of heavenly mysteries, since the Lord Jesus, in whom the treasures of knowledge and wisdom were hidden, has already come down to us in his divine compassion, to unbar what was closed, to open what lay concealed, to reveal what was hidden. Come then, Lord Jesus, open to us the door of this prophetic word too; for to many it is closed, even though at first sight it seems open.
Col 2:3 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 6:19 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Understanding is our treasure; Christ, in whom wisdom is hidden, opens the closed meaning of Scripture.
- Col 2:3; Matt 6:19 (moth and rust).
Topics: Scripture and canon, Heresy, Interpreting Scripture
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 12.4.1 (CSEL 62:253–254; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-4-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-4-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 12, chapter 5
12.5.1CSEL 62:254
In aeternum, inquit, domine, permanet uerbum tuum in caelo. uides etiam in te permanere debere quod etiam in caelo permanet ac perseuerat. serua ergo uerbum dei et serua in corde tuo et ita serua, ne obliuiscaris. serua legem domini et meditare, ne iustificationes domini de tuo corde labantur. docet te litterae interpretatio, ut serues diligenter, docet te propheta in subditis dicens: nisi quia lex tua meditatio mea est, tunc forsitan perissem in humilitate mea;
“For ever,” he says, “O Lord, your word abides in heaven.” You see that what abides and continues in heaven ought to abide in you too. Keep therefore the word of God, keep it in your heart, and keep it so that you do not forget it. Keep the law of the Lord and meditate on it, so that the statutes of the Lord do not slip from your heart. The interpretation of the letter teaches you to keep it diligently; the prophet teaches you in the verses that follow, saying: “Unless your law had been my meditation, I should perhaps have perished in my humiliation;
Ps 119:89 (118:89 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 119:92 (118:92 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God’s word abides in heaven and should abide in us, kept and meditated on.
- Ps 119:89 (LXX 118:89); Ps 119:92 (LXX 118:92). The sentence continues in 12.5.2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split in the digital text): per manet uerbum tuum in caelo. uides → permanet uerbum tuum in caelo. uides.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 12.5.1 (CSEL 62:254; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-5-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-5-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
12.5.2CSEL 62:254
in aeternum non obliuiscar iustificationum tuarum. legis ergo meditatio facit, ut tempora tribulationis, tempora quibus humiliamur aliquibus aduersis, sustinere et tolerare possimus, ut neque humiliato nimis neque deiecto frangamur affectu. denique dominus non frangi nos humilitate usque ad desperationem uult, sed usque ad correptionem.
I will never forget your statutes.” So meditation on the law enables us to endure and bear times of tribulation, times when we are humbled by some adversities, so that we are not broken in spirit, neither too much humbled nor cast down. In fact the Lord does not want us to be broken by humiliation to the point of despair, but only to the point of correction.
Ps 119:93 (118:93 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Meditation on the law lets us bear humiliation, which God intends for correction, not despair.
- Ps 119:93 (LXX 118:93).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 12.5.2 (CSEL 62:254; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-5-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-5-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 12, chapter 6
12.6.1CSEL 62:254
Unde et Hieremias propheta sub hac littera in Threnis ait: ut humiliaret sub pedibus omnes uinctos terrae et declinaret iudicium uiri contra faciem altissimi, ad condemnandum hominem cum iudicatur, dominus non dixit, et infra: de ore altissimi non exibunt mala. humilitas ergo, quae a domino est, plena iustitiae, plena est aequitatis, quia non exeunt mala de ore domini. denique qui humiliabatur a domino dicebat: humiliatus sum, et saluum me fecit.
Hence the prophet Jeremiah too, under this letter in Lamentations, says: “To humble under his feet all the prisoners of the earth, and to turn aside a man’s judgment before the face of the Most High, to condemn a man when he is judged: the Lord did not say it”; and below: “From the mouth of the Most High evil things will not come forth.” So the humiliation that comes from the Lord is full of justice, full of equity, because evil things do not come forth from the Lord’s mouth. In fact one who was humbled by the Lord said: “I was humbled, and he saved me.”
Lam 3:34 (quotation, high confidence) · Lam 3:35 (quotation, high confidence) · Lam 3:36 (quotation, high confidence) · Lam 3:38 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 116:6 (114:6 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Lamentations shows that humiliation from the Lord is just, for no evil comes from his mouth.
- Lam 3:34–36 and 3:38, the lamed verses of Lam 3, in the LXX form; Ps 116:6 (LXX 114:6).
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 12.6.1 (CSEL 62:254; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-6-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-6-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 12, chapter 7
12.7.1CSEL 62:254–255
Ergo sicut prudenter considerandum est, quando humilitas a domino sit causa probationis, quando etiam ipsa ab homine inferendae humilitatis inpressio, quae tamen ipsa solet patientia et magnanimitate tolerari, ita etiam sapienter considerandum, quid sit in aeternum in caelo uerbum domini permanere uel, sicut aliqui codices habent, in saeculum, quia Graecus εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα posuit, quod diuerse interpretati sunt translatores, alii in aeternum, alii in saeculum.
So, just as one must consider wisely when humiliation comes from the Lord as a cause of testing, and when it is a pressure of humiliation inflicted by a man, which yet is usually borne with patience and greatness of soul, so too one must consider wisely what it means that the word of the Lord abides “for ever” in heaven, or, as some manuscripts have it, “for the age,” because the Greek has eis ton aiōna, which translators have rendered in different ways, some “for ever,” others “for the age.”
Ps 119:89 (118:89 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Ambrose notes that the Greek phrase in Ps 119:89 is translated both “for ever” and “for the age.”
- The Greek words are garbled in the digital text (marked sic); they are εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. Ps 119:89 (LXX 118:89).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Greek mis-encoded as Latin letters in the digital text): elg tbv cdcbva → εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 12.7.1 (CSEL 62:254–255; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-7-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-7-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
12.7.2CSEL 62:255
in saeculum ergo permanet uerbum tuum, domine, in caelo. et quomodo ipse dixisti: caelum et terra transibunt, uerba autem mea non praeteribunt? in saeculum permanet uerbum, non ultra saeculum et saecula; saecula enim temporis sunt. caelum ergo et terra, id est opera mundi istius, praeteribunt et tempora permanebunt. alius qui spiritalis est et diiudicat uerba legis: in aeternum, inquit, domine, permanet uerbum tuum in caelo; aeternitas enim uerbi manentis opinionem uerbi praetereuntis excludit.
“For the age,” then, “your word, O Lord, abides in heaven.” And how is it that you yourself said: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away”? The word abides for the age, not beyond the age and the ages; for the ages belong to time. So heaven and earth, that is, the works of this world, will pass away, and the times will remain. Another, who is spiritual and judges the words of the law, says: “For ever, O Lord, your word abides in heaven”; for the eternity of the abiding Word excludes the notion of a word that passes away.
Ps 119:89 (118:89 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 24:35 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 2:15 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Ambrose weighs the readings “for the age” and “for ever” against Christ’s saying that his words will not pass away.
- Ps 119:89 (LXX 118:89); Matt 24:35; 1 Cor 2:15.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 12.7.2 (CSEL 62:255; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-7-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-7-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
12.7.3CSEL 62:255
quomodo autem permanet uerbum in caelo, si ipsum caelum praeterit? et quomodo possunt stare culmina, si cedant fundamenta, aut quomodo permanere habitator in habitatione sua, nisi et habitatio perseueret? sed forte illud occurrat, quia scriptum est: erit caelum nouum. uerum nec sic absolubile, quia nec in hoc potest permanere quod praeterit nec illud potest dici mansisse quod coeperit. tinea intellectum tuum scindet, si putes uerbum sicut caelum uel incipere uel praeterire.
But how does the word abide in heaven if heaven itself passes away? How can the roof stand if the foundations give way, or how can an inhabitant remain in his dwelling unless the dwelling also continues? But perhaps one may object that it is written: “There will be a new heaven.” Even so the difficulty is not solved, because what passes away cannot abide in this one either, nor can what has begun be said to have remained. The moth will tear your understanding if you think that the Word, like heaven, either begins or passes away.
Isa 65:17 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rev 21:1 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The Word cannot abide in a heaven that passes away; it neither begins nor ends as heaven does.
- Isa 65:17; Rev 21:1.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (m for in)): permanet uerbum m caelo → permanet uerbum in caelo.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 12.7.3 (CSEL 62:255; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-7-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-7-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 12, chapter 8
12.8.1CSEL 62:255
Unde, si uirtutem prophetici sensus cognoscere uolumus, primum in his quae uisibilia et sensibilia sunt ethicum consideremus, ut ex eo quae sunt intellegibilia manifestemus. si uerbum dei in caelo permanet, imitemur caelum ubi permanet uerbum, permanet ordo sollemnis caelestium statutorum et beneficiorum domini crebrae uices sollemnibus muneribus perseuerant.
Hence, if we wish to know the force of the prophet’s meaning, let us first consider the moral sense in what is visible and perceptible, so that from it we may make plain what is intelligible. If the word of God abides in heaven, let us imitate heaven, where the word abides, where the solemn order of the heavenly statutes abides, and where the frequent turns of the Lord’s benefits continue in their regular gifts.
Notes and citation
Summary: Taking the moral sense first, Ambrose urges imitation of heaven’s steady order.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 12.8.1 (CSEL 62:255; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-8-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-8-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
12.8.2CSEL 62:255–256
supernis nempe uel pluuiis uel calore uel fotu aeris huius infunditur terris atque alitur larga fecunditas. caelo annus labitur per dies ac menses et tempora autumni atque hiemis, ueris quoque et purae digestus aestatis. de caelo uitae tuae imaginem cape; etiam quando non germinas fructum, sere tamen semen ad fructum.
For it is from above, by rains, by heat, or by the warmth of this air, that abundant fruitfulness is poured on the earth and nourished. Through heaven the year glides by in days and months and seasons, arranged into autumn and winter, spring and clear summer. Take from heaven the pattern of your life: even when you are not bringing fruit to birth, still sow seed for fruit.
Notes and citation
Summary: Heaven’s seasons give a pattern for life: always sow seed for future fruit.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 12.8.2 (CSEL 62:255–256; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-8-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-8-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
12.8.3CSEL 62:256
sunt semina quae de caelo sunt et seruntur in terris. est etiam superna uindemia, unde ait propheta: serite uobis ad iustitiam, uindemiate ad fructum. et quando non florent opera tua, foue tamen semina tua, ne lasciuiendo luxurient. quod luxuriat in flore seminis, tenuatur et hebetatur in fructu. fructus ipsos usque ad maturitatem decoque.
There are seeds that come from heaven and are sown on earth. There is also a heavenly vintage, of which the prophet says: “Sow for yourselves unto righteousness, gather the vintage unto fruit.” And when your works are not in flower, still cherish your seeds, so that they do not run riot through wantonness. What runs riot in the flower of the seed is thinned and dulled in the fruit. Ripen the fruits themselves to maturity.
Hos 10:12 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Heavenly seeds must be tended patiently, not allowed to run riot, until their fruit ripens.
- Hos 10:12 in the LXX form.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 12.8.3 (CSEL 62:256; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-8-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-8-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 12, chapter 9
12.9.1CSEL 62:256
Imitatores etiam ipsius caelestis simus elementi: non semper sole feruet ardenti, frequenter nubibus priusquam, pluuiis uehementibus inhorrescit, iactis niuibus tegit terram. non ergo sit in te quoque diuturna lasciuia; succedant maesta senilium curarum tempora et tamquam incana maturitas agrum hunc tui corporis reprimat.
Let us also be imitators of the heavenly element itself: it does not always blaze with a burning sun; often it bristles with clouds, then with heavy rains, and casts down snow to cover the earth. So let there not be in you either a lasting wantonness; let the sober seasons of the cares of age follow, and let a kind of hoary maturity restrain this field of your body.
Notes and citation
Summary: As the sky changes its seasons, youthful wantonness should give way to sober maturity.
- “priusquam” in the printed text is hard to construe; translated by sense as “then.”
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 12.9.1 (CSEL 62:256; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-9-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-9-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
12.9.2CSEL 62:256
utilior saepe tristitia est, quae comitem solet habere grauitatem. numquid ulla in ipso est sole praeuaricatio? nonne cotidianos cursus suos seruat? numquid continuos nouit luna defectus et commissi munus deserit ministerii? isdem nempe uicibus annus redit, eodem statu reparantur tempora, isdem obsequiis reformantur. sol diem
Sadness is often more useful, for it usually has gravity as its companion. Is there any transgression in the sun itself? Does it not keep its daily courses? Does the moon know continual eclipses, or does it abandon the task of the ministry entrusted to it? By the same turns the year comes round, the seasons are renewed in the same state, restored in the same services. The sun
Notes and citation
Summary: Sun, moon and year keep their appointed courses without transgression.
- The sentence continues in 12.9.3.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 12.9.2 (CSEL 62:256; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-9-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-9-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
12.9.3CSEL 62:256–257
inluminat tempora statuta custodiens, fulget splendoribus luna nocturnis et lux eius in tenebris micat. stellarum nitentium rutilat globus sollemnique statione et conuersione ac demutatione funguntur. lex una diuersis, constitutorum semel uices cursuum custodire nec fines transire praescriptos. manet ipsa inmutabilis demutatio et conuersio uertere ordinem suum nescit. una omnium oboedientia, discretis muneribus indiscretam praescriptae constitutionis tenere concordiam.
lights the day, keeping its appointed times; the moon shines with its nightly splendor and its light glitters in the darkness. The sphere of shining stars glows red, and they perform their regular stations, revolutions and changes. One law for different bodies: to keep the turns of courses once appointed and not to pass the bounds prescribed. The change itself remains unchanging, and the revolution does not know how to overturn its order. All share one obedience: with distinct tasks, to keep an undivided harmony with the ordinance prescribed.
Notes and citation
Summary: The heavenly bodies obey one law, keeping their courses in harmony.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): fukret splendoribus → fulget splendoribus.
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 12.9.3 (CSEL 62:256–257; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-9-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-9-3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 12, chapter 10
12.10.1CSEL 62:257
In caelo ergo permanet uerbum, quia satanas de caelo cecidit. non habebat in caelo locum, propterea cecidit. quo cecidit nisi in terras? ideo hic adulteria homicidia ebrietates abundare coeperunt. inde exclusus acrior ad nos uenit et temptationes solito asperiores tamquam iratus exercet.
So the word abides in heaven, because Satan fell from heaven. He had no place in heaven; that is why he fell. Where did he fall but to the earth? That is why adulteries, murders and drunkenness began to abound here. Shut out from there, he has come to us fiercer, and like one enraged he works temptations harsher than before.
Luke 10:18 (allusion, high confidence) · Rev 12:12 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Satan fell from heaven to earth, which is why vices abound here.
- Luke 10:18; Rev 12:9, 12.
Topics: The devil and demons
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 12.10.1 (CSEL 62:257; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-10-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-10-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
12.10.2CSEL 62:257
in caelo igitur permanet uerbum, quia inde deiectus est diabolus; in terris non permanet, quia huc totus aduenit. et uide utrum hic permanere uerbum possit in nobis, ubi tantos laqueos diabolus aspersit, qui dum esset in caelo, nec ibi uerbum poterat permanere. denique quia et ipse uerbum non tenuit, cecidit e caelo.
So the word abides in heaven, because the devil was cast down from there; on earth it does not abide, because he has come here entirely. And see whether the word can abide here in us, where the devil has scattered so many snares, when even while he was in heaven the word could not abide there either. In fact, because he too did not hold to the word, he fell from heaven.
John 8:44 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The word does not abide on earth, where the devil has laid snares; he fell for not holding to it.
Topics: The devil and demons
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 12.10.2 (CSEL 62:257; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-10-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-10-2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.
Exposition 12, chapter 11
12.11.1CSEL 62:257
In caelo ergo uerbum permanet, quod secundum uerbi dispositionem regitur et gubernatur. sed quia et ipsum caelum praeterit, ideo non dixit in saecula permanere, sed in saeculum, quamquam propterea praetereat, ut fiat nouum caelum, noua terra, nouum testamentum, ut facie ad faciem gloriam domini uidere possimus.
So the word abides in heaven, which is ruled and governed according to the Word’s disposing. But because heaven itself also passes away, he did not say that it abides for the ages, but for the age; though it passes away precisely so that there may be a new heaven, a new earth, a new testament, so that we may see the glory of the Lord face to face.
Rev 21:1 (allusion, medium confidence) · Jer 31:31 (echo, low confidence) · 1 Cor 13:12 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Heaven passes away so that a new heaven and earth may come and we may see God face to face.
- Rev 21:1; Jer 31:31; 1 Cor 13:12.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Ambrose, Exp. Ps. 118 12.11.1 (CSEL 62:257; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-11-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ambrose-psalmo-118/12-11-1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from Petschenig's Latin (CSEL 62, 1913); no public-domain English translation exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.