Sermons to the People 165.1–167.4

Augustine of Hippo · Sermons to the People · ca. 391-430 · Hippo Regius · 16 passages

Latin text: PL 38 (Latin text: Migne, PL 38, digitized by Open Greek and Latin (patrologia_latina-dev, University of Leipzig), CC BY-SA 4.0).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0). Compare: NPNF 1/6: Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament (R. G. MacMullen, ed., 1888).

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Chapter 165

165.1PL 38:527–528

Apostolum audivimus, Psalmum audivimus, Evangelium audivimus; consonant omnes divinæ lectiones, ut spem non in nobis, sed in Domino collocemus. Peto, inquit Apostolus, non infirmari in tribulationibus meis pro vobis, quæ est gloria vestra. Peto, inquit, non infirmari, id est, ut non infirmemini, quando auditis me pati pro vobis tribulationes; quia hæc est gloria vestra. Petit ergo eos, ut non infirmentur; quod non faceret, nisi eorum vellet excitare voluntatem. Si enim responderent, Quid nos petis quod in potestate non habemus? numquid non viderentur sibi justum reddidisse responsum? Et tamen Apostolus, nisi sciret esse in eis voluntatis propriæ consensionem, ubi et ipsi aliquid agerent, non diceret, Peto. Et si diceret, Jubeo, nisi eos nosset adhibere posse jussioni suæ voluntatem, sine causa hoc verbum de ejus ore procederet. Sed rursus sciens sine Dei adjutorio infirmam esse hominis voluntatem, non solum ne dicerent, Voluntatis arbitrium non habemus, dixit, Peto; verum etiam ne dicerent, Voluntatis arbitrium sufficit nobis, videte quid addidit: Hujus rei gratia. Cujus rei gratia, nisi quam supra dixerat, Peto non infirmari in tribulationibus meis pro vobis, quæ est gloria vestra? Quia ergo voluntatis habetis arbitrium, Peto. Quia vero vobis voluntatis non sufficit arbitrium ad implendum quod peto, Hujus rei gratia flecto genua mea ad Patrem Domini nostri Jesu Christi, ex quo omnis paternitas in coelo et in terra nominatur. Ut det vobis. Quid, det vobis? Quod peto a vobis, rogo det vobis. Peto enim a vobis, propter arbitrium voluntatis: rogo det vobis, propter auxilium majestatis.

We have heard the Apostle, we have heard the Psalm, we have heard the Gospel: all the divine readings agree that we should place our hope not in ourselves but in the Lord. “I ask,” says the Apostle, “that you not lose heart in my tribulations for you, which are your glory.” “I ask,” he says, “not to lose heart,” that is, that you not lose heart when you hear that I suffer tribulations for you; for this is your glory. So he asks them not to lose heart; which he would not do unless he wanted to rouse their will. For if they answered, “Why do you ask of us what we do not have in our power?”, would they not seem to themselves to have given a just answer? And yet the Apostle, unless he knew that there was in them the consent of their own will, where they themselves would do something, would not say, “I ask.” And if he said, “I command,” unless he knew that they could apply their will to his command, this word would come from his mouth to no purpose. But again, knowing that without God's help the will of man is weak, he said, “I ask,” not only lest they say, “We have no choice of will”; but also, lest they say, “The choice of the will suffices us,” see what he added: “For this reason.” For what reason, if not what he had said above: “I ask that you not lose heart in my tribulations for you, which are your glory”? Because you have choice of will, then: “I ask.” But because choice of will is not enough for you to fulfill what I ask: “For this reason I bend my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom every fatherhood in heaven and on earth is named, that he may give you.” What is “that he may give you”? What I ask of you, I pray he may give you. For I ask it of you because of the choice of the will; I pray that he give it to you because of the help of his majesty.

Eph 3:13–16 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Paul both asks the Ephesians not to lose heart, appealing to their will, and kneels to pray that God give it, showing that free choice is real but insufficient without God's help.

Quotations: Eph 3:13–16. Augustine reads “ut non deficiatis” (not to lose heart) in the Latin form “non infirmari.” The opponents are Pelagians, as the heading states.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (Migne's marginal heading left in the text; OCR slip; OCR slips; stray footnote mark; OCR slip): Gratiæ et liberi arbitrii concursus. Apostolum audivimus → Apostolum audivimus; Peto, inquit Apostolus, non infirmari 2 in tribulationibus meis pro vobis, quæ eat gloria vestra. → Peto, inquit Apostolus, non infirmari in tribulationibus meis pro vobis, quæ est gloria vestra.; nisi sciret esse in eis voluntatis proprias consensionem → nisi sciret esse in eis voluntatis propriæ consensionem; non diceret, Pete. Et si dicerct, Jubeo, nisi cos nosset adliibere posse → non diceret, Peto. Et si diceret, Jubeo, nisi eos nosset adhibere posse; non solum ne dicereni, Voluntatis arbitrium non habcmus, dixit, Pelo; → non solum ne dicerent, Voluntatis arbitrium non habemus, dixit, Peto;; pro vobis, quas eat gloria vestra? Quia ergo → pro vobis, quæ est gloria vestra? Quia ergo; ad implendum qnod peto → ad implendum quod peto.

Topics: Prayer, Heresy

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Serm. 165.1 (PL 38:527–528; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-sermones/165-1/#p-165-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 38 (Maurist text; digital text, Open Greek and Latin; corrections logged). Sermons outside 51–147 have no public-domain English and were re-read against the Latin; sermons 51–147 were compared section by section with NPNF¹ 6 (MacMullen, 1888).

165.2PL 38:528

Sed Apostoli verba prævenimus. Adhuc fortasse exspectatis audire, qui textum ejusdem lectionis memoria non tenetis, utrum revera ideo Apostolus pro ipsis ad Patrem genua flectat, ut det illis quod dixerat eis, Peto. Mementote ergo quid petierit ab ipsis. Peto non infirmari in tribulationibus meis pro vobis: hoc ab ipsis petit. Modo videte quid illis petit: Flecto genua mea ad Patrem Domini nostri Jesu Christi, ut det vobis secundum divitias gloriæ suæ virtute corroborari. Quid est aliud, nisi non infirmari? Virtute corroborari, inquit, per Spiritum ejus. Iste Spiritus gratiæ. Videte quid petit. Hoc a Deo petit, quod ab hominibus exigit: quia ut Deus velit dare, debes et tu ad accipiendum accommodare voluntatem. Quomodo vis accipere gratiam divinæ bonitatis, qui sinum non aperis voluntatis? Det, inquit, vobis. Non enim habetis, nisi det vobis. Det vobis virtute corroborari per Spiritum ejus. Si enim dederit vobis virtute corroborari, ibi dabit vobis non infirmari. In interiore homine habitare Christum per fidem in cordibus vestris. Totum hoc det vobis. In charitate radicati et fundati, ut prævaleatis comprehendere cum omnibus sanctis. Quid comprehendere? Det vobis per Spiritum suum virtute corroborari, et habitare in interiore homine vestro Christum per fidem, atque ita in charitate radicati et fundati possitis comprehendere cum omnibus sanctis: quid? Quæ sit latitudo, longitudo, altitudo et profundum. Altitudo quidem in latina lingua utrumque significat: et quod sursum versus est, altitudinis nomen habet; et quod in profundum altum est, altitudinis nomen habet. Ideo bene respondit interpres ad id quod sursum altum est, altitudinem dicere; ad illud quod deorsum altum est, profundum dicere.

But we have run ahead of the Apostle's words. Perhaps those of you who do not hold the text of this reading in memory are still waiting to hear whether the Apostle really bends his knees to the Father for them so that he may give them what he had said to them, “I ask.” Remember, then, what he asked of them: “I ask that you not lose heart in my tribulations for you”: this he asks of them. Now see what he asks for them: “I bend my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he may give you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power.” What else is this but not to lose heart? “To be strengthened with power,” he says, “through his Spirit.” This is the Spirit of grace. See what he asks. He asks of God what he demands of men: because for God to be willing to give, you too must adapt your will to receive. How do you want to receive the grace of the divine goodness, you who do not open the lap of your will? “That he may give you,” he says. For you do not have it unless he gives it to you. “That he may give you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit.” For if he gives you to be strengthened with power, in that he will give you not to lose heart. “That Christ may dwell in the inner man through faith in your hearts.” May he give you all this. “Rooted and grounded in love, so that you may be able to comprehend with all the saints.” Comprehend what? May he give you through his Spirit to be strengthened with power, and that Christ dwell in your inner man through faith, and so, rooted and grounded in love, you may be able to comprehend with all the saints—what? “What is the breadth, length, height, and depth.” In the Latin language altitudo signifies both: both what is high upward has the name altitudo, and what is deep downward has the name altitudo. So the translator did well to say altitudo for what is high upward, and profundum for what is deep downward.

Eph 3:13 (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 3:14–18 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: What Paul asks of the Ephesians, not to lose heart, he asks of God for them, to be strengthened by the Spirit; God gives, but the will must open to receive.

Quotations: Eph 3:13, 14–18. Augustine comments on the Latin translator's choice of “altitudo” and “profundum.”

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips): quod dixerat cis, Peto → quod dixerat eis, Peto; secundum divitias glorias sum virtute torroborari → secundum divitias gloriæ suæ virtute corroborari; Iste Spiritus gratiæ. Vidcte quid petit. Hoc a Deo petit, quod ab bominibus exigit → Iste Spiritus gratiæ. Videte quid petit. Hoc a Deo petit, quod ab hominibus exigit; Del vobis per Spiritum anum virtute corroborari, et habitarc in interiore homine vestro Christum. per fidem → Det vobis per Spiritum suum virtute corroborari, et habitare in interiore homine vestro Christum per fidem; utrumque significat: ct quod sursum versus eSI, altitudinis → utrumque significat: et quod sursum versus est, altitudinis; ad id quod sursum altam est → ad id quod sursum altum est.

Topics: Prayer

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Serm. 165.2 (PL 38:528; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-sermones/165-1/#p-165-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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165.3PL 38:528

Quid est ergo, fratres mei? exponam hoc ego vobis. Facilius forte si cuiquam sit, quid ergo? quia latitudinem, longitudinem, altitudinem, et profundum, quatuor ista quæ dicit Apostolus, minus idoneus sum vel comprehendere vel proferre, transibo ab hoc? An forte pulsabo, et ut vobis salubre aliquid proferam, vestris orationibus adjuvabor? Quid pergis corde, homo christiane, per latitudinem terræ, longitudinem temporum, altitudinem coeli, profunditatem abyssi? Quando ista comprehendis vel mente vel corpore? hoc est, sive cogitando sive carnis oculis intuendo, quando ista comprehendis? Ipsum audi Apostolum dicentem tibi: Mihi autem absit gloriari, nisi in cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Et nos in illa gloriemur, vel quia super illam incumbimus. In illa gloriemur omnes, o boni fratres, in illa gloriemur. Ibi forte inveniemus et latitudinem, et longitudinem, et altitudinem, et profundum. His enim Apostoli verbis crux quodam modo nobis ante oculos constituta est. Habet enim latitudinem, in qua manus figuntur: habet longitudinem, quod inde usque ad terram ducitur lignum; habet et altitudinem, quod ab ipso transverso, in quo figuntur manus, excedit aliquantum, ubi caput crucifixi ponitur: habet et profundum, hoc est quod in terra figitur, et non videtur. Videte magnum sacramentum. Ab illo profundo quod non vides, surgit totum quod vides.

What then is it, my brothers? Let me explain this to you. Perhaps it would be easier if it were for someone else—what then? Because I am less fit either to comprehend or to set forth these four things the Apostle speaks of, breadth, length, height, and depth, shall I pass this by? Or shall I perhaps knock, and be helped by your prayers to set forth something wholesome for you? Why, Christian man, do you go in your heart through the breadth of the earth, the length of the ages, the height of heaven, the depth of the abyss? When do you comprehend these, either with mind or body—that is, either by thinking or by looking with the eyes of the flesh—when do you comprehend them? Hear the Apostle himself saying to you: “But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Let us too boast in it, or because we lean on it. Let us all boast in it, O good brothers; let us boast in it. There perhaps we shall find breadth and length and height and depth. For by these words of the Apostle the cross is in a way set before our eyes. For it has breadth, on which the hands are fixed; it has length, because from there the wood runs down to the ground; it has height too, because above the crossbeam on which the hands are fixed it extends a little, where the head of the crucified is placed; and it has depth, that is, the part fixed in the ground, which is not seen. See the great mystery. From that depth which you do not see rises all that you see.

Gal 6:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 3:18 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The four dimensions of Ephesians 3:18 are found in the cross: the crossbeam for the hands, the upright, the top above the head, and the hidden part in the ground from which all the rest rises.

Quotation: Gal 6:14. “Or because we lean on it” translates “vel quia super illam incumbimus” (sense uncertain).

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips; OCR slips; stray footnote mark): Quid est ergo, fratres mei,cxponam hoc cgo vobis. Facilius forte si cuiquam sit, quid ergo I? → Quid est ergo, fratres mei? exponam hoc ego vobis. Facilius forte si cuiquam sit, quid ergo?; Et nos in illa gloricmur, vel qnia super illam → Et nos in illa gloriemur, vel quia super illam; Ibi forte inveniemus ct latitudincm → Ibi forte inveniemus et latitudinem; Habet enim!atitudinem, in qua manus figuntur: habet longitudinem, quod indc usque ad terram ducitur lignum; babet et altitudinem → Habet enim latitudinem, in qua manus figuntur: habet longitudinem, quod inde usque ad terram ducitur lignum; habet et altitudinem; ubi caput cnicifixi ponitur → ubi caput crucifixi ponitur; et non vidclur → et non videtur.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Serm. 165.3 (PL 38:528; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-sermones/165-1/#p-165-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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165.4PL 38:528–529

Ubi ergo est latitudo? Confer te ad vitam moresque sanctorum, qui dicunt, Absit gloriari, nisi in cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Invenimus in moribus eorum latitudinem charitatis; unde illos admonet ipse Apostolus, dicens, Dilatamini, ne sitis jugum ducentes cum infidelibus. Et quia ipse latus erat, qui eos ad latitudinem exhortabatur, audi quid dicat: Os nostrum patet ad vos, o Corinthii; cor nostrum dilatatum est. Latitudo ergo charitas est, quæ sola bene operatur. Latitudo facit ut hilarem datorem diligat Deus. Si enim angustiam passus fuerit, tristis dabit: si tristis dabit, perit quod dabit. Opus est ergo latitudine charitatis, ne pereat quidquid boni facis. Sed quoniam ait Dominus, Ubi abundabit iniquitas, refrigescet charitas multorum; da mihi et longitudinem. Quæ est longitudo? Qui perseveraverit usque in finem, hic salvus erit. Hæc est longitudo crucis, ubi totum corpus porrigitur: ubi quodam modo statur, quo stando perseveratur. Si ergo quæris, qui in cruce gloriatis, habere crucis latitudinem; habeto bene operandi virtutem. Si vis habere crucis longitudinem; habeto perseverandi longanimitatem. Si autem vis habere crucis altitudinem; nosce quid audias, et ubi audias, Sursum cor. Quid est, Sursum cor? Ibi spera, ibi ama: inde pete virtutem, ibi exspecta mercedem. Nam si bene operaris, et hilariter tribuis, videris habere latitudinem. Si in iisdem bonis operibus usque in finem perseveraveris, videris habere longitudinem. Sed si omnia hæc non propter supernam mercedem facis, altitudinem non habebis; et illa jam nec latitudo erit nec longitudo. Quid est enim habere altitudinem, nisi cogitare Deum, amare Deum; et gratis amare ipsum Deum adjutorem, ipsum spectatorem, ipsum coronatorem, ipsum præmii largitorem; postremo ipsum præmium deputare, non aliud ab ipso quam ipsum exspectare? Si amas, gratis ama: si vere amas, ipse sit merces quem amas. An vero tibi chara sunt omnia, et vilis est ille qui condidit omnia?

Where then is the breadth? Turn to the life and character of the saints, who say, “Far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We find in their character the breadth of love; hence the Apostle himself admonishes them, saying, “Be enlarged; do not be yoked with unbelievers.” And because he who urged them to breadth was himself broad, hear what he says: “Our mouth is open to you, O Corinthians; our heart is enlarged.” So breadth is love, which alone works well. Breadth brings it about that God loves a cheerful giver. For if he suffers narrowness, he will give sadly; if he gives sadly, what he gives is lost. So there is need of the breadth of love, lest whatever good you do be lost. But since the Lord says, “Because iniquity will abound, the love of many will grow cold,” give me length too. What is length? “He who perseveres to the end will be saved.” This is the length of the cross, along which the whole body is stretched: where in a way one stands, and by standing perseveres. So if you who boast in the cross seek to have the breadth of the cross, have the power of working well. If you want to have the length of the cross, have the long-suffering of perseverance. But if you want to have the height of the cross, know what you hear and where you hear it: “Lift up your heart.” What is “Lift up your heart”? Hope there, love there; ask power from there, expect the reward there. For if you work well and give cheerfully, you seem to have breadth. If you persevere in the same good works to the end, you seem to have length. But if you do all these things not for the heavenly reward, you will not have height; and then that will be neither breadth nor length. For what is it to have height, but to think of God, to love God, and to love freely God himself the helper, himself the spectator, himself the crowner, himself the giver of the reward; finally, to count him himself the reward, to expect nothing else from him but himself? If you love, love freely; if you truly love, let the one you love be your reward. Or are all things dear to you, and is he cheap who made all things?

Gal 6:14 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 6:13–14 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 6:11 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 9:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 24:12–13 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The cross's breadth is love that gives cheerfully, its length is perseverance to the end, and its height is the lifted heart that loves God freely and seeks him alone as reward.

Quotations: Gal 6:14; 2 Cor 6:11, 13–14; 2 Cor 9:7; Matt 24:12–13. “Lift up your heart” (Sursum cor) is the call at the beginning of the eucharistic prayer, which the hearers know.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips; punctuation slip): Confer te ad vitam DIOresque sanctorum → Confer te ad vitam moresque sanctorum; ne sitis jugum ducentes eum infidelibus → ne sitis jugum ducentes cum infidelibus; Latitudo ergo charitas est, qnx sola bene operatur. → Latitudo ergo charitas est, quæ sola bene operatur.; Sed quoniam ait Dominus. Ubi abundabit → Sed quoniam ait Dominus, Ubi abundabit; da mihi et longitudinem. Qua: est longitudo? → da mihi et longitudinem. Quæ est longitudo?; quo stando persevcratur → quo stando perseveratur; nosce quid audias, ct ubi audias, Sursum cor. Quid est. Sursum cor? Ibi spera, ibi ama: indc pete → nosce quid audias, et ubi audias, Sursum cor. Quid est, Sursum cor? Ibi spera, ibi ama: inde pete; videris habere latitudincm → videris habere latitudinem; et illa jam nec tali. tudo erit nee longitudo. Quid est enim habere alti tudinem → et illa jam nec latitudo erit nec longitudo. Quid est enim habere altitudinem; ipsum præmii largilorem; postremo ipsam præmium deputare → ipsum præmii largitorem; postremo ipsum præmium deputare; Si amas, graiisama: si vere amas, ipse sit merces qucm amas. → Si amas, gratis ama: si vere amas, ipse sit merces quem amas..

Topics: Eucharist

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Serm. 165.4 (PL 38:528–529; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-sermones/165-1/#p-165-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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165.5PL 38:529

Hæc ut possimus, flexit genua sua pro nobis Apostolus, utique ideo ut detur nobis. Terret enim et Evangelium: Vobis datum est scire mysterium regni, illis autem non est datum. Qui enim habet, dabitur ei. Quis autem habet cui dabitur, nisi cui datum est? Qui autem non habet, et quod habet auferetur ab eo. Quis autem non habet, nisi cui non est datum? Quare ergo illi datum est, et illi non est datum? Non me piget dicere, hoc est profundum crucis. De profunda nescio quo judiciorum Dei, quæ perscrutari contemplarique non possumus, procedit omne quod possumus. De profunditate, inquam, nescio qua judiciorum Dei, quæ inscrutabilia contemplari non possumus, perscrutari non valemus, procedit omne quod possumus. Quod possum, video: unde possim, non video; nisi quia et hoc hactenus video, quod novi esse a Deo. Quare autem illum, et non illum: nimium est ad me, abyssus est, profundum crucis est; admiratione exclamare possum, disputatione demonstrare non possum. Quid possum exclamare de ista profunditate? Quam magnificata sunt opera tua, Domine! Gentes illuminantur, Judæi excæcantur. Quidam parvuli sacramento Baptismatis abluuntur, quidam vero parvuli in morte primi hominis relinquuntur. Quam magnificata sunt opera tua, Domine! Nimis profundæ factæ sunt cogitationes tuæ! Et sequitur: Vir imprudens non cognoscit, et stultus non intelligit hæc. Quid non intelligit stultus et imprudens? Quia vel profundum est. Nam si stultus non intelligit, et sapiens intelligit, non est nimis profundum. Sed si sapiens intelligit quia profundum est, stultus non intelligit quia vel profundum est.

That we may do these things, the Apostle bent his knees for us—certainly so that it might be given to us. For the Gospel also terrifies: “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom; but to them it has not been given. For to him who has, it will be given.” But who has, to whom it will be given, except one to whom it has been given? “But he who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” But who does not have, except one to whom it has not been given? Why then has it been given to this one and not given to that one? I am not ashamed to say: this is the depth of the cross. From some depth or other of God's judgments, which we cannot search out or contemplate, comes forth all that we can do. From some depth or other, I say, of God's judgments, which are unsearchable and which we cannot contemplate or search out, comes forth all that we can do. What I can do, I see; from where I can do it, I do not see—except that I see this much, that I know it is from God. But why this one and not that one: it is too much for me; it is an abyss; it is the depth of the cross. I can cry out in wonder; I cannot demonstrate it by argument. What can I cry out about this depth? “How great are your works, O Lord!” The Gentiles are enlightened, the Jews are blinded. Some little ones are washed by the sacrament of Baptism, while some little ones are left in the death of the first man. “How great are your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are made very deep!” And it follows: “The imprudent man does not know, and the fool does not understand these things.” What does the fool and the imprudent man not understand? That it is even deep. For if the fool does not understand and the wise man understands, it is not very deep. But if the wise man understands that it is deep, the fool does not understand that it is even deep.

Matt 13:11–12 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 92:5–6 (91:6-Ps Vulg.) (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 11:33 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Why grace is given to one and not another is the hidden depth of the cross, God's unsearchable judgment, before which Augustine can only cry out in wonder.

Quotations: Matt 13:11–12; Ps 92:5–6 (91:6–7 Vulg.). The statements on the Jews and on unbaptized infants are Augustine's, translated as written.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips): utique ideo ut detur nubis → utique ideo ut detur nobis; Vobis datum eat scire mysterium regni → Vobis datum est scire mysterium regni; Qui enim hnbet, dabitur ei → Qui enim habet, dabitur ei; Quis autcm non habet → Quis autem non habet; Quare ergo iili datum est → Quare ergo illi datum est; quæ perserutari contemplarique non possumus → quæ perscrutari contemplarique non possumus; perscrutari non valemus, procedit omnc quod possumus → perscrutari non valemus, procedit omne quod possumus; unde poSsim, non video; nisi quia et hoc h actenus video → unde possim, non video; nisi quia et hoc hactenus video; niullum est ad me, ahyssus est, profundum crucis cst; admiratione ex clamare possum → nimium est ad me, abyssus est, profundum crucis est; admiratione exclamare possum; de ista profundilate? → de ista profunditate?; in morte primi bominis relinquuntur → in morte primi hominis relinquuntur.

Topics: Baptism

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Serm. 165.5 (PL 38:529; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-sermones/165-1/#p-165-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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165.6PL 38:529

Ideo multi de isto profundo quærentes reddere rationem, in fabulas vanitatis abierunt. Aliqui dixerunt quod animæ sursum in cœlo peccant, et secundum sua peccata ad corpora pro meritis diriguntur, et dignis ibi quasi carceribus includuntur. Ierunt post cogitationes suas; volentes disputare de Dei profundo, mersi sunt in profundum. Occurrit enim eis Apostolus, volens gratiam commendare, et elegit illos geminos in utero Rebeccæ, et dicit: Nondum enim natis, nec qui aliquid egerint boni aut mali. Vide quemadmodum tulit vanis hominibus phantasias conversationis animarum ante corpus in cælo. Si enim ibi jam conversatæ sunt, jam aliquid boni egerunt vel mali, et pro meritis suis ad corpora terrena detrusæ sunt. Si placet, contradicamus Apostolo, qui dixit, Nondum natis, nec qui aliquid egerint boni aut mali. Hoc autem quia propter Apostoli evidentem sententiam respuit catholica fides, quod animæ in coelis prius vivant et conversentur, et illic recipiendorum corporum merita assumant, modo isti novelli non audent dicere.

That is why many, seeking to give an account of this depth, have gone off into fables of vanity. Some have said that souls sin above in heaven, and according to their sins are sent down to bodies as they deserve, and are shut up in them as in fitting prisons. They have gone after their own thoughts; wanting to dispute about the depth of God, they have been plunged into the depth. For the Apostle meets them, wanting to commend grace; he chose those twins in Rebecca's womb, and says: “For they were not yet born, nor had they done anything good or evil.” See how he took away from vain men their fantasies about the conduct of souls in heaven before the body. For if they had already lived there, they had already done something good or evil, and were thrust down into earthly bodies according to their deserts. If you please, let us contradict the Apostle, who said, “not yet born, nor had they done anything good or evil.” But because the Catholic faith rejects this, on account of the Apostle's plain sentence—that souls first live and conduct themselves in heaven and there take on deserts for the bodies they are to receive—these new men do not dare to say it.

Rom 9:11 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Some explained God's hidden choices by saying souls sinned in heaven before birth, but Paul's words about Jacob and Esau refute this, and even the new opponents do not dare to say it.

Quotation: Rom 9:11. The view refuted is associated with Origen's school (pre-existence of souls); “these new men” are the Pelagians.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slip; stray footnote mark; OCR slips; word divided): Ideo mulli de isto profundo → Ideo multi de isto profundo; lcrunt post cogitationcs suas → Ierunt post cogitationes suas; mersi suut in profundum. Occurrit enim cis Apostolus, volens gratiamcommendare, ct elegit → mersi sunt in profundum. Occurrit enim eis Apostolus, volens gratiam commendare, et elegit; Nondum enim nalis, nec qui aliquid → Nondum enim natis, nec qui aliquid; et pro mcritis suis ad corpora terrena detrusæ sunt I. → et pro meritis suis ad corpora terrena detrusæ sunt.; IIoc autem quia propter Apostoli → Hoc autem quia propter Apostoli; recipiendorum corporum mer ita assumant → recipiendorum corporum merita assumant.

Topics: Heresy

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Serm. 165.6 (PL 38:529; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-sermones/165-1/#p-165-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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165.7PL 38:529

Sed quid dicunt? Aliqui, sicut audivimus, ipsorum ita disputant: Prorsus, inquiunt, pro meritis suis omnes homines moriuntur, quia peccaverunt; non enim esset mors, nisi veniens de peccato. Optime quidem et vere dictum est, Non esset mors, nisi veniens de peccato. Sed ego, cum hoc audio, ideo laudo, quia illam primam mortem intueor et illius primi hominis peccatum. Audio enim Apostolum: Sicut in Adam omnes moriuntur, sic et in Christo omnes vivificabuntur. Per unum hominem peccatum intravit in mundum, et per peccatum mors; et ita in omnes homines pertransiit, in quo omnes peccaverunt. Omnes enim unus fuerunt. Sic te audio dicentem mortem hominis de peccato esse? Non, inquit. Et quid dicis? Omnem hominem Deus immortalem creat modo. Mirabilis novitas. Quid dicis? Prorsus, inquit, omnem hominem Deus immortalem creat. Quare ergo moriuntur parvuli infantes? Nam si dicam, Quare moriuntur grandes homines? dicturus es mihi, Peccaverunt. Ergo de majorum ætate non disputabo: parvulorum infantiam contra te testem citabo. Non loquuntur, et convincunt: tacent, et quod dico probant. Ecce infantes in suis utique operibus innocentes sunt, nihil secum nisi quod de primo homine traxerunt habentes: quibus propterea est gratia Christi necessaria, ut in Christo vivificentur, qui in Adam mortui sunt; ut quia inquinati sunt generatione, purgentur regeneratione. Ipsos ergo testes citabo. Responde mihi: Quare moriuntur, si omnes homines immortales nascuntur, et quoniam peccant, ideo moriuntur? Quid putatis dici potuisse? Quæ aures ferant? Peccaverunt et ipsi. Ubi peccaverunt? Rogo te, quando peccaverunt? quomodo peccaverunt? Bonum et malum quid sit nesciunt. Peccatum accipiunt, qui præceptum non capiunt? Proba mihi peccatores infantes: quod dixisti, vere quia oblitus es quod fuisti, proba mihi peccata infantium. An quia plorant, peccant? quia motibus quasi mutorum animalium, molestias repellunt, voluptates accipiunt, ideo peccant? Si motus isti peccata sunt, ampliores peccatores in Baptismo fiunt; quia cum baptizantur, vehementissime reluctantur. Quare illis in tanta reluctatione non imputatur peccatum, nisi quia nullum est adhuc voluntatis arbitrium?

But what do they say? Some of them, as we have heard, argue thus: “Certainly,” they say, “all men die for their own deserts, because they have sinned; for there would be no death unless it came from sin.” This is indeed very well and truly said: there would be no death unless it came from sin. But when I hear this, I praise it because I look at that first death and the sin of that first man. For I hear the Apostle: “As in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” “Through one man sin entered the world, and through sin death; and so it passed to all men, in whom all sinned.” For all were one. Is that how I hear you say that man's death is from sin? “No,” he says. And what do you say? “God now creates every man immortal.” A marvelous novelty! What do you say? “Certainly,” he says, “God creates every man immortal.” Why then do little infants die? For if I say, “Why do grown men die?”, you will say to me, “They have sinned.” So I will not argue about the age of adults: I will cite the infancy of little ones as a witness against you. They do not speak, and they convict; they are silent, and they prove what I say. See, infants are certainly innocent in their own works, having nothing with them except what they drew from the first man; for this reason the grace of Christ is necessary for them, so that those who died in Adam may be made alive in Christ; so that, because they are defiled by generation, they may be cleansed by regeneration. These, then, I will cite as witnesses. Answer me: why do they die, if all men are born immortal and die because they sin? What do you think could be said? What ears would bear it? “They too have sinned.” Where have they sinned? I ask you, when have they sinned? How have they sinned? They do not know what good and evil are. Do those receive sin who cannot grasp a commandment? Prove to me that infants are sinners: you said it truly because you have forgotten what you were—prove to me the sins of infants. Do they sin because they cry? Because with movements like those of dumb animals they push away annoyances and take in pleasures, do they therefore sin? If these movements are sins, they become greater sinners at Baptism, because when they are baptized they resist most vehemently. Why is sin not imputed to them in such great resistance, unless because there is as yet no choice of will?

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

1 Cor 15:22 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 5:12 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Against the claim that God creates everyone immortal and each dies for his own sins, Augustine points to dying infants, who have no personal sin and so must die from Adam's sin and need Christ's grace.

Quotations: 1 Cor 15:22; Rom 5:12 (Augustine's Latin “in quo omnes peccaverunt,” “in whom all sinned”). The opponents' view (Pelagian) is reported as Augustine reports it. The phrase “quod dixisti, vere quia oblitus es quod fuisti” is taken as ironic; the reading is uncertain.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips; OCR slips; stray footnote mark): Non esset mors, nisi venicns de peccato Sed ego, cum hoc audio, ideo laudo, qnia illam → Non esset mors, nisi veniens de peccato. Sed ego, cum hoc audio, ideo laudo, quia illam; Omnem hominem Deus immorlalcm creat modo. Mirabilis novitas 1. → Omnem hominem Deus immortalem creat modo. Mirabilis novitas.; omnem hominem Deus immortalem create Quare ergo → omnem hominem Deus immortalem creat. Quare ergo; de majorum ætate non dispuUibo → de majorum ætate non disputabo; ut qnia inquinati sunt generatione → ut quia inquinati sunt generatione; Peccaverunt ct ipsi. → Peccaverunt et ipsi.; quod di. xisti, verc quia oblitus es quod fuisti, proba milii peccata infantium → quod dixisti, vere quia oblitus es quod fuisti, proba mihi peccata infantium; quasi mulorum animalium → quasi mutorum animalium; quia cum baptizantur, vchementissime reluctantur → quia cum baptizantur, vehementissime reluctantur.

Topics: Baptism, Heresy

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Serm. 165.7 (PL 38:529; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-sermones/165-1/#p-165-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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165.8PL 38:529–530

Sed aliud dico: Isti quia nati sunt, ut arbitraris, peccarunt. Nam si non peccarent, inquis, non morerentur. Quid de illis dicis qui in utero moriuntur? O angustia! Et ipsi, inquit, peccarunt, ideo moriuntur. Mentiris, An falleris? Contradicit Apostolus: Nondum natis, nec aliquid agentibus boni aut mali. Magis Apostolum audio quam te, magis Apostolo credo quam tibi. Nondum natis, nec aliquid agentibus boni aut mali. Si autem hoc testimonium refellis, vade tibi potius ad illas vagationes, et dic: Quia in coelo peccarunt, et inde in corpora præcipitantur. Non dico, inquit. Quare non dicis? Quia dicit Apostolus, Nondum natis, nec aliquid agentibus boni aut mali. Si ergo non eos accusas in cælo, quare accusas in utero? Ad utrumque respondet Apostolus, et eis respondet qui dicunt, In coelo peccaverunt; et eis respondet qui dicunt, In utero peccaverunt, quia ad utrumque valent illa verba quæ dicunt, antequam nascerentur, nihil egisse vel boni vel mali. Quare ergo moriuntur? Et hic te auditurus sum, et non potius Magistrum Gentium? Dic mihi, Paule apostole, quare moriuntur? Per unum hominem peccatum intravit in mundum, et per peccatum mors; et ita in omnes homines pertransiit, in quo omnes peccaverunt. Ecce primus homo totam massam damnabilem fecit: veniat, veniat Dominus noster, secundus homo; veniat, veniat; ex alio tramite veniat, per virginem veniat; vivus veniat, mortuos inveniat: moriatur, ut morienti subveniat, mortuos ad vitam transferat, mortuos redimat a morte, servet vitam in morte, occidat mortem de morte. Sola est ista gratia parvulorum, sola majorum: sola liberat pusillos cum magnis. Quare illum, et quare illum; quare non illum atque illum; nolo a me quæras. Homo sum: profundum crucis adverto, non penetro; expavesco, non scrutor. Inscrutabilia sunt judicia ejus, investigabiles sunt viæ ejus. Homo sum, homo es: homo erat qui dicebat, O homo, tu quis es qui respondeas Deo? Homo dicebat, homini dicebat. Audiat homo, ne pereat homo, propter quem Deus factus est homo. In hac ergo crucis profunditate, in hac rerum tanta obscuritate teneamus quod cantavimus: non de nostra virtute præsumamus, non ingenioli nostri viribus in hac quæstione aliquid arrogemus: Psalmum dicamus, cum Psalmo dicamus, Miserere mei, Deus, miserere mei. Quare? Quia virtutem habeo qua te promerear? Non. Quare? Quia voluntatis arbitrium gero, unde gratiam tuam meritum meum præcedat? Non. Sed quare? Quoniam in te confidit anima mea. Magna scientia ista confidentia. Conversi ad Dominum, etc.

But I say something else: “These, because they were born, have sinned, as you think. For if they did not sin,” you say, “they would not die.” What do you say of those who die in the womb? O tight spot! “They too,” he says, “sinned; therefore they die.” Are you lying, or deceived? The Apostle contradicts you: “Not yet born, nor having done anything good or evil.” I listen to the Apostle rather than to you; I believe the Apostle rather than you. “Not yet born, nor having done anything good or evil.” But if you refute this testimony, go rather to those wanderings and say: “Because they sinned in heaven, and from there are hurled down into bodies.” “I do not say it,” he says. Why do you not say it? “Because the Apostle says, ‘not yet born, nor having done anything good or evil.’” If then you do not accuse them in heaven, why do you accuse them in the womb? The Apostle answers both: he answers those who say, “They sinned in heaven,” and he answers those who say, “They sinned in the womb,” because those words, saying that before they were born they had done nothing good or evil, apply to both. Why then do they die? And shall I listen to you here, and not rather to the Teacher of the Gentiles? Tell me, apostle Paul, why do they die? “Through one man sin entered the world, and through sin death; and so it passed to all men, in whom all sinned.” See, the first man made the whole lump condemnable: let our Lord come, let the second man come; let him come, let him come; let him come by another path, let him come through a virgin; let him come living, let him find the dead; let him die, so as to help the dying, bring the dead over to life, redeem the dead from death, keep life in death, kill death by death. This grace alone belongs to little ones, it alone to adults: it alone frees the small with the great. Why this one, and why that one; why not this one and that one—do not ask me. I am a man: I perceive the depth of the cross; I do not penetrate it; I tremble before it; I do not search it out. “Unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out.” I am a man; you are a man; it was a man who said, “O man, who are you to answer back to God?” A man said it, he said it to a man. Let man hear, lest man perish, for whose sake God became man. In this depth of the cross, then, in such great obscurity of things, let us hold to what we sang: let us not presume on our own strength, let us not claim anything in this question by the powers of our little wit. Let us say the Psalm; with the Psalm let us say: “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.” Why? Because I have strength by which to deserve you? No. Why? Because I have choice of will, so that my merit may go before your grace? No. But why? “Because my soul trusts in you.” Great knowledge, this trust. Turning to the Lord, etc.

Rom 9:11 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 5:12 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 11:33 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 9:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 57:1 (56:2 Vulg.) (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 15:47 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Infants dying in the womb have done no good or evil, so death comes from Adam's sin; Christ's grace alone saves young and old, and why one rather than another is unsearchable, so we should simply trust God's mercy.

This staged ref holds Maurist paragraphs 8 and 9; paragraph 9 begins at “Tell me, apostle Paul” (its numeral is inside the digital text). Quotations: Rom 9:11; Rom 5:12; Rom 11:33; Rom 9:20; Ps 57:1 (56:2 Vulg.). Unbaptized infants are spoken of as Augustine speaks of them.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips; punctuation slip; stray footnote mark; the edition's paragraph number left in the text): Nam si nou peccarent, inquis, non morerentur. Quid de illisdicis qui in utero moriuntur? 0 angustia! Et ipsi, inquit, peccarunt, idco moriuntur. → Nam si non peccarent, inquis, non morerentur. Quid de illis dicis qui in utero moriuntur? O angustia! Et ipsi, inquit, peccarunt, ideo moriuntur.; Contradicit Apostolus: Nondum natja, nac aliquid agentibus → Contradicit Apostolus: Nondum natis, nec aliquid agentibus; Magis Apostolum audio quam te. magis Apostolo credo → Magis Apostolum audio quam te, magis Apostolo credo; Nondum natis, nec aliquia agentibus boni aut mali. Si autem hoc testimonium refellis, vade libi potius ad illas vagationes, cl dic → Nondum natis, nec aliquid agentibus boni aut mali. Si autem hoc testimonium refellis, vade tibi potius ad illas vagationes, et dic; Nondum natis, nee aliquid agentibus boni aut mali. Si ergo non eos accusas in cælo, quare accus::s in utero? → Nondum natis, nec aliquid agentibus boni aut mali. Si ergo non eos accusas in cælo, quare accusas in utero?; et cis respondet qui dicunt → et eis respondet qui dicunt; et non potius Magistrum Gentium? 9 Dic mihi → et non potius Magistrum Gentium? Dic mihi; peccatum intravit in,nundum → peccatum intravit in mundum; secundus homo; vcniat, veniat; ex. alio tramite veniat → secundus homo; veniat, veniat; ex alio tramite veniat; servet vitam in morte1, occidat → servet vitam in morte, occidat; Inscrutabilia sunt judicia cjus, investigabilcs sunt vix ejus. Homo sum, homo es: homo erat qui dicebat, 0 homo, tu quis es qui respondeas Deo? Homo diccbat → Inscrutabilia sunt judicia ejus, investigabiles sunt viæ ejus. Homo sum, homo es: homo erat qui dicebat, O homo, tu quis es qui respondeas Deo? Homo dicebat; propter quem Dens factus est homo. In hac ergo crucis profunditate, in hac terum tanta obscuritate → propter quem Deus factus est homo. In hac ergo crucis profunditate, in hac rerum tanta obscuritate.

Topics: Christology, Heresy

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Serm. 165.8 (PL 38:529–530; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-sermones/165-1/#p-165-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Chapter 166

166.1PL 38:530

Hanc sententiam, quam dixit Apostolus, Deponentes mendacium, loquimini veritatem, non esse contrariam illi sententiæ, quæ dicta est in Psalmo, Omnis homo mendax, si Dominus dat intellectum, breviter exponemus. Quid ergo est, Deponentes mendacium, loquimini veritatem; et, Omnis homo mendax? An impossibilia per Apostolum Deus jubet? Non. Quid ergo jubet? Audeo dicere: sed sine contumelia dictum accipiatis, quia et in me ipsum dico: hoc jubet Deus, ut non simus homines. Si enim dicerem, Jubet Deus ut non sitis homines; acerbe forsitan acciperetis: et me itaque conjunxi, ne quis irascatur.

That this sentence spoken by the Apostle, “Putting away lying, speak the truth,” is not contrary to that sentence spoken in the Psalm, “Every man is a liar,” we shall briefly explain, if the Lord gives understanding. What then is “Putting away lying, speak the truth,” and “Every man is a liar”? Does God command impossible things through the Apostle? No. What then does he command? I dare to say it—but take it without offense, because I say it against myself too: God commands this, that we not be men. For if I said, “God commands that you not be men,” you might perhaps take it harshly; so I have joined myself in, lest anyone be angry.

Eph 4:25 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 116:11 (115:11 Vulg.) (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Augustine sets out to reconcile “Putting away lying, speak the truth” with “Every man is a liar”: God commands that we not be merely men.

Quotations: Eph 4:25; Ps 116:11 (115:11 Vulg.).

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips): loquimini veritalem, non esse comrariam illi sententiæ, quæ dicta est in Psalmo, Omnis komo mendax → loquimini veritatem, non esse contrariam illi sententiæ, quæ dicta est in Psalmo, Omnis homo mendax; Audco dicere → Audeo dicere; et me i1aquc conjunxi → et me itaque conjunxi.

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Serm. 166.1 (PL 38:530; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-sermones/165-1/#p-166-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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166.2PL 38:530

Plus enim dico Sanctitati vestræ: invenimus Apostolum tanquam crimen objecisse hominibus, quia homines sunt: objurgans enim illos hoc dixit. Quomodo nos irati dicimus alicui, Pecus es: sic ille corripiens in flagello Dominicæ disciplinæ, objecit hominibus quia homines erant. Quid illos fieri volebat, quibus crimen erat quia homines erant? Cum enim sit inter vos, inquit, æmulatio et contentio; nonne carnales estis, et secundum hominem ambulatis? Cum enim quis dicat, Ego quidem sum Pauli; alius autem, Ego Apollo: nonne homines estis ( I Cor. III, et 4)? Exprobrans et objurgans ait, Nonne homines estis? Quid ergo eos fieri volebat, nisi quod in Psalmo dicitur, Ego dixi, Dii estis et filii Altissimi? Hoc quidem dixit Deus: ad hoc enim vocat. Sed quid subjungit? Vos autem sicut homines moriemini, et sicut unus de principibus cadetis. Et ibi opprobrium objectum est, cum dicitur, Vos autem sicut homines moriemini. Homo enim Adam, et non filius hominis: Christus autem filius hominis, et Deus. Ad mendacium vetus homo pertinet, id est, Adam; ad veritatem novus homo filius hominis, hoc est, Christus Deus. Si deponis mendacium, exue Adam; si loqueris veritatem, indue Christum: et non tibi erunt contraria quæ modo in Scripturis sunt posita. Quia et Apostolus exuendum hominem veterem et induendum novum monens, dicit, Deponentes mendacium, loquimini veritatem: et Psalmus illos admonebat et plangebat, qui nolentes exuere Adam et induere Christum, non novi homines, sed tantum homines esse cupiebant; qualibus dicitur, Nonne homines estis? Et in vos cadit quod dictum est, Omnis homo mendax.

For I say more to your Holiness: we find that the Apostle reproached men, as with a crime, that they were men; for he said this rebuking them. As we in anger say to someone, “You are a beast,” so he, correcting them with the scourge of the Lord's discipline, reproached men that they were men. What did he want them to become, for whom it was a crime that they were men? “For since there is jealousy and strife among you,” he says, “are you not carnal, and walking according to man? For when one says, ‘I am of Paul,’ and another, ‘I of Apollos,’ are you not men?” Reproaching and rebuking, he says, “Are you not men?” What then did he want them to become, if not what is said in the Psalm, “I said, You are gods, and all sons of the Most High”? God said this: for to this he calls. But what does he add? “But you will die like men, and fall like one of the princes.” There too a reproach was made when it is said, “But you will die like men.” For Adam was a man and not a son of man; but Christ is the Son of Man, and God. To lying belongs the old man, that is, Adam; to truth, the new man, the Son of Man, that is, Christ God. If you put away lying, strip off Adam; if you speak the truth, put on Christ: and the things now set down in the Scriptures will not be contrary for you. For the Apostle, admonishing that the old man must be put off and the new put on, says, “Putting away lying, speak the truth”; and the Psalm was admonishing and lamenting those who, unwilling to put off Adam and put on Christ, desired to be not new men but only men; to such it is said, “Are you not men?” And on you falls what was said, “Every man is a liar.”

1 Cor 3:3–4 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 82:6–7 (81:6-Ps Vulg.) (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 4:25 (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 4:22–24 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 116:11 (115:11 Vulg.) (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Paul rebuked the Corinthians for being “men,” and the Psalm calls believers “gods”; lying belongs to the old man, Adam, and truth to the new man, Christ, so putting off Adam reconciles the two texts.

Quotations: 1 Cor 3:3–4; Ps 82:6–7 (81:6–7 Vulg.); Eph 4:25; Ps 116:11 (115:11 Vulg.); allusion to Eph 4:22–24.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips; punctuation slip; word divided): Quid illos fieri volebat. quibus crimen erat → Quid illos fieri volebat, quibus crimen erat; Cum euim sit inter vos → Cum enim sit inter vos; Ex probrans et objurgans → Exprobrans et objurgans; Homo enim Adam, ct non filius hominis: Christus autem filius hominis, ct Deus. → Homo enim Adam, et non filius hominis: Christus autem filius hominis, et Deus.; ad veritatem novus humo filius hominis → ad veritatem novus homo filius hominis; Si dcponis mendacium, cxuc Adam; si loqucris veritatem, indue Christum: ct non tibi crunt contraria → Si deponis mendacium, exue Adam; si loqueris veritatem, indue Christum: et non tibi erunt contraria; exuendum homincm vctereln et inducndum novum monens → exuendum hominem veterem et induendum novum monens; ct Psalmus illos admonebat et plangebat, qui nolentes cauere Adam ct induere Christum → et Psalmus illos admonebat et plangebat, qui nolentes exuere Adam et induere Christum.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Serm. 166.2 (PL 38:530; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-sermones/165-1/#p-166-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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166.3PL 38:530

Si homo vis esse, mendax eris. Noli velle esse homo, et non eris mendax. Indue Christum, et eris verax: ut quæ locutus fueris, non tua sint quasi propria, et abs te instituta, sed illustrantis te et illuminantis veritatis. Nam si spoliaberis lumine, remanebis in tenebris tuis, et non poteris nisi mendacia loqui. Ait enim ipse Dominus, Qui loquitur mendacium, de suo loquitur: quia omnis homo mendax. Qui ergo loquitur veritatem, non de suo loquitur, sed de Dei. Non quidem ita, ut eum loqui dicamus aliena: fiunt enim sua, cum amat quod accipit, et gratias agit illi qui dedit. Nam si ablata fuerit homini illustratio veritatis, remanebit tanquam nudus indumento luminis, et non poterit nisi mendacia loqui. Hoc enim in illo remanebit, quod in Psalmo scriptum est, Omnis homo mendax.

If you want to be a man, you will be a liar. Do not want to be a man, and you will not be a liar. Put on Christ, and you will be truthful: so that what you speak may not be your own, as if your own property and established by you, but of the truth that enlightens and illumines you. For if you are stripped of the light, you will remain in your own darkness, and you will be able to speak only lies. For the Lord himself says, “He who speaks a lie speaks from his own”: because every man is a liar. So he who speaks the truth speaks not from his own but from God's. Not indeed in such a way that we say he speaks what belongs to another: for it becomes his own when he loves what he receives and gives thanks to the one who gave it. For if the enlightening of truth is taken from a man, he will remain as if naked of the garment of light, and he will be able to speak only lies. For in him will remain what is written in the Psalm: “Every man is a liar.”

John 8:44 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 116:11 (115:11 Vulg.) (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 13:14 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: One who remains a mere man speaks lies from his own; one who puts on Christ speaks truth received from God, which becomes his own when he loves it and gives thanks.

The opening sentence, removed at import as one of two marginal headings, is restored as probably Augustine's own words (it pairs with the next sentence); if it is Migne's heading, it should be removed again. Quotations: John 8:44; Ps 116:11 (115:11 Vulg.).

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips; restored text removed as a heading (probable); OCR slips; word divided; OCR slip): Noli velle esso homo, et non cris mendax. Indue Christum, et cris verax: ut quæ loculus fueris, non tua sint quasi propria, ct abs te instituta → Si homo vis esse, mendax eris. Noli velle esse homo, et non eris mendax. Indue Christum, et eris verax: ut quæ locutus fueris, non tua sint quasi propria, et abs te instituta; remane. bis in tenebris tuis, ct non poteris → remanebis in tenebris tuis, et non poteris; Non quidem ila, ut cum loqui dicamus aliena: flunt enim sua → Non quidem ita, ut eum loqui dicamus aliena: fiunt enim sua; Nam si aLlata fuerit homini → Nam si ablata fuerit homini; in Psalmo scriptum cst → in Psalmo scriptum est.

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Serm. 166.3 (PL 38:530; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-sermones/165-1/#p-166-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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166.4PL 38:531

Non est ergo unde quisquam calumnietur, et dicat mihi: Mentiar, quia homo sum. Dicam enim et ego fidentissime: Noli esse homo, ut non mentiaris. Ergo, inquit, homo non ero? Non utique. Ut enim non sis homo, ad hoc vocatus es ab illo qui propter te factus est homo. Noli succensere. Non enim ita tibi dicitur ut homo non sis, ut pecus sis: sed ut sis inter eos quibus dedit potestatem filios Dei fieri. Deus enim deum te vult facere: non natura, sicut est ille quem genuit; sed dono suo et adoptione. Sicut enim ille per humanitatem factus est particeps mortalitatis tuæ; sic te per exaltationem facit participem immortalitatis suæ. Age igitur gratias, et amplectere quod donatum est ut merearis perfrui quo vocatus es. Noli esse Adam, et non eris homo. Si non homo, non utique mendax: quia omnis homo mendax. Et cum coeperis non mentiri, noli tibi tribuere et extolli, quasi ex tuo proprio: ne vento superbiæ, tanquam lucerna quæ aliunde accenditur, exstinguaris, et remaneas rursus in mendacio tuo. Nolite ergo mentiri, fratres. Jam enim veteres homines eratis: accessistis ad gratiam Dei, facti estis homines novi. Mendacium ad Adam pertinet, veritas ad Christum. Deponentes ergo mendacium, loquimini veritatem, ut et caro ista mortalis quam adhuc habetis de Adam, præcedente novitate spiritus, mereatur et ipsa innovationem et commutationem tempore resurrectionis suæ: ac si totus homo deificatus inhæreat perpetuæ atque incommutabili veritati.

So there is no ground for anyone to raise a quibble and say to me, “I will lie, because I am a man.” For I too will say most confidently: Do not be a man, so that you may not lie. “So,” he says, “I will not be a man?” Certainly not. For you have been called to this, that you not be a man, by him who for your sake became man. Do not be angry. For it is not said to you that you should not be a man in such a way that you should be a beast, but that you should be among those to whom he gave power to become sons of God. For God wants to make you a god: not by nature, as is he whom he begot, but by his gift and adoption. For as he through his humanity became a sharer in your mortality, so he makes you, by exaltation, a sharer in his immortality. So give thanks, and embrace what has been given, so that you may deserve to enjoy that to which you have been called. Do not be Adam, and you will not be a man. If not a man, certainly not a liar: because every man is a liar. And when you have begun not to lie, do not attribute it to yourself and be lifted up, as though it were your own, lest by the wind of pride, like a lamp lit from elsewhere, you be put out and remain again in your own lie. So do not lie, brothers. For you were once old men; you have come to the grace of God; you have become new men. Lying belongs to Adam, truth to Christ. So, putting away lying, speak the truth, so that this mortal flesh too, which you still have from Adam, with the newness of the spirit going before, may itself deserve renewal and change at the time of its resurrection; and so the whole man, deified, may cling to the everlasting and unchangeable truth.

John 1:12 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 116:11 (115:11 Vulg.) (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 4:25 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Believers are called not to be mere men but sons of God, made gods by grace and adoption, not by nature; truthfulness is God's gift, and the whole person, deified, will cling to unchanging truth in the resurrection.

Quotations: John 1:12; Ps 116:11 (115:11 Vulg.); Eph 4:25. The language of deification (“God wants to make you a god … by his gift and adoption”) is translated exactly as Augustine states it.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (Migne's marginal heading left in the text; OCR slips; OCR slip; OCR slips; words run together): Vocatus es ut non sis homo. sed filius Dei. Non est crgo unde quisquam calumuictur, ct dicat mihi → Non est ergo unde quisquam calumnietur, et dicat mihi; Noli esse homo, ut non rnent:aris. Ergo, inquit, homo non ero? Non utiquc. → Noli esse homo, ut non mentiaris. Ergo, inquit, homo non ero? Non utique.; ad hoc vocatus cs ab illo qui propter te factus est homo. Noli sucrenscrc. → ad hoc vocatus es ab illo qui propter te factus est homo. Noli succensere.; quibus dedit potestatem lilios Dei fieri. Deus enim doum te vult facere → quibus dedit potestatem filios Dei fieri. Deus enim deum te vult facere; sed dono suo et adorlionc. Sicut cnim ille per humanitatem factus cst particeps mortalitmis tuæ → sed dono suo et adoptione. Sicut enim ille per humanitatem factus est particeps mortalitatis tuæ; Age igimr gratias → Age igitur gratias; Sinon homo, non utique mendax → Si non homo, non utique mendax; noli tibi tribuere ct extolli, quasi ex tuo proprio: nc vento superbie → noli tibi tribuere et extolli, quasi ex tuo proprio: ne vento superbiæ; et rcmancas rursus in mendacio tuo. Nolite crgo mentiri, fratres. Jam enim vcteres homines eratis → et remaneas rursus in mendacio tuo. Nolite ergo mentiri, fratres. Jam enim veteres homines eratis; facti estis homilies novi. Mendacium ad Adam pertinet, vcritas ad Christuln. → facti estis homines novi. Mendacium ad Adam pertinet, veritas ad Christum.; præcedente novitatc spiritus → præcedente novitate spiritus.

Topics: Christology, Eschatology

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Serm. 166.4 (PL 38:531; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-sermones/165-1/#p-166-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Chapter 167

167.1PL 38:531

Apostolum, cum legeretur, audistis; imo omnes audivimus, dicentem nobis: Videte quomodo caute ambuletis; non ut insipientes, sed ut sapientes; redimentes tempus, quoniam dies mali sunt. Dies malos, fratres, duæ res faciunt, malitia et miseria. Per malitiam hominum et miseriam hominum ducuntur dies mali. Cæterum dies isti, quantum pertinet ad spatia horarum, ordinati sunt: ducunt vices, agunt tempora; oritur sol, occidit sol, transeunt tempora. Cui molesta sunt tempora, si homines sibi non sunt molesti? Ergo dies malos, sicut dixi, duæ res faciunt, miseria hominum et malitia hominum. Sed miseria hominum communis est: non debet malitia esse communis. Ex quo enim lapsus est Adam, et de paradiso expulsus, nunquam fuerunt dies, nisi mali. Istos pueros qui nascuntur, interrogemus, quare a ploratu incipiunt, qui et ridere possunt. Nascitur, et statim plorat: post nescio quot dies ridet. Quando plorabat nascens, propheta suæ calamitatis erat: lacrymæ enim testes sunt miseriæ. Nondum loquitur, et jam prophetat. Quid prophetat? In labore se futurum, vel in timore. Et si bene vixerit et justus fuerit, certe in mediis positis tentationibus semper timebit.

You heard the Apostle when he was read; or rather, we all heard him saying to us: “See how you walk carefully, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Two things make days evil, brothers: malice and misery. Through the malice of men and the misery of men the days are drawn out evil. Otherwise these days, as far as the spaces of hours are concerned, are ordered: they take their turns, they bring the seasons; the sun rises, the sun sets, the times pass. To whom are the times troublesome, if men are not troublesome to themselves? So, as I said, two things make days evil: the misery of men and the malice of men. But the misery of men is common; malice ought not to be common. For since Adam fell and was expelled from paradise, there have never been any but evil days. Let us ask these children who are born why they begin with crying, when they can also laugh. One is born, and at once cries; after I know not how many days he laughs. When he cried at birth, he was a prophet of his own calamity: for tears are witnesses of misery. He does not yet speak, and already he prophesies. What does he prophesy? That he will be in toil or in fear. And if he lives well and is righteous, certainly, set amid temptations, he will always fear.

Eph 5:15–16 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Days are made evil by human misery and malice; since Adam's fall all days have been evil, and the newborn's first cry prophesies the toil and fear of life.

Quotation: Eph 5:15–16.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips; OCR slips; stray footnote mark): Videte Quomodo caute ambuletis; non ut insipientes, sed tit sapientes → Videte quomodo caute ambuletis; non ut insipientes, sed ut sapientes; ducuntur1 dies mali. Ci terum dies isti → ducuntur dies mali. Cæterum dies isti; ordinati 5uni: ducunt vices → ordinati sunt: ducunt vices; Cui molesta sunt temPora → Cui molesta sunt tempora; dune res faciunt, miseria hominum et malitia hominum. Sed miscria hominum → duæ res faciunt, miseria hominum et malitia hominum. Sed miseria hominum; Ex quo cuirn lapsus cst Adam. et dc paradiso expulsus → Ex quo enim lapsus est Adam, et de paradiso expulsus; qui et ridere possunt '. Nascitur, ct statim plorat → qui et ridere possunt. Nascitur, et statim plorat; propheta 910 suæ calamitatis erat: lacrymæ cnim testes sunt uniseriæ → propheta suæ calamitatis erat: lacrymæ enim testes sunt miseriæ; In labore sc futurum → In labore se futurum.

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Serm. 167.1 (PL 38:531; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-sermones/165-1/#p-167-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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167.2PL 38:531

Quid ait Apostolus? Omnes qui volunt in Christo pie vivere, persecutionem patientur. Ecce quia dies mali sunt, sine persecutione vivere hic justi non possunt. Qui inter malos vivunt, persecutionem patiuntur. Omnes mali persequuntur bonos, non ferro et lapidibus, sed vita et moribus. Numquid aliquis sanctum Lot persequebatur in Sodomis? Nemo illi molestus erat: et tamen inter impios vivebat, et inter immundos, superbos, blasphemos, persecutionem patiebatur, non vapulando, sed malos videndo. Quisquis me audis, et nondum vivis in Christo pie, incipe in Christo pie vivere, et probas quod dico. Denique Apostolus cum commemoraret pericula sua: Periculis, inquit, in mari, periculis in fluminibus, periculis in deserto, periculis in latronibus, periculis in falsis fratribus. Cætera pericula quiescere possunt, pericula a falsis fratribus quiescere usque in finem sæculi non noverunt.

What does the Apostle say? “All who want to live devoutly in Christ will suffer persecution.” See: because the days are evil, the righteous cannot live here without persecution. Those who live among the wicked suffer persecution. All the wicked persecute the good, not with sword and stones, but by their life and character. Did anyone persecute holy Lot in Sodom? No one troubled him; and yet he lived among the ungodly, and among the unclean, the proud, the blasphemers, he suffered persecution—not by being beaten, but by seeing the wicked. Whoever you are who hear me and do not yet live devoutly in Christ, begin to live devoutly in Christ, and you will prove what I say. Finally the Apostle, when he recalled his dangers, says: “In dangers at sea, in dangers in rivers, in dangers in the desert, in dangers from robbers, in dangers from false brothers.” The other dangers can come to rest; the dangers from false brothers do not know how to come to rest until the end of the world.

2 Tim 3:12 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 11:26 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Pet 2:7–8 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Because the days are evil, the righteous suffer persecution simply by living among the wicked, as Lot did in Sodom, and danger from false brothers lasts until the end of the world.

This staged ref is Maurist paragraph 2 of Sermon 167 (the staged refs 167.3, 167.5, 167.6 are Maurist 2, 3, 4; nothing is lost). Quotations: 2 Tim 3:12; 2 Cor 11:26; allusion to Gen 19 and 2 Pet 2:7–8.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips): Omnes qui volunt in Christo pie:'cre, persecutionem patientur. Ecce quia dies mali sunt, sinc persecutione vivcre hic justi non possunt. Qui imper malos vivunt → Omnes qui volunt in Christo pie vivere, persecutionem patientur. Ecce quia dies mali sunt, sine persecutione vivere hic justi non possunt. Qui inter malos vivunt; sed vita ct moribus → sed vita et moribus; Nemo illi molestus crat → Nemo illi molestus erat; Denique Apostolus cnm commemoraret → Denique Apostolus cum commemoraret; periculis in descrto → periculis in deserto; pericula a falsis fratribui quiescere usquc in finem → pericula a falsis fratribus quiescere usque in finem.

Topics: Persecution

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Serm. 167.2 (PL 38:531; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-sermones/165-1/#p-167-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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167.3PL 38:531

Redimamus tempus; quoniam dies mali sunt. Exspectatis a me forte scire, quid est tempus redimere. Dicturus sum quod pauci audiunt, pauci ferunt, pauci aggrediuntur, pauci agunt: tamen dicam, quoniam ipsi pauci qui me audituri sunt, inter malos vivunt. Redimere tempus, est quando aliquis tibi infert litem, perde aliquid, ut Deo vaces, non litibus. Perde ergo: ex eo quod perdis, pretium est temporis. Certe quando pro tuis necessitatibus procedis ad publicum, das nummos, et emis tibi panem, aut vinum, aut oleum, aut tignum, aut aliquam supellectilem: das et accipis, aliquid amittis, aliquid acquiris; hoc est emere. Nam si nihil amittas, et habeas quod non habebas; aut invenisti, aut donatum accepisti, aut hæreditate acquisisti. Quando autem aliquid amittis ut aliquid habeas, tunc emis: quod habes, emptum est; quod amittis, pretium est. Quomodo ergo perdis nummos, ut emas tibi aliquid; sic perde nummos, ut emas tibi quietem. Ecce hoc est tempus redimere.

Let us redeem the time, because the days are evil. Perhaps you are waiting to learn from me what it is to redeem the time. I am going to say what few hear, few bear, few attempt, few do; yet I will say it, since the few who will listen to me live among the wicked. To redeem the time is, when someone brings a lawsuit against you, to lose something, so as to be free for God and not for lawsuits. So lose: what you lose is the price of the time. Certainly when you go out into the public market for your needs, you give coins and buy yourself bread, or wine, or oil, or timber, or some household goods: you give and you receive; you lose something, you gain something; this is buying. For if you lose nothing and have what you did not have, either you found it, or received it as a gift, or acquired it by inheritance. But when you lose something in order to have something, then you buy: what you have is bought; what you lose is the price. So as you lose coins to buy yourself something, so lose coins to buy yourself quiet. See, this is to redeem the time.

Eph 5:16 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: To redeem the time means to give up some money or property rather than be drawn into lawsuits, buying quiet for God as one buys goods in the market.

This staged ref is Maurist paragraph 3 of Sermon 167. Quotation: Eph 5:16.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips): quid est tempus redimcre → quid est tempus redimere; Redimere tempus, ImA qnando aliquis libi infert litem → Redimere tempus, est quando aliquis tibi infert litem; das nummos, et emis tibi pancm, aut vinnm, aut oleum, aut tignum, ant aliquam supellectilem → das nummos, et emis tibi panem, aut vinum, aut oleum, aut tignum, aut aliquam supellectilem; aliquid amitlis, aliquid acquiris; hoc cst emere. Nam si nihil amittas, ct habeas qnod non habcbas → aliquid amittis, aliquid acquiris; hoc est emere. Nam si nihil amittas, et habeas quod non habebas; Qnando autem aliquid amittis ut aliquid habens, tunc emis: quod habes, emptum est; qnod aminis, pretium est. → Quando autem aliquid amittis ut aliquid habeas, tunc emis: quod habes, emptum est; quod amittis, pretium est.; sic perde nummos, ut emas libi quietem. Ecce hoc cst tempus rcdimcre. → sic perde nummos, ut emas tibi quietem. Ecce hoc est tempus redimere..

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Serm. 167.3 (PL 38:531; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-sermones/165-1/#p-167-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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167.4PL 38:531–532

Proverbium notum est Punicum, quod quidem Latine vobis dicam, quia Punice non omnes nostis. Punicum enim proverbium est antiquum: Nummum quærit pestilentia; duos illi da, et ducat se. Numquid non hoc proverbium de Evangelio videtur natum? Nam quid aliud dixit Dominus, quam, Redimentes tempus, quando ait, Si quis vult judicio tecum contendere, et tunicam tuam tollere, dimitte ei et pallium? Judicio vult tecum contendere, et tunicam tuam tollere, vult avocare te a Deo tuo: non habebis quietum cor, non habebis tranquillum animum, everteris cogitationibus curis, irritaris adversus ipsum adversarium tuum. Ecce tempus perdidisti. Quanto ergo melius est ut nummum amittas, et tempus redimas? Fratres mei, in causis vestris et in negotiis vestris, quando ad nos judicanda veniunt, si homini christiano dico ut pro tempore redimendo perdat aliquid suum; quanto majore cura et fiducia debeo dicere ut reddat alienum? Ambos enim christianos audio. Jam ille calumniosus, qui vult alteri facere causam, et tollere ab illo vel pro compositione, gaudet ad ista verba. Apostolus dixit, Redimentes tempus, quoniam dies mali sunt. Facio ergo calumniam christiano illi, velit nolit, dat mihi aliquid ut tempus redimat, quia episcopum audivit. Dic mihi, si illi dicturus sum, Perde aliquid, ut sis otiosus; tibi non sum dicturus, Calumniose, perdite fili diaboli, quare res alienas auferre moliris? Causam non habes, et calumnia plenus es. Si ergo illi dixero, Illi da aliquid, ut recedat a calumnia; tu ubi eris, qui habebis de calumnia pecuniam? Ille qui propter vitandam calumniam tempus a te redimit, hic tolerat dies malos: tu autem qui de calumniis pasceris, hic habebis dies malos, et post istos habiturus es in die judicii pejores. Sed hoc forte rides, quia pecuniam rapis. Ride, ride, et contemne: ego erogem, veniet qui exigat.

There is a well-known Punic proverb, which I shall tell you in Latin, since not all of you know Punic. For it is an old Punic proverb: “The plague is asking for a coin; give it two, and let it take itself off.” Does not this proverb seem to have been born of the Gospel? For what else did the Lord say but “redeeming the time,” when he says, “If anyone wants to contend with you in court and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well”? He wants to contend with you in court and take your tunic; he wants to call you away from your God: you will not have a quiet heart, you will not have a tranquil mind, you will be overturned by anxious thoughts, you will be provoked against your adversary himself. See, you have lost the time. How much better, then, to lose a coin and redeem the time? My brothers, in your cases and in your business, when they come to us to be judged, if I tell a Christian man to lose something of his own in order to redeem the time, with how much greater care and confidence ought I to tell the other to give back what belongs to someone else? For I hear both of them as Christians. Now that slanderer who wants to bring a case against another and take from him something, even by way of settlement, rejoices at these words: “The Apostle said, ‘Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.’ So I bring a false charge against that Christian; whether he likes it or not, he gives me something to redeem the time, because he has listened to the bishop.” Tell me: if I am going to say to him, “Lose something, so as to be at leisure,” am I not going to say to you, “Slanderer, lost son of the devil, why are you trying to carry off other people's property? You have no case, and you are full of slander”? If then I say to him, “Give him something, so that he may withdraw from his slander,” where will you be, who will have money from slander? He who redeems the time from you in order to avoid slander endures evil days here; but you who feed on slanders will have evil days here, and after these you will have worse ones on the day of judgment. But perhaps you laugh at this, because you snatch money. Laugh, laugh, and despise it: I pay it out; one will come who will exact it.

Matt 5:40 (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 5:16 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: A Punic proverb and Christ's command to give up one's cloak teach that it is better to lose money than peace; but the bishop as judge warns the slanderer who exploits this that he will face judgment.

This staged ref is Maurist paragraph 4 of Sermon 167. The Punic proverb is preserved only here and is given as Augustine translates it. The scene reflects the bishop's court (episcopalis audientia). Quotations: Matt 5:40; Eph 5:16. The last sentence (“ego erogem, veniet qui exigat”) is taken in the sense of a banker's image; uncertain.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips; stray footnote mark): Proverbium notum est Punicr:rn, qnod quidem Latina vobis dicam → Proverbium notum est Punicum, quod quidem Latine vobis dicam; Punicum enim proverbium est amiquum: Nummum quærit pestilentia; duos ilii da, ct ducat se. Numquid non hoc proverbium de Evangelio vidctur natum? Nam quid aliud dixit Dominus, quam. Redimentes tempus, quando ait, Si quit vult → Punicum enim proverbium est antiquum: Nummum quærit pestilentia; duos illi da, et ducat se. Numquid non hoc proverbium de Evangelio videtur natum? Nam quid aliud dixit Dominus, quam, Redimentes tempus, quando ait, Si quis vult; vuit avocare te HUb.. » a Deo tno: non habebis quictum cor. non habebn tranquillum animum, everteris cogitationibus Cui;;, irritaris adversus ipsum adversarium tuUm. Eicc tempus perdidisti. Qaanto ergo mclius est → vult avocare te a Deo tuo: non habebis quietum cor, non habebis tranquillum animum, everteris cogitationibus curis, irritaris adversus ipsum adversarium tuum. Ecce tempus perdidisti. Quanto ergo melius est; Apostolus dixit 1, Redimentes tempus → Apostolus dixit, Redimentes tempus; quia episcopum audivit I. Dic mihi → quia episcopum audivit. Dic mihi; Causam non habes, et calumnia pienus cs. → Causam non habes, et calumnia plenus es.; Ride, ride, et tontemne → Ride, ride, et contemne.

Topics: Ethics, Church office

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Serm. 167.4 (PL 38:531–532; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-sermones/165-1/#p-167-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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