To the Church (Against Avarice) 3.64–3.95
Latin text: CSEL 8 (Latin text: CSEL, digitized by Open Greek and Latin (csel-dev, University of Leipzig), CC BY-SA 4.0).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Chapter 3
3.64CSEL 8:290–291
dic mihi, quisquis ille es, qui credere te iudicium dei dicis, tu si uel supradictorum exemplo hominum iudicandum te esse a deo crederes, nonne spem ac salutem tuam quolibet pretio conparares? sed non credis utique, non credis, et licet credulitatem tuam uerbis uelis adseuerare, non credis; uerbis enim, ut ait apostolus, confiteris sed factis negas.
Tell me, whoever you are, who say you believe in God’s judgment: if you believed, even after the example of the men just mentioned, that you would be judged by God, would you not purchase your hope and salvation at any price? But you certainly do not believe, you do not believe; and though you wish to assert your belief in words, you do not believe; for, as the apostle says, you confess in words but deny in deeds.
Titus 1:16 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Not preparing for God’s judgment shows lack of belief.
- Titus 1:16.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark): non credis utique,. non credis → non credis utique, non credis.
Topics: Ethics, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.64 (CSEL 8:290–291; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-64). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-64
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.65CSEL 8:291
denique ut infidelitatem tuam tibimet et te ipso probem, dic mihi, obsecro, quisquis ille es, qui substantiam tuam uel propinquo cuipiam diuiti uel adfini, uel, si hi forte desunt, etiam extraneo derelinquis, cur eam non sanus a te atque incolumis abdicasti? cur non sospes ac uegetus heredibus tradidisti, sed in testamento ipso prouidentissime canes et sollicite ac diligenter inscribis: quando ego ex rebus humanis excessero, tunc mihi tu ille carissime heres esto?
Finally, to prove your unbelief to you by yourself, tell me, I beg, whoever you are, who leave your substance to some rich relative or in-law, or, if these are perhaps lacking, even to a stranger: why did you not give it away when you were healthy and well? Why did you not hand it over to your heirs while safe and vigorous, but in the will itself you most providently stipulate, and carefully and diligently write: “When I have departed from human affairs, then be you, my dearest so-and-so, my heir”?
Notes and citation
Summary: Testators keep their goods until death, showing they value them for themselves.
- The quoted clause echoes the standard Roman testamentary formula.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; stray accent): infidelitafcem → infidelitatem; àdfini → adfini; uegietus → uegetus; tutic mihi → tunc mihi.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.65 (CSEL 8:291; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-65). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-65
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.66CSEL 8:291
dic mihi, quaeso, cur huic carissimo, ut ipse ais, ac deuinctissimo tuo tamdiu nihil de tuo tribuis tamdiu nihil de tuo tradis, quamdiu te putas esse uicturum, sed tum cum uides esse te moriturum? et quid dico, cum esse te moriturum uides? immo id caues prouidentissime, ne uel spirante uel moriente te quidquam de tuo habeat, sed iam defuncto omnino, iam mortuo. et mirum est, quod hoc ipsum sinis, ut iam funerato te tua habeat, et non iam exportato atque tumulato. quamuis etiam in hoc, quod ais quando ego ex rebus humanis excessero, id ipsum cauisse uidearis. hoc est enim ex rebus humanis penitus excedere, totum omnino cum suo corpore hominem in praesentia humanarum rerum esse desisse.
Tell me, I beg, why you give this “dearest,” as you call him, this most closely bound to you, nothing of yours so long, hand over nothing of yours so long as you think you will live, but only when you see you are about to die? And why do I say when you see you are about to die? Rather you most providently guard against his having anything of yours while you are still breathing or dying, but only when you are wholly departed, already dead. And it is a wonder that you allow even this, that he have your goods when you are already laid out, and not only when you have been carried out and buried. Though even in this, in saying “when I have departed from human affairs,” you seem to have guarded against that very thing. For to depart wholly from human affairs is for the whole man, with his body, to have ceased to be present among human things.
Notes and citation
Summary: Testators give nothing until they are wholly gone.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips and stray marks): esse uicteum → esse uicturum; sinis, Ut iam → sinis, ut iam; quod ais cquando ego ex. rebus humanis excessero) → quod ais quando ego ex rebus humanis excessero.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.66 (CSEL 8:291; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-66). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-66
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.67CSEL 8:291–292
dic mihi itaque, cur haec tam prouide in testamento canes, cur tam sollicite ac prudenter interseris? absque dubio, quia necessariam tibi, dum uiuis, rem tuam iudicas, quia alienare te facultatibus tuis non uis et iniquissimum putas uiuo te et incolumi alium tuo diuitem fieri, te autem mendicitate consumi. uerum est nec inrationabilem curam abnuo, et quidquid a te in hunc modum dicitur probo. sed in uno tamen mihi satis fieri a te cupio.
Tell me, then, why do you stipulate these things so providently in the will, why do you insert them so carefully and prudently? Without doubt because you judge your property necessary to you while you live, because you do not want to cut yourself off from your means, and you think it most unjust that while you are alive and well another should be made rich with what is yours and you be consumed by beggary. That is true, and I do not reject the care as unreasonable, and I approve whatever you say in this way. But on one point I want you to satisfy me.
Notes and citation
Summary: The testator keeps his goods because he thinks them necessary to him while alive.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.67 (CSEL 8:291–292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-67). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-67
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.68CSEL 8:292
quid est quod tu, qui tibi usum rerum tuarum tantopere necessarium putas, fructus ac reditus facultatis tuae post mortem necessarios esse non putas? dicis absque dubio, quia mortuo nihil opus est nec reseruandum mihi quidquam in tempus illud est, quia defunctus ac nihil sentiens nec delectari possum possessione rerum mearum neque amissione cruciari.
Why is it that you, who think the use of your goods so necessary for yourself, do not think the fruits and revenues of your means necessary after death? You say, without doubt: “Because a dead man needs nothing, and nothing need be kept for me for that time, since, dead and without feeling, I can neither be delighted by the possession of my goods nor tormented by their loss.”
Notes and citation
Summary: The testator assumes he will need nothing after death.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.68 (CSEL 8:292; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-68). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-68
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.69CSEL 8:292–293
euidens causa est. ergo idcirco moriens substantiam tuam alteri deputas, quia capere ex ea fructus post mortem ipse non possis. sed quid, quod electissimum uas dei apostolus Paulus testificatur et clamat, quod quaecumque homo in uita hac seminauerit, haec post mortem metat, et qui parce seminat parce et metat, et qui seminat in benedictione ex benedictione et metat. ex quo aperte intellegi uoluit eos, qui seminant in parcitate benedictionem metere non posse. cum enim dicens: qui parce seminat parce et metet, et qui seminat in benedictione ex benedictione et metet, euidenter utique benedictionem in sola posuerit largitate, ostendit parcos seminatores mendicitatem largos benedictionem esse messuros.
The reason is plain. So you assign your substance to another when dying because you yourself cannot take fruit from it after death. But what of the fact that the most chosen vessel of God, the apostle Paul, testifies and cries out that whatever a man sows in this life, this he reaps after death; and he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows in blessing will also reap from blessing? By this he wanted it clearly understood that those who sow in stinginess cannot reap blessing. For in saying “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows in blessing will also reap from blessing,” since he plainly placed blessing in generosity alone, he showed that stingy sowers will reap beggary and generous ones blessing.
Gal 6:7 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 9:6 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Paul teaches that what one sows in this life one reaps after death.
- Gal 6:7–8; 2 Cor 9:6.
Topics: Ethics, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.69 (CSEL 8:292–293; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-69). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-69
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.70CSEL 8:293
Sed fortasse haec tibi, quicumque es infidelis, aut parum ualida aut parum aperta esse uideantur. quid quod dominus ipse in euangelio nihil quemquam de operibus bonis perdere Christianum manifestissime docet dicens: quicumque potum dederit uni ex minimis istis calicem aquae frigidae, tantum in nomine discipuli, amen dico uobis, non perdet mercedem suam. quid dici euidentius potuit? etiam eam rem in futuro habituram praemium esse dixit, quae in praesenti pretium non haberet: tantum honoris cultui suo tribuit, ut aliquid esset illic per fidem, quod hic omnino nihil esset per uilitatem.
But perhaps these things seem to you, unbeliever, whoever you are, too weak or too obscure. What of the fact that the Lord himself in the gospel most plainly teaches that no Christian loses anything of his good works, saying: “Whoever gives one of these least a cup of cold water to drink, only in the name of a disciple, amen I say to you, he will not lose his reward.” What could be said more plainly? He said that even a thing which has no price in the present would have a reward in the future: he gave such honor to his service that something would be of worth there through faith which here was nothing at all through its cheapness.
Matt 10:42 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ promises reward even for a cup of cold water given in faith.
- Matt 10:42. The chapter numeral “XVI” is removed.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (chapter numeral leaked into the text): XVI. Sed fortasse haec → Sed fortasse haec.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.70 (CSEL 8:293; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-70). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-70
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.71CSEL 8:293
sed tamen ne in hoc sibi quidam forsitan blandirentur, si multa habentes exiguis possent magna mercari, subtiliter posuit etiam pro calice aquae frigidae non perituram esse mercedem, hoc utique euidenter ostendens non pro paruo aliquid magnum esse reddendum, sed tamen qualecumque fidei opus non esse periturum.
Yet lest some perhaps flatter themselves in this, that having much they could buy great things with little, he subtly set it down that even for a cup of cold water the reward will not perish, showing plainly not that something great is to be repaid for something small, but that no work of faith, of whatever kind, will perish.
Matt 10:42 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The cup of cold water shows that no work of faith perishes, not that the rich can buy much with little.
- Matt 10:42.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.71 (CSEL 8:293; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-71). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-71
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.72CSEL 8:293–294
habes itaque indubitabilem futurae retributionis securitatem habes recipiendorum bonorum operum satis idoneum uadem: qui quidem tantae non solum fidei sed etiam misericordiae atque pietatis est, ut non soluat tantum quod promiserit quasi debitum, sed etiam ostendat aliquid quo se faciat debitorem. nam qui pro calice aquae frigidae redditurum se dixit esse mercedem non solum uult soluere quae acceperit, sed etiam demonstrat aliqua quae soluat. pius scilicet ac misericordia plenus et consulere uolens non solum diuiti largitati sed etiam pauperculae officiositati ostendit, quo obnoxium sibi in aliquo deum faceret etiam qui quod faeneraret penitus non haberet.
So you have an undoubted security of future repayment; you have a fully adequate guarantor that good works will be returned: one of such faithfulness, and also of such mercy and kindness, that he not only pays what he has promised as a debt but also shows something by which he makes himself a debtor. For he who said he would give a reward for a cup of cold water not only wishes to repay what he has received but also points out things he will repay. Kind, indeed, and full of mercy, and wishing to provide not only for the generosity of the rich but also for the small service of the poor, he showed how even one who had nothing at all to lend could make God in some way indebted to him.
Matt 10:42 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ is a sure guarantor who even makes himself a debtor to the poor.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.72 (CSEL 8:293–294; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-72). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-72
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.73CSEL 8:294
Sed forsitan tibi, quicumque diues es, indignum hoc facultatibus tuis opus pauperculorum esse uideatur et uelis aliquam ad te peculiariter pertinentem sponsionem sacrae promissionis audire. habes primum illud, quod ad diuitem illum in euangelio deus loquitur: uade, uende omnia bona tua, et habebis thesaurum in caelo. deinde illud, quod praecepto interdictorio generaliter iubet: nolite thesaurizare uobis thesauros in terra, thesaurizate.
But perhaps to you, whoever of you is rich, this work of the poor may seem unworthy of your means, and you may want to hear some pledge of the sacred promise belonging specially to you. You have first what God says to that rich man in the gospel: “Go, sell all your goods, and you will have treasure in heaven.” Then what he commands generally by a prohibition: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, but lay up
Matt 19:21 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 6:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 6:20 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The rich have specific promises: Christ’s word to the rich young man and his command about treasure in heaven.
- Matt 19:21; Matt 6:19–20. The sentence continues in 3.74. The chapter numeral “XVII” is removed.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slip and stray mark; chapter numeral leaked into the text): XVII. Sed forsitan tibi → Sed forsitan tibi; indiguum → indignum; ad diuitem ilium in euangelio: deus loquitur → ad diuitem illum in euangelio deus loquitur.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.73 (CSEL 8:294; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-73). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-73
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.74CSEL 8:294
autem uobis thesauros in caelo. postremo illa, quibus omnes rerum mundialium possessores ad opus profluae largitatis spe infinitae remunerationis inuitat dicens, quod omnis, qui propter honorem atque amorem suum aut domum aut agrum aut quamcumque aliam facultatem in usus misericordiae prorogarit, centuplum accipiat in futuro: insuper autem, inquit, et uitam aeternam possidebit. quid spondere maius credentibus sibi potuit qui magnis faeneratoribus suis centuplum se redditurum esse promisit?
for yourselves treasures in heaven.” Finally those words by which he invites all possessors of worldly things to the work of flowing generosity with the hope of infinite reward, saying that everyone who for his honor and love has spent a house or a field or any other means on the uses of mercy will receive a hundredfold in the future; “and besides,” he says, “he will possess eternal life.” What greater pledge could he give those who believe him than to promise his great lenders that he would repay a hundredfold?
Matt 6:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 19:29 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ promises a hundredfold and eternal life to those who give for his sake.
- Matt 6:20; Matt 19:29.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.74 (CSEL 8:294; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-74). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-74
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.75CSEL 8:294
nec solum hoc, sed uitam, inquit, aeternam possidebit. hoc multo plus est quam ipsa centupli retributio, quia id ipsum, quod quis in centuplo acceperit, in perpetuo possidebit. non erit ergo tunc fragilis et caduca possessio nec in similitudinem terrenarum diuitiarum umbrae praetereuntis aut somnii uanescentis more peritura. quidquid datum a deo fuerit inmortale erit, quidquid acceptum fuerit sine termino permanebit. ac per hoc, ut dixi, plus quam centuplum accipit qui sic accipit, quia uincit centupli pretium, id ipsum esse centuplum sempiternum.
And not only this, but “he will possess,” he says, “eternal life.” This is much more than the repayment of the hundredfold itself, because what anyone has received a hundredfold he will possess forever. Then the possession will not be frail and fleeting, nor perishing like earthly riches, after the manner of a passing shadow or a vanishing dream. Whatever is given by God will be immortal; whatever is received will last without end. And so, as I said, he who receives thus receives more than a hundredfold, because the hundredfold being everlasting surpasses the value of the hundredfold.
Matt 19:29 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The hundredfold reward is eternal, which makes it worth even more.
- Matt 19:29.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): fragilis$t caduca → fragilis et caduca.
Topics: Ethics, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.75 (CSEL 8:294; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-75). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-75
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.76CSEL 8:294–295
Quae cum ita sint et cum tanta absque dubio recepturus sit qui deo credit, quomodo tu his rebus, quas deo dederis, usurum te esse post mortem non putas, quarum tibi non usum tantummodo dominus sed augmentum etiam et superexcellentem cumulum pollicetur? aut forte accipere haec tanta non uis? sed hoc ratio non patitur ut nolis.
Since this is so, and since he who believes God will without doubt receive such great things, how do you think you will not have the use after death of those things you have given to God, of which the Lord promises you not only the use but also increase and a surpassing heap? Or perhaps you do not want to receive such great things? But reason does not allow you not to want them.
Notes and citation
Summary: What is given to God will be enjoyed after death with increase.
- The chapter numeral “XVIII” is removed.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (chapter numeral leaked into the text; stray mark): XVIII. Quae cum ita sint et cum → Quae cum ita sint et cum; accipere haec. tanta → accipere haec tanta.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.76 (CSEL 8:294–295; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-76). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-76
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.77CSEL 8:295
nemo enim est inter homines, qui cum beatus esse ualeat, miser esse malit; nemo est, qui cum habere possit delicias summi boni, pati uelit supplicium summi mali; nullus profecto, nullus et ideo ne tu quidem: nisi forte monstruosa sit in te aliqua et discrepans ab humano genere natura, ut solus tibi penitus bene esse nolis, solus beatitudinem fugias solus suppliciis delecteris.
For there is no one among men who, when he could be blessed, would rather be wretched; no one who, when he could have the delights of the highest good, would wish to suffer the punishment of the highest evil; no one, surely, no one; and therefore not you either; unless perhaps there is in you some monstrous nature at odds with the human race, so that you alone do not want it to go well with you at all, you alone flee blessedness, you alone delight in punishments.
Notes and citation
Summary: No one in his right mind prefers misery to blessedness.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.77 (CSEL 8:295; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-77). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-77
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.78CSEL 8:295
quod si utique non est, quid ergo causae est, ut non uel moriens et in ultimis situs id saltim supremae oblationis officio et omni rerum tuarum ambitu agas, ut, si mereri a deo potes, locuples ac beatus sis, sin autem id non potes, certe ut miser non sis certe non uraris certe non torquearis certe tenebris exterioribus non eneceris et ardentibus sine fine flammis non decoquaris?
If this is certainly not so, what reason is there, then, that you do not, even when dying and placed at the end, at least do this by the service of a last offering and with all the effort of your goods: that, if you can merit it from God, you may be rich and blessed; or, if you cannot, at least that you may not be wretched, at least not be burned, at least not be tortured, at least not be done to death in the outer darkness and not be baked in flames burning without end?
Matt 25:30 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The dying should give at least to escape eternal punishment.
- Matt 25:30.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): et m ultimis situs → et in ultimis situs.
Topics: Ethics, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.78 (CSEL 8:295; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-78). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-78
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.79CSEL 8:295
quid ergo, ut dixi, causae est, quod haec non agis? quid causae est, ut bona aeterna non emas? quid causae est, ut mala aeterna non timeas? quid utique nisi illud, quod praelocutus sum, quod aut iudicandum a deo te esse non putas aut resurrecturum omnino esse non credis? si enim crederes, quomodo non futuri iudicii inaestimabile malum fugeres et inmortalium suppliciorum tormenta uitares?
What reason is there, then, as I said, that you do not do these things? What reason that you do not buy eternal goods? What reason that you do not fear eternal evils? What, surely, but what I said before: that either you do not think you will be judged by God or you do not believe you will rise at all? For if you believed, how would you not flee the incalculable evil of the future judgment and avoid the torments of immortal punishments?
Notes and citation
Summary: Failing to give at death shows unbelief in judgment and resurrection.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark): non timeas? -quid utique → non timeas? quid utique.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.79 (CSEL 8:295; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-79). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-79
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.80CSEL 8:295–296
sed non credis utique, non credis, ac licet aliud et sermone adseras et professione, non credis; sermo enim et professio tua iactitant fidem sed uita atque obitus publicant infidelitatem. alioqui uince me: uinci uolo. non quaero, ut mihi credulitatem tuam superioris uitae actibus probes: uno contentus sum testimonio supremorum tuorum.
But you certainly do not believe, you do not believe; and though you assert otherwise in speech and profession, you do not believe. For your speech and profession boast of faith, but your life and death publish unbelief. Otherwise, overcome me: I want to be overcome. I do not ask you to prove your belief to me by the acts of your earlier life; I am content with one testimony, that of your last moments.
Notes and citation
Summary: Speech professes faith, but life and death reveal unbelief.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slips): non oredis utique, non credis, ac lieet → non credis utique, non credis, ac licet.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.80 (CSEL 8:295–296; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-80). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-80
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.81CSEL 8:296
ecce iam, ecce moreris, egressurus de domo corporis tui, nesciens quo iturus quo abducendus ad quam poenalia et quam taetra rapiendus, cui unum tantummodo superest inter suprema perfugium una effugiendi aeterni ignis specula datur, ut pro te offeras saltim quod in substantia habes, quia aliud quod possis deo offerre iam non habes: et tu inmemor tui oblitus salutis tuae, de legatariis nouis cogitas de locupletando herede suspiras.
Behold, now, behold, you are dying, about to leave the house of your body, not knowing where you will go, where you will be led away, to what penal and hideous places you will be snatched; to you only one refuge remains at the end, one watchtower for escaping eternal fire is given: that you offer for yourself at least what you have in substance, since you no longer have anything else to offer God. And you, forgetful of yourself, unmindful of your salvation, think of new legatees, sigh over enriching your heir.
Notes and citation
Summary: At death, the only refuge is to offer one’s goods, yet the dying think of legatees.
Topics: Ethics, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.81 (CSEL 8:296; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-81). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-81
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.82CSEL 8:296
et haec faciens credere te iudicium dei dicis, qui tibi, cum iudicandus sis, uel inter suprema non consulis? et credere te aliquid de salute animae tuae loqueris, cui nullus est anima tua uilior, apud quem prope non interest cui prosis, dummodo ut tibi noceas? et credere te futurum iudicem dicis, apud quem nullus est minor atque despectior quam ipse iudex? nam in tantum eum spernis in tantum despicis, ut nec tibimet ipsi consulas, dummodo eius iussa contemnas.
And doing this you say you believe in the judgment of God, you who, though you are to be judged, do not provide for yourself even at the end? And you say you believe something about the salvation of your soul, you to whom nothing is cheaper than your soul, with whom it hardly matters whom you benefit, as long as you harm yourself? And you say you believe in the coming Judge, with whom none is lesser and more despised than the Judge himself? For you so scorn him, so despise him, that you do not even provide for yourself, as long as you condemn his commands.
Notes and citation
Summary: Neglecting one’s soul at death shows contempt for the Judge.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.82 (CSEL 8:296; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-82). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-82
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.83CSEL 8:296
aut refelle me et conuince, si mentior. clamat tibi ecce morienti ipse, qui te iudicaturus est iudex tuus, ne ullum omnino hominem in prorogandis rebus ac facultatibus tuis plus quam te ames, ne ulli de substantia tua moriens magis quam tibi consulas, nullum tibi anima tua propinquiorem nullum iudices cariorem. quid enim proderit, inquit saluator, homini si lucretur mundum totum et detrimentum faciat animae suae? aut quid dabit homo commutationem pro anima sua?
Refute me and convict me, if I lie. Behold, as you die, your judge himself, who will judge you, cries out to you that in disposing of your goods and means you should love no man at all more than yourself, that when dying you should provide for no one from your substance more than for yourself, that you should judge none nearer, none dearer to you than your soul. “For what will it profit a man,” says the Savior, “if he gains the whole world and suffers the loss of his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Matt 16:26 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ warns that gaining the world is worthless if the soul is lost.
- Matt 16:26.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.83 (CSEL 8:296; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-83). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-83
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.84CSEL 8:296–297
hoc est dicere: quid tibi o infelicissime homo, proderit, si omnem mundum aut ipse habeas aut tuis proximis derelinquas, si salutis atque animae detrimenta patiaris? damna enim animae totum penitus secum auferunt, nec quidquam homo omnino habere poterit, qui se ipsum damno animae pereuntis amittat. aut quid, inquit, homo commutationem dabit pro anima sua? hoc est dicere: non respicias, o homo, pecuniam non possessionem, nec dubites saltim moriens pro spe tua quantum potes rei tuae ac facultatis offerre. quidquidlibet enim dederis pro te uile est, quidquid pro te obtuleris parui pretii est, quia anima tua in omnium rerum est conparatione pretiosior. et ideo nihil dubites pro te dare, quia, si te amiseris, omnia in te perdis: si autem te lucrifeceris, tecum et in te omnia possidebis.
That is to say: what will it profit you, O most unhappy man, if you either have the whole world yourself or leave it to your nearest, if you suffer the loss of salvation and soul? For the losses of the soul carry off everything with them, and a man can have nothing at all who loses himself by the loss of a perishing soul. “Or what,” he says, “will a man give in exchange for his soul?” That is to say: do not regard money, O man, nor possession, and do not hesitate at least when dying to offer for your hope as much of your property and means as you can. For whatever you give for yourself is cheap, whatever you offer for yourself is of small price, because your soul is more precious in comparison with all things. And so do not hesitate to give anything for yourself, because if you lose yourself, you lose everything in yourself; but if you gain yourself, you will possess everything with yourself and in yourself.
Matt 16:26 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The soul is worth more than anything, so nothing should be withheld for its sake.
- Matt 16:26.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): ipse habeas ant tuis → ipse habeas aut tuis; homo ommutationem dabit → homo commutationem dabit.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.84 (CSEL 8:296–297; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-84). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-84
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.85CSEL 8:297
Cum haec ergo tibi iam morienti, o homo quisquis es, dominus tuus clamet, tu mentem obturas tu aurem obstruis et nudis sermonibus fidem adserens sufficere tibi putas uerba pro rebus ac satis te firmum aestimas credulitatis habere subsidium, si deum, quem rebus atque operibus tuis despicis, uerbis mendacibus honorare uidearis. fili, inquit scriptura sancta, si habes, benefac tecum et deo bonas oblationes offer.
Since, then, your Lord cries this to you as you die, O man, whoever you are, you stop your mind, you block your ear, and, asserting faith in bare words, you think words are enough for you instead of deeds, and you think you have a firm enough support of belief if you seem to honor with lying words the God whom you despise by your deeds and works. “Son,” says holy Scripture, “if you have, do good to yourself and offer God good offerings.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Words without deeds are no proof of faith; Scripture urges good offerings.
- Sir 14:11. The chapter numeral “XVIIII” is removed.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (chapter numeral leaked into the text): XVIIII. Cum haec ergo → Cum haec ergo.
Extrabiblical texts: Sir 14:11 (Sirach [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; quotation)
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.85 (CSEL 8:297; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-85). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-85
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.86CSEL 8:297–298
et alibi miserere, inquit, animae tuae. uide quam misericors sit dominus deus noster, qui nos ipsos pro nobis misericordiam rogat: miserere, inquit, animae tuae. hoc est dicere: miserere etiam tu illius, cuius uides miseratione me frangi, miserere illius tandem, cuius misereor ego semper, miserere tu animae saltim tuae, cum misereri me cernas alienae. et quid post haec, o miserrime homo, cum deus sic tecum agat, non adquiescis? rogat te ut tui miserearis, et non uis? causam tuam apud te agit, et a te non potest impetrare?
And elsewhere: “Have mercy,” it says, “on your soul.” See how merciful the Lord our God is, who asks us ourselves for mercy on our own behalf: “Have mercy,” he says, “on your soul.” That is to say: you too have mercy on him for whom you see me broken with compassion; have mercy at last on him on whom I always have mercy; have mercy at least on your own soul, when you see me have mercy on another’s. And after this, O most wretched man, when God deals thus with you, do you not consent? He asks you to have mercy on yourself, and you will not? He pleads your cause with you, and cannot obtain it from you?
Notes and citation
Summary: God himself begs the sinner to have mercy on his own soul.
- Sir 30:24 (Vulgate 30:24; Greek 30:23).
Extrabiblical texts: Sir 30:23 (Sirach [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; quotation)
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.86 (CSEL 8:297–298; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-86). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-86
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.87CSEL 8:298
et quomodo, quisquis es o miserrime, quomodo te postea supplicantem ille in iudicio suo audiet, cum tu hic eum pro te rogantem audire ipse nolueris? sed uidelicet causa grandis est, qua deum audire non possis. circumstant enim te aegrotantem cognati atque agnati tui circumstant locupletes matres familiae, circumstant nobiles uiri obsidet lectum infirmitatis tuae sericis atque auratis uestibus circumfusa numerositas. o quantus fructus aeternitatis est talibus bona propria erogare mendicis! digna uidelicet causa et satis iusta est, ut tu animae tuae auferas quod egenis talibus derelinquas.
And how, most wretched man, whoever you are, how will he afterwards hear you begging in his judgment, when you would not hear him here asking on your behalf? But no doubt there is a great reason why you cannot listen to God. For your relatives on both sides stand round you in your sickness; rich matrons stand round; noble men stand round; a crowd swathed in silken and gilded garments besieges your sickbed. O how great a fruit of eternity it is to give away one’s own goods to such beggars! A worthy and quite just cause, no doubt, for you to take from your soul what you may leave to such needy folk!
Notes and citation
Summary: Rich relatives crowd the sickbed, and the dying man gives them what his soul needs.
- Ironic.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray letter): numerositas.s o quantus → numerositas. o quantus.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.87 (CSEL 8:298; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-87). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-87
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.88CSEL 8:298
sed nimirum misericordia frangeris et lamentantium propinquorum pietate superaris. est certa ratio. uides quippe opulentissimi ac splendidissimi cultus homines [tibi] flentes, tristi uultu et festo habitu conpositas ad maestitudinem facies tibi ostentantes, per imaginariam sollicitudinem suam ementes hereditatem tuam. quem non moueat tanta pietas? quem non moueat talis dolor? aut quomodo, cum haec talia uideas, non obliuiscaris, tui? uides enim extortas lacrimas simulata suspiria fictam anxietatem non optantem ut conualescas, sed expectantem quando moriaris: uides defixos in te quasi accusantes tui obitus tarditatem omnium uultus.
But no doubt you are broken by compassion and overcome by the affection of your lamenting relatives. There is a clear reason. For you see men of most opulent and splendid dress weeping, showing you faces composed to sorrow with a sad look in festive clothing, buying your inheritance by their imaginary anxiety. Whom would such affection not move? Whom would such grief not move? Or how, seeing such things, could you not forget yourself? For you see forced tears, feigned sighs, pretended anxiety, not wishing you to recover but waiting for you to die; you see all their faces fixed on you as if accusing the slowness of your death.
Notes and citation
Summary: The relatives’ grief is feigned; they are waiting for the dying man’s death.
- The editor’s square brackets around “to you” (tibi) mark it for deletion; left out.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.88 (CSEL 8:298; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-88). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-88
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.89CSEL 8:298
O infelicem te ac miserrimum, cuius supremum exitum tantus desiderat numerus propinquorum! nisi quod scio ac satis certus sum nihil omnino apud deum uota talium praeualere. nam mirari possem forte quod uiueres, quem mori tam multi uelint. et propter hos, quisquis ille es, propter hos tales animam tuam deseris et credere te iudicium dei dicis, cum ad hoc eius iussa despicias, ut patrimonium tuum talibus derelinquas?
O unhappy and most wretched you, whose final departure so great a number of relatives desires! Except that I know and am quite sure that the prayers of such people avail nothing at all with God. For I might perhaps wonder that you live, when so many want you to die. And for these, whoever you are, for such as these you abandon your soul, and say you believe in the judgment of God, when you despise his commands so far as to leave your patrimony to such people?
Notes and citation
Summary: The dying man abandons his soul for relatives who want him dead.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digit for the letter O): 0 infelicem te → O infelicem te.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.89 (CSEL 8:298; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-89). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-89
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.90CSEL 8:298–299
dispersit, inquit propheta de eo, qui deum credit, dispersit, dedit pauperibus, iustitia eius manet in aeternum. sed et saluator ipse ad omnes diuites: uendite quae possidetis et date eleemosynam. et alibi: uende quae habes et da pauperibus. numquid dicit, agnatis da, numquid adfinibus? non utique sed pauperibus sed egenis: numquid propinquo diuiti numquid ulli omnino homini praepotenti? non utique sed inopi sed egestuoso.
“He has scattered,” says the prophet of the one who believes God, “he has scattered, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” And the Savior himself to all the rich: “Sell what you possess and give alms.” And elsewhere: “Sell what you have and give to the poor.” Does he say, “Give to relatives,” does he say, “to in-laws”? Certainly not, but to the poor, to the needy. Does he say, to a rich relative, to any very powerful man at all? Certainly not, but to the destitute, to the needy.
Ps 112:9 (111:9 Vulg.) (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 12:33 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 19:21 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Scripture commands giving to the poor, not to rich relatives.
- Ps 112:9 (Vulgate 111:9); Luke 12:33; Matt 19:21.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.90 (CSEL 8:298–299; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-90). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-90
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.91CSEL 8:299
numquid enim, cum locupletibus cognatis tuis substantiam tuam dederis, iustitia tua manet in aeternum? aut cum diuitias eorum diuitiis tuis auxeris, thesaurum habebis in caelo? uae, inquit propheta, his, qui dicunt dulce amarum et amarum dulce. etiam laudari a te tales hos deus prohibet, et tu ditare non metuis? dari his praedicatoria uerba non uult, et. tu etiam talenta largiris? honorari uitam eorum fictis sermonibus uetat, et a te thesauri eorum diuitiaeque cumulantur?
For when you have given your substance to your rich relatives, does your righteousness endure forever? Or when you have increased their riches with yours, will you have treasure in heaven? “Woe,” says the prophet, “to those who call sweet bitter and bitter sweet.” God forbids you even to praise such people, and you do not fear to enrich them? He does not want flattering words given them, and you even lavish talents on them? He forbids their life to be honored with feigned speeches, and their treasures and riches are heaped up by you?
Isa 5:20 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Enriching the rich is calling bitter sweet, contrary to God’s will.
- Ps 112:9; Matt 19:21; Isa 5:20.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; stray hyphen; stray marks): alat cum diuitias → aut cum diuitias; dulce am-arum → dulce amarum; diuitiaeque. cumulantur?. → diuitiaeque cumulantur?.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.91 (CSEL 8:299; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-91). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-91
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.92CSEL 8:299
Sed uereris uidelicet uultus circumsidentium propinquorum et praesentes atque obsidentes lectulum tuum metuis offendere. ne timueris eos, inquit dominus per prophetam, neque paueas a facie eorum, quoniam domus exasperans est. et ideo etiam tu esto intrepidus et constans: non formides uultus eorum neque frangaris ambitu eorum.
But no doubt you fear the faces of the relatives sitting round you and are afraid to offend those present and besieging your bed. “Do not fear them,” says the Lord through the prophet, “nor be dismayed at their faces, for it is a provoking house.” So you too be fearless and steadfast: do not dread their faces nor be broken by their pressure.
Ezek 2:6 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The dying should not fear the relatives around them.
- Ezek 2:6. The chapter numeral “XX” is removed.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (chapter numeral leaked; OCR slip): XX. Sed uereris uidelicet uulius → Sed uereris uidelicet uultus.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.92 (CSEL 8:299; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-92). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-92
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.93CSEL 8:299–300
despice concupiscentes hereditatem tuam et diuidentes iam inter se substantiam tuam, qui non te sed patrimonium tuum diligunt, immo qui cupiditate rerum tuarum te execrantur. nam dum tua inpatienter sitiunt, te oderunt praesentiamque tuam quasi aemulam sibi et aduersariam iudicantes obicem atque obstaculum putant cupiditatis suae esse quod uiuis.
Despise those who covet your inheritance and are already dividing your substance among themselves, who love not you but your patrimony; rather, who curse you from greed for your goods. For while they thirst impatiently for what is yours, they hate you, and judging your presence a rival and adversary to them, they think the fact that you live a barrier and obstacle to their greed.
Notes and citation
Summary: The heirs love the patrimony, not the man, and resent that he still lives.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; words run together): despioe concupiscentes → despice concupiscentes; sub$tantiam tuam → substantiam tuam; te execranturnam dum → te execrantur. nam dum.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.93 (CSEL 8:299–300; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-93). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-93
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.94CSEL 8:300
despice ergo hos tales ac nihil facito. non te moueant blandimenta eorum: uenena tibi sunt: non respicias adulationes eorum: gladii sunt iugulatores tui et quidem ferreis atque hostilibus gladiis taetriores. illos enim homines cuncti uident, istos incauti non uident: illi, quia aperte saeuiunt, euitantur, isti, quia occulte insidiantur, occidunt et hoc periculosiores sunt ac nouo nocendi genere peiores, quod illis ferreis gladiis nemo est penitus qui se laedi uelit, istis multi se etiam occidi uolunt. noua atque inaestimabilis mali letalis inlecebra. illis gladiis quicumque percutitur et timore pariter et dolore torquetur: istis quicumque occiditur delectatur.
Despise such people, then, and make nothing of them. Let their blandishments not move you: they are poisons to you. Do not regard their flatteries: they are swords cutting your throat, and indeed more hideous than the iron swords of enemies. For all men see those, but the unwary do not see these; those, because they rage openly, are avoided; these, because they lie in ambush secretly, kill, and they are the more dangerous and worse by a new kind of harming, in that no one at all wants to be wounded by those iron swords, but many even want to be killed by these. A new and incalculable allurement of deadly evil! Whoever is struck by those swords is tortured by fear and pain alike; whoever is killed by these is delighted.
Notes and citation
Summary: Flatterers are more dangerous than armed enemies, for their victims welcome them.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.94 (CSEL 8:300; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-94). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-94
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.
3.95CSEL 8:300–301
fuge ergo hoc malum fuge adsentationes insidiantes tibi, fuge obsequellas noxias tibi fuge ambitus deceptores tuos: ista sunt officia, quae te iugulant, ista sunt, quae in mortem trahunt. fuge eorum talium blandimenta fuge eorum sedulitatem: isti sunt carnifices ac tortores tui, qui te in praesenti quidem ambiunt, sed in futuro necant et consertis quodammodo manibus ac uelut coniurata mutuo factione in sempiternos tartari ignes cogere ac praecipitare conantur. et ideo non timeas eos non expauescas: erige animum et uim sanctae auctoritatis adsume. si enim illi tantopere adnituntur ut pereas, cur non maiore tu animo adnitaris ut uiuas? confortare ergo et constanti animo tibi consule. satis infidelis ac satis stultus est qui mauult praestare aliis ut sit miser, quam sibi ut sit beatus et ut alios afluere faciat deliciis temporariis, se tradit urendum ignibus sempiternis.
Flee this evil, then; flee the flatteries that lie in wait for you; flee the services harmful to you; flee the solicitations that deceive you. These are the attentions that cut your throat; these are what drag you into death. Flee the blandishments of such people, flee their assiduity: these are your executioners and torturers, who court you indeed in the present but kill you in the future, and, as it were with joined hands and a sworn faction, try to drive and hurl you into the everlasting fires of hell. So do not fear them, do not be terrified: raise your spirit and take up the force of holy authority. For if they strive so hard that you may perish, why should you not strive with greater spirit that you may live? Take courage, then, and provide for yourself with a steadfast mind. He is unbelieving enough and foolish enough who prefers to ensure for others that he himself be wretched rather than for himself that he be blessed, and, to make others abound in temporary delights, hands himself over to be burned in everlasting fires.
Notes and citation
Summary: The dying man should resist his flatterers and provide for his own eternal life.
Topics: Ethics, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Salvian, Eccl. 3.95 (CSEL 8:300–301; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-95). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/salvian-ad-ecclesiam/3-95
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-salvian-ad-ecclesiam-3-95) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin of the staged edition (corrections logged). No public-domain English translation is available to us and no FOTC volume covers Salvian, so each batch was re-read against the Latin.