On Patience 11
Summary: Whatever the source of our troubles, the devil, ourselves, or God's discipline, we must bear them patiently; the Beatitudes promise happiness to the patient.
Textual problem in this passage: the printed text is uncertain or disputed here. See the notes.
Latin text · CSEL 47:16–18
Post has principales impatientiae materias ut potuimus regestas quid inter ceteras euagemur, quae domi, quae foris? lata atque diffusa est operatio mali multiplicia aspidum incitamenta, iaculantis, et modo paruula modo maxima. si paruula de sua mediocritate contemnas, maximis pro sua exuperantia cedas. ubi minor iniuria, ibi nulla necessitas impatientiae. at ubi maior iniuria, ibi necessarior iniuriae medela, patientia. certemus igitur quae a malo infliguntur sustinere, ut hostis studium aemulatio nostrae aequanimitatis eludat. si uero quaedam ipsi in nos aut imprudentia aut sponte etiam superducimus, aeque patienter obeamus quae nobis imputamus. quodsi a domino nonnulla credimus incuti, cui magis patientiam quam domino praebeamus? quin insuper gratulari [et gaudere] nos docet dignatione diuinae castigationis. ego, inquit, quos diligo castigo. o seruum illum beatum, cuius emendationi dominus instat, cui dignatur irasci, quem admonendi dissimulatione non decipit! undique igitur adstricti sumus officio patientiae administrandae, qua aequa ex parte aut erroribus nostris aut mali insidiis aut admonitionibus domini interuenimus. eius officii magna merces, felicitas scilicet. quos enim felices dominus nisi patientes nuncupauit dicendo: beati pauperes spiritu, illorum est enim regnum caelorum? nullus profecto spiritu pauper nisi humilis. quis autem humilis nisi patiens? quia nemo subicere sese potest sine prima patientia subiectionis ipsius. beati, inquit, flentes atque lugentes. quis talia sine patientia tolerat? itaque talibus et aduocatio et risus promittitur. beati mites. hoc quidem uocabulo impatientes non licet omnino censeri. item cum pacificos eodem titulo felicitatis notat et filios dei nuncupat, numquid impatientes pacis adfines? stultus hoc senserit. cum uero gaudete et exultate dicit, quotiens uos maledicent et persequentur, merces enim uestra plurima in caelo, id utique non [exultationis] impatientiae pollicetur, quia nemo in aduersis exultabit, nisi ante contempserit ea. nemo contemnet, nisi patientiam gesserit.
English · Claude translation
Having gone over, as best we could, these principal occasions of impatience, why should we wander among the others, at home and abroad? The working of the evil one is broad and widespread, hurling manifold incitements of the asps, now very small, now very great. If you despise the very small because of their slightness, yield to the very great because of their excess. Where the injury is lesser, there is no necessity for impatience; but where the injury is greater, there the remedy of injury, patience, is more necessary. Let us strive, then, to endure what is inflicted by the evil one, so that our rivalry in equanimity may mock the enemy's zeal. But if we ourselves bring some things on ourselves, either through imprudence or even willingly, let us meet with equal patience what we impute to ourselves. And if we believe that some things are inflicted by the Lord, to whom should we show patience more than to the Lord? Indeed, he teaches us besides to give thanks at being deemed worthy of divine chastisement. “Those whom I love,” he says, “I chastise.” O blessed that servant whose amendment the Lord presses, with whom he deigns to be angry, whom he does not deceive by neglecting to admonish! On every side, then, we are bound to the duty of practising patience, since on every side we fall in with either our own errors or the snares of the evil one or the admonitions of the Lord. Great is the reward of that duty: happiness, namely. For whom did the Lord call happy except the patient, saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”? Surely no one is poor in spirit unless he is humble. And who is humble unless he is patient? For no one can subject himself without the prior patience of subjection itself. “Blessed,” he says, “are those who weep and mourn.” Who bears such things without patience? So to such both comfort and laughter are promised. “Blessed are the meek”: by this word the impatient cannot possibly be counted. Again, when he marks the peacemakers with the same title of happiness and calls them sons of God, are the impatient akin to peace? Only a fool would think so. And when he says, “Rejoice and exult whenever they curse you and persecute you, for your reward is very great in heaven,” he certainly does not promise this to impatience, because no one will exult in adversity unless he has first despised it; and no one will despise it unless he has practised patience.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations are Rev 3:19 (Prov 3:12) and the Beatitudes, Matt 5:3–12 with Luke 6:21 (“weep … laughter”). The clause “hurling manifold incitements of the asps” is obscure in the Latin. The editor deletes “et gaudere” (“and rejoice”) and “exultationis” before “impatientiae”; they are left untranslated.
Cite this passage
Tertullian, Pat. 11 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/tertullian-patientia/11/).
Plain text
Tertullian, Pat. 11 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/tertullian-patientia/11/).
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