Epigrams on Sentences of Augustine preface–49
Latin text: Migne, PL 51 (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).
Preface
0PL 51:499
Dum sacris mentem placet exercere loquelis, Cœlestique animum pascere pane juvat: Quosdam, ceu prato, libuit decerpere flores, Distinctisque ipsos texere versiculis. Ut proprias canerent epigrammata singula causas, Et pars quæque suo congrueret titulo. Nec nostræ hoc opis est, sed ab illo sumitur hic ros, Qui siccam rupem fundere jussit aquas. Ut quod in affectum cordis, pietate magistra, Venerit, hoc promat carmine læta fides.
[Preface] While it pleases me to exercise the mind with sacred words, and it delights me to feed the soul with heavenly bread, I have chosen to pluck certain flowers, as from a meadow, and to weave them into separate little verses, so that each epigram might sing its own theme, and each part fit its own title. Nor is this of our own strength; this dew is taken from him who bade the dry rock pour out waters, so that what has come into the heart's affection, with piety as teacher, glad faith may bring out in song.
Exod 17:6 (allusion, medium confidence) · Num 20:11 (allusion, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: In his preface Prosper explains that he has gathered sayings from his reading, like flowers, and set each in a short verse epigram, by God's gift.
- The sayings (sententiae) are drawn from Augustine's works; each section gives Augustine's sentence in prose, followed by Prosper's verse on it. The rock pouring out water alludes to Exod 17:6 and Num 20:11.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slip and stray letter; OCR slips; leaked footnote letter; stray mark): Cœlestique a animum → Cœlestique animum; lihuil → libuit; flores, ' Distinctisque → flores, Distinctisque; ros,, → ros,; sicc um rnpem → siccam rupem; cirmine læta fides. I → carmine læta fides..
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. pref. (PL 51:499; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/0). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/0
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 1
1PL 51:499
Innocentia vera est, quæ nec sibi nec alteri nocet. Quoniam qui diligit iniquitatem, odit animam suam. Et nemo non prius in se, quam in alterum peccat. Perfecte bonus est, et vero dicitur insons. Nec sibi, nec cuiquam quod noceat faciens. Nam quicumque alium molitur lædere, primum Ipsum se jaculo percutiet proprio. Et cum forte animum non sit subitura facultas, Non dubium in cordis viscere vulnus habet. Nec fugit infecti sceleris mens prava reatum, Cui nimis hoc solum quod voluit nocuit.
[Sentence] True innocence is that which harms neither itself nor another. For he who loves iniquity hates his own soul. And no one sins against another without first sinning against himself.
[Epigram] He is perfectly good, and truly called innocent, who does nothing that harms himself or anyone. For whoever schemes to hurt another will first strike himself with his own dart. And even if the means to carry out his intent should not come, he surely bears a wound in the depths of his heart. Nor does the depraved mind escape the guilt of a crime not done: this alone, that it willed it, has done it great harm.
Ps 11:5 (10:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: True innocence harms neither oneself nor another, since whoever plots harm against another first wounds himself, even if he never carries it out.
- "He who loves iniquity hates his own soul" quotes Ps 11:5 (LXX and Vulgate 10:6).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (split word): pec cat → peccat; fa cultas → facultas.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 1 (PL 51:499; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/1
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 2
2PL 51:499
Sic diligendi sunt homines, ut eorum non diligantur errores, quia aliud est amare quod facti sunt, et aliud est odisse quod faciunt. Naturæ quisquis propriæ non spernis honorem, In quocumque hominum quæ tua noscis ama. Sic tamen, ut pravos vitet concordia mores, Nullaque sint pacis foedera cum vitiis. Namque quod artificis summi fecit manus, unum est: Quæque auctore bono condita sunt, bona sunt. Divinum in nullo figmentum despiciatur, Sola malis studiis addita non placeant.
[Sentence] Men are to be loved in such a way that their errors are not loved; for it is one thing to love what they were made, and another to hate what they do.
[Epigram] You who do not scorn the honor of your own nature, love in every man what you know to be your own; yet so that concord shuns depraved ways, and there are no treaties of peace with vices. For what the hand of the highest craftsman made is one, and whatever was founded by a good author is good. Let God's handiwork be despised in no one; let only what bad pursuits have added displease.
Gen 1:31 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: We must love people as God made them while hating their faults, since what God made is good and only what evil adds is to be rejected.
- What the good creator made is good echoes Gen 1:31.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; stray letter; stray mark and line-break debris): homines. ut eorum non diligan- tur → homines, ut eorum non diligantur; aliud esi amare → aliud est amare; arlificis → artificis; Quæque e auctore → Quæque auctore.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 2 (PL 51:499; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/2
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 3
3PL 51:499
Vera æternitas et vera immortalitas non est nisi in Deitate Trinitatis: cui quod est esse perfectum est; quia natura initio carens, et incremento non indigens, sicut nullum finem, ita nullam recipit mutabilitatem. Creaturæ autem, etiam illæ quibus Deus æternitatem dedit, vel daturus est, non penitus omnis finis alienæ sunt, quia non sunt extra commutationem; dum illis finis est, et temporalis institutio, et localis motio, et ipsa in augmentum sui facta immutatio. Æternus vere est solus Deus omnicreator, Qui in se vivens permanet esse quod est. Hoc Pater, hoc Verbum Patris, hoc est Spiritus almus, Quorum natura est una, eademque simul. Non coeptum, aut auctum, non hic mutabile quidquam est, Quod subeat leges temporis, aut numeri. Virtus, praeteritis prior ulteriorque futuris, Nil recipit varium, nil habet occiduum. Nam rerum, quas ut voluit sapientia fecit, Multis vita quidem est præstita perpetua. Sed quodcumque potest sese amplius aut minus esse Quodam fine ipsi quod fuerat moritur. Sic nihil aeternum quod commutabile factum est. Et quod cuncta super, semper idem Deus est.
[Sentence] True eternity and true immortality exist only in the Godhead of the Trinity, for whom what it is, is perfect being; because a nature that lacks beginning and needs no increase admits, as no end, so no changeableness. But creatures, even those to whom God has given or will give eternity, are not wholly strangers to every end, because they are not outside change: for they have an end, a beginning in time, motion in place, and the very change that is made for their growth.
[Epigram] Truly eternal is God alone, the creator of all, who, living in himself, remains being what he is. This is the Father, this the Word of the Father, this the kindly Spirit, whose nature is one and the same together. Nothing here was begun or increased, nothing is changeable, nothing that would undergo the laws of time or number. A power prior to things past and beyond things to come, it admits nothing varied, has nothing that sets. For of the things which Wisdom made as it willed, to many indeed everlasting life has been granted; but whatever can be more or less itself dies, by some end, to what it had been. So nothing that was made changeable is eternal, and God, who is above all, is always the same.
Ps 102:27 (101:28 LXX) (echo, low confidence) · Mal 3:6 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Only the triune God is truly eternal and unchangeable; creatures, even those given everlasting life, are subject to change and so are not eternal in the same sense.
- "Always the same" echoes Ps 102:27 and Mal 3:6. "The very change" reads the printed "Imitatio" as immutatio.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slip and split word; OCR slips; line-break debris; split word): mu- tabilitatem → mutabilitatem; om nis → omnis; commu tationem → commutationem; finis et, et temporalis institu tio → finis est, et temporalis institutio; Imitatio → immutatio; Vua in sc → Qui in se; quid quam → quidquam; niliil → nihil.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 3 (PL 51:499; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/3
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 4
4PL 51:499
Patientia Dei vera est, qua parcit contemptus, parcitque negatus; et magis vult vitam peccatoris quam mortem; eruditio est pœnitudinis, et oblatio correctionis. Nec ulla ipsius opera misericordia vacant, quando homini et indulgentia consulit, et flagello. Multa diu summi differt patientia Regis, Suspendens æqui pondera Judicii. Et dum plectendis parcit clementia factis Dat spatium, quo se crimine purget homo, Denique committunt homines mala crimina semper, Dat spatium, ut pereant crimina, non homines. Verbere nonnumquam castigans corde paterno, Ne cito consumant sæva flagella reos. Sic pietate Dei terrarum non vacat orbis, Et nihil est quod nos non trahat ad veniam: Cum Rex salvandis ipsa quoque consulit Ira, Ut curat medicus vulnera vulneribus.
[Sentence] God's patience is true: by it he spares when he is despised, and spares when he is denied, and wills the life of the sinner rather than his death. It is a schooling in repentance and an offer of correction. Nor are any of his works empty of mercy, since he provides for man both by indulgence and by the scourge.
[Epigram] The patience of the highest King long puts off many things, holding back the weights of fair judgment. And while clemency spares deeds that deserve punishment, it gives man space in which to cleanse himself of crime. In short, though men are always committing evil crimes, he gives space so that the crimes may perish, not the men. Sometimes he chastises with the rod, with a father's heart, lest savage scourges quickly consume the guilty. So the world is not empty of God's kindness, and there is nothing that does not draw us toward pardon, since the King makes even his wrath serve those who are to be saved, as the physician heals wounds with wounds.
Ezek 33:11 (allusion, high confidence) · Ezek 18:23 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rom 2:4 (allusion, medium confidence) · Heb 12:6 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God's patience spares sinners and gives them time to repent, and even his punishments are fatherly correction meant to save.
- God's will for the sinner's life rather than his death alludes to Ezek 18:23 and 33:11; patience leading to repentance to Rom 2:4; fatherly chastisement to Heb 12:6.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; leaked margin letter; split word; stray mark and split word): et " magis vult vitam pec catoris → et magis vult vitam peccatoris; mi sericordia → misericordia; plecteudis → plectendis; spatium, P ut → spatium, ut; nounumquam → nonnumquam.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 4 (PL 51:499; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/4
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 5
5PL 51:499–501
Divina bonitas ideo maxime irascitur in hoc sæculo, ne irascatur in futuro: et misericorditer adhibet temporalem severitatem, ne æternam juste inferat ultionem. Cum Deus exserta peccantes verberat ira, Ut norint homines quid mereantur agit. Nam dum mortalis peraguntur tempora carnis, Auxilium miseris ipsa flagella ferunt. Et vindicta brevis sic noxia crimina finit: Ne sine fine habeat debita pœna reos.
[Sentence] The divine goodness is most angry in this age so as not to be angry in the age to come, and mercifully applies temporal severity so as not to inflict, justly, eternal vengeance.
[Epigram] When God strikes sinners with wrath put forth, he acts so that men may know what they deserve. For while the times of mortal flesh are being lived out, the very scourges bring help to the wretched; and a brief punishment thus ends harmful crimes, lest the penalty owed should hold the guilty without end.
Notes and citation
Summary: God punishes in this life out of mercy, so that sinners may be corrected and not punished eternally.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slip and split word): irascilur in hoc sæcu lo → irascitur in hoc sæculo; bomines → homines.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 5 (PL 51:499–501; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/5
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 6
6PL 51:501
Vera est confessio benedicentis, cum idem sonus est et oris, et cordis. Bene autem loqui, et male vivere, nihil est aliud quam sua se voce damnare. Laus vera in Dominum depromitur ore precantis, Si quæ voce fluunt, intima cordis habent, Non prodest cuiquam solis bona dicere verbis, Ni pia mens habeat, quod bene lingua sonat. Nam fari recte, miserum est, et vivere prave. Damnat nota malum regula justitiæ.
[Sentence] The confession of one who blesses is true when the sound of the mouth and of the heart is the same. To speak well and live badly is nothing other than to condemn oneself with one's own voice.
[Epigram] True praise is brought forth to the Lord from the mouth of one who prays if what flows from the voice holds the depths of the heart. It profits no one to say good things in words alone unless a pious mind holds what the tongue sounds well. For to speak rightly and live wickedly is wretched: the well-known rule of justice condemns the wicked man.
Matt 15:8 (echo, low confidence) · Luke 19:22 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Praise of God is true only when heart and mouth agree; to speak well and live badly is to condemn oneself.
- Self-condemnation by one's own words echoes Luke 19:22; lips and heart echo Matt 15:8 (Isa 29:13).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; split word): sOnus → sonus; vi vere → vivere; habeal → habeat; viyere → vivere.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 6 (PL 51:501; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/6
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 7
7PL 51:501
Dilectio Dei et proximi propria et specialis virtus est piorum, atque sanctorum, cum cæteræ virtutes et bonis et malis possint esse communes. Plurima sanctorum bona sunt communia multis, Et quiddam recti constat inesse malis, Sed pia pars summæ tendens virtutis ad arcem, Omne operum meritum vincit amore Dei, Quo pariter quemcumque hominum sic diligit, ut se: Hoc optans aliis quod cupit ipse sibi. Unde istis geminis virtutum qui caret alis, Coelorum ad regnum non habet unde volet.
[Sentence] Love of God and of neighbor is the proper and special virtue of the pious and holy, while the other virtues can be common to the good and the wicked.
[Epigram] Many goods of the saints are shared by many, and something of right is found to be in the wicked. But the pious part, striving toward the citadel of highest virtue, surpasses all merit of works by the love of God, by which it loves any man alike, as itself, wishing for others what it desires for itself. So he who lacks these twin wings of the virtues has nothing with which to fly to the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 22:37 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 22:39 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 7:12 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Love of God and neighbor belongs only to the saints, while other virtues can be found in the wicked too; without these two wings no one reaches heaven.
- The two commandments allude to Matt 22:37–39; wishing for others what one wants for oneself to Matt 7:12.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; split word; split word and OCR slip): vir tus → virtus; at9ne → atque; virtu tes et boni → virtutes et bonis; quiddem → quiddam.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 7 (PL 51:501; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/7). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/7
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 8
8PL 51:501
Doctrina apostolica tam salubris tamque vitalis est, ut pro capacitate utentium neminem sui relinquat exsortem. Quia sive sint parvuli, sive magni, sive infirmi, sive fortes, habent in ea et unde alantur, et unde satientur. Exueret ut Deus tetra caligine mundum, Doctrinæ accendit lumen apostolicæ: Quae nullis animis, nullis non congruit annis, Lacte rigans parvos, pane cibans validos. Non tempus, non sexus huic, non causa resistit, Omnes erudit, alit, justificat, vegetat. Sumite quæ magnae apposuit Sapientia mensae, Et variis pasti discite deliciis. Quarum pars totum est epulum, et quo quisque juvatur, Inde capit vitam, quam parit una fides.
[Sentence] The apostolic teaching is so wholesome and so life-giving that, according to the capacity of those who use it, it leaves no one without a share. For whether they are little or great, weak or strong, they have in it both what nourishes them and what fills them.
[Epigram] To strip the world of foul darkness, God lit the light of the apostolic teaching, which suits all minds and all ages, watering the little with milk, feeding the strong with bread. No time, no sex, no condition resists it: it teaches, nourishes, justifies, and quickens all. Take what Wisdom has set out on her great table, and, fed on varied delights, learn. Any part of them is the whole feast; and from what helps each one he takes the life which the one faith brings forth.
1 Cor 3:2 (allusion, high confidence) · Heb 5:12 (allusion, medium confidence) · Prov 9:2 (allusion, medium confidence) · Gal 3:28 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The apostles' teaching feeds every kind of person according to capacity, milk for the little and bread for the strong, and gives life through the one faith.
- Milk and solid food allude to 1 Cor 3:2 and Heb 5:12–14; Wisdom's table to Prov 9:1–5. "Teaches" reads the printed "errat" as erudit.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR word order slip; split word): Doctriua → Doctrina; relin quat → relinquat; alan tur → alantur; Exueret Deus ut → Exueret ut Deus; Omnes errat → Omnes erudit; Et,ariis → Et variis; tu vatuf → juvatur.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 8 (PL 51:501; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/8). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/8
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 9
9PL 51:501
Deum quaerens, gaudium quærit. Sic ergo quaerat, ut non in se, sed in Domino gaudeat. Accedendo enim ad Deum, illuminatur ignorantia et corroboratur infirmitas, data sibi et intelligentia qua videat, et charitate qua serviat. Scire Deum cupiens, gaudere et vivere quærit, Si verum et summum norit amare Deum. Cui tribuat quidquid recte sapit, optat, agitque, Et sine quo carnis gloria pulvis erit. Non ergo in quoquam sua munera deserit auctor, Perque suum Dominus se manifestat opus, Inque illis habitat dives penetralibus hospes, Qua gaudent hoc se comta quod ipse dedit.
[Sentence] He who seeks God seeks joy. Let him seek, then, so as to rejoice not in himself but in the Lord. For by drawing near to God ignorance is enlightened and weakness strengthened, understanding being given him by which to see, and love by which to serve.
[Epigram] He who desires to know God seeks to rejoice and to live, if he knows how to love the true and highest God, to whom he should ascribe whatever he rightly knows, wishes, and does, and without whom the glory of the flesh will be dust. So the author does not abandon his gifts in anyone, and the Lord shows himself through his own work, and dwells, a rich guest, in those inner rooms where they rejoice to be adorned with what he himself gave.
Phil 4:4 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Cor 1:31 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Seeking God is seeking joy, but joy in the Lord, not in oneself, since he gives the understanding and love by which he is known and dwells in those he adorns with his gifts.
- Rejoicing in the Lord alludes to Phil 4:4 and 1 Cor 1:31.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips; split word): gaudinm → gaudium; corrobo ratur → corroboratur; intelligentia a videat → intelligentia qua videat; sefyiat → serviat; Cupient → cupiens; hoc o se comta quod ipsO → hoc se comta quod ipse.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 9 (PL 51:501; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/9). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/9
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-prosper-epigrammata-sententiis-9) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 10
10PL 51:501
Sicut corpori noxium est corpoream escam non posse percipere, ita animæ periculosum est spiritales delicias fastidire. Ut perdunt propriam mortalia corpora vitam, Si nequeunt escas sumere corporeas: Sic animae, nisi deliciis rationis alantur. Dum Verbi æterni pane carent, pereunt. Nam quid erit quod dira procul fastidia pellat, Cum se ipso refugit mens saturare Deo?
[Sentence] As it is harmful to the body to be unable to take bodily food, so it is dangerous for the soul to loathe spiritual delights.
[Epigram] As mortal bodies lose their own life if they cannot take bodily food, so souls, unless they are fed on the delights of reason, perish while they lack the bread of the eternal Word. For what will drive dire loathing far away when the mind shrinks from filling itself with God himself?
Matt 4:4 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 6:35 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: As the body dies without food, so the soul dies if it loathes the spiritual food of God's Word.
- The bread of the Word alludes to Matt 4:4 and John 6:35.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; split word): eorpori → corpori; spiri tales → spiritales.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 10 (PL 51:501; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/10). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/10
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 11
11PL 51:501
Numquam multi sunt qui ad non esse tendunt. Quid enim tam obnoxium paucitati, quam quod est debitum perditioni? Esse Deo verum et proprium est, cui quisquis adhæret, Æterni in regni lumine semper erit. Nam qui justitiam spernunt, non esse laborant, Inque nihil tendunt, et nihil esse queunt. Non ergo illorum poterit pars multa videri, Quorum in sanctorum nullus erit numero. Sed vere magni, et multi sine fine manebunt, In Christo quorum gloria perpes erit.
[Sentence] Those who tend toward not-being are never many. For what is so liable to fewness as what is owed to perdition?
[Epigram] To be belongs truly and properly to God; whoever clings to him will be forever in the light of the eternal kingdom. For those who spurn justice labor toward not-being, and tend toward nothing, and can be nothing. So their part can never seem many, none of whom will be in the number of the saints. But those truly great and many will remain without end whose glory in Christ will be everlasting.
Exod 3:14 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Being belongs to God, so those who turn from him tend toward nothing and are never truly many, while those who cling to him remain forever.
- "To be belongs... to God" echoes Exod 3:14.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-break debris): adhe- ret,.Eterni → adhæret, Æterni.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 11 (PL 51:501; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/11). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/11
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 12
12PL 51:501
Non concupiscit Deus pœnam reorum, tamquam saturari desiderans ultione. Sed quod justum est cum tranquillitate decernit, et recta voluntate disponit, ut etiam mali non sint inordinati. Nulla Deum oblectat miserorum poena reorum, Nec scelerum vindex ira movet placidum. Omnipotentis enim recta et tranquilla voluntas, Quidquid decerni convenit, hoc statuit. Ut nullis pateat Regis censura querelis, Cum juste accipiet debitus ordo malos.
[Sentence] God does not long for the punishment of the guilty as though he desired to be sated with vengeance. But he decrees what is just with calm, and arranges it by his right will, so that even the wicked are not out of order.
[Epigram] No punishment of wretched guilty men delights God, nor does wrath, the avenger of crimes, disturb his calm. For the right and tranquil will of the Almighty establishes whatever it is fitting to decree, so that the King's sentence lies open to no complaints, since the order they deserve will justly take in the wicked.
Notes and citation
Summary: God punishes not from a desire for vengeance but calmly, by his just will, so that even the wicked are kept in their due order.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): dcsider.ans → desiderans.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 12 (PL 51:501; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/12). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/12
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 13
13PL 51:501–503
Bonum intellectum habet qui quod faciendum recte intelligit fara. Alioquin talis est sine opere intelligentia, qualis est sine timore sapientia, cum sit scriptum, Initium sapientiæ timor Domini. Scriptorum Domini plene videt omne profundum, Implet qui factis cognita verba piis. Nam nimis a sensu doctrinæ devius errat, Si quæ curavit scire, fugit facere.
[Sentence] He has good understanding who rightly understands what is to be done and does it. Otherwise he is like understanding without work, as wisdom is without fear, since it is written, "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord."
[Epigram] He sees fully all the depth of the Lord's Scriptures who fulfills in pious deeds the words he has learned. For he strays far from the sense of the teaching if he shuns doing what he took care to know.
Ps 111:10 (110:10 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Prov 9:10 (quotation, medium confidence) · Jas 1:22 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: True understanding of Scripture means doing what one has learned, just as wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord.
- "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord" quotes Ps 111:10 (LXX 110:10; also Prov 9:10). "And does it" translates the garbled "fara" (probably facit or faciat) by sense.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips; leaked footnote letter): talis esi sine epere → talis est sine opere; sapientia, a cum → sapientia, cum; litnor → timor.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 13 (PL 51:501–503; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/13). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/13
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 14
14PL 51:503
Habet jam in hac vita requiem suam anima quæ de morte infidelitatis exempta est, et non ab operibus justitiæ, sed ab iniquitatis se abstinet actione, ut vivens Deo et mundo mortua, in humilitatis et mansuetudinis placida tranquillitate requiescat. Est et in hac vita multis requies data sanctis, Quorum animas mundus non tenet occiduus: Quos desideriis nullis peritura fatigant, Et quibus omne bonum est Christus, et omnis honor. Utuntur terra ut coelo, fugientia temnunt, Quod credunt, quod amant, quod cupiunt, Deus est.
[Sentence] The soul that has been freed from the death of unbelief already has its rest in this life; it rests not from the works of justice but from the doing of iniquity, so that, living to God and dead to the world, it may rest in the calm tranquility of humility and meekness.
[Epigram] Even in this life rest is given to many saints, whose souls the setting world does not hold; whom no desires for perishing things weary, and for whom Christ is every good and every honor. They use the earth as heaven, they scorn what passes; what they believe, what they love, what they long for, is God.
Matt 11:29 (allusion, medium confidence) · Gal 6:14 (echo, low confidence) · Rom 6:11 (echo, low confidence) · Heb 4:10 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The believer already has rest in this life, not from good works but from sin, living to God and dead to the world.
- Rest in humility and meekness alludes to Matt 11:29; dead to the world to Gal 6:14; living to God to Rom 6:11.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slip and leaked footnote letter; split word; stray mark): Habel a jam → Habet jam; ab In quitatis → ab iniquitatis; Deo. et mundo → Deo et mundo; man suetudinis → mansuetudinis; requirs → requies.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 14 (PL 51:503; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/14). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/14
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 15
15PL 51:503
Quisquis bene cogitat quid Deo voveat, et quæ vota persolvat, seipsum voveat, et reddat. Hoc exigitur, hoc debetur: imago Cæsaris reddatur Cæsari, imago Dei reddatur Deo. Sed sicut videndum est quid et cui offeras, ita etiam considerandum est ubi offeras. Quia veri sacrificii extra catholicam Ecclesiam locus non est. Quid voveat Domino quisquis bene corde volutat, Ipsum se totum præparet ac voveat, Major enim offerri nequit hostia mentis in ara, Nec Christi ex templo suavior exit odor, Quam cum homo castorum profert libamina morum, Et de virtutum munere sacra litat. Sic tamen, ut norit qui reddit vota Tonanti Unum divinis coitibus esse locum, In toto mundo quem vera Ecclesia praebet, Et sine quo nullum justitiæ est meritum.
[Sentence] Whoever thinks carefully about what he should vow to God and what vows he should pay, let him vow himself and render himself. This is demanded, this is owed: let the image of Caesar be rendered to Caesar, the image of God to God. But just as one must see what and to whom you offer, so one must also consider where you offer. For there is no place of true sacrifice outside the Catholic Church.
[Epigram] Whoever turns over carefully in his heart what to vow to the Lord, let him make ready his whole self and vow it. For no greater victim can be offered on the altar of the mind, nor does a sweeter odor go up to Christ from the temple, than when a man brings the libations of chaste conduct and offers holy sacrifice from the gift of the virtues; yet so that he who pays his vows to the Thunderer knows that there is one place for the divine assemblies, which the true Church provides in the whole world, and without which there is no merit of justice.
Matt 22:21 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 76:11 (75:12 LXX) (allusion, medium confidence) · Rom 12:1 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The vow owed to God is oneself, his image, as the coin with Caesar's image is owed to Caesar; and true sacrifice is offered only within the Catholic Church.
- Caesar's image alludes to Matt 22:20–21; vowing and paying vows to Ps 76:11 (LXX 75:12); offering oneself to Rom 12:1. "The Thunderer" (Tonans), a classical title of Jupiter, is used by Christian Latin poets for God.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; split word; stray letter): C esari → Cæsari; videndum est I quid → videndum est quid; Qu a veri → Quia veri; Ec clesiam → Ecclesiam; vo lutat → volutat; præparet at voveat → præparet ac voveat; Major etim → Major enim; ex tempto → ex templo; mo rum → morum.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 15 (PL 51:503; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/15). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/15
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 16
16PL 51:503
Duae sunt retributiones justitiæ, cum aut bona pro bonis, aut mala redduntur pro malis. Tertia est retributio gratiæ, cum per regenerationem remittuntur mala, et retribuuntur bona. Atque ita manifestatur quia universae viae Domini misericordia et veritas. Illam autem impiorum retributionem, qua pro bonis mala restituunt, Deus nescit; qui nisi retribueret bona pro malis, non essent quibus retribueret bona pro bonis. Justitiæ merces gemina est, vel cum bona rectis, Vel pravis digne cum dura restituit. Salvatrix autem cunctorum gratia Christi, Non pensans meritum, diluit omne malum. Credentesque omnes renovans baptismate sacro, Dat bona, quæ propter det meliora bonis.
[Sentence] There are two retributions of justice: when either good is returned for good, or evil for evil. A third is the retribution of grace, when through regeneration evils are forgiven and goods are given in return. And so it is shown that all the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth. But that retribution of the impious by which they return evil for good, God does not know; for unless he returned good for evil, there would be none to whom he could return good for good.
[Epigram] The reward of justice is twofold: either when it returns good things to the upright, or, deservedly, evil things to the wicked. But the grace of Christ, savior of all, not weighing merit, washes away all evil; and renewing all believers by holy baptism, it gives good things, for the sake of which it may give better things to the good.
Ps 25:10 (24:10 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Justice repays good for good and evil for evil, but grace returns good for evil, forgiving sins in baptism; without it there would be no good people to reward.
- "All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth" quotes Ps 25:10 (LXX 24:10).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; leaked footnote letter; line-break debris; split word; stray letter and split word): remit- tuntur → remittuntur; retribuuntnr → retribuuntur; mani festatur → manifestatur; mala o restituunt → mala restituunt; qnon essent quibus re tribueret → non essent quibus retribueret; cum tn da → cum dura; Credente que → Credentesque.
Topics: Baptism
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 16 (PL 51:503; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/16). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/16
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 17
17PL 51:503
Omnis qui ad supernam pertinet civitatem, peregrinus est mundi: et dum temporali utitur vita, in patria vivit aliena, ubi inter multa illecebrosa et multa fallacia Deum nosse et amare paucorum est quibus fit præceptum Domini lucidum illuminans oculos, ut nec in Dei, nec in proximi charitate fallantur. Coelestem ad patriam Christo redimente vocatus, Vitam labentis temporis hospes agit. Dumque ad promissam requiem non per sua tendit, Mundanæ patitur multa pericla viæ, Quae nunc obsessa adversis, nunc plena secundis Aut frangit trepidos, obligat aut dubios. Inter quos laqueos currentem ad gaudia vera Non capiet mundus, cui via Christus erit.
[Sentence] Everyone who belongs to the heavenly city is a pilgrim in the world; and while he makes use of temporal life, he lives in a foreign country, where, among many allurements and many deceptions, to know and love God belongs to few: to those for whom the commandment of the Lord becomes bright, enlightening the eyes, so that they are deceived neither in the love of God nor in the love of neighbor.
[Epigram] Called to the heavenly homeland by Christ's redeeming, the guest lives out a life of gliding time. And while he travels toward the promised rest, not by his own strength, he suffers many dangers on the world's road, which, now beset with adversity, now full of prosperity, either breaks the fearful or snares the wavering. Amid these snares the world will not catch the one running to true joys, whose way will be Christ.
Ps 19:8 (18:9 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Heb 11:13 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Pet 2:11 (echo, low confidence) · John 14:6 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The citizen of the heavenly city is a pilgrim in this world, where few know and love God; Christ, his way, keeps him through adversity and prosperity.
- "The commandment of the Lord... enlightening the eyes" quotes Ps 19:8 (LXX 18:9). Pilgrims and strangers allude to Heb 11:13 and 1 Pet 2:11; Christ the way to John 14:6.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slip and split word; OCR slips and stray marks; words joined in the digital text): pcre grinus → peregrinus; lallacia → fallacia; quibusfit → quibus fit; Imer quos laqueus currentem ad gaudia vera,. → Inter quos laqueos currentem ad gaudia vera.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 17 (PL 51:503; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/17). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/17
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 18
18PL 51:503–505
Nemo est cujus animam corruptibile corpus et inhabitatio terrena non aggravet. Sed annitendum est ut cupiditates carnis spiritus vigore superentur; et interior homo, qui semper sibi sentit resisti semper se divino exspectet auxilio adjuvari. Nulla anima est, quæ non mortali carne gravetur, Nec de corporea conditione gemat. Sed confirmare invalidam, et frenare rebellem, Legitimum et proprium est mentis opus dominæ. Quæ jus naturæ, ut moderamine temperet aequo, Et subdat sceptris noxia quæque suis, A Domino auxilium, et vires petat, ut valeat se Vincere, nec sensus incitet ipsa suos. Nam nullos famulæ poterit compescere motus, Si fuerit Christi semper amore potens.
[Sentence] There is no one whose soul the corruptible body and the earthly dwelling do not weigh down. But one must strive that the desires of the flesh be overcome by the vigor of the spirit; and the inner man, who always feels himself resisted, must always expect to be helped by divine aid.
[Epigram] There is no soul that is not weighed down by mortal flesh and does not groan over its bodily condition. But to strengthen the weak and curb the rebellious is the lawful and proper work of the mind as mistress. That it may temper the right of nature with fair control and subject every harmful thing to its scepter, let it seek help and strength from the Lord, so that it may be able to conquer itself, and not itself stir up its senses. For it will be able to restrain no motions of its servant unless it is always made strong by the love of Christ.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Rom 7:22 (allusion, medium confidence) · Gal 5:17 (allusion, medium confidence) · 2 Cor 5:4 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Every soul is weighed down by the body, but with God's help the mind must rule the flesh, which it can do only by the love of Christ.
- "The corruptible body... the earthly dwelling weighs down" quotes Wis 9:15. The inner man and the resisting flesh allude to Rom 7:22–23 and Gal 5:17; groaning to 2 Cor 5:4.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips; leaked footnote letter; leaked footnote letters): cujus a animam → cujus animam; trrrena → terrena; eat ut cupiditates Carnis spiritus vigore supercutur; et intector homo. qui → est ut cupiditates carnis spiritus vigore superentur; et interior homo, qui; divino bb exspectet → divino exspectet; gravetur, cc Nec → gravetur, Nec; Quæ dd jus → Quæ jus; t< mperet → temperet; Ei subdat scepTris → Et subdat sceptris; Nam ff nullos → Nam nullos; hi fuerit → Si fuerit.
Extrabiblical texts: Wis 9:15 (Wisdom of Solomon [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 18 (PL 51:503–505; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/18). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/18
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 19
19PL 51:505
Angusta est via quae ducit ad vitam Et tamen per ipsam, nisi dilato corde, non curritur, quia iter virtutum, quo gradiuntur pauperes Christi, amplum est fidelium spei, etiam si arctum sit infidelium vanitati. Arcta via est verae quae ducit ad atria vitæ, Nec recipit carnis gaudia mentis iter. Amplis incedit spatiis terrena voluptas, Angusto virtus limite celsa petit. Et tamen hi calles, quos mundi vana pavescunt, Quædam magnificis æquora sunt animis. Difficilisque nimis per dura, per ardua gressus, Commendat fidei quod tolerare juvat.
[Sentence] Narrow is the way that leads to life; and yet it is not run except with an enlarged heart, because the road of the virtues, on which the poor of Christ walk, is wide for the hope of the faithful, even if it is narrow for the vanity of unbelievers.
[Epigram] Narrow is the way that leads to the halls of true life, and the mind's road does not admit the joys of the flesh. Earthly pleasure walks in wide spaces; virtue seeks the heights by a narrow path. And yet these paths, at which the vanities of the world take fright, are as open plains to great souls; and the step, very hard over rough and steep ground, commends to faith what it delights to endure.
Matt 7:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 119:32 (118:32 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The way to life is narrow, yet those whose hearts are enlarged by hope run it gladly, since what frightens the worldly is open ground to great souls.
- "Narrow is the way that leads to life" quotes Matt 7:14; running with an enlarged heart alludes to Ps 119:32 (LXX 118:32).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (leaked footnote letter; split word; stray mark): virtutum. quo → virtutum, quo; am plum → amplum; per dura, a per ardua → per dura, per ardua.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 19 (PL 51:505; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/19). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/19
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 20
20PL 51:505
Hoc affectu et hoc desiderio colendus est Deus, ut sui cultus ipse sit merces. Nam qui Deum ideo colit, ut aliud quam ipsum promereatur, non Deum colit, sed id quod assequi concupiscit. Hac desiderii Deus est pietate colendus, Justitiae ut merces tota sit ipse Deus. Nam sperans alio se munere posse beari, Non quem poscit amat, sed quod habere cupit.
[Sentence] God is to be worshipped with this affection and this desire: that he himself is the reward of his worship. For he who worships God in order to earn something other than God himself does not worship God, but what he longs to obtain.
[Epigram] God is to be worshipped with this devotion of desire, that God himself be the whole reward of justice. For one who hopes that he can be made blessed by some other gift loves not him whom he asks, but what he wants to have.
Gen 15:1 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God must be worshipped for his own sake, as himself the reward; whoever worships him for some other gain loves the gain, not God.
- God as the reward echoes Gen 15:1.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; stray word): aliud mag quam → aliud quam; Non e quod → Non quem.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 20 (PL 51:505; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/20). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/20
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 21
21PL 51:505
De occultis cordis alieni temere judicare peccatum est; et eum cujus non videntur opera nisi bona, ex suspicione reprehendere iniquum est. Cum eorum quæ homini sunt incognita solus Deus judex sit justus, qui et inspector est verus. Culpare in quoquam quæ non sunt nota, malignum est, Praesertim si quae cognita sunt bona sunt. Non pateant faciles sævis rumoribus aures. Quae nescire juvat, credere non libeat. Linquantur secreta Deo, qui si quid opertum est Inspicit, et nullis indiget indiciis.
[Sentence] To judge rashly of the secrets of another's heart is a sin; and to blame on suspicion one whose works are seen to be only good is unjust. For of the things unknown to man God alone is the just judge, who is also the true inspector.
[Epigram] To blame in anyone what is not known is malicious, especially if what is known is good. Let ears not lie easily open to savage rumors; what it is good not to know, let it not please us to believe. Let secrets be left to God, who sees whatever is hidden and needs no evidence.
Matt 7:1 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Cor 4:5 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: We must not judge the hidden thoughts of others on suspicion, especially when their visible works are good, but leave secrets to God.
- Not judging alludes to Matt 7:1 and 1 Cor 4:5.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips; split word): dicare perca tum → judicare peccatum; Cum eo rum → Cum eorum; MulUS Deus → solus Deus; Cutpare in quoquam quæ non sunt nuta → Culpare in quoquam quæ non sunt nota; iuvat → juvat.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 21 (PL 51:505; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/21). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/21
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 22
22PL 51:505
Divini est muneris, cum et recta cogitamus, et pedes nostros a falsitate et injustitia continemus. Quoties enim bona agimus, Deus in nobis atque nobiscum ut operemur operatur. Non dubie nostri Deus est et rector, et auctor, Cum toto affectu quae bona sunt gerimus. Ex operum specie clarebunt intima cordis, Quisve hominis mentem spiritus intus alit. Sanctus enim sanctos facit, et de lumine lumen Exoritur: nullus fit bonus absque Bono.
[Sentence] It is of the divine gift when we both think rightly and keep our feet from falsehood and injustice. For whenever we do good, God works in us and with us that we may work.
[Epigram] Without doubt God is our ruler and author when we do what is good with our whole affection. From the look of the works the depths of the heart will shine out, and which spirit feeds a man's mind within. For the Holy One makes holy ones, and light rises from light: no one becomes good without the Good.
Phil 2:13 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 119:101 (118:101 LXX) (echo, low confidence) · Mark 10:18 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Right thought and conduct are God's gift, since he works in us that we may work; no one is good without the Good.
- God working in us alludes to Phil 2:13; keeping the feet from evil to Ps 119:101 (LXX 118:101).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): cunt et recta → cum et recta.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 22 (PL 51:505; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/22). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/22
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 23
23PL 51:505
Justo judicio Dei datur plerumque peccatoribus optata potestas qua sanctos ipsius persequantur, ut qui Spiritu Dei juvantur et aguntur, fiant per laborum exercitia clariores. Quod plerumque mali in sanctos sævire sinuntur, Quodque bonis pravi sæpe nocere queunt; Absque Dei nutu non fit, qui corda suorum, His etiam bellis glorificanda probat. Crescunt virtutum palmæ, crescuntque coronae, Mutantur mundi praelia pace Dei.
[Sentence] By God's just judgment the power they desire is often given to sinners, by which they persecute his saints, so that those who are helped and led by the Spirit of God may become more glorious through the exercise of labors.
[Epigram] That the wicked are often allowed to rage against the saints, and that the depraved can often harm the good, does not happen without the nod of God, who tests the hearts of his own, to be glorified even by these wars. The palms of the virtues grow, and the crowns grow, and the battles of the world are changed into the peace of God.
Rom 8:14 (allusion, medium confidence) · Jas 1:12 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God permits the wicked to persecute the saints so that, tested by these trials, they may grow in virtue and glory.
- Those led by the Spirit of God allude to Rom 8:14.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; leaked footnote letter; split word): labo rum → laborum; queunt;v Absque → queunt; Absque; palimæ → palmæ; coronae, o Mutantur → coronae, Mutantur.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 23 (PL 51:505; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/23). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/23
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 24
24PL 51:505
Non est vera scientia boni, nisi ad hoc comprehendatur, ut agatur. Non enim utiliter meditatur legem Dei, qui laborat ut memoria teneat quod actione non implet. Scit legem, docteque tenet jussa Omnipotentis, Qui quod novit agens, diligit id quod agit. Non satis est Domini præceptum volvere lingua: Is meminit legis, qui memor est operis.
[Sentence] There is no true knowledge of the good unless it is grasped in order to be done. For he does not meditate profitably on the law of God who labors to hold in memory what he does not fulfill in action.
[Epigram] He knows the law and holds the commands of the Almighty learnedly who, doing what he knows, loves what he does. It is not enough to roll the Lord's command on the tongue: he remembers the law who is mindful of the work.
Ps 1:2 (echo, low confidence) · Jas 1:22 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Knowledge of God's law is true only when it is put into practice.
- Meditating on the law echoes Ps 1:2; doing what one knows, Jas 1:22.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (split word): compre hendatur → comprehendatur.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 24 (PL 51:505; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/24). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/24
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 25
25PL 51:505
Qui legem Dei diligit, probat se in omnibus iniquis id quod contra legem est odisse, non homines. Legem spernentes odit cum legis amator, Non homines odit, sed reprobat quod agunt.
[Sentence] He who loves the law of God proves that in all the wicked he hates what is against the law, not the men.
[Epigram] When the lover of the law hates those who spurn the law, he does not hate the men, but rejects what they do.
Ps 139:21 (138:21 LXX) (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: A lover of God's law hates the wickedness of the wicked, not the people themselves.
- Hating those who hate the Lord echoes Ps 139:21–22 (LXX 138:21–22), which the sentence interprets.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; split word): Qni legem → Qui legem; ini quis → iniquis; hoMines → homines; Legern → Legem; Non bomines → Non homines.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 25 (PL 51:505; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/25). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/25
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 26
26PL 51:505
Mandata Dei scrutari nisi quieta mens non potest. Ut ergo religiosum exerceatur studium, abigenda sunt jurgia malignorum. Scrutari legem possunt utcumque quieti, Si mundi a strepitu libera corda vacent. Ut mens ergo piis studiis intenta juvetur, Praelia divinus carnea vincat amor. Nam templum Domini per sacra silentia crescit, Et tacite struitur non ruitura domus.
[Sentence] Only a quiet mind can search the commandments of God. So, that religious study may be practiced, the quarrels of the malicious must be driven off.
[Epigram] The quiet can search the law as fully as may be, if their hearts are free and at leisure from the din of the world. So, that the mind intent on pious studies may be helped, let divine love conquer the battles of the flesh. For the temple of the Lord grows through sacred silences, and a house that will not fall is built in quiet.
1 Kgs 6:7 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God's commandments can be searched only by a quiet mind, free of quarrels and the world's noise, as the temple was built in silence.
- The temple built in silence alludes to 1 Kgs 6:7.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips; split word): Madata → Mandata; po test → potest; ab! genda → abigenda; lihera corda vatcent → libera corda vacent.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 26 (PL 51:505; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/26). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/26
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 27
27PL 51:505–507
Nemo tam eruditus, nemo tam doctus est, qui superna illustratione non egeat. Non enim ita ulla divinorum bonorum augmenta sufficiunt, ut non semper supersit aliquid quod mens rationalis et intelligendum desideret et gerendum. Doctrinæ Domini penetralia, tempore in isto, Ad plenum nulli pervia sunt homini. Semper enim sanctis superest quo crescere possint: Et perfectorum gloria principium est. Virtutem virtus pariat, de lumine lumen Prodeat, atque omnis palma gradum faciat. Nam cur non cupide mens quaerat quæ Deus effert, Cui danda ut recte posceret ipse dedit?
[Sentence] No one is so learned, no one so taught, that he does not need illumination from above. For no increases of divine goods are enough that there does not always remain something which the rational mind desires both to understand and to do.
[Epigram] The inner rooms of the Lord's teaching, in this time, lie fully open to no man. For the saints always have something left by which they may grow, and even for the perfect, glory is a beginning. Let virtue beget virtue, let light come forth from light, and let every palm become a step. For why should the mind not eagerly seek what God brings forth, when he himself gave it the power to ask rightly for what is to be given?
Ps 84:7 (83:8 LXX) (echo, low confidence) · Phil 3:12 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: No one is so learned as not to need God's light, since in this life there is always more to understand and do, and the very desire to ask rightly is God's gift.
- Growth from virtue to virtue echoes Ps 84:7 (LXX 83:8); always pressing on, Phil 3:12–14. "Even for the perfect, glory is a beginning" renders an obscure line ("Et perfectorum gloria principium est").
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips; leaked footnote letters; leaked footnote letters and OCR slip; stray letter): illusiratione nonegeat → illustratione non egeat; Non enim aa jta ulla → Non enim ita ulla; quod Ciens rationalis → quod mens rationalis; desideret bb et → desideret et; hominii → homini; erescere → crescere; perfestorum gloris → perfectorum gloria; atque I omnis → atque omnis; eupide → cupide.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 27 (PL 51:505–507; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/27). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/27
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 28
28PL 51:507
Si omnes homines simul consideremus, quorum alii misericordia salvi fiunt, alii veritate damnantur, universae viæ Domini, id est, misericordia et veritas, suo fine distinctæ sunt, Si autem solos sanctos intueamur, non discernuntur hæ viæ Domini. Individua enim ibi est et a misericordia veritas, et a veritate misericordia, quia beatitudo sanctorum et de munere gratiæ est, et de retributione justitiæ. Omnibus in rebus geminum est opus Omnipotentis. Totum aut justitia est quod gerit, aut pietas. Quae simul in terras descendunt lucis ab arce; Ne cuiquam parti desit utrumque bonum. Et quoniam cuncti auxilio miserantis egemus, Præcedit semper gratia justitiam, Damnantem elatos, salvantem justificatos, Quos Deus et donis auxerit et meritis.
[Sentence] If we consider all men together, of whom some are saved by mercy and others condemned by truth, all the ways of the Lord, that is, mercy and truth, are distinguished by their ends. But if we look at the saints alone, these ways of the Lord are not separated. For there truth is inseparable from mercy, and mercy from truth, because the blessedness of the saints is both of the gift of grace and of the retribution of justice.
[Epigram] In all things the work of the Almighty is twofold: all that he does is either justice or kindness. These come down together to earth from the citadel of light, so that neither good is lacking to any part. And since we all need the help of one who has mercy, grace always goes before justice, condemning the proud, saving the justified, whom God has increased both with gifts and with merits.
Ps 25:10 (24:10 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Jas 4:6 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God's ways are mercy and truth: in the lost and the saved they appear separately, but in the saints they are joined, since their blessedness is both grace's gift and justice's reward; grace always comes first.
- "All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth" quotes Ps 25:10 (LXX 24:10).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; line-break debris; split word): sirnul → simul; vise Domini → viæ Domini; veri- las → veritas; intueamunr → intueamur; In dividua enim ibi est et a misericordia → Individua enim ibi est et a misericordia.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 28 (PL 51:507; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/28). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/28
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 29
29PL 51:507
Christianae perfectionis est pacificum esse, etiam cum pacis inimicis, spe correctionis, non consensu malignitatis; ut si nec exemplum, nec cohortationem dilectionis sequantur, causas tamen non habeant quibus odisse nos debeant. Monitus in sanctis pulchra est concordia pacis, Cum multis unum convenit, atque placet. Nec tamen hoc cohibenda modo sunt fœdera amoris, Ut solis pax sit tribuenda bonis. Injustis etiam præstetur justa voluntas, Nec quemquam spernant vota benigna hominem. Non ut amicitiæ vitiis socientur iniquis, Adsit sed pravis ut medicina animis. Quæ si pace sua non sedat turbida corda, Nobis non possit nostra perire quies.
[Sentence] It belongs to Christian perfection to be peaceable even with the enemies of peace, in hope of correcting them, not in consent to their malice; so that if they follow neither the example nor the exhortation of love, they may at least have no grounds for which they ought to hate us.
[Epigram] Beautiful among the saints is the concord of peace, when one agrees with many and is pleasing to them. Yet the bonds of love are not to be so confined that peace is given to the good alone. Let a just goodwill be shown even to the unjust, and let kindly wishes spurn no man; not that friendship be joined to wicked vices, but that medicine be at hand for depraved souls. And if it does not calm troubled hearts with its peace, our own quiet cannot be lost to us.
Ps 120:7 (119:7 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 12:18 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 10:13 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians should keep peace even with those who hate peace, hoping to correct them, without consenting to their wickedness; if they refuse, our own peace remains.
- Peaceable with those who hate peace alludes to Ps 120:7 (LXX 119:7); the peace that returns to the giver echoes Matt 10:13; Rom 12:18. "Among the saints" reads the printed "Monitus" by sense (perhaps Moribus).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip and leaked footnote letter): stque placet. a Nec → atque placet. Nec.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 29 (PL 51:507; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/29). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/29
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 30
30PL 51:507
Custodit nos Dominus ab omni malo, non ut nihil patiamur adversi, sed ut ipsis adversitatibus anima non lædatur. Cum enim tentatio adest, fit quidam in id quod nos impugnat introitus; et cum bono fine, id est, sine vulnere animæ, tentatio consummatur, ad aeternam requiem de profundo temporalis laboris exitur. Sæpe quidem Dominus sic cuncta adversa repellit, Ut nullo attingi vulnere possit homo. Sed mirabilior tunc est manus Omnipotentis, Illata afflictum cum mala non superant. Laudetur custos, virtutem dans toleranti, Intima corrumpat ne furor exterior. Nam non certanti nulla est speranda corona, Palmam, qua capitur gloria, finis habet.
[Sentence] The Lord keeps us from all evil, not so that we suffer nothing adverse, but so that the soul is not harmed by the adversities themselves. For when temptation is present, there is a kind of going in to what attacks us; and when the temptation is completed with a good end, that is, without wound to the soul, there is a going out from the depth of temporal labor to eternal rest.
[Epigram] Often indeed the Lord so drives back all adversities that man can be touched by no wound. But the hand of the Almighty is more wonderful when the evils brought upon the afflicted do not overcome him. Let the guardian be praised, who gives strength to the one who endures, lest the fury outside corrupt what is within. For no crown is to be hoped for by one who does not contend: the end holds the palm by which glory is won.
Ps 121:7 (120:7 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 121:8 (120:8 LXX) (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Cor 10:13 (allusion, medium confidence) · 2 Tim 2:5 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God keeps his people from evil not by sparing them all trials but by keeping their souls unharmed in them, which is the greater wonder; the crown goes to those who contend.
- "The Lord keeps us from all evil" and the going in and going out allude to Ps 121:7–8 (LXX 120:7–8); temptation with its outcome to 1 Cor 10:13; the crown for the one who contends to 2 Tim 2:5.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; split word; stray letter and OCR slip): malo, I non ut ni bil → malo, non ut nihil; con summatur → consummatur; tem poralis → temporalis; re pellit → repellit; Ut nulle attingi → Ut nullo attingi.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 30 (PL 51:507; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/30). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/30
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 31
31PL 51:507
Ad cœlestis Jerusalem consortium non ascendunt, nisi qui toto corde profitentur non esse proprii operis sed divini muneris quod ascendunt. Coelestem ad patriam tendens, cognosce vocantem, Cujus proveheris, si bene curris, ope. Nam si te virtute tua ad cœlestia credis Scandere, de superis pulsus ad ima cades.
[Sentence] None ascend to the fellowship of the heavenly Jerusalem except those who profess with their whole heart that it is not of their own work but of divine gift that they ascend.
[Epigram] As you make for the heavenly homeland, recognize the one who calls you, by whose help you are carried forward, if you run well. For if you believe you will climb to heaven by your own virtue, you will be thrust from on high and fall to the depths.
Heb 12:22 (allusion, medium confidence) · Gal 4:26 (echo, low confidence) · Gal 5:7 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Only those who confess that their ascent to the heavenly Jerusalem is God's gift, not their own work, will reach it.
- The heavenly Jerusalem alludes to Gal 4:26 and Heb 12:22; running well to Gal 5:7.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; split word): vocan tem → vocantem; ScandaM. de → Scandere, de.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 31 (PL 51:507; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/31). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/31
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 32
32PL 51:507
Omnes qui in Christo volunt pie vivere, necesse est ut ab impiis et dissimilibus patiantur opprobria; et despiciantur tamquam stulti et insani, qui præsentia bona perdant, et invisibilia sibi ac futura promittant. Sed hæc despectio et hæc irrisio in ipsos retorquebitur, cum et abundantia eorum in egestatem, et superbia transierit in confusionem. Impia pars mundi parti est infesta piorum, Nec tolerare potest dissimiles animos: Ridens nolentes opibus praesentibus uti, Sperantesque sibi credita posse dari. Sed spernenda haec sunt populis opprobria sanctis, Quæ stulte jaciunt corda aliena Deo. Nam spes nostra ex hoc visu fit certior omni, Quod spondeus quidquid credimus, hoc Deus est.
[Sentence] All who will to live piously in Christ must suffer reproaches from the impious and from those unlike them, and be despised as foolish and mad, as people who lose present goods and promise themselves invisible and future ones. But this contempt and this mockery will be turned back on the mockers, when their abundance has passed into want and their pride into confusion.
[Epigram] The impious part of the world is hostile to the part of the pious, and cannot bear souls unlike itself: it laughs at those who will not use present wealth and hope that what they believe can be given them. But holy peoples should scorn these reproaches, which hearts estranged from God foolishly hurl. For our hope becomes surer from this whole spectacle, since the one who pledges whatever we believe is God.
2 Tim 3:12 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 4:10 (echo, low confidence) · 2 Cor 4:18 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The godly will be mocked as fools for giving up present goods in hope of future ones, but the mockery will rebound on the mockers, and the hope is sure because God made the pledge.
- "All who will to live piously in Christ" quotes 2 Tim 3:12; fools for Christ alludes to 1 Cor 4:10. "The one who pledges" reads the printed "spondeus" as spondens, by sense.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips; leaked footnote letter; split word): dissiimilibus → dissimilibus; stulli → stulti; qui sentia bona → qui præsentia bona; retorquebitur, o cum → retorquebitur, cum; egesta tem → egestatem; iii confusionem → in confusionem; Mec toferare → Nec tolerare.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 32 (PL 51:507; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/32). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/32
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 33
33PL 51:507–509
Tota fidelium salus, tota patientiæ fortitudo ad eum qui in sanctis suis est mirabilis referenda est; quia nisi in illis Deus esset, furori impiorum fragilitas humana succumberet. Cum constans anima adversis non frangitur ullis, Et fidei virtus intemerata manet: Norit inesse sibi Dominum patientia fortis, Inque ejus donum quod steterit referat. Nam quod non cecidit propriis si viribus aptat, Hoc ipso quo se stare putat cecidit.
[Sentence] The whole salvation of the faithful, the whole strength of patience, must be referred to him who is wonderful in his saints; because unless God were in them, human frailty would give way to the fury of the impious.
[Epigram] When the steadfast soul is broken by no adversities, and the strength of faith remains undefiled, let strong patience know that the Lord is within it, and refer to his gift the fact that it has stood. For if it credits to its own strength that it did not fall, by that very thing by which it thinks it stands, it has fallen.
Ps 68:35 (67:36 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 10:12 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The endurance of the faithful under persecution is God's work in them; whoever credits his steadfastness to himself has already fallen.
- "Wonderful in his saints" quotes Ps 68:35 (LXX 67:36, Vulgate); "thinks it stands" alludes to 1 Cor 10:12.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; split word): toxa patientiæ → tota patientiæ; fra gilitas → fragilitas.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 33 (PL 51:507–509; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/33). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/33
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 34
34PL 51:509
Ita et a plebibus principes, et a servis domini sunt ferendi, ut sub exercitatione tolerantiæ sustineantur temporalia, et sperentur æterna. Auget enim merita virtutis, quod propositum non violat religionis. Reddendum est quidquid mundi bene postulat ordo, Propositumque piæ non violat fidei. Mitibus et sanctis nulla est spernenda potestas: Æquum servire est regibus, et dominis. Ut Christi famulis ad verum prosit honorem Dilexisse bonos, et tolerasse malos.
[Sentence] Princes are to be borne by their peoples, and masters by their slaves, in such a way that temporal things are endured in the exercise of patience and eternal things are hoped for. For it increases the merits of virtue that it does not violate the purpose of religion.
[Epigram] Whatever the order of the world rightly demands is to be rendered, and it does not violate the purpose of pious faith. No power is to be spurned by the meek and holy: it is right to serve kings and masters, so that it may profit Christ's servants toward true honor to have loved the good and endured the bad.
Rom 13:1 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Pet 2:18 (allusion, medium confidence) · Eph 6:5 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians should submit to rulers and masters, rendering what the world's order rightly requires, as long as their faith is not violated, loving the good and enduring the bad.
- Submission to rulers and masters alludes to Rom 13:1–7, 1 Pet 2:13–18, and Eph 6:5–8. The sentence, like the epigram, accepts the social order of its time, including slavery; translated as written.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips, line-break debris, and leaked footnote letter): sperentur.terna. Auget enim me'i- ta a virtutis → sperentur æterna. Auget enim merita virtutis; oldo → ordo; spernonda → spernenda; ragibus → regibus.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 34 (PL 51:509; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/34). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/34
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 35
35PL 51:509
Recti corde de præceptis Dei et constitutionibus mundi non queruntur, quia justum est æquanimiter omnia accipi, quæ judicaturus voluit tolerare. Dum mutabilium decurrunt tempora rerum, Dumque suis mundus motibus atteritur; Rectorum est adversa pati, et tolerare modeste Nec querulo in quoquam voce movere Deum. Cujus judicio nulli parcetur iniquo, Et perpes justos gloria suscipiet.
[Sentence] The upright of heart do not complain about the commands of God and the arrangements of the world, because it is just to accept with an even mind everything which he who is to judge has willed to be endured.
[Epigram] While the times of changing things run their course, and the world is worn down by its own motions, it belongs to the upright to suffer adversity and endure it modestly, and not to stir up God against anyone with a complaining voice. By his judgment no unjust man will be spared, and everlasting glory will receive the just.
Notes and citation
Summary: The upright accept with equanimity whatever God wills them to endure, without complaint, trusting his final judgment.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips; stray letter; words joined in the digital text): Recti eorde do præceptis → Recti corde de præceptis; voluit e tolerare → voluit tolerare; adversapati → adversa pati; quoquum → quoquam; suscipiet. I → suscipiet..
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 35 (PL 51:509; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/35). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/35
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 36
36PL 51:509
Omnis sancti aedificii status, sicut Deo cooperante proficit, ita Deo custodiente consistit. Quoniam utilis præpositorum custodia est, cum Spiritus Dei populo suo præsidet, et non solum greges, sed etiam ipsos dignatur custodire pastores. Cum lapides vivi pacis compage ligantur, Inque pares numeros convenit una domus, Claret opus Domini, qui totam construit aulam. Effectumque piis dat studiis hominum. Quorum perpetui decoris structura manebit, Si perfecte auctor protegat, atque regat.
[Sentence] The whole standing of the holy building, as it advances with God cooperating, so it holds firm with God guarding it. For the watch of those set over others is useful when the Spirit of God presides over his people, and deigns to guard not only the flocks but the shepherds themselves.
[Epigram] When living stones are bound by the joint of peace, and one house comes together in equal measures, the work of the Lord shines out, who builds the whole hall and gives effect to the pious efforts of men. Its structure of everlasting beauty will remain if its author perfectly protects and rules it.
1 Pet 2:5 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 127:1 (126:1 LXX) (allusion, medium confidence) · Eph 2:21 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The church, God's building, grows by his cooperation and stands by his protection; even its shepherds need his guarding.
- Living stones allude to 1 Pet 2:5; the Lord guarding the city and building the house to Ps 127:1 (LXX 126:1).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips; leaked footnote letter and split word; split word; split word and OCR slip): aedificil → aedificii; Deo a coope rante → Deo cooperante; Duo custodiente → Deo custodiente; Quo niam utilis epræpositorum → Quoniam utilis præpositorum; Spi ritus → Spiritus; eliam ipsos dignatur cu,odire pastures → etiam ipsos dignatur custodire pastores.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 36 (PL 51:509; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/36). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/36
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 37
37PL 51:509
Æternæ civitatis æterna sunt gaudia, et stantium dierum perpes infinitas nec variabitur nec labetur, quia incommutabili pace potientur, quorum omnium erit bonum, quod fuerit etiam singulorum. Semper erunt quod sunt æternæ gaudia vitæ; Gaudendi quoniam causa erit ipse Deus. Nec varios parit motus diversa voluntas. Unum erit in cunctis lumen, et unus amor, Inque bonis summis posita experientia felix, Nec volet augeri, nec metuet minui.
[Sentence] The joys of the eternal city are eternal, and the everlasting infinity of its standing days will neither vary nor slip away, because they will enjoy an unchangeable peace, in which the good of all will be what is also the good of each.
[Epigram] The joys of eternal life will always be what they are, since the cause of rejoicing will be God himself. Nor will differing wills bring forth varied motions: one light will be in all, and one love; and happy experience, set amid the highest goods, will neither wish to be increased nor fear to be lessened.
Notes and citation
Summary: The joys of the heavenly city are eternal and unchanging, since God himself is their cause and all share one light and one love.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; split word): dicrum → dierum; om nium → omnium.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 37 (PL 51:509; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/37). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/37
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 38
38PL 51:509
Lex Christi perfectio charitatis est, qua Deus proximusque diligitur: et per quam dicitur Conditori legis, Dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Bene enim exspectat promissionem Dei, qui mandatum ejus exsequitur: nec frustra sperat parcendum peccatis suis, qui ignoscit alienis. Verus amor Christi vera est custodia legis, Et mandata Dei complet amans homines. Quorum ignoscentes culpis sua crimina solvunt, Quodque aliis tribuunt, hoc sibi prospiciunt, Det peccatori veniam peccator, et æqua Conciliet Dominum conditione sibi. Cujus judicium de nostro examine pendet, Quod serimus metimus, quod damus accipimus,
[Sentence] The law of Christ is the perfection of love, by which God and neighbor are loved, and through which it is said to the founder of the law, "Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors." For he who carries out God's command rightly expects God's promise, and he who pardons the sins of others does not hope in vain that his own will be spared.
[Epigram] True love of Christ is the true keeping of the law, and he who loves men fulfills God's commands. Those who forgive the faults of others loose their own crimes, and what they grant to others they provide for themselves. Let a sinner give pardon to a sinner, and on fair terms win the Lord over to himself, whose judgment hangs on our own weighing: what we sow we reap; what we give we receive.
Gal 6:2 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 6:12 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 13:10 (allusion, medium confidence) · Gal 6:7 (allusion, medium confidence) · Luke 6:38 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 6:14 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The law of Christ is love, and the Lord's Prayer shows that those who forgive others will be forgiven, since God judges us by our own measure.
- "The law of Christ" alludes to Gal 6:2; love fulfilling the law to Rom 13:10; the petition quotes Matt 6:12; sowing and reaping and the measure given to Gal 6:7 and Luke 6:38.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slip and stray mark; split word): Detis proximusque → Deus proximusque; Condi tori → Conditori; Bane enim exspectat promissionem Dei. → Bene enim exspectat promissionem Dei,; Quodque allis → Quodque aliis.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 38 (PL 51:509; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/38). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/38
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 39
39PL 51:509
Nihil Deus jubet quod sibi prosit, sed illi cui jubet. Ideo verus est Dominus, qui servo non indiget, et quo servus indiget. Non ideo quidquam mandat Deus, ut sibi prosit, Nec servi officio verus eget Dominus. Cujus præceptis augetur qui famulatur, Fitque minor quisquis negligit imperium. Nam Deus omnipotens, simul omnitenensque potestas, Nil perdit proprium, nil capit occiduum. Numquam non habuit quod habet, dans quidquid haberi Proderit, et sumens non nisi quod dederit.
[Sentence] God commands nothing that profits himself, but only what profits the one he commands. That is why he is the true Lord: he does not need the servant, and the servant needs him.
[Epigram] God does not command anything so that it may profit him, nor does the true Lord need the service of a servant. By his precepts the one who serves is increased, and whoever neglects his command becomes less. For God almighty, at once the power that holds all things, loses nothing of his own, takes in nothing that passes away. He never lacked what he has, giving whatever it will profit us to have, and taking only what he has given.
Acts 17:25 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Chr 29:14 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God's commands benefit not God, who needs nothing, but those who obey them; he receives from us only what he has given.
- God needing nothing from human service alludes to Acts 17:25; receiving only what he has given to 1 Chr 29:14.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slips): Jubet. Ideo verus est Dominus, qui servo npn → jubet. Ideo verus est Dominus, qui servo non.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 39 (PL 51:509; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/39). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/39
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 40
40PL 51:509
Id quod in tempore novum est, non est novum apud Deum qui condidit tempora, et sine tempore habet omnia, quæ suis quibusque temporibus, pro eorum varia ætate, distribuat. Insolitum si quid labentia tempora promunt, Hoc mirum mundus dicit, habetque novum. Sed rerum Auctori nullus non cognitus ordo est; Cernenti quidquid sæcula cuncta ferunt, Quæ non incerto volvunt magna agmina motu. Sed sub judicio stantque fluuntque Dei, Ut nihil existat naturæ in partibus ullis, Quod non ille suo temperet arbitrio,
[Sentence] What is new in time is not new with God, who founded the times and holds without time all the things which he distributes in their several times according to their various ages.
[Epigram] If the gliding times bring out something unusual, the world calls it a wonder and counts it new. But to the Author of things no order is unknown; he sees whatever all the ages bring, which roll their great hosts in no uncertain motion, but both stand and flow under the judgment of God, so that nothing exists in any part of nature which he does not govern by his own will.
Notes and citation
Summary: Nothing that appears new in time is new to God, who holds all times at once and governs everything that happens.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark, leaked margin letter, and OCR slip): non, est novum P apud Deum qui eoudidit → non est novum apud Deum qui condidit.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 40 (PL 51:509; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/40). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/40
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 41
41PL 51:509–511
Mutabilium dispositionem immutabilis ratio Dei continet, ubi sine tempore simul sunt quae in temporibus non simul fiunt quia tempora non simul currunt. Lex æterna Dei stabili regit omnia nutu, Nec mutat vario tempore consilium. Utque locis praesens simul est Deus omnibus unus, Sic ævi metas secum habet, et numeros. Nec serum aut properum sibi sentit in ordine rerum, Cui cuncta assistant acta, et agenda simul.
[Sentence] The unchangeable reason of God holds the arrangement of changeable things, where, without time, those things are together which in time do not happen together, because times do not run together.
[Epigram] The eternal law of God rules all things by a steady nod, and does not change its counsel as the times vary. And as God, being one, is present at once in all places, so he holds with him the bounds and numbers of the ages. Nor does he find anything late or hasty in the order of things, since all things done and to be done stand before him together.
Notes and citation
Summary: God's unchangeable reason holds all changing things together in his eternity, so that for him nothing is early or late.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): agenda mul. → agenda simul..
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 41 (PL 51:509–511; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/41). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/41
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 42
42PL 51:511
Nihil est infelicius felicitate peccantium qua pœnalis nutritur impunitas, et mala voluntas velut hostis interior, roboratur. Qui se peccatis gaudet feliciter uti, Infelix nimis est prosperitate sua. Dumque capit miseros effectus prava voluntas, A vera semper luce fit exterior. Sumens pestifera de consuetudine robur, Et sua complectens vincula mortis amor. Deficiant potius vana oblectamina mundi, Subdanturque pio colla domanda jugo, Inque putres fibras descendat cura medentis: Ut blandum morbum pellat amica salus.
[Sentence] Nothing is unhappier than the happiness of sinners, by which a penal impunity is fed and the evil will, like an enemy within, is strengthened.
[Epigram] He who rejoices to enjoy his sins with good fortune is all too unhappy in his prosperity. And while the depraved will gains its wretched ends, it moves ever further outside the true light, taking strength from a pestilent habit, the love of death embracing its own chains. Rather let the vain delights of the world fail, and let necks that must be tamed be put under the pious yoke, and let the physician's care go down into the rotten flesh, so that kindly health may drive out the flattering disease.
Notes and citation
Summary: The success of sinners is their greatest misfortune, since it feeds their evil will; it is better that worldly pleasures fail and the soul be healed.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; split word): poe nalis → pœnalis; roboramr → roboratur; coluntas → voluntas; doruanda → domanda.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 42 (PL 51:511; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/42). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/42
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 43
43PL 51:511
Legis littera quæ dicit non esse peccandum, si Spiritus vivificans desit, occidit. Sciri enim peccatum facit potius quam caveri: et ideo magis augeri quam minui, quia malæ concupiscentiæ etiam prævaricatio legis accedit. Inde peccati lex est plectenda vetando, Quæ, nisi cor mundet Spiritus, interimit. Nullus enim est insons sola formidine pœnæ, Qui sanctum et justum non amat imperium, Hunc tamen affectum non lex, sed gratia confert: Quodque jubet legis littera, velle facit.
[Sentence] The letter of the law, which says that one must not sin, kills if the life-giving Spirit is absent. For it causes sin to be known rather than avoided, and therefore increased rather than lessened, because to evil desire is added also the transgression of the law.
[Epigram] Hence the law, by forbidding, must punish sin, and, unless the Spirit cleanses the heart, it kills. For no one is innocent by fear of punishment alone who does not love the holy and just command. Yet it is not the law but grace that confers this affection, and makes us will what the letter of the law commands.
2 Cor 3:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 7:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 7:12 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rom 5:20 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Without the Spirit the law only makes sin known and increases it; grace alone gives the love by which its commands are willed.
- "The letter kills" alludes to 2 Cor 3:6; the law making sin known and increasing it to Rom 7:7–13; "holy and just" to Rom 7:12.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; leaked footnote letter, split word, and OCR slip; stray mark; words joined in the digital text): Legislittera → Legis littera; occidit. e Sciri enim pec catum facit polus → occidit. Sciri enim peccatum facit potius; Indes peccati → Inde peccati; Quæ. nisi → Quæ, nisi; euim → enim; legis lt era → legis littera.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 43 (PL 51:511; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/43). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/43
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 44
44PL 51:511
Lex data est ut gratia quæreretur, et gratia data est ut lex impleretur. Neque enim suo vitio non implebatur, sed vitio prudentiæ carnis, quod vitium per legem demonstrandum, per gratiam sanandum fuit. Non servit jussis legis prudentia carnis, Peccati stimulos nec superare potest. Sed quia mens anceps patitur mala corporis aegri, Quærere divinum cogimur auxilium. Lex igitur facit ut poscatur gratia Christi, Ardua qua legis jussa queant fieri. Nec jam non valeant carnales vincere sensus, Quos justæ legis conditor ipse juvat.
[Sentence] The law was given that grace might be sought, and grace was given that the law might be fulfilled. For it was not by its own fault that the law was not fulfilled, but by the fault of the prudence of the flesh; and this fault had to be shown by the law and healed by grace.
[Epigram] The prudence of the flesh does not serve the commands of the law, nor can it overcome the goads of sin. But because the wavering mind suffers the ills of the sick body, we are driven to seek divine help. The law, then, brings it about that the grace of Christ is asked for, by which the hard commands of the law can be done. And those whom the founder of the just law himself helps are no longer unable to conquer their fleshly senses.
Rom 8:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 8:4 (allusion, medium confidence) · Gal 3:24 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The law shows the weakness of the flesh so that grace may be sought, and grace enables the law to be fulfilled.
- "The prudence of the flesh" is the Latin of Rom 8:7 ("the mind of the flesh"); the law fulfilled through grace alludes to Rom 8:3–4; the law leading to Christ to Gal 3:24.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; split words): impl retur. Neque enim suo vitio non im pleb tur. → impleretur. Neque enim suo vitio non implebatur,; queant fleri → queant fieri.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 44 (PL 51:511; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/44). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/44
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 45
45PL 51:511
Hoc promittit Deus, quod ipse facit. Non enim ipse promittit, et alius facit, quod jam non est promittere, sed prædicere. Ideo non ex operibus, sed ex vocante; ne ipsorum sit, non Dei, et merces non imputetur secundum gratiam, sed secundum debitum, atque ita gratia jam non sit gratia. Quae Deus omnipotens promittit, perficit ipse, Nec proprium externis viribus implet opus. Hinc secura fides sperat quod credit, amatque Auctorem, qui quod spondet, et efficiet. Nam si quae Dominus promittit, non operatur, Sed solum humanum prævidet arbitrium: Non hæc dona ejus, sed sunt prædicta vocanda. Ceu quisquam ex proprio sit bonus, absque Deo. Quod quia non recipit pietas, veroque repugnat, Gratia non reparet, gratia justificet. Quæ sic in cunctis implet sua dona vocatis, Ut quorum dux est, fiat et ipsa comes.
[Sentence] God promises what he himself does. For he does not promise and another do it; that would no longer be promising but foretelling. Therefore it is "not from works, but from him who calls," lest it be theirs and not God's, and the reward be reckoned not according to grace but according to debt, and so grace be no longer grace.
[Epigram] What God almighty promises, he himself accomplishes, and does not fulfill his own work by outside powers. Hence faith, secure, hopes for what it believes, and loves the Author, who will also carry out what he pledges. For if what the Lord promises he does not work, but only foresees human choice, these are not to be called his gifts, but predictions, as though anyone could be good of himself, without God. Since piety does not accept this, and it fights against the truth, let grace restore us, let grace justify us; grace, which so fulfills its gifts in all who are called that it becomes the companion of those whose guide it is.
Rom 9:12 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 4:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 11:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 4:21 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God promises what he himself will do, so salvation is not from works but from God's calling; if God merely foresaw human choices, his promises would be predictions, not gifts.
- "Not from works, but from him who calls" quotes Rom 9:12 (9:11 in the Vulgate); reward reckoned by debt alludes to Rom 4:4; "grace no longer grace" to Rom 11:6; God able to do what he promised to Rom 4:21. "Let grace restore us" reads the printed "non" as nos, by sense.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; split word and stray mark; stray mark): promit it Deus. quod → promittit Deus, quod; prominere → promittere; gratiam. sed → gratiam, sed; Aurtorem → Auctorem; vocalis → vocatis.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 45 (PL 51:511; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/45). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/45
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 46
46PL 51:511
Sicut non impediunt ab æterna vita justum quædam peccata venialia, sine quibus hæc vita non ducitur, sic ad salutem æternam nihil prosunt impio aliqua bona opera, sine quibus difficilime vita cujuslibet pessimi hominis invenitur. Ut quaedam tenues maculæ in splendore piorum, Major virtutum quas vacuat numerus, Æternæ donis nequeunt obsistere vitae, Nec merita obscurat grandia culpa levis: Sic aliquid plerumque boni pars impia gestat, Magni mole mali quod facile obruitur. Nec prodest quiddam recti sapuisse malignis, Si verum et summum non coluere Deum. Una fides igitur, spes una est, atque amor unus, Qua fiat justus, sitque beatus homo. Nam bona, quae pravis naturæ ex dote supersunt, Augent peccati pondera, non minuunt.
[Sentence] Just as certain venial sins, without which this life is not lived, do not keep the just man from eternal life, so some good works, without which the life of even the worst man is very rarely found, are of no use to the impious for eternal salvation.
[Epigram] As certain slight stains in the splendor of the pious, which the greater number of their virtues cancels out, cannot stand in the way of the gift of eternal life, and a light fault does not obscure great merits, so the impious part often carries something good, which is easily buried by the mass of great evil. Nor does it profit the malicious to have known something right, if they have not worshipped the true and highest God. One faith, then, one hope, and one love is that by which a man becomes just and is blessed. For the goods that remain to the depraved from the dowry of nature increase the weight of their sin, not lessen it.
1 Cor 13:13 (allusion, medium confidence) · Eph 4:5 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Small daily sins do not shut the just out of eternal life, and the occasional good works of the impious do not save them; only faith, hope, and love make a man just.
- Faith, hope, and love allude to 1 Cor 13:13; "one faith" to Eph 4:5.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips and split word; split word): ab aterna vita justum quæ dam peccna → ab æterna vita justum quædam peccata; du citur → ducitur; prosuut → prosunt; cu juslibet → cujuslibet; Æternsædonis → Æternæ donis; summuin → summum; Qun fiat → Qua fiat.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 46 (PL 51:511; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/46). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/46
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 47
47PL 51:511–513
Cum mala voluntas potestatem accipit efficiendi quod cupit, ex judicio Dei venit, apud quem non est iniquitas. Punit enim etiam isto modo nec ideo injuste quia occulte. Cæterum iniquus puniri se ignorat, nisi cum manifesto supplicio senserit nolens, quantum mali sit, quod perpetravit volens. Cum datur injusto peccandi optata potestas, Ut mala mens prave quod cupit efficiat, Ira Dei magna est, qua multos sic quoque punit, Ut quibus exsultant criminibus pereant. Crescit enim occulte cum longo pœna reatu, Ausibus illicitis si nihil obstiterit. Et magis errantibus ne parcant flagra timendum est, Quam ne non fiat quod voluisse nocet.
[Sentence] When an evil will receives the power to accomplish what it desires, this comes from the judgment of God, with whom there is no iniquity. For he punishes in this way too, and not unjustly because hiddenly. But the unjust man does not know he is being punished, unless by some open penalty he feels, against his will, how much evil there is in what he did by his will.
[Epigram] When the unjust are given the power to sin that they desire, so that the evil mind may perversely accomplish what it wants, great is the wrath of God, by which he punishes many in this way too, so that they perish by the very crimes in which they exult. For the penalty grows hiddenly along with long-standing guilt, if nothing has stood in the way of their lawless daring. And it is more to be feared that the scourges spare the erring than that what it harms to have willed is not carried out.
Rom 9:14 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rom 1:24 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: When God allows the wicked to do what they want, he is already punishing them, hiddenly but justly; it is worse for sinners to be spared than to be thwarted.
- "With whom there is no iniquity" alludes to Rom 9:14; God giving people over to their desires to Rom 1:24–28.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips; leaked margin letter; split word): judicto Dei venit, apud quem nOli → judicio Dei venit, apud quem non; igno rat → ignorat; manigesto → manifesto; mala inens → mala mens; efficiat, P Ira → efficiat, Ira; Ausibns → Ausibus; erramini → errantibus; Qua:u ne non fiat quod voluisse nucet → Quam ne non fiat quod voluisse nocet.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 47 (PL 51:511–513; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/47). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/47
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 48
48PL 51:513
Omnia vitia in male factis tantummodo valent; sola superbia etiam in recte factis cavenda est. Omne genus vitii proprio tantum valet actu, Et peccata suam quæque gerunt speciem. Sola est innumeris armata superbia telis, Cui possint vires et bene gesta dare.
[Sentence] All vices have force only in evil deeds; pride alone must be guarded against even in deeds rightly done.
[Epigram] Every kind of vice has force only in its own act, and sins each bear their own form. Pride alone is armed with countless darts, for even good deeds can give it strength.
Notes and citation
Summary: Other vices work only through evil deeds, but pride can feed even on good ones.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips; stray letters): male rach → male factis; etiam in II recte → etiam in recte; Cui po sint vires, et hene → Cui possint vires et bene.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 48 (PL 51:513; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/48). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/48
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
Chapter 49
49PL 51:513
Interest plurimum qualis sit usus, vel earum rerum quæ prosperæ dicuntur, vel earum quæ dicuntur adversæ. Nam bonus temporalibus nec bonis extollitur, nec malis frangitur; malus autem ideo hujusmodi infelicitate punitur, quia felicitate corrumpitur. In rebus mundi non idem est omnibus usus, Nec cuncti paribus cuncta ferunt animis. Namque bonos non blanda inflant, non aspera frangunt. Sed fidei invictæ gaudia vera juvant. Terræ autem, et feni breviter florentis amator Seu caret optans, seu fruitur, miser est.
[Sentence] It matters very much what use is made either of the things called prosperous or of those called adverse. For the good man is neither lifted up by temporal goods nor broken by evils; but the bad man is punished by this kind of unhappiness because he is corrupted by happiness.
[Epigram] In the things of the world the use is not the same for all, nor do all bear all things with equal minds. For flattering things do not puff up the good, nor harsh things break them; the true joys of unconquered faith sustain them. But the lover of the earth, and of the grass that blooms for a short while, is wretched whether he lacks it and longs for it, or enjoys it.
Isa 40:6 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Prosperity and adversity are judged by how they are used: the good are neither puffed up nor broken, while the lover of earthly things is wretched either way.
- The briefly blooming grass alludes to Isa 40:6–8.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; stray letter; stray mark and OCR slip): earnm → earum; tempor libus → temporalibus; cuncta e ferunt → cuncta ferunt; florenis → florentis; optans. seu fruitur, miser cst → optans, seu fruitur, miser est.
Cite (SBL): Prosper of Aquitaine, Epigr. 49 (PL 51:513; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/49). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/prosper-epigrammata-sententiis/49
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-prosper-epigrammata-sententiis-49) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of Migne's Patrologia Latina 51 (Corpus Corporum digital text, CC BY-SA; corrections logged); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.