Tractates on the Gospel of John 1.1–1.18

Augustine of Hippo · Tractates on the Gospel of John · ca. 406–420 · Hippo Regius · 18 passages

Latin text: Migne, PL 35 (Latin text: Migne, Patrologia Latina, 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: Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 7 (1888).

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Chapter 1

1.1PL 35:1380

Intuens quod modo audivimus ex lectione apostolica, quod animalis homo non percipit ea quæ sunt Spiritus Dei, et cogitans, in hac præsenti turba Charitatis vestrae necesse esse ut multi sint animales, qui adhuc secundum carnem sapiant, nondumque se possint ad spiritualem intellectum eri gere, hæsito vehementer, quomodo, ut Dominus dederit, possim dicere, vel pro modulo meo explicare quod lectum est ex Evangelio, In principio erat Ver bum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum: hoc enim animalis homo non percipit. Quid ergo, fra tres? silebimus hinc? Quare ergo legitur, si silebitur? aut quare auditur, si non exponitur? sed et quid exponitur, si non intelligitur? Itaque quoniam rursum esse non dubito in numero vestro quosdam, a quibus possit non solum expositum capi, sed et antequam exponatur, intelligi; non fraudabo eos qui possunt capere, dum timeo superfluus esse auribus eorum qui non possunt capere. Postremo aderit misericordia Dei, fortasse ut omnibus satis fiat, et capiat quisque quod potest: quia et qui loquitur, dicit quod potest. Nam dicere ut est, quis potest? Audeo dicere, fratres mei, forsitan nec ipse Joannes dixit ut est, sed et ipse ut potuit; quia de Deo homo dixit: et quidem inspiratus a Deo, sed tamen homo. Quia inspiratus, dixit aliquid; si non inspiratus esset, dixisset nihil: quia vero homo inspiratus, non totum quod est dixit; sed quod potuit homo, dixit.

As I consider what we have just heard from the reading from the apostle, that "the natural man does not perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God," and as I reflect that in this present crowd of your Charity there must be many natural men, who still think according to the flesh and cannot yet raise themselves to spiritual understanding, I am very much at a loss how, as the Lord may grant, I can speak, or in my small measure explain, what has been read from the Gospel: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"; for this the natural man does not perceive. What then, brothers? Shall we be silent about it? Why then is it read, if it is to be passed over in silence? Or why is it heard, if it is not explained? And yet why is it explained, if it is not understood? And so, since on the other hand I do not doubt that there are some among you who can not only grasp it once explained but even understand it before it is explained, I will not cheat those who are able to grasp it out of fear of being superfluous to the ears of those who cannot. In the end the mercy of God will be present, so that perhaps all may be satisfied and each may grasp what he can; for he who speaks also says what he can. For who can say it as it is? I dare to say, my brothers, that perhaps not even John himself said it as it is, but he too only as he could; for it was a man who spoke about God: inspired by God, indeed, but still a man. Because he was inspired, he said something; had he not been inspired, he would have said nothing; but because he was an inspired man, he did not say the whole of what is, but said what a man could.

1 Cor 2:14 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:1 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Augustine admits the difficulty of expounding John 1:1 to a mixed congregation and says that even the inspired evangelist said only what a man could say about God.

Quotations: 1 Cor 2:14; John 1:1.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text (autequam → antequam); OCR slip in the digital text (ca → ea); OCR slip in the digital text (csse → esse); OCR slip in the digital text (cst → est); OCR slip in the digital text (cxponitur → exponitur); OCR slip in the digital text (dedcriL → dederit); OCR slip in the digital text (ei capiat → et capiat); OCR slip in the digital text (hae → hac); OCR slip in the digital text (pessint → possint)): percipit ca quæ → percipit ea quæ; in hae præsenti → in hac præsenti; csse → esse; pessint → possint; dedcriL → dederit; cxponitur → exponitur; autequam → antequam; ei capiat → et capiat; ut cst, → ut est,.

Topics: Scripture and canon

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Tract. Ev. Jo. 1.1 (PL 35:1380; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-tractatus-ioannem/1-1/#p-1-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne PL 35 (digital text, Open Greek and Latin), then compared batch by batch with the public-domain English of NPNF¹ 7 (Gibb and Innes, 1888); differences checked against the Latin.

1.2PL 35:1380

Erat enim iste Joannes, fratres charissimi, de illis montibus, de quibus scriptum est: Suscipiant montes pacem populo tuo, et colles justitiam. Montes, excelsæ animæ sunt: colles, parvulæ animæ sunt. Sed ideo montes excipiunt pacem, ut colles possint excipere justitiam. Quae est justitia, quam colles excipiunt? Fides, quia justus ex fide vivit. Non autem exci perent minores animae fidem, nisi majores animæ, quae montes dictæ sunt, ab ipsa Sapientia illustraren tur, ut possint parvulis trajicere quod possint parvuli capere, et vivere ex fide colles, quia montes pacem suscipiunt. Ab ipsis montibus dictum est Ecclesiæ, Pax vobiscum: et ipsi montes pacem annuntiando Ecclesiae, non diviserunt se adversus eum a quo sus ceperunt pacem, ut veraciter, non ficte nuntiarent pacem.

For this John, dearest brothers, was one of those mountains of which it is written: "Let the mountains receive peace for your people, and the hills righteousness." The mountains are lofty souls; the hills are little souls. But the mountains receive peace precisely so that the hills may be able to receive righteousness. What is the righteousness that the hills receive? Faith, because "the righteous lives by faith." Yet the lesser souls would not receive faith unless the greater souls, which are called mountains, were enlightened by Wisdom herself, so that they can pass on to the little ones what the little ones are able to grasp; and the hills live by faith because the mountains receive peace. By these very mountains it was said to the Church, "Peace be with you"; and these mountains, in announcing peace to the Church, did not divide themselves against him from whom they received peace, so that they might announce peace truly and not feignedly.

Ps 72:3 (71:3 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 1:17 (quotation, high confidence) · Hab 2:4 (quotation, medium confidence) · John 20:19 (quotation, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: John is one of the 'mountains' of Psalm 72 that receive peace so that the 'hills', the lesser souls, may receive the righteousness of faith.

Quotations: Ps 72:3 (71:3 LXX/Vulg.); Hab 2:4 as cited in Rom 1:17; John 20:19.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text (adversus cum → adversus eum); OCR slip in the digital text (ct → et); OCR slip in the digital text (dictuna → dictum); OCR slip in the digital text (el → et); OCR slip in the digital text (monles → montes); OCR slip in the digital text (quai → quae)): tuo, el colles → tuo, et colles; quai → quae; monles → montes; dictuna → dictum; vobiscum: ct ipsi → vobiscum: et ipsi; adversus cum → adversus eum.

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Tract. Ev. Jo. 1.2 (PL 35:1380; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-tractatus-ioannem/1-1/#p-1-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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1.3PL 35:1380–1381

Sunt enim alii montes naufragosi, quo quisque navim cum impulerit, solvitur. Facile est enim cum videtur terra a periclitantibus, quasi conari ad terram: sed aliquando videtur terra in monte, et saxa latent sub monte; et cum quisque conatur ad montem, in cidit in saxa; et non ibi invenit portum, sed planctum. Sic fuerunt quidam montes, et magni apparuerunt inter homines; et fecerunt hæreses et schismata, et diviserunt Ecclesiam Dei: sed isti qui diviserunt Ecclesiam Dei, non erant illi montes de quibus dictum est, Suscipiant montes pacem populo tuo. Quomodo enim pacem susceperunt, qui unitatem diviserunt?

For there are other mountains, shipwrecking ones, on which anyone who drives his ship is broken up. For when men in danger see land, it is easy to make for the land, as it were; but sometimes land is seen on a mountain, and rocks lie hidden beneath the mountain, and when anyone makes for the mountain he runs onto the rocks and finds there not a harbor but lamentation. So there have been certain mountains, and they appeared great among men; and they made heresies and schisms and divided the Church of God. But those who divided the Church of God were not the mountains of which it is said, "Let the mountains receive peace for your people." For how did they receive peace, who divided unity?

Ps 72:3 (71:3 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Founders of heresies and schisms are false 'mountains' on which souls are shipwrecked, for those who divide unity have not received peace.

Quotation: Ps 72:3 (71:3 LXX/Vulg.).

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text (cnim → enim); OCR slip in the digital text (diviscrunt → diviserunt); OCR slip in the digital text (quisquc → quisque); OCR slip in the digital text (vidctur → videtur)): cnim → enim; vidctur → videtur; quisquc → quisque; qui diviscrunt Ecclesiam → qui diviserunt Ecclesiam; unitatem diviscrunt? → unitatem diviserunt?.

Topics: Heresy

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Tract. Ev. Jo. 1.3 (PL 35:1380–1381; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-tractatus-ioannem/1-1/#p-1-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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1.4PL 35:1381

Qui autem susceperunt pacem nuntiandam po pulo, contemplati sunt ipsam Sapientiam, quantum humanis cordibus potuit contingi quod nec oculus vi dit. nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit. Si in cor hominis non ascendit, quomodo ascendit in cor Joannis? An non erat homo Joannes? An forte nec in cor Joannis ascendit, sed cor Joannis in illam ascendit? Quod enim ascendit in cor hominis, de imo est ad hominem: quo autem ascendit cor ho minis, sursum est ab homine. Etiam sic, fratres, dici potest quod si ascendit in cor Joannis, si aliquo modo potest dici, in tantum ascendit in cor Joannis, in quan tum ipse Joannes non erat homo. Quid est, Non erat homo? In quantum coeperat esse angelus: quia omnes sancti, angeli; quia annuntiatores Dei. Ideo carnali bus et animalibus non valentibus percipere quæ sunt Dei, quid ait Apostolus? Cum enim dicitis, Ego sum Pauli, ego Apollo,nonne homines estis? Quid eos volebat facere, quibus exprobrabat quia homines erant? Vultis nosse quid eos facere volebat? audite in Psalmis: Ego dixi, Dii estis, et filii Excelsi omnes. Ad hoc ergo vocat nos Deus, ne simus homines. Sed tunc in melius non erimus homines, si prius nos homines esse agnoscamus, id est, ut ad illam celsitudinem ab humilitate surgamus: ne cum putamus nos aliquid esse, cum nihil sumus, non solum non accipiamus quod non sumus, sed et amittamus quod sumus.

But those who received peace to proclaim it to the people contemplated Wisdom herself, so far as human hearts could attain to what "eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it ascended into the heart of man." If it has not ascended into the heart of man, how did it ascend into the heart of John? Was John not a man? Or perhaps it did not ascend into the heart of John, but the heart of John ascended into it? For what ascends into the heart of man comes from below up to man; but that to which the heart of man ascends is above man. Even so, brothers, it can be said that if it ascended into the heart of John (if it can be said in any way), it ascended into the heart of John insofar as John himself was not a man. What does "was not a man" mean? Insofar as he had begun to be an angel: for all the saints are angels, because they are messengers of God. That is why, to carnal and natural men unable to perceive the things that are of God, what does the apostle say? "For when you say, 'I am of Paul,' 'I of Apollos,' are you not men?" What did he want to make of those whom he reproached for being men? Do you want to know what he wanted to make of them? Listen in the Psalms: "I have said, You are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High." To this, then, God calls us: that we should not be men. But we will be not-men in a better way only if we first acknowledge that we are men, that is, so that we rise from humility to that height; lest, thinking ourselves to be something when we are nothing, we not only fail to receive what we are not, but also lose what we are.

1 Cor 2:9 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 2:14 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Cor 3:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 82:6 (81:6 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Gal 6:3 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: John could speak of Wisdom only because his heart rose above the merely human; God calls us to become 'gods', but only through first humbly acknowledging that we are men.

Quotations: 1 Cor 2:9 (cf. Isa 64:4); 1 Cor 2:14 (allusion); 1 Cor 3:4; Ps 82:6 (81:6 LXX/Vulg.); allusion to Gal 6:3. Angelus is played on in its root sense of 'messenger'.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text (Dci → Dei); OCR slip in the digital text (bominis → hominis); OCR slip in the digital text (cam → cum); OCR slip in the digital text (cos tacere → eos facere); OCR slip in the digital text (crant → erant); OCR slip in the digital text (crat → erat); OCR slip in the digital text (exprohrahat → exprobrabat); OCR slip in the digital text (nee → nec); OCR slip in the digital text (paccm → pacem); OCR slip in the digital text (quM → quod); OCR slip in the digital text (sinus → sumus); OCR slip in the digital text (si nius → simus); OCR slip in the digital text (uon → non)): paccm → pacem; quod nee oculus → quod nec oculus; bominis → hominis; An non crat homo Joannes? → An non erat homo Joannes?; potest quM si → potest quod si; non crat homo. → non erat homo.; sunt Dci, → sunt Dei,; exprohrahat → exprobrabat; crant → erant; cos tacere → eos facere; si nius → simus; esse, cam nihil → esse, cum nihil; sinus → sumus; solum uon accipiamus → solum non accipiamus.

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Tract. Ev. Jo. 1.4 (PL 35:1381; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-tractatus-ioannem/1-1/#p-1-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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1.5PL 35:1381

Ergo, fratres, de his montibus et Joannes erat, qui dixit, In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Susceperat pacem mons iste, contemplabatur divinitatem Verbi. Qua lis iste mons erat? quam excelsus? Transcenderat omnia cacumina terrarum, transcenderat omnes campos aeris, transcenderat omnes altitudines si derum, transcenderat omnes choros et legiones An gelorum. Nisi enim transcenderet ista omnia quae creata sunt, non perveniret ad eum per quem facta sunt omnia. Non potestis cogitare quid transcenderit, nisi videatis quo pervenerit. Quaeris de caelo et terra? facta sunt. Quæris de his quæ sunt in coelo et terra? Utique multo magis et ipsa facta sunt. Quaeris de spiritualibus creaturis, de Angelis, Archangelis, Sedibus, Dominationibus, Virtutibus. Principatibus? et ipsa facta sunt. Nam cum enumeraret haec omnia Psalmus, conclusit sic: Ipse dixit, et facta sunt; ipse mandavit, et creata sunt. Si dixit, et facta sunt, per Verbum facta sunt: si autem per Verbum facta sunt, non potuit Joannis cor pervenire ad id quod ait, In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum; nisi transcendisset omnia quæ sunt facta per Verbum. Qualis ergo iste mons, quam sanctus, quam altus inter illos montes qui susceperunt pacem populo Dei, ut colles possent suscipere justi tiam?

So, brothers, John too was one of these mountains, he who said, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." This mountain had received peace; it contemplated the divinity of the Word. What sort of mountain was this? How lofty? It had risen above all the peaks of the earth, above all the expanses of the air, above all the heights of the stars, above all the choirs and legions of the angels. For unless it had risen above all these things that were created, it would not have reached him through whom all things were made. You cannot conceive what it rose above unless you see where it arrived. Do you ask about heaven and earth? They were made. Do you ask about the things that are in heaven and earth? Surely much more were these made. Do you ask about spiritual creatures, about angels, archangels, thrones, dominions, powers, principalities? These too were made. For when the Psalm had listed all these things, it concluded thus: "He spoke, and they were made; he commanded, and they were created." If he spoke and they were made, they were made through the Word; and if they were made through the Word, John's heart could not have arrived at what he says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God," unless it had risen above all things that were made through the Word. What a mountain, then, how holy, how high among those mountains that received peace for the people of God, so that the hills might receive righteousness!

John 1:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 148:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 33:9 (32:9 LXX) (allusion, low confidence) · John 1:3 (allusion, high confidence) · Col 1:16 (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 72:3 (71:3 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: To speak of the Word through whom all things were made, John had to rise in contemplation above every creature, visible and invisible.

Quotations: John 1:1; Ps 148:5 (cf. Ps 33:9); allusions to John 1:3; Col 1:16; Ps 72:3.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text (acris → aeris); OCR slip in the digital text (cnim → enim); OCR slip in the digital text (crat → erat); OCR slip in the digital text (ct → et); OCR slip in the digital text (ei Verbum → et Verbum); OCR slip in the digital text (el facta → et facta); OCR slip in the digital text (eonclusit → conclusit); OCR slip in the digital text (hac omnia → haec omnia); OCR slip in the digital text (qnam → quam); OCR slip in the digital text (quas crcala → quae creata); OCR slip in the digital text (san emus → sanctus); OCR slip in the digital text (spi. ritualibus → spiritualibus)): montibus ct Joannes → montibus et Joannes; crat → erat; qnam → quam; acris → aeris; cnim → enim; quas crcala → quae creata; spi. ritualibus → spiritualibus; hac omnia → haec omnia; eonclusit → conclusit; el facta → et facta; ei Verbum → et Verbum; san emus → sanctus.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Tract. Ev. Jo. 1.5 (PL 35:1381; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-tractatus-ioannem/1-1/#p-1-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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1.6PL 35:1381

Videte ergo, fratres, ne forte de ipsis montibus est Joannes, de quibus paulo ante cantavimus, Levavi oculos meos in montes, unde veniet auxilium mihi. Ergo, fratres mei, si vultis intelligere, levate oculos vestros in montem istum; id est, erigite vos ad Evangelistam, erigite vos ad ejus sensum. Sed quia montes isti pacem suscipiunt, non potest autem esse in pace, qui spem ponit in homine; nolite sic erigere oculos in montem, ut putetis in homine spem vestram esse col locandam; et sic dicite, Levavi oculos meos in montes, unde veniet auxilium mihi, ut statim subjungatis, Auxi lium meum a Domino, qui fecit coelum et terram. Ergo levemus oculos in montes, unde ve niet auxilium nobis: et tamen non ipsi montes sunt, in quibus spes nostra ponenda est; accipiunt enim montes quod nobis ministrent: ergo unde et montes accipiunt, ibi spes nostra ponenda est. Oculos nostros cum leva mus ad Scripturas, quia per homines ministratae sunt Scripturas, levamus oculos nostros ad montes, unde auxilium veniet nobis: sed tamen quia ipsi homines erant qui scripserunt Scripturas, non de se lucebant; sed ille erat lumen verum, qui illuminat omnem hominem venientem in hunc mundum. Mons erat et ille Joannes Baptista, qui dixit, Non sum ego Christus: ne quisquam spem in montem ponens, caderet ab illo qui montes illustrat, et ipse confessus ait, Quoniam de plenitudine ejus omnes ac cepimus. Ita debes dicere, Levavi oculos meos in montes, unde veniet auxilium mihi, ne auxilium quod tibi venit, montibus imputes; sed sequaris, et dicas, Auxilium meum a Domino, qui fecit cœlum et terram.

See then, brothers, whether John is not one of those very mountains of which we sang a little while ago: "I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from where my help will come." Therefore, my brothers, if you wish to understand, lift your eyes to this mountain; that is, raise yourselves to the evangelist, raise yourselves to his meaning. But because these mountains receive peace, and he who places his hope in man cannot be at peace, do not lift your eyes to the mountain in such a way as to think your hope should be placed in a man. Say rather, "I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from where my help will come," in such a way that you add at once, "My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." So let us lift our eyes to the mountains, from where help will come to us; and yet it is not in the mountains themselves that our hope is to be placed, for the mountains receive what they minister to us; therefore our hope must be placed where the mountains too receive from. When we lift our eyes to the Scriptures, since the Scriptures were ministered through men, we lift our eyes to the mountains, from where help will come to us; but since those who wrote the Scriptures were men, they did not shine of themselves: rather, "He was the true light, who enlightens every man coming into this world." That John the Baptist also was a mountain, who said, "I am not the Christ," lest anyone, placing his hope in the mountain, should fall away from him who enlightens the mountains; and he himself confessed, "For of his fullness we have all received." So you ought to say, "I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from where my help will come," in such a way that you do not credit the mountains with the help that comes to you, but go on to say, "My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth."

Ps 121:1 (120:1 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 121:2 (120:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:9 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:20 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:16 (quotation, high confidence) · Jer 17:5 (allusion, low confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: We lift our eyes to the 'mountains', the human writers of Scripture, but our hope rests not in them but in the Lord who enlightens them.

Quotations: Ps 121:1-2 (120:1-2 LXX/Vulg.); John 1:9; John 1:20; John 1:16; allusion to Jer 17:5.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text (Levari → Levavi); OCR slip in the digital text (cjus → ejus); OCR slip in the digital text (crigcre → erigere); OCR slip in the digital text (pa cum → pacem)): cjus → ejus; pa cum → pacem; crigcre → erigere; Levari → Levavi.

Topics: Scripture and canon

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Tract. Ev. Jo. 1.6 (PL 35:1381; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-tractatus-ioannem/1-1/#p-1-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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1.7PL 35:1381–1383

Ergo, fratres, ad hoc ista monuerim, ut quando erexistis cor ad Scripturas, cum sonaret Evangelium, In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum, et cætera quae lecta sunt, intel ligatis vos levasse oculos ad montes. Nisi enim montes ista dicerent, unde omnino cogitaretis, non inveniretis. Ergo ex montibus venit vobis auxilium, ut hæc vel audiretis: sed nondum potestis intelligere quod audistis. Invocate auxilium a Domino, qui fecit coelum et terram: quia montes sic potuerunt loqui, ut non possint ipsi illuminare; quia et ipsi illuminati sunt audiendo. Inde qui haec dixit, accepit Joannes ille, fratres, qui discumbebat super pectus Domini, et de pectore Domini bibebat quod propinaret nobis. Sed propinavit verba; intellectum autem inde debes capere, unde et ipse biberat qui tibi propinavit: ut leves oculos ad montes, unde auxi lium veniet tibi, ut inde tanquam calicem, id est, verbum propinatum acciperes; et tamen quia auxi lium tuum a Domino, qui fecit cælum et terram, inde impleres pectus, unde implevit ille: unde dixisti, Auxilium meum a Domino, qui fecit cœlum et terram: qui potest ergo, impleat. Fratres, hoc dixi.: levet quisque cor suum quomodo illud videt idoneum, et capiat quod dicitur. Sed forte hoc dicetis, quia ego vobis sum praesentior quam Deus. Absit. Multo est ille praesentior: nam ego oculis vestris appareo, ille conscientiis vestris præsidet. Ad me aures, ad illum cor, ut utrumque impleatis. Ecce oculos vestros et sensus istos corporis levatis ad nos; nec ad nos, non enim nos de illis montibus, sed ad ipsum Evange lium, ad ipsum Evangelistam: cor autem implendum ad Dominum. Et unusquisque sic levet, ut videat quid levet, et quo levet. Quid dixi, Quid levet, et quo levet? Quale cor levet, videat; quia ad Dominum levat: ne sarcina voluptatis carnalis prægravatum, ante cadat, quam fuerit sublevatum. Sed videt se quisque gestare onus carnis? det operam per continentiam, ut purget quod levet ad Deum. Beati enim mundi corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt.

So, brothers, I have given you this warning so that, when you raised your hearts to the Scriptures as the Gospel sounded, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God," and the rest that was read, you may understand that you lifted your eyes to the mountains. For unless the mountains said these things, you would not find any way at all to think of them. So from the mountains help has come to you, that you might at least hear these things; but you cannot yet understand what you have heard. Call for help from the Lord, who made heaven and earth; for the mountains were able to speak, but not themselves to enlighten, since they too were enlightened by hearing. That John, brothers, who reclined on the Lord's breast, received from there what he said, and from the Lord's breast drank what he might give us to drink. But he gave us words to drink; understanding you must take from the source from which he too drank who gave you to drink: so that you lift your eyes to the mountains, from where help will come to you, in order to receive from there the cup, as it were, that is, the word given you to drink; and yet, because your help is from the Lord who made heaven and earth, that you may fill your breast from where he filled his. So you said, "My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth": let him, then, who can, fill. Brothers, this is what I mean: let each lift his heart as he sees fit, and grasp what is said. But perhaps you will say that I am more present to you than God. Far from it! He is far more present: I appear to your eyes, he presides over your consciences. Your ears to me, your hearts to him, so that you may fill both. See, your eyes and these bodily senses you lift to us; and not to us, for we are not of those mountains, but to the Gospel itself, to the evangelist himself; but your heart, to be filled, to the Lord. And let each so lift as to see what he lifts and where he lifts it. What did I mean by "what he lifts and where he lifts it"? Let him see what sort of heart he lifts, since he lifts it to the Lord, lest, weighed down by the burden of carnal pleasure, it fall before it has been raised. But does someone see that he carries the load of the flesh? Let him strive through self-restraint to purify what he lifts to God. For "blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

John 1:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 121:1 (120:1 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 121:2 (120:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · John 13:25 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 5:8 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The evangelist, who drank from the Lord's breast, passes on words, but understanding must come from the Lord himself, to whom hearers must lift a heart purified by self-restraint.

Quotations: John 1:1; Ps 121:1-2 (120:1-2 LXX/Vulg.); Matt 5:8; allusion to John 13:23-25. 'Not to us, for we are not of those mountains': Augustine distinguishes himself, the preacher, from the inspired evangelist.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text (Sod → Sed); OCR slip in the digital text (aureS → aures); OCR slip in the digital text (bibcbat → bibebat); OCR slip in the digital text (ipeum → ipsum); OCR slip in the digital text (lude → Inde); OCR slip in the digital text (monucrim → monuerim); OCR slip in the digital text (noa → non); OCR slip in the digital text (pracsentior → praesentior); OCR slip in the digital text (qnam → quam); OCR slip in the digital text (qni → qui); OCR slip in the digital text (terrain → terram); OCR slip in the digital text (te vat → levat); OCR slip in the digital text (uude → unde)): monucrim → monuerim; Domino, qni fecit → Domino, qui fecit; terrain → terram; lude → Inde; bibcbat → bibebat; uude → unde; pracsentior → praesentior; aureS → aures; nos, noa enim → nos, non enim; ipeum → ipsum; te vat → levat; qnam → quam; sublevatum. Sod videt → sublevatum. Sed videt.

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Tract. Ev. Jo. 1.7 (PL 35:1381–1383; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-tractatus-ioannem/1-1/#p-1-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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1.8PL 35:1383

Nam ecce quid prodest, quia sonuerunt verba, In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum? Et nos diximus verba, cum lo queremur. Numquid tale Verbum erat apud Deum? Nonne ea quæ diximus, sonuerunt atque transierunt? Ergo et Dei Verbum sonuit et peractum est? Quomodo omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est nihil? quomodo per illud regitur, quod per illud creatum est, si sonuit et transiit? Quale ergo Verbum quod et dicitur, et non transit Intendat Charitas vestra: magna res est. Quotidie dicendo verba vilue runt nobis, quia sonando verba et transeundo vilue runt, et nihil aliud videntur quam verba. Est verbum et in ipso homine, quod manet intus: nam sonus procedit ex ore. Est verbum quod vere spiritualiter dicitur, illud quod intelligis de sono, non ipse sonus. Ecce verbum dico, cum dico, Deus. Quam breve est quod dixi, quatuor litteras, et duas syllabas! Num quidnam hoc totum est Deus, quatuor litteræ, et duæ syllabae? An quantum hoc vile est, tantum charum est quod in eis intelligitur? Quid factum est in corde tuo, cum audisses, Deus? Quid factum est in corde meo, cum dicerem, Deus? Magna et summa quædam substantia cogitata est, quæ transcendat omnem mutabilem creaturam, carnalem et animalem. Et Si dicam tibi, Deus commutabilis est, an incommuta bilis? respondebis statim, Absit ut ego vel credam vel sentiam commutabilem Deum: incommutabilis est Deus. Anima tua quamvis parva, quamvis forte adhuc carnalis, non mihi potuit respondere nisi in commutabilem Deum; omnis autem creatura muta bilis: quomodo ergo potuisti scintillare in illud quod est super omnem creaturam, ut certus mihi respon deres incommutabilem Deum? Quid est ergo illud in corde tuo, quando cogitas quamdam substantiam vivam, perpetuam, omnipotentem, infinitam, ubi que præsentem, ubique totam, nusquam inclusam? Quando ista cogitas, hoc est verbum de Deo in corde tuo. Numquid autem hoc est sonus ille qui quatuor litteris constat, et duabus syllabis? Ergo quæcumque dicuntur et transeunt, soni sunt, litteræ sunt, syllabæ sunt. Hoc verbum transit, quod sonat: quod autem signi ficavit sonus, et in cogitante est qui dixit, et in intel ligente est qui audivit, manet hoc transeuntibus sonis.

For see, what does it profit that the words sounded, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"? We too spoke words when we were speaking. Was the Word that was with God of that kind? Did not the things we said sound and pass away? Did the Word of God, then, also sound and come to an end? How then were all things made through it, and without it nothing was made? How is what was created through it ruled through it, if it sounded and passed away? What kind of word, then, is it that is both spoken and does not pass away? Let your Charity pay attention: it is a great matter. By being spoken daily, words have become cheap to us, because by sounding and passing away words have become cheap and seem nothing but words. There is a word also within a man himself, which remains inside; for the sound goes out of the mouth. There is a word which is truly spoken spiritually, that which you understand from the sound, not the sound itself. Look, I say a word when I say "God" (Deus). How short is what I said: four letters and two syllables! Is this whole thing God, four letters and two syllables? Or is what is understood in them as precious as this is cheap? What happened in your heart when you heard "God"? What happened in my heart when I said "God"? A great and supreme substance was thought of, one surpassing every changeable creature, carnal and animal. And if I say to you, "Is God changeable or unchangeable?" you will reply at once, "Far be it from me to believe or think God changeable: God is unchangeable." Your soul, though small, though perhaps still carnal, could answer me only that God is unchangeable; yet every creature is changeable. How then could you send a spark up to what is above every creature, so as to answer me with certainty that God is unchangeable? What, then, is that in your heart when you think of a certain substance, living, everlasting, almighty, infinite, everywhere present, everywhere whole, nowhere enclosed? When you think of these things, this is the word about God in your heart. But is this the sound that consists of four letters and two syllables? So whatever things are spoken and pass away are sounds, letters, syllables. This word that sounds passes away; but what the sound signified is both in the one who thought it and spoke it and in the one who understood it and heard it: this remains while the sounds pass away.

John 1:1 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:3 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Human words sound and pass away, but the inner word, the thought they signify, remains; by this analogy Augustine begins to show that the Word of God is not a passing sound.

Quotations: John 1:1; John 1:3. 'Four letters and two syllables' refers to the Latin word Deus.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text (Deuin → Deum); OCR slip in the digital text (Eccc → Ecce); OCR slip in the digital text (boc → hoc); OCR slip in the digital text (cocc → ecce); OCR slip in the digital text (cogilala → cogitata); OCR slip in the digital text (crcaturam → creaturam); OCR slip in the digital text (crgo → ergo); OCR slip in the digital text (cst → est); OCR slip in the digital text (ct duabus → et duabus); OCR slip in the digital text (divit → dixit); OCR slip in the digital text (factUum → factum); OCR slip in the digital text (mibi → mihi); OCR slip in the digital text (mu labilem → mutabilem); OCR slip in the digital text (noM → non); OCR slip in the digital text (ot dicitur → et dicitur); OCR slip in the digital text (poractum → peractum); OCR slip in the digital text (proccdit → procedit); OCR slip in the digital text (rcs → res); OCR slip in the digital text (senuit → sonuit); OCR slip in the digital text (sonnerunt → sonuerunt); OCR slip in the digital text (syllaba: → syllabae); OCR slip in the digital text (vorba → verba)): cocc → ecce; sonnerunt → sonuerunt; Deuin → Deum; senuit → sonuit; poractum → peractum; factUum → factum; ot dicitur → et dicitur; magna rcs est. → magna res est.; vorba → verba; proccdit → procedit; sono, noM ipse → sono, non ipse; Eccc → Ecce; totum cst Deus, → totum est Deus,; syllaba: → syllabae; charum cst quod → charum est quod; cogilala → cogitata; mu labilem → mutabilem; mibi → mihi; crgo → ergo; crcaturam → creaturam; ct duabus → et duabus; qui divit, → qui dixit,; manet boc transeuntibus → manet hoc transeuntibus.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Tract. Ev. Jo. 1.8 (PL 35:1383; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-tractatus-ioannem/1-1/#p-1-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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1.9PL 35:1383

Refer animum ad illud verbum. Si tu potes habere verbum in corde tuo, tanquam consilium na tum in mente tua, ut mens tua pariat consilium, et insit consilium quasi proles mentis tuae, quasi filius cordis tui. Prius enim cor generat consilium, ut aii quam fabricam construas, aliquid amplum in terra moliaris; jam natum est consilium, et opus nondum completum est: vides tu, quid facturus es; sed alius non miratur, nisi cum feceris et construxeris molem, et fabricam illam ad exsculptionem perfectionemque perduxeris: attendunt homines mirabilem fabricam, et mirantur consilium fabricantis; stupent quod vi dent, et amant quod non vident: quis est qui potest videre consilium? Si ergo ex magna aliqua fabrica laudatur humanum consilium, vis videre quale consi lium Dei est Dominus Jesus Christus. id est, Verbum Dei? Attende fabricam istam mundi; vide quæ sint facta per Verbum, et tunc cognosces quale sit Ver bum. Attende hæc duo mundi corpora, cœlum et terram: quis explicat verbis ornatum caeli? quis explicat verbis fecunditatem terrac? quis digne collaudat tem porum vices? quis digne collaudat seminum vim? Videtis quae taceam, ne diu commemorando parum dicam forte, quam potestis cogitare. Ex fabrica ergo ista animadvertite quale Verbum est per quod facta est: et non sola facta est. Omnia enim ista vi dentur, quia pertinent ad sensum corporis. Per illud Verbum et Angeli facti sunt; per illud Verbum et Archangeli facti sunt; Potestates, Sedes, Domina tiones, Principatus; per illud Verbum facta sunt omnia: hinc cogitate quale Verbum est.

Turn your mind to that Word. You can have a word in your heart like a plan born in your mind, so that your mind gives birth to the plan, and the plan is in it as the offspring of your mind, as the son of your heart. For first your heart conceives a plan to build some structure, to undertake something large on the earth; the plan is already born, and the work is not yet completed. You see what you are going to make; but no one else admires it until you have made and built the mass and brought that structure to finish and completion. Then people look at the marvelous structure and admire the plan of the builder; they are amazed at what they see and love what they do not see: for who can see a plan? If, then, from some great structure a human plan is praised, do you want to see what kind of plan of God the Lord Jesus Christ is, that is, the Word of God? Look at this structure of the world; see what was made through the Word, and then you will know what kind of Word it is. Look at these two bodies of the world, heaven and earth: who can describe in words the beauty of the sky? Who can describe in words the fruitfulness of the earth? Who can worthily praise the changes of the seasons? Who can worthily praise the power of seeds? You see what I pass over in silence, lest by enumerating at length I say perhaps less than you can think. From this structure, then, perceive what kind of Word it is through which it was made; and not this alone was made. For all these things are seen, because they belong to the bodily senses. Through that Word the angels too were made; through that Word the archangels too were made, powers, thrones, dominions, principalities; through that Word all things were made. From this, consider what kind of Word it is.

John 1:3 (allusion, high confidence) · Col 1:16 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: As a builder's unseen plan is admired through the building, so the Word of God, God's 'plan', is known from the beauty of the created world, visible and invisible.

Allusions: John 1:3; Col 1:16. The digital text reads 'cogitare t.'; the stray letter is removed. 'Et non sola facta est' is read for the garbled 'ct non sola faot i est'.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text (Cbristus → Christus); OCR slip in the digital text (Insit → insit); OCR slip in the digital text (aliqwid → aliquid); OCR slip in the digital text (babere → habere); OCR slip in the digital text (cet → est); OCR slip in the digital text (cogitare t. → cogitare.); OCR slip in the digital text (ct non sola faot i est → et non sola facta est); OCR slip in the digital text (diu.commemorando → diu commemorando); OCR slip in the digital text (enin → enim); OCR slip in the digital text (eor → cor; generai → generat); OCR slip in the digital text (fobricanlis → fabricantis); OCR slip in the digital text (lct - ram → terram); OCR slip in the digital text (qnale → quale); OCR slip in the digital text (tusc → tuae)): babere → habere; Insit → insit; tusc → tuae; enim eor generai → enim cor generat; aliqwid → aliquid; fobricanlis → fabricantis; Cbristus → Christus; lct - ram → terram; diu.commemorando → diu commemorando; cogitare t. → cogitare.; qnale → quale; Verbum cet per → Verbum est per; ct non sola faot i est → et non sola facta est; enin → enim.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Tract. Ev. Jo. 1.9 (PL 35:1383; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-tractatus-ioannem/1-1/#p-1-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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1.10PL 35:1383

Respondet mihi modo forte nescio quis: Et quis hoc Verbum cogitat? Noli ergo tibi quasi vile aliquid formare, cum audis Verbum, et conjicere verba quæ audis quotidie, Ille talia verba dixit, talia verba locutus est, talia verba mihi narras: assidue enim dicendo nomina verborum, quasi viluerunt, verba. Et quando audis, In principio erat Verbum, ne vile aliquid putares, quale consuevisti cogitare, cum verba humana soleres audire, audi quid cogites: Deus erat Verbum.

Perhaps someone answers me now: "And who can think of this Word?" Then do not picture to yourself something cheap, as it were, when you hear "Word," and compare it with the words you hear daily: "He said such words," "he spoke such words," "you tell me such words." For by constant use the names of words have become cheap, as it were. And when you hear, "In the beginning was the Word," so that you may not think it something cheap, such as you have been used to imagine when you heard human words, hear what you should think: "the Word was God."

John 1:1 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The Word must not be pictured like ordinary human words, for the evangelist adds that the Word was God.

Quotation: John 1:1.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text (alifluid → aliquid); OCR slip in the digital text (cogitarc → cogitare); OCR slip in the digital text (consucvisti → consuevisti); OCR slip in the digital text (verbomm → verborum)): alifluid → aliquid; verbomm → verborum; consucvisti → consuevisti; cogitarc → cogitare.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Tract. Ev. Jo. 1.10 (PL 35:1383; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-tractatus-ioannem/1-1/#p-1-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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1.11PL 35:1383–1385

Exeat nunc nescio quis infidelis Arianus, et dicat quia Verbum Dei factum est. Quomodo potest fieri ut Verbum Dei factum sit, quando Deus per Ver bum fecit omnia? Si et Verbum Dei ipsum factum est, per quod aliud Verbum factum est? Si hoc dicis, quia est Verbum Verbi, per quod factum est illud, ipsum dico ego unicum Filium Dei. Si autem non dicis Ver bum verbi, concede non factum per quod facta sunt omnia. Non enim per seipsum fieri potuit, per quod facta sunt omnia: crede ergo Evangelistæ. Poterat enim dicere, In principio fecit Deus Verbum: quo modo dixit Moyses, In principio fecit Deus cœlum et terram; et omnia sic enumerat, Dixit Deus, Fiat, et factum est. Si dixit, quis dixit? Utique Deus. Et quid factum est? Creatura aliqua. Inter dicentem Deum et factam creaturam quid est per quod factum est, nisi Verbum? quia dixit Deus, Fiat, et factum est. Hoc Verbum incommutabile: quamvis mutabilia per Verbum fiant, ipsum incommutabile est.

Now let some unbelieving Arian come forward and say that the Word of God was made. How can it be that the Word of God was made, when God made all things through the Word? If the Word of God itself was also made, through what other word was it made? If you say that there is a Word of the Word, through which that one was made, that Word is what I call the only Son of God. But if you do not speak of a Word of the Word, grant that he through whom all things were made was not made. For that through which all things were made could not have been made through itself. Believe the evangelist, then. For he could have said, "In the beginning God made the Word," just as Moses said, "In the beginning God made heaven and earth," and lists everything thus: "God said, Let it be, and it was made." If he said, who said? God, surely. And what was made? Some creature. Between God who speaks and the creature that is made, what is there through which it was made, if not the Word? For God said, "Let it be," and it was made. This Word is unchangeable: though changeable things are made through the Word, the Word itself is unchangeable.

Gen 1:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 1:3 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:3 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Against the Arians, Augustine argues that the Word through whom all things were made cannot itself have been made, and that it is unchangeable.

Augustine argues against the Arian teaching that the Son was made; translated as written. Quotations: Gen 1:1; Gen 1:3 and the refrain of Gen 1 ('Let it be, and it was made'); allusion to John 1:3.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text (Dcus → Deus); OCR slip in the digital text (Ei quid iactum → Et quid factum); OCR slip in the digital text (Filiam → Filium); OCR slip in the digital text (cst → est); OCR slip in the digital text (ct factum → et factum); OCR slip in the digital text (factura est → factum est)): Filiam → Filium; Dixit Dcus, → Dixit Deus,; ct factum → et factum; Ei quid iactum → Et quid factum; dixit Dcus, → dixit Deus,; factura est → factum est; incommutabile cst. → incommutabile est..

Topics: Christology, Heresy

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Tract. Ev. Jo. 1.11 (PL 35:1383–1385; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-tractatus-ioannem/1-1/#p-1-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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1.12PL 35:1385

Noli ergo credere factum, per quod facta sunt omnia: ne non reficiaris per Verbum, per quod reficiuntur omnia. Jam enim factus es per Verbum, sed oportet te refici per Verbum: si autem mala fuerit fides tua de Verbo, non poteris refici per Verbum. Et si tibi contigit fieri per Verbum, ut per illud factus sis, per te deficis: si per te deficis, ille te reficiat qui te fecit: si per te deterior efficeris, ille te recreet qui te creavit. Quomodo te autem recreet per Verbum, si male aliquid sentias de Verbo? Evangelista dicit, In principio erat Verbum; et tu dicis, In principio factum est Verbum. Ille, Omnia per ipsum facta sunt, dicit; et tu dicis quia et ipsum Verbum factum est. Poterat dicere Evangelista, In principio factum est Verbum: sed quid ait? In principio erat Verbum. Si erat, non est factum, ut ista omnia per ipsum fierent, et sine ipso nihil. Si ergo erat in principio Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum: si non potes cogitare quid sit, differ ut crescas. Ille cibus est, accipe lac ut nutriaris, ut sis validus ad capiendum cibum.

Do not believe, then, that he through whom all things were made was himself made, lest you fail to be remade through the Word, through whom all things are remade. For you have already been made through the Word, but you must be remade through the Word; and if your faith about the Word is bad, you will not be able to be remade through the Word. And if it was your lot to be made through the Word, so that you were made through him, through yourself you fall away. If through yourself you fall away, let him who made you remake you; if through yourself you become worse, let him who created you re-create you. But how will he re-create you through the Word if you hold some wrong view about the Word? The evangelist says, "In the beginning was the Word"; and you say, "In the beginning the Word was made." He says, "All things were made through him"; and you say that the Word itself was also made. The evangelist could have said, "In the beginning the Word was made"; but what does he say? "In the beginning was the Word." If it was, it was not made, so that all these things might be made through it, and without it nothing. If, then, "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God": if you cannot conceive what this is, put it off until you grow. That is solid food; take milk, so that you may be nourished and become strong enough to take solid food.

John 1:1 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:3 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 3:2 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Only a right faith in the uncreated Word allows one to be remade through him; the evangelist says the Word 'was', not that it 'was made'.

Quotations: John 1:1; John 1:3; allusion to 1 Cor 3:2 (milk and solid food).

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text (Jn principio → In principio); OCR slip in the digital text (Polcrat → Poterat); OCR slip in the digital text (Si crat → Si erat); OCR slip in the digital text (Verbo Ą → Verbo?); OCR slip in the digital text (capicn dum → capiendum); OCR slip in the digital text (cportet → oportet); OCR slip in the digital text (cst → est); OCR slip in the digital text (deiicis → deficis); OCR slip in the digital text (facto sunt → facta sunt); OCR slip in the digital text (ferit → fecit); OCR slip in the digital text (ill te → ille te); OCR slip in the digital text (nt sis → ut sis); OCR slip in the digital text (qnod → quod); OCR slip in the digital text (rc ficiuntur → reficiuntur)): qnod → quod; facto sunt → facta sunt; rc ficiuntur → reficiuntur; cportet → oportet; deiicis → deficis; ferit → fecit; ill te → ille te; Verbo Ą → Verbo?; Jn principio → In principio; Polcrat → Poterat; Si crat → Si erat; cibus cst, → cibus est,; nt sis → ut sis; capicn dum → capiendum.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Tract. Ev. Jo. 1.12 (PL 35:1385; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-tractatus-ioannem/1-1/#p-1-12). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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1.13PL 35:1385

Sane, fratres, quod sequitur, Omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est nihil, videte ne sic cogitetis, quia nihil aliquid est. Solent enim multi male intelligentes, sine ipso factum est nihil, putare aliquid esse nihil. Peccatum quidem non per ipsum factum est: et manifestum est, quia peccatum nihil est, et nihil fiunt homines cum peccant. Et idolum non per Verbum factum est: habet quidem formam quamdam humanam, sed ipse homo per Verbum factus est; nam forma hominis in idolo, non per Ver bum facta est; et scriptum est, Scimus quia nihil est idolum. Ergo ista non sunt facta per Verbum; sed quæcumque naturaliter facta sunt, quæcumque sunt in creaturis, omnia omnino quae fixa in coelo sunt, quae fulgent desuper, quae volitant sub cœlo, et quæ moventur in universa natura rerum, omnis omnino creatura: dicam planius, dicam, fra tres, ut intelligatis, ab angelo usque ad vermiculum, Quid praeclarius angelo in creaturis? quid extremius vermiculo in creaturis? Per quem factus est angelus, per ipsum factus est et vermiculus: sed angelus di gnus coelo, vermiculus terra. Qui creavit, ipse dispo suit. Si poneret vermiculum in caelo, reprehenderes; si vellet Angelos nasci de putrescentibus carnibus, re prehenderes: et tamen prope hoc facit Deus. et non est reprehendendus. Nam omnes homines de carne nascentes, quid sunt nisi vermes? et de vermibus Angelos facit. Si enim ipse Dominus dicit, Ego au tem sum vermis, et non homo; quis dubitat hoc dicere quod scriptum est et in Job, Quanto magis homo putredo, et filius hominis vermis? Primo dixit, homo putredo; et postea, filius hominis vermis: quia vermis de putredine nascitur, ideo homo putredo, et filius hominis vermis. Ecce quid fieri voluit propter te, illud quod in principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Ver bum. Quare hoc factum est propter te? Ut sugeres, qui manducare non poteras. Omnino ergo, fratres, sic accipite, Omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est nihil. Universa enim creatura per ipsum facta est, major, minor: per ipsum facta sunt supera, infera; spiritualis, corporalis, per ipsum facta sunt. Nulla enim forma, nulla compages, nulla con cordia partium, nulla qualiscumque substantia, quae potest habere pondus, numerum, mensuram, nisi per illud Verbum est, et ab illo Verbo creatore, cui dictum est, Omnia in mensura, et numero, et pondere disposuisti.

Certainly, brothers, as to what follows, "All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made," take care not to think that "nothing" is something. For many who understand badly are accustomed to think, from "without him nothing was made," that "nothing" is something. Sin, indeed, was not made through him; and it is plain that sin is nothing, and men become nothing when they sin. An idol, too, was not made through the Word. It has, indeed, a certain human form, but man himself was made through the Word, while the human form in the idol was not made through the Word; and it is written, "We know that an idol is nothing." So these things were not made through the Word; but whatever things were made by nature, whatever things are among creatures, absolutely everything that is fixed in the sky, that shines from above, that flies beneath the sky, and that moves in the whole nature of things, absolutely every creature: let me say it more plainly, brothers, so that you understand: from the angel down to the little worm. What is more splendid among creatures than an angel? What is lower among creatures than a little worm? He through whom the angel was made, through him the little worm too was made; but the angel is worthy of heaven, the worm of the earth. He who created them also set them in order. If he put the worm in heaven, you would find fault; if he willed that angels should be born from rotting flesh, you would find fault. And yet God does almost this, and is not to be blamed. For all men born of flesh, what are they but worms? And from worms he makes angels. For if the Lord himself says, "But I am a worm, and no man," who would hesitate to say what is written also in Job: "How much more is man rottenness, and the son of man a worm"? First he said, "man is rottenness," and then, "the son of man a worm": because the worm is born from rottenness, therefore man is rottenness and the son of man a worm. See what he willed to become for your sake, he who "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"! Why was this done for your sake? So that you might suck, who could not eat. So, brothers, take it altogether in this way: "All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made." For the whole creation was made through him, greater and lesser; things above and things below were made through him; spiritual and bodily, they were made through him. For there is no form, no structure, no harmony of parts, no substance of any kind that can have weight, number, and measure, except through that Word and from that creating Word, to whom it was said, "You have ordered all things in measure and number and weight."

John 1:3 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 8:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 22:6 (21:7 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Job 25:6 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:1 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: 'Nothing' in John 1:3 is not something: sin and idols were not made through the Word, but every creature from angel to worm was, and the Word became a 'worm' for our sake.

Quotations: John 1:3; 1 Cor 8:4; Ps 22:6 (21:7 LXX/Vulg.); Job 25:6; John 1:1; Wis 11:20 (Wisdom is outside the 66-book canon).

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text (Sanc → Sane); OCR slip in the digital text (ct ab → et ab); OCR slip in the digital text (eat → est); OCR slip in the digital text (eat → est; nihiL → nihil.); OCR slip in the digital text (ebt → est); OCR slip in the digital text (ereaturis → creaturis); OCR slip in the digital text (numcrum → numerum); OCR slip in the digital text (potcras → poteras); OCR slip in the digital text (qufdem → quidem); OCR slip in the digital text (su pcra → supera); OCR slip in the digital text (uermis → vermis); OCR slip in the digital text (velet → vellet); OCR slip in the digital text (vernus → vermis); OCR slip in the digital text (voVit → voluit)): Sanc → Sane; ipso factum eat nihil, videte → ipso factum est nihil, videte; ipso factum eat nihil, putare → ipso factum est nihil, putare; qufdem → quidem; ereaturis → creaturis; velet → vellet; non ebt reprehendendus. → non est reprehendendus.; uermis → vermis; vernus → vermis; voVit → voluit; potcras → poteras; factum eat nihiL → factum est nihil.; su pcra → supera; numcrum → numerum; ct ab → et ab.

Extrabiblical texts: Wis 11:20 (Wisdom of Solomon [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; quotation)

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Tract. Ev. Jo. 1.13 (PL 35:1385; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-tractatus-ioannem/1-1/#p-1-13). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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1.14PL 35:1385

Nemo ergo vos fallat, quando forte taedium pa timini ad muscas. Etenim aliqui derisi sunt a diabolo, et ad muscas capti sunt. Solent enim aucupes ponere in muscipula muscas, ut esurientes aves decipiant: sic et isti ad muscas a diabolo decepti sunt. Nam nescio quis tædium patiebatur ad muscas: invenit illum Manichæus tædio affectum; et cum di ceret se non posse pati muscas et odisse vehementer illas, statim ille, Quis fecit has? Et quia taedio affectus erat, et oderat illas, non ausus est dicere, Deus illas fecit: erat autem catholicus. Ille statim subjecit: Si Deus illas non fecit, quis illas fecit? Plane, ait ille, ego credo quia diabolus fecit muscas. Et ille statim: Si muscam diabolus fecit, sicut te video confiteri, quia prudenter intelligis, apem quis fecit, quae paulo amplior est musca? Non ausus ille est dicere quia Deus fecit apem, et muscam non fecit; quia res erat proxima. Ab ape duxit ad locustam, a locusta ad la certum, a lacerto ad avem, ab ave duxit ad pecus, inde ad bovem, inde ad elephantem, postremo ad ho minem; et persuasit homini quia non a Deo factus est homo. Ita ille miser cum tædium passus est ad muscas, musca factus est, quem diabolus possideret. Beelze bub quippe interpretari dicitur princeps muscarum: de quibus scriptum est, Muscæ moriturae exterminant oleum suavitatis.

So let no one deceive you when perhaps you are annoyed by flies. For some people have been mocked by the devil and caught by flies. Bird-catchers often put flies in a trap to deceive hungry birds; so these too were deceived by the devil with flies. For someone was annoyed by flies; a Manichee found him in this annoyance, and when he said that he could not bear the flies and hated them intensely, the Manichee at once asked, "Who made them?" And because he was annoyed and hated them, he did not dare to say, "God made them"; yet he was a Catholic. The other at once went on: "If God did not make them, who made them?" "Clearly," he said, "I believe the devil made flies." And the other at once: "If the devil made the fly, as I see you admit because you understand wisely, who made the bee, which is a little larger than a fly?" He did not dare to say that God made the bee and did not make the fly, since the two were so close. From the bee he led him to the locust, from the locust to the lizard, from the lizard to the bird, from the bird to the sheep, then to the ox, then to the elephant, and finally to man; and he persuaded the man that man was not made by God. So that wretched man, while annoyed by flies, became a fly himself, for the devil to possess. For Beelzebub is said to mean "prince of flies"; of these it is written, "Dying flies spoil the sweetness of the oil."

Eccl 10:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 12:24 (allusion, low confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Augustine tells how a Catholic annoyed by flies was led step by step by a Manichee to deny that God made man, and so became the devil's 'fly'.

The Manichees held that part of the material world was the work of an evil principle; the story is told as Augustine gives it. Beelzebub as 'prince of flies' (cf. Matt 12:24). Quotation: Eccl 10:1. A stray 'I.' after 'muscas' in the digital text is removed.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text (HIe → ille); OCR slip in the digital text (ad muscas I. → ad muscas.); OCR slip in the digital text (cst → est); OCR slip in the digital text (decL piant → decipiant); OCR slip in the digital text (diabulus → diabolus); OCR slip in the digital text (dia boto → diabolo); OCR slip in the digital text (factuS → factus); OCR slip in the digital text (morituras' → moriturae); OCR slip in the digital text (possiderct → possideret); OCR slip in the digital text (suavitalia → suavitatis); OCR slip in the digital text (vehcmenter → vehementer)): ad muscas I. → ad muscas.; dia boto → diabolo; decL piant → decipiant; vehcmenter → vehementer; diabulus → diabolus; factuS → factus; Ita HIe miser → Ita ille miser; factus cst, → factus est,; possiderct → possideret; morituras' → moriturae; suavitalia → suavitatis.

Topics: Heresy

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Tract. Ev. Jo. 1.14 (PL 35:1385; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-tractatus-ioannem/1-1/#p-1-14). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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1.15PL 35:1385–1387

Quid igitur, fratres? quare ista dixi? Claudite aures cordis vestri adversus dolos inimici; intelligite quia Deus fecit omnia, et in suis gradibus collocavit. Quare autem patimur multa mala a creatura quam fecit Deus? Quia offendimus Deum? Numquid haec Angeli patiuntur? Fortassis et nos in vita ista illa non timeremus. De poena tua peccatum tuum accusa, non judicem. Nam propter superbiam instituit Deus istam creaturam minimam et abjectissimam, ut ipsa nos torqueret: ut cum superbus fuerit homo, et se jacta verit adversus Deum; et, cum sit mortalis, mortalem terruerit; et, cum sit homo, proximum hominem non agnoverit; cum se erexerit, pulicibus subdatur. Quid est quod te inflas humana superbia? Homo tibi dixit convicium, et tumuisti, et iratus es; pulicibus resiste ut dormias: cognosce qui sis. Nam ut noveritis, fra tres, propter superbiam nostram domandam creata ista, quæ molesta nobis essent: populum Pharaonis superbum potuit Deus domare de ursis, de leonibus, de serpentibus; muscas et ranas illis immisit, ut rebus vilissimis superbia domaretur.

What then, brothers? Why did I say these things? Close the ears of your heart against the tricks of the enemy; understand that God made all things and set them in their ranks. Why, then, do we suffer many evils from the creation God made? Because we have offended God? Do the angels suffer these things? Perhaps we too in this life would not fear them. For your punishment, accuse your sin, not the judge. For it is because of pride that God established this smallest and most despised creature, to torment us: so that when man has become proud and boasted against God, and, though mortal, has terrified a mortal, and, though a man, has not acknowledged his neighbor as a man, when he has lifted himself up, he may be subjected to fleas. Why do you puff yourself up, human pride? A man spoke an insult to you, and you swelled up and grew angry: resist the fleas, so that you may sleep! Know who you are. For so that you may know, brothers, that these things which are troublesome to us were created to tame our pride: God could have tamed Pharaoh's proud people with bears, lions, and serpents; he sent flies and frogs upon them, so that pride might be tamed by the most contemptible things.

Exod 8:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 8:24 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: God made even troublesome little creatures, which serve to humble human pride, as the plagues of flies and frogs humbled Pharaoh's people.

Allusion: the plagues of Egypt, Exod 8:2-6, 8:21-24.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text (Iconibus → leonibus); OCR slip in the digital text (Naiu → Nam); OCR slip in the digital text (crcaturam → creaturam); OCR slip in the digital text (esseni → essent); OCR slip in the digital text (quant → quam); OCR slip in the digital text (uos → nos); OCR slip in the digital text (vestr: → vestri)): vestr: → vestri; quant → quam; crcaturam → creaturam; ipsa uos torqueret: → ipsa nos torqueret:; Naiu → Nam; esseni → essent; Iconibus → leonibus.

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Tract. Ev. Jo. 1.15 (PL 35:1385–1387; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-tractatus-ioannem/1-1/#p-1-15). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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1.16PL 35:1387

Omnia ergo, fratres, omnia omnino per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est nihil. Sed quomodo per ipsum facta sunt omnia? Quod factum est, in illo vita est. Potest enim sic dici, Quod factum est in illo, vita est: ergo totum vita est, si sic pronuntiaverimus. Quid enim non in illo factum est? Ipse est enim Sa pientia Dei; et dicitur in Psalmo, Omnia in Sapientia fecisti. Si ergo Christus est Sapientia Dei, et Psalmus dicit, Omnia in Sapientia fecisti; omnia sicut per illum facta, ita in illo facta sunt. Si ergo omnia in illo, fratres charissimi, et quod in illo factum est, vita est; ergo et terra vita est, ergo et lignum vita est. Dici mus quidem lignum vitam, sed secundum intellectum lignum crucis, unde accepimus vitam. Ergo et lapis vita est. Inhonestum est sic intelligere, ne rursum nobis subrepat eadem sordidissima secta Manichaeo rum, et dicat quia habet vitam lapis, et habet animam paries, et resticula habet animam, et lana et vestis. Solent enim delirantes dicere, et cum repressi fuerint et repulsi, quasi de Scripturis proferunt dicen tes: Utquid dictum est, Quod factum est in illo, vita est? Si enim omnia in ipso facta sunt, omnia vita sunt. Non te abducant: pronuntia sic, Quod factum est; hic subdistingue, et deinde infer, in illo vita est. Quid est hoc? Facta est terra, sed ipsa terra quæ facta est, non est vita: est autem in ipsa Sapientia spirituali ter ratio quaedam qua terra facta est; haec vita est.

So, brothers, all things, absolutely all things, were made through him, and without him nothing was made. But how were all things made through him? "What was made, in him is life." For it can also be read this way: "What was made in him is life"; and so everything is life, if we read it so. For what was not made in him? He is the Wisdom of God, and it is said in the Psalm, "In Wisdom you have made all things." If, then, Christ is the Wisdom of God, and the Psalm says, "In Wisdom you have made all things," then all things, just as they were made through him, were also made in him. If, then, all things were made in him, dearest brothers, and what was made in him is life, then the earth too is life, then wood too is life. We do call wood life, but in the sense of the wood of the cross, from which we received life. Then stone too is life! It is unseemly to understand it that way, lest that same most filthy sect of the Manichees creep in on us again and say that a stone has life, and a wall has a soul, and a little cord has a soul, and wool and clothing. For they are accustomed to say these things in their raving, and when they have been checked and repulsed, they bring it forward as if from the Scriptures, saying, "Why was it said, 'What was made in him is life'? For if all things were made in him, all things are life." Do not let them lead you astray. Read it like this: "What was made"; make a slight pause here, and then go on, "in him is life." What does this mean? The earth was made; but the earth itself that was made is not life. There is, however, in Wisdom itself, spiritually, a certain reason by which the earth was made: this is life.

John 1:3 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 104:24 (103:24 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 1:24 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Augustine discusses the punctuation of John 1:3-4 and rejects the Manichean reading that everything made is alive: what is life is the reason in divine Wisdom by which each thing was made.

Augustine discusses how to punctuate John 1:3-4 ('what was made, in him is life' vs. 'what was made in him is life'). Quotations: John 1:3-4; Ps 104:24 (103:24 LXX/Vulg.); allusion to 1 Cor 1:24 (Christ the Wisdom of God). 'Cum repressi fuerint et repulsi' is read for the garbled 'fue- J'inL I et repulsi'.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text (Omma → Omnia); OCR slip in the digital text (Palmus → Psalmus); OCR slip in the digital text (cnim → enim); OCR slip in the digital text (eat → est); OCR slip in the digital text (eat → est; Ulo → illo); OCR slip in the digital text (facia → facta); OCR slip in the digital text (fue- J'inL I et → fuerint et); OCR slip in the digital text (illu → illo); OCR slip in the digital text (inLelligcre → intelligere)): Omma → Omnia; facia → facta; factum eat nihil. → factum est nihil.; factum eat in Ulo, → factum est in illo,; Palmus → Psalmus; in illu, → in illo,; inLelligcre → intelligere; cnim → enim; fue- J'inL I et → fuerint et.

Topics: Heresy, Christology

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Tract. Ev. Jo. 1.16 (PL 35:1387; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-tractatus-ioannem/1-1/#p-1-16). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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1.17PL 35:1387

Quomodo possum, dicam Charitati vestrae. Fa ber facit arcam. Primo in arte habet arcam: si enim in arte arcam non haberet, unde illam fabricando proferret? Sed arca sic est in arte, ut non ipsa arca sit quae videtur oculis. In arte invisibiliter est, in opere visibiliter erit. Ecce facta est in opere; num quid destitit esse in arte? Et illa in opere facta est, et illa manet quæ in arte est: nam potest illa arca pu trescere, et iterum ex illa quae in arte est, alia fabri cari. Attendite ergo arcam in arte, et arcam in opere. Arca in opere non est vita, arca in arte vita est; quia vivit anima artificis, ubi sunt ista omnia antequam proferantur. Sic ergo, fratres charissimi, quia Sapien tia Dei, per quam facta sunt omnia, secundum artem continet omnia, antequam fabricet omnia; hinc quae fiunt per ipsam artem, non continuo vita sunt, sed quidquid factum est, vita in illo est. Terram vides; est in arte terra: cœlum vides; est in arte caelum: solem et lunam vides; sunt et ista in arte: sed foris corpora sunt, in arte vita sunt. Videte, si quo modo potestis; magna enim res dicta est: et si non a me magno, aut non per me magnum, tamen a magno. Non enim a me parvulo dicta sunt haec: sed ille non est parvulus ad quem respicio, ut dicam. Capiat quis que ut potest, in quantum potest: et qui non potest, nutriat cor, ut possit. Unde nutriat? De lacte nutriat, ut ad cibum perveniat. A Christo per carnem nato non recedat, donec perveniat ad Christum ab uno Patre natum, Verbum Deum apud Deum, per quod facta sunt omnia: quia illa vita est, quae in illo est lux hominum.

I will tell your Charity as best I can. A carpenter makes a chest. First he has the chest in his craft; for if he did not have the chest in his craft, from where would he bring it forth in the making? But the chest is in the craft in such a way that it is not the chest itself that is seen by the eyes. In the craft it exists invisibly; in the work it will exist visibly. See, it has been made in the work; has it ceased to exist in the craft? Both the one has been made in the work, and the one that is in the craft remains; for that chest can rot, and another can be made again from the one that is in the craft. Consider, then, the chest in the craft and the chest in the work. The chest in the work is not life; the chest in the craft is life, because the soul of the craftsman lives, where all these things are before they are brought forth. So, dearest brothers, because the Wisdom of God, through which all things were made, contains all things according to its art before it fashions them, it follows that the things made through that art are not by that very fact life, but whatever has been made is life in him. You see the earth: there is earth in the art. You see the sky: there is sky in the art. You see the sun and moon: these too are in the art. But outside they are bodies; in the art they are life. See, if you possibly can; for a great thing has been said, and if not by me, a great man, or through me, a great man, yet by one who is great. For these things are not said by me, a little one; but he to whom I look in order to speak is not little. Let each grasp as he can, as far as he can; and let him who cannot nourish his heart so that he can. With what should he nourish it? Let him nourish it with milk, so as to come to solid food. Let him not withdraw from Christ born through the flesh until he comes to Christ born of the one Father, the Word, God with God, through whom all things were made; for that life which is in him is the light of men.

John 1:4 (allusion, high confidence) · John 1:3 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 3:2 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: As a chest exists invisibly and alive in the craftsman's art before it is made, so all things exist as life in the Wisdom of God; the weak should cling to Christ in the flesh until they reach the eternal Word.

Allusions: John 1:3-4; 1 Cor 3:2. A stray 't.' after 'hominum' in the digital text is removed.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text (Uude → Unde); OCR slip in the digital text (hominum t. → hominum.); OCR slip in the digital text (ilia → illa); OCR slip in the digital text (lunain → lunam); OCR slip in the digital text (quein → quem); OCR slip in the digital text (qum → quae); OCR slip in the digital text (sont → sunt)): sit qum videtur → sit quae videtur; sont → sunt; lunain → lunam; quein → quem; Uude → Unde; ilia → illa; hominum t. → hominum..

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Tract. Ev. Jo. 1.17 (PL 35:1387; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-tractatus-ioannem/1-1/#p-1-17). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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1.18PL 35:1387

Hoc enim sequitur, Et vita erat lux hominum; et ex ipsa vita homines illuminantur. Pecora non illuminantur, quia pecora non habent rationales men tes quae possint videre sapientiam. Homo autem factus est ad imaginem Dei, habet rationalem mentem per quam possit percipere sapientiam. Ergo illa vita per quam facta sunt omnia, ipsa vita lux est: et non quorumque animalium, sed lux hominum. Unde paulo post dicit, Erat lumen verum, quod illuminat omnem hominem venientem in hunc mundum. Ab illo lumine illuminatus est Joannes Baptista; ab ipso et ipse Joannes evangelista. Ex ipso lumine plenus erat qui dixit: Non sum ego Christus; sed qui post me venit, cujus non sum ego dignus corrigiam calceamenti solvere. Ab illo lumine illuminatus erat qui dixit, In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Ergo, illa vita lux est hominum.

For this is what follows: "And the life was the light of men"; and from that life men are enlightened. Cattle are not enlightened, because cattle do not have rational minds that can see wisdom. But man was made in the image of God; he has a rational mind through which he can perceive wisdom. So that life through which all things were made, that very life is light; and not of any and every animal, but the light of men. Hence a little later he says, "That was the true light, which enlightens every man coming into this world." By that light John the Baptist was enlightened; by it too John the evangelist himself. Filled from that light was he who said, "I am not the Christ; but he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie." By that light was he enlightened who said, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." So that life is the light of men.

John 1:4 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:9 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:20 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:27 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 1:27 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The life in the Word is the light of men, enlightening rational minds made in God's image, including both John the Baptist and John the evangelist.

Quotations: John 1:4; John 1:9; John 1:20, 27; John 1:1; allusion to Gen 1:27.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the digital text (erut → erat); OCR slip in the digital text (illuminalus crat qui dixi! → illuminatus erat qui dixit); OCR slip in the digital text (lux cil → lux est)): illuminalus crat qui dixi! → illuminatus erat qui dixit; erut → erat; lux cil → lux est.

Cite (SBL): Augustine, Tract. Ev. Jo. 1.18 (PL 35:1387; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-tractatus-ioannem/1-1/#p-1-18). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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