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FROM-THE  LIBRARY  OF 
TRINITYCOLLEGE  TORONTO 


A  SELECT  LIBRARY 


MCENE  AND  POST-NONE  FATHERS 


OF 


THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH. 

EDITED     BY 

PHILIP  SCHA1T,   D.D.,   LUX, 

PROFESSOR    OF    CHURCH    HISTORY    IN    THE    UNION    THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY,    NEW    YORK. 


IN   CONNECTION    WITH    A    NUMBER   OF    PATRISTIC    SCHOLARS    OF    EUROPE 

AND   AMERICA. 


VOLUME  VII. 


ST.    AUGUSTIN: 

HOMILIES   ON   THE   GOSPEL   OF   JOHN*. 

HOMILIES   ON   THE    FIRST    EPISTLE   OF   JOHN. 

SOLILOQUIES. 


NEW    YORK 

THE   CHRISTIAN    LITERATURE   COMPANY 
1888 


GO 


CoFYRIfiHT,     1888,    BY 

THE   CHRISTIAN    LITERATURE   COMPANY. 


THE  PUBLISHERS'  PRINTING  COMPANY, 
157  &  159  WILLIAM  ST., 


NK\V  YOKK. 

A   I  2.  >'* 


PREFACE. 


AUGUSTIN  was  an  indefatigable  preacher.  He  considered  regular  preaching  an  indis 
pensable  part  of  the  duty  of  a  bishop.  To  his  homilies  we  owe  most  of  his  exegetical  labors. 
The  homilies  were  delivered  extempore,  taken  down  by  scribes  and  slightly  revised  by  Augus- 
tin.  They  retain  their  colloquial  form,  devotional  tone,  frequent  repetitions,  and  want  of 
literary  finish.  He  would  rather  be  deficient  in  rhetoric  than  not  be  understood  by 
the  people.  He  was  cheered  by  the  eager  attention  and  acclamations  of  his  hearers,  but 
never  fully  satisfied  with  his  performance.  "My  preaching,"  he  says,  "almost  always* 
displeases  me.  I  eagerly  long  for  something  better,  of  which  I  often  have  an  inward  enjoy 
ment  in  my  thoughts  before  I  can  put  them  into  audible  words.  Then  when  I  find  that 
my  power  of  expression  is  not  equal  to  my  inner  apprehension,  I  am  grieved  at  the  inability 
of  my  tongue  to  answer  to  my  heart  "  (Dc  Cafech.  Rttdibus,  ch.  II.  3,  in  this  Series,  Vol.  III. 
284).  His  chief  merit  as  an  interpreter  is  his  profound  theological  insight,  which  makes 
his  exegetical  works  permanently  useful.  Comp.  the  introductory  essay  in  the  sixth  volume. 

This  volume  contains: 

I.  The  Homilies  or  Tractates  on  the  GOSPEL  OF  JOHN  (///  Joannis  Erangelium  Trafta- 
tus  CXXIV}.*    Augustin  delivered  them  to  his  flock  at  Hippo  about  A.D.  416  or  later.     The 
Latin  text  is  in  the  third  Tome  of  the  Benedictine  edition  (in  Migne's  reprint,  Tom.  III. 
Part  II.   fol.  1379-1976).     The  first  English  translation  appeared  in  the  Oxford  "  Library 
of  Fathers  of  the  Holy  Catholic  Church,"  Oxford,  1848,  in  2  Vols.,  and  was  prepared  by 
Rev.  H.  Browne,  M.  A.,  of  Corpus  Christi  College,  Cambridge.     The  present  translation 
was  made  jointly  by  Rev.  John  Gibb,  D.D.,  Professor  in  the  Presbyterian  Theological  Col 
lege  at  London  (Vol.  I.,  Tractates  1-37),  and  Rev.  James  Innes,  of  Panbride,  near  Dundee. 
Scotland   (Vol.  II.,  Tractates  38  to   124),  for  Dr.  Dods'  Series  of  Augustin's  Works,  pub 
lished  by  T.  &  T.  Clark,  Edinburgh,  1873.     Dr.  Gibb  was  requested  to  revise  it,  but  did 
not  deem  it  necessary.     The  Indices  of  topics  and  texts  are  added  to  the  American  edition. 

II.  The  Homilies  on  the  P^IRST  EPISTLE  OF  JOHN  (/>/  Epistolam  Joannis  ad Parthos 

tatus  decent]  were  preached  about  the  same  time  as  those  on  the  Gospel,  or  shortly  after- 

1  The  manuscripts  vary  in  their  headings  bctwprn   -  <nfi,  and  //<>«//'//>.     In  three  , 

editors  the  title  is  thus  Kivn  :  ".-I  iirelii  .  I  iifustini  /><>.//>»-/*  /////.>».  A"/«. .  //.-  -Hum   Dtm.Jtt*  irtuitJiim  J+am- 

ncm  im  ifiiunt,  yi,<is  i'fs,-  lolloquendo  f»'ius  /i, //<>/«/»/»    hahuit,  et  inter  I,^t,ftii1n»:     . 
o>,/inf,  Tfrfiiiin  <  i    :•!•'•!;>  fi>it,\i  ,/t\t,ifit."      Mi«ue  III.  II.  1378. 


.•  l\irthos  is  a  mistake  which  is  found  ;\.  •  •(  the  Vulgate  and  has  led  to  dinVrent  . 

Prologue,  p.  4   i,  and  Critical  Introductions  to  the  N.  T.,  f.  (.  th.tt  of  WC.NS  ( 1886).  p.  468.      He  fuv.ir*  the  c..n;rcturc  »p<K  »«<»<«r»»t. 
.«,-j,  which  Clement  of  Alex,  gives  as  the  superscription  to  the  second   Epistle   of  John       Others  conjecture  r»i 

(••tr^inis),  or  .!</  sptirsos,  etc. 


iv  PREFACE. 


wards.  They  are  also  included  in  the  third  volume  of  the  Benedictine  edition  (Migne,  T. 
III.  P.  II.  1977-2062).  The  translation  by  Rev.  H.  Browne  is  taken  from  the  Oxford 
Library  of  the  Fathers  (Clark's  edition  has  none),  and  was  slightly  revised  and  edited  with 
additional  notes  and  an  introduction  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Myers,  of  Washington. 

III.  The  SOLILOQUIES  (in  Vol.  I.,  869-905,  Migne's  ed.)  were  translated  for  this  Library 
by  the  Rev.  C.  C.  Starbuck,  of  Andover,  Mass.  They  were  written  by  Augustin  shortly  after 
his  conversion  (387),  and  are  here  added  as  a  specimen  of  his  earliest  philosophical 
writings.  Neither  the  Oxford  nor  the  Clark  Series  give  them  a  place.  King  Alfred  trans 
lated  parts  of  the  SOLILOQUIES  into  the  Anglo-Saxon  of  his  day,  and  a  partial  translation 
appeared  in  1631,  but  I  have  not  seen  it. 

This  volume  completes  Augustin' s  exegetical  writings  on  the  New  Testament.  The 
eighth  and  last  volume  will  contain  his  Homilies  on  the  Psalms,  as  translated  for  the  Ox 
ford  Library,  and  edited  by  Bishop  Coxe.  It  will  be  ready  for  publication  in  July  of  this 
year. 

PHILIP   SCHAFF. 
NEW  YORK,  March  23,  1888. 


CONTENTS. 


fAOE 

PREFACE  BY  THE  GENERAL  EDITOR  iij 

HOMILIES  ON  THE  GOSPEL  OF  JOHN.         .  7-452 

Translated  by  REV.  JOHN  GIBB,  Professor  in  the  Presbyterian  Theological  College 
at  London,  and  REV.  JAMES  INNES,  Panbride. 

HOMILIES  ON  THE  FIRST  EPISTLE  OF  JOHN 459~529 

Translated  by  the   REV.    II.   BROWNK,  M.A.,  Canon  of  \V?ltham,  and   formerly 

Principal  of  the  Chichester  Diocesan  College. 
Revised  and  edited  by  REV.  JOSEF-H  H.  MYERS,  D.  D.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

SOLILOQUIES 537-560 

Translated  by  REV.  C.  C.  STARBUCK,  M.A..  Andover,  Mass. 

INDEX  TO  HOMILIES  ON  THE  GOSPEL  OF  JOHN 563-581 

INDEX  TO  HOMILIES  ON  THE  FIRST  EPISTLE  OF  JOHN 582-584 

INDEX  TO  SOLILOQUIES  .        .... 


I 


ST.   AUGUSTIN: 


LECTURES   OR   TRACTATES 


ON  THE 


M 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  ST.  JOHN 


TRANSLATED   BY 

REV.    JOHN    <;IHB.    I). I)., 

PROFESSOR    IN    THE    THEOLOGICAL   COLLEGE,    GUILFORD    STREET,    LONDON. 

AND 

REV.    JAMES    IXNES, 

MINISTER    AT    I'ANURIDE.    NEAR    DUNDEE,    SCOTLAND. 


CONTENTS  OF  TRACTATES. 


TRACTATE  I.              

TRACTATE  II.             

"     i.  <>-M  

TR  \CTATE  III. 

•'      ]      i  e  —  i  3, 

TRACTATE  IV.            

"      I.    19-33, 

TRACTATE  V.              

"     I.   33,      

TRACTATE  VI.            

"     i-   32.  33  

44          1         ^J—  C  I 

1  •    J-+    3*1             •            •            •            •            •            •            • 

14          II         I~4 

TRACTATE  IX 

**          II.       I  —  I  I  , 

TRACTATE  X.              

"       11.     12-21  

TRACTATE  XI.            

"     ii.   23-25:  in.   1-5  

TRACTATE  XII.           

"      III.    (>-2I,                       

TRACTATE  XIII  

"      III.    22-2()  

T  R  \CT  vr  F  XIV 

"      III.    29—36, 

TRACTATE  XV.            

"     iv.   1-42  

TRACTATE  XVI.          

"     iv.  43-54  

TRACTATE  XVII  

"     v.    1-18  

TRACTATE  XVI  11  

"    v.  19,    

TRACTATE  XIX  

"     v.   19-30  

TRACTATE  XX.           

"       V.     Ic)  

TRACTATE  XXI  

"     v.   20-23  

TRACTATE  xxil  

"    v.  24-30  

TRA.TATE  XXIII  

"     v.   19-40  

TRACTATE  XXIV  

"     vi.    1-14  

TRACTATE  XXV  

"    vi.   15-44,      

TRACTATE  XXVI  

"    \l.  41-59.             

TRACTATE  XXVII  

••    vi.  60-72,      .        .        .  •      .       . 

TRACTATE  XXVIII.            .... 

••    vii.   1-13  

TRACTATI    XXIX.       

"     vii.   14-18  

TEACI  m  XXX  

"     vn.   19-24  

TRACTATE  XXXI  

"     vii.   25-36,      .         .         .         .         . 

TRACTATE  xxxn.            .... 

"     VII.   37-39  

TRACTATI.  XXXIII. 

"      \  II.    4>  1-5  ;;    \  III.    I-  I  I. 

TRACTATE  XXXIV  

'•    vui.  i  a                

TRACTATE  XX  XV. 

"    VIM.   n.  14,           

; 

7 
13 


69 


93 


>44 
150 
I$S 
160 
|6S 
1/4 

1 8] 


CONTENTS  OK    I  KACTATKS. 


TRACTATE  XXXVI  

JOHN  via.   15-18,    

208 

TRACTATE  XXXVII  

"       VIII.     IQ.   20,    

213 

TRACTATE  XXXVIII. 

"     VIM.  21-25,    

217 

TRACTATE  XXXIX.             .                ".        . 

"     vin.  26,  27  

222 

TRACTATK  XL  

"     vin.  28-32  

225 

TRACTATE  XLI.          

"     vin.  31-36,    

22.J 

TRACTATE  XLII  

"     vin.  37-47  

233 

TRACTATE  XLIII        

11     vm.  48—59,    .        .        . 

240 

TRACTATE  XLIV  

"      IX  

245 

TRACTATE  XLV  

"      X.    I-IO,            

240 

TRACTATE  XLV  I  

256 

TRACTATE  XLVII  

"    x.  14-21,       . 

259 

TRACTATE  XLVII  I  

'     x.  22-42,       ....... 

2«> 

TRACTATE  XLIX  

"     xi.  1-54  

270 

TRACTATE  L.                ..... 

"    xi    55-57'  xii    i-n 

°7<> 

TRACTATE  LI.             ..... 

-  /  v 

"83 

TRACTATE  III             .                          . 

"     xii.  27-36,     ....... 

_.-- 

TRACTATE  LI  1  1  

"     xii.  37-43,     .                          .... 

291 

TRACTATE  I,  IV.           ..... 

"     xii    44-50                                                . 

2oc 

TR  \CTATE  LV              •         .        . 

"     xin.   1-5,       .         ...... 

~VO 
299. 

TRACTATE  LVL           

"     xin.  6-10  

301 

TRACTATE  LVII  

"     xni.  b-io(continufa),  and  SONGOK  SOL.  v.  2,  3, 

303- 

TRACTATE  LVII  I  

"     xin.   10-15,   

305 

TRACTATE  LIX.           

"       XIII.     16-20  

337 

TRACTATE  LX.            

"       XIII.    21,             

3«> 

TRACTATE  LXI.          

"       XIII.    21-26,     

310 

TRACTATE  LXII.         

"     xin.  26-31  

312 

TRACTATE  LXII  I         

"     xin.  31,  32,           ..                 ... 

3U 

TRACTATE  LXIV  

'      xin.   33,         .         .... 

316 

TRACTATE  LXV.          

"     xni.  34,  35  

317 

TRACTATE  LXVI  

"     xin.  36-38  

319 

TRACTATE  LXVII  

"     xiv.   1-3  

321 

TRACTATE  LXVIII  

"     xiv.   1-3  

322 

TRACTATE  I  XIX. 

"     xiv.  4—6,       ....... 

324 

TRACTATE  LXX.          .                 ... 

"       v[v      7-10                       ...... 

326 

TR  \CT\TE  I  \XI 

328. 

TRACTATE  LXXII.      ..... 

"     \iv.    10-14,    

TRACTATE  LXXIII  

"     xiv.  10-14,    

33i 

TRACTATE  LXXIV  

"     xiv.   15-17,   

333- 

TRACTATE  LXXV  

"     xiv.   18-21,    

33S 

TRACTATE  LXXVI  

"     xiv.   22-24  

;>.;: 

TRACTATE  LXXVII  

"     xiv.   25-27  

TRACT.VM    I.  XX  VI  II  

"       XIV.    27,    2S.                  

34" 

TRACTATK  LXX  IX  

"     xiv.  29-31,   

342 

TRACTAII.  I.XXX  

"     xv.   1-3,         

343 

TRACTATE  LXXXI  

"     xv.  4-7  

343 

Tip  \'  '  I  \  1  1     I  X\\  1  1 

••      xv.    8-K), 

"46^ 

TKACTATI  i.xxxin  

"       XV.     I  (,    12,      

CON'I  l  \  is  OF  TRAC  PATES 


TRACTATI   LXXXIV. 

J  '  1  1  1  N    \  \  .      1  3  

MM 

'I  l:\,    1  All      LXXXV, 

"     xv.   14,  15  

. 

TRAI  i  MI    i  .\\.\vi. 

"     xv.   15,  16  

352 

TRACT.MI    1  \\\VI1. 

"      XV.     17-19  

354 

,ii    I  \\XVI1I  

"      XV.    20,  21  

.         .         356 

IK  \.  i  \n    1.  XXXIX.            .... 

"       XV.    22,   23  

357 

Ik  \<    IATE    XC.                   ..... 

"    xv.  23,          

359 

1  i  v  i  \  1  1    XCI                                        •         .  ' 

"     xv.  24,  25,            .        .        .        . 

361 

TK  \«  i  ATE  XCI  I  

"     xv.  z(>,  27  

3"2 

IK  MTATE  XCIII  

"     XVI.    1-4. 

.        .         3<M 

TRACT  ATK  XCIV  

"     xvi.  4-7,       

3"> 

TR  \CTATF  XCV.                   .... 

"     xvi.   8-1  1.      .                   . 

3^8 

TRACT  ATK  XCV  I  

"       XVI.     12.    13.                .            . 

371 

TRACTATE  XCVII. 

"     xvi.    12,  13  (i.»itinu<J), 

374 

Tu  \rTATr   XCVIII 

"     xvi.    12.  13  (I'i'H.'intit;/), 

3T'J 

TRACTATE  XCIX. 

"     xvi.   13, 

.        .        3^0 

TR  \CTATE   C                                                               •            • 

"     XVI.    13-15  (<v;:  //////<•</), 

3*5 

TRACTATE  CI. 

"     XVI.    16-23  

3'7 

TRACTATE  CII. 

"     xvi.  23-28  

3^9 

TRACTATE  CII  I  

"     xvi.  29-33  

3->i 

TRACTATK  CIV. 

"       XVII.     I, 

3'^3 

"     xvii.  1-5, 

3')5 

TRACTATE  CVI.           .... 

"     xvii.   6-3  

3'W 

TRACTATE  CVII  

"     xvii.  17-13  

402 

TR\CT\TE  CVIII         

"     XVII.    l4-li>. 

404 

TRACTATE  CIX.           

"       XVII.     20,           

406 

TRACTATE  CX                              ... 

"     xvii.  21-23  

.        .         408 

TRACTATE  CXI. 

"     xvii.  24-26, 

412 

TRACTATE  CXI  I. 

"      XVIII.     I-I2, 

4«<« 

"     xvin.   13-27. 

41* 

TRACTATE  CXIV  

"     xvin.  28-32. 

4-1 

TRACTATE  CXV. 

"      XVIII.    33-40, 

433 

TRACTATE  CXVI. 

"    xix.  1-16, 

425 

TRACTATE  CXVII  

"     xix.    i7-:2, 

.          .          .          428 

:  ATE  CXVIII  

"     xix.  23,  24,           ... 

430 

TRACTATE  CXIX.                .        • 

"     xix.  24-30, 

43« 

"     xix.  31-42.  and  x.\.  i-^, 

434 

TRACTATE  CXXI  

"      XX.    IO-2(),      . 

43* 

TRACTATE  CXXII.       . 

"     xx.   30,  31,  and  xxi.    i-il,    . 

439 

TRACTATE  cxxin.    . 

"       XXI.     12-10, 

444 

LTI  cxxiv.    .... 

"    xxi.     19-25, 

447 

LECTURES  OR  TRACTATES 


GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  ST.  JOHN, 


TRACTATE  I. 

CHAPTER    I.    1-5. 

i.  WHEN  I  give  heed  to  what  we  have  just  |  For  to  speak  01  the  matter  as  it  is,  who  is 
read  from  the  apostolic  lesson,  that  "the  able?  I  venture  to  say,  my  brethren,  per- 
natural  man  perceiveth  not  the  things  which  haps  not  John  himself  spoke  of  the  matter  as 
are  of  the  Spirit  of  God,'*1  and  consider  that  j  it  is,  but  even  he  only  as  he  was  able;  for  it 
in  the  present  assembly,  my  beloved,  there  I  was  man  that  spoke  of  God,  inspired  indeed 
must  of  neccessity  be  among  you  many  nat-  ,  by  God,  but  still  man.  Because  he  was  in- 
ural  men,  who  know  only  according  to  the  j  spired  he  said  something;  if  he  had  not  been 
flesh,  and  cannot  yet  raise  themselves  to  |  inspired,  he  would  have  said  nothing;  but 
spiritual  understanding,  I  am  in  great  diffi- 1  because  a  man  inspired,  he  spoke  not  the 
culty  how,  as  the  Lord  shall  grant,  I  may  be  whole,  but  what  a  man  could  he  spoke. 


able  to  express,  or  in  my  small   measure  to 


For  this  John,  dearly  beloved  brethren, 


explain,  what  has  been  read  from  the  Gospel,  ;  was  one  of  those  mountains  concerning  which 
"In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  !  it  is  written:  "  Let  the  mountains  receive 
Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God;  "  peace  for  thy  people,  and  the  hills  righteous- 
for  this  the  natural  man  does  not  perceive,  jness."2  The  mountains  are  lofty  souls,  the 
What  then,  brethren  ?  Shall  we  be  silent  for  hills  little  souls.  But  for  this  reason  do  the 
this  cause'  Why  then  is  it  read,  if  we  are  to  mountains  receive  peace,  that  the  hills  may 


be  silent  regarding  it  ?  Or  why  is  it  heard,  if 
it  be  not  explained  ?  And  why  is  it  explained, 
if  it  be  not  understood  ?  And  so,  on  the  other 


be  able  to  receive  righteousness.  What  is 
the  righteousness  which  the  hills  receive? 
Faith,  for  "  the  just  doth  live  by  faith."  J  The 


hand,   since   I   do  not  doubt  that  there  are   smaller    souls,   however,  would   not    n 

among  your  number  some  who  can  not  only  i  faith  unless  the  greater  souls,  which  are  called 

receive   it  when  explained,  but  even   under- 1  mountains,  were  illuminated  by  Wisdom  her- 

stand  it  before  it  is  explained,  I  shall  not  de- 1  self,  that  they  may  be  able  to  transmit  to  the 

fraud  those  who  are  able  to  receive  it,  from  j  little  ones  what   the   little  ones  a 

fear  of  my  words  being  wasted  on  the  ears  of !  and  the  hills  live  by  faith,  because  the  moun- 

those  who  are  not  able  to  receive  it.      Finally,    tains  receive  peace.      I'.y  the  mountains  them- 

there  will  be  present  with  us  the  compassion    selves  it  was  said  to  the  Church, 

of  God,  so  that  perchance  there  may  be  enough   with  you;  "  and  the  mountains  themselves  in 


for   all,  and    each    receive   what    he  is   able, 
while  he  who  speaks   says  what   he   is  able. 


proclaiming    peace  to  the    Church  did    not 
divide  themselves  against    Him   from  whom 


Ps.  Uxii.  .,. 


:n.  i.  17. 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATI    I. 


tiicv  received  peace,1  that  truly,  not  feignedly, 
they  might  proclaim  peacv. 

3.  For  there  are  other  mountains    which 
cause  shipwreck,  on  which,  if  any  one  drive 
his  ship,  she  is  dashed  to  pieces.     For  it  is 
easy,  when  land   is  seen  by  men   in   peril,  to 
make  a  venture  as   it  were   to  reach   it;  but 
sometimes  land   is  seen  on  a  mountain,  and 
rocks  lie  hid  under  the  mountain;  and  when 
any  one  makes  for  the  mountain,  he  falls  on 
the    rocks,    and    finds    there    not    rest,    but 
wrecking.     So  there  have  been  certain  moun 
tains,  and  great   have  they  appeared  among 
men,    and   they  have   created    heresies   and 
schisms,    and    have    divided   the    Church  of 
God;  but  those  who  divided  the  Church  of 
God  were    not   those    mountains  concerning 
which  it  is  said,  "  Let  the  mountains  receive 
peace  for  thy  people."     For  in  what  manner 
have  they  received  peace  who  have  severed 
unity  ? 

4.  But  those  who  received  peace  to  proclaim 
it  to  the  people  have  made  Wisdom  herself 
an  object  of  contemplation,  so  far  as  human 
hearts  could  lay  hold  on  that  which  *'  eye  hath 
not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  has  ascended 
into   the    heart   of   man."2      If   it    has    not 
ascended  into  the   heart  of  man,  how  has  it 
ascended  into  the  heart  of  John  ?     Was  not 
John  a  man  ?     Or  perhaps  neither  into  John's 
heart  did  it  ascend,  but  John's  heart  ascended 
into   it  ?      For  that  which  ascends  into  the 
heart  of  man   is   from  beneath,  to  man;  but 
that  to  which  the  heart  of  man  ascends   is 
above,  from  man.     Even  so  brethren,  can  it 
be  said  that,    if  it  ascended  into  the  heart  of 
John  (if  in  any  way  it  can  be  said),  it  ascend 
ed  into  his  heart  in  so  far  as  he  was  not  man. 
What  means  "  was  not  man'*?     In  so  far  as 
he  had  begun  to  be  an  angel.     For  all  saints 
are  angels,  since  they  are  messengers  of  God. 
Therefore  to  carnal  and  natural  men,  who  are 
not  able  to  perceive  the  things  that  are  of 
God,  what  says  the  apostle?     "For  whereas 
ye  say,  I  am  of  Paul,  I  of  Apollos,  are  ye  not 
men  ? "  3     What  did  he  wish  to  make  them 
whom  he  upbraided  because  they  were  men  ? 
Do  you  wish  to  know  what  he  wished  to  make 
them?     Hear  in  the  Psalms:  "I  have  said, 
ye  are  gods;  and  all  of  you  are  children  of 
the  Most  High."4     To  this,  then,  God  calls 
us,  that  we  be  not  men.     But  then  will  it  be 
for  the  better  that  we  be  not  men,  if  first  we 
recognize  the  fact  that  we  are  men,  that  is,  to 
the  end  that  we  may  rise  to  that  height  from 
humility;  lest,   when    we    think   that  we   are 
something  when  we  are  nothing,  we  not  only 


»  John  x> 
3  i  Cor  ii 


'  i  Cor.  ii 
>  Ps.  Ixxx 


do  not  receive  what  we  are  not,  but  even  lose 
what  we  are. 

5.  Accordingly,  brethren,  of  these  moun 
tains  was  John  also,  who  said,  "  In  the  be 
ginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with 
God,  and  the  Word  was  God.''     This  moun 
tain  had  received  peace;  he  was  contemplat 
ing  the  divinity  of  the  Word.     Of  what  sort 
was    this   mountain  ?     How  lofty  ?     He    had 
risen  above  all   peaks  of  the  earth,  he    had 
risen  above  all  plains  of  the  sky,  he  had  risen 
above  all   heights  of  the   stars,  he   had   risen 
above  all  choirs  and   legions  of  the  angels. 
For  unless  he  rose   above   all   those    things 
which  were  created,  he  would  not  arrive  at 
Him  by  whom  all  things  were  made.     You 
cannot  imagine  what  he  rose  above,  unless 
you  see  at  what  he  arrived.     Dost  thou  inquire 
concerning   heaven   and   earth  ?     They  were 
made.       Dost   thou    inquire   concerning   the 
things  that  are  in  heaven  and  earth  ?     Surely 
much  more  were  they  made.     Dost  thou  in 
quire  concerning  spiritual  beings,  concerning 
angels,      archangels,      thrones,     dominions, 
powers,  principalities  ?  These  also  were  made. 
For   when   the   Psalm  enumerated  all   these 
things,  it  finished  thus:  "  He  spoke,  and  they 
were  made;  He  commanded,  and  they  were 
created."5     If    "He    spoke  and    they    were 
made,"  it  was  by  the  Word   that  they   were 
made;  but  if  it  was  by  the  Word  they  were 
made,  the  heart  of  John  could  not  reach  to 
that  which  he   says,  "  In   the  beginning  \\-as 
the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and 
the  Word  was  God,"  unless  he  had  risen  above 
all    things   that   were   made    by   the     Word. 
What  a  mountain  this  !  How  holy  !  How  high 
among  those  mountains  that  received   peace 
for  the   people  of  God,  that  the  hills    might 
receive  righteousness ! 

6.  Consider,   then,  brethren,  if  perchance 
John  is  not  one  of  those  mountains  concern 
ing  whom  we  sang  a  little  while  ago,  "  I  have 
lifted  up  mine  eyes  to  the  mountains,  from 
whence   shall   come    my    help.'1     Therefore, 
my  brethren,  if  you  would  understand,  lift  up 
your  eyes  to  this  mountain,  that  is,  raise  your 
selves  up  to  the  evangelist,  rise  to  his  mean 
ing.     But,  because  though  these   mountains 
receive  peace  he  cannot  be  in  peace  who  places 
his  hope  in  man,  do  not  so  raise  your  eyes  to 
the    mountain  as   to   think    that   your    hope 
should    be   placed    in   man;  and   so    say,  "I 
have  lifted  up  mine  eyes   to  the   mountains, 
from  whence  shall  come  my  help,"  that  you 
immediately   add,     "My    help    is    from    the 
Lord,  who  made  heaven  and  earth."  e     There 
fore   let  us  lift  our  eyes  to  the  mountains, 


5  Ps.  cxlviii.  5 


Ps.  CXXt.   I,  2. 


II  I.] 


ON  Tin:  GOSPEL  OF  8T    i"H\ 


from  whence  shall  come  our  help;  and  yet  it   the  Lord,  who  made  heaven  and  eartl.: 
is  not  in  the  mountains  themselves   that  our   him,  then,   fill    who    can.      Brethren,  this   is 
hope    should    l.e    placed,   for    the    mountains    what  I   have   said:    Let   each   one   lift   up  his 
receive  what  they  may  minister  to  us;  there-   heart  in  the  manner  that  seems  futin-'   and 
fore,  from  whence  the  mountains  also  receive,    receive  what  is  spoken.   But  ;  la  will 

there  should  our  hope  be  placed.  When  we  say  that  I  am  more  present  to  you 
lift  our  eyes  to  the  Scriptures,  since  it  was  Far  be  such  a  thought  from  you!  He  is 
through  men  the  Scriptures  were  ministered,  much  more  present  to  you;  for  I  appear  to 
we  are  lifting  our  eyes  to  the  mountains,  from  I  your  eyes,  He  presides  over  your  consciences. 
whence  shall  come  our  help;  but  still,  since  j  Give  me  then  your  ears,  Him  your  hearts,  that 
they  were  men  who  wrote  the  Scriptures,  they  I  you  may  fill  both.  Behold,  your  eyes,'  and 
did  not  shine  of  themselves,  but  "  He  was  the  |  those  your  bodily  senses,  you  lift  up  to  us; 
true  light,1  who  lighteth  every  man  that  !  and  yet  not  to  us,  for  we'  are  not  of  those 
cometh  into  the  world."  A  mountain  also :  mountains,  but  to  the  gospel  itself,  fo  the 
was  that  John  the  Baptist,  who  said,  "  I  am  evangelist  himself:  your  hearts,  however,  to 
not  the  Christ,"'  lest  any  one,  placing  his  the  Lord  to  be  filled.  Moreover,  let  each  one 
hope  in  the  mountain,  should  fall  from  Him!  so  lift  up  as  to  see  what  he  lifts  up,  and 
who  illuminates  the  mountain.  He  also  con-  whither.  What  do  I  mean  by  saying,  "what 
fessed,  saying,  "  Since  of  His  fullness  have  |  he  lifts  up,  and  whither?  "  Let  him  see  to  it 
all  we  received."  3  So  thou  oughtest  to  say,  ,  what  sort  of  a  heart  he  lifts  up,  because  it  is 
"I  have  lifted  up  mine  eyes  to  the  moun- 1  to  the  Lord  he  lifts  it  up,  lest,  encumbered 
tains,  from  whence  shall  come  my  help/'  so  by  a  load  of  fleshly  pleasure,  it  fall  ere  ever  it 


as  not  to  ascribe  to  the  mountains  the 
that  comes  to  thee;  but  continue   and 


help 
say 


"  My  help  is  from  the  Lord,  who  made  heaven 
and  earth." 

7.  Therefore,  nrethren,  may  this  be  the 
result  of  my  admonition,  that  you  understand 
that  in  raising  your  hearts  to  the  Scriptures 
(when  the  gospel  was  sounding  forth,  "  In  the 
beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was 
with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God,"  and  the 
rest  that  was  read),  you  were  lifting  your  eyes 
to  the  mountains.  For  unless  the  mountains 
said  these  things,  you  would  not  find  out  how 
to  think  of  them  at  all.  Therefore  from  the 
mountains  came  your  help,  that  you  even 
heard  of  tMese  things;  but  you  cannot  yet 
understand  what  you  have  heard.  Call  for 
help  from  the  Lord,  who  made  heaven  and 
earth;  for  the  mountains  were  enabled  only 
so  to  speak  as  not  of  themselves  to  illuminate, 
because  they  themselves  are  also  illuminated 
by  hearing.  Thence  John,  who  said  these 
things,  received  them — he  who  lay  on  the 


is  raised.  But  does  each  one  see  that  he  bears 
a  burden  of  flesh  ?  Let  him  strive  by  conti 
nence  to  purify  th;.t  which  he  may  lift  up  to 
God.  For  "  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart, 
because  they  shall  see  God."4 

8.  But  let  us  see  what  advantage  it  is  that 
these  words  have  sounded,  "  In  the  beginning 
was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God, 
and  the  Word  was  God."  We  also  uttered 
words  when  we  spoke.  Was  it  such  a  word 
th.vt  was  with  God  ?  Did  not  those  words 
which  we  uttered  sound  and  pass  away  ? 
Did  God's  Word,  then,  sound  and  come 
to  an  end  ?  If  so,  how  were  all  things  made 
by  it.  and  without  it  was  nothing  made? 
how  is  that  which  it  created  ruled  by  it,  if 
it  sounded  and  passed  away?  What  sort 
of  a  word,  then,  is  that  which  is  lx>th  uttered 
and  passes  not  away  ?  Give  ear,  my  beloved, 
it  is  a  great  matter.  By  everyday  talk,  words 
here  become  despicable  to  us,  because  through 
their  sounding  and  passing  away  they  are  de 
spised,  and  seem  nothing  but  words.  But 

Lord's  breast,  and  from  the  Lord's  breast  there  is  a  word  in  the  man  himself  which  re- 
drank  in  what  he  might  give  us  to  drink.  But  mains  within;  for  the  sound  proceeds  from 
he  gave  us  words  to  drink.  Thou  oughtest '  the  mouth.  There  is  a  word  which  is  spoken 


then  to  receive  understanding  from  the  source 
from  which  he  drank  who  gave  thee  to  drink;  so 
that  thou  mayest  lift  up  thine  eyes  to  the  moun 
tains  from  whence  shall  come  thine  aid,  so  that 
from  thence  thou  mayest  receive,  as  it  were, 
the  cup,  that  is,  the  word,  given  the  eto  drink; 
and  yet,  since  thy  help  is  from  the  Lord,  who 
made  heaven  and  earth,  thou  mayest  fill  thy 
breast  from  the  source  from  which  he  filled 
his;  whence  thou  saidst,  "My  help  is  from 


John  i. 


1  John  i.  30. 


3  John  i.  16. 


a  truly  spiritual   manner,  that  which   you 
understand  from  the  sound,  not  the  sound  it 
self.     Mark,    I    speak    a   word    when    I    say 
"God."     How  short  the  word  which  I  have 
s[>oken— four  letters  and  two  syllables  ' 
this  all  that  God   is,  four  letters  and  t\v 
lables  ?     Or  is  that  which  is  sign  it",- 
as  the  word  is  paltry  ?     What  took  place  in  thy 
heart  when  thou  heardcst  "God"         What 
took  place  in  my  heart  when  I   said  "» 


4  M.tt 


10 


Till:  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  I. 


A  certain  great  and  perfect  substance  was  in 
our  thoughts,  transcending  every  changeable 
creature  of  flesh  or  of  soul.  And  if  I  say  to 
thee,  "  Is  God  changeable  or  unchangeable  ? " 
thou  wilt  answer  immediately,  "  Far  be  it 
from  me  either  to  believe  or  imagine  that  God 
is  changeable:  God  is  unchangeable."  Thy 
soul,  though  small,  though  perhaps  still  carnal, 
could  not  answer  me  otherwise  than  that  God 
is  unchangeable :  but  every  creature  is  change 
able;  how  then  wert  thou  able  to  enter,  by  a 
glance  of  thy  spirit,  into  that  which  is  above 
the  creature,  so  as  confidently  to  answer  me, 
"  God»is  unchangeable"  ?  What,  then,  is  that 
in  thy  heart,  when  thou  thinkest  of  a  certain 
substance,  living,  eternal,  all-powerful,  infi 
nite,  everywhere  present,  everywhere  whole, 
nowhere  shut  in  ?  When  thou  thinkest  of 
these  qualities,  this  is  the  word  concerning 
God  in  thy  heart.  But  is  this  that  sound 
which  consists  of  four  letters  and  two  syllables  ? 
Therefore,  whatever  things  are  spoken  and 
pass  away  are  sounds,  are  letters,  are  sylla 
bles.  His  word  which  sounds  passes  away; 
but  that  which  the  sound  signified,  and  was  in 
the  speaker  as  he  thought  of  it,  and  in  the 
hearer  as  he  understood  it,  that  remains  while 
the  sounds  pass  away. 

9.  Turn  thy  attention  to  that  word.  Thou 
canst  have  a  word  in  thy  heart,  as  it  were  a 
design  born  in  thy  mind,  so  that  thy  mind 
brings  forth  the  design;  and  the  design  is,  so 
to  speak,  the  offspring  of  thy  mind,  the  child 
of  thy  heart.  For  first  thy  heart  brings  forth 
a  design  to  construct  some  fabric,  to  set  up 
something  great  on  the  earth;  already  the 
design  is  conceived,  and  the  work  is  not  yet 
finished:  thou  seest  what  thou  wilt  make;  but 
another  does  not  admire,  until  thou  hast  made 
and  constructed  the  pile,  and  brought  that 
fabric  into  shape  and  to  completion;  then 
men  regard  the  admirable  fabric,  and  admire 
the  design  of  the  architect;  they  are  aston 
ished  at  what  they  see,  and  are  pleased  with 
what  they  do  not  see:  who  is  there  who  can 
see  a  design  ?  If,  then,  on  account  of  some 
great  building  a  human  design  receives  praise, 
do  you  wish  to  see  what  a  design  of  God  is 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  is,  the  Word  of 
God  ?  Mark  this  fabric  of  the  world.  View 
what  was  made  by  the  Word,  and  then  thou 
wilt  understand  what  is  the  nature  of  the 
world.  Mark  these  two  bodies  of  the  world, 
the  heavens  and  the  earth.  Who  will  unfold 
in  words  the  beauty  of  the  heavens  ?  Who 
will  unfold  in  words  the  fruitfulness  of  the 
earth  ?  Who  will  worthily  extol  the  changes 
of  the  seasons?  Who  will  worthily  extol  the 
power  of  seeds?  You  see  what  things  I  do 
not  mention,  lest  in  giving  a  long  list  I  should 


perhaps  tell  of  less  than  you  can  call  up  to 
your  own  minds.  From  this  fabric,  then, 
judge  the  nature  of  the  Word  by  which  it  was 
nride:  and  not  it  alone;  for  all  these  things 
are  seen,  because  they  have  to  do  with  the 
bodily  sense.  By  that  Word  angels  also  were 
made;  by  that  Word  archangels  were  made, 
powers,  thrones,  dominions,  principalities;  by 
that  Word  were  made  all  things.  Hence, 
judge  what  a  Word  this  is. 

10.  Perhaps    some   one    now  answers  me, 
"Who  so  conceives   this  Word  ?"     Do  not 
then  imagine,  as   it  were,  some   paltry  thing 
when  thou  hearest  "the  Word,"  nor  suppose 
it  to   be   words   such  as  thou    hearest   them 
everyday — "he  spoke  such  words,"  "such 
words  he  uttered,"  "  such  words  you  tell  me:  '* 
for  by  constant  repetition  the  term  word  has 
become,  so  to  speak,  worthless.     And  when 
thou    hearest,    "  In   the    beginning  was   the 
Word,"   lest   thou   shouldest  imagine  some 
thing  worthless,  such,  as  thou  hast  been  ac 
customed  to  think  of  when  thou  wert  wont  to 
listen  to  human  words,  hearken  to  what  thou 
must  think  of:  "  The  Word  was  God." 

1 1.  Now  some  unbelieving  Arian  may  come 
forth  and  say  that  "  the  Word  of  God   was 
made."     How  can  it  be  that  the  Word   of 
God  was  made,  when  God  by  the  Word  made 
all  things?     If  the  Word   of  God  was   itself 
also  made,  by  what  other  Word  was  //  made  ? 
But  if  thou  sayest  that  there  is  a  Word   of 
the  Word,  I  say,  that  by  which  //  was   made 
is  itself  the  only  Son  of  God.     But  if  thou 
dost  not  say  there  is  a  Word  of  the    Word, 
allow  that  that  was  not  made  by  which  all 
things  were  made.     For   that  by  which  all 
things  were  made  could  not  be  male  by  itself. 
Believe  the  evangelist  then.     For  he   might 
have  said,  "In  the  beginning  God  made  the 
Word:'*  even  as  Moses  said,  "  In  the  begin 
ning  God  made  the  heavens  and  the  earth;  " 
and  enumerates  all  things  thus:  "God  said. 
Let   it   be   made,    and    it  was  made."1      If 
"said,"   who  said?     God.     And  what    was 
made  ?     Some  creature.     Between  the  speak 
ing  of  God   and   the  making  of  the  creature, 
what  was  there  by  which  it  was  made  but  the 
Word  ?     For  God  said,  "  Let  it  be  made,  and 
it  was  made."     This  Word  is  unchangeable; 
although  changeable  things  are  made  by  it, 
the  Word  itself  is  unchangeable. 

12.  Do  not  then  believe  that  that  was  made 
by  which  were  made  all  things,  lest  thou  be 
not  new-made  by  the  Word,  which  makes  all 
things    new.       For   already    hast  thou  been 
made  by  the  Word,  but  it  behoves  thee  to  be 
new-made  by  the   Word.     If,    however,  thy 


TRACTATE  I.] 


ON    i  in    &  >SPEL  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


belief  about  the  Word  lie  wrong,  thou  wilt  not 
be  able  to  be  new-made  by  the  Word.  And 
although  creation  by  the  word  has  happened 
to  thee,  so  that  thou  hast  been  made  by  Him, 
thon  art  unmade  by  thyself:  if  by  thyself  thou 
art  unmade,  let  Him  who  made  thee  make  thee 
new:  if  by  thyself  thou  hast  been  made  worse, 
let  Him  who  created  thee  re-create  thee. 
Hut  how  can  He  re-create  thee  by  the  Word, 
if  thou  boldest  a  wrong  opinion  about  the 
Word  ?  The  evangelist  says,  "  In  the  begin 
ning  was  the  Word;"  and  thou  sayest.  "In 
the  beginning  the  Word  was  made."  He 
says,  "All  things  were  made  by  Him;"  and 
thou  sayest  that  the  Word  Himself  was  made. 
The  evangelist  might  have  said,  "  In  the  be 
ginning  the  Word  was  made:  "  but  what  does 
he  say?  "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word." 
If  He  was,  He  was  not  made;  that  all  things 
might  be  made  by  it,  and  without  Him 
nothing  be  made.  If,  then,  "  in  the  begin 
ning  the  Word  was,  and  the  Word  was  with 
God,  and  the  Word  was  God;  "  if  thou  canst 
not  imagine  what  it  is,  wait  till  thou  art 
grown.  That  is  strong  meat:  receive  thou 
milk  that  thou  mayest  be  nourished,  and  be 
able  to  receive  strong  meat. 

13.  Give  good  heed  to  what  follows, 
brethren,  "  All  things  were  made  by  Him, 
and  without  Him  was  nothing  made,"  so  as 
not  to  imagine  that  "nothing"  is  something. 
For  many^  wrongly  understanding  "without 
Him  was  nothing  made,"  are  wont  to  fancy 
that  "  nothing  "  is  something.  Sin,  indeed, 
was  not  made  by  Him;  and  it  is  plain  that  sin 
is  nothing,  and  men  become  nothing  when 
they  sin.  An  idol  also  was  not  made  by  the 
Word; — it  has  indeed  a  sort  of  human  form, 
but  man  himself  was  made  by  the  Word; — 
for  the  form  of  man  in  an  idol  was  not  made 
by  the  Word,  and  it  is  written,  "  We  know 
that  an  idol  is  nothing."1  Therefore  these 
things  were  not  made  by  the  Word;  but  what- 
ever  was  made  in  the  natural  manner,  what 
ever  belongs  to  the  creature,  everything  that 
is  fixed  in  the  sky,  that  shines  from  above, 
that  flies  under  the  heavens,  and  that  moves 
in  universal  nature,  every  creature  whatso 
ever:  I  will  speak  more  plainly,  brethren,  that 
you  may  understand  me;  I  will  say,  from  an 
angel  even  to  a  worm.  What  more  excellent 
than  an  angel  among  created  things?  what 
lower  than  a  worm  ?  He  who  made  the  angel 
made  the  worm  also;  but  the  angel  is  fit  for 
heaven,  the  worm  for  earth.  He  who  created 
also  arranged.  If  He  had  placed  the  worm 
in  heaven,  thou  mightest  have  found  fault;  if 
He  had  willed  that  angels  should  spring  from 


•  ion    mightest  have    : 
fault:   and  yet  I'md  almost  dors   t 
is  not  to  be    found    fault  with.      For   :.. 
born  of  tle.-h,  what  are  they  but  svorm 
of  these   worms    ilod    makes   angels.       ; 
[the  Lord  Himself  says,  "Hut    I  am  a 
and  no  man,'' '  who  will  hesitate  • 
is  written  also  in  Job,  "  How  much  riv 
man  rottenness,  and  the  son  of  man  a  wor 
First  he  said,  "  Man  is  rottenness;  "  and  after 
wards,  "  The  son  of  man  a  worm:  "  because 
a   worm    springs    from  rottenness,  therefore 
"man  is   rottenness,"  and  "the  son  of  man 
a  worm."     Hehold  what  for  thy  sake  He  was 
willing  to  become,   who  "  in  the   beginning 
was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God, 
and    the    Word    was   God  !  "     Why  did   He 
for    thy    sake    become    this  ?      That    thou 
mightest  suck,  who  wert  not  able  to  chew. 
j  Wholly  in  this  sense,  then,  brethren,  under- 
i  stand  "All  things  were  made  by   Him,  and 
;  without  Him  was  nothing  made.*'     For  every 
i  creature,  great  and  small,  was  made  by  Him: 
;  by  Him  were  made  things  above  and  things 
beneath;  spiritual    and  corporeal,    by     Him 
were  they  made.     For  no  form,  no  structure, 
no  agreement  of  parts,  no  substance  whatever 
that  can  have  weight,  number,  measure,  exists 
but  by  that  Word,  and  by  that  Creator  Word, 
to  whom   it  is  said,  "  Thou   hast  ordered   all 
things  in  measure,  and   in   number,   and   in 
weight."  * 

14.  Therefore,    let   no   one   deceive  you, 
when  perchance  you  suffer  annoyance   from 
flies.     For  some  have  been  mocked  by  the 
devil,  and  taken  with  flies.     As  fowlers  are 
accustomed  to  put  flies  in  their  traps  to  de 
ceive    hungry    birds,   so  these    have    been 
deceived  with  flies  by  the  devil.     Some  one 
|  or  other  was  suffering  annoyance  from  flies;  a 
Manichaean    found   him   in  his  trouble,  and 
i  when  he  said  that  he  could  not  bear  flies,  and 
|  hated    them    exceedingly,    immediately    the 
i  Manichwan  said,  "  Who  made  them  ? "     And 
since  he  was  suffering  from  annoyance,  and 
'  hated  them,  he  dared  not  say,  "  God  made 
them,"  though  he  was  a  Catholic.     The  other 
immediately  added,  "  If  God  did  not  make 
them,  who  made  them  ?  "     "  Truly,"  replied 
jthe    Catholic,    "I   believe   the   devil    made 
them."      And    the    other  immediately  said, 
"If  the  devil  made  the  fly,  as  1  see  you  allow, 
because  you  understand  'the  matter  well,  who 
made  the  bee,  which  is  a  little  larger  than  the 
By?"     The  Catholic  dared  not  say  th.i- 

made  the  bee  and  not  t:ie  fly,  for  the  case 
was  much  the  same.  From  the  bee  he  led 
him  to  tiie  locust;  from  the  locust  to  the 

*  p,.  x  3  Job  v 


12 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  I. 


lizard;  from  the  lizard  to  the  bird;  from  the 
bird  to  the  sheep;  from  the  sheep  to  the  cow; 
from  that  to  the  elephant,  and  at  last  to  man; 
and  persuaded  a  man  that  man  was  not  made 
by  God.  Thus  the  miserable  man,  being 


the  cross,  whence  we  have  received  life.  A 
stone,  then,  is  life.  It  is  not  seemly  so  to 
understand  the  passage,  as  the  same  most 
vile  sect  of  the  Manichseans  creep  stealthily 
on  us  again,  and  say  that  a  stone  has  life,  that 

troubled  with  the  flies,  became  himself  a  fly,  a  wall  has  a  soul,  and  a  cord  has  a  soul,  and 
and  the  property  of  the  devil.  In  fact,  wool,  and  clothing.  For  so  they  are  accus- 
Beelzebub,  they  say,  means  "  Prince  of  flies;  "  ;  tomed  to  talk  in  their  raving;  and  when  they 
and  of  these  it  is  written,  "Dying  flies  de- ' have  been  driven  back  and  refuted,  they  in 
prive  the  ointment  of  its  sweetness."  l  some  sort  bring  forward  Scripture,  saying, 

15.  What  then,  brethren  ?  why  have  I  said  !  "  Why  is  it  said,  *  That,  which  was  made  in 
these  things  ?  Shut  the  ears  of  your  hearts  Him,  is  life '  ?  "  For  if  all  things  were  made 
against  the  wiles  of  the  enemy.  Understand  in  Him,  all  things  are  life.  Be  not  carried 
that  God  made  all  things,  and  arranged  them  away  by  them;  read  thus  "  That  which  was 
in  their  orders.  Why,  then,  do  we  suffer !  made; '"  here  make  a  short  pause,  and  then 


many  evils  from  a  creature  that  God  made  ? 
Because  we  have  offended  God?  Do  angels 
suffer  these  things  ?  Perhaps  we.  too,  in  that 
life  of  theirs,  would  have  no  such  thing  to 


in  Him  is  life."  What  is  the  mean 
ing  of  this  ?  The  earth  was  made,  but  the 
very  earth  that  was  made  is  not  life;  but  there 
exists  spiritually  in  the  Wisdom  itself  a  certain 


reason  by  which  the  eartn  was  made:  this  is 
life. 

17.   As    far   as    I  can,  1   shall  explain   my 


fear.  For  thy  punishment,  accuse  thy  sin. 
not  the  Judge.  For,  on  account  of  our  pride, 
God  appointed  that  tiny  and  contemptible 

creature  to  torment  us;  so  that,  since  man  has  >  meaning  to  you,  beloved.  A  carpenter  makes 
become  proud  and  has  boasted  himself  against '  a  box.  First  he  has  the  box  in  design;  for  if 
God,  and,  though  mortal,  has  oppressed  mor-  j  he  had  it  not  in  design,  how  could  he  pro- 
tals,  and,  though  man,  has  not  acknowledged  duce  it  by  workmanship?  But  the  box  in 
his  fellowman, — since  he  has  lifted  himself :  theory  is  not  the  very  box  as  it  appears  to  the 
up,  he  may  be  brought  low  by  gnats.  Why  j  eyes.  It  exists  invisibly  in  design,  it  will  be 
art  thou  inflated  with  human  pride  ?  Some !  visible  in  the  work.  Behold,  it  is  made  in 
one  has  censured  thee,  and  thou  art  swollen !  the  work;  has  it  ceased  to  exist  in  design? 
with  rage.  Drive  off  the  gnats,  that  thou  The  one  is  made  in  the  work,  and  the  other 
mayest  sleep:  understand  who  thou  art.  For,  remains  which  exists  in  design;  for  that  box 
that  you  may  know,  brethren,  it  was  for  the  may  rot,  and  another  be  fashioned  according 
taming  of  our  pride  these  things  were  created  j  to  that  which  exists  in  design.  Give  heed, 
to  be  troublesome  to  us,  God  could  have  j  then,  to  the  box  as  it  is  in  design,  and  the 
humbled  Pharaoh's  proud  people  by  bears,  by  box  as  it  is  in  fact.  The  actual  box  is  not 
lions,  by  serpents;  He  sent  flies  and  frogs  !  life,  the  box  in  design  is  life;  because  the  soul 
upon  them,2  that  their  pride  might  be  sub-  j  of  the  artificer,  where  all  these  things  are 


dued  by  the  meanest  creatures. 

16.    "All    things,"    then,     brethren. 


before  they  are  brought  forth,  is  living.     So, 
"  all   dearly  beloved  brethren,  because  the  Wisdom 


things  were  made  by  Him,  and  without  Him  of  God,  by  which  all  things  have  been  made, 
was  nothing  made."  But  how  were  all  things  |  contains  everything  according  to  design  before 
made  by  Him?  "That,  which  was  made,  in  it  is  made,  therefore  those  things  which  are 
Him  is  life."  It  can  also  be  read  thus:  made  through  this  design  itself  are  not  forth- 


"  That,  which  was  made  in   Him,  is 
and  if  we  so  read  it,  everything  is  life, 
what  is  there  that   was  not   made   in 


For 


with  life,  but  whatever  has  been  made  is  life 
in   Him.     You   see    the    earth,   there    is   an 


Him?  earth  in  design;  you  see  the  sky,  there  is  a 

For  He  is  the  Wisdom  of  God,  and  it  is  said  sky  in  design;  you  see  the  sun  and  the  moon, 

in  the  Psalm,3  "  In  Wisdom  hast  Thou  made  these  also  exist  in  design:  but  externally  they 

all  things."     If,  then,  Christ  is  the  Wisdom  are  bodies,  in  design  they  are  life.     Uncler- 


of  God,  and  the  Psalm  says,  "  In  Wisdom 
hast  Thou  made  all  things:"  as  all  things 
were  made  by  Him,  so  all  things  were  made 
in  Him.  If,  then,  all  tilings  were  made  in 
Him,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  and  that, 
which  was  made  in  Him,  is  life,  both  the  earth 
is  life  and  wood  is  life.  We  do  indeed  say 
wood  is  life,  but  in  the  sense  of  the  wood  of 


stand,  if  in  any  way  you  are  able,  for  a  great 
matter  has  been  spoken.  If  I  am  not  great 
by  whom  it  is  spoken,  or  through  whom  it  is 
spoken,  still  it  is  from  a  great  authority.  For 
these  things  are  not  spoken  by  me  who  am 
small;  He  is  not  small  to  whom  I  refer  in 
saying  these  things.  Let  each  one  take  in 
whr/c  he  can,  and  to  what  extent  he  can;  and 
he  who  is  not  able  to  take  in  any  of  it,  let  him 
nourish  his  heart,  that  he  may  become  able. 


TRACTAII    II.] 


(>N  "I  ill.  ',<  iSPEl    OI   BT.  JOHN, 


How  is  he  to  nourish  it?  Let  him  nourish  it 
with  milk,  that  he  may  come  to  strong  meat. 
Let  him  not  leave  Christ  born  through  the 
llesh  till  he  arrive  at  Christ  born  of  the  Katuer 
alone,  the  God-Word  witn  tiod,  through  whom 
all  things  were  made;  for  tiiat  is  life,  which 
in  Him  is  the  light  of  men. 

18.  For  this  follows:  "and  the  life  was  the 
light  of  men;"  and  from  this  very  life  are 
men  illuminated.  Cattle  are  not  illuminated, 
because  cattle  have  not  rational  minds  capa 
ble  of  seeing  wisdom.  But  man  was  made 
in  the  image  of  God,  and  has  a  rational 
mind,  by  which  he  can  perceive  wisdom. 
That  life,  then,  by  which  all  things  were 
made,  is  itself  the  light;  yet  not  the  light  of 
every  animal,  but  of  men.  Wherefore  a  little 
after  he  says,  *'  That  was  the  true  light,  which 
lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the 
world."  By  that  light  John  the  Baptist  was 
illuminated;  by  the  same  light  also  was  John 
the  Evangelist  himself  illuminated.  He  was 
filled  with  that  light  who  said,  "  I  am  not  the 
Christ;  but  He  that  cometh  after  me,  whose 
shoe's  latchet  I  am  not  worthy  to  unloose."1 
By  that  light  he  had  been  illuminated  who 
said,  "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and 
the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was 
God."  Therefore  that  life  is  the  light  of 
men. 


19.  'But  perha; 

you    cannot   yet    receive    that    light,  I" 
they  are  burdened   by  their  sins, 
cannot  see.      Let   them    not  on   t 
think  that  the  light  is  in  any   u 
because  they  are  not  able  to  see  it;  f«> 
themselves  are  darkness  on  account  of  their 
sins.     **  And  the  light  shineth   in  dar- 
and    the   darkness    comprehended    it    not." 
Accordingly,   brethren,   as  in  the  case  of  a 
blind    man    placed    in   the   sun,    the   sun    is 
present  to  him,  but  he  is  absent  from  the  sun. 
So   every    foolish   man,    every   unjust   man, 
every  irreligious  man,  is  blind  in  heart.     Wis 
dom  is  present;  but  it  is  present  to  a  blind 
man,  and  is  absent  from  his  eyes;  not  because 
it   is   absent    from    him,  but   because   he   is 
absent  from  it.     What  then  is  he  to  do  ?     Let 
him  become  pure,  that  he  may  be  able  to  see 
God.     Just  as  if  a  man  could  not  see  because 
his   eyes   were    dirty    and   sore    with   dust, 
rheum,  or  smoke,  the  physician  would  say  to 
him:  "  Cleanse  from  your  eye  whatever  bad 
thing  is  in  it,  so  that  you  may  be  able  to  see 
the  light  of  your  eyes."     Dust,  rheum,  and 
smoke  are  sins  and   iniquities:  remove  then 
all  these  things,  and  you  will  see  the  wisdom 
that  is  present;  for  God  is  that  wisdom,  and 
it  has  been   said,  "  Blessed  are  the  pure   in 
heart;  for  they  shall  see  God."  ' 


»  John  i.  26,  27. 


TRACTATE   II. 

CHAPTER  I.  6-14. 


IT  is  fitting,  brethren,  that  as  far  as  possi 
ble  we  should  treat  of  the  text  of  Holy  Scrip 
ture,  and  especially  of  the  Holy  Gospel, 
without  omitting  any  portion,  that  both  we 
ourselves  may  derive  nourishment  according 
to  our  capacity,  and  may  minister  to  you  from 
that  source  from  which  we  have  been  nourish 
ed.  Last  Lord's  day,  we  remember,  we 
treated  of  the  first  section;  that  is,  "In  the 
beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was 
with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God.  The 
same  was  in  the  beginning  with  God.  All 
things  were  made  by  Him;  and  without  Him 
was  nothing  made.  That  which  was  made,  in 
Him  is  life;  and  the  life  was  the  light  of  men. 
And  the  light  shineth  in  darkness;  and  the 
darkness  comprehended  it  not."  So  far,  I 
believe,  had  I  advanced  in  the  treatment  «>t 
the  passage:  let  all  who  were  present  recall 


what  was  then  said;  and  those  of  you  who 
were  not  present,  believe  me  and  those  who 
chose  to  be  present.  Now  therefore, — because 
we  cannot  always  be  repeating  everything, 
out  of  justice  to  those  who  desire  to  hear 
what  follows,  and  because  repetition  of  the 
former  thought  is  a  burden  to  them  and  de 
prives  them  of  what  succeeds, — let  those  who 
were  absent  on  the  former  occasion  retrain 
from  demanding  repetition,  but,  togetlu 
those  who  were  here,  listen  to  the  present 
exposition. 

2.   It  goes  on,  "There   was   a   man    sent 
from  God  whose  name  was  John."     Truly, 
brethren  beloved,   those  things  which 
said  before,  were  said  r 
divinity  of  Christ,  and  almost  ine:: 
who  shall  comprehend  "In  the  beginm: 
the    Word,  and   the    Word    was   with  God"; 


mi;  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  II. 


And  do  not  allow  the  name   word   to   appear 


for  us  He  might  become  this;  because   He 
became  that  for  us,  on  which   the  weak   may 


mean    to  you,    through    the    habit   of   daily 

words,  for  it  is   added,  "  and    the   Word   was  be  borne,  and  cross  the  sea  of  this  world  and 

God."     This  Word  is  He  of  whom  yesterday  reach  their  native  country;  where  there  will 

we   spoke   much;  and    I  trust   that  God   was  be  no  need  of  a  ship,  for  no  sea  is  crossed. 

present,  and  that  even  from  only  thus  much  It  is  better  then' not  to  see  with  the  mind  tiiat 


speaking    something    reached   your 
"In  the  beginning  was  the  Word." 


hearts. 
He  is 


the  same,  and  is  in  the  same  manner;  as  He 
is,  so  He  is  always;  He  cannot  be  changed; 
that  is,  He  is.  This  His  name  He  spoke  to 
His  servant  Moses:  "  I  am  that  I  am;  and 
He  that  is  hath  sent  me."  '  Who  then  shall 
comprehend  this  when  you  see  that  all  mortal 
things  are  variable;  when  you  see  that  not 
only  do  bodies  vary  as  to  their  qualities,  by 
being  born,  by  increasing,  by  becoming  less, 
by  dying,  but  that  even  souls  themselves 
through  the  effect  of  divers  volitions  are  dis 
tended  and  divided;  when  you  see  that  men 
can  obtain  wisdom  if  they  apply  themselves 
to  its  light  and  heat,  and  also  lose  wisdom  if 
they  remove  themselves  from  it  through  some 
evil  influence  ?  When,  therefore,  you  see 
that  all  those  things  are  variable,  what  is  that 
which  is,  unless  that  which  transcends  all 
things  which  are  so  that  they  are  not  ?  Wrho 
then  can  receive  this  ?  Or  who,  in  what  man 
ner  soever  he  may  have  applied  the  strength 
of  his  mind  to  touch  that  which  is,  can  reach 
to  that  which  he  may  in  any  way  have  touched 
with  his  mind  ?  It  is  as  if  one  were  to  see  his 


which  is,  and  yet  not  to  depart  from  the  cross 
of  Christ,  than  to  see  it  with  the  mind,  and 
despise  the  cross  of  Christ.  It  is  good  beyond 
this,  and  best  of  all,  if  it  be  possible,  that  we 
both  see  whither  we  ought  to  go,  and  hold 
fast  that  which  carries  us  as  we  go.  This 
they  were  able  to  do,  the  great  minds  of  the 
mountains,  who  have  been  called  mountains, 
whom  the  light  of  divine  justice  pre-eminently 


illuminates;  they 
saw  that   which 


were  able  to  do  this,  and 
For  John   seeing  said, 


"In  the  beginning  was  the  WTord,  and  the 
Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God." 
They  saw  this,  and  in  order  that  they  might 
arrive  at  that  which  they  saw  from  afar,  they 
did  not  depart  from  the  cross  of  Christ,  and 
did  not  despise  Christ's  lowliness.  But  little 
ones  who  cannot  understand  this,  who  do  not 
depart  from  the  cross  and  passion  and  resur 
rection  of  Christ,  are  conducted  in  that  same 
ship  to  that  which  they  do  not  see,  in  which 
they  also  arrive  who  do  see. 

4.  But  truly  there  have  been  some  philoso 
phers  of  this  world  who  have  sought  for  the 
Creator  by  means  of  the  creature;  for  He  can 
be  found  by  means  of  the  creature,  as  the 


native  land  at  a  distance,  and  the  sea  inter-   apostle     plainly   says,    "  For    the     invisible 
vening;  he  sees  whither  he  would  go,  but  he   things  of  Him  from  the  creation  of  the  world 


has  not  the  means  of  going.  So  we  desire  to 
arrive  at  that  our  stability  where  that  which 
is,  is,  because  this  alone  always  is  as  it  is: 
the  sea  of  this  world  interrupts  our  course, 
even  although  already  we  see  whither  we  go; 
for  many  do  not  even  see  whither  they  go. 
That  there  might  be  a  way  by  which  we  could 


are  clearly  seen,   being  understood    by  the 
things  that  are  made,  even  His  eternal  power 


and 
And 


glory;    so   they  are   without    excuse." 
it    follows,   "Because  that,   when  they 


knew  God;"  he  did  not  say,  Because  they  did 


not   know,  but   "  Because 


when    they 


knew  God,  they  glorified   Him   not  as  God, 


go,  He  has  come  from  Him  to  whom  we  j  neither  were  thankful;  but  became  vain  in 
wished  to  go.  And  what  has  He  done  ?  He  their  imaginations,  and  their  foolish  heart  was 
has  appointed  a  tree  by  which  we  may  cross  darkened."  How  darkened?  It  follows, 
the  sea.  For  no  one  is  able  to  cross  the  seal  when  he  says  more  plainly:  "  Professing 


of  this  world,  unless  borne  by  the  cross  of 
Christ.  Even  he  who  is  of  weak  eyesight 
sometimes  embraces  this  cross;  and  he  who 
does  not  see  from  afar  whither  he  goes,  let 
him  not  depart  from  it,  and  it  will  carry  him 
over. 

3.  Therefore,  my  brethren,  I  would  desire 
to  have  impressed  this  upon  your  hearts:  if 
you  wish  to  live  in  a  pious  and  Christian  man 
ner,  cling  to  Christ  according  to  that  which 


themselves  to  be  wise,  they  became  fools." 
They  saw  whither  they  must  come;  but  un 
grateful  to  Him  who  afforded  them  what  they 
saw,  they  wished  to  ascribe  to  themselves  what 
they  saw;  and  having  become  proud,  they 
lost  what  they  saw,  and  were  turned  from  it 
to  idols  and  images,  and  to  the  worship  of 
demons,  to  adore  the  creature  and  to  despise 
the  Creator.  But  these  having  been  blinded 
did  those  things,  and  became  proud,  that 


He  became  for  us,  that  you  may  arrive  at  j  they  might  be  blinded:  when  they  were 
Him  according  to  that  which  is,  and  accord-  proud  they  said  that  they  were  wise.  Those, 
ing  to  that  which  was.  He  approached,  that  therefore,  concerning  whom  he  said,  "\V~ho, 


Ex.  iii.  14. 


THAI- i  \  i  i 


oN  'I  III.  G(  >SPEL  <  >l    ST,  JOHN, 


when  they   hail    known    ( '.od,"  saw  this  which    admire;  but   as  it    were    a    mountain.       ; 

Jolm  says,  that  by  tin-  Word  otiiod  all  things    mountain  is  in  darkness   uni- 

were  made.      For  these  things  are  also   found    with  light.      Therefore  only  admi:- 

m    the    books    of  the    philosophers:   and    that    you  may  hear  wnat  follows,'  "  i; 

(iod  has  an   only-begotten  Son,  by  whom  are    light;"    lest  if,  when  thou  thinkest  the  n. 

all  tilings.     They  were  able  to  see  that  which   tain  to  he  the  light,  thou  make  shipwreck  on 

is,  but  they  saw  it  from  afar:  they  were  un-jthe  mountain,  and  find  not  OO1 

willing  to   hold   the    lowliness  of  Christ,    in  i  what  oughtest  thou  to  admire?     The  niomi- 

which  ship  they  might  have  arrived  in  safety  i  tain  as  a  mountain.     But  lift  thyself  up  to 

at  that  which  they  were  able  to  see  from  afar; !  Him  who  illuminates  the  mountain,  whi' 

and  the  cross  of  Christ  appeared  vile  to  them,  j  this  end  was  elevated  that  it  might  be  the  first 

The  sea  has  to  be  crossed,  and  dost  thou  de-  (to  receive  the  rays,  and  make  them  known  to 


spise  the  wood  ?  Oh,  proud  wisdom  !  thou 
laughest  to  scorn  the  crucified  Christ;  it  is 
He  whom  thou  dost  see  from  afar:  "  In  the 
beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was 
with  God."  But  wherefore  was  He  crucified  ? 
Because  the  wood  of  His  humiliation  was 


your   eyes.       Therefore,    "  he  was  not   that 
light." 

6.  Wherefore  then  did  he  come?  "But 
that  he  might  bear  witness  concerning  the 
light."  Why  so?  "  That  all  might  believe 
through  him."  And  concerning  what  light 
was  he  to  bear  witness  ?  "  That  was  the  true 


needful    to   thee.     For    thou    hadst   become 

swollen  with  pride,  and   hadst  been  cast  out   light."     Wherefore  is  it  added  true  ?    Because 

far  from  that  fatherland;  and  by  the  waves 

of  this  world  has  the  way  been   intercepted, 


and    there 
fatherland 


is    no   means   of  passing 
unless     borne      by     the 


to   the 
wood. 


Ungrateful  one  !  thou  laughest  Him  to  scorn 


enlightened  man  is  also  called  a  light; 
but  the  true  light  is  that  which  enlightens. 
For  even  our  eyes  are  called  lights;  and 
nevertheless,  unless  either  during  the  night  a 
lamp  is  lighted,  or  during  the  day  the  sun 


who  has  come  to  thee  that  thou  mayest  return: !  goes   forth,   these  lights    are  open    in  vain. 


He  has  become  the  way,  and  that  through 


Thus,   therefore,  John  was  a  light,  but  not 
the  true  light;  because,  if  not  enlightened. 


he  would   have  been  darkness;  but,   by  en- 


the    sea:1  thence   He  walked   in  the  sea  to 

show  that  there  is  a  way  in  the   sea.     But 

thou  who  art  not  able  in  any  way  thyself  to   lightenment,  he  became  a  light.     For  unless 

walk    in    the    sea,  be    carried    in   a   ship,  be  i  he  had  been  enlightened  he  would  have  been 

carried  by  the  wood:  believe  in  the  crucified   darkness,  as  all  those  once  impious  men,  to 


One,    and    thou    shall   arrive    thilher.       On 
account  of  thee  He  was  crucified,  to  teach 


whom,   as  believers,   the  apostle  said,  "  Ye 
were  sometimes  darkness."    But  now,  because 


tb.ee  humility;  and  because  if  He  should  come  :  they  had  believed,  what  ?--"  but  now  are  ye 
as  God,  He  would  nol  be  recognized.     For  light,"  he  says,  "in  the  Lord."3     Unl< 
if  He    should    come   as  God,  He   would    not   had    added    "in  the   Lord,"   we  should 
come  to  those  who  were  not  able  to  see  God. 
For  not  according  to  His  Godhead  does  He 
either  come  or  depart;  since    He   is  every 
where  present,  and  is  contained  in  no  place. 


But,  according  to  what  did  He  come?     He 
appeared  as  a  man. 

5.  Therefore,  because  He  was  so  man, 
that  Ihe  God  lay  hid  in  Him,  there  was  senl 
before  Him  a  great  man,  by  whose  testimony 
He  might  be  found  to  be  more  than  man. 
And  who  is  this?  "  He  was  a  man."  And 
how  could  that  man  speak  the  truth  concern 
ing  God?  "He  was  sent  by  God."  What 
was  he  called?  "Whose  name  was  John." 
Wherefore  did  he  come?  "He  came  fora 
witness,  that  he  might  bear  witness  concern 
ing  the  light,  that  all  might  believe  through 
him."  What  sort  of  man  was  he  who  was  to 


not 

have  understood.  "  Light,"  he  says,  "  In 
the  Lord:"  darkness  you  were  not  in  the 
Lord.  "  For  ye  were  sometimes  darkness," 
where  he  did  not  add  in  the  Lord.  There 
fore,  darkness  in  you,  light  in  the  Lord. 
And  thus  "  he  was  nol  that  light,  but  was  sent 
to  bear  wilness  of  Ihe  light." 

7.  But  where  is  that  light?  "  He  was  the 
true  light,  which  lighteth  every  man  that 
cometh  inio  Ihe  world."  If  ever)'  man  that 
cometh,  then  also  John.  The  true  light, 
therefore,  enlightened  him  by  whom  H< 
desired  Himself  to  be  pointed  out.  Under 
stand,  beloved,  for  He  came  to  infirm  minds, 
to  wounded  hearts,  to  the  gaze  of  din 
souls.  For  this  purpose  had  He  come.  And 
whence  was  ihe  soul  able  to  see  that  which 
perfectly  is  ?  Kven  as  il  commonly  happens. 


bear   wilness  concerning  the   light?     Some- 1  that  by  means  of  some  illuminated  body,  the 

thing  great  was  that  John,  vast  merit,  great   sun,  which  we  cannot  see  with    tin 

grace,  great  loftiness  !     Admire,  by  all  means,   known  to  have  arisen.     Because  even  those 


Matt.  xiv.  25. 


'Eph. 


i6 


THK   WORKS  OK  ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATK  II. 


who  have  wounded  eyes  are  able  to  see  a  wall  man:  so  infirm  are  we.  By  a  lamp  we  seek 
illuminated  and  enlightened  by  the  sun,  or  ;  the  day;  because  John  himself  was  called  a 
a  mountain,  or  a  tree,  or  anything  of  that  lamp,  the  Lord  saying,"  He  was  a  burning 
sort;  and,  by  means  of  another  body  illumi-  and  a  shining  light;  and  ye  were  willing  for 


nated,  that  arising  is  shown  to  those  who  are 
not  as  yet  able  to  gaze  on  it.  Thus,  therefore, 
all  those  to  whom  Christ  came  were  not  fit  to 


a  season  to  rejoice  in   his  light:  but  I  have 
greater  witness  than  John."2 

9.  Therefore  He  showed  that  for  the  sake 


see  Him:  upon  John  He  shed  the  beams  of  j  of  men  He  desired  to  have  Himself  revealed 
His  light;  and  by  means  of  him  confessing  by  a  lamp  to  the  faith  of  those  who  believed, 


himself  to  have  been  irradiated  and  enlighten 
ed,  not  claiming  to  be  one  who  irradiates  and 
enlightens,  He  is  known  who  enlightens,  He 
is  known  who  illuminates,  He  is  known  who 
fills.  And  who  is  it?  "He  who  lighteth 
every  man,"  he  says,  "who  cometh  into  the 
world."  For  if  man  had  not  receded  from 
that  light,  he  would  not  have  required  to  be 
illuminated;  but  for  this  reason  has  he  to  be 
illuminated  here,  because  he  departed  from 
that  light  by  which  man  might  always  have 
been  illuminated. 

8.  What  then  ?  If  He  came  hither,  where 
was  He?  "  He  was  in  this  world."  He  was 
both  here  and  came  hither;  He  was  here  ac 
cording  to  His  divinity,  and  He  came  hither 
according  to  the  flesh;  because  when  He  was 
here  according  to  His  divinity,  He  could  not 
be  seen  by  the  foolish,  by  the  blind,  and  the 
wicked.  These  wicked  men  are  the  darkness, 
concerning  which  it  was  said,  "  The  light 
shineth  in  darkness,  and  the  darkness  corn- 


that  by  means  of  the  same  lamp  His  enemies 
might  be  confounded.  There  were  enemies 
who  tempted  Him,  and  said,  "Tell  us  by 
what  authority  doest  thou  these  things?" 
"  I  also,"  saith  He,  "will  ask  you  one  ques 
tion;  answer  me.  The  baptism  of  John, 
whence  was  it  ?  from  heaven,  or  of  men  ? 
And  they  were  troubled,  and  said  among 
themselves,  If  we  shall  say,  From  heaven,  he 
will  say  unto  us,  Why  did  ye  not  believe 
him  ?"  (Because  he  had  borne  testimony  to 
Christ,  and  had  said,  I  am  not  the  Christ,  but 
He.3  "  But  if  we  shall  say,  Of  men,  we  fear 
the  people,  lest  they  should  stone  us:  for  they 
held  John  as  a  prophet."  Afraid  of  stoning, 
but  fearing  more  to  confess  the  truth,  they 
answered  a  lie  to  the  Truth;  and  "wicked 
ness  imposed  a  lie  upon  itself."4  For  they 
said,  "We  know  not."  And  the  Lord,  be 
cause  they  shut  the  door  against  themselves, 
by  professing  ignorance  of  what  they  knew, 
did  not  open  to  them,  because  they  did  not 


prehended  it  not.''  '     Behold,  both  here  He  ,  knock.     For  it  is  said,  Knock,  and  it  shall  be 


is  now,  and  here  He  was,  and  here  He  is 
always;  and  He  never  departs,  departs  no- 
whither.  There  is  need  that  thou  have  some 
means  whereby  thou  mayest  see  that  which 
never  departs  from  thee;  there  is  need  that 
thou  depart  not  from  Him  who  departs  no- 
whither;  there  is  need  that  thou  desert  not, 
and  thou  shalt  not  be  deserted.  Do  not  fall, 
and  His  sun  will  not  set  to  thee.  If  thou 
fallest,  His  sun  setteth  upon  thee;  but  if  thou 
standest,  He  is  present  with  thee.  But  thou 
hast  not  stood:  remember  how  thou  hast 
fallen,  how  he  who  fell  before  thee  cast  thee 
down.  For  he  cast  thee  down,  not  by  vio 
lence,  not  by  assault,  but  by  thine  own  will. 
For  hadst  thou  not  consented  unto  evil,  thou 
wouldest  have  stood,  thou  wouldest  have 
remained  enlightened.  But  now,  because 
thou  hast  already  fallen,  and  hast  become 
wounded  in  heart, — the  organ  by  which  that 
light  can  be  seen, — He  came  to  thee  such  as 
thou  mightest  see;  and  He  in  such  fashion 
manifested  Himself  as  man,  that  He  sought 
testimony  from  man.  From  man  God  seeks 
testimony,  and  God  has  man  as  a  witness; — 
God  has  man  as  a  witness,  but  on  account  of 


John  i.  5. 


opened  unto  you."5  Not  only  did  these  not 
knock  that  it  might  be  opened  to  them;  but, 
by  denying  that  they  knew,  they  barred  that 
door  against  themselves.  And  the  Lord  says 
to  them,  Neither  tell  I  you  by  what  authority 
I  do  these  things."6  And  they  were  con 
founded  by  means  of  John;  and  in  them  were 
the  words  fulfilled,"!  have  ordained  a  lamp 
for  mine  anointed.  His  enemies  will  I  clothe 
with  shame."  7 

10.  "  He  was  in  the  world,  and  the  world 
was  made  by  Him."  Think  not  that  He  was 
in  the  world  as  the  earth  is  in  the  world,  as  the 
sky  is  in  the  world,  as  the  sun  is  in  the  world, 
the  moon  and  the  stars,  trees,  cattle,  and 
men.  He  was  not  thus  in  the  world.  But  in 
what  manner  then?  As  the  Artificer  govern 
ing  what  He  had  made.  For  He  did  not 
make  it  as  a  carpenter  makes  a  chest.  The 
chest  which  he  makes  is  outside  the  carpenter, 
and  so  it  is  put  in  another  place,  while  being 
made;  and  although  the  workman  is  nigh,  he 
sits  in  another  place,  and  is  external  to  that 
which  he  fashions.  But  God,  infused  into 


John  v.  35.  '  Tohn  i.  20,  27. 

Vs.  xxvi{!i2.  M.ut.vii.  7. 

>  Matt.  xxi.  23-27;  Mark  xii.  28-33;  Luke  xx.  2-8. 
IV  rxxxii.  17. 


TKACTATI    n.| 


ON  Tin;  GOSPEL  01  -  r.  JOHN, 


tlu:     world,    fashions     it;     being    cvcrywlur  re 
present    He    fashions,    and    \vitiulra\vt-th    not 
Himself  elsewhere,  nor  cloth  He,  as  it  were,  [ 
handle    from    without,  the   matter   which    He 
fashions.      Hy  the  presence  of  His  majesty  He 
maketh     what     He     maketh;     His     presence  I 
governs  what  He  made.     Therefore  was   He' 
in  the  world  as  the  Maker  of  the  world;  for, 
"  The  world  was  made  by  Him,  and  the  world 
knew  Him  not." 

11.  What  meaneth  "the  world  was  made 
by  Him  "  ?     The  heaven,  the  earth,  the  sea, 
and  all  tilings  which  are   therein,  are  called 
the  world.     Again,  in  another  signification, 
those  who  love  the  world  are  called  the  world. 
"  The  world  was  made  by  Him,  and  the  world  ' 
knew  Him  not."     Did  not  the  heavens  know 
their  Creator,   or  did  the  angels   not  know 
their  Creator,  or  did  the  stars  not  know  their 
Creator,    whom    the    demons    confess  ?      All 
things  from   all   sides   gave   testimony.     But 
who   did    not   know?     Those  who,   for  their 
love  of  the  world,  are  called  the  world.     By 
loving  we  dwell  with  the  heart;  but  because 
of  their  loving  the  world  they  deserved  to  be 
called  after  the   name  of  that  in  which  they 
dwelt.     In  the  same  manner  as  we  say,  This 
house  is  bad,  or  this   house   is  good,  we  do 
not  in  calling  the  one  bad  or  the  other  good 
accuse  or  praise  the  walls;  but  by  a  bad  house 
we  mean  a  house  with  bad   inhabitants,  and 
by  a  good  house,  a  house  with  good  inhabi 
tants.     In  like  manner  we  call  those  the  world 
who  by  loving  it,  inhabit  the  world.     Who 
are  they?      Those  who  love  the   world;  for 
they  dwell  with  their  hearts   in   the    world. 
For  those  who  do  not  love  the  world    in  the 
flesh,    indeed,   sojourn   in   the  world,  but  in 
their   hearts    they   dwell    in   heaven,   as   the 
apostle      says,     "  Our     conversation     is     in 
heaven."1  Therefore   "the  world  was  made 
by  Him,  and  the  world  knew  Him  not.'* 

12.  "He  came  unto  His  own,'1 — because 
all  these  things  were  made  by  Him, — "and 
His  own  received  Him  not."     Who  are  they  ? 
The  men  whom  He  made.     The  Jews  whom 
He  at  the  first  made  to  be  above  all  nations. 
Because  other  nations  worshipped  idols  and 
served  demons;  but  that  people  was  born  of 
the    seed    of    Abraham,  and    in    an    eminent 
sense  His  own,  because  kindred  through  that 
flesh  which   He  deigned  to  assume.       "  He 
came  unto  His   own,  and    His  own   received 
Him  not."     Did  they  not  receive  Him  at  all  ? 
did  no  one  receive  Him?     \Vas  there  no  one 
saved  ?     For  no  one  shall  be  saved  unless  he 
who  shall  have  received  the  coming  Christ. 

13.  But  John  adds:  "  As  many  as  received 


Phil.  iii.  20.     [R.  V.:  "  <  >ur  citizenshi] 


Him."  \Vii.-it  did  He  ailord  to  them  ? 
benevolenee  !  Great  men  y  !  He  was  l>orn 
the  only  Son  of  ( iod,  and  was  unwilling  to 
remain  alone.  Many  men,  when  they  have 
not  sons,  in  advam  ed  a---  adopt  a  son,  and 
thus  obtain  by  an  exercise  of  will  what  nature 
has  denied  to  them:  this  men  do.  But  if  any 
one  have  an  only  son,  he  rejoices  the  more  in 
him;  because  he  alone  will  possess  everything, 
and  he  will  not  have  any  one  to  divide  with 
him  the  inheritance,  so  that  he  should  be 
poorer.  Not  so  God:  that  same  only  Son 
whom  He  had  begotten,  and  by  whom  He 
created  all  things,  He  sent  into  this  world 
that  He  might  not  be  alone,  but  might  have 
adopted  brethren.  For  we  were  not  born  of 
God  in  the  manner  in  which  the  Only-begotten 
was  born  of  Him,  but  were  adopted  by  His 
grace.  For  He,  the  Only-begotten,  came  to 
loose  the  sins  in  which  we  were  entangled, 
and  whose  burden  hindered  our  adoption: 
those  whom  He  wished  to  make  brethren  to 
Himself,  He  Himself  loosed,  and  made  joint- 
heirs.  For  so  saith  the  apostle,  "  But  if  a 
son,  then  an  heir  through  God."  And  again, 
"  Heirs  of  God,  and  joint-heirs  with  Christ." 
He  did  not  fear  to  have  joint-heirs,  because 
His  heritage  does  not  become  narrow  if  many 
are  possessors.  Those  very  persons,  He 
being  possessor,  become  His  inheritance,  and 
He  in  turn  becomes  their  inheritance.  Hear 
in  what  manner  they  become  His  inheritance: 
"  The  Lord  hath  said  unto  me,  Thou  art  my 
Son,  this  day  have  I  begotten  Thee.  Ask  of 
me,  and  I  will  give  Thee  the  nations  for 
Thine  inheritance."3  Hear  in  what  manner 
He  becomes  their  inheritance.  He  says  in 
the  Psalms:  "The  Lord  is  the  portion  of 
mine  inheritance,  and  of  my  cup."3  Let  us 
possess  Him,  and  let  Him  possess  us:  let  Him 
possess  us  as  Lord;  let  us  possess  Him  as 
salvation,  let  us  possess  Him  as  light.  What 
then  did  He  give  to  them  who  received  Him  ? 
"  To  them  He  gave  power  to  become  sons  of 
God,  even  to  them  that  believe  on  His 
name;"  that  they  may  cling  to  the  wood  and 
cross  the  sea. 

14.   And  how  are  they  born  ?     Because  they 
become  sons  of  God  and  brethren  of  Christ, 
they  are  certainly  born.     For  if  they  are  not 
born,  how  can  they  be  sons  ?     But  the  s< 
men  are  born  of  flesh  and  blood,  and 
will  of  man,  and  of  the  embrace  of  wedlock. 
But  in  what  manner  are  they  born  ? 
not   of   bloods,"  ns    if   of  male   and    female. 
Bloods  is  not  Latin;  but  because  it  is  plural 
in  Greek,  the  interpreter  preferred   so  I 
press  it,  and  to  speak  bail  Latin  I 


-  IV  ii.  7,  8. 


i8 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TKACIAII    II. 


the  grammarian  that  he  might  make  the  mat 
ter  plain  to  the  understanding  of  the  weak 
among  his  hearers.  For  if  he  had  said  blood 
in  the  singular  number,  he  would  not  have 
explained  what  he  desired;  for  men  are  born 
of  the  bloods  of  male  and  female.  Let  us 
say  so,  then,  and  not  fear  the  ferule  of  gram 
marians,  so  long  as  we  reach  the  solid  and 
certain  truth.  He  who  understands  it  and 
blames  it,  is  thankless  for  his  having  under 
stood.  "  Not  of  bloods,  nor  of  the  will  of  the 
flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man.'*  The  apostle 
puts  flesh  for  woman;  because,  when  she  was 
made  of  his  rib,  Adam  said,  "  This  is  now 
bone  of  my  bone,  and  flesh  of  my  flesh." ' 
And  the  apostle  saith,  "  He  that  loveth  his 
wife  loveth  himself;  for  no  one  ever  hated  his 
own  flesh."2  Flesh,  then,  is  put  for  woman, 

in  the  same  manner  that  spirit  is  sometimes  His  flesh.  Wherefore  were  we  not  able  to 
put  for  husband.  Wherefore?  Because  the  see?  Consider,  then,  dearly  beloved,  and 
one  rules,  the  other  is  ruled;  the  one  ought  I  see  what  I  say.  There  had  dashed  into  man's 
to  command,  the  other  to  serve.  For  where  eye,  as  it  were,  dust,  earth;  it  had  wounded 


said,  "born  of  God,"  lest  we  should,  as  it 
were,  be  filled  with  amazement  and  trembling 
at  such  grace,  at  grace  so  great  as  to  exceed 
belief  that  men  are  born  of  (iod,  as  if  assur 
ing  thee,  he  says,  "  And  the  Word  was  made 
flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us."  Why,  then, 
dost  thou  marvel  that  men  are  born  of  God  ? 
Consider  God  Himself  born  of  men:  "And  the 
Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us.1' 
16.  But  because  "  the  Word  was  made  flesh, 
and  dwelt  among  us,"  by  His  very  nativity  he 
made  an  eye-salve  to  cleanse  the  eyes  of  our 
heart,  and  to  enable  us  to  see  His  majesty  by 
means  of  His  humility.  Therefore  "the 
Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us:" 
He  healed  our  eyes;  and  what  follows  ? 
"  And  we  beheld  His  glory."  His  glory  can 
no  one  see  unless  healed  by  the  humility  of 


the  eye,  and  it  could  not  see  the  light:  that 
wounded  eye  is  anointed;  by  earth  it  was 
wounded,  and  earth  is  applied  to  it  for  heal 
ing.  For  all  eye-salves  and  medicines  are 


the  flesh  commands  and  the  spirit  serves,  the 
house  is  turned  the  wrong  way.  What  can  be 
worse  than  a  house  where  the  woman  has  the 
mastery  over  the  man  ?  But  that  house  is 

rightly  ordered  where  the  man  commands  and  derived  from  the  earth  alone.  By  dust  thou 
the  woman  obeys.  In  like  manner  that  manlwert  blinded,  and  by  dust  thou  art  healed: 
is  rightly  ordered  where  the  spirit  commands  flesh,  then,  had  wounded  thee,  flesh  heals 
and  the  flesh  serves.  thee.  The  soul  had  become  carnal  by  con- 

15.   These,   then,  "were  born   not  of  the  '  senting  to  the  affections  of  the  flesh;  thus  had 
will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  j  the  eye  of  the  heart  been  blinded.     "  The 


God."     But  that  men  might  be  born  of  God, 
God  was   first  born  of  them.     For  Christ  is 


Word  was  made  flesh:"  that  Physician  made 
for  thee  an  eye-salve.     And  as  He  thus  came 


God,  and  Christ  was  born  of  men.  It  was  j  by  flesh  to  extinguish  the  vices  of  the  flesh, 
only  a  mother,  indeed,  that  He  sought  upon  j  and  by  death  to  slay  death;  therefore  did  this 
earth;  because  He  had  already  a  Father  in  '  take  place  in  thee,  that,  as  "  the  Word  became 
heaven:  He  by  whom  we  were  to  be  created  '  flesh,"  thou  mayest  be  able  to  say,  "  And  we 
was  born  of  God,  and  He  by  whom  we  were  beheld  His  glory."  What  sort  of  glory? 
to  be  re -.created  was  born  of  a  woman.  Mar- 1  Such  as  He  became  as  Son  of  man  ?  That 


vel  not,  then,  O  man,  that  thou  art  made  a 
son  by  grace,  that  thou  art  born  of  God  ac 
cording  to  His  Word.  The  Word  Himself 
first  chose  to  be  born  of  man,  that  thou 


was.  His  humility,  not  His  glory.  But  to  what 
is  the  sight  of  man  brought  when  cured  by 
means  of  flesh  ?  "  We  beheld  His  glory,  the 
glory  as  of  the  Only-begotten  from  the  Father, 


mightest  be  born  of  God  unto  salvation,  and  !  full  of  grace  and  truth."     Of  grace  and  truth 


say  to  thyself,  Not  without  reason  did  God 


wish  to 
counted 


be   born    of   man,  but   because 
me  of  some   importance,   that 


He 
He 


might  make  me  immortal,  and  for  me  be  born 
as  a  mortal  man.     When,  therefore,  he  had 


•Gen. 


Eph.  v.  28,  ag. 


we  shall  speak  more  fully  in  another  place  in 
this  same  Gospel,  if  the  Lord  vouchsafe  us 
opportunity.  Let  these  things  suffice  for  the 
present,  and  be  ye  edified  in  Christ:  be  ye 
comforted  in  faith,  and  watch  in  good  works, 
and  see  that  ye  do  not  depart  from  the  wood 
by  which  ye  may  cross  the  sea. 


TKA.  i  \ir.    III   | 


THK  GOSPE1    OF  ST.  JOHN. 


TRACTATE    III. 


('HAl'l  I  K 


15-lS. 


WK  undertook,  in   the   name  of  the  Lord,  i  law,   but  under  grace.     Who,  then,  gave  the 
and    promised   to  you.    beloved,    to  treat  of  i  law  ?      He  gave  the   law  who  gave    lik 
that  grace  and  truth  ot  Clod,  full  of  which  the  'grace;  but  the  law  He  sent  by  a  servant,  with 
only-begotten    Son,    our   Lord    and     Saviour  i  grace  He  Himself  came  down.      And  in  what 


Jesus  Christ,  appeared  to  the   saints,  and   to 
show  how,  as  a  matter  belonging  to  the  New 


manner  were  men  made  under  the  law 

not  fu filling  the  law.      For  he  who  fulfills  the 


Testament,  it  is  to  be  distinguished  from  the  j  law  is  not  under  the   law,  but  with   the   law; 
Old  Testament.     Give,  then,  your  attention,    but  he  who  is  under  the  law  is  not  raised  up, 

r      "     '     but   pressed   down    by   the    law.      All 


that  what  I  receive  in  my  measure  from  God, 


you  in  your  measure  may  receive  and  hear 
the  same.  For  it  will  only  remain  if,  when 
the  seed  is  scattered  in  your  hearts,  the  birds 
take  it  not  away,  nor  thorns  choke  it,  nor 
heat  scorch  it,  and  there  descend  upon  it  the  i 


men, 


therefore,  being  placed  under  the  law,  are  by 
the  law  made  guilty;  and  for  this  purpose  it 
is  over  their  head,  that  it  may  show  sins,  not 
take  them  away.  The  law  then  commands, 
the  Giver  of  the  law  showeth  pity  in  that  which 


rain  of  daily  exhortations  and  your  own  good  the  law  commands.  Men,  endeavoring  by 
thoughts,  by  which  that  is  done  in  the  heart  |  their  own  strength  to  fulfill  that  which  the  law 
which  in  the  field  is  done  by  means  of  har-  i  commands,  fell  by  their  own  rash  and  head- 
rows,  so  that  the  clod  is  broken,  and  the  seed  |  strong  presumption;  and  not  with  the  law,  but 
covered  and  enabled  to  germinate:  that  you  |  under  the  law,  became  guilty:  and  since  by 
bear  fruit  at  which  the  husbandman  may  be  their  own  strength  they  were  unable  to  fulfill 
glad  and  rejoice.  But  if,  in  return  for  good  j  the  law,  and  were  become  guilty  under  the 
seed  and  good  rain,  you  bring  forth  not  fruit  law,  they  implored  the  aid  of  the  Deliverer; 
but  thorns,  the  seed  will  not  be  blamed,  norland  the  guilt  which  the  law  brought  caused 
will  the  rain  be  in  fault;  but  for  thorns  due  sickness  to  the  proud.  The  sickness  of  the 


proud  became  the  confession  of  the  humble. 
Now  the  sick  confess  that  they  are  sick;  let 


fire  is  prepared. 

2.    I  do  not  think  that  I  need  spend  much 

time  in  endeavoring  to  persuade  you  that  we  the  physician  come  to  heal  the  sick, 
are  Christian  men;  and  if  Christians,  by)  3.  Who  is  the  Physician  ?  Our  Lord  Jesus 
virtue  of  the  name,  belonging  to  Christ.  Christ.  Who  is  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ?  He 
I "pon  the  forehead  we  bear  His  sign;  and  we  who  was  seen  even  by  those  by  whom  He  was 
do  not  blush  because  of  it,  if  we  also  bear  it  crucified.  He  who  was  seized,  buffeted, 
in  the  heart.  His  sign  is  His  humility.  By  scourged,  spit  upon,  crowned  with  thorns, 
a  star  the  Magi  knew  Him; a  and  this  sign  was  suspended  upon  the  cross,  died,  pierced  by 
given  by  the  Lord,  and  it  was  heavenly  and  ,  the  spear,  taken  down  from  the  cross,  laid  in 
beautiful.  He  did  not  desire  that  a  star  the  sepulchre.  That  same  Jesus  Christ  our 

Lord,  that  same  Jesus  exactly,  He  is  the 
complete  Physician  of  our  wounds.  That 
crucified  One  at  whom  insults  were  cast,  and 
while  He  hung  on  the  cross  His  persecutors 
wagging  the  head,  and  saying,  "  If  he  be  the 
Son  of  God,  let  him  come  down  from  the 
cross,"5 — He,  and  no  other,  is  our  complete 

l>y  lesus  Christ."  We  ask  the  apostle,  and  Physician.  Wherefore,  then,  did  He  not 
he  says  to  us,  since  we  are  not  under  the  law  show  to  his  deriders  that  He  was  the  Son  of 
but  under  grace.3  "  He  sent  therefore  His  Son,  God;  so  that  if  He  allowed  Himself  to  he 
made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law,  that  lifted  up  upon  the  cross,  at  least  when  they 
He  might  redeem  those  who  were  under  the  said,  "  If  he  be  the  Son  of  God,  let  him  - 
law,  that  we  might  receive  the  adoption  of  down  from  the  cross.  He  should  then  conn- 
sons."4  Behold,  for  this  end  Christ  came,  down,  anil  show  to  them  that  He  was  the  very 
that  He  might  redeem  those  who  were  under  Son  of  God  whom  they  had  dared  to  deride? 
the  law;  that  now  we  may  not  be  under  the  He  would  not.  Wherefore  would  He  not? 

Was   it  because    He   could   not?     Manifestly 


-should  be  His  sign  on  the  forehead  of  the 
faithful,  but  His  cross.  By  it  humbled,  by 
it  also  glorified;  by  it  He  raised  the  humble, 
even  by  that  to  which  He,  when  humbled, 
descended.  We  belong,  then,  to  the  gospel, 
we  belong  to  the  New  Testament.  "  The  law 
was  given  by  Moses,  but  grace  and  truth  came 


'  Matt,  x 

3  Rom.  vi.  14. 


'•  Matt.  ii.  i. 
i  Hal.  iv.  4,  5. 


20 


i  HI;  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


|   I  K  \(   IATK    III. 


He  could.  For  which  is  greater,  to  descend 
from  the  cross  or  to  rise  from  the  sepulchre  ? 
But  He  bore  with  His  insulters;  for  the  cross 
was  taken  not  as  a  proof  of  power,  but  .is  an 
example  of  patience.  There  He  cured  thy 
wounds,  where  He  long  bore  His  own;  there 
He  healed  thee  of  death  eternal,  where  He 
vouchsafed  to  die  the  temporal  death.  And 
did  He  die,  or  in  Him  did  death  die?  What 
a  death  was  that,  which  slew  death  ! 

4.  Is  it,  however,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
Himself — His  whole  self — who  was  seen,  and 
held,  and  crucified  ?  Is  the  whole  very  self 
that  ?  It  is  the  same,  but  not  the  whole,  that 
which  the  Jews  saw;  this  is  not  the  whole 
Christ.  And  what  is?  "In  the  beginning 
was  the  Word."  In  what  beginning?  "And 
the  Word  was  with  God."  And  what  word  ? 
"And  the  Word  was  God."  Was  then  per 
haps  this  Word  made  by  God  ?  No.  For 
"  the  same  was  in  the  beginning  with  God." 
What  then  ?  Are  the  other  things  which  God 
made  not  like  unto  the  Word  ?  No:  because 
"  all  things  were  made  by  Him,  and  without 
Him  was  not  anything  made."  In  what 
manner  were  all  things  made  by  Him  ?  Be 
cause  "that  which  was  made  in  Him  was 
life;"  and  before  it  was  made  there  was  life. 
That  which  was  made  is  not  life;  but  in  the 
art,  that  is,  in  the  wisdom  of  God,  before  it 
was  made,  it  was  life.  That  which  was  made 
passes  away;  that  which  is  in  wisdom  cannot 
pass  away.  There  was  life,  therefore,  in  that 
which  was  made.  And  what  sort  of  life,  since 
the  soul  also  is  the  life  of  the  body  ?  Our 
body  has  its  own  life;  and  when  it  has  lost  it, 
the  death  of  the  body  ensues.  Was  then  the 
life  such  as  this?  No;  but  "the  life  was  the 
light  of  men."  Was  it  the  light  of  cattle  ? 
For  this  light  is  the  light  of  men  and  of  cattle. 
There  is  a  certain  light  of  men:  let  us  see 
how  far  men  differ  from  the  cattle,  and  then 
we  shall  understand  what  is  the  light  of  men. 
Thou  dost  not  differ  from  the  cattle  except  in 
intellect;  do  not  glory  in  anything  besides. 
Dost  thou  presume  upon  thy  strength  ?  By 
the  wild  beasts  thou  art  surpassed.  Upon  thy 
swiftness  dost  thou  presume  ?  By  the  flies 
thou  art  surpassed.  Upon  thy  beauty  dost 
thou  presume  ?  How  great  beauty  is  there  in 
the  feathers  of  a  peacock  !  Wherein  then 
art  thou  better?  In  the  image  of  God. 
Where  is  the  image  of  God  ?  In  the  mind,  in 
the  intellect.  If  then  th<ju  art  in  this  respect 
better  than  the  cattle,  that  thou  hast  a  mind 
by  which  thou  mayest  understand  what  the 
cattle  cannot  understand;  and  therein  a  man, 
because  better  than  the  cattle;  the  light  of 
men  is  the  light  of  minds.  The  light  ol 
minds  is  above  minds  and  surpasses  all  minds. 


Tin's  was  that  life  by  which  all  things  were 
made. 

5.  Where    was   it?      Was  it  here?    was   it 
witli  the   Father,  and   was   it  not  here?    or, 
what  is  more  true,  was  it  both  with  the  Failu-r 
and   here  also?     If  then  it  was  here,  where 
fore  was   it   not   seen?     Because  "the  light 
shineth  in  darkness,  and  the  darkness  com 
prehended  it   not."     Oh   men,  be  not  dark 
ness,  be  not  unbelieving,  unjust,  unrighteous, 
rapacious,  avaricious  lovers  of  this  world:  for 
these  are  the  darkness.     The  light  is  not  ab 
sent,  but  you  are  absent  from  the  light.     A 
blind  man  in  the  sunshine  has  the  sun  present 
to  him,  but  is  himself  absent  from  the  sun. 
Be  ye  not  then  darkness.      For  this  is  perhaps 
the  grace  regarding  which  we  are  about  to 
speak,  that  now  we  be  no  more  darkness,  and 
that  the  apostle  may  say  to  us,   "We  were 
sometime    darkness,    but   now    light   in    the 
Lord.  ' '     Because  then  the  light  of  men  was 
not  seen,  that  is,  the  light  of  minds,   there 
was  a  necessity  that  a  man  should  give  testi 
mony  regarding  the  light. who  was  not  in  dark 
ness,  but  who  was  already  enlightened;  and 
nevertheless, because  enlightened, not  the  light 
itself,  "  but  that  He  might  bear  witness  of  the 
light."       For  "  he  was  not  that  light."     And 
what  was  the  light  ?    "  That  was  the  true  light 
which  enlightened  every  man  rhatcometh  into 
this  world."    And  where  was  that  light  ?    "  In 
this  world  it  was."     And  how  was  it  "  in  this 
world?"     As    the    light   of   the   sun,   of  the 
moon,  and  of  lamps,  was  that  light  thus  in 
the  world?     No.     Because   "the  world  was 
made  by  Him,  and  the  world  knew  Him  not;  " 
that  is  to  say,  "  the  light  shineth  in  darkness, 
and  the  darkness  comprehended  it  not."     For 
the  world  is  darkness;   because  the  lovers  of 
the  world  are  the  world.     For  did   not  tne 
creature     acknowledge     its     Creator?      The 
heavens  gave  testimony  by  a  star;2   the  sea 
gave  testimony,  and  bore  its  Lord  when  He 
walked   upon  it;3   the  winds  gave  testimony, 
and  were  quiet  at   His  bidding;4   the  earth 
gave  testimony,  and  trembled  when  He  was 
crucified.5     If   all    these  gave   testimony,    in 
what  sense  did  the  world  not  know  Him,  un 
less  that  the  world  signifies  the  lovers  of  the 
world,  those  who  with  their  hearts  dwell  in  the 
world?     And  the  world   is  evil,  because  the 
inhabitants  of  the  world  are  evil;    just  as  a 
house   is  evil,  not  because  of  its  walls,  but 
because  of  its  inhabitants. 

6.  "He  came  unto  His  own;"    that  is  to 
say,  He  came  to  that  which  belonged  to  Him 
self;     "and    His    own    received    Him    not." 
What,  then,  is  the  hope,  unless  that  "  as  many 


Eph.  v.  8. 

Matt,  xxiii 


I  Malt.  ii.  1. 

'  Matt,  xxvii.  51 


3  Matt.  xiv.  26. 


i  .  :  l      111. 


ON  THK  GOSPEL  <>i    M  .  JOHN. 


as  received  Him,  to  tnem  gave  He  power  in 
become  the  sons  of  God  "?  If  they  become 

sons,  they  are  horn;  it  liorn,  how  are  they 
born  ?  Not  of  flesh,  "  nor  of  blood,  nor  o'f 
tl>e  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man; 
but  of  C,o(l  are  they  born."  Let  them  re 
joice,  therefore,  that  they  are  born  of  ('.oil; 
let  them  believe  that  they  are  born  of  God; 
let  them  receive  the  proof  that  they  are  born 
of  (iod:  "And  the  Word  became  flesh,  and 
dwelt  among  us."  If  the  Word  was  not 
ashamed  to  be  born  of  man,  are  men  ashamed 
to  be  born  of  (iod  ?  And  because  He  did 
this,  He  cured  us;  and  because  He  cured  us, 
we  see.  For  this,  "  that  the  Word  was  made 
flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us,"  became  a  medi 
cine  unto  us,  so  that  as  by  earth  we  were 
made  blind,  by  earth  we  might  be  healed; 
and  having  been  healed,  might  behold  what? 
"And  we  beheld,"  he  says,  "  His  glory,  the 
glory  as  of  the  Only-begotten  of  the  Father, 
full  of  grace  and  truth.1' 

7.  "John    beareth   witness   of   Him,    and 
crieth,  saying,  This  was  He  of  whom  I  spake, 
He  that  cometh  after  me  is  made  before  me." 
He  came  after   me,   and   He   preceded   me. 
What  is  it,  "  He  is  made  before  me'1?     He 
preceded   me.     Not  was  made  before  I  was 
made,  but  was   preferred  before  me,  this  is 
"  He  was  made  before  me."     Wherefore  was 
He  made  before  thee,  when  He  came  after 
thee?     "Because  He  was  before  me.''     Be 
fore  thee,  O  John  !    what  great  thing  to  be 
before  thee  !     It  is  well  that  thou  dost  bear 
witness  to  Him;    let  us,  however,  hear  Him 
self  saying,  "  Even  before  Abraham,  I  am."  ' 
But  Abraham  also  was  born  in  the  midst  of 
the  human  race:  there  were  many  before  him, 
many  after  him.     Listen  to  the  voice  of  the 
Father  to  the  Son:    "  Before  Lucifer  I  have 
begotten  Thee. " 3     He  who  was  begotten  be 
fore  Lucifer  Himself  illuminates  all.     A  cer 
tain  one  was  named  Lucifer,  who  fell;  for  he 
was  an  angel  and  became  a  devil;   and  con 
cerning   him   the   Scripture    said,    "  Lucifer, 
who  did  arise  in  the  morning,  fell."3     And 
why   was    he   Lucifer  ?     Because,    being   en 
lightened,  he  gave  forth  light      But  for  what 
reason   did    he   become   dark  !     Because    he 
abode  not  in  the  truth.4     Therefore  He  was 
before  Lucifer,  before  every  one  that  is  en 
lightened;    since  before  every  one  that  is  en 
lightened,  of  necessity  He  must  be  by  whom 
all  are  enlightened  who  can  be  enlightened. 

8.  Therefore    this   follows:    "And   of    His 
fullness  have  all  we  received."     What  have  ye 
received?     "And  grace  for  grace."     For  so 
run  the  words   of  the  (iospel,  as  \ve  find   by  a 


comparison    of    the   (in  • 
not  say,  And  of    His    fullness  have  all  v. 
reived    grace    for    gra«e;    but    thus    !i 
"And   of    His  fullness    have  all   w< 
and    grace    for  grace,"— that   is,  have  1 
reived;    so  that    He  would   wish  us  to  under 
stand  that  we  have  received  from  His  fi: 
something   unexpressed,   and   somethin. 
sides,  grace  for  grace.     For  we  receiv 
His  fullness  grace  in  the  first  instance;    -md 
again   we   received    grace,   grace   for   ^ 
What  grace  did  we,  in  the  first  instance,  re 
ceive?     Faith:   walking  in  faith,  we  walk  in^ 
grace.     How  have  we  merited  this  ?   by  what  ( 
previous  merits  of  ours?     Let  not  each  one  I 
flatter  himself,  but   let  him  return   into  his* 
own  conscience,  seek  out  the  secret  places  of 
his   own    thoughts,    recall    the   series   of   his 
deeds;   let  him  not  consider  what  he  is  if  now 
he   is   something,   but  what  he  was  that   he 
might  be  something:    he  will  find  that  he  was 
not  worthy  of  anything  save  punishment.     If, 
then,   thou  wast  worthy  of  punishment,  and 
He  came  not  to  punish  sins,  but  to  forgive 
sins,  grace  was  given  to  thee,  and  not  reward 
rendered.      Wherefore    is    it    called    grace? 
Because  it  is  bestowed  gratuitously.    For  thou 
didst  not,  by  previous  merits,  purchase  that 
which  thou  didst  receive.     This  first  grace, 
then,  the  sinner  received,  that  his  sins  were 
forgiven.     What  did  he  deserve?     Let  him 
interrogate  justice,  he  finds  punishment;    let 
him  interrogate  mercy,  he  finds  grace.     But 
God  promised  this  also  through  the  prophets; 
therefore,  when  He  came  to  give  what  He  had 
promised.  He  not  only  gave  grace,  but  also 
truth.      How  was  truth  exhibited?     Because 
that  was  done  which  had  been  promised. 

9.  What,  then,  is  "  grace  for  grace"?  By 
faith  we  render  God  favorable  to  us;  and  in 
asmuch  as  we  were  not  worthy  to  have  our 
sins  forgiven,  and  because  we,  who  were  un 
worthy,  received  so  great  a  benefit,  it  is  call 
ed  grace.  What  is  grace?  That  which  is 
freely  given.  What  is  "freely  given"? 
Given,  not  paid.  If  it  was  due,  wages  were 
given,  not  grace  bestowed;  but  if  it  was 
really  due,  thou  wast  good;  but  if,  as  is  true, 
thou  wast  evil,  but  didst  believe  on  Him  who 
justifieth  the  ungodly5  (What  is,  Who  justi- 
fieth  the  ungodly?  Of  the  ungodly  maketh 
pious),  consider  what  did  bv  right  hang  over 
tiiee  by  the  law,  and  what  thou  hast  obtained 
by  grace.  But  having  obtained  that  f 
of  faith,  thou  shalt'be  just  by  faith  (for  the 
just  lives  by  faith);6  and  thou  shah  obtain 
favor  of  (iod  by  living  by  faith.  And  having 
obtained  favor  from  liod  by  living  by  faith, 


•  Mm  viii.  58. 
3  Isa.  xiv.  27. 


I  John  viii.  44. 


••n.  iv.  5. 


«H«b.  ii.  4; 


22 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSI  IN. 


[TRACTAII    III. 


thou  shalt  receive  immortality  as  a  reward, 
and  life  eternal.  And  that  is  grace.  For 
because  of  what  merit  dost  thou  receive  life 
eternal  ?  Because  of  grace.  For  if  faith  is 
grace,  life  eternal  is,  as  it  were,  the  wages  of 
faith:  God,  indeed,  appears  to  bestow  eternal 
life  as  if  it  were  due  (To  whom  due  ?  To  the 
faithful,  because  he  had  merited  it  by  faith); 
but  because  faith  itself  is  grace,  life  eternal 
also  is  grace  for  grace. 

10.  Listen  to  the  Apostle  Paul  acknowledg 
ing  grace,  and  afterwards  desiring  the  payment 
of  a  debt.     What  acknowledgment  of  grace 
is  there  in  Paul  ?     "  Who  was  before  a  blas 
phemer,  and  a  persecutor,  and  injurious;  but 
I  obtained,"  saith  he,    "  mercy/' '     He   said 
that  he  who  obtained  it  was  unworthy;  that 
he  had,  however,  obtained  it,  not  through  his 
own  merits,  but  through  the  mercy  of  God. 
Listen  to  him  now  demanding  the  payment  of 
a   debt,    who    hr.d    first   received    unmerited 
grace:  "  For/'  saith  he,  "  I  am  now  ready  to 
be  offered  up,  and  the  time  of  my  departure 
is  at   hand.     I   have   fought  a  good  fight,   I 
have    finished    my   course,  I  have   kept  the 
faith:  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a 
crown  of  righteousness."  2     Now  he  demands 
a  debt,  he  exacts  what  is  due.     For  consider 
the  following  words:  "Which  the  Lord,  the 
righteous  Judge,  shall  render  unto  me  in  that 
day."     That  he  might  in  the  former  instance 
receive  grace,  he  stood  in  need  of  a  merciful 
Father;  for  the  reward  of  grace,of  a  just  judge. 
Will  He  who  did  not  condemn  the   ungodly 
man  condemn  the  faithful  man  ?     And  yet,  if 
thou  dost  rightly  consider,  it  was  He  who  first 
gave  thee   faith,  whereby   thou   didst  obtain 
favor;    for  not  of  thine  own  didst  thou  so 
obtain  favor  that  anything  should  be  due  to 
thee.     Wherefore,  then,  in  afterwards  bestow 
ing  the  reward   of  immortality,   He    crowns 
His   own  gifts,  not  thy  merits.     Therefore, 
brethren,  "  we  all  of  His  fullness  have  receiv 
ed;"  of  the   fullness  of  His   mercy,  of   the 
abundance  of  His  goodness  have  we  receiv 
ed.     What  ?     The  remission  of  sins  that  we 
might    be     justified     by    faith.       And     what 
besides?      "And  grace  for  grace;"  that  is, 
for  this  grace  by  which  we  live  by  faith  we 
shall  receive  another  grace.     What,  then,  is 
it  except  grace  ?   '  For  if  I  shall  say  that  this 
also  is  due,  I  attribute  something  to  myself 
as  if  to  me  it  were  due.     But  God  crowns  in 
us  the  gifts  of  His  own  mercy;  but  on  con 
dition  that  we  walk  with  perseverance  in  that 
grace  which  in  the  first  instance  we  received. 

11.  "  For  the  law  was  given  by  Moses;" 
which  law  held  the  guilty.      For  what  saith  the 


apostle  ?  "  The  law  entered  that  the  offense 
might  abound."  It  was  a  benefit  to  the 
proud  that  the  offense  abounded,  for  they 
gave  much  to  themselves,  and,  as  it  were, 
attributed  much  to  their  own  strength;  and 
they  were  unable  to  fulfill  righteousness  with 
out  the  aid  of  Him  who  had  commanded  it. 
God,  desirous  to  subdue  their  pride,  gave  the 
law,  as  if  saying:  Behold,  fulfill,  and  do  not 
think  that  there  is  One  wanting  to  command. 
One  to  command  is  not  wanting,  but  one  to 
fulfill. 

12.  If,  then,  there  is  one  .vanting  to  fulfill, 
whence  does   lie   not  fulfill?     Because  born 
with  the  heritage  of  sin  and  death.     Born  of 
Adam,  he  drew  with  him  that  which  was  there 
conceived.     The  first  man  fell,  and  all  who 
were  born  of  him  from  him  derived  the  con 
cupiscence  of  the  flesh.     It  was  needful  that 
another  man  should  be  born  who  derived  no 
concupiscence.     A  man  and  a  man:  a  man  to 
death  and  a   man    to   life.     Thus   saith   the 
apostle:  "Since,   indeed,  by  man  death,  by 
man  also  the  resurrection  of  the  dead."     By 
which    man   death,  and   by   which   man    the 
resurrection    of    the  dead  ?      Do   not  make 
haste:  he  goes  on  to  say,  "  For  as  in  Adam 
all  die,  so  also  in   Christ  shall   all   be  made 
alive."3      Who  belong  to  Adam?     All  who 
are  born  of  Adam.      Who  to  Christ?     All 
who  were  born  through  Christ.     Wherefore 
all  in  sin  ?     Because  no  one  was  born  except 
through  Adam.     But  that  they  were  born  of 
Adam  was  of  necessity,  arising  from  damna 
tion;  to  be  born  through  Christ  is  of  will  and 
grace.     Men   are  not  compelled  to  be  born 
through  Christ:  not  because  they  wished  were 
they  born  of  Adam.     All,  however,  who  are 
of  Adam  are   sinners  with   sin:  all  who  are 
through  Christ  are  justified,  and  just  not  in 
themselves,  but  in  Him.     For  in  themselves, 
if  thou  shouldest  ask,  they  belong  to  Adam: 
in  Him,  if  thou  shouldest  ask,  they  belong  to 
Christ.     Wherefore?    Because  He,  the  Head, 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  did  not  come  with  the 
heritage  of   sin;  but    He  came   nevertheless 
with  mortal  flesh. 

13.  Death  was  the  punishment  of  sins;  in 
the  Lord  was  the  gift  of  mercy,  not  the  pun 
ishment  of  sin.      For  the  Lord   had  nothing 
on  account  of  which   He  should  justly  die. 
He  Himself  says,  "  Behold,  the  prince  of  this 
world  cometh,   and   findeth  nothing  in  me." 
Wherefore  then  dost  Thou  die?     "  But  that 
all  may  know  that  I  do  the  will  of  my  Father, 
arise,  let   us   go   hence."4     He  had   not    in 
Himself   any    reason    why    He    should    die, 
and    He  died:    thou   hast  such  a  reason,  and 


3  i  Cor. 


.  • 


.  :K   III   ] 


ON    nil.  G(  »N.i    <  n    ST,  JOHN. 


dost    tlmu    refuse    to  d,e?      1  >o  not   refuse  to    us,  who  shall   explain  "  In  the   beginning  was 
bear  Wltfa    an    equal    mind    thy    desert,  when    the  Word  "?      Keep  hold   then,  bretiiren,  up- 


He  did  not  refuse  to  suffer,  to  deliver  thee 
from  eternal  death.  A  man  and  a  man; 
but  the  one  nothing  but  man,  the  other  God- 
man.  The  one  a  man  of  sin,  the  other 
of  righteousness,  Thou  didst  die  in  Adam, 


on  the  entireness  of  Christ. 

16.    "The  law  was   given   by  M 
and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ."      I'.y 
vant  was  the  law  given,  and  made  men  guilty: 
by  an  Kmperor  was   pardon  given,  and   dehv- 


rise  in  Christ;  for  both  are  due  to  thee.     Now  '  ered    the  guilty.     "The    law  was    "iven   bv 

^1      _  1 „      L        !•__     _     1      •     .      /"•!._•  _^         »-_  .1  I   «  .  ,,  ' 

Moses.  Let  not  the  servant  attribute  to 
himself  more  than  was  done  Jhrough  him. 
Chosen  to  a  great  ministry  as  one  faithful  in 
his  house,  but  yet  a  servant,  he  is  able 
according  to  the  law,  but  cannot  release  from 
the  guilt  of  the  law.  "  The  law,"  then,  "  was 
given  by  Moses:  grace  and  truth  came  by 
Jesus  Christ." 

17.  And  lest,  perhaps,  any  one  should  say, 
And  did  not  grace  and  truth  come  through 
Moses,  who  saw  God  ?  immediately  he  adds, 
"  No  one  hath  seen  God  at  any  time."  And 
how  did  God  become  known  to  Moses  ? 
Because  the  Lord  revealed  Himself  to  His 
servant.  What  Lord  ?  The  same  Christ, 
who  sent  the  law  beforehand  by  His  ser 
vant,  that  He  might  Himself  come  with 


thou  hast  believed  in  Christ,  render  neverthe 
less  that  which  thou  owest  through  Adam. 
But  the  chain  of  sin  shall  not  hold  thee  eter 
nally;  because  the  temporal  death  of  thy  Lord 
slew  thine  eternal  death.  The  same  is  grace, 
my  brethren,  the  same  is  truth,  because 
promised  and  manifested. 

14.  This  grace  was  not  in  the  Old  Testa 
ment,  because  the  law  threatened,  did  not 
bring  aid;  commanded,  did  not  heal;  made 
manifest,  but  did  not  take  away  our  feeble 
ness:  but  it  prepared  the  way  for  that  Physi 
cian  who  was  to  come  with  grace  and  truth;  as 
a  physician  who,  about  to  come  to  any  one  to 
cure  him,  might  first  send  his  servant  that  he 
might  find  the  sick  man  bound.  He  was  not 
sound;  he  did  not  wish  to  be  made  sound; 
and  lest  he  should  be  made  sound,  he  boasted 
that  he  was  so.  The  law  was  sent,  it  bound 


him;  he  finds  himself  accused,   now  he  ex 
claims     against     the    bandage.      The     Lord 


grace  and  truth.  "For  no  one  hath  seen  God 
at  any  time."  And  whence  did  He  appear 
to  that  servant  as  far  as  he  was  able  to  receive 
Him?  But  "the  Only-begotten,"  he  says, 

comes,  cures  with  somewhat  bitter  and  sharp  I  "who  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  He  has 
medicines:  for  He  says  to  the  sick,  Bear;  He   declared    Him.''      What   signifieth    "in    the 


says,  Endure;  He  says,  Love  not  the  world, 
have  patience,  let  the  fire  of  continence  cure 
thee,  let  thy  wounds  endure  the  sword  of  per 
secutions.  Wert  thou  greatly  terrified  al 
though  bound  ?  He,  free  and  unbound,  drank 
what  He  gave  to  thee;  He  first  suffered  that 
He  might  console  thee,  saying,  as  it  were, 
that  which  thou  fearest  to  suffer  for  thyself, 
I  first  suffer  for  thee.  This  is  grace,  and 


great  grace, 
manner? 


Who  can  praise  it  in  a  worthy 


bosom  of  the  Father  ?  "  In  the  secret  of  the 
Father.  For  God  has  not  a  bosom,  as  we 
have,  in  our  garments,  nor  is  He  to  be  thought 
of  sitting,  as  we  do,  nor  is  He  girt  with  a  girdle 
so  as  to  have  a  bosom;  but  because  our  bosom 
is  within,  the  secret  of  the  Father  is  called 
the  bosom  of  the  Father.  And  He  who  knew 
the  Father,  being  in  the  secret  of  the  Father, 
He  declared  Him. 
God  at  any  time." 
rated  whatever  He 


15.   I  speak,  my  brethren,  regarding  the  hu 
mility  of  Christ.   Who  can  speak  regarding  the 


For  no  man  hath  seen 
He  then  came  and  nar- 
saw.  What  did  Moses 


see  ?     Moses  saw  a  cloud,  he  saw  an  angel, 
he  saw  a  fire.     All   that  is  the  creature:  it 


majesty  of  Christ,  and  the  divinity  of  Christ?  bore  the  type  of  its  Lord,  but  did  not  mani- 
In  explaining  and  speaking  of  the  humility  of  fest  the  presence  of  the  Lord  Himself.  For 
Christ, to  do  so  in  any  fashion  we  find  ourselves  I  thou  hast  it  plainly  stated  in  the  law:  "And 


not  sufficient,  indeed  wholly  insufficient:  we 
commend  Him  entire  to  your  thoughts,  we  do 
not  endeavor  to  fill  Him  up  to  your  hearing. 
Consider  the  humility  of  Christ.  But  who, 
thou  sayest,  may  explain  it  to  us,  unless  thou 


Moses  spake  with  the  Lord  face  to  face,  as  a 
friend  with  his  friend."  '  Following  the  same 
scripture,  thou  findest  Moses  saying:  "  If  I 
have  found  grace  in  Thy  sight,  show  me 
Thyself  plainly,  that  I  may  see  Thee."  Ami 


declare  it?     Let  Him  declare  it  within.     Bet- ,  it  is  little  that"  he  said   this:  he   received   the 

ter  does  He  declare  it  who  dwelleth  within,  reply,  "  Thou   canst    not  see    my  t 

than   he  who   crieth  without.      Let    Himself  angel  then  spake  with   Mose>,  my  brethren, 

show  to  you  the  grace  of  His  humility,  who  bearing  the  type  of  the  Lord;  and  all  those 

has  begun  to  dwell  in  your  hearts.     But  now,  things  which  were  done  by  the  angel  promis- 

if  in  explaining  and  setting  forth  His  humility  ed  that  future  grace  and  truth.     Those  who 

we  are  deficient,  who  can  speak  of  His  ma 

jesty  ?     If  "  the  Word   made  flesh  "  disturbs       ,  tx  xxxlli  ,,,  ,3i  ^ 


24 


THK   WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSI  IN. 


[TRACTATE  III. 


examine  the  law  well  know  this;  and  when 
we  have  opportunity  to  speak  somewhat  of 
this  matter  also,  we  shall  not  fail  to  speak  to 


the  Sabbath  spiritually, abstaining  from  servile 
work. 

work  ? 


For  what  is  it  to  abstain  from  servile 
From  sin.     And  how  do  we  prove  it  ? 

you,  beloved  brethren,  as  far  as  the  Lord  may    Ask  the  Lord-   "Whosoever  committeth  sin 

is  the  servant   of   sin."  '      Therefore   is  the 


reveal  to  us. 
1 8.   But  know 


this,   that  all   those    things 


which  were  seen  in  bodily  form  were  not  that 
substance  of  God.  For  we  saw  those  things 
with  the  eyes  of  the  flesh:  how  is  the  sub- 
stance  of  God  seen  ?  Interrogate  the  Gospel: 
"  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart;  for  they  shall 
see  God."1  There  have  been  men  who,  de 
ceived  by  the  vanity  of  their  hearts,  have  said, 
The  Father  is  invisible,  but  the  Son  is  visible. 
How  visible?  If  on  account  of  His  flesh, 
because  He  took  flesh,  the  matter  is  manifest. 
For  of  those  who  saw  the  flesh  of  Christ, 
some  believed,  some  crucified;  and  those  who 
believed  doubted  when  He  was  crucified;  and 
unless  they  had  touched  the  flesh  after  the 
resurrection,  their  faith  would  not  have  been 
recalled.  If,  then,  on  account  of  His  flesh 
the  Son  was  visible,  that  we  also  grant,  and  it 
is  the  Catholic  faith;  but  if  before  He  took 
flesh,  as  they  say,  that  is,  before  He  became 
incarnate,  they  are  greatly  deluded,  and 
grievously  err.  For  those  visible  and  bodily 
appearances  took  place  though  the  creature, 
in  which  a  type  might  be  exhibited:  not  in 
any  fashion  was  the  substance  itself  shown  and 
made  manifest.  Give  heed,  beloved  brethren, 
to  this  easy  proof.  The  wisdom  of  God  can 
not  be  beheld  by  the  eyes.  Brethren,  if 
Christ  is  the  Wisdom  of  God  and  the  Power 
of  God;2  if  Christ  is  the  Word  of  God,  and  if 
the  word  of  man  is  not  seen  with  the  eyes, 
can  the  Word  of  God  be  so  seen  ? 

19.  Expel,  therefore,  from  your  hearts  car 
nal  thoughts,  that  you  may  be  really  under 
grace,  that  you  may  belong  to  the  New  Testa 
ment.  Therefore  is  life  eternal  promised  in 
the  New  Testament.  Read  the  Old  Testa 
ment,  and  see  that  the  same  things  were  en 
joined  upon  a  people  yet  carnal  as  upon  us. 
For  to  worship  one  God  is  also  enjoined 
upon  us.  "  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of 
the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain  "  is  also  enjoined 
upon  us,  which  is  the  second  commandment. 
"Observe  the  Sabbath-day"  is  enjoined  on  us 
more  than  on  them,  because  it  is  commanded 
to  be  spiritually  observed.  For  the  Jews 
observe  the  Sabbath  in  a  servile  manner, 
using  it  for  luxuriousness  and  drunkenness. 
How  much  better  would  their  women  be  em 
ployed  in  spinning  wool  than  in  dancing  on 


spiritual  observance  of  the  Sabbath  enjoined 
upon  us.  Now  all  those  commandments  are 
more  enjoined  on  us,  and  are  to  be  observed: 
"  Thou  shalt  not  kill.  Thou  shalt  not  com 
mit  adultery.  Thou  shalt  not  steal.  Thou 
shalt  not  bear  false  witness.  Honor  thy 
father  and  thy  mother.  Thou  shalt  not  covet 
thy  neighbor's  goods.  Thou  shalt  not  covet 
thy  neighbor's  wife."4  Are  not  all  these 
things  enjoined  upon  us  also  ?  But  ask  what 
is  the  reward,  and  thou  wilt  find  it  there  said: 
"  That  thine  enemies  may  be  driven  forth  be 
fore  thy  face,  and  that  you  may  receive  the 
land  which  God  promised  to  your  fathers."  s 
Because  they  were  not  able  to  comprehend 
invisible  things,  they  were  held  by  the  visible. 
Wherefore  held  ?  Lest  they  should  perish 
altogether,  and  slip  into  idol-worship.  For 
they  did  this,  my  brethren,  as  we  read,  for 
getful  of  the  great  miracles  which  God  per 
formed  before  their  eyes.  The  sea  was 
divided;  a  way  was  made  in  the  midst  of  the 
waves;  their  enemies  following,  were  cover 
ed  by  the  same  waves  through  which  they 
passed:6  and  yet  when  Moses,  the  man  of 
God,  had  departed  from  their  sight,  they 
asked  for  an  idol,  and  said,  "  Make  us  gods 
to  go  before  us;  for  this  man  has  deserted 
us."  Their  whole  hope  was  placed  in  man, 
not  in  God.  Behold,  the  man  is  dead:  was 
God  dead  who  had  rescued  them  from  the 
land  of  Egypt  ?  And  when  they  had  made 
to  themselves  the  image  of  a  calf,  they  offer 
ed  it  adoration,  and  said,  "  These  be  thy 
gods,  O  Israel,  which  delivered  thee  out  ot 
Ho\v  soon  forgetful  of 
By  what  means  could 

such  a  people  be  held  except  by  carnal  prom 
ises  ? 

20.  The  same  things  are  commanded  in 
the  Decalogue  as  we  are  commanded  to 
observe;  but  the  same  promises  are  not  made 
as  to  us.  What  is  promised  to  us  ?  Life  eter 
nal.  "  And  this  is  life  eternal,  that  they 
know  Thee,  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus 
Christ  whom  Thou  hast  sent."8  The  know 
ledge  of  God  is  promised:  that  is,  grace  for 
grace.  Brethren,  we  now  believe,  we  do  not 
see;  for  faith  the  reward  will  be  to  see  what 
we  believe  The  prophets  knew  this,  but  it 


the  land  of  Egypt."1 
such  manifest  grace  ! 


that  day  in  the  balconies?  God  forbid,  was  concealed  before  He  came.  For  a  cer- 
brethren,  that  we  should  call  that  an  observ-  tain  lover  sighing,  says  in  the  Psalms:  "  One 
ance  of  the  Sabbath.  The  Christian  observes  thing  have  I  desired  of  the  Lord,  that  will 


=>  i  Cor.  i.  24. 


3  Tohn  viii.  34. 
*  Ex.  xiv.  21-31. 


4  Ex 
7  Kx 


t.  3-17.  5  Lev.  xxvi.  1-13. 

<x!i.  i-.,.         «  John  xvii.  3. 


TfcACTATl      IV.] 


()N  Till:  GOSPEL  "i    ST.   JOHN. 


I  seek  after."  And  dost  thou  ask  what  he 
I?  For  perhaps  lie  seeks  a  land  tlowin- 
with  milk  and  honey  carnally,  although  this 
is  to  he  spiritually  sought  and  desired;  or 
perhaps  the  subjection  of  his  enemies,  or  the 
death  of  foes,  or  the  power  and  riches  of  this 
world.  For  he  glows  with  love, -and  sighs 
greatly,  and  burns  and  pants.  Let  us  see 
what  he  desires:  "One  thing  have  I  desired 
of  the  Lord,  that  will  I  seek  after."  What  is 
it  that  he  doth  seek  after?  "That  I  may 
well,"  saith  he,  "in  the  house  of  the  Lord  all 
tiie  days  of  my  life."  And  suppose  that 
thou  dwellest  in  the  house  of  the  Lord,  from 
what  source  will  thy  joy  there  be  derived  ? 
"  That  I  may  behold,"  saith  he,  "  the  beauty 
of  the  Lord." ' 

21.  My  brethren,  wherefore  do  you  cry  out, 
wherefore  do  you  exult,  wherefore  do  you 
love,  unless  that  a  spark  of  this  love  is  there  ? 
What  do  you  desire  ?  I  ask  you.  Can  it  be 
seen  with  the  eyes  ?  Can  it  be  touched  ?  Is 
it  some  fairness  which  delights  the  eyes  ?  Are 
not  the  martyrs  vehemently  beloved;  and 
when  we  commemorate  them  do  we  not  burn 
with  love  ?  What  is  it  that  we  love  in  them, 
brethren?  Limbs  torn  by  wild  beasts  ?  What 
is  more  revolting  if  thou  askest  the  eyes  of 
the  flesh  ?  what  more  fair  if  thou  askest  the 
eyes  of  the  heart  ?  How  appears  in  your  eyes 
a  very  fair  young  man  who  is  a  thief?  How 
shocked  are  your  eyes  !  Are  the  eyes  of  the 
flesh  shocked  ?  If  you  interrogate  them, 
nothing  is  more  shapely  and  better  formed 
than  that  body;  the  symmetry  of  the  limbs 
and  the  beauty  of  the  color  attract  the  eyes; 
and  yet,  when  thou  hearest  that  he  is  a  thief, 
your  mind  recoils  from  the  man.  Thou 
beholdest  on  the  other  hand  a  bent  old  man, 


leaning  upon  a  s:  moving  :. 

ploughed  all  over  with  wrink 
est  that  he  is  just:  thou  lovest  and  em: 
him.  Such  are  the  rewards  promised  to  us, 
my  brethren:  love  sura,  sigh  after  s 
kingdom,  desire  such  a  country,  if  y« 
to  arrive  at  that  with  which  our  Lord 
that  is,  at  grace  and  truth.  But  if  you 
bodily  rewards  from  God,  thou  art  still  under 
the  law,  and  therefore  thou  shall  not  fulfill 
the  law.  For  when  thou  seest  those  temporal 
things  granted  to  those  who  offend  God,  thy 
steps  falter,  and  thou  sayest  to  thysei 
hold,  I  worship  God,  daily  I  run  to  church, 
my  knees  are  worn  with  prayers,  and  yet  I 
am  constantly  sick:  there  are  men  who  com 
mit  murders,  who  are  guilty  of  robberies, 
and  yet  they  exult  and  have  abundance;  it  is 
well  with  them.  Was  it  such  things  that  thou 
soughtest  from  God  ?  Surely  thou  didst 
belong  to  grace.  If,  therefore,  God  gave  to 
thee  grace,  because  He  gave  freely,  love 
freely.  Do  not  for  the  sake  of  reward  love 
God;  let  Him  be  the  reward.  Let  thv  soul 
say,  "  One  thing  have  I  desired  of  the  Lord, 
that  will  I  seek  after;  that  I  may  dwell  in  the 
house  of  the  Lord  all  the  days  of  my  life, 
ithat  I  may  behold  the  beauty  of  the  Lord." 
Do  not  fear  that  thine  enjoyment  will  fail 
through  satiety:  such  will  be  that  enjoyment 
of  beauty  that  it  will  ever  be  present  to  thee, 
and  thou  shalt  never  be  satisfied;  indeed  thou 
I  shalt  be  always  satisfied,  and  yet  never  satis- 
I  fied.  For  if  I  shall  say  that  thou  shalt  not  be 
satisfied,  it  will  mean  famine;  and  if  I  shall 
say  thou  shalt  be  satisfied,  I  fear  satiety: 
where  neither  satiety  nor  famine  are,  I  know 
not  what  to  say;  but  God  has  that  which  He 
can  manifest  to  those  who  know  not  how  to 
express  it,  yet  believe  that  they  shall  receive. 


TRACTATE  IV. 

JOHN  I.   19-33. 


Vor  have  very  often  heard,  holy  brethren,  I 
and  you  know  well,  that  John  the  Baptist,  in 
proportion  as  he  was  greater  than  those  born 
of  women,  and  was  more  humble  in  his 
acknowledgment  of  the  Lord,  obtained  the 
grace  of  being  the  friend  of  the  Bridegroom; 
zealous  for  the  Bridegroom,  not  for  himself; 
not  seeking  his  own  honor,  but  that  of  his 
Judge,  whom  as  a  herald  he  preceded.  There 
fore,  to  the  prophets  who  went  befoVe,  it  was 
granted  to  predict  concerning  Christ;  but  to 


this  man,  to  point  Him  out  with  the  finger. 
For  as  Christ  was  unknown  by  those  who  did 
not  believe  the  prophets  before  He  came.  He 
remained  unknown  to  them  even  when  present. 
For  He  had  come  humbly  and  concealed  from 
the  first;  the  more  concealed  in  proportion  as 
He  was  more  humble:  but  the  people,  de 
spising  in  their  pride  the  humility  of 
crucified  their  Saviour,  and  made  Him  their 
condemner. 

j.    But  will  not   He  who  at  first  came  con- 


26 


THK  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[Tk  \<   i  \i  i.    IV. 


cealed,  because   humble,    come  again   mani-  thou?"     T.ut  they  would  not  have  sent  unless 

fested,    because    exalted  ?      You    have    just  they  had    been  moved  by  the  excellence  of 

listened    to    the    Psalm:     "(iod     shall    come  his  authority  who  ventured  to  baptize.      "And 

manifestlv,    and    our    (iod    shall     not     keep  he  confessed,   and  denied   not.1'     What  did 


silence."  '  He  was  silent  that  He  might  be 
judged,  He  will  not  be  silent  when  He  begins 
to  judge.  It  would  not  have  been  said,  "  He 
will  come  manifestly,"  unless  at  first  He  had 
come  concealed;  nor  would  it  have  been  said, 
"  He  shall  not  keep  silence,"  unless  He  had 
first  kept  silence.  How  was  He  silent  ?  In 
terrogate  Isaiah:  "  He  was  brought  as  a  sheep 
to  the  slaughter,  and  as  a  lamb  before  his 
shearer  was  dumb,  so  He  opened  not  His 
mouth.'  "But  He  shall  come  manifestly, 
and  shall  not  keep  silence."  In  what  man 


he  confess?     "And  he  confessed,  I  am  not 


the  Christ." 

4.     'Ami  they  asked  him.  What  then  ? 


Art 


thou  Elias  ?  "  For  they  knew  that  Elias  was 
to  precede  Christ.  For  to  no  Jew  was  the 
name  of  Christ  unknown.  They  did  not 
think  that  he  was  the  Christ;  but  they  did 
not  think  that  Christ  would  not  come  at  all. 
When  they  were  hoping  that  He  would  come, 
they  were  offended  at  Him  when  He  was  pre 
sent.  and  stumbled  at  Him  as  on  a  low  stone. 
For  He  was  as  yet  a  small  stone,  already 


cleed  cut  out  of  the  mountain  without  hands; 
as  saith   Daniel  the  prophet,  that  he  saw  a 


ner  "  manifestly  "  ?     "A  fire  shall  go  before 
Him,   and  round  about  Him  a  strong  tem 
pest."  3     That  tempest  has  to  carry  away  all ,  stone  cut  out  of  the  mountain  without  hands, 
the  chaff  from  the  floor,  which  is  now  being   But  what  follows?     "And  that  stone,"  saith 

he,  "  grew,  and  became  a  great  mountain,  and 
filled  the  whole   face  of  the  earth."5     Mark 


threshed;  and  the  fire  has  to  burn  what  the 
tempest  carries  away.  But  now  He  is  silent; 
silent  in  judgment,  but  not  silent  in  precept. 
For  if  Christ  is  silent,  what  is  the  purpose  of 


then,    my   beloved    brethren, 


say: 


these  Gospels  ?  what  the  purpose  of  the  voices 
of  the  apostles,  what  of  the  canticles  of  the 
Psalms,  what  of  the  declarations  of 
prophets  ?  In  all  these  Christ  is  not  silent. 
But  now  He  is  silent  in  not  taking  vengeance: 
He  is  not  silent  in  not  giving  warning.  But 
He  will  come  in  glory  to  take  vengeance,  and 
will  manifest  Himself  even  to  all  who  do  not 


Christ,  before  the  Jews,  was  already  cut  out 


from  the  mountain.  The  prophet  wishes  that 
by  the  mountain  should  be  understood  the 
the  Jewish  kingdom.  But  the  kingdom  of  the 
Jews  had  not  filled  the  whole  face  of  the 
earth.  The  stone  was  cut  out  from  thence, 
because  from  thence  was  the  Lord  born  on 
His  advent  among  men.  And  wherefore 
without  hands  ?  Because  without  the  co- 


believe  on  Him.  But  now,  because  when 
present  He  was  concealed,  it  behoved  that  He 
should  be  despised.  For  unless  He  had  been 
despised,  He  would  not  have  been  crucified; 
if  He  had  not  been  crucified,  He  would  not 
have  shed  His  blood — the  price  by  which  He 
redeemed  us.  But  that  He  might  give  a 
price  for  us,  He  was  crucified;  that  He  might 
be  crucified,  He  was  despised;  that  He  might 
be  despised,  He  appeared  in  humility. 

3.   Yet  because  He  appeared  as  it  were  in 
the   night,  in  a  mortal  body,  He  lighted  for 


operation  of  man  did  the  Virgin  bear  Christ. 
Now  then  was  that  stone  cut  out  without  hands 
before  the  eyes  of  the  Jews;  but  it  was  hum 
ble.  Not  without  reason;  because  not  yet 
had  that  stone  increased  and  filled  the  whole 
earth:  that  He  showed  in  His  kingdom,  which 
is  the  Church,  with  which  He  has  filled  the 
whole  face  of  the  earth.  Because  then  it 
had  not  yet  increased,  they  stumbled  at  Him 
as  at  a  stone:  and  that  happened  in  them 
which  is  written,  "Whosoever  shall  fall  upon 
that  stone  shall  be  broken;  but  on  \vhomso- 


Himself  a  lamp  by  which  He  might  be  seen.  |  ever  that  stone  shall  fall,  it  will  grind  them  to 
That  lamp  was  John,4  concerning  whom  you  |  powder."6  At  first  they  fell  upon  Him  lowly: 
lately  heard  many  things:  and  the  present '  as  the  lofty  One  He  shall  come  upon  them; 
passage  of  the  evangelist  contains  the  words  but  that  He  may  grind  them  to  powder  when 
of  John;  in  the  first  place,  and  it  is  the  chief  j  He  comes  in  His  exaltation,  He  first  broke 
point,  his  confession  that  he  was  not  the  j  them  in  His  lowliness.  They  stumbled  at 
Christ.  But  so  great  was  the  excellence  of  I  Him,  and  were  broken;  they  were  not  ground, 
John,  that  men  might  have  believed  him  to  but  broken:  He  will  come  exalted  and  will 
be  the  Christ:  and  in  this  he  gave  a  proof  of  grind  them.  But  the  Jews  were  to  be  par- 
his  humility,  that  he  said  he  was  not  when  he  cloned  because  they  stumbled  at  a  stone  which 
might  have  been  believed  to  have  been  the  had  not  yet  increased.  What  sort  of  persons 


Christ;  therefore,  "  This  is  the  testimony  of 
John,  when  the  Jews  sent  priests  and  Levites 
to  him  from  Jerusalem  to  ask  him,  Who  art 


•  PS.  i. ,. 

3  I's.  xlix.  3. 


•  Isa.  liii.  7. 
4  John  v.  35. 


are  those  who  stumble  at  the  mountain  itselP 
Already  you  know  who  they  are  of  whom  I 
speak.  Those  who  deny  the  Church  diffused 


TRACTATE  IV.] 


ON   THE  GOSPE1    OF  BT,    i<  >n\. 


through  the  whole  world,  do  not  stumble  at 
the  lowly  stone,  but  at  the  mountain  itself: 
because  this  the  stone  became  as  it  grew. 
The  blind  Jews  did  not  see  the  lowly  stone: 
but  how  great  blindness  not  to  see  the  moun 
tain  ! 

5.  They  saw  Him  then  lowly,  and  did  not 
know  Him.  He  was  pointed  out  to  them  \<\- 
a  lamp.  For  in  the  first  place  he,  than  whom 
no  greater  had  arisen  of  those  born  of  women, 
said,  "  I  am  not  the  Christ.1'  It  was  said  to 
him,  "Art  thou  Elias  ?  He  answered,  I  am 
not."  For  Christ  sends  Elias  before  Him: 
and  he  said,  "  I  am  not/'  and  occasioned  a 
question  for  us.  For  it  is  to  be  feared  lest 
men,  insufficiently  understanding,  think  that 
John  contradicted  what  Christ  said.  For  in 
a  certain  place,  when  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
said  certain  things  in  the  Gospel  regarding 
Himself,  His  disciples  answered  Him:  "  How 
then  say  the  scribes,"  that  is,  those  skilled 
in  the  law,  "that  Elias  must  first  come?" 
And  the  Lord  said,  "  Elias  is  already  come, 
and  they  have  done  unto  him  what  they  list 
ed;"  and,  if  you  wish  to  know,  John  the 
Baptist  is  he.1  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  said, 
"  Elias  is  already  come,  and  John  the  Jiaptist" 
is  he;  but  John,  being  interrogated,  confessed 
that  he  was  not  Elias,  in  the  same  manner 
that  he  confessed  that  he  was  not  Christ. 
And  as  his  confession  that  he  was  not  Christ 
was  true,  so  was  his  confession  that  he  was 
not  Elias.  How  then  shall  we  compare  the 
words  of  the  herald  with  the  words  of  the 
Judge?  Away  with  the  thought  that  the 
herald  speaks  falsehood;  for  that  which  he  j 
speaks  he  hears  from  the  Judge.  Wherefore  ' 
then  did  he  say,  "  I  am  not  Elias;  "  and  the 
Lord,  "  He  is  Elias"?  Because  the  Lord  I 
Jesus  Christ  wished  in  him  to  prefigure  His 
own  advent,  and  to  say  that  John  was  in  the 
spirit  of  Elias.  And  what  John  was  to  the 
first  advent,  that  will  Elias  be  to  the  second 
advent.  As  there  are  two  advents  of  the 
Judge,  so  are  there  two  heralds.  The  Judge 
indeed  was  the  same,  but  the  heralds  two, 
but  not  two  judges.  It  was  needful  that  in 
the  first  instance  the  Judge  should  come  to 
be  judged.  He  sent  before  Him  His  first! 
herald;  He  called  him  Elias,  because  Elias 
will  be  in  the  second  advent  what  John  was  in 
the  first. 

6.  For  mark,  beloved  brethren,  ho\v  true 
it  is  what  I  say.  When  John  was  conceived, 
or  rather  when  he  was  born,  the  Holy  Spirit 
prophesied  that  this  would  be  fulfilled  in  him: 
"  And  he  shall  be,"  he  said,  "  the  forerunner 
of  the  Highest,  in  the  spirit  ami  power  of 


Etiat."1      \Vi,.,t    si-mtietii  "in  the   spirit  mid 
power  •      I,,    t.ie    - 

in  the  room  of  Klias.  m  p,,,,,,  ,,t 

Elias?      Deiause    what    Elias    will    be    to   the 
semnd,    that    John    was   to   the   first   advent. 
Rightly  therefore,  speaking  literally,  did  John 
reply.        For    the    Lord   spoke    figuratively. 
11  i:i  as,  the  same  is  John;  "  but  he,  as  I  have 
j  said,  spoke  literally  when  he  said,  "  I  am  not 
Elias."     Neither  did  John  speak  falsely,  nor 
did  the  Lord  speak   falsely;  neither  was  the 
I  word  of  the  herald  nor  of  the  Judge  false,  if 
j  only  thou  understand.     But  who  shall  under 
stand  ?     He  who  shall  have  imitated  the  lowli- 
,  ness  of  the  herald,  and   shall   have  acknow- 
|  ledged    the    loftiness    of    the   Judge. 
|  nothing  was  more  lowly  than  the  herald.     My 
I  brethren,  in  nothing  had  John  greater  merit 
than  in  this  humility,  inasmuch  as  when  he 
I  was  able  to  deceive  men,  and  to  be  thought 
j  Christ,  and  to  have  been  received  in  the  place 
I  of  Christ  (for  so  great  were  his  grace  and  his 
j  excellency),  nevertheless  he  openly  confessed 
;and    said,  "  I   am    not  the   Christ."     "Art 
i  thou  Elias  ?  "     If  he  had  said  I  am  Elias,  it 
I  would   have  been  as   if  Christ  were  already 
I  coining  in  His  second  advent  to  judge,  not  in 
His  first  to  be  judged.     As  if  saying.  Elias 
j  is  yet  to  come,  "  I  am  not, "said  he,  "  Elias." 
j  But  give  heed  to  the  lowly  One  before  whom 
j  John  came,  that  you  may  not  feel  the  lofty  One 
I  before  whom  Elias  came.     For  thus  also  did 
the   Lord  complete  the  saying:  "  John  the 
Baptist  is  he  which  is  to  come."     He  came 
as  a  figure  of  that  in  which  Elias  is  to  come  in 
his  own  person.     Then   Elias  will  in  his  own 
proper  person  be  Elias,  now  in  similitude  he 
was   John.     Now   John    in    his   own    proper 
person  is  John,  in  similitude  Elias.     The  two 
heralds  gave  to  each  other  their  similitudes, 
and  kept  their  own  proper  persons;  but  the 
Judge  is    one    Lord,   whether    preceded    by 
this  herald  or  by  that. 

7.  "  And  they  asked  him,  What  then  ?  Art 
thou  Elias?  And  he  said,  No.  And  they 
said  unto  him,  Art  thou  a  prophet  ?  and  he 
answered,  No !  They  said  therefore  unto 
him,  Who  art  thou  ?  that  we  may  give  an 
answer  to  them  that  sent  us.  What  sayest 
thou  of  thyself?  He  saith,  I  am  the  voice  of 
one  crying  in  the  wilderness."3  That  said 
Isaiah.  This  prophecy  was  fulfilled  in  John, 
*'*  I  am  the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilder 
ness."  Crying  what  ?  "  Prepare  ye  the  way 
of  the  Lord,  make  straight  the  paths  of  our 
God."  Would  it  not  have  seemed  i 
that  a  herald  would  have  cried.  "Go  away, 
make  room."  Instead  of  the  herald' 


Matt.  xvii.  10-13;  Malt.  xi.  14,  Vulg. 


Lukci 


3  IM.  xl.  3. 


28 


THK   \VOKKS  OF   ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


A  IE    IV. 


"  C,M  away,"  John  says  "  Come."  The  herald 
makes  men  stand  back  from  the  judge;  to  the 
Judge  John  calls.  Yes,  indeed,  John  calls 
men  to  the  lowly  One,  that  they  may  not  ex 
perience  what  He  will  be  as  the  exalted  Judge. 
"  I  am  the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilder 
ness,  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  as  said 
the  prophet  Isaiah."  He  did  not  say,  I  am  I 
John,  I  am  Elias,  I  am  a  prophet.  But  what 
did  he  say  ?  This  I  am  called,  "  The  voice 
of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness,  Prepare  the 
way  for  the  Lord:  I  am  the  prophecy  it 
self." 

8.  "And  they  which  were  sent  were  of  the 
Pharisees,"  that  is,  of  the  chief  men  among 
the  Jews;  "  and  they  asked  him  and  said  unto 
him,  Why  baptizest  thou  then,  if  thou  be  not 
the  Christ,  nor  Elias,  nor  a  prophet?"  As  if 
it  seemed  to  them  audacity  to  baptize,  as  if 
they  meant  to  inquire,  in  what  character  bap 
tizest  thou  ?     We  ask  whether  thou   art  the 
Christ;  thou  sayest  that  thou   art  not.     We 
ask  whether  thou  perchance  art  His  precursor, 
for  we  know  that  before  the  advent  of  Christ, 
Elias  will  come;  thou  answerest  that  thou  art 
not.      We  ask,  if  perchance  thou  art  some, 
herald  come  long  before,  that  is,  a  prophet, 
and  hast  received  that  power,  and  thou  sayest 
that  thou  art  not  a  prophet.     And  John  was 
not  a  prophet;  he  was  greater  than  a  prophet. 
The  Lord  gave  such   testimony    concerning 
him:  "  What  went  ye  out  into  the  wilderness 
to  see  ?     A  reed  shaken  with  the  wind  ?  "     Of 
course  implying  that  he  was  not  shaken  by 
the  wind;  because  John  was  not  such  an  one 
as  is  moved  by  the  wind;  for  he  who  is  moved 
by  the  wind  is  blown  upon  by  every  seductive 
blast.     "  But  what  went  ye  out  for  to  see? 
A  man  clothed  in  soft  raiment?"     For  John 
was  clothed   in  rough  garments;  that  is,  his 
tunic  was  of  camel's   hair.       "  Behold,  they 
who  are  clothed  in  soft  raiment  are  in  kings' 
houses."     You  did  not  then  go  out  to  see  a 
man   clothed    in   soft   raiment.     "But  what 
went  ye  out  for  to  see  ?     A  prophet  ?    Yea,  I 
say  unto  you,  one  greater  than  a  prophet  is 
here; "  '  for  the  prophets  prophesied  of  Christ 
a  long  time  before,  John  pointed  Him  out  as 
present. 

9.  "  Why  baptizest  thou  then,  if  thou  be 
not   the   Christ,  nor   Elias,    nor   a  prophet? 
John  answered  them,  saying,  I  baptize  with 
water;    but  there   standeth   One  among  you  ; 
whom  ye  know  not."      For,  very  truly,  He  j 
was    not   seen,  being  humble,  and    therefore  j 
was  the   lamp   lighted.     Observe    how   John 
gives  place,  who  might  have  been  accounted 
other  than  he  was.     "  He  it  is  who  cometh 

1  Matt.  x'l.  •;-). 


after  me,  who  is  made  before  me  "  (that  is, 
as  we  have  already  said,  is  "  preferred  before 
me  "),  whose  shoe's  latchet  I  am  not  worthy 
to  unloose."  How  greatly  did  lie  humble  him 
self  !  And  therefore  he  was  greatly  lifted  up; 
for  he  that  humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted.2 
Hence,  holy  brethren,  you  ought  to  note  that 
if  John  so  humbled  himself  as  to  say,  "  I  am 
not  worthy  to  unloose  His  shoe-latchet,"  what 
need  they  have  to  be  humbled  who  say,  "  We  I  J 
baptize;  what  we  give  is  ours,  and  what  is 
ours  is  holy."  He  said,  Not  I,  but  He;  they 
say,  We.  John  is  not  worthy  to  unloose  His 
shoe's  latchet;  and  if  he  had  said  he  was 
worthy,  how  humble  would  he  still  have  been! 
And  if  he  had  said  he  was  worthy,  and  had 
spoken  thus,  "  He  came  after  me  who  is  made 
before  me,  the  latchet  of  whose  shoe  I  am 
only  worthy  to  unloose,"  he  would  have 
greatly  humbled  himself.  But  when  he  says 
that  he  is  not  worthy  even  to  do  this,  truly 
was  he  full  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  in  such 
fashion  as  a  servant  acknowledged  his  Lord, 
and  merited  to  be  made  a  friend  instead  of  a 
servant. 

10.  "  These  things  were  done  in  Bethany, 
beyond  Jordan,  where  John  was  baptizing. 
The  next  day  John  saw  Jesus  coming  unto 
him,  and  saith,  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God; 
behold  Him  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world  !  "  Let  no  one  so  arrogate  to  himself 
as  to  say  that  he  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world.  Give  heed  now  to  the  proud  men  at 
whom  John  pointed  the  finger.  The  heretics 
were  not  yet  born,  but  already  were  they 
pointed  out;  against  them  he  then  cried  from 
the  river,  against  whom  he  now  cries  from  the 
Gospel.  Jesus  comes,  and  what  says  he  ? 
"  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  !  "  If  to  be  inno 
cent  is  to  be  a  lamb,  then  John  was  a  lamb, 
for  was  not  he  innocent  ?  But  who  is  inno 
cent  ?  To  what  extent  innocent?  All  come 
from  that  branch  and  shoot,  concerning  which 
David  sings,  even  with  groanings,  "Behold,  I 
was  shapen  in  iniquity;  and  in  sin  did  my 
mother  conceive  me.1'3  .  Alone,  then,  was 
He,  the  Lamb  who  came,  not  so.  For  He 
was  not  conceived  in  iniquity,  because  not 
conceived  of  mortality;  nor  did  His  mother 
conceive  Him  in  sin,  whom  the  Virgin  con 
ceived,  whom  the  Virgin  brought  forth; 
because  by  faith  she  conceived,  and  by  faith 
received  Him.  Therefore,  "  Behold  the 
Lamb  of  God."  He  is  not  a  branch  derived 
from  Adam:  flesh  only  did  he  derive  from 
Adam,  Adam's  sin  He  did  not  assume.  He 
who  took  not  upon  Him  sin  from  our  lump, 
He  it  is  who  taketh  away  our  sin.  "  Behold 


M       IV.  | 


ON  Till.  «,«  ISPE1    01   ST.   JOHN 


29 


tin-  I. anil)  ni'  liod.  \viio  taketh  away  the  sin  of 
the  world  !  " 

\'ou  know  that  certain  men  say  sometimes, 
ke  away  sin  from  men,  we  who  are 
holy;  for  it"  he  be  not  holy  who  baptizeth, 
IKHV  taketh  he  away  the  sin  of  another,  when 
lu-  is  a  man  himself  full  of  sin  ?  In  opposition 
to  these  disputations,  let  us  not  speak  our 
own  words,  let  us  read  what  John  says:  "  Be 
hold  the  Lamb  of  (iod;  behold  Him  who 
taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world  !  "  Let 
there  not  be  presumptuous  confidence  of  men 
upon  men;  let  not  the  sparrow  flee  to  the 
mountains,  but  let  it  trust  in  the  Lord;1  and 
if  it  lift  its  eyes  to  the  mountains,  from 
whence  cometh  aid  to  it,  let  it  understand 
that  its  aid  is  from  the  Lord  who  made 
heaven  and  earth.  *  So  great  is  the  excellence 
of  John,  that  to  him  it  is  said,  "  Art  thou  the 
Christ?"  He  says,  No.  Art  thou  Elias  ? 
He  says.  No.  Art  thou  a  prophet  ?  He  says, 
No.  Wherefore  then  dost  thou  baptize  ? 
"  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God;  behold  Him  who 
taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world  !  This  is 
He  of  whom  I  spake,  After  me  cometh  a  Man 
who  was  made  before  me;  for  He  was  before 
me."  "Cometh  after  me,"  because  He  was 
born  later;  "was  made  before  me,"  because 
preferred  before  me;  "  He  was  before  me," 
because,  "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word, 
and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word 
was  God." 

12.  "  And  I  knew  Him  not,"  he  said;  "but 
that  He  might  be  made  manifest  to  Israel, 
therefore  came  I  baptizing  with  water.  And 
John  bare  record,  saying,  I  saw  the  Spirit 
descending  from  heaven  like  a  dove,  and  it 
abode  upon  Him.  And  I  knew  Him  not:  but 
He  that  sent  me  to  baptize  with  water,  the 
same  said  unto  me,  Upon  whom  thou  shall 
see  the  Spirit  descending,  and  abiding  upon 
Him,  the  same  is  He  who  baptizeth  with 
the  Holy  Ghost.  And  I  saw,  and  bare  record 
that  this  is  the  Son  of  God."  Give  heed  for 
a  little,  beloved.  When  did  John  learn 
Christ  ?  For  he  was  sent  to  baptize  with 
water.  They  asked,  Wherefore?  That  He 
might  be  made  manifest  to  Israel,  he  said. 
Of  what  profit  was  the  baptism  of  John  ?  My 
brethren,  if  it  had  profited  in  any  respect,  it 
would  have  remained  now,  and  men  would 
have  been  baptized  with  the  baptism  of  John, 
and  thus  have  come  to  the  baptism  of  Christ. 
But  what  saith  he  ?  "  That  He  might  be  made 
manifest  to  Israel," — that  is,  to  Israel  itself, 
to  the  people  Israel,  so  that  Christ  might  be 
made  manifest  to  it, — therefore  he  came  bap 
tizing  with  water.  John  received  the  ministry 


of   baptism,  that   by    t    • 

way    for  t 

limself  the  Lord;   but  where   t:.' 
was  known,   it  was  superfluous  tc. 
Him  ti.r  way,  for  to  those  who  knew  Him  H<- 
M  Himself  the   way;  therefore  the  bap 
tism  of  John  did  not  last  long.      But  how  was 
I  the    Lord    pointed    out?     Lowly,    that   John 
|  might  so  receive  a  baptism  in  which  the  Lord 
Himself  should  be  baptized. 

13.    And  was  it  needful  for  the   Lord  to  be 
baptized  ?     I  instantly  reply  to  any  one  who 
asks  this  question:  Was   it  needful   for   the 
i  Lord   to  be  born  ?     Was   it  needful   for  the 
Lord  to  be  crucified  ?     Was  it  needful  for  the 
Lord  to  die  ?     Was  it  needful  for  the  Lord  to 
i  be  buried  ?     If  He  undertook  for  us  so  great 
[  humiliation,  might  He  not  also  receive  bap- 
|  tism  ?     And  what  profit  was  there  that  he  re- 
!  ceived  the  baptism  of  a  servant?     That  thou 
mightest  not  disdain  to  receive  the  baptism 
|  of  the  Lord.     Give  heed,  beloved  brethren. 
iCertain    catechumens   were   to   arise   in    the 
Church  of  higher  grace.     It  sometimes  comes 
to  pass  that  you  see  a  catechumen  who  prac 
tises  continence,   bids  farewell  to  the  world, 
renounces   all    his    possessions,    distributing 
them  to  the  poor;  and  although  but  a  cate 
chumen,    instrucfed    in   the    saving  doctrine 
better,  perhaps,   than   many  of  the   faithful. 
It  is  to  be  feared  regarding  such  an  one  that 
he  may  say  to  himself  about  holy  baptism, 
whereby  sins  are  remitted,  What  more  shall  I 
receive  ?     Behold,  1  am  better  than  this  faith 
ful  man,  and   this,- -having  in  his  mind  those 
I  among  the  faithful  who  are  either  married,  or 
j  who  are  perhaps  ignorant,  or  who  keep  pos- 
|  session  of  their  property,  while  he  has  given 
]  his  to  the  poor, — and  considering  himself  bet 
ter  than  those  who  have  been  already  baptized, 
he  deigns  not  to  come  to  baptism,  saying, 
Am  I  to  receive  what  this  man  has,  and  this? 
thinking  of  persons  whom  he  despises,  and, 
as  it  were,  considers  it  an  indignity  to  receive 
that  which    inferiors  have  received,  because 
he  appears  to  himself  to  be  already  better 
than  they;  and,  nevertheless,  all  his  sins  are 
upon  him,  and  without  coming  to  saving  bap 
tism,  wherein  all  sins  are  remitted,  he  cannot, 
with  all  his  excellence,  enter  into  the  king 
dom  of  heaven.      But  the  Lord,  in  order  to 
invite  such  excellence  to  his  baptism,  that  sins 
might  be  remitted,  Himself  came  to  the  bap 
tism  of  His  servant;  and  although  He  had  no 
sin  to  be  remitted,  nor  was  there  anything  in 
Him   that  needed   to  be  washed,  He  r. 
baptism  from  a  sen-ant;  and  by  so  doing,  ad 
dressed   Himself  to  the  son  carrying  himself 
proudly,  and  exalting  himself,  and  disdaining, 
perhaps,  to  receive  along  with  the  ignorant 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  IV7. 


that  from  which  salvation  comes  to  him,  and 
said  to  him:  How  dost  thou  extend  thyself? 
How  dost  thou  exalt  thyself?  How  great  is! 
thy  excellence?  How  great  is  thy  grace? 
Can  it  be  greater  than  mine?  If  I  come  to 
the  servant,  dost  thou  disdain  to  come  to  the 
Lord  ?  If  I  have  received  the  baptism  of  the 
servant,  dost  thou  disdain  to  be  baptized  by 
the  Lord  ? 

14.  But  that  you  may  know,  my  brethren, 
that  not  from  a  necessity  of  any  chain  of  sin 
did  the  Lord  come  to  this  John,  as  the  other 
evangelists  say  when  the  Lord  came  to  him  to 
be  baptized,  John  himself  said,  "  Comest 
Thou  to  me  ?  I  have  need  to  be  baptized  of 
Thee."  '  What  did  He  reply  to  him  ?  "  Suf 
fer  it  to  be  so  now:  let  all  righteousness  be  ful 
filled  ? "  What  meaneth  this,  "  let  all  righte 
ousness  be  fulfilled  "  ?  I  came  to  die  for  men, 
have  I  not  to  be  baptized  for  men  ?  What  mean 
eth  "  let  all  righteousness  be  fulfilled  ''  ?  Let  all 
humility  be  fulfilled.  What  then  ?  Was  not 
He  to  accept  baptism  from  a  good  servant 
who  accepted  suffering  at  the  hands  of  evil 
servants?  Give  heed  then.  The  Lord  being  I 
baptized,  if  John  for  tnis  end  baptized,  that) 
by  means  of  his  baptism  the  Lord  might  j 
manifest  His  humility,  should  no  one  else' 
have  been  baptized  with  the  baptism  of  John  ? 
But  many  were  baptized  with  the  baptism  of  I 
John.  When  the  Lord  was  baptized  with  the  ; 
baptism  of  John,  the  baptism  of  John  ceased,  j 
John  was  forthwith  cast  into  prison.  After 
wards  we  do  not  find  that  any  one  is  baptized 
with  that  baptism.  If,  then,  John  came  bap 
tizing  for  this  end,  that  the  humility  of  the 
Lord  might  be  made  manifest  to  us,  in  order 
that  we  might  not  disdain  to  receive  from  the 
Lord  that  which  the  Lord  had  received  from  a 
servant,  should  John  have  baptized  the  Lord 
alone  ?  But  if  John  had  baptized  the  Lord 
alone,  some  would  have  thought  that  the  bap 
tism  of  John  was  more  holy  than  that  of 
Christ:  as  if  Christ  alone  had  been  found 
worthy  to  be  baptized  with  the  baptism  of 
John,  but  the  human  race  with  that  of  Christ. 
Give  heed,  beloved  brethren.  With  the  bap 
tism  of  Christ  we  have  been  baptized,  and  not 
only  we,  but  the  whole  world,  and  this  will 
continue  to  the  end.  Which  of  us  can  in  any 
respect  be  compared  with  Christ,  whose 
shoe's  latchet  John  declared  himself  unworthy 
to  unloose?  If,  then,  the  Christ,  a  man  of 
such  excellence,  a  man  who  is  God,  had  been 
alone  baptized  with  the  baptism  of  John,  what 
were  men  likely  to  say  ?  What  a  baptism  was 
that  of  John  !  His  was  a  great  baptism,  an 
ineffable  sacrament;  behold,  Christ  alone  de- 


Matt.  iii.  14,  15. 


served  to  be  baptized  with  the  baptism  of 
John.  And  thus  the  baptism  of  the  servant 
would  appear  greater  than  the  baptism  of  the 
Lord.  Others  were  also  baptized  with  the 
baptism  of  John,  that  the  baptism  of  John 
might  not  appear  better  than  the  baptism  of 
Christ;  but  baptized  also  was  the  Lord,  that 
through  the  Lord  receiving  the  baptism  of 
the  servant,  other  servants  might  not  disdain 
to  receive  the  baptism  of  the  Lord:  for  this 
end,  then,  was  John  sent. 

15.  But  did  he  know  Christ,  or  did  he  not 
know  Him  ?  If  he  did  not  know  Him,  where 
fore  did  He  say,  when  Christ  came  to  the 
river,  "  I  have  need  to  be  baptized  of  Thee  "  ? 
that  is  to  say,  I  know  who  Thou  art.  If, 
then,  he  already  knew  Him,  assuredly  he 
knew  Him  when  he  saw  the  dove  descending. 
It  is  evident  that  the  dove  did  not  descend 
upon  the  Lord  until  after  He  went  up  out  of 
the  water  of  baptism.  "The  Lord  having 
been  baptized,  went  up  out  of  the  water,  and 
the  heavens  were  opened,  and  he  saw  a  dove 
descending  on  Him.1'  If.  then,  the  dove 
descended  after  the  baptism,  and  if,  before 
the  Lord  was  baptized.  John  said  to  Him, 
"  Comest  Thou  to  me  ?  I  have  need  to  be 
baptized  of  Thee;"  that  is  to  say,  before  he 
knew  Him  to  whom  he  said,  "  Comest  Thou 
to  me  ?  I  have  need  to  be  baptized  of  Thee; " 
— how  then  said  he,  "And  I  knew  Him  not: 
but  He  who  sent  me  to  baptize  with  water, 
the  same  said  to  me,  Upon  whom  thou  seest 
the  Spirit  descending  as  a  dove,  and  abiding 
upon  Him,  the  same  is  He  which  baptizeth 
with  the  Holy  Ghost?"  It  is  not  an  insig 
nificant  question,  my  brethren.  If  you  have 
seen  the  question,  you  have  seen  not  a  little; 
it  remains  that  the  Lord  give  the  solution  of 
it.  This,  however,  I  say,  if  you  have  seen 
the  question,  it  is  no  small  matter.  Behold, 
John  is  placed  before  your  eyes,  standing 
beside  the  river.  Behold  John  the  Baptist. 
Behold,  the  Lord  comes,  as  yet  to  be  baptiz 
ed,  not  yet  baptized.  Hear  the  voice  of  John, 
"Comest  Thou  to  me?  I  have  need  to  be 
baptized  of  Thee."  Behold,  already  he  knew 
the  Lord,  by  whom  He  wishes  to  be  baptized. 
The  Lord,  having  been  baptized,  goes  up  out 
of  the  water;  the  heavens  are  opened,  the 
Spirit  descends;  then  John  knows  Him.  If 
then  for  the  first  time  he  knew  Him,  why  did 
he  say  before,  "  I  have  need  to  be  baptized 
of  Thee  "  ?  But  if  he  did  not  then  recognize 
Him  for  the  first  time,  because  he  knew  Him 
already,  what  is  the  meaning  of  what  he  said, 
"  I  knew  Him  not:  but  He  that  sent  me  to 
baptize  with  water,  the  same  said  unto  me, 
Upon  whom  thou  shalt  see  the  Spirit  descend 
ing,  and  abiding  upon  Him,  as  a  dove,  the 


TRACTAII,  \ .  j 


ON  Till;  GOS1  I  P.   JOHN. 


same  is    He  which   haptizeth  with  the   Holy 'what  is  the  meaning  of  the  saying,  "I 
c.ln)st  "  ?  I  Him  not:  but  He  that  teat  me  to  bap( 

16.    My  brethren,  this  question  if  solved  t<>.    water,  the  same   said    unto  inc.   t'pon    whom 
day  would   oppress  you,  1  do  not  doubt,  for   thou    shall     see   the  Spirit    descending,   and 


already  have  I  spoken  many  words.  lint 
know  that  the  question  is  of  such  a  character 
that  alone  it  is  able  to  extinguish  the  party  of 
Don.it us.  1  have  said  thus  much,  my  belov 
ed,  in  order  to  gain  your  attention,  as  is  my 
wont;  and  also  in  order  that  you  may  pray 
for  us,  that  the  Lord  may  grant  to  us  to 
speak  what  is  suitable,  and  that  you  may  be 
found  worthy  to  receive  what  is  suitable.  In 
the  meantime,  be  nleased  to  defer  the  ques 
tion  for  to  day.  But  in  the  meantime,  I  say 
this  briefly,  until  I  give  a  fuller  solution: 
Inquire  peacefully,  without  quarreling,  with 
out  contention,  without  altercations,  without 
enmities;  both  seek  by  yourselves,  and  inquire 
of  others,  and  say,  "  This  question  our  bishop 
proposed  to  us  to-day,  and  he  will  resolve  it 
at  a  future  time,  if  the  Lord  will."  But 
whether  it  be  resolved  or  not,  reckon  that  I 
have  propounded  what  appears  to  me  of  im 
portance;  for  it  does  seem  of  considerable 
importance.  John  says,  "  I  have  need  to  be 
baptized  of  Thee,"  as  if  he  knew  Christ.  P'or 
if  he  did  not  know  Him  by  whom  he  wished 
to  be  baptized,  he  spoke  rashly  when  he  said, 
"I  have  need  to  be  baptized  of  Thee." 
Therefore  he  knew  Him.  If  he  knew  Him, 


abiding  upon  Him,  as  a  dove,  tin 
which     baptizeth    with    the    Holy     (iiiost11' 
What  shall  we  say?     That  we  do  not   know 
when  the  dove  came?     Lest  perchance  they1 
take  refuge  in  this,  let  the  other  evangel: 
read,  who  have  spoken  of  this  matter  more 
plainly,  and  we  find  most  evidently  that  the 
dove  then  descended  when  the  Lord  came  up 
out  of  the  water.      Upon  Him  baptized  the 
heavens  opened,  and   He  saw  the  Spirit  de 


scending. 


was  when  He  was  already 


baptized  that  John  knew  Him,  how  saith  he 
to  Him,  coming  to  baptism,  "  I  have  need  to 
be  baptized  of  Thee  "  .'  Ponder  this  in  the 
meantime  with  yourselves,  confer  upon  it, 
treat  of  it,  one  with  another.  The  Lord  our 
God  grant  that  before  you  hear  it  from  me, 
the  explanation  may  be  revealed  to  some  of 
you  first.  Nevertheless,  Brethren,  know  this, 
that  by  means  of  the  solution  of  this  ques 
tion,  the  allegation  of  the  party  of  Donatus, 
if  they  have  any  sense  of  shame,  will  be 
silenced,  and  their  mouths  will  be  shut  regard 
ing  the  grace  of  baptism,  a  matter  about  which 
they  raise  mists  to  confuse  the  uninstructed, 
and  spread  nets  for  flying  birds. 


'  The  Donatists.          »  Matt.  iii.  16;  Mark  i.  10;  Luke  ui.  at, : 


TRACTATE  V. 

CHAPTKR  !.  33. 


WE  have  arrived,  as  the  Lord  hath  willed 
it,  to  the  day  of  our  promise.  He  will  grant 
this  also,  that  we  may  arrive  at  the  fulfillment 
of  the  promise.  For  then  those  things  which 
we  say,  if  they  are  useful  to  us  and  to  you, 
are  from  Him;  but  those  things  which  pro 
ceed  from  man  are  false,  as  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  Himself  has  said,  "  He  that  speaketh  a 
lie  speaketh  of  his  own."  x  No  one  has  any 
thing  of  his  own  except  falsehood  and  sin. 
But  if  man  has  any  truth  and  justice,  it  is 
from  that  fountain  after  which  we  ought  to 
thirst  in  this  desert,  so  that  being,  as  it  were, 
bedewed  by  some  drops  from  it,  and  com 
forted  in  the  meantime  in  this  pilgrimage,  we 
may  not  fail  by  the  way,  but  reach  His  rest 
and  satisfying  fullness'  If  then  "he  that 


John  viii.  44. 


speaketh  a  lie  speaketh  of  his  own,"  he  who 
speaketh  the  truth  speaketh  of  God.  John  is 
true,  Christ  is  the  Truth;  John  is  true,  but 
every  true  man  is  true  from  the  Truth.  If, 
then,  John  is  true,  and  a  man  cannot  be  true 
except  from  the  Truth,  from  whom  was  he 
true,  unless  from  Him  who  said,  "  I  am  the 
truth"  ?3  The  Truth,  then,  could  not  speak 
contrary  to  the  true  man,  or  the  true  man  con 
trary  to  the  Truth.  The  Truth  sent  the  true 
man,  and  he  was  true  because  sent  by  the 
Truth.  If  it  was  the  Truth  that  tent  John,  then 
it  was  Christ  that  sent  him.  But  that  which 
Christ  does  with  the  Father,  the  Father  does; 
and  what  the  Father  does  with  Christ,  Christ 
does.  The  Father  does  nothing  apart  from  the 
Son,  nor  the  Son  anything  apart  from  the 


'  John  xiv.  6. 


THK   WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN 


[TRACTATE  V. 


Father:  inseparable  love,  inseparable  unity. 
inseparable  majesty,  inseparable  power,  ac 
cording  to  these  words  which  He  Himself  pro 
pounded,"  I  and  my  Father  are  one."  '  Who 
then  sent  John  ?  If  we  say  the  Father,  we  speak 
truly;  if  we  say  the  Son,  we  speak  truly;  but  to 
speak  more  plainly,  we  say  the  Father  and 
the  Son.  But  whom  the  Father  and  the  Son 
sent,  one  God  sent;  because  the  Son  said, 
"land  the  Father  are  one."  How,  then, 
did  he  not  know  Him  by  whom  he  was  sent? 
For  he  said,  4t  I  knew  Him  not:  but  He  that 
sent  me  to  baptize  with  water,  the  same  said 
unto  me."  I  interrogate  John:  "Who  sent 
thee  to  baptize  with  water?  what  did  He 
say  to  thee  ? '  "  Upon  whom  thou  shalt  see 
the  Spirit  descending  as  a  dove,  and  abiding 
upon  Him,  the  same  is  He  which  baptizeth 
with  the  Holy  Ghost."  Is  it  this,  O  John, 
that  He  said  to  thee  who  sent  thee  ?  It  is 
manifest  that  it  was  this;  who,  then,  sent  thee  ? 
Perhaps  the  Father.  True  God  is  the  Father, 
and  the  Truth  is  Gf|d  the  Son:  if  the  Father 
without  the  Son  sent  thee,  God  without  the 
Truth  sent  thee;  but  if  thou  art  true,  because 
thou  dost  speak  the  truth,  and  dost  speak  of 
the  Truth,  the  Father  did  not  send  thee  with 
out  the  Son,  but  the  Father  and  the  Son  to 
gether  sent  thee.  If,  then,  the  Son  sent  thee 
with  the  Father,  how  didst  thou  not  know 
Him  by  whom  thou  wast  sent?  He  whom 
thou  hadst  seen  in  the  Truth,  Himself  sent 
thee  that  He  might  be  recognized  in  the  flesh, 
and  said,  "  Upon  whom  thou  shalt  see  the  ; 
Spirit  descending  as  a  dove,  and  abiding  upon 
Him,  the  same  is  He  which  baptizeth  with  the 
Holy  Ghost.' 

2.  Did  John  hear  this  that  he  might  know  I 
Him  whom  he  had  not  known,  or  that  he  ' 
might  more  fully  know  Him  whom  he  had 
already  known  ?  For  if  he  had  been  entirely 
ignorant  of  Him,  he  would  not  have  said  to 
Him  when  He  came  to  the  river  to  be  baptiz 
ed,  "I  have  need  to  be  baptized  of  Thee,  and 
comest  Thou  to  me  ?  "  3  He  knew  Him  there 
fore.  But  when  did  the  dove  descend  ? 
When  the  Lord  had  been  baptized,  and  was 
ascending  from  the  water.  But  if  He  who 
sent  Him  said,  "  Upon  whom  thou  shalt  see 
the  Spirit  descending  as  a  dove,  and  abiding 
upon  Him,  the  same  is  He  which  baptizeth 
with  the  Holy  Ghost,"  and  he  knew  Him  not, 
but  when  the  dove  descended  he  learned  to 
know  Him,  and  the  time  at  which  the  dove 
descended  was  when  the  Lord  was  goin^  up 
from  the  water;  but  John  had  known  the 
Lord,  when  the  Lord  came  to  him  to  the 
water:  it  is  made  plain  to  us  that  John  after  a 


'  John  x.  30. 


Matt.  iii. 


manner  knew,  and  after  a  manner  did  not  at 
first  know  the  Lord.  And  unless  we  under 
stand  it  so,  he  was  a  liar.  How  was  he  true 
acknowledging  the  Lord  and  saying,  "  Comest 
Thou  to  me  to  be  baptized,"  and,  "  I  have 
need  to  be  baptized  of  Thee  "?  Is  he  true 
when  he  said  this  ?  And  how  is  he  again  true 
when  he  saith,  "  I  knew  Him  not:  but  He 
that  sent  me  to  baptize  with  water,  the  same 
said  unto  me,  Upon  whom  thou  shalt  see  the 
Spirit  descending  as  a  dove,  and  abiding  upon 
Him,  the  same  is  He  who  baptizeth  with 
the  Holy  Ghost''?  The  Lord  was  made 
known  by  a  dove,  not  to  him  who  knew  Him 
not,  but  to  him  who  in  a  manner  knew  Him, 
and  in  a  manner  knew  Him  not,  It  is  for  us 
to  discover  what,  in  Him,  John  did  not  know, 
and  learned  by  the  dove. 

3.  Why  was  John  sent  baptizing  ?    Already, 
I  recollect,    I   have   explained  that  to  you, 
beloved,  according  to  my  ability.     For  if  the 
baptism  of  John  was  necessary  for  our  salva 
tion,  it  ought  even  now  to  be  used.     For  we 
cannot  think  that  men  are  not  saved  now,  or 
that  more  are  not  saved  now,  or  that  there 
was   one    salvation   then,    another   now.      If 
Christ  has  been  changed,  the  salvation   has 
also  been  changed;  if  salvation  is  in   Christ, 
and  Christ  Himself  is  the  same,  there  is  the 
same  salvation  to  us.     But  why  was  John  sent 
baptizing?     Because  it  behoved  Christ  to  be 
baptized.     Wherefore  did  it  behove  Christ  to 
be  baptized  ?     Wherefore  did  it  behove  Christ 
to  be  born  ?     Wherefore  did  it  behove  Christ 
to  be  crucified  ?       For  if  He   had   come  to 
point  out  the  way  of  humility,  and  to  make 
Himself  the  way  of  humility;  in  all  things  had 
humility  to  be  fulfilled  by  Him.      He  deigned 
from  this  to  give  authority  to   His   own   bap 
tism,  that  His  servants  might  know  with  what 
alacrity  they  ought  to  run  to  the  baptism  of 
the  Lord,  when  He  Himself  did  not  refuse  to 
receive  the  baptism  of  a  servant.     This  favor 
was  bestowed   upon  John  that  it  should  be 
called  his  baptism. 

4.  Give  heed  to  this,  exercise  your  discrim 
ination,  and  know  it,  beloved.     The  baptism 
which  John  received  is  called  the  baptism  of 
John:  alone  he  received  such  a  gift.       No 
one  of  the  just  before  him  and  no  one  after 
him  so  received  a  baptism  that  it  should  be 
called  his  baptism.      He  received  it  indeed, 
for  of  himself  he  could  do  nothing:  for  if  any 
one  speaketh  of  his  own,  he  speaketh  of  his 
own  a  lie.     And  whence  did  he  receive  it  ex 
cept  from  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ?     From  Him 
he  received  power  to  baptize  whom  he  after 
wards  baptized.     Do  not  marvel;  for  Christ 
acted  in  the  same  manner  in  respect  to  John 
as  in  respect  to  His  mother.     For  concerning 


.  :i.   V.  | 


o.\    I  ill.  GOSPEL  01    M.  JOHN, 


Christ  it  was  said,  "  All  things  were  made  by 

Him."1      If  all   tilings    \\eie    made    by    him, 

Mary  also  was  made  l>y  Him,  of  whom  Christ 

was    alterwards    born.      Give    heed,    beloved;    but  those  wno  were  bapti/ed  with  the  baptism 

in  the  same  manner  that  He  did  create  Mary,    o!  tin:  Lord  do  not  require  the  Inptism  of  the 

and  was  created  by  Mary,  so  did  He  give  the    fellow-servant. 


vant.  Hut  it  be'ioved  those  fellow-servants 
who  were  bapti/.ed  with  that  baptism  to  be 
likewise  baptized  with  the  baptism  of  the  Lord: 


baptism  of  John,  and  was  baptized  by  John. 


Since,  then,  John   had   accepted   a  bap- 


5.    For  this  purpose   therefore  did   He  re-;  tism  which  may  be  properly  called  the  baptism 


ceive  baptism  from  John,  in  order  that,  re 
ceiving  what  was  inferior  from  an  inferior,  He 
might  exhort  inferiors  to  receive  that  which 
was  superior.  But  wherefore  was  not  He 
alone  baptized  by  John,  if  John,  by  whom 
Christ  was  baptized,  was  sent  for  this  end,  to 
prepare  a  way  for  the  Lord,  that  is,  for  Christ 
Himself?  This  we  have  already  explained, 
but  we  recur  to  it,  because  it  is  necessary  for 
the  present  question.  If  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  had  been  alone  baptized  with  the  bap 
tism  of  John; — hold  fast  what  we  say;  let  not 
the  world  have  such  power  as  to  efface  from 


of  John,  but  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  would  not 
give  His  baptism  to  any,  not  that  no  one 
should  be  baptized  with  the  baptism  of  the 
Lord,  but  that  the  Lord  Himself  should 
always  baptize:  that  was  done,  that  the  Lord 
should  baptize  by  means  of  servants;  that  is 
to  say,  those  whom  the  servants  of  the  Lord 
were  to  baptize,  the  Lord  baptized,  not  they. 
For  it  is  one  thing  to  baptize  in  the  capacity 
of  a  servant,  another  thing  to  baptize  with 
power.  For  baptism  derives  its  character 
from  Him  through  whose  power  it  is  given; 
not  from  him  through  whose  ministry  it  is 


power  as  to  choke  the   seed  which 


being 


youi  hearts  what  the  Spirit  of  God  has  written   given.      A.S  was  John,  so  was  his  baptism:  the 
there;  let  not  the   thorns   of  care   have   such    righteous  baptism  of  a  righteous  man;  but  of 

a  man  who  had  received  from  the  Lord  that 
grace,  and  so  great  grace,  that  he  was  worthy 
to  be  the  forerunner  of  the  Judge,  and  to 
point  Him  out  with  the  finger,  and  to  fulfill 
the  saying  of  that  prophecy:  "  The  voice  of 


sown  in  you:  for  why  are  we  compelled  to  re 
peat  the  same  things,  but  because  we  are  not 
sure  of  the  memory  of  your  hearts? — and  if 
then  the  Lord  alone  had  been  baptized  with 


the  baptism  of  John,  there  would  be  persons  i  one  crying  in  the  wilderness,  Prepare  ye  the 
who  would  so  reckon  it,  that  the  baptism  of  way  for  the  Lord."2     As  was  the  Lord,  such 


John  was  greater  than  is  the  baptism  of  Christ. 
For  they  would  say,  that  baptism  is  so  much 
the  greater,  that  Christ  alone  deserved  to  be 
baptized  with  it.  Therefore,  that  an  example 
of  humility  might  be  given  us  by  the  Lord, 
that  the  salvation  of  baptism  might  be  obtained 
by  us,  Christ  accepted  what  for  Him  was  not 
necessary,  but  on  our  account  was  necessary. 
And  again,  lest  that  which  Christ  received 
from  John  should  be  preferred  to  the  bap 
tism  of  Christ,  others  also  were  permitted  to 
be  baptized  by  John.  But  for  those  who  were 
baptized  by  John  that  baptism  did  not  suffice: 
for  they  were  baptized  with  the  baptism  of 
Christ;  because  the  baptism  of  John  was  not 
the  baptism  of  Christ.  Those  who  receive 
the  baptism  of  Christ  do  not  seek  the  bap 
tism  of  John;  those  who  received  the  baptism 
of  John  sought  the  baptism  of  Christ.  There 
fore  was  the  baptism  of  John  sufficient  for 
Christ.  How  should  it  not  be  sufficient,  when 
not  even  it  was  necessary  ?  For  to  Him  was 


was  His  baptism:  the  baptism  of  the  Lord, 
then,  was  divine,  because  the  Lord  was  God.', 
7.  But  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  could,  if  He 
wished,  have  given  power  to  one  of  His  ser- ) 
vants  to  give  a  baptism  of  his  own,  as  it  were, 
in  His  stead,  and  have  transferred  from  Him 
self  the  power  of  baptizing,  and  assigned  it  to 
one  of  His  servants,  and  have  given  the  same 
power  to  the  baptism  transferred  to  the  ser 
vant  as  it  had  when  bestowed  by  the  Lord. 
This  He  would  not  do,  in  order  that  the  hope 
of  the  baptized  might  be  in  him  by  whom 
they  acknowledged  themselves  to  have  been 
baptized.  He  would  not,  therefore,  that  the 
servant  should  place  his  hope  in  the  servant. 
And  therefore  the  apostle  exclaimed,  when  he 
saw  men  wishing  to  place  their  hope  in  him 
self,  "Was  Paul  crucified  for  you?  or  were 
ye  baptized  in  the  name  of  Paul?"3  Paul 
then  baptized  as  a  servant,  not  as  the  power 
itself;  but  the  Lord  baptized  as  the  power. 
Give  heed.  He  was  both  able  to  give  this 


no  baptism  necessary;  but  in  order  to  exhort  j  power  to  His  servants,  and  unwilling.  For  if 
us  to  receive  His  baptism,  He  received  the  He  had  given  this  power  to  His  servants  — 
baptism  of  His  servant.  And  lest  the  baptism  that  is  to  say,  that  what  belonged  to  the  Lord 
of  the  servant  should  be  preferred  to  the  should  be  theirs — there  would  have  been  as 
baptism  of  the  Lord,  other  fellow-servants  many  baptisms  as  servants;  so  that,  I 
were  baptized  with  the  baptism  of  the  ser-  speak  of  the  baptism  of  John,  we  should  also 


'  John  i.  3. 


d.3. 


:    >       • 


34 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TH.V  TATK  V. 


have  spoken  of  the  baptism  of  Peter,  the 
baptism  of  Paul,  the  baptism  of  James,  the 
baptism  of  Thomas,  of  Matthew,  of  Bartholo 
mew:  for  we  spoke  of  that  baptism  as  that  of 
John.  But  perhaps  some  one  objects,  and 
says,  Prove  to  us  that  that  baptism  was  called 
the  baptism  of  John.  1  will  prove  it  from  the 
very  words  of  the  Truth  Himself,  when  He 
asked  the  Jews,  "  The  baptism  of  John, 
whence  was  it?  from  heaven,  or  of  men?"1 
Therefore,  lest  as  many  baptisms  should  be 
spoken  of  as  there  are  servants  who  received 
power  from  the  Lord  to  baptize,  the  Lord 
kept  to  Himself  the  power  of  baptizing,  and 
gave  to  His  servants  the  ministry.  The  ser 
vant  says  that  he  baptizes;  he  says  so  rightly, 
as  the  apostle  says,  "  And  I  baptized  also  the 
household  of  Stephanas;  "  a  but  as  a  servant. 
Therefore,  if  even  he  be  bad,  and  he  happen 
to  have  the  ministration  of  baptism,  and  if 
men  do  not  know  him,  but  God  knows  him, 
God,  who  has  kept  the  power  to  Himself,  per 
mits  baptism  to  be  administered  through  him. 
8.  But  this  John  did  not  know  in  the  Lord. 
That  He  was  the  Lord  he  knew,  and  that  he 
ought  to  be  baptized  by  Him  he  knew;  and 
he  confessed  that  He  was  the  Truth,  and  that 
he,  the  true  man,  was  sent  by  the  Truth:  this 
he  knew.  But  what  was  in  Him  which  he 
knew  not  ?  That  he  was  about  to  retain  to 
Himself  the  power  of  His  baptism,  and  was 
not  to  transmit  or  transfer  it  to  any  servant; 
but  that,  whether  a  good  servant  baptized  in 
a  ministerial  manner,  or  whether  an  evil  ser 
vant  baptized,  the  person  baptized  should  not 
know  that  he  was  baptized,  unless  by  Him 
who  kept  to  Himself  the  power  of  baptizing. 
And  that  you  may  know,  brethren,  what  John 
did  not  know  in  Him,  he  learned  it  by  means 
of  the  dove:  for  he  knew  the  Lord;  but  that 
He  was  to  retain  to  Himself  the  power  of 
baptizing,  and  not  to  give  it  to  any  servant, 
he  did  not  yet  know.  Regarding  this  he  said, 
"  I  knew  Him  not."  And  that  you  may  know 
that  he.  there  learnt  this,  give  heed  to  what 
follows:  "  But  He  that  sent  me  to  baptize 
with  water,  the  same  said  unto  me,  Upon 
whom  thou  shalt  see  the  Spirit  descending  as 
a  dove,  and  abiding  upon  Him,  the  same  is 
He."  What  same  is  He  ?  The  Lord  ?  But 
he  already  knew  the  Lord.  Suppose,  then, 
that  John  had  said  thus  far,  "  I  knew  Him 
not:  but  He  that  sent  me  to  baptize  with  j 
water,  the  same  said  unto  me —  We  ask, 
what  He  said?  It  follows:  "Upon  whom 
thou  shalt  see  the  Spirit  descending  as  a  dove, 
and  abiding  upon  Him."  I  do  not  say  what 
follows.  In  the  meantime  give  heed:  "Upon 


whom  thou  shalt  see  the  Spirit  descending  as 
a  dove-,  and  abiding  upon  Him,  the  same  is 
He."  But  what  same  is  He  >  What  did  He 
who  sent  me  mean  to  teach  me  by  means  of 
a  dove?  That  He  was  Himself  the  Lord. 
Already  I  knew  by  whom  I  was  sent;  already 
I  knew  Him  to  whom  I  said,  "  Comest  Thou 
to  me  to  be  baptized  ?  I  have  need  to  be 
baptized  of  Thee."  So  far,  then,  did  I  know 
the  Lord,  that  I  wished  to  be  baptized  by 
Him,  not  that  He  should  be  baptized  by  me; 
and  then  He  said  to  me,  "  Suffer  it  to  be  so 
now;  for  thus  it  becometh  us  to  fulfill  all 
righteousness.''  I  came  to  suffer;  do  I  not 
come  to  be  baptized?  "Let  ail  righteous 
ness  be  fulfilled,"  says  my  God  to  me.  Let 
all  righteousness  be  fulfilled;  let  me  teach 
entire  humility.  I  know  that  there  will  be 
proud  ones  in  my  future  people;  I  know  that 
some  men  then  will  be  eminent  in  some  grace, 
so  that  when  they  see  ordinary  persons  bap 
tized,  they,  because  they  consider  themselves 
better,  "whether  in  continence,  or  in  alms 
giving,  or  in  doctrine,  will  perhaps  not  deign 
to  receive  what  has  been  received  by  their  in 
feriors.  It  was  needful  that  I  should  heal 
them,  so  that  they  should  not  disdain  to  come 
to  the  baptism  of  the  Lord,  because  I  came 
to  the  baptism  of  the  servant. 

9.  Already,  then,  John  knew  this,  and  he 
knew  the  Lord.  What  then  did  the  dove 
teach  ?  What  did  He  desire  to  teach  by 
means  of  the  dove — that  is,  by  means  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  thus  coming  to  teach  who  had 
sent  him  to  whom  He  said,  "Upon  whom 
thou  shalt  see  the  Spirit  descending  as  a  dove, 
and  abiding  upon  Him,  the  same  is  He"? 
Who  is  this  He  ?  The  Lord  ?  I  know.  But 
didst  thou  already  know  this,  that  the  same 
Lord  having  the  power  to  baptize,  was  not  to 
give  that  power  to  any  servant,  but  to  retain 
it  to  Himself,  so  that  all  who  were  baptized  by 
the  ministration  of  the  servant,  should  not 
impute  their  baptism  to  the  servant,  but  to  the 
Lord  ?  Didst  thou  already  know  this  ?  I  did 
not  know  this:  so  what  did  He  say  tome? 
"  Upon  whom  thou  shalt  see  the  Spirit  de 
scending  as  a  dove,  and  abiding  upon  Him, 
the  same  is  He  who  baptizeth  with  the  Holy 
Ghost."  He  does  not  say,  "  He  is  the  Lord;" 
He  does  not  say,  "  He  is  the  Christ;"  He 
does  not  say,  "  He  is  God;"  He  does  not  say, 
"He  is  Jesus;"  He  does  not  say,  "  He  is 
the  One  who  was  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary, 
after  thee,  before  thee."  This  He  does  not 
say,  for  this  John  did  already  know.  But  what 
did  he  not  know  ?  That  this  great  authority  of 
baptism  the  Lord  Himself  was  to  have,  and  to 


. 


ON  Tin-:  c,<  ISPE1  01  ST,  JOHN. 


35 


retain  toll  imself,  whether  present  in  the  earl  ii 
orabseut  in  body  in  the  heaven,  and  present  in 
majesty;  lest  1'aul  should  say,  my  baptism; 
I'eter  should  say,  my  baptism.  There- 
lore  see,  give  heed  to  the  words  of  the  apos 
tles.  None  of  the  apostles  said,  my  baptism. 
Although  there  was  one  gospel  of  all,  yet  thou 
findesl  that  they  said,  my  gospel:  thou  dost 
not  lind  that  they  say,  my  baptism. 

10.  This,  then,  my  brethren,  John  learned. 
What  John  learned  by  means  of  the  dove  let 
us  also  learn.     For  the  dove  did  not  teach 
John  without  teaching  the  Church,  the  Church 
to  which  it  was  said,  "My  dove  is  one."1     Let 
the  dove  teach  the  dove;  let  the  dove  know 
what  John  learned  by  the  dove.     The  Holy 
Spirit  descended  in  the  form  of  a  dove.     But 
this  which  John  learned  in  the  dove,  where 
fore  did  he  learn  it  in  the  dove?     For  it  be 
hoved  him  to  learn,  and  perhaps  it  did  not  so 
much  behove  him  to  learn  as  to  learn  by  the 
dove.     What  shall  I  say,  my  brethren,  con 
cerning  the  dove?  or  when  will    faculty  of 
tongue  or  heart  suffice  to  speak  as  I  wish  ?  And, 
perchance,  my  wish  falls  short  of  my  duty  in 
speaking;  even  if  I  were  able  to  speak  as  I 
wish,  how  much  less  am  I  able  to  speak  as  I 
ought  ?     I  could  wish  to  hear  one  better  than 
myself  speak  this,  rather  than  speak  of  it  to 
you. 

11.  John   learns    to    know    Him  whom   he 
knew;  but  he  learns  in   Him  with   regard   to 
what  he  did  not  know;  with  regard  to  what  he 
did  know,  he  does  not  learn.      And  what  did 
he    know?     The    Lord.       What   did    he    not 

(know  ?  That  the  power  of  the  Lord's  baptism 
'was  not  to  pass  from  the  Lord  to  any  man, 
but  that  the  ministration  of  it  plainly  would 
do  so;  the  power  from  the  Lord  to  no  one, 
"the  ministration  both  to  good  and  bad.  Let 
not  the  dove  shrink  from  the  ministration  of 
the  bad,  but  have  regard  to  the  power  of  the 
Lord.  What  injury  does  a  bad  servant  do  to 
you  where  the  Lord  is  good  ?  What  impedi 
ment  can  the  malicious  herald  put  in  your 
way  if  the  judge  is  well-disposed?  John 
learned  by  means  of  the  dove  this.  What  is 
it  that  he  learned  ?  Let  him  repeat  it  himself. 
"  The  same  said  unto  me,"  saith  he,  "  Upon 
whom  thou  shalt  see  the  Spirit  descending  as 
a  dove,  and  abiding  on  Him,  this  is  He  which 
bapti/eth  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  Let  not 
those  seducers  deceive  thee,  O  dove,  who  say, 
We  bapti/.e.  Acknowledge,  dove,  what  the 
dove  has  taught:  "  This  is  He  which  baptizeth 
with  the  Holy  Ghost."  By  means  of  the 
dove  we  are  taught  that  this  is  He;  and  dost 
thou  think  that  thou  art  baptized  by  his  an- 


thority  by   whose    ministration   thou   art    bap- 

ti/ed  ?      ff  thou  thinkest  this,  thou  art 

yet  in  the  body   of  the   dove;  and  if  tti- 

not  in  the   body   of  the  dove,  it  is   not  to  be 

wondered  at  that  thou  hast  not  simplicity;  for 

by  means  of  the  dove,   simplicity  is  chiefly 

designated. 

12.  Wherefore,  my  brethren,  by  the  simpli 
city  of  the  dove  did  John  learn  that  "  This  is 
He  which  baptizeth  with  the  Holy  Ghost," 
unless  to  show  that  these  are  not  doves  who 
have  scattered  the  Church?  Hawks  they 
were,  and  kites.  The  dove  does  not  tear. 
And  thou  seest  that  they  hold  us  up  to  hatred, 
for  the  persecutions,  as  they  call  them,  which 
they  have  suffered.  Bodily  persecutions, 
indeed,  if  they  are  to  be  so  called,  they  have 
!  suffered,  since  these  were  the  scourges  of  the 
j  Lord,  plainly  administering  temporal  correc- 
I  tion,  lest  He  should  have  to  condemn  them 
j  eternally,  if  they  did  not  acknowledge  it  and 
'  amend  themselves.  They  truly  persecute 
the  Church  who  persecute  by  means  of  deceit; 
!  they  strike  the  heart  more  heavily  who  strike 
i  with  the  sword  of  the  tongue;  they  shed 
blood  more  bitterly  who,  as  far  as  they  can, 
slay  Christ  in  man.  They  seem  to  be  in  fear, 
as  it  were,  of  the  judgment  of  the  authorities. 
What  does  the  authority  do  to  thee  if  thou  art 
good  ?  but  if  thou  art  evil,  fear  the  authority; 
"  For  he  beareth  not  the  sword  in  vain,"1 
saith  the  apostle.  Draw  not  the  sword  where 
with  thou  dost  strike  Christ.  Christian,  what 
dost  thou  persecute  in  a  Christian  ?  What 
did  the  Emperor  persecute  in  thee?  He 
persecuted  the  flesh;  thou  in  a  Christian  per- 
secutest  the  Spirit.  Thou  dost  not  slay  the 
flesh.  And,  nevertheless,  they  do  not  spare 
the  flesh;  as  many  as  they  were  able,  they 
slew  with  the  sword;  they  spared  neither  their 
own  nor  strangers.  This  is  known  to  all. 
The  authority  is  hated  because  it  is  legitimate; 
he  acts  in  a  hated  manner  who  acts  according 
to  the  law;  he  acts  without  incurring  hatred 
who  acts  contrary  to  the  laws.  Give  heed, 
each  one  of  you,  my  brethren,  to  what  the 
Christian  possesses.  His  humanity  he  has  in 
common  with  many,  his  Christianity  distin 
guishes  him  from  many,  and  his  Christianity 
belongs  to  him  more  strictly  than  his  hu 
manity.  For,  as  a  Christian,  he  is  renewed 
after  the  image  of  God,  by  whom  man  was 
made  after  the  image  of  God;3  but  as  a  man 
he  might  be  bad,  he  might  be  a  pagan,  he 
might  be  an  idolater.  This  thou  dost  : 
cute  in  the  Christian,  which  is  his  better 
part;  for  this  by  which  he  lives  thou  w 
to  take  away  from  him.  For  he  lives  tempo. 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  V. 


rally  according  to  the  spirit  of  life,  by  which 
his  body  is  animated,  but  he  lives  for  eternity 
according  to  the  baptism  which  he  received 
from  the  Lord;  thou  wishest  to  take  this  away 


tins  thou  wishest  to  take  away  from   him   by 


Lord  of  both  decide  the  cause  of  His  own 
official.  If,  perhaps,  I  were  to  ask  for  proof, 
thou  couldst  give  none;  indeed,  thou  liest; 
it  has  been  proved  that  thou  wert  not  able  to 


from  him  which  he  received   from  the  Lord,    give  proof.     But  I  do  not  place  my  case  on 


this,  lest  from  my  zealous  defense  of  innocent 


which  he  lives.     Robbers,  with  regard  to  those  |  men  thou  infer  that  I  have  placed  my  hope 
whom  they  wish  to  despoil,  have  the  purpose 
to  enrich  themselves  and  to  deprive  their  vic- 


spread 

question,  and    began 


tims  of  all  that  they  have;  but  thou  takest 
from  him,  and  with  thee  there  will  not  be 
anything  more,  for  there  does  not  accrue 
more  to  thee  because  thou  takest  from  him. 
But,  truly,  they  do  the  same  as  those  who 
take  away  the  natural  life:  they  take  it  away 
from  another,  and  yet  they  themselves  have 
not  two  lives. 

13.  What,  then,  dost  thou  wish  to  take 
away  ?  What  displeases  thee  in  the  man 
whom  thou  wishest  to  rebaptize  ?  Thou  art 
not  able  to  give  what  he  already  has,  but 
thou  makest  him  deny  what  he  has.  What 
greater  cruelty  did  the  pagan  persecutor  of 
the  Church  commit  ?  Swords  were  stretched 
out  against  the  martyrs,  wild  beasts  were  let 
loose,  fires  were  applied:  for  what  purpose 
these  things  ?  In  order  that  the  sufferer 
might  be  induced  to  say,  I  am  not  a  Chris 
tian.  What  dost  thou  teach  him  whom  thou 
wishest  to  rebaptize,  unless  that  he  first  say, 
I  am  not  a  Christian  ?  For  the  same  purpose 
for  which  the  persecutor  put  forth  the  flame, 
thou  puttest  forth  the  tongue;  thou  dost  by 
seducing  what  he  did  not  do  by  slaying.  And  selves,  and  say,  "  If 
what  is  it  thou  dost  give,  and  to  whom  art 
thou  to  give  it  ?  If  he  tells  thee  the  truth, 
and  does  not  lie,  seduced  by  thee,  he  will 
say,  I  have.  Thou  askest,  Hast  thou  bap 
tism  ?  I  have,  he  says.  As  long  as  he  says,  I 
have,  thou  sayest,  I  will  not  give.  And  do 
not  give,  for  that  which  thou  wishest  to  give 
cannot  cleave  to  me;  because  what  I  received 
cannot  be  taken  away  from  me.  But  wait, 
nevertheless;  let  me  see  what  thou  wouldest 
teach  me.  Say,  he  said,  in  the  first  place,  I 
have  not.  But  this  I  have;  if  I  shall  say,  I 
have  not,  I  lie;  for  what  I  have  I  have.  Thou 
hast  not,  he  says.  Teach  me  that  I  have  it 
not.  An  evil  man  gave  it  to  thee.  If  Christ 
is  evil,  an  evil  man  did  give  it  to  me.  Christ, 
he  says,  is  not  evil;  but  Christ  did  not  give  it 
to  thee.  Who  then  gave  it  to  me  ?  Reply, 
I  know  that  I  received  it  from  Christ.  He 
who  gave  it  to  thee,  he  says,  was  not  Christ, 
but  some  traJitor,  I  shall  see  to  it  who  was 
the  minister;  I  shall  see  who  was  the  herald. 
Concerning  the  official,  I  do  not  dispute;  I 
give  heed  to  the  Judge:  and,  perchance,  in 
thy  objection  to  the  official,  thou  speakest 
falsely.  .But  I  decline  to  discuss  it;  let  the 


even  on  innocent  men.  Let  the  men  be  what 
they  may,  I  received  from  Christ,  I  was  bap 
tized  by  Christ.  No,  he  says;  not  Christ, 
but  that  bishop  baptized  thee,  and  that  bishop 
communicates  to  them.  By  Christ  I  have 
been  baptized,  I  know.  How  dost  thou  know  ? 
The  dove  taught  me,  which  John  saw.  O 
evil  kite,  thou  mayest  not  tear  me  from  the 
bowels  of  the  dove.  I  am  numbered  among 
the  members  of  the  dove,  because  what  the 
dove  taught,  this  I  know.  Thou  sayest  to 
me,  This  man  or  that  baptized  thee:  by 
means  of  the  dove  it  is  said  to  me  and  to 
thee,  "  This  is  He  which  baptizeth."  Which 
shall  I  believe,  the  kite  or  the  dove? 

14.   Tell  me  certainly,  that  thou  mayest  be 
confounded  by  that  lamp  by  which  also  were 
the   former  enemies  confounded,   who  were 
like  to  thee,  the  Pharisees,   who,  when  they 
questioned  the  Lord   by  what  authority   He 
did  those  things:  "  I   also,"  said   He,  "will 
ask  you  this  question,  Tell  me,  the  baptism 
of  John,   whence  is   it?  from   heaven,  or  of 
And   they,   who  were   preparing  to 
their  wiles,   were    entangled    by  the 


to   debate   with   them- 
we  shall   answer,  It  is 


from  heaven,  He  will  say  unto  us,  Wherefore 
did  ye  not  believe  him  ?  "  For  John  had  said 
of  the  Lord,  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  who 


taketh  away  the   sin  of  the  world 


Why 


then  do  you  inquire  by  what  authority  I  act? 
O  wolves,  what  I  do,  I  do  by  the  authority  of 
the  Lamb.  But  that  you  may  know  the 
Lamb,  why  do  you  not  believe  John,  who 
said,  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  who  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world  "?  They,  then, 
knowing  what  John  had  said  regarding  the 
Lord,  said  among  themselves,  "  If  we  shall 
say  that  John's  baptism  is  from  heaven,  He 
will  say  unto  us,  Wherefore  then  did  ye  not 
believe  him?  If  we  shall  say,  It  is  of  men, 
the  people  will  stone  us;  for  they  hold  John 
as  a  prophet."  Hence,  they  feared  men; 
hence,  they  were  confounded  to  confess  the 
truth.  Darkness  replied  with  darkness;  1  ut 
they  were  overcome  by  the  lignt.  For  what 
did  they  reply  ?  "  We  know  not;  "  regarding 
that  which  they  knew,  they  said,  "We  know 
not."  And  the  Lord  said,  "Neither  tell  I 
you  by  what  authority  I  do  these  things."5 


John  i.  29. 


:          \ 1 1   v.  | 


ON  Till.  GOSPEL  Ol    >  I.   JOHN, 


Am!  the  first  enemies  were  <  ontoimded. 
Hem-?  I'.y  the  lamp.  Who  was  the  lamp? 
John.  Can  we  prove  that  he  was  the  lamp? 
\\  <•  ,  m  prove  it;  for  the  Lord  say*:  "He  was 
a  burning  and  a  shining  lamp."1  Can  we 
prove  also  that  the  enemies  were  confounded 
by  him?  Listen  to  the  psalm:  "  I  have  pre 
pared,"  he  says,  "a  lamp  for  my  Christ. 
His  enemies  I  will  clothe  with  shame."  * 

15.  As  yet,  in  the  darkness  of  this  life,  we 
walk  by  the  lamp  of  faith:  let  us  hold  also  to 
the  lamp  John,  and  let  us  confound  by  him 
the  enemies  of  Christ;  indeed,  let  Christ 
Himself  confound  His  own  enemies  by  His 
own  lamp.  Let  us  put  the  question  which  the 
Lord  put  to  the  Jews,  let  us  ask  and  say, 
"The  baptism  of  John,  whence  is  it?  from 
heaven,  or  of  men?"  What  will  they  say? 
Mark,  if  they  are  not  as  enemies  confounded 
by  the  lamp.  What  will  they  say?  If  they 
shall  say,  Of  men,  even  their  own  will  stone 
them;  but  if  they  shall  say,  From  heaven, 
let  us  say  to  them,  Wherefore,  then,  did  ye 
not  believe  him  ?  They  perhaps  say,  We 
believe  him.  Wherefore,  then,  do  you  say 
that  you  baptize,  when  John  says,  "This  is 
He  which  baptizeth  "  ?  But  it  behoveth,  they 
say,  the  ministers  <JK§o  great  a  Judge  who 
baptize,  to  be  righteous.  And  I  also  say,  and 
all  say,  that  it  behoveth  the  ministers  of  so 
great  a  Judge  to  be  righteous;  let  the  minis 
ters,  by  all  means,  be  righteous  if  they  will; 
but  if  they  will  not  be  righteous  who  sit  in 
the  seat  of  Moses,  my  Master  made  me  safe, 
of  whom  His  Spirit  said,  "  This  is  He  which 
baptizeth.''  How  did  He  make  me  safe? 
"  The  scribes  and  the  Pharisees,"  He  says, 
"  sit  in  Moses'  seat:  what  they  say,  do;  but 
what  they  do,  that  do  not  ye:  for  they  say, 
and  do  not.''3  If  the  minister  is  righteous, 
I  reckon  him  with  Paul,  I  reckon  him  with 
Peter;  with  those  I  reckon  righteous  minis 
ters:  because^  in  truth,  righteous  ministers 
seek  not  their  own  glory;  for  they  are  minis 
ters,  they^o  not  wish  to  be  thought  judges, 
they  abhor  that  one  should  place  his  hope  on 
them;  therefore,  I  reckon  the  righteous  min 
ister  with  Paul.  For  what  does  Paul  say  ? 
"  I  have  planted,  Apollos  watered;  but  (iod 
gave  the  increase.  Neither  is  he  that  plant- 
eth  anything,  nor  he  that  watereth;  but  God 
who  giveth  the  increase."4  But  he  who  is  a 
proud  minister  is  reckoned  with  the  devil; 
but  the  gift  of  Christ  is  not  contaminated, 
which  flows  through  him  pure,  which 
through  him  liquid,  and  comes  to  the  fertile 
earth.  Suppose  that  he  is  stony,  that  he 
cannot  from  water  rear  fruit;  even  through 


•   I,.hn  • 

m. 


»Ps.  cxxxi.  17.  i 
4  i  Cor.  iii.  6,  7. 


the  stony  ,  .lannci    the  water 

<ifii  beds;    in  tin-  stoir. 
nel  it  rauses   nothing  to  jjro-.v,  ! 
K-ss  it  brings  much  fruit  tot  yor 

the  spiritual  virtue  of  the  sacrament  is  like 
the  light:  both  by  those  w 
lightened  is  it  received  pure,  and  if  it 
through  the  impure  it  is  not  stained.  Let  the 
ministers  be  by  all  means  righteous,  and  seek 
not  their  own  glory,  but  His  glory  whose 
ministers  they  are;  let  them  not  say,  The 
baptism  is  mine;  for  it  is  not  theirs.  Let 
them  give  heed  unto  John.  Behold,  John 
was  full  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  and  he  had  his 
baptism  from  heaven,  not  from  men;  but  how 
long  had  he  it?  He  said  himself,  "Prepare 
ye  the  way  for  the  Lord."*  But  when  the 
Lord  was  known,  Himself  became  the  way; 
there  was  no  longer  need  for  the  baptism  of 
John  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  Lord. 

1 6.  What,   however,   are  they  accustomed 
to  say  against  us  ?     *'  Behold,  after  John,  bap 
tism  was  given."      For  before  that  question 
was  properly  treated  in  the  Catholic  Church, 
many  erred  in  it,  both  great  and  good  men; 
but  because  they  were  members  of  the  dove, 
they  did  not  cut  themselves  off,  and  in  their 
case  that  happened  which  the  apostle  said, 
"  If  in  any  thing  ye  are  otherwise  minded, 
God    shall    reveal   even    this    unto    you."* 
Whence    those    who    separated    themselves 
became   unteachable.       What  then  are   they 
wont  to  say  ?     Behold,  after  John  baptism  was 
given;  after  heretical  baptism  is  it  not  to  be 
given  ?  because  certain  who  had  the  baptism 
of  John  were  commanded  by  Paul  to  be  bap 
tized,7  for  they  had  not  the  baptism  of  Christ. 
Why  then,  say  they,  dost  thou  exaggerate  the 
merit  of  John,  and,  as  it  were,  underrate  the 
misery  of  heretics  ?     I  also  grant  to  you  that 
the  heretics  are  wicked;  but  the  heretics  gave 
the  baptism   of  Christ,  which   baptism   John 
did  not  give. 

17.  I  go  back  to  John,  and  say,  "This  is 
he  which  baptizeth."     For  John  is  better  than 
a  heretic,  just  as  John  is  better  than  a  drunk 
ard,  as  John  is  better  than  a  murderer.     If 
we  ought  to  baptize  after  the  worse  because 
the  apostles  baptized  after  the  better,  whoso 
ever  among  them  were  baptized  by  a  drunk 
ard, — I  do  not  say  by  a  murderer,  I  do  not 
say  by  the  satellite  of  some  wicked  man,  I 
do   not  say  by  the   robber    of  other    men's 
goods,  I    do   not   say    by   the   oppressor   of 
orphans,  or  a   separater  of  married    persons; 
I   speak   of  none  of  these;  I    speak   of  what 
happens  every   year,  of  what   happens 

clay;   I  speak  of  what  all  are  called  to,  even  in 


S  John  i    -•!. 


«  Phil.  ill.   15- 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTAII    V. 


this  city,  when  it  is  said  to  them,  Let  us  play 
the  part  of  the  irrational,  let  us  have  pleasure, 
and  on  such  a  day  as  this  of  the  calends  of 
January  we  ought  not  to  fast:  these  are  the 
things  I  speak  of,  these  trifling  everyday  pro 
ceedings; — when  one  is  baptized  by  a  drunk 
ard,  who  is  better?  John  or  the  drunkard? 
Reply,  if  thou  canst,  that  the  drunkard  is 
better  than  John  !  This  thou  wilt  never  ven 
ture  to  do.  Do  you  then,  as  a  sober  man, 
baptize  after  thy  drunkard.  For  if  the 
apostles  baptized  after  John,  how  much  more 
ought  the  sober  to  baptize  after  the  drunkard  ? 
Or  dost  thou  say,  the  drunkard  is  in  unity 
with  me  ?  Was  not  John  then,  the  friend  of 
the  Bridegroom,  in  unity  with  the  Bridegroom? 
18.  But  I  say  to  thee  thyself,  whoever 
thou  art,  Art  thou  better  than  John  ?  Thou 
wilt  not  venture  to  say:  I  am  better  than 
John.  Then  let  thine  own  baptize  after  thee 
if  they  are  better.  For  if  baptism  was  ad 
ministered  after  John-,  blush  that  baptism  is 
not  administered  after  thee.  Thou  wilt  say, 
But  I  have  and  teach  the  baptism  of  Christ. 
Acknowledge,  then,  now  the  Judge,  and  do 
not  be  a  proud  herald.  Thou  givest  the  bap 
tism  of  Christ,  therefore  baptism  is  not  ad 
ministered  after  thee:  after  John  it  was 
administered,  because  he  gave  not  the  bap 
tism  of  Christ,  but  his  own;  for  he  had  in  such 
manner  received  it  that  it  was  his  own.  Thou 
art  then  not  better  than  John:  but  the  baptism 
given  through  thee  is  better  than  that  of  John; 
for  the  one  is  Christ's,  but  the  other  is  that  of 
John.  And  that  which  was  given  by  Paul,  and 
that  which  was  given  by  Peter,  is  Christ's;  and 
if  baptism  was  given  by  Judas  it  was  Christ's. 
Judas  gave  baptism  and  after  Judas  baptism 
was  not  repeated;  John  gave  baptism,  and 
baptism  was  repeated  after  John:  because  if 
baptism  was  given  by  Judas,  it  was  the  bap 
tism  of  Christ;  but  that  which  was  given  by 
John,  was  John's  baptism.  We  prefer  not 
Judas  to  John;  but  the  baptism  of  Christ, 
even  when  given  by  the  hand  of  Judas,  we 
prefer  to  the  baptism  of  John,  rightly  given 
even  by  the  hand  of  John.  For  it  was  said 
of  the  Lord  before  He  suffered,  that  He  bap 
tized  more  than  John;  then  it  was  added: 
"  HowSeit,  Jesus  Himself  baptized  not,  but 
His  disciples."  '  He,  and  not  He:  He  by 
power,  they  by  ministry;  they  performed  the 
service  of  baptizing,  the  power  of  baptizing 
remained  in  Christ.  His  disciples,  then, 
baptized,  and  Judas  was  still  among  his  dis 
ciples:  and  were  those,  then,  whom  Judas 
baptized  not  again  baptized;  and  those  whom 
John  baptized  were  they  again  baptized? 

1  John  iv.  i,  i. 


Plainly  there  was  a  repetition,  but  not  a  repe 
tition  of  the  same  baptism.  For  those  whom 
John  baptized,  John  baptized;  those  whom 
Judas  baptized,  Christ  baptized.  In  like  man 
ner,  then,  they  whom  a  drunkard  baptized, 
those  whom  a  murderer  baptised,  those  whom 
an  adulterer  baptized,  if  it  was  the  baptism  of 
Christ,  were  baptized  by  Christ.  I  do  not 
fear  the  adulterer,  the  drunkard,  or  the  mur 
derer,  because  I  give  heed  unto  the  dove, 
through  whom  it  is  said  to  me,  "  This  is  He 
which  baptizeth." 

19.  But,  my  brethren,  it  is  madness  to  say 
that — I  will  not  say  Judas — but  that  any  man 
was  better  than  he  of  whom  it  was  said,  that 
"Among  those  that  are  born  of  women,  there 
hath  not  arisen  a  greater  than  John  the  Bap 
tist. "  2     No  servant  then  is  preferred  to  him; 
but  the  baptism  of  the  Lord,  even  when  given 
through  an  evil  servant,  is  preferred  to  the 
baptism  even  of  a  servant  who  was  a  friend. 
Listen  to  the  sort  of  persons  whom  the  Apos 
tle  Paul  mentions,  false  brethren,  preaching 
the  word  of  God  through  envy,  and  what  he 
says  of  them:  "And  I  therein  do  rejoice,  yea, 
and  will  rejoice."3     They  proclaimed  Christ, 
through  envy  indeed,  but  still  they  proclaimed 
Christ.     Consider  not  the  why,  but  the  whom: 
through    envy    is   Christ   preached    to   thee. 
Behold  Christ,  avoid  envy.     Do  not  imitate 
the  evil  preacher,  but  imitate  the  Good  One 
who  is   preached  to  thee.     Christ  then  was 
preached  by  some  out  of  envy.     And  what  is 
envy?     A  shocking    evil.     By  this    evil  was 
the  devil  cast  down;  this  malignant  pest  it 
was    which    cast    him    down;    and    certain 
preachers   of   Christ   were    possessed    by   it, 
whom,  nevertheless,  the  apostle  permitted  to 
preach.     Wherefore  ?    Because  they  preached 
Christ      But  he  who  envies,   hates;    and  he 
who  hates,  what  is  said  concerning  him  ?     Lis 
ten  to  the  Apostle  John:  "  He  who  hateth  his 
brother  is  a  murderer."4     Behold,  after  John 
baptism  was  given,  after  a  murderer  baptism 
was   not  given;  because   John  gave  his  own 
baptism,  the   murderer  gave  the  baptism  of 
Christ.     That  sacrament  is  so  sacred  that  not 
even  the  ministration  of  a  murderer  pollutes 
it. 

20.  I  do  not  reject  John,  but  rather  I  be 
lieve  John.      In  what  do  I  believe  John?     In 
that    which    he    learned    through    the    dove? 
What  did  he  learn  through  the  dove  ?     "  This 
is  He  which  baptizeth  with  the  Holy  Ghost." 
Now  therefore,  brethren,   hold  this  fast  and 
impress  it   upon   your  hearts;  for  if   I  would 
more  fully  explain  to-day.  Wherefore  through 
the  dove?  time  fails.      For  I  have,  I  think,  to 


;  Phil.  i.  15-1 


John  iii.  is- 


TRACTAM    VI.) 


ON  Till.  GOSPLL  <  'I    ST.   JOHN. 


39 


some  extent  made  plain  to  yon,  holy  brethren, 
that  a  matter  which  had  to  be  learned  was  in 
stilled  into  John  by  means  of  the  dove,  a 
matter  with  regard  to  Christ  which  John  did 
not  know,  although  he  already  knew  Christ; 

but  why  it  behoved  this  matter  to  be  pointed  that  it  is  "  He  which  baptTzeth  with  the  Holy 
out  by  means  of  the  dove,  I  would  say,  were  Ghost,"  and  that  to  none  of  His  servants  had 
it  possible  to  say  it  briefly:  but  because  it  he  transferred  the  power  of  baptizing — why 
would  take  long  to  say,  and  I  am  unwilling  to  this  it  became  him  not  to  learn  except  through 
burden  you,  since  I  have  been  helped  by  your  ;  the  dove. 


prayers  ID  perform  my  promise;  with  the  re 
newed  help  of  your  pious  attention  and 
wishes,  it  will   likewise  become   < '.ear  to  you, 
wherefore   John  with   regard   to  that  matter 
which  he  learned  regarding  the  Lord,  namely, 


TRACTATE  VI, 

CHAPTER  I.  32,  33. 


i.  I  ,  NFESS  to  you,  holy  brethren,  I  was 
afraid  the  cold  would  have  made  you  cold  in 
assembling  yourselves  together;  but  since  you 
prove  by  this,  your  crowded  assembly,  that 
you  are  fervent  in  spirit,  I  doubt  not  that 
you  have  also  prayed  for  me,  that  I  may  pay 
you  what  I  owe.  For  I  promised  you  in  the 


because  the  Father,  and  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  are  one  God:  this  you  know  full 
well.  It  is  not  then  in  Himself  with  Himself 
in  that  Trinity,  in  that  blessedness,  in  that 
His  eternal  substance,  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
groans;  but  in  us  He  groans  because  He 
makes  us  to  groan.  Nor  is  it  a  little  matter 


name  of  Christ  that,  as  the  shortness  of  the  that  the  Holy  Spirit  teaches  us  to  groan,  for 

time  prevented  us  from  expounding  it  before,  He  gives  us  to  know  that  we  are  sojournersin 

I  would  to-day  discuss  why  God  was  pleased  a 
to  manifest  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  form  of  a 


dove.     That  this  may  be  explained,  this  day 
has  dawned  on  us;  and  I  perceive  that  from 


foreign  land,  and   He  teaches  us  to  sigh 
after  our  native  country;  and   through  that 


very  longing  do  we  groan.     He  with  whom  it 
is  well  in  this  world,  or  rather  he  who  thinks 


eagerness  to  hear,  and  pious  devotion,  you  it  is  well  with  him,  who  exults  in  the  joy  of 
have  come  together  in  greater  number  than  I  carnal  things,  in  the  abundance  of  things 
usual.  May  God,  by  our  mouth,  fulfill  your]  temporal,  in  an  empty  felicity,  has  the  rry  of 
expectation.  For  your  coming  together  is  of  j  the  raven;  for  the  raven's  cry  is  full  of  cla- 
your  love;  but  love  of  what?  If  of  us,  even  j  mor,  not  of  groaning.  But  he  who  knows 
that  is  well;  for  we  desire  to  be  loved  by  you,  j  that  he  is  in  the  pressure  of  this  mortal  life, 
but  not  in  ourselves.  Because  we  love  you  in  j  a  pilgrim  "  absent  from  the  Lord,"  '  that  he 
Christ,  do  you  love  us  in  Christ  in  return,  and  |  does  not  yet  possess  that  perpetual  blessed- 
let  our  love  mutually  sigh  towards  God;  for  j  ness  which  is  promised  to  us,  but  that  he  has 
the  note  of  the  dove  is  a  sighing  or  moaning,  it  in  hope,  and  will  have  it  in  reality  when  the 
2.  Now  if  the  dove's  note  is  a  moaning,  as  Lord  shall  come  openly  in  glory  who  came 
we  all  know  it  to  be,  and  doves  moan  in  love,  j  before  in  humility  concealed;  he,  I  say,  who 
hear  what  the  apostle  says,  and  wonder  not'  knows  this  doth  groan.  And  so  long  as  it  is 


that  the  Holy  Ghost  willed  to  be  manifested  in 
the  form  of  a  dove:  "  For  what  we  should  pray 
for  as  we  ought,"  says  he,  "we  know  not; 
but  the  Spirit  Himself  intercedes  for  us  with 
groanings  which  cannot  be  uttered."1  What 


for  this  he  groans,  he  does  well  to  groan;  it  was 
the  Spirit  that  taught  him  to  groan,  he  learnt 
it  from  the  dove.  Many  indeed  groan  by 
reason  of  earthly  misery.  They  are  shattered, 
may  be,  by  losses,  or  weighed  down  by 


then,  my  brethren  ?  shall  we  say  this,  that  the  !  bodily   ailment,    or   shut   up   in    pnso:. 

Spirit  groans  where  He  has  perfect  and  eter-  bound  with  chains,  or  tossed  about  on  the 

waves  of  the  sea,  or  hedged  in  by  the  ensnar 
ing  devices  of  their  enemies.  Therefore  do 
they  groan,  but  not  with  the  moaning  of  the 

,  thrice,  but  not  three  Gods;  for  in-   dove,  not  with  love  of  God,  not  in  the  Spirit. 

(deed  it  is  God  thrice  rather  than  three  Gods;    Accordingly,  when  such  are  delivered  from 

•aC.r 


nal  blessedness  with  the  Father  and  the  Son 

For  the  Holy  Spirit  is  God,  even  as  the  Son  of 

\God  is  God,  and  the  Father  God.     I  have  said 

sv  * '  C\c\(\  *'    thrir»#»     hut     nof     f-Kr***^     C\r\t\^*     fnr    in_ 


THF.   WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TiACTATl    \  1. 


these  same  afflictions,  they  exult  with  loud  '  words  might   fancy  that  Stephen,  if  he  were 
voices,  whereby  it  is  made  manifest  that  they   allowed,  would  have  them  consumed  at  once, 


are  ravens,  not  doves.  It  was  with  good 
reason  that  a  raven  was  sent  forth  from  the 
ark,  and  returned  not  again;  a  dove  was  sent 
forth,  and  it  returned.  These  two  birds  Noah 


sent  forth.1 
the  dove. 


He  had  there  the  raven,  and  also 
That  ark   contained   both   kinds: 


and  if  the  ark  was  a  figure  of  the  Church,  you 
see  indeed  that  in  the  present  deluge  of  the 
world,  the  Church  must  of  necessity  contain 
both  kinds,  as  well  the  raven  as  the  dove. 
Who  are  the  ravens  ?  They  who  seek  their 
own.  Who  are  the  doves  ?  They  who  seek 
the  things  that  are  Christ's.2 

3.  Therefore,  when  He  sent  the  Holy  Spirit 
He  manifested  Him  visibly  in  two  ways — by 
a  dove  and  by  fire:  by  a  dove  upon  the  Lord 


— but  when  the  stones  thrown  from  their 
hands  reached  him,  with  fixed  knee  he  saith, 
"Lord,  lay  not  this  sin  to  their  charge."4 
He  held  fast  to  the  unity  of  the  dove.  For 
his  Master,  upon  whom  the  dove  descended, 
had  done  the  same  thing  before  him;  who, 
while  hanging  on  the  cross,  said,  "  Father, 
forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they 
do."  s  Wherefore  by  the  dove  it  is  shown  that 
they  who  are  sanctified  by  the  Spirit  should 
be  without  guile;  and  that  their  simplicity 
should  not  continue  cold  is  shown  us  by  the 
fire.  Nor  let  it  trouble  you  that  the  tongues 
were  divided;  for  tongues  are  diverse,  there 
fore  the  appearance  was  that  of  cloven  tongues. 
"Cloven  tongues,"  it  saith,  "as  of  fire,  and 


when  He  was  baptized,  by  fire  upon  the  dis- j  it  sat  upon  each  of  them."  There  is  a  diver- 
ciples  when  they  were  gathered  together.  For  sity  of  tongues,  but  the  diversity  of  tongues 
when  the  Lord  had  ascended  into  heaven  I  does  not  imply  schisms.  Be  not  afraid  of 
after  His  resurrection,  having  spent  forty  days  j  separation  in  the  cloven  tongues;  in  the  dove 
with  His  disciples,  and  the  day  of  Pentecost  recognize  unity. 


being  fully  come,  He  sent  unto  them  the  Holy 
Spirit  as  He  had  promised.  Accordingly  the 
Spirit  coming  at  that  time  filled  the  place, 
and  there  was  first  a  sound  from  heaven  as  of 
a  rushing  mighty  wind,  as  we  read  in  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles,  and  "there  appeared  unto 
them,''  it  says,  "cloven  tongues  as  of  fire, 
and  it  sat  upon  each  of  them;  and  they  began 
the  Spirit  gave 
we  have  seen  a 
dove  descending  upon  the  Lord;  there,  cloven 
tongues  upon  the  assembled  disciples:  in  the 
former,  simplicity  is  shown;  in  the  latter, 
fervency.  Now  there  are  who  are  said  to  be 
simple,  who  are  only  indolent;  they  are  called 
simple,  but  they  are  only  slow.  Not  such 
was  Stephen,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost:  he  was 


to    speak   with    tongues,  as 
them    utterance."3      Here 


4.  Hence  in  this  manner  it  behoved  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  be  manifested  when  coming 
upon  the  Lord,  that  every  one  might  under 
stand  that  if  he  has  the  Holy  Spirit  he  ought 
to  be  simple  as  the  dove,  to  have  true  peace 
with  his  brethren,  that  peace  which  the  kisses 
of  doves  signify.  Ravens  have  their  kisses 
too;  but  in  the  case  of  the  ravens  it  is  a  false 
peace,  in  that  of  the  dove  a  true  peace.  Not 
every  one,  therefore,  who  says,  "  Peace  be 
with  you,"  is  to  be  listened  to  as  if  he  were  a 
dove.  How  then  are  the  kisses  of  ravens 
distinguished  from  those  of  doves  ?  Ravens 
kiss,  but  they  tear;  the  nature  of  doves  is 
innocent  of  tearing.  Where  consequently 
there  is  tearing,  there  is  not  true  peace  in  the 
kisses.  They  have  true  peace  who  have  not 

simple,  because  he  injured  no  one;  he  was  torn  the  Church.  Ravens  feed  upon  carrion, 
fervent,  because  he  reproved  the  ungodly,  it  is  not  so  with  the  dove;  it  lives  on  the 
For  he  held  not  his  peace  before  the  Jews,  fruits  of  the  earth,  its  food  is  innocent.  This, 
His  are  those  burning  words :"  Ye  stiff-necked  ;  brethren,  is  really  worthy  of  admiration  in 
and  uncircumcised  of  heart  and  ears,  ye  do  (the  dove.  Sparrows  are  very  small  birds,  but 
always  resist  the  Holy  Spirit."  Mighty  im-  yet  they  kill  flies  at  least.  The  dove  does 


petuosity;  but  it  is  the  dove  without  gall 
raging.  For  that  you  know  that  he  was 
fierce  without  gall,  see  how,  upon  hearing 
these  words,  they  who  were  the  ravens  im 
mediately  took  up  stones  and  rushed  together 


nothing  of  this  sort,  for  it  does  not  feed  on 
what  is  dead.  They  who  have  torn  the  Church 
feed  on  the  dead.  God  is  mighty;  let  us  pray 
that  they  who  are  devoured  by  them,  and 
perceive  it  not,  may  come  to  life  again.  Many 


upon  this  clove.  They  begin  to  stone  Stephen;  |  acknowledge  that  they  do  come  to  life  again, 
and  he  who  a  little  before  stormed  and  glowed  for  at  their  coming  we  daily  express  joy  with 
with  ardor  of  spirit,  —who  had,  as  it  were,  them  in  the  name  of  Christ,  lie  ye  simple, 
made  an  onset  on  his  enemies,  and  like  one  but  only  in  such  wise  that  ye  be  fervent,  and 
full  of  violence  had  attacked  them  in  such  let  your  fervor  be  in  your  tongues.  Hold 
fiery  and  burning  words  as  you  have  heard,  j  not  your  peace,  speak  with  glowing  tongues, 
"Ye  stiff-necked  and  uncircumcised  in  heart  set  those  that  are  cold  on  fire, 
and  ears,"  that  any  one  who  heard  those  5.  For  why,  my  brethren  ?  Who  does  not 


1  Gen.  viii.  6,  9. 


I'hil.ii.  2.. 


THAI  i  \  1 1.  \'  I .  I 


ON  THK  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


4' 


-hat  they  do  not?  And  no  wonder;  for 
they  who  are  unwilling  to  return  from  that 
are  just  like  the  raven  that  was  sent  forth 
from  the  ark.  For  who  does  not  see  what 
they  see  not?  They  are  unthankful  even  to 
the  Holy  Spirit  Himself.  See,  the  dove  de 
scended  upon  the  Lord,  upon  the  Lord  when 
(  bapti/ed:  and  thereupon  was  manifested  that 


holy  and  real  Trinity,  which  to  us  is  one  God. 


For  the  Lord  went  up  out  of  the  water,  as  we 
read  in  the  Gospel:  "And,  lo,  the  heavens 
were  opened  unto  Him,  and  He  saw  the 
Spirit  descending  like  a  dove,  and  it  abode 
upon  Him:  and  immediately  a  voice  followed, 
Thou  art  my-beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well 
pleased."  M  The  Trinity  most  manifestly 
appears:  theV  Father  in  the  voice,  the  Son  in 
the  man,  the  Spirit  in  the  dove.]  In  this 
Trinity  let  us  see,  as  we  do  see,  whereunto 
the  apostles  were  sent  forth,  and  what  it  is 
wonderful  those  men  do  not  see.  Not  indeed 
that  they,  really  do  not  see,  but  that  they 
really  shut  their  eyes  to  that  which  strikes  [ 
them  in  the  very  face:  that  whereunto  the 
disciples  were  sent  forth  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
by  Him  of  whom  it  is  said,  "  This  is  He  that 
baptizeth:"  it  was  said,  in  fact,  to  His  min 
isters,  by  Him  who  has  retained  this  authority 
to  Himself. 

6.  Now  this  it  was  in  Him  that  John  saw, 
and  came  to  know  which  he  did  not  know.  I 
Not  that  he  did  not  know  Him  to  be  the  Son 
of  God,  or  that  he  did  not  know  Him  to  be 
the  Lord,  or  not  know  Him  to  be  the  Christ; 
or  that  he  did  not  know  this  too,  that  it  was 
He  who  should  baptize  with  water  and  with 
the  Holy  Ghost.     This  he  did  know;  but  that 
he  should  do  this  so  as  to  retain  the  authority 
to    Himself  and   transfer  it   to    none    of  His  j 
ministers,  this  is  what  he  learnt  in  the  dove.  I 
For  by  this  authority,  which  Christ  has   re- ! 
tained  to  Himself  alone,  and  conferred  upon  | 
none  of  His  ministers,  though  He  has  deigned 
to  baptize  by  His  ministers;  by  this  authority, 

I  say,  stands  the  unity  of  the  Church,  which 
is  figured  in  the  dove,  concerning  which  it 
is  said,  "  My  dove  is  one,  the  only  one  of 
her  mother."  3  For  if,  as  I  have  already  said, 
my  brethren,  the  authority  were  transferred 
by  the  Lord  to  His  minister,  there  would  be 
as  many  baptisms  as  ministers,  and  the  unity 
of  baptism  would  no  longer  exist. 

7.  Mark,  brethren;  before  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  came  to   His  baptism  (tor  it  was  after 
the  baptism  that  the  dove  descended,  whereby 
John  recognized  something  that  was  peculiar 
to  Him,  since  he  was  told,  "  Upon  whom  thou 


shalt   M-C    the    Spirit   descending   like  a   < 
rind  remaining  on  Him,  tue  -•   that 

baptizeth  with  the  Holy  Ghost"),  John  knew 
that  He  it  was  that  baptizeth  with  the  Holy 
Ghost;  but  that  it  should  be  with  this 
|  liarity,  that  the  authority  should  not  pass  from 
Him  to  another,  notwithstanding  He  confers 
it,  this  is  what  he  learnt  there.  And  whence 
do  we  prove  that  John  did  already  know  that 
the  Lord  was  to  baptize  with  the  Holy  Ghost; 
so  that  what  he  must  be  understood  to  have 
learned  by  the  dove  is,  that  the  Lord  was  to 
baptize  with  the  Holy  Ghost  in  such  wise  that 
the  authority  should  not  pass  from  Him  to 
any  other  man  ?  Whence  do  we  prove  this? 
The  dove  descended  after  the  Lord  was  bap 
tized;  but  before  the  Lord  came  to  be  baptized 
by  John  in  the  Jordan,  we  have  said  that 
John  knew  Him,  on  the  evidence  of  those 
words,  in  which  he  says,  "  Comest  Thou  to 
me  to  be  baptized  ?  I  have  need  to  be  bap 
tized  of  Thee."  Well,  he  did  know  Him  to 
be  the  Lord,  knew  Him  to  be  the  Son  of  God; 
how  do  vve  prove  that  he  knew  already  that 
the  same  was  He  who  should  baptize  with  the 
Holy  Ghost?  Before  He  came  to  the  river, 
whilst  many  people  were  running  together  to 
John  to  be  baptized,  he  says  to  them,  "I  in 
deed  baptize  you  with  water;  but  He  that 
cometh  after  me  is  greater  than  I,  the  latchet 
of  whose  shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  loose;  the 
same  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  with  fire."3  Already  he  knew  this  also. 
What  then  did  he  learn  from  the  dove,  that 
he  may  not  aftenvards  be  found  a  liar  (which 
God  forbid  we  should  think),  if  it  be  not  this, 
that  there  was  to  be  a  certain  peculiarity  in 
Christ,  such  that,  although  many  ministers, 
be  they  righteous  or  unrighteous,  should  bap 
tize,  the  virtue  of  baptism  would  be  attributed 
to  Him  alone  on  whom  the  dove  descended, 
and  of  whom  it  was  said,  "This  is  He  that 
baptizeth  with  the  Holy  Ghost  "  ?  Peter  may  . 
baptize,  but  this  is  He  that  baptizeth;  Paul 
may  baptize,  yet  this  is  He  that  baptizeth; 
Judas  may  baptize,  still  this  is  He  that  bap- 
tizeth. 

8.  For  if  the  sanctity  of  baptism  be  accord 
ing  to  the  diversity  of  merits  in  them  that 
administer  it,  then  as  merits  are  diverse  there 
will  be  diverse  baptisms;  and  the  recipient 
will  imagine  that  what  he  receives  is  so  much 
the  better,  the  better  he  appears  to  be  from 
whom  he  received  it.  The  saints  them- 
— understand  brethren,  they  that  belong  to 
tin-  dove,  that  have  their  part  in  that  city  of 
Jerusalem,  the  good  themselves  in  the  Church, 
of  whom  the  apostle  says,  "The  Lord  know- 

.iMatt.  lii.  14. 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


.U  i  \n.  VI. 


eth  them  that  are  His  " '—are  endued  with 
different  graces,  and  do  not  all  possess  like 
merits.  Some  are  more  holy  than  others, 
some  are  better  than  others.  Therefore  if 
one  receive  baptism  from  him,  for  example, 
who  is  a  righteous  saint,  another  from  another 
who  is  of  inferior  merit  with  God,  of  inferior 
degree,  of  inferior  continence,  of  inferior 
life,  how  notwithstanding  is  that  which  they 
receive  one,  equal  and  like,  if  it  be  not  be 
cause,  "This  is  He  that  baptizeth"?  Just, 
then,  as  when  the  good  and  the  better  admin 
ister  baptism,  one  man  does  not  receive  a 
good  thing,  another  a  better;  but,  notwith 
standing  that  the  ministers  were  one  good  the 
other  better,  they  receive  what  is  one  and 
equal,  not  a  better  in  the  one  case  and  a 
worse  in  the  other;  so,  too,  when  a  bad  man 
administers  baptism,  through  the  ignorance 
or  forbearance  of  the  Church  (for  bad  men 
either  are  not  known  as  such,  or  are  borne 
with;  the  chaff  is  tolerated  until  the  floor  be 
fully  purged  at  the  last),  that  which  is  given 
is  one,  not  unlike  because  the  ministers  are 
unlike,  but  like  and  equal  because  "This  is 
He  that  baptizeth." 

9.  Therefore,  beloved,  let  us  see  what 
those  men  desire  not  to  see;  not  what  they 
may  not  see,  but  what  they  grieve  to  see,  as 
though  it  were  shut  against  them.  Whither 
were  the  disciples  sent  to  baptize  as  ministers, 
in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost?  Whither  were  they 
sent  ?  ' '  Go, ' '  said  He,  ' '  baptize  the  nations. '' 
You  have  heard,  brethren,  how  that  inheri 
tance  comes,  "  Ask  of  me,  and  I  will  give 
Thee  the  nations  for  Thine  inheritance,  and 
the  utmost  bounds  of  the  earth  for  Thy  posses 
sions."3  You  have  heard  how  that  "  from 
Sion  went  forth  the  law,  and  the  word  of  the 
Lord  from  Jerusalem."  3  For  it  was  there  the 
disciples  were  told,  "  Go,  baptize  the  nations 
in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  4  We  became  at 
tentive  when  we  heard,  "Go,  baptize  the 
nations."  In  whose  name  ?  "In  the  name  of 
the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost."  This  is  one  God;  for  it  says  not  in 
the  "  names  "  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  but  "  in  the  name  of 
the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost."  Where  thou  hearest  one  name,  there 
is  one  God;  just  as  it  was  said  of  Abraham's 
seed,  and  the  Apostle  Paul  expounds  it,  "  In 
thy  seed  shall  all  nations  be  blessed;  he  said 
not,  In  seeds,  as  in  many,  but  as  in  one,  and 
in  thy  seed  which  is  Christ."5  Wherefore, 
just  as  the  apostle  wished  to  show  thee  that, 


because  in  that  place  it  is  not  said  "in  seeds," 
Christ  is  one;  so  here  too,  when  it  is  said, 
"  in  the  name,"  not  in  the  names,  even  as 
these,  "  in  seed,"  not  in  seeds,  is  it  proved 
that  the  Father,  and  the  Son.  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  are  one  God. 

10.  But  lo,  say  the  disciples  to  the  Lord, 
we  are  told  in  what  name  we  are  to  baptize; 
Thou  hast  made  us  ministers,  and  hast  said 
to  us,  "  Go,  baptize  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 
Whither  shall  we  go  ?  Whither  ?  Have  you* 
not  heard  ?  To  Mine  inheritance.  You  ask, 
Whither  shall  we  go  ?  To  that  which  I  bought 
with  my  blood.  Whither  then  ?  To  the  na 
tions,  saith  He.  I  fancied  that  He  said,  Go, 
baptize  the  Africans  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Thanks  be  to  God,  the  Lord  has  solved  the 
question  the  dove  has  taught  us.  Thanks  be 
to  God,  it  was  to  the  nations  the  apostles  were 
sent;  if  to  the  nations,  then  to  all  tongues. 
The  Holy  Spirit  signified  this,  being  divided 
in  the  tongues,  united  in  the  dove.  Here  the 
tongues  are  divided,  there  the  dove  unites 
them.  The  tongues  of  the  nations  agreed, 
perhaps  that  of  Africa  alone  disagreed.  What 
can  be  more  evident,  my  brethren?  In  the 
dove  the  unity,  in  the  tongues  the  com 
munity  of  the  nations.  For  once  the  tongues 
became  discordant  through  pride,  and  then  of 
one  became  many  tongues.  For  after  the 
flood  certain  proud  men,  as  if  endeavoring  to 
fortify  themselves  against  God,  as  if  aught 
were  high  for  God,  or  aught  could  give  security 
I  to  pride,  raised  a  tower,  apparently  that  they 
might  not  be  destroyed  by  a  flood,  should 
there  come  one  thereafter.  For  they  had 
heard  and  considered  that  all  iniquity  was 
swept  away  by  a  flood;  to  abstain  from  ini 
quity  they  would  not;  they  sought  the  height 
of  a  tower  as  a  defense  against  a  flood;  they 
built  a  lofty  tower.  "God  saw  their  pride, 
and  frustrated  their  purpose  by  causing  that 
they  should  not  understand  one  another's 
speech,  and  thus  tongues  became  diverse 
through  pride.1'  If  pride  caused  diversities 
of  tongues,  Christ's  humility  has  united  these 
diversities  in  one.  The  Church  is  now  bring 
ing  together  what  that  tower  had  sundered. 
Of  one  tongue  there  were  made  many;  mar 
vel  not:  this  was  the  doing  of  pride.  Of 
many  tongues  there  is  made  one;  marvel  not: 
this  was  the  doing  of  charity.  For  although 
the  sounds  of  tongues  are  various,  in  the 
heart  one  God  is  invoked,  one  peace  preserv 
ed.  How  then  should  the  Holy  Spirit  have 
been  manifested  when  signifying  a  unity,  if 


2  Tim.  ii.  19. 
•  Matt,  xxviii. 


*  Ps.  ii.  8.  3  Isa.  h.  3. 

5  Gen.  .xxii.  18;  Gal.  iii.  16. 


6  Gen.  xi.  I-Q. 


TRACTAH    VI.) 


<>N     III!.   GOSPEL   OF    -  I'.     |<  )!IN. 


not  by  the   (love,  so  that  it   might  be  said   to  so  do  ravens;   doves  do  not    plunder  inn 

the  Church  brought   into  a  state  of  peace,  consequently  they  who  snatch  and  rob  are  not 

"  My  dove  is  one  "?     How  ought  humility  to  members  of  the  dove.      Was  there  no! 

have   been   represented   but    by  an   innocent,  one    rapacious    person    among   you? 


sorrowing  bird;  not  by  a  proud,  exulting  bird 
like  the  raven  ? 


abide*   the   baptism,  which   in   this   case    the 
hawk,  not  the  dove,  has  given  ?     Why  d 


ii.  But  perhaps  they  will  say:  Well,  as  it ,  not  among  yourselves  baptize  after  robbers, 
is  a  dove,  and  the  dove  is  one,  baptism  there  |  after  adulterers,  after  drunkards?  why  not 
cannot  be  apart  from  the  one  dove.  Therefore  baptize  after  the  avaricious  among  yours/ 
if  the  dove  is  with  thee,  or  if  thou  be  thyself !  Are  these  all  members  of  the  dove  ?  You  so 
a  dove,  do  thou  give  me,  when  I  come  to  dishonor  your  dove  that  you  make  those 
'thee,  that  which  I  have  not.  You  know  that  that  have  the  nature  of  the  vulture  her  mem- 

bers.  What,  then,  brethren,  what  sa>  we? 
There  are  the  bad  and  the  good  in  the  Catho 
lic  Church,  but  with  them  the  bad  only.  But 
perhaps  I  say  this  with  a  hostile  feeling:  let 
this  too  be  afterwards  examined.  They  do 
say,  certainly,  that  among  them  are  the  good 
and  the  bad;  for,  should  they  assert  that  they 
have  only  the  good,  let  their  own  credit  it, 
and  I  subscribe.  With  us,  let  them  say,  there 


this  is  what  they  say;  but  you  will  presently 
see  that  it  is  not  of  the  voice  of  the  dove,  but 
of  the  clamor  of  the  raven.  For  attend  a 
little,  beloved,  and  fear  their  devices;  nay, 
beware  of  them,  and  listen  to  the  words  of 
gainsayers  only  to  reject  them,  not  to  swallow 
them  and  take  them  into  your  bowels.  Do 
therein  what  the  Lord  did  when  they  offered 
Him  the  bitter  draught,  "  He  tasted,  and 

spat  it  out;"1  so  also  you  hear  and  cast  away,  are  none  but  holy,  righteous,  chaste,  sober 
What  indeed  say  they?  Let  us  see.  Lo,  men;  no  adulterers,  no  usurers,  no  deceivers, 
says  he,  "Thou  art  the  dove."  O  Catholic  no  false  swearers,  no  wine-bibbers;— let  them 
Church,  it  is  to  thee  it  is  said,  "  My  dove  is  say  this,  for  I  heed  not  their  tongues,  I  touch 
one,  the  only  one  of  her  mother,"  to  thee  !  their  hearts.  But  since  they  are  well  known 
certainly  is  it  said.  Stop,  do  not  question  j  to  us,  and  to  you,  and  to  their  own,  just  as 
me;  prove  first  whether  to  me  it  was  said;  if  it1  you  are  known  both  to  yourselves  in  the 
was  said  to  me,  I  would  hear  it  at  once.  "  To  Catholic  Church  and  to  them,  neither  let  us 
thee,"  saith  he,  "  it  was  said."  I  answer,  in  j  find  fault  with  them,  nor  let  them  flatter  them- 
the  voice  of  the  Catholic  Church,  "  To  me."  selves.  We  confess  that  in  the  Church  there 
And  this  answer,  brethren,  sounding  forth  >  are  good  and  bad,  yet  as  the  grain  and  the 
from  my  mouth  alone,  has  sounded,  as  I '  chaff.  Sometimes  he  who  is  baptized  by  the 
believe,  also  from  your  hearts,  and  we  all  I  grain  is  chaff,  and  he  who  is  baptized  by  the 
affirmed  together,  yea,  to  the  Catholic  Church  j  chaff  is  grain.  Otherwise,  if  his  baptism  who 
was  it  said,  "  One  is  my  dove,  the  only  one  of  j  is  baptized  by  the  grain  stands  good,  and  his 
her  mother."  Apart  from  this  dove,  says  he  who  is  baptized  by  the  chaff  not,  then  it  is  not 
further,  there  is  no  baptism:  I  was  baptized  j  true,  "This  is  He  that  baptizeth."  But  if 
apart  from  this  dove,  consequently  have  not  it  is  true  "This  is  He  that  baptizeth,''  then 
baptism;  if  I  have  not  baptism,  why  dost  thou  what  is  given  by  the  chaff  stands  good,  and  he 
not  give  it  me  when  I  come  to  thee  ?  [  baptizeth  in  like  manner  as  the  dove.  For 

12.  I  also  will  put  questions;  let  us  mean-  the  bad  man  (who  administers  baptism)  is  not 
while  lay  aside  the  inquiry  as  to  whom  this  I  the  dove,  nor  belongs  to  the  members  of  the 
was  said,  "  My  dove  is  one,  the  only  one  of  I  dove,  nor  can  he  possibly  be  affirmed  to  be 
her  mother;" — as  yet  we  are  inquiring; — it  so,  either  with  us  in  the  Catholic  Church  or 
was  said  either  to  me  or  to  thee;  let  us  post- '  with  them,  if  they  assert  that  their  Church  is 
pone  the  question  as  to  whom  it  was  said,  the  dove.  What  then  are  we  to  understand, 


This  is  what  I  ask,  if  the  dove  is  simple,  inno 


cent,  without  gall,  peaceful  in  its 


kisfb 


fierce  with  its  talons,  I  ask  whether  the  covet 
ous,  the  rapacious,  the  crafty,  the  sottish,  the 
infamous,  belong  to  the  members  of  this  dove? 
are  they  members  of  this  dove  ?  Far  be  the 
thought,  says  he.  And  who  would  really  say 
this,  brethren  ?  To  speak  of  nothing  else,  if 
I  mention  the  rapacious  alone,  members  of 
the  hawk  they  may  be,  not  members  of  the 
dove.  Kites  seize  and  plunder,  so  do  hawks, 


Matt,  xxvii.  34. 


brethren  ?  Since  it  is  evident,  and  known  to 
all,  and  they  must  admit,  though  it  be  against 
their  will,  that  when  with  them  bad  men  give 
baptism,  it  is  not  given  after  those  bad  men; 
and  with  us,  too,  when  the  bad  give  baptism, 
it  is  not  given  after  them.  The  dove  does 
not  baptize  after  the  raven;  why  then  would 
the  raven  baptize  after  the  dove  ? 

13.  Consider,  beloved,  why  also  was  there 
a  something  pointed  out  by  means  of  the  dove, 
as  that  the  dove — namely,  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
the  shape  of  a  dove — came  to  the  Lord  on 
being  baptized,  and  rested  upon  Him,  whilst 


44 


THK  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TKACT.YIK   VI. 


by  the  coming  of  the  dove  John  learned  this, 
that  there  dwelt  in  the  Lord  a  power  peculiarly 
His  own  to  baptize?  Because  it  was  by  this 
power  peculiar  to  Himself,  as  I  have  said,  the 
peace  of  the  Church  was  made  secure.  And 
yet  it  may  be  that  one  may  have  baptism 
apart  from  the  dove;  but  that  baptism  apart 
from  the  dove  should  do  him  good,  is  impossi 
ble.  Consider,  beloved,  and  understand 
what  I  say,  for  by  this  deception  they  mislead 
such  of  our  brethren  as  are  dull  and  cold. 
Let  us  be  more  simple  and  more  fervent. 
See,  say  they,  have  I  received,  or  have  1  not  ? 
I  answer,  Thou  hast  received.  Well,  if  I 
have  received,  there  is  nothing  which  thou 
canst  give  me;  I  am  safe,  even  on  thine  own 
evidence.  For  I  affirm  that  I  have  received, 
and  thou,  too,  dost  confess  that  I  have  re 
ceived:  1  am  safe  by  the  confession  of  both: 
what  then  dost  thou  promise  '  me  ?  Why 
wouldst  thou  make  me  a  Catholic,  when  thou 
wouldst  not  give  me  anything  further,  seeing 
thou  confessest  that  I  have  already  received 
that  which  thou  affirmest  thyself  to  possess  ? 
But  when  I  say,  Come  to  me,  I  say  that  thou 
dost  not  possess,  who  yet  confessest  that  I 
do.  Why  dost  thou  say,  Come  to  me  ? 

14.  The  dove  teaches  us.     From  the  head 
of  the  Lord  she  answers,  and  says,  Thou  hast 
baptism,  but  the  charity  with  which  I  groan 
thou  hast  not.     How  is  this,  says  he,  I  have 
baptism,  and  have  not  charity  ?     Have  I  the 
sacraments,  and  not  charity?     Do  not  shout: 
show  me  how  can  he  who  divides  unity  have 
charity  ?      I,  saith  he,  have  baptism.     Thou 
hast;  but  that  baptism,  without  charity,  profits 
thee  nothing;  because  without  charity  thou  art 
nothing.       The   baptism   itself,  even   in   him 
who  is  nothing,  is  not  nothing.     Baptism,  in 
deed,  is  something,  aye,  something  great,  for 
His  sake,  of  whom  it  is  said,  "  This   is   He 
that  baptizeth."     But  lest  thou  shouldst  fancy 
that  that  which  is  great  can  profit  thee  aught, 
if  thou  be  not  in  unity,  it  was  after  He  was 
baptized  that  the  dove  descended,  as  if  inti 
mating,  If  thou  hast  baptism,  be  in  the  dove, 
lest  what  thou  hast  profit  thee  not.     Come, 
then,  to  the  dove,  we  say;  not  that  thou  may- 
est  begin  to  have  what  thou  hadst  not  before, 
but  that  what  thou  didst  have  may  begin  to 
profit  thee.     For  thou  didst  have  baptism  to 
destruction    without;  if  thou    shalt    have    it 
within,  it  begins  to  profit  thee  to  salvation. 

15.  For  not  only  was  baptism  not  profitable 
to  thee,  and  not  also  hurtful.   Even  holy  things 
may  be  hurtful.     In   the  good,   indeed,  holy 
things  are  to  salvation;  in  the  evil,  to  judg 
ment.       For   we    certainly    know,    brethren, 
what  we  receive,  and  what  we  receive  is  at 
any  rate  holy,  and  no  one  says  that  it  is  not: 


and  what  says  the  apostle?  "But  he  that 
eateth  and  drinketh  unworthily,  eateth  and 
drinketh  judgment  to  himself."1  He  does 
not  say  that  the  thing  itself  is  bad,  but  that 
the  evil  man,  by  receiving  it  amis  ,  receives 
the  good  thing  which  he  does  receive  to  judg 
ment.  Was  that  morsel  which  the  Lord  de 
livered  to  Judas  evil?  God  forbid.  The 
physician  would  not  give  poison;  it  was  health 
the  physician  gave;  but  by  unworthily  receiv 
ing  it,  he  who  received  it  not  being  at  peace, 
received  it  unto  destruction.  So  likewise  also 
he  who  is  baptized.  I  have  (baptism),  says 
he,  for  myself.  Thou  hast  it,  I  admit.  Give 
good  heed  to  what  thou  hast;  by  that  very 
thing  which  thou  hast  thou  wilt  be  condemned. 
Wherefore  ?  Because  thou  hast  what  belongs 
to  the  dove  apart  from  the  dove.  If  thou 
hast  what  is  the  dove's  in  the  dove,  thou  art 
safe.  Suppose  thyself  a  soldier:  if  thou  hast 
thy  general's  mark  within  the  lines,  thou 
servest  in  safety;  but  if  thou  hast  it  out  of 
bounds,  not  only  that  mark  will  not  be  of  ad 
vantage  to  thee  for  service,  but  thou  wilt  even 
be  punished  as  a  deserter.  Come,  then, 
come,  and  do  not  say,  I  have  already,  I  have 
enough.  Come;  the  dove  is  calling  thee, 
calling  thee  by  her  sighing.  My  brethren,  to 
you  I  say,  call  by  groaning,  not  by  quarrel 
ing;  call  by  praying,  by  invitation,  by  fasting; 
let  them  by  your  charity  understand  that  you 
pity  them.  I  doubt  not,  my  brethren,  that  if 
they  see  your  sorrow  they  will  be  astonished, 
and  will  come  to  life  again.  Come,  then, 
come;  be  not  afraid;  be  afraid  if  thou  do  not 
come;  nay,  be  not  afraid,  rather  bewail  thy 
self.  Come,  thou  wilt  rejoice  if  thou  wilt 
come;  thou  wilt  indeed  groan  in  the  tribula 
tions  of  thy  pilgrimage,  but  thou  wilt  rejoice 
in  hope.  Come  where  the  dove  is,  to  whom  it 
was  said,  "  My  dove  is  one,  the  only  one  of 
her  mother."  Seest  thou  not  the  one  dove 
upon  the  head  of  Christ  ?  seest  thou  not  the 
tongues  throughout  the  whole  world  ?  It  is 
the  same  Spirit  by  the  dove  and  by  the 
tongues:  if  by  the  dove  the  same  Spirit,  and 
by  the  tongues  the  same  Spirit,  then  was  the 
Holy  Spirit  given  to  the  whole  world,  from 
which  Spirit  thou  hast  cut  thyself  off,  that  thou 
mightest  clamor  with  the  raven,  not  that 
thou  mightest  sigh  with  the  dove.  Come, 
then. 

1 6.  But  thou  art  anxious,  it  may  be,  and 
sayest,  I  was  baptized  without;  I  fear  lest 
therefore  I  am  guilty,  in  that  I  was  baptized 
without.  Already  thou  beginnest  to  know 
what  thou  hast  to  bewail.  Thou  sayest  truly 
that  thou  art  guilty,  not  because  of  thy  re- 


Cor.  xi.  29. 


:,     \  I. | 


ON    I  HE  G(  >SPEL  •  'I    ST.   JOHN. 


ceiving,  but  because  of  thy  receiving  without.   Simon   M.-igcs   was  there. 

Keep  then  whit    thou    liast    received;   amend    arts  lie  had  so  befooled  the 
thy  receiving  it  without.      Thou  hast  received 
what  is  the  dove's  apart  from  the  dove.      1  leu- 
are  two  things  said  to  thee:   Thou  hast  recciv- 


|!y 


45 

.       . Ic,  that  they 

him   to   be   the    power   ..t  God,      Im 
pressed,    however,  by  the   signs   which 
done  by  Philip,  he  also  believed;  but  n. 


ed,    ayd.    Apart    trom    the    clove     thou    hast  ,  manner  he  believed,  the  events  that    fo 

received.     In  that  thou  hast  received,  I  ap- 1  afterward*  proved.    And  Simon  also  was  bap. 

prove;  that  thou  hast  received  without,  I  dis-itized.     The  apostles,  who  were  at  Jerusalem 
appprove.     Keep  then  what  thou  hast  received,    heard    this.      Peter   and   John   we're   sent 
it  is   not   changed,  but   recognized:  it   is   the     ' 
mark  of  my  king,  I  will  not  profane  it.      I  will 
correct  the  deserter,  not  change  the  mark. 


17.  Boast  not  of  thy  baptism  because  I  call 
it  a  real  baptism  Behold,  I  say  that  it  is  so 
the  whole  Catholic  Church  says  that  it  is  so 
the  dove  regards  it,  and  acknowledges  it,  ant 
groans  because  thou  hast  it  without;  she  sees 
therein  what  she  may  acknowledge,  sees  also 
what  she  may  correct.  It  is  a  real  baptism, 
come.  Thou  boastest  that  it  is  real,  and  yet 
wilt  thou  not  come  ?  What  then  of  the  wick 
ed,  who  do  not  belong  to  the  dove  ?  Saith 
the  dove  to  thee,  Even  the  wicked,  among 
whom  I  groan,  who  belong  not  to  my  mem 
bers,  and  it  must  needs  be  that  I  groan  among 
them,  have  not  they  that  which  thou  boastest 
of  having?  Have  not  many  drunkards  bap 
tism  ?  Have  not  many  covetous  ?  Have  not 
rrany  idolaters,  and,  what  is  worse,  who  are 
such  by  stealth  ?  Do  not  the  pagans  resort, 
or  at  least  did  resort,  publicly  to  idols  ?  And 
now  Christians  secretly  seek  out  diviners  and 
consult  astrologers.  And  yet  these  have  bap 
tism;  but  the  dove  groans  among  ravens. 
Why  then  dost  thou  boast  in  the  having  it? 
This  that  thou  hast,  the  wicked  man  also  has. 
Have  thou  humility,  charity,  peace;  have 
thou  the  good  thing  which  as  yet  thou  hast 
not,  so  that  the  good  thing  which  thou  hast 
may  profit  thee. 

1 8.  For  what  thou  hast,  even  Simon  Magus 
had:  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  are  witness, 
that  canonical  book  which  has  to  be  read  in 
the  Church  every  year.  You  know  that  every 
year,  in  the  season  following  the  Lord's  Pas 
sion,  that  book  is  read,  wherein  it  is  written, 
how  the  apostle  was  converted,  and  from  a 
persecutor  became  a  preacher;1  also,  how  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost  the  Holy  Spirit  was  sent 
in  cloven  tongues  as  of  fire.'  There  we  read 
that  in  Samaria  many  believed  through  the 
preaching  of  Philip:  and  he  is  understood  to 
have  been  either  one  of  the  apostles  or  one 
of  the  deacons;  for  we  read  there  that  seven 
deacons  were  ordained,  among  whom  is  the 
name  of  Philip.  Well,  then,  through  the 
preaching  of  Philip  the  Samaritans  believed; 
Samaria  began  to  abound  in  believers.  This 


to 

those  in  Samaria;  they  found  many  baptized; 
and  as  none  of  them  had  as  yet  received  the 
Holy  Ghost, — in  like  manner  as  He  at  that 
rime  descended,  so  as  that  they  on  whom  the 
Holy  Spirit  came  should  speak  with  tongues, 
for  a  manifest  token  that  the  nations  would 
believe, — they  laid  their  hands  on  them,  pray 
ing  for  them,  and  they  received  the  Holy 
Ghost.  This  Simon, — who  was  not  a  dove 
but  a  raven  in  the  Church,  because  he  sought 
his  own  things,  not  the  things  which  are  Jesus 
Christ's;  whence  he  loved  the  power  which 
was  in  the  Christians  more  than  the  righte 
ousness,-  Simon,  I  say,  saw  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  given  by  the  laying  on  of  the  hands 
of  the  apostles  (not  that  it  was  given  by  them, 
but  given  in  answer  to  their  prayers),  and  he 
said  to  them,  "  How  much  money  will  ye  that 
I  give  you,  so  that  by  the  laying  on  of  my 
hands  also,  the  Holy  Ghost  may  be  given? 
And  Peter  said  unto  him,  Thy  money  perish 
with  thee,  because  thou  thoughtest  that  the 
gift  of  God  was  to  be  bought  with  money.*' 
To  whom  said  he,  "  Thy  money  perish  with 
thee  "  ?  Undoubtedly  to  one  that  was  bap 
tized.  Baptism  he  had  already;  but  he  did 
not  cleave  to  the  bowels  of  the  dove.  Un 
derstand  that  he  did  not;  attend  to  the  very 
words  of  the  Apostle  Peter,  for  he  goes  on, 
"  Thou  hast  no  part  nor  lot  in  this  faith:  for 
I  see  that  thou  art  in  the  gall  of  bitterness."  J 
The  dove  has  no  gall;  Simon  had,  and  for 
that  reason  he  was  separated  from  the  bowels 
of  the  dove.  What  did  baptism  profit  him? 
Do  not  therefore  boast  of  thy  baptism,  as  if 
that  were  of  itself  enough  for  thy  salvation. 
Be  not  angry,  put  away  thy  gall,  come  to  the 
dove.  Here  that  will  profit  thee,  which  with 
out  not  only  did  not  profit  thee,  but  even  was 
prejudicial  to  thee. 

19.  Neither  say,  I  will  not  come,  because 
I  was  baptized  without.  So,  begin  to  have 
charity,  begin  to  have  fruit,  let  there  be  fruit 
bund  in  thee,  and  the  dove  will  send  thee 
within.  We  find  this  in  Scripture.  The  ark 
was  made  of  incorruptible  wood.  The  incor 
ruptible  timbers  are  the  saints,  the  faithful 
that  belong  to  Christ.  For  as  in  the  temple 
the  living  stones  of  which  it  is  built  are 


3  Acts  viii.  5-23. 


46 


Till:  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[THA<  TA1K    VI. 


to  be  faithful  men,  so  likewise  the  incorrupti 
ble  timbers  are  they  who  persevere  in  the  faith. 
In  that  same  ark,  then,  the  timbers  were  in 
corruptible.  Now  the  ark  is  the  Church,  it 
is  there  the  dove  baptizeth;  for  the  ark  was 
borne  on  the  water,  the  incorruptible  timbers 
were  baptized  within.  We  find  that  certain 
timbers  were  baptized  without,  such  as  all  the 
trees  that  were  in  the  world.  Nevertheless 
the  water  was  the  same,  not  another  sort;  all 
had  come  from  heaven,  or  from  abysses  of 
the  fountains.  It  was  the  same  water  in  which 
the  incorruptible  timbers  which  were  in  the 
ark  were  baptized,  and  in  which  the  timbers 
that  were  without  were  baptized.  The  dove 
was  sent  forth,  and  at  first  found  no  rest  for 
its  feet;  it  returned  to  the  ark,  for  all  was  full 
of  water,  and  it  preferred  to  return  rather 
than  be  rebaptized.  But  the  raven  was  sent 
out  before  the  water  was  dried  up.  Rebaptiz 
ed,  it  desired  not  to  return,  and  died  in  those 
waters.  May  God  avert  from  us  that  raven's 
death.  For  why  did  not  the  raven  return, 
unless  because  it  was  taken  off  by  the  waters  ? 
But  on  the  other  hand,  the  dove  not  finding 
rest  for  its  feet,  whilst  the  water  was  crying 
to  it  on  every  side,  "  Come,  come,  dip  thyself 
here;"  just  as  these  heretics  cry,  "Come, 
come,  here  thou  hast  it;  "  the  dove,  finding 
no  rest  for  its  feet,  returned  to  the  ark.  And 
Noah  sent  it  out  a  second  time,  just  as  the 
ark  sends  you  out  to  speak  to  them;  and 
what  did  the  dove  afterwards  ?  Because 
there  were  timbers  without  that  were  baptized, 
it  brought  back  to  the  ark  an  olive  branch. 
That  branch  had  both  leaves  and  fruit.  Let 
there  not  be  in  thee  .words  only,  nor  leaves 
only;  let  there  be  fruit,  and  thou  returnest  to 
the  ark,  not  of  thyself,  the  dove  calls  thee 
back.  Groan  ye  without,  that  ye  may  call 
them  back  within. 

20.   Moreover,  as  to  this  fruit  of  the  olive, 
if  the  matter  be  examined,  you  will  find  what  I 
it  was.     The  fruit  of  the  olive  signifies  charity.  ' 
How  do  we  prove   this?     Just  as  oil  is   kept 
down  by  no  liquid,  but  bursting  through  all, 
bounds   up    and   overtops   them;  so  likewise, 
charity  cannot  be  pressed  to  the  bottom,  but 
must   of   necessity   show   itself   at    the   top.  I 
Therefore  the  apostle  says  of  it,  "  Yet  show 
I  unto  you  a  more   excellent1  way."     Since 
we   have   said   of  oil   that    it   overtops   other 
liquids,  in  case  it  should   not  be  of  charity, 
the  apostle  said,  "  I  show  you  a  more  excel 
lent  way,"  let  us  hear  what  follows.     ' '  Though 
I    speak   with    the    tongues   of   men    and    of 
angels,  and  have  not  charity,  I  am  become  as 
sounding  brass,  or  a  tinkling  cymbal.*'     Go 

1  Superemincntiortm. 


now,  Donatus,  and  cry,  "I  am  eloquent;" 
go  now,  and  cry,  "I  am  learned."  How  far 
eloquent?  How  far  learned?  Hast  thou 
spoken  with  the  tongues  of  angels  ?  Yet 
though  thou  wert  to  speak  with  the  tongues 
of  angels,  not  having  charity,  I  should  hear 
only  sounding  brass  and  tinkling  cymbals.  I 
want  solidity;  let  me  find  fruit  among  the 
leaves;  let  there  be  not  words  merely,  let 
them  have  the  olive,  let  them  return  to  the  ark. 

21.  But  I   have  the  sacrament,   thou  wilt 
say.     Thou  sayest  the  truth;  the  sacrament 
is  divine;  thou  hast  baptism,  and  that  I  con 
fess.     But   what   says    the   apostle?      "If   I 
should  know  all  mysteries,2  and  have  prophecy 
and  all  faith,  so  that  I  could  remove  moun 
tains; '' in  case  thou  shouldest  say  this,  "  I 
believe;  enough    for   me."       But   what    says 
James  ?     "  The  devils  believe  and  tremble."3 
Faith  is  mighty,  but  without  charity  it  profits 
nothing.     The  devils  confessed  Christ.     Ac 
cordingly  it  was  from  believing,  but  not  from 
loving,  they  said,  "  What  have  we  to  do  with 
Thee?"4     They  had   faith,  but  not  charity; 
hence  they  were  devils.     Boast  not  of  faith; 
so  far  thou  art  on  a  level   with  the  devils. 
Say  not  to  Christ,  What  have  I  to  do  with 
Thee?     For  Christ's  unity  speaks  to  thee. 
Come,  learn   peace,  return  to  the  bowels  of 
the  dove.     Thou  hast  been  baptized  without; 
have  fruit,  and  thou  returnest  to  the  ark. 

22.  But  sayest  thou,  "  Why  do  you  seek  us 
if  we  are  bad  men  ?  "     That  you  may  be  good. 
The  reason  why  we  seek  you  is,  because  you 
are  bad;  for  if  you  were  not  bad,  we   should 
have  found  you,  and  would   not  be  seeking 
you.     He  who  is  good  is  already  found;  he 
who  is  bad  is  still  sought  after.     Consequently, 
we  are  seeking  you;  return  ye  to  the   ark. 
"  But  I  have  baptism  already."     "  Though  I 
should   know  all   mysteries,5   and   have   pro 
phecy  and   all  faith,  so  as  to  remove   moun 
tains,  but  have  not  charity,  I  am   nothing." 
Let  me  see  fruit  there;  let  me  see  the  olive 
there,  and  thou  art  called  back  to  the  ark. 

23.  But  what  sayest  thou  ?     "  Behold,  we 
suffer  many  evils."     Would  that  ye  suffered 
these    for   Christ,  not  for   your   own    honor  ! 
Hear  what  follows:  They,  indeed,  boast  some 
times,  because  they  do  many  alms,  give  to  the 
poor;  because  they  suffer  afflictions:  but  it  is 
for  Donatus,  not  for  Christ.     Consider  how 
thou  sufferest;  for  if  thou  sufferest  for  Dona 
tus,  it  is  for  a  proud  man:  thou  art  not  in  the 
dove  if  thou  art  suffering  for  Donatus.     Dona 
tus  was  not  the  friend  of  the  Bridegroom;  for 
had  he  been,  he  would  have  sought  the  glory 
of  the    Bridegroom,  not   his   own.     See   the 


4  Mark  i.  24. 


3  Jas.   ii.  19. 
5  Sacramento 


TRACT  A 


ON  Till.  G<  >SPEL  OI    ST.   JOHN. 


43 


friend  of  the  Bridegroom  saying,  ''  This  is 
it  buptizeth."  He,  for  whom  thou  art 
suffering,  was  not  tlic  friend  of  the  Mride- 
groom.  Thou  hast  not  the  wedding  garment; 
and  if  thou  art  come  to  the  feast,  thou  wilt 
be  put  out  of  doors;  nay,  thou  hast  been  cast 
out  of  doors  already,  and  for  that  reason  thou 
art  wretched:  return  at  length,  and  do  not 
boast.  Hear  what  the  apostle  says:  "Though 
I  should  distribute  all  my  goods  to  the  poor, 
and  give  my  body  to  be  burnt,  but  have  not 
charity."  See  what  thou  dost  not  have. 
"  Though,"  he  saith,  "  I  should  give  my  body 
to  be  burnt;  "  and  that,  too,  for  the  name  of 
Christ;  but  since  there  are  many  who  do  this 
boastfully,  not  with  charity,  therefore, 
'*  Though  I  should  give  my  body  to  be  burnt, 
and  have  not  charity,  it  profiteth  me  noth 
ing.''1  It  was  by  charity  those  martyrs,  who 
suffered  in  time  of  persecution,  did  this;  but 
these  men  do  it  of  their  vanity  and  pride;  for 
in  the  absence  of  a  persecutor,  they  throw 
themselves  headlong  into  destruction.  Come, 
then,  that  thou  mayest  have  charity.  "  But 
we  have  our  martyrs."  What  martyrs? 
They  are  not  doves;  hence  they  attempted  to 
fly,  and  fell  over  the  rock. 

24.  You   see   then,  my   brethren,   that   all 
things  cry  against  them,  all  the  divine  pages, 
all  prophecy,  the  whole  gospel,  all  the  aposto 
lic  letters,  every  sigh  of  the  dove,   and   yet 
they  awake  not,  they  do  not  yet  rouse  from 
their  sleep.     But  if  we  are  the  dove,  let  us 
groan,  let  us   persevere,  let  us   hope;  God's 
compassion  will  be  with  you,  that  the  fire  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  may  glow  in  your  simplicity; 
and  they  will  come.     There  must  be  no  de 
spairing;  pray,  preach,  love;  the  Lord  is  able 
to  the   utmost.      Already  they  begin  to  be 
sensible  of  their  shame;  many  have  become 
sensible  of  it,  and   blushed;  Christ  will  aid, 
that  the  rest  also  may  become  sensible  of  it. 
However,  my  brethren,  at  least  let  the  chaff 
alone    remain    there;  let   all    the    grain   be 
gathered    together;  let    whatever  has  borne 
fruit  among  them  return  to  the  ark  by  the  dove. 

25.  Failing  everywhere  else,  what  do  they 
now  allege  against  us,    not  finding  what  to 
say  ?     They    have   taken   away   our   houses, 
they    have   taken    away   our    estates.     They 
bring  forward  wills.     "  See,  Gaius  Seius  made 
a  grant  of  an  estate  to  the  church  over  which 
Faustinus   presided."     Of  what  church   was 
Faustinas  bishop  ?     What  is  the  church  ?     To 
the  church   over  which   Faustinus   presided, 
said  lie.     But  Faustinus  presided  not  over  a 
church,  but  over  a  sect.     The  dove,  however, 
is  the  Church.     Why  cry  out  ?     We  have  not 

1  i  Cor.  xiii.  3,  3. 


devoured  houses;  let  the  dove  have  them. 
Let  inquiry  be  made  who  th-  'id  let 

her  have  them.  For  you  know,  my  brethren, 
that  those  houses  of  theirs  are  not 
and  if  you  know  it  not,  and  imagine  that  I 
delight  in  the  possession  of  them,  God  knows, 
yea,  knows  my  judgment  respecting  those 
estates,  and  even  what  I  suffer  in  that  matter; 
He  knows  my  groaning,  since  He  has  deigned 
to  impart  to  me  somewhat  of  the  dove.  Be 
hold,  there  are  those  estates;  by  what  right 
dost  thou  assert  thy  claim  to  them  ?  By 
divine  right,  or  by  human  ?  Let  them  answer: 
Divine  right  we  have  in  the  Scriptures,  hu 
man  right  in  the  laws  of  kings.  By  what 
right  does  every  man  possess  what  he  pos 
sesses  ?  Is  it  not  by  human  right?  For  by 
divine  right,  "The  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and 
the  fullness  thereof."  '  The. poor  and  the  rich 
God  made  of  one  clay;  the  same  earth  sup 
ports  alike  the  poor  and  the  rich.  By  human 

i  right,  however,  one  says,  This  estate  is  mine, 
this  house  is  mine,  this  servant  is  mine.  By 
human  right,  therefore,  is  by  right  of  the 
emperors.  Why  so  ?  Because  God  has  dis 
tributed  to  mankind  these  very  human  rights 
through  the  emperors  and  kings  of  this  world. 

I  Do  you  wish  us  to  read  the  laws  of  the  em 
perors,  and  to  act  by  the  estates  according  to 

i  these  laws  ?  If  you  will  have  your  possession 
by  human  right,  let  us  recite  the  laws  of  the 
emperors;  let  us  see  whether  they  would  have 

:  the  heretics  possess  anything.  But  what  is 
the  emperor  to  me?  thou  sayest.  It  is  by 
right  from  him  that  thou  possesses!  the  land. 
Or  take  away  rights  created  by  emperors,  and 

;  then  who  will  dare  say.  That  estate  is  mine, 
or  that  slave  is  mine,  or  this  house  is  mine?* 
If,  however,  in  order  to  their  possessing  these 
things,  men  have  received  rights  derived  from 
kings,  will  ye  that  we  read  the  laws,  that  you 
may  be  glad  in  having  even  a  single  garden, 
and  impute  it  to  nothing  but  the  clemency  of 
the  dove  that  you  are  permitted  to  remain  in 
possession  even  there  ?  For  there  are  to  be 
read  well  known  laws,  in  which  the  emperors 
have  directed  that  those  who,  being  outside 
the  communion  of  the  Catholic  Church,  usurp 
to  themselves  the  name  of  Christians,  and  are 
not  willing  in  peace  to  worship  the  Author  of 
peace,  may  not  dare  to  possess  anything  in 
the  name  of  the  Church. 

26.  But  what  have  we  to  do  with  the  em 
peror?  But  I  have  already  said  that  we  are 
treating  of  human  right.  And  yet  the  apostle 
would  have  us  obey  kings,  would  have  us 
honor  kings,  and  said.  "  Honor  the  k 
Do  not  say.  What  have  I  to  do  with  the  king? 


«P».  xxiv.  u 


3  i  I'et.  u.  17. 


48 


THE  WoKKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  VII. 


as  in  that  case,  wh.it  have  you  to  do  with  the 
possession  ?  It  is  by  the  rights  derived  from 
kings  that  possessions  are  enjoyed.  Thou 
hast  said,  What  have  I  to  do  with  the  king? 
Say  not  then  that  the  possessions  are  thine; 
because  it  is  to  those  same  human  rights,  by 
which  men  enjoy  their  possessions,  thou  hast 
referred  them.  But  it  is  with  divine  right  I 
have  to  do,  saith  he.  Well,  let  us  read  the 
Gospel;  let  us  see  how  far  extends  the  Catho 
lic  Church  of  Christ,  upon  whom  the  dove 
came,  which  taught,  "This  is  He  that  bap- 
tizeth."  In  what  way,  then,  can  he  possess 


by  divine  right,  who  says,  "I  baptize;" 
whilst  the  dove  says,  "  This  is  He  that  bap- 
tizeth;  "  whilst  the  Scripture  says,  "  My  dove 
is  one,  the  only  one  of  her  mother"  ?  Why- 
have  you  torn  the  dove  ? — nay,  rather,  have 
torn  your  own  bowels  ?  for  while  you  are 
yourselves  torn  to  pieces,  the  dove  continues 
entire.  Therefore,  my  brethren,  if,  driven 
from  every  point,  they  have  nothing  to  say, 
I  will  tell  them  what  to  do;  let  them  come  to 
the  Catholic  Church,  and  together  with  us, 
they  will  have  not  only  the  earth,  but  Him 
also  who  made  heaven  and  earth. 


TRACTATE  VII. 

CHAPTKR    I.   34-51. 


i.  WE  rejoice  at  your  numbers,  for  you 
have  come  together  with  readiness  and  in 
greater  numbers  than  we  could  have  hoped. 
This  it  is  that  delights  and  consoles  us  in  all 
the  labors  and  dangers  of  this  life,  your  love 
towards  God,  and  pious  zeal,  and  assured 
hope,  and  fervor  of  spirit.  You  heard  when 
the  psalm  was  read,  "  that  the  needy  and 
poor  man  cries  to  God  in  this  world."1  For 
it  is  the  voice,  as  you  have  often  heard,  and 
ought  to  remember,  not  of  one  man,  and  yet 
of  one  man;  not  of  one,  because  the  faithful 
are  many — many  grains  groaning  amid  the 
chaff  diffused  throughout  the  whole  world — 
"but  of  one,  because  all  are  members  of  Christ, 
and  thus  one  body.  This  people,  then,  poor 
and  needy,  does  not  know  to  rejoice  with  the 
world:  its  grief  is  within,  and  its  joy  is  within, 
where  no  one  sees  but  He  who  listens  to  him 
who  groans,  and  crowns  him  who  hopes.  The 
rejoicing  of  the  world  is  vanity.  With  great 
expectation  is  it  hoped  for,  and  it  cannot, 
when  it  comes,  be  held  fast.  For  this  day 
which  is  a  day  of  rejoicing  in  this  city  to  the 
lost,  to-morrow  will,  of  course,  cease  to  be; 
nor  will  they  themselves  be  the  same  to 
morrow  that  they  are  to-day.  And  all  things 
pass  away,  fly  away,  and  vanish  like  smoke; 
and  woe  to  those  who  love  such  things  !  For 
every  soul  follows  what  it  loves.  "  All  flesh 
is  grass,  and  all  the  goodliness  thereof  as  the 
flower  of  the  field:  the  grass  withereth,  the 
flower  fadeth;  but  the  word  of  the  Lord 
abideth  forever."  -  Behold  what  thou  must 
love  if  thou  dost  desire  to  abide  for  ever. 


But  thou  hadst  this  to  reply:  How  can  I  ap 
prehend  the  word  of  God  ?  "  The  Word  was 
made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us."  3 

2.  Wherefore,  beloved,  let  it  belong  to  our 
need  i  ness  and  poverty  to  grieve  for  those  who 
|  seem  to  themselves  to  abound.  For  their  joy 
is  as  that  of  madmen.  But  as  a  madman 
rejoices  for  the  most  part  in  his  madness,  and 
laughs,  and  grieves  over  him  who  is  in  his 
senses,  so  let  us,  beloved,  if  we  have  received 
the  medicine  coming  from  heaven,  because 
we  all  were  madmen,  as  if  made  whole,  because 
j  those  things  which  we  did  love  we  do  not 
i  love, — let  us,  I  say,  groan  unto  God  for  those 
i  who  are  yet  in  madness,  for  He  is  able  to 
save  them  also.  And  there  is  need  that  they 
should  look  upon  themselves  and  be  displeas- 
I  ed  with  themselves:  to  behold  they  desire, 
and  to  behold  themselves  they  have  not  known. 
For  if  they  for  a  little  turn  their  eyes  upon 
themselves,  they  see  their  own  confusion. 
But  until  this  take  place,  let  our  pursuits  be 
different,  let  the  recreations  of  our  souls  be 
different;  our  grief  avails  more  than  their  joy. 
As  far  as  regards  the  number  of  the  brethren, 
it  is  difficult  to  conceive  that  any  one  of  the 
men  should  have  been  carried  away  by  that 
celebration;  but  as  regards  the  number  of  the 
sisters,  it  grieves  us,  and  this  is  a  greater 
cause  for  grief,  that  they  do  not  rather  repair 
to  the  Church,  whom  if  not  fear,  modesty  at 
all  events  ought  to  deter  from  the  public 
scene.  May  He  see  to  this  who  sees  it;  and 
may  His  mercy  be  present  to  heal  all.  Let 
us  who  have  come  together  feed  upon  the 

3  John  i.  14. 


TRACTATI     \  1 1. 1 


ON  Tin:  GOSPEL  <  »r  ST.  JOHN. 


49 


I,  ami  let  our  joy  be  His  word, 
l-'or  1  Ic  liafl  invited  Ul  tO  H  .  I'd.  and  I  lc 
is  our  lood,  than  whom  nothing  is  sweeter,  if 
only  a  man  have  a  healthy  palate  in  his 

heart. 

3.  But  I  imagine,  beloved  brethren,  that 
you  remember  that  this  (iospel  is  read  in 
order  in  suitable  portions;  and  I  think  that  it 
lias  not  escaped  you  what  has  lately  been 
treated  of,  specially  the  recent  matters  con 
cerning  John  and  the  dove.  Concerning 
John,  namely,  what  new  thing  he  learned  con 
cerning  the  Lord  by  means  of  the  dove, 
although  he  had  already  known  the  Lord. 
And  this  was  discovered  by  the  inspiration  of 
the  Spirit  of  God,  that  John  indeed  already 
knew  the  Lord,  but  that  the  Lord  Himself 
was  to  baptize,  that  the  power  of  baptizing  He 
would  not  transfer  from  Himself  to  any  one, 
this  he  lea'rned  by  means  of  the  dove,  because 
it  was  said  to  him,  "  On  whom  thou  shall  see 
the  Spirit  descending  as  a  dove,  and  abiding 
upon  Him,  this  is  He  which  baptizeth  with 
the  Holy  Ghost."  '  What  is  "  This  is  He "  ? 
Not  another,  although  by  means  of  another. 
But  why  by  means  of  a  dove  ?  Many  things 
were  said,  and  I  am  not  able,  nor  is  there 
need  that  I  should  go  over  all; — principally, 
however,  to  denote  peace,  because  also  the 
trees  which  were  baptized  outside,  because  the 
dove  found  in  them  fruit,  it  brought  to  the 
ark,  as  you  remember  the  dove  sent  out  by 
Noah  from  the  ark,  which  floated  on  the  flood 
and  was  washed  by  baptism,  was  not  submerg 
ed.  When,  then,  it  was  sent  forth,  it  brought 
an  olive  branch;  but  it  had  not  leaves  alone, 
it  had  also  fruit.2  This,  then,  we  ought  to 
wish  for  our  brethren  who  are  baptized  out 
side,  that  they  may  have  fruit;  the  dove  will 
not  permit  them  to  remain  outside,  but  bring 
them  back  to  the  ark.  For  the  whole  of  fruit 
is  charity,  without  which  a  man  is  nothing, 
whatever  else  he  have.  And  this,  which  is 
most  fully  said  by  the  apostle,  we  have  men 
tioned  and  recounted.  For  he  says,  "  Though 
I  speak  rt'ith  the  tongues  of  men  and  of  angels, 
and  have  not  charity,  I  am  become  as  sound 
ing  brass  or  a  tinkling  cymbal;  and  though  I 
should  have  all  knowledge,  and  know  all  mys 
teries,  and  have  all  prophecy,  and  should  have 
all  faith  "  (but  in  what  sense  did  he  say  all 
faith?),  "so  that  "I  could  remove  mountains, 
and  have  not  charity,  1  am  nothing.  And 
though  I  should  distribute  all  my  goods  to  the 
poor,  and  though  I  should  give  my  body  to 
be  burned,  and  have  not  charity,  it  profiteth 
me  nothing."  ^  But  in  no  manner  are  they 
able  to  say  that  they  have  charity  who  divide 


unity.     These    t,.  let  us   see 

what  follows. 

4.  John  bare  record  because  he 

iv.  ord  did  he  bear?  "That  this  is  the  Son 
of  God."  It  behoved,  then,  that  He  should 
baptize  who  is  God's  only  Son,  not  His  adopt 
ed  son.  Adopted  sons  are  the  ministers  of 
the  only  Son:  the  only  Son  has  power;  the 
adopted,  the  ministry.  In  the  case  that  a 
minister  baptizes  who  does  not  belong  to  the 
number  of  sons,  because  he  lives  evilly  and 
acts  evilly,  what  is  our  consolation?  "  This 
is  He  which  baptizeth." 

5.  "  The  next  day,  John  stood,  and  two  of 
his  disciples;  and  looking  upon  Jesus  as  He 
walked,  he  saith,  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  !  " 
Assuredly,  in  a  special  sense,  the  Lamb;  for 
the  disciples  were  also  called  lambs:  "  Behold, 
I  send  you  as  lambs  in  the  midst  of  wolves.''4 
They  were  also  called   light:     "Ye  are  the 
light  of  the  world;"5  but  in  another  sense  is 
He  called  so,  concerning  whom   it  was  said, 
•'  That   was   the   true    light,    which    lighteth 
every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world."  6     In 
like  manner  was    He   called    the   dove    in   a 
special  sense,  alone  without  stain,  without  sin; 
not  one  whose  sins  have  been  washed  away, 
but  One  who  never  had   stain.     For  what  ? 
Because    John    said    concerning    the    Lord, 
"  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,"  was  not  John 
himself  a  lamb?     Was  he  not  a  holy  man? 
Was  he  not  the   friend   of  the  Bridegroom  ? 
Wherefore,  with  a  special  meaning,  said  John 
of  Him,  "  This  is  the  Lamb  of  God;"  because 
solely  by  the  blood  of  this  Lamb  alone  could 
men  be  redeemed. 

6.  My    brethren,    if   we   acknowledge    our 
price,  that  it  is  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  who 
are  they  who  this  day  celebrate  the  festival  of 
the  blood  of  I  know  not  what  woman  ?     and 
how   ungrateful   are   they !      The  gold   was 
snatched,  they  say,  from  the  ear  of  a  woman, 
and  the  blood  ran,  and  the  gold  was  placed 
on  a  pair  of  scales  or  on  a  balance,  and  the 
advantage  was  much  on  the  side  of  the  blood. 
If   the   blood   of   a   woman   was    sufficiently 
weighty  to  outweigh  the  gold,  what  power  to 
outweigh    the  world    has   the   blood    of    the 
Lamb  by  whom  the  world  was  made?     And, 
indeed,    that   spirit,    I    know   not   who,   was 
pacified  by  the  blood  that  he  should  i! 

the  weight.     Impure  spirits  knew  that 
Christ  would   come,  they   had   heard   < 
coming  from  the  angels,  they  had  heard  of  it 
from  the  prophets,  and  they  expected  it.      For 
if  they  were  not  expecting   it,  why   did   they 
exclaim,  "What   have  we   to  do  with   Thee? 
art  Thou  come  before  the  time  to  des>tri 


Johr 


C.en.  viii   8-n. 


3  i  Cor.  xiii.  1-3. 


Matt. 


•  John  5.  9. 


THK   WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATI.  VII. 


\\V  know  who  Thou  art;  the  Holy  One  of 
God."  '  They  expected  that  He  would  come, 
but  they  were  ignorant  of  the  time.  But 
what  have  you  heard  in  the  psalm  regarding 
Jerusalem?  "  For  Thy  servants  have  taken 
pleasure  in  her  stones,  and  will  pity  the  dust 
thereof.  Thou  shall  arise,"  says  he,  "  and 
have  mercy  upon  Zion:  for  the  time  is  come 
that  Thou  wilt  have  mercy  upon  her."2 
When  the  time  came  for  God  to  have  mercy, 
the  Lamb  came.  What  sort  of  a  Lamb  whom 
wolves  fear  ?  What  sort  of  a  Lamb  is  it  who, 
when  slain,  slew  a  lion  ?  For  the  devil  is 
called  a  lion,  going  about  and  roaring,  seek 
ing  whom  he  may  devour.3  By  the  blood  of 
the  Lamb  the  lion  was  vanquished.  Behold 
the  spectacles  of  Christians.  And  what  is 
more:  they  with  the  eyes  of  the  flesh  behold 
vanity,  we  with  the  eyes  of  the  heart  behold 
truth.  Do  not  think,  brethren,  that  our  Lord 
God  has  dismissed  us  without  spectacles;  for 
if  there  are  no  spectacles,  why  have  ye  come 
together  to-day?  Behold,  what  we  have  said 
you  saw,  and  you  exclaimed;  you  would  not 
have  exclaimed  if  you  had  not  seen.  And 
this  is  a  great  thing  to  see  in  the  whole  world, 
the  lion  vanquished  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb; 
members  of  Christ  delivered  from  the  teeth 
of  the  lions,  and  joined  to  the  body  of 
Christ.  Therefore  some  spirit  or  other  con 
trived  the  counterfeit  that  His  image  should 
be  bought  for  blood,  because  he  knew  that 
the  human  race  was  at  some  time  to  be  re 
deemed  by  the  precious  blood.  For  evil 
spirits  counterfeit  certain  shadows  of  honor 
to  themselves,  that  they  may  deceive  those 
who  follow  Christ.  So  much  so,  my  brethren, 
that  those  who  seduce  by  means  of  amulets, 
by  incantations,  by  the  devices  of  the  enemy, 
mingle  the  name  of  Christ  with  their  incanta 
tions:  because  they  are  not  now  able  to  seduce 
Christians,  so  as  to  give  them  poison  they 
add  some  honey,  that  by  means  of  the  sweet 
the  bitter  may  be  concealed,  and  be  drunk  to 
ruin.  So  much  so,  that  I  know  that  the  priest 
of  that  Pilleatus  was  sometimes  in  the  habit  of 
saying,  Pilleatus  himself  also  is  a  Christian. 
Why  so,  brethren,  unless  that  they  were  not 
able  otherwise  to  seduce  Christians? 

7.  Do  not,  then,  seek  Christ  elsewhere 
than  where  Christ  wished  Himself  to  be 
preached  to  you;  and  as  He  wished  Himself 
to  be  preached  to  you,  in  that  fashion  hold 
Him  fast,  in  that  manner  write  Him  on  your 
heart.  It  is  a  wall  against  all  the  assaults, 
and  against  all  the  snares  of  the  enemy.  Do 
not  fear,  he  does  not  tempt  unless  he  has  been 
permitted;  it  is  certain  that  he  does  nothing 
unless  permitted  or  sent.  He  is  sent  as  an 


'  Mark  i.  24. 


'  Ps.  cii.  13,  14. 


evil  angel  by  a  power  holding  him  in  control: 
he  is  permitted  when  he  asks  anything;  and 
this,  brethren,  does  not  take  place  unless  that 
the  just  may  be  tried,  the  unjust  punished. 
Why,  then,  dost  thou  fear?  Walk  in  the 
Lord  thy  God;  be  thou  assured,  what  He  does 
not  wish  thee  to  suffer  thou  dost  not  suffer; 
what  He  permits  thee  to  suffer  is  the  scourge 
of  one  correcting,  not  the  punishment  of  one 
condemning.  We  are  being  educated  for  an 
eternal  inheritance,  and  do  we  spurn  to  be 
scourged  ?  My  brethren,  if  a  boy  were  to 
refuse  the  punishment  of  cuffs  or  stripes  from 
his  father,  would  he  not  be  called  proud,  in 
corrigible,  ungrateful  towards  paternal  dis 
cipline  ?  And  for  what  does  an  earthly  father 
educate  his  son  ?  That  he  may  not  lose  the 
temporal  things  which  he  has  acquired  for 
him,  which  he  has  collected  for  him,  which  he 
does  not  wish  him  to  lose,  which  he  who  leaves 
them  cannot  retain  eternally.  He  does  not 
teach  a  son  with  whom  he  is  to  possess,  but 
one  who  is  to  possess  after  him  My  brethren, 
if  a  father  teaches  a  son  who  is  to  succeed 
him,  and  teaches  him  also  that  he  will  have 
to  pass  through  all  these  things,  in  same  way 
as  he  who  is  admonishing  him  is  destined  to 
pass  through  them,  how  do  you  wish  that  He 
educate  us,  our  Father  to  whom  we  are  not 
to  succeed,  but  to  whom  we  are  to  approach, 
and  with  whom  we  are  to  abide  eternally  in  an 
inheritance  which  does  not  decay  nor  die, 
and  which  no  storms  can  desolate  ?  He  is 
Himself  both  the  inheritance  and  the  Father. 
Shall  we  possess  Him,  and  ought  we  not  to 
undergo  training  ?  Let  us  hear  the  instruction 
of  the  Father.  When  our  head  aches,  let  us 
not  have  recourse  to  the  superstitious  inter 
cessor,  to  the  diviners  and  remedies  of  vanity. 
My  brethren,  shall  I  not  mourn  over  you  ? 
Daily  do  I  find  these  things;  and  what  shall 
I  do?  Not  yet  have  I  persuaded  Christians 
that  their  hope  ought  to  be  placed  in  God. 
Behold,  if  one  dies  to  whom  one  of  these 
remedies  has  been  given  (and  how  many  have 
died  with  remedies,  and  how  many  have  lived 
without  them  !),  with  what  confidence  does  the 
spirit  go  forth  to  God  ?  He  has  lost  the  sign 
of  Christ,  and  has  received  the  sign  of  the 
devil.  Perhaps  he  may  say  that  he  has  not 
lost  the  sign  of  Christ.  Thou  canst  have, 
then,  the  sign  of  Christ  along  with  the  sign 
of  the  devil.  Christ  does  not  desire  commu 
nity  of  ownership,  but  He  desires  to  possess 
alone  what  He  has  purchased.  He  has  bought 
at  so  great  a  price  that  He  may  possess  alone: 
thou  makest  Him  the  partner  of  that  devil  to 
whom  thou  didst  sell  thyself  by  thy  sin.  "  Woe 
to  the  double-hearted,"4  to  those  who  in 


Ecclus.  ii.  is. 


<)N   THE  GOSPEL  <»i    ST.  JOHN, 


their  lie-arts  give  part  to  God  and  part  to  the 
devil,  God,  being  angry  that  the  devil  has 
part  there,  departs,  and  the  devil  will  possess 
the  whole.  Not  in  vain,  therefore,  says  the 
apostle,  "  Neither  give  place  to  the  devil."  ' 
Let  us  know  the  Lamb,  then,  brethren;  let 
us  know  our  price. 

8.   "  John  stood,  and  two  of  his  disciples. '' 
Behold  two  of  John's  disciples:  since  John, 


preted,  Master),    where  dwellest  Thou 
s.iys  to  them.  (  '<>nie  and  see.       A: 
and  saw  where  He  dwelt,  and  alx.de  with  Hun 
that  day:  and   it  was  about  the  tenth   hour." 
Do  we  think  that  it  did  in   no  wise   pertain  to 
the  evangelist  to  tell  us  what  hour  it  was  ''     I-, 
it  possible  that  he  wished  us  to  give  heed  to 
nothing  in  that,  to  inquire  after  nothing  ''     It 
was  the  tenth  hour.     That  number  signifies 


the  friend  of  the  Bridegroom,  was  such  as  he   the  law,   because  the  law  was  given   in   ten 


was,  he  sought  not  his  own  glory,  but  bore 
witness  to  the  truth.  Did  he  wish  that  his 
disciples  should  remain  with  him  and  not  fol 
low  the  Lord  ?  Rather  he  himself  showed  his 
disciples  whom  they  should  follow.  For  they 
accounted  of  him  as  though  he  were  the  lamb; 
and  he  said,  "  Why  do  you  give  heed  to  me  ? 
I  am  not  the  lamb;  behold  the  Lamb  of  God," 


commandments.  But  the  time  had  come  for 
the  law  to  be  fulfilled  by  love,  because  it  could 
not  be  fulfilled  by  the  Jews  by  fear.  Hence 
the  Lord  says,  "  I  am  not  come  to  destroy 
the  law,  but  to  fulfill."4  Suitably,  then,  at  the 
tenth  hour  did  these  two  follow  Him,  at  the  tes 
timony  of  the  friend  of  the  Bridegroom,  and 
that  He  at  the  tenth  hour  heard  "  Rabbi  (which 


of  whom  also  he  had  already  said,  Behold  the  |  is  interpreted,  Master)."  If  at  the  tenth  hour 
Lamb  of  God.  And  what  benefit  does  the  the  Lord  heard  Rabbi,  and  the  tenth  number 
Lamb  of  God  confer  upon  us  ?  "  Behold,"  he  pertains  to  the  law,  the  master  of  the  law  is 
says,  "  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world. ''  no  other  than  the  giver  of  the  law.  Let  no 


The  two  who  were  with 
when  they  heard  this. 


John   followed  Him 


one  say  that  one  gave  the   law,  and  that  an 


other  teaches  the  law:  for  the  same  teaches  it 

9.  Let  us  see  what  follows:  "Behold  the  who  gave  it;  He  is  the  Master  of  His  own 
Lamb  of  God."  This  John  said,  and  the  two  ,  law,  and  teaches  it.  And  mercy  is  in  His 
disciples  heard  him  speak,  and  followed  j  tongue,  therefore  mercifully  teacheth  He  the 
Jesus.  Then  Jesus  turned  and  saw  them  law,  as  it  is  said  regarding  wisdom,  "  The  law 
following,  and  saith  unto  them,  "What  seek  and  mercy  doth  she  carry  in  her  tongue. "! 
ye  ?  "  And  they  said,  "  Rabbi  (that  is  to  say,  !  Do  not  fear  that  thou  art  not  able  to  fulfill  the 
being  interpreted,  Master),  where  dwellest  law,  flee  to  mercy.  If  thou  canst  not  fulfill 
Thou  ? "  They  did  not  follow  Him  in  such  '  the  law,  make  use  of  that  covenant,  make  use 
manner  as  that  they  should  cleave  to  Him;!  of  the  bond,  make  use  of  the  prayers  which 
for  it  is  plain  when  they  clave  unto  Him,  for  I  the  heavenly  One,  skilled  in  the  law,  has 
He  called  them  from  the  ship.  For  one  of  ordained  and  composed  for  you. 
the  two  was  Andrew,  as  you  have  just  heard,  |  n.  For  those  who  have  a  cause,  and  wish 
and  Andrew  was  the  brother  of  Peter;  and  to  supplicate  the  emperor,  seek  .for  some  one 
we  know  from  the  Gospel  that  the  Lord  called  skilled  in  the  law.  and  trained  in  the  schools, 
Peter  and  Andrew  from  the  ship,  saying,  to  compose  their  petition  for  them;  lest  per- 
"  Come  ye  after  me,  and  I  will  make  you  chance,  if  they  ask  in  an  unbecoming  manner, 
fishers  of  men."2  And  from  that  time  they  they  not  only  do  not  obtain  what  they  seek, 
clave  unto  Him,  so  as  not  to  go  away.  On  but  get  punishment  instead  of  a  benefit. 
the  present  occasion  these  two  followed  Him,  When,  therefore,  the  apostles  sought  to  peti- 
not  as  those  who  were  not  again  to  leave  tion,  and  could  not  find  how  to  approach  the 
Him,  but  to  see  where  He  dwelt,  and  to  fulfill  Emperor  God,  they  said  unto  Christ,  "  Lord, 
the  Scripture:  "Let  thy  foot  wear  out  the  teach  us  to  pray;"  that  is  to  say,  "  O  thou 
threshold  of  His  doors;  arise  to  come  to  Him  who  art  our  skilled  One  in  the  law,  our  As- 
continually,  and  be  instructed  in  His  pre-  sessor,  yea,  the  Concessor  of  God,  compose 
cepts."3  He  showed  them  where  He  dwelt:  for  us  prayers."  And  the  Lord  taught  them 
they  came  and  remained  with  Him.  What  from  the  book  of  the  celestial  law,  taught 
a  blessed  day  they  spent,  what  a  blessed  them  how  to  pray;  and  in  that  which  He 
night!  Who' can  make  known  to  us  those  taught,  He  laid  down  a  certain  condition: 
things  which  they  heard  from  the  Lord  ?  Let  "  Forgivr  us  our  debts,  as  we  also  forgive  our 
us  also  build  in  our  heart,  and  make  a  house  debtors."  '  If  thou  seekest  not  according  to 
into  which  He  may  come  and  teach  us,  and  the  law,  thou  becomest  guilty. 
have  convene  with  US,  not  tremble  before  the  Kniperor,  having  be- 

to.    "What  seek  ye?"       They  said   unto   come  guilty:1     Offer  the  sacrifice  of  humility, 
Him,  "Rnbbi  (which   is  to   say.  being  inter-    offer    tin-    sacrifice    of    mercy;   pray,    H 

i  M  .tt     ,  \««i.   »6.  6  I.ul' 


Eph. 


I 


1  IN.  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATK  VII. 


Forgive  me,  for  I  also  forgive.  But  if  thou 
sayest,  do.  For  what  wilt  thou  do?  whither 
wilt  thou  go  if  thou  hast  lied  in  thy  prayers? 
Not  as  it  is  said  in  the  forum,  thou  shalt  lose 
the  benefit  of  the  rescript;  hut  thou  shalt  not 
obtain  a  rescript.  For  it  is  the  law  of  the 
forum  that  he  who  shall  have  lied  in  his  peti 
tion  shall  derive  no  benefit  from  that  which 
he  has  obtained.  But  this  among  men,  be 
cause  a  man  can  be  deceived:  the  emperor 
might  have  been  deceived,  when  thou  didst 
address  to  him  thy  petition;  for  thou  saidest 
what  thou  wouldest,  and  he  to  whom  thou 
didst  speak  knew  not  whether  it  was  true  or 
false;  he  sent  thee  away  to  thy  adversary  to 
be  confuted  if  possible,  so  that  if  before  the 
judge  thou  shouldest  be  convicted  of  false 
hood  (because  he  was  not  able  not  to  grant 
the  rescript,  not  knowing  whether  thou  hadst 
lied),  thou  shouldest  lose  the  benefit  of  the 
rescript,  in  the  place  to  which  thou  hadst 
taken  it.  But  God,  who  knows  whether  thou 
liest  or  speakest  the  truth,  does  not  cause  thee 
to  lose  in  the  judgment  the  benefit,  but  does 
not  permit  thee  to  obtain  it,  because  thou 
hast  dared  to  lie  to  the  Truth. 

12.  What,  then,  wilt  thou  do?  Tell  me. 
To  fulfill  the  law  in  every  part,  so  as  to  offend 
in  nothing,  is  difficult:  the  condition  of  guilt 
is  therefore  certain;  wilt  thou  refuse  to  use  the 
remedy  ?  Behold,  my  brethren,  what  a 
remedy  the  Lord  hath  provided  for  the  sick 
nesses  of  the  soul  !  What  then?  When  thy 
head  aches,  we  praise  thee  if  thou  placest  the 
gospel  at  thy  head,  instead  of  having  recourse 
to  an  amulet.  For  so  far  has  human  weak 
ness  proceeded,  and  so  lamentable  is  the 
estate  of  those  who  have  recourse  to  amulets, 
that  we  rejoice  when  we  see  a  man  who  is 
upon  his  bed,  and  tossed  about  with  fevers 
and  pains,  placing  his  hope  on  nothing  else 
than  that  the  gospel  lies  at  his  head;  not  be 
cause  it  is  done  for  this  purpose,  but  because 
the  gospel  is  preferred  to  amulets.  If,  then,  it 
is  placed  at  the  head  to  allay  the  pain  of  the 
head,  is  it  not  placed  at  the  heart  to  heal  it 
from  sin  ?  Let  it  be  done  then.  Let  what  be 
done  ?  Let  it  be  placed  at  the  heart,  let  the 
heart  be  healed.  It  is  well, — well  that  thou 
shouldest  have  no  further  care  regarding  the 
safety  of  the  body,  than  to  ask  it  from  (iod. 
If  He  knows  that  it  will  do  thee  good,  He  will 
give  it  thee;  if  He  give  it  not  to  thee,  it  would 
not  have  profited  thee  to  have  it.  How  many 
are  sick  in  bed,  and  for  that  reason  are  inno 
cent  !  for  if  they  were  to  recover,  they  would 
go  forth  to  commit  acts  of  wickedness.  To 
how  many  is  health  an  injury  !  The  robber 
who  goes  forth  to  the  narrow  path  to  slay  a 
man,  how  much  better  for  him  would  it  have 


been  to  have  been  sick  !  And  he  who  rises 
by  night  to  dig  through  his  neighbor's  wall, 
how  much  better  for  him  to  be  tossed  by 
fever  !  If  he  were  ill,  he  would  have  been 
comparatively  innocent;  being  well,  he  is 
guilty  of  wickedness.  It  is  known,  then,  to 
God  what  is  expedient  for  us:  let  us  make 
this  only  our  endeavor,  that  our  hearts  be 
whole  from  sins;  and  when  it  happens  that  we 
are  scourged  in  the  body,  let  us  pray  to  Him 
for  relief.  The  Apostle  Paul  besought  Him 
that  He  would  take  away  the  thorn  in  his 
flesh,  and  He  would  not.  Was  he  disturbed  ? 
Was  he  filled  with  sadness,  and  did  he  speak 
of  himself  as  deserted  ?  Rather  did  he  say 
that  he  was  not  deserted,  because  that  was  not 
taken  away  which  he  desired  to  be  taken 
away,  to  the  end  that  infirmity  might  be  cured. 
For  this  he  found  in  the  voice  of  the  Physi 
cian,  "  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee;  for  my 
strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness."'1 
Whence  knowest  thou,  then,  that  God  does 
not  wish  to  heal  thee  ?  As  yet  it  is  expedient 
for  thee  to  be  scourged.  Whence  knowest 
thou  how  diseased  that  is  which  the  physician 
cuts,  using  his  knife  on  the  diseased  parts  ? 
Does  he  not  know  the  measure,  what  he  is  to 
do,  and  how  far  he  is  to  do  it  ?  Does  the  shriek 
ing  of  him  he  cuts  restrain  the  hands  of  the 
physician  cutting  according  to  his  art?  The 
one  cries,  the  other  cuts.  Is  he  cruel  who 
does  not  listen  to  the  man  crying  out,  or  is  he 
not  rather  merciful  in  following  the  wound, 
that  he  may  heal  the  sick  man  ?  These  things 
have  I  said,  my  brethren,  in  order  that  no 
one  seek  any  other  aid  than  that  of  (iod,  when 
we  happen  to  be  under  the  reproof  of  God.  See 
that  ye  perish  not;  see  that  ye  do  not  depart 
from  the  Lamb,  and  be  devoured  by  the  lion. 
13.  We  have  declared,  then,  why  it  was  at 
the  tenth  hour.  Let  us  see  what  follows: 
"One  of  the  two  which  heard  John  speak, 
and  followed  Him,  was  Andrew.  Simon  Peter's 
brother.  He  findeth  his  own  brother  Simon, 
and  saith  unto  him,  We  have  found  the 
Messias,  which  is,  being  interpreted,  the 
Christ."  Messias,  in  Hebrew;  Christ,  in 
Greek;  in  Latin,  Anointed.  .\pi/r;i.a  is  anoint 
ing  in  Greek;  Christ,  therefore,  is  the  Anoint 
ed.  He  is  peculiarly  anointed,  pre-eminently 
anointed;  wherewith  all  Christians  are  anoint 
ed.  He  is  pre-eminently  anointed.  Hear  how 
He  speaks  in  the  psalm:  "Wherefore  God, 
Thy  God,  hath  anointed  Thee  with  the  oil  of 
gladness  above  Thy  fellows."  For  all  the 
|  holy  ones  are  His  fellows,  but  He  in  a  pecu 
liar  sense  is  the  Holy  of  Holies,  peculiarly 
anointed,  peculiarly  Christ. 


•  Cor.  xii.  8,  9. 


Tk  X'TAI  K    VII.] 


ON  Tin-;  C.OSPU.  OI  BT.  JOHN. 


53 


14.  "And  lie  brought  him  to  Jesus;  ami 
when  Jesus  beheld  him,  He  said,  Thou  art 
Simon  the  son  of  Joannes:  thou  shalt  be  call 
ed  Cephas,  which  is,  by  interpretation,  Peter." 
It  is  not  a  great  thing  that  the  Lord  said  whose 
son  Peter  was.  What  is  great  to  the  Lord  ? 
He  knew  all  the  names  of  His  own  saints, 
whom  He  predestinated  before  the  foundation 
of  the  world;  and  dost  thou  wonder  that  He 
said  to  one  man,  Thou  art  the  son  of  this 
man,  and  thou  shalt  be  called  this  or  that? 
Is  it  a  great  matter  that  He  changed  his 
name,  and  converted  it  from  Simon  to  Peter? 
Peter  is  from  petra,  a  rock,  but  the  petra 
[rock];  is  the  Church;  in  the  name  of  Peter, 
then,  was  the  Church  figured.  And  who  is 
safe,  unless  he  who  builds  upon  the  rock? 
And  what  saith  the  Lord  Himself?  "He 
that  heareth  these  my  words,  and  doeth  them, 
I  will  liken  him  unto  a  wise  man  building  his 
house  upon  a  rock"  (he  doth  not  yield  to 
temptation).  "  The  rain  descended,  the 
floods  came,  the  winds  blew,  and  beat  upon 
that  house;  and  it  fell  not:  for  it  was  founded 
upon  a  rock.  But  he  that  heareth  my  words, 
and  doeth  them  not  "  (now  let  each  one  of  us 
fear  and  beware),  "  I  will  liken  him  to  a  fool 
ish  man,  who  built  his  house  upon  the  sand: 
the  rain  descended,  the  floods  came,  the 
winds  blew,  and  beat  upon  that  house;  and  it 
fell:  and  great  was  the  fall  of  it."  '  What 
profit  is  it  to  enter  the  Church  for  him  who 
builds  upon  the  sand?  For,  by  hearing  and 
not  doing,  he  builds  indeed,  but  on  the  sand. 
For  if  he  hears  nothing,  he  builds  nothing; 
but  if  he  hears,  he  builds.  But  we  ask, 
Where?  For  if  he  hears  and  does,  he  builds 
upon  the  rock;  if  he  hears  and  does  not,  he 
builds  upon  the  sand.  There  are  two  kinds 
of  builders,  those  building  upon  the  rock, 
and  those  building  upon  the  sand.  What, 
then,  are  those  who  do  not  hear  ?  Are  they 
safe  ?  Does  He  say  that  they  are  safe  be 
cause  they  do  not  build  ?  They  are  naked 
beneath  the  rains,  before  the  winds,  before 
the  floods;  when  these  come,  they  carry  away 
those  persons  before  they  overthrow  the 
houses.  It  is  then  the  only  security,  both  to 
build,  and  to  build  upon  the  rock.  If  thou 
wilt  hear  and  do  not,  thou  buildest;  but  thou 
bui Iciest  a  ruin:  and  when  temptation  comes 
it  overthrows  the  house,  and  carries  away 
thee  with  the  ruin.  But  if  thou  dost  not 
hear,  thou  art  naked;  thou  thyself  art  dragged 
away  by  those  temptations.  Hear,  then,  and 
do; 'it  is  the  only  remedy.  How  many,  per 
chance,  on  this  day,  by  hearing  and  not  doing, 
are  hurried  away  on  the  stream  of  this  festi 


val  !  For,  through  hearing  and  not  doing, 
the  flood  cometh,  this  annual  festival;  the 
torrent  is  filled,  it  will  pass  away  and  1  • 
dry,  but  woe  to  him  wlmm  it  shall  r.,rr\ 
Know  this,  then,  beloved,  that  unless  a  man 
hears  and  does,  he  builds  not  upon  the  rock, 
and  he  does  not  belong  to  that  great  name 
which  the  Lord  so  commended.  For  He  has 
called  thy  attention.  For  if  Simon  had  been 
called  Peter  before,  thou  wouldest  not  have  so 
clearly  seen  the  mystery  of  the  rock,  and  thou 
wouldest  have  thought  that  he  was  called  so 
by  chance,  not  by  the  providence  of  God; 
therefore  God  willed  that  he  should  be  called 
first  something  else,  that  by  the  very  change 
of  name  the  reality  of  the  sacrament  might 
be  commended  to  our  notice. 

15.  "And  the  day  following  He  would  go 
forth    into  Galilee,   and   finding  Philip,    He 
saith  unto  him,  Follow  me.     Now  he  was  of 
the  city  of  Andrew  and   Peter.     And   Philip 
findeth   Nathanael "   (Philip   who    had    been 
already  called  by  the    Lord);  "and   he   said 
unto  him,  We    have    found    Him,  of  whom 
Moses  in  the  law,  and  the  prophets,  did  write, 
Jesus,  the  son  of  Joseph."     He  was  called 
the  son  of  that  man  to  whom  His  mother  had 
been  espoused.     For  that  He  was  conceived 
and  born  while  she  was  still  a  virgin,  all  Chris 
tians  know  well  from  the  Gospel.     This  Philip 
said  to  Nathanael,  and   he   added   the  place, 
"  from  Nazareth."    And  Nathanael  said  unto 
him,  "  From  Nazareth  something  good  can 
come."     What   is    the    meaning,    brethren? 
Not  as  some  read,   for    it    is    likewise  wont 
to   be    read,    "Can  any    good    thing    come 
out  of  Nazareth  ? ''     For  the  words  of  Philip 
follow,  who  says,  "Come  and  see."     But  the 
words  of  Philip  can  suitably  follow  both  read 
ings,  whether  you  read  it  thus,  as  confirming, 
"  From  Nazareth  something  good  can  come," 
to  which  Philip  replies,  "  Come  and  see;"  or 
whether  as  doubting,  and  making  the  whole 
a  question,  "  Can  any  good   thing  come  out 
of  Nazareth?     Come  and  see."     Since  then, 
whether  read  in  this  manner  or  in  that,  the 
words  following  are  not  incompatible,  it  is  for 
us  to  inquire  which  of  the  two  interpretations 
we  shall  adopt. 

1 6.  What  sort  of  a  man  this  Nathanael  was, 
we  prove  by  the  words  which  follow.     Hear 
what  sort  of  a  man  he  was;  the  Lord  Himself 
bears  testimony.     Great  is  the   Lord,  known 
by  the  testimony  of  John;  blessed  Nathanael, 
known   by  the   testimony  of  the  truth. 
cause  the  Lord,  although    He   had   not   l»een 
commended  by  the  testimony  of   John.  Him 
self  to  Himself  bore   testimony,  because   the 
truth  is  sufficient  for  its  own  testimony.     But 
because  men  were  not  able  to  receive  the  truth, 


54 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  VII. 


they  sought  the  truth  by  means  of  a  lamp, 
and  therefore  John  was  sent  to  show  them  the 
Lord.  Hear  the  Lord  bearing  testimony  to 
Nathanael:  "Nathanael  said  unto  him,  Can 
any  good  thing  come  out  of  Nazareth?  Philip 
says  to  him,  Come  and  see.  And  Jesus  sees 
Nathanael  coming  to  Him,  and  says  concern 
ing  him,  Behold  an  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom 
is  no  guile."  Great  testimony  !  Not  of  An 
drew,  nor  of  Peter,  nor  of  Philip  was  that  said 
which  was  said  of  Nathanael,  "  Behold  an 
Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  is  no  guile." 

17.  What  do  we  then,  brethren?  Ought 
this  man  to  be  the  first  among  the  apostles  ? 
Not  only  is  Nathanael  not  found  as  first  among 
the  apostles,  but  he  is  neither  the  middle  nor 
the  last  among  the  twelve,  although  the  Son 
of  God  bore  such  testimony  to  him,  saying, 
"  Behold  an  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  is 
no  guile. "  Is  the  reason  asked  for?  In  so 
far  as  the  Lord  intimates,  we  find  a  probable 
reason.  For  we  ought  to  understand  that 
Nathanael  was  learned  and  skilled  in  the  law; 
and  for  that  reason  was  the  Lord  unwilling  to 
place  him  among  His  disciples,  because  He 
chose  unlearned  persons,  that  He  might  by 
them  confound  the  world.  Listen  to  the 
apostle  speaking  these  things:  "For  ye  see," 
saith  he,  "  your  calling,  brethren,  how  that 
not  many  wise  men  after  the  flesh,  not  many 
mighty,  not  many  noble,  are  called:  but  God 
hath  chosen  the  weak  things  of  the  world  to 
confound  the  things  which  are  mighty;  and 
base  things  of  the  world,  and  things  that  are 
despised,  hath  God  chosen,  yea,  and  things 
which  are  not,  as  though  they  were  things  that 
are,  to  bring  to  nought  things  that  are."1  If 
a  learned  man  had  been  chosen,  perhaps  he 
would  have  said  that  he  was  chosen  for  the 
reason  that  his  learning  made  him  worthy  of 
choice.  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  wishing  to 
break  the  necks  of  the  proud,  did  not  seek 
the  orator  by  means  of  the  fisherman,  but  by 
the  fisherman  He  gained  the  emperor.  Great 
was  Cyprian  as  an  orator,  but  before  him  was 
Peter  the  fisherman,  by  means  of  whom  not 
only  the  orator,  but  also  the  emperor,  should 
believe.  No  noble  was  chosen  in  the  first 
place,  no  learned  man,  because  God  chose 
the  weak  things  of  the  world  that  He  might 
confound  the  strong.  This  man,  then,  was 
great  and  without  guile,  and  for  this  reason 
only  was  not  chosen,  lest  the  Lord  should 
seem  to  any  to  have  chosen  the  learned.  And 
from  this  same  learning  in  the  law,  it  came 
that  when  he  heard  "  from  Nazareth," — for 
he  had  searched  the  Scripture,  and  knew  that 
the  Saviour  was  to  be  expected  thence,  what 


the  other  scribes  and  Pharisees  had  difficulty 
in  knowing, — this  man,  then,  very  learned  in 
the  law,  when  he  heard  Philip  saying,  "  We 
have  found  Him,  of  whom  Moses  in  the  law, 
and  the  prophets,  did  write,  Jesus  of  Naza 
reth,  the  son  of  Joseph:  " — this  man,  who 
knew  the  Scriptures  excellently  well,  when 
he  heard  the  name  "  Nazareth,"  was  filled 
with  hope,  and  said,  "  From  Nazareth  some 
thing  good  can  come." 

1 8.  Let  us  now  see  the  rest  concerning 
this  man.  "  Behold  an  Israelite  indeed,  in 
whom  is  no  guile."  What  is  "  in  whom  is  no 
guile?"  Perhaps  he  had  no  sin?  Perhaps 
he  was  not  sick  ?  Perhaps  he  did  not  need  a 
physician  ?  God  forbid.  No  one  is  born  here 
in  such  fashion  as  not  to  need  that  Physician. 
What,  then,  is  the  meaning  of  the  words, 
"in  whom  is  no  guile"?  Let  us  search  a 
little  more  intently — it  will  appear  presently 
— in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  The  Lord  says 
dolus  [guile];  and  every  one  who  understands 
Latin  knows  that  dolus  is  when  one  thing 
is  done  and  another  feigned.  Give  heed, 
beloved,  Dolus  (guile)  is  not  dolor  (pain). 
I  say  this  because  many  brethren,  not  well 
skilled  in  Latin,  so  speak  as  to  say,  Dolus  tor 
ments  him,  using  it  for  dolor.  Dolus  is  fraud, 
it  is  deceit.  When  a  man  conceals  one  thing 
in  his  heart,  and  speaks  another,  it  is  guile, 
and  he  has,  as  it  were,  two  hearts;  he  has, 
as  it  were,  one  recess  of  his  heart  where  he 
sees  the  truth,  and  another  recess  where  he 
conceives  falsehood.  And  that  you  may 
know  that  this  is  guile,  it  is  said  in  the  Psalms, 
"  Lips  of  guile."  What  are  "  lips  of  guile"  ? 
It  follows,  "  In  a  heart  and  in  a  heart  have 
they  spoken  evil."  2  What  is  "  in  a  heart  and 
in  a  heart,"  unless  in  a  double  heart?  If, 
then,  guile  was  not  in  Nathanael,  the  Physi 
cian  judged  him  to  be  curable,  not  whole.  A 
whole  man  is  one  thing,  a  curable  another, 
an  incurable  a  third:  he  who  is  sick,  but  not 
hopelessly  sick,  is  called  curable;  he  who  is 
sick  hopelessly,  incurable;  but  he  who  is  al 
ready  whole  does  not  need  a  physician.  The 
Physician,  then,  who  had  come  to  cure,  saw 
that  he  was  curable,  because  there  was  no 
guile  in  him.  How  was  guile  not  in  him,  if 
he  is  a  sinner  ?  He  confesses  that  he  is  a 
sinner.  For  if  he  is  a  sinner,  and  says  that 
he  is  a  just  man,  there  is  guile  in  his  mouth. 
Therefore  in  Nathanael  He  praised  the  con, 
fession  of  sin,  He  did  not  judge  that  he  was 
not  a  sinner. 

19.  Wherefore,  when  the  Pharisees,  who 
seemed  righteous  to  themselves,  blamed  the 
Lord,  because,  as  physician,  he  mixed  with 

a  Ps.  xi.  3. 


TRACTATE  VII.] 


ON  Till.  GOSPE1    <»l    ST,  JOHN, 


tlu-  sick,  .-iiul  when  they  said,  "  Ik-hold  with 
whom  he  eats,  with  publicans  and  sinners," 
the  Physician  replied  to  the  madmen.  "They 
ttiat  are  whole  need  not  a  physician,  bu't 
they  that  are  sick:  I  came  not  to  call  the 
righteous,  but  sinners."  '  That  is  to  say,  be 
cause  you  call  yourselves  righteous  when  you 
are  sinners,  because  you  judge  yourselves  to 


55 


them,  winch  made    it    impossible    for  tiiem  to 
be  healed. 

20.  Jesus  then  saw  this  man  in  whom  was 
no  guile,  and  said,  "  Behold  an  Israelite  in- 
deed,  in  whom  is  no  guile."  Nathanael  saith 
unto  Him,  "Whence  knowest  Thou  me?" 
Jesus  answered  and  said,  "Before  that  Philip 
called  thee,  when  thou  wast  under  the  fig 


be  whole  when  you  are  languishing,  you  put  ((that  is,  under  the  fig-tree),  I  saw  thee.'" 
away  from  you  the  medicine,  and  do  not  hold  |  Nathanael  answered  and  said  unto  Him, 
fast  health.  Hence  that  Pharisee  who  had  j  "  Rabbi,  Thou  art  the  Son  of  God;  Thou  art 
asked  the  Lord  to  dinner,  was  whole  in  his  the  King  of  Israel."  Some  great  thing  Na- 
own  eyes;  but  that  sick  woman  rushed  into  |  thanael  may  have  understood  in  the  saying, 
the  house  to  which  she  had  not  been  invited,  j  "  When  thou  wast  under  the  fig-tree,  I  saw 
and,  made  impudent  by  the  desire  of  health,  |  thee,  before  that  Philip  called  thee;  "'for  his 
approached  not  the  head  of  the  Lord,  nor  the  ;  words,  "  Thou  art  the  Son  of  God,  Thou  art 
hands,  but  the  feet;  washed  them  with  tears,  I  the  King  of  Israel,"  were  not  dissimilar  to 
wiped  them  with  her  hair,  kissed  them,  those  of  Peter  so  long  afterwards,  when  the 
anointed  them  with  ointment, — made  peace, '  Lord  said  unto  him,  "  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon 
sinner  as  she  was,  with  the  footprints  of  the!  Barjona,  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed 
Lord.  The  Pharisee  who  sat  at  meat  there,  I  it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father  which  is  in 
as  though  whole  himself,  blamed  the  Phy si-  j  heaven."  And  there  He  named  the  rock, 
cian,  and  said  within  himself,  "This  man,  if  and  praised  the  strength  of  the  Church's  sup- 
he  were  a  prophet,  would  have  known  what  port  in  this  faith.  Here  already  Nathanael 
woman  touched  his  feet."  He  suspected  that  j  says,  "Thou  art  the  Son  of  God;  Thou  art 
He  knew  not,  because  He  did  not  repulse  j  the  King  of  Israel."  Wherefore?  Because 
her  to  prevent  His  being  touched  with  un-  it  was  said  to  him,  "Before  that  Philip  called 
clean  hands;  but  He  did  know,  He  permitted  |  thee,  when  thou  wast  under  the  fig-tree,  I 
Himself  to  be  touched,  that  the  touch  itself  saw  thee." 


might  heal.     The  Lord,  seeing  the  heart  of 
the  Pharisee,  put  forth  a  parable:    "There 


21.   We  must  inquire  whether  this  fig-tree 
signifies  anything.    Listen,  my  brethren.   We 


was  a  certain  creditor,  which  had  two  debtors;  •  find  the  fig-tree  cursed  because  it  had  leaves 
the  one  owed  five  hundred  denars,  and  the  !  only,  and  not  fruit.3  In  the  beginning  of  the 
other  fifty;  and  when  they  had  nothing  to  !  human  race,  when  Adam  and  Eve  had  sinned, 


pay,  he  frankly  forgave  them  both.     Which 
of  them   loved  him  most?0     He   answered, 


they  made  themselves  girdles  of   fig  leaves.4 
Fig  leaves  then  signify  sins.     Nathanael  then  " 


"I  suppose,  Lord,  he  to  whom  he  forgave  wras  under  the  fig-tree,  as  it  were  under  the 
most."  And  turning  to  the  woman,  He  said  shadow  of  death.  The  Lord  saw  him,  he  con- 
unto  Simon,  "  Seest  thou  this  woman  ?  I  en-  j  cerningwhom  itwas  said, "They  that  sat  under 
tered  into  thine  house,  thou  gavest  me  no  the  shadow  of  death,  unto  them  hath  light 
water  for  my  feet;  but  she  hath  washed  my 
feet  with  tears,  and  wiped  them  with  the 
hairs  of  her  head:  thou  gavest  me  no  kiss; 


she 


not  ceased   to   kiss 


feet:  thou 


gavest  me  no  oil;  she  hath  anointed  my  feet 
with  ointment.  Wherefore,  I  say  unto  thee, 
to  her  are  forgiven  many  sins,  for  she  loved 
much;  but  to  whom  little  is  forgiven,  the 
same  loveth  little."2  That  is  to  say,  thou 
art  more  sick,  but  thou  thinkest  thyself  whole; 


arisen."  5  What  then  was  said  to  Nathanael  ? 
Thou  sayest  to  me,  O  Nathanael,  "  Whence 
knowest  thou  me  ?"  Even  now  thou  speak- 
est  to  me,  because  Philip  called  thee.  He 
whom  an  apostle  had  already  called,  He  per 
ceived  to  belong  to  His  Church.  O  thou 
Church,  O  thou  Israel,  in  whom  is  no  guile! 
if  thou  art  the  people,  Israel,  in  whom  is  no 
guile,  thou  hast  even  now  known  Christ  by 
His  apostles,  as  Nathanael  knew  Christ  by 


thou  thinkest  that  little  is  forgiven  thee  when  j  Philip.  But  His  compassion  beheld  thee 
thou  owest  more.  WTell  did  she,  because  before  thou  kncwest  Him,  when  thou  wert 
guile  was  not  in  her,  deserve  medicine.  Ivjng  under  sin.  For  did  we  first  seek  Christ, 
What  means,  guile  was  not  in  her?  She  con  -and  not  He  seek  us?  Did  we  come  sick  to 
fessed  her  sins.  This  He  also  praises  in  Na-  the  Physician,  and  not  the  Physician  to  the 
thanael,  that  guile  was  not  in  him;  for  many  sick?  Was  not  that  sheep  lost,  and  did  not 
Pharisees  who  abounded  in  sins  said  that  the  shepherd,  leaving  the  ninety  and  nine  in 
they  were  righteous,  and  brought  guile  with  the  wilderness,  seek  and  find  it,  and  joyfully 


Matt.  xi.  11-13. 


l.uke  vii.  36-47- 


Cm.  iii.  7. 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATK  VII. 


carry  it  back  on  his  shoulders  ?  Was  not  that 
piece  of  money  lost,  and  the  woman  lighted 
the  lamp,  and  searched  in  the  whole  house 
until  she  found  it?  And  when  she  had  found 
it, "  Rejoice  with  me,"  she  said  to  her  neigh 
bors,  "  for  I  have  found  the  piece  of  money 
which  I  lost.'"  In  like  manner  were  we  lost 
as  the  sheep,  lost  as  the  piece  of  money;  and 
our  Shepherd  found  the  sheep,  but  sought  the 
sheep;  the  woman  found  the  piece  of  money, 
but  sought  the  piece  of  money.  What  is  the 
woman  ?  The  flesh  of  Christ.  What  is  the 
lamp?  "I  have  prepared  a  lamp  for  my 
Christ.''2  Therefore  were  we  sought  that  we 
might  be  found;  having  been  found,  we 
speak.  Let  us  not  be  proud,  for  before 
we  were  found  we  were  lost,  if  we  had  not 
been  sought.  Let  them  then  not  say  to  us 
whom  we  love,  and  whom  we  desire  to  gain 
to  the  peace  of  the  Catholic  Church,  "  What 
do  you  wish  with  us?  Why  seek  you  us  if 
we  are  sinners  ?  "  We  seek  you  for  this  reason 
that  you  perish  not:  we  seek  you  because  we 
were  sought;  we  wish  to  find  you  because  we 
have  been  found. 

22.  When,    then,    Nathanael    had     said, 
"  Whence  knowest  Thou  me  ? "  the  Lord  said 
to  him,  "Before  that  Philip  called  thee,  when 
thou  wast  under  the  fig-tree,  I  saw  thee."     O 
thou  Israel  without  guile,  whosoever  thou  art; 

0  people  living  by  faith,  before  I  called  thee 
by  my  apostles,  when  thou  wast  under  the 
shadow  of  death,  and  thou  sawest  not  me, 

1  saw  thee.    The  Lord  then  says  to  him,  "  Be 
cause  I  said  unto  thee,  I  saw  thee  under  the 
fig-tree,    thou    believest:    thou    shall    see   a 
greater  thing  than  these.'1     What  is  this,  thou 
shalt  see  a  greater  thing  than  these  ?    And  He 
saith  unto  him,  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you,  ye  shall  see  heaven  open,  and  angels  as 
cending   and    descending    upon   the   Son   of 
man."     Brethren,  this  is  something  greater 
than  "  under  the  fig-tree  I  saw  thee. "     For 
it  is  more  that  the  Lord    justified  us  when 
called  than  that  He  saw  us  lying  under  the 
shadow  of  death.     For  what  profit  would  it 
have  been  to  us  if  we  had  remained  where  He 
saw   us?     Should    we   not   be    lying    there? 
What  is  this  greater  thing?     When  have  we 
seen  angels  ascending  and  descending  upon 
the  Son  of  man  ? 

23.  Already  on  a  former  occasion  I  have 
spoken  of   these    ascending   and   descending 
angels;  but  lest  you  should  have  forgotten,  I 
shall  speak  of  the  latter  briefly  by  \vay  of  re 
calling  it  to  your  recollection.      I  should  use 
more  words  if  I  were  introducing,  not  recall 
ing  the   subject.     Jacob   saw  a  ladder  in   a 


dream;  and  on  a  ladder  he  saw  angels  ascend 
ing  and  descending:  and  he  anointed  the 
stone  which  he  had  placed  at  his  head.3  You 
have  heard  that  the  Messias  is  Christ;  you 
have  heard  that  Christ  is  the  Anointed. 
For  Jacob  did  not  place  the  stone,  the 
anointed  stone,  that  he  might  come  and 
adore  it:  otherwise  that  would  have  been 
idolatry,  not  a  pointing  out  of  Christ.  What 
was  done  was  a  pointing  out  of  Christ,  so  far 
as  it  behoved  such  a  pointing  out  to  be  made, 
and  it  was  Christ  that  was  pointed  out.  A 
stone  was  anointed,  but  not  for  an  idol.  A 
stone  anointed;  why  a  stone?  "Behold,  I 
lay  in  Zion  a  stone,  elect,  precious:  and  he 
that  believethon  Him  shall  not  be  confound 
ed."4  Why  anointed?  Because  Christus 
comes  from  chrisma.  But  what  saw  he  then 
on  the  ladder?  Ascending  and  descending 
angels.  So  it  is  the  Church,  brethren:  the 
angels  of  God  are  good  preachers,  preaching 
Christ;  this  is  the  meaning  of,  "  they  ascend 
and  descend  upon  the  Son  of  man."  How 
do  they  ascend,  and  how  do  they  descend  ? 
In  one  case  we  have  an  example;  listen  to 
the  Apostle  Paul.  What  we  find  in  him,  let 
us  believe  regarding  the  other  preachers  of 
the  truth.  Behold  Paul  ascending:  "  I  know 
a  man  in  Christ  fourteen  years  ago  was  caught 
up  into  the  third  heaven  (whether  in  the  body, 
or  whether  out  of  the  body,  I  cannot  tell:  God 
knoweth),  and  that  he  heard  unspeakable 
words,  which  it  is  not  lawful  for  a  man  to 
utter."5  You  have  heard  him  ascending, 
hear  him  descending:  "  I  could  not  speak 
unto  you  as  unto  spiritual,  but  as  unto  car 
nal;  as  babes  in  Christ  I  have  fed  you  with 
milk,  not  with  meat."6  Behold  he  de 
scended  who  had  ascended.  Ask  whether  he 
ascended  to  the  third  heaven.  Ask  whether  he 
descended  to  give  milk  to  babes.  Hear  that 
he  descended:  "I  became  a  babe  in  the 
midst  of  you,  even  as  a  nurse  cherisheth  her 
children.''7  For  we  see  both  nurses  and 
mothers  descend  to  babes,  and  although  they 
be  able  to  speak  Latin,  they  shorten  the 
words,  shake  their  tongues  in  a  certain  man 
ner,  in  order  to  frame  childish  endearments 
from  a  methodical  language;  because  if  they 
speak  according  to  rule,  the  infant  does  not 
understand  nor  profit.  And  if  there  be  a 
father  well  skilled  in  speaking,  and  such  an 
orator  that  the  forum  resounds  with  his  elo 
quence,  and  the  judgment-seats  shake,  if  he 
have  a  little  son,  on  his  return  home  he  puts 
aside  the  forensic  eloquence  to  which  lie  had 
ascended,  and  in  child's  language  descends 
to  his  little  one.  Hear  in  one  place  the 


1  Luke  xv.  4-10. 


Ps.  cxxxii.  17. 


3  Gen.  xxviii.  12-18. 
5  2  Cor.  xii.  2-4. 


4  Isa.  xxviii.  16;  i  Pet.  ii.  6. 

Cor.  lii.  i,  2.  7  t   1  . 


:  Ml     VIII. | 


ON  Tin-;  (,<  »!•].]    (.i    sr.  JOHN. 


apostle  himself  a.M-ending  and  desi ending  in 
me  scute-nee:  "  For  whether."  says  he, 
"  'we  In-  lu-sidc  ourselves,  it  is  to  (iod;  or 
whether  \ve  be  Sober,  it  is  for  your  cause. "' 
What  is  "we  are  In-side  ourselves"?  That 
we  see  those  things  which  it  is  not  lawful  for 
a  man  to  speak.  What  is  "we  are  sober  for 
your  cause?  Have  I  judged  myself  to  tenon 
anything  among  you,  save  Jesus  Christ  and 
Him  crucified?"  If  the  Lord  Himself  as- 
CL-nded  and  descended,  it  is  evident  that  His 
preachers  ascend  by  imitation,  descend  by 
preaching. 


24.    And  if  we  have  detained  you  so;- 
lon-rr  than    is   our  wont,  tin 
t:ie  dangerous   hours  might  ;  naginc 

that  those  people  have  no\v  l.ro-i^  it  their 
vanity  to  a  close.  Hut  let  us,  brethren,  hav 
ing  fed  upon  the  feasts  of  salvation,  do  what 
remains,  that  we  may  in  a  religious  manner 
fill  up  the  Lord's  day  with  spiritual  joys,  and 
!  compare  the  joys  of  verity  with  the  joys  of 
vanity;1  and  if  we  are  horrified,  let  us  grieve; 
if  we  grieve,  let  us  pray;  if  we  pray,  may 
we  be  heard;  if  we  are  heard,  we  gain  them 
also. 

*  [The  heathen  spectacles.] 


TRACTATE  VIII. 

CHAPTKR  II.     1-4. 


i.  THK  miracle  indeed  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  whereby  He  made  the  water  into  wine, 
is  not  marvellous  to  those  who  know  that  it  was 
God's  doing.  For  He  who  made  wine  on 
that  day  at  the  marriage  feast,  in  tnose  six 


the  same  God,  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  doeth  by  His  word  all  these  things; 
and  it  is  He  who  created  that  governs  also. 
The  former  miracles  He  did  by  His  Word, 
God  with  Himself;  the  latter  miracles  He  did 


water-pots,  which  He  commanded  to  be  filled  |  by  the  same  Word  incarnate,  and  for  us 
with  water,  the  self-same  does  this  every  year  made  man.  As  we  wonder  at  the  things 
in  vines.  For  even  as  that  which  the  ser-  which  were  done  by  the  man  Jesus,  so  let  us 
vants  put  into  the  water-pots  was  turned  into  wonder  at  the  things  which  where  done  by 
wine  by  the  doing  of  the  Lord,  so.  in  like  Jesus  God.  By  Jesus  God  were  made  heaven, 
manner  also  is  what  the  clouds  pour  forth  I  and  earth,  and  the  sea,  all  the  garniture  of 
changed  into  wine  by  the  doing  of  the  same  j  heaven,  the  abounding  riches  of  the  earth, 
Lord.  But  we  do  not  wonder  at  the  latter,  and  the  fruitfulness  of  the  sea; — all  these 
because  it  happens  every  year:  it  has  lost  its  things  which  lie  within  the  reach  of  our  eyes 


marvellousness  by  its  constant  recurrence. 
And  yet  it  suggests  a  greater  consideration 
than  that  which  was  done  in  the  water-pots. 
For  who  is  there  that  considers  the  works  of 
God,  whereby  this  whole  world  is  governed 
and  regulated,  who  is  not  amazed  and  over 
whelmed  with  miracles  ?  If  he  considers  the 
vigorous  power  of  a  single  grain  of  any  seed 
whatever,  it  is  a  mighty  thing,  it  inspires  him 
with  awe.  But  since  men,  intent  on  a  differ 
ent  matter,  have  lost  the  consideration  of  the 
works  of  God,  by  which  they  should  daily 
praise  Him  as  the  Creator,  God  has,  as  it 
were,  reserved  to  Himself  the  doing  of  cer 
tain  extraordinary  actions,  that,  by  striking 
them  with  wonder,  He  might  rouse  men  as 
from  sle^p  to  worship  Him.  A  dead  man 
has  risen  again;  men  marvel: 
born  daily,  and  none  marvels, 
more  considerately,  it  is  a  matter  of  greater 
wonder  for  one  to  be  who  was  not  before,  than 


were  made  by  Jesus  God.  And  we  look  at 
these  things,  and  if  His  own  spirit  is  in  us 
they  in  such  manner  please  us,  that  we  praise 
Him  that  contrived  them;  not  in  such  man 
ner  that  turning  ourselves  to  the  works  we 
turn  away  from  the  Maker,  and,  in  a  manner, 
turning  our  face  to  the  things  made  and  our 
backs  to  Him  that  made  them. 

2.  And  these  things  indeed  we  see;  they 
lie  before  our  eyes.  But  what  of  those  we  do 
not  see,  as  angels,  virtues,  powers,  domin 
ions, and  every  inhabitant  of  this  fabric  which 
is  above  the  heavens,  and  beyond  the 
of  our  eyes  ?  Yet  angels,  too,  when  neces 
sary,  often  showed  themselves  to  men.  Has 
not  God  made  all  these  too  by  His  Word, 
that  is,  by  His  only  Son,  our  Lord 


so   many  are   Christ?     What  of  the  human  soul  itself,  winch 
If  we  reflect    is  not   seen,  and   yet   by   its   works   shown   in 
the  flesh  excites   great    admiration    in  those 
that  duly  reflect  on  them,— by  whom   • 


for  one  who  was  to  come  to  life  again.     Yet  .made,  unless  byGod?     And  through  whom 


Till;  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATK  Mil. 


was  it  made,  unless  through  the  Son  of  God  ? 
Not  to  speak  as  yet  of  the  soul  of  man:  the 
soul  of  any  brute  whatever,  see  how  it  regu 
lates  the  huge  body,  puts  forth  the  senses, 
the  eyes  to  see,  the  ears  to  hear,  the  nostrils 
to  smell,  the  taste  to  discern  flavors, — the 
members,  in  short,  to  execute  their  respective 
functions  !  Is  it  the  body,  not  the  soul, 
namely  the  inhabitant  of  the  body,  that  doeth 
these  things  ?  The  soul  is  not  apparent  to 
the  eyes,  nevertheless  it  excites  admiration 
by  these  its  actions.  Direct  now  thy  consid 
eration  to  the  soul  of  man,  on  which  God  has 
bestowed  understanding  to  know  its  Creator, 
to  discern  and  distinguish  between  good  and 
evil,  that  is,  between  right  and  wrong:  see 
how  many  things  it  does  through  the  body  ! 
Observe  this  whole  world  arranged  in  the  same 
human  commonwealth,  with  what  adminis 
trations,  with  what  orderly  degrees  of  author 
ity,  with  what  conditions  of  citizenship,  with 
what  laws,  manners,  arts  !  The  whole  of  this 
is  brought  about  by  the  soul,  and  yet  this 
power  of  the  soul  is  not  visible.  When  with 
drawn  from  the  body,  the  latter  is  a  mere 
carcase:  first,  it  in  a  manner  preserves  it 
from  rottenness.  For  all  flesh  is  corruptible, 
and  falls  off  into  putridity  unless  preserved  by 
the  soul  as  by  a  kind  of  seasoning.  But  the 
human  soul  has  this  quality  in  common  with 
the  soul  of  the  brute;  those  qualities  rather 
are  to  be  admired  which  I  have  stated,  such 
as  belong  to  the  mind  and  intellect,  wherein 
also  it  is  renewed  after  the  image  of  its 
Creator,  after  whose  image  man  was  formed.1 
What  will  this  power  of  the  soul  be  when  this 
body  shall  have  put  on  incorruption,  and  this 
mortal  shall  have  put  on  immortality  ?2  If 
such  is  its  power,  acting  through  corruptible 
flesh,  what  shall  be  its  power  through  a 
spiritual  body,  after  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead  ?  Yet  this  soul,  as  I  have  said,  of  ad 
mirable  nature  and  substance,  is  a  thing  in 
visible,  intellectual;  this  soul  also  was  made 
by  God  Jesus,  for  He  is  the  Word  of  God. 
<4  All  things  were  made  by  Him,  and  without 
Him  was  nothing  made." 

3.  When  we  see,  therefore,  such  deeds 
wrought  by  Jesus  God,  why  should  we  wonder 
at  water  being  turned  into  wine  by  the  man 
Jesus  ?  For  He  was  not  made  man  in  such 
manner  that  He  lost  His  being  God.  Man 
was  added  to  Him,  God  not  lost  to  Him. 
This  miracle  was  wrought  by  the  same  who 
made  all  those  things  Let  us  not  therefore 
wonder  that  God  did  it,  but  love  Him  because 
He  did  it  in  our  midst,  and  for  the  purpose 
of  our  restoration.  For  He  gives  us  certain 

'  Col.  iii.  10.  2  i  Cor.  xv.  54. 


intimations  by  the  very  circumstances  of  the 
case.  I  suppose  that  it  was  not  without  cause 
He  came  to  the  marriage.  The  miracle  apart, 
there  lies  something  mysterious  and  sacra 
mental  in  the  very  fact.  Let  us  knock,  that 
He  may  open  to  us,  and  fill  us  with  the  in 
visible  wine:  for  we  were  water,  and  He  made 
us  wine,  made  us  wise;  for  He  gave  us  the 
wisdom  of  His  faith,  whilst  before  we  were 
foolish.  And  it  appertains,  it  may  be,  to  this 
wisdom,  together  with  the  honor  of  God,  and 
with  the  praise  of  His  majesty,  and  with  the 
charity  of  His  most  powerful  mercy,  to  under 
stand  what  was  done  in  this  miracle. 

4.  The  Lord,  on  being  invited,  came  to  the 
marriage.     What  wonder  if  He  came  to  that 
house   to  a  marriage,  having  come  into  this 
world    to   a   marriage?     For,   indeed,  if   He 
came  not  to  a  marriage,  He  has  not  here  a 
bride.     But  what  says  the  apostle  ?     "I  have 
espoused  you  to  one  husband,  to  present  you 
a  chaste  virgin  to  Christ."     Why  does  he  fear 
lest  the  virginity  of  Christ's  bride  should  be 
corrupted  by  the  subtilty  of  the  devil?     "I 
fear,"  saith  he,  "  lest  as  the  serpent  beguiled 
Eve  by  his  subtilty,  so  also  your  minds  should 
be  corrupted  from  the  simplicity  and  chastity 
which   is  in  Christ."3     Thus  has  He   here  a 
bride  whom  He  has  redeemed  by  His  blood, 
and  to  whom  He  has  given  the  Holy  Spirit  as 
a  pledge.     He  has  freed  her  from  the  bond 
age  of  the  devil:  He  died  for  her  sins,  and  is 
risen  again   for  her  justification.4      Who  will 
make  such  offerings  to  his  bride  ?     Men  may 
offer  to  a  bride  every  sort  of  earthly  ornament, 
— gold,  silver,  precious  stones,  houses,  slaves, 
estates,  farms,— but   will   any  give   his   own 
blood  ?     For  if  one  should  give  his  own  blood 
to  his  bride,  he  would  not  live  to  take  her  for 
his  wife.     But  the  Lord,  dying  without  fear, 
gave  His   own   blood    for   her,  whom    rising 
again  He  was  to  have,  whom  He  had  already 
united  to  Himself  in  the  Virgin's  womb.      For 
the  Word  was   the  Bridegroom,  and  human 
flesh  the  bride;  and  both  one,  the  Son  of  God, 
the  same  also  being  Son  of  man.     The  womb 
of  the  Virgin  Mary,  in  which  He  became  head 
of  the    Church,    was    His    bridal    chamber: 
thence  He  came  forth,  as  a  bridegroom  from 
his  chamber,  as  the  Scripture  foretold,  "  And 
rejoiced  as  a  giant  to  run  his  way."   From  His 
chamber  He  came  forth  as  a  bridegroom;  and 
being  invited,  came  to  the  marriage. 

5.  It  is  because  of  an  indubitable  mystery 
that    He   appears   not   to   acknowledge    His 
mother,  from  whom  as  the    Bridegroom    He 
came  forth,  when  He  says  to  her,  "  Woman, 
what  have  I  to  do  with  thee?  mine   hour   is 

r   xi.  3.  4  Rom.  iv.  25.  i  Ps.  xix.  5. 


T*ACTAT1     Mil) 


ON   THE  GOSPEL  OI   >  r.   JOHN 


not  yet  conn.-."  \\'h:it  is  tliis?  Did  He- 
come  to  the  marriage  for  the  purpose  of  teach 
ing  men  to  treat  their  mothers  with  contempt  ? 
Surely  he  to  whose  marriage  He  had  come 
was  taking  a  wife  with  the  view  of  having 
children,  and  surely  he  wished  to  be  honored 
by  those  children  he  would  beget:  had  Jesus 
then  come  to  the  marriage  in  order  to  dis 
honor  His  mother,  when  marriages  are  cele 
brated  and  wives  married  with  the  view  of 
having  children,  whom  God  commands  to 
honor  their  parents  ?  Beyond  all  doubt, 
brethren,  there  is  some  mystery  lurking  here. 
It  is  really  a  matter  of  such  importance  that 
some, — of  whom  the  apostle,  as  we  have 
mentioned  before,  has  forewarned  us  to  be  on 
our  guard,  saying,  "I  fear,  lest,  as  the  ser 
pent  beguiled  Eve  by  his  subtilty,  so  also 
your  minds  should  be  corrupted  from  the  sim 
plicity  and  chastity  which  is  in  Christ,  "- 
taking  away  from  the  credibility  of  the  gospel, 
and  asserting  that  Jesus  was  not  born  of  the 
Virgin  Mary,  used  to  endeavor  to  draw  from 
this  place  an  argument  in  support  of  their 
error,  so  far  as  to  say,  How  could  she  be  His 
mother,  to  whom  He  said,  "  Woman,  what 
have  I  to  do  with  thee  ?  "  Wherefore  we  must 
answer  them,  and  show  them  why  the  Lord 
said  this,  lest  in  their  insanity  they  appear  to 
themselves  to  have  discovered  something  con 
trary  to  wholesome  belief,  whereby  the  chastity 
of  the  virgin  bride  may  be  corrupted,  that  is, 
whereby  the  faith  of  the  Church  may  be  in 
jured.  For  in  very  deed,  brethren,  their  faith 
is  corrupted  who  prefer  a  lie  to  the  truth. 
For  these  men,  who  appear  to  honor  Christ 
in  such  wise  as  to  deny  that  He  had  flesh,  do 
nothing  short  of  proclaiming  Him  a  liar. 
Now  they  who  build  up  a  lie  in  men,  what  do 
they  but  drive  the  truth  out  of  them  ?  They 
let  in  the  devil,  they  drive  Christ  out;  they 
let  in  an  adulterer,  shut  out  the  bridegroom, 
being  evidently  paranymphs,  or  rather,  the 
panderers  of  the  serpent.  For  it  is  for  this 
object  they  speak,  that  the  serpent  may 
possess,  and  Christ  be  shut  out.  How  doth 
the  serpent  possess  ?  When  a  lie  possesses. 
When  falsehood  possesses,  then  the  serpent 
possesses;  when  truth  possesses,  then  Christ 
possesses.  For  Himself  has  said,  "  I  am  the 
truth;"  '  but  of  that  other  He  said,  "  He  stood 
not  in  the  truth,  because  the  truth  is  not 
him."  3  And  Christ  is  the  truth  in  such  wise 
that  thou  shouldst  receive  the  whole  to  be  true 
in  Him.  The  true  Word,  God  equal  with  the 
Father,  true  soul,  true  flesh,  true  man,  true 
God,  true  nativity,  true  passion,  true  death, 
true  resurrection.  If  thou  say  that  any  of 


John  xiv.  6. 


*Johr 


these  is  false,  rottenness  enters,  t    • 
falsehood   are  bred   of  the   poison   oft..' 
pent,  and  nothing  sound  will  remain. 

6.  What,  then,  is  this,  saitli  one,  which  the 
Lord  saith,  "  Woman,  what  have  I  to  do  with 
thee?"  Perhaps  the  Lord  shows  us  in  the 
sequel  why  He  said  this:  "  Mine  hour,"  saith 
He,  "  is  not  yet  come."  For  thus  is  how  He 
saith,  "  Woman,  what  have  I  to  do  with  thee  ? 
mine  hour  is  not  yet  come."  And  we  must 

|  seek  to  know  why  this  was  said.  But  first  let 
us  therefrom  withstand  the  heretics.  What 
says  the  old  serpent,  of  old  the  hissing  in- 
stiller  of  poison  ?  What  saith  he  ?  That  Jesus 
had  not  a  woman  for  His  mother.  Whence 
provest  thou  that  ?  From  this,  saith  he, 
because  Jesus  said,  "  Woman,  what  have  I  to 
do  with  thee  ? "  Who  has  related  this,  that 
we  should  believe  that.  Jesus  said  it  ?  Who 
has  related  it  ?  None  other  than  John  the 
evangelist.  But  the  same  John  the  evangelist 
said,  "And  the  mother  of  Jesus  was  there." 

I  For  this  is  how  he  has  told  us:  "The  next 
day  there  was  a  marriage  in  Cana  of  Galilee, 

I  and  the  mother  of  Jesus  was  there.     And  hav- 

|  ing  been  invited  to  the  marriage,  Jesus  had 
come  thither  with  His  disciples."  We  have 
here  two  sayings  uttered  by  the  evangelist. 
"The  mother  of  Jesus  was  there,"  said  the 

|  evangelist;  and  it  is  the  same  evangelist  that 
has  told  us  what  Jesus  said  to  His  mother. 
And  see,  brethren,  how  he  has  told  us  that 
Jesus  answered  His  mother,  having  said  first, 
"His  mother  said  unto  Him,"  in  order  that 
you  may  keep  the  virginity  of  your  heart 
secure  against  the  tongue  of  the  serpent. 
Here  we  are  told  in  the  same  Gospel,  the 
record  of  the  same  evangelist,  "  The  mother 
of  Jesus  was  there,"  and  "His  mother  said 
unto  Him/'  Who  related  this?  John  the 
evangelist.  And  what  said  Jesus  in  answer 
to  His  mother?  "Woman,  what  have  I  to 
do  with  thee  ?  Who  relates  this  ?  The  very 
same  Evangelist  John.  O  most  faithful  and 
truth-speaking  evangelist,  thou  tellest  me  that 
Jesus  said,  "  Woman,  what  have  I  to  do  with 
thee?"  why  hast  thou  added  His  mother, 
whom  He  does  not  acknowledge  ?  For  thou 
hast  said  that  "the  mother  of  Jesus  was 
there,"  and  that  "  His  mother  said  unto 
Him;"  why  didst  thou  not  rather  say,  Mary 
was  there,  and  Mary  said  unto  Him.  Thou 
tellest  us  these  two  facts,  "  His  mother 
unto  Him,"  and,  "  Jesus  answered  her, 
Woman,  why  have  I  to  do  witli  thee  ?  " 
doest  thou  this,  if  it  be  not  because  both  are 
true?  Now,  those  men  are  willing  to  ! 

in^eiist  in  the  one  case,  when  he  tells 
us  that  lesus  said  to  His  mother,  "Woman, 
what  have  I  to  do  with  thee?"  and  ye- 


6o 


THK  WORKS  OK  ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


[TEACl  ML    \ UK 


will  not  believe  him  in  the  other,  when  he 
says.  "  The  mother  of  Jesus  was  there,"  am 
"  His  mother  said  unto  Him."  But  who  i: 
he  that  resisteth  the  serpent  and  holds  fas 
the  truth,  whose  virginity  of  heart  is  not  cor 
rupted  by  the  subtilty  of  the  devil  ?  He  who 
believes  both  to  be  true,  namely,  that  the 
mother  of  Jesus  was  there,  and  that  Jesus 
made  that  answer  to  His  mother.  But  if  he 
does  not  as  yet  understand  in  what  manner 
Jesus  said,  "  Woman,  what  have  I  to  do  witl 
thee?"  let  him  meanwhile  believe  that  He 
said  it,  and  said  it,  moreover,  to  His  mother. 
Let  him  first  have  the  piety  to  believe,  anc 
he  will  then  have  fruit  in  understanding. 

7.  I  ask  you,  O  faithful  Christians,  Was 
the  mother  of  Jesus  there  ?  Answer  ye,  She 
was.  Whence  know  you?  Answer,  "The 
Gospel  says  it.  What  answer  made  Jesus  to 
His  mother?  Answer  ye,  "  Woman,  what 
have  I  to  do  with  thee  ?  mine  hour  is  not 
yet  come."  And  whence  know  you  this? 
Answer,  The  Gospel  says  it.  Let  no  man 
corrupt  this  your  faith,  if  you  desire  to  pre 
serve  a  chaste  virginity  for  the  Bridegroom. 
But  if  it  be  asked  of  you,  why  He  made  this 
answer  to  His  mother,  let  him  declare  who 
understands;  but  he  who  does  not  as  yet  un 
derstand,  let  him  most  firmly  believe  that 
Jesus  made  this  answer,  and  made  it  moreover 
to  His  mother.  By  this  piety  he  will  learn  to 
understand  also  why  Jesus  answered  thus,  if 
by  praying  he  knock  at  the  door  of  truth,  and 
do  not  approach  it  with  wrangling.  Only 
this  much,  while  he  fancies  himself  to  know, 
or  is  ashamed  because  he  does  not  know,  why 
Jesus  answered  thus,  let  him  beware  lest  he 
be  constrained  to  believe  either  that  the 
evangelist  lied  when  he  said,  "  The  mother  of 
Jesus  was  there,"  or  that  Jesus  Himself 
suffered  for  our  sins  by  a  counterfeit  death, 
and  for  our  justification  showed  counterfeit 
scars;  and  that  He  spoke  falsely  in  saying, 
"  If  ye  continue  in  my  word,  ye  are  my  dis 
ciples  indeed;  and  ye  shall  know  the  truth, 
and  the  truth  shall  make  you  free."  l  For  if 
He  had  a  false  mother,  false  flesh,  false  death, 
false  wounds  in  His  death,  false  scars  in  His 
resurrection,  then  it  will  not  be  the  truth,  but 
rather  falsehood,  that  shall  make  free  those 
that  believe  on  Him.  Nay,  on  the  contrary, 
let  falsehood  yield  to  truth,  and  let  all  be 
confounded  who  would  have  themselves  be 
accounted  truthspeaking,  because  they  en 
deavor  to  prove  Christ  a  deceiver,  and  will 
not  have  it  said  to  them,  We  do  not  believe  you 
because  you  lie,  when  they  affirm  that  truth 
itself  has  lied.  Nevertheless,  if  we  ask  them, 


John 


Whence  know  you  that  Christ  said,  "  Woman, 
what  have  I  to  do  with  thee?''  they  answer 
that  they  believe  the  Gospel.  Then  why  do 
they  not  believe  the  Gospel  when  it  says, 
"  The  mother  of  Jesus  was  there,"  and,  "  His 
mother  said  unto  Him  "  ?  Or  if  the  Gospel  lies 
here,  how  are  we  to  believe  it  there,  that 
Jesus  said  this,  "  Woman,  what  have  I  to  do 
with  thee?"  Why  do  not  those  miserable 
men  rattier  faithfully  believe  that  the  Lord  did 
so  answer,  not  to  a  stranger,  but  to  His  mother; 
and  also  piously  seek  to  know  why  He  did  so 
answer?  There  is  a  great  difference  between 
him  who  says,  I  would  know  why  Christ  made 
this  answer  to  His  mother,  and  him  who  says, 
I  know  that  it  was  not  to  His  mother  that 
Christ  made  this  answer.  It  is  one  thing  to 
be  willing  to  understand  what  is  shut  up, 
another  thing  to  be  unwilling  to  believe  what 
is  open.  He  who  says,  I  would  know  why 
Christ  thus  made  answer  to  His  mother, 
wishes  the  Gospel,  in  which  he  believes, 
opened  up  to  him;  but  he  who  says,  I  know 
that  it  was  not  to  His  mother  that  Christ  made 
this  answer,  accuses  of  falsehood  the  very 
Gospel,  wherein  he  believed  that  Christ  did 
so  answer. 

8.  Now  then,  if  it  seem  good,  brethren, 
those  men  being  repulsed,  and  ever  wander 
ing  in  their  own  blindness,  unless  in  humility 
they  be  healed,  let  us  inquire  why  our  Lord 
answered  His  mother  in  such  a  manner.  He 
was  in  an  extraordinary  manner  begotten  of 
the  Father  without  a  mother,  born  of  a  mother 
without  a  father;  without  a  mother  He  was 
God,  without  a  father  He  was  man;  without 
a  mother  before  all  time,  without  a  father  in 
the  end  of  times.  What  He  said  was  said  in 
answer  to  His  mother,  for  "  the  mother  of 
Jesus  was  there,"  and  "  His  mother  said  unto 
Him."  All  this  the  Gospel  says.  It  is  there 
\ve  learn  that  "  the  mother  of  Jesus  was 
there,"  just  where  we  learn  that  He  said  unto 
her,  "  Woman,  what  have  I  to  do  with  thee  ? 
mine  hour  is  not  yet  come."  Let  us  believe 
the  whole;  and  what  we  do  not  yet  under 
stand,  let  us  search  out.  And  first  take  care, 
est  perhaps,  as  the  Manicha;ans  found  occas- 
on  for  their  falsehood,  because  the  Lord  said, 
'  Woman,  what  have  I  to  do  with  thee  ?  "  the 
astrologers  in  like  manner  may  find  occasion 
:or  their  deception,  in  that  He  said,  "  Mine 
lour  is  not  yet  come."  If  it  was  in  the  sense 
of  the  astrologers  He  said  this,  we  have 
committed  a  sacrilege  in  burning  their  books. 
But  if  we  have  acted  rightly,  as  was  done  in 
he  times  of  the  apostles, 2  it  was  not  accord- 
ng  to  their  notion  that  the  Lord  said,  "  Mine 


TK\«  i  \n    \  1 1 1. 1 


ON  Till-.  G(  ISPI  !.  <  '!    ST,   JOHN. 


61 


hour  is  not  yet  come."  K<>r,  say  tin»r  v.iin- 
talkers  and  deceived  -M-diu-ers,  tiioi;  seest  that 
C'lirist  was  under  fate.  M  11<-  lays,  "Mine- 
hour  is  not  yet  come."  To  whom  then  must 
we  make  answer  first — to  the  heretics  or  to 
the  astrologers?  For  both  come  of  the  ser 
pent,  and  desire  to  corrupt  the  Church's  vir 
ginity  of  heart,  which  she  holds  in  undefiled 
faith.  Let  us  first  reply  to  those  whom  we 
proposed,  to  whom,  indeed,  we  have  already 
replied  in  great  measure.  But  lest  they 
should  think  that  we  have  not  what  to  say  of 
the  words  which  the  Lord  uttered  in  answer 
to  His  mother,  we  prepare  you  further  against 
them;  for  I  suppose  what  has  already  been 
said  is  sufficient  for  their  refutation. 

9.  Why,  then,  said  the  Son  to  the  mother, 
'*  Woman,  what  have  1  to  do  with  thee  ?  mine 
hour  is  not  yet  come?"  Our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  was  both  God  and  man.  According  as 
He  was  God,  He  had  not  a  mother;  accord 
ing  as  He  was  man,  He  had.  She  was  the 
mother,  then,  of  His  flesh,  of  His  humanity, 
of  the  weakness  which  for  our  sakes  He  took 
"upon  Him.  But  the  miracle  which  He  was 
about  to  do,  He  was  about  to  do  according  to 
His  divine  nature,  not  according  to  His  weak 
ness;  according  to  that  wherein  He  wasGcd, 
not  according  to  that  wherein  He  was  born 
weak.  But  the  weakness  of  God  is  stronger 
than  men.1  His  mother  then  demanded  a 
miracle  of  Him;  but  He,  about  to  perform 
divine  works,  so  far  did  not  recognize  a  human 
womb;  saying  in  effect,  "  That  in  me  which 
works  a  miracle  was  not  born  of  thee,  thou 
gavest  not  birth  to  my  divine  nature;  but  be 
cause  my  weakness  was  born  of  thee,  I  will 
recognize  thee  at  the  time  when  that  same 
weakness  shall  hang  upon  the  cross."  This, 
indeed,  is  the  meaning  of  "  Mine  hour  is  not 
yet  come."  For  then  it  was  that  He  recog 
nized,  who,  in  truth,  always  did  know.  He 
knew  His  mother  in  predestination,  even  be 
fore  He  was  born  of  her;  even  before,  as 
God,  He  created  her  of  whom,  as  man,  He 
was  to  be  created,  He  knew  her  as  His 
mother:  but  at  a  certain  hour  in  a  mystery 
He  did  not  recognize  her;  and  at  a  certain 
hour  which  had  not  yet  come,  again  in  a 
mystery,  He  does  recognize  her.  For  then 
did  He  recognize  her,  when  that  to  which  she 
gave  birth  was  a-dying.  That  by  which  Mary 
was  made  did  not  die,  but  that  which  was 
made  of  Mary;  not  the  eternity  of  the  divine 
nature,  but  the  weakness  of  the  flesii,  was 
dying.  He  made  that  answer  therefore, 
making  a  distinction  in  the  faith  of  believers, 
between  the  i>. <ho,  and  the  how,  He  came. 


For  while  He  was  God  and  t 
and  eartu.  He  came  by  a  mother  who 
woman.  In  that  lie  was  Lord  of  the  world, 
Lord  of  heaven  and  eartii,  He  w.i 
the  Lord  of  Mary  also;  but  in  that  wherein  it 
|  is  said,  "  Made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the 
I  law,"  He  was  Mary's  son.  The  same  bota 
ithe  Lord  of  Mary  and  the  son  of  Mary;  the 
j  same  both  the  Creator  of  Mary  and  < 
I  from  Mary.  Marvel  not  that  He  was  both 
;  son  and  Lord.  For  just  as  He  is  called  the 
j  son  of  Mary,  so  likewise  is  He  called  the  son 
of  David;  and  son  of  David  because  son  of 
Mary.  Hear  the  apostle  openly  declaring, 
44  Wno  was  made  of  the  seed  of  David  accord 
ing  to  the  flesh."  *  Hear  Him  also  declared 
the  Lord  of  David;  let  David  himself  declare 
this:  "  The  Lord  said  to  my  Lord,  Sit  Thou 
on  my  right  hand."  3  And  this  passage  Jesus 
Himself  brought  forward  to  the  Jews,  and 
refuted  them  from  it.4  How  then  was  He 
both  David's  son  and  David's  Lord  ?  David's 
son  according  to  the  flesh,  David's  Lord 
according  to  His  divinity;  so  also  Mary's  son 
after  the  flesh,  and  Mary's  Lord  after  His 
majesty.  Now  as  she  was  not  the  mother  of 
His  divine  nature,  whilst  it  was  by  His  divinity 
the  miracle  she  asked  for  would  be  wrought, 
therefore  He  answered  her,  "  Woman,  what 
have  I  to  do  with  thee  ?  "  But  think  not  that 
I  deny  thee  to  be  my  mother:  "  Mine  hour  is 
not  yet  come;"  for  in  that  hour  I  will  ac 
knowledge  thee,  when  the  weakness  of  which 
thou  art  the  mother  comes  to  hang  on  the 
cross.  Let  us  prove  the  truth  of  this.  When 
the  Lord  suffered,  the  same  evangelist  tells 
us,  who  knew  the  mother  of  the  Lord,  and 
who  has  given  us  to  know  about  her  in  this 
marriage  feast,— the  same,  I  say.  tells  us, 
"  There  was  there  near  the  cross  the  mother 
of  Jesus;  and  Jesus  saith  to  His  mother, 
Woman,  behold  thy  son  !  and  to  the  disciple, 
Behold  thy  mother!"5  He  commends  His 
mother  to  the  care  of  the  disciple;  commends 
His  mother,  as  about  to  die  before  her,  and 
to  rise  again  before  her  death.  The  man 
commends  her  a  human  being  to  man's  care. 
This  humanity  had  Mary  given  birth  to. 
That  hour  had  now  come,  the  hour  of  which 
He  had  then  said,  "  Mine  hour  is  not  yet 
come." 

10.  In  my  opinion,  brethren,  we  have 
answered  the  heretics.  Let  us  now  answer 
the  astrologers.  And  how  do  they  attempt  to 
prove  that  Jesus  was  under  fate?  B< 
say  they,  Himself  said,  "Mine  hour  is  not 
yet  come."  Therefore  we  believe  Him:  and 
if  He  had  said.  "  I  have  no  hour."  He  would 


'  Rum. 
i  Matt. 


5  John  xix.  35,  17. 


62 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATK  VIII. 


have  excluded  the  astrologers:  but  behold, 
say  they.  He  said,  "  Mine  hour  is  not  yet 
come."  If  then  He  had  said,  "I  have  no 
hour,"  the  astrologers  would  have  been  shut 
out,  and  would  have  no  ground  for  their 
slander;  but  now  that  He  said,  "  Mine  hour 
is  not  yet  come,"  how  can  we  contradict  His 
own  words  ?  'Tis  wonderful  that  the  astro 
logers,  by  believing  Christ's  words,  endeavor 
to  convince  Christians  that  Christ  lived  under 
an  hour  of  fate.  Well,  let  them  believe 
Christ  when  He  saith,  "  I  have  power  to  lay 
down  my  lite  and  to  take  it  up  again:  no  man 
taketh  it  from  me,  but  I  lay  it  down  of  myself, 
and  I  take  it  again."1  Is  this  power  then 
under  fate  ?  Let  them  show  us  a  man  who  has 
it  in  his  power  when  to  die,  how  long  to  live: 
this  they  can  never  do.  Let  them,  therefore, 
believe  God  when  He  says,  "  I  have  power  to 
lay  down  my  life,  and  to  take  it  up  again;" 
and  let  them  inquire  why  it  was  said,  "  Mine 
hour  is  not  yet  come;"  and  let  them  not, 
because  of  these  words,  be  imposing  fate  on 
the  Maker  of  heaven,  the  Creator  and  Ruler 
of  the  stars.  For  even  if  fate  were  from  the 
stars,  the  Maker  of  the  stars  could  not  be 
subject  to  their  destiny.  Moreover,  not  only 
Christ  had  not  what  thou  callest  fate,  but  not 
even  hast  thou,  or  I,  or  he  there,  or  any  hu 
man  being  whatsoever. 

11.  Nevertheless,  being  deceived,  they  de 
ceive  others,  and  propound  fallacies  to  men. 
They  lay  snares  to  catch  men,  and  that,  too, 
in  the  open  streets.     They  who  spread  nets 
to  catch  wild  beasts  even  do  it  in  woods  and 
desert  places:  how  miserably  vain  are  men, 
for  catching  whom  the  net  is  spread  in  the 
forum  !     When  men  sell  themselves  to  men, 
they  receive  money;  but  these  give  money  in 
order  to  sell  themselves  to  vanities.     For  they 
go  in  to  an  astrologer  to  buy  themselves  mas 
ters,  such  as  the  astrologer  is   pleased  to  give 
them:  be  it  Saturn,  Jupiter,  Mercury,  or  any 
other   named  profanity.     The   man  went   in 
free,  that  having  given  his  money  he  might 
come  out  a  slave.     Nay,  rather,  had  he  been 
free  he  would  not  have  gone  in;  but  he  enter 
ed  whither  his  master  Error  and  his  mistress 
Avarice    dragged    him.       Whence   also    the 
truth  says,  "  Every  one  that  doeth  sin  is  the 
slave  of  sin."2 

12.  Why  then  did  He  say,  "  Mine  hour  is 
not  yet  come?"     Rather  because,  having  it 
in  His  power  when  to  die,  He  did  not  yet  see 
it  fit  to  use  that  power.     Just  as  we,  brethren, 
say,    for   example,  "Now   is    the   appointed 


hour  for  us  to  go  out  to  celebrate  the  sacra 
ments."     If  we  go  out  before  it  is  necessary, 


do  we  not  act  perversely  and  absurdly  ?  And 
because  we  act  only  at  the  proper  time,  do  we 
therefore  in  this  action  regard  fate  when  we 
so  express  ourselves  ?  What  means  then, 
"Mine  hour  is  not  yet  come?''  When  I 
know  that  it  is  the  fitting  time  for  me  to  suffer, 
when  my  suffering  will  be  profitable,  then  I 
will  willingly  suffer.  That  hour  is  not  yet: 
that  thou  mayest  preserve  both,  this,  "  Mine 
hour  is  not  yet  come;"  and  that,  "I  have 
power  to  lay  down  my  life,  and  power  to  take 
it  again."  He  had  come,  then,  having  it  in 
His  power  when  to  die.  And  surely  it  would 
not  have  been  right  were  He  to  die  before  He 
had  chosen  disciples.  Had  he  been  a  man 
who  had  not  his  hour  in  his  own  power,  he 
might  have  died  before  he  had  chosen  dis 
ciples;  and  if  haply  he  had  died  when  his 
disciples  were  now  chosen  and  instructed,  it 
would  be  something  conferred  on  him,  not 
his  own  doing.  But,  on  the  contrary,  He 
who  had  come  having  in  His  power  when  to 
go,  when  to  return,  how  far  to  advance,  and 
for  whom  the  regions  of  the  grave  were  open, 
not  only  when  dying  but  when  rising  again; 
He,  I  say,  in  order  to  show  us  His  Church's 
hope  of  immortality,  showed  in  the  head  what 
it  behoved  the  members  to  expect.  For  He 
who  has  risen  again  in  the  head  will  also  rise 
again  in  all  His  members.  The  hour  then 
had  not  yet  come,  the  fk  time  was  not  yet. 
Disciples  had  to  be  called,  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  to  be  proclaimed,  the  Lord's  divinity 
to  be  shown  forth  in  miracles,  and  His  hu 
manity  in  His  very  sympathy  with  mortal 
men.  For  He  who  hungered  because  He 
was  man,  fed  so  many  thousands  with  five 
loaves  because  He  was  God;  He  who  slept 
because  He  was  man,  commanded  the  winds 
and  the  waves  because  He  was  God.  All 
these  things  had  first  to  be  set  forth,  that  the 
evangelists  might  have  whereof  to  write,  that 
there  might  *be  what  should  be  preached  to 
the  Church.  But  when  He  had  done  as  much 
as  He  judged  to  be  sufficient,  then  His  hour 
came,  not  of  necessity,  but  of  will, — not  of 
condition,  but  of  power. 

13.  What    then,    brethren?       Because   we 


John  x.  18 


'  John  viii.  34. 


have  replied  to  these  and  those,  shall  we  say 
nothing  as  to  what  the  water-pots  signify? 
what  the  water  turned  into  wine?  what  the 
master  of  the  feast  ?  what  the  bridegroom  ? 
what  in  mystery  the  mother  of  Jesus  ?  what 
the  marriage  itself?  We  must  speak  of  all 
these,  but  we  must  not  burden  you.  I  would 
have  preached  to  you  in  Christ's  name  yester 
day  also,  when  the  usual  sermon  was  due  to 
you,  my  beloved,  but  I  was  hindered  by  cer 
tain  necessities.  If  you  please  then,  holy 
I  brethren,  let  us  defer  until  to-morrow  what 


TRACTAII    !\.j 


<>\  THE  '.<  8PE1    01  BT.  JOHN. 


pertains  to  the  hidden  meaning  of  this  trans 
lation,  and  not  burden  both  your  and  our  own 
weakness.  There  are  many  of  you,  perhaps, 
who  have  to-day  come  together  on  account 
of  the  solemnity  of  the  day,  not  to  hear  the 


sermon.       Let   those   who   come    to-morrow 
come  to  hear,  so  that  we    may    not  <!• 
those   who   are   eager   to   learn,  nor  burden 
those  who  are  fastidious 


TRACTATE  IX. 


CHAPTKR  II.      i-n. 


1.  MAY  the  Lord  our  God  be  present,  that 
He  may  grant  us  to  render  you  what  we  prom 
ised.       For    yesterday,    if    you    remember, 
holy  brethren,  when  the  shortness  of  the  time 
prevented  us  from  completing  the  sermon  we 
had  begun,  we  put  off  until  to-day  the  unfold 
ing,    by   God's   assistance,    of    those    things 
which  are  mystically  put  in  hidden  meanings 
in  this  fact  of  the  Gospel  lesson.     We  need 
not,  therefore,  now  stay  any  longer  to  com 
mend  the  miracle  of  God.     For    He    is   the 
same  God  who,  throughout  the  whole  creation, 
worketh    miracles  every  day,  which  become 
lightly  esteemed  by  men,  not  because  of  the 
ease  with   which   they   are   wrought,  but  by 
reason  of  their  constant  recurrence.     Those 
uncommon  works,  however,  which  were  done 
by  the  same  Lord — that  is,  by  the  Word  for 
us  made  flesh — occasioned  greater  astonish 
ment  to  men,  not  because  they  are  greater 
than  those  which  He  daily  performs  in  the 
creation,    but   because   these    which    happen 
every  day  are  accomplished  as  it  were  in  the 
course  of  nature;  but  the  others  appear  ex 
hibited  to  the  eyes  of  men,  wrought  by  the 
efficacy  of  a  power,  as  it  were,  immediately 
present.     We   said,   as   you    remember,    one 
dead  man  rose  again,   people  were  amazed, 
whilst  no  man  wonders  at  the  birth  every  day 
of  those  who  were  not  in  being.     In  like  man 
ner,  who  does  not  wonder  at  water  turned  into 
wine,  although  God  is  doing  this  every  year 
in  vines?     But  since  all  the  works  which  the 
Lord  Jesus  did,  serve  not  only  to  rouse  our 
hearts  by  their  miraculous  character,  but  also 
to  edify  our  hearts  in  the  doctrine  of  faith,  it 
behoves   us  thoroughly  to  examine  into  the 
meaning  and  significance  of  those  works.     For 
the  consideration  of  the  meaning  of  all  these 
things  we  deferred,  as  you  remember,  till  to 
day. 

2.  The  Lord,  in  that  He  came  to  the  mar 
riage  to  which  He  was  invited,  wished,  apart 
from  the  mystical  signification,  to  assure  us 
that  marriage  was  His  own  institution.     For 


i  there  were  to  be  those  of  whom  the  apostle 
I  spoke,  "  forbidding  to  marry,"  '  and  asserting 
!  that  marriage  was  an  evil,  and  of  the  devil's 
institution:  notwithstanding  the  same  Lord 
declares  in  the  Gospel,  on  being  asked  whether 
j  it  be  lawful  for  a  man  to  put  away  his  wife  for 
any  cause,  that  it  is  not  lawful  save  for  the 
cause  of  fornication.  In  His  answer,  if  you 
remember,  He  said,  "  What  God  hath  joined 
together  let  not  man  put  asunder."  '  And 
they  that  are  well  instructed  in  the  catholic 
faith  know  that  God  instituted  marriage; 
and  as  the  union  of  man  and  wife  is  from 
God,  so  divorce  is  from  the  devil.  But  in  the 
case  of  fornication  it  is  lawful  for  a  man  to 
I  put  away  his  wife,  because  she  first  chose  to 
be  no  longer  wife  in  not  preserving  conjugal 
fidelity  to  her  husband.  Nor  are  those 
women  who  vow  virginity  to  God,  although 
they  hold  a  higher  place  of  honor  and  sanctity 
in  the  Church,  without  marriage.  For  they 
too,  together  with  the  whole  Church,  attain 
to  a  marriage,  a  marriage  in  which  Christ  is 
the  Bridegroom.  And  for  this  cause,  there 
fore,  did  the  Lord,  on  being  invited,  come  to 
the  marriage,  to  confirm  conjugal  chastity, 
and  to  show  forth  the  sacrament  of  marriage. 
For  the  bridegroom  in  that  marriage,  to 
whom  it  was  said,  "  Thou  hast  kept  the  good 
wine  until  now,"  represented  the  person  of 
!  the  Lord.  For  the  good  wine — namely,  the 
gospel  -Christ  has  kept  until  now. 

3.  For  now  let  us  begin  to  uncover  the 
hidden  meanings  of  the  mysteries,  so  far  as 
He  in  whose  name  we  made  you  the  promise 
may  enable  us.  In  the  ancient  times  there 
was  prophecy,  and  no  times  were  left  without 
the  dispensation  of  prophecy.  But  the 
prophecy,  since  Christ  was  not  understood 
therein,  was  water.  For  in  water  wine  is  in 
some  manner  latent.  The  apostle  tells  us 
what  we  are  to  understand  by  this  water: 
"  Kven  unto  this  day,"  saith  he,  "whilst 


64 


TIIK  WORKS  OK  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  IX. 


Moses  is  read,  that   same  veil    is   upon   their 


heart;  that  it    is    not 
done  away  in  Christ. 


unveiled    because  it  is 
And  when  thou  shall 


have  passed  over,"  saith  he,  "to  the  Lord, 
the  veil  shall  be  taken  away."  '  By  the  veil 
he  means  the  covering  over  of  prophecy,  so 


going  to  a  neighboring  village  had  spoken 
these  and  other  words,  Jesus  answered  and 
said,  "  O  irrational,  and  slow  of  heart  to  be 
lieve  all  that  the  prophets  have  spoken. 
Ought  not  Christ  to  have  suffered  all  these 
things,  and  to  enter  into  His  glory?  And 


that  it  was  not  understood.  When  thou  hast  i  beginning  from  Moses  and  all  the  prophets, 
passed  over  to  the  Lord,  the  veil  is  taken  i  He  expounded  unto  them  in  all  the  Script- 
away;  so  likewise  is  tastelessness  taken  away  !  ures  the  things  concerning  Himself."  And 


when  thou  hast  passed  over  to  the  Lord;  and 
what  was  water  now  becomes  wine  to  thee. 
Read  all  the  prophetic  books;  and  if  Christ 
be  not  understood  therein,  what  canst  thou 
find  so  insipid  and  silly?  Understand  Christ 
in  them,  and  what  thou  readest  not  only  has 
a  taste,  but  even  inebriates  thee;  transporting 
the  mind  from  the  body,  so  that  forgetting 
the  things  that  are  past,  thou  reachest  forth 
to  the  things  that  are  before.2 

4.  Wherefore,  prophecy  from  ancient  times, 
even  from  the  time  when  the  series  of  human 
births  began  to  run  onwards,  was  not  silent 
concerning  Christ;  but  the  import  of  the 
prophecy  was  concealed  therein,  for  as  yet  it 
was  water.  Whence  do  we  prove  that  in  all 
former  times,  until  the  age  in  which  the  Lord 
came,  prophecy  did  not  fail  concerning 
Him  ?  From  the  Lord's  own  saying.  For 
when  He  had  risen  from  the  dead,  He  found 
His  disciples  doubting  concerning  Himself 
whom  they  had  followed.  For  they  saw  that 
He  was  dead,  and  they  had  no  hope  that  He 
would  rise  again;  all  their  hope  was  gone. 
On  what  ground  was  the  thief,  after  receiving 
praise,  deemed  worthy  to  be  that  same  day  in 
Paradise  ?  Because  when  bound  on  the  cross 
he  confessed  Christ,  while  the  disciples 
doubted  concerning  Him.  Well,  He  found 
them  wavering,  and  in  a  manner  reproving 
themselves  because  they  had  looked  for  re 
demption  in  Him.  Yet  they  sorrowed  for 
Him  as  cut  off  without  fault,  for  they  knew 
Him  to  be  innocent.  And  this  is  what  the 
disciples  themselves  said,  after  His  resurrec 
tion,  when  He  had  found  certain  of  them  in 
the  way,  sorrowful,  "Art  thou  only  a  stranger 


in  Jerusalem,  and  hast  not  known  the  things  before.     Thus  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  changed 


which  are  come  to  pass  there  in  these  days  ? 
And  He  said  unto  them,  What  things  ?  And 
they  said,  Concerning  Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
who  was  a  prophet  mighty  in  deeds  and  words 
before  God  and  all  the  people :  how  our  priests 
and  rulers  delivered  Him  to  be  condemned 
to  death,  and  bound  Him  to  the  cross.  But 
we  trusted  that  it  was  He  who  should  have 
redeemed  Israel;  and  to-day  is  now  the  third 
day  since  these  things  were  done."  After 
one  of  the  two  whom  He  found  in  the  way 


2  Cor.  iii.  14-16 


likewise,  in  another  place,  when  He  would 
even  have  His  disciples  touch  Him  with  their 
hands,  that  they  might  believe  that  He  had 
risen  in  the  body.  He  saith,  "These  are  the 
words  which  I  have  spoken  unto  you,  while  I 
was  yet  with  you,  that  all  things  must  be  ful 
filled  which  were  written  in  the  law  of  Moses, 
and  in  the  prophets,  and  in  the  Psalms,  con 
cerning  me.  Then  opened  He  their  under 
standing,  that,  they  might  understand  the 
Scriptures,  and  said  unto  them,  Thus  it  is 
written,  that  Christ  should  suffer,  and  rise 
again  from  the  dead  the  third  day:  and  that 
repentance  and  remission  of  sins  should  be 
preached  in  His  name  among  all  nations,  be 
ginning  at  Jerusalem." 

5.  When  these  words  of  the  Gospel  are  un 
derstood,  and  they  are  certainly  clear,  all  the 
mysteries  which  are  latent  in  this  miracle  of 
the  Lord  will  be  laid  open.  Observe  what 
He  says,  that  it  behoved  the  things  to  be  ful 


filled   in    Christ  that  were  written  of 
Where  were  they  written?     "In  the 


Him. 
law," 


saith  He,  "  and  in  the  prophets,  and  in  the 
Psalms."  He  omitted  no  part  of  the  Old 
Scriptures.  These  were  water;  and  hence 
the  disciples  were  called  irrational  by  the 
Lord,  because  as  yet  they  tasted  to  them  as 
water,  not  as  wine, 
of  the  water  wine  ? 


And  how  did  He  make 
When   He  opened  their 


understanding,  and  expounded  to  them  the 
Scriptures,  beginning  from  Moses,  through 
all  the  prophets;  with  which  being  now  inebri 
ated,  they  said,  "  Did  not  our  hearts  burn 
within  us  in  the  way,  when  He  opened  to  us 
the  Scriptures  ?  "  For  they  understood  Christ 
in  those  books  in  which  they  knew  Him  not 


the  water  into  wine,  and  that  has  now  taste 
which  before  had  not,  that  now  inebriates 
which  before  did  not,  For  if  He  had  com 
manded  the  water  to  be  poured  out  of  the 
water-pots,  and  so  Himself  had  put  in  the 
wine  from  the  secret  repositories  of  the 
creature,  whence  He  made  bread  when  He 
satisfied  so  many  thousands;  for  five  loaves 
were  not  in  themselves  sufficient  to  satisfy 
five  thousand  men,  nor  even  to  fill  twelve 
baskets,  but  the  omnipotence  of  the  Lord 
was,  as  it  were,  a  fountain  of  bread;  so  like 
wise  He  might,  on  the  water  being  poured 


TK  M  i  A  1 1    I  \.  | 


o.\    i  in;  r,<  »!•!. i    ( >i    ST.  J(  >\\\. 


out,  have   poured  in  wine:   but   hail    II 
this,   He   would   appear   to   have    re]e<  ted    the 
(  )ld   Scriptures.      When,   however,    lie    turns 
Lie  water    itself   into  wine,  lie    siiows   us  that 
the   Old   Scripture  also   is   from  Himself,  for 
at    His    own   command    were    the    water-pots 
filled.     It  is  from  the   Lord,  indeed,  that  the 
Old  Scripture  also  is;  but  it  has  no  taste  un 
less  Christ  is  understood  therein. 
6.  But  observe  what   Himself  saith,  "  The 


we  to  say,  brethren  ?     If   He  had  simp, 
"  three  apiece,"  our  mind  would  at  once  h  ive 
run  to  the  mystery  of  the  Trinity.      And,  per 
haps, we  ought  not  at  once  to  reject  this  appli 
cation  of  tiie  meaning,  because  He  said,  "  two 
or  three  apiece;"  for  when  the  Father  a; 
are  named,  the  Holy  Spirit  must  necessarily  be 
understood.      For  the  Holy  Spirit  is  not  that 
of  the  Father  only,  nor  of  the  Son  only,  but 
the  Spirit  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son.     For 


things  which  were  written  in  the  law,  and  in  it  is  written,  "  If  any  man  love  the  world,  the 
the  prophets,  and  in  the  Psalms  concerning  Spirit  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him."  4  And 
me. "  And  we  know  that  the  law  extends  from  i  again,  "  Whoso  hath  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
the  time  of  which  we  have  record,  that  is,  is  none  of  His."5  The  same,  then,  is  the 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world:  "  In  the  be-  Spirit  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son.  There- 
ginning  God  made  the  heaven  and  the  earth. "'  j  fore,  the  Father  and  the  Son  being  named, 
Thence  down  to  the  time  in  which  we  are  now  the  Holy  Spirit  also  is  understood,  because 
living  are  six  ages,  this  being  the  sixth,  as  He  is  the  Spirit  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son. 
you  have  often  heard  and  know.  The  first  And  when  there  is  mention  of  the  Father  and 
age  is  reckoned  from  Adam  to  Noah;  the  Son,  "two  metretze,"  as  it  were,  are  men- 
second,  from  Noah  to  Abraham;  and,  as  tioned;  but  since  the  Holy  Spirit  is  under- 
Matthew  the  evangelist  duly  follows  and  J  stood  in  them,  "  three  metretae."  That  is 
distinguishes,  the  third,  from  Abraham  to  the  reason  why  it  is  not  said,  "Some  contain- 
David;  the  fourth,  from  David  to  the  carry- ;  ing  two  metretai  apiece,  others  three  apiece;  " 
ing  away  into  Babylon;  the  fifth,  from  the  I  but  the  same  six  water-pots  contained  "two 
carrying  away  into  Babylon  to  John  the  j  or  three  metretas  apiece."  It  is  as  if  he  had 
Baptist;2  the  sixth,  from.  John  the  Bap-  said,  When  I  say  two  apiece,  I  would  have  the 
tist  to  the  end  of  the  world.  Moreover,  God  Spirit  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  to  be  un 
made  man  after  His  own  image  on  the  J/.T/// j  derstood  together  with  them;  and  when  I  say 
day,  because  in  tnis  sixth  age  is  manifested  j  three  apiece,  I  declare  the  same  Trinity  more 
the  renewing  of  our  mind  through  the  gospel,  '  plainly. 

after  the  image  of  Him  who  created  us;3  and  j  8.  Wherefore,  whoso  names  the  Father  and 
the  water  is  turned  into  wine,  that  we  may  I  the  Son  ought  thereby  to  understand  the 
taste  of  Christ,  now  manifested  in  the  law  |  mutual  love  of  the  Father  and  Son,  which  is 
and  the  prophets.  Hence  "  there  were  there  i  the  Holy  Spirit.  And  perhaps  the  Scriptures 
six  water-pots,"  which  He  bade  be  filled  with  on  being  examined  (I  do  not  say  that  I  am 


water.  Now  the  six  water-pots  signify  the 
six  ages,  which  were  not  without  prophecy. 
And  those  six  periods,  divided  and  separated 


able  to  show  you  this  to-day,  or  as  if  another 
proof  cannot  be  found),  nevertheless,  the 
Scriptures,  perhaps,  on  being  searched,  do 


as  it  were  by  joints,  would  be  as  empty  ves-  j  show  us  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  charity.    And 
sels  unless  they  were  filled  by  Christ.     Why   do  not  count  charity  a  thing  cheap.     How, 


did  I  say,  the  periods  which  would  run  fruit 
lessly  on,  unless  the  Lord  Jesus  were  preached 
in  them  ?  Prophecies  are  fulfilled,  the  water- 


indeed,  can  it  be  cheap,  when  all  things  that 
are  said  to  be  not  cheap  are  called  dear 
(chara)  ?  Therefore,  if  what  is  not  cheap  is 


pots  are  full;  but  that  the  water  may  be  turned    dear,    what    is    dearer   than    dearness    itself 

(c/iaritas')  ?     The  apostle  so  commends  charity 
to  us  that  he  says,  "  I  show  unto  you  a  more 


into  wine,  Christ  must  be  understood  in  that 
whole  prophecy. 

7.    I'.ut  what  means  this:  "  They  contained 
two  or  three  metretje  apiece  "  ?     This  phrase 


certainly  conveys   to  us  a 
ing.      For  by  "metretae' 


mysterious  mean- 
he   means  certain 


excellent   way.     Though    I    speak 


the 


tongues  of  men  and  of  angels,  and  have  not 
charity,  I  am  become  as  sounding  brass,  or 
tinkling  cymbal.      And    though  I  know  all 


measures,  as  if  he  should  say  jars,  flasks,  or  mysteries  and  all  knowledge,  and  have  proph- 
something  of  that  sort.  Mf'trcta  is  the  name  ec'y  and  all  faith,  so  that  I  could  remove 
of  a  measure,  and  takes  its  name  from  the  (  mountains,  and  have  not  charity.  I  am  noth- 
word  "  measure."  For  /u'r/,-/',  is  the  llreek  ing.  And  though  I  distribute  all  my  g 


word  for  measure,  whence  the  word  "metre- 

-    derived.      "They  contained,"    then, 

"  two  or  three  metreta?  apiece."     What  are 


Matt.  i.  17. 


to  the  poor,  and  give  my  body  to  be  burned, 


rind 


have    not   charity,  it  profiteth  me    noth- 
"  6     How  great,  then,  is  charity,  which,  if 


Johr 


66 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUST1N. 


(TRACTAII    IX. 


wanting,  in  vain  have  we  all  things  else;  if 
present,  rightly  have  we  all  things  !  Yet  the 
Apostle  Paul,  setting  forth  the  praise  of  char 
ity  with  copiousness  and  fullness,  has  said  less 
of  it  than  did  the  Apostle  John  in  brief,  whose 


this  was  not  as  yet  understood,  for  as  yet  the 
water  was  not  turned  into  wine.  The  proph- 
ecy  therefore  was  dispensed  to  all  nations. 
But  that  this  may  appear  more  agreeably,  let 
us,  so  far  as  our  time  permits,  mention  cer- 


Gospel  this  is.     For  he  has  not  hesitated  to   tain  facts  respecting  the  several  ages,  as  repre- 
say,  "  God  is  love."     It  is  also  written,  "  Be-   sented  respectively  by  the  water-pots, 
cause    the   love   of  God   is    shed    abroad 
our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Spirit  which  is  given 


us."  '     Who,  then,  can  name  the  Father  and 


spectively  by  the  water-pots. 
10.   In  the  very  beginning,  Adam  and  Eve 
were  the  parents  of  all   nations,  not  of  the 
Jews  only;  and  whatever  was  represented  in 


the  Son  without  thereby  understanding  the  I  Adam  concerning  Christ,  undoubtedly  con- 
love  of  the  Father  and  Son  ?  Which  when  cerned  all  nations,  whose  salvation  is  in  Christ. 
one  begins  to  have,  he  will  have  the  Holy 
Spirit;  which  if  one  has  not,  he  will  not  have 
the  Holy  Spirit.  And  just  as  thy  body,  if  it 
be  without  spirit,  namely  thy  soul,  is  dead; 
so  likewise  thy  soul,  if  it  be  without  the  Holy 
Spirit,  that  is,  without  charity,  will  be  reck 
oned  dead.  Therefore  "  The  water-pots  con 
tained  tvvo  metretse  apiece,"  because  the 
Father  and  the  Son  are  proclaimed  in  the 
prophecy  of  all  the  periods;  but  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  there  also,  and  therefore  it  is  added, 
"or  three  apiece."  "I  and  the  Father," 


saith  He,  "  are  one.' 


But  far  be   it  from 


us  to  suppose  that  where  we  are  told,  *'  I  and 
the  Father  are  one,"  the  Holy  Spirit  is  not 
there.  Yet  since  he  named  the  Father  and 
the  Son,  let  the  water-pots  contain  "  two  me- 
tretas  apiece;  "  but  attend  to  this,  "  or  three 
apiece."  "Go,  baptize  the  nations  in  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 


What  better  can  I  say  of  the  water  of  the  first 
water-pot  than  what  tne  apostle  says  of  Adam 
and  Eve  ?  For  no  man  will  say  that  I  misun 
derstand  the  meaning  when  I  produce,  not 
my  own,  but  the  apostle's.  How  great  a  mys 
tery,  then,  concerning  Christ  does  that  of 
which  the  apostle  makes  mention  contain, 
when  he  says,  "And  the  two  shall  be  in  one 
flesh:  this  is  a  great  mystery!"*  And  lest 
any  man  should  understand  that  greatness  of 
mystery  to  exist  in  the  case  of  the  individual 
men  that  have  wives,  he  says,  "  But  I  speak 
concerning  Christ  and  the  Church."  What 
great  mystery  is  this,  "  the  two  shall  be  one 
flesh?"  While-  Scripture,  in  the  Book  of 
Genesis,  was  speaking  of  Adam  and  Eve,  it 
came  to  these  words,  "  Therefore  shall  a  man 
leave  his  father  and  mother,  and  shall  cleave 
to  his  wife;  and  they  two  shall  be  one  flesh."s 
Now,  if  Christ  cleave  to  the  Church,  so  that 
the  two  should  be  one  flesh,  in  what  manner 


the    Trinity   is    not   ex-   did  He  leave  His  Father  and  His  mother? 


the   Holy  Ghost."      So,   therefore,   when    it 

says  "  two    apiece,     —     - _,    ._    _.. 

pressed   but   understood;  but  when    it  says,    He  left  His  Father  in  this  sense,  that  when  He 
"or  three,"  the  Trinity  is  expressed  also.         was  in  the  form  of  God,  He  thought  it  not 
9.   But  there  is  also  another  meaning  that  j  robbery  to   be  equal  with  God,  but  emptied 
must   not  be   passed   over,  and  which   I   will    Himself,  taking  to  Him  the   form  of  a  serv- 


declare:  let  every  man  choose  which  he  likes 
.best.     We  keep  not  back  what  is  suggested  to 


ant.6     In   this  sense  He  left  His  Father,  not 
that  He  forsook  or  departed  from  His  Father, 


us.  For  it  is  the  Lord's  table,  and  the  min- !  but  that  He  did  not  appear  unto  men  in  that 
ister  ought  not  to  defraud  the  guests,  espe-  j  form  in  which  He  was  equal  with  the  Father, 
cially  when  they  hunger  as  you  now  do,  so ,  But  how  did  He  leave  His  mother?  By 
that  your  longing  is  manifest.  Prophecy,  j  leaving  the  synagogue  of  the  Jews,  of  which, 


which  is  dispensed  from  the  ancient  times, 
has  for  its  object  the  salvation  of  all  nations. 
True,  Moses  was  sent  to  the  people  of  Israel 


after  the  flesh,  He  was  born,  and  by  cleaving 
to  the  Church  which  He  has  gathered  out  of 
all  nations.  Thus  the  first  water-pot  then 


alone,  and  to  that  people  alone  was  the  law  |  held  a  prophecy  of  Christ;  but  so  long  as  these 
given  by  him;  and  the  prophets,  too,  were  of  things  of  which  I  speak  were  not  preached 
that  people,  and  the  very  distribution  of  times  among  the  peoples,  the  prophecy  was  water, 
was  marked  out  according  to  the  same  people;  it  was  not  yet  changed  into  wine.  And  since 
whence  also  the  water-pots  are  said  to  be  the  Lord  has  enlightened  us  through  the  apos- 
"according  to  the  purification  of  the  Jews:  "  !  tie,  to  show  us  what  we  were  in  search  of,  by 
nevertheless,  that  the  prophecy  was  pro-  this  one  sentence,  "The  two  shall  be  one 
claimed  to  all  other  nations  also  is  manifest,  flesh;  a  great  mystery  concerning  Christ  and 
forasmuch  as  Christ  was  concealed  in  him  in  \  the  Church;"  we  are  now  permitted  to  seek 
whom  all  nations  are  blessed,  as  it  was  prom-  i  Christ  everywhere,  and  to  drink  wine  from  all 
ised  to  Abraham  by  the  Lord,  saying,  "  In  the  water-pots.  Adam  sleeps,  that  Eve  may 
thy  seed  shall  all  nations  be  blessed."3  But  be  formed;  Christ  dies,  that  the  Church  may 


•  John  x.  30. 


3  Gen.  xxii.  18. 


4  Eph.  in.  31. 


TH.  \ri\II      IX. I 


(>N    I  ill.  G<  >SPEL  <  »l    >  i.    [<  nix. 


be  formed.  When  . \ilain  sleep*,  l-'.vc  [|  formed 
from  his  side;  when  Christ  is  dead,  the 
pierces.  His  side,  that  the  mysteries  may  How 
forth  whereby  the  Church  is  formed.  Is  it 
not  evident  to  every  man  that  in  those  things 
then  done,  things  to  come  were  foreshadowed, 
since  the  apostle  says  that  Adam  himself  was 
the  figure  of  Him  that  was  to  come  ?  "  Who 
is,"  saith  he,  "  the  figure  of  Him  that  was  to 
come."'  All  was  mystically  prefigured.  For, 
in  reality,  God  could  have  taken  the  rib  from 
Adam  when  he  was  awake,  and  formed  the 
woman.  Or  was  it,  haply,  necessary  for  him 
to  sleep  lest  he  should  feel  pain  in  his  side 
when  the  rib  was  taken  away  ?  Who  is  there 
that  sleeps  so  soundly  that  his  bones  may  be 
torn  from  him  without  his  awaking  ?  Or  was 
it  because  it  was  God  that  tore  it  out,  that  the 
man  did  not  feel  it  ?  Well,  He  who  could  take 
it  from  him  without  pain  when  he  was  asleep, 
could  do  it  also  when  he  was  awake.  But, 
without  doubt,  the  first  water-pot  was  being 
filled,  there  was  a  dispensation  of  the  prophecy 
of  that  time  concerning  this  which  was  to  be. 

11.  Christ  was   represented   also  in  Noah, 
and  in  that  ark  of  the  whole  world.      For  why 
were  all  kinds  of  animals  shut  in,  in  the  ark, 
but  to  signify  all  nations?     For  God  could 
again  create  every  kind  of  animals.     When  as 
yet  they  were  not,  did  He  not  say,  "  Let  the 
earth   bring  forth,"   and   the   earth   brought 
forth  ?    From  the  same  source  He  could  make 
anew,  whence  He  then  made;  by  a  word   He 
made,  by  a  word  He  could  make  again:  were 
it  not  that  He  was   setting  before   us  a  mys 
tery,  and   filling  up  the  second  water-pot  of 
prophetical     dispensation,    that     the    world 
might  by  the  wood  be   delivered   in  a  figure; 
because   the  life  of  the  world  was  to  be  nailed 
on  wood. 

12.  Now,   in  the  third  water-pot,  to   Abra 
ham,  as  I  have  mentioned  before,  it  was  said, 
"In   thy  seed  shall   all   nations  be  blessed." 
And   who  does   not  see  whose   figure   Abra 
ham's  only  son   was,  he  who  bore  the  wood 
for   the    sacrifice    of   himself,  to   that   place 
whither  he  was  being  led   to  be  offered  up? 
For  the  Lord  bore  his  own  cross,  as  the  Gos 
pel  tells  us.     This  will  be  enough  to  say  con 
cerning  the  third  water-pot. 

13.  But  as  to  David,  why  do  I  say  that  his 
prophecy   extends   to   all    nations,   when  we 
have  just  heard  the  psalm  (and  it  is  difficult 
to  mention  a  psalm  in  which   the  same  is  not 
sounded  forth)  ?  But  certainly,  as  I  have  said, 
we   have   been   just  singing,  "Arise,  (>  (iod. 
judge    the    earth;    for    Thou    shalt    inherit 
among  all   nations."'     And   this   is  why  the 


Donatists  an-  a-,  men  cast  forth  from  th- 
riage:  just  as  the  mar.  who  had  not  a  \\. 
garment  was  invited,  and  came,  but  \\ 
forth  from  the  number  of  the  guests  because 
he  had  not  the  garment  to  the  glory  of  the 
bridegroom;  for  he  who  seeks  his  own  glory, 
not  Christ's,  has  not  the  wedding  garment: 
for  they  refuse  to  agree  with  him  who  was 
the  friend  of  the  Bridegroom,  and  says,  "This 
is  He  that  baptizeth."  And  deservedly  was 
that  which  he  was  not  made,  by  way  of  re 
buke,  an  objection  to  him  who  had  not  the 
wedding  garment,  "  Friend,  how  art  thou 
come  hither  ?  " 3  And  just  as  he  was  speech 
less,  so  also  are  these.  For  what  can 
tongue-clatter  avail  when  the  heart  is  mute  ? 
For  they  know  that  inwardly,  and  with  their 
own  selves,  they  have  not  anything  to  say. 
Within,  they  are  mute;  without,  they  make  a 
din.  But  whether  they  will  or  no,  they  hear 
this  sung  even  among  themselves,  "Arise, 
O  God,  judge  the  earth;  for  Thou  shalt  in 
herit  among  the  nations:''  and  by  not  com 
municating  with  all  nations,  what  do  they  but 
acknowledge  themselves  to  be  disinherited  ? 

14.  Now  what  I  said,  brethren,  that  proph- 
j  ecy  extends  to  all  nations  (for  I  wish  to  show 
]  you  another  meaning  in  the  expression, 
i  "  Containing  two  or  three  metretie  apiece  ''), 
— that  prophecy,  I  say,  extends  to  all  nations, 
is  pointed  out,  as  we  have  just  now  reminded 
I  you,  in  Adam,  "who  is  the  figure  of  Him 
that  was  to  come."  Who  does  not  know  that 
from  him  all  nations  are  sprung;  and  tiiat  in  the 
four  letters  of  his  name  the  four  quarters  of 
the  globe,  by  their  Greek  appellations,  are  in 
dicated  ?  For  if  the  east,  west,  north,  and 
south  are  expressed  in  Greek  even  as  Holy 
Scripture  mentions  them  in  various  places, 
the  initial  letters  of  the  words,  thou  wilt  find, 
make  the  word  Adam:  for  in  Greek  the  four 
quarters  of  the  world  are  called  Anatole, 
Dysis,  Arktos,  Mesembria.  If  thou  write 
these  four  words,  one  under  the  other,  like 
[  four  verses,  the  capital  letters  form  the  word 
j  Adam.  The  same  is  represented  in  Noah, 
by  reason  of  the  ark,  in  which  were  all  ani 
mals,  significant  of  all  nations:  the  same  in 
Abraham,  to  whom  it  was  said  more  clearly, 
"In  thy  seed  shall  all  nations  be  blessed:" 
the  same  in  David,  from  whose  psali; 
omit  other  expressions,  we  have  just  been 
singing,  "Arise,  O  God,  judge  the  earth;  for 
Thou  shalt  inherit  among  all  nat 
to  what  God  is  it  said  "Arise,"  but  to  Him 
who  slept  ?  "Arise,  O  God,  judge  the  earth." 
As  if  it  were  said,  Thou  hast  been  u 
having  been  judged  by  the  earth;  ar 


'  Matt    i 


68 


TIII;  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TkAc    1AIK    IX. 


judge  the  earth.  And  whither  does  that 
prophecy  extend,  "  For  Thou  shalt  inherit 
among  all  nations  "  ? 

15.  Moreover,  in  the  fifth  age,  in  tiie  fifth 
water-pot   as    it   were,    Daniel    saw   a  stone 
that  had  been  cut  from    a    mountain  without 
hands,  and  had  broken  all  the  kingdoms  of 
the  earth;  and  he  saw  the  stone  grow  and  be* 
come  a  great  mountain,  so  as  to  fill  the  whole 
face  of  the  earth.1     What  can  be  plainer,  my 
brethren  ?     The  stone  is   cut  from  a   moun 
tain:  the  same  is  the  stone  which  the  builders 
rejected,  and  is  become  the  head  of  the  cor 
ner.2     From  what  mountain   is   it  cut,  if  not 
from  the  kingdom  of  the  Jews,  of  which  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  born  according  to  the 
flesh  ?     And  it  is  cut  without  hands,  without 
human  exertion;  because  Christ  sprung  from 
a  virgin,  without  a  husband's  embrace.     The 
mountain  from  which  it  was  cut  had  not  filled 
the  whole  face  of  the  earth;  for  the  kingdom 
of  the  Jews  did  not  possess  all  nations.     But, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  kingdom  of  Christ  we 
see  occupying  the  whole  world. 

16.  To  the  sixth  age  belongs  John  the  Bap 
tist,    than   whom   none    greater    has    arisen 
among  those  born  of  women;  of  whom  it  was 
said,  that  he  was  "greater  than  a  prophet/'3 
And  how  did  John  show  that  Christ  was  sent 
to  all  nations  ?     When  the  Jews  came  to  him 
to  be  baptized,  that  they  might  not  pride  them 
selves  on  the  name  of  Abraham,  he  said  to 
them,  "  O  generation  of  vipers,  who  has  pro 
claimed  to  you  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come  ? 
Bring  forth  therefore   fruit  worthy  of  repen 
tance;"  that  is,  be  humble;  for  he  was  speak 
ing  to  proud  people.     But  whereof  were  they 
proud  ?     Of  their  descent  according  to   the 
flesh,  not  of  the  fruit  of  imitating  their  father 
Abraham.   What  said  he  to  them  ?  "  Say  not, 
We  have  Abraham  for  our  father:  for  God  is 
able  of  these  stones  to  raise  up  children  to 
Abraham."4     Meaning  by  stones  all  nations, 
not  on  account  of  their  durable  strength,  as 
in  the  case  of  that  stone  which  the  builders 
rejected,   but  on  account  of  their  stupidity 
and  their  foolish  insensibility,   because  they 
had  become  like  the  things  which  they  were 
accustomed  to  worship:  for  they  worshipped 
senseless  images,  themselves  equally  sense 
less.     "  They  that  make  them  are  like  them, 
and  so  are  all  they  that  trust  in  them."  s  Ac 
cordingly,  when  men  begin  to  worship  God, 
what  do  they  hear  said  to  them?  "  That  ye 
may  be  the  children  of  your  Father  who  is  in 
heaven;  who  maketh  His  sun  to  rise  on  the 
good  and  on   the  evil,  and    sendeth   rain   on 
the  just  and  on  the  unjust."6     Wherefore,  if 


'  Han.  ii.  vi. 
4  Malt.  iii.  9. 


I  v.  i  xviii.  22.  l  Matt.  .\i.  ii. 

v.  8.  '   M..M.  v.  45. 


a  man  becomes  like  that  which  he  worships, 
what  is  meant  by  "God  is  able  of  these  stones 
to  raise  up  children  unto  Abraham''?  Let 
us  ask  ourselves  and  we  shall  see  that  it  is  a 
fact.  For  of  those  nations  are  we  come,  but 
we  should  not  have  come  of  them  had  not 
God  of  the  stones  raised  up  children  unto 
Abraham.  We  are  made  children  of  Abra 
ham  by  imitating  his  faith,  not  by  being  born 
of  his  flesh.  For  just  as  they  by  their  degen 
eracy  have  been  disinherited,  so  have  we  by 
imitating  been  adopted.  Therefore,  breth 
ren,  this  prophecy  also  of  the  sixth  water-pot 
extended  to  all  nations;  and  hence  it  was 
said  concerning  all,  "  containing  two  or  three 
metretae  apiece." 

17.  But  how  do  we  show  that  all  nations 
belong  to  the  "  two  or  three  metretae  apiece  "  ? 
It  was  a  matter  of  reckoning,  in  some  meas 
ure,  that  he  should  say  the  same  water-pots 
contained  "two  apiece,"  which  he  had  said 
contained  "  three  apiece;  "  evidently  in  order 
to  intimate  to  us  a  mystery  therein.  How 
are  there  "  two  metretae  apiece  "  ?  Circum 
cision  and  uncircumcision.  Scripture  men 
tions  these  two  classes  of  people,  and  leaves 
out  no  kind  of  men,  when  it  says,  "  Circumci 
sion  and  uncircumcision; ''  7  in  these  two  ap 
pellations  thou  hast  all  nations:  they  are  the 
two  metretae  apiece.  In  these  two  walls, 
meeting  from  different  quarters,  "  Christ  be 
came  the  corner-stone,  in  order  to  make  peace 
in  Himself.''8  Let  us  show  also  the  "three 
metretae  apiece  "  in  the  case  of  these  same  all 
nations.  Noah  had  three  sons,  through  whom 
the  human  race  was  restored.  Hence  the 
Lord  says,  "The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like 
leaven,  which  a  woman  took  and  hid  in  three 
measures  of  meal,  till  the  whole  was  leav 
ened."9  What  is  this  woman,  but  the  flesh 
of  the  Lord?  What  is  the  leaven,  but 
the  gospel  ?  What  the  three  measures,  but 
all  nations,  on  account  of  the  three  sons  of 
Noah?  Therefore  the  "six  water-pots  con 
taining  two  or  three  metretae  apiece"  are  six 
periods  of  time,  containing  the  prophecy  re 
lating  to  all  nations,  whether  as  represented 
in  two  sorts  of  men,  namely,  Jews  and  Greeks, 
as  the  apostle  often  mentions  them; I0  or  in 
three  sorts,  on  account  of  the  three  sons  of 
Noah.  For  the  prophecy  was  represented  as 
reaching  unto  all  nations.  And  because  of 
that  reaching  it  is  called  a  measure,"  even  as 
the  apostle  says,  "  We  have  received  a  meas 
ure  for  reaching  unto  you.""  For  in  preach 
ing  the  gospel  to  the  Gentiles,  he  says.  "A 
measure  for  reaching  unto  you.'' 


:  C..I  ii..  i 
9  l.ukexiii. 
"  M,trrta. 


8  F.ph.  ii.  14- 

10  Rom.  ii.  .,;  i  Cor. 

"2  Cor.  x.  13. 


. 


()N  Till.  GOSPEL  OI    ST,  JOHN. 


69 


TRACTATE  X, 

CHAI-IIK  II.  12-21. 


i.  IN  the  psalm  you  have  heard  the  groaning]  Word  of  God,  the  Word  made  flesh,  the  Son 
of  the  poor,  whose  members  endure  tribula- !  of  the  Father,  the  Son  of  God,  the  Son  of 
tions  over  the  whole  earth,  even  unto  the  end  man;  the  lofty  One  to  make  us,  the  humble 
of  the  world.  Make  it  your  chief  business,  |  to  make  us  anew,  walking  among  men,  bcar- 


my  brethren,  to  be  among  and  of  these  mem 
bers:  for  all  tribulation  is  to  pass  away. 
"  \\'<>e  to  them  that  rejoice  ! " '  "  Blessed," 
says  the  Truth,  "  are  they  that  mourn,  for 
they  shall  be  comforted."  God  has  become 


ing  the  human,  concealing  the  divine. 

2.   "  He  went  down,"  as  the  evangelis' 
"  to  Capernaum,  He,  and  His  mother,  and  His 
brethren,  and  His  disciples;  and  they  contin 
ued  there  not  many  days."     Behold  He  has  a 


what  shall  man  be,  for  whom  God  is  |  mother,  and  brethren,  and  disciples:  whence 


become  man  ?  Let  this  hope  comfort  us  in 
every  tribulation  and  temptation  of  this  life. 
For  the  enemy  does  not  cease  to  persecute; 
and  when  he  does  not  openly  rage,  he  plots 
in  secret.  How  does  he  plot?  "And  for 
wrath,  they  worked  deceitfully."2  Thence  is 
he  called  a  lion  and  a  dragon.  But  what  is 
said  to  Christ  ?  "  Thou  shalt  tread  on  the  lion 
and  the  dragon."  Lion,  for  open  rage; 
dragon,  for  hidden  treachery.  The  dragon 
cast  Adam  out  of  Paradise;  as  a  lion,  the 
same  persecuted  the  Church,  as  Peter  says: 
"  For  your  adversary,  the  devil,  goeth  about 
as  a  roaring  lion,  seeking  whom  he  may  de 
vour."3  Let  it  not  seem  to  you  as  if  the 
devil  had  lost  his  ferocity.  When  he  blandly 
flatters,  then  is  he  the  more  vigilantly  to  be 
guarded  against.  But  amid  all  these  treacher 
ous  devices  and  temptations  of  his,  what  shall 
we  do  but  that  which  we  have  heard  in  the 
psalm:  "  And  I,  when  they  were  troublesome 


He  has  a  mother,  thence  brethren.  For  our 
Scripture  is  wont  to  call  them  brethren,  not 
only  that  are  sprung  from  the  same  man  and 
woman,  or  from  the  same  mother,  or  from  the 
same  father,  though  by  different  mothers;  or, 
in  truth,  that  are  of  the  same  degree  as 
cousins  by  the  father's  or  mother's  side:  not 
these  alone  is  our  Scripture  wont  to  call 
brethren.  The  Scripture  must  be  understood 
as  it  speaks.  It  has  its  own  language;  one 
who  does  not  know  this  language  is  perplex 
ed  and  says,  Whence  had  the  Lord  brethren  ? 
For  surely  Mary  did  not  give  birth  a  second 
time  ?  Far  from  it !  With  her  begins  the  dig 
nity  of  virgins.  She  could  be  a  mother,  but 
a  woman  known  of  man  she  could  not  be. 
She  is  spoken  of  as  mnlier  [which  usually 
signifies  a  wife],  but  only  in  reference  to  her 
sex,  not  as  implying  loss  of  virgin  purity:  and 
this  follows  from  the  language  of  Scripture 
itself.  For  Eve,  too,  immediately  she  was 


to  me,  clothed  me  in  sackcloth,  and  humbled    formed  from  the  side  of  her  husband,  and  as 


my  soul  in  fasting."4  There  is  one 
heareth  prayer,  hesitate  not  to  pray;  but  He 
that  heareth  abideth  within.  You  need  not 
direct  your  eyes  towards  some  mountain;  you 
need  not  raise  your  face  to  the  stars,  or  to  the 
sun,  or  to  the  moon;  nor  must  you  suppose 
that  you  are  heard  when  you  pray  beside  the 
sea :  rather  detest  such  prayers.  Only  cleanse 
the  chamber  of  thy  heart;  wheresoever  thou 
art,  wherever  thou  prayest,  He  that  hears  is 
within,  within  in  the  secret  place,  which  the 


husband,    is.   as    you 
And  he  made  her  a 


yet  not  known  of  her 
know,  called  mulier: 
woman  [mil Her]."  Then,  whence  the  breth 
ren  ?  The  kinsmen  of  Mary,  of  whatever 
degree,  are  the  brethren  of  the  Lord.  How 
do  we  prove  this  ?  From  Scripture  itself. 
Lot  is  called  "  Abraham's  brother;"  6  he  was 
his  brother's  son.  Read,  and  thou  wilt  find 
that  Abraham  was  Lot's  uncle  on  the  father's 
side,  and  yet  they  are  called  brethren.  Why, 
but  because  they  were  kinsmen  ?  Laban  the 


psalmist  calls  his  bosom,  when  he  says,  "  And  Syrian  was  Jacob's  uncle  by  the  mother's  side, 
my  prayer  shall  be  turned  in  my  own  bosom."5  for  he  was  the  brother  of  Rebecca,  Isaac's 
He  that  heareth  thee  is  not  beyond  thee;  |  wife  and  Jacob's  mother.7  Read  the  Scripture, 
thou  hast  not  to  travel  far,  nor  to  lift  thyself  and  thou  wilt  find  that  uncle  and  sister'.s  >on 
up,  so  as  to  reach  Him  as  it  were  with  thy  j  are  called  brothers.8  When  thou  hast  known 
hands.  Rather,  if  thou  lift  thyself  up,  thou  this  rule,  thou  wilt  find  that  all  the  blood 
shalt  fall;  if  thou  humble  thyself,  He  will  relations  of  Mary  are  the  brethren  of  Christ, 
draw  near  thee.  Our  Lord  God  is  here,  the  3.  But  rather  were  those  disciples  brethren; 


Luke  vi.  25. 

.  1',.    N\VV.    ,  ;. 


»  Ps.  xxxv.  20. 
5  Ps.  xxxv.   i  I. 


•f.cn.  xiii.  8;  xiv.  14. 


\xviii.  5. 


;o 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSI  IN. 


[TRACTATK  X. 


for  even  those  kinsmen  would  not  be  brethren 
were  they  not  disciples:  and  to  no  advantage 
brethren,  if  they  did  not  recognize  their 
brother  as  their  master.  For  in  a  certain 
place,  when  He  was  informed  that  His  mother 
and  His  brethren  were  standing  without,  at 
the  time  He  was  speaking  to  His  disciples, 
He  said:  "Who  is  my  mother?  or  who  are 
my  brethren  ?  And  stretching  out  His  hand 
over  His  disciples,  He  said,  These  are  my 
brethren;"  and,  "Whosoever  shall  do  the 
will  of  my  Father,  the  same  is  my  mother, 
and  brother,  and  sister."1  Therefore  aho 
Mary,  because  she  did  the  will  of  the  Father. 
What  the  Lord  magnified  in  her  was,  that  she 
did  the  will  of  the  Father,  not  that  flesh  gave 
birth  to  flesh.  Give  good  heed,  beloved. 
Moreover,  when  the  Lord  was  regarded  with 
admiration  by  the  multitude,  while  doing 
signs  and  wonders,  and  showing  forth  what  lay 
concealed  under  the  flesh,  certain  admiring 
souls  said:  "  Happy  is  the  womb  that  bare 
Thee:  and  He  said,  Yea,  rather,  happy  are 
they  that  hear  the  word  of  God,  and  keep  it. "  a 
That  is  to  say,  even  my  mother,  whom  ye 
have  called  happy,  is  happy  in  that  she  keeps 
the  word  of  God:  not  because  in  her  the 
Word  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  in  us;  but 
because  she  keeps  that  same  word  of  God  by 
which  she  was  made,  and  which  in  her  was 
made  flesh.  Let  not  men  rejoice  in  temporal 
offspring,  but  let  them  exult  if  in  spirit  they 
are  joined  to  God.  We  have  spoken  these 
things  on  account  of  that  which  the  evangelist 
says,  that  He  dwelt  in  Capernaum  a  few  days, 
with  His  mother,  and  His  Brethren,  and  His 
disciples. 

4.  What  follows  upon  this?  "And  the 
Jews'  passover  was  at  hand;  and  He  went  up 
to  Jerusalem."  The  narrator  relates  another  | 
matter,  as  it  came  to  his  recollection.  "  And  | 
He  found  in  the  temple  those  that  sold  oxen, 
and  sheep,  and  doves,  and  the  changers  of 
money  sitting:  and  when  He  had  made,  as  it 
were,  a  scourge  of  small  cords,  He  drove  them 
all  out  of  the  temple;  the  oxen  likewise,  and 
the  sheep;  and  poured  out  the  changers' 
money,  and  overthrew  the  tables;  and  said 
unto  them  that  sold  doves,  Take  these  things 
hence;  and  make  not  my  Father's  house  a 
house  of  merchandise. ''  What  have  we  heard, 
brethren  ?  See,  that  temple  was  still  a  figure, 
and  yet  the  Lord  cast  out  of  it  all  that  sought 
their  own,  all  who  had  come  to  market. 
And  what  did  they  sell  there  ?  Things  which 
people  needed  in  the  sacrifices  of  that  time. 
For  you  know,  beloved,  that  sacrifices  were 
given  to  that  people,  in  consideration  of  the 


carnal  mind  and  stony  heart  yet  in  them,  to 
keep  them  from  falling  away  to  idols:  and 
they  offered  there  for  sacrifices  oxen,  sheep, 
and  doves:  you  know  this,  for  you  have  read 
it.  It  was  not  a  great  sin,  then,  if  they  sold 
in  the  temple  that  which  was  bought  for  the 
purpose  of  offering  in  the  temple:  and  yet  He 
cast  them  out  thence.  If,  while  they  were 
selling  what  was  lawful  and  not  against  justice 
(for  it  is  not  unlawful  to  sell  what  it  is  honor 
able  to  buy),  He  nevertheless  drove  those 
men  out,  and  suffered  not  the  house  of  prayer 
to  be  made  a  house  of  merchandise;  how,  if 
He  found  drunkards  there,  what  would  the 
Lord  do  ?  If  the  house  of  God  ought  not  to 
be  made  a  house  •  of  trading,  ought  it  to  be 
made  a  house  of  drinking?  But  when  we  say 
this,  they  gnash  upon  us  with  their  teeth;  but 
the  psalm  which  you  have  heard  comforts  us: 
"  They  gnashed  upon  me  with  their  teeth." 
Yet  we  know  how  we  may  be  cured,  although 
the  strokes  of  the  lash  are  multiplied  on 
Christ,  for  His  word  is  made  to  bear  the 
scourge:  "The  scourges,"  saith  He,  "were 
gathered  together  against  me,  and  they  knew 
not."  He  was  scourged  by  the  scourges  of  the 
Jews;  He  is  now  scourged  by  the  blasphemies 
of  false  Christians:  they  multiply  scourges  for 
their  Lord,  and  know  it  not.  Let  us,  so  far  as 
He  aids  us,  do  as  the  psalmist  did:  "  But  as 
for  me,  when  they  were  troublesome  to  me,  I 
put  on  sackcloth,  and  humbled  my  soul  with 
fasting."  3 

5.  Yet  we  say,  brethren  (for  He  did  not 
spare  those  men:  He  who  was  to  be  scourged 
by  them  first  scourged  them),  that  He  gave  us 
a  certain  sign,  in  that  He  made  a  scourge  of 
small  cords,  and  with  it  lashed  the  unruly, 
who  were  making  merchandise  of  God's 
temple.  For  indeed  every  man  twists  for 
himself  a  rope  by  his  sins:  "Woe  to  them 
who  draw  sins  as  a  long  rope  ?  "  4  Who  makes 
a  long  rope  ?  He  who  adds  sin  to  sin.  How 
are  sins  added  to  sins?  When  the  sins  which 
have  been  committed  are  covered  over  by 
other  sins.  One  has  committed  a  theft:  that 
he  may  not  be  found  out  to  have  com 
mitted  it,  he  seeks  the  astrologer.  It  were 
enough  to  have  committed  theft:  why  wilt 
thou  add  sin  to  sin  ?  Behold  two  sins  com 
mitted.  When  thou  art  forbidden  to  go  to 
the  astrologer,  thou  revilest  the  bishop:  be 
hold  three  sins.  When  thou  nearest  it  said 
of  thee,  Cast  him  forth  from  the  Church; 
thou  sayest,  I  will  betake  me  to  the  party  of 
Donntus:  behold  thou  addest  a  fourth  sin. 
The  rope  is  growing;  be  thou  afraid  of  the 
rope.  It  is  good  for  thee  to  be  corrected 


Matt.  xii.  46-50. 


\v.   13. 


Isa.  v.   it-    I  XX. 


•. .  I     \  I 


<»\    I  Hi;  >,<  >SPEL  <  'i    -  i      |.  ,n\. 


here,  when   t'nou  art  scourged   with   it;  that  it 
may  not  lie  said  of  thee  at  the  last,  "  Hind  ye 


•mil  to  buy  the  do\v.  and  every 
one  at   his  own   stall  cries   up  w .. 


every  seller;   let  him  come  where   he   r« 
freely      Aye,  brethren,  and  they  do  not  blush, 
that,   by   these   bitter   and   malicious   <; 
sions  of  theirs,  they  have  made  of  them 
so   many  parties,  while  they  assume    to  be 
what  they  are  not,  while  they  are  lifted  up, 
thinking  themselves    to  be  something  when 
they  are  nothing.4     Hut  what  is   fulfilled   in 
them,  since  that  they  will  not  be  corrected, 
but  that  which  you  have  heard  in  the  psalm: 
"  They  were  rent  asunder,  and   felt    no   re- 


his   hands  and    feet,  and   cast  him    forth    into    Let  the  heart  of  such  an  one  turn  away   from 
OUter  <UrkneM." '      For,  "With  the   cords  of   every  seller:   let  him  come  where   he   n - 
his  own  sins   is    every  one    bound."  '      The 
former  of  tljese  is  the  saying  of  the  Lord,  the 
latter  that  of  another  Scripture;  but  yet  both 
are  the  sayings  of  the  Lord.     With  their  own 
sins  are  men  bound  and  cast  into  outer  dark 
ness. 

6.  However,  to  seek  the  mystery  of  the 
deed  in  the  figure,  who  are  they  that  sell 
oxen?  Who  are  they  that  sell  sheep  and 
doves  ?  They  are  they  who  seek  their  own 
in  the  Church,  not  the  things  which  are 
Christ's.  They  account  all  a  matter  of  sale, 
while  they  will  not  be  redeemed:  they  have 

no  wish  to  be  bought,  and  yet  they  wish  to !  stood  to  mean  the  oxen.     The  apostles  were 
sell.     Yes;  good  indeed  is  it  for  them  that  •  oxen,  the  prophets  were  oxen.     Whence  the 
they  may  be  redeemed  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  !  apostle  says:    "Thou  shall  not  muzzle    thel 
that  they  may  come  to  the  peace  of  Christ.  |  mouth  of  the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the  corn./    V, 
Now,  what   does   it   profit  to  acquire  in  this  Doth  God  take  care  for  oxen  ?     Or  saith  He/ 

'  it  for  our  sakes  ?  Yea,  for  our  sakes  He  saith 
it:  that  he  who  ploweth  should  plow  in  hope; 
and  he  that  thresheth,  in  hope  of  partaking."* 
Those  oxen,  then,  have  left  to  us  the  narra 
tion  of  the  Scriptures.  For  it  was  not  of  their 


morse     ? 

7.   Well,  who  sell  oxen  ? 
dispensed  to  us  the  Holy  Scriptures  are  under- 


They  who  have 


soever,  be  it  money,  or  pleasure  of  the  palate, 
or  honor  that  consists  in  the  praise  of  men  ? 
Are  they  not  all  wind  and  smoke  ?  Do  they 
not  all  pass  by  and  flee  away  ?  Are  they  not 


all  as  a  river  rushing  headlong  into  the  sea  ?  |  own  that  they  dispensed,  because  they  sought 
And  woe  to  him  who  shall  fall  into  it,  for  he  '  the  glory  of  the  Lord.  Now,  what  have  ye 
shall  be  swept  into  the  sea.  Therefore  ought  heard  in  that  psalm?  "And  let  them  say 
we  to  curb  all  our  affections  from  such  de-  j  continually,  The  Lord  be  magnified,  they  that 


sires.  My  brethren,  they  that  seek  such 
things  are' they  that  sell.  For  that  Simon, 
too,  wished  to  buy  the  Holy  Ghost,  just  be 
cause  he  meant  to  sell  the  Holy  Ghost;  and 
he  thought  the  apostles  to  be  just  such  traders 
as  they  whom  the  Lord  cast  out  of  the  temple 
with  a  scourge.  For  such  an  one  he  was  him 
self,  and  desired  to  buy  what  he  might  sell: 
he  was  of  those  who  sell  doves.  Now  it  was 
in  a  dove  that  the  Holy  Ghost  appeared.1 
Who,  then,  are  they,  brethren,  that  sell  doves, 
but  they  who  say,  "We  give  the  Holy  Ghost  "? 
But  why  do  they  say  this  ?  and  at  what  price 
do  thev  sell  ?  At  the  price  of  honor  to  them 
selves.  They  receive  as  the  price,  temporal 
seats  of  honor,  that  they  may  be  seen  to  be 
sellers  of  doves.  Let  them  beware  of  the 
scourge  of  small  cords.  The  dove  is  not  for 
sale:  it  is  given  freely;  for  grace,  or  favor,  it 
is  called.  Therefore,  my  brethren,  just  as 
you  see  them  that  sell,  common  chapmen, 
each  cries  up  what  he  sells:  how  many  stalls 
they  have  set  up  !  Primianus  has  a  stall  at 
Carthage,  Maximianus  has  another,  Rogatns 
has  another  in  Mauritania,  they  have  another 
in  Numidia,  this  party  and  that,  which  it  is 
not  in  our  power  now  to  name.  Accordingly, 


wish    the   peace    of    His   servant."6     God's 
servant,  God's    people,  God's  Church.     Let 


them  who   wish  the   peace   of   that 
magnify  the  Lord,  not  the  servant: 


Church 
and  let 


them  say  continually,  The   Lord  be  magni 


fied."     Who,  let  say  ? 
peace  of  His  servant." 


Them  who  wish  the 
The  voice  of  that 


people,  of  that  servant,  is  clearly  that  voice 
which  you  have  heard  in  lamentations  in  the 
psalm,  and  were  moved  at  hearing,  because 
you  are  of  that  people.  What  was  sung  by 
one,  re-echoed  from  the  hearts  of  all.  Happy 


they    who    recognized 
voices  as  in  a  mirror. 


themselves    in    those 
Who,  then,  are  they 


that  wish  the  peace  of  His  servant,  the  peace 
of  His  people,  the  peace  of  the  one  whom  He 
calls  His  "only  one,"  and  whom  He  wishes 
to  be  delivered  from  the  lion:  "  Deliver  mine 
only  one  from  the  power  of  the  dog  ? " 7  They 
who  say  always,  "  The  Lord  be  magnified." 
Those  oxen,  then,  magnified  the  Lord,  not 
themselves.  See  this  ox  magnifyiiu 
Lord,  because  "  the  ox  knoweth  his  owner;"  * 
observe  that  ox  in  fear  lest  men  desert  the 
ox's  owner  and  rely  on  the  ox:  how  lie  dreads 
them  that  are  willing  to  put  their  confidence 
in  him:  "Was  1'anl  crucified  for  you?  or 


.       . 
7  P$.  xxii. 


<<  IM.  i.  J. 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  x. 


were  ye  baptized  in  the  name  of  Paul  ?  "  '  Of 
what  I  gave,  I  was  not  the  giver:  I'reeiy  ye 
have  received;  the  dove  came  down  from 
heaven.  "  1  have  planted,"  saitli  he,  "Apol- 
los  watered;  but  God  gave  the  increase: 
neither  he  that  planteth  is  anything,  neither 
he  that  watereth;  but  God  that  giveth  the 
increase."  -  "  And  let  them  say  always,  The 
Lord  be  magnified,  they  that  wish  the  peace 
of  His  servant." 

8.  These  men,  however,  deceive  the  peo 
ple  by  the  very  Scriptures,  that  they  may 
receive  honors  and  praises  at  their  hand,  and 
that  men  may  not  turn  to  the  truth.  But  in 
that  they  deceive,  by  the  very  Scriptures,  the 
people  of  whom  they  seek  honors,  they  do  in 
fact  sell  oxen:  they  sell  sheep  too;  that  is, 
the  common  people  themselves.  And  to 
whom  do  they  sell  them,  but  to  the  devil  ? 
For  if  the  Church  be  Christ's  sole  and  only 
one,  who  is  it  that  carries  off  whatever  is  cut 
away  from  it,  but  that  lion  that  roars  and  goes 
about,  "seeking  whom  he  may  devour?"3 
Woe  to  them  that  are  cut  off  from  the  Church  ! 
As  for  her,  she  will  remain  entire.  "  For  the 
Lord  knoweth  them  that  are  His."4  These, 
however,  so  far  as  they  can,  sell  oxen  and 
sheep,  they  sell  doves  too:  let  them  guard 
against  the  scourge  of  their  own  sins.  But 
when  they  suffer  some  such  things  for  these 
their  iniquities,  let  them  acknowledge  that  the 
Lord  has  made  a  scourge  of  small  cords,  and 
is  admonishing  them  to  change  themselves 
and  be  no  longer  traffickers:  for  if  they  will 
not  change,  they  shall  at  the  end  hear  it  said, 
"  Bind  ye  these  men's  hands  and  feet,  and 
cast  them  forth  into  outer  darkness." 

9.  "  Then  the  disciples  remembered  that  it 
was  written,  The  zeal  of  Thine  house  hath 
eaten  me  up:  "  because  by  this  zeal  of  God's 
house,  the  Lord  cast  these  men  out  of  the 
temple.  Brethren,  let  every  Christian  among 
the  members  of  Christ  be  eaten  up  with  zeal 
of  God's  house.  Who  is  eaten  up  with  zeal 
of  God's  house?  He  who  exerts  himself  to 
have  all  that  he  may  happen  to  see  wrong 
there  corrected,  desires  it  to  be  mended,  does 
not  rest  idle:  who  if  he  cannot  mend  it,  en 
dures  it,  laments  it.  The  grain  is  not  shaken 
out  on  the  threshing-floor  that  it  may  enter 
the  barn  when  the  chaff  shall  have  been  sepa 
rated.  If  thou  art  a  grain,  be  not  shaken  out 
from  the  floor  before  the  putting  into  the 
granary;  lest  thou  be  picked  up  by  the  birds 
before  thou  be  gathered  into  the  granary. 
For  the  birds  of  heaven,  the  powers  of  the  air, 
are  waiting  to  snatch  up  something  off  the 
threshing-floor,  and  they  can  snatch  up  only 


:  Cor.  i.  13. 
i  Pet.  v.  8. 


Cor.  in.  6,  7. 
t  Tim.  ii.  i<_>. 


what  lias  been  shaken  out  of  it.  Therefore, 
let  the  zeal  of  God's  house  eat  thee  up:  let 
the  zeal  of  God's  house  eat  up  every  Christian, 
zeal  of  that  house  of  God  of  which  he  is  a 
member.  For  thy  own  house  is  not  more 
important  than  that  wherein  thou,  hast  ever 
lasting  rest.  Thou  goest  into  thine  own 
house  for  temporal  rest,  thou  enterest  God's 
house  for  everlasting  rest  If,  then,  thou 
busiest  thyself  to  see  that  nothing  wrong  be 
done  in  thine  own  house,  is  it  fit  that  thou 
suffer,  so  far  as  thou  canst  help,  if  thou 
shouldst  chance  to  see  aught  wrong  in  the 
house  of  God,  where  salvation  is  set  before 
thee,  and  rest  without  end  ?  For  example, 
seest  thou  a  brother  rushing  to  the  theatre? 
Stop  him,  warn  him,  make  him  sorry,  if  the 
zeal  of  God's  house  doth  eat  thee  up.  Seest 
thou  others  running  and  desiring  to  get  drunk, 
and  that,  too,  in  holy  places,  which  is  not 
decent  to  be  done  in  any  place  ?  Stop  those 
whom  thou  canst,  restrain  whom  thou  canst, 
frighten  whom  thou  canst,  allure  gently  whom 
thou  canst:  do  not,  however,  rest  silent.  Is 
it  a  friend  ?  Let  him  be  admonished  gently. 
Is  it  a  wife?  Let  her  be  bridled  with  the 
utmost  rigor.  Is  it  a  maid-servant  ?  Let 
her  be  curbed  even  with  blows.  Do  whatever 
thou  canst  for  the  part  thou  bearest;  and  so 
thou  fulfillest,  "  The  zeal  of  Thy  house  hath 
eaten  me  up."  But  if  thou  wilt  be  cold,  'lan 
guid,  having  regard  only  to  thyself,  and  as  if 
thyself  were  enough  to  thee,  and  saying  in 
thy  heart,  What  have  I  to  do  with  looking 
after  other  men's  sins  ?  enough  for  me  is  the 
care  of  my  own  soul:  this  let  me  keep  unde- 
filed  for  God; — come,  does  there  not  recur  to 
thy  mind  the  case  of  that  servant  who  hid  his 
talent  and  would  not  lay  it  out  ?  Was  he 
accused  because  he  lost  it,  and  not  because 
he  kept  it  without  profit  ?5  So  hear  ye  then, 
my  brethren,  that  ye  may  not  rest  idle.  I 
am  about  to  give  you  counsel:  may  He  who 
is  within  give  it;  for  though  it  be  through  me, 
it  is  He  that  gives  it.  You  know  what  to  do, 
each  one  of  you,  in  his  own  house,  with  his 
friend,  his  tenant,  his  client,  with  greater, 
with  less:  as  God  grants  an  entrance,  as  He 
opens  a  door  for  His  word,  do  not  cease  to 
win  for  Christ;  because  you  were  won  by 
Christ. 

10.  "The  Jews  said  unto  Him,  What  sign 
showest  thou  unto  us,  seeing  that  thou  doest 
these  things?"  And  the  Lord  answm-d, 
"  Destroy  this  temple,  and  in  three  clays  I  will 
raise  it  up.  Then  said  the  Jews,  Forty  and 
six  years  was  this  temple  in  building,  and  dost 
thou  say,  In  three  days  I  will  rear  it  up5" 


5  Matt.  xxv.  35-30. 


vn  x  ' 


ON    THF.   C.OSI'KI     ol     ST.    JOHN. 


Flesh  they  were,  fleshly  tiling  they  minded; 
but  He  was  speaking  spiritually.  Hut  who 
could  understaiul  of  what  temple  He  spoke? 
Hut  yet  we  have  not  far  to  seek;  He  has  dis 
covered  it  to  us  through  the  evangelist,  he 
has  told  us  of  what  temple  He  said  it.  "But 
He  spake,"  saitu  the  evangelist,  ''  of  the  tem 
ple  of  His  body."  And  it  is  manifest  that, 
being  slain,  the  Lord  did  rise  again  after  three 
days.  This  is  known  to  us  all  now:  and  if 
from  the  Jews  it  is  concealed,  it  is  because 
they  stand  without;  yet  to  us  it  is  open,  be 
cause  we  know  in  whom  we  believe.  The 
destroying  and  rearing  again  of  that  temple, 
we  are  about  to  celebrate  in  its  yearly  solem 
nity:  for  which  we  exhort  you  to  prepare 
yourselves,  such  of  you  as  are  catechumens, 
that  you  may  receive  grace;  even  now  is  the 
time,  even  now  let  that  be  purposed  which 
may  then  come  to  the  birth.  Now,  that 
thing  we  know. 

ir.  But  perhaps  this  is  demanded  of  us, 
whether  the  fact  that  the  temple  was  forty 
and  six  years  in  building  may  not  have  in  it 
some  mystery.  There  are,  indeed,  many 
things  that  may  be  said  of  this  matter;  but 
what  may  briefly  be  said,  and  easily  under 
stood,  that  we  say  meanwhile.  Brethren,  we 
have  said  yesterday,  if  I  mistake  not,  that 
Adam  was  one  man,  and  is  yet  the  whole  hu 
man  race.  For  thus  we  said,  if  you  remem 
ber.  He  was  broken,  as  it  were,  in  pieces; 
and,  being  scattered,  is  now  being  gathered 
together,  and,  as  it  were,  conjoined  into  one 
by  a  spiritual  fellowship  and  concord.  And 
*'  the  poor  that  groan,"  as  one  man,  is  that 
same  Adam,  but  in  Christ  he  is  being  renew 
ed:  because  an  Adam  is  come  without  sin,  to 
destroy  the  sin  of  Adam  in  His  own  flesh,  and 
that  Adam  might  renew  to  himself  the  image 
of  God.  Of  Adam  then  is  Christ's  flesh:  of 
Adam  the  temple  which  the  Jews  destroyed, 
and  the  Lord  raised  up  in  three  days.  For 
He  raised  His  own  flesh:  see,  that  He  was  | 
thus  God  equal  with  the  Father.  My  breth- 1 
ren,  the  apostle  says,  "  Who  raised  Him  from  ! 
the  dead.''  Of  whom  says  he  this?  Of  the 
Father.  "  He  became,"  saith  he,  "obedient 
unto  death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross; 
wherefore  also  God  raised  Him  from  the  dead,  | 
and  gave  Him  a  name  which  is  above  every j 
name."  '  He  who  was  raised  and  exalted  is 
the  Lord.  Who  raised  Him?  The  Father, 
to  whom  He  said  in  the  psalms,  "  Raise  me 
up  and  I  will  requite  them."2  Hence,  the 
Father  raised  Him  up.  Did  He  not  raise 
Himself?  And  doeth  the  Father  anything 
without  the  Word  ?  What  doeth  the  Father 


without    His   only   One?      For,  hear  t 
also  was  God.      "  Destroy  thi*  temple,  and  in 
three  days  I  will   raise  it  up."      Did    11 
Destroy  the  temple,  which  in  th: 
FatUerwill  raise  up?     Hut  as  when  the  i 
raibeth,  the  Son  also    raiseth  ;  so   when    the 
Son  raiseth,  the  Father  also  raiseth:  li 
the  Son  has  said,    "  I  and    the    Father   are 
one."  3 

12.  Now,  what  does  the  number  Forty-six 
mean  ?  Meanwhile,  how  Adam  extends  over 
the  whole  globe,  you  have  already  heard  ex 
plained  yesterday,  by  the  four  Greek  letters 
of  four  Greek  words.  For  if  thou  write  the 
four  words,  one  under  the  other,  that  is,  the 
names  of  the  four  quarters  of  the  world,  of 
east,  west,  north,  and  south,  which  is  the 
whole  globe, — whence  the  Lord  says  that  He 
will  gather  His  elect  from  the  four  winds 
when  He  shall  come  to  judgment;4 — if,  I  say, 
you  take  these  four  Greek  words, — di/arw/ij, 
which  is  east;  dnat*;,  which  is  west;  a/>xr«v, 
which  is  north;  /ie«nj/i,5/*{«,  which  is  south; 
Anatole,  Dysis,  Arctos,  Mesembria, — the  first 
letters  of  the  words  make  Adam.  How,  then, 
do  we  find  there,  too,  the  number  forty-six  ? 
Because  Christ's  flesh  was  of  Adam.  The 
Greeks  compute  numbers  by  letters.  What 
we  make  the  letter  A,  they  in  their  tongue 
put  Alpha,  «,  and  Alpha,  «,  is  called  one. 
And  where  in  numbers  they  write  Beta,  ,3, 
which  is  their  b,  it  is  called  in  numbers  two. 
Where  they  write  Gamma,  p,  it  is  called  in 
their  numbers  three.  Where  they  write  Delta, 
'J,  it  is  called  in  their  numbers  four;  and  so 
by  means  of  all  the  letters  they  have  numbers. 
The  letter  we  call  M,  and  they  call  My,  /i, 
signifies  forty;  for  they  say  My,//,  rsaanftdxt^ra. 
Now  look  at  the  number  which  these  letters 
make,  and  you  Will  find  in  it  that  the  temple 
was  built  in  forty-six  years.  For  the  word 
Adam  has  Alpha,  </,  which  is  one:  it  has 
Delta,  fJ,  which  is  four;  there  are  five  for  thee: 
it  has  Alpha,  «,  again,  which  is  one;  there  are 
six  for  thee:  it  has  also  My,  //,  which  is  forty; 
there  hast  thou  forty-six.  These  things,  my 
brethren,  were  said  by  our  elders  before  us, 
and  that  number  forty-six  was  found  by  them 
in  letters.  And  because  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  took  of  Adam  a  body,  not  of  Adam 
derived  sin;  took  of  him  a  corporeal  temple, 
not  iniquity  which  must  be  driven  from  the 
temple:  and  that  the  Jews  crucified  that  very 
flesh  which  He  derived  from  Adam  (for  Man- 
was  of  Adam,  and  the  Lord's  flesh  was  of 
Mary);  anil  that,  further.  He  was  in  three 
days  to  raise  that  same  flesh  which  they  were 
about  to  slay  on  the  cross:  they  destroyed 


Phil. 


'  John 


74 


THE   WORKS   OF   ST.    AlT.rSTIN 


[TRACT .vi  i.  XI. 


the  temple  which  was  forty-six  years  in  build 
ing,  and  that  temple  He  raised  up  in  three 
d'iys. 

13.  We  bless  the  Lord  our  God,  who 
gathered  us  together  to  spiritual  joy.  Let  us 
be  ever  in  humility  of  heart,  and  let  our  joy 
be  with  Him.  Let  us  not  be  elated  with  any 
prosperity  of  this  world,  but  know  that  our 
happiness  is  not  until  these  things  shall  have 
passed  way.  Now,  my  brethren,  let  our  joy 


be  in  hope:  let  none  rejoice  as  in  a  present 
thing,  lest  he  stick  fast  in  the  way.  Let  joy 
be  wholly  of  hope  to  come,  desire  be  wholly 
of  eternal  life.  Let  all  sighings  breathe  after 
Christ.  Let  that  fairest  one  alone,  who  loved 
the  foul  to  make  them  fair,  be  all  our  desire; 
after  Him  alone  let  us  run,  for  Him  alone 
pant  and  sigh;  "and  let  them  say  always, 
The  Lord  be  magnified,  that  wish  the  peace 
of  His  servant." 


TRACTATE  XI. 

CHAPTER  II.   23-25;  III.  1-5. 


i.  OPPORTUNELY  has  the  Lord  procured  and  that  therefore  Jesus  did  not  trust  Himself 
for  us  that  this  passage  should  occur  in  its  to  them  ?  But  the  evangelist  would  not  have 
order  to-day:  for  I  suppose  you  have  observ-  said,  "  Many  believed  in  His  name,"  if  he 
ed,  beloved,  that  we  have  undertaken  to  con- :  were  not  giving  a  true  testimony  to  them, 
sider  and  explain  the  Gospel  according  to  A  great  thing,  then,  it  is,  and  a  wonderful 
John  in  due  course.  Opportunely  then  it!  thing:  men  believe  on  Christ,  and  Christ 
occurs,  that  to-day  you  should  hear  from  the  trusts  not  Himself  to  men.  Especially  is  it 
Gospel,  that,  "  Except  a  man  be  born  again  j  wonderful,  since,  being  the  Son  of  God,  He 
of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  shall  not  see  the  !  of  course  suffered  willingly.  If  He  were  not 
kingdom  of  God."  For  it  is  time  that  we  ex-  j  willing,  He  would  never  have  suffered,  since, 
hort  you,  who  are  still  catechumens,  who  have  J  had  He  not  willed  it,  He  had  not  been  born; 


believed  in  Christ  in  such  wise,  that  you  are 
still  bearing  your  sins.  And  none  shall  see 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  while  burdened  with 
sins;  for  none  shall  reign  with  Christ,  but  he 
to  whom  they  have  been  forgiven:  but  for 
given  they  cannot  be,  but  to  him  who  is  born 
again  of  water  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  But 
let  us  observe  all  the  words  what  they  imply, 
that  here  the  sluggish  may  find,  with  what 


and  if  He  had  willed  this  only,  merely  to  be 
born  and  not  to  die,  He  might  have  done  even 
whatever  He  willed, because  He  is  the  almighty 
Son  of  the  almighty  Father  Let  us  prove  it 
by  facts.  For  when  they  wished  to  hold 
Him,  He  departed  from  them.  The  Gospel 
says,  "  And  when  they  would  have  cast  Him 
headlong  from  the  top  of  the  mountain,  He 
departed  from  them  unhurt."1  And  when 


earnestness  they  must  haste  to  put  off  their  j  they  came  to  Ic.y  hold  of  Him,  after  He  was 
burden.  For  were  they  bearing  some  heavy  j  sold  by  Judas  the  traitor,  who  imagined  that 
load,  either  of  stone,  or  of  wood,  or  even  of  he  had  it  in  his  power  to  deliver  up  his  Mas- 
some  gain;  if  they  were  carrying  corn,  or  wine,  !  ter  and  Lord,  there  also  the  Lord  showed  that 
or  money,  they  would  run  to  put  off  their  j  He  suffered  of  His  own  will,  not  of  necessity, 
loads:  they  are  carrying  a  burden  of  sins,  and  •  For  when  the  Jews  desired  to  lay  hold  of 
yet  are  sluggish  to  run.  You  must  run  to  Him,  He  said  to  them,  "Whom  seek  ye? 
put  off  this  burden;  it  weighs  you  down,  it  But  they  said,  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  And  said 
drowns  you.  I  He,  I  am  He.  On  hearing  this  saying,  they 

2.  Behold,  you  have  heard  that  when  our  went  backward,  and  fell  to  the  ground."  :  In 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  "  was  in  Jerusalem  at  the  •  this,  that  in  answering  them  He  threw  them 
Passover,  on  the  feast  day,  many  believed  in  to  the  ground,  He  showed  His  power;  that  in 
His  name,  seeing  the  signs  which  He  did."  His  being  taken  by  them  He  might  show  His 
"  Many  believed  in  His  name;"  and  what  will.  It  was  of  compassion,  then,  that  He 
follows  ?  "  But  Jesus  did  not  trust  Himself ',  suffered.  For  "  He  was  delivered  up  for  our 


to  them."  Now  what  does  this  mean,  "  They 
believed,"  or  trusted,  "  in  His  name;"  and 
yet  "  Jesus  did  not  trust  Himself  to  them;"  ? 
Was  it,  perhaps,  that  they  had  not  believed 
on  Him,  but  were  feigning  to  have  believed, 


sins,  and  rose  again   for  our  justification. 
Hear  His  own  words:  "  I  have  power  to  lay 
down  my  life,  and  t   have  power  to  take    it 


'  I.uke  iv.  30. 


Johr 


i  Rom.  iv.  25. 


i  I   \  I  i 


ON  THI;  GOSPEL  <>i   -I'.  JOHN. 


again:   no  man  takcth  it  from  MK-.  but  I  lay  it 
down  ol"  myself",  tli.it   I  may  take  it  again."  ' 
Since,  therefore,  He  had  such  power,  since 
He  declared  it  by  words,  showed  it  by  deeds, 
what  then  does  it  mean  that  Jesus  did    not 
trust  Himself  to   them,  as  if  they   would   do 
Him  some  harm  against  His  will,  or  would  do 
something  to  Him  against  His  will,  especially 
seeing  that  they  had  already  believed  in  His 
name  ?     Moreover,  of  the  same  persons  the 
evangelist    says,    "  They    believed     in     His 
name,"  of  whom  he  says,  "  But  Jesus  did  not 
trust  Himself  to  them."     Why?     "Because 
He  knew  all  men,  and  needed  not  that  any 
should    bear   witness   of   man:  for     Himself 
knew  what  was  in  man."     The  artificer  knew 
what  was  in  His  own  work    better   than    the 
work  knew  what  was  in  itself.     The  Creator 
of   man    knew  what  was  in  man,  which  the 
created  man  himself  knew  not.     Do  we   not , 
prove  this  of  Peter,  that  he  knew  not  what  j 
was  in  himself,  when  he  said,  "  With  Thee, 
even  to  death  "  ?     Hear  that  the  Lord  knew 
what  was  in    man:  "Thou  with  me  even  to  j 
death  ?     Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  Before 
the  cock  crow,  thou  shall  deny  me  thrice."3 
The  man,  then,  knew  not  what  was  in  himself; 
but  the  Creator  of  the  man  knew  what  was  in 
the  man.      Nevertheless,    many  believed   in  j 
His  name,  and  yet  Jesus  did  not  trust  Him- 1 
self  to  them.     What  can  we   say,  brethren  ? 
Perhaps  the  circumstances  that  follow  will  in-  | 
dicate  to  us  what  the  mystery  of  these  words  j 
is.     That  men  had  believed  in  Him  is  mani-  j 
fest,  is  true;  none  doubts  it,  the  Gospel  says 
it,  the  truth-speaking  evangelist  testifies  to  it.  i 
Again,  that  Jesus  trusted  not  Himself  to  them 
is  also  manifest,  and  no  Christian  doubts  it; 
for  the  Gospel  says  this  also,  and  the  same 
truth-speaking  evangelist  testifies  to  it.     Why, 
then,  is  it  that  they  believed   in  His  name, 
and  yet  Jesus  did  not  trust  Himself  to  them  ? 
Let  us  see  what  follows. 

3.  "  And  there  was  a  man  of  the  Pharisees, 
Nicodemus  by  name,  a  ruler  of  the  Jews:  the 
same  came  to  Him  by  night,  and  said  unto 
Him,  Rabbi  (you  already  know  that  Master 
is  called  Rabbi),  we  know  that  Thou  art  a 
teacher  come  from  God;  for  no  man  can  do 
these  signs  which  Thou  doest,  except  God  be 
with  him."  This  Nicodemus,  then,  was  of 
those  who  had  believed  in  His  name,  as  they 
saw  the  signs  and  prodigies  which  He  did. 
For  this  is  what  he  said  above:  "  Now,  when 
He  was  in  Jerusalem  at  the  passover  on  the 
feast-day,  many  believed  in  His  name."  Why 
did  they  believe  ?  He  goes  on  to  say,  "  See 
ing  His  signs  which  He  did."  And  what 


says  b<  :mis?     "I  i  ruler 

deinii^  by  name-  tii- 
came  to  Him  by  night,  and  *a 
Rabbi,  we  know  that  Thou  art  a  teacher  come 
from  God.1'  Therefore  this  man  ai- 
believed  in  His  name.  And  why  had 
lieved  ?  He  goes  on,  "  For  no  man  can  do 
these  signs  which  Thou  doest,  except  God  be 
with  him."  If,  therefore,  Nicodemus  was  of 
i  those  who  had  believed  in  His  name,  let  us 
j  now  consider,  in  the  case  of  this  Nicodemus, 
jwhy  Jesus  did  not  trust  Himself  to  them. 
"  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him,  Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  thee.  Except  a  man  be  born 
again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God." 
1  Therefore  to  them  who  have  been  born  again 
;  doth  Jesus  trust  Himself.  Behold,  those  men 
had  believed  on  Him,  and  yet  Jesus  trusted 
not  Himself  to  them.  Such  are  all  catechu 
mens:  already  they  believe  in  the  name  of 
Christ,  but  Jesus  does  not  trust  Himself  to 
them.  Give  good  heed,  my  beloved,  and 
understand.  If  we  say  to  a  catechumen,  Dost 
thou  believe  on  Christ  ?  he  answers,  I  believe, 
and  signs  himself;  already  he  bears  the  cross 
of  Christ  on  his  forehead,  and  is  not  ashamed 
of  the  cross  of  his  Lord.  Behold,  he  has  be 
lieved  in  His  name.  Let  us  ask  him,  Dost 
thou  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  man,  and 
drink  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  man  ?  he  knows 
not  what  we  say,  because  Jesus  has  not  trusted 
Himself  to  him. 

4.  Therefore,  since  Nicodemus  was  of  that 
number,  he  came  to  the  Lord,  but  came  by 
night;  and  this  perhaps  pertains  to  the  mat 
ter.  Came  to  the  Lord,  and  came  by  night; 
came  to  the  Light,  and  came  in  the  darkness. 
But  what  do  they  that  are  born  again  of  water 
and  of  the  Spirit  hear  from  the  apostle  ?  "  Ye 
were  once  darkness,  but  now  light  in  the 
Lord;  walk  as  children  of  light;"  3  and  again, 
"  But  we  who  are  of  the  day,  let  us  be 
sober.1'4  Therefore  they  who  are  born  again 
were  of  the  night,  and  are  of  the  day;  were 
darkness,  and  are  light.  Now  Jesus  trusts 
Himself  to  them,  and  they  come  to  Jesus, 
not  by  night,  like  Nicodemus;  not  in  dark 
ness  do  they  seek  the  day.  .  For  such  now 
also  profess:  Jesus  has  come  near  to  them, 
has  made  salvation  in  them;  for  He  said, 
"  Except  a  man  eat  my  flesh,  and  drink  my 
blood,  he  shall  not  have  life  in  him."5  And 
as  the  catechumens  have  the  sign  of  the 
on  their  forehead,  they  are  already  of  the 
great  house;  but  from  servants  let  them  be 
come  sons.  For  they  are  sometime 
already  belong  to  the  great  house.  But 
when  did  the  people  Israel  eat  the  manna  ? 


John  x.  18. 


Matt.  xxvi.  33,  34  ;  Luke  xxii.  33,  34. 


3  Eph. 


5  John  ' 


THE  WORKS  OK  ST.   AT  GUST1N. 


!   I'K  \<    IATK     XI. 


After  they  had  passed  the  Red  Sea.  And  as 
to  \\hat  the  Red  Sea  signifies,  hear  the  apos 
tle:  "  Moreover,  brethren,  I  would  not  have 
you  ignorant,  that  all  our  fathers  were  under 
the  cloud,  and  all  passed  through  the  sea." 


Christ's  flesh.  For  when  the  Lord  Jesus  had 
said,  "  Except  a  man  eat  my  flesh,  and  drink 
my  blood,  he  shall  not  have  life  in  him," 
some  who  followed  Him  were  offended,  and 
said  among  themselves,  "This  is  a  hard  say- 


To    what  purpose    passed    they   through    the   ing  ;  who  can  hear  it  ?"       For   they  fancied 
sea?     As  if  thou  wert  asking  of  him,  he  goes  |  that,  in  saying  this,  Jesus   meant   ttiat   they 


on  to  say,  "  And  all  were  baptized  by  Moses 
in  the  cloud  and  in  the  sea."1  Now,  if  the 
figure  of  the  sea  had  such  efficacy,  how  great 
will  be  the  efficacy  of  the  true  form  of  bap 
tism  !  If  what  was  done  in  a  figure  brought 
the  people,  after  they  had  crossed  over,  to 
the  manna,  what  will  Christ  impart,  in  the 
verity  of  His  baptism,  to  His  own  people, 
brought  over  through  Himself?  By  His  bap 
tism  He  brings  over  them  that  believe;  all 
their  sins,  the  enemies  as  it  were  that  pursue 
them,  being  slain,  as  all  the  Egyptians  perish 
ed  in  that  sea.  Whither  does  He  bring  over, 
my  brethren  ?  Whither  does  Jesus  bring  over 
by  baptism,  of  which  Moses  then  showed  the 
figure,  when  he  brought  them  through  the 
sea?  Whither?  To  the  manna.  What  is 
the  manna?  "I  am,"  saith  He,  "the  liv 
ing  bread,  which  came  down  from  heaven."  3 
The  faithful  receive  the  manna,  having  now 
been  brought  through  the  Red  Sea  ?  Why  Red 
Sea?  Besides  sea,  why  also  "red"?  That 
"Red  Sea"  signified  the  baptism  of  Christ. 
How  is  the  baptism  of  Christ  red,  but  as  conse 
crated  by  Christ's  blood  ?  Whither,  then,  does 
He  lead  those  that  believe  and  are  baptized  ? 
To  the  manna.  Behold,  "manna,"  I  say:  what 
the  Jews,  that  people  Israel,  received,  is  well 
known,  well  known  what  God  had  rained  on 
them  from  heaven;  and  yet  catechumens 
know  not  what  Christians  receive.  Let  them 
blush,  then,  for  their  ignorance;  let  them  pass 
through  the  Red  Sea,  let  them  eat  the  manna, 
that  as  they  have  believed  in  the  name  of 
Jesus,  so  likewise  Jesus  may  trust  Himself  to 
them. 

5.  Therefore  mark,  my  brethren,  what 
answer  this  man  who  came  to  Jesus  by  night 
makes.  Although  he  came  to  Jesus,  yet  be 
cause  he  came  by  night,  he  still  speaks  from 
the  darkness  of  his  own  flesh.  He  understands 
not  what  he  hears  from  the  Lord,  understands 
not  what  he  hears  from  the  Light,  "  which 
lighteth  every  man  that  cometh  into  this 


would  be  able  to  cook  Him,  after  being  cut 
up  like  a  lamb,  and  eat  Him:  horrified  at  His 
words,  they  went  back,  and  no  more  followed 
Him.  Thus  speaks  the  evangelist:  "And 
the  Lord  Himself  remained  with  the  twelve; 
and  they  said  to  Him,  Lo,  those  have  left 
Thee.  And  He  said,  Will  ye  also  go  away  ? ' ' 
— wishing  to  show  them  that  He  was  necessary 
to  them,  not  they  necessary  to  Christ.  Let 
no  man  fancy  that  he  frightens  Christ,  when 
he  tells  Him  that  he  is  a  Christian;  as  if 
Christ  will  be  more  blessed  if  thou  be  a  Chris 
tian.  It  is  a  good  thing  for  thee  to  be  a 
Christian;  but  if  thou  be  not,  it  will  not  be  ill 
for  Christ.  Hear  the  voice  of  the  psalm, 
"  I  said  to  the  Lord,  Thou  art  my  God,  since 
Thou  hast  no  need  of  my  goods." 4  For  that 
reason,  "  Thou  art  my  God,  since  of  my 
goods  Thou  hast  no  need."  If  thou  be  with 
out  God,  thou  wilt  be  less;  if  thou  be  with 
God,  God  will  not  be  greater.  Not  from  thee 
will  He  be  greater,  but  thou  without  Him  wilt 
be  less.  Grow,  therefore,  in  Him;  do  not 
may,  as  it  were, 
renewed  if  thou 


withdraw  thyself,  that   He 
diminish.        Tnou    wilt  be 


come  to  Him,  wilt  suffer  loss  if  thou  depart 
from  Him.  He  remains  entire  when  thou 
comest  to  Him,  remains  entire  even  when 
thou  fallest  away.  When,  therefore,  He  had 
said  to  His  disciples,  "  Will  ye  also  go  away  ?  " 
Peter,  that  Rock,  answered  with  the  voice  of 
all,  "  Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go  ?  Thou  hast 
the  words  of  eternal  life."  Pleasantly  sav 
ored  the  Lord's  flesh  in  his  mouth.  The 
Lord,  however,  expounded  to  them,  and  said, 
"  It  is  the  Spirit  that  quickeneth.''  After  He 
had  said,  "  Except  a  man  eat  my  flesh,  and 
drink  my  blood,  he  shall  not  have  life  in  him," 
lest  they  should  understand  it  carnally,  He 
said,  **  It  is  the  Spirit  that  quickeneth,  but 
the  flesh  profiteth  nothing:  the  words  which  I 
have  spoken  unto  you  are  spirit  and  life."' 


6.   This    Nicodemus, 


had    come     to 


Jesus  by   night,  did  not    savor   of  this    spirit 

world."3  Already  hath  the  Lord  said  to  him,  ;  and  this  life.  Saith  Jesus  to  him,  "Except 
"  Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  shall  not  j  a  man  be  born  again,  he  shall  not  see  the 
see  the  kingdom  of  God.  Nicodemus  saith  kingdom  of  God."  And  he,  savoring  of  his 
unto  Him,  How  can  a  man  be  born  again  'own  flesh,  while  as  yet  he  savored  not  of  the 
when  he  is  old  ?"  The  Spirit  speaks  to  him,  flesh  of  Christ  in  his  mouth,  saith,  "  How  can 
and  he  thinks  of  the  flesh.  He  thinks  of  his  a  man  be  born  a  second  time,  when  he  is  old  ? 
own  flesh,  because  as  yet  he  thinks  not  of  I  Can  he  enter  a  second  time  into  his  mother's 


'John 


3  John  i.  9. 


5  John  vi.  54-59. 


I  I.  \'    I  A  I  I      X  I.  | 


ON  Till:  GOSPE1    '  -1    ST.   JollN 


77 


wom'i,  anil  l>c  born?"  This  man  knew  but 
one  birth,  that  from  Adam  and  Kve;  that 
which  is  from  God  and  the  Church  lie  knew 
not  yet:  he  knew  only  those  parents  that  bring 
forth  to  death,  knew  not  yet  the  parents  that 
brini;  forth  to  life;  he  knew  but  the  parents 
that  brin«;  forth  successors,  knew  not  yet  the 
ever-living  parents  that  bring  forth  those  that 
shall  abide. 

Whilst  there  are  two  births,  then,  he  un 
derstood  only  one.  One  is  of  the  earth,  the 
other  of  heaven;  one  of  the  flesh,  the  other 
of  the  Spirit;  one  of  mortality,  the  other  of 
eternity;  one  of  male  and  female,  the  other 
of  God  and  the  Church  But  these  two  are 
each  single;  there  can  be  no  repeating  the 
one  or  the  other.  Rightly  did  Nicodemus 
understand  the  birth  of  the  flesh;  so  under 
stand  thou  also  the  birth  of  the  Spirit,  as 
Nicodemus  understood  the  birth  of  the  flesh. 
What  did  Nicodemus  understand?  "  Can  a 
man  enter  a  second  time  into  his  mother's 
womb,  and  be  born?"  Thus,  whosoever 
shall  tell  thee  to  be  spiritually  born  a  second 
time,  answer  in  the  words  of  Nicodemus, 
"Can  a  man  enter  a  second  time  into  his 
mother's  womb,  and  be  born  ?  "  I  am  already 
born  of  Adam,  Adam  cannot  beget  me  a 
second  time.  I  am  already  born  of  Christ, 
Christ  cannot  beget  me  again.  As  there  is 
no  repeating  from  the  womb,  so  neither  from 
baptism. 

7.  He  that  is  born  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
is   born,  as    it   were,   of   Sarah,  of   the    free 
woman;  he   that   is  born  of  heresy  is,  as   it 
were,  born  of  the  bond  woman,  but  of  Abra 
ham's  seed.     Consider,  beloved,  how  great  a 
mystery.     God  testifies,   saying,    "  I  am  the 
God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaac,  and 
the  God  of  Jacob."     Were  there  not  other 
patriarchs?     Before  these,  was  there  not  holy 
Noah,  who  alone  of  the  whole  human  race, 
with  all  his  house,  was  worthy  to  be  delivered 
from  the  flood, — he  in  whom,  and  in  his  sons, 
the  Church  was  prefigured  ?     Borne  by  wood, 
they   escaped    the    flood.     Then    afterwards 
great  men  whom  we  know,  whom  Holy  Scrip 
tures    commends,    Moses    faithful  in    all    his 
house.1     And  yet  those  three  are  named,  just 
as  if  they  alone  deserved  well  of  him:  "  I  am 
the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaac, 
and  the  God  of  Jacob:  this  is  my  name  for 
ever."*     Sublime  mystery  !     It  is  the   Lord 
that  is  able  to  open  both  our  mouth  and  your 
hearts,  that  we  may  speak  as  He  has  deigned 
to  reveal,  and  that  you  may  receive  even  as  it 
is  expedient  for  you. 

8.  The   patriarchs,   then,   are  these  three, 


Abraham.  Naac,  an.l    ! 
tin:  SMIIS  of    ! 

Krael;    lor  J.u  ob  him 

the  people  Israel  in  twelve  tribes  pertaining  to 
the  twelve  sons  of  Israel.      Abraham, 
and    Jacob    three    fathers,   and    one    ; 

|  The  fathers  three,  as  it  were  in  the  beginning 

I  of  the  people;  three  fathers  in  whom  th- 
pie  was  figured:  and  the  former  people  itself 
the  present  people.  For  in  the  Jewish  peo 
ple  was  figured  the  Christian  people.  There 
a  figure,  here  the  truth;  there  a  shadow,  here 
the  body:  as  the  a|K>stIe  says,  **  Now  these 
things  happened  to  them  in  a  figure."  It  is 
the  apostle's  voice:  "  They  were  written," 
saith  he,  "  for  our  sakes,  upon  whom  the  end 
of  the  ages  is  come."3  Let  your  mind  now 
recur  to  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob.  In  the 
case  of  these  three,  we  find  that  free  women 

!  bear  children,  and  that  bond  women  bear 
children:  we  find  there  offspring  of  free 

j  women,  we  find  there  also  offspring  of  bond 

!  women.  The  bond  woman  signifies  nothing 
good:  "Cast  out  the  bond  woman,"  saith 
he,  "and  her  son;  for  the  son  of  the  bond 
woman  shall  not  be  heir  with  the  son  of  the 
free."  The  apostle  recounts  this;  and  he 
says  that  in  those  two  sons  of  Abraham  was  a 
figure  of  the  two  Testaments,  the  Old  and  the 
New.  To  the  Old  Testament  belong  the 
lovers  of  temporal  things,  the  lovers  of  the 
world:  to  the  New  Testament  belong  the 
lovers  of  eternal  life.  Hence,  that  Jerusalem 
on  earth  was  the  shadow  of  the  heavenly 
Jerusalem,  the  mother  of  us  all,  which  is  in 
heaven;  and  these  are  the  apostle's  words.4 
And  of  that  city  from  which  we  are  absent  on 
our  sojourn,  you  know  much,  you  have  now 
heard  much.  But  we  find  a  wonderful  thing 
in  these  births,  in  these  fruits  of  the  womb, 

j  in  these  generations  of  free  and  bond  women: 
namely,  four  sorts  of  men;  in  which  four 

[sorts  is  completed  the  figure  of  the  future 
Christian  people,  so  that  what  was  said  in  the 
case  of  those  three  patriarchs  is  not  surpris 
ing,  "  I  am  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God 
of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob."  For  in  the 
case  of  all  Christians,  observe,  brethren,  either 
good  men  are  born  of  evil  men,  or  evil  men  of 
good;  or  good  men  of  good,  or  evil  men  of  evil: 
more  than  these  four  sorts  you  cannot  find. 
These  things  I  will  again  repeat:  Give  heed, 
keep  them,  excite  your  hearts,  be  not  dull; 
take  in,  lest  ye  be  taken,  how  of  all  Christians 
there  are  four  sorts.  Either  of  the  good  are 
born  good, or  of  the  evil,  are  born  evil;  or  of  the 
food  are  born  evil,  or  of  the  evil  goo 
think  it  is  plain.  Of  the  go<  :'  they 


i  Gen.  xxi.  to;  (>.> 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATF.  XI. 


who  baptize  are  good,  and  also  they  who  are 
baptized  rightly  believe,  and  are  rightly  num 
bered  among  the  members  of  Christ.  Of  the 
evil,  evil;  if  they  who  baptize  are  evil,  and  they 
who  are  baptized  approach  God  with  a  double 
heart,  and  do  not  observe  the  morals  which 
they  hear  urged  in  the  Church,  so  as  not  to  be 
chaff,  but  grain,  there.  How  many  such  there 
are,  you  know,  beloved.  Of  the  evil,  good; 
sometimes  an  adulterer  baptizes,  and  he  that 
is  baptized  is  justified.  Of  the  good,  evil; 
sometimes  they  who  baptize  are  holy,  they 
who  are  baptized  do  not  desire  to  keep  the 
way  of  God. 

9.  I  suppose,  brethren,  that  this  is  known 
in  the  Church,  and  that  what  we  are  saying  is 
manifest  by  daily  examples;  but  let  us  con 
sider  these  things  in  the  case  of  our  fathers 
before  us,  how  they  also  had  these  four  kinds. 
Of   the  good,  good;  Ananias  baptized  Paul. 
How  of  the  evil,  evil  ?     The  apostle  declares 
that  there  were  certain  preachers  of  the  gos 
pel,  who,  he  says,  did  not  use  to  preach  the 
gospel  with  a  pure  motive,  whom,  however,  he 
tolerates    in    the   Christian    society,   saying, 
"What   then?     notwithstanding   every  way, 
whether  by  occasion   or  in  truth,  Christ  is 
preached,  and  in  this  I  rejoice."1     Was   he 
therefore  malevolent,  and  did  he  rejoice  in 
another's   evil?     No,    but   rejoiced    because 
through  evil  men  the  truth  was  preached,  and 
by    the    mouths    of    evil    men    Christ    was 
preached.     If  these  men  baptized  any  per 
sons  like  themselves,  evil  men  baptized  evil 
men:  if  they  baptized  such  as  the  Lord  ad 
monishes,  when  He  says,  "Whatsoever  they 
bid  you,  do;  but  do  not  ye  after  their  works,"2 
they  were  evil  men  that  were  baptizing  good. 
Good  men  baptized  evil  men,  as  Simon  the 
sorcerer  was  baptized  by  Philip,  a  holy  man.3 
Therefore  these  four  sorts,  my  brethren,  are 
known.     See,  I  repeat  them  again,  hold  them, 
count  them,  think  upon  them;  guard  against 
what  is  evil;  keep  what  is  good.     Good  men 
are  born  of  good,  when  holy  men  are  baptized 
by  holy;  evil  men  are  born  of  evil,  when  both 
they  that  baptize  and  they  that  are  baptized 
live    unrighteously  and   ungodly;  good   men 
are  born  of  evil,  when  they  are  evil  that  bap 
tize,   and  they  good  that  are  baptized;  evil 
men  are  born  of  good,  when  they  are  good 
that  baptize,  and  they  evil  that  are  baptized. 

10.  How  do  we   find   this   in   these  three 
names,    "  I  am  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the 
God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob  "  ?     We 
hold  the  bond  women  among  the  evil,  and  the 
free  women  among  the  good.     Free  women 
bear  the  good;  Sarah  bare  Isaac:  bond  women 


Phil.  i.  18. 


bear  the  evil;  Hagar  bare  Ishmael.  We  have 
in  the  case  of  Abraham  alone  the  two  sorts, 
both  when  the  good  are  of  the  good,  and  also 
when  the  evil  are  of  the  evil.  But  where 
have  we  evil  of  good  figured  ?  Rebecca, 
Isaac's  wife,  was  a  free  woman:  read,  She 
bare  twins;  one  was  good,  the  other  evil. 
Thou  hast  the  Scripture  openly  declaring  by 
the  voice  of  God,  "  Jacob  have  I  loved,  but 
Esau  have  I  hated."4  Rebecca  bare  those 
two,  Jacob  and  Esau:  one  of  them  is  chosen, 
the  other  is  reprobated;  one  succeeds  to  the 
inheritance,  the  other  is  disinherited.  God 
does  not  make  His  people  of  Esau,  but  makes 
it  of  Jacob.  The  seed  is  one,  those  con 
ceived  are  dissimilar:  the  womb  is  one,  those 
born  of  it  are  diverse.  Was  not  the  free 
woman  that  bare  Jacob,  the  same  free  woman 
that  bare  Esau  ?  They  strove  in  the  mother's 
womb;  and  when  they  strove  there,  it  was 
said  to  Rebecca, "Two  peoples  are  in  thy 
womb."  Two  men,  two  peoples;  a  good 
people,  and  a  bad  people:  but  yet  they  strive 
in  one  womb.  How  many  evil  men  there  are 
in  the  Church  !  And  one  womb  carries  them 
until  they  are  separated  in  the  end:  and  the 
good  cry  out  against  the  evil,  and  the  evil  in 
turn  cry  out  against  the  good,  and  both  strive 
together  in  the  bowels  of  one  mother.  Will 
they  be  always  together  ?  There  is  a  going 
forth  to  the  light  in  the  end;  the  birth  which 
is  here  figured  in  a  mystery  is  declared;  and 
it  will  then  appear  that  "  Jacob  have  I  loved, 
but  Esau  have  I  hated." 

ii.  Accordingly  we  have  now  found,  breth 
ren,  of  the  good,  good — of  the  free  woman, 
Isaac;  and  of  the  evil,  evil — of  the  bond 
woman,  Ishmael;  and  of  the  good,  evil — of 
Rebecca,  Esau:  where  shall  we  find  of  the 
evil,  good  ?  There  remains  Jacob,  that  the 
completion  of  these  four  sorts  may  be  con 
cluded  in  the  three  patriarchs.  Jacob  had 
for  wives  free  women,  he  had  also  bond 
women:  the  free  bear  children,  as  do  also  the 
bond,  and  thus  come  the  twelve  sons  of  Israel. 
If  you  count  them  all,  of  whom  they  were 
born,  they  were  not  all  of  the  free  women,nor 
all  of  the  bond  women;  but  yet  they  were  all 
of  one  seed.  What,  then,  my  brethren  ? 
Did  not  they  who  were  born  of  the  bond 
women  possess  the  land  of  promise  together 
with  their  brethren  ?  We  have  there  found 
good  sons  of  Jacob  born  of  bond  women,  and 
good  sons  of  Jacob  born  of  free  women. 
Their  birth  of  the  wombs  of  bond  women  was 
nothing  against  them,  when  they  knew  their 
seed  in  the  father,  and  consequently  they  held 
the  kingdom  with  their  brethren.  Therefore, 


M;il.  i.  r,  Rom. 


n 


<  >\    llll.  Gl  >SPEL  <  >I    ST. 


79 


as  in  the  case  of  Jacob's  sons,  that  they  wen- 
born  of  bond  women  did  not  hinder  their 
holding  the  kingdom,  and  receiving  the  land 
of  promise  on  an  equality  with  their  brothers; 
their  birth  of  bond  women  did  not  hinder 
them,  but  the  father's  seed  prevailed:  so, 
whoever  are  bapti/.ed  by  evil  men,  appear  as 
if  born  of  bond  women;  nevertheless,  because 
they  are  of  the  seed  of  the  Word  of  God, 
which  is  figured  in  Jacob,  let  them  not  be 
cast  down,  they  shall  possess  the  inheritance 
with  their  brethren.  Therefore,  let  him  who 
is  born  of  the  good  seed  be  without  fear;  only 
let  him  not  imitate  the  bond  woman,  if  he  is 
born  of  a  bond  woman.  Do  not  thou  imitate 
the  evil,  proud,  bond  woman.  For  how  came 
the  sons  of  Jacob,  that  were  born  of  bond 
women,  to  possess  the  land  of  promise  with 
their  brethren,  whilst  Ishmael,  born  of  a  bond 
woman,  was  cast  out  from  the  inheritance? 
How,  but  because  he  was  proud,  they  were 
humble  ?  He  proudly  reared  his  neck,  and 
wished  to  seduce  his  brother  while  he  was 
playing  with  him. 

12.  A  great  mystery  is  there.  They  were 
playing  together,  Ishmael  and  Isaac:  Sarah 
sees  them  playing,  and  says  to  Abraham, 
*'  Cast  out  the  bond  woman  and  her  son;  for 
the  son  of  the  bond  woman  shall  not  be  heir 
with  my  son  Isaac."  And  when  Abraham 
was  sorrowful,  the  Lord  confirmed  to  him  the 
saying  of  his  wife.  Now  here  is  evidently  a 
mystery,  that  the  event  was  somehow  preg 
nant  with  something  future.  She  sees  them 
playing,  and  says,  "  Cast  out  the  bond 
woman  and  her  son."  What  is  this,  breth 
ren  ?  For  what  evil  had  Ishmael  done  to  the 
boy  Isaac,  in  playing  with  him  ?  That  play 
ing  was  a  mocking;  that  playing  signified  de 
ception.  Now  attend,  beloved,  to  this  great 
mystery.  The  apostle  calls  it  persecution; 
that  playing,  that  play,  he  calls  persecution: 
for  he  says,  "  But  as  then  he  that  was  born 
after  the  flesh,  persecuted  him  that  was  born 
after  the  Spirit,  so  also  now;"  that  is,  they 
that  are  born  alter  the  flesh  persecute  them 
that  are  born  after  the  Spirit.  Who  are  born 
after  the  flesh?  Lovers  of  the  world,  lovers 
of  this  life.  Who  are  born  after  the  Spirit  ? 
Lovers  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  lovers  of 
Christ,  men  that  long  for  eternal  life,  that 
worship  (iod  freely.  They  play,  and  the 
apostle  calls  it  persecution.  For  after  he 
said  these  words,  "And  as  then  he  that  was 
born  after  the  flesh  persecuted  him  that  was 
born  after  the  Spirit,  so  also  now;  "  the  apos 
tle  went  on,  and  showed  of  what  persecution, 
he  was  speaking:  "  J'.ut  what  says  the  Scrip 
ture  ?  Cast  out  the  bond  woman  anil  her 
son;  for  the  son  of  the  bond  woman  shall  not 


be    heir   with    my    s»n     i 
where  the  Scripture  says  this,  t., 
any    persecution    on    Ishmael's    part 
Isaac  preceded  this;    and  we   find   th 
I  was  said   by  Sarah  when   she  saw  the 
j  playing  together.       The  playing  which 
I  ture   says  that  Sarah  saw,  the  apostle  calls 
j  persecution.     Hence,  they  who  seduce   you 
j  by  playing,  persecute  you  the  more.   "  Come," 
i  say  they,  "Come,  be  baptized  here,  here  is 
]  true  baptism  for  thee."     Do  not  play,  there  is' 
one  true    baptism;  that  other  is    play:  thou 
wilt  be  seduced,  and  that  will  be  a  grievous 
persecution  to  thee.     It  were  better  for  thee 
to  make  Ishmael  a  present  of  the  kingdom; 
but  Ishmael  will  not  have  it,  for  he  means  to 
play.     Keep   thou  thy   father's    inheritance, 
and   hear  this:  "Cast  out  the  bond  woman 
and  her  son;  for  the  son  of  the  bond  woman 
shall  not  be  heir  with  my  son  Isaac." 

13.  These  men,  too,  dare  to  say  that  they 
are  wont  to  suffer  persecution  from  catholic 
kings,  or  from  catholic  princes.  What  per 
secution  do  they  bear?  Affliction  of  body: 
yet  if  at  times  they  have  suffered,  and  how 
they  suffered,  let  themselves  know,  and  settle 
it  with  their  consciences;  still  they  suffered 
only  affliction  of  body:  the  persecution  which 
they  cause  is  more  grievous.  Beware  when 
Ishmael  wishes  to  play  with  Isaac,  when  he 
fawns  on  thee,  when  he  offers  another  bap 
tism:  answer  him,  I  have  baptism  already. 
For  if  this  baptism  is  true,  he  who  would  give 
thee  another  would  be  mocking  thee.  Be 
ware  of  the  persecution  of  the  soul.  For 
though  the  party  of  Donatus  has  at  times 
suffered  somewhat  at  the  hands  of  catholic 
princes,  it  was  a  bodily  suffering,  not  the  suf 
fering  of  spiritual  deception.  Hear  and  see 
in  the  very  facts  of  Old  Testament  history  all 
the  signs  and  indications  of  things  to  come. 
Sarah  is  found  to  have  afflicted  her  maid 
Hagar:  Sarah  is  free.  After  her  maid  began 
to  be  proud,  Sarah  complained  to  Abraham, 
and  said,  "Cast  out  the  bond  woman;''  she 
has  lifted  her  neck  against  me.  His  wife 
complains  of  Abraham,  as  if  it  were  his  do 
ing.  But  Abraham,  who  was  not  bound  to 
the  maid  by  lust,  but  by  the  duty  of  begetting 
children,  inasmuch  as  Sarah  had  given  her  to 
|  him  to  have  offspring  by  her,  says  to  her: 
"  Behold,  she  is  thy  handmaid;  do  unto  her 
as  thou  wilt."  And  Sarah  grievously  afflicted 
her,  and  she  fled  from  her  face.  See,  the 
tree  woman  afflicted  the  bond  woman,  and 
the  apostle  does  not  call  that  a  persecution; 
the  slave  plays  with  his  master,  and  he  calls  it 
persecution:  this  afflicting  is  not  called 
cution;  that  playing  is.  How  does  it  appear  to 

'  Gen.  xxi.  9-12  ;  G*l.  iv.  30. 


So 


I  Hi:  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTAI  i   X  I. 


you,  brethren  ?  Do  you  not  understand  what  ered  from  the  fire;  the  former  did  in  body 
is  signified  ?  Thus,  then,  when  God  wills  to  perish  in  the  torments  of  fire,  but  in  mind 
stir  up  powers  against  heretics,  against  schis-  they  remained  steadfast  in  the  ordinances  of 
matics,  against  those  that  scatter  the  Church,  |  the  law.  The  latter  were  openly  delivered, 
that  blow  on  Christ  as  if  they  abhorred  Him,  the  former  were  crowned  in  secret.3  It  is  a 
that  blaspheme  baptism,  let  them  not  wonder;  greater  thing  to  be  delivered  from  the  flame 
because  God  stirs  them  up,  that  Hagar  may  j  of  hell  than  from  the  furnace  of  a  human 


be  beaten  by  Sarah.  Let  Hagar  know  her 
self,  and  yield  her  neck:  for  when,  after  be 
ing  humiliated,  she  departed  from  her  mis 
tress,  an  angel  met  her,  and  said  to  her, 
"  What  is  the  matter  with  thee,  Hagar,  Sarah's 
handmaid  ? "  When  she  complained  of  her 
mistress,  what  did  she  hear  from  the  angel  ? 
"Return  to  thy  mistress."1  It  is  for  this 
that  she  is  afflicted,  that  she  may  return;  and 
would  that  she  may  return,  for  her  offspring, 
just  like  the  sons  of  Jacob,  will  obtain  the 
inheritance  with  their  brethren. 

14.  But  they  wonder  that  Christian  powers 
are  roused  against  detestable  scatterers  of 
the  Church.  Should  they  not  be  moved, 
then  ?  How  otherwise  should  they  give  an 


power.  If,  then,  Nebuchadnezzar  praised 
and  extolled  and  gave  glory  to  God  because 
He  delivered  three  children  from  the  fire,  and 
gave  such  glory  as  to  send  forth  a  decree 
throughout  his  kingdom,  "  Whosoever  shall 
speak  blasphemy  against  the  God  of  Shad- 
rach,  Meshach,  and  Abednego.  shaP  be  cut 
off,  and  their  houses  shall  be  brought  to 
ruin,5'  how  should  not  these  kings  be  moved, 
who  observe,  not  three  children  delivered 
from  the  flame,  but  their  very  selves  delivered 
from  hell,  when  they  see  Christ,  by  whom 
they  have  been  delivered,  contemptuously 
spurned  in  Christians,  when  they  hear  it  said 
to  a  Christian,  "  Say  that  thou  art 


not   a 

Christian"?     Men    are   willing    to   do    such 

account  of  their  rule  to  God  ?  Observe,  be-  deeds,  but  they  do  not  wish  to  suffer,  at  all 
loved,  what  I  say,  that  it  concerns  Christian  !  events,  such  punishments, 
kings  of  this  world  to  wish  their  mother  the  15.  For  see  what  they  do  and  what  they 
Church,  of  which  they  have  been  spiritually  suffer.  They  slay  souls,  they  suffer  in  body: 
born,  to  have  peace  in  their  times.  We  read  j  they  cause  everlasting  deaths,  and  yet  they 
Daniel's  visions  and  prophetical  histories,  complain  that  they  themselves  suffer  temporal 
The  three  children  praised  the  Lord  in  the  i  deaths.  And  yet  what  deaths  do  they  suffer  ? 
fire:  King  Nebuchadnezzar  wondered  at  the  They  allege  to  us  some  martyrs  of  theirs  in 
children  praising  God,  and  at  the  fire  around  I  persecution.  See,  Marculus  was  hurled  head- 
them  doing  them  no  harm:  and  whilst  he  i  long  from  a  rock;  see,  Donatus  of  Bagaia 
wondered,  what  did  King  Nebuchadnezzar  was  thrown  into  a  well.  When  have  the 
say,  he  who  was  neither  a  Jew  nor  circum-  Roman  authorities  decreed  such  punishments 
cised,  who  had  set  up  his  own  image  and  as  casting  men  down  rocks  ?  But  what  do 
compelled  all  men  to  adore  it;  but,  impressed  i  those  of  our  party  reply  ?  What  was  done  I 


by  the  praises  of  the  three  children  when  he 
saw  the  majesty  of  God  present  in  the  fire, 


know    not;    what,    however,    do    ours    tell 
That  they  flung  themselves  headlong  and  cast 


what  said  he  ?     "And  I  will  publish  a  decree  ( the  infamy  of  it  upon  the  authorities.      Let  us 


to  all  tribes  and  tongues  in  the  whole  earth.' 
What  sort  of  decree?  "Whosoever  shall 
speak  blasphemy  against  the  God  of  Shad- 
rach,  Meshach,  and  Abednego,  shall  be  cut 
off,  and  their  houses  shall  be  made  a  ruin.Va 
See  how  an  alien  king  acts  with  raging  indig- 


call  to  mind  the  custom  of  the  Roman  author 
ities,  and  see  to  whom  we  are  to  give  credit. 
Our  men  declare  that  those  men  cast  them 
selves  down  headlong.  If  they  are  not  the 
very  disciples  of  those  men,  who  now  cast 
themselves  down  precipices,  while  no  man 


nation  that  the  God  of  Israel  might  not  be  j  persecutes  them,  let  us  not  credit  the  allega- 


blasphemed,  because  He  was  able  to  deliver 
the  three  children  from  the  fire:  and  yet  they 
would  not  have  Christian  kings  to  act  with 
severity  when  Christ  is  contemptuously  re- 


tion  of  our  men:  what  wonder  if  those  men 
did  what  these  are  wont  to  do?  The  Roman 
authorities  never  did  employ  such  punish 
ments:  for  had  they  not  the  power  to  put 


jected,  by  whom  not  three  children,  but  the  j  them  to  death  openly  ?  But  those  men,  while 
whole  world,  with  these  very  kings,  is  deliv-  they  wished  to  be  honored  when  dead,  found 
ered  from  the  fire  of  hell !  For  those  three  not  a  death  to  make  them  more  famous.  In 
children,  my  brethren,  were  delivered  from  '  short,  whatever  the  fact  was,  I  do  not  know, 
temporal  fire.  Is  He  not  the  same  God  who  And  even  if  thou  hast  suffered  corporal  afflic- 
was  the  God  of  the  Maccabees  and  the  God  tion,  O  party  of  Donatus,  at  the  hand  of  the 
of  the  three  children  ?  The  latter  He  deliv-  Catholic  Church,  as  an  Hagar  thou  hast  suf- 


Gen.  x\ 


TkM    1   Ml      XII.  ] 


ON  Till.  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


-. 


frn-d  it  at  the  hand  of  Sarah;  "  return  to  thy  by  speaking  of  other  matters,  what  lias  l>cen 
mistress."  A  point  which  it  was  indeed  net-  spoken  mi^nt  be  snut  out  from  your  h- 
ess.iry  to  discuss  has  detained  us  somewhat  too  Hold  fast  these  things,  declare  sucli  things; 
long  to  be  at  all  able  to  expound  the  whole  and  while  yourselves  are  inflamed,  go  your 
text  of  the  1'iospel  Lesson.  Let  this  suffice  i  way  thither,  and  set  on  fire  them  tuat' are 
you  in  the  meantime,  beloved  brethren,  lest,  |  cold. 


TRACTATE  XII. 

CHAPTER  III.  6-21. 


1.  WE  observe,  beloved,  that  the  intimation 
with  which  we   yesterday  excited  your  atten 
tion  has  brought  you  together  with  more  alac 
rity,  and  in  greater  number  than  usual;  but 
meanwhile  let  us,  if  you  please,  pay  our  debt 
of  a  discourse  on  the  Gospel  Lesson,  which 
comes  in  due  course.     You   shall   then  hear, 
beloved,  as  well  what  we  have  already  effected 
concerning   the    peace    of   the    Church,    and 
what  we    hope    yet  further    to    accomplish. 
For  the  present,  then,  let  the  whole  attention 
of  your  hearts  be  given   to  the  gospel;  let 
none  be  thinking  of  anything  else.     For  if 
he  who  attends  to  it  wholly  apprehends  with 
difficulty,  must  not  he  who  divides  himself  by 
diverse  thoughts  let  go  what  he  has  received  ? 
Moreover,  you  remember,  beloved,  that  on  the 
'ast  Lord's  day,  as  the  Lord  deigned  to  help 
us,  we  discoursed  of   spiritual  regeneration. 
That   lesson  we   have  caused  to  be  read  to 
you  again,   so  that  what  was   then    left  un 
spoken,  we   may  now,    by   the   aid    of   your 
prayers  in  the  name  of  Christ,  fulfill. 

2.  Spiritual  regeneration    is   one,    just   as 
the  generation  of  the  flesh  is  one.   And  Nico- 
demus  said  the  truth  when  he  said  to  the  Lord 
that  a  man  cannot,  when  he  is  old,   return 
again  into  his  mother's  womb  and  be  born. 
He  indeed   said  that  a  man  cannot  do  this 
when  he  is  old,  as  if  he  could  do  it  even  were 
he  an  infant.   But  be  he  fresh  from  the  womb, 
or  now  in  years,  he  cannot   possibly   return 
again  into  the  mother's  bowels  and  be  born. 
But  just  as  for  the  birth  of  the  flesh,  the  bow 
els  of   vvoman  avail  to  bring  forth  the  child 
only  once,  so  for  the  spiritual  birth  the  bow 
els  of  the   Church   avad   that  a  man  be  bap 
tized    only   once.     Therefore,    in    case   one 
should  say,  "  Well,   but  this   man   was   born 
in  heresy,  and  this  in  schism:  ''  all  that  was 
cut  away,  if  you  remember  what  was  debated 
to  you  about  our  three  fathers,  of  whom  God 
willed   to  be   called   the  God,  not   that  they 
were  thus  alone,  but  because  in  them  alone 


the  figure  of  the  future  people  was  made  up 
in  its  completeness.  For  we  find  one  born 
of  a  bond  woman  disinherited,  one  born  of 
a  free  woman  made  heir:  again,  we  find  one 
born  of  a  free  woman  disinherited,  one  born 
of  a  bond  woman  made  heir.  Ishmael,  born 
of  a  bond  woman,  disinherited;  Isaac,  born 
of  a  free  woman,  made  heir:  Esau,  born  of  a 
free  woman,  disinherited;  the  sons  of  Jacob, 
born  of  bond  women,  made  heirs.  Thus,  in 
these  three  fathers  the  figure  of  the  whole 
future  people  is  seen:  and  not  without  reason 
God  saith,  "  I  am  the  God  of  Abraham,  and 
the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob: 
this,"  saith  He,  "is  my  name  for  ever."' 
Rather  let  us  remember  what  was  promised 
to  Abraham  himself:  for  this  was  promised 
to  Isaac,  and  also  to  Jacob.  What  do  we  find  ? 
"In  thy  seed  shall  all  nations  be  blessed."1 
At  that  time  the  one  man  believed  what  as 
yet  he  saw  not:  men  now  see,  and  are  blinded. 
What  was  promised  to  the  one  man  is  fulfilled 
in  the  nations;  and  they  who  will  not  see  what 
is  already  fulfilled,  are  separating  themselves 
from  the  communion  of  the  nations.  But 
what  avails  it  them  that  they  will  not  see  ? 
See  they  do,  whether  they  will  or  no;  the  open 
truth  strikes  against  their  closed  eyes. 

3.  It  was  in  answer  to  Nicodemus,  who  was 
of  them  that  had  believed  on   Jesus,  that  it 
was  said,  And  Jesus  did  not  trust  Himself  to 
them.  To  certain  men, indeed,  He  did  not  trust 
Himself,  though  they  had  already  believed  on 
.Him.     Thus   it   is  written,  "  Many  believed 
'in  His  name,  seeing  the  signs  which  He  did. 
But  Jesus  did  not  trust  Himself  to  them.   For 
He  needed  not  that  any  should  testify  of  man; 
:  for  Himself  knew  what  was  in  man."  Behold, 
|  they  already  believed  on  Jesus,  and  yet  Jesus 
did  not  trust  Himself  to  them.     Why?  be 
cause  they  were  not  yet  born  again  of  water 
and  of  the  Spirit.      From   this   have  we   ex- 


82 


THE  WORKS  OK  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


n  xn. 


horted  and  do  exhort  our  brethren  the  cate 
chumens.  Kor  if  you  ask  them,  they  have 
already  believed  in  Jesus;  but  because  they 
have  not  yet  received  His  flesh  and  blood, 
Jesus  has  not  yet  trusted  Himself  to  them. 
What  must  they  do  that  Jesus  may  trust  Him 
self  to  them  ?  They  must  be  born  again  of 
water  and  of  the  Spirit;  the  Church  that  is  in 
travail  with  them  must  bring  them  forth. 
Tney  have  been  conceived;  they  must  be 
brought  forth  to  the  light:  they  have  breasts 
to  be  nourished  at;  let  them  not  fear  lest, 
being  born,  they  may  be  smothered;  let  them 
not  depart  from  the  mother's  breasts. 

4.  No  man  can  return  into  his  mother's 
bowels  and  be  born  again.  But  some  one  is 
born  of  a  bond  woman  ?  Well,  did  they  who 
were  born  of  bond  women  at  the  former  time, 
return  into  the  wombs  of  the  free  to  be  born 
anew  ?  The  seed  of  Abraham  was  in  Ishmael 
also;  but  that  Abraham  might  have  a  son  of 
the  bond  maid,  it  was  at  the  advice  of  his  wife. 
The  child  was  of  the  husband's  seed,  not  of 
the  womb,  but  at  the  sole  pleasure  of  the 
wife.  Was  his  birth  of  a  bond  woman  the 
reason  why  he  was  disinherited  ?  Then,  if 
he  was  disinherited  because  he  was  the  son 
of  a  bond  woman,  no  sons  of  bond  women 
would  be  admitted  to  the  inheritance.  The 
sons  of  Jacob  were  admitted  to  the  inheritance; 
but  Ishmael  was  put  out  of  it,  not  because 
born  of  a  bond  woman,  but  because  he  was 
proud  to  his  mother,  proud  to  his  mother's 
son;  for  his  mother  was  Sarah  rather  than 
Hagar.  The  one  gave  her  womb,  the  other's 
will  was  added:  Abraham  would  not  have 
done  what  Sarah  willed  not:  therefore  was  he 
Sarah's  son  rather.  But  because  he  was  proud 
to  his  brother,  proud  in  playing,  that  is,  in 
mocking  him;  what  said  Sarah?  "Cast  out 
the  bond  woman  and  her  son;  for  the  son  of 
the  bond  woman  shall  not  be  heir  with  my 
son  Isaac."  '  It  was  not,  therefore,  the  bow 
els  of  the  bond  woman  that  caused  his  rejec 
tion,  but  the  slave's  neck.  For  the  free-born 
is  a  slave  if  he  is  proud,  and,  what  is  worse, 
the  slave  of  a  bad  mistress,  of  pride  itself. 
Thus,  my  brethren,  answer  the  man,  that  a 
man  cannot  be  born  a  second  time;  answer 
fearlessly,  that  a  man  cannot  be  born  a  second 
time.  Whatever  is  done  a  second  time  is 
mockery,  whatever  is  done  a  second  time  is 
play.  It  is  Ishmael  playing,  let  him  be  cast 
out.  For  Sarah  observed  them  playing,  saith 
the  Scripture,  and  said  to  Abraham,  "  Cast 
out  the  bond  woman  and  her  son."  The 
playing  of  the  boys  displeased  Sarah.  She 
saw  something  strange  in  their  play.  Do 


»  Gen.  xxi 


not  they  who  have  sons  like  to  see  them  play 
ing  ?  She  saw  and  disapproved  it.  Some- 
thing  or  other  she  saw  in  their  play;  she  saw 
mockery  in  it,  observed  the  pride  of  the  slave; 
siie  was  displeased  with  it,  and  she  cast  him 
out.  The  children  of  bond  women,  when 
wicked,  are  cast  out;  and  the  child  of  the  free 
woman,  when  an  Esau,  is  cast  out.  Let  none, 
therefore,  presume  on  his  birth  of  good 
parents;  let  none  presume  on  his  being  bap 
tized  by  holy  men.  Let  him  that  is  baptized 
by  holy  men  still  beware  lest  he  be  not  a 
Jacob,  but  an  Esau.  This  would  I  say  then, 
brethren,  it  is  better  to  be  baptized  by  men 
that  seek  their  own  and  love  the  world,  which 
is  what  the  name  of  bond  woman  imports, 
and  to  be  spiritually  seeking  the  inheritance  of 
Christ,  so  as  to  be  as  it  were  a  son  of  Jacob 
by  a  bond  woman,  than  to  be  baptized  by 
holy  men  and  to  become  proud,  so  as  to  be 
an  Esau  to  be  cast  out,  though  born  of  a  free 
woman.  Hold  ye  this  fast,  brethren.  We  are 
not  coaxing  you,  let  none  of  your  hope  be  in 
us;  we  flatter  neither  ourselves  nor  you; 
every  man  bears  his  own  burden.  It  is  our 
duty  to  speak,  that  we  be  not  judged  un 
happily:  yours  to  hear,  and  that  with  the 
heart,  lest  what  we  give  be  required  of  you; 
nay,  that  when  it  is  required,  it  may  be 
found  a  gain,  not  a  loss. 

5.  The  Lord  says  to  Nicodemus,  and  ex 
plains  to  him:  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
thee,  Except  a  man  be  born  again  of  water 
and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God."  Thou,  says  He,  under- 
standest  a  carnal  generation,  when  thou  say- 
est,  Can  a  man  return  into  his  mother's  bow 
els  ?  The  birth  for  the  kingdom  of  God  must 
be  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit.  If  one  is  born 
to  the  temporal  inheritance  of  a  human 
father,  be  he  born  of  the  bowels  of  a  carnal 
mother;  if  one  is  born  to  the  everlasting  in 
heritance  of  God  as  his  Father,  be  he  born  of 
the  bowels  of  the  Church.  A  father,  as  one 
that  will  die,  begets  a  son  by  his  wife  to  suc 
ceed  him;  but  God  begets  of  the  Church 
sons,  not  to  succeed  Him,  but  to  abide  with 
Himself.  And  He  goes  on:  "  That  which  is 
born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh;  and  that  which  is 
born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit."  We  are  born 
spiritually  then,  and  in  spirit  we  are  born 
by  the  word  and  sacrament.  The  Spirit  is 
present  that  we  may  be  born;  the  Spirit  is 
invisibly  present  whereof  thou  art  born,  for 
thou  too  must  be  invisibly  born.  For  He 
goes  on  to  say:  "  Marvel  not  that  I  said  unto 
thee,  Ye  must  be  born  again.  The  Spirit 
bloweth  where  it  hsteth,  and  thou  nearest  its 
voice,  but  knowest  not  whence  it  cometh,  or 
whither  it goeth."  None  sees  the  Spirit,  and 


I   \II.1 


ON  Till'.  GOSPEL  <  >l    ST.   JOHN. 


•- 


lio\v  do  we  hear  the  Spirit's  voice?  There 
sounds  a  psalm,  it  is  the  Spirit's  voice;  the 
gospel  sounds,  it  is  the  Spirit's  voice;  the 
divinr  word  sounds,  it  is  the  Spirit's  voice. 
"  Tliou  hearest  its  voice,  and  knowest  not 
whence  it  cometh,  and  whither  it  goeth.'' 
Hut  if  thou  art  born  of  the  Spirit,  thou  too 
shalt  be  so,  that  one  who  is  not  born  of  the 
Spirit  knows  not,  as  for  thee,  whence  thou 
comest,  or  whither  thou  goest.  For  He  said, 
as  He  went  on,  "So  is  also  every  one  that  is 
born  of  the  Spirit." 

6.  "  Nicodemus  answered  and  said  unto 
Him,  How  can  these  things  be  ? "  And,  in 
fact,  in  the  carnal  sense,  he  knew  not  how. 
In  him  occurred  what  the  Lord- had  said;  the 
Spirit's  voice  he  heard,  but  knew  not  whence 
it  came,  and  whither  it  was  going.  "Jesus 
answered  and  said  unto  him,  Art  thou  a  mas 
ter  in  Israel,  and  knowest  not  these  things  ?  " 
Oh,  brethren!  what?  do  we  think  that  the 
Lord  meant  to  taunt  scornfully  this  master  of 
the  Jews?  The  Lord  knew  what  He  was  do 
ing;  He  wished  the  man  to  be  born  of  the 
Spirit.  No  man  is  born  of  the  Spirit  if  he  be 
not  humble,  for  humility  itself  makes  us  to 
be  born  of  the  Spirit;  "  for  the  Lord  is  nigh 


to  them  that  are  of  broken  heart." 


The 


man  was  puffed  up  with  his  mastership,  and 
it  appeared  of  some  importance  to  himself 
that  he  was  a  teacher  of  the  Jews.  Jesus 


of   the    Spirit:    He  taunted    him  as   an  un 
learned  man;    not  that  the   Lord  wished 


;  • 


appear  his  superior.  What  comparison  can 
there  be,  God  compared  to  man,  truth  to 
falsehood  ?  Christ  greater  than  Nicodemus  ! 
Ought  this  to  be  said,  can  it  be  said,  is  it  to 
be  thought?  If  it  were  said,  "Christ  is 
greater  than  angels, ''  it  were  ridiculous:  for 
incomparably  greater  than  every  creature  is 
He  by  whom  every  creature  was  made.  But 
yet  He  rallies  the  man  on  his  pride:  "Art 
thou  a  master  in  Israel,  and  knowest  not  these 
things?"  As  if  He  said,  Behold,  thou  know 
est  nothing,  thou  art  a  proud  chief;  be  thou 
born  of  the  Spirit:  for  if  thou  be  born  of  the 
Spirit,  thou  wilt  keep  the  ways  of  Clod,  so  as  to 
follow  Christ's  humility.  So,  indeed,  is  He 
high  above  all  angels,  that,  "  being  in  the 
form  of  God,  He  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be 
equal  with  God,  but  emptied  Himself,  taking 
upon  Him  the  form  of  a  servant,  being  made 
into  the  likeness  of  men,  and  found  in  fashion 
as  a  man:  He  humbled  Himself,  being  made 
obedient  unto  death  "  (and  lest  any  kind  of 
death  should  please  thee),  "even  the  death 
of  the  cross.'' 3  He  hung  on  the  cross,  and 
they  scoffed  at  Him.  He  could  have  come 


down  from  the  cross;  but  He  deferred,  that 
He  might  rise  again  from  the  tomb,  lit-,  the 
Lord,  bore  with  proud  slaves;  '  the  p'u\ 
with  the  sick.  If  He  did  tins,  how  ought  they 
to  act  whom  it  behoves  to  be  born  of  the 
Spirit  ! — if  He  did  this,  He  who  is  the  true 
Master  in  heaven,  not  of  men  only,  but  also 
of  angels.  For  if  the  angels  are  learned,  they 
are  so  by  the  Word  of  God.  If  they  are 
learned  by  the  Word  of  God,  ask  of  what  they 
are  learned;  and  you  shall  find,  "In  the  be 
ginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was 
with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God."  The 
neck  of  man  is  done  away  with,  only  the  hard 
and  stiff  neck,  that  it  may  be  gentle  to  bear 
the  yoke  of  Christ,  of  which  it  is  said,  "  My 
yoke  is  easy,  and  my  burden  is  light."  J 

7.  And  He  goes  on,  "If  I  have  told  you 
earthly  things,  and  ye  believe  not;  how  shall 
ye  believe,  if  I  tell  you  heavenly  things?" 
What  earthly  things  did  He  tell,  brethren  ? 
"  Except  a  man  be  born  again;  "  is  that  an 
earthly  thing  ?  "  The  Spirit  bloweth  where  it 
listeth,  and  thou  hearest  its  voice,  and  know 
est  not  whence  it  cometh,  or  whither  it 
goeth;  "  is  that  earthly  ?  For  if  He  spoke  it 
of  the  wind,  as  some  have  understood  it, 
when  they  were  asked  what  earthly  thing  the 
Lord  meant,  when  He  said,  "  If  I  told  you 
earthly  things,  and  ye  believe  not;  how  shall 
ye  believe,  if  I  tell  you  heavenly  things?*' — 


pulled  down  his  pride,  that  he  might  be  born   when,  I  say,  it  was  asked  of  certain  men  what 

"earthly  thing"  the  Lord  meant,  being  in 
difficulty,  they  said,  What  He  said,  "The 
Spirit  bloweth  where  it  listeth,"  and  "its 


voice  thou  hearest,  and  knowest  not  whence 
it  cometh,  or  whither  it  goeth,"  He  said 
concerning  the  wind.  Now  what  did  He 
name  earthly  ?  He  was  speaking  of  the  spir 
itual  birth;  and  going  on,  saith,  "  So  is  every 
one  that  is  born  of  the  Spirit."  Then, 
brethren,  which  of  us  does  not  see,  for  ex 
ample,  the  south  wind  going  from  south  to 
north,  or  another  wind  coming  from  east  to 
west  ?  How,  then,  know  we  not  whence  it 
cometh  and  whither  it  goeth  ?  What  earthly 
thing,  then,  did  He  tell,  which  men  did  not 
believe?  Was  it  that  which  He  had  said 
about  raising  the  temple  again  ?  Surely,  for 
He  had  received  His  body  of  the  earth,  and 
that  earth  taken  of  the  earthly  body  He  was 
preparing  to  raise  up.  They  did  not  believe 
Him  as  about  to  raise  up  earth.  **  If  I  told 
you  earthly  things,"  saith  He,  "and  ye  be 
lieve  not;  how  shall  ye  believe  if  I  tell  you 
heavenly  things  ?"  That  is,  if  ye  believe  not 
that  I  can  raise  up  the  temple  cast  down  by 
you,  how  shall  ye  believe  that  men  can  be 
regenerated  by  the  Spirit  ? 


84 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  XII. 


8.  And  He  goes  on:  "And  no  man  hath 
ascended  into  heaven,  but  He  that  came 
down  from  heaven,  the  Son  of  man  who  is  in 
heaven."  Behold,  He  was  here,  and  was 
also  in  heaven;  was  here  in  His  flesh,  in 
heaven  by  His  divinity;  yea,  everywhere  by 
His  divinity.  Born  of  a  mother,  not  quitting 
the  Father.  Two  nativities  of  Christ  are 
understood:  one  divine,  the  other  human: 
one,  that  by  which  we  were  to  be  made;  the 
other,  that  by  which  we  were  to  be  made  anew: 
botn  marvellous;  that  without  mother,'  this 
without  father.  But  because  He  had  taken  a 
body  of  Adam, — for  Mary  was  of  Adam, — 
and  was  about  to  raise  that  same  body  again, 
it  was  an  earthly  thing  He  had  said  in  saying, 
"  Destroy  this  temple,  and  in  three  days  I  will 
raise  it  up."  But  this  was  a  heavenly  thing, 
when  He  said,  "  Except  a  man  be  born  again 
of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  shall  not  see 
the  kingdom  of  God."  Come  then,  breth 
ren  !  God  has  willed  to  be  the  Son  of  man, 
and  willed  men  to  be  sons  of  God.  He  came 
down  for  our  sakes;  let  us  ascend  for  His 
sake.  For  He  alone  descended  and  as 
cended,  He  who  saith,  "  No  man  hath  as 
cended  into  heaven,  but  He  who  came  down 
from  heaven."  Are  they  not  therefore  to  as 
cend  into  heaven  whom  He  makes  sons  of 
God  ?  Certainly  they  are:  this  is  the  promise 
to  us,  "  They  shall  be  equal  to  the  angels  of 
God."1  Then  how  is  it  that  no  man  ascends, 
but  He  that  descended  ?  Because  one  only 
descended,  only  one  ascends.  What  of  the 
rest?  What  are  we  to  understand,  but  that 
they  shall  be  His  members,  that  one  may  as 
cend  ?  Therefore  it  follows  that  "  no  man 
hath  ascended  into  heaven,  but  He  who  came 
down  from  heaven,  the  Son  of  man  who  is  in 
heaven."  Dost  thou  marvel  that  He  was 
both  here  and  in  heaven  ?  Such  He  made 
His  disciples.  Hear  the  Apostle  Paul  saying, 
"  But  our  conversation  is  in  heaven."1  If 
the  Apostle  Paul,  a  man,  walked  in  the  flesh 
on  earth,  and  yet  had  his  conversation  in 
heaven,  was  the  God  of  heaven  and  earth  not 
able  to  be  both  in  heaven  and  on  earth  ? 

9.  Therefore,  if  none  but  He  descended 
and  ascended,  what  hope  is  there  for  the  rest  ? 
The  hope  for  the  rest  is  this,  that  He  came 
down  in  order  that  in  Him  and  with  Him  they 
might  be  one,  who  should  ascend  through 
Him.  "  He  saith  not,  And  to  seeds,"  saith 
the  apostle,  "  as  in  many;  but  as  in  one,  And 
to  thy  seed,  which  is  Christ."  And  to  be 
lievers  he  saith,  "And  ye  are  Christ's;  and  if 
Christ's,  then  are  Abraham's  seed."3  What 
he  said  to  be  one,  that  he  said  that  we  all  are. 


Matt.  xxii.  30. 


3  C,al.  in.  16, 


Hence,  in  the  Psalms,  many  sometimes  sing, 
:o  show  that  one  is  made  of  many;  sometimes 
one  sings,  to  show  what  is  made  of  many. 
Therefore  was  it  only  one  that  was  healed  in 
the  pool;  and  whoever  else  went  down  into  it 
was  not  healed.  Now  this  one  shows  forth 
the  oneness  of  the  Church.  Woe  to  them 
who  hate  unity,  and  make  to  themselves 
oarties  among  men  !  Let  them  hear  him  who 
wished  to  make  them  one,  in  one,  for  one: 
et  them  hear  him  who  says,  Be  not  ye  mak- 
ng  many:  "  I  have  planted,  Apollos  watered; 
sut  God  gave  the  increase.  But  neither  he 
that  planteth  is  anything,  neither  he  that 
watereth;  but  God  that  giveth  the  increase."* 
They  were  saying,  "  I  am  of  Paul,  I  of  Apol- 
os,  I  of  Cephas."  And  he  says,  "  Is  Christ 
divided  ? "  Be  ye  in  one,  be  one  thing,  be 
one  person:  "No  man  hath  ascended  into 
heaven,  but  He  who  came  down  from  heaven. " 
Lo  !  we  wish  to  be  thine,  they  said  to  Paul. 
And  he  said  to  them,  I  will  not  that  ye  be 
Paul's,  but  be  ye  His  whose  is  Paul  together 
with  you. 

10.  For  He  came  down  and  died,  and  by 
that  death    delivered  us  from  death:    being 
slain    by  death,   He   slew  death.     And    you 
know,  brethren,  that  this  death  entered  into 
the  world  through  the  devil's  envy.     "God 
made  not  death,"  saith  the  Scripture,  "nor 
delights  He  in  the  destruction  of  the  living; 
but  He  created  all  things  to  be."     But  what 
saith  it   here?     "But   by  the  devil's   envy, 
death  entered   into  the  whole  world."  5     To 
the  death  offered   for  our  entertainment  by 
the  devil,  man  would  not  come  by  constraint; 
for  the  devil  had  not  the  power  of  forcing, 
but  only  cunning  to  persuade.     Hadst  thou 
not  consented,  the  devil  had  brought  in  noth 
ing:  thy  own  consenting,  O  man,  led  thee  to 
death.     Of  the  mortal  are  mortals  born;  from 
immortals   we   are    become   mortals.     From 
Adam  all  men  are  mortal;  but  Jesus  the  Son 
of  God,  the  Word  of  God,  by  which  all  things 
were    made,    the   only    Son   equal    with   the 
Father,  was  made  mortal:   "  for  the  Word  was 
made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us.'' 

11.  He    endured   death,  then;    but    death 
He  hanged  on  the  cross,  and  mortal  men  are 
delivered    from    death.     Tne    Lord  calls   to 
mind  a  great  matter,  which  was  done  in  a 
figure  with  them  of  old:   "And  as  Moses," 
saith  He,  "  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wil 
derness,  so  must  the  Son  of  man  be  lifted  up; 
that  everyone  who  behevethon  Him  may  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."     A  great 
mystery    is    here,  as    they   who    read    know. 

.Again, 'let  them  hear,  as  well  they  who  have 


4  i  Cor.  in.  6,  7. 


5  \VUd.  I.  2 


TRACTATK   XII.J 


ON    I  111.  GOSPEL  OI   BT,  J<»I1N. 


not    read    as   they   who    have    forgotten    what  12.    "For  Cod   sent   not    His  Son   into  the 

perhaps  they  had  heard  or  read.      The  people  world  to  judge  the  world,  hut  that  the  . 

Israel  were  fallen  helplessly  in  the  wilderness  through  Him   may  be   saved."      So  far,  then, 

by  the  bite  of  serpents;  they  suffered  a  great  as  it  lies  in  the  pnysu  lan.  He  is  come  to  heal 


calamity    by    many    deaths:    for    it   was    the 


the  sick.     He  that  will  not  observe  the  orders 


stroke  of  God  correcting  and  scourging  them   of   the    physician   destroys    himself.      1  i 
that  He  might   instruct  them.     In  this  was  |  come  a  Saviour  to  the  world:  why  is  he  called 
shown  a  great  mystery,  the  figure  of  a  thing;  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  but  that  He  is  come 
to  come:  the  Lord   Himself  testifies  in  this ' to  save  the  world,  not  to  judge  the  world? 
passage,  so  that  no  man  can  give  another  in- 1  Thou  wilt  not  be  saved  by  Him;  thou  shall 


terpretation  than  that  which  the  truth  indi 
cates  concerning  itself.  Now  Moses  was 
ordered  by  the  Lord  to  make  a  brazen  ser 
pent,  and  to  raise  it  on  a  pole  in  the  wilder 
ness,  and  to  admonish  the  people  Israel,  that, 
when  any  had  been  bitten  by  a  serpent,  he 
should  look  to  that  serpent  raised  up  on  the 
pole.  This  was  done:  men  were  bitten;  they 


looked  and  were  healei 


What  are  the  bit 


ing  serpents  ?  Sins,  from  the  mortality  of  the 
flesh.  What  is  the  serpent  lifted  up?  The 
Lord's  death  on  the  cross.  For  as  death 
came  by  the  serpent,  it  was  figured  by  the 
image  of  a  serpent.  The  serpent's  bite  was 
deadly,  the  Lord's  death  is  life-giving.  A 
serpent  is  gazed  on  that  the  serpent  may 
have  no  power.  What  is  this  ?  A  death  is 
gazed  on,  that  death  may  have  no  power. 
But  whose  death?  The  death  of  life:  .if  it 
may  be  said,  the  death  of  life;  ay,  for  it  may 
be  said,  but  said  wonderfully.  But  should  it 
not  be  spoken,  seeing  it  was  a  thing  to  be 
done  ?  Shall  I  hesitate  to  utter  that  which 
the  Lord  has  deigned  to  do  for  me  ?  Is  not 
Christ  the  life  ?  And  yet  Christ  hung  on  the 
cross.  Is  not  Christ  life  ?  And  yet  Christ 
was  dead.  But  in  Christ's  death,  death  died. 
Life  dead  slew  death;  the  fullness  of  life  swal 
lowed  up  death;  death  was  absorbed  in  the 
body  of  Christ.  So  also  shall  we  say  in  the 
resurrection,  when  now  triumphant  we  shall 
sing,  "Where,  O  death,  is  thy  contest? 
Where,  O  death,  is  thy  sting  ?"  *  Meanwhile, 


be   judged 
"  shalt   be 


of  thyself 
judged  "  ? 


And   why  do  I   say, 
See   what    He    says: 


"  He  that  believeth  on  Him  is  not  judged, 
but  he  that  believeth  not."  What  dost  thou 
expect  He  is  going  to  say,  but  "  is  judged  "  ? 
"Already,"  saith  He,  "has  been  judged." 
The  judgment  has  not  yet  appeared,  but 


already   it  has   taken   place, 
knoweth  them  that  are  His: 


For  the  Lord 
He  knows  who 


are  persevering  for  the  crown,  and  who  for 
the  flame;  knows  the  wheat  on  His  threshing- 
floor,  and  knows  the  chaff;  knows  the  good 
corn,  and  knows  the  tares.  He  that  believeth 
not  is  already  judged.  Why  judged?  "Be 
cause  he  has  not  believed  in  the  name  of  the 
only-begotten  Son  of  God." 

13.  "And  this  is  the  judgment,  that  light 
is  come  into  the  world,  and  men  loved  dark 
ness  rather  than  light, because  their  deeds  were 
evil.'1  My  brethren,  whose  works  does  the 
Lord  find  to  be  good  ?  The  works  of  none: 
He  finds  the  works  of  all  evil.  How  is  it, 
then,  that  some  have  done  the  truth,  and  are 
come  to  the  light?  For  this  is  what  follows: 
4<  But  he  that  doeth  truth  cometh  to  the  light, 
that  his  deeds  may  be  made  manifest,  that 
they  are  wrought  in  God."  In  what  way 
have  some  done  a  good  work  to  come  to  the 
light,  namely,  to  Christ?  And  how  have 
some  loved  darkness?  For  if  He  finds  all 
men  sinners,  and  healeth  all  of  sin,  and  that 
serpent  in  which  the  Lord's  death  was  figured 
healed  them  that  were  bitten,  and  on  account 


brethren,  that  we  may  be  healed  from  sin,  let  |  of  the  serpent's  bite  the  serpent  was  set  up, 
us   now   gaze   on  Christ   crucified;  for    "as   namely,  the  Lord's  death  on  account  of  mor 
tal  men,  whom   He  finds  unrighteous;    how 


Moses,"  saith  He,  "lifted  up  the  serpent  in 
the  wilderness,  so  must  the  Son  of  man  be 
lifted  up;  that  whosoever  believeth  on  Him 
may  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 
Just  as  they  who  looked  on  that  serpent  per 
ished  not  by  the  serpent's  bites,  so  they  who 
look  in  faith  on  Christ's  death  are  healed  from 
the  bites  of  sins.  But  those  were  healed  from 
death  to  temporal  life;  whilst  here  He  saith, 
"  that  they  may  have  everlasting  life."  Now 
there  is  this  difference  between  the  figurative 
image  and  the  real  thing:  the  figure  procured 
temporal  life;  the  reality,  of  which  that  was. 
the  figure,  procures  eternal  life. 


•  Num.  xxi.  6-9. 


i  Cor.  xv. 


are  we  to  understand  that  "  this  is  the  judg 
ment,  that  light  is  come  into  the  world,  and 
men  loved  darkness  rather  than  light,  because 
their  deeds  were  evil"?  How  is  this? 
Whose  works,  in  fact,  are  good  ?  Hast  Thou 
not  come  to  justify  the  ungodly  ?  "  But  they 
loved,"  saith  He,  "darkness  rather  than 
light."  There  He  laid  the  emphasis:  for 
many  loved  their  sins;  many  confessed  their 
sins;'  and  he  who  confesses  his  sins,  ami  ac 
cuses  them,  doth  now  work  with  God.  God 
accuses  thy  sins:  and  if  thou  also  ac 
thou  art  united  to  God.  There  are.  as  it 
were,  two  things,  man  and  sinner.  That  thou 


86 


THE  WORKS  OK  ST.  AIH.L  SI  IN. 


[TRACTATK  XIII. 


art  called  man,  is  God's  doing;  that  thou  art  lay  hold  of  you.  Awake  to  your  salvation, 
called  sinner,  is  man's  own  doing.  Blot  out  awake  while  there  is  time;  let  none  be  kept 
what  thou  hast  done,  that  God  may  save  what  I  back  from  the  temple  of  God,  none  kept  back 
He  has  done.  It  behoves  thee  to  hate  thine  I  from  the  work  of  the  Lord,  none  called  away 


own  work  in  thee,  and  to  love  the  work  of 
God  in  thee.  And  when  thy  own  deeds  will 
begin  to  displease  thee,  from  that  time  thy 
good  works  begin,  as  thou  findest  fault  with 
thy  evil  works.  The  confession  of  evil  works 
is  the  beginning  of  good  works.  Thou  doest 
the  truth,  and  comest  to  the  light.  How  is 
it  thou  doest  the  truth  ?  Thou  dost  not  caress, 
nor  soothe,  nor  flatter  thyself;  nor  say,  "  I 
am  righteous,1'  whilst  thou  art  unrighteous: 
thus,  thou  beginnest  to  do  the  truth.  Thou 
comest  to  the  light,  that  thy  works  may  be 
made  manifest  that  they  are  wrought  in  God; 
for  thy  sin,  the  very  thing  that  has  given  thee 
displeasure,  would  not  have  displeased  thee, 
if  God  did  not  shine  into  thee,  and  His  truth 
show  it  thee.  But  he  that  loves  his  sins,  even 
after  being  admonished,  hates  the  light  ad 
monishing  him,  and  flees  from  it,  that  his 
works  which  he  loves  may  not  be  proved  to 
be  evil.  But  he  that  doeth  truth  accuses  his 
evil  works  in  himself,  spares  not  himself,  for 
gives  not  himself,  that  God  may  forgive  him: 
for  that  which  he  desires  God  to  forgive,  he 
himself  acknowledges,  and  he  comes  to  the 
light;  to  which  he  is  thankful  for  showing 
him  what  he  should  hate  in  himself.  He 
says  to  God,  "  Turn  away  Thy  face  from  my 
sins:"  yet  with  what  countenance  says  it, 
unless  he  adds,  "  For  I  acknowledge  mine 


from  continual  prayer,  none  be  defrauded  of 
wonted  devotion.  Awake,  then,  while  it  is 
day:  the  day  shines,  Christ  is  the  clay.  He 
is  ready  to  forgive  sins,  but  to  them  that  ac 
knowledge  them;  ready  to  punish  the  self- 
defenders,  who  boast  that  they  are  righteous, 
and  think  themselves  to  be  something  when 
they  are  nothing.  But  he  that  walks  in  His 
love  and  mercy,  even  being  free  from  those 
great  and  deadly  sins,  such  crimes  as  mur 
der,  theft,  adultery;  still,  because  of  those 
which  seem  to  be  minute  sins,  of  tongue,  or 
of  thought,  or  of  intemperance  in  things  per 
mitted,  he  doeth  the  truth  in  confession,  and 
cometh  to  the  light  in  good  works:  since 
many  minute  sins,  if  they  be  neglected,  kill. 
Minute  are  the  drops  that  swell  the  rivers; 
minute  are  the  grains  of  sand;  but  if  much 
sand  is  put  together,  the  heap  presses  and 
crushes.  Bilge-water  neglected  in  the  hold 
does  the  same  thing  as  a  rushing  wave. 
Gradually  it  leaks  in  through  the  hold;  and 
by  long  leaking  in  and  no  pumping  out,  it 
sinks  the  ship.  Now  what  is  this  pumping 
out,  but  by  good  works,  by  sighing,  fasting, 
giving,  forgiving,  so  to  effect  that  sins  may 
not  overwhelm  us  ?  The  path  of  this  life, 
however,  is  troublesome,  full  of  temptations: 
in  prosperity,  let  it  not  lift  us  up;  in  adver 
sity,  let  it  not  crush  us.  He  who  gave  the 


iniquity,  and   my  sin  is  ever  before  me? '"   happiness  of  this  world  gave  it  for  thy  com- 


Be  that  before  thyself  which  thou  desirest  not 
to  be  before  God.  But  if  thou  wilt  put  thy 
sin  behind  thee,  God  will  thrust  it  back  be 
fore  thine  eyes;  and  this  He  will  do  at  a  time 
when  there  will  be  no  more  fruit  of  repent 


ance. 


14.   Run,  my  brethren,   lest  the    darkness 


fort,  not  for  thy  ruin.  Again,  He  who  scourg- 
eth  thee  in  this  life,  doeth  it  for  thy  improve 
ment,  not  for  thy  condemnation.  Bear  the 
Father  that  corrects  thee  for  thy  training, 
lest  thou  feel  the  judge  in  punishing  thee. 
These  things  we  tell  you  every  day,  and  they 
must  be  often  said,  because  they  are  good 
and  wholesome. 


TRACTATE  XIII. 

CHAPTER  III.   22-29. 


i.  THE  course  of  reading  from  the  Gospel 
of  John,  as  those  of  you  who  are  concerned 
for  your  own  progress  may  remember,  so 
proceeds  in  regular  order,  that  the  passage 
which  has  now  been  read  comes  before  us  for 
exposition  to-day.  You  remember  that  we 
have  expounded  it,  in  the  preceding  dis 


courses,  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  Gos 
pel,  as  far  as  the  lesson  of  to-day.  And 
though  perhaps  you  have  forgotten  much  of 
it,  at  least  it  remains  in  your  memory  that  we 
have  done  our  part  in  it.  What  you  have 
heard  from  it  about  the  baptism  of  John,  even 
though  you  retain  not  all,  yet  I  believe  you 


TRACTATI    MIL] 


ON  TIN-:  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


; 


have  heard  that  which  yon  may  retain.  Also, 
what  was  said  as  to  why  the  Holy  Spirit  ap- 
I'c.uvd  in  the  shape  of  a  clove;  and  how  that 
most  knotty  question  was  solved,  namely, 
what  was  that  something  in  the  Lord  which 
John  did  not  know,  and  which  lie  learned  by 
means  of  the  dove,  whilst  already  John  knew 
Him,  since,  as  Jesus  came  to  be  baptized,  he 
said  to  Him,  "  I  ought  to  be  baptized  by 
Thee,  and  comest  Thou  to  me  ? "  when  the 
Lord  answered  him,  "  Suffer  it  now,  that  all 
righteousness  may  be  fulfilled."  ' 

2.  Now,  therefore,  the  order  of  our  read 
ing  obliges  us  to  return  to  that  same  John. 
The  same  is  he  who  was  prophesied  of  by 
Isaiah,  "  The  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wil 
derness, 'Prepare  ye  away  for  the  Lord,  make 
His  paths  straight."'  Such  testimony  gave 
he  to  his  Lord  and  (for  the  Lord  deemed  him 
worthy)  his  friend.  And  the  Lord,  even  his 
friend,  did  also  Himself  bear  witness  to  John. 
For  concerning  John  He  said,  "Among  them 
that  are  born  of  women,  there  hath  not  arisen 
a  greater  than  John  the  Baptist."  But  as  He 
put  Himself  before  John,  in  that  wherein  He 
was  greater,  He  was  God.  "  But  he  that  is 
less,"  saith  He,  "in  the  kingdom  of  heaven 


not  manifest  that  He  must  be  a!>ove  all  an. 
gels,  for   whom   a   man,  such   that   a    . 
than   he  has  not   risen  among  them  that  arc- 
born  of  women,   (let  lares  himself  to    ! 
worthy  to  loose  the  latchet  of  H 

3.  John,  however,  may  say  something  more 
evidently,  that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  ; 
We  may  find  this  in  the  present  passage,  that 
it  is  perhaps  of  Him  we  have  been  singing, 
"The  Lord  reigned  over  all  the  earth;" 
against  which  they  are  deaf  who  imagine  that 
He  reigns  only  in  Africa.  But  let  them  not 
suppose  that  it  is  not  of  Christ  it  is  spoken 
when  it  is  said,  "God  reigned  over  all  the 
earth."  For  who  else  is  our  King,  but  our 


Lord 
King. 


Jesus  Christ?     It   is   He    that   is  our 
And  what  have  you  heard  in  the  same 


psalm,  in  the  verse  just  sung  ?  "  Sing  praises 
to  our  God,  sing  praises:  sing  praises  to  our 
King,  sing  praises."  Whom  he  called  God, 
the  same  he  called  our  King:  "  Sing  praises 
to  our  God,  sing  praises:  sing  praises  to  our 
King,  sing  ye  praises  with  understanding." 
And  that  thou  shouldest  not  understand  Him 
to  whom  thou  singest  praises  to  reign  in  one 
part,  he  says.  "  For  God  is  King  of  all  the 
earth."5  And  how  is  He  King  of  all  the 


is  greater  than  he."3    Less  in  age;  greater  in   earth,  who  appeared  in  one  part  of  the  earth, 


power,  in  deity,  in  majesty,  in  brightness: 
even  as  "  in  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and 
the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was 
God."  In  the  preceding  passages,  however, 
John  had  given  testimony  to  the  Lord,  in  such 
wise  that  he  did  indeed  call  Him  Son  of 
God,  but  said  not  that  He  was  God,  nor  yet 
denied  it:  he  was  silent  as  to  His  being  God, 
not  denied  that  He  was  God;  but  yet  he  was 
not  altogether  silent  as  to  His  being  God,  for 
perhaps  we  find  this  in  the  lesson  of  to-day. 
He  had  called  Him  Son  of  God;  but  men, 
too,  have  been  called  sons  of  God.  He  had 


declared  Him  to  be  of 


excellence,  that 


he  was  not  himself  worthy  to  loose  the  latchet 
of  His  shoe.     Now  this  greatness  gives  us 


in  Jerusalem,  in  Judea,  walking  among  men, 
born,  sticking  the  breast,  growing,  eating, 
drinking,  waking,  sleeping,  sitting  at  a  well, 
wearied;  laid  hold  of,  scourged,  spat  upon, 


crowned    with 
wounded  with 


thorns,    hanged    on    a 
a  spear,  dead,  buried  ? 


tree, 
How 


then  King  of  all  the  earth  ?  What  was  seen 
locally  was  flesh,  to  carnal  eyes  only  flesh  was 
visible;  the  immortal  majesty  was  concealed 
in  mortal  flesh.  And  with  what  eyes  shall 
we  be  able  to  behold  the  immortal  majesty, 
after  penetrating  through  the  structure  of  the 
flesh  ?  There  is  another  eye,  there  is  an  in 
ner  eye.  Tobias,  for  example,  was  not  with 
out  eyes,  when,  blind  in  his  bodily  eyes,  he 
was  giving  precepts  of  life  to  his  son.6  The 


much  to  understand:  whose  shoe-latchet  he  son  was  holding  the  father's  hand,  that  the 
was  not  worthy  to  loose,  he  than  whom  none  I  father  might  walk  with  his  feet,  whilst  the 
greater  had  arisen  among  them  that  are  born  I  father  was  giving  the  son  counsel  to  walk  in 
of  women.  He  was  more,  indeed,  than  all  the  way  of  righteousness.  Here  I  see  eyes, 


men  and  angels, 
bidding  a  man  to 


For  we  find  an  angel  for- 
fall  at  his  feet.     For  ex 


ample,  when  in  the  Apocalypse  an  angel  was 


and  there  I  understand  eyes.  And  better  are 
the  eyes  of  him  that  gives  counsel  of  life, 
than  his  who  holds  the  hand.  Such  eyes 


showing  certain  things  to  John,  the  writer  of  Jesus  also  required  when  He  said  to  Philip, 


this  Gospel,  John,  terrified  at  the  greatness 
of  the  vision,  fell  down  at  the  angel's  feet. 
But  said  the  angel,  "  Rise;  see  thou  do  it 
not:  worship  God,  for  I  am  thy  fellow-ser 
vant,  and  the  brethren's."4  An  angel,  then, 
forbade  a  man  to  fall  down  at  his  feet.  Is  it 


«  Matt.  iii.  .4. 
3  Matt.  xi.  it. 


Isa.  xl.  3. 
Rev.  xxii.  8,  9. 


"Am  I  so  long  time  with  you,  and  ye  have 
not  known  me?"  Such  e'yes  He  required 
when  He  said,  "  Philip,  lie  that  seetli  me, 
seeth  the  Father."  These  are  the  eyes  of  the 
understanding,  these  are  the  eyes  of  the  mind. 
It  is  for  that  reason  that  the  psalm,  when  it 


5  Ps.  xlvii.  3-8. 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN 


[TRACTATE  XIII. 


had  said,  "For  God  is  King  of  all  the  earth," 
immediately  added,  "  Sing  ye  praises  with 
understanding."  For  in  that  I  say,  "Sing 
ye  praises  to  our  God,"  1  say  that  God  is  our 
King.  But  yet  our  King  you  have  seen 
among  men,  as  man;  you  have  seen  Him  suf 
fering,  crucified,  dead:  there  was  in  that  flesh 
something  concealed,  which  you  might  have 
seen  with  eyes  of  flesh.  What  was  there  con 
cealed  ?  "Sing  ye  praises  with  understand 
ing."  Do  not  seek  to  see  with  the  eyes  what 
is  beheld  by  the  mind.  "  Sing  praises"  with 
the  tongue,  for  He  is  among  you  as  flesh; 
but  because  "the  Word  was  made  flesh,  and 
dwelt  among  us,"  render  the  sound  to  the 
flesh,  render  to  God  the  gaze  of  the  mind. 
"Sing  ye  praises  with  understanding,"  and 
you  see  that  the  "  Word  was  made  flesh,  and 
dwelt  among  us." 

4.  Now  let  John  also  declare  his  witness: 
"After  these  things  came  Jesus  and  His  dis 
ciples  into  the  land  of  Judea;  and  there  He 
tarried   with    them,    and    baptized."     Being 
baptized,  He  baptized.     Not  with  that  bap 
tism  with  which  He  was  baptized  did  He  bap 
tize.     The  Lord,  being  baptized  by  a  servant, 
gives  baptism,  showing  the  path  of  humility 
and  leading  to  the  baptism  of  the  Lord,  that 
is,  His  own  baptism,  by  giving  an  example  of 
humility,  in   not    Himself   refusing   baptism 
from  a  servant.     And  in  the  baptism  by  a 
servant,  a  way  was    prepared    for  the  Lord; 
the  Lord  also  being  baptized,  made  Himself 
a  way  for  them  that  come  to  Him.     Let  us 
hear  Himself:   "  I  am  the  way,  the  truth,  and 
the  life."     If   thou   seekest  truth,   keep  the 
way,  for  the  way  and  the  truth  are  the  same. 
The  way  that  thou  art  going  is  the  same  as 
the  whither  thou  art  going:  thou  art  not  going 
by  a  way  as  one  thing,  to  an  object  as  another 
thing;   not   coming   to  Christ   by  something 
else  as  a  way,  thou  comest  to  Christ  by  Christ. 
How  by  Christ  to  Christ  ?     By  Christ  the  man, 
to  Christ  God;  by  the  Word  made  flesh,  to  the 
Word  which  in  the  beginning  was  God  with 
God;  from  that  which  man  ate,  to  that  which 
angels  daily  eat.     For  so  it  is  written,  "  He 
gave   them   bread    of   heaven:  man   ate   the 
bread    of   angels."1     What  is   the   bread  of 
angels?     "In  the  beginning  was  the  Word, 
and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word 
was  God."     How  has  man  eaten  the  bread  of 
angels  ?     "And   the  Word  was    made    flesh, 
and  dwelt  among  us." 

5.  But  though  we  have  said  that  angels  eat, 
do  not  fancy,  brethren,  that  this  is  done  with 
teeth.     For  if  you  think  so,  God,  of  whom 
the  angels  eat,  is  as  it  were  torn  in  pieces. 


Who  tears  righteousness  in  pieces  ?  But  still, 
some  one  asks  me,  And  who  is  it  that  can  eat 
righteousness  ?  Well,  how  is  it  said,  "  Blessed 
are  they  that  hunger  and  thirst  after  right 
eousness,  for  they  shall  be  filled "  ?  The 
food  which  thou  eatest  carnally  perishes,  in 
order  to  refresh  thee;  to  repair  thy  waste  it 
'is  consumed:  eat  righteousness;  and  while 
thou  art  refreshed,  it  continues  entire.  Just 
as  by  seeing  this  corporeal  light,  these  eyes 
of  ours  are  refreshed,  and  yet  it  is  a  corpo 
real  thing  that  is  seen  by  corporeal  eyes. 
Many  there  have  been,  when  too  long  in  dark 
ness,  whose  eyesight  is  weakened  by  fasting, 
as  it  were,  from  light.  The  eyes,  deprived 
of  their  food  (for  they  feed  on  light),  become 
wearied  by  fasting,  and  weakened,  so  that 
they  cannot  bear  to  see  the  light  by  which 
they  are  refreshed;  and  if  the  light  is  too 
long  absent,  they  are  quenched,  and  the  very 
sense  of  sight  dies  as  it  were  in  them.  What 
then  ?  Does  the  light  become  less,  because 
so  many  eyes  are  daily  fed  by  it  ?  Thy  eyes 
are  refreshed,  and  the  light  remains  entire. 
As  God  was  able  to  show  this  in  the  case  of 
corporeal  light  to  corporeal  eyes,  does  He 
not  show  that  other  light  to  clean  hearts  as 
unwearied,  continuing  entire,  and  in  no  re 
spect  failing?  What  light?  "  In  the  begin 
ning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with 
God."  Let  us  see  if  this  is  light.  "  For 
with  Thee  is  the  fountain  of  light,  and  in 
Thy  light  shall  we  see  light."  On  earth, 
fountain  is  one  thing,  light  another.  When 
thirsting,  thou  seekest  a  fountain,  and  to  get 
to  the  fountain  thou  seekest  light;  and  if  it 
is  not  day,  thou  lightest  a  lamp  to  get  to  the 
fountain.  That  fountain  is  the  very  light:  to 
the  thirsting  a  fountain,  to  the  blind  a  light. 
Let  the  eyes  be  opened  to  see  the  light,  let 
the  lips  of  the  heart  be  opened  to  drink  of 
the  fountain;  that  which  thou  drinkest,  thou 
seest,  thou  hearest.  God  becomes  all  to 
thee;  for  He  is  to  thee  the  whole  of  these 
things  which  thou  lovest.  If  thou  regardest 
things  visible,  neither  is  God  bread,  nor  is 
God  water,  nor  is  God  this  light,  nor  is  He 
garment  nor  house.  For  all  these  are  things 
visible,  and  single  separate  things.  What 
bread  is,  water  is  not;  and  what  a  garment 
is,  a  house  is  not;  and  what  these  things  are, 
God  is  not,  for  they  are  visible  things.  God 
is  all  this  to  thee:  if  thou  hungerest,  He  is 
bread  to  thee;  if  thou  thirstest,  He  is  water 
to  thee;  if  thou  art  in  darkness,  He  is  light 
to  thee:  for  He  remains  incorruptible.  If 
thou  art  naked,  He  is  a  garment  of  immor 
tality  to  thee,  when  this  corruptible  shall  put 
on  incorruption,  and  this  mortal  shall  put  on 
immortality.  All  things  can  be  said  of  God, 


I  K  \.    I  All      MIL] 


ON  THE  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  JollN. 


and  nothing  is  worthily  said  <>t  (',<><!.  Noth 
ing  is  wider  than  this  poverty  <>t  expression. 
Thou  seekest  a  fitting  name  for  Him,  thou 
canst  not  find  it;  thou  seekest  to  speak  of 
Him  in  any  way  soever,  thou  findest  that  He 
is  all.  What  likeness  have  the  lamb  and  the 
lion  ?  Both  is  said  of  Christ.  '*  Behold  the 
I,  amb  of  God  !"  Howalion?  "The  Lion  of 
the  tribe  of  Jndah  hath  prevailed."  ' 

6.  Let  us  hear  John:  "Jesus   baptized." 
We  said  that  Jesus  baptized.      How  Jesus? 
How  the  Lord  ?     How  the  Son  of  God  ?     How 
the  Word  ?     Well,  but  the  Word  was  made 
flesh.     '*And    John   also   was    baptizing    in 
yfcnon,    near    to    Salim."     A   certain    lake, 
"^non." '     How  do  we  know  it  was  a  lake  ? 
"  Because  there  was  much  water  there,  and 
they  came  and  were  baptized.     For  John  was 
not  yet  cast  into  prison."     If  you  remember 
(see,  I  say  it  again),  I  told  you  why  John 
baptized:  because  the   Lord   must  needs  be 
baptised.      And  why  must  the  Lord  be  bap 
tized  ?     Because  many  there  would  be  to  de 
spise  baptism,  that  they  might  appear  to  be 
endowed   with  greater  grace  than  they  saw 
other  believers  endowed  with.     For  example, 
a  catechumen,  now  living  continently,  might 
despise  a  married  person,  and  say  of  himself 
that  he  was  better  than  the  other  believer. 
That  catechumen  might  possibly  say  in   his 
heart,  "  What  need  have  I  to  receive  baptism, 
to  have  just  what  that  other  man  has,  than 
whom   I    am    already  better?"     Therefore, 
lest  that  neck  of  pride  should  hurl  to  destruc 
tion  certain  men  much  elated  with  the  merits 
of  their  own  righteousness,  the  Lord  was  will 
ing  to  be  baptized  by  a  servant,  as  if  address 
ing  His  chief  sons:  "  Why  do  you  extol  your 
selves  ?     Why  lift  yourselves  up  because  you 
have,  one  prudence,  another  learning,  another 
chastity,  another   the   courage   of   patience  ? 
Can  you  possibly  have  as  much  as  I  who  gave 
you    these  ?     And   yet   I   was  baptized  by  a 
servant,  you   disdain   to  be  baptized   by  the 
Lord."     This   is  the  sense  of   "to  fulfill  all 
righteousness." 

7.  But  some  one  will  say,  "  It  were  enough, 
then,  that  John  baptized  only  the  Lord;  what 
need  was  there  for  others  to  be  baptized  by 
John?"     Now  we  have  said  this  too,  that  if 
John  had  baptized  only  the  Lord,  men  would 
not    be    without    this    thought,    that     John 
had  a  better   baptism    than   the    Lord    had. 
They  would  say,  in  fact,  "So  great  was  the 
baptism  of  John,  that  Christ  alone  was  worthy 
to   be    baptized    therewith."     Therefore,    to 
show  that  the  baptism  which  the  Lord  was  to 
give  was  better  than  that  of  John, — that  the 


Rev.  v.  5. 


'  [An  error.] 


!  one  might  be  understood  as  that  of  a  servant, 
the  other  as  that  of  the  Lord,— the  Lord  was 
baptized  to  give  an  example  o!  humility;  but 
He  was  not  the  only  one  bapti/.ed  |.\ 
lest  John's  baptism  should  appear  to  be  bet 
ter  than  the  baptism  of  the  Lord.  To  this 
end,  however,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  showed 
the  way,  as  you  have  heard,  brethren,  lest 

j  any  man,  arrogating  to  himself  that  he  has 
abundance  of  some  particular  grace,  should 
disdain  to  be  baptized  with  the  baptism  of  the 
Lord.  For  whatever  the  catechumen's  pro- 

I  ficiency,  he  still  carries  the  load  of  his  in 
iquity:  it  is  not  forgiven  him  until  he  shall 
have  come  to  baptism.  Just  as  the  people 
Israel  were  not  rid  of  the  Egyptians  until 
they  had  come  to  the  Red  Sea,  so  no  man  is 
rid  of  the  pressure  of  sins  until  he  has  come 
to  the  font  of  baptism. 

8.  "  Then  there  arose  a  question  on  the 
part  of  John's  disciples  with  the  Jews  about 
purifying."  John  baptized,  Christ  baptized. 
John's  disciples  were  moved;  there  was  a 
running  after  Christ,  people  were  coming  to 
John.  Those  who  came  to  John,  he  sent  to 
Jesus  to  be  baptized;  but  ttiey  who  were  bap 
tized  by  Christ  were  not  sent  to  John.  John's 
disciples  were  alarmed,  and  began  to  dispute 
with  the  Jews,  as  usually  happens.  Under 
stand  the  Jews  to  have  declared  that  Christ 
was  greater,  and  that  to  His  baptism  people 
ought  to  have  recourse.  John's  disciples, 
not  yet  understanding  this,  defended  John's 
baptism.  They  came  to  John  himself,  that 
he  might  solve  the  question.  Understand, 
beloved.  And  here  we  are  given  to  see  the 
use  of  humility,  and,  when  people  were  erring 
in  the  subject  of  dispute,  are  shown  whether 
John  desired  to  glory  in  himself.  Now  pro 
bably  he  said,  "  You  say  the  truth,  you  con 
tend  rightly;  mine  is  the  better  baptism,  I 
baptized  Christ  Himself."  John  could  say 
this  after  Christ  was  baptized.  If  he  wished 
to  exalt  himself,  what  an  opportunity  he  had 
to  do  so  !  But  he  knew  better  before  whom 
to  humble  himself:  to  Him  whom  he  knew  to 
have  come  after  himself  by  birth,  he  willingly 
yielded  precedence  by  confessing  Him.  He 
understood  his  own  salvation  to  be  in  Christ. 
He  had  already  said  above,  "We  all  have 
received  out  of  His  fullness;"  and  this  is  to 
confess  Him  to  be  God.  For  how  can  all 
men  receive  of  His  fullness,  if  He  be  not  God  ? 
For  if  He  is  man  in  such  wise  that  He  is  not 
God,  then  Himself  also  receives  of  the  fullness 
of  God,  and  so  is  not  God.  But  if  all  men 
receive  of  His  fullness,  He  is  the  fountain, 
they  are  drinkers.  They  that  drink  of  a 
fountain,  both  thirst  and  drink.  The  foun- 

|  tain  never  thirsts;  it  has  never  need  of  itself. 


9o 


THI-;  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TKACTATK   XIII. 


Men  need  a  fountain.  With  thirsty  stom 
achs  and  parched  lips  they  run  to  the  foun 
tain  to  be  refreshed.  The  fountain  flows  to 
refresh,  so  does  the  Lord  Jesus. 

9.  Let    us   see,    then,   what   answer   John 
gives:  *'  They  came  unto  John,  and  said  unto 
him,   Rabbi,   he  that  was  with  thee  beyond 
Jordan,  to  whom  thou  barest  witness,  behold 
the   same   baptizeth,  and   all    men   come   to 
him:"    that   is,   What  sayest   thou?     Ought 
they  not  to  be  hindered,  that  they  may  rather 
come  to  thee  ?     "  He  answered  and  said,  A 
man  cannot   receive  anything,   except  it  be 
given  him  from  heaven."     Of  whom,  think 
you,  had  J(  hn  said  this?     Of  himself.      "As 
a  man,  I  received,"  saith  he,  "  from  heaven." 
Note,  my   beloved:  "A  man   cannot   receive 
anything,  except  it  be  given  him  from  heaven. 
Ye  yourselves  bear  me  witness  that  I  said,  I 
am    not  the  Christ."     As  much   as  to   say, 
"Why  do  ye  deceive  yourselves?     See  how 
you  have  put  this  question  before  me.     What 
have  you  said  to  me  ?     '  Rabbi,  he  that  was 
with  thee  beyond  Jordan,  to  whom  thou  bar 
est  witness.'     Then  you  know  what  sort  of 
witness  I  bare  to  Him.     Am  I  now  to  say 
that  He  is  not  the  same  whom  I  declared  Him 
to  be  ?     And   because  I  received  somewhat 
from  heaven,  in  order  to  be  something,  do 
you  wish  me  to  be  empty  of  it,  so  as  to  speak 
against   the  truth  ?     'A  man  cannot    receive 
anything,  except  it  be  given  him  from  heaven. 
Ye  yourselves  bear  me  witness  that  I  said, 
I   am   not  the  Christ.'  "      Thou   art  not  the 
Christ;  but  what  if  thou  art  greater  than  He, 
since    thou    didst    baptize    Him  ?     "I    am 
sent:  "  I  am  the  herald,  He  is  the  Judge. 

10.  But  hear  a  far  stronger,  a  far  more  ex 
pressive  testimony.     See  ye  what  it  is  we  are 
treating  of;  see  ye  that  to  love  any  person  in 
place  of  Christ  is  adultery.     Why  do  I  say 
this  ?     Let  us  attend   to  the  voice  of  John. 
People  could  be  mistaken  in  him,  could  think 
him  to  be  the  person  he  was  not.     He  rejects 
the  false  honor,  in  order  to  hold  the  truth 
complete.     See  what  he  declares  Christ  to  be; 
what  does  he  say  himself  is  ?     "He  that  hath 
the  bride  is   the   bridegroom."     Be   chaste, 
love  the  bridegroom.     But  what  art  thou,  who 
sayest  to  us,  "  He  that  hath  the  bride  is  the 
bridegroom  ?     But  the  friend  of   the  bride 
groom,  who  standeth  and   heareth   him,  re- 
joiceth  greatly  because  of  the  bridegroom's 
voice."     The  Lord  our  God  will  help  me  in 
proportion  to  the  tumult  of  my  heart,  for  it 
is  full  of  sadness,  to  utter  the  grief  I  feel; 
but  I  beseech  you  by  Christ  Himself  to  imag 
ine  in  thought  what  it  will  not  be  possible  for 
me  to  utter;  for  I  know  that  my  grief  cannot 
be  expressed  with  befitting   impressiveness. 


Now  I  see  many  adulterers  who  desire  to  get 
possession  of  the  bride,  purchased  at  so  great 
a  price,  loved  while  deformed  that  she  might 
be  made  fair,  having  been  purchased  and 
delivered  and  adorned  by  such  an  one;  and 
those  adulterers  strive  with  their  words  to  be 
loved  instead  of  the  bridegroom.  Of  that 
One  it  is  said,  "  This  is  He  that  baptizeth."  x 
Who  is  lie  that  goes  forth  from  us  and  says, 
"  I  am  he  that  baptizeth  "  ?  Who  is  he  tnat 
goes  forth  from  us  and  says,  "That  is  holy 
which  I  give  "  ?  Who  is  he  that  goes  hence 
and  says,  "  It  is  good  for  thee  to  be  born  of 
me  "  ?  Let  us  hear  the  friend  of  the  bride 
groom,  not  the  adulterers  against  the  bride 
groom;  let  us  hear  one  jealous,  but  not  for 
himself. 

ii.  Brethen,  return  in  thought  to  your  own 
homes.  I  speak  of  carnal,  I  speak  of  earthly 
things;  I  speak  after  the  manner  of  men,  for 
the  infirmity  of  your  flesh.  Many  of  you 
have,  many  of  you  wish  to  have,  many,  though 
you  wish  not  to  have,  still  have  had  wives; 
many  who  do  not  at  all  wish  to  have  wives, 
are  born  of  the  wives  of  your  fathers.  This 
is  a  feeling  that  touches  every  heart.  There 
is  no  man  so  alien  from  mankind  in  human 
affairs  as  not  to  feel  what  I  say.  Suppose 
that  a  man,  having  set  out  on  a  journey,  had 
commended  his  bride  to  the  care  of  his 
friend:  "  See,  I  pray  thee,  thou  art  my  dear 
friend;  see  to  it,  lest  in  my  absence  some 
other  may  perchance  be  loved  in  my  stead." 
Then  what  sort  of  a  person  must  he  be,  who, 
while  the  guardian  of  the  bride  or  wife  of  his 
friend,  does  indeed  endeavor  that  none  other 
be  loved,  but  if  he  wishes  himself  to  be  loved 
instead  of  his  friend,  and  desires  to  enjoy  her 
who  was  committed  to  his  care,  how  detest 
able  must  he  appear  to  all  mankind  !  Let 
him  see  her  gazing  out  of  the  window,  or  jok 
ing  with  some  one  somewhat  too  heedlessly, 
he  forbids  her  as  one  who  is  jealous.  I  see 
him  jealous,  but  let  me  see  for  whom  he  is 
jealous;  whether  for  his  absent  friend  or  for 
his  present  self.  Think  that  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  has  done  this.  He  has  committed  His 
bride  to  the  care  of  His  friend;  He  has  set 
out  on  a  journey  to  a  far  country  to  receive 
a  kingdom,  as  He  says  Himself  in  the  Gos 
pel,2  but  yet  is  present  in  His  majesty.  Let 
the  friend  who  has  gone  beyond  the  sea  be  de 
ceived;  and  if  he  is  deceived,  woe  to  him  who 
deceives  !  Why  do  men  attempt  to  deceive 
God, — God  who  looks  at  the  hearts  of  all,  and 
searches  the  secrets  of  all  ?  But  some  heretic 
shows  himself,  and  says,  "  'Tis  I  that  give, 
'tis  I  that  sanctify,  'tis  I  that  justify;  go  not 


John  i.  33. 


Luke 


TRACT  A  IK    XIII.J 


ON  Till;  (,( tSPBL  <  »I    ST.  JOHN. 


thou  to  that  other  sect."  He  does  well  in 
deed  to  l>e  jealous,  but  see  for  whom, 
not  thou  to  idols,"  saith  he, — he  is  rightly  jeal 
ous;  "  nor  to  diviners," — still  rightly  jealous. 
Let  us  see  for  whom  he  is  jealous:  "  What  I 
give  is  holy,  because  it  is  /that  give  it;  he 
is  baptized  whom  I  baptize;  he  whom  I  bap 
tize  not  is  not  baptized."  Hear  thou  the 
friend  of  the  bridegroom,  learn  to  be  jealous 
for  thy  friend;  hear  His  voice  who  is  "He 
that  baptizeth."  Why  desire  to  arrogate  to 
thyself  what  is  not  thine  ?  Is  he  so  very  ab 
sent  who  has  left  here  his  bride  ?  Knowest 
thou  not,  that  He  who  rose  from  the  dead  is 
sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father?  If 
the  Jews  despised  Him  hanging  on  the  tree, 
dost  thou  despise  Him  sitting  in  heaven  ?  Be 
assured,  beloved,  that  I  suffer  great  grief  of 
this  matter;  but,  as  I  have  said,  I  leave  the  rest 
to  your  thoughts.  I  cannot  utter  it  if  I  speak 
the  whole  day.  If  I  bewail  it  the  whole  day, 
I  do  not  enough.  I  cannot  utter  it,  if  I 
should  have,  as  the  prophet  says,  "  a  fountain 
of  tears;"  and  were  I  changed  into  tears, 
and  to  become  all  tears,  were  I  turned  into 
tongues,  and  to  become  all  tongues,  it  were 
not  enough. 

12.  Let  us  return  and  see  what  this  John 
saith:  "  He  that  hath  the  bride  is  the  bride 
groom;  "  she  is  not  my  bride.  And  dost 
thou  not  rejoice  in  the  marriage  ?  Yea,  saith 
he,  I  do  rejoice:  "But  the  friend  of  the 
bridegroom,  who  standeth  and  heareth  him, 
rejoiceth  greatly  because  of  the  voice  of  the 
bridegroom."  Not  because  of  mine  own 
voice,  saith  he,  do  I  rejoice,  but  because  of 
the  Bridegroom's  voice.  I  am  in  the  place 
of  hearer;  He,  of  speaker:  I  am  as  one  that 
must  be  enlightened,  He  is  the  light;  I  am  as 
the  ear,  He  is  the  word.  Therefore  the  friend 
of  the  Bridegroom  standeth  and  heareth  Him. 
Why  standeth?  Because  he  falls  not.  How  falls 
not  ?  Because  he  is  humble.  See  him  stand 
ing  on  solid  ground:  "I  am  not  worthy  to 
loose  the  latchet  of  His  shoe."  Thou  doest 
well  to  be  humble;  deservedly  thou  dost  not 
fall;  deservedly  thou  standest,  and  hearest 
Him,  and  rejoicest  greatly  for  the  Bride 
groom's  voice.  So  also  the  apostle  is  the 
Bridegroom's  friend;  he  too  is  jealous,  not 
for  himself,  but  for  the  Bridegroom.  Hear 
his  voice  when  he  is  jealous:  "  I  am  jealous 
over  you,"  said  he,  "with  the  jealousy  of 
God:  "  not  with  my  own,  nor  for  myself,  but 
with  the  jealousy  of  God.  Why?  How? 
Over  whom  art  thou  jealous,  and  for  whom  ? 
"  For  I  have  espoused  you  to  one  husband, 
to  present  a  chaste  virgin  to  Christ."  Why 
dost  thou  fear,  then  ?  Why  art  thou  jealous  ? 
"  I  fear,"  saith  he,  "  lest,  as  the  serpent  be 


guiled  l-'.ve  by  his  subtilty,  so  your  minds 
should  be  corrupted  from  the  chastity 
is  in  Christ."  '  The  whole  Church  is  called  a 
virgin.  You  see  that  the  members  of  the 
Church  are  divers,  that  they  are  en< 
with  and  do  rejoice  in  divers  gifts:  SOUR-  men 
wedded,  some  women  wedded;  some  are  wid 
owers  who  seek  no  more  to  have  wives,  some 
are  widows  who  seek  no  more  to  have  hus 
bands;  some  men  preserve  continence  from 
their  youth,  some  women  have  vowed  their 
virginity  to  God:  divers  are  the  gifts,  but  all 
these  are  one  virgin.  Where  is  this  virginity  ? 
for  it  is  not  in  the  body.  It  belongs  to  few 
women;  and  if  virginity  can  be  said  of  men, 
to  few  men  in  the  Church  belongs  a  holy 
integrity  even  of  body;  yet  one  such  is  a 
more  honorable  member.  Other  members, 
however,  preserve  virginity,  not  in  body,  but 
all  in  mind.  What  is  the  virginity  of  the 
mind?  Entire  faith,  firm  hope,  sincere  char 
ity.  This  is  the  virginity  which  he,  who, 
was  jealous  for  the  Bridegroom,  feared  might 
be  corrupted  by  the  serpent.  For,  just  as 
the  bodily  member  is  marred  in  a  certain  part, 
so  the  seduction  of  the  tongue  defiles  the 
virginity  of  the  heart.  Let  her  who  does  not 
desire  without  cause  to  keep  virginity  of  body, 
see  to  it  that  she  be  not  corrupted  in  mind. 

13.  What  shall  I  say,  then,  brethren  ? 
Even  the  heretics  have  virgins,  and  there  are 
many  virgins  among  heretics.  Let  us  see 
whether  they  love  the  Bridegroom,  so  that 
this  virginity  may  be  guarded.  For  wiiom 
is  it  guarded  ?  "  For  Christ."  Let  us  see  if 
it  be  for  Christ,  and  not  for  Donatus:  let  us 
see  for  whom  this  virginity  is  preserved:  you 
can  easily  prove.  Behold,  I  show  you  the 
Bridegroom,  for  He  shows  Himself.  John 
bears  witness  to  Him:  "  This  is  He  that  bap 
tizeth."  O  thou  virgin,  if  for  this  Bride 
groom  thou  preservest  thy  virginity,  why  run- 
nest  thou  to  him  who  says,  "  I  am  he  that 
baptizeth,"  while  the  friend  of  the  Bride 
groom  tells  thee,  "  This  is  He  that  baptiz 
eth  "  ?  Again,  thy  Bridegroom  possesseth 
the  whole  world;  why,  then,  shouldst  thou  be 
defiled  with  a  part  of  it  ?  Who  is  the  Bride 
groom  ?  "  For  God  is  King  of  all  the  earth." 
This  thy  Bridegroom  possesses  the  whole, 
because  He  purchased  the  whole.  See  at 
what  price  He  purchased  it,  that  thou  mayebt 
understand  what  He  has  purchased.  Wnat 
price  has  He  given?  He  gave  His  blood. 
Where  gave  He,  where  shed  He,  His  blood? 
In  His  passion.  Is  it  not  to  thy  Bride-room 
thou  smgest,  or  ieigne.it  to  sing,  when  the 
whole  world  was  purchased:  "  They  pierced 


a  Cor.  x\.  2,  3. 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  XIII. 


rny  hands  and  my  feet,  they  counted  all  my 
bones:  but  they  themselves  considered  me, 
they  looked  upon  me,  they  divided  my  gar 
ments  among  them,  and  upon  my  vesture 
they  cast  lots  "  ?  Thou  art  the  bride,  acknow 
ledge  thy  Bridegroom's  vesture.  Upon  what 
vesture  was  the  lot  cast  ?  Ask  the  Gospel ;  see 
to  whom  thou  art  espoused,  see  from  whom 
thou  receivest  pledges.  Ask  the  Gospel;  see 
what  it  tells  thee  in  the  suffering  of  the  Lord. 
"  There  was  a  coat'*  there:  let  us  see  what 
kind;  "woven  from  the  top  throughout." 
What  does  the  coat  woven  from  the  top  sig 
nify,  but  charity?  What  does  this  coat  sig 
nify,  but  unity  ?  Consider  this  coat, which  not 
even  the  persecutors  of  Christ  divided.  For 
it  saith,  "  They  said  among  themselves,  Let 
us  not  divide  it,  but  let  us  cast  lots  upon  it." 
Behold  that  of  which  the  psalm  spoke  ! 
Christ's  persecutors  did  not  rend  His  gar 
ment;  Christians  divide  the  Church. 

14.  But  what  shall  I  say,  brethren  ?  Let  us 
see  plainly  what  He  purchased.  For  there 
He  bought,  where  He  paid  the  price.  Paid 
it  for  how  much  ?  If  He  paid  it  only  for 
Africa,  let  us  be  Donatists,  and  not  be  called 
Donatists,  but  Christians;  since  Christ  bought 
only  Africa:  although  even  here  are  other 
than  Donatists.  But  He  has  not  been  silent 
of  what  He  bought  in  this  transaction.  He 
has  made  up  the  account:  thanks  be  to  God, 
He  has  not  tricked  us.  Need  there  is  for 
that  bride  to  hear,  and  then  to  understand  to 
whom  she  has  vowed  her  virginity.  There, 
in  that  psalm  where  it  says,  "  They  pierced 
my  hands  and  my  feet,  they  counted  all  my 
bones;"  whereiYi  the  Lord's  passion  is  most 
openly  declared; — the  psalm  which  is  read 
every  year  on  the  last  week,  in  the  hearing  of 
the  whole  people,  at  the  approach  of  Christ's 
passion;  and  this  psalm  is  read  both  among 
them  and  us; — there,  I  say,  note,  brethren, 
what  He  has  bought:  let  the  bill  of  merchan 
dise  be  read:  hear  ye  what  He  bought:  "All 
the  ends  of  the  earth  shall  remember,  and  turn 
unto  the  Lord;  and  all  the  kindreds  of  the 
nations  shall  worship  in  His  sight:  for  the 
kingdom  is  His,  and  He  shall  rule  the  na 
tions."  Behold  what  it  is  He  has  bought ! 
Behold!  "  For  God,  the  King  of  all  the 
earth,"  is  thy  Bridegroom.  Why,  then, 
wouldst  thou  have  one  so  rich  reduced  to 
rags?  Acknowledge  Him:  He  bought  the 
whole;  yet  thou  sayest,  "  Thdu  hast  a  part  of 
it  here."  Oh,  would  that  thou  wert  well- 
pleasing  to  thy  Spouse;  would  that  thou  who 
speakest  wert  not  defiled,  and,  what  is  worse, 
defiled  in  heart,  not  in  body  !  Thou  lovest  a 
man  instead  of  Christ;  lovest  one  that  says, 
"  'Tis  I  that  baptize;  "  not  hearing  the  friend 


of  the  Bridegroom  when  he  says,  "  This  is 
He  that  baptizeth;"  not  hearing  him  when 
he  says,  "  He  that  hath  the  bride  is  the  Bride 
groom."  I  have  not  the  bride,  said  he;  but 
what  am  I  ?  "  But  the  friend  of  the  Bride 
groom,  who  standeth  and  heareth  Him,  re- 
joiceth  greatly,  because  of  the  Bridegroom's 
voice." 

15.  Evidently,  then,  my  brethren,  it  pro 
fits  those  men  nothing  to  keep  virginity,  to 
have   continence,    to   give   alms.     All   those 
doings  which  are  praised  in  the  Church  profit 
them    nothing;    because    they    rend     unity, 
namely,  that   "coat"   of  charity.     What  do 
they?    Many  among  them  are  eloquent;  great 
tongues,  streams  of  tongues.     Do  they  speak 
like  angels?     Let  them  hear  the  friend  of  the 
Bridegroom,  jealous  for  the  Bridegroom,  not 
for    himself:     "  Though    I    speak    with    the 
tongues  of  men  and  of  angels,  and  have  not 
charity,  I  am  become  as  sounding  brass,  or  a 
tinkling  cymbal."  1 

16.  But  what  say  they?     "  We  have  bap 
tism."     Thou  hast,  but  not  thine.     It  is  one 
thing  to  have,  another  to  own.     Baptism  thou 
hast,  for  thou  hast  received  to  be  baptized, 
received  as  one  enlightened,  provided  thou  be 
not    darkened   of    thyself;    and   when    thou 
givest,    thou    givest   as   a   minister,    not    as 
owner;    as    a    herald    proclaiming,   not    as  a 
judge.     The  judge  speaks  through  the  herald, 
and  nevertheless  it  is  not  written  in  the  regis 
ters,  "The   herald    said,"  but,  *'  The   judge 
said."     Therefore  see  if  what  thou  givest  is 
thine    by  authority.     But   if    thou    hast   re 
ceived,  confess  with  the  friend  of  the  Bride 
groom,  "A  man  cannot  receive  anything,  ex 
cept  it  be  given  him  from  heaven."     Confess 
with  the  friend  of  the  Bridegroom,  "  He  that 
hath  the  bride  is  the  Bridegroom;   but   the 
friend  of  the  Bridegroom  standeth  and  hear 
eth   Him."     But  O,  would   thou  didst  stand 
and  hear  Him,  and  not  fall,  to  hear  thyself ! 
For  by  hearing  Him,  thou  wouldst  stand  and 
hear;  for  thou  wilt  speak,  and  thy  head  is  puf 
fed  with  pride.     I,  saith  the  Church,  if  I  am 
the  bride,  if  I  nave  received  pledges,  if  I  have 
been  redeemed  at  the  price  of  that  blood,  do 
hear  the  voice  of  the  Bridegroom;  and  I  do 
hear  the  voice  of   the   Bridegroom's   friend 
too,  if  he  give  glory  to  my  Bridegroom,  not 
to  himself.     Let  the  friend  speak:  "  He  that 
hath  the   bride  is  the   Bridegroom;  but   the 
friend  of  the  Bridegroom  standeth  and  hear 
eth  Him,  and  rejoices  greatly  because  of  the 
voice    of    the    Bridegroom."     Behold,    thou 
hast  sacraments;  and  I  grant  that  thou  hast. 
Thou  hast  the  form,  but  thou  art  a  branch 


TKAITA-I  i    XIV.] 


o\   THE  GOSPE1    OF  ST.  .!<>HN. 


93 


cut  off  from  tin-  vine;  thou  hast  a  form,  I 
want  the  root.  There  is  no  fruit  of  the  form, 
except  when;  there  is  a  root;  but  where  is  the 
root  hut  in  charity?  Hear  the  form  of  the 
c;it-ott  branches;  let  Paul  speak:  "Though  I 
know  nil  mysteries,"  saith  he,  "and  have  all 
prophecy,  and  all  faith"  (and  how  great  a 
faith  !),  "so  as  to  remove  mountains,  and 
have  not  charity,  I  am  nothing." 

17.  Let  no  man  tell  you  fables,  then. 
"  Pontius  wrought  a  miracle;  and  Donatus 
prayed,  and  God  answered  him  from  heaven." 
In  the  first  place,  either  they  are  deceived, 
or  they  deceive.  In  the  last  place,  grant  that 
he  removes  mountains:  "And  have  not 
charity,'*  saith  the  apostle,  "  I  am  nothing." 
Let  us  see  whether  he  has  charity.  1  would 
believe  that  he  had,  if  he  had  not  divided 
unity.  For  against  those  whom  I  may  call 
marvel-workers,  my  God  has  put  me  on  my 
guard,  saying,  "  In  the  last  times  there  shall 
arise  false  prophets,  doing  signs  and  wonders, 
to  lead  into  error,  if  it  were  possible,  even 
the  elect:  Lo,  I  have  foretold  it  to  you."1 
Therefore  the  Bridegroom  has  cautioned  us, 
that  we  ought  not  to  be  deceived  even  by 
miracles.  Sometimes,  indeed,  a  deserter 
frightens  a  plain  countryman;  but  whether  he 
is  of  the  camp,  and  whether  he  is  the  better 
of  that  character  with  which  he  is  marked,  is 
what  he  who  would  not  be  frightened  or  se 
duced  attends  to.  Let  us  then,  my  brethren, 
hold  unity:  without  unity,  even  he  who  works 
miracles  is  nothing.  The  people  Israel  was  in 
unity,  and  yet  wrought  no  miracles:  Pharaoh's 
magicians  were  out  of  unity,  and  yet  they 
wrought  the  like  works  as  Moses.3  The  peo 
ple  Israel,  as  I  have  said,  wrought  no  mira 
cles.  Who  were  saved  with  God — they  who 
did,  or  they  who  did  not,  work  miracles? 
The  Apostle  Peter  raised  a  dead  person: 
Simon  Magus  did  many  things-  there  were 
there  certain  Christians  who  were  not  able  to 
do  either  what  Peter  did  or  what  Simon  did; 


and  wherein  did  they  rejoice  ?  In  tli; 
their  names  were  written  in  heaven.  For  this 
is  what  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  said  to  the  dis 
ciples  on  their  return,  because  of  the  faith  of 
the  (icntiles.  The  disciples,  in  truth,  them 
selves  said,  boasting,  "  Behold,  Lord,  in  Thy 
name  even  the  devils  are  subject  to  us." 
Rightly  indeed  they  confessed,  they  brought 

[the   honor  to  the  name  of  Christ;  and   yet 

j what  does  He  say  to  them?  "Do  not  ye 
glory  in  this,  that  the  devils  are  subject  to 
you;  but  rejoice  that  your  names  are  written 
in  heaven."3  Peter  cast  out  devils.  Some 
old  widow,  some  lay  person  or  other,  having 
charity,  and  holding  the  integrity  of  faith, 
forsooth  does  not  do  this.  Peter  is  the  eye 
in  the  body,  that  man  is  the  finger,  yet  is  he 

,  in  the  same  body  in  which  Peter  is;  and  if 
the  finger  has  less  power  than  the  eye,  yet 
it  is  not  cut  off  from  the  body.  Better  is 
it  to  be  a  finger  and  to  be  in  the  body,  than 
to  be  an  eye  and  to  be  plucked  out  of  the 
body. 

1 8.  Therefore,  my  brethren,  let  no  man 
deceive  you,  let  no  man  seduce  you:  love  the 
peace  of  Christ,  who  was  crucified  for  you, 
whilst  He  was  God.  Paul  says,  "  Neither  he 
that  planteth  is  anything,  neither  he  that  wa- 

•tereth,  but  God  who  giveth  the  increase."* 
And  does  any  of  us  say  that  he  is  something  ? 
If  we  say  that  we  are  something,  and  give 
not  the  glory  to  Him,  we  are  adulterers;  we 
desire  ourselves  to  be  loved,  not  the  Bride 
groom.  Love  ye  Christ,  and  us  in  Him,  in 
whom  also  you  are  beloved  by  us.  Let  the 
members  love  one  another,  but  live  all  under 
the  Head.  With  grief  indeed,  my  brethren, 
I  have  been  obliged  to  speak  much,  and  yet  I 
have  said  little:  I  have  not  been  able  to 
finish  the  passage;  God  will  help  us  to  finish 
it  in  due  season.  I  did  not  wish  to  burden 

i  your  hearts  further;  I  wish  them  to  be  free 
for  sighs  and  prayers  in  behalf  of  those  who 
are  still  deaf  and  do  not  understand. 


Mark  xiii.  22,  23. 


.1  I.uke  x.  17. 


TRACTATE  XIV. 

CHAPTKR  III.  29-36. 

i.   THIS     lesson    from    the     holy    Gospel  For  the  Man  who  is  God  is  our  Lord  Jesus 

shows   us  the  excellency  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Gnd  before  all  ages,  Man   in  the  age 

Christ's  divinity,  and  the  humility  of  the  man  of  our  world:  God  of  the   Father,  man  of  the 

who    earned    the    title    of  the    Bridegroom's  Virgin,  yet  one  and  the  same  Lord  and  Saviour 

friend;  that  we  may  distinguish  between. the  Jesus  Christ,  Son  of  God,  God  and  man. 

man  who  is   man,  and  the   Man  who  is  God.  John,  a  man  of  distinguished  grace,  was  sent 


94 


THK   WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATK  XIV. 


before  Him,  a  man  enlightened  by  Him  who 


is  the   Light.      For  of  John  it  is  said, 
was  not  the   Light,  but  that  he   should 


He 

bear 


witness  of  the  Lit 


He  may  himself  be 


called  a  light  indeed,  and  rightly  so;  but  an 
enlightened,  not  an  enlightening  light.  The 
light  that  enlightens,  and  that  which  is  en 
lightened,  are  different  things:  for  even  our 
eyes  are  called  lights  (luininti),  and  yet  when 
we  open  them  in  the  dark,  they  do  not  see. 
But  the  light  that  enlightens  is  a  light  both 
from  itself  and  for  itself,  and  does  not  need 
another  light  for  its  shining;  but  all  the  rest 
need  it,  that  they  may  shine. 

2.  Accordingly  John  confessed  Him:  as 
you  have  heard  that  when  Jesus  was  making 
many  disciples,  and  they  reported  to  John  as 
if  to  excite  him  to  jealousy, — for  they  told 
the  matter  as  if  moved  by  envy,  "  Lo,  he  is 
making  more  disciples  than  thou," — John 
confessed  what  he  was,  and  thereby  merited 
to  belong  to  Him,  because  he  dared  not  affirm 
himself  to  be  that  which  Jesus  is.  Now  this 
is  what  John  said:  "A  man  cannot  receive 
anythmg,except  it  be  given  him  from  heaven. " 
Therefore  Christ  gives,  man  receives.  "Ye 
yourselves  bear  me  witness  that  I  said,  I  am 
not  the  Christ,  but  that  I  am  sent  before  Him. 
He  that  hath  the  bride  is  the  Bridegroom; 
but  the  friend  of  the  Bridegroom,  who  stand- 
eth  and  heareth  Him,  rejoiceth  greatly  be 
cause  of  the  Bridegroom's  voice."  Not  of 


women  greater  than  John,  yet  he  was  himself 
one  of  those  that  are  born  of  women.  Is  he 
to  be  compared  with  Him  who,  because  He 
willed  it,  was  born  by  a  singular  and  extra 
ordinary  birth  ?  For  both  generations  of  the 
Lord  are  unexampled,  both  the  divine  and 
the  human:  by  the  divine  He  has  no  mother; 
by  the  human,  no  father.  Therefore  John 
was  but  one  of  the  rest:  of  greater  grace,  how 
ever,  so  that  of  those  born  of  women  none 
arose  greater  than  he;  so  great  a  testimony 
he  gave  to  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  to  call 
Him  the  Bridegroom,  and  himself  the  Bride 
groom's  friend,  not  worthy  however  to  loose 
the  latchet  of  the  Bridegroom's  shoe.  You 
have  already  heard  much  on  this  point,  be 
loved:  let  us  look  to  what  follows;  for  it  is 
somewhat  hard  to  understand.  But  as  John 
himself  says,  that  "  no  man  can  receive  any 
thing,  except  it  be  given  him  from  heaven," 
whatever  we  shall  not  have  understood,  let 
us  ask  Him  who  gives  from  heaven:  for  we 
are  men, and  cannot  receive  anything,  except 
He,  who  is  not  man,  give  it  us. 

3.  Now  this  is  what  follows:  and  John  says, 
"  This  my  joy  therefore  is  fulfilled."  What 
is  his  joy  ?  To  rejoice  at  the  Bridegroom's 
voice.  It  is  fulfilled  in  me,  I  have  my  grace; 
more  I  do  not  assume  to  myself,  lest  also  I 


lose  what  I  have  received. 
"  With  joy   rejoiceth    for 


What  is  this  joy  ? 
the   Bridegroom's 


voice."       A  man  may  understand,  then,  that 


himself  did  he  give  himself  joy.     He  that  will  j  he  ought  not  to  rejoice  of  his  own  wisdom, 
have   joy  of   himself  shall  be   sad;    but   he 
that  will  have  his  joy  of  God  will  ever  rejoice, 


because  God  is  everlasting, 
sire  to  have  everlasting  joy  ? 


Dost  thou  de- 
Cleave  to  Him 


who   is  everlasting, 
clared  himself  to  be. 


Such  an  one  John  de- 
"  Because  of  the  Bride 


groom's  voice,  the  friend  of  the  Bridegroom 
rejoiceth,"  not  because  of  his  own  voice,  and 
"  standeth  and  heareth."  Therefore,  if  he 
falls,  he  heareth  Him  not:  for  of  a  certain  one 
who  fell  it  is  said,  "  And  he  stood  not  in  the 
truth;"1  this  is  said  of  the  devil.  It  be 
hoves  the  Bridegroom's  friend,  then,  "to 
stand  and  to  hear."  What  is  it  to  stand  ?  It 
is  to  abide  in  His  grace,  which  he  received. 
And  he  hears  a  voice  at  which  he  rejoices. 
Such  was  John:  he  knew  whereof  he  rejoiced; 
he  did  not  arrogate  to  himself  to  be  what  he 
was  not;  he  knew  himself  as  one  enlightened, 
not  the  enlightener.  "  But  that  was  the  true 
Light,"  saith  the  evangelist,  "  that  lighteneth 
every  man  coming  into  this  world."  If 
"  every  man,"  then  also  John  himself;  for  he 
too  is  of  men.  Moreover,  although  none 
hath  arisen  among  them  that  are  born  of 


but  of  the  wisdom  which  he  has  received  from 
God.  Let  him  ask  nothing  more,  and  he 
loses  not  what  he  found.  For  many,  in  that 
they  affirmed  themselves  to  be  wise,  became 
fools.  The  apostle  convicts  them,  and  says 
of  them,  "  Because  that  which  is  known  of 
God  is  manifest  to  them;  for  God  has  showed 
it  unto  them."  Hear  ye  what  he  says  of  cer 
tain  unthankful,  ungodly  men:  "  For  the  in 
visible  things  of  Him  from  the  creation  of  the 
world  are  seen,  being  understood  by  the 
things  that  are  made,  His  eternal  power  like 
wise,  and  Godhead;  so  that  they  are  without 
excuse."  Why  without  excuse  ?  "Because, 
knowing  God"  (he  said  not,  "because  they 
knew  Him  not  "),  "  they  glorified  Him  not  as 
God,  nor  were  thankful;  but  became  vain  in 
their  imaginations,  and  their  foolish  heart 
was  darkened:  professing  themselves  to  be 
wise,  they  became  fools."2  .  If  they  had 
known  God,  they  had  known  at  the  same 
time  that  God,  and  none  other,  had  made 
them  wise;  and  they  would  not  then  attribute 
to  themselves  that  which  they  did  not  have 
from  themselves,  but  to  Him  from  whom  they 


••  John  viii.  44- 


TRACTA i 1    \  I  \ .  j 


ON  Ti'K  GOSPEL  OF  ST,  JOHN. 


95 


had  received  it.  Hut  by  their  unthankfulix-ss 
they  became  tools.  Therefore,  wnat  C.od 
-avc  irccly,  He  took  from  the  unthankful. 
John  would  not  be  this;  he  would  be  thank 
ful:  lie  confessed  to  have  received,  and  de 
clared  that  he  rejoiced  for  the  Hnde^room' 
Baying,  "  Therefore  this  my  joy  is  ful 
filled." 

4.  "He    must    increase,    but    I   must   de- 1 
crease,"     What  is  this  ?     He  must  be  exalted, 
but  I    must  be    humbled.      How    is  Jesus   to 
increase?      How    is   God  to    increase?     The 
perfect  does  not  increase.     God   neither  in- 
crea-.es  nor  decreases.     For  if  He  increases, 
He  is  not  perfect;  if  He  decreases,  he  is  not 
God.     And    how   can    Jesus    increase,  being 
God  ?     If  to  man's  estate,  since  He  deigned 
to  be  man  and  was  a  child;  and,  though  the 
Word  of  God,  lay  an  infant  in  a  manger;  and, 
though  His  mother's  Creator,  yet  sucked  the 
milk   of  infancy   of  her:  then    Jesus    having 
grown  in  age  of  the  flesh,  that  perhaps  is  the 
reason  why  it  is  said,  "  He  must  increase,  but 
I  must  decrease."     But  why  in  this  ?    As  re 
gards  the  flesh,  John  and  Jesus  were  of  the 
same  age,  there  being  six    months   between 
them:  they  had  grown  up  together;  and  if  our 
Lord    Jesus    Christ   had    willed    to   be   here 
longer  before  His  death,  and  that  John  should 
be  herewith  Him,  then,  as  they  had  grown  up 
together,  so  would   they  have  grown  old   to 
gether:  in  what  way, then,  "  He  must  increase, 
but  I  must  decrease  "  ?     Above  all,  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  being  now  thirty  years  old,  does 
a  man  who  is  already  thirty  years  old  still 
grow  ?     From  that  same  age,  men  begin  to  go 
downward,  and    to   decline    to   graver   age, 
thence  to  old  age.     Again,  even  had  they  both 
been  lads,  he  would  not  have  said,  "  He  must 
increase,"  but,  We  must  increase  together. 
But  now  each  is  thirty  years  of  age.     The  in 
terval  of  six  months  makes  no  difference  in 
age;  the  difference  is  discovered  by  reading 
rather  than  by  the  look  of  the  persons. 

5.  What  means,  then,  "  He  must  increase, 
but  I  must  decrease  "  ?     This  is  a  great  mys 
tery  !       Before  the   Lord   Jesus  came,   men 
were  glorying  of  themselves;  He  came  a  man, 
to  lessen   man's   glory,   and   to   increase  the 
glory  of  God.      Now  He  came  without  sin, 
and  found  all  men  in  sin.     If  thus  He  came 
to  put  away  sin,  God  may  freely  give,  man 
may  confess.     For  man's  confession  is  man's 
lowliness:     God's    pity    is   God's    loftiness. 
Therefore,  since  He  came  to  forgive  man  his 
sins,  let  man  acknowledge  his  own  lowliness 
and  let  God  show  His   pity.     "  He  must  in 
crease,  but  I   must  decrease:"     that    is,   He- 
must  give,  but  I  must  receive;  He  must  be 
glorified,  but  I  must  confess.     Let  man  know 


his  own   condition,  and   con!'  [•  and 

hear  the  apostle  as  he  says  to  a  proud, 
man,  bent  on  extolling  himself:  "  What  hast 
thou  that  thou  didst  not  receive?  And  if 
tliou  didst  receive  it,  why  dost  thou  glory  as 
if  thou  didst  not  receive  it  ?  "  '  Then  hi  man 
understand  that  he  has  received;  and  when  he 
would  call  that  his  own  which  is  not  his,  let 
him  decrease:  for  it  is  good  for  him  that  Cod 
be  glorified  in  him.  Let  him  decrease  in 
himself,  that  he  may  be  increased  in  God. 
These  testimonies  and  this  truth,  Christ  and 
John  signified  by  their  deaths.  For  John  was 
lessened  by  the  Head:  Christ  was  exalted  on 
the  cross;  so  that  even  there  it  appeared  what 
this  is,  "  He  must  increase,  but  I  must  de 
crease."  Again,  Christ  was  born  when  the 
days  were  just  beginning  to  lengthen;  John 
was  born  when  they  began  to  shorten.  Thus 
their  very  creation  and  deaths  testify  to  the 
words  of  John,  when  he  says,  "  He  must  in 
crease,  but  I  must  decrease."  May  the  glory 
of  God  then  increase  in  us,  and  our  own  glory 
decrease,  that  even  ours  may  increase  in  God  ! 
For  this  is  what  the  apostle  says,  this  is  what 
Holy  Scripture  says:  '*  He  that  glorieth,  let 
him  glory  in  the  Lord."  '  Wilt  thou  glory  in 
thyself?  Thou  wilt  grow;  but  grow  worse  in 
thy  evil.  For  whoso  grows  worse  is  justly 
decreased.  Let  God,  then,  who  is  ever  per 
fect,  grow,  and  grow  in  thee.  For  the  more 
thou  understandest  God,  and  apprehendest 
Him,  He  seems  to  be  growing  in  thee;  but  in 
Himself  He  grows  not,  being  ever  perfect. 
Thou  didst  understand  a  little  yesterday;  thou 
understandest  more  to-day,  wilt  understand 
much  more  to-morrow:  the  very  light  of  God 
increases  in  thee:  as  if  thus  God  increases, 
who  remains  ever  perfect.  It  is  as  if  one's 
eyes  were  being  cured  of  former  blindness, 
and  he  began  to  see  a  little  glimmer  of  light, 
and  the  next  day  he  saw  more,  and  the  third 
day  still  more:  to  him  the  light  would  seem 
to  grow;  yet  the  light  is  perfect,  whether  he 
see  it  or  not.  Thus  it  is  also  with  the  inner 
man:  he  makes  progress  indeed  in  God,  and 
God  seems  to  be  increasing  in  him;  yet  man 
himself  is  decreasing,  that  he  may  fall  from  his 
own  glory,  and  rise  into  the  glory  of  God. 

6.     What  we  have  just  heard,  appears  now 
distinctly  and  clearly.     "He  thatcometh  from 
above,  is  above  all."     See  what  he  si 
Christ.     What  of  himself  ?    "  He  that  is  of  the 
earth,  is  of  earth,  and  speaketh  of  the  earth. 
He  that  cometh  from  above  is  above  all"- 
this  is  Christ;  and  "  he  that  is  of  the  earth,  is 
of  earth,  and  speaketh  of  the  earth" — this  is 
John.     And  is  this  the  whole:  John  is  of  the 


i  Cor.  i.  31. 


96 


TDK   WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATK   XIV. 


earth,  and  speaks  of  the  earth?  Is  the  whole 
testimony  that  he  bears  of  Christ  a  speaking 
of  the  earth  ?  Are  they  not  voices  of  God  that 
are  heard  from  John,  when  he  bears  witness 
of  Christ  ?  Then  how  does  he  speak  of  the 
earth  ?  He  said  this  of  man.  So  far  as  re 
lates  to  man  in  himself,  he  is  of  earth,  and 
speaks  of  the  earth;  and  when  he  speaks  some 
divine  things,  he  is  enlightened  by  God. 
For,  were  he  not  enlightened,  he  would  be 
earth  speaking  of  earth.  God's  grace  is 
apart  by  itself,  the  nature  of  man  apart  by 
itself.  Do  but  examine  the  nature  of  man: 
man  is  born  and  grows,  he  learns  the  customs 
of  men.  What  does  he  know  but  earth,  of 
earth  ?  He  speaks  the  things  of  men,  knows 
the  things  of  men,  minds  the  things  of  men; 
carnal,  he  judges  carnally,  conjectures  car 
nally:  lo  !  it  is  man  all  over.  Let  the  grace 
of  God  come,  and  enlighten  his  darkness,  as 
it  saith,  "  Thou  wilt  lighten  my  candle,  O 
Lord;  my  God,  enlighten  my  darkness;"  '  let 
it  take  the  mind  of  man,  and  turn  it  to  its  own 
light;  immediately  he  begins  to  say,  as  the 
apostle  says,  "  Yet  not  I,  but  the  grace  of 
God  that  is  with  me;"2  and,  "Now  I  live; 
yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me."3  That  is 
to  say,  **  He  must  increase,  but  I  must  de 
crease."  Thus  John:  as  regards  John,  he  is 
of  the  earth,  and  speaks  of  the  earth;  what 
ever  that  is  divine  thou  hast  heard  from  John, 
is  of  Him  that  enlightens,  not  of  him  that 
receives. 

7.  "  He  that  cometh  from  heaven  is  above 
all;  and  what  He  hath  seen  and  heard,  that 
He  testifieth:  and  no  man  receiveth  His 
testimony."  Cometh  from  heaven,  is  above 
all,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  of  whom  it  was  said 
above,  "  No  man  hath  ascended  into  heaven, 
but  He  that  came  down  from  heaven,  the  Son 
of  man  who  is  in  heaven."  And  He  is  above 
all;  "and  what  He  hath  seen  and  heard,  that 
He  speaks."  Moreover,  He  hath  a  Father, 
being  Himself  the  Son  of  God;  He  hath  a 
Father,  and  He  also  hears  of  the  Father.  And 
what  is  that  which  He  hears  of  the  Father? 
Who  can  unfold  this  ?  When  can  my  tongue, 
when  can  my  heart  be  sufficient,  either  the 
heart  to  understand,  or  the  tongue  to  utter, 
what  that  is  which  the  Son  hath  heard  from 
the  Father?  May  it  be  the  Son  has  heard 
the  Word  of  the  Father  ?  Nay,  the  Son  is  the 
Word  of  the  Father.  You  see  how  all  human 
effort  is  here  wearied  out;  you  see  how  all 
guessing  of  our  heart,  all  straining  of  our 
darkened  mind,  here  fails.  I  hear  the 
Scripture  saying  that  the  Son  speaks  that 
which  He  heareth  from  the  Father;  and  again, 


I  hear  the  Scripture  saying  that  the  Son  is 
Himself  the  Word  of  the  Father:  "  In  the  be 
ginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with 
God,  and  the  Word  was  God."  The  words  that 
we  speak  are  fleeting  and  transient:  as  soon  as 
thy  word  has  sounded  from  thy  mouth,  it 
passeth  away;  it  makes  its  noise,  and  passes 
away  into  silence.  Canst  thou  follow  thy 
sound,  and  hold  it  to  make  it  stand  ?  Thy 
thought,  however,  remains, and  of  that  thought 
that  remains  thou  utterest  many  words  that 
pass  away.  What  say  we,  brethren  ?  When 
God  spake,  did  He  give  out  a  voice,  or 
sounds,  or  syllables  ?  If  He  did,  in  what 
tongue  spake  He  ?  In  Hebrew,  or  in  Greek, 
or  in  Latin  ?  Tongues  are  necessary  where 
there  is  a  distinction  of  nations.  But  there 
none  can  say  that  God  spake  in  this  tongue, 
or  in  that.  Observe  thy  own  heart.  When 
thou  conceivest  a  word  which  thou  mayest 
utter, — For  I  will  say,  if  I  can,  what  we  may 
note  in  ourselves,  not  whereby  we  may  com 
prehend  that, — well,  when  thou  conceivest  a 
word  to  utter,  thou  meanest  to  utter  a  thing, 
and  the  very  conception  of  the  thing  is 
already  a  word  in  thy  heart:  it  has- not  yet 
come  forth,  but  it  is  already  born  in  the  heart, 
and  is  waiting  to  come  forth.  But  thou  con- 
siderest  the  person  to  whom  it  is  to  come 
forth,  with  whom  thou  art  to  speak:  if  he  is  a 
Latin,  thou  seekest  a  Latin  expression;  if  a 
Greek,  thou  thinkest  of  Greek  words;  if  a 
Punic,  thou  considerest  whether  thou  knowest 
the  Punic  language :  for  the  diversity  of  hearers 
thou  hast  recourse  to  divers  tongues  to  utter 
the  word  conceived;  but  the  conception  itself 
was  bound  by  no  tongue  in  particular.  Whilst 
therefore  God,  when  speaking,  required  not  a 
language,  nor  took  up  any  kind  of  speech, 
how  was  He  heard  by  the  Son,  seeing  that 
God's  speaking  is  the  Son  Himseif?  As,  in 
fact,  thou  hast  in  thy  heart  the  word  that  thou 
speakest,  and  as  it  is  with  thee,  and  is  none 
other  than  the  spiritual  conception  itself  (for 
just  as  thy  soul  is  spirit,  so  also  the  word 
which  thou  hast  conceived  is  spirit;  for  it  has 
not  yet  received  sound  to  be  divided  by  syl 
lables,  but  remains  in  the  conception  of  thy 
heart,  and  in  the  mirror  of  the  mind);  so 
God  gave  out  His  Word,  that  is,  begat  the 
Son.  And  thou,  indeed,  begettest  the  word 
even  in  thy  heart  according  to  time;  God  with 
out  time  begat  the  Son  by  whom  He  created 
all  times.  Whilst,  therefore,  the  Son  is  the 
Word  of  God,  and  the  Son  spoke  to  us  not 
His  own  word,  but  the  word  of  the  Father,  He 
willed  to  speak  Himself  to  us  when  He  was 
speaking  the  word  of  the  Father.  This  it  is 
that  John  said,  as  was  fit  and  necessary;  and 
we  have  expounded  according  to  our  ability. 


i    XIV.] 


ON  -i  MI,  GOSPEL  <>i    ST.  JOHN. 


97 


He  whose  heart  has  m«t  yet  attained  to  a  pro-  say,  "He  that  received  H;s  testimony  has 
per  perception  of  so  j^reat  a  matter,  lias  set  to  his  seal  that  (iod  is  true."  What 
whither  to  turn  himself,  has  when-  to  knock,  means  "  has  set  to  his  seal  that  God  is  true.'' 
has  from  whom  to  ask,  from  whom  Lo  seek,  of  if  it  he  not  that  man  is  a  liar,  and  (iod  is  true  ? 
whom  to  receive.  .  lor  no  human  being  can  speak  any  truth,  un- 

8.  "  He  that  cometh  from  heaven  is  above  Tless  he  be  enlightened  by  Him  who  cannot  lie. 
all;  and  what  He  hath  seen  and  heard,  that ,  (iod,  then,  is  true;  but  Christ  is  God.  Would- 
testifieth  He;  and  His  testimony  no  man  re- 1  est  thou  prove  this?  Receive  His  testimony 
ceiveth."  If  no  man,  to  what  purpose  came  and  thou  findest  it.  For  "  he  that  hath  re- 


He?  He  means,  no  man«of  a  certain  class. 
There  are  some  people  prepared  for  the  wrath 
of  (Iod,  to  be  damned  with  the  devil;  of 
these,  none  receiveth  the  testimony  of  Christ. 
For.  if  none  at  all,  not  any  man,  received, 
what  could  these  words  mean,  "  But  he  that 
received  His  testimony  hath  set  to  his  seal 
that  God  is  true  "  ?  Not  certainly,  then,  no 
man,  if  thou  sayest  thyself,  "  He  that  received 
His  testimony  has  set  to  his  seal  that  God  is 


ceived  His  testimony  has  set  to  his  seal  that 
God  is  true."  Who  is  true?  The  same  who 
came  from  heaven,  and  is  above  all,  is  God, 
and  true.  But  if  thou  dost  not  yet  under 
stand  Him  to  be  God,  thou  hast  not  yet  re 
ceived  His  testimony:  receive  it,  and  thou 
puttest-thy  seal  to  it;  confidently  thou  under- 
standest,  definitely  thou  acknowledgest,  that 
God  is  true. 

9.   "  For  He  whom  God  hath  sent  speaketh 


true."  Perhaps  John,  on  being  questioned,  the  words  of  God."  Himself  is  the  true  God, 
would  answer  and  say,  I  know  what  I  have  and  God  sent  Him:  God  sent  God.  Join 
said,  in  saying  no  man.  There  are,  in  fact,  both,  one  God,  true  God  sent  by  God.  Ask 
people  born  to  pod's  wrath,  and  thereunto  concerning  them  singly,  He  is  God;  ask  con- 
foreknown.  For  God  knows  who  they  are  that  cerning  them  both,  they  are  God.  Not  indi- 
will  and  that  will  not  believe;  He  knows  who  i  vidually  God,  and  both  Gods;  but  each 
they  are  that  shall  persevere  in  that  in  which  j  individual  God,  and  both  God.  For  so  great 


they  have  believed,  and  who  that  shall 
away;  and  all  that  shall  be  for  eternal  life  are 
numbered  by  God;  and  He  knows  already  the 
people  set  apart.  And  if  He  knows  this,  and 
has  given  to  the  prophets  by  His  Spirit  to 
know  it,  He  gave  this  also  to  John.  Now 
John  was  observing,  not  with  his  eye, — for  as 
regards  himself  he  is  earth,  and  speaketh  of 


earth, — but 


that   grace   of   the    Spirit 


which  he  received  of  God,  he  saw  a  certain 
people,  ungodly,  unbelieving.  Contemplat 
ing  that  people  in  its  unbelief,  he  says,  '*  His 
testimony,  who  came  from  heaven,  no  man 
receiveth."  No  man  of  whom?  Of  them 
who  shall  be  on  the  left  hand,  of  them  to 
whom  it  shall  be  said,  "Go  into  the  everlast 
ing  fire,  which  is  prepared  for  the  devil  and 
his  angels."  Who  are  they  that  do  receive 
it  ?  They  who  shall  be  at  the  right  hand,  they 
to  whom  it  shall  be  said,  "Come,  ye  blessed 
of  my  Father,  receive  the  kingdom  which  is 
prepared  for  you  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world."  He  observes,  then,  in  the  Spirit  a 
dividing,  but  in  the  human  race  a  mingling 
together;  and  that  which  is  not  yet  separated 
locally,  he  separated  in  the  understanding,  in 


is  the  charity  of  the  Holy  Spirit  there,  so 
great  the  peace  of  unity,  that  when  thou  ques- 
tionest  about  them  individually,  the  answer  to 
thee  is,  God;  when  thou  askest  concerning  the 
Trinity,  thou  gettest  for  answer,  God.  For  if 
the  spirit  of  man,  when  it  cleaves  to  God,  is 
one  spirit,  as  the  apostle  openly  declares, 
"  He  that  is  joined  to  the  Lord  is  one  spirit;  "  ' 
how  much  more  is  the  equal  Son,  joined  to 
the  Father,  together  with  Him  one  God  ! 
Hear  another  testimony.  You  know  how 
many  believed,  when  they  sold  all  they  had 
and  laid  it  at  the  apostles'  feet,  that  it  might 
be  distributed  to  each  according  to  his  need; 
and  what  saith  the  Scripture  of  that  gathering 
"  They  had  one  soul  and  one 


of  the  saint 


heart  in  the  Lord."  3  If  charity  made  one  soul 
of  so  many  souls,  and  one  heart  of  so  many 
hearts,  how  great  must  be  the  charity  between 
the  Father  and  the  Son  !  Surely  it  must  be 
greater  than  that  between  those  men  who  had 
one  heart.  If,  then,  the  heart  of  many  breth 
ren  was  one  by  charity,  if  the  soul  of  many 
brethren  was  one  by  charity,  wouldst  thou  say 
that  God  the  Father  and  God  the  Son  are  two  ? 
If  they  are  two  Gods,  there  is  not  the  highest 


the  view  of  the  heart;  and  he  saw  two  peoples,  |  charity  between  them.     For  if  charity  is  here 


one  of  believers,  one  of  unbelievers.  Fixing 
his  thought  on  the  unbelievers,  he  says,  "He 
that  cometh  from  heaven  is  above  all ;  and  what 
He  hath  seen  and  heard,  that  He  testifieth, 


and  no  man  receiveth  His  testimony.''     He   how 
then  turned  his  thought  from  the  left  hand, 
and  looked    at  the    right,  and   proceeded   to  I 


so  great  as  to  make  thy  soul  and  thy  friend's 
soul  one  soul,  how  can  it  be  then  that  the 
Father  and  the  Son  is  not  one  God  ?  Far  be 
unfeigned  faith  from  this  thought.  In  short, 


excellent    that   charity    is,    understand 


. 


98 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


XIV. 


hence:  the  souls  of  many  men  are  many,  and 
if  they  love  one  another,  it  is  one  soul;  still, 
in  the  case  of  men,  they  may  be  called  many 
souls,  because  the  union  is  not  so  strong.  But 
there  it  is  right  for  thee  to  say  one  God;  two. 
or  three  Gods  it  is  not  right  for  thee  to  say. 
From  this,  the  supreme  and  surpassing  excel 
lency  of  charity  is  shown  thee  to  be  such,  that 
a  greater  cannot  be. 

ic.  "  For  He  whom  God  hath  sent  speaketh 
the  words  of  God."  This,  of  course,  he  said 
of  Christ,  to  distinguish  himself  from  Christ. 
What  then  ?  Did  not  God  send  John  him 
self?  Did  he  not  say  himself,  "lam  sent 
before  Him"?  and,  "He  that  sent  me  to 
baptize  with  water"  ?  And  is  it  not  of  John 
that  it  is  said,  "  Behold,  I  send  my  messenger 
before  Thee,  and  he  shall  prepare  Thy  way"  ? ' 
Does  he  not  himself  speak  the  words  of  God, 
he  of  whom  it  is  said  that  he  is  more  than  a 
prophet?  Then,  if  God  sent  him  too,  and  he 
speaks  the  words  of  God,  hovv  do  we  under 
stand  him  to  have  distinctly  said  of  Christ, 
l<  He  whom  God  hath  sent  speaketh  the  words  | 
of  God  "  ?  But  see  what  he  adds:  "  For  God  j 
giveth  not  the  Spirit  by  measure."  What  isi 
this,  "For  God  giveth  not  the  Spirit  by  j 
measure  "  ?  We  find  that  God  does  give  the 
Spirit  by  measure.  Hear  the  apostle  when 
he  says,  "According  to  the  measure  of  the 
gift  of  Christ."2  To  men  He  gives  by 
measure,  to  the  only  Son  He  gives  not  by 
measure.  How  does  He  give  to  men  by 
measure?  "To  one  is  given  by  the  Spirit 
the  word  of  wisdom:  to  another  the  word  of 
wisdom  according  to  the  same  Spirit;  to  an 
other  faith  by  the  same  Spirit;  to  another 
prophecy;  to  another  discerning  of  spirits;  to 
another  kinds  of  tongues;  to  another  the  gift 
of  healing.  Are  all  apostles  ?  A  re  all  prophets  ? 
Are  all  teachers  ?  Are  all  workers  of  miracles? 
Have  all  the  gift  of  healing?  Do  all  speak 
with  tongues?  Do  all  interpret?"3  This 
man  has  one  gift,  that  man  another;  and  what 
that  man  has,  this  has  not:  there  is  a  meas 
ure,  a  certain  division  of  gifts.  To  men, 
therefore,  it  is  given  by  measure,  and  concord 
among  them  makes  one  body.  As  the  hand 
receives  one  kind  of  gift  to  work,  the  eye  an 
other  to  see,  the  ear  another  to  hear,  the  foot 
another  to  walk;  nevertheless  the  soul  that 
does  all  is  one,  in  the  hand  to  work,  in  the 
foot  to  walk,  in  the  ear  to  hear,  in  the  eye  to 
see;  so  are  also  the  gifts  of  believers  diverse, 
distributed  to  them  as  to  members,  to  each 
according  to  his  proper  measure.  But  Christ, 
who  gives,  receives  not  by  measure. 

1 1 .  Now  hear  further  what  follows:  because 


Eph.  iv.  7. 


3  i  Cor.  xii.  8-30. 


He  had  said  of  the  Son,  "  For  God  giveth  not 
the  Spirit  by  measure:  the  Father  loveth  the 
Son,  and  hath  given  all  things  into  His  hand," 
He  added,  "  hath  given  all  things  into  His 
hands,"  that  thou  mightest  know  also  here 
with  what  distinction  it  is  said,  "The  Father 
loveth  the  Son."  And  why?  Does  the 
Father  not  love  John  ?  And  yet  He  has  not 
given  all  things  into  his  hand.  Does  the 
Father  not  love  Paul  ?  And  yet  He  has  not 
given  all  things  into  his  hand.  "  The  Father 
loveth  the  Son:  "  but  as  father  loveth.  not  as 
master  loveth  a  servant;  as  the  Only  Son,  not 
as  an  adopted  son.  And  so  "  hath  given  all 
things  into  His  hand."  What  means  "  all 
things"?  That  the  Son  should  be  such  as 
the  Father  is.  To  equality  with  Himself  He 
begat  Him  in  whom  it  was  no  robbery  to  be 
in  the  form  of  God,  equal  to  God.  "  The 
Father  loveth  the  Son,  and  hath  given  all 
things  into  His  hand."  Therefore,  having 
deigned  to  send  us  the  Son,  let  us  not  imagine 
that  it  is  something  less  thaji  the  Father  that 
is  sent  to  us.  The  Father,  in  sending  the 
Son,  sent  His  other  self. 

12.  But  the  disciples,  still  thinking  that  the 
Father  is  something  greater  than  the  Son, 
seeing  only  the  flesh,  and  not  understanding 
His  divinity,  said  to  Him,  "Lord,  show  us 
the  Father  and  it  sufficeth  us."  As  much  as 
to  say,  "  Wre  know  Thee  already,  and  bless 
Thee  that  we  know  Thee:  for  we  thank  Thee 
that  Thou  hast  shown  Thyself  to  us.  But  as 
yet  we  know  not  the  Father:  therefore  our 
heart  is  inflamed,  and  occupied  with  a  certain 
holy  longing  of  seeing  Thy  Father  who  sent 
Thee.  Show  us  Him,  and  we  shall  desire 
nothing  more  of  Thee:  for  it  sufficeth  us  when 
He  has  been  shown,  than  whom  none  can  be 
greater."  A  good  longing,  a  good  desire; 
but  small  intelligence.  Now  the  Lord  Jesus 
Himself,  regarding  them  as  small  men  seek 
ing  great  things,  and  Himself  great  among 
the  small,  and  yet  small  among  the  small, 
says  to  Philip,  one  of  the  disciples,  who  had 
said  this:  "  Am  I  so  long  time  with  you,  and 
ye  have  not  known  me,  Philip  ? "  Here  Philip 
might  have  answered,  Thee  we  have  known, 
but  did  we  say  to  Thee,  Show  us  Thyself? 
We  have  known  Thee,  but  it  is  the  Father  we 
seek  to  know.  He  immediately  adds,  "  He 
that  hath  seen  me,  hath  seen  the  Father 
also."4  If,  then,  One  equal  with  the  Father 
has  been  sent,  let  us  not  estimate  Him  from 
the  weakness  of  the  flesh,  but  think  of  the 
majesty  clothed  in  flesh,  but  not  weighed 
down  by  the  flesh.  For,  remaining  God  with 
the  Father,  He  was  made  man  among  men, 


4  John  xiv.  8,  9. 


<  >\    I  ill    GOSPE1    < >i    ST.  J«  'HV 


99 


that,  through  Him  wlio  \v:is  made  man,  thou 
mightest  become  such  as  to  receive  i  ;<>•!.  Foi 
man  could  not  receive  God.  Man  could  see 
man;  Clod  he  could  not  apprehend.  Why 
could  he  not  apprehend  God  ?  Because  he 
had  not  the  eye  of  the  heart,  by  which  to  ap 
prehend  Him.  There  was  something  within 


him."  He  has  not  said,  The  wnth  of  God 
cometh  to  him;  but,  "The  wrath  oi 
almleth  on  him."  All  that  are  born  mortals 
have  the  wrath  of  God  with  them.  What 
wrath  of  God  ?  That  wrath  which  Adam  first 
•received.  For  if  the  first  man  sinned,  and 
heard  the  sentence,  "  Thou  shall  die  the 

we 


disordered, something  without  sound:  man  had  j  death,"  he  became  mortal,  and  we  1 
the  eyes  of  the  body  sound,  but  the  eyes  of  I  to  be  born  mortal;  and  we  have  been  born  with 
the  heart  sick.  He  was  made  man  to  the  eye 
of  the  body;  so  that,  believing  on  Him  who 
could  be  seen  in  bodily  form,  thou  mightst 
be  healed  for  seeing  Him  whom  thou  wast  not 
able  to  see  spiritually.  "  Am  I  so  long  time 
with  you,  and  ye  know  me  not,  Philip?  He 
that  hath  seen  me,  hath  seen  the  Father  also." 
Why  did  they  not  see  Him  ?  Lo,  they 
did  see  Him,  and  yet  saw  not  the  Father: 
they  saw  the  flesh,  but  the  majesty  was  con 
cealed.  What  the  disciples  who  loved  Him 
saw,  saw  also  the  Jews  who  crucified  Him. 
Inwardly,  then,  was  He  all;  and  in  such  man 
ner  inwardly  in  the  flesh,  that  He  remained 
with  the  Father  when  He  came  to  the  flesh. 

13.  Carnal  thought  does  not  apprehend 
what  I  say:  let  it  defer  understanding,  and 
begin  by  faith;  let  it  hear  what  follows:  "  He 
that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath  everlasting  life: 
and  he  that  believeth  not  the  Son  shall  not 
see  life;  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on 


the  wrath  of  God.  From  this  stock  cnme 
the  Son,  not  having  sin,  and  He  was  clothed 
with  flesh  and  mortality.  If  He  partook  with 
us  of  the  wrath  of  God,  are  we  slow  to  partake 
with  Him  the  grace  of  God  ?  He,  then,  that 
will  not  believe  the  Son,  on  the  same  *'  the 
wrath  of  God  abideth."  What  wrath  of  God  ? 
That  of  which  the  apostle  says,  "  We  also 
were  by  nature  the  children  of  wrath,  even  as 
the  rest."'  All  are  therefore  children  of  wrath, 
because  coming  of  the  curse  of  death.  Be 
lieve  on  Christ,  for  thee  made  mortal,  that 
thou  mayest  receive  Him,  the  immortal;  and 
when  thou  shalt  have  received  His  immor 
tality,  thou  shalt  no  longer  be  mortal.  He 
lived,  thou  wast  dead;  He  died  that  thou 
shouldst  live.  He  lias  brought  us  the  grace 
of  God,  and  has  taken  away  the  wrath  of  God. 
God  has  conquered  death,  lest  death  should 
conquer  man. 
•  EPh.  ii.  3. 


TRACTATE  XV. 


CHAPTKR  IV.    1-42. 


i.  IT  is  nothing  new  to  your  ears,  beloved, 
that  the  Evangelist  John,  like  an  eagle,  takes 
a  loftier  flight,  and  soars  above  the  dark  mist 
of  earth,  to  gaze  with  steadier  eyes  upon  the 
light  of  truth.  From  his  Gospel  much  has 
already  been  treated  of  and  discussed  through 
our  ministry,  with  the  Lord's  help;  and  the 
passage  which  has  been  read  to-day  follows  in 
due  order.  What  I  am  about  to  say,  with  the 
Lord's  permission,  many  of  you  will  hear  in 
such  wise  that  you  will  be  reviewing  what  you 
know,  rather  than  learning  what  you  know 
not.  Yet,  for  all  that,  your  attention  ought 
not  to  be  slack,  because  it  is  not  an  acquir 
ing,  but  a  reviewing,  of  knowledge.  This  has 
been  read,  and  we  have  in  our  hands  to  dis 
course  upon  this  passage — that  which  the  Lord 
Jesus  spoke  with  the  Samaritan  woman  at 
Jacob's  well.  The  things  spoken  there  are 
great  mysteries,  and  the  similitudes  of  great 


tilings;  feeding  the    hungry,  and    refreshing 
the  weary  soul. 

2.  Now  when  the  Lord  knew  this,  "when 
He  had  heard  that  the  Pharisees  had  learned 
that  He  was  making  more  disciples  than 
John,  and  baptized  more  (though  Jesus  bap 
tized  not,  but  His  disciples),  He  left  Judea, 
and  departed  again  into  Galilee."  We  must 
not  discourse  of  this  too  long,  lest,  by  dwell 
ing  on  what  is  manifest,  we  shall  lack  the 
time  to  investigate  and  lay  open  what  is  ob 
scure.  Certainly,  if  the  Lord  saw  that  the 
fact  of  their  coming  to  know  that  He  made 
more  disciples,  and  baptized  more,  would  so 
avail  to  salvation  to  the  Pharisees  in  follow 
ing  Him,  as  to  become  themselves  His  disci 
ples,  and  to  desire  to  be  hapti/ed  by  Him; 
rather  would  He  not  have  left  Judea.  but 
would  have  remained  there  for  their  i 
But  because  He  knew  their  knowledge  of  the 


100 


mi-;  \VOKKS  OF  ST.  AUGUS'J  IN. 


[TKA<  IAIK  XV. 


fact,  ami  at  the  same  time  knew  their  envy,  5.  This  much,  then,  on  the  preliminary 
and  that  they  learned  this,  not  to  follow,  but  circumstances,  by  occasion  of  which  He  came 
to  persecute  him,  He  departed  thence.  He  to  a  conversation  with  that  woman,  let  us  look 
could,  indeed,  even  when  present,  cause  that  at  the  matters  that  remain;  matters  full  of 


He  should  not  be  taken  of  them,  if  He  would 
not;  He  had  it  in  His  power  not  to  be  put  to 


mysteries    and     pregnant    with     sacraments. 
"And  He  must  needs  pass  through  Samaria. 


death,  if  He  would  not,  since  He  had  the  ;  He  cometh  then  to  a  city  of  Samaria  which  is 
power  not  to  be  born,  if  He  would  not.  But  j  called  Sychar,  near  to  the  parcel  of  ground 
because,  in  everything  that  He  did  as  man,  |  which  Jacob  gave  to  his  son  Joseph.  Now 
He  jvas  showing  an  example  to  them  who  Jacob's  fountain  was  there."  It  was  a  well; 
were  to  believe  on  Him  (that  any  one  servant  but  every  well 
of  God  sinneth  not  if  he  retire  into  another  fountain  a  well. 


place,  when  he  sees,  it  may  be,  the  rage  of 
his  persecutors,  or  of  them  that  seek  to  bring 
his  soul  into  evil;  but  if  a  servant  of  God  did 
this  he  might  appear  to  commit  sin,  had  not 
the  Lord  led  the  way  in  doing  it),  that  good 
Master  did  this  to  teach  us,  not  because  He 
feared  it. 

3.   It  may  perhaps  surprise  you  why  it  is 
said,  that  "  Jesus  baptized  more  than  John;  " 


a  fountain,  yet  not  every 
For  where  the  water  flows 
from  the  earth,  and  offers  itself  for  use  to 
them  that  draw  it,  it  is  called  a  fountain;  but 
if  accessible,  and  on  the  surface,  it  is  called 
only  a  fountain:  if,  however,  it  be  deep  and 
far  down,  it  is  called  a  well,  but  in  such  vvise 
as  not  to  lose  the  name  of  fountain. 
6.  "Jesus  therefore,  being  wearied 


His  journey,  sat   thus 
about  the  sixth  hour." 


on  the  well.     It  was 
Now  begin  the  mys- 


and  after  this  was  said,  it  is  subjoined,  "  al-  j  teries.     For  it  is  not  without  a  purpose  that 
though  Jesus  baptized  not,  but  His  disciples."   Jesus  is  weary;  not  indeed  without  a  purpose 
Vhat  then  ?     Was  the  statement  made  false,    tt 


What 

and  then  corrected  by  this  addition  ?  Or  are 
both  true,  viz.  that  Jesus  both  did  and  also 
did  not  baptize  ?  He  did  in  fact  baptize,  be 
cause  it  was  He  that  cleansed;  and  He  did 
not  baptize,  because  it  was  not  He  that 
touched.  The  disciples  supplied  the  ministry 
of  the  body;  He  afforded  the  aid  of  His  ma 
jesty.  Now,  when  could  He  cease  from  bap 
tizing,  so  long  as  He  ceased  not  from  cleans 
ing?  Of  Him  it  is  said  by  the  same  John,  in 
the  person  of  the  Baptist,  who  saith,  "This 
is  He  that  baptizeth."  Jesus,  therefore,  is 
still  baptizing;  and  so  long  as  we  continue  to 
be  baptized,  Jesus  baptizeth.  Let  a  man 
come  without  fear  to  the  minister  below;  for 
he  has  a  Master  above. 

4.  But  it  may  be  one  saith,  Christ  does  in 
deed  baptize,  but  in  spirit,  not  in  body.  As 
if,  indeed,  it  were  by  the  gift  of  another  than 
He  that  any  is  imbued  even  with  the  sacra 
ment  of  corporal  and  visible  baptism.  Would- 
est  thou  know  that  it  is  He  that  baptizeth,  not 
only  with  the  Spirit,  but  also  with  water  ? 
Hear  the  apostle:  "  Even  as  Christ,"  saith 
he,  "  loved  the  Church,  and  gave  Himself  for 
it,  purifying  it  with  the  washing  of  water  by 
the  Word,  that  He  might  present  to  Himself 
a  glorious  Church,  not  having  spot,  or  wrin 
kle,  or  any  such  thing."  '  Purifyingit.  How? 
"With  the  washing  of  water  by  the  Word." 
What  is  the  baptism  of  Christ?  The  washing 
of  water  by  the  Word.  Take  away  the  water, 
it  Is  no  baptism;  take  away  the  Word,  it  is 
no  baptism. 


that  the  strength  of  God  is  weary;  not  with 
out  a  purpose  that  He  is  weary,  by  whom  the 
wearied  are  refreshed;  not  without  a  purpose 
is  He  weary,  by  whose  absence  we  are  wear 
ied,  by  whose  presence  we  are  strengthened. 
Nevertheless  Jesus  is  weary,  and  weary  with 


His 
too, 


journey:  and    He   sits  down,  and   that, 
near  a  well;  and  it  is  at  the  sixth  hour 


•Eph. 


that,  being  wearied,  He  sits  down.  All  these 
things  hint  something,  are  intended  to  inti 
mate  something,  they  make  us  eager,  and  en 
courage  us  to  knock.  May  Himself  open  to 
us  and  to  you;  He  who  has  deigned  to  ex 
hort  us,  so  as  to  say,  "  Knock,  and  it  shall  be 
opened  to  you."  It  was  for  thee  that  Jesus 
was  wearied  with  His  journey.  We  find 
Jesus  to  be  strength,  and  we  find  Jesus  to  be 
weak:  we  find  a  strong  and  a  weak  Jesus: 
strong,  because  "  in  the  beginning  was  the 
Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the 
Word  was  God:  the  same  was  in  the  begin 
ning  with  God."  Wouldest  thou  see  how  this 
Son  of  God  is  strong?  "All  things  were 
made  by  Him,  and  witnout  Him  was  nothing 
made:  "  and  without  labor,  too,  were  they 
made.  Then  what  can  be  stronger  than  He, 
by  whom  all  things  were -made  without  labor? 
Wonkiest  thou  know  Him  weak?  "The 
Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us." 
The  strength  of  Christ  created  thee,  the 
weakness  of  Christ  created  thee  anew.  The 
strength  of  Christ  caused  that  to  lie  which  was 
not:  the  weakness  of  Christ  caused  that  what 
was  should  not  perish.  He  fashioned  us  by 
His  strength,  He  sought  us  by  His  weakness. 
7.  As  weak,  then,  He  nourishes  the  weak, 
as  a  hen  her  chickens;  for  He  likened  Him- 


TRACTATE  XV.] 


ON    I  III    G<  >SPEL  Ol    ST.   JOHN. 


sr It"  to  a  iit-ii:  "How  ottcn,"  He  .-.aitll  to 
|cru  -.alem.  "would  I  have  i;at  in-red  tiiy  chil 
dren  under  inv  wm^s,  a>.  a  lien  her  chickens; 
but  thou  wouldest  not  !  "  '  And  you  see, 
brethren,  ho\v  a  hen  heroines  weak  with  her 
chickens.  No  other  bird,  when  it  is  a  mother, 
is  recognized  at  once  to  be  so.  We  see  all 
kinds  of  sparrows  building  their  nests  before 
our  eyes;  we  see  swallows,  storks,  doves, 
every  day  building  their  nests;  but  we  do  not 
know  them  to  be  parents,  except  when  we  see 
them  on  their  nests.  But  the  hen  is  so  en 
feebled  over  her  brood,  that  even  if  the  chick 
ens  are  not  following  her,  if  thou  see  not  the 
young  ones,  yet  thou  knowest  her  at  once  to 
be  a  mother.  With  her  wings  drooping,  her 
feathers  ruffled,  her  note  hoarse,  in  all  her 
limbs  she  becomes  so  sunken  and  abject,  that, 
as  I  have  said,  even  though  thou  seest  not 
her  young,  yet  thou  perceivest  her  to  be  a 
mother.  In  such  manner  was  Jesus  weak, 
wearied  with  His  journey.  His  journey  is 
the  flesh  assumed  for  us.  For  how  can  He, 
who  is  present  everywhere,  have  a  journey. 
He  who  is  nowhere  absent  ?  Whither  does 
He  go,  or  whence,  but  that  He  could  not 
come  to  us,  except  He  had  assumed  the  form 
of  visible  flesh  ?  Therefore,  as  He  'deigned 
to  come  to  us  in  such  manner,  that  He  ap 
peared  in  the  form  of  a  servant  by  the  flesh 
assumed,  that  same  assumption  of  flesh  is 
His  journey.  Thus,  "  wearied  with  His  jour 
ney,"  what  else  is  it  but  wearied  in  the  flesh  ? 
Jesus  was  weak  in  the  flesh:  but  do  not  thou 
become  weak;  but  in  His  weakness  be  strong, 
because  what  is  "the  weakness  of  God  is 
stronger  than  men.*' 

8.  Under  this  image  of  things,  Adam, 
who  was  the  figure  of  Him  that  was  to  be, 
afforded  us  a  great  indication  of  this  mystery; 
rather,  God  afforded  it  in  him.  For  he  was 
deemed  worthy  to  receive  a  wife  while  he 
slept,  and  that  wife  was  made  for  him  of  his 
own  rib:  since  from  Christ,  sleeping  on  the 
cross,  was  the  Church  to  come, — -from  His 
side,  namely,  as  He  slept;  for  it  was  from 
His  side,  pierced  with  the  spear,  as  He  hung 
on  the  cross,  that  the  sacraments  of  the 
Church  flowed  forth.  But  why  have  I  chosen 
to  say  this,  brethren?  Because  it  is  the 
weakness  of  Christ  that  makes  us  strong.  A 
remarkable  figure  of  this  went  before  in  the 
case  of  Adam.  I  rod  could  have  taken  flesh 
from  the  man  to  make  of  it  a  woman,  and  it 
seems  that  this  might  have  been  the  more 
suitable.  For  it  was  the  weaker  sex  that  was 
being  made,  and  weakness  ought  to  have 
been  made  of  flesh  rather  than  of  bone;  for 

1  Matt,  xxiii 


the  hone-  are   th(  :>art.->  n    tin 

>k  not  Mesh  to  make  ot  it  a  woman;  but 
.  hone,  and  ot"  the   bone  was  the  woman 

shaped,  and  flesh  was  filled  in  into  the  place 

of  the  bone.  He  could  have  restored  bone 
i  for  bone;  He  could  have  taken,  not  a  rib,  but 
|  flesh,  for  the  making  of  the  woman.  What, 

then,  did  this  signify  ?  Woman  was  made,  as 
i  it  were,  strong,  from  the  rib;  Adam  was  m^de, 
!  as  it  were,  weak,  from  the  flesh.  It  is  Christ 
!  and  the  Church;  His  weakness  is  our  strength. 

9.  But  why  at  the  sixth  hour  ?     Because  at 
the  sixth  age  of  the  world.     In  the  Gospel, 
count  up  as  an  hour  each,  the  first  age  from 
Adam  to  Noah;  the  second,   from   Noah  to 
Abraham;  the  third,  from  Abraham  to  David; 
the  fourth,  from   David  to  the  removing  to 
Babylon;  the    fifth,    from   the    removing    to 
Babylon  to  the  baptism  of  John:   thence  is 
the   sixth    being   enacted.     Why   dost   thou 
marvel  ?    Jesus  came,  and,  by  humbling  Him 
self,  came  to  a  well.     He  came  wearied,  be 
cause  He  carried  weak  flesh.     At  the  sixth 
hour,  because  in  the  sixth  age  of  the  world. 
To  a  well,  because  to  the  depth  of  this  our 
habitation.      For  which  reason  it  is  said  in  the 
psalm:  "  From  the  depth  have  I  cried  unto 

i  Thee,  O  Lord."2  He  sat,  as  I  said,  because 
He  was  humbled. 

10.  "And  there  came  a  woman."     Figure 
I  of   the    Church    not    yet    justified,    but    now 
I  about  to  be  justified:  for  this  is  the  subject  of 

the  discourse.  She  comes  ignorant,  she  finds 
Him,  and  there  is  a  dealing  with  her.  Let 
us  see  what,  and  wherefore.  "  There  cometh 
a  woman  of  Samaria  to  draw  water."  The 
Samaritans  did  not  belong  to  the  nation  of  the 

I  Jews:  thev  were  foreigners,  though  they  in 
habited  neighboring  lands.  It  would  take  a 
long  time  to  relate  the  origin  of  the  Samari 
tans;  that  we  may  not  be  detained  by  long 
discourse  of  this,  and  leave  necessary  matters 
unsaid,  suffice  to  say,  then,  that  we  regard 
the  Samaritans  as  aliens.  And,  lest  you 
should  think  that  I  have  said  this  with  more 
boldness  than  truth,  hear  the  Lord  Jesus 
Himself,  what  He  said  of  that  Samaritan,  one 
of  the  ten  lepers  whom  He  had  cleansed,  who 
alone  returned  to  give  thanks:  "Were  there 
not  ten  cleansed  ?  And  where  are  the  nine  ? 
There  was  not  another  to  give  glory  to  God. 
save  this  stranger.'' J  It  is  pertinent  to  the 
image  of  the  reality,  that  this  woman,  who 
bore  the  type  of  the  Church,  comes  of  strang 
ers:  for  the  Church  was  to  come  of  ti; 

i  tiles,  an  alien  from  the  race  of  the  lew-.      I 
that  woman,  then,  let  us  hear  ourselves,  and 
in  her  acknowledge  ourselves,  ami  in  '; 


JO2 


Till:   WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACT  \TE  xv. 


thanks  to  (iocl  for  ourselves.  For  she  was 
the  figure,  not  the  reality;  for  she  both  first 
showed  forth  the  figure  and  became  the  real 
ity.  For  she  believed  on  Him  who,  of  her, 
set  the  figure  before  us.  "  She  cometh,  then, 
to  draw  water.5'  Had  simply  come  to  draw 
water,  as  people  are  wont  to  do,  be  they  men 
or  women. 

11.  "Jesus   saith    unto   her,   Give   me   to 
drink.     For    His   disciples  were  gone    away 
into  the  city  to  buy  meat.     Then  saith  the 
Samaritan  woman  unto  Him,  How  is  it  that 
thou,  being  a  Jew,  askest  drink  of  me,  who 
am  a  Samaritan  woman  ?     For  the  Jews  have 
no  dealings  with  the  Samaritans."     You  see 
tha.t  they  were  aliens:  indeed,  the  Jews  would 
not   use  their  vessels.     And    as  the  woman 
brought  with  her  a  vessel  with  which  to  draw 
the  water,  it  made   her  wonder  that  a   Jew 
sought  drink  of  her, — a  thing  which  the  Jews 
were   not  accustomed   to  do.     But   He  who 
was  asking  drink  was  thirsting  for  the  faith  of 
the  woman  herself. 

12.  At  length,  hear  who  it  is  that  asketh 
drink:  "Jesus  answered  and   said   unto  her, 
If  thou  knewest  the  gift  of  God,  and  who  it 
is  that  saith  to  thee,  Give  me  to  drink,  thou 
wouldest,  it  may  be,  have  asked  of  Him,  and 
He  would  have  given  thee  living  water."     He 
asks  to   drink,  and   promises   to  give  drink. 
He  longs  as  one  about  to  receive;  He  abounds 
as  one  about  to  satisfy.     "  If  thou  knewest," 
saith  He,  "the  gift  of  God."     The  gift  of 
God    is   the    Holy    Spirit.     But   as    yet    He 
speaks  to  the  woman  guardedly,  and  enters 
into  her  heart  by  degrees.     It  may  be  He  is 
now  teaching  her.     For  what  can  be  sweeter 
and  kinder  than  that  exhortation  ?       "  If  thou 
knewest  the  gift  of  God,1'  etc.:  thus  far  He 
keeps  her  in  suspense.     That  is  commonly 
called  living  water  which  issues  from  a  spring: 
that  which  is  collected  from  rain  in  pools  and 
cisterns  is  not  called    living  water.     And  it 
may    have    flowed    from    a  spring;  yet    if    it 
should  stand  collected  in  some  place,  not  ad 
mitting  to  it  that  from  which  it  flowed,  but, 
with  the  course  interrupted,  separated,  as  it 
were,  from  the  channel  of  the  fountain,  it  is 
not  called  "  living  water:"  but  that  is  called 
living  water  which  is  taken  as  it  flows.     Such 
water  there  was  in  that  fountain.     Why,  then, 
did   He  promise  to  give  that  which  He  was 
asking? 

13.  The   woman,  however,  being   in    sus 
pense,  saith  to  Him,  "  Lord,  thou  hast  noth 
ing  to  draw  with,  and  the  well  is  deep.'1     See 
how  she  understood  the  living  water,  simply 
the  water  which  was  in  that  fountain.     "  Thou 
wouldst  give  me  living  water,  and  I  carry  that 
with  which  to  draw,  and  thou  dost  not.      The 


living  water  is  here;  how  art  thou  to  give  it 
me?"  Understanding  another  thing,  and 
taking  it  carnally,  sne  does  in  a  manner 
I  knock,  that  the  Master  may  open  up  that 
which  is  closed.  She  was  knocking  in  igno 
rance,  not  with  earnest  purpose;  she  is  still 
an  object  of  pity,  not  yet  of  instruction. 

14.  The    Lord     speaks     somewhat    more 
clearly  of  that  living  water.     Now  the  woman 
had  said,  "Art  thou  greater  than  our  father 
Jacob,  who  gave  us  the  well,  and  drank  of  it 
himself,  his  children,  and  his  cattle?"     Thou 
canst  not  give  me  of  the  living  water  of  this 

jwell,  because  thou  hast  nothing  to  draw  with: 
perhaps  thou  promises!  another  fountain  ? 
Canst  thou  be  better  than  our  father,  who  dug 

i  this  well,  and  used  it  himself,  and  his  ?     Let 

i  the  Lord,  then,  declare  what  He  called  living 
water.  "  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  her, 
Every  one  that  drinketh  of  this  water  shall 
thirst  again:  but  he  that  drinketh  of  the  water 
that  I  shall  give  him,  shall  not  thirst  forever; 
but  the  water  which  I  shall  give  him  will  be 
come  in  him  a  fountain  of  water,  springing  up 
into  everlasting  life.''  The  Lord  has  spoken 
more  openly:  "  It  shall  become  in  him  a 
fountain  of  water,  springing  up  into  everlast- 

I  ing  life.     He  that  drinketh  of  this  water  shall 

'  not  thirst  forever."  What  more  evident  than 
that  it  was  not  visible,  but  invisible  water, 
that  He  was  promising?  What  more  evident 

i  than  that  He  was  speaking,  not  in  a  carnal, 

1  but  in  a  spiritual  sense  ? 

15.  Still,  however,  the  woman  has  her  mind 
on  the  flesh:  she  is  delighted  with  the  thought 
of  thirsting  no  more,  and  fancies  that  this 
was  promised  to  her  by  the  Lord  after  a  car 
nal  sense:  which  it  will  be  indeed,  but  in  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead.     She  desired   this 
now.     God  had   indeed  granted  once  to  His 

i  servant   Elias,    that    during    forty   days    he 

j  neither  hungered  nor  thirsted.  Could  not 
He  give  this  always,  seeing  He  had  power  to 
give  it  during  forty  days  ?  She,  however, 
sighed  for  it,  desiring  to  have  no  want,  no 

\  toil.  To  be  always  coming  to  that  fountain, 
to  be  burdened  with  a  weight  with  which  to 
supply  her  want,  and,  v.'hen  that  which  she 
had  drawn  is  spent,  to  be  obliged  to  return 
again:  this  was  a  daily  toil  to  her;  because 
that  want  of  hers  was  to  be  relieved,  not  ex- 

j  tinguished.  Such  a  gift  as  Jesus  promised 
delighted  her;  she  asks  Him  to  give  her  liv 
ing  water. 

1 6.  Nevertheless,  let  us  not  overlook  the 
fact  that  it   is   something  spiritual    that  the 
Lord  was  promising.     What  means,  "Whoso 
shall  drink  of  this  water  shall  thirst  again  ?  " 

1 1t  is  true  as  to  this  water;  it  is  true  as  to  what 
the  water  signified.  Since  the  water  in  the 


TK  \<  i  \  1 1    \\  .  ] 


Tin;  GOSPEL  OI  ST.  JOHN. 


'03 


well  is  the  pleasure  of  the  world  in  its  dark 
depth:  from  this  men  draw  it  with  the  vessel 
of  lusts.  Stooping  forward,  they  let  down  the 
lust  to  reach  the  pleasure  fetched  from  the 
depth  of  the  well,  and  enjoy  the  pleasure  and 
the  preceding  lust  let  down  to  fetch  it.  For 
he  who  has  not  despatched  his  lust  in  advance 
cannot  get  to  the  pleasure.  Consider  lust, 
then,  as  the  vessel;  and  pleasure  as  the  water 
from  the  depth  of  the  well:  when  one  has  got 
at  the  pleasure  of  this  world,  it  is  meat  to 
him,  it  is  drink,  it  is  a  bath,  a  show,  an 
amour;  can  it  he  that  he  will  not  thirst  again  ? 
Therefore,  "  Whoso  shall  drink  of  this  water," 
saith  He,  "will  thirst  again;"  but  if  he  shall 
receive  water  of  me,  "  he  shall  never  thirst." 
"We  shall  be  satisfied,"  it  saith,  "with  the 
good  things  of  Thy  house."  '  Of  what  water, 
then,  is  He  to  give,  but  of  that  of  which  it  is 
said,  "  With  Thee  is  the  fountain  of  life"? 
For  how  shall  they  thirst,  who  "  shall  be 
drunk  with  the  fatness  of  Thy  house  "?2 

17.  What   He  was  promising  them  was  a 
certain  feeding  and  abundant  fullness  of  the 
Holy  Spirit:  but  the  woman  did  not  yet  un 
derstand;  and    not    understanding,    how   did 
she  answer?     "  The  woman  saith  unto  Him, 
Sir,   give   me   this   water,  that  I    thirst   not, 
neither  come  hither  to  draw."     Want  forced 
her  to  labor,  and  her  weakness  was  pleading 
against  the  toil.     Would  that  she  heard  the 
invitation,  "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor 
and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  refresh  you  !  "3 
This  is,  in  fact,  what  Jesus  was  saying  to  her, 
that  she  might  no  longer  labor:  but  she  did 
not  yet  understand. 

1 8.  At  length,  wishing  her  to  understand, 
"  Jesus  saith  unto  her,  Go,  call  thy  husband, 
and  come  hither."     What  means  this,  "Call 
thy  husband  "  ?     Was  it  through  her  husband 
that  He  wished  to  give  her  that  water?      Or, 
because  she  did  not  understand,  did  He  wish 
to  teach  her  through  her  husband  ?    Perhaps  it 
was  as  the  apostle  says  concerning  women,  "If 
they  wish  to    learn  anything,   let   them  ask 
their  husbands  at  home."     But  this  the  apos 
tle  says  of  that  where'  there  is  no  Jesus  pre 
sent  to  teach.     It  is  said,  in  short,  to  women 
whom  the  apostle  was  forbidding  to  speak  in 
the  Church.4     But  when  the  Lord    Himself 
was  at  hand,  and  in  person  speaking  to  her, 
what  need  was  there  that  He  should  speak  to 
her  by  her  husband  ?     Was  it  through   her 
husband  that  he  spoke  to  Mary,  while  sitting 
at  His  feet  and   receiving    His  word;  while 
Martha,  wholly  occupied  with  much  serving, 
murmured  at  the  happiness  of  her  sister >c 
Wherefore,  my  brethren,  let  us  hear  and  un- 


»  P*.  Ixv.  4. 
4  i  Cor.  xiv.  34. 


-  Ps.  xxxvi.  g, 
5  I.uke  x.  40. 


i  Matt.  xi.  28. 


derstand  what  it  is  that  the  Lord  says  to  the 
woman,  "  Cull  thy  husband."  For  it  may  lie 
that  He  is  saying  also  to  our  soul,  "  Call  thy 
husband.''  Let  us  inquire  also  ( oncoming 
the  soul's  husband.  Why,  is  not  Jesu 
self  already  the  soul's  real  husband  - 
the  understanding  be  present,  since  what  we 
are  about  to  say  can  hardly  be  apprehended 
but  by  attentive  hearers:  therefore  let  the 
understanding  be  present  to  apprehend,  and 
perhaps  that  same  understanding  will  be 
found  to  be  the  husband  of  the  soul. 

19.  Now  Jesus,  seeing  that  the  woman  did 
not  understand,  and  willing  her  to  understand, 
says  to  her,  "  Call  thy  husband."  "  For  the 
reason  why  thou  knowest  not  what  I  say  is, 
because  thy  understanding  is  not  present:  I 
am  speaking  after  the  Spirit,  and  thou  art 
hearing  after  the  flesh.  The  things  which  I 
speak  relate  neither  to  the  pleasure  of  the 
ears,  nor  to  the  eyes,  nor  to  the  smell,  nor  to 
the  taste,  nor  to  the  touch;  by  the  mind  alone 
are  they  received,  by  the  understanding  alone 
are  they  drawn  up:  that  understanding  is 
not  with  thee,  how  canst  thou  apprehend  what 
I  am  saying?  'Call  thy  husband,"  bring  thy 
understanding  forward.  What  is  it  for  thee 
to  have  a  soul?  It  is  not  much,  for  a  beast 
has  a  soul.  Wherein  art  thou  better  than  the 
beast  ?  In  having  understanding,  which  the 
beast  has  not."  Then  what  is  "  Call  thy  hus 
band  "?  "Thou  dost  not  apprehend  me, 
thou  dost  not  understand  me:  I  am  speaking 
to  thee  of  the  gift  of  God,  and  thy  thought  is 
of  the  flesh;  thou  wishest  not  to  thirst  in  a 
carnal  sense,  I  am  addressing  myself  to  the 
spirit:  thy  understanding  is  absent.  'Call 
thy  husband.'  Be  not  as  the  horse  and 
mule,  which  have  no  understanding.1  " 
Therefore,  my  brethren,  to  have  a  soul,  and 
not  to  have  understanding,  that  is,  not  to  use 
it,  not  to  live  according  to  it,  is  a  beast's  life. 
For  we  have  somewhat  in  common  with  the 
beasts,  that  by  which  we  live  in  the  flesh,  but 
it  must  be  ruled  by  the  understanding.  For 
the  motions  of  the  soul,  which  moves  after 
the  flesh,  and  longs  to  run  unrestrainedly 
loose  after  carnal  delights,  are  ruled  over  by 
the  understanding.  Which  is  to  be  called  the 
husband  ? — that  which  rules,  or  that  which  is 
ruled  ?  Without  doubt,  when  the  life  is  well 
ordered  the  understanding  rules  the  soul,  for 
itself  belongs  to  the  soul.  For  the  under 
standing  is  not  something  other  than  the  soul, 
but  a  thing  of  the  soul:  as  the  eye  is  not 
something  other  than  the  flesh,  but  a  thing  of 
the  flesh.  But  whilst  the  eye  is  a  thing  of 
the  flesh,  yet  it  alone  enjoys  the  light;  and 
the  other  fleshy  members  may  be  steeped  in 
light,  but  they  cannot  feel  the  light:  the  eye 


104 


Till-;  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


|    I   K.-V    i    \1  I       XV. 


alone  is  both  bathed  in  it,  and  enjoys  it. 
Thus  in  our  soul  there  is  a  something  called  the 
Understanding.  This  something  of  the  soul, 
which  is  called  understanding  and  mind,  is 
enlightened  by  the  higher  light.  Now  that 
higher  light,  by  which  the  human  mind  is 
enlightened,  is  God;  for  "that  was  the  true 
light  which  enlighteneth  every  man  coming 
into  this  world."  Such  a  light  was  Christ, 
such  a  light  was  speaking  with  the  woman: 
yet  she  was  not  present  with  the  understand 
ing,  to  have  it  enlightened  with  that  light; 
not  merely  to  have  it  shed  upon  it,  but  to 
enjoy  it.  Therefore  the  Lord  said,  "  Call  thy 
husband,"  as  if  He  were  to  say,  I  wish  to 
enlighten,  and  yet  there  is  not  here  whom  I 
may  enlighten:  bring  hither  the  understand 
ing  through  which  thou  mayest  be  taught,  by 
which  thou  mayest  be  ruled.  Thus,  put  the 
soul  without  the  understanding  for  the 
woman;  and  having  the  understanding  as 
having  the  husband.  But  this  husband  does 
not  rule  the  wife  well,  except  when  he  is 
ruled  by  a  higher.  "  For  the  head  of  the 
woman  is  the  man,  but  the  head  of  the  man 
is  Christ."1  The  head  of  the  man  was  talk 
ing  with  the  woman,  and  the  man  was  not 
present.  And  so  the  Lord,  as  if  He  said, 
Bring  hither  thy  head;  that  he  may  receive 
his  head,  says,  "  Call  thy  husband,  and  come 
hither;"  that  is,  Be  here,  be  present:  for 
thou  art  as  absent,  while  thou  understandest 
not  the  voice  of  the  Truth  here  present;  be 
thou  present  here,  but  not  alone;  be  thou 
here  with  thy  husband. 

20.  And,  the  husband  being  not  yet  called, 
still  she  does  not  understand,  still  she  minds 
the  flesh;  for  the  man   is  absent:  "I   have 
not,"    saith    she,    "a   husband."     And    the 
Lord  proceeds  and  utters  mysteries.     Thou 
mayest  understand  that  woman  really  to  have 
had  at  that  time  no  husband;  she  was  living 
with  some  man,  not  a  lawful  husband,  rather 
a  paramour  than  a  husband.     And  the  Lord 
said  to  her,  **  Thou  hast  well  said,  I  have  not 
a    husband."     How   then    didst   Thou     say, 
"Call  thy  husband"?     Now  hear   how  the 
Lord  knew  well  that  she  had  not  a  husband. 
"  He  says  to  her,"  etc.     In  case  the  woman 
might  suppose  that  the  Lord  had  said,  "  Thou 
hast  well   said,  I  have   not  a  husband,"  just 
because  He  had  learned  this  fact  of  her,  and 
not  because  he  knew  it  by  His  own  divinity, 
hear   something  which    thou    hast    not   said: 
"  For  thou  hast   had  five  husbands,  and  he 
whom  thou  now  hast  is  not  thy  husband;  this 
thou  hast  said  truly." 

21.  Once  more  He  urges  us  to  investigate 


the  matter  somewhat  more  exactly  concern 
ing  these  five  husbands.  Many  have  in  fact 
understood,  not  indeed  absurdly,  nor  so  far 
improbably,  the  five  husbands  of  this  woman 
to  mean  the  five  books  of  Moses.  For  the 
Samaritans  made  use  of  these  books,  and 
were  under  the  same  law:  for  it  was  from  it 
they  had  circumcision.  But  since  we  are 
hemmed  in  by  what  follows,  "And  he  whom 
thou  now  hast  is  not  thy  husband,"  it  appears 
to  me  that  we  can  more  easily  take  the  five 
senses  of  the  body  to  be  the  five  former  hus 
bands  of  the  soul.  For  when  one  is  born, 
before  he  can  make  use  of  the  mind  and  rea 
son,  he  is  ruled  only  by  the  senses  of  the 
flesh.  In  a  little  child,  the  soul  seeks  for  or 
shuns  what  is  heard,  and  seen,  and  smells, 
I  and  tastes,  and  is  perceived  by  the  touch. 
]  It  seeks  for  whatever  soothes,  and  shuns 
whatever  offends,  those  five  senses.  At  first, 
the  soul  lives  according  to  these  five  senses, 
as  five  husbands;  because  it  is  ruled  by  them. 
But  why  are  they  called  husbands  ?  Because 
they  are  lawful  and  right:  made  indeed  by 
God,  and  are  the  gifts  of  God  to  the  soul. 
The  soul  is  still  weak  while  ruled  by  these 
five  husbands,  and  living  under  these  five 
husbands;  but  when  she  comes  to  years  of 
exercising  reason,  if  she  is  taken  in  hand  by 
the  noble  discipline  and  teaching  of  wisdom, 
these  five  men  are  succeeded  in  their  rule  by 
no  other  than  the  true  and  lawful  husband, 
and  one  better  than  they,  who  both  rules  bet 
ter  and  rules  for  eternity,  who  cultivates  and 
instructs  her  for  eternity.  For  the  five  senses 
rule  us,  not  for  eternity,  but  for  those  tem 
poral  things  that  are  to  be  sought  or  shunned. 
But  when  the  understanding,  imbued  by  wis- 
'  dom,  begins  to  rule  the  soul,  it  knows  now 
not  only  how  to  avoid  a  pit,  and  to  walk  on 
:  even  ground-— a  thing  which  the  eyes  show  to 
the  soul  even  in  its  weakness;  nor  merely  to 
i  be  charmed  with  musical  voices,  and  to  repel 
!  harsh  sounds;  nor  to  delight  in  agreeable 
,  scents,  and  to  refuse  offensive  smells;  nor  to 
|  be  captivated  by  sweetness,  and  displeased 
with  bitterness;  nor  to"  be  soothed  with  what 
'.  is  soft,  and  hurt  with  what  is  rough.  For  all 
I  these  things  are  necessary  to  the  soul  in  its 
weakness.  Then  what  rule  is  made  use  of  by 
[that  understanding?  Not  one  to  discern  be 
tween  black  and  white,  but  between  just  and 
unjust,  between  good  and  evil,  between  the 
profitable  and  the  unprofitable,  between  chas 
tity  and  impurity,  that  it  may  love  the  one 
and  avoid  the  other;  between  charity  and 
hatred,  to  be  in  the  one,  not  to  be  in  the 
other. 

22.   This  husband  had  not  yet  succeeded  to 
those    five    husbands    in    that  woman.     And 


TK.V  i  \n     \V   | 


ON  Till:  GOSPEL  OI   81     JOHN, 


'05 


iu-  does  not  succeed,  error 
For  when  tin-  soul  has  bcj;un  ti»  In-  capable 
of  reason,  it  is  ruled  either  by  the  wise  mind 
or  by  error:  but  yet  error  does  not  ml,-  but 
destroys.  Wherefore,  after  these  five  senses 
was  that  woman  still  wandering,  and  error 
^sing  her  to  and  fro.  And  this  error 
was  not  a  lawful  husband,  but  a  paramour: 
for  that  reason  the  Lord  saith  to  her,  "Thou 
hast  well  said,  I  have  not  a  husband.  For 
thou  hast  had  five  husbands."  The  five 
senses  of  the  flesh  ruled  thee  at  first;  thou 
art  come  to  the  age  of  using  reason,  and  yei 
thou  art  not  come  to  wisdom,  but  art  fallen 
into  error.  Therefore,  after  those  five  hus 
bands,  "  this  whom  thou  now  hast  is  not  thy 
husband."  And  if  not  a  husband,  what  was 
he  but  a  paramour?  And  so,  "Call,"  not 
the  paramour,  but  "  thy  husband,"  that  thou 
mayest  receive  me  with  the  understanding, 
and  not  by  error  have  some  false  notion  of 
me.  For  the  woman  was  still  in  error,  as 
she  was  thinking  of  that  water;  whilst  the 
Lord  was  now  speaking  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Why  was  she  erring,  but  because  she  had  a 
paramour,  not  a  husband  ?  Put  away,  there 
fore,  that  paramour  who  corrupts  thee,  and 
*'  go,  call  thy  husband.''  Call,  and  come  that 
thou  mayest  understand  me. 

23.  "  The  woman  saith  unto  Him,  Sir,  I 
see  that  thou  art  a  prophet."  The  husband 
begins  to  come,  he  is  not  yet  fully  come. 
She  accounted  the  Lord  a  prophet,  and  a 
prophet  indeed  He  was;  for  it  was  of  Him 
self  He  said,  that  "  a  prophet  is  not  without 
honor,  save  in  his  own  country."  '  Again,  of 
Him  it  was  said  to  Moses,  "A  Prophet  will  I 
raise  up  to  them  of  their  brethren,  like  unto 
thee."2  Like,  namely,  as  to  the  form  of  the 
flesh,  but  not  in  the  eminence  of  His  majesty. 
Accordingly  we  find  the  Lord  Jesus  called  a 
Prophet.  Hence  this  woman  is  now  not  far 
wrong.  "  I  see,"  she  saith,  "  that  thou  art  a 
prophet."  She  begins  to  call  the  husband, 
and  to  shut  out  the  paramour;  she  begins  to 
ask  about  a  matter  that  is  wont  to  disquiet  her. 
For  there  was  a  contention  between  the 
Samaritans  and  the  Jews,  because  the  Jews 
worshipped  God  in  the  temple  built  by  Solo 
mon;  but  the  Samaritans,  being  situated  at  a 
distance  from  it,  did  not  worship  there.  For 
this  reason  the  Jews,  because  they  worshipped 
God  in  the  temple,  boasted  themselves  to  be 
better  than  the  Samaritans.  "  For  the  Jews 
have  no  dealings  with  the  Samaritans:"  be 
cause  the  latter  said  to  them,  How  is  it  you 
boast  and  account  yourselves  to  be  better 
than  we,  just  because  you  have  a  temple  which 


we    have    not'      Did    our     father^,    W!K 
God.    worship   in    that     t« 
Was  it  not  in  this  mountain  where  we  a: 
worshipped  ?      We  then   do  better,   say 
who  pray  to  God  in  tins  mountain,  where  our 
fathers  prayed.     Both  peoples  contended  in 
ignorance,  because  they  had  not  the  husband: 
they  were  inflated  against  each  other,  on  the 
one  side  in  behalf  of  the  temple,  on  the  other 
in  behalf  of  the  mountain. 

24.  What,   however,  does  the   Lord   teach 
the  woman  now,  as  one  whose  husband  has 
begun   to  be  present  ?     "  The  woman    saith 
unto  Him,  Sir,  I  perceive  that  thou  art  a  pro- 

|  phet.  Our  fathers  worshipped  in  this  moun 
tain;  and  ye  say  that  in  Jerusalem  is  the  place 
where  men  ought  to  worship.  Jesus  saith  unto 
her,  Woman,  believe  me."  For  the  Church 
will  come,  as  it  is  said  in  the  Song  of  Songs, 
"  will  come,  and  will  pass  over  from  the  be 
ginning  of  faith."1  She  will  come  in  order 
to  pass  through;  and  pass  through  she  can 
not,  except  from  the  beginning  of  faith. 
Rightly  she  now  hears,  the  husband  being 
present:  "  Woman,  believe  me."  For  there 
is  that  in  thee  now  which  can  believe,  since 
thy  husband  is  present.  Thou  hast  begun  to 
be  present  with  the  understanding  when  thou 
calledst  me  a  prophet.  Woman,  believe  me; 
for  if  ve  believe  not,  ye  will  not  understand.4 
Therefore,  "  Woman,  believe  me,  for  the 
hour  will  come  when  ye  shall  neither  in  this 
mountain  nor  in  Jerusalem  worship  the 
I  Father.  Ye  worship  ye  know  not  what:  we 
[worship  what  we  know;  for  salvation  is  of  the 
!  Jews.  But  the  hour  will  come."  When? 
j  "And  now  is.''  Well,  what  hour?  "  When 
'the  true  worshippers  shall  worship  the  Father 
in  spirit  and  in  truth,"  not  in  this  mountain, 
not  in  the  temple,  but  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 
"  For  the  Father  seeketh  such  to  worship 
Him.'1  Why  does  the  Father  seek  such  to 
worship  Him,  not  on  a  mountain,  not  in  the 
temple,  but  in  spirit  and  in  truth?  ''God  is 
Spirit."  If  (iod  were  body,  it  were  right  that 
He  should  be  worshipped  on  a  mountain,  for 
a  mountain  is  corporeal;  it  were  right  He 
should  be  worshipped  in  the  temple,  for  a 
temple  is  corporeal.  "God  is  Spirit;  and 
they  that  worship  Him,  must  worship  in  spirit 
and  in  truth." 

25.  We  have  heard,  and  it  is  manifest;  we 
had  gone  out  of  doors,  and  we  are  sent  inward. 
Would  I  could  find,  thou  didst  say,  some  high 
and  lonely  mountain  !     For  I  think  that,  be 
cause  God  is  on  high,  He  hears  me  the  rather 
from  a   high   place.      Ik-cause  thou  art 
mountain,  dost  thou  imagine  thyself  near  to 


io6 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  XV. 


('.od,  and  that  He  will  quickly  hear  thee,  as  if 
calling  to  Him  from  the  nearest  place  ?  He 
dwells  on  high,  but  regards  the  lowly.  "  The 


Lord   is   near." 
perhaps?     "To 


To  whom  ?     To   the  hi} 
them  who   are   contrite 


heart."1  'Tis  a  wonderful  thing:  He  dwell- 
eth  on  high,  and  yet  is  near  to  the  lowly; 
*'  He  hath  regard  to  lowly  things,  but  lofty 
things  He  knoweth  from  afar;"2  He  seeth 
the  proud  afar  off,  and  He  is  the  less  near  to 
them  the  higher  they  appear  to  themselves  to 

a    mountain,    then  ? 

mayest    come   near 


be.     Didst    thou    seek 
Come   down,   that   thou 


Him.  But  wouldest  thou  ascend  ?  Ascend, 
but  do  not  seek  a  mountain.  "The  as 
cents,"  it  saith,  "  are  in  his  heart,  in  the  val 


ley  of   weeping, 
Therefore  do   all   within. 
thou    seekest   some    lofty 


The  valley  is    humility. 


Even    if   perhaps 
place,  some    holy 


place,  make  thyself  a  temple  for  God  within 


we  for  this  mountain:  when  He  has  come, 
He  will  despise  the  mountain,  and  overthrow 
the  temple;  He  will  teach  us  all  things,  that 
we  may  know  how  to  worship  in  spirit  and  in 
truth.  She  knew  who  could  teach  her,  but 
she  did  not  yet  know  Him  that  was  now  teach 
ing  her.  But  now  she  was  worthy  to  receive 
the  manifestation  of  Him.  Now  Messias  is 
Anointed:  Anointed,  in  Greek,  is  Christ;  in 
Hebrew,  Messias;  whence  also,  in  Punic, 
Messe  means  Anoint.  For  the  Hebrew, 
Punic  and  Syriac  are  cognate  and  neighboring 
languages. 

28.  Then,  "The  woman  saith  unto  Him,  I 
know  that  Messias  will  come,  who  is  called 
Christ:  when  He  then  is  come,  He  will  tell  us 
all  things.  Jesus  saith  unto  her,  I  that  speak 
with  thee  am  He."  She  called  her  husband; 
he  is  made  the  head  of  the  woman,  and  Christ 
is  made  the  head  of  the  man.  Now  is  the 


thee.     "  For  the  temple  of  God  is  holy,  which   woman    constituted    in    faith,   and    ruled,   as 
temple  are  ye."4     Wouldest  thou  pray  in  a  |  about  to  live  rightly.     After  she  heard  this, 


temple?  Pray  in  thyself.  But  be  thou  first 
a  temple  of  God,  for  He  in  His  temple  hear- 
eth  him  that  prays. 

26.  "  The  hour  cometh,  and  now  is,  when 
the  true  worshippers  shall  worship  the  Father 
in  spirit  and  in  truth.  We  worship  that  which 
we  know:  ye  worship  ye  know  not  what;  for 
salvation  is  of  the  Jews."  A  great  thing  has 
He  attributed  to  the  Jews;  but  do  not  under 
stand  Him  to  mean  those  spurious  Jews. 
Understand  that  wall  to  which  another  is 
joined,  that  they  maybe  joined  together,  rest 
ing  on  the  corner-stone,  which  is  Christ. 
For  there  is  one  wall  from  the  Jews,  another 
from  the  Gentiles;  these  walls  are  far  apart, 


only 


they  are    united    in    the    Corner. 


Now  the  aliens  were  strangers  and  foreigners 
from  the  covenants  of  God.5  According  to 
this,  it  is  said,  "  We  worship  what  we  know." 
It  is  said,  indeed,  in  the  person  of  the  Jews, 
but  not  of  all  Jews,  not  of  reprobate  Jews, 
but  of  such  as  were  the  apostles,  as  were  the 
prophets,  as  were  all  those  saints  who  sold  all 
their  goods,  and  laid  the  price  of  their  goods 
at  the  apostles'  feet.  "  For  God  hath  not  re 
jected  His  people  which  He  foreknew."  6 

27.   The  woman  heard  this,  and  proceeded. 

She  had  already  called  Him  a  prophet;  she  I  use,  but  a  burden  to  her,  such  was  her  avidity 
observes  that  He  with  whom  she  was  speaking  i  to  be  satisfied  with  that  water.  Throwing 
uttered  such  things  as  still  more  pertained  to  |  her  burden  away,  to  make  known  Christ,  "  she 
the  prophet;  and  what  answer  did  she  make  ?  ran  to  the  city,  and  says  to  those  men.  Come, 
See:  "The  woman  saith  unto  Him,  I  know ;  and  see  a  man  that  told  me  all  things  that 
that  Messias  will  come,  who  is  called  Christ: 'ever  I  did."  Step  by  step,  lest  those  im-n 
when  He  then  is  come,  He  will  show  us  all  should  get  angry  and  indignant,  and  should 


"I  that  speak  with  thee  am  He,"  what  fur 
ther  could  she  say,  when  the  Lord  Jesus 
willed  to  manifest  Himself  to  the  woman,  to 
whom  He  had  said,  "  Believe  me?" 

29.  "And  immediately  came  His  disciples, 
and    marvelled    that    He    talked    with    the 
woman."     That  He  was  seeking  her  that  was 
lost,  He  who  came  to  seek  that  which  was 
lost:  they  marvelled  at  this.     They  marvelled 
at  a  good  thing,  they  were  not  suspecting  an 
evil  thing.     "  Yet  no  man  said,  What  seekest 
Thou,  or  why  talkest  Thou  with  her?" 

30.  "  The  woman  then  left  her  water-pot."' 
Having  heard,  "  I  that  speak  with  thee  am 
He,"  and   having  received   Christ  the  Lord 
into  her  heart,  what  could   she  do  but  now 
leave  her  water-pot,  and   run  to  preach  the 
gospel  ?     She  cast  out  lust,  and  hastened  to 
proclaim    the   truth.     Let   them   who   would 
preach  the  gospel  learn;  let  them  throw  away 
their  water-pot  at  the  well.     You  remember 

I  said  before  of  the  water- pot:  it  \vas  a 
vessel  with  which  the  water  was  drawn,  called 
hydria,  from  its  Greek  name,  because  water 
is  hydor  in  Greek;  just  as  if  it  were  called 
aquarium,  from  the  Latin.  She  threw  away 


her  water-pot  then,  which  was  no  longer  of 


things."     What  is  this?     Just  now  she  saith, 
The  Jews  are  contending  for  the  temple,  and 


'  IV  xxxiv.  18. 
•1  i  l'.,r.  iii.    17. 


=  Ps.  cxxxviii.  6. 
5  Kph.  li.  11-22. 


<  I>s.  Ixxx 
'    K..m.  xi 


persecute  her.      "  Is  this  Christ  ?     Then  they 
went  out  of  the  city,  and  came  to  Him/' 

31.   "And   in  the  meanwhile  His  disciples 
besought    Him,    saying,    Master,   eat."     For 


TXACTATI     XV.] 


ON  THK  GOSPE1    <>!    S  I.    [OHN, 


they  had  gone  to  buy  meat,  and  had  returned. 
"  Hut  He  said,  I  have  meat  to  eat  which  ye 
know  not  of.  T-herefore  said  the  disciples 
one  to  another,  Hath  any  man  brought  Him 
aught  to  eat  ? "  What  wonder  if  that  woman 
did  not  understand  about  the  water?  See; 
the  disciples  do  not  yet  understand  the  meat. 
But  He  heard  their  thoughts,  and  now  as  a 
master  instructs  them,  not  in  a  round-about 
way,  as  He  did  the  woman  while  He  still 
sought  her  husband,  but  openly  at  once: 
"  My  meat,"  saith  He,  "  is  to  do  the  will  of 
Him  that  sent  me."  Therefore,  in  the  case 
of  that  woman,  it  was  even  His  drink  to  do 
the  will  of  Him  that  sent  Him.  That  was  the 
reason  why  He  said,  "  I  thirst,  give  me  to 
drink;"  namely,  to  work  faith  in  her,  and  to 
drink  of  her  faith,  and  to  transplant  her  into 
His  own  body,  for  His  body  is  the  Church. 
Therefore  He  saith,"  My  meat  is  to  do  the 
will  of  Him  that  sent  me." 

32.  "Say  ye  not,  that  there  are  yet  four 
months,  and  then  cometh  harvest  ?  "  He  was 
aglow  for  the  work,  and  was  arranging  to 
send  forth  laborers.  You  count  four  months 
to  the  harvest;  I  show  you  another  harvest, 
white  and  ready.  Behold,  I  say  unto  you, 
"  Lift  up  your  eyes,  and  see  that  the  fields 
are  already  white  for  the  harvest."  There 
fore  He  is  going  to  send  forth  the  reapers. 
"  For  in  this  is  the  saying  true,  that  one  reap- 
eth,  another  soweth:  that  both  he  that  soweth 
and  he  that  reapeth  may  rejoice  together.  I 
have  sent  you  to  reap  that  on  which  ye  have 
not  labored:  others  have  labored,  and  ye  are 
entered  into  their  labor."  What  then  ?  He 
sent  reapers;  sent  He  not  the  sowers? 
Whither  the  reapers  ?  Where  others  labored 
already.  For  where  labor  had  already  been 
bestowed,  surely  there  had  been  sowing;  and 
what  had  been  sown  had  now  become  ripe, 
and  required  the  sickle  and  the  threshing. 
Whither,  then,  were  the  reapers  to  be  sent  ? 
Where  the  prophets  had  already  preached 
before;  for  they  were  the  sowers.  For  had 
they  not  been  the  sowers,  whence  had  this 
come  to  the  woman.  "  I  know  that  Messias 
will  come"?  That  woman  was  now  ripened 
fruit,  and  the  harvest  fields  were  white,  and 
sought  the  sickle.  "  I  sent  you,"  then. 
Whither?  "  To  reap  what  ye  have  not  sown: 
others  sowed,  and  ye  are  entered  into  their 
labors."  Who  labored?  Abraham,  Isaac, 
and  Jacob.  Read  their  labors;  in  all  their 
labors  there  is  a  prophecy  of  Christ,  and  for 
that  reason  they  were  sowers.  Moses,  and 
all  the  other  patriarchs,  and  all  the  prophets, 
how  much  they  suffered  in  that  cold  season 
when  they  sowed  !  Therefore  was  the  harvest 


now  ready   in   Judea.     Justly  was  tin 
there  said  to  be  as  it  were  r\\  <  many 

thousands  of  men  brought  the  price  <>: 
goods,  and,  laying  them  at  the  apostle 
having  eased  their  shoulders  of  this  worldly 
baggage,  began  to  follow  the  Lord  Christ. 
Verily  the  harvest  was  ripe.  What  was  made 
of  it  ?  Of  that  harvest  a  few  grains  were 
thrown  out,  and  sowed  the  whole  world;  and 
another  harvest  is  rising  which  is  to  be  reaped 
in  the  end  of  the  world.  Of  that  harvest  it  is 
said,  "  They  that  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  with 
joy."1  But  to  that  harvest  not  apostles,  but 
angels,  shall  be  sent  forth.  "The  reapers," 
saith  He,  "are  the  angels."2  That  harvest, 
then,  is  growing  among  tares,  and  is  awaiting 
to  be  purged  in  the  end  of  the  world.  But 
that  harvest  to  which  the  disciples  were  sent 
first,  where  the  prophets  labored,  was  already 
ripe.  But  yet,  brethren,  observe  what  was 
said:  "may  rejoice  together,  both  he  that 
soweth  and  he  that  reapeth."  They  had  dis 
similar  labors  in  time,  but  the  rejoicing  they 
shall  enjoy  alike  equally;  they  shall  receive 
for  their  wages  together  eternal  life. 

33.  "And  many  Samaritans  of  that  city  be 
lieved  on  Him,  because  of  the  saying  of  the 
woman,  who  testified,  He  told  me  all  that 
ever  I  did.  And  when  the  Samaritans  came 
to  Him,  they  besought  Him  that  He  would 
tarry  with  them;  and  He  tarried  there  two 
days.  And  many  more  believed  because  of 
His  word;  and  said  to  the  woman,  Now  we 
believe,  not  because  of  thy  words;  for  we 
have  heard  Him  ourselves,  and  we  know  that 
this  is  indeed  the  Saviour  of  the  world.'* 
This  also  must  be  slightly  noticed,  for  the 
lesson  is  come  to  an  end.  The  woman  first 
announced  Him,  and  the  Samaritans  believed 
her  testimony;  and  they  besought  Him  to 
stay  with  them,  and  He  stayed  there  two 
days,  and  many  more  believed.  And  when 
they  had  believed,  they  said  to  the  woman, 
"  Now  we  believe,  not  because  of  thy  word; 
but  we  are  come  to  know  Him  ourselves,  and 
we  know  that  this  is  indeed  the  Saviour  of  the 
world: ''  first  by  report,  then  by  His  presence. 
So  it  is  to-day  with  them  that  are  without, 
and  are  not  yet  Christians.  Christ  is  made 
known  to  them  by  Christian  friends;  and  just 
upon  the  report  of  that  woman,  that  is,  the 
Church,  they  come  to  Christ,  they  believe 
through  this  report.  He  stays  with  them  two 
days,  that  is,  gives  them  two  precepts  of 
charity;  and  many  more  believe,  and  more 
firmly  believe,  on  Him,  because  He  is  in 
truth  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 


Ps.  cxxvi.  5. 


Matt.  xiii.  3+ 


io8 


THK  WORKS  OF  ST.   AlV.i:sTIN. 


[TRACT  «i  xvi. 


TRACTATE  XVI. 

CHAPTKR    IV.  43-54. 


1.  THE  Gospel   Lesson   of  to-day   follows 
that  of  yesterday,  and  this  is  the  subject  of 
our  discourse.     In  this  passage  the  meaning, 
indeed,    is   not  difficult  of  investigation,  but 
worthy    of  preaching,   worthy  of  admiration 
and     praise.      Accordingly,    in    reciting   this 
passage  of  the  Gospel,  we  must  commend  it 
to  your  attention,  rather  than  laboriously  ex 
pound  it. 

Now  Jesus,  after  His  stay  of  two  days  in 
Samaria,  "departed  into  Galilee,"  where  He 
was  brought  up.  And  the  evangelist,  as  he 
goes  on,  says,  "  For  Jesus  Himself  testified 
that  a  prophet  hath  no  honor  in  his  own  coun 
try."  It  was  not  because  He  had  no  honor 
in  Samaria  that  Jesus  departed  thence  after 
two  days;  for  Samaria  was  not  His  own  coun 
try,  but  Galilee.  Whilst,  therefore,  He  left 
Samaria  so  quickly,  and  came  to  Galilee, 
where  He  had  been  brought  up,  how  does  He 
testify  that  4<  a  prophet  hath  no  honor  in  his 
own  country"?  Rather  does  it  seem  that 
He  might  have  testified  that  a  prophet  has 
no  honor  in  his  own  country,  had  He  dis 
dained  to  go  into  Galilee,  and  had  stayed  in 
Samaria. 

2.  Now  mark  well,  beloved,  while  the  Lord 
suggests  and  bestows  what  I  may  speak,  that 
here  is   intimated   to  us   no  slight    mystery. 
You  know  the  question  before  us;    seek  ye 
out  the  solution  of  it.     But,  to  make  the  so 
lution  desirable,  let  us  repeat  the  theme.    The 
point  that  troubles  us  is,  why  the  evangelist 
said,  "  For  Jesus  Himself  testified  that  a  pro 
phet   hath   no   honor   in    his   own    country." 
Urged  by  this,  we  go  back  to  the  preceding 
words,  to  discover  the  evangelist's  intention 
in  saying  this;    and  we  find  him  relating,  in 
the  preceding  words  of    the   narrative,   that 
after  two  days  Jesus  departed  from  Samaria 
into  Galilee.      Was    it    for   this,  then,  thou 
saidst,  O  evangelist,  that  Jesus  testified  that 
a  prophet  hath  no  honor  in  his  own  country, 
just  because  He  left  Samaria  after  two  days, 
and  made  haste  to  come  to  Galilee  ?     On  the 
contrary,  I  should  have  thought  it  more  likely, 
that  if  Jesus  had  no  honor  in  His  own  country, 
He  should  not  have  hastened  to  it,  and  left  Sa 
maria.     But  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  or  rather, 
because  it  is  true,  and  I  am  not  mistaken;  for 
the  evangelist  saw  what  he  was  saying  better 
than  I  can  see  it,  saw  the  truth  better  than  I 
do,   he   who   drank    it   in    from    the    Lord's 
bosom:  for  the  evangelist  is  the  same  John 


who,  among  all  the  disciples,  reclined  on  the 
Lord's  breast,  and  whom  the  Lord,  owing 
love  to  all,  yet  loved  above  the  rest.  Is  it 
he,  then,  that  should  be  mistaken,  and  I  right 
in  my  opinion  ?  Rather,  if  I  am  piously- 
minded,  let  me  obediently  hear  what  he  said, 
that  I  may  be  worthy  of  thinking  as  he 
thought. 

3.  Hear  then,  dearly  beloved,  what  I  think 
in  this  matter,  without  prejudice  to  your  own 
judgment,  if  you  have  formed  a  better.  For 
we  have  all  one  Master,  and  we  are  fellow-, 
disciples  in  one  school.  This,  then,  is  my 
opinion,  and  see  whether  my  opinion  is  not 
true,  or  near  the  truth.  In  Samaria  He  spent 
two  days,  and  the  Samaritans  believed  on 
Him;  many  were  the  days  He  spent  in  Galilee, 
and  yet  the  Galileans  did  not  believe  on  Him. 
Look  back  to  the  passage,  or  recall  in  memory 
the  lesson  and  the  discourse  of  yesterday. 
He  came  into  Samaria,  where  at  first  He  had 
been  preached  by  that  woman  with  whom  He 
had  spoken  great  mysteries  at  Jacob's  well. 
After  they  had  seen  and  heard  Him,  the 
Samaritans  believed  on  Him  because  of  the 
woman's  word,  and  believed  more  firmly 
because  of  His  own  word,  even  many  more 
believed:  thus  it  is  written.  After  passing 
two  days  there  (in  which  number  of  days  is 
mystically  indicated  the  number  of  the  two 
precepts  on  which  hang  the  whole  law  and 
the  prophets,  as  yo'u  remember  we  intimated 
to  you  yesterday),  He  goes  into  Galilee,  and 
comes  to  the  city  Cana  of  Galilee,  where  He 
made  the  water  wine.  And  there,  when  He 
turned  the  water  into  wine,  as  John  himself 
writes,  His  disciples  believed  on  Him;  but, 
of  course,  the  house  was  full  with  a  crowd  of 
guests.  So  great  a  miracle  was  wrought,  and 
yet  only  His  disciples  believed  on  Him.  He 
has  now  returned  to  this  city  of  Galilee. 
"And,  behold,  a  certain  ruler,  whose  son  was 
sick,  came  to  Him,  and  began  to  beseech 
i  Him  to  go  down  "  to  that  city  or  house, 
I  "  and  heal  his  son;  for  he  was  at  the  point 
of  death."  Did  he  who  besought  not  be 
lieve  ?  What  dost  thou  expect  to  hear  from 
me  ?  Ask  the  Lord  what  He  thought  of  him. 
Having  been  besought,  this  is  what  He  an 
swered:  "  Except  ye  see  signs  and  wonders, 
ye  believe  not."  He  shows  us  a  man  luke 
warm,  or  cold  in  faith,  or  of  no  faith  at  all; 
but  eager  to  try  by  the  healing  of  his  son 
what  manner  of  person  Christ  was,  who  He 


Tl   \-    I    Ml       \\    I.  I 


nil-:  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


109 


\v:is,  what  He  could  do.  The  words  of  the 
suppliant,  indeed,  we  have  heard:  \ve  have 
not  seen  the  heart  of  the  doulilcr;  but  He 
who  liotii  heard  the  words  and  saw  the  heart 
IMN  told  us  this.  In  short,  the  evangelist 
himself,  by  the  testimony  of  his  narrative, 
shows  us  that  the  man  who  desired  the  Lord 
to  come  to  his  house  to  heal  his  son,  had  not 
yet  believed.  For  after  he  had  been  in 
formed  that  his  son  was  whole,  and  found 
that  he  had  been  made  whole  at  that  hour  in 
which  the  Lord  had  said,  "Go  thy  way,  thy 
son  liveth;"  then  he  saith,  "  And  himself  be 
lieved,  and  all  his  house."  Now,  if  the 
reason  why  he  believed,  and  all  his  house,  was 
that  he  was  told  that  his  son  was  whole,  and 
found  the  hour  they  told  him  agreed  with  the 
hour  of  Christ's  foretelling  it,  it  follows  that 
when  he  was  making  the  request  he  did  not 
yet  believe.  The  Samaritans  had  waited  for 
no  sign,  they  believed  simply  His  word;  but 
His  own  fellow-citizens  deserved  to  hear  this 
said  to  them,  "  Except  ye  see  signs  and  won 
ders,  ye  believe  not;"  and  even  there,  not 
withstanding  so  great  a  miracle  was  wrought, 
there  did  not  believe  but  "  himself  and  his 
house."  At  His  discourse  alone  many  of  the 
Samaritans  believed;  at  that  miracle,  in  the 
place  where  it  was  wrought,  only  that  house 
believed.  What  is  it,  then,  brethren,  that  the 
Lord  doth  show  us  here?  Galilee  of  Judea 
was  then  the  Lord's  own  country,  because  He 
was  brought  up  in  it.  Bnt  now  that  the  cir 
cumstance  portends  something, — for  it  is  not 
without  cause  that  "  prodigies  "  are  so  called, 
but  because  they  portend  or  presage  some 
thing:  for  the  word  "prodigy"  is  so  termed 
as  if  it  were  porrodicium,  -quod  porro  dieat, 
what  betokens  something  to  come,  and  por 
tends  something  future,-  -now  all  those  cir 
cumstances  portended  something,  predicted 
something;  let  us  just  now  assume  the  country 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  after  the  flesh  (for 
He  had  no  country  on  earth,  except  after  the 
flesh  which  He  took  on  earth);  let  us,  I  say, 
assume  the  Lord's  own  country  to  mean  the 
people  of  the  Jews.  Lo,  in  His  own  country 
He  hath  no  honor.  Observe  at  this  moment 
the  multitudes  of  the  Jews;  observe  that 
nation  now  scattered  over  the  whole  world,  and 
plucked  up  by  the  roots;  observe  the  broken 
branches,  cut  off,  scattered,  withered,  which 
being  broken  off,  the  wild  olive  has  deserved 
to  be  grafted  in;  look  at  the  multitude  of  the 
Jews:  what  do  they  say  to  us  even  now? 
"He  whom  you  worship  and  adore  was  our 
brother."  And  we  reply,  "  A  prophet  hath 
no  honor  in  his  own  country."  In  short, 
those  Jews  saw  the  Lord  as  He  walked  on  the 
earth  and  worked  miracles:  they  >a\v  Him 


giving  sight  to  the  blind,  opening  the  - 
the  <!e.it,  loosing  the  tongues  of  the  dumb, 
bracing  up  the  limbs  of  the  paralytics,  walking 
on  the  sea,  commanding  the  winds  and 
.  raising  the  dead:  they  saw  Him  work 
ing  such  great  signs,  and  after  all  that  M 
a  few  believed.  I  am  speaking  to  God's 
people;  so  many  of  us  have  believed,  what 
signs  have  we  seen?  It  is  thus,  therefore, 
that  what  occurred  at  that  time  betokened 
what  is  now  going  on.  The  Jews  were,  or 
rather  are,  like  the  Galileans;  we,  like  those 
Samaritans.  We  have  heard  the  gospel,  have 
given  it  our  consent,  have  believed  on  Christ 
through  the  gospel;  we  have  seen  no  signs, 
none  do  we  demand. 

4.  For,  though  one  of  the  chosen  and  holy 
twelve,  yet  he  was  an  Israelite,  of  the  Lord's 
nation,  that  Thomas  who  desired  to  put  his 
fingers  into  the  places  of  the  wounds.     The 
Lord  censured  him  just  as  He  did  this  ruler. 
To  the  ruler  He  said,  "  Except  ye  see  signs 
and  wonders,  ye  believe  not;  "  and  to  Thomas 
He  said,  "  Because  thou  hast  seen,  thou  hast 
believed."       He  had  come  to  the  Galileans 
after  the  Samaritans,  who   had  believed   His 
word,  before  whom  He  wrought  no  miracles, 
whom  He  without  anxiety  quickly  left,  strong 
in  faith,  because  by  the  presence  of  His  divi 
nity  He  had  not  left  them.     Now,  then,  when 
the    Lord    said   to   Thomas,   "Come,    reach 
hither  thy  hand,  and  be  not  faithless,  but  be 
lieving;"  and  he,  having  touched  the  places 
of   the   wounds,    exclaimed,  and    said,    "My 
Lord,  and  my  God;"  he  is  chided,  and  has  it 
said  to  him,  *'  Because  thou  hast  seen,  thou 
hast  believed."   Why,  but  "  because  a  prophet 
has  no  honor  in  his  own  country  ? "     But  since 
this  Prophet  has  honor  among  strangers,  what 
follows?     "Blessed  are  they  that   have  not 
seen,  and  yet  have  believed."1     We  are  the 
persons   here  foretold;  and    that   which   the 
Lord  by  anticipation  praised,  He  has  deigned 
to  fulfill  even   in   us.     They  saw   Him,  who 
crucified  Him,  and  touched   Him  with  their 
hands,  and  thus  a  few  believed;  we  have  not 
seen  nor  handled    Him,  we  have  heard  and 

!  believed.  May  it  be  our  lot,  that  the  blessed- 
j  ness  which  He  has  promised  may  be  made 
good  in  us:  both  here,  because  we  have  been 
preferred  to  His  own  country;  and  in  the 
world  to  come,  because  we  have  been  grafted 
in  instead  of  the  branches  that  were  broken 
off! 

5.  For   He   showed  that  He  would   break 
off  these  brandies,  and  ingraft  this  wild  olive, 
when   moved  by   the   faith   of  the  centurion, 
who  said  to  Him,  "  I  am  not  worthy  that  thou 

«  John  xx.  29. 


1  10 


THE  WORKS  01    ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


[Ti;.\<  i  A  IK    XVI. 


shouldest  come  under  my  roof;  but  only 
speak  the  word,  and  my  child  shall  be  healed: 
for  I  also  am  a  man  put  under  authority,  hav 
ing  soldiers  under  me;  and  I  say  to  one,  Go, 
and  he  goeth;  and  to  another,  Come,  and  he 
cometh;  and  to  my  servant,  Do  this,  and  he 
doeth  it.  Jesus  turned  to  those  who  followed 
Him,  and  said,  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  I  have 
not  found  so  great  faith  in  Israel."  Why  not 
found  so  great  faith  in  Israel?  "Because 
a  prophet  has  no  honor  in  his  own  country." 
Could  not  the  Lord  have  said  to  that  centu 
rion,  what  He  said  to  this  ruler,  "  Go,  thy 
child  liveth  ?"  See  the  distinction:  this  ruler 
desired  the  Lord  to  come  down  to  his  house; 
that  centurion  declared  himself  to  be  un 
worthy.  To  the  one  it  was  said,  "  I  will  come 
and  heal  him;"  to  the  other,  "Go,  thy  son 
liveth."  To  the  one  He  promised  His  pres 
ence;  the  other  He  healed  by  His  word.  The 
ruler  sought  His  presence  by  force;  the  cen 
turion  declared  himself  unworthy  of  His  pres 
ence.  Here  is  a  ceding  to  loftiness;  there,  a 
conceding  to  humility.  As  if  He  said  to  the 
ruler,  '"'Go,  thy  son  liveth;"  do  not  weary 
me.  "  Except  ye  see  signs  and  wonders,  ye 
believe  not;"  thou  desirest  my  presence  in 
thy  house,  1  am  able  to  command  by  a  word; 
do  not  wish  to  believe  in  virtue  of  signs:  the 
centurion,  an  alien,  believed  me  able  to  work 
by  a  word,  and  believed  before  I  did  it;  you, 
*'  except  ye  see  signs  and  wonders,  believe 
not."  Therefore,  if  it  be  so,  let  them  be 
broken  off  as  proud  branches,  and  let  the 
humble  wild  olive  be  grafted;  nevertheless, 
let  the  root  remain,  while  those  are  cut  off, 
and  these  received  in  their  place.  Where 
does  the  root  remain  ?  In  the  patriarchs. 
For  the  people  Israel  is  Christ's  own  country, 
since  it  is  of  them  that  He  came  according  to 
the  flesh;  but  the  root  of  this  tree  is  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob,  the  holy  patriarchs.  And 
where  are  they  ?  In  rest  with  God,  in  great 
honor;  so  that  it  was  into  Abraham's  bosom 
that  the  poor  man,  on  being  promoted,  was 
raised  after  his  departure  from  the  body,  and 
in  Abraham's  bosom  was  he  seen  from  afar 
off  by  the  proud  rich  man.  Wherefore  the 
root  remains,  the  root  is  praised;  but  the 
proud  branches  deserved  to  be  cut  off,  and  to 
wither  away;  and  by  their  cutting  off,  the 
humble  wild  olive  has  found  a  place. 

6.  Hear  now  how  the  natural  branches  are 
cut  off,  how  the  wild  olive  is  grafted  in,  by 
means  of  the  centurion  himself,  whom  I  have 
•thought  proper  to  mention  for  the  sake  of 
comparison  with  this  ruler.  "Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  I  have  not  found  so  great  faith  in 
Israel;  therefore  I  say  unto  you,  that  many 


shall  come  from  the  east  and  from  the  west." 
How  widely  the  wild  olive  took  possession  of 
the  earth  !  This  world  was  a  bitter  forest; 
but  because  of  the  humility,  because  of  this 
"lam  not  worthy  -many  shall  come  from 
the  east  and  from  the  west."  And  grant  that 
they  come,  what  shall  become  of  them  ?  For 
if  they  come,  they  are  cut  off  from  the  forest; 
where  are  they  to  be  ingrafted,  that  they  may 
not  wither  ?  "  And  shall  sit  down,"  saith  He, 
"  with  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob."  At 
what  banquet,  in  case  thou  dost  not  invite  to 
ever  living,  but  to  much  drinking?  Where, 
"  shall  sit  down  ?  In  the  kingdom  of  heaven. ' ' 
And  how  will  it  be  with  them  who  came  of 
the  stock  of  Abraham  ?  What  will  become  of 
the  branches  with  which  the  tree  was  full  ? 
What  but  to  be  cut  off,  that  these  may  be 
grafted  in  ?  Show  us  that  they  shall  be  cut 
off:  "  But  the  children  of  the  kingdom  shall 
go  into  outer  darkness."  ' 

7.  Therefore  let  the  Prophet  have  honor 
among  us,  because  He  had  no  honor  in  His 
own  country.  He  had  no  honor  in  His 
country,  wherein  He  was  formed;  let  Him 
have  honor  in  the  country  which  He  has 
formed.  For  in  that  country  was  He,  the 
Maker  of  all,  made  as  to  the  form  of  a  ser 
vant.  For  that  city  in  which  He  was  made, 
that  Zion,  that  nation  of  the  Jews  He  Him 
self  made  when  He  was  with  the  Father  as  the 
Word  of  God:  for  "  all  things  were  made  by 
Him,  and  without  Him  was  nothing  made." 
Of  that  man  we  have  to-day  heard  it  said: 
"One  Mediator  of  God  and  men,  the  man 
Christ  Jesus."2  The  Psalms  also  foretold, 
saying,  "  My  mother  is  Sion,  shall  a  man 
say."  A  certain  man,  the  Mediator  man  be 
tween  God  and  men,  says,  "  My  mother 
Sion."  Why  says,  "  My  mother  is  Sion"? 
Because  from  it  He  took  flesh,  from  it  was  the 
Virgin  Mary,  of  whose  womb  He  took  upon 
Him  the  form  of  a  servant;  in  which  He 
deigned  to  appear  most  humble.  "  My  mother 
is  Sion,"  saith  a  man;  and  this  man,  who 
says,  '*  My  mother  is  Sion,"  was  made  in  her, 
became  man  in  her.  For  He  was  God  before 
her,  and  became  man  in  her.  He  who  was 
made  man  in  her,  "  Himself  did  found  her; 
the  Most  High3  was  made  man  in  her  most 
low."  Because  "  the  Word  was  made  flesh, 
and  dwelt  among  us."  "  He  Himself,  the 
Most  High,  founded  her."  Now,  because 
He  founded  this  country,  here  let  Him  have 
honor.  The  country  in  which  He  was  born 
rejected  Him;  let  that  country  receive  Him 
which  He  regenerated. 


Matt.  viii.  5-12. 


Tim.  n.  5. 


3  Ps.  Ixxxiv.  7. 


I >\.  i  ui.    \\  II. I 


ON  'nil-:  GOSPEL  <>i    ST.  JOHN, 


TRACTATE  XVII. 

CHAPTKR  V.    1-18. 


i.  IT  ought  not  to  be  a  matter  of  wonder 
that  a  miracle  was  wrought  by  God;  the  won 
der  would  be  if  man  had  wrought  it.  Rather 
ought  we  to  rejoice  than  wonder  that  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  was  made  man, 
than  that  He  performed  divine  works  among 
men.  It  is  of  greater  importance  to  our  sal 
vation  what  He  was  made  for  men,  than  what 
He  did  among  men:  it  is  more  important  that 
He  healed  the  faults  of  souls,  than  that  He 
healed  the  weaknesses  of  mortal  bodies.  But 
as  the  soul  knew  not  Him  by  whom  it  was  to 
be  healed,  and  had  eyes  in  the  flesh  whereby 
to. see  corporeal  deeds,  but  had  not  yet  sound 
eyes  in  the  heart  with  which  to  recognise  Him 
as  God  concealed  in  the  flesh,  He  wrought 
what  the  soul  was  able  to  see,  in  order  to  heal 
that  by  which  it  was  not  able  to  see. 

He  entered  a  place  where  lay  a  great  multi 
tude  of  sick  folk — of  blind,  lame,  withered; 
and  being  the  physician  both  of  souls  and 
bodies,  and  having  come  to  heal  all  the  souls 
of  them  that  should  believe,  of  those  sick 
folk  He  chose  one  for  healing,  thereby  to 
signify  unity.  If  in  doing  this  we  regard 
Him  with  a  commonplace  mind,  with  the  mere 
human  understanding  and  wit,  as  regards 
power  it  was  not  a  great  matter  that  He  per 
formed;  and  also  as  regards  goodness  He 
performed  too  little.  There  lay  so  many 
there,  and  yet  only  one  was  healed,  whilst  He 
could  by  a  word  have  raised  them  all  up. 
What,  then,  must  we  understand  but  that  the 
power  and  the  goodness  was  doing  what  souls 
might,  by  His  deeds,  understand  for  their 
everlasting  salvation,  than  what  bodies  might 
gain  for  temporal  health  ?  For  that  which  is 
the  real  health  of  bodies,  and  which  is  looked 
for  from  the  Lord,  will  be  at  the  end,  in  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead.  What  shall  live 
then  shall  no  more  die;  what  shall  be  healed 
shall  no  more  be  sick;  what  shall  be  satisfied 
shall  no  more  hunger  and  thirst;  what  shall 
be  made  new  shall  not  grow  old.  But  at  this 
time,  however,  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  that 
were  opened  by  those  acts  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  were  again  closed  in 
death;  and  limbs  of  the  paralytics  that  re 
ceived  strength  were  loosened  again  in  death: 
and  whatever  was  for  a  time  made  whole  in 
mortal  limbs  came  to  nought  in  the  end:  but 
the  soul  that  believed  passed  to  eternal  life. 
Accordingly,  to  the  soul  that  should  believe, 


whose  sins  He  had  come  to  forgive,  to  the 
healing  of  whose  ailments  He  had  humbled 
Himself,  He  gave  a  significant  proof  by  the 
healing  of  this  impotent  man.  Of  the  pro 
found  mystery  of  this  thing  and  this  proof,  so 
far  as  the  Lord  deigns  to  grant  us,  while  you 
are  attentive  and  aiding  our  weakness  by 
prayer,  I  will  speak  as  I  shall  have  ability. 
And  whatever  I  am  not  able  to  do,  that  will 
be  supplied  to  you  by  Him  by  whose  help  I 
do  what  I  can. 

2.  Of  this  pool,  which  was  surrounded  with 
five  porches,  in  which  lay  a  great  multitude  of 
sick  folk,  I  remember  that  I  have  very  often 
treated;  and  most  of  you  will  with  me  recol 
lect  what  I  am  about  to  say,  rather  than  gain 
the  knowledge  of  it  for  the  first  time.  But  it 
is  by  no  means  unprofitable  to  go  back  upon 
matters  already  known,  that  both  they  who 
know  not  may  be  instructed,  and  they  who  do 
know  may  be  confirmed.  Therefore,  as  being 
already  known,  these  things  must  be  touched 
upon  briefly,  not  leisurely  inculcated.  That 
pool  and  that  water  seem  to  me  to  have  sig 
nified  the  Jewish  people.  For  that  peoples 
are  signified  under  the  name  of  waters  the 
Apocalypse  of  John  clearly  indicates  to  us, 
where,  after  he  had  been  shown  many  waters, 
and  he  had  asked  what  they  were,  was  answer 
ed  that  they  were  peoples.1  That  water, 
then — namely,  that  people-  -was  shut  in  by 
the  five  books  of  Moses,  as  by  five  porches. 
But  those  books  brought  forth  the  sick,  not 
healed  them.  For  the  law  convicted,  not 
acquitted  sinners.  Accordingly  the  letter, 
without  grace,  made  men  guilty,  whom  on 
confessing  grace  delivered.  For  this  is  what 
the  apostle  saith:  "For  if  a  law  had  been 
given  which  could  have  given  life,  verily 
righteousness  should  have  been  by  the  law." 
Why,  then,  was  the  law  given  ?  He  goes  on 
to  say,  "  But  the  Scripture  hath  concluded  all 
under  sin,  that  the  promise  by  faith  of  Jesus 
Christ  might  be  given  to  them  that  believe."* 
What  more  evident  ?  Have  not  these  words 
expounded  to  us  both  the  five  porches,  and 
also  the  multitude  of  sick  folk  ?  The  five 
porches  are  the  law.  Why  did  not  th 
porches  heal  the  sick  folk?  Because,  "if 
there  had  been  a  law  given  which  could  have 
given  life,  verily  righteousness  should  have 


Rev.  xvii.  15. 


I  12 


THE  WORKS  ()!•    ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


[TRArrvn    XVII. 


been  by  the  law."  Why,  then,  did  the 
porches  contain  those  whom  they  did  not  heal  ? 
Because  "  the  Scripture  hath  concluded  all 
under  sin,  that  tne  promise  by  faith  of  Jesus 
Christ  might  be  given  to  them  that  believe." 

3.  What   was  done,   then,   that   they   who 
could  not  be  healed  in  the  porches  might  be 
healed    in   that  water  after  being   troubled  ? 
For  on  a  sudden  the  water  was  seen  troubled, 
and  that  by  which   it  was   troubled  was   not 
seen.     Thou    mayest  believe    that   this   was 
wont  to  be  done  by  angelic  virtue,  yet  not 
without  some  mystery  being  implied.     After 
the  water  was  troubled,  the  one  who  was  able 
cast  himself  in,   and   he  alone  was  healed: 
whoever  went  in  after  that  one,  did  so  in  vain. 
What,  then,  is  meant  by  this,  unless  it  be  that 
there  came  one,  even  Christ,  to  the   Jewish 
people;  and  by  doing  great  things,  by  teach 
ing     profitable     things,     troubled      sinners, 
troubled  the  water  by  His  presence,  and  rous 
ed  it  towards  His  own  death  ?     But  He  was 
hidden  that  troubled.     For  had  they  known 
Him,  they  would    never    have    crucified    the 
Lord  of  glory.1      Wherefore,  to  go  down  into 
the  troubled  water  means  to  believe  in  the 
Lord's  death.     There  only  one  was  healed, 
signifying  unity:  whoever  came  thereafter  was 
not  healed,  because  whoever  shall  be  outside 
unity  cannot  be  healed. 

4.  Now  let  us  see  what  He  intended  to  sig 
nify  in  the  case  of  that  one  whom  He  Him 
self,  keeping  the  mystery  of  unity,  as  I  said 
before,-  deigned  to  heal  out  of  so  many  sick 
folk.     He  found  in  the  number  of  this  man's 
years  the  number,  so  to  speak,  of  infirmity: 
"  He  was    thirty  and    eight   years    in    infir 
mity."      How   this    number  refers   more  to 
weakness  than  to  health  must  be  somewhat 
more  carefully  expounded.     I  wish  you  to  be 
attentive;  the  Lord  will  aid  us,  so  that  I  may 
fitly    speak,    and    that   you    may    sufficiently 
hear.     The  number  forty  is  commended  to 
our  attention  as  one  consecrated  by  a  kind  of 
perfection.     This,  I  suppose,  is  well  known  to 
you,    beloved.       The    Holy    Scriptures  very 
often  testify  to  the  fact.     Fasting  was  conse 
crated  by  this  number,  as  you  are  well  aware. 
For  Moses   fasted   forty  days,  and   Elias  as 
many;  and  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ 
did  Himself  fulfill  this  number  of  fasting.    By 
Moses    is    signified    the    law;    by    Elias,   the 
prophets;  by  the  Lord,  the  gospel.     It  was 
for  this  reason  that  these  three  appeared  on 
that  mountain,  where  He  showed  Himself  to 
His  disciples  in  the  brightness  of  His  coun 
tenance  and   vesture.     For  He   appeared   in 
the  middle,  between  Moses  and  Elias,  as  the 


gospel  had  witness  from  the  law  and  the  pro 
phets.3  Whether,  therefore,  in  the  law,  or  in 

;  the  prophets,  or  in  the  gospel,  the  number 
forty  is  commended  to  our  attention  in  the 

'  case  of  fasting.  Now  fasting,  in  its  large  and 
general  sense,  is  to  abstain  from  the  iniquities 

1  and  unlawful  pleasures  of  the  world,  which  is 
perfect  fasting:  "  That,  denying  ungodliness 
and  worldly  lusts,  we  may  live  temperately, 
and  righteously,  and  godly  in  this  present 
world."  What  reward  does  the  apostle  join 
to  this  fast?  He  goes  on  to  say:  "Looking 
for  that  blessed  hope,  and  the  appearing  of 
the  glory  of  the  blessed  God,  and  our  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ."3  In  this  world,  then,  we 
celebrate,  as  it  were,  the  forty  days'  absti- 

I  nence,  when  we  live  aright,  and  abstain  from 
iniquities  and  from  unlawful  pleasures.  But 
because  this  abstinence  shall  not  be  without 
reward,  we  look  for  "that  blessed  hope,  and 
the  revelation  of  the  glory  of  the  great  God, 
and  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ."  In  that 
hope,  when  the  reality  of  the  hope  shall  have 
come  to  pass,  we  shall  receive  our  wages,  a 
penny  {denarius}.  For  the  same  is  the  wages 
given  to  the  workers  laboring  in  the  vine 
yard,4  as  I  presume  you  remember;  for  we  are 
not  to  repeat  everything,  as  if  to  persons 
wholly  ignorant  and  inexperienced.  A  dena 
rius,  then,  which  takes  its  name  from  the 
number  ten,  is  given,  and  this  joined  with  the 
forty  makes  up  fifty;  whence  it  is  that  before 
Easter  we  keep  the  Quadragesima  with  labor, 
but  after  Easter  we  keep  the  Quinquagcsima 
with  joy,  as  having  received  our  wages.  Now 
to  this,  as  if  to  the  wholesome  labor  of  a  good 
work,  which  belongs  to  the  number  forty, 
there  is  added  the  denarius  of  rest  and  happi 
ness,  that  it  may  be  made  the  number  fifty. 
•  5.  The  Lord  Jesus  Himself  showed  this 
also  far  more  openly,  when  He  companied 
on  earth  with  His  disciples  during  forty 
days  after  His  resurrection;  and  having  on 
the  fortieth  day  ascended  into  heaven,  did  at 
the  end  of  ten  days  send  the  wages,  the  Holy 
Ghost.  These  were  done  in  signs,  and  by  a 
kind  of  signs  were  the  very  realities  antici 
pated.  By  significant  tokens  are  we  fed,  that 
we  may  be  able  to  come  to  the  enduring  reali 
ties.  We  are  workmen,  and  are  still  laboring 
in  the  vineyard :  when  the  day  is  ended  and  the 
work  finished,  the  wages  will  be  paid.  But 
what  workman  can  hold  out  to  the  receiving 

|  of  the  wages, unless  he  be  fed  while  he  labors  ? 

I  Even  thou  thyself  wilt  not  give  thy  workman 
only  wages;  wilt  thou  not  also  bestow  on  him 
that  where  with  he  may  repair  his  strength 
in  his  labor?  Surely  thou  feedest  him  to 


TRACTAII    XVII  | 


<  >\   i  in:  (insi'i.L  o]   ST.  JOHN 


whom  thou  art  to  give  waives.  In  like  manner 
also  dotli  tin.-  Lord,  in  tlmse  significant  tokens 
of  the  Scriptures,  feed  MS  while  we  labor.  Lor 
if  that  joy  in  understanding  holy  mysteries 
IK-  withdrawn  lr<>m  us.  we  faint  in  labor,  and 
there  will  be  none  to  come  to  the  reward. 

6.  How,  then,  is  work  perfected  in  the 
number  forty?  The  reason,  it  may  be,  is, 
because  the  law  was  given  in  ten  precepts, 
and  was  to  be  preached  throughout  the  whole 
world:  which  whole  world,  we  are  to  mark,  is 
made  up  of  four  quarters,  east  and  west, 
south  and  north,  whence  the  number  ten, 
multiplied  by  four,  comes  to  forty.  Or,  it  may 
be,  because  the  law  is  fulfilled  by  the  gospel, 
which  has  four  books:  for  in  the  gospel  it  is 
said,  "  I  came  not  to  destroy  the  law,  but  to 
fulfill  it.''  Whether,  then,  it  be  for  this  rea 
son  or  for  that,  or  for  some  other  more  pro 
bable,  which  is  hid  from  us,  but  not  from 
more  learned  men;  certain  it  is,  however,  that 
in  the  number  forty  a  certain  perfection  in 
good  works  is  signified,  which  good  works  are 
most  of  all  practised  by  a  kind  of  abstinence 
from  unlawful  lusts  of  the  world,  that  is,  by 
fasting  in  the  general  sense. 

Hear  also  the  apostle  when  he  says,  "  Love 
is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law."1  Whence  the 
love?  By  the  grace  of  God,  by  the  Holy 
Spirit.  For  we  could  not  have  it  from  our 
selves,  as  if  making  it  for  ourselves.  It  is  the 
gift  of  God,  and  a  great  gift  it  is:  for,  saith 
he,  "the  love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in  our 
hearts  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  is  given  to 
us."1  Wherefore  love  completes  the  law, 
and  most  truly  it  is  said,  "  Love  is  the  per 
fecting  of  the  law. ' '  Let  us  inquire  as  to  this 
love,  in  what  manner  the  Lord  doth  com 
mend  it  to  our  consideration.  Remember 
what  I  laid  down:  I  want  to  explain  the  num 
ber  thirty-eight  of  the  years  of  that  impotent 
man,  why  that  number  thirty-eight  is  one  of 
weakness  rather  than  of  health.  Now,  as  I 
was  saying,  love  fulfills  the  law.  The  number 
forty  belongs  to  the  perfecting  of  the  law  in 
all  works;  but  in  love  two  precepts  are  com 
mitted  to  our  keeping.  Keep  before  your 
eyes,  I  beseech  you,  and  fix  in  your  memory, 
what  I  say;  be  ye  not  despisers  of  the  word, 
that  your  soul  may  not  become  a  trodden  path, 
where  the  seed  cast  cannot  sprout,  "  and  the 
fowls  of  the  air  will  come  and  gather  it  up.'' 
Apprehend  it,  and  lay  it  up  in  your  hearts. 
The  precepts  of  love,  given  to  us  by  the  Lord, 
are  two:  "Thou  shah  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  sold,  and 
with  all  thy  mind;'*  and,  "Thou  shall  love 
thy  neighbor  as  thyself.  On  these  two  com- 

1  Horn.  x.  10.  :  Rum.  v.  5. 


mandments    hang    all    the    law    and    the    pro- 
:i   did    the    widow 

•wo  mites,"  all    her  substance,  into  the 
offerings  ot    God:  with  good   reason   did   the 
ike    "two"  pieces   of  money,  for  the 
poor  man  that  was  wounded  by  the  robbers, 
for  his  making  whole-  with  good  reason  did 
|  Jesus  spent  two  days  with  the  Samaritans,  to 
I  establish  them  in  love.     Thus,  whilst  a  cer- 
i  tain  good  tiling  is  generally  signified  by  this 
number  two,  most  especially  is  love  in  its  two 
fold  character  set   forth  to  us  thereby.     If, 
therefore,  the  number  forty  possesses  the  per 
fecting  of  the  law,  and  the  law  is  fulfilled  only 
j  in  the  twin   precepts  of  love,  why  dost  thou 
i  wonder  that  he  was  weak  and  sick,  who  was 
short  of  forty  by  two  ? 

7.  Therefore   let   us   now   see   the   sacred 
mystery  whereby  this  impotent  man  is  healed 
by  the  Lord.     The  Lord  Himself  came,  the 
Teacher  of  love,  full  of  love,  "shortening," 
as  it  was  predicted  of  Him,  "  the  word  upon 
the  earth,"  4  and  showed  that  the  law  and  the 
prophets  hang  on  two  precepts  of  love.     Upon 
these  hung  Moses  with  his  number  forty,  upon 
these  Elias  with  his;    and  the  Lord  brought 
in  this  number  in  His  testimony.     This  im 
potent  man  is  healed  by  the  Lord  in  person; 
but  before  healing  him,  what  does  He  say  to 
him?     "Wilt  thou  be  made  whole?"     The 
man  answered  that  he  had  not  a  man  to  put 
him  into  the  pool.     Truly  he  had  need  of  a 
"  man  "  to  his  healing,  but  that  "  man  "  one 
who  is  also  God.     "  For  there  is  one  God, 
and  one  Mediator  between  God  and  man,  the 
man  Christ  Jesus."5      He  came,  then,  the 
Man  who  was  needed:  why  should  the  heal- 

j  ing  be  delayed  ?     "Arise,"  saith  He;  "take 
up  thy  bed,  and  walk."     He  said  three  things: 
j  "Arise,  Take  up  thy  bed,  and  Walk."     But 
I  that   "Arise  "   was  not  a  command  to  do  a 
work,  but  the  operation  of  healing.     And  the 
man,    on   being   made   whole,    received    two 
commands:  "Take  up  thy  bed,  and  Walk." 
I  ask  you,  why  was   it  not  enough    to   say, 
I  "Walk?"     Or,  at  any  rate,  why  was  it  not 
enough  to  say,  "Arise  "?     For  when  the  man 
i  had  arisen  whole,  he  would  not  have  remained 
I  in  the  place.     Would  it  not  be  for  the  pur- 
!  pose  of  going  away  that  he  would  have  arisen? 
My  impression  is,  that  He  who  found  the  man 
lacking  two  things,  gave  him  these  two  pre 
cepts:   for,  by  ordering  him  to  do  two  things, 
it  is  as  if  He  filled  up  that  which  was  lacking. 

8.  How.  then,  do  we  find  the   two  pr 
of  love   indicated  in  t; 

the   Lord?     "Take   up  thy  bed,"  saith    He, 
"  and  walk."      What  the  two  precepts  are,  my 

^  M-it.  xxii.  ,57-40.        4  Iu.  x 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST 


[TK.U  IAII-    XVII. 


brethren,  recollect  with  me.  For  they  ought 
to  be  thoroughly  familiar  to  you,  and  not 
merely  to  come  into  your  mind  when  they  are 


without  soul  and  without  feeling.  The  Lord 
Himself,  even  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  is 
called  the  corner-stone,  to  build  up  two  in 


recited  by  us,  but  they  ought  never  to  be  Himself.  He  is  called  also  a  rock,  from  which 
blotted  out  from  your  hearts.  Let  it  ever  be  !  water  flowed  forth:  "And  that  rock  was 
your  supreme  thought,  that  you  must  love  Christ. " 4  What  wonder,  then,  if  Christ  is 


God  and  your  neighbor:  "God  with  all  thy 
heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy 
mind;  and  thy  neighbor  as  thyself/'  These 
must  always  be  pondered,  meditated, retained, 
practised,  and  fulfilled.  The  love  of  God 


called  rock,  that  neighbor  is  called  wood ' 
Yet  not  any  kind  of  wood  whatever;  as  neither 
that  was  any  kind  of  rock  soever,  but  one  from 
which  water  flowed  to  the  thirsty;  nor  any 
kind  soever  of  stone,  but  a  corner-stone,  which 


comes  first  in  the  order  of  enjoying;  but  in  in  itself  coupled  two  walls  coming  from  differ- 
the  order  of  doing,  the  love  of  our  neighbor  j  ent  directions.  So  neither  mayest  thou  take 
comes  first.  For  He  who  commanded  thee  |  thy  neighbor  to  be  wood  of  any  kind  soever, 
this  love  in  two  precepts  did  not  charge  thee  '  but  a  bed.  Then  what  is  there  in  a  bed,  pray? 
to  love  thy  neighbor  first,  and  then  God,  but  I  What,  but  that  the  impotent  man  was  borne 
first  God,  afterwards  thy  neighbor.  Thou,  on  it;  but,  when  made  whole,  he  carries  the 


however,  as  thou  dost  not  yet  see  God, 
dost  earn  to  see  Him  by  loving  thy  neigh 
bor;  by  loving  thy  neighbor  thou  purgest 
thine  eye  for  seeing  God,  as  John  evidently 
says,  "  If  thou  lovest  not  thy  brother  whom 
thou  seest,  how  canst  thou  love  God,  whom 
thou  dost  not  see?"1  See,  thou  art  told, 
"Love  God."  If  thou  say  to  me,  "Show 
me  Him,  that  I  may  love  Him;"  what 

shall  I  answer,  but  what  the  same  John  I  neighbor.  So  wilt  thou  fill  up,  O  man,  that 
saith:  "  No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time  "?  j  which  was  lacking  to  thee.  "  Take  up  thy 
And,  that  you  may  not  suppose  yourself  to  be  bed,  then."  But  when  thou  hast  taken  it  up, 
wholly  estranged  from  seeing  God,  he  saith,  stay  not  in  the  place;  "walk."  By  loving 
"  God  is  love;  and  he  that  dwelleth  in  love 
dwelleth  in  God."2  Therefore  love  thy 
neighbor;  look  at  the  source  of  thy  love  of 

thy  neighbor;  there  thou  wilt  see,  as  thou  love  with  the  whole  heart,  and  with  the  whole 
mayest,  God.  Begin,  then,  to  love  thy  neigh-  {  soul,  and  with  the  whole  mind  ?  For  we  are 
bor.  "  Break  thy  bread  to  the  hungry,  and  j  not  yet  come  to  the  Lord,  but  we  have  our 
bring  into  thy  house  him  that  is  needy  with-  neighbor  with  us.  Bear  him,  then,  when  thou 
out  shelter;  if  thou  seest  the  naked,  clothe  walkest,  that  thou  mayest  come  to  Him  with 
him;  and  despise  not  those  of  the  household  |  whom  thou  desirest  to  abide.  Therefore, 


bed?  What  does  the  apostle  say?  "Bear 
ye  one  another's  burdens,  and  so  shall  ye 
fulfill  the  law  of  Christ."5  Now  the  law  of 
Christ  is  love,  and  love  is  not  fulfilled  except 
we  bear  one  another's  burdens.  "  Forbear 
ing,"  saith  he,  "one  another  in  love,  endeavor 
ing  to  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond 
of  peace."  6  When  thou  wast  weak  thy  neigh 
bor  bore  thee;  thou  art  made  whole,  bear  thy 


thy  neighbor,  by  caring  for  thy  neighbor,  dost 
thou  perform  thy  going.  Whither  goest  thy 
way,  but  to  the  Lord  God,  whom  we  ought  to 


of  thy  seed.''  And  in  doing  this,  what  wilt 
thou  get  in  consequence?  "Then  shall  thy 
light  break  forth  as  the  morning  light. ' ' 3  Thy 
light  is  thy  God,  a  "  morning  light  "  to  thee, 


"  take  up  thy  bed,  and  walk." 

10.  The  man  did  this,  and  the  Jews  were 
offended.  For  they  saw  a  man  carrying  his 
bed  on  the  Sabbath-day,  and  they  did  not 


because  He  shall  come  to  thee  after  the  night)  blame  the  Lord  for  healing  him  on  the  Sab- 


of  this  world:  for  He  neither  rises  nor  sets, 
because  He  is  ever  abiding.  He  will  be  a 
morning  light  to  thee  on  thy  return,  He  who 
had  set  for  thee  on  thy  falling  away  from 
Him.  Therefore,  in  this  "  Take  up  thy  bed," 
He  seems  to  me  to  have  said,  Love  thy  neigh 
bor. 

9.  But  why  the  love  of  our  neighbor  is  set 
forth  by  the  taking  up  of  the  bed,  is  still  shut 
up,  and,  as  I  suppose,  needs  to  be  expounded: 
unless,  perhaps,  it  offend  us  that  our  neighbor 


bath,  that  He  should  be  able  to  answer  them, 
that  if  any  of  them  had  a  beast  fallen  into  a 
well,  he  would  surely  draw  it  out  on  the  Sab 
bath-day,  and  save  his  beast;  and  so,  now 
they  did  not  object  to  Him  that  a  man  was 
made  whole  on  the  Sabbath-day,  but  that  the 
man  was  carrying  his  bed.  But  if  the  heal 
ing  was  not  to  be  deferred,  should  a  work  also 
have  been  commanded  ?  "  It  is  not  lawful  for 
thee,"  say  they,  to  do  what  thou  art  doing, 
"  to  take  up  thy  bed."  And  he,  in  defence, 


should   be   indicated   by   means   of  a  bed,  a   put  the  author  of  his  healing  before  his  cen- 


stolid,  senseless  thing.      Let  not  my  neighbor 
be  angry  if  he  be  set  forth  to  us  by  a  thing 


sors,  saying,  "  He  that  made  me  whole,  the 
same  said  unto  me,  Take   up  thy  bed,  and 


i  John 


.7,8. 


i  Cor.  x.  4. 


5  Gal.  vi.  2. 


TK  \<  i  \IK    XVII.  | 


ON    l  ill    GOSPEL  Of   ST.  JOHN 


115 


walk."      Should    I    not   take   injunction   from 
him    from    whom    I    received    healing?     And 
ml,  "  Who   is  the   man  that  said   unto 
thee,  Take  up  thy  bed,  and  walk  ?  " 

11.  "  But   he  that  was   made   whole    knew 
not  who  it  was  "  that  had  said  this  to  him. 
41  For  Jesus,"  when   He  had  done  this,  and 
given  him  this  order,  "  turned  away  from  him 
in  the  crowd."     See  how  this  also  is  fulfilled. 
U  <   hear  our  neighbor,  and  walk  towards  God; 
but  Him,  to  whom  we  are  walking,  we  do  not 
yet  see:  for  that  reason  also,  that  man  did 
not  yet  know  Jesus.     The  mystery  herein  in 
timated  to   us   is,  that   we    believe    on    Him 
whom  we  do  not  yet  see;  and  that  He  may 
not  be  seen,  He  turns  aside  in  the  crowd.      It 
is  difficult  in  a  crowd  to  see  Christ:  a  certain 
solitude   is  necessary   for  our  mind;  it  is  by 
a  certain  solitude  of  contemplation  that  God 
is  seen.     A  crowd  has  noise;  this  seeing  re 
quires  secrecy.     "  Take  up  thy  bed  " — being 
thyself  borne,  bear  thy  neighbor;  "  and  walk," 
that  thou  mayest  come  to  the  goal.     Do  not 
seek  Christ  in  a  crowd:  He  is  not  as  one  of 
a  crowd;  He  excels  all  crowd.     That  great 
fish  first  ascended  from  the  sea,  and  He  sits 
in  heaven  making  intercession  for  us:  as  the 
great  high  priest  He  entered  alone  into  that 
within  the  veil;    the  crowd   stands    without 
Do  thou  walk,  bearing  thy  neighbor:  if  thou 
hast  learned  to  bear,  thou,  who  wast  wont  to 
be  borne.     In  a  word,  even  now  as  yet  thou 
knowest  not  Jesus,  not  yet  seest  Jesus:  what 
follows  thereafter?     Since  that  man  desisted 
not  from  taking   up    his   bed    and    walking, 
"  Jesus  seeth  him  afterwards  in  the  temple." 
He  did  not  see  Jesus  in  the  crowd,  he  saw 
Him  in  the  temple.     The  Lord  Jesus,  indeed, 
saw  him  both  in. the  crowd  and  in  the  temple; 
but  the  impotent  man  does  not  know  Jesus 
in  the  crowd,  but  he  knows  Him  in  the  tem 
ple.     The  man  came  then  to  the  Lord:  saw 
Him  in  the  temple,  saw  Him  in  a  consecrated, 
saw  Him  in  a  holy  place.     And  what  does  the 
Lord  say  to  him?     "  Behold,  thou  art  made 
whole;    sin  no  more,  lest   some  worse  thing 
befall  thee." 

12.  The  man.   then,   after  he   saw  Jesus, 
and  knew  Him  to  be  the  author  of  his  heal 
ing,  was  not  slothful  in  preaching  Him  whom 
he   had   seen:   "He   departed,   and  told  the 
Jews  that   it  was  Jesus  that  had   made  him 
whole."     He    brought  them  word,  and  they 
were  mad  against  him;  lie  preached  his  own 
salvation,  they  sought  not  their  own  salvation. 

13.  The    Jews   persecuted  the   Lord  Jesus 
because  He  did  these  tilings  on  the  Sabbath- 
day.      Let  us  hear  what  answer  the  Lord  now 
made  to  the  Jews.      I  have  told  you   how  He 
is  wont   to  answer  concerning  the   healing  of 


j  men  on  the   Sabbath-day,  t  , 

on  the  Sabbath-day  to  slight  their 
I  either  in  delivering  or  :n  feeding  them. 
j  does  He  answer  concerning  the  carrying  of 

the  l>ed?  A  manifest  corporal  work  was  done 
I  before  the  eyes  of  the  Jews;  not  a  healing  of 
I  the  body,  but  a  bodily  work,  which  appr.m.i 
'  not  so  necessary  as  the  healing.  Let  the 
I  Lord,  then,  openly  declare  that  the  sacrament 

of  the  Sabbath,  even  the  sign  of  keeping  one 
!  day,  was  given  to  the  Jews  for  a  time,  but 
|  that  the  fulfillment  of  the  sacrament  had  come 
i  in  Himself.  "My  Father,"  saith  He, 

"  worketh  hitherto,  and  I  work."  He  sent  a 
i  great  commotion  among  them:  the  water  is 

troubled  by  the  coming  of  the  Lord,  but  yet 
|  He  that  troubles  is  not  seen.  Yet  one  great 
i  sick  one  is  to  be  healed  by  the  troubled  water, 
!  the  whole  world  by  the  death  of  the  Lord. 

14.  Let  us  see,  then,  the  answer  made  by 
|  the   Truth:    "My  Father  worketh  hitherto, 
j  and   I  work."      Is  it   false,  then,   which  the 

Scripture  has  said,  that  4<  God  rested  from  all 
His  works  on  the  seventh  day"  ?  And  does 
the  Lord  Jesus  speak  contrary  to  this  Scrip 
ture  ministered  by  Moses,  whilst  He  Himself 
says  to  the  Jews,  "  If  ye  believed  Moses,  ye 
would  believe  me;  for  He  wrote  of  me"? 

i  See,  then,  whether  Moses  did  not  mean  it  to 
be  significant  of  something  that  "  God  rested 

[  on  the  seventh  day."  For  God  had  not  be 
come  wearied  in  doing  the  work  of  His  own 

I  creation,  and  needed  rest  as  a  man.  How  can 
He  have  been  wearied,  who  made  by  a  word  ? 
Yet  is  both  that  true,  that  "  God  rested  from 
His  works  on  the  seventh  day;"  and  this 
also  is  true  that  Jesus  saith,  "  My  Father 
worketh  hitherto."  But  who  can  unfold  it  in 
words,  man  to  men,  weak  to  weak,  unlearned 
to  them  that  seek  to  learn;  and  if  he  chance 
to  understand  somewhat,  unable  to  bring  it 
forth  and  unfold  it  to  men,  who  with  diffi- 

j  culty,  it  maybe,  r      ive   it,  even   if  what  is 

I  received  can  possi  •  be  unfolded  ?  Who,  I 
say,  my  brethren,  can  unfold  in  words  how 
God  both  works  while  at  rest,  and  rests  while 
working?  I  pray  you  to  put  this  matter  off 
while  you  are  advancing  on  the  way;  for  this 
seeing  requires  the  temple  of  God,  requires 
the  holy  place.  Bear  your  neighbor,  and 
walk.  Ye  shall  see  Him  in  that  place  where 
ye  shall  not  require  the  words  of  men. 

15.  Perhaps  we  can  more  aporopriate 
this,  that  in  the  saying,  4<God  rested  on  the 
seventh  day,"  he  signified  by  a  great  n: 

rd  and  our  Saviour    Jesus  Christ  Him 
self,  who  spoke  and  said,  "  My  Father  worketh 
hitherto,  and   I  work."      For  the   I. on: 
is,  of  oo!ir>e.  (lo<i.       1  *rd  of 

God,  and  you  have  heard  that  "  in  the  begin- 


Tl6 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  XVII. 


ning  was  the  Word;  "  and  not  any  word  what 
soever,  but  "the  Word  was  (iod,  and  all 
things  were  made  by  Him."  Me  was  perhaps 
signified  as  about  to  rest  on  the  seventh  day 
from  all  His  works.  For,  read  the  Gospel, 
and  see  what  great  works  Jesus  wrought.  He 


than  men  do.  Behold,  the  Jews  understand 
what  the  Arians  do  not  understand.  The 
Arians,  in  fact,  say  that  the  Son  is  not  equal 
with  the  Father,  and  hence  it  is  that  the 
heresy  was  driven  from  the  Church.  Lo,  the 


very  blind,  the  very  slayers  of  Christ,   still 

wrought  our  salvation  on  the  cross,  that  all  !  understood  the  words  of  Christ.  They  did 
things  foretold  by  the  prophets  might  be  ful-  j  not  understand  Him  to  be  Christ,  nor  did  they 
filled  in  Him.  He  was  crowned  with  thorns;  j  understand  Him  to  be  the  Son  of  God:  but 
He  hung  on  the  tree;  said,  "I  thirst,"  re- j  they  did  nevertheless  understand  that  in  these 
ceived  vinegar  on  a  sponge,  that  it  might  be  j  words  such  a  Son  of  (iod  was  intimated  to 
fulfilled  which  was  said,  "And  in  my  thirst  them  as  should  be  equal  with  God.  Who  He 
they  gave  me  vinegar  to  drink, " '  And  when  was  they  knew  not;  still  they  did  acknowledge 
all  His  works  were  completed,  on  the  sixth  such  a  One  to  be  declared,  in  that  "  He  said 
day  of  the  week,  He  bowed  His  head  and  gave 
up  the  ghost,  and  on  the  Sabbath-day  He 
rested  in  the  tomb  from  all  His  works. 
Therefore  it  is  as  if  He  said  to  the  Jews, 
"Why  do  ye  expect  that  I  should  not  work 

on  the  Sabbath  ?  The  Sabbath-day  was  or-  bery.  For  he  who  wished  to  make  himself 
dained  for  you  for  a  sign  of  me.  You  observe  equal  with  God,  whilst  he  was  not  so,  fell, 
the  works  of  God:  I  was  there  when  they  land  of  an  angel  became  a  devil,3  and  ad- 
were  made,  by  me  were  they  all  made;  I  j  ministered  to  man  that  cup  of  pride  by  which 


God  was  His  Father,  making  Himself  equal 
with  God."  Was  He  not  therefore  equal  with 
God  ?  He  did  not  make  Himself  equal,  but 
the  Father  begat  Him  equal.  Were  He  to 
make  Himself  equal,  He  would  fall  by  rob- 


know  them.  *  My  Father  worketh  hitherto.' 
The  Father  made  the  light,  but  He  spoke 
that  there  should  be  light;  if  He  spoke,  it  was 
by  His  Word  He  made  it:  His  Word  I  was,  I 
am;  by  me  was  the  world  made  in  those  works, 
by  me  the  world  is  ruled  in  these  works.  My 
Father  worked  when  He  made  the  world,  and 
hitherto  now  worketh  while  He  rules  the 
world:  therefore  by  me  He  made  when  He 
made,  and  by  me  He  rules  while  He  rules." 
This  He  said,  but  to  whom?  To  men  deaf, 
blind,  lame,  impotent,  not  acknowledging  the 
physician,  and  as  if  in  a  frenzy  they  had  lost 
their  wits,  wishing  to  slay  Him. 

1 6.  Further,  what  said  the  evangelist  as  he 
went  on  ?  "Therefore  the  Jews  sought  the 
more  to  kill  Him,  because  He  not  only  broke 


himself  was  cast  down.  For  this  fallen  said 
to  man,  envying  his  standing,  "  Taste,  and  ye 
shall  be  as  gods;"3  that  is,  seize  to  your 
selves  by  usurpation  that  which  ye  are  not 
made,  for  I  also  have  been  cast  down  by  rob 
bery.  He  did  not  put  forth  this,  but  this  is 
what  he  persuaded  to.  Christ,  however,  was 
begotten  equal  to  the  Father,  not  made;  be 
gotten  of  the  substance  of  the  Father. 
Whence  the  apostle  thus  declares  Him: 
"  Who,  being  in  the  form  of  God,  thought  it 
not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God."  What 
means  '  'thought  it  not  robbery  "  ?  He  usurped 
not  equality  with  God,  but  was  in  that  equality 
in  which  He  was  begotten.  And  how  were 
we  to  come  to  the  equal  God  ?.  "  He  emptied 
Himself,  taking  upon  Him  the  form  of  a  ser- 


the  Sabbath,  but  said  also  that  God  was  His  vant.''5  ButHe  emptied  Himself  not  by  losing 
Father;"  not  in  any  ordinary  manner,  but '  what  He  was,  but  by  taking  to  Him  what  He 
how?  "  Making  Himself  equal  with  God.'1 1  was  not.  The  Jews,  despising  this  form  of  a 
For  we  all  say  to  God,  "Our  Father  which  j  servant,  could  not  understand  the  Lord  Christ 
art  in  heaven;"  we  read  also  that  the  Jews  [  equal  to  the  Father,  although  they  had  not  the 
said,  "Seeing  Thou  art  our  Father."  2!  least  doubt  that  He  affirmed  this  of  Himself, 


Therefore  it  was  not  for  this  they  were  angry, 
because  He  said  that  God  was  His  Father, 
but  because  He  said  it  in  quite  another  way 


and  therefore  were  they  enraged:  and  yet 
He  still  bore  with  them,  and  sought  the  heal 
ing  of  them,  while  they  raged  against  Him. 


5  Phil.  ii.  6. 


ii     \V1M.I 


:  III    .,<  fcPEL  "I    ST.  Ji  >ll\. 


"7 


TRACTATE  XVIII 


(  'H  \ri  i  i:   Y 


i.  JOHN  the  evangelist,  among  his  fellows  I  ing,  and  defer  the  understanding  of  it  fora 
.-UK!  companions  the  other  evangelists,  re- 'time;  that  is,  even  if  we  do  not  yet  know 
ceivcd  this  special  and  peculiar  gift  from  the  what  it  is,  that  still  we  doubt  not  in  the  least 
Lord  (on  whose  breast  he  reclined  at  the  j  that  it  is  good  and  true.  And  as  for  me, 
i'-a*t.  hereby  to  signify  that  he  was  drinking  brethren,  you  must  consider  who  I  am  that 
deeper  secrets  from  His  inmost  heart),  to  undertake  to  speak  to  you,  and  what  I  have 
utter  those  things  concerning  the  Son  of  God  undertaken:  for  I  have  taken  upon  me  to 
which  may  perhaps  rouse  the  attentive  minds  treat  of  things  divine,  being  a  man;  of  spirit- 
of  the  little  ones,  but  cannot  fill  them,  as  yet ,  ual  things,  being  carnal;  of  things  eternal, 
not  capable  of  receiving  them;  while  to  minds  I  being  a  mortal.  Also  from  me,  dearly  be- 
of  somewhat  larger  growth,  and  coming  to  a  loved,  far  be  vain  presumption,  if  my  conver- 
certain  age  of  inner  manhood,  he  gives  in  sation  would  be  sound  in  the  house  of  God, 
these  words  something  whereby  they  may  "  which  is  the  Church  of  the  living  God,  the 
both  be  exercised  and  fed.  You  have  heard  pillar  and  foundation  of  the  truth."1  In  pro- 
it  when  it  was  read,  and  you  remember  how;  portion  to  my  measure  I  take  what  I  put  be- 
this  discourse  arose.  For  yesterday  it  was  fore  you:  where  it  is  o|>ened,  I  see  with  you; 
read,  that  "  therefore  the  Jews  sought  to  kill  where  it  is  shut,  I  knock  with  you. 
Jesus,  because  He  not  only  broke  the  Sab-  2.  Now  the  Jews  were  moved  and  indig- 
bath,  but  also  said  that  God  was  His  Father,  nant:  justly,  indeed,  because  a  man  dired  to 
making  Himself  equal  with  God."  This  that  make  himself  equal  with  God;  but  unjustly  in 
displeased  the  Jews,  pleased  the  Father.  !  this,  because  in  the  man  they  understood  not 
This,  without  doubt,  pleases  them  too  that '  the  God.  They  saw  the  flesh,  the  God  they 
honor  the  Son  as  they  honor  the  Father;  for  knew  not;  they  observed  the  habitation,  of  the 
if  it  does  not  please  them,  they  will  not  be  inhabitant  they  were  ignorant.  That  flesh  was 
pleasing.  For  God  will  not  be  greater  be-  a  temple,  within  it  dwelt  God.  It  was  not  the 
cause  it  pleases  thee,  but  thou  wilt  be  less  if  j  flesh  that  Jesus  made  equal  to  the  Father,  it 
it  displeases  thee.  Now  against  this  calumny  I  was  not  the  form  of  a  servant  that  He  com- 
of  theirs,  coming  either  of  ignorance  or  of  pared  to  the  Lord;  not  that  which  He  became 
malice,  the  Lord  speaks  not  at  all  what  they  i  for  us,  but  that  which  He  was  when  He  made 
can  understand,  but  that  whereby  they  may  us.  For  who  Christ  is  (I  speak  to  Catholics) 
be  agitated  and  troubled,  and,  on  being  you  know,  because  you  have  rightly  believed; 


troubled,  it  may  be,  seek  the  Physician. 
And  He  uttered  what  should  be  written,  that 
it  might  afterwards  be  read  even  by  us.  Now 


not  Word  only,  nor  flesh  only,  but  the  Word 
was  made  flesh  to  dwell  among  us.  I  recite 
again  concerning  the  Word  what  you  know: 


we  have  seen  what  happened  in  the  hearts  of  j  "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the 
the  Jews  when  they  heard  these  words;  what ,  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God:  " 
happens  in  ourselves  when  we  henr  them,  let ,  here  is  equality  with  the  Father.  But  "the 
us  more  fully  consider.  For  heresies,  and  Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us." 


certain  tenets  of  perversity,  ensnaring  souls 
and    hurling   them   into  the  deep,    have    not 


Than  this  flesh  the  Father  is  greater.  Thus 
the  Father  is  both  equal  and  greater;  equal 


sprung  up  except  when  good  Scriptures  are  :  to  the  Word,  greater  than  the  flesh;  equal  to 
not  rightly  understood,  and  when  that  in  them  |  Him  by  whom  He  made  us,  greater  than  He 
which  is  not  rightly  understood  is  rashly  and  |  who  was  made  for  us.  By  this  sound  catholic 
boldly  asserted.  And  so,  dearly  beloved,  j  rule,  which  you  ought  particularly  to  know, 
ought  we  very  cautiously  to  hear  those  things  j  which  you  who  know  it  hold  fast,  from  which 
for  the  understanding  of  which  we  are  but  lit-  your  faith  ought  not  in  any  case  to  slip,  which 
tie  ones,  and  that,  too,  with  pious  he;irt  and  is  to  be  wrested  from  your  heart  by  no  argu- 
with  trembling,  as  it  is  written,  holding  this  ments  of  men,  let  us  measure  the  thir. 
rule  of  soundness,  that  we  rejoice  as  in  food  do  understand;  and  the  tilings  which,  it  may 
in  that  which  we  have  been  able  to  under-  be,  we  do  not  understand,  let  us  defer,  to  l>e 
stand,  according  to  the  faith  with  which  we  hereafter  measured  l.y  this  rule,  wneii  we 
are  imbued;  and  what  we  have  not  yet  been 
able  to  understand,  that  we  lay  aside  doubt-  ,  ,  Tim. ;;,.  , 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.    A I  GUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  XVIII. 


shall  be  competent  to  do  this.  We  know 
Him,  then,  as  equal  to  the  Father,  the  Son  of 
God,  because  we  know  Him  in  the  beginning 
as  God  the  Word.  Why,  then,  sought  the 
Jews  to  slay  Him?  "  Because  He  not  only 
broke  the  Sabbath,  but  also  said  that  God  was 
His  Father,  making  Himself  equal  with  God: '' 
seeing  the  flesh,  not  seeing  the  Word.  Let 
Him  therefore  speak  against  them,  the  Word 
through  the  flesh;  let  Him,  the  dweller  within, 
speak  for  through  His  dwelling-place,  that 
whoso  can,  shall  know  who  He  is  that  dwells 
within. 

What  saith  He  then  to  them  ?  "  Then  an 
swered  Jesus,  and  said  unto  them,"  being 
indignant  because  He  made  Himself  equal 
with  God,  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you, 
The  Son  cannot  do  anything  of  Himself,  but 
what  He  seeth  the  Father  doing."  What  the 
Jews  answered  to  these  words  is  not  written: 
and  perhaps  they  said  nothing.  Certain, 
however,  who  wish  to  be  esteemed  Christians, 
are  not  silent,  but  from  these  words  somehow 
conceive  certain  opinions  in  contradiction  to 
us,  which  are  not  to  be  despised,  both  for 
their  and  for  our  sakes.  The  Arian  heretics, 
namely,  while  they  assert  that  the  Son,  who 
took  upon  Himself  flesh, is  less  than  the  Father, 
not  by  the  flesh,  but  before  taking  flesh,  and 
not  of  the  same  substance  as  the  Father,  take 
a  handle  of  misrepresentation  from  these 
words,  and  reply  to  us:  "  You  see  that  the 
Lord  Jesus,  observing  the  Jews  to  be  moved 
with  indignation  at  his  making  himself  equal 
to  God  the  Father,  subjoined  such  words  as 
these,  to  show  that  he  was  not  equal  with 
God.  For  the  Jews,"  say  they,  "were  pro 
voked  against  Christ,  because  he  made  him 
self  equal  with  God;  and  Christ,  wishing  to 
cure  them  of  this  impression,  and  to  show 
them  that  the  Son  is  not  equal  to  the  Father, 
that  is,  to  God,  saith  this,  as  if  he  said,  Why 
are  ye  <ingry  ?  Why  are  ye  indignant  ?  I  am 
not  equal  to  God,  since  '  the  Son  cannot  do 
anything  of  himself,  except  what  he  seeth  the 
Father  doing.'  Now,"  say  they,  "he  who 
'  cannot  do  anything  of  himself,  but  what  he 
seeth  the  Father  doing/  is  surely  less,  not 
equal." 

4.  In  this  distorted  and  depraved  rule  of 
his  own  heart,  let  the  heretic  hear  us,  not  as  yet 
chiding,  but  still  as  it  were  inquiring,  and  let 
him  explain  to  us  what  he  thinks.  For,  I 
suppose,  whoever  thou  art  (for  we  may  re 
gard  him  as  here  present  in  person),  thou 
dost  hold  with  us,  that  "  in  the  beginning 
was  the  Word."  I  do  hold  it,  saith  he. 
And  that  "  the  Word  was  with  God  "  ?  This 
too.  saith  he,  I  hold.  Proceed  then,  and 
hold  the  stronger  saying  that  follows,  that 


"  the  Word  was  God."  Even  this,  says  he,  I 
hold:  but  yet,  this,  God  the  greater;  that, 
God  the  less.  Now  this  somehow  smells  of 
the  pagan:  I  thought  I  was  speaking  with  a 
Christian.  If  there  is  God  the  greater,  and 
God  the  less,  then  we  worship  two  Gods,  not 
one  God.  Why,  saith  he;  dost  not  thou,  too, 
affirm  two  Gods,  equal  the  one  to  the  other? 
This  I  do  not  assert:  for  I  understand  this 
equality  as  implying  therein  also  undivided 
love;  and  if  undivided  love,  tnen  perfect 
unity.  For  if  the  love  that  God  put  in  men 
doth  make  of  many  hearts  of  men  one  heart, 
and  doth  make  many  souls  of  men  into  one 
soul,  as  it  is  written  of  them  that  believed  and 
mutually  loved  one  another,  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  "  They  had  one  soul  and  one  heart 
toward  God:  "'  if,  therefore,  my  soul  and  thy 
soul  become  one  soul,  when  we  think  the 
same  thing  and  love  one  another,  how  much 
more  must  God  the  Father  and  God  the  Son 
be  one  God  in  the  fountain  of  love  ! 

5.  But  to  these  words,  by  which  thy  heart 
is  disturbed,  bend  thy  thought,  and  reflect 
with  me  on  that  which  we  were  seeking  out 
concerning  the  Word.  We  already  hold  that 
"the  Word  was  God:"  I  join  to  this 
another  thing,  that,  having  said,  "  This  was 
in  the  beginning  with  God,"  the  evangelist 
immediately  subjoined,  "  All  things  were 
made  by  Him."  Now  will  I  urge  thee  by 
questioning,  now  will  I  move  thee  against 
thyself,  and  sue  thee  against  thyself:  only 
keep  this  in  memory  concerning  the  Word, 
that  "  the  Word  was  God,  and  all  things  were 
made  by  Him."  Hear  now  the  words  by 
which  thou  wast  moved  to  assert  that  the  Son 
is  less,  forsooth,  because  He  said,  "  The  Son 
cannot  of  Himself  do  anything,  but  what  He 
seeth  the  Father  doing. "  Just  so,  saith  he. 
Explain  to  me  this  a  little:  This  is,  I  pre 
sume,  how  thou  thinkest:  that  the  Father 
doeth  certain  things,  and  the  Son  observes 
how  the  Father  doeth,  that  He  may  also 
Himself  be  able  to  do  those  things  which  He 
seeth  the  Father  doing.  Thou  hast  set  up 
two  artisans,  as  it  were:  the  Father  and  the 
Son  just  like  master  and  learner,  like  as  arti 
san  fathers  are  wont  to  teach  their  sons  their 
craft.  Behold,  I  come  down  to  thy  carnal 
sense:  for  the  moment  I  think  as  thou  doest: 
let  us  see  if  this  our  conception  finds  an  issue 
in  harmony  with  the  things  which  we  have 
just  now  alike  spoken  and  alike  hold  regard 
ing  the  Word,  that  "  the  Word  was  God,"  and 
that  "all  things  were  made  by  Him."  Sup 
pose,  then,  the  Father,  as  an  artisan,  doing 
certain  works,  and  the  Son  as  a  learner,  who 


TKACTATI    \\  ui.| 


ON  TIII:  ( ,<  >si'F,i.  ( »!••  si.   |(  >n\. 


119 


He    seeth    the    Father    doing:"     II.- 
watches,    in    a    manner,    the    I-'ather's 


keenly 
hands, 


"  cannot   of    Himself  do   anything,    l.nt    what    comes    first,   tin-   doing    foll.)\vs:    He   seeth    in 

«>rdrr  to  do.  Asfof  thec,  u  ...  s, ,  ;.,  -,t  thou  at 
present  to  know  how  He  do'etli.  whilst  thou 
understandestnot  asyet  how  i 
rtmnest  thou  to  that  which  comes  later,  leav 
ing  that  which  comes  first?  He  declares 
Himself  as  seeing  and  doing,  not  doing  and 
seeing;  because  "He  cannot  of  Himself  do 
anything,  hut  what  He  seeth  the  Father  do- 
ing."  Wilt  thou  that  I  explain  to  thee  how 


that,  as  He  seeth  Him  fashioning  aught,  so 
He  may  Himself  in  like  manner  fashion 
.something  similar  by  His  own  works.  But 
tin-  Father  here  doet'u  all  those  things  that 
He  doeth,  and  wishes  the  Son  to  give  heed  to 
Him,  and  to  do  the  like  also  Himself;  by 
whom  doeth  the  Father  ?  Come  !  now  is  the 
time  for  thee  to  stand  to  thy  former  opinion, 
which  thou  didst  recite  with  me,  and  didst 
hold  with  me,  that  "  in  the  beginning  was  the 


He  doeth? 
seeth.       If 


Do  thou  explain  to  me  how  He 
thou    canst     not    explain    this, 


neither  can  I  that.     If  thou  art  not  yet  com- 


Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the   petent  to  understand  this,  neither  am  I  to  un 


Word  was  God,  anil 
Him."      But  thou, 


all  things  were  made  by   derstand  that.     Wherefore  let  each  of  us  seek, 


after   holding   with  me, 


that  all  things  were  made  by  the  Word,  dost 
again,  with  thy  carnal  wit  and  childish  fancy, 
imagine  with  thyself  God  making  something, 
and  the  Word  giving  heed;  so  that  when  God 
has  made,  the  Word  also  may  make  the  like. 
Now,  what  does  God  make  without  the  Word  ? 
For  if  He  doeth  aught,  then  were  not  all 
things  made  by  the  Word;  thou  hast  given  up 
the  position  which  thou  didst  hold.  But  if 
all  things  were  made  by  the  Word,  correct 
what  thou  didst  understand  amiss.  The 
Father  made,  and  made  only  by  the  Word:  in 
what  way  does  the  Word  give  heed  to  see  the 


each  knock,  that  each  may  merit  to  receive. 
Why  dost  thou,  as  if  thou  wert  learned,  un 
justly  blame  me  who  am  unlearned  ?  I  in  re 
spect  of  the  doing,  thou  in  respect  of  the  see 
ing,  being  both  unlearned,  let  us  inquire  of 
the  Master,  not  childishly  wrangle  in  His 
school.  We  have  already,  however,  learned 
together  that  "all  things  were  made  by 
Him."  Therefore  it  is  manifest  that  it  is  not 
a  different  kind  of  works  that  the  Father 
doeth,  that,  seeing  them,  the  Son  may  do 
other  works  like  them;  but  the  very  same 
doeth  the  Father  by  the  Son,  because  all 
things  were  made  by  the  Word.  Now,  as  to 


Father  making  without  the  Word,  what  the  h<m>  God  doeth,  who  knows  ?  How  made  He, 
Word  may  do  in  like  manner?  Whatever  the  I  will  not  say  the  world,  but  thine  own  eye, 
Father  hath  made,  He  made  it  by  the  Word;  in  thy  carnal  attachment  to  which  thou  corn- 
else  is  it  false  that  "  all  things  were  made  by  j  parest  visible  things  with  invisible?  For  thou 
Him."  But  it  is  true  that  "  all  things  were  concei vest  of  God  such  things  as  thou  art 
made  by  Him."  Perhaps  this  did  not  seem  I  wont  to  see  with  these  eyes.  But  if  God 
enough  for  thee  ?  Well,  "  and  without  Him  might  be  seen  with  these  eyes,  He  would  not 
was  nothing  made."  '  have  said,  *'  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart, 

6.  Withdraw,  then,  from  this  wisdom  of  for  they  shall  see  God."  Accordingly,  thou 
the  flesh,  and  let  us  inquire  in  what  manner  hast  an  eye  of  the  body  to  see  an  artificer, 
it  is  said,  "The  Son  cannot  of  Himself  do  but  thou  hast  not  yet  the  eye  of  the  heart  to 
anything,  but  what  He  seeth  the  Father  do- j  see  God:  hence,  what  thou  art  wont  to  see 
ing."  Let  us  inquire,  if  we  are  worthy  to  in  an  artificer,  thou  wouldest  transfer  to  God. 
apprehend.  For  I  confess  it  is  a  great  thing,  j  Leave  earthly  things  on  the  earth;  set  thy 
and  altogether  difficult,  to  see  the  Father  heart  on  high. 

doing  through  the  Son:  not  the  Father  and  the  7.  What  then,  beloved,  are  we  going  to  ex- 
Son  doing  each  His  particular  works,  but  the  ;  plain  that  which  we  have  asked,  how  the  Word 
Father  doing  every  work  whatsoever  by  the  seeth,  how  the  Father  is  seen  by  the  Word, 


Son;  so  that  not  any  works  are  done  by  the 
Fatner  without  the  Son,  or  by  the  Son  with 
out  the  Father,  because  "all  things  were 
made  by  Him,  and  without  Him  was  nothing 
made."  These  truths  being  most  firmly  es 
tablished  in  the  foundation  of  faith,  what  now 
is  the  nature  of  this  "  seeing  "  ?  Thou  seek- 
est,  as  I  suppose,  to  know  the  Son  doing: 


what  the  seeing  of  the  Word  is  ?  I  am  not  so 
bold,  so  rash,  as  to  promise  to  explain  this, 
for  myself  or  for  you:  however  I  estimate 
your  measure,  still  I  know  my  own.  There 
fore,  if  you  please,  not  to  delay  it  longer,  let 
us  run  over  the  passage,  and  see  how  carnal 
hearts  are  troubled  by  the  words  of  the  Lord; 
to  this  end  troubled,  that  they  may  not  con 
tinue  in  that  which  they  hold.  Let  this  be 


wrested    from   them,   as   *ome   toy   i>   in 


seek  first  to  know  the  Son  seeing.      For  what, 

in    fact,   saith     He?     "The    Son    cannot    of 

Himself  do  anything,  but  what  He  seeth  the  ;  from  children,  with  which  they  amuse  them- 

Father  doing."     Note   what    He    said,  "but    selves  to  their  hurt,  that,  as  persons  of 

what  He  seeth  the  Father  doing."     The  seeing  ,  growth,  they  may  have  more  profitable  things 


120 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATK  XVIII. 


planted  in  them,  and  may  be  able  to  make 
progress,  instead  of  crawling  on  the  earth. 
Arise,  seek,  sigh,  pant  with  desire,  and  knock 
at  what  is  shut.  But  if  we  do  not  yet  desire, 
not  yet  earnestly  seek,  not  yet  sigh,  we  shall 
onlv  l>e  throwing  pearls  to  all  indiscriminately, 
or  finding  pearls  ourselves,  regardless  of  what 
kind.  Wherefore,  beloved,  I  would  move  a 
longing  desire  in  your  heart.  Good  charac 
ter  leads  to  right  understanding:  the  kind  of 
life  leads  to  another  kind  of  life.  One  kind 


on  to  say,  "  For  what  things  soever  He  doeth, 
these  also  doeth  the  Son  in  like  manner.'1 
Not  after  the  Father  hath  done  works,  doeth 
the  Son  other  works  in  like  manner;  but, 
"whatever  He  doeth,  these  also  the  Son  do 
eth  in  like  manner."  If  these  the  Son  doeth 
which  the  Father  doeth,  then  it  is  by  the  Son 
that  the  Father  doeth:  if  by  the  Son  the 
Father  doeth  what  He  doeth,  then  the  Father 
doeth  not  some,  the  Son  others;  but  the  works 


of  life  is  earthly,  another  is  heavenly:  there 


of  the   Father  and  of  the  Son  are  the  same 
works.      And    how   doeth  the  Son  also  the 

is  a  life  of  beasts,  another  of  men,  and  an-  same?  Both  "  the  same,"  and  "in  like 
other  of  angels.  The  life  of  beasts  is  excited  j  manner."  In  cas-e  you  should  think  them 
with  earthly  pleasures,  seeks  earthly  pleas-  j  the  same,  but  in  a  different  manner,  the 

"same,"saith   He,  and   "in   like  manner." 


ures  alone,  and  grovels  after  them  with  im 
moderate  desire:  the  life  of  angels  is  alone 
heavenly;  the  life  of  men  is  midway  between 
that  of  angels  and  of  beasts.  If  man  lives 
after  the  flesh,  he  is  on  a  level  with  the  beasts; 
if  he  lives  after  the  Spirit,  he  joins  in  the  fel- 


And  how  co.uld  they  be  the  same  and  not  in 
like  manner  ?  Take  an  example,  which  I  pre 
sume  is  not  too  big  for  you:  when  we  write 
letters  they  are  first  formed  by  our  heart, 
then  by  our  hand.  Certainly:  why  otherwise 


lowship  of  angels.  When  thou  livest  after  have  you  all  agreed,  but  because  you  per- 
the  Spirit,  examine  even  in  the  angelic  life  [  ceived  it  to  be  so?  It  is  as  I  have  said,  it  is 
whether  thou  be  small  or  well-grown.  For  if  I  manifest  to  us  all.  The  letters  are  made  first 
thou  art  still  a  little  one,  the  angels  say  to  by  our  heart,  then  by  our  body;  the  hand 
thee,  "Grow:  we  feed  on  bread;  thou  art '  serves,  the  heart  commands;  both  the  heart 
nourished  with  milk,  with  the  milk  of  faith,  ,  and  the  hand  make  the  same  letters.  Dost 


that  thou  mayest  come  to  the  meat  of  sight." 
But  if  there  be  still  a  longing  for  filthy  pleas 
ures,  if  the  thoughts  be  still  of  deceit,  if  lies 
are  not  avoided,  if  perjuries  be  heaped  on 
lies,  shall  a  heart  so  foul  dare  to  say,  "  Ex 
plain  to  me  how  the  Word  sees;"  even  if  I 


think  the  heart  doeth  some  letters,  the  hand 
some  others?  The  same  indeed  doeth  the 
hand,  but  not  in  like  manner:  our  heart 
forms  them  intelligibly,  but  our  hand  visibly. 
See  how  the  same  things  are  made,  but  not 
like  manner.  Hence  it  was  not  enough 


be  able  to  do  so.  even  if  I  myself  now  see  ?i  for  the  Lord  to  say,  "  What  things  soever 
And  further,  though  not  perhaps  of  this  char-  j  the  Father  doeth,  these  also  the  Son  doeth;" 
acter  myself,  and  I  am  nevertheless  far  from  j  He  must  add,  "and  in  like  manner."  For 
this  vision,  how  must  that  man  be  weighed  what  if  thou  shouldst  understand  this  just  as 
down  with  earthly  desires,  who  is  not  yet  rapt  thou  understandest  whatever  thy  heart  doeth, 
with  this  desire  from  above  !  There  is  a  wide  \  this  also  thy  hand  doejth,  but  in  a  different 
difference  between  loathing  and  desiring;  and  j  manner?  Here,  however,  he  added,  "  These 
again,  between  desiring  and  enjoying.  If 'also  the  Son  doeth  in  like  manner."  If  He 
thou  livest  as  do  the  beasts,  thou  loathest:  j  both  doeth  these,  and  in  like  manner  doeth, 
the  angels  have  full  enjoyment.  If,  on  the  then  awake;  let  the  Jew  be  crushed,  let  the 
other  hand,  thou  livest  not  as  the  beast,  thou  Christian  believe,  let  the  heretic  be  convinced: 
hast  no  longer  loathing:  something  thou  de-  The  Son  is  equal  to  the  Father, 
sirest,  and  dost  not  receive:  thou  hast,  by  9.  "  For  the  Father  loveth  the  Son,  and 
the  very  desire,  begun  the  life  of  the  angels,  showeth  Him  all  things  that  Himself  doeth." 
May  it  grow  in  thee,  and  b«  perfected  in  j  Here  is  that  "  showeth."  "  Showeth,"  as  it 
thee;  and  mayest  thou  receive  this,  not  of!  were,  to  whom?  Of  course,  as  to  one  that 

sees.  We  return  to  that  which  we  cannot  ex 
plain,  how  the  Word  seeth.  Behold,  man 
was  made  by  the  Word;  but  man  has  eyes, 


me,   but   of   Him  who   made   both    me    and 
thee! 

8.  Yet  the  Lord  also  has  not  left  us  to 
chance,  since,  in  that  He  said,  "  The  Son 
cannot  of  Himself  do  anything,  but  what  He 
seeth  the  Father  doing,"  He  meant  us  to  un 
derstand  that  the  Father  doeth,  not  some 
works  which  the  Son  may  see,  and  the  Son 
doeth  other  works  after  He  has  seen  the 
Father  doing;  but  that  both  the  Father  and 
Son  do  the  very  same  works.  For  He  goes 


ears,  hands,  divers  members  in  the  body:  he 
is  able  by  the  eyes  to  see,  by  the  ears  to  hear, 
by  the  hands  to  work;  the  members  are  di 
verse,  their  offices  diverse.  One  member 
cannot  do  the  office  of  another;  yet,  by  rea 
son  of  the  unity  of  the  body,  the  eye  sees 
both  for  itself  and  for  the  ear,  and  the  car 
hears  for  itself  and  for  the  eye.  Are  we  to 


Ml       \V1II.] 


ON    mi:  GOSPEL  01    ST.  JOHN 


121 


that  something  like  tins  hol<; 
in  the  Word,  M  '-in-  ;ill  things  .IIT  by  Him; 
and  Scripture  has  said  in  the  psalm,  "  I'n- 
clerstaiul,  ye  brutish  among  the  people;  and 
ye  fools,  at  length  be  \\IM-.  lie  that  planted 
the  ear,  shall  He  not  hear?  And  He  that 
formed  the  eye,  shall  He  not  see  ?  "  '  Hence, 
if  the  Word  is  He  that  formed  the  eye,  for 
all  things  are  by  the  Word;  if  the  Word  is 
He  that  planted  the  ear,  for  all  things  are  by 
the  Word:  we  cannot  say  the  Word  doth  not 
hear,  the  Word  doth  not  see;  lest  the  psalm 
reprove  us,  and  say,  "  Fools,  at  length  be 
wise."  Therefore,  if  the  Word  heareth  and 
seeth,  if  the  Son  heareth  and  seeth,  are  we 
yet  to  search  for  eyes  and  ears  in  Him  in 
separate  places  ?  Does  He  by  one  part  hear, 
by  another  see;  and  cannot  His  ear  do  what 
His  eye  doth;  and  cannot  His  eye  do  what 
His  ear  can?  Or  is  He  not  all  sight,  all 
hearing?  Perhaps  yes;  nay,  not  perhaps, 
but  truly  yes;  whilst,  however,  that  seeing  of 
His,  and  that  hearing  of  His,  is  in  a  way  far 
other  than  it  is  with  us.  Both  to  see  and  to 
hear  exist  together  in  the  Word:  seeing  and 
hearing  are  not  diverse  things  in  Him;  but 
hearing  is  sight,  and  sight  is  hearing. 

10.  And  we,  who  see  in  one  way,  and  hear 
in  another  way,  how  know  we  this  ?  We  re 
turn  perhaps  to  ourselves,  if  we  are  not  the 
trangressors  to  whom  it  is  said,  "  Return,  O 
trangressors,  to  your  heart."  -'  Return  to 
your  heart:  why  go  from  yourselves,  and  per 
ish  from  yourselves  ?  Why  go  the  ways  of 
solitude  ?  You  go  astray  by  wandering:  re 
turn  ye.  Whither?  To  the  Lord.  'Tis 
quickly  done:  first  return  to  thine  own  heart; 
thou  hast  wandered  abroad  an  exile  from  thy 
self;  thou  knowest  not  thyself,  and  yet  thou 
art  asking  by  whom  thou  wast  made  !  Return, 
return  to  thy  heart,  lift  thyself  away  from  the 
body:  thy  body  is  thy  place  of  abode;  thy 
heart  perceives  even  by  thy  body.  But  thy 
body  is  not  what  thy  heart  is;  leave  even  thy 
body,  return  to  thy  heart.  In  thy  body  thou 
didst  find  eyes  in  one  place,  ears  in  another 
place:  dost  thou  find  this  in  thy  heart?  Or 
hast  thou  not  ears  in  thy  heart  ?  Else  of  what 
did  the  Lord  say,  "  Whoso  hath  ears  to  hear, 
let  him  hear  ?  "  3  Or  hast  thou  not  eyes  in  thy 
heart  ?  Else  of  what  saith  the  apostle,  "  The 
eyes  of  your  heart  being  enlightened  ?  "  4  Re 
turn  to  thy  heart;  see  there  what,  it  may  be, 
thou  canst  perceive  of  God,  for  in  it  is  the 
image  of  God.  In  the  inner  man  dwelleth 
Christ,  in  the  inner  man  art  thou  renewed 
after  the  image  of  God,  in  His  own  image 
recognize  its  Author.  See  how  all  the  senses 


«  Ps.  xciv.  8,  9. 
3  Luke  vin.  8. 


body    bring    llltelllge: 

within  of  what  they   have   ;  broad; 

see  how  many   minist--:  ommunder 

within   has  and   what   it  can  do  by   itv 
without  tiiese   ministers.      'I  ;><>rt  to 

the  heart  tilings  black  and  while;  the  ears  re 
port  to  the  same  heart  pleasant  and  harsh 
sounds;  to  the  same  heart  the  nostr 

j  nounce  sweet  odors  and  stenches;  to  the  same 

1  heart  the  taste  announces  things  bitter  and 
sweet;  to  the  same  heart  the  touch  announces 
things  smooth  and  rough;  and  the  heart  de 
clares  to  itself  things  just  and  unjust.  Thy 
heart  sees  and  hears  and  judges  all  other 
things  perceived  by  the  senses;  and,  what  the 
senses  do  not  aspire  to,  discerns  things  just 

I  and  unjust,  things  evil  and  good.  Show  me 
the  eyes,  ears,  nostrils,  of  thy  heart.  Diverse 
are  the  things  that  are  referred  to  thy  heart, 

',  yet  are  there  not  diverse  members  there.     In 

1  thy  flesh,  thou  nearest  in  one  place,  seest  in 

|  another;  in  thy  heart,  where  thou  seest,  there 

!  thou  nearest.  If  this  be  the  image,  how  much 
more  mightily  He  whose  the  image  is  !  There - 

'  fore  the  Son  both  heareth  and  seeth;  the  Son 
is  both  the  hearing  itself  and  the  seeing:  to 

(hear  is  to  Him  the  same  thing  as  "  to  be;"  and 
to  see  is  to  Him  the  same  thing  as  "to  l>e." 

1  To  see  is  not  the  same  thing  to  thee  as  to  be; 
for  if  thou  lose  thy  sight,  thou  canst  be;  and 
if  thou  lose  thy  hearing,  thou  canst  be. 

ii.    Do  we   think   we   have   knocked?      Is 
there  raised  up  within  us  something  whereby 

,  we  may  even  slightly  conjecture  whence  light 
may  come  to  us  ?  It  is  my  opinion,  brethren, 

( that  when  we  speak  of  these  things,  and  medi 
tate  upon  them,  we  are  exercising  ourselves. 

I  And  when  we  are  exercising  ourselves,  and 
are  as  it  were  bent  back  again  by  our  own 

j  weight  to  our  customary  thoughts,  »ve  are  like 
weak-eyed  persons,  when  they  are  brought 
forth  to  see  the  light,  tf  perchance  they  had 

;  no  sight  at  all  before,  and  begin  in  some  sort 
to  recover  their  sight  by  the  assiduous  care  of 

j  physicians.  And  when  the  physician  would 
test  the  progress  of  recovery,  he  tries  to  show 
them  something  which  they  sought  to  see,  but 
could  not  whije  they  were  blind :  and  while  the 
eyesight  is  now  somewhat  recovered,  they  are 
brought  forth  to  the  light;  and  as  they  see  it. 
are  beaten  back  in  a  manner  by  the  very  glare; 
and  they  answer  the  physician,  as  he  points 
out  the  object,  This  moment  I  did  see.  but 
now  I  cannot  What  then  does  the  physician  ? 
He  brings  them  back  to  their  usual  ways,  and 
applies  tiie  eye-salve  to  nourish  the  !• 
for  seeing  that  which  was  seen  only  for  a 
moment,  so  that  by  the  very  longing  he  may 
cure  more  completely;  and  if  ai 
salves  are  applied  for  the  recovery  of  sound- 


1  22 


THK  WORKS  or  ST.  A.UGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  XIX. 


ness,  let  the  patient  bear  it  bravely,  ami,  in- 
flained  with  love  of  the  light,  say  to  himself, 
When  will  it  be  that  with  strong  eyes  1  shall 
see  what  with  sore  and  weak  eyes  I  could  not  ? 
He  urges  the  physician,  and  begs  him  to  heal 
him.  Therefore,  brethren,  if,  it  may  be, 
something  like  this  has  taken  place  in  your 
hearts,  if  somehow  you  have  raised  your  heart 
to  see  the  Word,  and,  beaten  back  by  its  light, 
you  have  fallen  back  to  your  wonted  ways  ; 
pray  the  Physician  to  apply  sharp  salves,  the 
precepts  of  righteousness.  There  is  that 
which  thou  mayest  see,  but  not  that  whereby 
thou  canst  see.  Thou  didst  not  believe  me 
before  that  there  is  that  which  thou  mayest 
see:  thou  art  now,  as  by  the  guidance  of  rea 
son,  brought  to  it:  thou  hast  drawn  near, 
strained  thine  eyes  to  see  it,  throbbed,  and 
shrunk  back.  Thou  knowest  for  certain  that 

there  is  what  thou  mayest  see,  but  that  thou  j  life,  we  flee  from  you  and  separate  ourselves 
art  not  yet  meet  to  see  it.  Therefore  be  from  you,  and  no  longer  come  to  you,  will 
healed.  What  are  the  eye-salves  ?  Do  not  ye  not  complain,  and  say,  And  if  we  were 
lie,  do  not  swear  falsely,  do  not  commit  adul-  sick,  ye  might  care  for  us;  and  if  we  were 
tery,  do  not  steal,  do  not  defraud.  But  thou  weak,  ye  might  have  visited  us?  Behold,  we 
art  used  to  these,  and  it  is  with  some  pain  thou  j  do  care  for  you;  behold,  we  do  visit  you;  but 
art  drawn  away  from  old  habits:  this  is  what!  let  it  not  be  with  us  as  you  have  heard  from 
bites,  but  yet  heals.  For  I  tell  thee  freely,  by  j  the  apostle,  "1  fear  lest  I  have  bestowed 
fear  of  myself  and  of  thee,  if  thou  give  up  the  labor  upon  you  in  vain.v 
healing,  and  scorn  to  become  meet  to  enjoy 
this  light,  by  weakness  of  thine  eyes,  thou 


wilt  love  darkness;  and  by  loving  darkness, 
wilt  remain  in  darkness;  and  by  remaining  in 
darkness,  wilt  be  cast  even  into  outer  dark 
ness:  there  shall  be  weeping  and  gnashing  of 
teeth.  If  the  love  of  light  has  effected 
nothing  in  thee,  let  the  fear  of  pain  effect 
something. 

12.  i  think  I  have  spoken  long  enough, 
and  yet  I  have  not  concluded  the  Gospel  les 
son:  if  I  go  on  to  declare  what  remains,  I 
shall  burden  you,  and  I  fear  lest  even  what 
has  been  drawn  may  be  lost;  therefore  let  this 
be  enough  for  you  now,  beloved.  We  are 
debtors,  not  now,  but  always  as  long  as  we  live; 
because  we  live  for  you.  However,  do  you, 
by  good  living,  comfort  this  life  of  ours,  so 
weak,  toilsome,  and  full  of  peril  in  this  world; 
do  not  afflict  and  wear  us  out  by  your  evil 
manners.  For  if,  when  offended  with  your  evil 


TRACTATE  XIX. 

CHAPTER  V.  19-30. 

Ix  the  former  discourse,  so  far  as  the  sub- [how  much  more  doth  speech  suffer  defect, 
ject  impressed  us,  and  so  far  as  our  poverty  !  where  the  understanding  has  nothing  perfect  ! 
of  understanding  attained  to,  we  have  spoken  j  Now,  therefore,  as  the  Lord  gives  us,  let  us 
by  occasion  of  the  words  of  the  Gospel,  where  i  briefly  run  over  the  passage,  and  even  to-day 
it  is  written:  "The  Son  cannot  do  anything  j  complete  the  due  task.  Should  there  per- 
of  Himself,  but  what  He  seeth  the  Father  j  chance  remain  somewhat  of  time  or  of 
doing,"- -what  it  is  for  the  Son — that  is,  the  i  strength,  we  will  reconsider  (so  far  as  it 
Word,  for  the  Son  is  the  Word^— "  to  see;  "  j  may  be  practicable  for  us  and  with  you)  what 
and  as  all  things  were  made  by  the  Word,  j  it  is  for  the  Word  "to  see  "  and  "to  be  shown 
how  it  is  to  be  understood  that  the  Son  first  i  to;  "  since,  in  fact,  all  that  is  here  spoken  is 
sees  the  Father  doing,  and  then  only  Him-  such  that,  if  understood  according  to  man's 


self  also  doeth  the  things  which  He  has  seen 
done,  seeing  that  the  Father  has  done  nothing 
except  by  the  Son.  For  "  all  things  were  made 
by  Him,  and  without  Him  was  nothing  made. 
We  have  not,  however,  delivered  to  you  any 
thing  as  fully  explained,  and  that  because  we 
have  not  understood  anything  thus  clearly  set 
forth.  For,  indeed,  speech  sometimes  fails 


even   where  the  understanding   makes  way;   tian  hearts  ! 


sense,  carnally,  the  soul  full  of  vain  fancies 
makes  for  us  only  certain  images  of  the  Father 
and  the  Son,  just  as  of  two  men,  the  one 
showing,  the  other  seeing;  the  one  speaking, 
the  other  hearing, — all  which  are  idols  of  the 
heart.  And  if  now  at  length  idols  have  been 
cast  down  from  their  own  temples,  how  much 
more  ought  they  to  be  cast  down  from  Chris- 


\I\ .  I 


ON    l  111.  GOSPE1    OF  ST.  JOHN. 


.-.  "  I  e  &  .".••.  li.  ."  cannot  (1-.  any 
thing  of  HiniM-ii,  lint  what  -lit-  sees  the  I- at  her 
doing. "  Tins  is  true:  hold  this  fast,  while 
at  the  same  tune  ye  do  not  let  slip  what  ye 
have  gotten  in  the  beginning  of  the  Gospel, 
that  "  in  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the 
Word  was  witii  God,  and  the  Word  was  God," 
ami  especially  that  "  all  things  were  made  by 
Him."  loin  this  that  ye  have  now  heard  to 
that  hearing,  and  let  both  agree  together  in 
your  hearts.  Thus,  "The  Son  cannot  of 
Himself  do  anythmg,except  what  He  seeth  the 
Father  doing,"  is  yet  in  such  wise  that  what 
the  Father  doeth,  He  doeth  only  by  the  Son, 
because  the  Son  is  His  Word:  and,  "  In  the 
beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was 
with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God;"  also, 
"All  things  were  made  by  Him."  For  what 
things  soever  He  doeth,  the  Son  also  doeth 
in  like  manner;  not  other  things,  but  these; 
and  not  in  a  different,  but  in  like  manner. 

3.  ''  For  the  Father  loveth  the  Son,  and 
showeth  Him  all  things  that  Himself  doeth." 
To  that  which  He  said  above,  "  except  what 
He  seeth  the  Father  doing,"  seems  to  belong 
this  also,  "  He  showeth  Him  all  things  that 
Himself  doeth."  But  if  the  Father  doth 
show  what  He  doeth,  and  the  Son  cannot  do 
except  the  Father  "hath  shown,  and  if  the 
Father  cannot  show  unless  He  hath  done,  it 
will  follow  that  it  is  not  through  the  Son  that 
the  Father  doeth  all  things;  moreover,  if  we 
hold  it  fixed  and  unshaken,  that  the  Father 
doeth  all  by  the  Son,  then  He  shows  the  Son 
before  He  doeth.  For  if  the  Father  doth  show 
to  the  Son  after  He  has  done,  that  the  Son 
may  do  the  things  shown,  which  being  shown 
were  already  done,  then  doubtless  something 
there  is  that  the  Father  doeth  without  the  Son. 
But  the  Father  doeth  not  anything  without  the 
Son,  because  the  Son  of  God  is  God's  Word, 
and  all  things  were  made  by  Him.  It  re 
mains,  then,  that  possibly  what  the  Father  is 
about  to  do,  He  shows  as  about  to  be  done, 
that  it  may  be  done  by  the  Son.  For  if  the  Son 
doeth  those  things  which  the  Father  showeth 
as  already  done,  surely  it  is  not  by  the  Son 
that  the  Father  hath  done  the  things  which 
He  thus  showeth.  For  they  could  not  be 
shown  to  the  Son  unless  they  were  first  done, 
and  the  Son  would  not  be  able  to  do  them  un 
less  they  were  first  shown;  therefore  were 
they  made  without  the  Son.  But  yet  it  is  a 
true  tiling,  "All  things  were  made  by  Him;  " 
therefore  they  were  shown  before  they  were 
made.  But  this  we  said  must  be  put  off,  and 
returned  to  after  briefly  scanning  the  pas^a^e. 
if,  as  we  said,  some  portion  of  time  and  of 
strength  should  remain  to  us  for  a  reconsid 
eration  of  the  matters  deferred. 


4.  Attend  new  to  a  wider  and  more  d 

(|tiestion.  "  And  greater  works  tu.ui  : 
saith  He,  "will  lie  show  Him,  that  yr  may 
marvel."  "t.rr.iter  than  i 
than  which  ?  Tnc  answer  readily  occurs:  than 
the  cures  of  bodily  diseases  which  ye  have 
just  heard.  For  the  whole  occasion  oi  this 
discourse  arose  about  the  man  who  was  thirty 
and  eight  years  in  infirmity,  and  was  healed 
by  the  word  of  Christ;  and  in  respect  of  this 
cure,  the  Lord  could  say,  "Greater  works 
than  these  He  will  show  Him,  that  ye  may 
marvel."  For  there  are  greater,  and  the 
Father  will  show  them  to  the  Son.  It  is  not 
"  hath  shown,''  as  of  a  thing  past,  but  "will 
show,"  of  a  thing  future;  or,  is  about  to  show. 
I  Again  a  difficult  question  arises:  Why,  then,  is 
|  there  something  with  the  Father  that  has  not 
•  yet  been  shown  to  the  Son  ?  Is  there  some 
thing  with  the  Father  that  was  still  hid  from 
i  the  Son  when  He  spoke  these  words  ?  For 
surely,  if  it  be  "will  show,"  that  is  to  say, 
"  is  about  to  show,"  then  He  has  not  yet 
shown;  and  He  is  about  to  show  to  tiie  Son 
at  the  same  time  as  to  these  persons,  since  it 
follows,  "  that  ye  may  marvel."  And  this  is 
a  thing  hard  to  see,  how  the  Eternal  Father 
doth  show  something,  as  it  were  in  time,  to 
the  co-eternal  Son,  who  knoweth  all  things 
that  are  with  the  Father. 

5.  But  what  are  the  greater  works?     For 
perhaps  this  is  easy  to  understand.     "  For  as 
the  Father,"  saith  He,  "  raiseth  up  the  dead, 
and  quickeneth  them,  even  so  the  Son  quick- 
eneth  whom   He  will."     To  raise  the  dead, 
then,  are  greater  works  than  to  heal  the  sick. 
But  "as  the  Father  raiseth  the  dead, and  quick 
eneth  them,  so  also  the  Son  quickeneth  whom 
He  will."     Hence,  the  Father  some,  the  Son 
others?     But  all  things  are  by  Him:  there 
fore  the  Son  the  same  persons  as  the  Father 
doth;  since  the  Son  doeth  not  other  things 
and  in  a  different  manner,  but  "these"  and 
in  "  like  manner."     Thus  clearly  it  must  be 
understood,  and  thus  held.    But  keep  in  mem 
ory  that  "  the  Son  quickeneth  whom  He  will." 
Here, too,  know  not  only  the  power  of  the  Son, 
but  also  the  will.     Both  the  Son  quickeneth 
whom  He  will,  and  also  the  Father  quickeneth 
whom  He  will — the  Son  the  same  persons  as 
the  Father;  and  hence  the  power  of  the  Father 
and  of  the  Son  is  the  same,  and  also  the  will 
is   the    same.     What    follows    then?      "For 
the    Father  judgeth   not   any   man,  but   hath 
given  all  judgment  to  the  Son,  that  all  men 
may  honor  the  Son,  even  as  they  honor  the 

this    He   subjoined,  as  rendering  a 
reason    of  the    foregoing   sentence.      A 
question  comes  before  us;  give  it  your' 
I  attention.      The  Son  quickeneth  whom   He 


124 


TIIK  WORKS  OK  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATB  xi\. 


will,  the  Father  quickeneth  whom  He  will; 
the  son  raiseth  the  dead,  just  as  the  Father 
raiseth  the  dead.  And  further,  "the  Father 
judgeth  not  any  man."  If  the  dead  must 
be  raised  in  the  judgment,  how  can  it  be  said 
that  the  Father  raiseth  the  dead,  if  He  judgeth 
not  any  man,  since  "  He  hath  given  all  judg 
ment  to  the  Son  "  ?  But  in  that  judgment  the 
dead  are  raised;  some  rise  to  life,  others  to 
punishment.  If  the  Son  doeth  all  this,  but 
the  Father  not,  inasmuch  as  "  He  judgeth  not 
any  man,  but  hath  given  all  judgment  to  the 
Son,"  it  will  appear  contrary  to  what  has  been 
said,  viz. ,  "As  the  Father  raiseth  up  the  dead, 
and  quickeneth  them,  so  also  the  Son  quick 
eneth  whom  He  will."  Consequently  the 
Father  and  the  Son  raise  together;  if  they 
raise  together,  they  quicken  together:  hence 
they  judge  together.  How,  then,  is  that  true, 
"  For  the  Father  judgeth  not  any  man,  but 
hath  given  all  judgment  to  the  Son  "  ?  Mean- 
while  let  the  questions  now  proposed  engage 
your  minus;  the  Lord  will  cause  that,  when 
solved,  they  will  delight  you.  For  so  it  is, 
brethren:  every  question,  unless  it  stirs  the 
mind  to  reflection,  will  not  give  delight  when 
explained.  May  the  Lord  Himself  then  fol 
low  with  us,  in  case  He  may  perhaps  reveal 
Himself  somewhat  in  those  matters  which  He 
foldeth  up.  For  He  foldeth  up  His  light  with 
a  cloud;  and  it  is  difficult  to  fly  like  an  eagle 
above  every  obscure  mist  with  which  the  whole 
earth  is  covered,  and  to  behold  the  most 
serene  light  in  the  words  of  the  Lord.  In 
case,  then,  He  may  perhaps  dissipate  our 
darkness  with  the  heat  of  His  rays,  and  deign 


"as   they   honor   the    Father." 
whoso   honoreth    not  the  Son, 


thou  art  led  to  think  of  Him;  but  when  thou 
art  taught  to  honor.  Him  in  that  He  is 
it  is  UK-  same  thing  as  to  honor  the  Son;  be 
cause  J<'(i//i,'r  cannot  be  said  if  there  be  not  a 
Son,  as  neither  can  Son  if  there  be  not  a 
Father.  But  lest,  it  may  be,  thou  honorest 
the  Father  indeed  as  greater,  but  the  Son  as 
less, — as  thou  mayest  say  to  me,  "  I  do  honor 
the  Father,  for  I  know  that  He  lias  a  Son; 
nor  do  I  err  in  the  name  /•<////<•/,  tor  I  do  not 
understand  Father  without  Son,  and  yet  the 
Son  also  I  honor  as  the  less," — the  Son  Him 
self  sets  thee  right,  and  recalls  thee,  saying, 
"  that  all  may  honor  the  Son,"  not  in  a  lower 
degree,  but 
Therefore, 

honoreth  not  the  Father  that  sent  Him." 
sayest  thou,  **  wish  to  give  greater 
honor  to  the  Father,  less  to  the  Son."  There 
in  thou  takest  away  honor  from  the  Father, 
wherein  thou  givest  less  to  the  Son.  For, 
being  thus  minded,  it  must  really  seem  to 
thee  that  the  Father  either  would  not  or  could 
not  beget  a  Son  equal  to  Himself:  if  He 
would  not,  He  lacked  the  will;  if  He  could 
not,  He  lacked  the  ability.  Dost  thou  not 
therefore  see  that,  being  thus  minded,  where 
in  thou  wouldst  give  greater  honor  to  the 
Father,  therein  thou  arr  reproachful  to  the 
Father?  Wherefore,  so  honor  the  Son  as 
thou  honorest  the  Father,  if  thou  wouldest 
honor  both  the  Father  and  the  Son. 

7.  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Whoso 
heareth  my  word,  and  believeth  on  Him  that 
sent  me,  hath  eternal  life,  and  cometh  not 
into  judgment,  but  is  passed,"  not  is  passing 


to  reveal  Himself  somewhat  in  the  sequel,  let   now,  but  is  already  passed.  "  from  death  into 


us,  deferring  these  questions,  look  at  what 
follows. 

6.  ' '  Whoso  honoreth  not  the  Son,  honoreth 
not  the  Father  that  sent  Him."  This  is  a 
truth,  and  is  plain.  Since,  then,  "all  judg 
ment  hath  He  given  to  the  Son,"  as  He  said 


life."  And  mark  this,  "  Whoso  heareth  my 
word,  and  " — He  says  not,  believeth  me,  but — 
"  believeth  Him  that  sent  ire."  Lethimhear 
the  word  of  the  Son,  that  he  may  believe  the 
Father.  Why  heareth  Thy  word,  and  yet 
believeth  another?  When  we  hear  any  one's 


above,  "that  all  may  honor  the  Son,  even  as  I  word,  is  it  not  him  that  utters  the  word  we 


they  honor  the  Father,"  what  if  there  be  those 
who  honor  the  Father  and  honor  not  the  Son  ? 
It  cannot  be,  saith  He:  "Whoso  honoreth 
not  the  Son,  honoreth  not  the  Father  that  sent 
Him."  One  cannot  therefore  say,  I  honored 
the  Father,  because  I  knew  not  the  Son.  If 
thou  didst  not  yet  honor  the  Son,  neither  didst 
thou  honor  the  Father.  For  what  is  honor 
ing  the  Father,  unless  it  be  in  that  He  hath  a 
Son?  It  is  one  thing  when  thou  art  taught  to 
honor  God  in  that  He  is  God;  but  another 
thing  when  thou  art  taught  to  honor  Him  in 
that  He  is  Father,  When  thou  art  taught  to 
honor  Him  in  that  He  is  God,  it  is  as  the 
Creator,  as  the  Almighty,  as  the  Spirit 
supreme,  eternal,  invisible,  unchangeable,  that 


believe  ?  is  it  not  to  him  who  speaks  we  lend 
our  faith  ?  What,  then,  did  He  mean,  saying, 
"  Whoso  heareth  my  word,  and  believeth  Him 
that  sent  me,"  if  it  be  not  this,  because  "  His 
word  is  in  me"?  And  what  is  "  heareth  my 
word,"  but  "heareth  me"?  So,  too,  "be 
lieveth  Him  that  sent  me,"  because,  believing 
Him,  he  believeth  His  word;  but  again,  be 
lieving  His  word,  he  believeth  me,  because  I 
am  the  Word  of  the  Father.  There  is  there 
fore  peace  in  the  Scriptures,  and  all  tilings 
duly  disposed,  and  in  no  way  clashing.  Cast 
away,  then,  contention  from  thy  heart;  un 
derstand  the  harmony  of  the  Scriptures. 
Dost  thou  think  that  the  Truth  should  speak 
things  contrary  to  itself? 


TRACTATK  \IX.j 


ON    I  III.  GOSP1  I.  01   ST.  JOHN. 


8.  "Whoso   heareth   my  word,  and  bcliev-    saith    He.      I  >ouUlc>s    thou,    imbued    u 
eth   Him   that  sent  me,  hath  eternal    life,  and    faith   <>i    the   remfrecttOfl    ol  ,  .lidst 

;h  not  into  judgment,  but  is  passed  look  tor  the  hour  of  the  end  of  the  world, 
from  death  unto  life."  You  remember  what  which,  that  thou  shouldst  not  look  for  here, 
\ve  laid  down  above,  that  "  as  the  I-'atiu-r  rais-  He  added,  "and  iio\\  KfoK  H<- 

eth   up  the   dead,  and   quiekeneth   them,   so   saith  not  this,  "The  hour  cometh,"  of  that 
also  the  Son  quickeneth  whom  He  will."     He  .  last  hour,  when  "at  the  command  an 
is   beginning  already  to  reveal   Himself;  and  i  voice  of  the  archangel  and  the  trump  of  (iod, 
bf'nold,  even  now,  the  dead  are  rising.     For  j  the  Lord  Himself  shall  descend  from  heaven, 
"whoso  heareth  my  word,  and  believeth  Him   and  the  dead   in  Christ  shall  rise  first: 


that  sent  me,  hath  eternal  life,  and  will   not 


into    judgment." 
again.      "  But   is 


Prove   that   he   has 


we  who  .ire  alive  and  remain  shall  be  < 
up  together  with  them  in  the  clouds,  to  meet 
Christ  in  the  air:  and  so  shall  we  be  ever  with 
the  Lord."  *  That  hour  will  come,  but  is  not 
now.  But  consider  what  this  hour  is:  "  The 
hour  cometh,  and  now  is."  What  happens  in 
that  hour  ?  What,  but  a  resurrection  of  the 
dead  ?  And  what  kind  of  resurrection  ?  Such 
that  they  who  rise  live  for  ever.  This  will  be 
also  in  the  last  hour. 

10.  What  then?  How  do  we  understand 
these  two  resurrections  ?  Do  we,  it  may  be, 
understand  that  they  who  rise  now  will  not 
rise  then;  that  the  resurrection  of  some  is 
now,  of  some  others  then  ?  It  is  not  so.  For 
we  have  risen  in  this  resurrection,  if  we  have 
rightly  believed;  and  we  ourselves,  who  have 
already  risen,  are  looking  for  another  resur 


rection  in  the  end. 
we  risen  to  eternal 


Moreover,  both  now  are 
life,  if  we  perseveringly 


come 

risen  again.  "But  is  passed,"  saith  He, 
"  from  death  unto  life."  He  that  is  passed 
from  death  unto  life,  has  surely  without  any 
doubt  risen  again.  For  he  could  not  pass  from 
death  to  life,  unless  he  were  first  in  death  and 
not  in  life;  but  when  he  will  have  passed,  he 
will  be  in  life,  and  not  in  death.  He  was 
therefore  dead,  and  is  alive  again;  he  was  lost, 
but  is  found.1  Hence  a  resurrection  does 
take  place  now,  and  men  pass  from  a  death 
to  a  life;  from  the  death  of  infidelity  to  the 
life  of  faith;  from  the  death  of  falsehood  to 
the  life  of  truth;  from  the  death  of  iniquity 
to  the  life  of  righteousness.  There  is,  there 
fore,  that  which  is  a  resurrection  of  the  dead. 
9.  May  He  open  the  same  more  fully,  and 
dawn  upon  us  as  He* begins  to  do  !  "  Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you,  The  hour  is  coming, 
and  now  is."  We  did  look  for  a  resurrection 
of  the  dead  in  the  end,  for  so  we  have  be 
lieved;  yea,  not  we  looked,  but  are  manifestly 
bound  to  look  for  it:  for  it  is  not  a  false  thing 
we  believe,  when  we  believe  that  the  dead 
will  rise  in  the  end.  When  the  Lord  Jesus, 
then,  was  willing  to  make  known  to  us  a 
resurrection  of  the  dead  before  the  resurrec 
tion  of  the  dead,  it  is  not  as  that  of  Lazarus,2 
or  of  the  widow's  son,3  or  of  the  ruler  of 
the  synagogue's  daughter/  who  were  raised 
to  die  again  (for  in  their  case  there  was  a 
resurrection  of  the  dead  before  the  resur 
rection  of  the  dead);  but,  as  He  says 
here,  "hath,"  says  He,  "eternal  life,  and 
cometh  not  into  judgment,  but  is  passed  from 
deatli  into  life."  To  what  life?  To  life 
eternal.  Not,  then,  as  the  body  of  Lazarus: 
for  he  indeed  passed  from  the  death  of  the 
tomb  to  the  life  of  men,  but  not  to  life  eternal, 
seeing  he  was  to  die  again;  whereas  the  dead, 
that  are  to  rise  again  at  the  end  of  the  world, 
will  pass  to  eternal  life.  When  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  then,  our  heavenly  Master,  the 
Word  of  the  Father,  and  the  Truth,  was  will 
ing  to  represent  to  us  a  resurrection  of  the 

dead  to  eternal  life  before  the  resurrection  of   they  live  they  hear;  but  by  hearing  they  come 
the  dead  to  eternal  life,  "  The  hour  cometh."    to  life  again:   "  Shall  hear,  and  they  that  hear 


continue  in  the  same  faith;  and  then,  too,  we 
shall  rise  to  eternal  life,  when  we  shall  be 
made  equal  with  the  angels.6  But  let  Him 
self  distinguish  and  open  up  what  we  have 
made  bold  to  speak;  how  there  happens  to  be 
a  resurrection  before  a  resurrection,  not  of 
different  but  of  the  same  persons;  nor  like 
that  of  Lazarus,  but  into  eternal  life.  He 
will  open  it  clearly.  Hear  ye  the  Master, 
while  dawning  upon  us,  and  as  our  Sun  glid 
ing  in  upon  our  hearts;  not  such  as  the  eyes 
of  flesh  desire  to  look  upon,  but  on  whom  the 
eyes  of  the  heart  fervently  long  to  be  opened. 
To  Him,  then,  let  us  give  ear:  "  Verily,  verily, 
I  say  unto  you,  The  hour  cometh,  and  now 
is,  when  the  dead  " — you  see  that  a  resurrec 
tion  is  asserted — "  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the 
Son  of  God;  and  they  that  hear  shall  live." 
Why  hath  He  added,  "  they  that  henr  shall 
live"?  Why,  could  they  hear  unless  they 
lived  ?  It  would  have  been  enough,  ti. 
say,  "  The  hour  cometh,  and  now  is,  when 
the  dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  :- 
('•oil."  We  should  immediately  understand 
them  to  be  living,  since  they  could  not  hear 
unless  they  lived.  No,  saith  He,  not  because 


'  I.iike  xv.  3.-. 
3  Luke  vi.  14. 


: 


126 


TIIK  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


11.  XIX. 


shall  live."     What,  then,  is  "shall  hear,"  but 
*'  shall  obey  "  ?    For,  as  to  the  hearing  of  the 
ear,  not  all  who  hear  shall   live.      Many,  in- 
deed,  hear  and  do  not  believe;   by  hearing 
and    not    believing,   they  obey  not;    by  not 
obeying,  they  live  not.     And  so  here,  they 
that  "  shall  hear"  are  they  that  "  shall  obey." 
They  that  obey,  then,  shall  live:    let  them  be 
sure  and  certain  of  it,  shall  live.     Christ,  the 
Word  of  God,  is  preached  to  us;   the  Son  of 
God,  by  whom  all  things  were  made,  who,  for 
the  dispensation's  sake,  surely  took  flesh,  was 
born  of  a  virgin,  was  an  infant  in  the  flesh,  a 
young  man  in  the  flesh,  suffering  in  the  flesh,  j 
dying  in  the  flesh,  rising  again  in  the  flesh,  ; 
ascending  in  the  flesh,  promising  a  resurrec-  j 
tion  to  the  flesh,  promising  a  resurrection  to 
the  mind — to  the  mind  before  the  flesh,  to 
the  flesh  after  the  mind.     Whoso  heareth  and  \ 
obeyeth,  shall  live;   whoso  heareth  and  obey-  \ 
eth  not,  that  is,  heareth  and  despiseth,  hear 
eth  and  believeth  not,  shall  not  live.     Why : 
shall    not   live  ?      Because    he    heareth    not.  j 
What  is  "  heareth  not  "  ?   Obeyeth  not.  Thus,  ; 
then,  "they  that  hear  shall  live." 

ii.  Turn  your  thoughts  now  to  what  we; 
said  had  to  be  deferred,  that  it  may  now,  if 
possible,  be  opened.  Concerning  this  very 
resurrection  He  immediately  subjoined,  "  For 
as  the  Father  hath  life  in  Himself,  even  so ' 
hath  He  given  to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  Him 
self."  What  means  that,  "  The  Father  hath  ; 
life  in  Himself"?  Not  elsewhere  hath  He 
life  but  in  Himself.  His  living,  in  fact,  is  in 
Him,  not  from  elsewhere,  nor  derived  from 
another.  He  does  not,  as  it  were,  borrow  life, 
nor,  as  it  were,  become  a  partaker  of  life,  of  a 
life  which  is  not  what  Himself  is;  but  "  hath 
life  in  Himself,"  so  that  the  very  life  is  to  Him 
His  very  self.  If  I  should  be  able  yet  further 
in  some  small  measure  to  speak  from  this 
matter,  by  proposing  examples  for  informing 
your  understanding,  will  depend  on  God's 
help  and  the  piety  of  your  attention.  God 
lives,  and  the  soul  also  lives;  but  the  life  of 
God  is  unchangeable,  the  life  of  the  soul  is 
changeable.  In  God  is  neither  increase  nor 
decrease;  but  He  is  the  same  always  in  Him 
self,  is  ever  as  He  is:  not  in  one  way  now,  in 
another  way  hereafter,  in  some  other  way 
before.  But  the  life  of  the  soul  is  exceed 
ingly  various:  it  lived  foolish,  it  lives  wise; 
it  lived  unrighteous,  it  lives  righteous;  now 
remembers,  now  forgets;  now  learns,  now 
cannot  learn;  now  loses  what  it  had  learned, 
now  apprehends  what  it  had  lost.  The  life 
of  the  soul  is  changeable.  And  when  the 
soul  lives  in  unrighteousness,  that  is  its  death; 
when  again  it  becomes  righteous,  it  becomes 
partaker  of  another  life,  which  is  not  what 


itself  is,  inasmuch  as  by  rising  up  to  God,  and 
cleaving  to  God,  of  Him  it  is  justified.  For 
it  is  said,  "  To  him  that  believeth  on  Him 
that  justifieth  the  ungodly,  his  faith  is  counted 
for  righteousness."1  B'y  forsaking  God,  it 
becomes  unrighteous;  by  coming  to  Him,  it 
is  made  righteous.  Does  it  not  seem  to  thee 
as  it  were  something  cold,  which,  when 
brought  near  the  fire,  grows  warm;  when  re 
moved  from  the  fire,  grows  cold  ?  A  some 
thing  dark,  which,  brought  near  the  light, 
grows  bright;  when  removed  from  the  light, 
grows  dark?  Something  such  is  the  soul: 
God  is  not  any  such  thing.  Moreover,  man 
may  say  that  he  has  light  now  in  his  eyes.  Let 
thine  eyes  say  then,  if  they  can,  as  by  a  voice 
of  their  own,  "We  have  light  in  ourselves." 
I  answer:  Not  correctly  do  you  say  that  you 
have  light  in  yourselves:  you  have  light,  but 
in  the  heavens;  you  have  light,  but  in  the 
moon,  in  candles,  if  it  happen  to  be  night, 
not  in  yourselves:  for,  being  shut,  you  lose 
what  you  perceive  when  open.  Not  in  your 
selves  have  you  light;  keep  the  light  if  you 
can  when  the  sun  is  set:  'tis  night,  enjoy  the 
light  of  night;  keep  the  light  when  the  candle 
is  withdrawn;  but  since  you  remain  in  dark 
ness  when  the  candle  is  withdrawn,  you  have 
not  light  in  yourselves.  Consequently,  to  have 
light  in  oneself  is  not  to  need  light  from  an 
other.  Behold,  whoso  understands  wherein 
He  shows  that  the  Son  is  equal  with  the 
Father,  when  He  saith,  "As  the  Father  hath 
life  in  Himself,  so  hath  He  given  to  the  Son 
also  to  have  life  in  Himself;"  that  there  may 
be  only  this  difference  between  the  Father 
and  the  Son,  that  the  Father  hath  life  in  Him 
self,  which  none  gave  Him,  whilst  the  Son 
hath  life  in  Himself  which  the  Father  gave. 

12.  But  here  also  arises  a  cloud  that  must 
be  scattered.  Let  us  not  lose  heart,  let  us 
strive  in  earnest.  Here  are  pastures  of  the 
mind;  let  us  not  disdain  them,  that  we  may 
live.  Behold,  sayest  thou,  thyself  confessest 
that  the  Father  hath  given  life  to  the  Son, 
that  He  may  have  life  in  Himself,  even  as  the 
Father  hath  life  in  Himself;  that  the  Father 
not  lacking,  the  Son  may  not  lack;  that  as  the 
Father  is  life,  so  the  Son  may  be  life;  and  both 
united  one  life,  not  two  lives;  because  God  is 
one,  not  two  Gods;  and  this  same  is  to  be 
lifi\  How,  then,  is  the  Father  said  to  have 
gin-n  life  to  the  Son?  Not  so  as  if  the  Son 
had  been  without  life  before,  and  received  life 
from  the  Father  that  He  might  live;  for  if  it 
were  so,  He  would  not  have  life  in  Himself. 
Behold,  I  was  speaking  of  the  soul.  The 
soul  exists;  though  it  be  not  wise,  though  it 


Rom. 


i    XIX.] 


i  lii.  GOSPEL  nl    ST.   JOHN. 


•  righteous,  though  it  be  not  godly,  it 
is  soul.  It  is  one  tiling  (or  it  to  be  soul,  but 
another  tiling  to  be  wise,  to  be  righteous,  to 

lly.  Something  there  is,  then,  in  which 
it  is  not  yet  wise,  not  yet  righteous,  not  yet 
godly.  Nevertheless  it  is  not  therefore 
nothing,  it  is  not  therefore  non-life;  for  it 
shows  itself  to  be  alive  by  certain  of  its  own 
actions,  although  it  does  not  show  itself  to 
IK-  wise,  godly,  or  righteous.  For  if  it  were 
not  living  it  would  not  move  the  body,  would 
not  command  the  feet  to  walk,  the  hands  to 
work,  the  eyes  to  look,  the  ears  to  hear; 
would  not  open  the  mouth  for  speaking,  nor 
move  the  tongue  to  distinction  of  speech. 
So,  then,  by  these  operations  it  shows  itself  to 
have  life,  and  to  be  something  which  is  better 
than  the  body.  But  does  it  in  any  wise  show 
itself  by  these  operations  to  be  wise,  godly, 
or  righteous  ?  Do  not  the  foolish,  the  wicked, 
the  unrighteous  walk,  work,  see,  hear,  speak  ? 
But  when  the  soul  rises  to  something  which 
itself  is  not,  which  is  above  itself,  and  from 
which  its  being  is,  then  it  gets  wisdom,  right 
eousness,  holiness,  which  so  long  as  it  was 
without,  it  was  dead,  and  did  not  have  the 
life  by  which  itself  should  live,  but  only  that 
by  which  the  body  was  quickened.  For  that 
in  the  soul  by  which  the  body  is  quickened  is 
one  thing,  that  by  which  the  soul  itself  is 
quickened  is  another.  Better,  certainly,  than 
the  body  is  the  soul,  but  better  than  the  soul 
itself  is  God.  The  soul,  even  if  it  be  foolish, 
ungodly,  unrighteous,  is  the  life  of  the  body. 
But  since  its  own  life  is  God,  just  as  it  sup 
plies  vigor,  comeliness,  activity,  the  functions 
of  the  limbs  to  the  body,  while  it  exists  in  the 
body;  so,  in  like  manner,  while  God,  its  life, 
is  in  the  soul,  He  supplies  to  it  wisdom,  god 
liness,  righteousness  charity.  Accordingly, 
what  the  soul  supplies  to  the  body,  and  what 
God  supplies  to  the  soul,  are  of  a  different 
kind:  the  soul  quickens  and  is  quickened. 
It  quickens  while  dead,  even  if  itself  is  not 
quickened.  But  when  the  word  comes,  and 
is  poured  into  the  hearers,  and  they  not  only 
hear,  but  are  made  obedient,  the  soul  rises 
from  its  death  to  its  life — that  is,  from  un- 

ousness,  from  folly,  from  ungodliness, 
to  its  God,  who  is  to  it  wisdom,  righteousness, 
light.  Let  it  rise  to  Him,  and  be  enlightened 
by  Him.  "Come  near,'  saith  he,  "to 
Him."  And  what  shall  we  have?  "And  be 
enlightened."1  If,  therefore,  by  "coming 
to"  ye  are  enlightened,  and  by  "departing 
from"  ye  become  darkened,  your  light  was 
not  in  yourselves,  but  in  your  God.  Come 
to  Him  that  ye  may  rise  again:  if  ye  depart 


from  Him,  yr  s'.iall  die.      If  by  < •oniing  • 

ye  live,  and  by  departing   I'rom    Hun    jr< 

your  life  was  not  in  yourselves.      I  <>r  t:.< 

is  your  life  which  is  your  light.    "  I 

Thee  is  the  fountain  of  life,  and  in  Thy  light 

we  shall  see  light."  ' 

13.  Not,  then,  in  like  manner  as  the  soul 
is  one  thing  before  it  is  enlightened,  and  be 
comes  a  better  thing  when  it  is  enlightened, 
by  participation  of  a  better;  not  so,  I  say,  was 
the  Word  of  God,  the  Son  of  God,  something 
else  before  He  received  life,  that  He  should 
have  life  by  participation;  but  He  has  life  in 
Himself,  and  is  consequently  Himself  the 
very  life.  What  is  it,  then,  that  He  saith, 
"  hath  given  to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  Him 
self  "  ?  I  would  say  it  briefly,  He  begot  the 
Son.  For  it  is  not  that  He  existed  without 
life,  and  received  life,  but  He  is  life  by  being 
begotten.  The  Father  is  life  not  by  being 
begotten;  the  Son  is  life  by  being  begotten. 
The  Father  is  of  no  father;  the  Son  is  of  God 
the  Father.  The  Father  in  His  being  is  of 
none,  but  in  that  He  is  Father,  'tis  because 
of  the  Son.  But  the  Son  also,  in  that  He  is 
Son,  'tis  because  of  the  Father:  in  His  being, 
j  He  is  of  the  Father.  This  He  said,  there - 
Ifore:  "hath  given  life  to  the  Son,  that  He 
|  might  have  it  in  Himself."  Just  as  if  He 
were  to  say,  "The  Father,  who  is  life  in 
Himself,  begot  the  Son,  who  should  be  life  in 
!  Himself."  Indeed,  He  would  have  this  dedit 
I  (hath  given)  to  be  understood  for  the  same 
|  thing  as  gcmiit  (hath  begotten).  It  is  like  as 
!  if  we  said  to  a  person,  "  God  hath  given  thee 
'  being."  To  whom  ?  If  to  some  one  already 
existing,  then  He  gave  him  not  being,  be 
cause  he  who  could  receive  existed  before  it 
was  given  him.  When,  therefore,  thou  near 
est  it  said,  "  He  gave  thee  being,"  thou  wast 
not  in  being  to  receive,  but  thou  didst  receive, 
that  thou  shouldst  be  by  coming  into  exist 
ence.  The  builder  gave  to  this  house  that  it 
should  be.  But  what  did  he  give  to  it?  He 
gave  it  to  be  .a  house.  To  what  did  he  give  ? 
To  this  house.  Gave  it  what?  To  be  a 
house.  How  could  he  give  to  a  house  that  it 
should  be  a  house  ?  For  if  the  house  was,  to 
what  did  he  gire  to  be  a  house,  when  the  house 
existed  already  ?  What,  then,  does  that 
mean,  "gave  it  to  be  a  house"  ?  It  means, 
he  brought  to  pass  that  it  should  be  a  h 
Well,  then,  what  gave  He  to  the  Son? 
Him  to  be  the  Son,  begot  Him  to  be  life — 
that  is,  "gave  Hun  to  have  life  in  Hiiv. 
that  He  should  be  the  life  not  needing  life, 
that  He  may  not  be  umU-r>tood  as  hav 
by  participation  For  it"  He  had  life  by  par- 


THE  WORKS  OK  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


i  Ti:  M    !  •. 


ticipation,  lie  might,  by  losing,  lie  without 
life.  Do  not  take,  nor  think,  nor  believe 
this  to  be  possible  respecting  the  Son. 
U  uerefore  the  Father  continues  the  life,  the 
Son  continues  the  life:  the  Father,  life  in 
Himself,  not  from  the  Son;  the  Son,  life  in 
Himself,  but  from  the  Father.  Begotten  of 
the  Father,  that  He  might  live  in  Himself; 
but  the  Father,  not  begotten,  life  in  Himself. 
Nor  did  He  beget  the  Son  less  than  Himself 
to  become  equal  by  growth.  For  surely  He 
by  whom,  being  perfect,  the  times  were 
created,  was  not  assisted  by  time  towards  His 
own  perfection.  Before  all  time,  He  is  co- 
eternal  with  the  Father.  For  the  Father  has 
never  been  without  the  Son;  but  the  Father 
is  eternal,  therefore  also  the  Son  co-eternal. 
Soul,  what  of  thee  ?  Thou  wast  dead,  didst 
lose  life;  hear  then  the  Father  through  the 
Son.  Arise,  take  to  thee  life,  that  in  Him 
who  has  life  in  Himself  thou  mayest  receive 
the  life  which  is  not  in  thee.  He  that  giveth 
thee  life,  then,  is  the  Father  and  the  Son; 
and  the  first  resurrection  is  accomplished  when 
thou  risest  to  partake  of  the  life  which  thou 
art  not  thyself,  and  by  partaking  art  made 
living.  Rise  from  thy  death  to  thy  life, 
which  is  thy  God,  and  pass  from  death  to 
eternal  life.  For  the  Father  hath  eternal 
life  in  Himself;  and  unless  He  had  begotten 
such  a  Son  as  had  life  in  Himself,  it  could 
not  be  that  as  the  Father  raiseth  up  the  dead, 
and  quickeneth  them,  so  also  the  Son  should 
quicken  whom  He  will. 

14.  But  what  of  that  resurrection  of  the 
body  ?  For  these  who  hear  and  live,  whence 
live,  except  by  hearing?  For  "  the  friend  of 
the  Bridegroom  standeth  and  heareth  Him, 
and  rejoiceth  greatly  because  of  the  Bride 
groom's  voice:"1  not  because  of  his  own 
voice;  that  is  to  say,  they  hear  and  live  by 
partaking,  not  by  coming  into  being;  and  all 
that  hear  live,  because  all  that  obey  live. 
Tell  us  something,  O  Lord,  also  of  the  resur 
rection  of  the  flesh;  for  there  haye  been  those 
who  denied  it,  asserting  that  this  is  the  only 
resurrection  which  is  wrought  by  faith.  Of 
which  resurrection  the  Lord  has  just  now 
made  mention,  and  inflamed  our  desire,  be 
cause  "  the  dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the 
Son  of  God,  nd  shall  live."  It  is  not  some 
of  those  who  hear  shall  live,  and  others  shall 
die;  but  "all  that  hear  shall  live,"  because 
all  that  obey  shall  live.  Behold,  we  see  a 
resurrection  of  the  mind;  let  us  not  therefore 
let  go  our  faith  of  the  resurrection  of  the  flesh. 
And  unless  Thou,  O  Lord  Jesus,  declare  to 
us  this,  whom  shall  we  oppose  to  those  who 


assert  the  contrary?  For  truly  all  sects  that 
have  undertaken  to  engraft  any  religion  upon 
men  have  allowed  this  resurrection  of  minds; 
otherwise,  it  might  be  said  to  them,  If  the 
soul  rise  not,  why  speakest  thou  to  me  ?  What 
meanest  thou  to  do  in  me  ?  If  thou  dost  not 
make  of  the  worse  a  better,  why  speakest 
thou  ?  If  thou  dost  not  make  a  righteous  of 
the  unrighteous,  why  speakest  thou  ?  But  if 
thou  dost  make  righteous  of  the  unrighteous, 
godly  of  the  ungodly,  wise  of  the  foolish, 
thou  confessest  that  my  soul  doth  rise  again, 
if  I  comply  with  thee  and  believe.  So,  then, 
all  those  that  have  founded  any  sect,  even  of 
false  religion,  while  they  wished  to  be  be 
lieved,  could  not  but  admit  this  resurrection 
of  minds:  all  have  agreed  concerning  this; 
but  many  have  denied  the  resurrection  of  the 
flesh,  and  affirmed  that  the  resurrection  had 
taken  place  already  in  faith.  Such  the  apos 
tle  resisteth,  saying,  "  Of  whom  is  Hymeneus 
and  Philetus,  who  concerning  the  truth  have 
erred,  saying  that  the  resurrection  hath  taken 
place  already,  and  overthrow  the  faith  of 
some."2  They  said  that  the  resurrection 
had  taken  place  already,  but  in  such  manner 
that  another  was  not  to  be  expected;  and  they 
blamed  people  who  were  looking  for  a  resur 
rection  of  the  flesh,  just  as  if  the  resur 
rection  which  was  promised  were  already  ac 
complished  in  the  act  of  believing,  namely,  in 
the  mind.  The  apostle  censures  these.  Why 
does  he  censure  them  ?  Did  they  not  affirm 
what  the  Lord  spoke  just  now:  "  The  hour 
cometh,  and  now  is,  when  the  dead  shall  hear 
the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  they  that 
hear  shall  live"?  But,  saith  Jesus  to  thee, 
it  is  of  the  life  of  minds  that  I  am  hitherto 
speaking:  J  am  not  yet  speaking  of  the  life  of 
bodies;  but  I  speak  of  the  life  of  that  which 
is  the  life  of  bodies,  that  is,  of  the  life  of 
souls,  in  which  the  life  of  bodies  exists.  For 
I  know  that  there  are  bodies  lying  in  the 
tombs;  I  know  also  that  your  bodies  will  lie 
in  the  tombs.  I  am  not  speaking  of  that 
resurrection,  but  I  speak  of  this;  in  this,  rise 
ye  again,  lest  ye  rise  to  punishment  in  that. 
But  that  ye  may  know  that  I  speak  also  of 
that,  what  do  I  add?  "For  as  the  Father 
hath  life  in  Himself,  even  so  hath  He  given 
to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  Himself."  This 
life  which  the  Father  is,  which  the  Son  is,  to 
what  does  it  pertain  ?  To  the  soul  or  to  the 
body  ?  It  is  not  surely  the  body  that  is  sensi 
ble  of  that  life  of  wisdom,  but  the  rational 
mind.  For  not  every  soul  hath  capacity  to 
apprehend  wisdom.  A  brute  beast,  in  fact, 
has  a  soul,  but  the  soul  of  the  brute  beast 


»  John  iii.  29. 


Ml        XIX. 


,  ill:  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


cannot  apprehend  wisdom.  It  is  the  human 
soul,  then,  that  can  perceive  this  lite  which 
the  Father  hath  in  Himself,  and  hath  given 
to  the  Son  to  have  in  Himself;  bccai: 
is  "  the  true  light  which  enhghteneth,"  not 
every  soul,  hut  "  every  man  coming  into  this 
world."  When,  therefore,  I  speak  to  the 
mind  itself,  let  it  hear,  that  is,  let  it  ohey 
and  live. 

15.  Wherefore,  keep  not  silent,  O  Lord, 
concerning  the  resurrection  of  the  flesh;  lest 
men  helieve  it  not,  and  we  continue  reasoners, 
not  preachers.  But  "as  the  Father  hath  life 
in  Himself,  even  so  hath  He  given  to  the  Son 
to  have  life  in  Himself."  Let  them  that 
hear,  understand;  let  them  helieve  that  they 
may  understand;  let  them  ohey  that  they 
may  live.  And  that  they  may  not  suppose 
that  the  resurrection  is  finished  here,  let  them 
hear  this  further:  "and  hath  given  Him 
authority  to  execute  judgment  also."  Who 
hath  given  ?  The  Father.  To  whom  hath 
He  given?  To  the  Son;  namely,  to  whom 
He  gave  to  have  life  in  Himself,  to  the  same 
hath  He  given  authority  to  execute  judgment. 
"  Because  He  is  the  Son  of  man.''  For  this 
is  the  Christ,  hoth  Son  of  God  and  Son  of 
man.  "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and 
the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was 
God.  This  was  in  the  beginning  with  God." 
Behold,  how  He  hath  given  Him  to  have  life 
in  Himself!  But  because  "the  Word  was 
made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us,"  was  made 
man  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  He  is  the  Son  of 
man.  What,  therefore,  hath  He  received  as 
Son  of  man  ?  Authority  to  execute  judgment. 
What  judgment?  That  in  the  end  of  the 
world.  Then  also  there  will  be  a  resurrec 
tion,  but  a  resurrection  of  bodies.  So,  then, 
God  raiseth  up  souls  by  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God;  bodies  He  raiseth  up  by  the  same 
Christ,  the  Son  of  man.  "  Hath  given  Him 
authority."  He  should  not  have  this  author 
ity  did  He  not  receive  it;  and  He  should  be 
a  man  without  authority.  /But  the  same  who 
is  Son  of  God  is  also  Son  of  man.  For  by 
adhering  to  the  unity  of  person,  the  Son  of 
man  with  the  Son  of  God  is  made  one  person, 
and  the  Son  of  God  is  the  same  person  which 
the  Son  of  man  is.  But  what  characteristic 
it  lias,  and  wherefore,  must  be  distinguished. 
The  Son  of  man  has  soul  and  body.  The 
Son  of  God,  which  is  the  Word  of  God,  has 
man,  as  the  soul  has  body.  And  just  as  soul 
having  body  does  not  make  two  persons,  but 
one  man;  so  the  Word,  having  man,  maketh 
not  two  persons,  but  one  Christ.  What 
is  man?  A  rational  soul,  having  a  body. 
What  is  Christ?  The  Word  of  God,  having 
man. /I  see  of  what  things  I  speak,  who  I 
J  o 


the  speaker   am,   and    to   whom    I    am 

ing, 

1 6.  Now  hear  concerning  the  resurrection 
of  bodies,  not  me,  but  the  Lord  about  to 
speak,  on  account  of  those  who  have  risen 
again  by  a  resurrection  from  death,  by  cleav 
ing  to  life.  To  what  life?  To  a  life 
knows  not  death.  Why  knows  not  death  ? 
Because  it  knows  not  mutability.  Why  knows 
not  mutability  ?  Because  it  is  life  in  itself. 
"And  hath  given  Him  authority  to  execute 
judgment,  because  He  is  the  Son  of  man." 
What  judgment,  what  kind  of  judgment? 
"Marvel  not  at  this"  which  I  have  said, — 
gave  Him  authority  to  execute  judgment, — 
"  for  the  hour  is  coming."  He  does  not  add 
"  and  now  is:  "  therefore  He  means  to  make 
known  to  us  a  certain  hour  in  the  end  of  the 
world.  The  hour  is  now  that  the  dead  rise, 
the  hour  will  be  in  the  end  of  the  world  that 
the  dead  rise:  but  that  they  rise  now  in  the 
mind,  then  in  the  flesh;  that  they  rise  now  in 
the  mind  by  the  Word  of  God,  the  Son  of 
God;  then  in  the  flesh  by  the  Word  of  God 
made  flesh,  the  Son  of  man.  F'or  it  will  not 
be  the  Father  Himself  that  will  come  to  judg 
ment,  notwithstanding  the  Father  doth  not 
withdraw  Himself  from  the  Son.  How,  then, 
is  it  that  the  Father  Himself  will  not  come? 
In  that  He  will  not  be  seen  in  the  judgment. 
"They  shall  look  on  Him  whom  they 
pierced."  '  That  form  which  stood  before 
the  judge,  will  be  Judge:  that  form  will  judge 
which  was  judged;  for  it  was  judged  unjustly, 
it  will  judge  justly.  There  will  come  the  form 
of  a  servant,  and  that  same  will  be  apparent. 
For  how  could  the  form  of  God  be  made  ap 
parent  to  the  just  and  to  the  unjust?  If  the 
judgment  were  to  be  only  among  the  just, 
then  the  form  of  God  might  appear  as  to  the 
just.  But  because  the  judgment  is  to  be  of 
the  just  and  of  the  unjust,  and  that  it  is  not 
permitted  to  the  wicked  to  see  God, — for 
"  blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall 
see  God,"  • — such  a  Judge  will  appear  as  may 
be  seen  by  those  whom  He  is  about  to  crown, 
and  by  those  whom  He  is  about  to  condemn. 
Hence  the  form  of  a  servant  will  be  seen,  the 
form  of  God  will  he  hid.  The  Son  of  God 
will  be  hid  in  the  servant,  and  the  Son  of 
man  will  be  manifest,  because  to  Him  "  hath 
He  given  authority  to  execute  judgment,  be 
cause  He  is  the  Son  of  man."  And  because 
He  alone  will  appear  in  the  form  of  a  servant, 
but  the  Father  not,  since  He  has  not  taken 
upon  Him  the  form  of  a  sen-ant;  for  that 
reason  He  saith  above:  "  The  Father  judgeth 
not  any  man,  but  hath  given  all  judgment  to 


John  xix.  37. 


Matt.  v.  8. 


1 3o 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTAII.    XIX. 


the  Son."  Rightly  then  had  it  been  de- 1  For  in  that  which  He  said  above,  "And  they 
ferred,  that  the  propounder  might  Himself  that  hear  shall  live,"  He  meant  it  to  be  under- 
be  the  interpreter.  For  before  it  was  hidden;  stood  that  there  is  in  that  very  hearing  and 
now,  as  I  think,  it  is  already  manifest,  that  obeying  an  eternal  and  blessed  life,  which  not 

all  that  shall  come  forth  from  the  graves  will 
have.  Here,  then,  both  in  the  mention  of 
graves,  and  by  the  expression  of  a  "coming 
forth "  from  the  graves,  we  openly  under 
stand  a  resurrection  of  bodies. 

18.  "All  shall  hear  His  voice,  and  shall 
come  forth."  And  where  is  judgment,  if  all 
shall  hear  and  all  shall  come  forth  ?  It  is  as 
if  all  were  confusion;  I  see  no  distinguishing. 
Certainly  Thou  hast  received  authority  to 
judge,  because  Thou  art  the  Son  of  man:  be- 
for  hold,  Thou  wilt  be  present  in  the  judgment; 
the  bodies  will  rise  again;  but  tell  us  some 
thing  of  the  judgment  itself,  that  is,  of  the 


He  gave  Him  authority  to  execute  judg 
ment,"  that  "the  Father  judgeth  not  any 
man,  but  hath  given  all  judgment  to  the 
Son:  "  because  the  judgment  is  to  be  by  that 
form  which  the  Father  hath  not.  And  what 
kind  of  judgment?  "  MarVel  not  at  this,  for 
the  hour  is  coming:  "  not  that  which  now  is, 
for  the  souls  to  rise;  but  that  which  is  to  be, 
for  the  bodies  to  rise. 


17.  Let  Him  declare  this  more  distinctly, 
that  the  heretical  denier  of  the  resurrection 
of  the  body  may  not  find  a  pretext 
sophistical  cavil,  although  the  meaning  al 
ready  shines  out  clearly.  When  it  was  said 
above,  "The  hour  is  coming,"  He  added. 


separation  of  the  evil  and  the  good.      Hear  this 


"and  now  is;"  but  just  now,  "  The  hour  is  :  further  then:  "They  that  have  done  good 
coming,"  He  has  not  added,  "and  now  is. "i  into  the  resurrection  of  life;  they  that  have 
Let  Him,  however,  by  the  open  truth,  burst  done  evil  into  the  resurrection  of  judgment." 
asunder  all  handles,  all  loops  and  pegs  of  When  above  He  spoke  of  a  resurrection  of 
sophistical  attack,  all  the  nooses  of  ensnaring  minds  and  souls,  did  He  make  any  distinction  ? 
objections.  "  Marvel  not  at  this:  for  the  hour  No,  for  all  "that  hear  shall  live;  "  because 
is  coming,  in  which  all  that  are  in  the  graves."  j  by  hearing,  viz.  by  obeying,  shall  they  live. 
What  more  evident?  what  more  distinct  ?  But  certainly  not  all  will  go  to  eternal  life  by 
Bodies  are  in  the  graves;  souls  are  not  in  the  rising  and  coming  forth  from  the  graves, — 
graves,  either  of  just  or  of  unjust.  The  soul '  only  they  that  have  done  well;  and  they  that 
of  the  just  man  was  in  the  bosom  of  Abraham; '  have  done  ill,  to  judgment.  For  here  He 
the  unjust  man's  soul  was  in  hell,  tormented:  I  has  put  judgment  for  punishment.  There 
neither  the  one  nor  the  other  was  in  the  will  also  be  a  separation,  not  such  as  there  is 
grave.  Above,  when  He  saith,  "The  hour  now.  For  now  we  are  separated,  not  by 
is  coming,  and  now  is,"  I  beseech  you  give  j  place,  but  by  character,  affections,  desires, 
earnest  heed.  Ye  know,  brethren,  that  we  j  faith,  hope,  charity.  Now  we  live  together 


get  the  bread  of  the  belly  with  toil;  with  how 
much  greater   toil  the  bread  of  the  mind"! 

with 


with  the  unjust,  though  the  life  of  all  is  not 
the  same:  in  secret  we  are  distinguished,  in 
secret  we  are  separated;  as  grain  on  the  floor, 


With    labor   you    stand   and    hear,  but 

greater  we  stand  and  speak.  If  we  labor  for '  not  as  grain  in  the  granary.  On  the  floor, 
your  sake,  you  ought  to  labor  with  us  for  i  grain  is  both  separated  and  mixed:  separated, 
your  own  sake.  Above,  then,  when  He  said,  [  because  severed  from  the  chaff;  mixed,  be- 
"  The  hour  is  coming,"  and  added,  "  and  cause  not  yet  winnowed.  Then  there  will  be 
now  is,"  what  did  He  subjoin?  "  When  the  j  an  open  separation;  a  distinguishing  of  life 
dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  I  just  as  of  the  character,  a  separation  as  there 
and  they  that  hear  shall  live."  He  did  not  |  is  in  wisdom,  so  also  will  there  be  in  bodies, 
say,  "All  the  dead  shall  hear,  and  they  that  j  They  that  have  done  well  will  go  to  live  with 
hear  shall  live;"  for  He  meant  the  unrighteous  the  angels  of  God;  they  that  have  done  evil, 
to  be  understood.  And  is  it  so,  that  all  the  to  be  tormented  with  the  devil  and  his  angels, 
unrighteous  obey  the  gospel  ?  The  apostle  I  And  the  form  of  a  servant  will  pass  away, 
says  openly,  "  But  not  all  obey  the  gospel."  1 1  For  to  this  end  He  had  manifested  Himself, 
But  they  that  hear  shall  live,  because  all  that  that  He  might  execute  judgment.  After  the 
obey  the  gospel  shall  pass  to  eternal  life  by  judgment,  He  shall  go  hence,  will  lead  with 
faith:  yet  all  do  not  obey;  and  this  is  now.  Him  the  body  of  which  He  is  the  head,  and 
But  certainly,  in  the  end,  "All  that  are  in  the  j  deliver  up  the  kingdom  of  God.2  Then  will 
graves,"  both  the  just  and  the  unjust,  "  shall  openly  be  seen  that  form  of  God  which  could 
hear  His  voice,  and  come  forth."  How  is  it  I  not  be  seen  by  the  wicked,  to  whose  vision 


He  would  not  say,  "and  shall  live"?     All, 
indeed,  will  come  forth,  but  all  will  not  live. 


the  form  of  a  servant  must  be  shown.     He 
says    also    in    another    place    on    this   wise: 


,  O 


.1    \\.j 


ox    I  in.  GOSPEL  <  'i    ST.  JOHN 


"  These  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  burn 
ing  "  (speaking  of  certain  on  the  left),  "hut 
the  just  into  life  eternal;"'  <>t  which  life  He 
^ays  in  another  place:  "And  this  is  eternal 
lite,  that  they  may  know  Thee  the  one  true 
God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  Thou  hast 
sent."-  Then  will  He  be  there  manifested, 
"  who,  being  in  the  form  of  God,  thought  it 
not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God."  J  Then 
He  will  manifest  Himself,  as  He  has  promised 
to  manifest  Himself  to  them  that  love  Him. 
For  "  he  that  loveth  me,"  saith  He,  "  keep- 
eth  my  commandments;  and  he  that  loveth 
me  shall  be  loved  of  my  Father;  and  I  will  love 
him,  and  will  manifest  myself  to  him.''4  He 
was  present  in  person  with  those  to  whom  He 
was  speaking:  but  they  saw  the  form  of  a 
sen-ant,  they  did  not  see  the  form  of  God. 
They  were  being  led  on  His  own  beast  to  His 
dwelling  to  be  healed;  but  now  being  healed, 
they  will  see,  because,  saith  He,  '*  I  will 
manifest  myself  to  him."  How  is  He  shown 
equal  to  the  Father?  When  He  says  to 
Philip,  "  He  that  seeth  me  seeth  my  Father 
also,  "s 

19.  "  I  cannot  of  myself  do  anything:  as  I 
hear,  I  judge:  and  my  judgment  is  just." 
Else  we  might  have  said  to  Him,  "  Thou  wilt 
judge,  and  the  Father  will  not  judge,  for  *  all 
judgment  hath  He  given  to  the  Son;'  ft  is 
not,  therefore,  according  to  the  Father  that 
Thou  wilt  judge."  Hence  He  added,  "I 
cannot  of  myself  do  anything:  as  I  hear,  I 
judge:  and  my  judgment  is  just;  because  I 


'  Matt.  xxv.  46. 
4  John  xiv.  21. 


2  John  xyii.  3. 
5  John  xiv.  19. 


3  Phil.  ii.  6. 


seek  not  my  own  will,  but  the  will  of  Him 
that  sent  me."  Undoubtedly  the  Son  quick- 
eneth  whom  He  will.  He  seeketh  n 
own  will,  but  the  will  of  Hun  that  sent  Him. 
Not  my  own,  my  proper  will;  not  mine,  not 
the  Son  of  man's;  not  mine  to  resist  God. 
For  men  do  their  own  will,  not  God's,  when 
they  do  what  they  list,  not  what  God  com 
mands;  but  when  they  do  what  they  list,  so 
as  yet  to  follow  God's  will,  they  do  not  their 
own  will,  notwithstanding  they  do  what  they 
list  to  do.  Do  what  thou  art  bidden  will 
ingly,  and  thus  shalt  thou  both  do  what  thou 
wiliest,  and  also  not  do  thine  own  will,  but 
His  that  biddeth. 

20.  What  then?  "As  I  hear,  I  judge." 
The  Son  "  heareth,"  anil  the  Father  "  show- 
eth  "  to  Him,  and  the  Son  seeth  the  Father 
doing.  But  we  had  deferred  these  matters, 
in  order  to  handle  them,  so  far  as  might  lie 
in  our  abilities,  with  somewhat  greater  plain 
ness  and  fullness,  should  time  and  strength 
remain  to  us  after  finishing  the  perusal  of 
the  passage.  If  I  say  that  I  am  able  to  speak 
yet  further,  you  perhaps  are  not  able  to  go 
on  hearing.  Again,  perhaps,  in  your  eager 
ness  to  hear,  you  say,  "We  are  able." 
Better,  then,  that  I  should  confess  my  weak 
ness,  that,  being  already  fatigued,  I  am  not 
able  to  speak  longer,  than  that,  when  you  are 
already  satiated,  I  should  continue  to  pour 
into  you  what  you  cannot  well  digest.  Then, 
as  to  this  promise,  which  I  deferred  until  to 
day,  should  there  be  an  opportunity,  hold 
me,  with  the  Lord's  help,  your  debtor  until 
to-morrow. 


TRACTATE    XX. 

CHAPTER  V.    19. 


i.  THE  words  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  committed  to  writing  that  they  might  now 
especially  those  recorded  by  the  Evangelist  be  read,  what  He  means  in  what  ye  have  now 
John,— who  not  without  cause  leaned  on  the  heard  Him  say:  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
Lord's  bosom,  that  he  might  drink  in  the  you,  The  Son  cannot  of  Himself  do  anything, 
secrets  of  that  higher  wisdom,  and  by  evan-  but  what  He  seeth  the  Father  doing:  for 
gelizing  give  forth  again  what  by  loving  he  what  things  soever  the  Father  doeth,  these 
hail  drunk  in, — are  so  secret  and  profound  of  same  the  Son  also  doeth  in  like  manner." 
understanding,  that  they  trouble  all  who  are  2.  Now  you  need  to  be  reminded  whence 
perverse  of  heart,  and  exercise  all  who  are  in  this  discourse  arose,  by  reason  of  what  pre- 
heart  upright.  Wherefore,  beloved,  give  cedes  this  passage,  where  the  Lord  had  cured 
heed  to  these  few  words  that  have  been  read.  |  a  certain  man  among  those  who  were  lying  in 
Let  us  see  if  in  any  wise  we  can,  by  His  own  the  five  porches  of  that  pool  of  Solomon,  and 
gift  and  help  who  has  willed  His  words  to  be  to  whom  He  had  said,  "Take  up  thy  bed.  and 
recited  to  us,  which  at  that  time  were  heard  go  unto  thy  house."  But  this  He  had  done 


THK  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


IK     \\. 


on  the  Sabbath;  and  hence  the  Jews,  being  may  be  looking  for  rest  after  this  hie.  pro- 
troubled,  were  falsely  accusing  Him  as  a  de- '  videcl  we  have  done  good  works.  Accord- 
stroyer  and  transgressor  of  the  law.  He  then  j  ingly,  the  Lord,  restraining  the  impudence 
said  to  them,  "  My  Father  worketh  even  until  and  refuting  the  error  of  the  Jews,  and  show- 
now,  and  I  work.''1  For  they,  taking  the  ing  them  that  they  did  not  think  rightly  of 

God,  says  to  them,  when  they  were  offended 
at  His  working  men's  healing  on  the  Sabbath, 
"  My  Father  worketh  until  now,  and  I  work:  " 
do  not  therefore  suppose  that  my  Father  so 
rested  on  the  Sabbath,  that  thenceforth  He 
doth  not  work;  but  even  as  He  now  worketh, 
so  I  also  work.  But  as  the  Father  without 
toil,  so  too  the  Son  without  toil.  God  "  said, 
and  they  were  done;  "  Christ  said  to  the  im 
potent  man,  "  Take  up  thy  bed,  and  go  unto 
thy  house,"  and  it  was  done. 

3.  But  the  catholic  faith  has  it,  that  the 
works  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  are  not 
separable.  This  is  what  I  wish,  if  possible, 


observance  of  the  Sabbath  in  a  carnal  sense, 
fancied  that  God  had,  as  it  were,  slept  after 
the  labor  of  framing  the  world  even  to  this 
day;  and  that  therefore  He  had  sanctified 
that  day,  from  which  He  began  to  rest  as 
from  labor.  Now,  to  our  fathers  of  old  there 
was  ordained  a  sacrament  of  the  Sabbath,2 
which  we  Christians  observe  spiritually,  in 
abstaining  from  every  servile  work,  that  is, 
from  every  sin  (for  the  Lord  saith,  "Every 
one  that  committeth  sin  is  the  servant  of 
sin  "),  and  in  having  rest  in  our  heart,  that 
is,  spiritual  tranquillity.  And  although  in 
this  life  we  strive  after  this  rest,  yet  not  until 

we  have  departed  this  life  shall  we  attain  to  to  speak  to  you,  beloved;  but,  according  to 
that  perfect  rest.  But  the  reason  why  God  is  |  those  words  of  the  Lord,  "  he  that  is  able  to 
said  to  have  rested  is,  that  He  made  no  .  receive  it,  let  him  receive  it."5  But  he  that 
creature  after  all  was  finished.  Moreover,  '  is  not  able  to  receive  it,  let  him  not  charge  it 
the  Scripture  called  it  rest,  to  admonish  us  Jon  me,  but  on  his  own  dullness;  and  let  him 
that  after  good  works  we  shall  rest.  For  thus,  turn  to  Him  that  opens  the  heart,  that  He 
we  have  it  written  in  Genesis,  "And  God  may  pour  in  what  He  freely  giveth.  And, 
made  all  things  very  good,  and  God  rested  lastly,  if  any  one  may  not  have  understood, 
on  the  seventh  day,"  in  order  that  thou,  O  !  because  I  have  not  declared  it  as  I  ought  to 
man,  considering  that  God  Himself  is  said  to  have  declared  it,  let  him  excuse  the  weakness 
have  rested  after  good  works,  shouldest  not  of  man,  and  supplicate  the  divine' goodness, 
expect  rest  for  thyself,  until  after  thou  hast  |  For  we  have  within  a  Master,  Christ.  What- 
wrought  good  works;  and  even  as  God.  after  ever  ye  are  not  able  to  receive  through  your 
He  made  man  in  His  own  image  and  likeness,  ear  and  my  mouth,  turn  ye  in  your  heart  to 
and  in  him  finished  all  His  works  very  good,  i  Him  who  both  teacheth  me  what  to  speak, 
rested  on  the  seventh  day,  so  mayest  thou  and  distributed!  to  yon  in  what  measure  He 
also  not  expect  rest  to  thyself,  except  thou  deigns.  He  who  knows  what  to  give,  and  to 
return  to  that  likeness  in  which  thou  wast  j  whom  to  give,  will  help  him  that  seeketh,  and 
made,  which  likeness  thou  hast  lost  by  sin-  open  to  him  that  knocketh.  And  if  so  be 
ning.  For,  in  reality,  God  cannot  be  said  to  'that  He  give  not,  let  no  one  call  himself  for- 
have  toiled,  who  "  said,  and  they  were  done/'  saken.  For  it  may  be  that  He  delays  to  give 
Who  is  there  that,  after  such  facility  of  work,  j  something,  but  He  leaves  none  hungry.  If, 
desires  to  rest  as  if  after  labor?  If  He  com- '  indeed,  He  give  not  at  the  hour,  He  is  exer- 
manded  and  some  one  resisted  Him,  if  HejCising  the  seeker,  He  is  not  scorning  the 

and    give   heed    to 
if  I  should  not  be 


commanded  and  it  was  not  done,  and  labored 
that  it  might  be  done,  then  justly  He  should 
be  said  to  have  rested  after  labor.  But  when 
in  that  same  book  of  Genesis  we  read,  "  God 
said,  Let  there  be  light,  and  there  was  light; 
God  said,  Let  there  be  a  firmament,  and  the 
firmament  was  made,"3  and  all  the  rest  were 


suitor.     Look    ye,   then, 

what  I  wish  to  say,  even 

able  to  say  it.     The  catholic  faith,  confirmed 

by  the  Spirit  of  God  in  His  saints,  has  this 

against  all    heretical    perverseness,   that   the 

works  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  are  in 


separable.     What   is 


I  have   said  ? 


made  immediately  at  His  word:  to  which  also  As  the  Father  and  the  Son  are  inseparable, 

the  psalm  testifies,  saying,  "He  spake,  and  so  also  the  works  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son 

they  were  made;  He  commanded,  and  they  are  inseparable.      How  are  the   Father  and 

were  created," 4 — how  could   He  require  rest  the  Son  inseparable,  since  Himself  said,  "I 

after  the  world  was  made,  as  if  to  enjoy  leisure  and   the    Father   are   one?"'      Because   the 

after   toil,    He    who    in    commanding   never  i  Father  and  the  Son  are  not  two  Gods,  but 

toiled  ?    Consequently  these  sayings  are  mys-  one  God,  the  Word  and  He  whose  the  Word 

tical,  and  are  laid  down  in  this  wise  that  we  is,  One  and  the  Only  One,  Father  and  Son 


1  John  v.  17. 
3  Gen.  i.  3,  6,  7. 


. 

4  Ps.  xxxiii.  9. 


Matt 


John  x.  30. 


TRACTAM    XX.] 


()N   THE  >.<  tSPEL  Ol    ST.  J(  >H\ 


liound  together  by  charity,  One  God,  and  the    <  omc  proud,  and   lose  what  knowledge  he  has 
Spirit   of   Charity   also   one,   so   that    Father,    gotten.      With   man,   /<>  !>,-  and   ti>  !><•  ni  ' 


Son,  and  Holy  Spirit  is  made  the  Trinity. 
Therefore,  not  only  of  the  Father  and  Son, 
but  also  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  as  there  is  equal 
ity  and  inseparability  of  persons,  so  also  the 
works  are  inseparable.  I  will  tell  you  yet 


different  thm-s. 


more  plainly  what  is  meant  by  "the  works   esse  and 


and    yet    cannot   what  he   wills; 
again,  the  man  is  in   such  wise,  that  he  f<in 
what  he  wills;    therefore   his  bring  and    his 
being  able  are  different  things.     For  if  man's 


were  the  same  thing,  then  lie 


are  inseparable."  The  catholic  faith  does  >  could  when  he  would.  But  with  God  it  is  not 
not  say  that  God  the  Father  made  something,  so,  that  His  substance  to  be  is  one  thing,  and 
and  the  Son  made  some  other  thing;  but  what  His  power  to  be  able  another  thing;  but  what- 


the  Father  made,  that  also  the  Son  made,  that 
also  the   Holy  Spirit  made.     For  all  things 


ever  is  His,  and  whatever  He  is,  is  consub- 
stantial  with   Him,  because  He  is  God:    it  is 


were  made  by  the  Word;   when  "  He  spake  I  not  so  that  in  one  way  He  is,  in  another  way 
and  they  were  done,"  it  is  by  the  Word  they  j  is  able;    He  has  the  esse  and  the  posse  to- 


were  done,  by  Christ  they  were  done.  For 
*'  in  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the 
Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God: 


gether,  because  He  has  to  will  and  to  Jo  to 
gether.  Since,  then,  the  power  of  the  Son  is 
of  the  Father,  therefore  also  the  substance  of 


all  things  were  made  by  Him."  If  all  things  I  the  Son  is  of  the  Father;  and  since  the  sub- 
were  made  by  Him,  "  God  said,  Let  there  be !  stance  of  the  Son  is  of  the  Father,  therefore 
light,  and  there  was  light;  in  the  Word  He!  the  power  of  the  Son  is  of  the  Father.  In  the 


made,  by  the  Word  Fie  made. 

4.   Behold,   then,  we  have  now  heard 


Son,  powe,r  and  substance  are  not  different: 
the   the  power  is  the  self-same  that  the  substance 

Gospel,  where  He  answered  the  Jews  who]  is;  the  substance  to  be,  the  power  to  be  able. 
were  indignant  "  that  He  not  only  broke  the  i  Accordingly,  because  the  Son  is  of  the  Father, 
Sabbath,  but  said  also  that  God  was  His ;  He  said,  "  The  Son  cannot  of  Himself  do 
Father,  making  Himself  equal  with  God.1  i  anything."  Because  He  is  not  Son  from 
For  so  it  is  written  in  the  foregoing  para- '  Himself,  therefore  He  is  not  able  from  Him- 
graph.  When,  therefore,  the  Son  of  God,  self. 


the  Truth,  made  answer  to  their  erring  in 
dignation,  saith  He,    "Verily,  verily,  I  say 


5.   He  appears  to  have  made  Himself  as  it 
were  less,  when  He  said,  **  The  Son  cannot 

unto  you,  The  Son  cannot  of  Himself  do  of  Himself  do  anything,  but  what  He  seeth 
anything,  but  what  He  seeth  the  Father  the  Father  doing."  Hereupon  heretical  van- 
doing;"  as  if  He  said,  "Why  are  ye  offended  ity  lifts  the  neck:  theirs,  indeed,  who  say 
because  I  have  said  that  God  is  my  Father,  that  the  Son  is  less  than  the  Father,  of  less 


and  that  I  make  myself  equal  with  God  ? 
am  equal  in  that  wise  that  He  begat  me; 
I  am  equal  in  that  wise  that  He  is  not  from 
me,  but  I  from  Him."  For  this  is  implied  in 
these  words:  "  The  Son  cannot  do  anything 
of  Himself,  but  what  He  seeth  the  Father 
doing."  That  is,  whatever  the  Son  hath  to 
do,  the  doing  it  He  hath  of  the  Father. 
Why  of  the  Father  hath  He  the  doing  it? 
Because  of  the  Father  He  hath  it  that  He  is 
Son.  Why  hath  He  it  of  the  Father  to  be 
Son  ?  Because  of  the  Father  He  hath  it  that 
He  is  able,  of  the  Father  that  He  is.  For, 
to  the  Son,  both  to  be  able  and  to  be  is  the 
self-same  thing.  It  is  not  so  with  man. 
Raise  your  hearts  by  all  means  from  a  com- 
•n  of  human  weakness,  that  lies  far  be 
neath;  and  should  any  of  us  perhaps  reach 


to  the  secret, 


while  awe-struck  by  the 


brilliance  as  it  were  of  a  great  light,  should 
discern    somewhat,    and    not    remain    wholly 


authority,  of  less  majesty,  of  less  possibility, 
not  understanding  the  mystery  of  Christ's 
words.  But  attend,  beloved,  and  see  how 
they  are  confounded  in  their  carnal  intellect 
by  the  words  of  Christ.  And  this  is  what  I 
said  a  little  before,  that  the  word  of  God 
troubles  all  perverse  hearts,  just  as  it  exer 
cises  pious  hearts,  especially  that  spoken  by 
the  Evangelist  John.  For  they  are  deep 
words  that  are  spoken  by  him,  not  random 
words,  nor  such  as  may  be  easily  understood. 
So,  a  heretic,  if  he  happen  to  hear  these 
words,  immediately  rises  and  says  to  us, 
*'  Lo,  the  Son  is  less  than  the  Father;  hear 
the  words  of  the  Son,  who  says,  *  The  Son 
cannot  do  anything  of  Himself,  but  what  He 
seeth  the  Father  doing.1  "  Wait;  as  it  is 
written,  *'  Be  meek  to  hear  the  word,  that 
thou  mayest  understand."-'  Well,  suppose 
that  because  I  assert  the  power  and  majesty 
of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  to  be  equal,  I 


gnorant;    yet    let   him   not   imagine   that   he    was    disconcerted    at    heari:.. 
understands    the   whole,    lest    he    should    be-    "  The  Son  cannot  do  anything  of  Himself,  but 


John  v.  18. 


134 


11  IK   WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIX. 


(    I  KA<    1AIK    XX. 


what  He  seeth  the  Father  doing."  Well,  I, 
being  disconcerted  at  these  words,  will  ask 
thee,  who  seemest  to  thyself  to  have  instantly 
understood  them,  a  question.  We  know  in 
the  Gospel  that  the  Son  walked  upon  the  sea; ' 
when  saw  He  the  Father  walk  upon  the  sea  ? 
Here  now  he  is  disconcerted.  Lay  aside, 
then,  thy  understanding  of  the  words,  and 
let  us  examine  them  together.  What  do  we 
then  ?  We  have  heard  the  words  of  the  Lord: 
"  The  Son  cannot  of  Himself  do  anything, 
but  what  He  seeth  the  Father  doing."  The 
Son  walked  upon  the  sea,  the  Father  never 
walked  upon  the  sea.  Yet  certainly  "  the 
Son  cannot  of  Himself  do  anything,  but  what 
He  seeth  the  Father  doing." 

6.  Return  then  with  me  to  what  I  was  say 
ing,  in  case  it  is  so  to  be  understood  that  we 
may  both  escape  from  the  question.     For  I 
see  how  I,  according  to  the  catholic  faith, 
may  escape   without  tripping  or  stumbling; 
whilst  thou,  on  the  other  hand,  shut  in  on 
every  side,  art  seeking  a  way  of  escape.     See 
by   what   way   thou    hast   entered.     Perhaps 
thou  hast  not  understood  this  that  I  said,  See 
by  what  way  thou  hast  entered:  hear  Himself 
saying,    "I   am    the   door."2      Not   without 
cause,  then,  art  thou  seeking  how  thou  mayest 
get  out;  and  this  only  thou  findest,  that  thou 
hast  not  entered  by  the  door,  but  fell  in  over 
the  wall.     Therefore  raise  thyself  up  from 
thy  fall  how  thou  canst,  and  enter  by  the  door, 
that  thou   mayest  go  in   without  stumbling, 
and    go    out    without    straying.      Come    by 
Christ,  not  bringing  forward  of  thy  own  heart 
what  thou  mayest  say;    but  what  He  shows, 
that  speak.     Behold   how  the  catholic  faith 
gets  clear  of  this  question.     The  Son  walked 
upon  the  sea,  planted  the  feet  of  flesh  on  the 
waves:   the  flesh  walked,  and  the  divinity  di 
rected.     But  when  the  flesh  was  walking  and 
the   divinity  directing,   was   the    Father   ab 
sent?     If  absent,  how  doth  the  Son  Himself 
say,  "but  the  Father  abiding  in  me,  Himself 
cloeth  the  works?"3     If  the   Father,  abiding 
in  the  Son,   Himself  doeth  His  works,  then 
that  walking  upon  the  sea  was  made  by  the 
Father,  and  through  the  Son.     Accordingly, 
that  walking  is  an  inseparable  work  of  Father 
and  Son.     I  see  both  acting  in  it.     Neither 
the  Father  forsook  the  Son,  nor  the  Son  left 
the  Father.     Thus,  whatever  the  Son  doeth, 
He  doeth  not  without  the  Father;    because 
whatever   the    Father   doeth,   He  doeth    not 
without  the  Son. 

7.  We    have   got   clear   of   this   question. 
Mark  ye  that  rightly  we  say  the  works  of  the 
Father,  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit  are 


inseparable.  But  as  thou  understandest  it, 
lo,  God  made  the  light,  and  the  Son  saw  the 
Father  making  light,  according  to  thy  carnal 
understanding,  who  wilt  have  it  that  He  is 
less,  because  He  said,  "  The  Son  cannot  of 
Himself  do  anything,  but  what  He  seeth  the 
Father  doing."  God  the  Father  made  light; 
what  other  light  did  the  Son  make  ?  God  the 
Father  made  the  firmament,  the  heaven  be 
tween  waters  and  waters;  and  the  Son  saw 
Him,  according  to  thy  dull  and  sluggish  un 
derstanding.  Well,  since  the  Son  saw  the 
Father  making  the  firmament,  and  also  said, 
"  The  Son  cannot  of  Himself  do  anything, 
but  what  He  seeth  the  Father  doing,"  then 
show  me  the  other  firmament  made  by  the 
Son.  Hast  thou  lost  the  foundation  ?  But 
they  that  are  "  built  upon  the  foundation  of 
the  apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ  Him 
self  being  the  chief  corner-stone,"  are  brought 
into  a  state  of  peace  in  Christ;4  nor  do  they 
strive  and  wander  in  heresy.  Therefore  we 
understand  that  the  light  was  made  by  God 
the  Father,  but  through  the  Son;  that  the 
firmament  was  made  by  God  the  Father,  but 
through  the  Son.  For  "  all  things  were  made 
through  Him,  and  without  Him  was  nothing 
made."  Cast  out  thine  understanding,  which 
ought  not  to  be  called  understanding,  but 
evidently  foolishness.  God  the  Father  made 
the  world;  what  other  world  did  the  Son 
make  ?  Show  me  the  Son's  world.  Whose  is 
this  world  in  which  we  are  ?  Tell  us,  by 
whom  made?  If  thou  sayest,  "  By  the  Son, 
not  by  the  Father,"  then  thou  hast  erred 
from  the  Father;  if  thou  sayest,  "By  the 
Father,  not  by  the  Son,"  the  Gospel  answers 
thee  thus,  "  And  the  world  was  made  by 
(through)  Him,  and  the  world  knew  Him 
not."  Acknowledge  Him,  then,  by  whom 
the  world  was  made,  and  be  not  among  those 
who  knew  not  Him  that  made  the  world. 

8.  Wherefore  the  -works  of  the  Father  and 
of  the  Son  are  inseparable.  Moreover,  this, 
"The  Son  cannot  do  anything  of  Himself," 
would  mean  the  same  thing  as  if  He  were  to 
say,  "The  Son  is  not  from  Himself."  For  if 
He  is  a  Son,  He  was  begotten;  if  begotten, 
He  is  from  Him  of  whom  He  is  begotten. 
Nevertheless,  the  Father  begat  Him  equal  to 
Himself.  Nor  was  aught  wanting  to  Him 
\  that  begat;  He  who  begat  a  co-eternal  re 
quired  not  time  to  beget:  who  prodm  < 
Word  of  Himself,  required  not  a  mother  to 
beget  by;  the  Father  begetting  did  not  pre 
cede  the  Son  in  age,  so  that  He  should  bc^et 
a  Son  younger  than  Himself.  But  perhaps 
some  one  may  say,  that  after  many  ages  God 


•    Jnhn 


TK  \.   i  A  i  i     \\.] 


ON  '!  ill    G<  'H'l.i    ( »i-   ST.   JOHN. 


«3S 


lx--.it  a  Son  in  His  old  age.  Kvm  as  the 
Father  is  without  age,  so  the  Son  is  without 
growth;  neither  has  the  one  grown  old  nor 
the  other  increased,  but  equal  l»--at  equal, 
eternal  begat  eternal.  How,  says  some  one, 
has  eternal  begat  eternal  ?  As  a  temporary 
ilaine  generates  a  temporary  light.  The  gen 
erating  flame  is  coeval  with  the  light  which 
it  generates:  the  generating  flame  does  not 
precede  in  time  the  generated  light;  but  from 
the  moment  the  flame  begins,  from  that 
moment  the  light  begins.  Show  me  flame 
without  light,  and  I  show  thee  God  the  Father 
without  Son.  Accordingly,  "the  Son  cannot  do 
anything  of  Himself,  but  what  He  seeth  the 
Father  doing,"  implies,  that  for  the  Son  to 
see  and  to  be  begotten  of  the  Father,  is  the  same 
thing.  His  seeing  and  His  substance  are  not 
different;  nor  are  His  power  and  substance 
different.  All  that  He  is,  He  is  of  the 
Father;  all  that  He  can  is  of  the  Father;  be 
cause  what  He  can  and  what  He  is  is  one 
thing,  and  all  of  the  Father. 

9.  Moreover,  He  goes  on  in  His  own  wprds, 
and  troubles  those  that  understand  the  matter 
amiss,  in  order  to  recall  the  erring  to  a  right 
apprehension  of  it.  After  He  had  said,  "  The 
Son  cannot  of  Himself  do  anything,  but  what 
He  seeth  the  Father  doing;  "  lest  a  carnal 
understanding  of  the  matter  should  by  chance 
creep  in  and  turn  the  mind  aside,  and  a  man 
should  imagine  as  it  were  two  mechanics,  one 
a  master,  the  other  a  learner,  attentively  ob 
serving  the  master  while  making,  say  a  chest, 
so  that,  as  the  master  made  the  chest,  the 
learner  should  make  another  chest  according 
to  the  appearance  which  he  looked  upon 
while  the  master  wrought;  lest,  I  say,  the 
carnal  mind  should  frame  to  itself  any  such 
twofold  notion  in  the  case  of  the  divine  unity, 
going  on,  He  saith,  "  For  what  tilings  soever 
the  Father  doeth,  these  same  also  the  Son 
doeth  in  like  manner."  It  is  not,  the  Father 
doeth  some,  the  Son  others  like  them,  but 
the  same  in  like  manner.  For  He  saith  not, 
What  things  soever  the  Father  doeth,  the  Son 
also  doeth  others  the  like;  but  saith  He, 
"  What  things  soever  the  Father  doeth,  these 
same  also  the  Son  doeth  in  like  manner." 
What  things  the  Father  doeth,  these  also  the 
Son  doeth:  the  Father  made  the  world,  the 
Son  made  the  world,  the  Holy  Ghost  made 
the  world.  If  three  Gods,  then  three  worlds; 
if  one  God,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  then  one  world  was  made  by  the 
Father,  through  the  Son,  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Consequently  the  Son  doeth  those  things 
which  also  the  Father  doeth,  and  doeth  not 
in  a  different  manner;  He  both  doeth  these, 
and  doeth  them  in  like  manner. 


10.  After  He  iiad  said.  "  t:iese  doeth," 
why  did  He  add,  "in  like  manner  doeth"? 
Lest  another  distorted  understanding  or  error 
should  spring  up  in  the  mind.  i 
for  instance,  a  man's  work:  in  man  there  is 
mind  and  body;  the  mind  rules  the  body,  but 
I  there  is  a  great  difference  between  body  and 
[mind:  the  body  is  visible,  the  mind  is  invisi- 
jble:  there  is  a  great  difference  between  the 
power  and  virtue  of  the  mind  and  that  of  any 
kind  of  body  whatever,  be  it  even  a  heavenly 
body.  Still  the  mind  rules  its  own  body,  and 
the  body  doeth;  and  what  the  mind  appears 
to  do,  this  the  body  doeth  also.  Thus  the 
body  appears  to  do  this  same  thing  that  the 
mind  doeth,  but  not  "  in  like  manner."  How 
doeth  this  same,  but  not  in  like  manner? 
The  mind  frames  a  word  in  itself;  it  com 
mands  the  tongue,  and  the  tongue  produces 
the  word  which  the  mind  framed:  the  mind 
made,  and  the  tongue  made;  the  lord  of  the 
body  made,  and  the  servant  made;  but  that 
the  servant  might  make,  it  received  of  its 
lord  what  to  make,  and  made  while  the  lord 
commanded.  The  same  thing  was  made  by 
both,  but  was  it  in  like  manner?  How  not  in 
like  manner?  says  some  one.  See,  the  word 
that  my  mind  formed,  remains  in  me;  that 
which  my  tongue  made,  passed  through  the 
smitten  air,  and  is  not.  When  thou  hast  said 
a  word  in  thy  mind,  and  uttered  it  by  thy 
tongue,  return  to  thy  mind,  and  see  that  the 
word  which  thou  hast  made  is  there  still. 
Has  it  remained  on  thy  tongue,  just  as  it  has 
in  thy  mind  ?  What  was  uttered  by  the 
tongue,  the  tongue  made  by  sounding,  the 
i  mind  made  by  thinking;  but  what  the  tongue 
'  uttered  has  passed  away,  what  the  mind 
thought  remains.  Therefore  the  body  made 
that  which  the  mind  made,  but  not  in  like 
manner.  For  the  mind,  indeed,  made  that 
which  the  mind  may  hold,  but  the  tongue 
made  what  sounds  and  strikes  the  ear  through 
the  air.  Dost  thou  chase  the  syllables,  and 
cause  them  to  remain  ?  Well,  not  in  such 
manner  the  Father  and  the  Son;  but  "  these 
same  doeth,"  and  "in  like  manner  doeth." 
If  God  made  heaven  that  remains,  this 
heaven  that  remains  the  Son  made.  If  God 
the  Father  made  man  that  is  mortal,  the  same 
man  that  is  mortal  the  Son  made.  What 
things  soever  the  Father  made  that  endure, 
these  things  that  endure  made  also  ti. 
because  in  like  manner  He  made;  and  what 
things  soever  the  Father  made  that  a- 
poral,  these  same  things  that  are  temporal 
made  also  the  Son,  because  He  made  not 
only  the  same,  but  also  in  like  manner  made. 
For  the  Father  made  by  the  Son,  since  by 
,  the  Word  the  Father  made  all  things. 


136 


THE  WORKS  <>K  ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


A  IK    XX. 


ii.  Seek  in  the  Father  and  Son  a  separa 
tion,  thou  findest  none;  no,  not  if  thou  hast 
mounted  high;  no,  not  even  if  thou  hast 
reached  something  above  thy  mind.  For  if 
thou  turnest  about  among  the  things  which 
thy  wandering  mind  makes  for  itself,  thou 
talkest  with  thine  own  imaginations,  not  with 
the  Word  of  God;  thine  own  imaginations 
deceive  thee.  Mount  also  beyond  the  body, 
and  understand  the  mind;  mount  also  beyond 
the  mind,  and  understand  God.  Thou  reach- 
est  not  unto  God,  unless  thou  hast  passed  be 
yond  the  mind;  how  much  less  thou  readiest 
unto  God,  if  thou  hast  tarried  in  the  flesh  ! 
They  who  think  of  the  flesh,  how  far  are  they 
from  understanding  what  God  is  ! — since  they 
would  not  be  there  even  if  they  knew  the 
mind.  Man  recedes  far  from  God  when  his 
thoughts  are  of  the  flesh;  and  there  is  a  great 
difference  between  flesh  and  mind,  yet  a 
greater  between  mind  and  God.  If  thou  art 
occupied  with  the  mind,  thou  art  in  the  mid 
way:  if  thou  directest  thy  attention  beneath, 
there  is  the  body;  if  above,  there  is  God. 
Lift  thyself  up  from  the  body,  pass  beyond 
even  thyself.  For  observe  what  said  the 
psalm,  and  thou  art  admonished  how  God  must 
be  thought  of:  "  My  tears,"  it  saith,  "were 
made  to  me  my  bread  day  and  night,  when 
it  was  said  to  me  daily,  Where  is  thy  God  ?" 
As  the  pagans  may  say,  "  Behold  our  gods, 
where  is  your  God  ?  "  They  indeed  show  us 
what  is  seen;  we  worship  what  is  not  seen. 
And  to  whom  can  we  show  ?  To  a  man  who 
has  not  sight  with  which  to  see  ?  For  any 
how,  if  they  see  their  gods  with  their  eyes, 
we  too  have  other  eyes  with  which  to  see  our 
God:  for  "blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for 
they  shall  see  God."1  Therefore,  when  he 
had  said  that  he  was  troubled,  when  it  was 
daily  said  to  him,  "Where  is  thy  God?" 
"these  things  I  remembered,"  saith  he, 
"  because  it  is  daily  said  to  me.  Where  is  thy 
God  ?  "  And  as  if  wishing  to  lay  hold  of  his 
God,  "These  things,"  saith  he,  "I  remem 
bered,  and  poured  out  my  soul  above  me."  * 
Therefore,  that  I  might  reach  unto  my  God, 
of  whom  it  was  said  to  me,  "Where  is  thy 
God?  I  poured  out  my  soul,"  not  over  my 
flesh,  but  "  above  me;  "  I  transcended  my 
self,  that  I  might  reach  unto  Him:  for  He  is 
above  me  who  made  me;  none  reaches  to 
Him  but  he  that  passes  beyond  himself. 

12.  Consider  the  body:  it  is  mortal,  earthy, 
weak,  corruptible;  away  with  it.  Yes,  per 
haps  thou  sayest,  but  the  body  is  temporal. 
Think  then  of  other  bodies,  the  heavenly; 
they  are  greater,  better,  more  magnificent. 


Ps.  xli.  4,  5- 


Look  at  them,  moreover,  attentively.     They 
roll  from  east  to  west,  they  stand  not;    they 
are  seen  with  the  eyes,  not  only  by  man,  but 
even  by  the  beast  of  the  field.      Pass  beyond 
them  too.     And  how,  sayest  thou,   pass  be 
yond  the  heavenly  bodies,  seeing  that  I  walk 
on  the  earth  ?    Not  in  the  flesh  dost  thou  pass 
beyond  them,  but  in  the  mind.     Away  with 
them  too:    though  they  shine  ever  so  much, 
they  are   bodies;    though    they  glitter    from 
heaven,   they  are  bodies.     Corne,   now  that 
perhaps  thou  thinkest  thou  hast  not  whither  to 
go,  after  considering  all  these.     And  whither 
am  I  to  go,  sayest  thou,  beyond  the  heavenly 
bodies;    and  what  am  I  to  pass  beyond  with 
the  mind  ?     Hast  thou  considered  all  these  ? 
I   have,  sayest  thou.     By  what  means   hast 
thou  considered   them  ?     Let  the  being  that 
considers  appear  in  person.     The  being  that 
considers  all  these,  that  discriminates,  dis 
tinguishes,  and  in  a  manner  weighs  them  in 
the  balance  of  wisdom,  is   really  the   mind. 
Doubtless,  then,  better  is  the  mind  with  which 
thou  hast  contemplated  all  these  things,  than 
these  things  which  thou  hast  contemplated. 
This    mind,   then,    is  a   spirit,    not  a   body. 
Pass  beyond  it  too.     And  that  thou  mayest 
see  whither  thou  art  to  pass  beyond,  compare 
that  mind  itself,  in  the  first  place,  with  the 
flesh.      Heaven    forbid   that   thou    shouldest 
deign  so  to  compare  it !    Compare  it  with  the 
brightness  of  the  sun,  of  the  moon,  and  of 
the    stars;    the    brightness    of    the    mind    is 
greater.     Observe,  first,  the  swiftness  of  the 
mind;    see  whether   the   scintillation  of   the 
thinking  mind  be  not  more  impetuous  than 
the  brilliance  of  the  shining  sun.     With  the 
mind  thou  seest  the  sun  rising.     How  slow  is 
its  motion  compared  with  thy  mind  !     What 
the  sun  is  about  to  do,  thou  canst  think  in  a 
trice.     It  is  about  to  come  from  the  east  to 
the  west;  to-morrow  rises  from  another  quar 
ter.     Where  thy  thought  has  done  this,  the 
sun  still  lags  behind,  and  thou  hast  traversed 
the  whole  journey.     A  great  thing,  therefore, 
is  the  mind.     But   how  do  I   say  is?     Pass 
beyond  it  also.     For  the  mind,  notwithstand 
ing  it  be  better  than  every  kind  of  body,  is 
itself  changeable.     Now  it  knows,  now  knows 
not;  now  forgets,  now  remembers;  now  wills, 
now  wills  not;    now  errs,  now  is  right.     Pass 
therefore    beyond    all    changeableness;    not 
only  beyond  all  that    is    seen,  but   also   be 
yond  all  that  changes.     For  thou  hast  passed 
beyond    the    flesh    which    is    seen;     beyond 
heaven,  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  which  are 
seen.      Pass,   too,   beyond   all  that  changes. 
For  when  thou  hadst  done  with  those  things 
that  are  seen,  and  hadst  come  to  thy  mind, 
there  thou  didst  find   the  changeableness  of 


TRACTAII-.  X\I. 


ON    i  in    <;<  >SPEL  <>r  8T,  JOHN. 


137 


thy  iniiul.       Is  God  at  all   riiange-ibh-  | 
then,  beyond   even   thy  mind.      1'our  out  thy 
soul    "above-   thee,"  t'hat    tliou    mayest    n-a<  n 
unto  God,  of  whom  it  is  said  to  thee,  "  Where 
is  thy  (', o«l?" 

13.  Do  not  imagine  tli.it  thou  art  to  do 
something  beyond  a  man's  ability.  The 
Evangelist  John  himself  did  this.  He  soared 
beyond  the  flesh,  beyond  the  earth  which  he 
trod,  beyond  the  seas  which  he  looked  upon, 
bevond  the  air  in  which  the  fowls  fly,  beyond 
the  sun,  the  moon,  the  stars,  beyond  all  the 
spirits  unseen,  beyond  his  own  mind,  by  the 
very  reason  of  his  rational  soul.  Soaring 
beyond  all  these,  pouring  out  his  soul  above ' 
him,  whither  did  he  arrive  ?  What  did  he ; 
see?  "'  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and 
the  Word  was  with  God."  If,  therefore, 
thou  seest  no  separation  in  the  light,  why 
seekest  thou  a  separation  in  the  work  ?  See 
God,  see  His  Word  inhering  to  the  Word 
speaking,  that  the  speaker  speaks  not  by  | 
syllables,  but  this  his  speaking  is  a  shining 
out  in  the  brightness  of  wisdom.  What  is  I 


said  of  tin-  Wisdom  itself?  "  It  !•>  t:ie  radi 
an-  <•  «.l  -••-•rnai  light." 

of  the  sun.  The  sun  is  in  the  heaven,  and 
spreads  out  its  brightness  over  all  lands  and 
over  all  seas,  and  it  is  simply  a  corporal 

If,  indeed,  thou  canst  separate  the  bright- 
!  ness  from  the  sun,  then  separate  the  Word 
i  from  the  Father.     I  am  shaking  of  the  sun. 
;  One  small,  slender  flame  of  a  lamp,  wnich 
i  can  be  extinguished  by  one  breath,  spreads 
its  light  over  all  that  lies  near  it:   thou  seest 
the  light  generated  by  the  flame  spread  out; 
thou  seest  its  emission,  but  not  a  separation. 
Understand,  then,  beloved  brethren,  that  the 
Father,  and  the^Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  ore 
inseparably  united   in   themselves;    that  this 
Trinity  is  one  God;    that  all  the  works  of  the 
one  God  are  the  works  of  the  Father,  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     All  the  rest 
which   follows,  and  which   refers  to  the  dis 
course  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  now  that  a 
discourse   is  due  to  you  to-morrow  also,  be 
present  that  ye  may  hear. 

«  Wisd.  vii.  26. 


TRACTATE  XXI. 

CHAPTKR  V.  20-23 


i.  YESTERDAY,  so  far  as  the  Lord  vouchsafed 
to  bestow,  we  discussed  with  what  ability 
we  could,  and  discerned  according  to  our 
capacity,  how  the  works  of  the  Father  and  of 
the  Son  are  inseparable;  and  how  the  Father 
doeth  not  some,  the  Son  others,  but  that  the 
Father  doeth  all  things  through  the  Son,  as 
through  His  Word,  of  which  it  is  written,  "  All 
things  were  made  by  Him,  and  without  Him 
was  nothing  made.1'  Let  us  to-day  look  at 
the  words  that  follow.  And  of  the  same  Lord 
let  us  pray 'for  mercy,  and  hope  that,  if  He 
deem  it  meet,  we  may  understand  what  is 
true;  but  if  we  should  not  be  able  to  do  this, 
that  we  may  not  go  into  what  is  false.  For 
it  is  better  not  to  know  than  to  go  astray; 
but  to  know  is  better  than  not  to  know. 
Therefore,  before  all  things,  we  ought  to 
strive  to  know.  Should  we  be  aj>le,  to  God 
be  thanks;  but  should  we  not  be  able  mean 
while  to  arrive  at  the  truth,  let  us  not  -<>  t-> 
falsehood.  For  we  are  bound  to  consider 
well  what  we  are,  and  what  we  are  treating  "I- 
We  are  men  bearing  flesh,  walking  in  this  life; 
and  though  now  begotten  again  of  the  seed  of 
the  Word  of  ('.oil,  yet  in  C'hrist  renewed  in 


such  manner  that  we  are  not  yet  wholly  rid  of 
Adam.  For  truly  our  mortal  and  corruptible 
part  that  weighs  down  the  soul '  shows  itself 
to  be,  and  manifestly  is,  of  Adam;  but  what  in 
us  is  spiritual,  and  raises  up  the  soul,  is  of 
God's  gift  and  of  His  mercy,  who  has  sent 
His  only  Son  to  partake  our  death  with  us,  and 
to  lead  us  to  His  own  immortality.  The  Son 
we  have  for  our  Master,  that  we  may  not  sin; 
and  for  our  defender,  if  we  have  sinned  and 
have  confessed,  and  been  converted;  an  in 
tercessor  for  us,  if  we  have  desired  any  good 
of  God;  and  the  bestower  of  it  with  the 
Father,  because  Father  and  Son  is  one  God. 
But  He  was  speaking  these  things  as  man  to 
men:  God  concealed,  the  man  manifest,  that 
He  might  make  them  gods  that  are  manifest 
men;  and  the  Son  of  God  made  Son  of  man, 
that  He  might  make  the  sons  of  men  sons  of 
God.  By  what  skill  of  His  wisdom  He  doeth 
this,  we  perceive  in  His  own  words.  For  as  a 
little  one  He  speaks  to  little  ones,  but  Himself 
little  in  such  wise  that  '  ',  and 

we  little,  but  in   Him  great.      He  speaks,  in- 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSI  IN. 


[TRACTAII    XXI. 


deed,  as  one  cherishing  and  nourishing  chil 
dren  at  the  breast  that  grow  by  loving. 

2.  He  had  said,  "  The  Son  cannot  of  Him 
self  do  anything,  but  what  He  seeth  the 
Father  doing."  We,  however,  understood  it 
not  that  the  Father  doeth  something  sepa 
rately,  which  when  the  Son  seeth,  Himself 
also  doeth  something  of  the  same  kind,  after 
seeing  His  Father's  work;  but  when  He  said,  i 
"The  Son  cannot  of  Himself  do  anything,; 
but  what  He  seeth  the  Father  doing/'  we 
understood  it  that  the  Son  is  wholly  of  the 
Father — that  His  whole  substance  and  His 
whole  power  are  of  the  Father  that  begat  Him. 
Bnt  just  now,  when  He  had  said  that  He  doeth 
in  like  manner  these  things  which  the  Father 
doeth,  that  we  may  not  understand  it  to  mean 
that  the  Father  doeth  some,  the  Son  others, 
but  that  the  Son  with  like  power  doeth  the 
very  sa"me  which  the  Father  doeth,  whilst  the 
Father  doeth  through  the  Son,  He  went  on, 
and  said  what  we  have  heard  read  to-day: 
"  For  the  Father  loveth  the  Son,  and  showeth 
Him  all  things  that  Himself  doeth."  Again 
mortal  thought  is  disturbed.  The  Father 
showeth  to  the  Son  what  things  Himself  doeth; 
therefore,  saith  some  one,  the  Father  doeth 
separately,  that  the  Son  may  be  able  to  see 
what  He  doeth.  Again,  there  occur  to  hu 
man  thought, as  it  were,  two  artificers — as,  for 
instance,  a  carpenter  teaching  his  son  his  own 
art,  and  showing  him  whatever  he  doeth,  that 
the  son  also  may  be  able  to  do  it.  "  Showeth 
Him,"  saith  He,  "  all  things  that  Himself 
doeth/"  Is  it  therefore  so,  that  whilst  He 
doeth,  the  Son  doeth  not,  that  He  may  be 
able  to  see  the  Father  do?  Yet,  certainly, 
"all  things  were  made  by  Him,  and  without 
Him  was  nothing  made."  Hence  we  see  how 
the  Father  showeth  the  Son  what  He  doeth, 
since  the  Father  doeth  nothing  but  what  He 
doeth  through  the  Son.  What  hath  the  Father 
made  ?  He  made  the  world.  Hath  He  shown 
the  world,  when  made,  to  the  Son  in  such 
wise,  that  the  Son  also  should  make  some 
thing  like  it  ?  Then  let  us  see  the  world 
which  the  Son  made.  Nevertheless,  both  "  all 
things  were  made  by  Him,  and  without  Him 
was  nothing  made,"  and  also  "  the  world  was 
made  by  Him."  '  If  the  world  was  made  by 
Him,  and  all  things  were  made  by  Him,  and  | 
the  Father  doeth  nothing  save  by  the  Son, 
where  doth  the  Father  show  to  the  Son  what 
He  doeth,  if  it  be  not  in  the  Son  Himself, 
through  whom  He  doeth  ?  In  what  place  can 
the  work  of  the  Father  be  shown  to  the  Son, 
as  though  He  were  doing  ami  sitting  outside, 
and  the  Son  attentively  watching  the  Father's 

'  John  i.  3,  10. 


hand  how  it  maketh  ?  Where  is  that  insepa 
rable  Trinity?  Where  the  Word,  of  which  it 
is  said  that  the  same  is  "the  power  and  the 
wisdom  of  God"?2  Where  that  which  the 
Scripture  saith  of  the  same  wisdom:  "  For  it 
is  the  brightness  of  the  eternal  light?"3 
Where  what  was  said  of  it  again:  "  It  power 
fully  reaches  from  the  end  even  to  the  end, 
and  ordereth  all  things  sweetly"  ? 4  Whatever 
the  Father  doeth,  He  doeth  through  the  Son: 
through  His  wisdom  and  his  power  He  doeth; 
not  from  without  doth  He  show  to  the  Son 
what  He  may  see,  but  in  the  Son  Himself  He 
showeth  Him  what  He  doeth. 

3.  What  seeth  the  Father,  or  rather,  what 
doth  the  Son  see  in  the  Father,  that  Himself 
also  may  do  ?  Perhaps  I  may  be  able  to  speak 
it,  but  show  me  the  man  who  can  comprehend 
it;  or  perhaps  I  may  be  able  to  think 'and  not 
speak  it;  or  perhaps  I  may  not  be  able  even 
to  think  it.  For  that  divinity  excels  us,  as 
God  excels  men,  as  the  immortal  excels  a 
mortal,  as  the  eternal  excels  the  temporal. 
May  He  inspire  and  endow  us,  and  out  of  that 
fountain  of  life  deign  to  bedew  and  to  drop 
somewhat  on  our  thirst,  that  we  may  noi  be 
parched  in  this  wilderness  !  Let  us  say  to 
Him,  Lord,  to  whom  we  have  learnt  to  say 
Father.  We  make  bold  to  say  this,  because 
Himself  willed  it;  if  only  we  so  live  that  He 
may  not  say  to  us,  "  If  I  am  a  Father,  where 
is  mine  honor?  if  I  am  Lord,  where  is  my 
fear?*'  Let  us  then  say  to  Him,  "Our 
Father."  To  whom  do  we  say,  "Our 
Father  "  ?  To  the  Father  of  Christ.  He,  then, 
who  says  "Our  Father"  to  the  Father  of 
Christ,  says  to  Christ,  what  else  but  "  Our 
Brother"?  Not,  however,  as  He  is  the 
Father  of  Christ  is  He  in  like  manner  our 
Father;  for  Christ  never  so  conjoined  us  as 
to  make  no  distinction  between  Him  and  us. 
For  He  is  the  Son  equal  to  the  Father,  the 
eternal  Son  with  the  Father,  and  co-eternal 
with  the  Father;  but  we  became  sons  through 
the  Son,  adopted  through  the  Only-begotten. 
Hence  was  it  never  heard  from  the  mouth  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  when  speaking  to  His 
disciples,  that  He  said  of  the  supreme  God 
His  Father,  "Our  Father;"  but  He  said 
either  "My  Father"  or  "Your  Father.'' 
But  He  said'  not  "  Our  Father;"  so  much  so, 
that  in  a  certain  place  He  used  these  two  ex 
pressions:  "I  go  to  my  God."  saith  He, 
"  and  to  your  God."  Why  did  He  not  .->;iy, 
'*  Our  God  '"  ?  FurtheV,  He  said,  "  My  Father, 
and  your  Father;"  He  said  not,  "Our 
Father."  He  so  joins  as  to  distinguish,  dis 
tinguishes  so  as  not  to  disjoin.  He  wills  us  to  be 
one  in  Him,  but  the  Father  and  Himself  one. 

»  i  Cor.  i.  24  3\Visd.  vu.  26.  ••  Wisd.  vni.  i. 


TKAITA  i  i    \  \  I .  | 


( >\   'I  III.  «,( tSPEL  <  'I    -  I.    l<  >l!N. 


4.  How  much  soever  then  we  may   umler- 
stand,  and  how  much   soever  we  may   sec,  \v< 
shall  not  see  as  the  Son  seeth,  even  when  we 
sliall  l)c  made  equal  with  the  angels.      For  we 
are  something  even  when  we  do  not  see;  but 
what  are  we  when  we  do  not  see,  other  than 
persons  not  seeing?     And  that  we  may  see, 
we  turn  to  Him  whom  we  may  see,  and  there 
is  formed  in  us  a  seeing  which  was  not  before, 
although  we  were   in   being.      For  a  man  is 
when  not  seeing;  and  the  same,  when  he  doth 
see,  is  called  a  man  seeing.     For  him,  then, 
to  see  is  not  the  same  thing  as  to  be  a  man; 
for  if  it  were,  he  would  not  be  man  when  not 
seeing.     But  since  he  is  man  when  not  seeing, 
and  seeks  to  see  what  he  sees  not,  he  is  one 
who  seeks,  and  who  turns  to  see;  and  when 
he  has  well  turned  and  has  seen,  he  becomes 
a  man  seeing,  who  was  before  a  man  not  see 
ing.     Consequently,  to  see  is  to  him  a  thing 
that  comes  and  goes;  it  comes  to  him  when 
he  turns  to,  and   leaves   him  when   he  turns 
away.     Is  it  thus  with  the  Son  ?     Far  be  it 
from  us  to  think  so.     It  was  never  so  that  He 
was  Son,  not  seeing,  and  afterwards  was  made 
to  see;  but  to  see  the  Father  is  to  Him  the 
same  thing  as  to  be  Son.     For  we,  by  turning 
away  to  sin,  lose  enlightenment;  and  by  turn 
ing  to  God  we    receive  enlightenment.     F'or 
the  light  by  which  we  are  enlightened  is  one 
thing;  we  who  are  enlightened,  another  thing. 
But  the  light  itself,  by  which  we  are  enlight 
ened,    neither   turns  away    from   itself,    nor 
loses  its  lucidity,  because  as  light  it  exists. 
The  Father,  then,  showeth  a  thing  which  He 
doeth  to  the  Son,  in  such  wise  that  the  Son 
seeth  all  things  in  the  Father,  and  is  all  things 
in  the  F'ather.     For  by  seeing   He  was  be 
gotten;    and    by    being   begotten    He    seeth. 
Not,  however,  that  at  any  time  He  was  not 
begotten,   and  afterwards  was  begotten;  nor 
that  at  any  time  He  saw  not,  and  afterwards 
saw.     But  in  what  consists  His  seeing,  in  the 
same  consists  His  being,  in  the  same  His  be 
ing  begotten,  in  the  same  His  continuing,  in 
the  same  His  unchanging,  in  the   same   His 
abiding  without  beginning  and  without  end. 
Let  us  not  therefore  take  it  in  a  carnal  sense 
that  the  Father  sitteth  and  doeth  a  work,  and 
showeth  it  to  the  Son;  and  the  Son  seeth  the 
work  that  the  Father  doeth,  and  doetii  another 
work  in  another  place,or  out  of  other  materials. 
For    "all    things    were    made   by    Him,  and 
without  Him   was  nothing  made."     The  Son 
is  the  Word  of  the   Father.     The  Fath« 
nothing  which  He  did  not  say  in  the  Son.      I  <>; 
by  speaking  in  the  Son  what  He  was  about  to 
do  through  the  Son.  I  Ie  begat  the  Son  through 
whom  He  made  ail  things. 

5.  "  And  greater  works  than  these  will  He 


show  Him,  that  ye  may  marvel."  Here 
again  we  are  embarrassed'  And  w:i«i  is  there 
that  may  worthily  investigate  tiu^ 
secret?  Hut  now,  in  that  He  IK^ 
speak  to  us,  Himself  opens  it.  For  He  would 
not  speak  what  He  would  not  have  us  under 
stand;  and  as  He  has  deigned  to  sjxjak,  with 
out  doubt  He  has  excited  attention:  for  does 
He  forsake  any  whom  He  has  roused  to  give 
attentive  hearing  ?  We  have  said  that  it  is  not 
in  a  temporal  sense  that  the  Son  knoweth, — 
that  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  is  not  one  thing, 
and  the  Son  Himself  another;  nor  one  thing 
His  seeing,  Himself  another;  but  that  the 
seeing  itself  is  the  Son,  and  the  knowledge  as 
well  as  the  wisdom  of  the  Father  is  the  Son; 
and  that  that  wisdom  and  seeing  is  eternal  and 
co-eternal  with  Him  from  whom  it  is;  that 
it  is  not  something  that  varies  by  time,  nor 
something  produced  that  was  not  in  being, 
nor  something  that  vanishes  away  which  did 
exist.  What  is  it,  then,  that  time  does  in 
this  case,  that  He  should  say,  "  Greater  works 
than  these  He  will  show  Him"?  "He  will 
show,"  that  is,  "  He  is  about  to  show."  Hath 
shown  is  a  different  thing  from  will  shmv: 
hath  shmvn,  we  say  of  an  act  past;  will  shcnv,  of 
an  act  future.  What  shall  we  do  here,  then, 
brethren  ?  Behold,  He  whom  we  had  de 
clared  to  be  co-eternal  with  the  Father,  in 
whom  nothing  is  varied  by  time,  in  whom  is 
no  moving  through  spaces  either  of  moments 
or  of  places,  of  whom  we  had  declared  that 
He  abides  ever  with  the  Father  seeing,  seeing 
the  Father,  and  by  seeing  existing;  He,  I  say, 
here  again  mentioning  times  to  us,  saith,  "  He 
will  show  Him  greater  works  than  these."  Is 
He  then  about  to  show  something  to  the  Son, 
which  the  Son  doth  not  as  yet  know  ?  What, 
then,  do  we  make  of  it  ?  How  do  we  under 
stand  this  ?  Behold,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
was  above,  is  beneath.  When  was  He  above  ? 
When  He  said,  "  What  things  soever  the 
Father  doeth,  these  same  also  the  Son  doeth 
in  like  manner.1'  Whence  know  we  that  He 
is  now  beneath?  Hence:  "Greater  works 
than  these  He  will  show  Him."  O  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  our  Saviour,  Word  of  God,  by  which 
all  things  were  made,  what  is  the  Father  about 
to  show  Thee,  that  as  yet  Thou  knowest  not  ? 
What  of  the  Father  is  hid  from  Thee  ?  What 
in  the  Father  is  hid  from  Thee,  from  • 
the  Father  is  not  hid  ?  What  greater  works  is 
He  about  to  show  Thee  ?  Or  greater  than 
what  works  are  they  which  He  is  to  show 
Thee?  For  when  He  said,  "  Greater  than 

we  ought  first  to  understand  the  • 
than  which  are  they  greater. 

<>.    Let   us  again    call    to  mind   whence   this 
discourse    started.      It    was    when    that    man 


140 


THK   WORKS  OK   ST.    AUGl'STIN. 


[TftACTATl    \.\1. 


who  was  thirty-eight  years  in  infirmity  w.-is 
healed,  ami  Jesus  commanded  him,  now  made 
whole,  to  take  up  his  bed  and  to  go  to  his 
house.  For  this  cause,  indeed,  the  lews  with 
whom  He  was  speaking  were  enraged.  He 
spoke  in  words,  as  to  the  meaning  He  was 
silent;  hinted  in  some  measure  at  the  mean 
ing  to  those  who  understood,  and  hid  the 
matter  from  them  that  were  wroth.  For  this 
cause,  I  say,  the  Jews,  being  enraged  because 
the  Lord  did  this'  on  the  Sabbath,  gave  oc 
casion  to  this  discourse.  Therefore  let  us 
not  hear  these  things  in  such  wise  as  if  we 
had  forgotten  what  was  said  above,  but  let  us 
look  back  to  that  impotent  man  languishing 
for  thirty-eight  years  suddenly  made  whole, 
while  the  Jews  marvelled  and  were  wroth. 
They  sought  darkness  from  the  Sabbath  more 
than  light  from  the  miracle.  Speaking  then 
to  these,  while  they  are  indignant,  He  saith, 
"Greater  works  than  these  will  He  show 
Him."  "  Greater  than  these:  "  than  which  ? 
What  ye  have  seen,  that  a  man,  whose  infirmity 
had  lasted  thirty-eight  years,  was  made  whole; 
greater  than  these  the  Father  is  about  to  show 
to  the  Son.  What  are  greater  works  ?  He 
goes  on,  saying,  "  For  as  the  Father  raiseth 
the  dead,  and  quickeneth  them,  so  also  the 
Son  quickeneth  whom  He  will.''  Clearly 
these  are  greater.  Very  much  greater  is  it 
that  a  dead  man  should  rise,  than  that  a  sick 
man  should  recover:  these  are  greater.  But 
when  is  the  Father  about  to  show  these  to  the 
Son  ?  Does  the  Son  not  know  them  ?  And 
He  who  was  speaking,  did  He  not  know  how 
to  raise  the  dead  ?  Had  He  yet  to  learn  how 
to  raise  the  dead  to  life — He,  I  say,  by  whom 
all  things  were  made?  He  who  caused  that 
we  should  live,  when  we  were  ndt  in  being, 
had  He  yet  to  learn  how  we  might  be  raised 
to  life  again  ?  What,  then,  do  His  words 
mean  ? 

7.  But  now  He  condescends  to  us,  and  He 
who  a  little  before  was  speaking  as  God,  now 
begins  to  speak  as  man.  Notwithstanding, 
the  same  is  man  who  is  God,  for  God  was 
made  man;  but  was  made  what  He  was  not, 
without  losing  what  He  was.  The  man  there 
fore  was  added  to  the  God,  that  He  might  be 
man  who  was  God,  but  not  that  He  should 
now  henceforth  be  man  and  not  be  God.  Let 
us  then  hear  Him  also  as  our  brother  whom 
we  did  hear  as  our  Maker.  Our  Maker,  be 
cause  the  Word  in  the  beginning;  our  Brother, 
because  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary:  Maker,  be 
fore  Abraham,  before  Adam,  before  earth, 
before  heaven,  before  all  things  corporeal 
and  spiritual;  but  Brother,  of  the  seed  of 
Abraham,  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  of  the  Israel- 
itish  virgin.  If  therefore  we  know  Him  who 


speaks  to  us  as  both  God  and  man,  let  us  un 
derstand  the  words  of  God  and  of  man;  for 
sometimes  He  speaks  to  us  such  things  as  are 
applicable  to  the  majesty,  sometimes  such  as 
are  applicable  to  the  humility.  For  the  self 
same  is  high  who  was  made  low,  that  He 
might  make  us  high  who  are  low.  What, 
then,  saith  He  ?  "  The  Father  will  show  "  to 
me  "greater  than  these, that  ye  may  marvel/' 
To  us,  therefore,  He  is  about  to  show,  not  to 
Him.  And  since  it  is  to  us  that  the  Father 
is  to  show,  for  that  reason  He  said,  "  tiiat  ye 
may  marvel."  He  has,  in  fact,  explained  what 
He  meant  in  saying,  "  The  Father  will  show'' 
to  me.  Why  did  He  not  say,  The  Father  will 
show  to  you;  but,  He  will  show  to  the  Son? 
Because  also  we  are  members  of  the  Son:  and 
like  as  what  we  the  members  learn,  He  Him 
self  in  a  manner  learns  in  His  members. 
How  doth  He  learn  in  us?  As  He  suffers  in 
us.  Whence  may  we  prove  that  He  suffers  in 
us?  From  that  voice  out  of  heaven,  "  Saul, 
Saul,  why  persecutes!  thou  me?'"  Is  it  not 
Himself  that  will  sit  as  Judge  in  the  end  of 
the  world,  and,  setting  the  just  on  the  right, 
and  the  wicked  on  the  left,  will  say,  "Come, 
ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  receive  the  king 
dom;  for  I  was  hungry,  and  ye  gave  me  to 
eat  "  ?  And  when  they  shall  answer,  "  Lord, 
when  saw  we  Thee  hungry  ? "  He  will  say  to 
them,  "  Since  ye  gave  to  one  of  the  least  of 
mine,  ye  gave  to  me/'"2  Let  us  at  this  time 
question  Him,  and  let  us  say  to  Him,  Lord, 
when  wilt  Thou  be  a  learner,  seeing  Thou 
teachest  all  things  ?  Immediately,  indeed, 
He  makes  answer  to  us  in  our  faith,  When 
one  of  the  least  of  mine  doth  learn.  I  learn. 

8.  Let  us  rejoice,  then,  and  give  thanks 
that  we  are  made  not  only  Christians,  but 
Christ.  Do  ye  understand,  brethren,  and 
apprehend  the  grace  of  God  upon  us?  Mar 
vel,  be  glad,  we  are  made  Christ.  For  if  He 
is  the  head,  we  are  the  members:  the  whole 
man  is  He  and  we.  This  is  what  the  Apostle 
Paul  saith:  "That  we  be  no  longer  babes, 
tossed  to  and  fro,  and  carried  about  with 
every  wind  of  doctrine/'  But  above  he  had 
said,  "  Until  we  all  come  together  into  the 
unity  of  faith,  and  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
Son  of  God,  to  the  perfect  man,  to  the  meas 
ure  of  the  age  of  the  fullness  of  Christ."3 
The  fullness  of  Christ,  then,  is  head  and 
members.  Head  and  members,  what  is  that  ? 
Christ  and  the  Church.  We  should  indeed  be 
arrogating  this  to  ourselves  proudly,  if  He  did 
not  Himself  deign  to  promise  it,  who  saith  by 
the  same  apostle,  "  But  ye  are  the  body  of 
Christ,  and  members."* 


i   A,  t*  iv  4, 
)  I  |.h.  iv.   ,4. 


v.  31-40. 

i  fur.  xii.  27. 


TiACTATi   XXL] 


ON    l  ill:  GOSPEL  OP  5T,  JOHN. 


141 


i).    Whenever,  then,  the    Father  shov, 
Christ's  im-inlx.  TS.   lit 

certain  great  but  yet  real  miracle  happens. 
There  is  a  showing  U>  Chris!  ot  what  Christ 
knew,  and  it  is  shown  to  Christ  through  ( 'hrist. 
A  marvelous  and  great  thing  it  is,  but  the 
Scripture  so  saith.  Shall  we  contradict  the 
divine  declarations?  Shall  we  not  rather 
understand  them,  and  of  His  own  gift  render 
thanks  to  Him  who  freely  bestowed  it  on  us  ? 
What  is  this  that  I  said,  "  is  shown  to  Christ 
through  Christ "  ?  Is  shown  to  the  mem 
bers  through  the  head.  Lo,  look  at  this  in 
thyself.  Suppose  that  with  thine  eyes  shut 
thou  wouldest  take  up  something,  thy  hand 
knows  not  whither  to  go;  and  yet  thy  hand  is 
at  any  rate  thy  member,  for  it  is  not  separated 
from  thy  body.  Open  thine  eyes,  now  the 
hand  sees  whither  it  may  go;  while  the  head 
showed,  the  member  followed.  If,  then, 
there  could  be  found  in  thyself  something 
such,  that  thy  body  showed  to  thy  body,  and 
that  through  thy  body  something  was  shown 
to  thy  body,  then  do  not  marvel  that  it  is 
said  there  is  shown  to  Christ  through  Christ. 
For  the  head  shows  that  the  members  may 
see,  and  the  head  teaches  that  the  members 
may  learn;  nevertheless  one  man,  head  and 
members.  He  willed  not  to  separate  Him 
self,  but  deigned  to  attach  Himself  to  us. 
Far  was  He  from  us,  yea,  very  far.  What  so 
far  apart  as  the  creature  and  the  Creator  ? 
What  so  far  apart  as  God  and  man  ?  What  so 
far  as  justice  and  iniquity?  What  so  far  as 
eternity  and  mortality?  Behold,  so  far  from 
us  was  the  Word  in  the  beginning,  God  with 
God,  by  whom  all  things  were  made.  How, 
then,  was  He  made  near,  that  He  might  be 
what  we  are,  and  we  in  Him?  "  The  Word 
was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  in  (among)  us."1 

10.  This,  then,  He  is  about  to  show  us; 
this  He  showed  to  His  disciples,  who  saw 
Him  in  the  flesh.  What  is  this?  "As  the 
Father  rarseth  the  dead,  and  quickeneth  them, 
so  also  the  Son  quickeneth  whom  He  will."  Is 
it  that  the  Father  some,  the  Son  others  ? 
Surely  all  things  were  made  by  Him.  What 
do  we  say,  my  brethren  ?  Christ  raised  Laza 
rus;  what  dead  man  did  the  Father  raise, 
that  Christ  might  see  how  to  raise  Lazarus  ? 
When  Christ  raised  Lazarus,  did  not  the 
Father  raise  him  ?  or  was  it  the  doing  of  the 
Son  alone,  without  the  Father  ?  Read  ye  the 
passage  itself,  and  see  that  He  invokes  the 
Father  that  Lazarus  may  rise  again.2  As  a 
man,  He  calls  on  the  Father;  as  C.«>d,  Hr 
doeth  with  the  Father.  Therefore  also 
Lazarus,  who  rose  again,  was  raised  both  by 


.•ml  by  the  Son,  in  tin-  -ift  and 
gnce  <>i  the  I  !'•;>•  Spirit;  and  that  wonderful 
work  the  Trinity  performed.  Let  D 
•  re,  understand  tins,  "As  tin-  ' 
raiseth  the  dead,  and  quickeneth  them,  so 
also  the  Son  quickeneth  whom  He  will,"  in 
such  wise  as  to  suppose  that  some  are  raised 
and  quickened  by  the  Father,  others  by  the 
Son;  but  that  the  Son  raiseth  and  quickeneth 
the  very  same  whom  the  Father  raiseth  and 
quickeneth;  because  "  all  things  were  made  by 
Him,  and  without  Him  was  nothing  made." 
And  to  show  that  He  has,  though  given  by 
the  Father,  equal  power,  therefore  He  saith, 
"  So  also  the  Son  quickeneth  whom  He  will," 
that  He  might  therein  show  His  will;  and 
lest  any  should  say,  "  The  Father  raiseth  the 
dead  by  the  Son,  but  the  Father  as  being 
powerful,  and  as  having  power,  the  Son  as  by 
another's  power,  as  a  servant  does  something, 
as  an  angel,"  He  indicated  His  power  when  He 
saith,  "  So  also  the  Son  quickeneth  whom  He 
will.''  It  is  not  so  that  the  Father  willeth 
other  than  the  Son;  but  as  the  Father  and 
the  Son  have  one  substance,  so  also  one  will, 
ii.  And  who  are  these  dead  whom  the 
Father  and  the  Son  quicken  ?  Are  they  the 
same  of  whom  we  have  spoken — Lazarus,  or 
that  widow's  son,3  or  the  ruler  of  the  syna 
gogue's  daughter?4  For  we  know  that  these 
were  raised  by  Christ  the  Lord.  It  is  some 
other  thing  that  He  means  to  signify  to  us, 
—  namely,  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  which 
we  all  look  for;  not  that  resurrection  which 
certain  have  nad,  that  the  rest  might  believe. 
For  Lazarus  rose  to  die  again;  we  shall  rise 
again  to  live  for  ever.  Is  it  the  Father  that 
effects  such  a  resurrection,  or  the  Son  ?  Nay 
verily,  the  Father  in  the  Son.  Consequently 
the  Son,  and  the  Father  in  the  Son.  Whence 
do  we  prove  that  He  speaks  of  this  resurrec 
tion  ?  When  He  had  said,  "As  the  Father 
raiseth  up  the  dead,  and  quickeneth  them,  so 
also  the  Son  quickeneth  whom  He  will." 
Lest  we  should  understand  here -that  resurrec 
tion  which  He  performs  for  a  miracle,  not  for 
eternal  life,  He  proceeded,  saying,  "  For  the 
Father  judgeth  not  any  man,  but  all  judgment 
hath  He  given  to  the  Son."  What  is  this? 
He  was  speaking  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead,  that  "as  the  Father  raiseth  the  dead, 
and  quickeneth  them,  so  also  the  Son  quick 
eneth  whom  He  will;  "  and  immediately  there 
upon  added  as  a  reason,  concerning  the  judg 
ment,  saying,  "  for  the  Father  judgeth  not  my 
man,  but  all  judgment  hath  He  given  to  the 
Son."  Why  said  He  this,  but  to  indicate 
that  He  had  spoken  of  that  resurrection  of 


John  i. 


<  John  xi.  41-44. 


142 


Till-:   WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TKACTAII     XXI. 


the  dead  which  will  take   place   in  the  judg 
ment  ? 

12.  "  For,"  saith  He,  "  the  Father  judgeth 
no  man,  but  all  judgment  hath  He  given  to 
the  Son."  A  little  before  we  were  thinking 
that  the  Father  doeth  something  which  the 
Son  doeth  not,  when  He  said, "The  Father 
loveth  the  Son,  and  showeth  Him  all  things 
that  Himself  doeth;"  as  though  the  Father 
were  doing,  and  the  Son  were  seeing.  In 
this  way  there  was  creeping  in  upon  our  mind 
a  carnal  conception,  as  if  the  Father  did 
what  the  Son  did  not;  but  that  the  Son  was 
looking  on  while  the  Father  showed  what  He 
was  doing.  Then,  as  the  Father  was  doing 
what  the  Son  did  not,  just  now  we  see  the 
Son  doing  what  the  Father  doeth  not.  How 
He  turns  us  about,  and  keeps  our  mind  busy  ! 
He  leads  us  hither  and  thither,  will  not  allow 
us  to  remain  in  one  place  of  the  flesh,  that  by 
changing  He  may  exercise  us,  by  exercising 
He  may  cleanse  us,  by  cleansing  He  may 
render  us  capable  of  receiving,  and  may  fill 
us  when  made  capable.  What  have  these 
words  to  do  with  us  ?  What  was  He  speaking  ? 
What  is  He  speaking  ?  A  little  before,  He 
said  that  the  Father  showeth  to  the  Son  what 
ever  He  doeth.  I  did  see,  as  it  were,  the 
Father  doing,  the  Son  waiting  to  see;  pre 
sently  again,  I  see  the  Son  doing,  the  Father 
idle:  "  For  the  Father  judgeth  not  any  man, 
but  all  judgment  hath  He  given  to  the  Son." 
When,  therefore,  the  Son  is  about  to  judge, 
will  the  Father  be  idle,  and  not  judge  ?  What 
is  this  ?  What  am  I  to  understand  ?  What 
dost  Thou  say,  O  Lord  ?  Thou  art  God  the 
Word,  I  am  a  man.  Dost  Thou  say  that 
"the  Father  judgeth  not  any  man,  but  hath 
given  all  judgment  to  the  Son"  ?  I  read  in 
another  place  that  Thou  sayest,  "  I  judge  not 
any  man;  there  is  one  who  seeketh  and  judg 
eth."1  Of  whom  sayest  Thou,  "There  is 
one  who  seeketh  and  judgeth,"  unless  it  be 
of  the  Father  ?  He  maketh  inquisition  for 
thy  wrongs,  and  judgeth  for  them.  How  is 
it  to  be  understood  here  that  "the  Father 
judgeth  not  any  man,  but  all  judgment  hath 
He  given  to  the  Son  "?  Let  us  ask  Peter;  let 
us  hear  him  speaking  in  his  epistle:  "Christ 
suffered  for  us,"  saith  he,  "  leaving  us  an  ex 
ample  that  we  should  follow  His  steps;  who 
did  no  sin,  neither  was  guile  found  in  His 
mouth;  who,  when  He  was  reviled,  reviled  j 
not  again;  when  He  suffered  wrong,  He  j 
threatened  not,  but  committed  Himself  to  Him  j 
that  judgeth  righteously."2  How  is  it  true 
that  "the  Father  judgeth  not  any  man,but  hath 
given  all  judgment  to  the  Son  "  ?  We  are 


here  in  perplexity,  and  being  perplexed  let  us 
exert  ourselves,  that  by  exertion  we  may  be 
purified.  Let  us  endeavor  as  best  we  may, 
by  His  own  gift,  to  penetrate  the  deep  secrets 
of  these  words.  It  may  be  that  we  are  acting 
rashly,  in  that  we  wish  to  discuss  and  to  scru 
tinize  the  words  of  God.  Yet  why  were  they 
spoken,  but  to  be  known  ?  Why  did  they 
sound  forth,  but  to  be  heard  ?  Why  were 
they  heard,  but  to  be  understood  ?  Let  Him 
greatly  strengthen  us,  then,  and  bestow  some 
what  on  us  so  far  as  He  may  deem  worthy; 
and  if  we  do  not  yet  penetrate  to  the  foun 
tain,  let  us  drink  of  the  brook.  Behold, 
John  himself  has  flowed  forth  to  us  like  a 
brook,  conveyed  to  us  the  word  from  on  high. 
He  brought  it  low,  and  in  a  manner  levelled 
it,  that  we  may  not  dread  the  lofty  One,  but 
may  draw  nigh  to  Him  that  is  low. 

13.  By  all  means  there  is  a  sense,  a  true 
and  strong  sense,  if  somehow  we  can  grasp  it, 
in  which  "the  Father  judgeth  not  any  man, 
but  hath  given  all  judgment  to  the  Son." 
For  this  is  said  because  none  will  appear  to 
|  men  in  the  judgment  but  the  Son.  The 
Father  will  be  hidden,  the  Son  will  be  mani 
fest.  In  what  will  the  Son  be  manifest?  In 
the  form  in  which  He  ascended.  For  in  the 
form  of  God  He  was  hidden  with  the  Father;  in 
the  form  of  a  servant,  manifest  to  men.  Not 
therefore  "  the  Father  judgeth  any  man,  but 
all  judgment  hath  He  given  to  the  Son:  "  only 
the  manifest  judgment,  in  which  manifest 
judgment  the  Son  will  judge,  since  the  same 
will  appear  to  them  that  are  to  be  judged. 
The  Scripture  shows  us  more  clearly  that  it  is 
the  Son  that  will  appear.  On  the  fortieth  day 
after  His  resurrection  He  ascended  into 
heaven,  while  His  disciples  were  looking  on; 
and  they  hear  the  angelic  voice:  "  Men  of 
Galilee,"  saith  it,  "why  stand  ye  gazing  up 
into  heaven  ?  This  same  that  is  taken  up 
from  you  into  heaven,  shall  so  come  in  like 
manner  as  ye  have  seen  Him  going  into 
heaven. "  3  In  what  manner  did  they  see  Him 
go?  In  the  flesh,  which  they  touched,  which 
they  handled,  the  wounds  even  of  which  they 
proved  by  touching;  in  that  body  in  which 
He  went  in  and  out  with  them  for  forty  days, 
manifesting  Himself  to  them  in  truth,  not  in 
falsity;  not  a  phantom,  or  shadow,  or  ghost, 
but,  as  Himself  said,  not  deceiving  them, 
"  Handle  and  see,  for  a  spirit  hath  not  flesh 
and  bones,  as  ye  see  me  have."4  That  body 
is  now  indeed  worthy  of  a  heavenly  habitation, 
not  being  subject  to  death,  nor  mutable  by 
the  lapse  of  ages.  It  is  not  as  it  had  grown  to 
that  age  from  infancy,  so  from  the  age  of 


John ' 


Pet.  ii.  21-23. 


3  Acts  i.  3-11 


Luke  \  -. 


i  R  XXI.] 


ON  THE  GOSPEL  OI   ST,  JOHN. 


143 


manhood  declines  to  old  age:  He  remains  as 
ended,  to  come  to  those  to  whom  He- 
willed  His  word  to  he  preached  he  fore  He 
comes.  Thus  will  He  come  in  human  form, 
and  this  form  the  wicked  will  sec;  hoth  they 
on  the  right  shall  see  it,  and  they  that  are 
separated  to  the  left  shall  see  it:  as  it  is 
written,  "  They  shall  look  on  Him  whom  they 
pierced."  '  If  they  shall  look  on  Him  whom 
they  pierced,  they  shall  look  on  that  same 
body  which  they  struck  through  with  the  spear; 
for  a  spear  does  not  pierce  the  Word.  This 
body,  therefore,  will  the  wicked  be  able  to 
look  on  which  they  were  able  to  wound.  God 
hidden  in  the  body  they  will  not  see:  after 
the  judgment  He  will  be  seen  by  those  who 
will  be  on  the  right  hand.  This,  then,  is  what 
He  means  when  He  saith,  "  The  Father 
judgeth  not  any  man,  but  all  judgment  hath 
He  given  to  the  Son," — that  the  Son  will 
come  to  judgment  manifest,  apparent  to  men 
in  human  body;  saying  to  those  on  the  right, 
*'  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  receive  the 
kingdom;  "  and  to  those  on  the  left,  "  Go  into 
everlasting  fire,  which  is  prepared  for  the 
devil  and  his  angels."  2 

14.  Behold,  that  form  of  man  will  be  seen 
by  the  godly  and  by  the  wicked,  by  the  just 
and  the  unjust,  by  the  believers  and  unbe 
lievers,  by  those  that  rejoice  and  by  those 
that  mourn,  by  them  that  trusted  and  by  them 
that  are  confounded:  lo,  seen  it  will  be. 
When  that  form  shall  have  appeared  in  the 
judgment,  and  the  judgment  shall  have  been 
finished,  where  it  is  said  that  the  Father 
judgeth  not  any,  but  hath  given  all  judgment 
to  the  Son,  for  this  reason,  that  the  Son  will 
appear  in  the  judgment  in  that  form  which 
He  took  from  us.  What  shall  be  after  this? 
When  shall  be  seen  the  form  of  God,  which 
all  the  faithful  are  thirsting  to  see?  When 
shall  be  seen  that  Word  which  was  in  the  be 
ginning,  God  with  God,  by  which  all  things 
were  made  ?  When  shall  be  seen  that  form 
of  God,  of  which  the  apostle  saith,  "  Being  in 
the  form  of  God,  He  thought  it  not  robbery 
to  be  equal  with  God  "  ? 3  For  great  is  that 
form,  in  which,  moreover,  the  quality  of  the 
Father  and  Son  is  recognized;  ineffable,  in 
comprehensible,  most  of  all  to  little  ones. 
When  shall  this  form  be  seen  ?  Behold,  on  the 
•right  are  the  just,  on  the  left  are  the  unjust; 
all  alike  see  the  man,  they  see  the  Son  of  man, 
they  see  Him  who  was  pierced,  Him  who 
was  crucified  they  see:  they  see  Him  that  was 
made  low,  Him  who  was  horn  of  the  Virgin, 
the  Lamb  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  they  see. 
But  when  will  they  see  the  Word,  God  with 


Matt.  xxv.  34.  41 


God?     He  will  be  the  then, 

but  the  form  of  a  servant  will  appear.  The 
form  i>t  a  .servant  will  he  shown  to  servants: 
the  form  of  God  will  be  reserved  for 
Wherefore  let  the  servants  be  made  sons  let 
them  who  are  on  the  right  hand  go  into  the 
eternal  inheritance  promised  of  old,  which  the 
martyrs,  though  not  seeing,  believed,  for  the 
promise  of  which  they  |>oured  out  their  blood 
without  hesitation;  let  them  go  thither  and 
see  there.  When  shall  they  go  thither?  Let 
the  Lord  Himself  say:  "So  those  shall  go 
into  everlasting  burning,  but  the  righteous 
into  life  eternal."4 

15.  Behold,  He  has  named  eternal  life. 
Has  He  told  us  that  we  shall  there  see  and 
know  the  Father  and  Son  ?  What  if  we  shall 
live  for  ever,  yet  not  see  that  Father  and  Son  ? 
Hear,  in  another  place,  where  He  has  named 
eternal  life,  and  expressed  what  eternal  life  is: 
"  Be  not  afraid;  I  do  not  deceive  thee;  not 
without  cause  have  I  promised  to  them  that 
love  me,  saying,  '  He  that  hath  my  command 
ments,  and  keepeth  them,  he  it  is  that  loveth 
me;  and  he  that  loveth  me,  shall  be  loved  of 
my  Father,  and  I  will  love  him,  and  will  show 
myself  to  him.'  "5  Let  us  answer  the  Lord, 
and  say,  What  great  thing  is  this,  O  Lord 
our  God  ?  What  great  thing  is  it?  Wilt  Thou 
show  Thyself  to  us  ?  What,  then,  didst  Thou 
not  show  Thyself  to  the  Jews  also?  Did  not 
they  see  Thee  who  crucified  Thee  ?  But 
Thou  wilt  show  Thyself  in  the  judgment, 
when  we  shall  stand  at  Thy  right  hand;  will 
not  also  they  who  will  stand  on  Thy  left  see 
Thee?  What  is  it  that  Thou  wilt  show  Thy 
self  to  us  ?  Do  we,  indeed,  not  see  Thee 
now  when  Thou  art  speaking?  He  makes 
answer:  I  will  show  myself  in  the  form  of 
God;  just  now  you  see  the  form  of  a  servant. 
I  will  not  deceive  thee,  O  faithful  man;  be 
lieve  that  thou  shall  see.  Thou  lovest,  and 
yet  thou  dost  not  see:  shall  not  love  itself 
lead  thee  to  see  ?  Love,  persevere  in  loving; 
I  will  not  disappoint  thy  love,  saith  He,  I  who 
have  purified  thy  heart.  For  why  have  I  puri 
fied  thy  heart,  but  to  the  end  that  God  may 
be  seen  by  thee?  For  "  blessed  are  the  pure 
in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God."6  "But 
this,"  saith  the  servant,  as  if  disputing  with 
the  Lord,  "Thou  didst  not  express,  when 
Thou  didst  say,  '  The  righteous  shall  go  into 
life  eternal;'  Thou  didst  not  say,  They  shall 
go  to  see  me  in  the  form  of  God,  and  to  see 
the  Father,  with  whom  I  am  equal."  ( > 
what  He  said  elsewhere:  "  This  is  life  eter 
nal,  that  they  may  know  Thee  the  one  true 
God, and  Jesus  Christ  whom  Thou  hast  sent. "  ' 


*  Matt.  xxv.  46. 
"  M.tt.  v.  8. 


5  F«hn  xiv.  ji 


144 


THK  WORKS  ()!•   ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  XXII. 


16.  And  immediately,  then,  after  the  judg 
ment  mentioned,  all    which   the   Father,   not 
judging  any  man,  hath  given  to  the  Son,  what 
shall   be?     What    follows?     "That  all    may 
honor    the    Son,    even    as    they    honor    the 
Father."     The  Jews  honor  the  Father,  de 
spise  the  Son.     For  the  Son  was  seen  as  a 
servant,  the  Father  was  honored  as  God.     Hut 
the  Son  will   appear  equal  with  the  Father, 
that  all   may  honor   the    Son,   even  as   they 
honor  the  Father.     This  we  have,  therefore, 
now  in  faith.      Let  not  the  Jew  say,  "  I  honor 
the  Father;  what  have  I  to  do  with  the  Son  ?  " 
Let  him  be  answered,  "  He  that  honoreth  not 
the  Son,  honoreth  not  the  Father.    Thou  liest 
every  way;   thou   blasphemest  the  Son,  and 
dost  wrong  to  the  Father.     For  the  Father 
sent  the  Son,  and  thou  despisest  Him  whom 
the  Father  sent.     How  canst  thou  honor  the 
sender,  who  blasphemest  the  sent  ?  " 

17.  Behold,  says  some  one,  the  Son  has 
been  sent;  and  the  Father  is  greater,  because 
He  sent.     Withdraw  from  the  flesh;   the  old 
man  suggests  oldness  in  time.     Let  the  an 
cient,  the  perpetual,  the  eternal,  to  thee  the 
new,  call  off  thy  understanding  from  time  to 
this.     Is  the  Son  less  because  He  is  said  to 
have  been   sent?     I  hear  of  a  sending,  not  a 
separation.     But  yet,   saith   he,  among  men 
we  see  that  he  who  sends  is  greater  than  he 
who  is  sent.     Be  it  so;  but  human  affairs  de 
ceive  a  man;    divine  things  purge  him.      Do 
not  regard  things  human,  in  which  the  sender 
appears  greater,  the  sent  less;    notwithstand 
ing,  things  human  themselves  bear  testimony 
against  thee.     Just  as,  for  example,  if  a  man 


wishes  to  ask  a  woman  to  wife,  and,  not  being 

able  to  do  this  in  person,  sends  a  friend  to 

ask   for  him.      And  there  are  many  cases  in 

which  the  greater  is  chosen  to  be  sent  by  the 

less.      Why,  then,  wouldst  thou  now  raise  a 

captious  objection,  because  the  one  has  sent, 

the  other  is  sent?     The  sun  sends  out  a  ray, 

but  does  not  separate  it;    the  moon  sends  out 

her  sheen,  but  does  not  separate  it;   a  lamp 

sheds  light,  but  does  not  separate  it:    I  see 

there  a  sending  forth,  not  a  separation.     For 

if  thou  seekest  examples  from  human  things, 

O  heretical  vanity,  although,  as  I  have  said, 

even  human  things  in  some  instances  refute 

thee,  and  convict  of  error;   yet  consider  how 

different   it  is  in  the  case  of  things  human, 

from  which  you  wish  to  deduce  examples  for 

j  things  divine.     A  man   that   sends    remains 

j  himself  behind,  while  only  the  man  that  is 

I  sent  goes  forward.     Does  the  man  who  sends 

go  with  him  whom  he  sends  ?    Yet  the  Father, 

who  sent  the  Son,  has  not  departed  from  the 

Son.     Hear  the  Lord   Himself  saying,  "  Be- 

'  hold,   the   hour  is  coming,  when   every  one 

shall  depart  to  his  own,  and  ye  will  leave  me 

j  alone;  but  I  am  not  alone,  because  the  Father 

is  with  me."  l     How  has  He,  with  whom  He 

came,  sent  Him  ?     How  has  He,  from  whom 

He  has  not  departed,  sent  Him?     In  another 

place  He  said,  "  The  Father  abiding  in  me 

doeth  the  works."2     Behold,  the  Father  is  in 

!  Him,  works   in   Him.     The   Father   sending 

!  has  not  departed  from  the  Son  sent,  because 

:  the  sent  and  the  sender  are  one. 


'  John  xvi.  32. 


'  John  xiv.  10. 


TRACTATE   XXII 

CHAPTER  V.   24-30. 


UPON  the  discourses  delivered  yesterday 
and  the  day  before,  follows  the  Gospel  lesson 
of  to-day,  which  we  must  endeavor  to  ex 
pound  in  due  course,  not  indeed  propor- 
tionably  to  its  importance,  but  according  to 
our  ability:  both  because  you  take  in,  not 
according  to  the  bountifulness  of  the  gush 
ing  fountain,  but  according  to  your  mod 
erate  capacity;  and  we  too  speak  into  your 
ears,  not  so  much  as  the  fountain  gives 
forth,  but  so  much  as  we  are  able  to  take 
in  we  convey  into  your  minds.- — the  matter 
itself  working  more  fruitfully  in  your  hearts 
than  we  in  your  ears.  For  a  great  matter  is 


treated  of,  not  by  great  masters,  nay,  rather 
;  by  very  small;  but  He  who,  being  great,  for 
!our  sakes  became  small,  gives  us  hope  and 
confidence.  For  if  we  were  not  encouraged 
by  Him,  and  invited  to  understand  Him;  if 
He  abandoned  us  as  contemptible,  since  we  • 
were  not  able  to  partake  His  divinity  if  He 
did  not  partake  our  mortality  and  come  to  us 
to  speak  His  gospel  to  us;  if  He  had  not 
willed  to  partake  with  us  what  in  us  is  abject 
and  most  small, — then  we  might  think  that 
He  who  took  on  Himself  our  smallness,  had 
not  been  willing  to  bestow  on  us  His  own 
greatness.  This  I  have  said  lest  any  should 


1  I  \    I  \  1 1     \\II.j 


ON  -|  ill.  GOSPEL  Ol    -  r    JOHN. 


blame     us    as    over-bold     in    handling 
niatlcrs,  or  despair  of   himself   tnat   lie  should 
be    able  to  understand,   by   God's   ^ilt,    what 

in  of  God  has  deigned  to  speak  to  him. 
Therefore  what  He  lias  deigned  to  speak  to 
us,  we  ought  to  believe  that  He  meant  us  to 
understand,  l'»nt  if  we  do  not  understand, 
I  If,  being  asked,  gives  understanding,  who 

1  IIN  Word  unasked. 

2.  Lo,  what  these  secrets  of  His  words  are, 
consider   well.     "Verily,   verily,   I  say  unto 
you,  Whoso  heareth  my  word,  and  believeth 
on    Him  that  sent   me,   hath   eternal    life." 
Suivly  we  are  all  striving  after  eternal  life: 
and  He  saith,  "  Whoso  heareth  my  word,  and 
believeth    Him    that   sent   me,    hath    eternal 
life."     Then,  would    He   have   us   hear   His 
word,  and  yet  would  He  not  have  us  under 
stand  it?     Since,  if  in  hearing  and  believing 
is  eternal  life,  much  more  in  understanding. 
But  the  action  of  piety  is  faith,  the  fruit  of 
faith   understanding,   that  we   may  come    to 
eternal  life,  when  there  will  be  no  reading  of 
Gospel  to  us;    but  after  all  pages  of  reading 
and  the  voice  of  reader  and   preacher  have 
been  removed  out  of  the  way,  He,  who  has 
at  this  time  dispensed  to  us  the  gospel,  will 
Himself    appear   to    all    that   are    His,    now 
present  with  Him  with  purged  heart  and  in 
an  immortal  body  never  more  to  die,  cleans 
ing  and   enlightening  them,   now  living  and 
seeing  how  that  "  in  the  beginning  was  the 
Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God."     There 
fore  let  us  consider  at  this  time  who  we  are, 
and  ponder  whom  we  hear.     Christ  is  God,  and 
He  is  speaking  with  men.     He  would   have 
them  to  apprehend  Him,  let  Him  make  them 
capable;    He  would  have  them  see  Him,  let 
Him  open  their  eyes.     It   is  not,   however, 
without  cause  that  He  speaks  to  us,  but  be 
cause  that  is  true  which  He  promises  to  us. 

3.  "  Whoso  heareth  my  words,"  saith  He, 
"and    believeth    Him    that    sent    me,    hath 
eternal   life,  and   shall  not  come  into  judg 
ment,  but  is  passed  from  death  unto  life." 
Where,  when  do  we  come  from  death  to  life, 
that  we  come  not  into  judgment?    In  this  life 
there  is  a  passing  from  death  to  life;    in  this 
life,  which  is  not  yet  life,  there  is  a  passing 
lif  in  <•   from   death   unto   life.     What  is   that 
passing?     "  Whoso  heareth  my  words,"  He 
said,    "and   believeth    Him  that  sent   me." 
Observing  these,  thou  believest  and  passest. 
And  docs  a  man   pass  while  standing?     Evi 
dently;    for  in  body  he  stands,    in    mind    he 
passes.      Where   was   he,    whence    he    should 
pass,  and   whither  does  he   pass?      He   passes 
from  death  to  life.      Look  at  a  mnn  standing, 
in  whom   all   that  is  here  said   may   happen. 
He  stands,  he  hears;    perhaps  he  did  not  be 


lieve,  by  i.e. -ring  he   believes:    a   little 
he  did    not  believe,  just   now    lie  believ 
IMS    n:  is    it    were,    from    the 

region  of  unbelief  to  the  re.  th,  by 

motion  of  the  heart,  not  of  the  body,  by  a 
motion  into  the  better;  because  they  >vho 
again  abandon  faith  move  into  the  worse. 
Behold,  in  this  life,  which,  just  as  I  have 
said,  is  not  yet  life,  there  is  a  passing  from 
death  to  life,  so  that  there  may  not  be  a  com 
ing  into  judgment.  But  why  did  I  say  that 
it  is  not  yet  life  ?  If  this  were  life,  the  Lord 
would  not  have  said  to  a  certain  man,  "  If 
thou  wilt  come  into  life,  keep  the  command 
ments."1  For  He  saith  not  to  him,  If  thou 
wilt  come  into  eternal  life;  He  did  not  add 
eternal,  but  said  only  life.  Therefore  this 
life  is  not  to  be  named  life,  because  it  is  not 
a  true  life.  What  is  true  life,  but  that  which 
is  eternal  life  ?  Hear  the  apostle  speaking  to 
Timothy,  when  he  says,  "Charge  them  that 
are  rich  in  this  world,  not  to  be  high-minded, 
nor  to  trust  in  uncertain  riches,  but  in  the 
living  God,  who  giveth  us  a!!  things  richly  to 
enjoy;  let  them  do  good,  be  rich  in  good 
works,  ready  to  distribute,  to  communicate." 
Why  does  he  say  this'  Hear  what  follows: 
"Let  them  lay  up  in  store  for  themselves  a 
good  foundation  for  the  time  to  come,  that 
they  may  lay  hold  of  the  true  life."2  If  they 
ought  to  lay  up  for  themselves  a  good  founda 
tion  for  the  time  to  come,  in  order  to  lay  hold 
of  the  true  life,  surely  this  in  which  they 
were  is  a  false  life.  For  why  shouldest  thou 
desire  to  lay  hold  of  the  true,  if  thou  hast  the 
true  already  ?  Is  the  true  to  be  laid  hold  of? 
There  must  then  be  a  departing  from  the 
false.  And  by  what  way  must  be  the  depart 
ing?  Whither?  Hear,  believe;  and  thou 
makest  the  passage  from  death  into  life,  and 
comest  not  into  judgment. 

4.  What  is  this,  "  and  thou  comest  not 
into  judgment"?  And  who  will  be  better 
than  the  Apostle  Paul,  who  saith,  "  We  must 
all  appear  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ, 
that  every  one  may  there  receive  what  he  has 
done  in  the  body,  whether  it  be  good  or 
evil"?3  Paul  saith,  "We  must  all  appear 
before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ; "  and 
darest  thou  promise  to  thyself  that  them  shall 
not  come  into  ju  gment?  Be  it  far  from  me, 
sayest  thou,  that  I  should  dare  promise  this 
to  myself.  But  I  believe  Him  that  doth 
promise.  The  Saviour  speaks,  the  Truth 
pronr^es.  Himself  said  to  me,  "  Whoso  hear 
eth  my  words,  and  believeth  Him  tii. 
me,  hath  eternal  life,  and  makes  a  \< 
from  death  unto  life,  and  shall  not  come  into 


Tim.  \: 


46 


THE   WoKKS  OK  ST.    Al'lirSTIN". 


|Ti;\<  IAII     NX  1 1. 


judgment."  I  then  have  heard  the  words  of 
my  Lord,  and  I  have  believed;  so  now,  when 
I  was  an  unbeliever,  I  became  a  believer; 
even  as  He  warned  me,  I  passed  from  death 
to  life,  I  come  not  into  judgment;  not  by  my 
presumption,  but  by  His  promise.  Does 
Paul,  however,  speak  contrary  to  Christ,  the 
servant  against  his  Lord,  the  disciple  against 
his  Master,  the  man  against  God;  so  that, 
when  the  Lord  saith,  "  Whoso  heareth  and 
believeth,  passeth  from  death  to  life,"  the 
apostle  should  say,  "  We  must  all  appear 
before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ  "  ?  Other 
wise,  if  he  comes  not  into  judgment  who  ap 
pears  before  the  judgment-seat,  I  know  not 
how  to  understand  it. 

5 .  The  Lord  our  God  then  reveals  it,  and 
by  His  Scriptures  puts  us  in  mind  how  it 
may  be  understood  when  judgment  is  spoken 
of.  I  exhort  you,  therefore,  to  give  atten 
tion.  Sometimes  judgment  means  punish 
ment,  sometimes  it  means  discrimination. 
According  to  that  mode  of  speech  in  which 
judgment  means  discrimination,  "we  must 
all  appear  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ, 
that "  a  man  "  may  there  receive  what  things 
he  has  done  in  the  body,  whether  it  be  good 
or  ill."  For  this  same  is  a  discrimination,  to 
distribute  good  things  to  the  good,  evil  things 
to  the  evil.  For  if  judgment  were  always  to 
be  taken  in  a  bad  sense,  the  psalm  would  not 
say,  "Judge  me,  O  God."  Perhaps  some 
one  is  surprised  when  he  hears  one  say, 
"Judge  me,  O  God."  For  man  is  wont  to 
say,  "  Forgive  me,  O  God;  "  "Spare  me,  O 
God."  Who  is  it  that  says,  "  Judge  me,  O 
God  "  ?  Sometimes  in  the  psalm  this  very 
verse  even  is  placed  in  the  pause,1  to  be  given 
out  by  the  reader  and  responded  by  the 
people.  Does  it  not  perhaps  strike  some 
man's  heart  so  much  that  he -is  afraid  to  sing 
and  to  say  to  God,  "Judge  me,  O  God"? 
And  yet  the  people  sing  it  with  confidence, 
and  do  not  imagine  that  they  wish  an  evil 
thing  in  that  which  they  have  learned  from 
the  divine  word;  even  if  they  do  not  well  un 
derstand  it,  they  believe  that  what  they  sing 
is  something  good.  And  yet  even  the  psalm 
itself  has  not  left  a  man  without  an  insight 
into  the  meaning  of  it.  For,  going  on,  it 
shows  in  the  words  that  follow  what  kind  of 
judgment  it  spoke  of;  that  it  is  not  one  of 
condemnation,  but  of  discrimination.  For 
saith  it,  "  Judge  me,  O  God."  What  means 
"  Judge  me,  O  God,  and  discern  my  cause 
from  an  unholy  nation"  ?  According  to  this 
judgment  of  discerning,  then,  "we  must  all 
appear  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ." 


But  again,  according  to  the  judgment  of  con 
demnation,  "  Whoso  heareth  my  words,'' 
saith  He,  "and  believeth  Him  that  sent  me, 
hath  eternal  life,  and  shall  not  come  into 
judgment,  but  makes  a  passage  from  death  to 
life."  What  is  "shall  not  come  into  judg 
ment  ? "  Shall  not  come  into  condemnation. 
Let  us  prove  from  the  Scriptures  that  juJg- 
mcnt  is  put  where  punishment  is  understood; 
although  also  in  this  very  passage,  a  little 
further  on,  .you  will  hear  the  same  term  judg 
ment  put  for  nothing  else  than  for  condemna 
tion  and  punishment.  Yet  the  apostle  says 
in  a  certain  place,  writing  to  those  who  abused 
the  body,  what  the  faithful  among  you  know; 
and  because  they  abused  it,  they  were  chas 
tised  by  the  scourge  of  the  Lord.  For  he 
says  to  them,  "  Many  among  you  are  weak 
and  sickly,  and  deeply  sleep."  For  many 
therefore  even  died.  And  he  went  on:  "  For 
if  we  judged  ourselves,  we  should  not  be 
I  judged  by  the  Lord;  "  that  is,  if  we  reproved 
ourselves,  we  should  not  be  reproved  by  the 
i  Lord.  "But  when  we  are  judged,  we  are 
|  chastened  by  the  Lord,  that  we  may  not  be 
condemned  with  the  world."2  There  are 
therefore  those  who  are  judged  here  accord 
ing  to  punishment,  that  they  may  be  spared 
there;  there  are  those  who  are  spared  here, 
that  they  may  be  the  more  abundantly  tor 
mented  there;  and  there  are  those  to  whom 
the  very  punishments  are  meted  out  without 
the  scourge  of  punishment,  if  they  be  not 
corrected  by  the  scourge  of  God;  that,  since 
here  they  have  despised  the  Father  that 
scourgeth,  they  may  there  feel  the  Judge  that 
punisheth.  Therefore  there  is  a  judgment 
into  which  God,  that  is,  the  Son  of  God,  will 
in  the  end  send  the  devil  and  his  angels,  and 
all  the  unbelieving  and  ungodly  with  him. 
To  this  judgment,  he  who,  now  believing, 
passes  from  death  unto  life,  shall  not  come. 

6.  For,  lest  thou  shouldest  think  that  by 
believing  thou  art  not  to  die  according  to  the 
flesh,  or  lest,  understanding  it  carnally,  thou 
shouldest  say  to  thyself,  "  My  Lord  has  said 
to  me,  Whoso  heareth  my  words,  and  believ 
eth  Him  that  sent  me,  is  passed  from  death 
to  life:  I  then  have  believed,  I  am  not  to 
die;"  be  assured  that  thou  shalt  pay  that 
penalty,  death,  which  thou  owest  by  the  pun 
ishment  of  Adam.  For  he,  in  whom  we  all 
then  were,  received  this  sentence,  "  Thou 
shalt  surely  die;"3  nor  can  the  divine  sen 
tence  be  made  void.  But  after  thou  hast 
paid  the  death  of  the  old  man,  thou  shalt  be 
received  into  the  eternal  life  of  the  new  man, 
and  shalt  pass  from  death  to  life.  Mean- 


J~>t\i/>s<i!ifia. 


JGen.  ii.  17. 


ON    l  ill    <•.'  ISPEL  0  »HN  i  J7 


while,  make  tin-  transition  ot'  lite  now.  What 
is  thy  lite?  Faith:  "Tin-  just  doth  live  bv 
faith."'  The  unbelievers,  what  of  them? 
They  are  dead.  Ann  mi;  Mich  dead  was  he, 
in  the  body,  of  \vnoin  the  Lord  says,  "  Let 
the  dead  bury  their  dead.1'-'  So,  then,  even 
in  this  life  there  are  dead,  and  there  are  liv-  i 


buried,  a  stone   v.  r  him:    tin 

of  the  Saviour  burst  asunder  the   hard: 
:id  thy  heart  is  so  hard,  th. 
Divine   Voice  does  not  yet  break  it  ! 
in  thy  heart;    go  forth  from  thy  tomb.      1 
thou  wast   lying  dead   in  thy  heart  as  in   a 
tomb,  and  pressed  down  by  the  weight  ol 


which  thou  hast  passed,  and  thou  shalt  not 
come  into  judgment. 


ing;  all  live  in  a  sense.  Who  are  dead  ?;  habit  as  by  a  stone.  Rise,  and  go  forth. 
They  who  have  not  believed.  Who  are  liv- 1  What  is  Rise,  and  go  forth?  Believe  and 
ing  ?  They  who  have  believed.  What  is  said  |  confess.  For  he  that  has  believed  has  risen; 
to  the  dead  by  the  apostle?  "Arise,  thou  he  that  confesses  is  gone  forth.  Why  said 
that  sleepest."  But,  quoth  an  objector,  he  i  we  that  he  who  confesses  is  gone  forth  ?  Be- 
said  sleep,  not  death.  Hear  what  follows: !  cause  he  was  hid  before  confessing;  but  when 
"Arise,  thou  that  sleepest,  and  come  forth  '  he  does  confess,  he  goes  forth  from  darkness 
from  the  dead."  And  as  if  the  sleeper  said,  to  light.  And  after  he  has  confessed,  what  is 
Whither  shall  I  go  ?  "And  Christ  shall  give  said  to  the  servants?  What  was  said  beside 
thee  light."  3  Christ  having  enlightened  thee,  j  the  corpse  of  Lazarus?  "  Loose  him,  and  let 
now  believing,  immediately  thou  makest  a  him  go."  How?  As  it  was  said  to  His  ser- 
pa.ssage  from  death  to  life:  abide  in  that  to  vants  the  apostles,  "  What  things  ye  shall 

loose  on  earth,  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven."' 

8.   "The  hour  cometh,  and  now  is,  when 

7.  Himself  explains  that  already,  and  goes  the  dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of 
on,  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you."  In  God;  and  they  that  hear  shall  live."  From 
case,  because  He  said  "  is  passed  from  death  what  source  shall  they  live?  From  life, 
to  life,"  we  should  understand  this  of  the  From  what  life?  From  Christ.  How  do  we 
future  resurrection,  and  willing  to  show  that  prove  that  the  source  is  Christ  the  life?  "  I 
he  who  believes  is  passed,  and  that  to  pass  jam,"  saith  He,  "the  way,  the  truth,  and  the 
from  death  to  life  is  to  pass  from  unbelief  to  life."7  Dost  thou  wish  to  walk?  "  I  am  the 
faith,  from  injustice  to  justice,  from  pride  to  way."  Dost  thou  wish  not  to  be  deceived? 
humility,  from  hatred  to  charity,  He  saith  "  I  am  tne  truth"  Wouldest  thou  not  die? 
now,  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  The  "  I  am  the  life."  This  saith  thy  Saviour  to 
hour  cometh,  and  now  is."  What  more  evi-  thee:  There  is  not  whither  thou  mayest  go 
dent?  "And  now  is,  when  the  dead  shall  but  to  me;  there  is  not  whereby  thou  mayest 
hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  they  j  go  but  by  me.  Therefore  this  hour  is  going 
that  hear  shall  live."  We  have  already  on  now,  this  act  is  clearly  taking  place,  and 
spoken  of  these  dead.  What  think  we,  my  i  does  not  at  all  cease.  Men  who  were  dead, 
brethren?  Are  there  no  dead  in  this  crowd  i  rise;  they  pass  over  to  life;  at  the  voice  of  the 
that  hear  me?  They  who  believe  and  act '  Son  of  God  they  live;  from  Him  they  live, 
according  to  the  true  faith  do  live,  and  are  '  while  persevering  in  the  faith  of  Him.  For 
not  dead.  But  they  who  either  do  not  be-  the  Son  hath  life,  whence  He  has  it  that  they 
lieve,  or  believe  as  the  devils  believe,  trem-  that  believe  shall  live. 

bling.4  and  living  wickedly,  confessing  the  j  9.  And  how  hath  He  ?  Even  as  the  Father 
Son  of  God,  and  without  charity,  must  rather  hath.  Hear  Himself  saying,  "For  as  the 
be  esteemed  dead.  This  hour,  however,  is  Father  hath  life  in  Himself,  so  also  hath  He 
still  passing.  For  the  hour  of  which  the  given  to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  Himself." 
Lord  spoke  will  not  be  an  hour  of  the  twelve  Brethren,  I  shall  speak  as  I  shall  be  able, 
hours  of  a  day.  From  the  time  when  He  |  For  these  are  those  words  that  perplex  the 
spoke  even  to  the  present,  and  even  to  the  puny  understanding.  Why  has  He  added, 
end  of  the  world,  the  same  one  hour  is  pass-!  "  in  Himself"  It  would  suffice  to  say, 
MIL;:  of  which  hour  John  saith  in  his  epistle,  "  For  as  the  Father  hath  life,  so  also  hath 
"Little  children,  i"t  is  the  last  hour."5 'He  given  to  the  Son  to  have  life."  He 
Tnerefore,  is  now.  Whoso  is  alive,  let  him  added,  "in  Himself:"  for  the  Father  "  hath 
live:  whoso  was  dead,  let  him  live;  let  him  life  in  Himself,"  and  the  Son  hath  life  in 
hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  lay  Himself.  He  meant  us  to  understand 
dead;  let  him  arise  and  live.  The  Lord  cried  thing  in  that  which  He  saith,  "in  Himself." 
out  at  the  sepulchre  of  Laxarus,  and  he  that  And  here  a  secret  matter  is  shut  up  in  this 
was  four  days  dead  arose.  He  who  stank  in  word;  let  there  be  knocking,  that  there  may 
the  grave  came  forth  into  the  air.  He  was  be  an  opening.  (J  Lord,  wiiat  is  this  that 


Hab.  ii.  14;  Rom.  i.  17. 

Kph.  i.  14.  4  Jas.  ii.  i).  5  i  J.-ln.    .  1  Jo' 


148 


THK  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  XXII. 


Thou  hast  said?  Wherefore  hast  Thou 
added,  "in  Himself"  ?  Fordid  not  1'aul  the 
apostle,  whom  Thou  madest  to  live,  have 
life  ?  He  had,  said  He.  As  for  men  that 
were  dead  to  be  made  alive,  and  at  Thy  word 
to  pass  unto  life  by  believing;  when  they  shall 
have  passed,  will  they  not  have  life  in  Thee  ? 
They  shall  have  life;  for  I  said  also  a  little 
before,  "Whoso  heareth  my  words,  and  be- 
lieveth  Him  that  sent  me,  hath  eternal  life." 
Therefore  those  that  believe  in  Thee  have 
life;  and  Thou  hast  not  said,  "in  them 
selves."  But  when  Thou  speakest  of  the 
Father,  "even  as  the  Father  hath  life  in 
Himself; "  again,  when  Thou  speakest  of 
Thyself,  Thou  saidst,  "So  also  hath  He 
given  to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  Himself." 
Even  as  He  hath,  so  gave  He  to  have. 
Where  hath  He?  "In  Himself."  Where 
gave  He  to  have?  "In  Himself."  Where 
hath  Paul  life?  Not  in  himself,  but  in 
Christ.  Where  hast  thou,  believer  ?  Not  in 
thyself,  but  in  Christ.  Let  us  see  whether 
the  apostle  says  this:  "  Now  I  live;  but  not 
I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me."1  Our  life,  as 
ours,  that  is,  of  our  own  personal  will,  will  be 
only  evil,  sinful,  unrighteous;  but  the  life  in 
us  that  is  good  is  from  God,  not  from  our 
selves;  it  is  given  to  us  by  God,  not  by  our 
selves.  But  Christ  hath  life  in  Himself,  as 
the  Father  hath,  because  He  is  the  Word  of 
God.  With  Him,  it  is  not  the  case  that  He 
liveth  now  ill,  now  well;  but  as  for  man,  he 
liveth  now  ill,  now  well.  He  who  was  living 
ill,  was  in  his  own  life;  he  who  is  living  well, 
is  passed  to  the  life  of  Christ.  Thou  art 
made  a  partaker  of  life;  thou  wast  not  that 
which  thou  hast  received,  but  wast  one  who 
received:  but  it  is  not  so  with  the  Son  of  God, 
as  if  at  first  He  was  without  life,  and  then  re 
ceived  life.  For  if  thus  He  received  life,  He 
would  not  have  it  in  Himself.  For,  indeed, 
what  is  in  Himself?  That  He  should  Him 
self  be  the  very  life. 

10.  I  may  perhaps  declare  that  matter 
more  plainly  still.  One  lights  a  candle:  that 
candle,  for  example,  so  far  as  regards  the 
little  flame  which  shines  there — that  fire  has 
light  in  itself;  but  thine  eyes,  which  lay  idle 
and  saw  nothing,  in  the  absence  of  the  can 
dle,  now  have  light  also,  but  not  in  them 
selves.  Further,  if  they  turn  away  from  the 
candle,  they  are  made  dark;  if  they  turn  to 
it,  they  are  illumined.  But  certainly  that 
fire  shines  so  long  as  it  exists:  if  thou  wouldst 
take  the  light  from  it,  thou  dost  also  at  the 
same  time  extinguish  it;  for  without  the  light 
it  cannot  remain.  But  Christ  is  light  inex 


tinguishable  and  co-eternal  with  the  Father, 
always  bright,  always  shining,  always  burn 
ing:  for  if  He  were'not  burning,  would  it  be 
said  in  the  psalm,  "  Nor  is  there  any  that  can 
hide  himself  from  his  heat?"2  But  thou 
wast  cold  in  thy  sin;  thou  turnest  that  thou 
mayest  become  warm;  if  thou  wilt  turn  away, 
thou  wilt  become  cold.  In  thy  sin  thou  wast 
dark;  thou  turnest  in  order  to  be  enlightened; 
if  thou  turnest  away,  thou  wilt  become  dark. 
Therefore,  because  in  thyself  thou  wast  dark 
ness,  when  thou  shalt  be  enlightened,  thou 
wilt  be  light,  though  in  the  light.  For  saith 
the  apostle,  "Ye  were  once  darkness,  but 
now  light  in  the  Lord."  3  When  he  had  said, 
"  but  now  light,"  he  added,  "  in  the  Lord." 
Therefore  in  thyself  darkness,  "light  in  the 
Lord."  In  what  way  "  light"  ?  Because  by 
participation  of  that  light  thou  art  light.  But 
if  thou  wilt  depart  from  the  light  by  which 
thou  art  enlightened,  thou  returnest  to  thy 
darkness.  Not  so  Christ,  not  so  the  Word  of 
God.  But  how  not?  "As  the  Father  hath 
life  in  Himself,  so  hath  He  given  also  to  the 
Son  to  have  life  in  Himself;  "  so  that  He 
lives,  not  by  participation,  but  unchangeably, 
and  is  altogether  Himself  life.  "  So  hath  He 
given  also  to  the  Son  to  have  life."  Even 
as  He  hath,  so  has  He  given.  What  is  the 
difference  ?  For  the  one  gave,  the  other  re 
ceived.  Was  He  already  in  being  when  He 
received  ?  Are  we  to  understand  that  Christ 
was  at  any  time  in  being  without  light,  when 
Himself  is  the  wisdom  of  the  Father,  of  which 
it  is  said,  "  It  is  the  brightness  of  the  eternal 
light?"4  Therefore  what  is  said,  "gave  to 
the  Son,"  is  such  as  if  it  were  said,  "  begat 
the  Son;"  for  by  begetting  He  gave.  As 
He  gave  Him  to  be,  so  He  gave  Him  to  be 
life,  so  also  gave  Him  to  be  life  in  Himself. 
What  is  fhat,  to  be  life  in  Himself?  Not  to 
need  life  from  elsewhere,  but  to  be  Himself 
the  plenitude  of  life,  out  of  which  others  be 
lieving  should  have  life  while  they  lived. 
"Hath  given  Him,"  then,  "to  have  life  in 
Himself."  Hath  given  as  to  whom'  As  to 
His  own  Word,  as  to  Him  who  "  in  the  be 
ginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was 
with  God." 

ii.  Afterwards,  because  He  was  made 
man,  what  gave  He  to  Him?  "And  hath 
given  Him  authority  to  execute  judgment, 
because  He  is  the  Son  of  man."  In  that  He 
is  the  Son  of  God,  "As  the  Father  hnth  life 
in  Himself,  so  also  hath  He  given  to  the  Son 
to  have  life  in  Himself:  "  iu  that  He  is  the 
Son  of  man,  "  He  hath  given  Him  authority 
of  executing  judgment."  This  is  what  I  ex- 


Fph.  v.  8. 


,n     XX  II.  I 


ON  TIU;  GOSl  r.  JOHN. 


plained   to  you   yesterday,    my   heioved,    that    were   iaymg    t(l   ,;icin    s,,(  ..    u,,rds   a-,    these: 

in  the   judgment   man   will    be   seen,  but  G»d    "  Behold.  \vlirn  tiie  Lord  UUth,  'And    he  that 

will  not  lie  seen;    but  after  the  judgment,  God    l)elieveth    in    me    is    passed    l:o:n   death    unto 

will   he  seen   by  those   who   have  prevailed    in    life;"     the    resurrection    has    air. 

the  judgment,  but  by  the  wicked  He  will  not'  place  in  believing  men,  who  were  before  un- 

be  Men,     Since,   therefore,  the  man  will  be 

seen   in  the  judgment  in  that  form  in  which 

He   will   so  come  as   He  ascended,  for  that 

reason    He    had    said    above,    "  The    Father 


believers:  how  can  a  sci  <>ml  resurrection  be 
meant?"  Thanks  to  our  Lord  God,  He 
supports  the  wavering,  directs  the  perplexed, 
confirms  the  doubting.  Hear  what  follows, 
now  that  thou  hast  not  whereof  to  make  to 
thyself  the  darkness  of  death.  If  thou  hast 
believed,  believe  the  whole.  What  whole, 
sayest  thou,  am  I  to  believe  ?  Hear  what  He 
saith:  *'  Marvel  not  at  this,"  namely,  that 
He  gave  to  the  Son  authority  of  making 
judgment.  I  say',  in  the  end  of  the  world, 
saith  He.  How  in  the  end  ?  "  Do  not  mar 
vel  at  this;  for  the  hour  cometh."  Here 
He  has  not  said,  "and  now  is."  In  refer 
ence  to  that  resurrection  of  faith,  what  did 
He  say?  "The  hour  cometh,  and  now  is." 
In  reference  to  that  resurrection  which  He 

to  this,  1  say,  "He  gave  Him  authority  I  intimates  there  will  be  of  dead  bodies,  He 
of  executing  judgment,  because  He  is  the  |  said,  "  The  hour  cometh;  "  He  has  not  said, 
Son  of  man:  "  according  to  this,  He  received  !  "  and  now  is,"  because  it  is  to  come  in  the 


judgeth  not  any  man,  but  hath  given  all 
judgment  to  the  Son."  He  repeats  the  same 
thing  also  in  this  place,  when  He  says,  "And 
hath  given  Him  authority  of  executing  judg 
ment,  because  He  is  the  Son  of  man."  As 
if  thou  wert  to  say,  "  hath  given  Him  author 
ity  of  executing  judgment."  In  what  way? 
When  He  had  not  that  authority  of  executing 
judgment?  Since  "  in  the  beginning  was  the 
Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the 
Word  was  God;  "  since  "  all  things  were  made 


bv  Him," 


He  not  already  have  authority 


of  executing  judgment?     Yes,  but  according 


authority  of  judging  "  because  He  is  the  Son 
of  man."  For  in  that  He  is  the  Son  of  God, 
He  always  had  this  authority.  He  that  was 
crucified,  received;  He  who  was  in  death,  is 
in  life:  the  Word  of  God  never  was  in  death, 
but  is  always  in  life. 

12.  Now,  therefore,  as  to  a  resurrection, 
perhaps  some  one  of  us  was  saying:  Behold, 
we  have  risen;  he  who  hears  Christ,  and  be 
lieves,  and  is  passed  from  death  to  life,  also 
will  not  come  into  .judgment.  The  hour  com 
eth,  and  now  is,  that  whoso  heireth  the  voice 


end  of  the  world. 

13.  And  whence,  sayest  thou.  dost  thou 
prove  to  me  that  He  spoke  about  the  resur 
rection  itself?  If  thou  hear  patiently,  thou 
wilt  presently  prove  it  to  thyself.  Let  us  go 
on  then:  ''Marvel  not  at  this;  for  the  hour 
cometh,  in  which  all  that  are  in  the  graves." 
What  more  evident  than  this  resurrection  ? 
A  while  ago,  He  had  not  said,  "  they  that  are 
in  the  graves,"  but,  "The  dead  shall  hear 
the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God;  and  they  that 
hear  shall  live."  He  has  not  said,  some  shall 


of  the  Son  of  God  shall  live:  he  was  dead,  he  J  live,  others  shall  be  damned;  because  all 
has  heard;  behold,  he  doth  rise.  What  is  who  believe  shall  live.  But  what  does  He 
this  that  is  said,  that  there  is  to  be  a  resur- j  say  concerning  the  graves?  "All  that  are  in 
rection  afterwards?  Spare  thyself,  do  not '  the  graves  shall  hear  His  voice,  and  shall 
hasten  the  sentence,  lest  thou  hurry  after  it.  j  come  forth."  He  said  not,  "shall  hear  and 
There  is,  indeed,  this  resurrection  which!  live."  For  if  they  have  lived  wickedly,  and 
comes  to  pass  now  ;  unbelievers  were  dead,  |  lay  in  the  graves,  they  shall  rise  to  death,  not 
the  unrighteous  were  dead;  the  righteous  j  to  life.  Let  us  see,  then,  who  shall  come 
live,  they  pass  from  the  death  of  unbelief  to  forth.  Although,  a  little  before,  the  dead  by 
the  life  of  faith.*  But  do  not  thence  believe  hearing  and  believing  did  live,  there  was  no 
that  there  will  not  be  a  resurrection  after-  i  distinction  there  made:  it  was  not  said,  The 
wards  of  the  body;  believe  that  there  will  be  \  dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God; 
a  resurrection  of  the  body  also.  For  hear  [and  when  they  shall  have  heard,  some  shall 
what  follows  after  the  declaration  of  this!  live,  and  some  shall  be  damned;  but,  "all 
resurrection  which  is  by  faith,  lest  any  should  that  hear  shall  live:  "  because  they  that  l>e- 
think  this  to  be  the  only  resurrection,  or  fall  lieve  shall  live,  they  that  have  charity  shall 
into  that  desperation  and  error  of  men  who";  live,  and  none  of  them  shall  die.  But  con- 
perverted  the  thoughts  of  others,  "saying  cerning  the  grave  shall  hear  His 
that  the  resurrection  is  past  already,"  of  voice,  and  come  forth:  they  that  have  done 
whom  the  apostle  saith,  "  and  they  overthrow  well,  to  the  resurrection  oi'  life:  they  that 
the  faith  of  some. "'  For  I  believe  that  they  have  done  ill,  to  t'u-  resurrection  of  judg- 

. ment.''     This  is  the  judgment,  that   punish- 

'iTim.iiiS.  ment  of  which   He   had   said   a  while   before. 


150 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACT  M.    \\iil. 


"  Whoso  believeth  in  me  is  passed  from 
death  to  life,"  and  shall  not  come  into  judg 
ment. 

14.  "I  cannot  of  myself  do  anything;  as  I 
hear  I  judge,  and  my  judgment  is  just."  If 
as  Thou  hearest  Thou  judgest,  of  whom  dost 
Thou  hear?  If  of  the  Father,  yet  surely 
"the  Father  judgeth  not  any  man,  but  hath 
given  all  judgment  to  the  Son.'  When  dost 
Thou,  being  in  a  manner  the  Father's  herald, 
declare  what  Thou  hearest  ?  I  speak  what  I 
hear,  because  what  the  Father  is,  that  I  am: 
for,  indeed,  speaking  is  my  function;  because 
I  am  the  Father's  Word,  For  this  Christ 
says  to  thee.  Thereupon,  of  thine.  What  is 
"As  I  hear  I  judge,"  but  "As  I  am"  ?  For 
in  what  manner  does  Christ  hear  ?  Let  us 
inquire,  brethren,  I  beg  of  you.  Does  Christ 
hear  of  the  Father  ?  How  doth  the  Father 
speak  to  Him  ?  Undoubtedly,  if  He  speaks 
to  Him,  He  uses  words  to  Him;  for  every 
one  who  says  something  to  any  one,  says  it 
by  a  word.  How  doth  the  Father  speak  to 
the  Son,  seeing  that  the  Son  is  the  Father's 
Word  ?  Whatever  the  Father  says  to  us,  He 
says  it  by  His  Word:  the  Word  of  the  Father 
is  the  Son;  by  what  other  word,  then,  doth 
He  speak  to  the  Word  Himself?  God  is  one, 
has  one  Word,  contains  all  things  in  one 
Word.  What  does  that  mean,  then,  "As  I 
hear,  I  judge  ?  "  Just  as  I  am  of  the  Father, 
so  I  judge.  Therefore  "my  judgment  is 


just."  If  Thou  doest  nothing  of  Thyself,  () 
Lord  Jesus,  as  carnal  men  think;  if  Thou 
doest  nothing  of  Thyself,  how  didst  Thou 
say  a  while  before.  "  So  also  the  Son  quicken- 
eth  whom  He  will  "  ?  Just  now  Thou  sayest, 
Of  myself  I  do  nothing.  But  what  does  the 
Son  declare,  but  that  He  is  of  the  Father? 
He  that  is  of  the  Father  is  not  of  Himself. 
If  the  Son  were  of  Himself,  He  would  not  be 
the  Son:  He  is  of  the  Father.  That  the 
Father  is,  is  not  of  the  Son;  that  the  Son  is, 
is  of  the  Father.  Equal  to  the  Father;  but 
yet  the  Son  of  the  Father,  not  the  Father  of 
the  Son. 

15.  "  Because  I  seek  not  my  own  will,  but 
the  will  of  Him  that  sent  me."  The  Only 
Son  saith,  "  I  seek  not  my  own  will,"  and  yet 
men  desire  to  do  their  own  will !  To  such  a 
degree  does  He  who  is  equal  to  the  Father 
humble  Himself;  and  to  such  a  degree  does 
He  extol  Himself,  who  lies  in  the  lowest 
depth,  and  cannot  rise  except  a  hand  is 
reached  to  Him  !  Let  us  then  do  the  will  of 
the  Father,  the  will  of  the  Son,  the  will  of  the 
Holy  Ghost;  because  of  this  Trinity  there  is 
one  will,  one  power,  one  majesty.  Vet  for 
that  reason  saith  the  Son,  "  I  came  not  to  do 
mine  own  will,  but  the  will  of  Him  that  sent 
me;  "  because  Christ  is  not  of  Himself,  but 
of  the  Father.  But  what  He  had  that  He 
might  appear  as  a  man,  He  assumed  of  the 
creature  which  He  himself  formed. 


TRACTATE  XXIII. 

CHAPTER  V.   19-40. 


i.  IN  a  certain  place  in  the  Gospel,  the 
Lord  says  that  the  prudent  hearer  of  His 
word  ought  to  be  like  a  man  who,  wishing  to 
build  a  house,  digs  deeply  until  he  comes  to 
the  foundation  of  stability  on  the  rock,  and 
there  establishes  in  security  what  he  builds 
against  the  violence  of  the  flood;  so  that, 
when  the  flood  comes,  it  may  be  rather 
beaten  back  by  the  strength  of  the  building, 
than  bring  ruin  on  that  house  by  the  force  of 
its  pressure.'  Let  us  regard  the  Scripture  of 
God  to  be,  as  it  were,  the  field  where  we  wish 
to  build  something..  Let  us  not  be  slothful, 
nor  be  content  with  the  surface;  let  us  dig 
deeply  until  we  come  to  the  rock:  "And  that 
rock  was  Christ. 


Matt.  vn.  24,  25. 


2.  The  passage  read  to-day  has  spoken  to 
us  of  the  witness  of  the  Lord,  that  He  does 
not  hold  the  witness  of  men  necessary,  but 
has  a  greater  witness  than  men;  and  He  has 
told  us  what  this  witness  isr  "The  works," 
saith  He,  "which  I  do  bear  witness  of  me." 
Then  He  added,  "And  the  Father  that  sent 
me  beareth  witness  of  me."  The  very  works 
also  which  He  doeth,  He  says  that  He  has 
received  from  the  Father.  The  works,  there 
fore,  bear  witness,  the  Father  bears  witness. 
Has  John  borne  no  witness?  He  did  clearly 
bear  witness,  but  as  a  lamp;  not  to  satisfy 
friends,  but  to  confound  enemies:  for  it  had 
been  predicted  loner  before  by  the  person  of 
the  Father,  "  I  have  prepared  a  lamp  tor 
mine  Anointed:  I  will  clothe  His  enemies 
with  confusion;  but  upon  Him  shall  flourish 


,n    XXIII.] 


ON    Mii    G(  ISPEL  <>F  ST.  JOHN. 


.r.ctilication."  '  He  it  that  thou  \\ert 
lett  in  the  dark  in  the  night-time,  thou  didst 
direct  thy  attention  to  the  lamp,  thou  didst 
admire  the  lamp,  and  didst  exult  at  its  light. 
Hut  that  lamp  says  that  there  is  a  sun,  in 
which  thou  oughtest  to  exult;  and  though  it 
burns  in  the  night,  it  bids  thee  to  be  looking 
out  for  the  day.  Therefore  it  is  not  the  case 
that  there  was  no  need  of  that  man's  testi 
mony.  For  wherefore  was  he  sent,  if  there 
was  no  need  of  him  ?  But,  on  the  contrary, 
lest  man  should  stay  at  the  lamp,  and  think 
the  light  of  the  lamp  to  be  sufficient  for  him, 
therefore  the  Lord  neither  says  that  this  lamp 
had  been  superfluous,  nor  yet  doth  He  say 
that  thou  oughtest  to  stay  at  the  lamp.  The 
Scripture  of  God  utters  another  testimony: 
there  undoubtedly  God  hath  borne  witness  to 
His  Son,  and  in  that  Scripture  the  Jews  had 
placed  their  hope, — namely,  in  the  law  of 
God,  given  by  Moses  His  servant.  "  Search 
the  Scripture,"  saith  He,  "  in  which  ye  think 
ye  have  eternal  life:  the  same  bears  witness 
of  me;  and  ye  will  not  come  to  me  that  ye 
may  have  life."  Why  do  ye  think  that  in  the 
Scripture  ye  have  eternal  life?  Ask  itself  to 
whom  does  it  bear  witness,  and  understand 
what  is  eternal  life.  And  because  for  the 
sake  of  Moses  they  were  willing  to  reject 
Christ,  as  an  adversary  to  the  ordinances  and 
precepts  of  Moses,  He  convicts  those  same 
men  as  by  another  lamp. 

3.  For,  indeed,  all  men  are  lamps,  since 
they  can  be  both  lighted  and  extinguished. 
Moreover,  when  the  lamps  are  wise,  they 
shine  and  glow  with  the  Spirit;  yet  also,  if 
they  did  burn  and  are  put  out,  they  even 
stink.  The  servants  of  God  remain  good 
lamps  by  the  oil  of  His  mercy,  not  by  their 
own  strength.  The  free  grace  of  God,  truly, 
is  the  oil  of  the  lamps.  "  For  I  have  labored 
more  than  they  all,"  saith  a  certain  lamp; 
and  lest  he  should  seem  to  burn  by  his  own 
strengtn,  he  added,  "  But  not  I,  but  the  grace 
of  God  that  was  with  me."2  All  prophecy, 
therefore,  before  the  coming  of  the  Lord,  is 
a  lamp.  Of  this  lamp  the  Apostle  Peter 
says:  "We  have  a  more  sure  word  of 
prophecy,  to  which  ye  do  well  giving  heed,  as 
unto  a  lamp  shining  in  a  dark  place,  until  the 
day  dawn,  and  the  day-star  arise  in  your 
hearts.  "3  Accordingly  the  prophets  are 
lamps,  and  all  prophecy  one  great  lamp. 
What  of  the  apostles  ?  Are  not  they,  too, 
lamps  ?  They  are,  clearly.  He  alone  is  not 
a  lamp.  For  He  is  not  lighted  anil  put  out; 
because  "even  as  the  Father  hath  life  in 
Himself,  so  hath  He  given  to  the  Son  to 


.le  in  Himselt."  The  :ij 
I  say,  rue  lamps;  and  they  -ive  thai.' 
cause  they  were  both  lighted  by  the  tig 
truth,  and  are  burning  with  the  spirit  of 
charity,  and  supplied  with  the  oil  of  ' 
grace.  If  they  were  not  lamps,  the  Lord 
would  not  say  to  them,  "  Ye  are  the  light  of 
the  world."  For  after  He  said,  "  Ye  are  the 
light  of  the  world,"  He  shows  that  they 
slum  Id  not  think  themselves  such  a  light  as 
that  of  which  it  is  said,  "That  was  the  true 
light,  that  enlighteneth  every  man  coming  into 
this  world."  But  this  was  said  of  the  Lord 
at  that  time  when  He  was  distinguished  from 
John  (the  Baptist).  Of  John  the  Baptist, 
indeed,  it  had  been  said,  "  He  was  not  the 
light,  but  that  he  might  bear  witness  of  the 
light."4  And  lest  thou  shouldst  say,  How 
was  he  not  the  light,  of  whom  Christ  says 
that  "he  was  a  lamp"? — I  answer,  In  com 
parison  of  the  other  light,  he  was  not  light. 
For  "  that  was  the  true  light  that  enlighten 
eth  every  man  coming  into  this  world."  Ac 
cordingly,  when  He  said  also  to  the  disciples, 
"  Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world,"  lest  they 
should  imagine  that  anything  was  attributed 
to  them  which  was  to  be  understood  of  Christ 
alone,  and  thus  the  lamps  should  be  extin 
guished  by  the  wind  of  pride,  when  He  had 
said,  "Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world,"  He 
immediately  subjoined,  "A  city  that  is  set 
on  a  hill  cannot  be  hid;  neither  do  men  light 
a  candle  and  put  it  under  a  bushel,  but  on  a 
candlestick,  that  it  may  shine  on  all  that  are 
in  the  house."  But  what  if  He  did  not  call 
the  apostles  the  candle,  but  the  lighters  of  the 
candle,  which  they  were  to  put  on  a  candle 
stick  ?  Hear  that  He  called  themselves  the 
candle.  "  So  let  your  light  shine,"  saith  He, 
"before  men,  that  they,  seeing  your  good 
works,  may  glorify,"  not  you,  but  "your 
Father  who  is  in  heaven."5 

4.  Wherefore  both  Moses  bore  witness  to 
Christ,  and  John  bore  witness  to  Christ,  and 
all   the  other  prophets  and  apostles  bore  wit 
ness  to  Christ.     Before  all  these  testimonies 
He  places  the  testimony  of  His  own  works. 
Because  through  those  men  too,  it  was  God  and 
none  other  that  bore  witness  to  His  Son.    But 
yet  in  another  way  God  bears  testimony  to 
His  Son.     God  reveals  His  Son  through  the 
Son  Himself,  He  reveals  Himself  through  the 
Son.     To  Him,  if  a  man  shall  have  been  able 
to  reach,  he  shall  need  no   lamps;    and   by 
truly  digging  deep,   he  will   carry  down   his 
building  to  the  rock. 

5.  The  lesson  of  to-day,  brethren,  i* 
but   on   account  of   what  was   di: 


;  4  John  i.  9. 


THE  WORKS  OK  ST.   A.UGUSTIN, 


!  Tk\(  TA1K     XXIII. 


(for  I  know  what  I  have  delayed,  not  with 
drawn,  and  the  Lord  has  deigned  to  allow  me 
even  to-day  to  speak  to  you),  recall  to  mind 
what  you  ought  to  demand,  if  perhaps,  while 
preserving  piety  and  wholesome  humility,  we 
may  in  some  measure  stretch  out  ourselves, 
not  against  God,  but  towards  Him,  and  lift  up 
our  soul,  pouring  it  out  above  us,  like  the 
Psalmist,  to  whom  it  was  said,  "  Where  is 
thy  God?"  "On  these  things,"  saith  he, 
"  I  meditated,  and  poured  out  my  soul  above 
me."1  Therefore  let  us  lift  up  our  soul  to 
God,  not  against  God;  for  this  also  is  said, 
"  To  Thee,  O  Lord,  I  have  lifted  up  my 
soul."2  And  let  us  lift  it  up  with  His  own 
assistance,  for  it  is  heavy.  And  from  what 
cause  is  it  heavy  ?  Because  the  body  which 
is  corrupt  weighs  down  the  soul,  and  the 
earthly  tabernacle  depresses  the  mind  while 
meditating  on  many  things.3  Let  us  try, 
then,  whether  we  may  not  be  able  to  with 
draw  our  mind  from  many  things  in  order  to 
concentrate  it  on  one,  and  to  raise  it  to  one 
(which  indeed  we  cannot  do,  as  I  have  said, 
unless  He  assist  us  who  wills  our  souls  to  be 
raised  to  Himself).  And  so  we  may  appre 
hend  in  some  measure  how  the  Word  of  God, 
the  only  begotten  of  the  Father,  the  co-eternal 
and  equal  with  the  Father,  doeth  not  any 
thing  except  what  He  seeth  the  Father  doing, 
whilst  yet  the  Father  Himself  doeth  not  any 
thing  but  through  the  Son,  who  seeth  Him 
doing.  Since  the  Lord  Jesus,  as  it  seems  to 
me, — willing  here  to  make  known  some  great 
matter  to  those  that  give  attention  to  it,  and 
to  pour  into  those  that  are  capable  of  re 
ceiving,  and  to  rouse,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
incapable  to  assiduity,  in  order  that,  while 
not  yet  understanding,  they  may  by  right  liv 
ing  be  made  capable, — has  intimated  to  us 
that  the  human  soul  and  rational  mind  which 
is  in  man,  not  in  the  beast,  is  invigorated,  en 
lightened,  and  made  happy  in  no  other  way 
than  by  the  very  substance  of  God:  that  the 
soul  itself  gets  somewhat  by  and  of  the  body, 
and  yet  holds  the  body  subject  to  it,  while  the 
senses  of  the  body  can  be  soothed  and  delight 
ed  by  things  bodily,  and  that  because  of  this 
kind  of  fellowship  of  soul  and  body  in 'this  life, 
and  in  this  mutual  embrace  of  theirs,  the  soul 
is  delighted  when  the  bodily  senses  are 
soothed,  and  saddened  when  they  are  of 
fended;  while  yet  the  happiness  by  which  the 
soul  itself  is  made  happy  cannot  be  realized 
but  by  a  participation  of  that  ever-living,  un 
changeable  life,  of  that  eternal  substance, 
which  is  God:  that  as  the  soul,  which  is  infe 
rior  to  God,  causes  the  body,  which  is  inferior 

'  IV  xlii  -  IV  xxv.  i  Wisd.  ix.  15 


to  itself,  to  live,  so  that  alone  which  is 
superior  to  the  soul  can  cause  that  same  soul 
to  live  happily.  For  the  soul  is  higher  than 
the  body,  and  higher  than  the  soul  is  God. 
It  bestows  something  on  its  inferior,  while 
there  is  something  bestowed  on  itself  by  the 
superior.  Let  it  serve  its  Lord,  that  it  may 
not  be  trampled  on  by  its  own  servant.  This, 
brethren,  is  the  Christian  religion,  which  is 
preached  through  the  whole  world,  while  its 
enemies  are  dismayed;  who,  where  they  are 
conquered,  murmur,  and  fiercely  rage  against 
it  where  they  prevail.  This  is  the  Christian 
religion,  that  one  God  be  worshipped,  not 
many  gods,  because  only  one  God  can  make 
the  soul  happy.  It  is  made  happy  by  par 
ticipation  of  God.  Not  by  participation  of  a 
holy  soul  does  the  feeble  soul  become  happy, 
nor  by  participation  of  an  angel  does  the  holy 
soul  become  happy;  but  if  the  feeble  soul 
seeks  to  be  happy,  let  it  seek  that  by  which 
the  holy  soul  is  made  happy.  For  thou  art 
made  happy,  not  of  an  angel,  but  the  angel 
as  well  as  thou  of  the  same  source. 

6.  These  things  being  premised  and  firmly 
established, — that  the  rational  soul  is  made 
happy  only  by  God,  that  the  body  is  enlivened 
only  by  the  soul,  and  that  the  soul  is  a  some 
thing  intermediate  between  God  and  the 
body, — direct  your  thoughts  to,  and  recollect 
with  me,  not  the  passage  read  to-day,  of 
which  we  have  spoken  enough,  but  that  of 
yesterday,  which  we  have  been  turning  over 
and  handling  these  three  days,  and,  to  the 
best  of  our  abilities,  digging  into  until  we 
should  come  to  the  rock.  The  Word  Christ, 
Christ  the  Word  of  God  with  God,  Christ  the 
Word  and  the  Word  God,  Christ  and  God  and 
Word  one  God.  To  this  press  on;  O  soul, 
despising,  or  even  transcending  all  things 
else,  to  this  press  on.  There  is  nothing 
more  powerful  than  this  creature,  which  is 
called  the  rational  mind,  nothing  more  sub 
lime:  whatever  is  above  this,  is  but  the  Crea 
tor.  But  I  was  saying  that  Christ  is  the 
Word,  and  Christ  is  the  Word  of  God,  and 
Christ  the  Word  is  God;  but  Christ  is  not 
only  the  Word,  since  "  the  Word  became 
flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us:"4  therefore 
Christ  is  both  Word  and  flesh.  For  when 
"  He  was  in  the  form  of  God,  He  thought  it 
not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God."  And 
what  of  us  in  our  low  estate,  who,  feeble  and 
crawling  on  the  ground,  were  not  able  to 
reach  unto  God,  were  we  to  be  abandoned? 
God  forbid.  "  He  emptied  Himself,  taking 
upon  Him  the  form  of  a  servant;"5  not, 
therefore,  by  losing  the  form  of  God.  He 

4  John  i.  14. 


,,   \\III.] 


ON  TIII;  GOSPEL  01   ST.  JOHN. 


bt-i-atm-  man   who  was  God,  by  iv<  eiving  \vli;U    dillerently,  "  but  in  like  manner."      "  1 
Hi-  was   not,  not  by  losing  wnat    H<-  i    it  her   lovctii   tin-  Son,  and  .-,'nowrth    Him  all 

God  became  man.  There  thou  hast  some-  tilings  w;n<  a  HmiM-lt  doetii."  Tne  Father 
tiling  for  thy  weakness,  something  for  thy  ihoweth  to  tin,-  Nm  that  souls  may  \n-  i 
;>i-riection.  Let  Christ  raise  thee  by  that  i  for  souls  are  raised  up  by  the  Fattier  and  the 
which  is  man,  lead  thee  by  that  which  is  God- '  Son;  nor  can  souls  live  except  God  be  their 
man,  and  guide  thee  through  to  that  which  is  •  life.  If  souls,  then,  cannot  live  unless  God 
God.  And  the  whole  preaching  find  dis-j  be  their  life,  just  as  themselves  are  the  life 
pcnsation  by  Christ  is  this,  brethren,  and  i  of  bodies;  what  the  Father  shows  to  the  Son, 
tin-re  is  not  another,  that  souls  may  be  raised  ]  that  is,  what  He  doeth,  He  doeth  through  the 


again,  and  that  bodies  also  may  be  raised 
again.  For  each  of  the  two  was  dead;  the 
body  by  weakness,  the  soul  by  iniquity.  Be 
cause  each  was  dead,  each  may  rise  again. 
What  each?  Soul  and  body.  By  what,  then, 


Son.  For  it  is  not  by  doing  that  He  shows 
to  the  Son,  but  by  showing  He  doeth  through 
the  Son.  For  the  Son  sees  the  F'ather  show 
ing  before  anything  is  done;  and  from  the 
Father's  showing  and  the  Son's  vision,  is 


can  the  soul  rise  again  but  by  Christ  God  ? ( done  what  is  done  by  the  F'ather  through  the 
By  what  the  body,  but  by  the  man  Christ?,  Son.  So  are  souls  raised  up,  if  they  can  see 
For  there  was  also  in  Christ  a  human  soul,  a  that  conjunction  of  unity,  the  Father  show- 
whole  soul;  not  merely  the  irrational  part  of  j  ing,  the  Son  seeing,  and  the  creature  made 
the  soul,  but  also  the  rational,  which  is  called  by  the  Father's  showing  and  the  Son's  seeing; 


mind.      For  there  have  been  certain  heretics, 


and  that  thing  made  by  the  Father's  showing 


and  they  have  been  driven  out  of  the  Church,  and  the  Son's  seeing,  which  is  neither  the 
who  fancied  that  the  body  of  Christ  did  not  F'ather  nor  the  Son,  but  beneath  the  Father 
have  in  ic  a  rational  mind,  but,  as  it  were,  the ,  and  the  Son,  whatever  is  made  by  the  Father 
animal  life  of  a  beast;  since,  without  the  through  the  Son.  Who  sees  this  ? 
rational  mind,  life  is  only  animal  life.  But!  8.  Behold,  again  we  humble  ourselves  to 
because  they  were  driven  out,  and  driven  out  carnal  notions,  and  descend  to  you,  if  indeed 


by  the  truth,  accept  thou  the  whole  Christ, 
Word,  rational  mind,  and  flesh.  This  is  the 
whole  Christ.  Let  thy  soul  rise  again  from 
iniquity  by  that  which  is  God,  thy  body  from 
corruption  by  that  which  is  man.  There, 
most  beloved,  hear  ye  what,  so  far  as  it  ap 
pears  to  me,  is  the  great  profundity  of  this 
passage;  and  see  how  Christ  here  speaks  to 


we  had  at  any  time  ascended  somewhat  from 
you.  Thou  wishest  to  show  something  to  thy 
son,  that  he  may  do  what  thou  doest;  thou 
art  about  to  do,  and  thus  to  show  the  thing. 
Therefore,  what  thou  art  about  to  do,  in  order 
to  show  it  to  thy  son,  thou  doest  not  surely 
b\  thy  son;  but  thou  alone  doest  that  thing 
which,  when  done,  he  may  see,  and  do  an- 


the  effect,  that  the  only  reason  why  He  came  I  other  such  thing  in  like  manner.  This  is  not 
is,  in  order  that  souls  may  have  a  resurrec-  the  case  there;  whygoest  thou  on  to  thy  own 
tion  from  iniquity,  and  bodies  from  corrup-  similitude,  and  blottest  out  the  similitude  of 
tion.  I  have  already  said  by  what  our  souls  j  God  within  thee?  There,  the  case  is  wholly 


are  raised,  by  the  very  substance  of  God;  by 
what  our  bodies  are  raised,  by  the  human 
dispensation  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

7.  "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  The 
Son  cannot  of  Himself  do  anything,  but  what 
He  seeth  the  Father  doing;  for  what  tilings 
soever  He  has  done,  these  also  the  Son  doeth 
in  like  manner."  Yes,  the  heaven,  the  earth, 
the  sea;  the  things  that  are  in  heaven,  on  the 
earth,  and  in  the  sea;  the  visible  and  invisible, 
the  animals  on  the  land,  the  plants  in  the  fields, 
the  creatures  that  swim  in  the  waters,  that  fly  in 


otherwise.  Find  a  case  in  which  thou  showest 
to  thy  son  what  thou  doest  before  thou  doest 
it;  so  that,  after  thou  hast  shown  it,  it  will  be 
by  the  son  thou  doest.  Perhaps  something 
like  this  now  occurs  to  thee:  Lo,  sayest  thou, 
I  think  to  make  a  house,  and  I  wish  it  to  be 
built  by  my  son:  before  I  build  it  myself,  I 
point  out  to  my  son  what  I  mean  to  do:  both 
he  doeth,  and  I  too  by  him  to  whom  I  pointed 
out  my- wish.  Thou  hast  retreated,  indeed, 
from  the  former  similitude,  but  still  thou  liest 
in  great  dissimilitude.  For,  lo,  before  thou 


the  air,  that  shine  in  heaven;  besides  all  these,  canst  make  the  house,  thou  dost  inform  thy 

angels,  virtues,  thrones,  dominations,  princi-  son,  and  point  out  to  him  what  thou  meanest 

palities,  powers;  "all  were  made  by  Him."  to  do;    that,  upon  thy  showing  before  thou 

Did  God  make  all  these,  and  show  them  when  makest,  he  may  make  what  thou  hast  shown, 

made  to  the  Son,  that   Hi-  also  should   make  and  so  thou   mayest   make  by  him:    but  thou 

another  world  full  of  all  these  ?     Certainly  not.  wilt  speak  words  to  thy  son,  words  will  have 
But,  on  the  contrary,  what  does  He  say  ?  "  l-'or 
what  things  soever  Fie  has  made,  these,"  not 
others,  but  "these  also  the  Son  doetii,"  not 


to 


between  thee  and  him;   between  the 
person    showing  and  the   person 
tween    speaker    and    hearer,    tlies    articulate 


154 


THE  WORKS  OK  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TK.VTATK    XXIII. 


sound,  which  is  not  what  thou  art,  nor  what 
he  is.  That  sound,  indeed,  which  goes  out 
of  thy  mouth,  and  by  the  concussion  of  the 


least  what  God  is  not:  you  will  have  made 
much  progress,  if  you  th'ink  of  God  as  being 
not  something  other  than  He  is.  God  is  not 


air  touches  thy  son's  ear,  and  filling  the  sense  |  a  body,  not  the  earth,  not  the  heaven,  not  the 

of  hearing,  conveys  thy  thought  to  his  heart; 

that  sound,  I  say,  is  not  thyself,  nor  thy  son. 

A  sign  is  given  from  thy  mind  to  thy  son's 

mind,  but  that  sign  not  either  thy  mind  or 

thy  son's  mind,  but  something  else.     Is  it 

thus  that  we  think  the  Father  has  spoken  to 

the   Son  ?     Were   there   words   between    the 

Father  and  the  Word  ?    Then  how  is  it  ?    Or, 

whatever  the  Father  would  say  to  the  Son,  if 

He  would  say  it  by  a  word,  the  Son  Himself 

is  the  Word  of  the  Father,  would  He  speak 

by  a  word  to  the  Word  ?     Or,  since  the  Son 

is  the  great  Word,  had  smaller  words  to  pass 


moon,  or  sun,  or  stars — not  these  corporeal 
things.  For  if  not  heavenly  things,  how 
much  less  is  He  earthly  things  !  Put  all  body 
out  of  the  question.  Further,  hear  another 
thing:  God  is  not  a  mutable  spirit.  For  I 
confess,- — and  it  must  be  confessed,  for  it  is 
the  Gospel  that  speaks  it, — "  God  is  a  Spirit." 
But  pass  beyond  all  mutable  spirit,  beyond 
all  spirit  that  now  knows,  now  knows  not; 
that  now  remembers,  now  forgets;  that  wills 
what  before  it  willed  not,  that  wills  not  what 


before    it    willed;    either 


suffers    these 


mutabilities  now  or  may  suffer  them:    pass 

between  the  Father  and  Son  ?  Was  it  so,  that  beyond  all  these.  Thou  findest  not  any 
some  sound,  as  it  were  a  temporal,  fleeting  j  mutability  in  God;  nor  aught  that  may  have 
creature,  had  to  issue  from  the  mouth  of  the  j  been  one  way  before,  and  is  otherwise  now. 


Father,  and  strike  upon  the  ear  of  the  Son  ? 
Has  God  a  body,  that  this  should  proceed,  as 
it  were,  from  His  lips?  And  has  the  Word 
the  ears  of  a  body,  into  which  sound  may 
Lay  aside  all  notions  of  corporeal 
thou  art  single- 


come  f 

forms,  regard  simplicity,  if 

minded. 

minded  ? 


For  where  thou  findest  alternation,   there 
kind  of  death  has  taken  place:    since,  for  a 
thing  not  to  be  what  it  was,  is  a  death.     The 
soul  is  said  to  be  immortal;    so  indeed  it  is, 
because  it  ever  lives,  and  there  is  in  it  a  cer- 


tain  continuous  life,  but  yet  a  mutable  life. 

But  how  wilt  thou  be  single-  j  According  to  the  mutability  of  this  life,  it 
If  thou  wilt  not  entangle  thyself  j  may  be  said  to  be  mortal;  because  if  it  lived 

wisely,  and  then  becomes  foolish,  it  dies  for 


with  the  world,  but  disentangle  thyself  from 
the  world.  For  by  disentangling  thyself, 
thou  wilt  be  single-minded.  And  see,  if  thou 
canst,  what  I  say;  or  if  thou  canst  not,  be 
lieve  what  thou  dost  not  see.  Thou  speakest 
to  thy  son;  thou  speakest  by  a  word:  neither 
art  thou,  nor  is  thy  son,  the  word  that  sounds. 
9.  I  have,  sayest  thou,  another  method  of 
showing;  for  so  well  instructed  is  my  son, 
that  he  hears  without  my  speaking,  but  I 
show  him  by  a  nod  what  to  do.  Lo,  show 
him  by  a  nod  what  thou  wilt,  yet  certainly 
the  mind  holds  within  itself  that  which  it 
would  show.  By  what  dost  thou  give  this 
nod  ?  With  the  body, — namely,  with  the  lips, 
the  look,  the  brows,  the  eyes,  the  hands.  All 
these  are  not  what  thy  mind  is:  these,  too,  are 
media;  there  was  something  understood  by 
these  signs  which  are  not  what  thy  mind  is, 
not  what  the  mind  of  thy  son  is;  but  all  this 


the  worse;  if  it  lived  foolishly,  and  becomes 
wise,  it  dies  for  the  better.  For  the  Scrip 
ture  teaches  us  that  there  is  a  death  for  the 
worse,  and  that  there  is  a  death  for  the  better. 
In  any  case,  they  had  died  for  the  worse,  of 
whom  it  said,  "  Let  the  dead  bury  their 
dead;  "  '  and,  "Awake,  thou  that  sleepest, 
and  arise  from  the  dead,  and  Christ  shall  give 
thee  light;"2  and  from  this  passage  before 
us,  "  When  the  dead  shall  hear,  and  they  that 
hear  shall  live."  For  the  worse  they  had 
died;  therefore  do  they  come  to  life  again. 
By  coming  to  life  they  die  for  the  better,  be 
cause  by  coming  to  life  again  they  will  not  be 
what  they  were;  but  for  that  to  be,  wnich  was 
not,  is  death.  But  perhaps  it  is  not  called 
death  if  it  is  for  the  better  ?  The  apostle  has 
called  that  death:  "  But  if  ye  be  dead  with 
Christ  from  the  elements  of  this  world,  why 


which  thou  doest  by  the  body  is  beneath  thy  j  do  ye  judge  concerning  this  world  as  if  ye 
jath  the  mind  of  thy  son:    nor  were  still  living?  "  3    And  a^ain,  >;  For  ye  a 


mind,  and  beneath 
can  thy  son  know  thy  mind,  unless  thou  give 
him  signs  by  the  body.     What,  then,  do 
say?     This  is  not  the  case  there;   there  all  is 
simplicity.     The    Father   shows  to   the   Son 


ye  are 

dead,  and  your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God." 
He  wishes  us  to  die  that  we  may  live,  because 
we  have  lived  to  die.  Whatever  therefore 
dies,  both  from  better  to  worse,  and  from 


what  He  is  doing,  and  by  showing  begets  the  j  worse  to  better,  is  not  God;    because  neither 
Son.     I  see  what  I  have  said;    but  because  I  jean  supreme  goodness  proceed  to  better, -nor 


see  also  to  whom  I  have  said  it,  may  such   true  eternity  to  worse, 
understanding  be  some  time  or  other  formed    where  is  nothing  of  time, 
in  you  as  to  grasp  it.      If  ye  are  not  able  now   - 
to  comprehend  what  God  is,  comprehend  at  I      .  Matt.  viii.  22.          *  Eph.  v. 


For  true  eternity  is, 
But  was  there  now 


Ml       \\III.] 


ON    I  in.  GOSPEL  "I    ST.    MUIN. 


tills,  now  that?  Immediately  time  is  ad 
mitted,  it  is  not  eternal.  For  that  ye  may 
know  that  (iod  is  not  thus,  as  the  soul  is, — 
certainly  the  soul  is  immortal,  -what,  how 
ever,  saith  the  apostle  of  (iod,  "Who  alone 
hath  immortality,"  unless  that  he  openly  says 
this,  He  alone  hath  unchangeableness,  be 
cause  He  alone  hath  true  eternity  ?  There 
fore  no  mutability  is  there. 

10.  Recognize  in  thyself  something  which 
I  wish  to  say  within,  in  thyself;  not  within  as 
if  in  thy  body,  for  in  a  sense  one  may  say, 
"  in  thyself."     For  there  is  in  thee  health, 
thy  age  whatever  it  be,  but  this  in  regard  to 
the  body.     In  thee  is  thy  hand  and  thy  foot; 
but  there  is  one  thing  in  thee,  within;  another 
thing  in  thee  as  in  thy  garment.     But  leave 
outside  thy  garment  and  thyself,  descend  into 
thyself,  go  to  thy  secret  place,  thy  mind,  and 
there  see,  if  thou  canst,  what  I  wish  to  say. 
For  if  thou  art  far  from  thyself,  how  canst 
thou  come  near  to  God  ?     I  was  speaking  of 
God,  and  thou  believedst  that  thou  wouldst 
understand.      I  am  speaking  of  the   soul,   I 
am    speaking    of    thyself:     understand    this, 
there  I  will   try  thee.      For  I  do   not  travel 
very  far  for  examples,  when  I  mean  to  give 
thee  some   similitude  to  thy  God   from  thy 
own  mind;   because  surely  not  in  the  body, 
but  in  that  same  mind,  was  man  made  after 
the  image  of  God.     Let  us  seek  God  in  His 
own  similitude;    let  us  recognize  the  Creator 
in  His  own  image.     There  within,  if  we  can, 
let  us  find  this  that  we  speak  of, — how  the 
Father  shows  to  the  Son,  and  how  the  Son 
sees  what  the  Father  shows,  before  anything 
is  made  by  the  Father  through  the  Son.     But 
when  I  shall  have  spoken,  and  thou  hast  un 
derstood,  thou  must  not  think  that  spoken  of 
to  be   something  just  such  as  our  example, 
that  thou  mayest  therein  keep  piety,  which  I 
wish  to  be  kept  by  thee,  and  earnestly  ad 
monish  thee  to  keep:    that  is,  if  thou  art  not 
able  to  comprehend  what  God  is,  do  not  think 
it  a  small  matter  for  thee  to  know  what  He 
is  not. 

11.  Behold,  in  thy  mind,  I  see  some  two 
things,  thy  memory  and  thy  thought,  which 
is,  as  it  were,  the  seeing  faculty  and  the  vision 
of  thy  soul.     Thou  seest  something,  and  per- 
ceivest  it  by  the  eyes,  and  thou  committest 
it  to  the  care  of  the  memory.     There,  within, 
is   that  which    thou   hast   committed   to   thy 
memory,  laid  up  in  secret  as  in  a  storehouse, 
as  in  a  treasury,  as  in  a  kind  of  secret  cham 
ber    and    inner   cabinet.      Thou    thinkest   of 
something   else,    thy   attention    is   elsewhere: 
what    thou    didst   see   is   in   thy   memory,    but 
not  seen  by  thee,  because  thy  thought  is  bent 
on  another  thing.      I  prove  this  at  once.     I 


speak  to  you   who  know;    I  mention  bv 

il  wiio  know  it  .. 
'.  ihin  the  mind.  Are  t:  < 
many  ( 'artiia-c.s  a.-,  then-  an-  in 
You  have  all  seen  it  by  means  of  this  na-ne, 
by  means  of  these  syllables  known  to  vou, 
rushing  forth  from  my  mouth:  your  ears  were 
touched;  the  sense  of  the  soul  was  touched 
through  the  body,  and  the  mind  bent  back 
from  another  object  to  this  word,  and  saw 
Carthage.  Was  Carthage  made  there  and 
then  ?  It  was  there  already,  but  latent  in  the 
memory.  Why  was  latent  there  ?  Because 
thy  mind  was  engaged  on  another  matter; 
but  when  thy  thought  turned  back  to  that 
which  was  in  the  memory,  thence  it  was 
shaped,  and  became  a  kind  of  vision  of  the 
mind.  Before,  there  was  not  a  vision,  but 
there  was  memory;  the  vision  was  made  by 
the  turning  back  of  thought  to  memory.  Thy 
memory,  then,  showed  Carthage  to  thy 
thought;  and  that  which  was  in  it,  before  thou 
didst  direct  thy  mind  to  the  memory,  it  ex 
hibited  to  the  attention  of  thy  thought  when 
turned  upon  it.  Behold,  a  showing  is  effected 
by  the  memory,  and  a  vision  is  produced  in 
thought;  and  no  words  passed  between,  no 
sign  was  given  from  the  body:  thou  didst 
neither  nod,  nor  write,  nor  utter  a  sound;  and 
yet  thought  saw  what  the  memory  showed. 
But  both  that  which  showed,  and  that  to 
which  it  showed,  are  of  the  same  substance. 
But  yet,  that  thy  memory  might  have  Car 
thage  in  it,  the  image  was  drawn  in  through 
the  eyes,  for  thou  didst  see' what  thou  didst 
store  up  in  thy  memory.  So  hast  thou  seen  the 
tree  which  thou  rememberest;  so  the  moun 
tain,  the  river;  so  the  face  of  a  friend,  of  an 
enemy,  of  father,  mother,  brother,  sister,  son, 
neighbor;,  so  of  letters  written  in  a  book,  of 
the  book  itself;  so  of  this  church:  all  these 
thou  didst  see,  and  didst  commit  to  thy 
memory  after  they  were  seen;  and  didst,  as 
it  were,  lay  up  there  what  thou  mightst  by 
thinking  see  at  will,  even  when  they  should 
be  absent  from  these  eyes  of  the  body.  Thou 
sawest  Carthage  when  thou  wast  at  Carthage; 
thy  soul  received  the  image  by  the  eyes;  this 
image  was  laid  up  in  thy  memory;  and  thou, 
the  person  who  wast  present  at  Carthage, 
didst  keep  something  within  thee  which  thou 
mightst  be  able  to  see  with  thyself,  even  when 
thou  shouldst  not  be  there.  All  these  things 
thou  didst  receive  from  without.  Wh 
Father  shows  to  the  Son,  He  does  not  r< 
from  without:  all  comes  to  pass  wit::  . 
cause  there  would  be  no  creature  at  all  with 
out,  unless  the  Father  had  made  it  by  the 
Son.  Every  creature  was  mrulc  bv 
before  it  was  made  it  was  not  in  being.  It 


i56 


TIIK   WORKS  OK   ST.    AUGUS1  IN. 


:    u  I      \  X  I  I  I . 


was  not  therefore  seen,  after  bring  made  and 
retained  in  memory,  that  the  Father  might 
show  it  to  the  Son,  as  the  memory  might  show 
to  thought;  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  Father 
showed  it  to  be  made,  the  Son  saw  it  to  be 
made;  and  the  Father  made  it  by  showing, 
because  He  made  it  by  the  Son  seeing.  And 
therefore  we  ought  not  to  be  surprised  that 
it  is  said,  "  But  what  He  seeth  the  Father 
doing,"  not  showing.  For  by  this  it  is  inti 
mated  that,  with  the  Father,  to  do  and  to  show 
is  the  same  tiling;  that  hence  we  may  under 
stand  that  He  doeth  all  things  by  the  Son 
seeing.  Neither  is  that  showing,  nor  that 
seeing,  temporal.  Forasmuch  as  all  times  are 
made  by  the  Son,  they  could  not  certainly  be 
shown  to  Him  at  any  point  of  time  to  be 
made.  But  the  Father's  showing  begets  the 
Son's  seeing,  just  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
Father  begets  the  Son.  For  the  showing 
produces  the  seeing,  not  the  seeing  the  show 
ing.  And  if  we  were  able  to  look  into  this 
matter  more  purely  and  perfectly,  perhaps 
we  should  find  that  the  Father  is  not  one 
thing,  His  showing  another;  nor  the  Son  one 
thing,  His  seeing  another.  But  if  we  have 
hardly  apprehended  this, — if  we  have  hardly 
been  able  to  explain  how  the  memory  exhibits 
to  the  thought  what  it  has  received  from 
without, — how  much  less  can  we  take  in  or 
explain  how  God  the  Father  shows  to  the 
Son,  what  He  has  not  from  elsewhere,  or  that 
which  is  not  other  than  Himself  !  We  are 
only  little  ones:  I  tell  you  what  God  is  not,  I 
do  not  show  you  what  God  is.  What  shall 
we  do,  then,  that  we  may  apprehend  what  He 
is  ?  Can  ye  do  this  by  or  through  me  ?  I 
say  this  to  the  little  ones,  both  to  you  and 
to  myself;  there  is  by  whom  we  can:  we  have 
just  now  sung,  just  now  heard,  "'Cast  thy 
care  upon  the  Lord,  and  He  will  nourish 
thee."1  The  reason  why  thou  art  not  able, 
O  man,  is  because  thou  art  a  little  one;  being 
a  little  one,  thou  must  be  nourished;  being 
nourished,  thou  wilt  become  full-grown;  and 
what  as  a  little  one  thou  couldst  not,  thou 
shall  see  when  full-grown;  but  that  thou 
mayest  be  nourished,  "cast  thy  care  upon 
the  Lord,  and  He  will  nourish  thee." 

12.  Therefore  let  us  now  briefly  run  over 
what  remains,  and  do  you  see  how  the  Lord 
makes  known  to  us  the  things  which  I  have 
been  here  commending  to  your  attention. 
"  The  Father  loveth  the  Son,  and  showeth 
Him  all  things  which  Himself  doeth."  Him 
self  raiseth  up  souls,  but  by  the  Son,  that 
the  souls  raised  up  may  enjoy  the  substance 
of  God,  that  is,  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son. 


•  Ps.  liii.  23. 


"  And  greater  works  than  these  He  will  show 
Him."  Greater  than  which  ?  Than  healings 
of  bodies.  We  have  treated  of  this  already, 
and  must  not  linger  upon  it  now.  ('.renter  is 
the  resurrection  of  the  body  unto  eternity  than 
this  healing  of  the  body,  wrought  in  that  im 
potent  man,  to  last  only  for  a  time.  "  And 
greater  works  than  these  He  will  show  Him, 
that  ye  may  marvel."  "Will  show,"  as  if 
the  act  were  temporal,  therefore  as  to  a  man 
made  in  time,  since  God  the  Word  is  not 
made,  He  by  whom  all  times  were  made. 
But  Christ  was  made  man  in  time.  We  know 
in  what  consulship  the  Virgin  Mary  brought 
forth  Christ,  conceived  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Wherefore  He,  by  whom  as  God  the  times 
were  made,  was  made  man  in  time.  Hence, 
just  as  in  time,  "  He  will  show  Him  greater 
works,"  that  is,  the  resurrection  of  bodies, 
"  that  ye  may  marvel  "  at  the  resurrection  of 
bodies  wrought  by  the  Son. 

13.  He  then  returns  to  that  resurrection  of 
souls:  "For  as  the  Father  raiseth  the  dead, 
and  quickeneth  them,  so  also  the  Son  quick- 
eneth  whom  He  will;"  but  this  according  to 
the  Spirit.  The  Father  quickeneth,  the  Son 
quickeneth;  the  Father  whom  He  will,  the 
Son  whom  He  will;  but  the  Father  quickeneth 
the  same  as  the  Son,  because  all  things  were 
made  by  Him.  "  For  as  the  Father  raiseth 
up  the  dead,  and  quickeneth  them,  so  also 
the  Son  quickeneth  whom  He  will."  This  is 
said  of  the  resurrection  of  souls;  but  what  of 
the  resurrection  of  bodies  ?  He  returns,  and 
says:  "  For  the  Father  judgeth  not  any  man, 
but  all  judgment  hath  He  given  to  the  Son." 
The  resurrection  of  souls  is  effected  by  the 
eternal  and  unchangeable  substance  of  the 
Father  and  Son.  But  the  resurrection  of 
bodies  is  effected  by  the  dispensation  of  the 
Son's  humanity,  which  dispensation  is  tem 
poral,  not  co-eternal  with  the  Father.  There 
fore,  when  He  mentioned  judgment,  in  which 
there  should  be  a  resurrection  of  bodies,  He 
saith,  "  For  the  Father  judgeth  not  any  man, 
but  all  judgment  hath  He  given  to  the  Son;" 
but  concerning  the  resurrection  of  souls.  He 
saith,  "  Even  as  the  Father  raiseth  the  dead, 
and  quickeneth  them,  so  also  the  Son  quick 
eneth  whom  He  will."  That,  then,  the 
Father  and  the  Son  together.  But  this  con 
cerning  the  resurrection  of  bodies:  "The 
Father  judgeth  not  any  man,  but  hath  given 
all  judgment  to  the  Son;  that  all  may  honor 
the  Son,  even  as  they  honor  the  Father." 
This  is  referred  to  the  resurrection  of  souls. 
"That  all  may  honor  the  Son."  How? 
"Even  as  they 'honor  the  Father."  For  the 
Son  works  the  resurrection  of  souls  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  Father  doth;  the  Son 


I   I,   \.    I    Ml       \\1II 


ON    i  in.  G(  >SP1  L  OF  S  r.  JOHN. 


quit  keneth  just  as  the  Father  doth.  There 
fore,  in  the  resurrection  of  souls,  "let  ;ill 
honor  the  Son  as  they  honor  the  Father." 
Hut  what  ol  tiie  honoring  on  account  of  the 
resurrection  ol  the  liodv  '  "  \\'iioso  iionoretii 
not  the  Son,  honoreth  not  the  Father  that  sent 
Him."  He  saul  not/vv//  its,  but  /tn/wcf/i  and 
/i(>tii>f  ,-//i.  For  the  man  Christ  is  honored,  hut 
not  t-rcti  as  God  the  Father.  Why  ?  Because, 
with  respect  to  this,  He  said,  "  The  Father  is 
greater  than  I."1  And  when  is  the  Son 
honored  wen  as  the  Father  is  honored  ?  When 
"  in  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the 
Word  was  with  God;  and  all  things  were  made 
by  Him."  And  hence,  in  this  second  honor 
ing,  what  saith  He?  "  Whoso  honoreth  not 
the  Son,  honoreth  not  the  Father  that  sent 
Him."  The  Son  was  not  sent,  but  because 
He  was  made  man. 

14.  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you."  Again 
He  returns  to  the  resurrection  of  souls,  that 
by  continual  repetition  we  may  apprehend 
His  meaning;  because  we  could  not  keep  up 
with  His  discourse  hastening  on  as  on  wings. 
Lo,  the  Word  of  God  lingers  with  us;  lo,  it 
doth,  as  it  were,  dwell  with  our  infirmities. 
He  returns  again  to  the  mention  of  the  resur 
rection  of  souls.  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you,  Whoso  heareth  my  word,  and  believeth 
Him  that  sent  me,  hath  eternal  life;  "  but 
hath  it  as  from  the  Father.  "  For  whoso 
heareth  my  word,  and  believeth  Him  that 
sent  me,  hath  eternal  life  "  from  the  F'ather, 
by  believing  the  Father  that  sent  the  Son. 
"  And  shall  not  come  into  judgment,  but  is 
passed  from  death  to  life."  But  from,  the 
Father,  whom  he  believes,  is  he  quickened. 
What,  dost  Thou  not  quicken  ?  See  that  the 
Son  also  "qutckeneth  whom  He  will." 
"Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  That  the 
hour  cometh  when  the  dead  shall  hear  the 
voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  they  that  hear 
shall  live."  Here  He  did  not  say,  they 
shall  believe  Him  that  sent  me,  and  therefore 
shall  live;  but  by  hearing  the  voice  of  the  Son 
of  God,  "  they  that  hear,"  that  is,  they  that 
obey  the  Son  of  God,  "shall  live."  There 
fore,  both  from  the  Father  shall  they  live, 
when  they  will  believe  the  Feather;  and  from 
the  Son  shall  they  live,  when  they  will  hear 
the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God.  Why  shall  they 
live  both  from  the  Father  and  from  the  Son  ? 
"  For  even  as  the  Father  hath  life  in  Himself. 


Johr 


bath  II'-  pven  ••   •  vc.  life 

in    Himself." 

1  [<  tai  finished  speaking  of  th«- 
re«  tion  of  souls;  it  remains  to  speak  more 
evidently  of  the  resurrection  of  I 
"  And  hath  given  Him  authority  also  to  exe 
cute  judgment:"  not  only  to  raise  up  souls 
by  faith  and  wisdom,  but  also  to  execute 
judgment.  But  why  this  ?  "  Because  He  is 
the  Son  of  man."  Therefore  the  Father 
doeth  something  through  the  Son  of  man, 
wnich  He  doeth  not  from  His  own  substance, 
to  which  the  Son  is  equal:  as,  for  instance, 
that  He  should  be  born,  crucified,  dead,  and 
have  a  resurrection;  for  not  any  of  these  is 
contingent  to  the  Father.  In  the  same 
manner  also  the  raising  again  of  bodies.  For 
the  raising  to  life  of  souls  the  Father  effects 
from  His  own  substance,  by  the  substance  of 
the  Son,  in  which  the  Son  is  equal  to  Him; 
because  souls  are  made  partakers  of  that  un 
changeable  light,  but  not  bodies;  but  the  rais 
ing  again  of  bodies,  the  Father  effects  through 
the  Son  of  man.  For  "  He  hath  given  Him  au 
thority  also  to  execute  judgment,  because  He 
is  the  Son  of  man;  "  according  to  that  which 
He  said  above,  "  For  the  Father  judgeth  not 
any  man."  And  to  show  that  He  said  this  of 
the  resurrection  of  bodies,  Hegbeson:  "  Mar 
vel  not  at  this,  for  the  hour  cometh:"  not,  ami 
now  is;  but,  "  the  hour  cometh,  in  which  all 
that  are  in  the  graves  (this  ye  have  already 
heard  sufficiently  explained  yesterday)  shall 
hear  His  voice,  and  come  forth."  Where? 
Into  judgment:  "  They  that  have  done  well, 
into  the  resurrection  of  life;  and  they  that 
have  done  evil,  into  the  resurrection  of  judg 
ment."  And  dost  Thou  do  this  alone,  be 
cause  the  Father  hath  given  all  judgment  to 
the  Son,  and  judgeth  not  any  man  ?  I,  saith 
He,  do  it.  But  how  doest  Thou  it?  "I 
cannot  of  myself  do  anything;  as  I  hear,  I 
judge;  and  my  judgment  is  just."  When 
He  was  treating  of  the  resurrection  of  souls. 
He  did  not  say,  I  hear;  but,  I  see.  For  / 
hear  refers  to  the  command  of  the  Father  as 
giving  order.  Therefore,  now  as  a  man,  just 
as  He  than  whom  the  Father  is  greater;  as 
from  the  form  of  a  servant,  not  from  the 
form  of  God,  "  As  I  hear,  I  judge;  and  my 
judgment  is  just."  Whence  is  the  man's 
judgment  a  just  one  ?  My  brethren,  mark 
well:  "Because  I  seek  not  my  own  will,  but 
the  will  of  Him  that  sent  me." 


TIIK   WORKS  ()K  ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


I  TKAI  i  AH    XXIV. 


TRACTATE    XXIV. 

CHAPTER  VI.   1-14. 


1.  THE   miracles  performed   by  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  are  indeed  divine  works,  and  in 
cite  the  human  mind  to  rise  to  the  apprehen 
sion  of  God  from  the  things  that  are  seen. 
But  inasmuch  as  He  is  not  such  a  substance 
as  may  be  seen  with  the  eyes,  and  His  mira 
cles  in  the  government  of  the  whole  world  and 
the  administration  of  the  universal  creation 
are,  by  their  familiar  constancy,  slightly  re 
garded,  so  that  almost  no  man  deigns  to  con 
sider  the  wonderful  and  stupendous  works  of 
God,  exhibited   in   every  grain  of  seed;  He 
has.    agreeably   to    His    mercy,    reserved   to 
Himself    certain   works,    beyond    the    usual 
course  and  order  of  nature,  which  He  should 
perform  on  fit  occasion,  that  they,  by  whom 
His  daily  works  are  lightly  esteemed,  might 
be    struck   with    astonishment  at   beholding, 
not   indeed   greater,  but    uncommon   works. 
For  certainly  the  government  of  the  whole 
world  is  a  greater  miracle  than  the  satisfying 
of  five  thousand  men  with  five  loaves;  and 
yet  no  man  wonders  at  the  former;  but  the 
latter    men   wonder    at,    not    because    it   is 
greater,   but   because    it   is   rare.     For   who 
even  now  feeds  the  whole  world,  but  He  who 
creates  the  cornfield  from  a  few  grains  ?     He  | 
therefore  created  as  God  creates.    For,  whence 
He  multiplies  the  produce  of  the  fields  from 
a  few  grains,  from  the  same  source  He  mul 
tiplied  in  His  hands   the    five    loaves.     The 
power,  indeed,  was  in   the   hands  of  Christ; 
but  those  five  loaves  were  as  seeds,  not  indeed 
committed    to  the   earth,  but  multiplied   by 
Him  who  made  the  earth.     In  this  miracle, 
then,  there  is  that  brought  near  to  the  senses, 
whereby  the  mind  should  be  roused  to  atten 
tion,  there  is  exhibited  to  the  eyes,  whereon 
the  understanding  should  be  exercised,  that 
we  might  admire  the  invisible  God   through 
His  visible  works;  and  being  raised  to  faith 
and  purged  by  faith,  we  might  desire  to  behold 
Him  even  invisibly,  whom  invisible  we  came 
to  know  by  the  things  that  are  visible. 

2.  Yet  it  is  not  enough  to  observe  these 
things  in  the  miracles  of  Christ.     Let  us  in 
terrogate  the  miracles  themselves,  what  they 
tell  us  about  Christ:  for  they  have  a  tongue 
of  their  own,  if  they  can  be  understood.     For 
since  Christ  is  Himself  the  Word  of  God,  even 
the  act  of  the  Word  is  a  word  to  us.   Therefore 
as  to  this  miracle,  since  we  have  heard  how 
great  it  is,  let  us  also  search  how  profound  it 


is;  let  us  not  only  be  delighted  with  its  sur 
face,  but  let  us  also  seek  to  know  its  depth. 
This  miracle,  which  we  admire  on  the  out 
side,  has  something  within.  We  have  seen, 
we  have  looked  at  something  great,  something 
glorious,  and  altogether  divine,  which  could 
be  performed  only  by  God:  we  have  praised 
the  doer  for  the  deed.  But  just  as,  if  we  were 
to  inspect  a  beautiful  writing  somewhere,  it 
would  not  suffice  for  us  to  praise  the  hand  of 
the  writer,  because  he  formed  the  letters 
even, equal  and  elegant,  if  we  did  not  also  read 
the  information  he  conveyed  to  us  by  those 
letters;  so,  he  who  merely  inspects  this  deed 
may  be  delighted  with  its  beauty  to  admire 
the  doer:  but  he  who  understands  does,  as  it 
were,  read  it.  For  a  picture  is  looked  at  in 
a  different  way  from  that  in  which  a  writing 
is  looked  at.  When  thou  hast  seen  a  picture, 
to  have  seen  and  praised  it  is  the  whole  thing; 
when  thou  seest  a  writing,  this  is  not  the 
whole,  since  thou  art  reminded  also  to  read 
it.  Moreover,  when  thou  seest  a  writing,  if 
it  chance  that  thou  canst  not  read,  thou  say- 
est,  "What  do  we  think  that  to  be  which  is 
here  written  ? "  Thou  askest  what  it  is,  when 
already  thou  seest  it  to  be  something.  He 
of  whom  thou  seekest  to  be  informed  what  it 
is  that  thou  hast  seen,  will  show  thee  another 
thing.  He  has  other  eyes  than  thou  hast. 
Do  you  not  alike  see  the  form  of  the  letters  ? 
But  yet  you  do  not  alike  understand  the  signs. 
Well,  thou  seest  and  praisest;  but  he  sees, 
praises,  reads  and  understands.  Therefore, 
since  we  have  seen  and  praised,  let  us  also 
read  and  understand. 

3.  The  Lord  on  the  mount:  much  rather 
let  us  understand  that  the  Lord  on  the  mount 
is  the  Word  on  high.  Accordingly,  what 
was  done  on  the  mount  does  not,  as  it  were, 
lie  low,  nor  is  to  be  cursorily  passed  by,  but 
must  be  looked  up  to.  He  saw  the  multitude, 
knew  them  to  be  hungering,  mercifully  fed 
them:  not  only  in  virtue  of  His  goodness,  but 
also  of  His  power.  For  what  would  mere 
goodness  avail,  where  there  was  not  bread 
with  which  to  feed  the  hungry  crowd?  Did 
not  power  attend  upon  goodness,  that  crowd 
had  remained  fasting  and  hungry.  In  short, 
the  disciples  also,  who  were  with  the  Lord, 
and  hungry,  themselves  wished  to  feed  the 
multitudes,  that  they  might  not  remain 
empty,  but  had  not  wherewithal  to  feed 


,1!       \\IV.1 


<  »\    I  III.  G<  >SPEL  <  1 1-   ST.   J<  »1IN. 


tlu-in.  The  Lord  asked,  whence  they  might 
buy  bri-:i(l  to  teed  the  multitude.  And  the 
Scripture  s;iith:  "  Hut  this  He  said,  proving 
him;"  namely,  the  disciple  1'hilip  oi  whom 
He  had  asked;  "  I'tir  Himself  kne\v  what  He 
would  do."  (  )t"  what  advantage  then  was  it 
to  prove  him,  unless  to  show  the  disciple's 
ignorance?  And,  perhaps,  in  showing  the 
disciple's  ignorant  e  He  signified  something 
more.  This  will  appear,  then,  when  the  sac 
rament  of  the  five  loaves  itself  will  begin  to 
.speak  to  us,  and  to  intimate  its  meaning:  for 
there  we  shall  see  why  the  Lord  in  this  act 
wished  to  exhibit  the  disciple's  ignorance,  by 
asking  what  He  Himself  knew.  For  we 
sometimes  ask  what  we  do  not  know,  that, 
being  willing  to  hear,  we  may  learn;  some 
times  we  ask  what  we  do  know,  wishing  to 
learn  whether  he  whom  we  ask  also  knows. 
The  Lord  knew  both  the  one  and  the  other; 
knew  both  what  He  asked,  for  He  knew  what 
Himself  would  do;  and  He  also  knew  in  like 
manner  that  Philip  knew  not  this.  Why  then 
did  He  ask,  but  to  show  Philip's  ignorance  ? 
And  why  He  did  this,  we  shall,  as  I  have 
said,  understand  afterwards. 

4.  Andrew    saith:   ''  There    is  a  lad    here, 
who  has  five  loaves  and  two  fishes,  but  what 
are  these  for  so  many?"     When  Philip,  on 
being  asked,  had   said  that  two   hundred  pen 
nyworth  of  bread  would  not  suffice  to  refresh 
that  so  great  a  multitude,  there  was  there  a 
certain  lad,  carrying  five  barley  loaves  and 
two  fishes.      *'And  Jesus  saith,  Make  the  men 
sit  down.  Now  there  was  there  much  grass:  and 
they  sat  down  about  five  thousand  men.     And 
the  Lord  Jesus  took  the  loaves,  gave  thanks;  " 
He  commanded,  the  loaves  were  broken,  and 
put  before  the  men  that  were  set  down.     It 
was  no  longer  five  loaves,  but  what  He  had 
added   thereto,  who  had  created  that  which 
was  increased.      "And  of  the  fishes  as  much 
as    sufficed."     It  was    not   enough  that  the 
multitude  had  been  satisfied,  there  remained 
also   fragments;  and  these  were   ordered   to 
be  gathered  up,  that  they  should  not  be  lost: 
"And  they  filled  twelve  baskets  with  the  frag 
ments." 

5.  To  run  over  it  briefly:  by  the  five  loaves 
are  understood  the  five  books  of  Moses;  and 
rightly  are  they  not  wheaten  but  barley  loaves, 
because  they  belong  to  the  Old  Testament. 
And  you  know  that  barley  is  so  formed  that 
we  get  at  its  pith  with  difficulty;  for  the  pith 
is  covered  in  a  coating  of  husk,  and  the  husk 
itself  tenacious  and  closely  adhering,  so  as  to 
be  stripped  oil   with  labor.      Such  is  the  letter 
of  the  Old  Testament,  invested  in  a  covering 
of  carnal  sacraments:  but  yet,  if  we  get  at  its 
pith,  it  feeds  and  satisfies  us.     A  certain  lad. 


then,  brought   fiv 

we    inquire  who   tins   hd   was,  p.-r.iaps   it   was 
the  people    Israel,  which,  in  a  childish 
Carried,  not   ate.      For  the   things  winch  they 
carried  were  a  burden  while  shut  up,  but  when 
opened    allmded    nourishment.      And 
the  two  fishes,  they  appear  to  us  to  signify 
,  those  two  sublime  persons,  in  the  Old  Testa 
ment,    of    priest    and    of    ruler,    who    were 
!  anointed  for  the  sanctifying  and  governing  of 
j  the  people.     And   at   length   Himself  in  the 
'  mystery   came,  who   was   signified    by  those 
|  persons:  He  at  length  came  who  was  pointed 
!  out  by  the  pith  of  the  barley,  but  concealed 
by  its   husk.      He  came,  sustaining  in   His 
one  person  the  two  characters  of  priest  and 
ruler:  of  priest  by  offering  Himself  to  (iod  as 
a  victim  for  us;  of  ruler,  because  by  Him  we 
are  governed.     And  the  things  that  were  car 
ried  closed  are  now  opened  up.     Thanks  be 
to  Him.     He  has  fulfilled  by  Himself  what 
was  promised  in    the  Old  Testament.     And 
He   bade   the    loaves   to   be   broken;  in   the 
breaking   they    are    multiplied.      Nothing   is 
more  true.     For  when  those  five   books   of 
Moses  are  expounded,  how  many  books  have 
they  made  by  being  broken  up,  as  it  were; 
that  is,  by  being  opened  and  laid  out?     But 
because   in  that  barley  the  ignorance  of  the 
.  first  people  was  veiled,  of  whom  it  is  said, 
j  "  Whilst  Moses  is  read,  the  veil  is  upon  their 
j  hearts;  "'  for  the  veil  was  not  yet  removed, 
i  because  Christ  had  not  yet  come;  not  yet  was 
the  veil   of  the  temple  rent,  while  Christ  is 
hanging   on    the    cross:  because,  -I    say,   the 
ignorance  of  the  people  was  in  the  law,  there 
fore  that  proving  by  the  Lord  made  the  ignor 
ance  of  the  disciple  manifest. 

6.  Wherefore  nothing  is  without  meaning; 
everything  is  significant,  but  requires  one  that 
understands:  for  even  this  number  of  the  peo 
ple  fed,  signified  the  people  that  were  under  the 
law.  For  why  were  there  five  thousand,  but  be 
cause  they  were  under  the  law,  which  is  un 
folded  in  the  five  books  of  Moses  ?  Why  were 
the  sick  laid  at  those  five  porches,  but  not 
healed  ?  He,however,there  cured  the  impotent 
man,  who  here  fed  multitudes  witti  five  loaves. 
Moreover,they  sat  down  upon  the  grass;  there 
fore  understood  carnally,  and  rested  in  the  car 
nal.  "  For  all  flesh  is  grass. "  -  And  what  were 
those  fragments,  but  things  which  the  people 
were  not  able  to  eat  ?  We  understand  them 
to  be  certain  matters  of  more  hidden  mean 
ing,  which  the  multitude  are  not  able  to  take 
in.  What  remains  then,  but  that  those  mat 
ters  of  more  hidden  meaning,  which  the  mul 
titude  cannot  take  in,  be  entrusted  to  men 


2  Cor.  iii.  15. 


i6o 


THK   WORKS  OF  ST.    AlV,  TSTIN. 


[TRACT AT K  XXIV. 


who  are  fit  to  teach  others  also,  just  as  were  the  Apostles. *  And  the  Lord  says  of  Him- 
the  apostles  ?  Why  were  twelve  baskets  filled  ?  self,  "A  prophet  is  not  without  honor,  except 
This  was  done  both  marvellously,  because  a  in  his  own  country."  '  The  Lord  is  a  prophet, 
great  thing  was  done;  and  it  was  done  profit-  and  the  Lord  is  (iod's  Word,  and  no  prophet 
ably,  because  a  spiritual  thing  was  done,  i  prophesies  without  the  Word  of  God:  the 
They  who  at  the  time  saw  it,  marvelled;  but  Word  of  (iod  is  with  the  prophets,  and  the 
we,  hearing  of  it,  do  not  marvel.  For  it  was  ;  Word  of  God  is  a  prophet.  The  former  times 
done  that  they  might  see  it,  but  it  was  written  obtained  prophets  inspired  and  filled  by  the 
that  we  might  hear  it.  What  the  eyes'were  Word  of  God:  we  have  obtained  the  very 
able  to  do  in  their  case,  that  faith  does  in  our  Word  of  God  for  our  prophet.  But  Christ  is 
case.  We  perceive,  namely,  with  the  mind,  in  such  manner  a  prophet,  the  Lord  of  pro- 
what  we  could  not  with  the  eyes:  and  we  are  i  phets,  as  Christ  is  an  angel,  the  Lord  of 
preferred  before  them,  because  of  us  it  is  |  angels.  For  He  is  also  called  the  Angel  of 


said,  "  Blessed  are  they  who  see  not,  and  yet 
believe."  '  And  I  add  that,  perhaps,  we  have 
understood  what  that  crowd  did  not  under- 
stand.  And  we  have  been  fed  in  reality,  in 
that  we  have  been  able  to  get  at  the  pith  of 
the  barley. 

7.  Lastly,  what  did  those  men  who  saw  this 
miracle  think?  "The  men,"  saith  he, 
"  when  they  had  seen  the  sign  which  He  had 
done,  said,  This  is  indeed  a  prophet." 
Perhaps  they  stiil  thought  Christ  to  be  a  pro 
phet  for  this  reason,  namely,  that  they  were 


great  counsel.4  Nevertheless,  what  says  the 
prophet  elsewhere?  that  not  an  ambassador, 
nor  an  angel,  but  Himself  coming  will  save 
them;5  that  is,  He  will  not  send  an  ambassa 
dor  to  save  them,  nor  an  angel,  but  Himself 
will  come.  Who  will  come?  The  Angel 
himself?  Certainly  not  by  an  angel  will  He 
save  them,  except  that  He  is  so  an  angel,  as 
also  Lord  of  angels.  For  angels  signify  mes 
sengers.  If  Christ  brought  no  message, 
He  would  not  be  called  an  angel:  if  Christ 
prophesied  nothing,  He  would  not  be  called 


sitting  on  the  grass.  But  He  was  the  Lord  a  prophet.  He  has  exhorted  us  to  faith  and 
of  the  prophets,the  fulfiller  of  the  prophets, the  !  to  laying  hold  of  eternal  life;  He  has  pro- 
sanctifier  of  the  prophets,  but  yet  a  prophet  I  claimed  something  present,  foretold  some- 


also:  for  it  was  said  to  Moses,  "  I  will  raise  up 
for  them  a  prophet  like  unto  thee."  Like,  ac 
cording  to  the  flesh,  but  not  according  to  the 
majesty.  And  that  this  promise  of  the  Lord  is 
to  be  understood  concerning  Christ  Himself, 
is  clearly  expounded  and  read  in  the  Acts  of 


»  John  xx.  29. 


thing  future  because  He  proclaimed  the  pre 
sent,  thence  He  was  an  angel  or  messenger; 
because  He  foretold 
was  a  prophet;  and 


the  future,  thence  He 
that,   as   the  Word  of 


(iod  He  was  made  flesh,  thence  He  was  Lord 
of  angels  and  of  prophets. 


3  John  iv.  44. 
5  Isa.  xxxv.  4. 


TRACTATE    XXV. 

CHAPTER  VI.   15-44. 


i.  FOLLOWING  upon  yesterday's  lesson  from  I 
the  Gospel  is  that  of  to-day,  upon  which  this 
day's  discourse  is  due  to  you.     When  that 
miracle  was  wrought,  in  which  Jesus  fed  the 
five  thousand  with  five  loaves,  and  the  multi 
tudes  marveled  and  said  that  He  was  a  great \ 
prophet  that  came  into  the  world,  then  follows  | 
this:   "  When  Jesus  therefore  knew  that  they  j 
came  to  seize  Him,  and  to  make  Him  king, 
He  escaped  again  unto  the  mountain  alone." 
It  is  therefore  given  to  be  understood  that  the 
Lord,  when  He  sat  on  the  mountain  with  His 
disciples,   and   saw  the   multitudes  coming  to 
Him.  had  descended  from  the  mountain,  and 


fed  the  multitudes  on  its  lower  parts.  For  how 
can  it  be  that  He  should  escape  thither  again, 
if  He  had  not  before  descended  from  the 
mountain  ?  There  is  something  meant  by  the 
Lord's  descending  from  on  high  to  feed  the 
multitudes.  He  fed  them,  and  ascended. 

2.  But  why  did  He  ascend  alter  He  knew 
that  they  wished  to  seize  Him  and  make  Him 
a  king?  Ho\v  then;  was  He  not  a  king,  that 
He  was  afraid  to  be  made  a  king?  He  was 
certainly  not  such  a  king  as  would  be  made 
by  men,  but  such  as  would  bestow  a  kingdom 
on  men.  May  it  not  be  that  Jesus,  whose 
deeds  are  words,  does  here,  too,  signify  some- 


:   Ml      XXV.] 


m;  c.osi-Ki,  or  ST.  JOHN. 


161 


to    us?     Therefore    in    this,  that    they  for:   in  Him  is  the  redemption  of  Israel.      Hut 

wished  to  sei/.e  Him   and    make    Him   akin-,  way  arc    ye    in    hast.   -      \,-    \\ ;     ,    to    -<-i/e  it. 

and  that  for  this  He  escapes  to  the   mountain  The  following,  tOO,  shows  us  that  tins  was  their 

alone,  is  this  action   in  His  case  silent;  does  feeling,   tiiat,  when  the  disciples   inquired   of 


it  speak  nothing,  does  it  mean  nothing?  Or 
was  this  seizing  of  Him  perhaps  an  intention 
to  anticipate  the  time  of  His  kingdom  ?  For 
He  had  come  now,  not  to  reign  immediately, 


He    is 

pray, 


to   reign    in   the   sense    in   which 
Thy    kingdom    come.      He    ever 


reigns,  indeed,  with  the  Father,  in  that  He  is 
the  Son  of  God,  the  Word  of  God,  the  Word 

the 


Hun  concerning  the  end,  they  said  to  Him, 
"  Wilt  Thou  at  this  time  be  made  manifest, 
and  when  will  be  the  kingdom  of  Israel  ? "  For 
they  longed  for  it  now,  they  wished  it  now; 
that  is,  they  wished  to  seize  Him,  and  to  make 
Him  king.  But  saith  He  to  the  disciples  (for 
He  had  yet  to  ascend  alone),  "  It  is  not  for 
you  to  know  the  times  or  seasons  which  the 
Father  hath  put  in  His  own  power:  but  ye 


by   which    all    things   were   made.     But 

prophets  foretold  His  kingdom  according  to ,  shall  receive  virtue  from  on   high,  the   Holy 

that  wherein  He  is  Christ  made  man,  and  has   Spirit  coming  upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be  wit- 


made    His    faithful   ones  Christians.     There 
will  consequently  be  a  kingdom  of  Christians, 


nesses  to  me  in  Jerusalem,  and   in  all  Judea 
and  Samaria,  and  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth. " 


which  at  present  is  being  gathered  together,  You  wish  that  I  should  manifest  the  kingdom 
being  prepared  and  purchased  by  the  blood  of  now;  let  me  first  gather  what  I  may  manifest; 
Christ.  His  kingdom  will  at  length  be  made '  you  love  elevation,  and  you  shall  obtain 


manifest,  when  the  glory  of  His  saints  shall 
be  revealed,  after  the  judgment  is  executed 
by  Him,  which  judgment  He  Himself  has 
said  above  is  that  which  the  Son  of  man  shall 
execute.  Of  which  kingdom  also  the  apostle 
has  said:  "  When  He  shall  have  delivered  up 


elevation,  but  follow  me  through  humility. 
Thus  it  was  also  foretold  of  Him,  "And  the 
gathering  of  the  peoples  will  surround  Thee, 
and  for  this  cause  return  Thou  on  high;": 
that  is,  that  the  gatherings  of  the  peoples  may 
surround  Thee,  that  Thou  mayest  gather 


the  kingdom  to  God,  even  the  Father."  '     In   many  together,  return  Thou  on  high.     Thus 
reference  to  which  also  Himself  says:   "  Come,    He  did;  He  fed  men,  and  ascended, 
ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  receive  the  kingdom  I      4.   But  why  is  it   said,  He   escaped  ? 


which  is  prepared  for  you  from  the  beginning 
of  the  world.'' 2  But  the  disciples  and  the 
multitudes  that  believed  on  Him  thought  that 
He  had  thus  come  immediately  to  reign; 
hence,  they  wished  to  seize  Him  and  to  make 
Him  a  king;  they  wished  to  anticipate  the 
time  which  He  hid  with  Himself,  to  make  it 
known  in  due  time,  and  in  due  time  to  declare 
it  in  the  end  of  the  world. 

3.  That  ye  may  know  that  they  wished  to 
make  Him  a  king, — that  is,  to  anticipate,  and 
at  once  to  have  manifest  the  kingdom  of 
Christ,  whom  it  behoved  first  to  be  judged  and 
then  to  judge, — when  He  was  crucified,  and 
they  who  hoped  in  Him  had  lost  hope  of  His 
resurrection,  having  risen  from  the  dead,  He 
found  two  of  them  despairingly  conversing  to 
gether,  and,  with  groaning,  talking  with  one 
another  of  what  had  been  done;  and  appear 
ing  to  them  as  a  stranger,  while  their  eyes 


For 

He  could  not  be  held  against  His  will,  nor 
seized  against  His  will,  since  He  could  not 
be  recognized  against  His  will.  But  that  you 
may  know  that  this  was  done  mystically,  not 
of  necessity,  but  of  express  purpose,  you  will 
presently  see  in  the  following:  that  He  ap 
peared  to  the  same  multitudes  that  sought 
Him,  said  many  things  in  speaking  with  them, 
and  discoursed  much  about  the  bread  of 
heaven;  when  discoursing  about  bread,  was 
He  not  with  the  same  people  from  whom  He 
had  escaped  lest  He  should  be  held  of  them  ? 
Then,  could  He  not  have  so  acted  at  that 
time  that  He  should  not  be  seized  by  them, 
just  as  afterwards  when  He  was  speaking  with 
them  ?  Something,  therefore,  was  meant  by 
His  escaping.  What  means,  He  escaped  ? 
His  loftiness  could  not  be  understood.  For 
of  anything  which  thou  hast  not  understood 
thou  sayest,  "It  has  escaped  me."  Where- 


were  held  that  He  should  not  be  recognized  r  fore,  "  He  escaped  again  unto  the  mountain 
by  them,  He  mixed  with  them  as  they  held  i  alone, — the  first-begotten  from  the  dead, 
discourse:  but  they,  narrating  to  Him  the  j  ascending  above  all  heavens,  and  interceding 
matter  of  their  conversation,  said  that  He  was  for  us."6 

a  prophet,  mighty  in  deeds  and  in  words,  5.  Meanwhile,  He,  the  one  great  High 
that  had  been  slain  by  the  chief  priests;  i  Priest  being  above  (He  who  has  entered  into 
"And  we,"  say  they,  "did  hope  that  it  was  that  within  the  veil,  the  people  standing  with- 
He  that  should  have  redeemed  Israel."  out;  for  Him  that  priest  under  the  old  law,  who 
Rightly  you  hoped:  a  true  thing  you  hoped  did  this  once  a  year,  did  signify):  He  then  be- 


xxv.  34.  i  Luke  xxiv.  i  (-ji. 


. 


162 


THK  WORKS  OK  ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


[TK.M  IMF.    XXV. 


ing  above,  what  were  the  disciples  enduring  in 
the  ship  ?  For  that  ship  prefigured  the  Church 
while  He  is  on  high.  For  if  we  do  not,  in  the 
first  place,  understand  this  thing  which  that 
ship  suffered  respecting  the  Church,  those  in 
cidents  were  not  significant,  but  simply  tran 
sient;  but  if  we  see  the  real  meaning  of  those 
signs  expressed  in  the  Church,  it  is  manifest 
that  the  actions  of  Christ  are  a  kind  of 
speeches.  "But  when  it  was  late,  saith  he, 
His  disciples  went  down  to  the  sea;  and  when 
they  had  entered  into  a  ship,  they  came  over 
the  sea  to  Capernaum."  He  declared  that 
as  finished  quickly,  which  was  done  after 
wards, — "  They  came  over  the  sea  to  Caper 
naum."  He  returns  to  explain  how  they 
came;  that  they  passed  over  by  sailing  across 
the  lake.  And  whilst  they  were  sailing  to 
that  place  to  which  He  has  already  said  they 
had  come,  He  explains  by  recapitulation  what 
befell  them.  "  It  was  now  dark,  and  Jesus 
had  not  come  to  them."  Rightly  he  said 
"dark,"  for  the  light  had  not  come  to  them. 
*'  It  was  now  dark,  and  Jesus  had  not  come 
to  them."  As  the  end  of  the  world  ap 
proaches,  errors  increase,  terrors  multiply, 
iniquity  increases,  infidelity  increases;  the 
light,  in  short,  which,  by  the  Evangelist  John 
himself,  is  fully  and  clearly  shown  to  be 
charity,  so  much  so  that  he  says,  "  Whoso 
hateth  his  brother  is  in  darkness;  "  '  that  light, 
I  say,  is  very  often  extinguished;  this  dark 
ness  of  enmity  between  brethren  increases, 
daily  increases,  and  Jesus  is  not  yet  come. 
How  does  it  appear  to  increase?  "Because 
iniquity  will  abound,  and  the  love  of  many 
will  begin  to  wax  cold."  Darkness  increases, 
and  Jesus  is  not  yet  come.  Darkness  increas 
ing,  love  waxing  cold,  iniquity  abounding, — 
these  are  the  waves  that  agitate  the  ship;  the 
storms  and  the  winds  are  the  clamors  of  re- 
vilers.  Thence  love  waxes. cold;  thence  the 
waves  do  swell,  and  the  ship  is  tossed. 

6.  "And  a  great  wind  blowing,  the  sea 
rose."  Darkness  was  increasing,  discern 
ment  was  diminishing,  iniquity  was  growing. 
"When,  therefore,  they  had  rowed  about 
twenty-five  or  thirty  furlongs."  Meanwhile 
they  struggled  onward,  kept  advancing;  nor 
did  those  winds  and  storms,  and  waves  and 
darkness  effect  either  that  the  ship  should  not 
make  way,  or  that  it  should  break  in  pieces 
and  founder;  but  amid  all  these  evils  it  went 
on.  For,  notwithstanding  iniquity  abounds, 
and  the  love  of  many  waxes  cold,  and  the 
waves  do  swell,  the  darkness  grows  and  the 
wind  rages,  yet  the  ship  is  moving  forward; 
"for  he  that  perseveres  to  the  end,  the  same 

'  i  John  11.  ii. 


shall  be  saved."'  Nor  is  that  number  of 
furlongs  to  be  lightly  regarded.  For  it  can 
not  really  be  that  nothing  is  meant,  when  it  is 
said  that,  "when  they  had  rowed  twenty-five 
or  thirty  furlongs,  Jesus  came  to  them."  It 
were  enough  to  say,  "twenty-five,"  so  like 
wise  "thirty;"  especially  as  it  was  an  esti 
mate,  not  an  assertion  of  the  narrator.  Could 
the  truth  be  aught  endangered  by  a  mere 
estimate,  if  he  had  said  nearly  thirty  furlongs, 
or  nearly  twenty-five  furlongs  ?  But  from 
twenty-five  he  made  thirty.  Let  us  examine 
the  number  twenty-five.  Of  what  does  it 
consist  ?  of  what  is  it  made  up  ?  Of  the 
quinary,  or  number  five.  That  number  five 
pertains  to  the  law.  The  same  are  the  five 
books  of  Moses,  the  same  are  those  five 
porches  containing  the  sick  folk,  the  same  are 
the  five  loaves  feeding  the  five  thousand 
men.  Accordingly  the  number  twenty-five 
signifies  the  law,  because  five  by  five — that  is, 
five  times  five— make  twenty-five,  or  the 
number  five  squared.  But  this  law  lacked 
perfection  before  the  gospel  came.  More 
over,  perfection  is  comprised  in  the  number 
six.  Therefore  in  six  days  God  finished,  or 
perfected,  the  world,  and  the  same  five  are  mul- 
plied  by  six,  that  the  law  may  be  completed 
by  the  gospel,  that  six  times  five  become 
thirty.  To  them  that  fulfill  the  law,  therefore . 
Jesus  comes.  And  how  does  He  come  ? 
Walking  upon  the  waves,  keeping  all  the 
swellings  of  the  world  under  His  feet,  press 
ing  down  all  its  heights.  Thus  it  goes  on,  so 
long  as  time  endures,  so  long  as  the  ages  roll. 
Tribulations  increase,  calamities  increase, 
sorrows  increase,  all  these  swell  and  mount 
up:  Jesus  passeth  on  treading  upon  the  waves. 
7.  And  yet  so  great  are  the  tribulations, 
that  even  they  who  have  trusted  in  Jesus,  and 
who  strive  to  persevere  unto  the  end,  greatly 
fear  lest  they  fail;  while  Christ  is  treading  the 
waves,  and  trampling  down  the  world's  am 
bitions  and  heights,  the  Christian  is  sorely 
afraid.  Were  not  these  things  foretold  him  ? 
Justly ' '  they  were  afraid,"  too,  at  seeing  Jesus 
walking  on  the  waves;  like  as  Christians, 
though  having  hope  in  the  world  to  come,  are 
frequently  disquieted  at  the  crash  of  human 
affairs,  when  they  see  the  loftiness  of  this 
world  trampled  down.  They  open  the  Gos 
pel,  they  open  the  Scriptures,  and  they  find 
all  these  things  there  foretold;  that  this  is  the 
Lord's  doing.  He  tramples  down  the  heights 
of  the  world,  that  He  may  be  glorified  by  the 
humble.  Concerning  whose  loftiness  it  is 
foretold:  'Thou  shalt  destroy  strongest 
cities,"  and  "the  spears  of  the  enemy  have 


«  »N    i  ill    i,(  >SPEL  <  >l    >  l  .    |<  >HV. 


come  to  an  end,  and  Thou  hast  destroyed 
cities."'  Why  then  are  ye  afraid,  ()( 'h'ris- 
tians  ?  Christ  speaks:  "It  is  I;  be  not 
atraid."  Why  are  ye  alarmed  at  these  things  ? 
Why  are  ye  afraid  ?  I  have  foretold  these 
things,  I  do  them,  they  must  necessarily  be 
done.  ''  It  is  I;  be  not  afraid.  Therefore 
they  would  receive  Him  into  the  ship. "  Recog 
nizing  Him  and  rejoicing,  they  are  freed  from 
their  fears.  "And  immediately  the  ship  was 
at  the  land  to  which  they  went."  There  is  i 
an  end  made  at  the  land;  from  the  watery  to 
the  solid,  from  the  agitated  to  the  firm,  from 
the  way  to  the  goal. 

8.  "On  the   next  day  the  multitude  that 
stood  on  the  other  side  of  the  sea,"  whence  \ 
the  disciples   had   come,  "  saw  that  there  was  ; 
none  other  boat  there,  save  that  one  whereinto 
His   disciples  were  entered,  and   that   Jesus 
went   not  with   His  disciples  into'  the  boat, 
but  that  His  disciples  were  gone  away  alone; 
but  there  came  other  boats  from  Tiberias,  nigh 
unto  the  place  where  they  did  eat  bread,  giv-  j 
ing  thanks  to  the  Lord:  when,  therefore,  the 
multitudes  saw  that  Jesus  was  not  there,  nor 
His  disciples,  they  also  took  shipping,  and 
came   to   Capernaum  seeking   Jesus."      Yet 
they  got  some   knowledge  of  so  great  a  mira-  j 
cle.     For  they  saw  that  the  disciples  had  gone  j 
into  the  ship  alone,  and  that  there  was   not  i 
another   ship   there.     But  there  came  boats ; 
also  from  near  to  that  place  where  they  did 
eat  bread;  in  these  the   multitudes  followed 
Him.     He  had  not  then  embarked  with  His 
disciples,    and    there   was    not   another   ship 
there.     How,  then,  was  Jesus  on  a  sudden  be 
yond    the  sea,  unless  that  He  walked   upon 
the  sea  to  show  a  miracle  ? 

9.  "And  when   the  multitudes   had   found 
Him."     Behold,  He  presents  Himself  to  the  | 
people  from  whom  He  had  escaped  into  the  , 
mountain,  afraid  that  He  should  be  taken  of  ( 
them  by  force.     In  every  way  He  proves  to ! 
us  and  gives  us  to  know  that  all  these  things 
are  said  in  a  mystery,  and  done   in  a   great 
sacrament  (or  mystery)  to  signify   something 
important.        Behold,    that    is    He   who   had 
escaped  the  crowds  unto  the  mountain;  is  He 
not   speaking  with  the   same    crowds?      Let 
them  hold  Him  now;  let  them  now  make  Him 
a  king.     "And  when  they  had  found  Him  on 
the  other  side  of  the  sea,  they  said  unto  Him, 
Rabbi,  when  earnest  Thou  hither?" 

10.  After  the  sacrament  of  the  miracle,  He 
introduces   discourse,   that,    if  possible,   they 
who  have  been   fed   may  be   further  fed,  that 
He  may  with  discourse  fill  their  minds,  whose 
bellies  He  filled  with  the  loaves,  provided  they 

i  t>-    :« 


take  in.  And  if  they  do  not,  let  that  be 
taken  up  which  they  do  not  receive,  that  the 
fragments  may  m>t  be  lost.  Wherefore  let 
Him  speak,  and  let  us  hear.  "  Jesus  answer 
ed  and  said  Vt-rily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you, 
ye  seek  me,  not  because  ye  saw  the  signs,  but 
l>ecause  ye  have  eaten  of  my  loaves. ' '  Yc 
seek  me  for  the  sake  of  the  flesh  not  for  the 
sake  of  the  spirit.  How  many  seek  Jesus  for 
no  other  object  but  that  He  may  bestow  on 
them  a  temporal  benefit  !  One  has  a  business 
on  hand,  he  seeks  the  intercession  of  the 
clergy;  another  is  oppressed  by  one  more 
powerful  than  himself,  he  flies  to  the  church. 
Another  desires  intervention  in  his  behalf 
with  one  with  whom  he  has  little  influence. 
One  in  this  way,  one  in  that,  the  church  is 
daily  filled  with  such  people.  Jesus  is 
scarcely  sought  after  for  Jesus' sake.  "Ye 
seek  me,  not  because  ye  have  seen  the  signs, 
but  because  ye  have  eaten  of  my  loaves. 
Labor  not  for  the  meat  which  perisheth,  but 
for  that  which  endureth  unto  eternal  life." 
Ye  seek  me  for  something  else,  seek  me  for 
my  own  sake.  For  He  insinuates  the  truth, 
that  Himself  is  that  meat:  this  shines  out 
clearly  in  the  sequel.  "  Which  the  Son  of 
man  will  give  you."  Thou  didst  expect, 
I  believe,  again  to  eat  bread,  again  to  sit 
down,  again  to  be  gorged.  But  He  had  said, 
"  Not  the  meat  which  perisheth,  but  that 
which  endureth  unto  eternal  life,"  in  the  same 
manner  as  it  was  said  to  that  Samaritan 
woman:  "  If  thou  knewest  who  it  is  that 
asketh  of  thee  drink,  thou  wouldest  perhaps 
have  asked  of  Him,  and  He  would  give  thee 
living  water."  When  she  said,  "Whence 
hast  thou,  since  thou  hast  nothing  to  draw 
with,  and  the  well  is  deep?"  He  answered 
the  Samaritan  woman:  "  If  thou  knewest  who 
it  is  that  asketh  of  thee  drink,  thou  wouldst 
have  asked  of  Him,  and  He  would  give  thee 
water,  whereof  whoso  drinketh  shall  thirst  no 
more;  for  whoso  drinketh  of  this  water  shall 
thirst  again."  And  she  was  glad  and  would 
receive,  as  if  no  more  to  suffer  thirst  of  body, 
being  wearied  with  the  labor  of  drawing 
water.  And  so,  during  a  conversation  of  this 
kind,  He  comes  to  spiritual  drink.  Entirely 
in  this  manner  also  here. 

ii.  Therefore  "this  meat,  not  that  which 
perisheth,  but  that  which  endureth  unto  ever 
lasting  life,  which  the  Son  of  man  shall  give 
unto  you;  for  Him  hath  Hod  the  Father 
sealed."  Do  not  take  this  Son  of  man  as 
you  take  other  sons  of  men,  of  whom  it  is 
>aid.  "  And  the  sons  of  men  will  trust  in  the 
protection  of  Thy  wings."  Tins  Son  of  man 

Ps.  xxxvi.  7. 


1 64 


THK   WORKS  ()!•    SI.    AUGUSTIN. 


[lK\<    1AIK    XXV 


is  separated  l.y  a  certain  grace  of  the  spirit; 
Son  of  man  according  to  the  flesh,  taken  out 
from  the  number  of  men:  He  is  the  Son  of 
man.  This  Son  of  man  is  also  the  Son  of 
God;  this  man  is  even  God.  In  another 
place,  when  questioning  His  disciples,  He 
saith:  *'  Whom  do  men  say  that  I,  the  Son  of 
man,  am?  And  they  answered,  Some  John, 
some  Elias,  some  Jeremias,  or  one  of  the 
prophets.  And  He  said  unto  them,  But  whom 
say  ye  that  I  am  ?  Peter  answered,  Thou  art 
the  Christ,  the  S  n  of  the  living  God."1  He 
declared  Himself  Son  of  man,  Peter  declared 
Him  the  Son  of  the  living  God.  Most  fitly 
did  He  mention  tnat  which  in  mercy  He  had 
manifested  Himself  to  be;  most  fitly  did  the 
other  mention  that  which  He  continues  to  be  in 
glory.  The  Word  of  God  commends  to  our 
attention  His  own  humility:  the  man  acknow 
ledged  the  glory  of  his  Lord.  And  indeed, 
brethren,  I  think  that  this  is  just.  He 
humbled  Himself  for  us,  let  us  glorify  Him. 
For  not  for  Himself  is  He  Son  of  man,  but 
for  us.  Therefore  was  He  Son  of  man  in 
that  way,  when  "  the  Word  was  made  flesh, 
and  dwelt  among  us. ' '  For  to  that  end  "  God 
the  Father  sealed  Him."  What  is  to  seal, 
but  to  put  some  particular  mark  ?  To  seal  is  I 
to  impress  some  mark  which  cannot  be  con- 1 
founded  with  the  rest.  To  seal  is  to  put  a 
mark  on  a  thing.  When  thou  puttest  a  mark 
on  anything,  thou  doest  so  lest  it  might  be 
confused  with  other  things,  and  thou  shouldst 
not  be  able  to  recognize  it.  "  The  Father," 
then,  "hath  sealed  Him."  What  is  that, 
"  hath  sealed  "  ?  Bestowed  on  Him  some 
thing  peculiar,  which  puts  Him  out  of  com 
parison  with  all  other  men.  For  that  reason 
it  is  said  of  Him,  "  God,  even  Thy  God,  hath 
anointed  Thee  with  the  oil  of  gladness  above  j 
Thy  fellows."2  What  is  it  then  to  seal,  but  I 
to  have  Him  excepted  ?  This  is  the  import ' 
of  "above  Thy  fellows."  And  so,  do  not,  I 
saith  He,  despise  me  because  I  am  the  Son  | 
of  man,  but  seek  from  me,  "  not  the  meat 
that  perisheth,  but  that  which  endureth  to 
eternal  life."  For  I  am  the  Son  of  man  in 
such  manner  as  not  to  be  one  of  you:  I  am 
Son  of  man  in  such  manner  that  God  the 
Father  sealed  me.  What  does  that  mean, 
He  "  sealed  me  "  ?  Gave  me  something  pe 
culiarly  my  own,  that  I  should  not  be  con 
founded  with  mankind,  but  that  mankind 
should  be  delivered  by  me. 

12.  "  They  said  therefore  unto  Him,  What 
shall  we  do,  that  we  may  work  the  works  of 
God  ?  "  For  He  had  said  to  them,  "  Labor 
not  for  the  meat  which  perisheth,  but  for  that 


Ps.  xl 


which  endureth  unto  eternal  life."  "What 
shall  we  do?"  they  ask;  by  observing  what, 
shall  we  be  able  to  fulfill  this  precept  ?  "  Jesus 
answered  and  said  unto  them,  This  is  the 
work  of  God,  that  ye  believe  on  Him  whom 
He  has  sent."  This  is  then  to  eat  the  meat, 
not  that  which  perisheth,  but  that  which  en 
dureth  unto  eternal  life.  To  what  purpose 
dost  thou  make  ready  teeth  and  stomach  ? 
Believe,  and  thou  hast  eaten  already.  Faith 
is  indeed  distinguished  from  works,  even  as 
the  apostle  says,  "that  a  man  is  justified  by 
faith  without  the  works  of  the  law:"3  there 
are  works  which  appear  good,  without  faith  in 
Christ;  but  they  are  not  good,  because  they 
are  not  referred  to  that  end  in  which  works 
are  good;  "  for  Christ  is  the  end  of  the  law 
for  righteousness  to  every  one  thatbelieveth."'4 
For  that  reason,  He  willeth  not  to  distinguish 
faith  from  work,  but  declared  faith  itself  to 
be  work.  For  it  is  that  same  faith  that 
worketh  by  love.5  Nor  did  He  say,  This  is 
your  work;  but,  "  This  is  the  work  of  God, 
that  ye  believe  on  Him  whom  He  has  sent;" 
so  that  he  who  glories,  may  glory  in  the  Lord. 
And  because  He  invited  them  to  faith,  they, 
on  the  other  hand,  were  still  asking  for  signs 
by  which  they  might  believe.  See  if  the  Jews 
do  not  ask  for  signs.  "  They  said  therefore 
unto  Him,  What  sign  doest  thou,  that  we 
may  see  and  believe  thee  ?  what  dost  thou 
work?"  Was  it  a  trifle  that  they  were  fed 
with  five  loaves  ?  They  knew  this  indeed, 
but  they  preferred  manna  from  heaven  to 
this  food.  But  the  Lord  Jesus  declared 
Himself  to  be  such  an  one,  that  He  was 
superior  to  Moses.  For  Moses  dared  not 
say  of  Himself  that  He  gave,  "  not  the  meat 
which  perisheth,  but  that  which  endureth  to 
eternal  life."  Jesus  promised  something 
greater  than  Moses  gave.  By  Moses  indeed 
was  promised  a  kingdom,  and  a  land  flowing 
with  milk  and  honey,  temporal  peace,  abun 
dance  of  children,  health  of  body,  and  all 
other  things,  temporal  goods  indeed,  yet  in 
figure  spiritual;  because  in  the  Old  Testa 
ment  they  were  promised  to  the  old  man. 
They  considered  therefore  the  things  promised 
by  Moses,  and  they  considered  the  things 
promised  by  Christ.  The  former  promised 
a  full  belly  on  the  earth,  but  of  the  meat 
which  perisheth;  the  latter  promised,  "not 
the  meat  which  perisheth,  but  that  which 
endureth  unto  eternal  life.''  They  gave  at 
tention  to  Him  that  promised  the  more,  but 
just  as  if  they  did  not  yet  see  Him  do  greater 
things.  They  considered  therefore  what  sort 
of  works  Moses  had  done,  and  they  wished 


ATI:   XXV.  | 


ON  'nil-:  GOSPEL  <>i    ST.  j»»n\. 


DC   greater   works  l«>   IK-  done   by    Hun 
\viio  promised  them  such  great  tilings.      \Vh;it, 
sa\    tlit-y,  doest    tnoii,    tnat    \vc    may    believe 
And  tiiat  tnoii  mayest  know  that  they 
ccunpareil    tiiose    former    niirai  ics    with    tins, 
and  so  judged  these  miracles  which  Jesus  did  ; 
as  being  less;   "Our  fathers,"  say  they,  "did  | 
eat  manna   in   the  wilderness."      But  what   is! 
manna  r1     Perhaps   ye    despise    it.      "  As   it  is  \ 
written,  He  gave   them   manna  to  eat."      By, 
Moses  our  fathers  received  bread  from  heaven,  ' 
ami  Moses  did  not  say  to  them,  "  Labor  for  | 
the  meat  which  perisheth  not."     Thou  pro- 
mi  sest  "  meat  which  perisheth  not,  but  which 
endureth  to  eternal  life;"  and  yet  tliou  workest 
not  such  works  as  Moses  did.     He  gave,  not 
barley  loaves,  but  manna  from  heaven. 

13.  "  Then  Jesus  said  unto  them,  Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you,  not  Moses  gave  you  ! 
bread  from  heaven,  but  my  Father  gave  you  j 
bread  from  heaven.     For  the  true  bread  is  I 
He  that  cometh  down  from  heaven,  and  giveth 
life  to  the  world."     The  true  bread  then  is  I 
He  that  giveth  life  to  the  world;  and  the  same 
is  the  meat  of  which  I  have  spoken  a  little 
before, —  "Labor    not    for    the   meat   which 
perisheth,  but   for  that  which  endureth  unto  | 
eernal  life."      Therefore,   both  that    manna! 
signified   this  meat,  and  all  those  signs  were 
signs  of  me.     Ye   have  longed   for  signs  of ; 
me;    do  ye  despise  Him  that  was  signified  ? 
Not   Moses   then  gave    bread   from    heaven: 
God  gives  bread.     But  what  bread  ?     Manna,  I 
perhaps  ?     No,   but  the  bread  which    manna 
signified,   namely,   the  Lord  Jesus    Himself. 
My  Father  giveth  you  the  true  bread.      "  For 
the  bread  of  God   is   He  that  cometh  down 
from    heaven,   and  giveth  life  to  the  world. 
Then   said   they  unto  Him,   Lord,  evermore 
give  us  this  bread."      Like  that    Samaritan 
woman,  to  whom  it  was  said,  "Whoso  drinketh 
of  this  water  shall   never  thirst/'     She,  im 
mediately  understanding    it  in    reference    to 
the  body,  and  wishing  to  be  rid  of  want,  said, 
"Give  me,  O  Lord,  of  this  water;"   in  the 
same  manner  also  these  said,  "  O  Lord,  give 
us  this  bread;"  which  may  refresh  us,  and  yet  J 
not  fail. 

14.  "  And  Jesus  said  unto  them,  I  am  tne  j 
Bread  of  Life:    he  that  cometh  to  me  shall  j 
never  hunger;   and   lie  that  believeth  on  me  i 
shall  never    thirst."      "He  that   cometh    to 
me;"  this  is  the  same  thing  as  "  He  that  be 
lieveth  on   me;"  and    "shall   never   lumber" 
is  to  be  understood  to  mean  the  same  thing 
as   "shall   never   thirst."      For    by    both    is 
signified    that    eternal    sufficiency    in    which 
there  is  no  want.     You    desire    bread    from 
heaven;   you  have  it  before  you,  and  yet    v»u 
do  not  eat.      "  But   I    said    unto   you,  that  ye 


also   have   seen    inc.    and    y.  not." 

But  I  have  not  on  that  account  lost  my 
people.  "  For  hath  your  unbelief  made  the 
laitn  of  God  of  none-  effl 

what,  follows:  "  All  that  the  Father  giveth  me 
shall  come  to  me;  and  him  that  cometh  to 
me,  I  will  not  cast  out  of  doors."  What 
kind  of  within  is  that,  whence  there  is  no 
going  out  of  doors  ?  Noble  interior,  sweet 
retreat!  O  secret  dwelling  without  weariness, 
without  the  bitterness  of  evil  thoughts,  with 
out  the  solicitings  of  temptations  and  the  in 
terruptions  of  griefs  !  Is  it  not  that  secret 
dwelling  whither  shall  enter  that  well-deserving 
servant,  to  whom  the  Lord  will  say,  "  Enter 
thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord  ? " 

15.  "  And  him  that  will  come  to  me,  I  will 
not  cast  out.  For  I  came  down  from  heaven, 
not  to  do  mine  own  will,  but  the  will  of  Him 
that  sent  me."  Is  it  for  that  reason  that 
Thou  wilt  not  cast  out  him  that  shall  come 
unto  Thee,  because  Thou  hast  descended 
from  heaven,  not  to  do  Thine  own  will,  but 
the  will  of  Him  that  sent  Thee?  Great 
mystery  !  I  beseech  you,  let  us  knock  to 
gether;  something  may  come  forth  to  us 
which  may  feed  us,  according  to  that  which 
has  delighted  us.  That  great  and  sweet 
secret  dwelling-place:  "  He  that  will  come  to 
me."  Give  heed,  give  heed,  and  weigh  the 
matter:  "  He  that  will  come  unto  me,  I  will 
not  cast  out."  Why  ?  "  Because  I  came 
down  from  heaven,  not  to  do  my  own  will, 
but  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  me."  Is  it  then 
the  very  reason  why  Thou  easiest  not  out 
him  that  cometh  unto  Thee,  that  Thou 
earnest  down  from  heaven,  not  to  do  Thy  own 
will,  but  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  Thee? 
The  very  reason.  Why  do  we  ask  whether 
it  be  the  same?  The  same  it  is;  Himself 
says  it.  For  it  would  not  be  right  in  us  to 
suspect  Him  to  mean  other  than  He  says, 
"  Whoso  will  come  to  me,  I  will  not  cast  out." 
And,  as  if  fehou  askedst,  wherefore  ?  He 
answered,  "  Because  I  came  not  to  do  my 
own  will,  but  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  me." 
I  am  afraid  that  the  reason  why  the  soul  went 
forth  away  from  God  is,  that  it  was  proud; 
nay,  I  do  not  doubt  it.  For  it  is  written, 
"  Pride  is  the  beginning  of  all  sin;  and  the 
beginning  of  man's  pride  is  a  falling  away 
from  God."  It  is  written,  it  is  firm  and  sure, 
it  is  true.  And  hence  what  is  said  of  proud 
mortal  man,  clad  in  the  tattered  rags  of  the 
flesh,  weighed  down  with  the  weight  of  a  cor 
ruptible  body,  and  withal  extolling  himself, 
and  forgetting  with  what  skni-coat  ne  is  doth 
ed, — what,  I  ask,  saith  the  Scripture  to  him? 


'•• 


1 66 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE   XXV, 


"  Wuy  is  dust  and  ashes  proud?"  Why 
proud!  Let  the  Scripture  tell  why.  "  lie- 
cause  in  his  life  he  put  forth  his  inmost 
parts."'  What  is  "  put  forth,"  biit  "threw 
afar  off "  ?  This  is  to  go  forth  away.  For 
to  enter  within,  is  to  long  after  the  inmost  j 
parts;  to  put  forth  the  inmost  parts,  is  to 
go  forth  away.  The  proud  man  puts  forth 
the  inmost  parts,  the  humble  man  earnestly 
desires  the  inmost  parts.  If  we  are  cast  out 
by  pride,  let  us  return  by  humility. 

16.  Pride  is  the  source  of  all  diseases, 
because  pride  is  the  source  of  all  sins.  When 
a  physician  removes  a  disorder  from  the  body, 
if  he  merely  cures  the  malady  produced  by 
some  particular  cause,  but  not  the  cause  itself, 
he  seems  to  heal  the  patient  for  a  time,  but 
while  the  cause  remains,  the  disease  will  repeat 
itself.  For  example,  to  speak  of  this  more 
expressly,  some  humor  in  the  body  produces 
a  scurf  or  sores;  there  follows  a  high  fever, 
and  not  a  little  pain;  certain  remedies  are 
applied  to  repress  the  scurf,  and  to  allay  that 
heat  of  the  sore;  the  remedies  are  applied, 
and  they  do  good;  thou  seest  the  man  who 
was  full  of  sores  and  scurf  healed;  but  be 
cause  that  humor  was  not  expelled,  it  returns 
again  to  ulcers.  The  physician,  perceiving 
this,  purges  away  the  humor,  removes  the 
cause,  and  there  will  be  no  more  sores. 
Whence  doth  iniquity  abound  ?  From  pride. 
Cure  pride  and  there  will  be  no  more  iniquity. 
Consequently,  that  the  cause  of  all  diseases 
might  be  cured,  namely,  pride,  the  Son  of 
God  came  down  and  was  made  low.  Why 
art  thou  proud,  O  man  ?  God,  for  thee, 
became  low.  Thou  wouldst  perhaps  be 
ashamed  to  imitate  a  lowly  man;  at  any  rate, 
imitate  the  lowly  God.  The  Son  of  God 
came  in  the  character  of  a  man  and  was  made 
low.  Thou  art  taught  to  become  humble,  not 
of  a  man  to  become  a  brute.  He,  being  God, 
became  man;  do  thou,  O  man,  recognize  that 
thou  art  man.  Thy  whole  humility  is  to 
know  thyself.  Therefore  because  God  teaches 
humility,  He  said,  "  I  came  not  to  do  my 
own  will,  but  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  me." 
For  this  is  the  commendation  of  humility. 
Whereas  pride  doeth  its  own  will,  humility 
doeth  the  will  of  God.  Therefore,  "  \Vhoso 
cometh  to  me,  I  will  not  cast  him  out." 
Why  ?  "  Because  I  came  not  to  do  my  own 
will,  but  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  me."  I 
came  humble,  I  came  to  teach  humility,  I 
came  a  master  of  humility:  he  that  cometh  to 
me  is  made  one  body  with  me;  he  that 
cometh  to  me  becomes  humble;  he  who  ad- 
nereth  to  me  will  be  humble,  because  he 


doeth  not  his  own  will,  but  the  will  of  God; 
and  therefore  he  shall  not  be  cast  out,  for 
when  he  was  proud  he  was  cast  out. 

17.  See  those  inner  things  commended  to 
us  in  the  psalm:  "But  the  sons  of  men  will 
put  their  trust  in  the  covering  of  Thy  wings." 
See  what  it  is  to  enter  within;  see  what  it  is 
to  flee  for  refuge  to  His  protection;  see  what 
it  is  to  run  even  under  the  Father's  lash,  for 
He  scourgeth  every  son  whom  He  receiveth. 
"  But  the  j>ons  of  men  shall  put  their  trust 
under  the  cover  of  Thy  wings."  What  is 
within?  "They  shall  be  filled  with  the 
plenteousness  of  Thy  house,"  when  Thou  shalt 
have  sent  them  within,  entering  into  the  joy 
of  their  Lord;  "  they  shall  be  filled  with  the 
plenteousness  of  Thy  house;  and  Thou  shalt 
give  them  to  drink  of  the  stream  of  Thy 
pleasure.  For  with  Thee  is  the  fountain  of 
life."  Not  away  without  Thee,  but  within 
with  Thee,  is  the  fountain  of  life.  "  And  in 
Thy  light  we  shall  see  light.  Show  Thy 
mercy  upon  them  that  know  Thee,  and  Thy 
righteousness  to  them  that  are  of  upright 
heart."  They  who  follow  the  will  of  their 
Lord,  not  seeking  their  own,  but  the  things 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  they  are  the  up 
right  in  heart,  their  feet  shall  not  be  moved. 
For  "God  is  good  to  Israel,  to  the  upright 
in  heart.  But,  as  for  me,  says  he,  my  feet 
were  almost  moved."  Why?  "Because  I 
was  jealous  at  sinners,  looking  at  the  peace 
of  sinners."2  To  whom  is  God  good  then, 
unless  to  the  upright  in  heart  ?  For  God  was 
displeasing  to  me  when  my  heart  was  crooked. 
Why  displeasing?  Because  He  gave  happi 
ness  to  the  wicked,  and  therefore  my  feet 
tottered,  as  if  I  had  served  God  in  vain.  For 
this  reason,  then,  my  feet  were  almost  moved, 
because  I  was  not  upright  of  heart.  What 
then  is  upright  in  heart  ?  Following  the  will 
of  God.  One  man  is  prosperous,  another 
man  toils;  the  one  lives  wickedly  and  yet  is 
prosperous,  the  other  lives  rightly  and  is  dis 
tressed.  Let  not  him  that  lives  rightly  and 
is  in  distress  be  angry;  he  has  within  what  the 
prosperous  man  has  not:  let  him  therefore  not 
be  saddened,  nor  vex  himself,  nor  faint.  That 
prosperous  man  has  gold  in  his  own  chest; 
this  other  has  God  in  his  conscience.  Com 
pare  now  gold  and  God,  chest  and  conscience. 
The  former  has  that  which  perishes,  and  has 
it  where  it  will  perish;  the  latter  has  God, 
who  cannot  perish,  and  has  Him  there  whence 
He  cannot  be  taken  away:  only  if  he  is  up 
right  in  heart;  for  then  He  enters  within  and 
goeth  not  out.  For  that  reason,  what  said 
he  ?  "  For  with  Thee  is  the  fountain  of  life:  " 


LT1     \XV.| 


ON    I  111;  GOSPEL  OI   ST.    [OHN. 


167 


not  with  us.  We  must  therefore  enter  within, 
that  we  may  live,  we  must  not  lie,  as  it  were, 
content  to  perish,  nor  willing  to  be  satisfied 
of  our  own,  to  be  dried  up,  but  we  must  put 
our  mouth  to  the  very  fountain,  where  the 
water  fails  not.  iSccaiise  Adam  wished  to  live 
by  his  own  counsel,  he,  too,  fell  through  him 
who  had  fallen  before  through  pride,  who  in 
vited  him  to  drink  of  the  cup  of  his  own  pride. 
Wherefore,  because  "with  Thee  is  the  foun 
tain  of  life,  and  in  Thy  light  we  shall  see 
light,"  let  us  drink  within,  let  us  see  within. 
Why  was  there  a  going  out  thence  ?  Hear 
why:  "  Let  not  the  foot  of  pride  come  to 
me/'  Therefore  he,  to  whom  the  foot  of 
pride  came,  went  out.  Show  that  therefore 
lie  went  out.  "And  let  not  the  hands  of  sin 
ners  move  me;"  because  of  the  foot  of 
pride.  Why  sayest  thou  this?  "They  are 
fallen,  all  they  that  work  iniquity."  Where 
are  they  fallen  ?  In  their  very  pride.  "They 
were  driven  out,  and  they  could  not  stand"1 
If,  then,  pride  drove  them  out  who  were  not 
able  to  stand,  humility  sends  them  in  who  can 
stand  for  ever.  For  this  reason,  moreover, 
he  who  said,  "The  bones  that  were  brought 
low  shall  rejoice,"*  said  before,  "Thou  shall 
give  joy  and  gladness  to  my  hearing."  What 
does  he  mean  by,  "to  my  hearing"?  By 
hearing  Thee  I  am  happy;  because  of  Thy 
voice  I  am  happy;  by  drinking  within  I  am 
happy.  Therefore  do  I  not  fall;  therefore 
"the  bones  that  were  brought  low  will  re 
joice;"  therefore  "the  friend  of  the  Bride 
groom  standeth  and  heareth  Him;  "  therefore 
he  stands,  because  he  hears.  He  drinks  of 
the  fountain  within,  therefore  he  stands.  They 
who  willed  not  to  drink  of  the  fountain  with 
in,  "  there  are  they  fallen:  they  were  driven, 
they  were  not  able  to  stand." 

1 8.  Thus,  the  teacher  of  humility  came 
not  to  do  His  own  will,  but  the  will  of  Him 
that  sent  Him.  Let  us  come  to  Him,  enter 
in  unto  Him,  be  ingrafted  into  Him,  that  we 
may  not  be  doing  our  own  will,  but  the  will  of 
God:  and  He  will  not  cast  us  out,  because 
we  are  His  members,  because  He  willed  to  be 
our  head  by  teaching  us  humility.  Finally, 
hear  Himself  discoursing:  "  Come  unto  me, 
ye  who  labor  and  are  heavy  laden:  take  my 
yoke  upon  you,  and  learn  "of  me;  for  I  am 
meek  and  lowly  of  heart:  "  and  when  ye 
have  learned  this,  "  ye  shall  find  rest  for  your 


1  Ps.  xxxvi.  8-13. 


souls,"  '  from    w 

Mse  I  am  come  down   Irom    heaven,  not 

to  do  my  own  will,  but   the  will   of   Him  that 

sent   me;"     1   teach   humility;    none    but  the 

humble    can   come    unto    me.      Only    pride 

casteth  out;    how  can  he  go  out  who  keeps 

[humility  and  falls  not  away  from  the  truth? 

So  much  as  could  be  said  about  the  hidden 

(sense  has  now  been  said,  brethren:  this  sense 

I  is  hidden  enough,  and  I  know  not  whether  I 

j  have  drawn  out  and  shaped  in  suitable  words 

for  you,  why  it  is  that  He  casteth  not  out  him 

,  that  cometh  unto  Him;  because  He  came  not 

to  do  His  own  will,  but  the  will  of  Him  that 

sent  Him. 

19.   "And  this,"  saith  He,  "  is  the  will  of 
the  Father  that  sent,  lhal  of  all  that  He  hath 
given  me  I  should  lose  nothing."     He  that 
keeps  humility  was  given  to  Him;  the  same 
He  receives:  he  that  keeps  not  humility  is  far 
1  from  the  Master  of  humility.     "  That  of  all 
which  He  hath  given  me,  I  should   lose  noth 
ing."     "So  it  is  not  the  will  of  your  Father 
I  that  one  of  these  little  ones  should  perish." 
j  Of  the  proud,  there  may  perish;    but  of  the 
I  little  ones,  none  perisheth;    because,  "if  ye 
will  nol  become  as  this  little  one,  ye  shall  not 
|  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."     "  Of  all 
that  the  Father  hath  given  me,  I  should  lose 
nothing,  but  I  will  raise  it  up  again  on  the 
last  day."     See  how  here  He  delineates  that 
•  twofold     resurrection.       "  He    that    cometh 
!  unto    me"    immediately    rises    again,   being 
i  made  humble  in  my  members;  but  I  will  raise 
him  up  again  on  the  last  day  also  according 
to  the  flesh.     "For  this   is  the  will  of   my 
Father  that  sent  me,  that  every  one  who  seeth 
I  the  Son.  and  believeth  on   Him,   may    have 
eternal  life;  and  I  will  raise  him  upon  the  last 
day."     He  said  above,  "  Whoso  heareth  my 
word,  and  believeth  Him  that  sent  me:"  but 
|  now,  "Whoso  seeth  the  Son,  and   believeth 
on   Him."     He  has  not  said,  seeth  the  Son, 
and  believeth  on  the  Father;   for  to  believe 
on  the  Son  is  the  same  thing  as  to  believe  on 
the  Father.     Because,  "  even  as  the  Father 
!  hath  life  in  Himself,  so  hath  He  given  also 
to  the  Son  to  have   life   in   Himself.     That 
\  every  one  who  seeth  the  Son,  and  believeth 
!  on  Him,  may  have  eternal  life:"  by  believing 
and  by  passing  unto  life,  just  as  by  that  first 
resurrection.     And,  because  that   is  no>   the 
only  resurrection,  He  saith,  "  And  I  will  raise 
him  up  at  the  last  day." 

3  Matt.  xJ7  28,29. 


1 68 


THK  \VOKKS  OF  ST.  A.UG1  s  n.\. 


•RACTATI  XXVI. 


TRACTATE    XXVI. 

CHAPTER  VI.  41-59. 


i.  WHEN  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  we  have 
heard  in  the  Gospel  when  it  was  read,  had 
said  that  He  was  Himself  the  bread  which 
came  down  from  heaven,  the  Jews  murmured 
and  said,  "'Is  not  Jesus  the  son  of  Joseph, 
whose  father  and  mother  we  know  ?  how 
is  it  then  that  he  saith,  I  came  down  from 
heaven  ?  "  These  Jews  were  far  off  from  the 
bread  of  heaven,  and  knew  not  how  to  hunger 
after  it.  They  had  the  jaws  of  their  heart 
languid;  with  open  ears  they  were  deaf,  they 
saw  and  stood  blind.  This  bread,  indeed, 
requires  the  hunger  of  the  inner  man:  and 
hence  He  saith  in  another  place,  "Blessed 
are  they  that  hunger  and  thirst  after  right 
eousness,  for  they  shall  be  satisfied."  l  But 
the  Apostle  Paul  says  that  Christ  is  for  us 
righteousness.-  And,  consequently,  he  that 
hungers  after  this  bread,  hungers  after  right 
eousness, — that  righteousness  however  which 
cometh  down  from  heaven,  the  righteousness 
that  God  gives,  not  that  which  man  works  for 
himself.  For  if  man  were  not  making  a 
righteousness  for  himself,  the  same  apostle 
would  not  have  said  of  the  Jews:  "  For,  being 
ignorant  of  the  righteousness  of  God,  and 
wishing  to  establish  their  own  righteousness, 
they  are  not  subject  to  the  righteousness  of 
God.'1 3  Of  such  were  these  who  understood 
not  the  bread  that  cometh  down  from  heaven; 
because  being  satisfied  with  their  own  right 
eousness,  they  hungered  not  after  the  right 
eousness  of  God.  What  is  this,  God's  right 
eousness  and  man's  righteousness  ?  God's 
righteousness  here  means,  not  that  wherein 
God  is  righteous,  but  that  which  God  bestows 
on  man,  that  man  may  be  righteous  through 
God.  But  again,  what  was  the  righteousness 
of  those  Jews  ?  A  righteousness  wrought  of 
their  own  strength  on  which  they  presumed, 
and  so  declared  themselves  as  if  they  were 
fulfillers  of  the  law  by  their  own  virtue.  But 
no  man  fulfills  the  law  but  he  whom  grace 
assists,  that  is,  whom  the  bread  that  cometh 
down  from  heaven  assists.  "  For  the  fulfill 
ing  of  the  law,"  as  the  apostle  says  in  brief, 
"is  charity."4  Charity,  that  is,  love,  not  of 
money,  but  of  God;  love,  not  of  earth  nor  of 
heaven,  but  of  Him  who  made  heaven  and 
earth.  Whence  can  man  have  that  love? 
Let  us  hear  the  same:  "  The  love  of  God," 


saith  he,  "  is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  which  is  given  unto  us."5  Where 
fore,  the  Lord,  about  to  give  the  Holy  Spirit, 
said  that  Himself  was  the  bread  that  came 
down  from  heaven,  exhorting  us  to  believe 
on  Him.  For  to  believe  on  Him  is  to  eat  the 
living  bread.  He  that  believes  eats;  he  is 
sated  invisibly,  because  invisibly  is  he  born 
again.  A  babe  within,  a  new  man  within. 
Where  he  is  made  new,  there  he  is  satisfied 
with  food. 

2.  What  then  did  the  Lord  answer  to  such 
murmurers  ?  "Murmur  not  among  your 
selves."  As  if  He  said,  I  know  why  ye  are 
not  hungry,  and  do  not  understand  nor  seek 
after  this  bread.  "Murmur  not  among  your 
selves:  no  man  can  come  unto  me,  except  the 

[  Father  that  sent  me  draw  him."  Noble  ex 
cellence  of  grace  !  No  man  comes  unless 
drawn.  There  is  whom  He  draws,  and  there 

j  is  whom  He  draws  not;  why  He  draws  one 
and  draws  not  another,  do  not  desire  to  judge, 
if  thou  desirest  not  to  err.  Accept  it  at  once 
and  then  understand;  thou  art  not  yet  drawn  ? 

:  Pray  that  thou  mayest  be  drawn.  What  do 
we  say  here,  brethren  ?  If  we  are  "  drawn'' 
to  Christ,  it  follows  that  we  believe  against 
our  will;  so  then  is  force  applied,  not  the  will 
moved.  A  man  can  come  to  Church  unwill 
ingly,  can  approach  the  altar  unwillingly,  par 
take  of  the  sacrament  unwillingly:  but  he 
cannot  believe  unless  he  is  willing.  If  we 
believed  with  the  body,  men  might  be  made  to 

j  believe  against  their  will.  But  believing  is 
not  a  thing  done  with  the  body.  Hear  the 
apostle:  "  With  the  heart  man  believeth  unto 

|  righteousness."  And  what  follows?  "And 
with  the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto  sal 
vation."6  That  confession  springs  from  the 
root  of  the  heart.  Sometimes  thou  hcarc-^t 
a  man  confessing,  and  knowest  not  whether 
he  believes.  But  thou  oughtest  not  to  call 
him  one  confessing,  if  thou  shouldest  judge 
him  to  be  one  not  believing.  For  to  confess 
is  this,  to  utter  the  thing  that  thou  hast  in  thy 
heart:  if  thou  hast  one  thing  in  thy  heart,  and 

!  another  thing  on  thy  tongue,  thou  art  speak- 

1  ing,  not  confessing.  Since,  then,  with  the 
heart  man  believeth  on  Christ,  which  no  man 
assuredly  does  against  his  will,  and  since  he 
that  is  drawn  seems  to  be  as  if  forced  against 


'  Matt.  v.  6. 
3  Rom.  x.  3. 


'  i  Cor.  i.  30. 

.  K,,m.  .xiii.  to 


5  Rom. 


ON  THE  GOSPEL  OF   SI  .   JOHN. 


11.  how   are    we    to    solve  this  <j 
"  No  man  cometh  unto  me,  e\.  e;>t  ti.e  rather 
tiiat  sent  me  draw  him  "  ? 

.?.  If  he  is  drawn,  saitii  some  one,  he 
comes  unwillingly.  It"  he  comes  unwillingly, 
then  he  believes  not;  but  if  he  believes  not, 
neither  does  he  come.  For  we  do  not  run  to 
( 'hi  ist  on  foot,  but  by  believing;  nor  is  it  by  a 
motion  of  the  body,  but  by  the  inclination  of 
the  heart  that  we  draw  nigh  to  Him.  This  is 
why  that  woman  who  touched  the  hem  of  His 
garment  touched  Him  more  than  did  the 
crowd  that  pressed  Him.  Therefore  the 
Lord  said,  "  Who  touched  me?"  And  the 
disciples  wondering  said,  "The  multitude 
throng  Thee,  and  press  Thee,  and  sayest 
Thou,  Vho  touched  me?"1  And  He  re 
peated  it,  "Somebody  hath  touched  me." 
That  woman  touched,  the  multitude  pressed. 
What  is  "touched,"  except  "believed"? 
Whence  also  He  said  to  that  woman  that 
wished  to  throw  herself  at  His  feet  after  His 
resurrection:  "  Touch  me  not;  for  I  am  not 
yet  ascended  to  the  Father. " 2  Thou  thinkest 
me  to  be  that  alone  which  thou  seest;  "  touch 
me  not."  What  is  this?  Thou  supposes! 
that  I  am  that  alone  which  I  appear  to  thee: 
do  not  thus  believe;  that  is,  "touch  me  not; 
for  I  am  not  yet  ascended  to  the  Father." 
To  thee  I  am  not  ascended,  for  thence  I  never 
departed.  She  touched  Him  not  while  He 
stood  on  the  earth;  how  then  could  she  touch 
Him  while  ascending  to  the  Father?  Thus, 
however,  thus  He  willed  Himself  to  be 
touched;  thus  He  is  touched  by  those  by 
whom  He  is  profitably  touched,  ascending  to 
the  Father,  alnding  with  the  Father,  equa\  to 
the  Father. 

4.  Thence  also  He  says  here,  if  thou  turn 
thy  attention  to  it,  "  No  man  cometh  to  me 
except  he  whom  the  Father  shall  draw."  Do 
not  think  that  thou  art  drawn  against  thy  will. 
The  mind  is  drawn  also  by  love.  Nor  ought 
we  to  be  afraid,  lest  perchance  we  be  censured 
in  regard  to  this  evangelic  word  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  by  men  who  weigh  words,  but  are 
far  removed  from  things,  most  of  all  from 
*  divine  things;  and  lest  it  be  said  to  us,  "  How 
can  I  believe  with  the  will  if  I  am  drawn?" 
I  say  it  is  not  enough  to  be  drawn  by  the  will; 
thou  art  drawn  even  by  delight.  What  is  it 
to  be  drawn  by  delight  ?  "  Delight  thyself  in 
the  Lord,  and  He  shall  give  thee  the  desires 
of  thy  heart."  '  There  is  a  pleasure  of  the 
heart  to  which  that  bread  of  heaven  is  sweet. 
Moreover,  if  it  was  right  in  the  poet  to  say. 
"  Every  man  is  drawn  by  his  own  pleasure,"  4 
— not  necessity,  but  pleasure;  not  obligation, 


I  but  delight, — ho\,  re  boldly  o 

t«.  say  tnat  a  man  is  drawn  to  Christ  w 
delights    in   the   truth,    when     lie    delights    in 
blessedness,  delights  in  righteousness,  delights 
in  everlasting  life,  all  winch  Cnrist  is  - 

;  it  the  case  that,  while  the  senses  of  the  body 
have  their  pleasures,  the  mind  is  left  without 
pleasures  of  its  own  ?  If  the  mind  has  no 
pleasures  of  its  own,  how  is  it  said,  "  The 
sons  of  men  shall  trust  under  the  cover  of 
Thy  wings:  they  shall  be  well  satisfied  with 
the  fullness  of  Thy  house;  and  Thou  shalt 

'  give    them    drink    from   the    river    of    Thy 

|  pleasure.     For  with  Thee  is  the  fountain  of 

|  life;  and  in  Thy  light  shall  we  see  light"?* 
Give  me  a  man  that  loves,  and  he  feels  what  I 
say.  Give  me  one  that  longs,  one  that 
hungers,  one  that  is  travelling  in  this  wilder 
ness,  and  thirsting  and  panting  after  the 
fountain  of  his  eternal  home;  give  such,  and 

!  he  knows  what  I  say.     But  if  I  speak  to  the 

|  cold  and  indifferent,  he  knows  not  what  I  say. 
Such  were  those  who  murmured  among  them- 

1  selves.  "  He  whom  the  Father  shall  draw," 
saith  He,  "cometh  unto  me." 

5  But  what  is  this,  "Whom  the  Fatner 
shall  draw,"  when  Christ  Himself  draws? 
Why  did  He  say,  "  Whon  the  Father  shall 
draw  "  ?'  If  we  must  be  drawn,  let  us  be  drawn 
by  Him  to  whom  one  who  loves  says,  "  We 

j  will  run  after  the  odor  of  Thine  ointment."6 
But  let  us,  brethren,  turn  our  minds  to,  and,  as 
far  as  we  can,  apprehend  how  He  would  have 

I  us  understand  it.  The  Father  draws  to  the 
Son  those  who  believe  on  the  Son,  because 

|  they  consider  tiiat  God  is  His  Father.      For 

j  God  begat  the  Son  equal  to  Himself,  so  that 

!  he  who'  ponders,  and  in  his  faith  feels  and 
muses  that  He  on  whom  he  has  believed  is 

|  equal  to  the  Father,  this  same  is  drawn  of  the 
Father  to  the  Son.  Arius  believed  the  Son 
to  be  creature:  the  Father  drew  not  him; 
for  he  that  believes  not  the  Son  to  be  equal 
to  the  Father,  considers  not  the  Father. 
What  sayest  thou,  Arius  ?  What,  O  heretic, 
dost  thou  speak  ?  What  is  Christ  ?  Not  very 
God,  saith  he,  but  one  whom  very  God  has 
made.  The  Father  has  not  drawn  thee,  for 
thou  hast  not  understood  the  Father,  whose 
Son  thou  deniest:  it  is  not  the  Son  Himself 
but  something  else  that  thou  art  thinking  of. 

|  Thou  art  neither  drawn  by  the  Father  nor 
drawn  to  the  Son;  for  the  Son  is  very  differ- 
ent  from  what  thou  sayest.  Photius  said, 
"  Christ  is  only  a  man,  he  is  not  also 

:  The   Father  hath   not  drawn   him   who   thus 

believes.     One  whom  the  Father  has  drawn 

;'  Thou  art  Christ,    Son  of   the  living 


1  I.ukr  viii.  45. 
*  Trakit  tuti  •jt 


nhti  \> 


5  Ps.  xxxvi. 


*  Cant.  i.  3. 


THK   WORKS  ()!••  ST.    AUGU'STIN. 


[TRACTATI  xxvi. 


God."  Not  as  a  prophet,  not  as  John,  not  and  He  that  watereth  work  from  without:  this 
as  some  great  and  just  man,  but  as  rlie  only,  is  what  we  do.  But  "  neither  he  that  planteth 
the  equal,  "  Thou  art  Christ,  Son  of  the  living  is  anything,  nor  he  that  watereth;  but  (iod 
God."  See  that  he  was  drawn,  and  drawn  by  that  giveth  the  increase.""  That  is,  "  they 
the  Father.  '' Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bar- :  shall  be  all  taught  of  God."  All  who? 
jonas:  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed  i  "  Every  one  who  has  heard  and  learned  of 
it  to  thee,  but  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven."1  [the  Father  cometh  unto  me."  See  how  the 
This  revealing  is  itself  the  drawing.  Thou  |  Father  draws:  He  delights  by  teaching,  not 
boldest  out  a  green  twig  to  a  sheep,  and  thou  i  by  imposing  a  necessity.  Behold  how  He 
drawest  it.  Nuts  are  shown  to  a  child,  and  |  draws:  "They  shall  be  all  taught  of  God." 
he  is  attracted;  he  is  drawn  by  what  he  runs  i  This  is  God's  drawing.  "Every  man  that 


to,  drawn  by  loving  it,  drawn  without  hurt  to 
the  body,  drawn  by  a  cord  of  the  heart.  If, 
then,  these  things,  which  among  earthly 
delights  and  pleasures  are  shown  to  them  that 
love  them,  draw  them,  since  it  is  true  that 


hath  heard,  and  hath  learned  of  the  Father, 
cometh  unto  me."     This  is  God's  drawing. 

8.  What  then,  brethren?  If  every  man 
who  has  heard  and  learned  of  the  Father,  the 
same  cometh  unto  Christ,  has  Christ  taught 
nothing  here  ?  What  shall  we  say  to  this, 
that  men  who  have  not  seen  the  Father  as 


"  every  man  is  drawn  by  his  own  pleasure," 

does  not  Christ,  revealed  by  the  Father,  draw  ? 

For  what  does  the  soul  more  strongly  desire  j  their  teacher  have  seen  the  Son  ?     The  Son 

than  the  truth  ?     For  what  ought  it  to  have  a  spake,  but  the  Father  taught.   I,  being  a  man, 

greedy  appetite,  with  which  to  wish  that  there   whom    do    I    teach  ?     Whom,  brethren,  but 

may  be  within  a  healthy  palate  for  judging  ' 

the  things  that  are  .true,  unless  it  be  to  eat 

and    drink     wisdom,     righteousness,    truth, 

eternity? 

6.  But  where  will  this  be  ?    There  better, 
there  more  truly,  there  more  fully.     For  here 
we  can  more  easily  hunger  than  be  satisfied, 
especially     if     we     have     good     hope:     for 
"Blessed,"  saith  He,  "are  they  that  hunger 
and  thirst  after  righteousness,"  that  is  here; 
"  for  they    shall    be  filled,"    that    is    there. 
Therefore  when  He  had  said,"  No  man  cometh 
unto  me  except  the  Father  that  sent  me  draw 
him,"  what  did   He  subjoin?     "And   I  will 
raise  him  up  in  the  last  day."     I  render  unto 
him  what  he  loves,  what  he  hopes  for:  he  will 
see  what,  not  as  yet  by  seeing,   he  has  be 
lieved;    he  shall  eat  that  which  he   hungers 
after;    he  shall  be  filled  with  that  which  he 
thirsts  after.     Where  ?    In  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead;  for  "  I  will  raise  him  up  on  the  last 
day." 

7.  For  it  is  written  in  the  prophets,  "  And 
they  shall  all  be  taught  of  God."     Why  have 
I  said  this,  O  Jews?     The   Father  has  not 
taught  you;  how  can  ye  know  me  ?     For  all 
the  men  of  that  kingdom  shall  be  taught  of 
God,  not  learn  from  men.     And  though  they 
do  learn  from  men,  yet  what  they  understand 


is  given  them 

vealed   within. 


within,  flashes  within,  is  re- 
What  do  men  that  proclaim 
tidings  from  without  ?  What  am  I  doing  even 
now  while  I  speak  ?  I  am  pouring  a  clatter  of 


him  who  has  heard  my  word?  If  I,  being  a 
man,  do  teach  him  who  hears  my  word,  the 
Father  also  teacheth  him  who  hears  His  word. 
And  if  the  Father  teacheth  him  that  hears 
His  word,  ask  what  Christ  is,  and  thou  wilt 
find  the  word  of  the  Father.  "  In  the  begin 
ning  was  the  Word."  Not  in  the  beginning 
God  made  the  Word,  just  as  "  in  the  begin 
ning  God  made  the  heaven  and  the  earth.'' 3 
Behold  how  that  He  is  not  a  creature.  Learn 
to  be  drawn  to  the  Son  by  the  Father:  that 
the  Father  may  teach  thee,  hear  His  Word. 
What  Word  of*  Him,  sayest  thou,  do  I  hear  ? 
"  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word  "  (it  is  not 
"  was  made,"  but  "  was  "  ).  "  and  the  Word 
was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God."  How 
can  men  abiding  in  the  flesh  hear  such  a 
Word  ?  "  The  Word  was  made  flesh,  and 
dwelt  among  us." 

9.  He  Himself  explains  this  also,  and  shows 
us  His  meaning  when  He  said,  "  He  that 
hath  heard  and  learned  of  the  Father  cometh 
unto  me."  He  forthwith  subjoined  what  we 
were  able  to  conceive:  "  Not  that  any  man 
hath  seen  the  Father,  save  he  who  is  of  God, 
he  hath  seen  the  Father."  What  is  that 
which  He  saith  ?  I  have  seen  the  Father, 


you  have  not  seen  the  Father;  and  yet  ye 
come  not  unto  me  unless  ye  are  drawn  by  the 
Father.  And  what  is  it  for  you  to  be  drawn 
by  the  Father  but  to  learn  of  the  Father  ? 
What  is  to  learn  of  the  Father  but  to  hear  of 
the  Father  ?  What  is  to  hear  of  the  Father 

words  into  your  ears.     What  is  that  that  I  say   but  to  'near  the  Word  of  the  Father — that  is, 
or  that  I  speak,  unless  He  that  is  within  re'-   to  hear  me?     In  case,  therefore,  when   I  say 

to  you,   "  Every  man  that    hath   heard    and 


veal  it  ?      Without  is  the  olanter  of  the  tree, 


within  is  the  tree's  Creator.     He  that  planteth 


'  Matt. 


i.  16,  .7. 


learned  of  the  Father,"  you  should  say  within 


'I  I:  \.    PAT!    \\\'l.j 


ON    i  111.  G<  ISPEJ    <  'i    S  r.  JOHN. 


yourselves,  But  we  have  never  seen  the 
Father,  how  could  we  learn  <>t'  the  leather? 
hear  from  myself:  "  Not  that  any  man  hath 
seen  the  Father,  save  He  who  is  of  God,  He 
hath  seen  the  Father."  I  know  the  Father,  1 
am  from  Him;  hut  in  that  manner  in  which  the 
Word  is  from  I  Inn  where  the  Word  is,  not  that 
which  sounds  and  passes  away,  but  that  which 
remains  with  the  speaker  and  attracts  the 
hearer. 

10.  Let  what  follows  admonish  us:  "Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you,  he  that  believeth  on 
me  hath  eternal  life."     He  willed  to  reveal 
Himself,  what  He  was:   He  might  have  said 
in  brief,  He  that  believeth  on  me  hath   me. 
For  Christ  is  Himself  true  God   and  eternal 
life.      Therefore,   he  that  believeth    on    me, 
saith  He,  goeth  into  me;  and  he  that  goeth 
into  me,  hath  me.     But  what  is  the  meaning 
of   "to  have  me"?     To   have  eternal    life. 
Eternal   life  took  death  upon   itself;  eternal 
life  willed  to  die;    but  of  thee,  not  of  itself; 
of  thee  it  received  that  whereby  it  may  die  in 
thy  behalf.     Of  men,  indeed,  He  took  flesh, 
but  yet  not   in  the   manner    of    men.      For 
having  His   Father  in    heaven,    He  chose  a 
mother  on  earth;  both  there  begotten  without 
mother,  and  here  born  without  father.     Ac 
cordingly,  life  took  upon  itself  death,  that  life 
might  slay  death.      "  For  he  that  believeth 
on  me,"  saith  He,  "hath  eternal    life:"   not 
what   is  open,  but  what  is  hid.     For  eternal 
life  is  the  Word,  that  "  in  the  beginning  was 
with  God,  and  the  Word   was  God,  and  the 
life  was  the  light  of  men."     The  same  eternal 
life  gave  eternal  life  also  to  the  flesh  which  it 
assumed.      He  came  to  die;   but  on  the  third 
day  He  rose  again.      Between  the  Word  tak 
ing  flesh  and  the    flesh  rising    again,  death 
which  came  between  was  consumed. 

11.  "I  am,"  saith  He,  "  the  bread  of  life." 
And  what  was   the    source    of    their  pride  ? 
*'  Your  fathers,"  saith  He,  "  did  eat  manna  in 
the  wilderness,  and  are  dead."     What  is  it 
whereof  ye  are   proud  ?     "  They  ate  manna, 
and  are  dead."     Why  they  ate  and  are  dead  ? 
Because  they  believed  that  which  they  saw; 
what  they  saw  not,  they  did  not  understand. 
Therefore  were  they  "  your"  fathers,  because 
you  are  like  them.     For  so  far,  my  brethren, 
as  relates  to  this  visible  corporeal  death,  do 
not  we  too  die  who  eat  the  bread  that  cometh 
down   from   heaven  ?     They  died   just  as  we 
shall   die,  so   far,  as   I   said,  as   relates  to  the 
visible  and  carnal  death  of  this  body.      I'.tit 
so   far  as   relates    to  that   death,   concerning 
which  the  Lord  warns  us  by  fear,  anil  in  which 
their  fathers  died:  Moses  ate   manna,  Aaron 
ate   manna,  Phinehas  ate   manna,  and    many 
ate  manna,  who  were  pleasing  to  the   Lord, 


and  they  are  not  dead.  Why 
understood  the  visible  food  spiritually,  hun 
gered  spiritually,  tasted  spiritually,  that  they 
might  be  filled  spiritually.  For  evci 
this  day  n •<  eive  visible  food:  but  the 
ment  is  one  thing,  the  virtue  of  the  sacrament 
another.  How  many  do  receive  at  the  altar 
and  die,  and  die  indeed  by  receiving  ?  Whence 
the  apostle  saith,  "  Eateth  and  drinketh  judg 
ment  to  himself."1  For  it  was  not  the  mouth 
ful  given  by  the  Lord  that  was  the  poison  to 
Judas.  And  yet  he  took  it;  and  when  he 
took  it,  the  enemy  entered  into  him:  not 
because  he  received  an  evil  thing,  but  because 
he  being  evil  received  a  good  thing  in  an  evil 
way.  See  ye  then,  brethren,  that  ye  eat  the 
heavenly  bread  in  a  spiritual  sense;  bring  in 
nocence  to  the  altar.  Though  your  sins  are 
daily,  at  least  let  them  not  be  deadly.  Before 
ye  approach  the  altar,  consider  well  what  ye 
are  to  say:  '*  Forgive  us  our  debts,  even  as 
we  forgive  our  debtors."  3  Thou  forgivest,  it 
shall  be  forgiven  thee:  approach  in  peace,  it 
is  bread,  not  poison.  But  see  whether  thou 
forgivest;  for  if  thou  dost  not  forgive,  thou 
liest,  and  liest  to  Him  whom  thou  canst  not 
deceive.  Thou  canst  lie  to  God,  but  thou 
canst  not  deceive  God.  He  knows  what  thou 
doest.  He  sees  thee  within,  examines  thee 
within,  inspects  within,  judges  within,  and 
within  He  either  condemns  or  crowns.  But 
the  fathers  of  these  Jews  were  evil  fathers  of 
evil  sons,  unbelieving  fathers  of  unbelieving 
sons,  murmuring  fathers  of  murmurers.  For 
in  no  other  thing  is  that  people  said  to  have 
offended  the  Lord  more  than  in  murmuring 
against  God.  And  for  that  reason,  the  Lord, 
willing  to  show  those  men  to  be  the  children 
of  such  murmurers,  thus  begins  His  address 
to  them:  "  Why  murmur  ye  among  your 
selves,"  ye  murmurers,  children  of  mur 
murers  ?  Your  fathers  did  eat  manna,  and 
are  dead;  not  because  manna  was  an  evil 
thing,  but  because  they  ate  it  in  an  evil 
manner. 

12.  "  This  is  the  bread  which  cometh  down 
from  heaven."  Manna  signified  this  bread; 
God's  altar  signified  this  bread.  Those  were 
sacraments.  In  the  signs  they  were  diverse; 
in  the  thing  which  was  signified  they  were 
alike.  Hear  the  apostle:  '*  For  I  would  not 
that  ye  should  be  ignorant,  brethren,"  saith 
he,  "  that  all  our  fathers  were  under  the 
cloud,  and  all  passed  through  the  sea;  and 
were  all  baptized  unto  Moses  in  the  cloud  and 
in  the  sea;  and  did  all  eat  the  same  spiritual 
meat."  Of  course,  the  same  spiritual  ment; 
for  corporally  it  was  another:  since  they  ate 


TI1K  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACT  MI    XXVI. 


manna,  we  eat  another  thing;  but  the  spiritual 
was   the    same   as   that   which    we   eat.       Hut 
"our"  fathers,  not  the  fathers  of  those  Jews; 
those  to  whom  we  are  like,  not  those  to  whom 
they  were   like.      Moreover  he  adds:  "  And 
did  all  drink  the  same  spiritual  drink."     They 
one  kind  of  drink,  we  another,  but  only  in  the 
visible   form,  which,   however,    signified    the 
same  thing  in  its  spiritual  virtue.     For  how  I 
was  it  that  they  drank  the   "  same  drink  "  ?j 
*'  They  drank,"  saith   he,  "of  the  spiritual 
Rock  that  followed  them,  and  that  Rock  was 
Christ."1     Thence    the    bread,  thence    the: 
drink.     The  rock  was  Christ  in  sign;  the  real 
Christ  is  in  the  Word  and  in  flesh.     And  how ! 
did  they  drink  ?     The  rock  was  smitten  twice  j 
with  a  rod;  the  double  smiting  signified  the 
two  wooden  beams   of    the   cross.      "  This, 
then,   is  the  bread  that  cometh  down    from 
heaven,  that  if  any  man  eat  thereof,  he  shall 
not  die.1'     But  this   is  what  belongs  to  the  i 
virtue  of  the   sacrament,  not  to  the  visible 
sacrament;  he  that  eateth  within,  not  without; 
who  eateth  in  his  heart,  not  who  presses  with 
his  teeth. 

13.  "I  am  the  living  bread,  which  came  i 
down  from  heaven."  For  that  reason  *'  liv 
ing,"  because  1  came  down  from  heaven. 
The  manna  also  came  down  from  heaven;  but 
the  manna  was  only  a  shadow,  this  is  the 
truth.  "If  any  man  eat  of  this  bread,  he 
shall  live  for  ever:  and  the  bread  that  I  will 
give  is  my  flesh,  for  the  life  of  the  world." 
When  did  flesh  comprehend  this  flesh  which 
He  called  bread  ?  That  is  called  flesh  which 
flesh  does  not  comprehend,  and  for  that  reason 
all  the  more  flesh  does  not  comprehend  it, 
that  it  is  called  flesh.  For  they  were  terrified 
at  this:  they  said  it  was  too  much  for  them; 
they  thought  it  impossible.  "Is  my  flesh," 
saith  He,  "for  the  life  of  the  world."  Be 
lievers  know  the  body  of  Christ,  if  they ! 
neglect  not  to  be  the  body  of  Christ.  Let 
them  become  the  body  of  Christ,  if  they  wish 
to  live  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  None  lives  by 
the  Spirit  of  Christ  but  the  body  of  Christ. 
Understand,  my  brethren,  what  I  mean  to 
say.  Thou  art  a  man ;  thou  hast  both  a  spirit 
and  a  body.  I  call  that  a  spirit  which  is  called  , 
the  soul;  that  whereby  it  consists  that  thou 
art  a  man.  for  thou  consistest  of  soul  and 
body.  And  so  thou  hast  an  invisible  spirit 
and  a  visible  body.  Tell  me  which  lives  of 
the  other:  does  thy  spirit  live  of  thy  body,  or 
thy  body  of  thy  spirit  ?  Every  man  that  lives 
can  answer;  and  he  that  cannot  answer  this,  , 
I  know  not  whether  he  lives:  what  doth  every 
man  that  lives  answer '  My  body,  of  course,  I 


lives  by  my  spirit.  Wouldst  thou  then  al><> 
live  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  Be  in  the  body 
of  Christ.  For  surely  my  body  does  not  live 
by  thy  spirit.  My  body  lives  by  my  spirit, 
and  thy  body  by  thy  spirit.  The  body  of 
Christ  cannnot  live  but  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ. 
It  is  for  this  that  the  Apostle  Paul,  expound 
ing  this  bread,  says:  "  One  bread,"  saitli  he, 
"  we  being  many  are  one  body."  2  O  mystery 
of  piety !  O  sign  of  unity !  O  bond  of 
charity  !  He  that  would  live  has  where  to 
live,  has  whence  to  live.  Let  him  draw  near, 
let  him  believe;  let  him  be  embodied,  that  he 
may  be  made  to  live.  Let  him  not  shrink 
from  the  compact  of  members;  let  him  not 
be  a  rotten  member  that  deserves  to  be  cut 
off;  let  him  not  be  a  deformed  member 
whereof  to  be  ashamed;  let  him  be  a  fair,  fit, 
and  sound  member;  let  him  cleave  to  the 
body,  live  for  God  by  God:  now  let  him  labor 
on  earth,  that  hereafter  he  may  reign  in 
heaven. 

14.  The     Jews,   therefore,    strove    among 
themselves,  saying,  "  How  can  this  man  give 
us  his  flesh  to  eat?"     They  strove,  and  that 
among  themselves,  since  they  understood  not, 
neither  wished  to  take  the  bread  of  concord: 
"  for  they  who  eat  such   bread  do  not  strive 
with  one  another;  for  we  being  many  are  one 
bread,  one  body."     And  by  this  bread,  "  God 
makes  people  of  one  sort  to  dwell  in  a  house."  3 

15.  But  that  which  they  ask,  while  striving 
among  themselves,  namely,  how  the  Lord  can 
give  His  flesh  to  he  eaten,  they  do  not  im 
mediately  hear:  but  further  it  is  said  to  them, 
"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  except  ye  eat 
the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  man,  and  drink   His 
blood,  ye  will   have  no  life  in  you."     How, 
indeed,  it  may  be  eaten,  and  what  may  be  the 
mode  of  eating  this  bread,  ye  are  ignorant  of; 
nevertheless,  "except  ye  eat  the  flesh  of  the 
Son  of  man,  and  drink  His  blood,  ye  will  not 
have  life  in  you."     He  spoke  these  words, 
not  certainly  to  corpses,  but  to   living  men. 
Whereupon,    lest   they,  understanding    it    to 
mean  this  life,  should  strive  about  this  thing 
also,  He  going  on  added,  "  Whoso  eateth  my 
flesh,   and  drinketh  my  blood,    hath   eternal 
life."     Wherefore,    he    that    eateth    not   this 
bread,  nor  drinketh  this  blood,  hath  not  this 
life;  for  men  can  have  temporal  life  without 
that,  but  they  can  noways  have  eternal  life.   He 
then  that  eateth  not  His  flesh,  nor  drinketh  His 
blood,  hath  no  life  in  him;  and  he  that  eateth 
His  flesh,  and  drinketh  His  blood,  hath  life. 
This  epithet,  eternal,  which  He  used,  answers 
to  both.     It  is  not  so  in  the  case  of  that  food 
which  we  take  for  the  purpose  of  sustaining 


1  i  Cor.  x.  17. 


II    \  \\  I.  J 


ON     I  111.  (,(  iSI'F.L  ol-    S  I  .    Ji  MIX. 


this  temjx>rnl  life.  For  IK-  who  will  not  take 
it  shall  not  live,  nor  yet  shall  he  wiio  will  take 
it  live.  For  very  many,  even  who  have  taken 
it,  die;  it  may  be  by  old  aye,  or  by  <i 


or  by  some  Other  casualty.       I'-ut  in    this 
and   drink,  that  is.  in   the  body  and  blood  of 
tiie  Ford,  it  is  not  so.      For  both  he  that  doth 
not  take  it  hath  no  life,  and  he  that  doth  take    i 


ami   another  umi\  uster- 

:her  ol"  many  !•• 
18.    In  a  word,  He  now  explains   'now  that 


which   He   ip  .:ncs  to  pa*-,,  and    what 


it  hath  life,  and  that  indeed  eternal  life.     And 

thus  He  would  have  this  meat  and  drink  to 

be  understood  as  meaning  the  fellowship  of 

\vn   body  and   members,  which   is  the 


it  is  to  eat  His  body  and  to  drink    His  blood. 
"  He  that  eateth  my  flesh,  and  drmketh  my 
blood,  dwelleth  in  me,  and  I  in  him."    This  it 
therefore,  for  a  man  to  eat  that  meat  and 


to  drink  that  drink,  to  dwell  in  Christ,  and  to 
have  Christ  dwelling  in  him.  Consequently, 
he  that  dwelleth  not  in  Christ,  and  in  whom 
Christ  dwelleth  not,  doubtless  neither  eateth 


holy  Church  in  his  predestinated,  and  called,    His  flesh  [spiritually]  nor  drmketh  His  blood 
ami    justified,  and   glorified    saints    and    be- I  [although  he  may  press  the  sacrament  of  the 


lievers.  Of  these,  the  first  is  already  effected, 
namely,  predestination;  the  second  and  third, 
that  is,  the  vocation  and  justification,  have 
taken  place,  are  taking  place,  and  will  take 
place;  but  the  fourth,  namely,  the  glorifying, 
is  at  present  in  hope,  but  a  thing  future  in 
realization.  The  sacrament  of  this  thing, 
namely,  of  the  unity  of  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ,  is  prepared  on  the  Lord's  table  in  some 
places  daily,  in  some  places  at  certain  inter 
vals  of  days,  and  from  the  Lord's  table  it  is 
taken,  by  some  to  life,  by  some  to  destruction: 
but  the  thing  itself,  of  which  it  is  the  sacra 
ment,  is  for  every  man  to  life,  for  no  man  to 
destruction,  whosoever  shall  have  been  a  par 
taker  thereof. 

1 6.  But  lest  they  should  suppose  that  eter 
nal  life  was  promised  in  this  meat  and  drink 
in  such  manner  that  they  who  should  take  it 
should    not  even  now  die    in  the    body,   He 
condescended  to  meet  this  thought;  for  when 
He  had  said,  "  He  that  eateth  my  flesh,  and 
drinketh   my   blood,  hath   eternal    life,"  He 
forthwith  subjoined,  "  and  I  will  raise  him  up 
on  the  last  day."     That  meanwhile,  accord- 
ing  to  the  Spirit,  he  may  have  eternal  life  in 
that  rest  into  which  the  spirits  of  the  saints 
are  received;  but  as  to  the  body,  he  shall  not 
be  defrauded  of  its  eternal  life,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  he  shall  have  it  in  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead  at  the  last  day. 

17.  "For  my  flesh,"  saith  He,  "is  meat 
indeed,  and  my  blood  is  drink  indeed."     For 
whilst  by  meat  and  drink  men  seek  to  attain 
to  this,  neither  to  hunger  nor  thirst,  there  is 


body  and  blood  of  Christ  carnally  and  visibly 
with  his  teeth],  but  rather  doth  he  eat  and 
drink  the  sacrament  of  so  great  a  thing  to  his 
own  judgment,  because  he,  being  unclean,  has 
presumed  to  come  to  the  sacraments  of  Christ, 
which  no  man  taketh  worthily  except  he  that 
is  pure:  of  such  it  is  said,  "  Blessed  are  the 
pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God."1 

19.  "As  the  living  Father  hath  sent  me," 
saith  He,  "and  I  live  by  the  Father;  so  he 
that  eateth  me,  even  he  shall  live  by  me." 
He  says  not:  As  I  eat  the  Father,  and  live  by 
the  Father;  so  he  that  eateth  me,  the  same 
shall  live  by  me.  For  the  Son,  who  was  be 
gotten  equal,  does  not  become  better  by  par 
ticipation  of  the  Father;  just  as  we  are  made 
better  by  participation  of  the  Son,  through 
the  unity  of  His  body  and  blood,  which  thing 
that  eating  and  drinking  signifies.  We  live 
then  by  Him,  by  eating  Him;  that  is,  by  re 
ceiving  Himself  as  the  eternal  life,  which  we 
did  not  have  from  ourselves.  Himself,  how 
ever,  lives  by  the  Father,  being  sent  by  Him, 
because  "  He  emptied  Himself,  being  made 
obedient  even  unto  the  death  of  the  cross."* 
For  if  we  take  this  declaration,  "  I  live  by  the 
Father,"  3  according  to  that  which  He  says  in 
another  place,  "  The  Father  is  greater  than 
I;  "  just  as  we,  too,  live  by  Him  who  is  greater 
than  we;  this  results  from  His  being  sent. 
The  sending  is  in  fact  the  emptying  of  Him 
self,  and  His  taking  upon  Him  the  form  of 
a  servant:  and  this  is  rightly  understood, 
while  also  the  Son's  equality  of  nature  with 
the  Father  is  preserved.  For  the  Father  is 


nothing  that  truly  affords  this,  except  this  I  greater  than  the  Son  as  man,  but  He  has  the 
meat  and  drink,  which  doth  render  tnem  by  i  Son  as  God  equal, — whilst  the  same  is  both 
whom  it  is  taken  immortal  and  incorruptible; !  God  and  man.  Son  of  God  and  Son  of  man, 
that  is,  the  very  fellowship  of  the  saints, where  |one  Christ  Jesus.  To  this  effect,  if  these 


will    be    peace  and    unity,   full 


perfect. 


Therefore,  indeed,  it  is,  even  as  men  of  God 
understood  this  before  us,  that  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  has  pointed  our  minds  to  His  body  and 


words  are  rightly  understood,  He  spoke  thus: 
e  living   Father  hath   sent    me,  and    I 
live    by  the    Father;    so   he  that   eateth   me 


even  he  shall  live  by  me:  "   just  as  if  He  were 


blood  in  those  things,  which  from  being  many  to 
are  reduced  to  some  one  thing.  For  a  unity  — 
is  formed  by  many  grains  forming  togethe 


say.  My  emptying  of  myself  (in  that  He 


Matt.  v.  8. 


174 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSI  IN. 


\n.    XXVII. 


sent  me)  effected  that  I  should  live  by  the 
Father;  that  is,  should  refer  my  life  to  Him 
as  the  greater;  but  that  any  should  live  by 
me  is  effected  by  that  participation  in  which 
he  eats  me.  Therefore,  I  being  humbled, 
do  live  by  the  Father,  man  being  raised  up, 
liveth  by  me.  But  if  it  was  said,  "  I  live  by 
the  Father,''  so  as  to  mean,  that  He  is  of  the 
Father,  not  the  Father  of  Him,  it  was  said 
without  detriment  to  His  equality.  And  yet 
further,  by  saying,  "And  he  that  eateth  me, 
even  he  shall  live  by  me,"  He  did  not  signify 
that  His  own  equality  was  the  same  as  our 


equality,  but  He  thereby  showed  the  grace  of 
the  Mediator. 

20.  "This  is  the  bread  that  cometh  down 
from  heaven;"  that  by  eating  it  we  may  live, 
since  we  cannot  have  eternal  life  from  our 
selves.  Not,''  saith  He,  "as  your  fathers  did 
eat  manna,  and  are  dead:  he  that  eateth  this 
bread  shall  live  forever."  That  those  fathers 
are  dead,  He  would  have  to  be  understood  as 
meaning,  that  they  do  not  live  forever.  For 
even  they  who  eat  Christ  shall  certainly  die 
temporally;  but  they  live  forever,  because 
Christ  is  eternal  life. 


TRACTATE  XXVII. 

CHAPTER  VI.  60-72. 


i..  WE  have  just  heard  out  of  the  Gospel 
the  words  of  the  Lord  which  follow  the  former 
discourse.  From  these  a  discourse  is  due  to 
your  ears  and  minds,  and  it  is  not  unseason 
able  to-day;  for  it  is  concerning  the  body  of 
the  Lord  which  He  said  that  He  gave  to  be 
eaten  for  eternal  life.  And  He  explained 
the  mode  of  this  bestowal  and  gift  of  His,  in 
what  manner  He  gave  His  flesh  to  eat,  say 
ing,  "  He  that  eateth  my  flesh,  and  drinketh 
my  blood,  dwelleth  in  me,  and  I  in  him." 
The  proof  that  a  man  has  eaten  and  drank 
is  this,  if  he  abides  and  is  abode  in,  if  he 
dwells  and  is  dwelt  in,  if  he  adheres  so  as  not 
to  be  deserted.  This,  then,  He  has  taught 
us,  and  admonished  us  in  mystical  words  that 
we  may  be  in  His  body,  in  His  members 
under  Himself  as  head,  eating  His  flesh, 
not  abandoning  our  unity  with  Him.  But 
most  of  those  who  were  present,  by  not  under 
standing  Him,  were  offended:  for  in  hearing 
these  things,  they  thought  only  of  flesh,  that 
which  themselves  were.  But  the  apostle  says, 
and  says  what  is  true,  "To  be  carnally- 
minded  is  death.1'1  The  Lord  gives  us  His 
flesh  to  eat,  and  yet  to  understand  it  ac 
cording  to  the  flesh  is  death;  while  yet  He 
says  of  His  flesh,  that  therein  is  eternal  life. 
Therefore  we  ought  not  to  understand  the  flesh 
carnally.  As  in  these  words  that,  follow: 

2.  "  Many  therefore,"  not  of  His  enemies, 
but  "of  His  disciples,  when  they  had  heard 
this,  said.  This  is  a  hard  saying;  who  can 
hear  it?"  If  His  disciples  accounted  this 
saying  hard,  what  must  His  enemies  have 


Rom.  vii.  6. 


thought  ?  And  yet  so  it  behoved  that  to  be  said 
which  should  not  be  understood  by  all.  The 
secret  of  God  ought  to  make  men  eagerly 
attentive,  not  hostile.  But  these  men  quickly 
departed  from  Him,  while  the  Lord  said  such 
things:  they  did  not  believe  Him  to  be  saying 
something  great,  and  covering  some  grace  by 
these  words;  they  understood  just  according  to 
their  wishes,  and  in  the  manner  of  men,  that 
Jesus  was  able,  or  was  determined  upon  this, 
namely,  to  distribute  the  flesh  with  which  the 
Word  was  clothed,  piecemeal,  as  it  were,  to 
those  that  believe  on  Him.  "  This,'1  say  they, 
"  is  a  hard  saying;  who  can  hear  it  ?  " 

3.  "  But  Jesus,  knowing  in  Himself  that 
His  disciples  murmured  at  it," — for  they  so 
said  these  things  with  themselves  that  they 
might  not  be  heard  by  Him:  but  He  who 
knew  them  in  themselves,  hearing  within 
Himself, — answered  and  said,  "  This  offends 
you;  "  because  I  said,  I  give  you  my  flesh  to 
eat,  and  my  blood  to  drink,  this  forsooth 
offends  you.  "  Then  what  if  ye  shall  see  the 
Son  of  man  ascending  where  He  was  before  ?" 
What  is  this?  Did  He  hereby  solve  the 
question  that  perplexed  them  ?  Did  He 
hereby  uncover  the  source  of  their  offense  ? 
lie  did  clearly,  if  (inly  they  understood.  For 
they  supposed  that  He  was  going  to  deal  out 
His  body  to  them;  but  He  said  that  He  was 
to  ascend  into  heaven,  of  course,  whole: 
"  When  ye  shall  see  the  Son  of  man  ascend 
ing  where  He  was  before;"  certainly  then, 
at  least,  you  will  see  that  not  in  the  manner 
you  suppose  does  He  dispense  His  body; cer 
tainly  then,  at  least,  you  will  understand  that 
His  grace  is  not  consumed  by  tooth-biting. 


M.    XXVII.l 


ON  THE  GOSPEL  <»1    ST,    fOHN, 


4.  And  He  said,  "  It  is  the  Spirit  that 
quicktmeth;  tlic  llcsh  profiteth  nothing." 
I'.rt-.re  we  expound  this,  as  the  Lord  grants 
us,  that  other  must  not  be  negligently  passed 
over,  where  He  says,  "  Then  what  if  ye  shall 
Son  of  man  ascending  where  11  <•  wa-> 
before?''  For  Christ  is  the  Son  of  man,  of 


why  are  we  what  we  are,  but  that  • 
eternal  life,  which  Thou  dost  promise  ': 
flesh  ?     Then  what  means  "  the  flesh  profiteth 
nothing"?1      It  profiteth  nothing,  but   only  in 
the    manner    in    which    they    understood    it. 
They   indeed    understood    the    flesh,   just   as 
\vhen  cut  to  pieces  in  a  carcass,  or  sold  in  the 


the  Virgin  Mary.      Therefore  Son  of  man  He  ;  shambles;  not  as  when  it  is  quickened  by  the 


to  be  here  on  earth,  where  He  took 
flesh  from  the  earth.  For  which  cause  it  was 
said  prophetically,  "  Truth  is  sprung  from 
the  earth."1  Then  what  does  He  mean  when 
He  says,  "  When  ye  shall  see  the  Son  of  man 
ascending  where  He  was  before  "  ?  For  there 
had  been  no  question  if  He  had  spoken  thus: 
*'  If  ye  shall  see  the  Son  of  God  ascending 
where  He  was  before."  But  since  He  said, 
"  The  Son  of  man  ascending  where  He  was 
before,"  surely  the  Son  of  man  was  not  in 


Spirit.  Wherefore  it  is  said  that  "  the  flesh 
profiteth  nothing,"  in  the  same  manner  as  it 
is  said  that  "  knowledge  puffeth  up."  Then, 
ought  we  at  once  to  hate  knowledge  ?  Far 
from  it  !  And  what  means  "Knowledge  puffeth 
up"?  Knowledge  alone,  without  charity. 
Therefore  he  added,  "  but  charity  edifieth."  J 
Therefore  add  thou  to  knowledge  charity,  and 
knowledge  will  be  profitable,  not  by  itself,  but 
through  -charity.  So  also  here,  "  the  flesh 
profiteth  nothing,"  only  when  alone.  Let  the 


heaven  before  the  time  when  He  began  to  Spirit  be  added  to  the  flesh,  as  charity  is 
have  a  being  on  earth  ?  Here,  indeed,  He  added  to  knowledge,  and  it  profiteth  very 
said,  "where  He  was  before,"  just  as  if  much.  For  if  the  flesh  profited  nothing,  the 
He  were  not  there  at  this  time  when  -He  Word  would  not  be  made  flesh  to  dwell  among 
spoke  these  words.  But  in  another  place  He  us.  If  through  the  flesh  Christ  has  greatly 
says,  "  No  man  has  ascended  into  heaven  but  profited  us,  does  the  flesh  profit  nothing? 
He  that  came  down  from  heaven,  the  Son  of!  But  it  is  by  the  flesh  that  the  Spirit  has  done 
man  who  is  in  heaven. "•'  He  said  not  "  was,"  j  somewhat  for  our  salvation.  Flesh  was  a 
but,  saith  He,  "the  Son  of  man  who  is  in  vessel;  consider  \vhat  it  held,  not  what  it  was. 
heaven.'*  He  was  speaking  on  earth,  and  !  The  apostles  were  sent  forth;  did  their  flesh 
He  declared  Himself  to  be  in  heaven.  And  !  profit  us  nothing?  If  the  apostles'  flesh  pro- 
yet  He  did  not  speak  thus:  "No  man  hath  j  filed  us,  could  it  be  that  the  Lord's  flesh 
ascended  into  heaven  but  He  that  came  down  I  should  have  profited  us  nothing?  For  how 
from  heaven,"  the  Son  of  God,  "who  is  in  should  the  sound  of  the  Word  come  to  us 
heaven."  Whither  tends  it,  but  to  make  us  :  except  by  the  voice  of  the  flesh?  Whence 
understand  that  which  even  in  the  former  dis-  •  should  writing  come  to  us?  All  these  are 
course  I  commended  to  your  minds,  my  be- 1  operations  of  the  flesh,  but  only  when  the 
loved,  that  Christ,  both  God  and  man,  is  one  !  spirit  moves  it,  as  if  it  were  its  organ.  There- 
person,  not  two  persons,  lest  our  faith  be  not  ]  fore  "it  is  the  Spirit  that  quickeneth;  the 
a  trinity,  but  a  quaternity  ?  Christ,  there- j  flesh  profiteth  nothing,"  as  they  understood 
fore,  is  one;  the  Word,  soul  and  flesh,  one  the  flesh,  but. not  so  do  I  give  my  flesh  to  be 


.Hence  "  the  words,"  saith   He,  "  which 
lave  spoken  to  you  are   Spirit  and    life." 


Christ;  the  Son  of  God  and  Son  of  man,  one 
Christ;  Son  of  God  always,  Son  of  man  in 
time,  yet  one  Christ  in  regard  to  unity  of 
person.  In  heaven  He  was  when  He  spoke 
on  earth.  He  was  Son  of  man  in  heaven  in 
that  manner  in  which  He  was  Son  of  God  on 
earth;  Son  of  God  on  earth  in  the  flesh  which 
He  took,  Son  of  man  in  heaven  in  the  unity 
of  person. 

5.  What  is  it,  then,  that  He  adds  ?  "It 
is  the  Spirit  that  quickeneth;  the  flesh  pro- ;  us  together.  And  what  but  love  can  effect 
fiteth  nothing."  Let  us  say  to  Him  (for  He  that  unity  should  join  us  together?  And  the 
permits  us,  not  contradicting  Him,  but  desir-  love  of  dod,  whence  is  it?  Ask  the  apostle: 
Ulg  to  know),  O  Lord,  good  Master,  in  what  "  The  love  of  God,"  saith  he,  "  is  shed  abroad 
way  does  the  flesh  profit  nothing,  whilst  Thou  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Spirit  which  is  given 
hast  said,  "  Kxcept  a  man  eat  my  flesh,  and  to  us."4  Therefore  "it  is  the  Spirit  that 
drink  my  blood,  he  shall  not  have  life  in  I  quickeneth,"  for  it  is  the  Spirit  that  makes 
him?"  ( >r  does  life  profit  nothing?  And  living  members.  Nor  does  the  Spirit  make 


For  we  have  said,  brethren,  that  this  is  what 
the  Lord  had  taught  us  by  the  eating  of  His 
flesh  and  drinking  of  His  blood,  that  we 
should  abide  in  Him  and  He  in  us.  But  we 
abide  in  Him  when  we  are  His  members,  and 
He  abides  in  us  when  we  are  His  temple. 
But  that  we  may  be  His  members,  unity  joins 


John  i 


•7" 


THE  WORKS  ()]•   ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACT ATK  XXVII. 


any  members  to  be  living  except  such  as  it 
finds  in  the  body,  which  also  the  Spirit  itself 
quickens.  For  the  Spirit  which  is  in  thee,  O 
man,  by. which  it  consists  that  tliou  art  a 
man,  does  it  quicken  a  member  which  it  finds 
separated  from  thy  flesh  ?  I  call  thy  soul  thy 
spirit.  Thy  soul  quickeneth  only  the  members 
which  are  in  thy  flesh;  if  thou  takest  one 
away,  it  is  no  longer  quickened  by  thy  soul, 
because  it  is  not  joined  to  the  unity  of  thy 
body.  These  things  are  said  to  make  us  love 
unity  and  fear  separation.  For  there  is  noth 
ing  that  a  Christian  ought  to  dread  so  much 
as  to  be  separated  from  Christ's  body.  For 
if  he  is  separated  from  Christ's  body,  he  is 
not  a  member  of  Christ;  if  he  is  not  a  member 
of  Christ,  he  is  not  quickened  by  the  Spirit 
of  Christ.  "  But  if  any  man,"  saith  the 
apostle,  "have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is 
none  of  His."1  "It  is  the  Spirit,"  then, 
*'  that  quickeneth;  the  flesh  profiteth  nothing. 
The  words  that  I  have  spoken  to  you  are  spirit 
and  life."  What  means  "are  spirit  and 
life  "  ?  They  are  to  be  understood  spirit 
ually.  Hast  thou  understood  spiritually  ? 
"They  are  spirit  and  life."  Hast  thou 
understood  carnally  ?  So  also  "  are  they  spirit 
and  life,"  but  are  not  so  to  thee. 

7.  "But,"  saith  He,  "there  are  some 
among  you  that  believe  not."  He  said  not, 
There  are  some  among  you  that  understand 
not;  but  He  told  the  cause  why  they  under 
stand  not  "  There  are  some  among  you 
that  believe  not,"  and  therefore  they  under 
stand  not,  because  they  believe  not.  For 
the  prophet  has  said,  "  If  ye  believe  not,  ye 
shall  not  understand."2  We  are  united  by 
faith,  quickened  by  understanding.  Let  us 
first  adnere  to  Him  through  faith,  that  there 
may  be  that  which  may  be  quickened  by 
understanding.  For  he  who  adheres  not 
resists;  he  that  resists  believes  not.  And  how 
can  he  that  resists  be  quickened  ?  He  is  an 
adversary  to  the  ray  of  light  by  which  he 
should  be  penetrated:  he  turns  not  away  his 
eye,  but  shuts  his  mind.  "  There  are,"  then, 
"  some  who  believe  not."  Let  them  believe 
and  open,  let  them  open  and  be  illumined. 
"  For  Jesus  knew  from  the  beginning  who  they 
were  that  believed,  and  who  should  betray 
Him."  For  Judas  also  was  there.  Some 
indeed,  were  offended;  but  he  remained  to 
watch  his  opportunity,  not  to  understand. 
And  -because  he  remained  for  that  purpose, 
the  Lord  kept  not  silence  concerning  him. 
He  described  him  not  by  name,  but  neither 
was  He  silent  about  him;  that  all  might  fear 
though  only  one  should  perish.  But  after 


He  spoke,  and  distinguished  those  that  believe 
from  those  that  believe  not,  He  clearly  showed 
the  cause  why  they  believed  not.  "  There 
fore  I  said  unto  you,"  saith  He,  "  that  no 
man  can  come  unto  me  except  it  were  given 
to  him  of  my  Father."  Hence  to  believe  is 
also  given  to  us;  for  certainly  to  believe  is 
something.  And  if  it  is  something  great,  re 
joice  that  thou  hast  believed,  yet  be  not  lifted 
up;  for  "  What  hast  thou  that  thou  didst  not 
receive  ?''* 

8.  "  From  that  time  many  of  His  disciples 
went  back,  and  walked  no  more  with  Him." 
Went  back,  but  after  Satan,  not  after  Christ. 
For  our  Lord  Christ  once  addressed  Peter  as 
Satan,  rather  because  he  wished  to  precede  his 
Lord,  and  to  give  counsel  that  He  should  not 
die,  He  who  had  come  to  die,  that  we  might 
not  die  for  ever;  and  He  says  to  him,  "Get 
thee  behind  me,  Satan;  for  thou  savorest  not 
the  things  that  be  of  God,  but  the  things  that 
be  of  men."'4  He  did  not  drive  him  back  to 
go-after  Satan,  and  so  called  him  Satan;  but 
He  made  him  go  behind  Himself,  that  by 
walking  after  his  Lord  he  should  not  be  a 
Satan.  But  these  went  back  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  apostle  says  of  certain  women: 
"For  some  are  turned  back  after  Satan."5 
They  walked  not  further  with  Him.  Behold, 
cut  off  from  the  body,  for  perhaps  they  were 
not  in  the  body,  they  have  lost  life.  They 
must  be  reckoned  among  the  unbelieving, 
notwithstanding  they  were  called  disciples. 
Not  a  few,  but  "  many  went  back."  This 
happened,  it  may  be,  for  our  consolation. 
For  sometimes  it  happens  that  a  man  may 
declare  the  truth,  and  that  what  he  says  may 
not  be  understood,  and  so  they  that  hear  it 
are  offended  and  go  away.  Now  the  man 
regrets  that  he  had  spoken  that  truth,  and  he 
says  to  himself,  "  I  ought  not  to  have  spoken 
so,  I  ought  not  to  have  said  this."  Behold, 
it  happened  to  the  Lord:  He  spoke,  and  lost 
many;  He  remained  with  few.  But  yet  He 
was  not  troubled,  because  He  knew  from  the 
beginning  who  they  were  that  believed  and 
that  bslieved  not.  If  it  happen  to  us,  we  are 
sorely  perplexed.  Let  us  find  comfort  in 
the  Lord,  and  yet  let  us  speak  words  with 
prudence. 

9.  And  now  addressing  the  few  that  re 
mained:  "Then  said  Jesus  to  the  twelve" 
(namely,  those  twelve  who  remained),  "  Will 
ye  also,"  said  He,  "go  away?"  Not  even 
Judas  departed  But  it  was  already  manifest 
to  the  Lord  why  he  remained:  to  us  he  was 
made  manifest  afterwards.  Peter  answered 
in  behalf  of  all,  one  for  many,  unity  for  the 


5  I  Tim.  v.  15. 


'1  K  \<    I  A  I  1.     \.\\   ll.  J 


1 1 1 ,  GOSPEL  <  >r  ST,  J<  >i  I N. 


<  <>lle(  tivc   whole:     "  Then    Simon     Peter   :m 
i    Him,  Lord,  to  whom   shall  we  go?" 
Thou  drivest   us    from    Thee;    -ivc    us    Thy 
other  self.      "  'I'o  whom  shall  we  -o  ?  "     If  we 
abandon  Thee,  to  whom  sh.ill  we  no  ?     "  Thou 
hast  the   words  of   eternal    life."      See    how 
l>y  the  gift  of  God  and  the  renewal  of! 
the    Holy    Spirit,    understood    Him.       How 
other  than  because  he  believed  ?     "  Thou  hast 
the  words  of  eternal   life."     For  Thou  hast 
eternal   life  in  the  ministration   of  Thy  body  ' 
and  blood.     "  And  we  have  believed  and  have  • 
known."     Not  have  known  and  believed,  but 
"believed  and  known."     For  we  believed  in  j 
order  to  know;  for  if  we  wanted  to  know  first,  | 
and  then  to  believe,  we  should   not  be  able  j 
either  to  know  or  to  believe      What  have  we  j 
believed  and  known  ?    "  That  Thou  art  Christ, 
the  Son  of  God;"  that  is,  that  Thou  art  that 
very  eternal  life,  and  that  Thou  givest  in  Thy 
flesh  and  blood  only  that  which  Thou  art. 

10.  Then   said    the  Lord    Jesus:     "  Have 
not  I  chosen  you  twelve,  and  one  of  you  is  a ! 
devil  ? "     Therefore,  should    He    have    said,  ' 
"I  have  chosen  eleven:"    or  is  a  devil  also  i 
chosen,  and  among  the  elect?     Persons  are  j 
wont  to  be  called  "  elect  "  by  way  of  praise: 
or  was  man  elected  because  some  great  good  j 
was  done  by  him,  without  his  will  and  know-  j 
ledge?     This  belongs  peculiarly  to  God;  the  | 
contrary  is  characteristic  of  the  wicked.      For 
as  wicked  men  make  a  bad  use  of  the  good 
works  of  God;  so,  on  the  contrary,  God  makes 
a  good  use  of  the  evil  works  of  wicked  men. 
How  good  it  is  that  the  members  of  the  body 
are,  as  they  can  be  disposed  only  by  God, 
their  author  and  framer  !     Nevertheless  what 
evil  use  doth  wantonness  make  of  the  eyes  ? 
What    ill    use    doth  falsehood  make  of   the  t 
tongue  ?     Does  not  the  false  witness  first  both  j 
slay  his  own  soul  with  his  tongue,  and  then, 
after  he  has  destroyed  himself,  endeavor  to 
injure  another?     He  makes  an  ill   use  of  the 
tongue,  but  the  tongue  is  not  therefore   an 
evil  thing;    the    tongue  is    God's    work,   but 
iniquity  makes  an  ill  use  of  that  good  work  of 
God.     How  do  they  use  their  feet  who  run 
into  crimes  ?     How  do  murderers  employ  their 
hands?      And  what  ill    use  do   wicked  men 
make  of  those  good  creatures  of  God  that  lie 
outside  of  them  ?      With   gold  they   corrupt 
judgment  and    oppress    the    innocent.      Bad 
men  make  a  bad  use  of   the  very  light;  for 
by  evil  living  they  employ  even  the  very  light 
with  which  they  see  into  the  service  of  their 
villanies.      A    bad   man,  when   going  to  do  a 
bad  deed,  wishes  the  light  to  shine  for  him, 
lest  he  stumble;   he  who  has  already  stuml  led 
and   fallen  within;  that  which    he  is  afraid   of 
in   his  body   has   already   befallen   him  in  his  , 


iieart.       II  .    U)    avoid    l.ic    t<  diousiiCSS    of 

running  through  them  separately,  a  bad  man 
makes  a  bad  use  of  all  the  good  creatures  of 
God:  a  good  man,  on  the  contrary,  in 
good  use  of  the  evil  deeds  of  wicked  men. 
And  what  is  so  good  as  the  one  God  ?  - 
indeed,  the  Lord  Himself  said,  "  T! 
none  good,  but  the  one  God."1  By  how 
much  He  is  better,  then,  by  so  much  the 
better  use  He  makes  of  our  evil  deeds. 
What  worse  than  Judas?  Among  all  that 
adhered  to  the  Master,  among  the  twelve, 
to  him  was  committed  the  common  purse;  to 
him  was  allotted  the  dispensing  for  the  poor. 
Unthankful  for  so  great  a  favor,  so  great  an 
honor,  he  took  the  money,  and  lost  righteous 
ness:  being  dead,  he  betrayed  life:  Him 
whom  he  followed  as  a  disciple,  he  persecuted 
as  an  enemy.  All  this  evil  was  Judas's;  but 
the  Lord  employed  his  evil  for  good.  He 
endured  to  be  betrayed,  to  redeem  us.  Be 
hold,  Judas's  evil  was  turned  to  good.  How 
many  martyrs  has  Satan  persecuted  !  If  Satan 
left  off  persecuting,  we  should  not  to-day  be 
celebrating  the  very  glorious  crown  of  Saint 
Laurence.  If  then  God  employs  the  evil 
works  of  the  devil  himself  for  good,  what  the 
bad  man  effects,  by  making  a  bad  use,  is  to 
hurt  himself,  not  to  contradict  the  goodness 
of  God.  The  Master  makes  use  of  that  man. 
And  if  He  knew  not  how  to  make  use  of  him, 
the  Master  contriver  would  not  have  permitted 
him  to  be.  Therefore,  He  saith,  "One  of 
you  is  a  devil,"  whilst  I  have  chosen  you 
twelve.  This  saying,  "  I  have  chosen  you 
twelve,"  may  be  understood  in  this  way,  that 
twelve  is  a  sacred  number.  For  the  honor 
of  that  number  was  not  taken  away  because 
one  was  lost,  for  another  was  chosen  into  the 
place  of  the  one  that  perished. 3  The  number 
remained  a  sacred  number,  a  number  contain 
ing  twelve:  because  they  were  to  make  known 
the  Trinity  throughout  the  whole  world,  that 
is,  throughout  the  four  quarters  of  the  world. 
That  is  the  reason  of  the  three  times  four. 
Judas,  then  only  cut  himself  off,  not  pro 
faned  the  number  twelve:  he  abandoned  his 
Teacher,  for  God  appointed  a  successor  to 
take  his  place. 

ii.   All  this  that  the  Lord  spoke  concerning 
His   flesh  and  blood; — and    in    the  grace  of 
that  distribution  He  promised  us  eternal  life, 
and  that   He  meant  those  that  eat  His  flesh 
and  drink  His  blood  to  be  understood,  from 
the   fact  of  their  abiding   in  Him  and  He  in 
them;    and    that  they    understood     n<  ' 
•  d   not;     and    that  they   were   ofl 
through  their   understanding   spiritual   things 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTMI    \\YIIl. 


in  a  carnal  sense;  and  that,  while  these  were 
offended  and  perished,  the  Lord  was  present 
for  the  consolation  of  the  disciples  who 
remained,  for  proving  whom  He  asked,,"  Will 
ye  also  go  away?"  that  the  reply  of  their 
steadfastness  might  be  known  to  us,  for  He 
knew  that  they  remained  with  Him; — let  all 
this,  then,  avail  us  to  this  end,  most  beloved, 
that  we  eat  not  the  flesh  and  blood  of  Christ 
merely  in  the  sacrament,  as  many  evil  men  do, 
but  that  we  eat  and  drink  to  the  participation 
of  the  Spirit,  that  we  abide  as  members  in  the 
Lord's  body,  to  be  quickened  by  His  Spirit, 
and  that  we  be  not  offended,  even  if  many  do 
now  with  us  eat  and  drink  the  sacraments  in 
a  temporal  manner,  who  shall  in  the  end  have 
eternal  torments.  For  at  present  Christ's 
body  is  as  it  were  mixed  on  the  threshing- 
floor:  "  But  the  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are 
His."1  If  thou  knowest  what  thou  threshest, 
that  the  substance  is  there  hidden,  that  the 
threshing  has  not  consumed  what  the  winnow 
ing  has  purged;  certain  are  we,  brethren,  that 
all  of  us  who  are  in  the  Lord's  body,  and 
abide  in  Him,  that  He  also  may  abide  in  us, 
have  of  necessity  to  live  among  evil  men  in 
this  world  even  unto  the  end.  I  do  not  say 
among  those  evil  men  who  blaspheme  Christ; 
for  there  are  now  few  found  who  blaspheme 
with  the  tongue,  but  many  who  do  so  by  their 
life.  Among  those,  then,  we  must  necessarily 
live  even  unto  the  end. 

12.  But  what  is  this  that  He  saith:  "He 
that  abideth  in  me,  and  I  in  him  "  ?  What, 
but  that  which  the  martyrs  heard:  "He  that 
persevereth  unto  the  end,  the  same  shall  be 


saved"?2  How  did  Saint  Laurence,  whose 
feast  we  celebrate  to-day,  abide  in  Him  ? 
He  abode  even  to  temptation,  abode  even  to 
tyrannical  questioning,  abode  even  to  bit 
terest  threatening,  abode  even  to  destruction; 
— that  were  a  trifle,  abode  even  to  savage 
torture.  For  he  was  not  put  to  death  quickly, 
but  tormented  in  the  fire:  he  was  allowed  to 
live  a  long  time;  nay,  not  allowed  to  live  a 
long  time,  but  forced  to  die  a  slow,  lingering 
death.  Then,  in  that  lingering  death,  in 
those  torments,  because  he  had  well  eaten  and 
well  drunk,  as  one  who  had  feasted  on  that 
meat,  as  one  intoxicated  with  that  cup,  he 
felt  not  the  torments.  For  He  was  there 
who  said,  "  It  is  the  Spirit  that  quickeneth." 
For  the  flesh  indeed  was  burning,  but  the 
Spirit  was  quickening  the  soul.  He  shrunk 
not  back,  and  he  mounted  into  the  kingdom. 
But  the  holy  martyr  Xystus,  whose  day  we 
celebrated  five  days  ago,  had  said  to  him, 
"  Mourn  not,  my  son;"  for  Xystus  was  a 
bishop,  he  was  a  deacon.  "  Mourn  not/' 
said  he;  "thou  shalt  follow  me  after  three 
days."  He  said  three  days,  meaning  the 
interval  between  the  day  of  Saint  Xystus's 
suffering  and  that  of  Saint  Laurence's  suffer 
ing,  which  falls  on  to-day.  Three  days  is 
the  interval.  What  comfort !  He  says  not, 
"  Mourn  not,  my  son;  the  persecution  will 
cease,  and  thou  wilt  be  safe;1'  but,  "do  not 
mourn:  whither  I  precede  thou  shalt  follow; 
nor  shall  thy  pursuit  be  deferred:  three  days 
will  be  the  interval,  and  thou  shalt  be  with 
me."  He  accepted  the  oracle,  vanquished 
the  devil,  and  attained  to  the  triumph. 


TRACTATE   XXVIII. 

CHAPTER  VII.   1-13. 


i.  Ix  this  chapter  of  the  Gospel,  brethren, 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  most  especially 
commended  Himself  to  our  faith  in  respect 
of  His  humanity.  For  indeed  He  always 
keeps  in  view,  both  in  His  words  and  deeds, 
that  He  should  be  believed  to  be  God  and 
man:  God  who  made  us,  man  who  sought  us; 
with  the  Father,  always  God;  with  us,  man 
in  time.  For  He  would  not  have  sought  man 
whom  He  had  made  if  Himself  had  not 
become  that  which  He  had  made.  But  re 
member  this,  and  do  not  let  it  slip  from  your 


hearts,  that  Christ  became  man  in  such  manner 
that  He  ceased  not  to  be  God.  While  re 
maining  God,  He  who  made  man  took  man 
hood.  While,  therefore,  as  man  He  con 
cealed  Himself,  He  must  not  be  thought  to 
have  lost  His  power,  but  only  to  have  offered 
an  example  to  our  infirmity.  For  He  was 
detained  when  He  willed  to  be,  and  He  was  put 
to  death  when  he  willed  to  be.  But  since  there 
were  to  be  His  members,  that  is.  His  faithful 
ones,who  would  not  have  that  power  which  He, 
our  God,  had;  by  His  being  hid,  by  His  con- 


:  .  \  V  I  I  I  .  1 


ON  mi;  GOSPEL  OF   ST,  JOHN. 


'79 


cealing  Himself  as  it  He  would  not  be  put  to 
death,  He  indicated  that  His  members  would 
do  this,  in  which  members  He  Himself  in 
fact  was.  For  Christ  is  not  simply  in  the 
head  and  not  in  the  body,  but  Christ  whole  is 
in  the  head  and  body.  What,  therefore,  His 
members  are,  that  He  is;  but  what  He  is,  it 


used  on   the  holy  day  to  make  taberna. 
likeness  of  tin-  tabernacles  in  which  they  dwelt 
while  they  sojourned   in   the  wild. 
being   led   out   of    Kgypt.     This  was  a  holy 
day,    a   great  solemnity.      The    Jews    were 
celebrating    this,    as   being  mindful    of    the 
Lord's  benefits — they  who  were  about  to  kill 


does  not  necessarily  follow  that  His  members  the  Lord.  On  this  holy  day,  then  (for  there 
are.  For  if  His  members  were  not  Himself,  i  were  several  holy  days;  but  it  was  called  a 
He  would  not  have  said,  "Saul,  why  per-  holy  day  with  the  Jews,  though  it  was  not  one 
secutest  thou  me?"1  For  Saul  was  not  per-  day,  but  several),  "  His  brethren  "  spoke  to 
secuting  Himself  on  earth,  but  His  members, 
namely.  His  believers.  He  would  not,  how 
ever,  say,  my  saints,  my  servants,  or,  in  short, 
my  brethren,  which  is  more  honorable;  but, 


me,  that  is,  my  members,  whose  head  I  am. 
2.  With  these  preliminary  remarks,  I 
think  that  we  shall  not  have  to  labor  much 
for  the  meaning  in  this  chapter  ;  for  that  is 
often  betokened  in  the  head  which  was  to  be 
in  the  body.  "  After  these  things/'  saith  he, 
"Jesus  walked  in  Galilee:  for  He  would  not 
walk  in  Judea,  because  the  Jews  sought  to 
kill  Him."  This  is  what  I  have  said;  He 
offered  an  example  to  our  infirmity.  He  had 
not  lost  power,  but  He  was  comforting  our 
weakness.  For  it  would  happen,  as  I  have 
said,  that  some  believer  in  Him  would  retreat 
into  concealment,  lest  he  should  be  found  by 
the  persecutors;  and  lest  the  concealment 
should  be  objected  to  him  as  a  crime,  that 
occurred  first  in  the  head,  which  should  after 
wards  be  confirmed  in  the  member.  For  it ' 
is  said,  <l  He  would  not  walk  in  Judea,  be- 
use  the  Jews  sought  to  kill  Him,"  just  as  if 
Christ  were  not  able  both  to  walk  among  the 
Jews,  and  not  be  killed  by  them.  For 
manifested  this  power  when  He  willed; 


the  Lord  Christ.  Understand  the  phrase, 
"  His  brethren,"  as  you  know  it  must  be 
taken,  for  it  is  not  a  new  thing  you  hear. 
The  blood  relations  of  the  Virgin  Mary  used 
to  be  called  the  Lord's  brethren.  For  it  was 
of  the  usage  of  Scripture  to  call  blood  rela 
tions  and  all  other  near  kindred  by  the  term 
brethren,  which  is  foreign  to  our  usage,  and 
not  within  our  manner  of  speech.  For  who 
would  call  an  uncle  or  a  sister's  son  "brother"  ? 
Yet  the  Scripture  calls  relatives  of  this  kind 
"  brothers."  For  Abraham  and  Lot  are  called 
brothers,  while  Abraham  was  Lot's  uncle.4 
Laban  and  Jacob  are  called  brothers,  while 
Laban  was  Jacob's  uncle.5  When,  therefore, 
you  hear  of  the  Lord's  brethren,  consider 
them  the  blood  relations  of  Mary,  who  did 
not  a  second  time  bear  children.  For,  as  in 
the  sepulchre,  where  the  Lord's  body  was  laid, 
neither  before  nor  after  did  any  dead  lie;  so, 
likewise,  Mary's  womb,  neither  before  nor 
after  conceived  anything  mortal. 

4.  We  have  said  who  the  brethren  were,  let 
us  hear  what  they  said:  "  Pass  over  hence, 
and  go  into  Judea,  that  thy  disciples  also 


He  I  may  see  thy  work  which  thou  doest."     The 
for    Lord's  works  were  not  hid  from  the  disciples, 
when  they  would  lay  hold  of  Him,  as  He  was  |  but  to  these   men    they  were   not   apparent. 


now  about  to  suffer,  "  He  said  to  them, 
Whom  seek  ye  ?  They  answered,  Jesus. 
Then,  said  He,  I  am  He,"  not  concealing, 
but  manifesting  Himself.  That  manifesta 
tion,  however,  they  did  not  withstand,  but 
"going  backwards,  they  fell  to  the  ground. "J 
And  yet,  because  He  had  come  to  suffer, 
they  rose  up,  laid  hold  of  Him,  led  Him 
away  to  the  judge,  and  slew  Him.  But  what 
was  it  they  did  ?  That  which  a  certain  scrip 
ture  says:  "  The  earth  was  delivered  into  the 
hands  of  the  ungodly."  3  The  flesh  was 
i;iven  into  the  power  of  the  Jews;  and  this 
mat  thereby  the  bag,  as  it  were,  might  be  rent 


asunder,    whence   our 
run  out. 


purchase* price    might 


3.   "  Now  the  Jews'  feast  of  tabernacles  was 


They  might  have  Christ  for  a  kinsman,  but 
through  that  very  relationship  they  disdained 
to  believe  on  Him.  It  is  told  us  in  the 
Gospel;  for  we  dare  not  hold  this  as  a  mere 
opinion,  you  have  just  now  heard  it.  They 
go  on  advising  Him:  "  For  no  man  doeth 
anything  in  secret,  and  he  himself  seeketh  to 
be  known  openly:  if  thou  do  these  things, 
show  thyself  to  the  world."  And  directly 
after  it  says:  "For  neither  did  His  brethren 
believe  in  Him.''  Why  did  they  not  believe 
in  Him  ?  Because  they  sought  human  glory. 
For  as  to  what  His  brethren  appear  to  advise 
Him,  they  consult  for  His  giory.  Thou 
doest  marvellous  works,  make  thyself  known; 
that  is,  appear  to  all,  that  thou  mayest  be 
praised  by  all.  The  flesh  spoke  to  the  flesh; 


at  hand."     What  the  feast  of  tabernacles  is.    but  the  flesh  without  God,  to  the  flesh  with 
they  who   read   the   Scriptures    know.      Tncy    God.      It  was  the  wisdom  of  the  flesh  spenk- 


John  xviii.  '...  <  .1 


iSo 


THK   WORKS  OF  ST.    Al  ul  SI  IN. 


|TK.\ri,vn    XXVIII. 


ing  to  the  Word  which  became  flesh  and  dwelt 
among  us. 

5  What  did  the  Lord  answer  to  these 
things?  Then  saith  Jesus  to  them:  "My 
time  is  not  yet  come;  but  your  time  is  always 
ready."  What  is  this?  Had  not  Christ's 
time  yet  come?  Why  then  was  Christ  come, 
if  His  time  had  not  yet  come  ?  Have  we  not 
heard  tiie  apostle  say,  "  But  when  the  fullness 
of  time  came,  God  sent  His  Son"?1  If, 
therefore,  He  was  sent  in  the  fullness  of  time, 
He  was  sent  when  He  ought  to  be  sent,  He 
came  when  it  behoved  that  He  should  come. 
What  means  then,  "  My  time  is  not  yet 
come '"  ?  Understand,  brethren,  with  what 
intention  they  spoke,  when  they  appeared  to 
advise  Him  as  their  brother.  They  were  giv 
ing  Him  counsel  to  pursue  glory;  as  advising 
in  a  worldly  manner  and  with  an  earthly  dis 
position,  that  He  should  not  be  unknown  to 
fame,  nor  hide  Himself  in  obscurity.  This  is 
what  the  Lord  says  in  answer  to  those  who 
were  giving  Him  counsel  of  glory,  "  My  time 
is  not  yet  come;  " — the  time  of  my  glory  is 
not  yet  come.  See  how  profound  it  is:  they 
were  advising  Him  as  to  glory;  but  He  would 
have  loftiness  preceded  by  humility,  and 
willed  to  prepare  the  way  to  elevation  itself 
through  humility.  For  those  disciples,  too, 
were  of  course  seeking  glory  who  wished  to 
sit,  one  at  His  right  hand  and  the  other  at  His 
left:  they  thought  only  of  the  goal,  and  saw 
not  by  what  way  it  must  be  reached;  the  Lord 
recalled  them  to  the  way,  that  they  might 
come  to  their  fatherland  in  due  order.  For 
the  fatherland  is  on  high,  the  way  thither  lies 
low.  That  land  is  the  life  of  Christ,  the  way 
is  Christ's  death;  that  land  is  the  habitation 
of  Christ,  the  way  is  Christ's  suffering.  He 
that  refuses  the  way,  why  seeks  he  the  father 
land  ?  In  a  word,  to  these  also,  while  seeking 
elevation,  He  gave  this  answer:  "  Can  ye 
drink  the  cup  which  I  am  about  to  drink  ?"  a 
Behold  the  way  by  which  you  must  come  to 
that  height  which  you  desire.  The  cup  He 
made  mention  of  was  indeed  that  of  His 
humility  and  suffering. 

6.  Therefore  also  here:  "  My  time  is  not 
yet  come;  but  your  time,"  that  is  the  glory 
of  the  world,  "is  always  ready."  This  is 
the  time  of  which  Christ,  that  is  the  body  of 
Christ,  speaks  in  prophecy:  "  When  I  shall 
have  received  the  fit  time,  I  will  judge  right 
eously."3  For  at  present  it  is  not  the  time 
of  judging,  but  of  tolerating  the  wicked. 
Therefore,  let  the  body  of  Christ  bear  at 
present,  and  tolerate  the  wickedness  of  evil 
livers.  Let  it,  however,  have  righteousness 


now,  for  by  righteousness  it  shall  come  to 
judgment.  And  what  saith  the  Holy  Scrip 
ture  in  the  psalm  to  the  members, — namely, 
that  tolerate  the  wickedness  <>t  this  world  ? 
"The  Lord  will  not  cast  off  His  people." 
For,  in  fact,  His  people  labors  among  the  un 
worthy,  among  the  unrighteous,  among  blas 
phemers,  among  murmurers,  detractors,  per 
secutors,  and,  if  they  are  allowed,  destroyers. 
Yes,  it  labors;  but  "  the  Lord  will  not  cast  off 
His  people,  and  He  will  not  forsake  His 
inheritance  until  justice  is  turned  into  judg 
ment."4  "  Until  the  justice,"  which  is  now 
in  His  saints,  "  be  turned  into  judgment;  " 
when  that  shall  be  fulfilled  which  was  said  to 
them,  "Ye  shall  sit  upon  twelve  thrones, 
judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel."5  The 
apostle  had  righteousness,  but  not  yet  that 
judgment  of  which  he  says,  "  Know  ye  not 
that  we  shall  judge  angels?"6  Be  it  now, 
therefore,  the  time  for  living  rightly;  the- 
time  for  judging  them  that  have  lived  ill  shall 
be  hereafter.  "  Until  righteousness,"  saith 
he,  "  is  turned  into  judgment."  The  time  of 
judgment  will  be  that  of  which  the  Lord  has 
here  said,  "  My  time  is  not  yet  come."  For 
there  will  be  a  time  of  glory,  when  He  who 
came  in  humility  will  come  in  loftiness;  He 
who  came  to  be  judged  will  come  to  judge; 
He  who  came  to  be  slain  by  the  dead  will 
come  to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead. 
"Clod,"  saith  the  psalm,  "will  come  mani 
fest,  our  God,  and  He  will  not  be  silent."7 
What  is  "shall  come  manifest"?  Because 
He  came  concealed.  Then  He  will  not  be 
silent;  for  when  He  came  concealed,  "  He 
was  led  as  a  sheep  to  the  slaughter;  and  as  a 
lamb  before  its  shearer,  He  opened  not  His 
mouth."  8  He  shall  come,  and  shall  not  keep 
silence.  "I  was  silent,"  saith  He,  "shall  I 
always  be  silent  ?  "  9 

7.  But  what  is  necessary  at  the  present 
time  for  those  who  have  righteousness  ?  That 
which  is  read  in  that  psalm:  "  Until  right 
eousness  is  turned  into  judgment,  and  they 
that  have  it  are  upright  of  heart."  You  ask, 
perhaps,  who  are  the  upright  in  heart  ?  We 
find  in  Scripture  those  to  be  upright  in  heart 
who  bear  the  evils  of  the  world,  and  do  not 
accuse  God.  See,  brethren,  an  uncommon 
thing  is  that  which  I  speak  of.  For  I  know 
not  how  it  is  that,  when  any  evil  befalls  a 
man,  he  runs  to  accuse  God,  when  he  ought 
to  accuse  himself.  When  thou  gettest  any 
good,  thou  praisest  thyself;  when  thou  suf- 
ferest  any  evil,  thou  accusest  God.  This  is. 
then  the  crooked  heart,  not  the  upright. 
When  thou  art  cured  of  this  distorting  an(l 


,.r    XX  VI 1 1. 1 


«  IN    I  HE  01  >SPEL  '  'l    ST    JOHN. 


perversity,  what  thou   didst   use  to  do  will   be    lie  my  feast  day,  not  running 
turned     into     t  ic    contrary.       For    w::.it     didst    ing  over    tnrsc  days,  Imt    r<-;iKi:nini;    to: 
thou    use   to   do   In- iorc?     Thou    didst    praise    that   will    be    festivity,  joy  wit.ion-    end, 
thyself  in   t'.u-  -ood  tilings  of  God.  and  didst    nity  without  a  blot,  serenity  without  a  < 
>d    in   thine  own  evil    things;    with    "When  He  had  said  these  words  unto  : 
thy  heart  converted  and  made  right,  thou  wilt  He  abode  still   in  Galilee.     But  whci. 
praise  God   in   His  ^ood  things,  and  accuse  j  brethren  were  gone  up,  then  went  He  also  up 
thyself  in  thy  own  evil  things.     These  are  the   unto  the  feast,  not  openly,  but  as  it  were  in 
upright  in  heart.      In  short,  that  man,  who 'secret."     Therefore  "  not  to  this  feast-day," 
was  not  yet  right  in  heart  when  the  success  of '  because  His  desire  was  not  for  temporal  glory, 
the   wicked    and    the   distress    of    the    good   but  to  teach  something  to  profit,  to  correct 
grieved    him,    says,    when    he    is    corrected: ;  men,  to  admonish  them  of  an  eternal  feast- 
"  How  good  is  the  God  of  Israel  to  the  up-  day,  to  turn  away  their  love  from  this  world, 
right  in  heart  !     But  as  for  me,"  when  I  was   and  to  turn  it  to  God.     But  what  mean> 
not    right  in   heart,    "my   feet  were    almost ,"  He  went  upas  it  were  in  secret  to  the  fe 
gone;    my    steps     had     well-nigh    slipped."  i  This  action  of  the  Lord  also  is  not  without 
Why  ?     "  Because  I  was  envious  at  sinners,    meaning.      It  appears  to  me  that,  even  from 
beholding    the    peace   of    sinners."       I    saw,  ;  this  circumstance  that  He  went  up  as  it  were 
saith   he,  the  wicked   prosperous,  and    I   was   in  secret,  He  hail  intended  to  signify  some- 
displeased  at  God;  for  I  did  wish  that  God   thing;  for  the    things    that  follow  will    show 
should  not  permit  the  wicked  to  be  happy,    that  He  thus  went  up  on  the  middle  of  the 
Let  man  understand:  God  never  does  permit   feast,  that  is,  when  those  days  were  half  over, 
this;  but  a  bad  man  is  thought  to  be  happy,    to  teach  even  openly.   But  he  said,  "As  it  were 
for  this  reason,  because  men  are  ignorant  of   in  secret,"  meaning,  not  to  show  Himself  to 


what  happiness  is.  Let  us  then  be  right  in 
heart:  the  time  of  our  glory  is  not  yet  come. 
Let  it  be  told  to  the  lovers  of  this  world,  such 
as  the  brethren  of  the  Lord  were,  "  your  time 


is    always    ready; "  our    time    ' 
come."     For  let  us,   too,  dare 


is    not    yet 

to  say   this. 


men.  It  is  not  without  meaning  that  Christ 
went  up  "  as  it  were  in  secret  "  to  that  feast, 
because  He  Himself  lay  hid  in  that  feast-day. 
What  I  have  said  as  yet  is  also  under  cover  of 
secrecy.  Let  it  be  manifested  then,  let  the 
veil  be  lifted,  and  let  that  which  was  secret 
appear. 

9.  All  tilings  that  were  spoken  to  the  an 
cient  people  Israel  in  the  manifold  Scripture 
of  the  holy  law,  what  things  they  did,  whether 
in  sacrifices,  or  in  priestly  offices,  or  in  feast- 

the  lovers  of  this  world  revile  us,  let  us  say  to  days,  and,  in  a  word,  in  what  things  soever 
them,  "  Your  time  is  always  ready;  our  time  '  they  worshipped  God,  what  things  soever  were 
is  not  yet  come. "  For  the  apostle  has  said  j  spoken  to  and  given  them  in  precept,  were 

shadows  of  tilings  to  come.  Of  what  things  to 
come  ?  Things  which  find  their  fulfillment  in 


And  since  we  are  the  body  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  since  we  are  His  members,  since  we 
joyfully  acknowledge  our  head,  let  us  say  it 
without  hesitation;  since,  for  our  sakes,  He 
deigned  also  Himself  to  say  this.  And  when 


to  us,  "  For  ye  are  dead,  and  your  life  is  hid 
with  Christ   in  God."     When  will    our  time 


come  ?  "  When  Christ,"  saith  he,  "  your  life 
shall  appear,  then  shall  ye  also  appear  with 
Him  in  glory."  3 

8.  What  said  He  further?  "The  world 
cannot  hate  you."  What  is  this,  but,  The 
world  cannot  hate  its  lovers,  the  false  wit 
nesses  ?  For  you  call  the  things  that  are  evil, 
good;  and  the  things  that  are  good,  evil. 
"  But  me  it  hateth,  because  I  bear  witness 
concerning  it,  that  its  works  are  evil.  Go  ye 
up  to  this  feast."  What  means  "to  this"? 


Christ.  Whence  the  apostl  esays,  "  For  all 
the  promises  of  God  are  in  Him  yea; '" 3  that 
is,  they  are  fulfilled  in  Him.  Again  he  says 
in  another  place,  "All  happened  to  them  in 
a  figure;  but  they  were  written  for  our  sakes, 
upon  whom  the  end  of  the  ages  is  come."4 
And  he  said  elsewhere,  "  For  Christ  is  the 
end  of  the  law; " 5  likewise  in  another  place, 
"  Let  no  man  judge  you  in  meat,  or  in  drink, 
or  in  respect  of  an  holy  day,  or  of  a  new 
moon,  or  of  Sabbath-days,  which  is  a  shadow 


Where  ye  seek   human  glory.     What  means   of  things  to  come."6     If,  therefore,  al!  these 
"  to  this  "  ?     Where  ye  wish  to  prolong  carnal   things  were  shadows  of  things  to  come, 
joys,   not  to  meditate   on  eternal    joys.     "  1 1  the    feast   of    tabernacles    was   a   shadow   <;f 
go  not  up  to  this  feast,  because  my  time  is  (things  to  come.      Let   us  examine,   then,  of 


not  yet  full  come."  On  this  feast-day  you 
seek  human  glory;  but  my  time,  that  is,  the 
time  of  my  glory,  is  not  yet  come.  That  will 


what  thing  to  come  was  tins  feast-day  a 
shallow.  I  have  explained  what  this  feast  of 
tabernacles  was:  it  was  a  celebration  of  taber- 


IV  b 


i  .•  C..r.  i    10, 

. 


THK  WORKS  OK  ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


Ml      \\VIII. 


nacles,  because  the  people,  after  their  deliv 
erance  from  Egypt,  while  directing  their 
course  through  the  wilderness  to  the  land  of 
promise,  dwelt  in  tents.  Let  us  observe  what 
it  is,  and  we  shall  be  that  thing;  we,  I  say, 
who  are  members  of  Christ,  if  such  we  are; 
but  we  are,  He  having  made  us  worthy,  not 
we  having  earned  it  for  ourselves.  Let  us 
then  consider  ourselves,  brethren:  we  have 
been  led  out  of  Egypt,  where  we  were  slaves 
to  the  devil  as  to  Pharaoh;  where  we  applied 
ourselves  to  works  of  clay,  engaged  in  earthly 
desires,  and  where  we  toiled  exceedingly. 
And  to  us,  while  laboring,  as  it  were,  at  the 
bricks,  Christ  cried  aloud,  "Come  unto  me, 
all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden." 
Thence  we  were  led  out  by  baptism  as  through 
the  Red  Sea, — red  because  consecrated  by 
the  blood  of  Christ.  All  our  enemies  that 
pursued  us  being  dead,  that  is,  all  our  sins 
being  blotted  out,  we  have  been  brought  over 
to  the  other  side.  .  At  the  present  time,  then, 
before  we  come  to  the  land  of  promise, 
namely,  the  eternal  kingdom,  we  are  in  the 
wilderness  in  tabernacles.  They  who  acknow 
ledge  these  things  are  in  tabernacles;  for  it 
was  to  be  that  some  would  acknowledge  this. 
For  that  man,  who  understands  that  he  is  a 
sojourner  in  this  world,  is  in  tabernacles. 
That  man  understands  that  he  is  travelling  in 
a  foreign  country,  when  he  sees  himself  sigh 
ing  for  his  native  land.  But  whilst  the  body 
of  Christ  is  in  tabernacles,  Christ  is  in  taber 
nacles;  but  at  that  time  He  was  so,  not  evi 
dently  but  secretly.  For  as  yet  the  shadow 
obscured  the  light;  when  the  light  came,  the 
shadow  wns  removed.  Christ  was  in  secret: 
He  was  in  the  feast  of  tabernacles,  but  there 
hidden.  At  the  present  time,  when  these 
things  are  already  made  manifest,  we  acknow 
ledge  that  we  are  journeying  in  the  wilder 
ness:  for  if  we  know  it,  we  are  in  the  wilder 
ness.  What  is  it  to  be  in  the  wilderness  ? 
In  the  desert  waste.  Why  in  the  desert 
waste  ?  Because  in  this  world,  where  we 
thirst  in  a  way  in  which  is  no  water.  But  yet, 
let  us  thirst  that  we  may  be  filled.  For, 
"  Blessed  are  they  that  hunger  and  thirst  after 
righteousness,  for  they  shall  be  filled.  " ' 
And  our  thirst  is  quenched  from  the  rock  in 
the  wilderness:  for  "the  Rock  was  Christ," 
and  it  was  smitten  with  a  rod  that  the  water 
might  flow.  But  that  it  might  flow,  the  rock 
was  smitten  twice:  because  there  are  two 
beams  of  the  cross.2  All  these  things,  then, 
which  were  done  in  a  figure,  are  made  mani 
fest  to  us.  And  it  is  not  without  meaning  that 
it  was  said  of  the  Lord,  "  He  went  up  to  the 

i  Matt.  v.  (~.  i  I'ur.  x.  4  ;  Num.  xx.  n. 


feast-day,  but  not  openly,  but  as  it  were  in 
secret."  For  Himself  in  secret  was  the  thing 
prefigured,  because  Christ  was  hid  in  that 

j  same  festal-day;  for  that  very  festal-day  sig 
nified  Christ's  members  that  were  to  sojourn 

'  in  a  foreign  land. 

10.  "  Then  the  Jews  sought  Him  on  the 
feast-day:  "  before    He  went  up.     For    His 
brethren  went  up  before  Him,  and  He  went 
not  up  then  when  they  supposed  and  wished: 
that  this  too  might  be  fulfilled  which  He  said, 
"Not  to  this,''  that  is,  the  first  or  second 
day,  to  which  you  wish  me  to  go.     But  He 
went  up  afterwards,  as  the  Gospel  tells  us, 
"on  the  middle  of  the  feast;'    that  is,  when 
as  many  days  of  that  feast   had  passed  as 
there    remained.     For   they   celebrated   that 
same  festival,  so  far  we  can  understand,  on 
several  successive  days. 

11.  "They  said,  therefore,  Where  is  he? 
And  there  was  much  murmuring  among  the 
people  concerning  Him."     Whence  the  mur 
muring?     Of   strife.     What  was    the    strife? 
"Some  said,  He  is  a  good  man;  but  others 
said,    Nay;  but    he   deceiveth    the    people." 
We  must  understand  this  of  all  His  servants: 
this  is  said  now  of  them.     For  whoever  be 
comes   eminent  in   some   spiritual    grace,   of 
him  some  will  assuredly  say,  "  He  is  a  good 
man;"  others,  "Nay;  but  he  deceiveth  the 
people."     Whence    is   this?     "Because  our 
life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God."3     On  this  ac 
count    people   may   say   during   the   winter, 
This  tree  is  dead;  for  example,  a  fig  tree, 
pear  tree,  or  some  kind  of  fruit  tree,  it  is  like 
a  withered  tree,  and  so  long  as  it  is  winter  it 
does  not  appear  whether  it  is  so  or  not.     But 
the    summer   proves,    the   judgment   proves. 
Our    summer   is   the    appearing    of   Christ: 
"God  shall  come  manifest,  our  God,  and  He 
will   not  be   silent;"4  "fire   shall  go  before 
Him:"  that   fire  "shall   burn    up   His   ene 
mies:"5  that  fire  shall  lay  hold  of  the  with 
ered  trees.     For  then  shall  the  dry  trees  be 
apparent,  when  it  shall  be  said  to  them,  "I 
was  hungry,  and  ye  gave  me  not  to  eat; "  but 
on  the  other  side,namely,on  the  right,  will  be 
seen  abundance  of  fruit,  and  magnificence  of 
leaves;  the  green  will  be  eternity.     To  those, 
then,  as  withered  trees,  it  shall  be  said,  "  Go 
into  everlasting  fire.      For  behold,"  it  saith, 
"the  axe   is   laid   to  the   root  of  the  trees: 
every  tree,  therefore,  that  bringeth  not  forth 
good  fruit  shall  be  cut  down,  and  cast  into  the 

/fire."6  Let  them  then  say  of  thee,  if  tluni 
art  growing  in  Christ,  let  men  say  of  thee, 
"  He  deceiveth  the  people."  This  is  said  of 
Christ  Himself;  it  is  said  of  the  whole  body 


.1  Col.  lii.  3. 

1    IV    X(  Vli.    ;. 


'   Matt.  iii. 


TRACT  A  1 1    \  \  I  \ .  | 


ON  THE  G(  >SPEL  <>!•  ST.  joliN. 


said   "He  deceiveth  the   people,"   their  din 

was  iieard  like  the  noise  of  dry  leaves.      "  He 
deeeiveth    the   people,"  they   sounded    more 


of  Christ.      Think  of  the  body  of  Christ  still 
in  the  world,  think  of  it  still  on  the  thr< 
floor;    see    how  it  is  blasphemed    by  the  <  hall. 

The  chaff  and  the  grain  are,  indeed,  threshed  and  more  loudly:    "  He  is  a  ^ood   man,"  they 

together;  but  the  chaff  is  consumed,  the  corn  whispered    more    and    more    constrainedly. 

is  purged.     What  was  said  of  the  Lord  then,  But  now,  brethren,  notwithstanding  that  glory 

avails  for  consolation,  whenever  it  will  be  said  of  Christ  which  is  to  make  us  immortal  is  not 

of  any  Christian.  yet  come,  yet  now,  I   say,  His  Church  so  in- 

12.   "  Howbeit    no   man    spake   openly   of  creases,  He  has  deigned  to  spread  it  abroad 

Him  for  fear  of  the    Jews."     But  who  were  through  the  whole  world,  that  it  is  now  only 

they  that  did   not  speak  of  Him  for  fear  of  [  whispered.  "  He  deceiveth  the  people;  "     and 

the  Jews?     Undoubtedly  they  who  said,  "  He  more  and  more  loudly  it  sounds  forth,  "He 

is  a  good  man:"  not  they  who  said,   "  He  is  a  good  man." 
deceiveth   the    people."     As    for    them   who! 


TRACTATE  XXIX. 

CHAPTKK  VII.    14-18. 


1.  WHAT   follows  of  the  Gospel,  and  was 
read  to-day,  we  must  next  in  order  look  at, 
and  speak  from  it  as  the  Lord  may  grant  us. 
Yesterday  it  was  read  thus  far,  that  although 
they  had  not  seen  the  Lord  Jesus  in  the  tem 
ple  on  the  feast-day,  yet  they  were  speaking 
about  Him:   "And  some  said,  He  is  a  good 
man:  but  others  said,  Nay;  but  he  seduceth 
the  people."     For  this  was  said  for  the  com 
fort  of  those  who,  afterwards  preaching  God's 
word,  were  to  be  seducers,  and  yet  true  men.' 
For*  if  to  seduce  is  to  deceive,   neither  was 
Christ  a  seducer,  nor  His  apostles,  nor  ought 
any  Christian  to  be  such;  but  if   to  seduce 
(to  lead  aside)  is  by  persuading  to  lead  one 
from  something  to  something  else,  we  ought 
to  inquire  into  the  whence  and  the  whither:  if 
from  evil  to  good,  the  seducer  is  a  good  man; 
if  from  good  to  evil,   the  seducer  is  a  bad 
man.     In  that  sense,  then,  in  which  men  are 
seduced  from  evil  to  good,  would  that  all  of 
us  both  were  called,  and    actually  were  se 
ducers  ! 

2.  Then  afterwards  the  Lord  went  up  to 
the  feast,  "about   the   middle  of   the  feast, 
and     taught."     "And    the    Jews    marvelled, 
saying.  How  knoweth  this  man  letters,  hav 
ing  never  learned  ?  "     He  who  was  in  secret 
taught,  He  was  speaking  openly  and  was  not 
restrained.      For  that  hiding  of  Himself  was 
for  the  sake  of  example;  this  showing  I  Inn- 
self  openly  was  an   intimation  of  His  power. 
But  as  He  taught,  "the  Jews  marvelled;"   all 
indeed,  so   far  as    I    think,  marvelled,  but  all 


were  not  converted.  And  why  this  wonder 
ing?  Because  all  knew  where  He  was  born, 
where  He  had  been  brought  up;  they  had 
never  seen  Him  learning  letters,  but  they 
heard  Him  disputing  about  the  law,  bringing 
forward  testimonies  of  the  law,  which  none 
could  bring  forward  unless  he  had  read,  and 
none  could  read  unless  he  had  learned  let 
ters:  and  therefore  they  marvelled.  But  their 
marvelling  was  made  an  occasion  to  the  Mas 
ter  of  insinuating  the  truth  more  deeply  into 
their  minds.  By  reason,  indeed  of  their 
wondering  and  words,  the  Lord  said  some 
thing  profound,  and  worthy  of  being  more 
diligently  looked  into  and  discussed.  On  ac 
count  of  which  I  would  urge  you,  my  beloved, 
to  earnestness,  not  only  in  hearing  for  your 
selves,  but  also  in  praying  for  us. 

3.  How  then  did  the  Lord  answer  those 
that  were  marvelling  how  He  knew  letters 
which  He  had  not  learned  ?  "  My  doctrine," 
saith  He,  "is  not  mine,  but  His  that  sent 
me."  This  is  the  first  profundity.  For  He 
seems  as  if  in  a  few  words  He  had  spoken 
contraries.  For  He  says  not,  This  doctrine 
is  not  mine;  but,  "  My  doctrine  is  not  mine." 
If  not  Thine,  how  Thine  ?  If  Thine,  how  not 
Thine?  For  Thou  sayest  both:  both,  "my 
doctrines; "  and,  "not  mine."  For  if  He 
had  said,  This  doctrine  is  not  mine,  there 
would  have  been  no  question,  lint  now, 
brethren,  in  the  first  place,  consider  well  the 
question,  and  so  in  due  order  expect  the  so 
lution.  For  he  \\  »t  the  qi: 
proposed,  how  can  he  understand  what 
pounded  ?  The  subject  of  inquiry,  then,  is 


1 84 


TIIK   WORKS  OF   ST.    AIV.USTIN. 


|  I'l:  ICTATB    XXIX. 


that  which  He  says,  "My,  not  mine-"  this 
appears  to  be  contrary;  how  '•'  my,"  how 
44  not  mine"?  If  we  carefully  look  at  what 
the  holy  evangelist  himself  says  in  the  begin 
ning  of  his  Gospel,  4<  In  the  beginning  was 
the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and 
the  Word  was  God;"  thence  hangs  the  so 
lution  of  this  question.  What  then  is  the 
doctrine  of  the  Father,  but  the  Father's 
Word  ?  Therefore,  Christ  Himself  is  the 
doctrine  of  the  Father,  if  He  is  the  Word  of 
the  Father.  But  since  the  Word  cannot  be 
of  none,  but  of  some  one,  He  said  both  '4  His 
doctrine,''  namely,  Himself,  and  also,  "not 
His  own,"  because  He  is  the  Word  of  the 
Father.  For  what  is  so  much  "Thine"  as 
Thyself?  And  what  so  much  not  Thine  as 
Thyself,  if  that  Thou  art  is  of  another? 

4.  The  Word  then  is  God;  and  it  is  also 
the  Word  of  a  stable,  unchangeable  doctrine, 
not  such  as  can  be  sounded  by  syllables  and 
fleeting,  but  abiding  with  the  Father,  to  which 
abiding  doctrine  let  us  be  converted,  being 
admonished  by  the  transitory  sounds  of  the 
voice.  For  that  which  is  transitory  does  not 
so  admonish  us  as  to  call  us  to  transitory 
things.  We  are  admonished  to  love  God. 
All  this  that  I  have  said  were  syllables;  they 
smote  through  the  air  to  reach  your  sense  of 
hearing,  and  by  sounding  passed  away:  that, 
however,  which  I  advise  you  ought  not  so  to 
pass  away,  because  He  whom  I  exhort  you  to 
love  passes  not  away;  and  when  you,  ex 
horted  in  transient  syllables,  shall  have  been 
converted,  you  shall  not  pass  away,  but  shall 
abide  with  Him  who  is  abiding.  There  is 
therefore  in  the  doctrine  this  great  matter, 
this  deep  and  eternal  thing  which  is  perma 
nent:  whither  all  things  that  pass  away  in  time 
call  us,  when  they  mean  well  and  are  not 
falsely  put  forward.  For,  in  fact,  all  the  signs 
which  we  produce  by  sounds  do  signify  some 
thing  which  is  not  sound.  For  God  is  not 
the  two  short  syllables  "  Deus,"  and  it  is  not 
the  two  short  syllables  that  we  worship,  and 
it  is  not  the  two  short  syllables  that  we  adore, 
nor  is  it  to  the  two  short  syllables  that  we  de 
sire  to  come — two  syllables  which  almost 
cease  to  sound  before  they  have  begun  to 
sound;  nor  in  sounding  them  is  there  room 
for  the  second  until  the  first  has  passed  away. 
There  remains,  then,  something  great  which 
is  called  "  God,"  although  the  solmd*does  not 
remain  when  we  say  the  word  "  God."  Thus 
direct  your  thoughts  to  the  doctrine  of  Christ, 
and  ye  shall  arrive  at  the  Word  of  God;  and 
when  you  have  arrived  at  the  Word  of  God, 
consider  this,  "  The  Word  was  God,"  and 
you  will  see  that  it  was  said  truly,  "  my  doc 
trine:"  consider  also  whose  the  Word  is,  and 


you  will  see  that  it  was  rightly  said,  "  is  not 
mine." 

5.  Therefore,  to  speak  briefly,  beloved,  it 
seems  to  me  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  said, 
44  My  doctrine    is    not    mine,"    meaning   the 
same  tiling  as  if  He  said,  "  1  am  not  from 
myself."     For  although  we  say  and    believe 
that  the  Son  is  equal  to  the  Father,  ami  that 
there  is  not  any  diversity  of  nature  and  sub 
stance  in  them,  that  there  has  not  intervened 
any  interval  of  time  between  Him  that  begets 
and  Him  that  is  begotten,  nevertheless  we  say 
these  things,  while  keeping  and  guarding  this, 
that  the  one  is  the  Father,  the  other  the  Son. 
But  Father  He  is  not  if  He  have  not  a  Son, 
and  Son  He  is  not  if  He  have  not  a  Father: 
but  yet  the  Son  is  God  from  the  Father;  and 
the  Father  is  God,   but  not  from  the   Son. 
The  Father  of  the   Son,  not  God   from   the 
Son:  but  the  other  is  Son  of  the  Father,  and 
God  from  the  Father.     For  the  Lord  Christ 
is  called  Light  from  Light.     The  Light  then 
which  is  not  from  Light,  and  the  equal  Light 
which  is  not    from  Light,   are   together  one 
Light  not  two  Lights. 

6.  If  we  have  understood  this,  thanks  be  to 
God;  but  if  any  has  not  sufficiently  under 
stood,  man  has  done  as  far  as  he  could:  as 
for  the  rest,  let  him  see  whence  he  may  hope 
to  understand.     As  laborers  outside,  we  can 
plant  and  water;  but  it  is  of  God  to  give  the 
increase.      "  My  doctrine,"  saith  He,  '4  is  not 
mine,  but  His  that  sent  me."     Let  him  who 
says  he  has  not  yet  understood  hear  counsel. 
For  since  it  was  a  great  and  profound  matter 
that  had  been  spoken,  the  Lord  Christ  Him 
self  did  certainly  see  that  all  would  not  under 
stand  this  so  profound  a  matter,  and  He  gave 
counsel  in  the  sequel.     Dost  thou  wish  to  un 
derstand  ?     Believe.     For  God    has    said   by 
the  prophet:  "  Except  ye  believe,  ye  shall  not 
understand."1     To    the   same    purpcse  what 
the  Lord  here  also  added  as  He  went  on — 
44  If  any  man  is  willing  to  do  His  will,  he  shall 
know  concerning  the  doctrine,  whether  it  be 
of  God,  or  wnether  I   speak  from    myself." 
What  is  the  meaning  of  this,  "  If  any  man  be 
willing  to  do  His  will  "?     But  I  had   said,  if 
any  man  believe;  and  I  gave  this  counsel:  If 
thou   hast   not    understood,    said    I,   believe. 
For    understanding   is    the    reward    of    faith. 
Therefore  do  not  seek  to  understand  in  order 
to  believe,  but  believe  that  thou  mayest  un 
derstand;  since,  "  except  ye  believe,  ye  shall 
not    understand."     Therefore  when  I  would 
counsel  the  obedience  of  believing  toward  the 
possibility  of  understanding,  and  say  that  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  added  this  very  thing  in 


v  ;  I     \\IX.j 


UN   THE  GOSPEL  Ol    ST.  JoilN. 


tin-  following  sentence,  we  find  Him  to  have 
said,  "  It'  any  man  be  willing  to  do  His  will, 
he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine."  What  is  "  he 
shall  know"?  It  is  the  same  thing  as  "  he 
shall  understand."  lint  what  is  "  If  any  man  I 
be  willing  to  do  His  will"?  It  is  the  same  [ 
thing  as  to  believe.  All  men  indeed  perceive  i 
that  "  shall  know  "  is  the  same  thing  as  "  shall ; 
understand:"  but  that  the  saying,  "If  any) 
man  be  willing  to  do  His  will,"  refers  to  be-' 
lieving,  all  do  not  perceive;  to  perceive  this 
more  accurately,  we  need  the  Lord  Himself 
for  expounder,  to  show  us  whether  the  doing 
of  the  Father's  will  does  in  reality  refer  to 
believing.  But  who  does  not  know  that  this 
is  to  do  the  will  of  God,  to  work  the  work  of 
God;  that  is,  to  work  that  work  which  is 
pleasing  to  Him  ?  But  the  Lord  Himself  says 
openly  in  another  place:  "This  is  the  work 
of  God,  that  ye  believe  on  Him  whom  He  has 
sent."1  "That  ye  believe  on  Him,"  not, 
that  ye  believe  Him.  But  if  ye  believe  on 
Him,  ye  believe  Him;  yet  he  that  believes 
Him  does  not  necessarily  believe  on  Him. 
For  even  the  devils  believed  Him,  but  they 
did  not  believe  on  Him.  Again,  moreover, 
of  His  apostles  we  can  sny,  we  believe  Paul; 
but  not,  we  believe  on  Paul:  we  believe  Peter; 
but  not,  we  believe  on  Peter.  For,  "  to  him 
that  believeth  on  Him  that  justifieth  the  un 
godly,  his  faith  is  counted  unto  him  for  right 
eousness."2  What  then  is  "to  believe  on 
Him"?  By  believing  to  love  Him,  by  be 
lieving  to  esteem  highly,  by  believing  to  go 
into  Him  and  to  be  incorporated  in  His  mem 
bers.  It  is  faith  itself  then  that  God  exacts 
from  us:  and  He  finds  not  that  which  He 
exacts,  unless  He  has  bestowed  what  He  may 
find.  What  faith,  but  that  which  the  apostle 
has  most  amply  defined  in  another  place,  say 
ing,  "  Neither  circumcision  availeth  anything, 
nor  uncircumcision,  but  faith  that  worketh  by 
love  ?"  3  Not  any  faith  of  what  kind  soever, 
but  "faith  that  worketh  by  love:"  let  this 
faith  be  in  thee,  and  thou  shall  understand 
concerning  the  doctrine.  What  indeed  shall  I 
thou  understand  ?  That  "  this  doctrine  :.3  not  j 
mine,  but  His  that  sent  me;  "  that  is,  thou 
shall  understand  thai  Chrisi  the  Son  of  God, 
who  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Father,  is  not  from  i 
Himself,  but  is  the  Son  of  the  Father. 

7.  This  sentence  overthrows  the  Sabellian 
heresy.  The  Sabellians  have  dared  to  affirm 
that  the  Son  is  the  very  same  as  He  who  is 
also  the  Father:  thai  Ihe  names  are  two,  but 
the  reality  one.  If  the  names  were  two  ami 
-ealily  one,  il  would  not  be  said,  "  My  doc- 
tiine  is  not  mine."  Anyhow,  if  Thy  doctrine 


is  not  Thine.  <>  Lord,  whose  i*  it,  unlc 
be  another  whose  it  is  ?  The  Sabcllians  un 
derstand  not  what  Thou  saidst;  for  t.  • 
not  the  trinity,  but  follow  the  error  of  their 
own  heart.  Let  us  worshippers  of  the  trinity 
and  unity  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 
and  one  God,  understand  concerning  Christ's 
doctrine,  how  il  is  not  His.  And  He  said 
thai  He  spoke  nol  from  Himself  for  this  rea 
son,  because  Chrisi  is  Ihe  Son  of  the  Father, 
and  the  Father  is  the  Father  of  Christ;  and 
the  Son  is  from  God  the  Father,  God,  but 
God  Ihe  Falher  is  God  nol  from  God  Ihe  Son. 
8.  "  He  lhat  speaketli  of  himself  seeketh 
his  own  glory.'  This  will  be  he  who  is  called 
Antichrist,  "exalting  himself,"  as  the  apostle 
says,  "above  all  thai  is  called  God,  and  lhal 
is  worshipped."4  The  Lord,  declaring  that 
this  same  it  is  that  will  seek  his  own  glory, 
not  the  glory  of  the  Father,  says  to  the  Jews: 
"  I  am  come  in  my  Father's  name,  and  ye 
have  nol  received  me;  anolher  will  come  in 
his  own  name,  him  ye  will  receive."5  He 
intimated  that  they  would  receive  Antichrist, 
who  will  seek  the  glory  of  his  own  name,  puf 
fed  up,  not  solid;  and  therefore  not  stable, 
but  assuredly  ruinous.  But  our  Lord  Jesus 
Chrisi  has  shown  us  a  greal  example  of 
humility:  for  doubtless  He  is  equal  with  the 
Father,  for  "  in  the  beginning  was  the  Word, 
and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word 
was  God;  "  yea,  doubtless,  He  Himself  said, 
and  most  truly  said,  "Am  I  so  longtime  with 
you,  and  ye  have  not  known  me,  Pnilip?  He 
thai  haih  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father."6 
Yea,  doubtless,  Himself  said,  and  most  truly 
said,  "  I  and  the  Fatherure  one." 7  If,  there 
fore,  He  is  one  with  the  Father,  equal  to  the 
Father,  God  from  God,  God  with  God,  co- 
eternal,  immortal,  alike  unchangeable,  alike 
without  time,  alike  Creator  and  disposer  of 
limes;  and  yel  because  He  came  in  time,  and 
took  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  in  condition 
was  found  as  a  man,8  He  seeks  the  glory  of 
the  Falher,  nol  His  own;  whal  oughtest  thou 
to  do,  O  man,  who,  when  thou  doest  anything 
good,  seekesl  ihy  own  glory;  but  when  thou 
doest  anything  ill.  dost  meditate  calumny 
againsl  God  ?  Consider  thyself,  thou  art  a 
creature,  acknowledge  thy  Creator:  thou  art 
a  servant,  despise  not  thy  Lord:  thou  art 
adopted,  not  for  thy  own  merits;  seek  His 
glory  from  whom  fhou  hast  this  grace,  that 
thou  art  a  man  adopted;  His,  whose  glory 
He  sought  who  is  from  Him,  the  Only-he  - 
gollen.  "But  He  thai  seeketh  His 
that  sent  Him,  llie  same  is  true,  and  i 
righteousness  is  in  Him."  In  Ant 


«  John  vi.  29. 


Rom.  iv.  5 


John 


1 86 


THE   WORKS  OK  ST.    AlV.l'STIN. 


[TRACTATK  XXX. 

however,  there  is  unrighteousness,  and  he  is  of  Christ.,  seek  not  our  own  glory,  that  we  be 
not  true;  because  he  will  seek  his  own  glory,  !  not  led  into  the  snares  of  Antichrist.  But  if 
not  His  by  whom  he  was  sent:  for,  indeed,  ;  Christ  sought  His  glory  that  sent  Him,  how 


he  was  not  sent,  but  only  permitted  to  come. 
Let  us  all,  therefore,  that  belong  to  the  body 


much  more   ought  we    to  seeic  the  glory  of 
Him  who  made  us  ? 


TRACTATE    XXX. 

CHAPTER  VII.    19-24. 
i.   THE    passage   of    the    holy   Gospel   of  I  See  what  answer    it  made:    "Thou    hast  a 


which  we  have  before  discoursed  to  you, 
beloved,  is  followed  by  that  of  to-day,  which 
has  just  now  been  read.  Both  the  disciples 
and  the  Jews  heard  the  Lord  speaking;  both 
men  of  truth  and  liars  heard  the  Truth  speak 
ing;  both  friends  and  enemies  heard  Charity 
speaking;  both  good  men  and  bad  men  heard 
the  Good  speaking.  They  heard,  but  He 
discerned;  He  saw  and  foresaw  whom  His 
discourse  profited  and  would  profit.  Among 
those  who  were  then,  He  saw;  among  us  who 
were  to  be.  He  foresaw.  Let  us  therefore 
hear  the  Gospel,  just  as  if  we  were  listening 
to  the  Lord  Himself  present:  nor  let  us  say, 
O  happy  they  who  were  able  to  see  Him!  be 
cause  there  were  many  of  them  who  saw,  and 
also  killed  Him;  and  there  are  many  among 
us  who  have  not  seen  Him,  and  yet  have  be 
lieved.  For  the  precious  truth  that  sounded 
forth  from  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  was  both 
written  for  our  sakes,  and  preserved  for  our 
sakes,  and  recited  for  our  sakes,  and  will  be 
recited  also  for  the  sake  of  our  prosperity, 
even  until  the  end  of  the  world.  The  Lord 
is  above;  but  the  Lord,  the  Truth,  is  also  here. 
For  the  body  of  the  Lord,  in  which  He  rose 
again  from  the  dead,  can  be  only  in  one  place; 
but  His  truth  is  everywhere  diffused.  Let 
us  then  hear  the  Lord,  and  let  us  also  speak 
that  which  He  shall  have  granted  to  us  con 
cerning  His  own  words. 

2.  "  Did  not  Moses,"  saith  He,  "  give  you 
the  law,  and  yet  none  of  you  doeth  the  law  ? 
Why  do  ye  seek  to  kill  me  ?"  For  ye  seek  to 
kill  me  just  for  this  reason,  that  none  of  you 
doeth  the  law;  for  if  ye  did  do  the  law,  ye 
would  recognize  Christ  in  its  very  letters,  and 
ye  would  not  kill  Him  when  present  with  you. 
And  they  answered:  "  The  crowd  answered 
Him;"  answered  as  a  tumultuous  crowd,' 
things  not  pertaining  to  order,  but  to  confu 
sion;  in  a  word,  the  crowd  was  disturbed. 


devil:  who  seeks  to  kill  thee?''  As  if  it  were 
not  worse  to  say,  "  Thou  hast  a  devil,"  than 
to  kill  Him.  To  Him,  indeed,  was  it  said, 
that  He  had  a  devil,  who  was  casting  out 
devils.  What  else  can  a  turbulent  disorderly 
crowd  say  ?  What  else  can  filth  stirred  up 
do  but  stink  ?  The  crowd  was  disturbed,  by 
what  ?  By  the  truth.  For  the  eyes  that  have 
not  soundness  cannot  endure  the  brightness 
of  the  light. 

3.  But  the  Lord,  manifestly  not  disturbed, 
but  calm  in  His  truth,  rendered  not  evil  for 
evil  nor  railing  for  railing;2  although,  if  He 
were  to  say  to  these  men,  You  have  a  devil, 
He  would  certainly  be  saying  what  was  true. 
For  they  would  not  have  said  such  things  to 
the  Truth,  unless  the  falsehood  of  the  devil 
had  instigated  them.  What  then  did  He  an 
swer  ?  Let  us  calmly  hear,  and  drink  in  the 
serene  word:  "  I  have  done  one  work,  and  ve 
all  mar/el."  As  if  He  said,  What  if  ye  were 
to  see  all  my  works?  For  they  were  His 
works  which  they  saw  in  the  world,  and  yet 
they  saw  not  Him  who  made  them  all:  He 
did  one  thing,  and  they  were  disturbed  be 
cause  he  made  a  man  whole  on  the  Sabbath- 
day.  As  if,  indeed,  when  any  sick  man  re 
covered  his  health  on  the  Sabbath-day,  it  had 
been  any  other  that  made  such  a  man  whole 
than  He  who  offended  them,  because  He  made 
one  man  whole  on  the  Sabbath-day.  For  who 
else  has  made  others  whole  than  He  who  is 
health  itself, —  He  who  gives  even  to  the 
beasts  that  health  which  He  gave  to  this  man  ? 
For  it  was  bodily  health.  The  health  of  the 
flesh  is  repaired,  and  the  flesh  dies,  and  when 
it  is  repaired,  death  is  only  put  off,  not  taken 
away.  However,  even  that  same  health, 
brethren,  is  from  the  Lord,  through  whomso 
ever  it  may  be  given:  by  whose  care  and  min 
istry  soever  it  may  be  imparted,  it  is  given 
by  Him  from  whom  all  health  is,  to  whom  it 


Ml        \\\.  i 


ON    I  UK  GOSPEL  "i    ST.   JOHN. 


is  sattl  in  the  psalm,  "  O  Lord.  THOU  wilt  save   every  whit  whole  on  the  Snbbath-day."    ' 
men  and  beast-. ;   a>  'I'hou  hast  multiplied  Thy    saith    He,    "a    man   on    the    Sabbath-iln 

mercy,  O  God.''  For  because  Thoa  art  God,  oeiveth  circnmcision  that  the  law  should  not 
Thy  multiplied  mercy  reaches  even  to  the  be  broken  "  (for  it  was  something  saving  that 
safety  of  human  tlt-sh,  reaches  even  to  the  was  ordained  by  Moses  in  that  ordinal 
safety  of  dumb  animals;  but  Thou  who  givest  circumcision),  why  are  ye  angry  at  me  for 
health  of  flesh  common  to  men  and  beasts,  is  working  a  healing  on  the  Sabbath-day  ? 
there  no  health  which  Thou  reservest  for  men  ?  5.  Perhaps,  indeed,  that  circumcision 
There  is  certainly  another  which  is  not  only  i  pointed  to  the  Lord  Himself,  at  whom  they 
not  common  to  men  and  beasts,  but  to  men  !  were  indignant,  because  He  worked  cures  and 
themselves  is  not  common  to  good  and  bad.  <  healing.  For  circumcision  was  commanded 
In  a  word,  when  he  had  there  spoken  of  this  to  be  applied  on  the  eighth  day:  and  what  is 
health  which  men  and  cattle  receive  in  com- '  circumcision  but  the  spoiling  of  the  flesh  ? 
mon,  because  of  that  health  which  men,  but  j  This  circumcision,  then,  signified  the  removal 
only  the  good,  ought  to  hope  for,  he  added  as  I  of  carnal  lusts  from  the  heart.  Therefore 
he  went  on:  "  But  the  sons  of  men  shall  put  not  without  cause  was  it  given,  and  ordered 
their  trust  under  the  cover  of  Thy  wings,  to  be  made  in  that  member;  since  by  that 
They  shall  be  fully  satisfied  with  the  fatness  member  the  creature  of  mortal  kind  is  pro 
of  Thy  house;  and  Thou  shall  give  them  created.  By  one  man  came  death,  just  as  by 
drink,  from  the  torrent  of  Thy  pleasure.  For  one  man  the  resurrection  of  the  dead;4  and 
with  Thee  is  the  fountain  of  life;  and  in  Thy  ,  by  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and 
light  shall  they  see  light."1  This  is  the  health  ;  death  by  sin.5  Therefore  every  man  is  born 
which  belongs  to  good  men,  those  whom  he  with  a  foreskin,  because  every  man  is  born 
called  "sons  of  men;"  whilst  he  had  said ;  with  the  vice  of  propagation;  and  God 
above,  "  O  Lord,  Thou  shall  save  men  and  i  cleanses  not,  either  from  the  vice  witli  which 
beasts."  How  then?  Were  not  those  men  •  we  are  born,  or  from  the  vices  which  we  add 


sons  of  men,  that  after  he  had  said 


he   thereto  by  ill  living,  except  by  the  stony  knife, 


should  go  on  and  say,  But  the  sons  of  men:  \  the  Lord  Christ.      For  Christ  was  the  Rock. 


as  if   men  and    sons   of  men  meant  different 
things  ?     Yet  I  do  not  believe  that  the  Holy 


Now  they  used  to  circumcise  with  stone  knives, 
and   by  the   name    of    rock    they   prefigured 


Spirit  had  said  this  without  some  indication  Christ:  and  yet  when  He  was  present  with 
of  distinction.  The  term  men  refers  to  the  them  they  did  not  acknowledge  Him,  but  be- 
first  Adam,  sons  of  men  to  Christ.  Perhaps,  sides,  they  sought  to  kill  Him.  But  why  on 
indeed,  ;//ra  relate  to  the  first  man;  but  sons  \  the  eighth  day, unless  because  after  the  seventh 
of  men  relate  to  the  Son  of  man.  day  of  the  week  the  Lord  rose  again  on  the 

4.  "  I  have  done  one  work,  and  ye  all  njar-  Lord's  day  ?  Therefore  Ciirist's  resurrection, 
vel."  And  immediately  He  subjoined:  which  happened  on  the  third  day  indeed  of 
"  Moses  therefore  gave  unto  you  circumcis- ;  His  passion,  but  on  the  eighth  day  in  the 
ion."  It  was  well  done  that  ye  received  cir-  days  of  the  week,  that  same  resurrection  it  is 


cumcision    from    Moses. 


Not    that    it 


that  doth  circumcise  us.  Hear  of  those  that 
were  circumcised  with  the  real  stone,  while 
the  apostle  admonishes  them:  "  If  then  ye  be 
risen  with  Christ,  seek  those  things  which  are 


of  Moses,  but  of  the  fathers;"  since  it  was 
Abraham  that  first  received  circumcision  from 
the  Lord.2  "And  ye  circumcise  on  the  Sab- 
bath-day."  Moses  has  convicted  you:  ye  above,  where  Christ  is,  sitting  on  the  right 
have  received  in  the  law  to  circumcise  on  the  hand  of  God;  set  your  affection  on  tilings 
eighth  day;  ye  have  received  in  the  law  to  above,  not  on  things  on  the  earth."6 
cease  from  labor  on  the  seventh  day;'  if  the  speaks  to  the  circumcised:  Christ  has  risen; 
eighth  day  from  the  child's  birth  fall  on  the  He  has  taken  away  from  you  carnal  desires, 
seventh  day  of  the  week,  what  will  ye  do?,  evil  lusts,  the  superfluity  with  which  you  wen 
Will  ye  abstain  from  work  to  keep  the  Sab-  born,  and  that  far  worse  which  you  had  added 
bath,  or  will  ye  circumcise  to  fulfill  the  sac-  \  thereto  by  ill  living;  being  circumcised  by  the 


rament  of  the  eighth  day  ?  But  I  know,  saith 
He,  what  ye  do.  "Ye  circumcise  a  man." 
Why?  Because  circumcision  relates  to  what 
is  a  kind  of  seal  of  salvation,  and  men  ought 
not  to  abstain  from  the  work  of  salvation  on 
the  Sabbath-day.  Therefore  be  ye  not 
"  angry  with  me,  because  I  have  made  a  man 


Rock,  why  do  you  still  set  your  affections  on 
the  earth?  And  finally,  for  that  '' 
gave  you  the  law,  and  ye  circumcise  a  man  on 
the  Sabbath-day,"  understand  that  by  this  is 
signified  the  good  work  which  I  have  done.  :n 
that  I  have  made  a  man  every  whit  whole  «>n 
-  :Miath-day;  because  he  was  cun 


1 88 


Till*.  \V<  >KKS 


ST,   A.UGUSTIN. 


[TKA< 


XXX. 


he  might  be  whole  in   body,  and   also   he   be 
lieved  that  he  might  be  whole  in  soul. 

6.  "Judge  not  according  to  personal  ap 
pearance,  but  judge  righteous  judgment." 
What  is  this  ?  Just  now,  you  who  by  the  law 


Him  reproving  enemies,  while  we  ourselves 
do  tint  which  the  truth  may  reprove  in  us. 
The  Jews  indeed  judged  by  appearance,  but 
for  that  reason  they  belong  not  to  the  New 
Testament,  they  have  not  the  kingdom  of 


of  Moses  circumcise  on  the  Sabbath-day  are  j  heaven  in  Christ,  nor  are  joined  to  the  society 

of  the  holy  angels;  they  sought  earthly  things 
of  the  Lord;  for  a  land  of  promise,  victory 
over  enemies,  fruitfulness  of  child-bearing, 
increase  of  children,  abundance  of  fruit, — all 
which  things  were  indeed  promised  to  them 
by  God,  the  True  and  the  Good,  promised  to 
them,  however,  as  unto  carnal  men, — all  these 
things  made  for  them  the  Old  Testament. 
What  is  the  Old  Testament  ?  The  inherit 
ance,  as  it  were,  belonging  to  the  old  man. 
We  have  been  renewed,  have  been  made  a 
new  man,  because  He  who  is  the  new  man 
has  come.  What  is  so  new  as  to  be  born  of  a 
virgin  ?  Therefore,  because  there  was  not  in 
Him  what  instruction  might  renew,  because 


not  angry  with  Moses;  and  because  I  made 
a  man  whole  on  the  Sabbath-day  you  are 
angry  with  me.  You  judge  by  the  person; 
give  heed  to  the  truth.  I  do  not  prefer  my 
self  to  Moses,  says  the  Lord,  who  was  also 
the  Lord  of  Moses.  So  consider  us  as  you 
would  two  men,  as  both  men;  judge  between 
us,  but  judge  a  true  judgment;  do  not  con- 
de.mn  him  by  honoring  me,  but  honor  me  by 
understanding  him.  For  this  He  said  to 
them  in  another  place:  "  If  ye  believed  Moses 
ye  would  certainly  believe  me  also,  for  he 
wrote  of  me."1  But  in  this  place  He  willed 
not  to  say  this,  Himself  and  Moses  being  as 
it  were  placed  before  these  men  for  judgment. 

Because  of  Moses'  law  you  circumcise,  even  I  He  had  no  sin,  there  was  given  Him  a  new 
when  it  happens  to  be  the  Sabbath-day,  and  origin  of  birth.  In  Him  a  new  birth,  in  us  a 
will  ye  not  that  I  should  show  the  beneficence  j  new  man.  What  is  a  new  man  ?  A  man  re- 
of  healing  during  the  Sabbath  ?  For  the  Lord  j  newed  from  oldness.  Renewed  unto  what? 
of  circumcision  and  the  Lord  of  the  Sabbath  j  Unto  desiring  heavenly  things,  unto  longing 
is  the  same  who  is  the  Author  of  health;  and  i  for  things  eternal,  unto  earnestly  seeking  the 


they  are  servile  works  that  ye  are  forbidden 
to  do  on  the  Sabbath;  if  ye  really  understand 
what  servile  works  are,  ye  sin  not.  For  he 
that  committeth  sin  is  the  servant  of  sin.  Is 
it  a  servile  work  to  heal  a  man  on  the  Sabbath- 
day  ?  Ye  do  eat  and  drink  (to  infer  somewhat 
from  the  admonition  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  from  His  words);  at  any  rate,  why  do  ye 
eat  and  drink  on  the  Sabbath,  but  because  that 
what  ye  do  pertains  to  health  ?  By  this  ye 
show  that  the  works  of  health  are  not  in  any 
wise  to  be  omitted  on  the  Sabbath.  Therefore 
"  do  not  judge  by  person,  but  judge  righteous 
judgment."  Consider  me  as  ye  would  a  man; 
consider  Moses  as  a  man:  if  ye  will  judge 
according  to  the  truth,  ye  will  condemn 
neither  Moses  nor  me;  and  when  ye  know  the  is  not  when  we  honor  men  in  diverse  measure 


truth  ye  will  know  me,  because  I  am  the  Truth. 
7.  It  requires  great  labor  in  this  world, 
brethren  to  get  clear  of  the  vice  which  the 
Lord  has  noted  in  this  place,  so  as  not  to 
judge  by  appearance,  but  to  keep  right  judg 
ment.  The  Lord,  indeed,  admonished  the 
Jews,  but  He  warned  us  also;  them  He  con 
victed,  us  He  instructed;  them  He  reproved, 
us  He  encouraged.  Let  us  not  imagine  that 
this  was  not  said  to  us,  simply  because  we 
were  not  there  at  that  time.  It  was  written, 
it  is  read;  when  it  was  recited  we  heard  it; 
but  we  heard  it  as  said  to  the  Jews;  let  us  not 
place  ourselves  behind  ourselves  and  watch 


Joh. 


country  which  is  above  and  fears  no  foe, 
where  we  do  not  lose  a  friend  nor  fear  an  en 
emy;  where  we  live  with  good  affection,  with 
out  any  want;  where  no  longer  any  advances, 
because  none  fails;  where  no  man  is  born, 
because  no  man  dies;  where  there  is  no  hun 
gering  nor  thirsting;  where  immortality  is 
fullness,  and  truth  our  aliment.  Having  these 
promises,  and  pertaining  to  the  New  Testa 
ment,  and  being  made  heirs  of  a  new  inherit 
ance,  and  co-heirs  of  the  Lord  Himself,  we 
have  a  far  different  hope  from  theirs:  let  us  not 
judge  by  appearance,  but  hold  right  judgment. 


Who 
the  person  ? 


he  that  judges  not  according  to 
He  that  loves  equally.     Equal 


love  causes  that  persons  be  not  accepted.     It 


according  to  their  degrees  that  we  ought  to 
fear  lest  we  are  accepting  persons.  For  where 
we  judge  between  two,  and  at  times  between 
relations,  sometimes  it  happens  that  judgment 
has  to  be  made  between  father  and  son;  the 
father  complains  of  a  bad  son,  or  the  son 
complains  of  a  harsh  father;  we  regard  the 
honor  which  is  due  to  the  father  from  the  son; 
we  do  not  make  the  son  equal  to  the  father 
in  honor,  but  we  give  him  preference  if  he 
has  a  good  cause:  let  us  regard  the  son  on 
an  equality  with  the  father  in  the  truth,  and 
thus  shall  we  bestow  the  honor  due,  so  that 
equity  destroy  not  merit.  Thus  we  profit  by 
the  words  of  the  Lord,  and  that  we  may  pro 
fit,  we  are  assisted  by  His  grace. 


(,<  >SI'1.I     <  H     -  I  .     M  >H\ 


TRACTATE    XXXI. 

CHAI'TKR     VII.      25-36. 

1.  You  remember,  beloved,  in  the  former   inquired  of  them  where  Christ  should  he  born: 
discourses, — for  it  was  both  read  in  the  Gospel   they  told  him,  V  In  Bethlehem  of  Judah,"  and 
and  also  discussed  by  us   according  to  our   also  brought  forward  the  prophetic  testimony.7 
ability, — how  that  the  Lord  Jesus  went  up  to   If,  therefore,  the  prophets  had  foretold  both 
the  feast-day,  as  it  were    in   secret,   not  be-   the  place  where  the  origin  of  His  flesh  was, 
cause  He  feared  lest  He  should  be  laid  hold   and  the  place  where  His  mother  would  bring 
of, — He  who  had  the  power  not  to  be  laid    Him  forth,  whence  did  spring  that  opinion 
hold  of, — but  to  signify  that  even  in  that  very   among  the  Jews  which  we  have  just  heard, 
feast  which  was  celebrated  by  the  Jews  He   but  from  this,  that  the  Scriptures  had  pro- 
Himself  was  hidden,  and  that  the  mystery  of  claimed  beforehand,  and  had  foretold  both  ? 
the  feast  was  His  own.     In  the  passage  read    In  respect  of  His  being  man,  the  Scriptures 
to-day  then,  that  which  was  supposed  to  be '  foretold  whence  He  should  be;  in  respect  of 
timidity  appeared  as    power;    for  He    spoke  ;  His  being  God,  tins  was  hidden  from  the  un- 
openly  on  the  feast-day,  so  that  the  crowds  godly,  and  it  required  godly  men  to  discover 
marvelled,  and  said  that  which  we  have  heard  i  it.     Moreover,  ttiey  said  this,  "  When  Christ 
when  the  passage  was  read:  "Is  not  this  he  comes,  no  man   knoweth  whence  He  is,"  be- 
whom  they    sought   to    kill?      And,    lo,    he  cause  that  which  was  spoken  by  Isaiah   pro- 
speaketh  openly,  and  they  say  nothing.      Do  j  duced  this  opinion  in  them,  viz.  "And   His 
the  rulers  know  indeed  that  this  is  the  Christ?"    generation,  who  shall  tell  ?  "  '     In  short,  the 
They  who  knew  with  what  fierceness  He  was  \  Lord  Himself  made  answer  to  both,  that  they 
sought  after,  wondered    by    what  power  He   both  did,  and  also  did  not  know  whence  He 
was  kept  from  being  taken.      Then,  not  fully   was;  that  He  might  testify  to  the  holy  proph- 
understanding  His  power,  they  fancied  it  was   ecy  which  before  was  predicted  of  Him,  both 
the  knowledge  of  the  rulers,  that  these  rulers   as  to  the  humanity  of  infirmity  and  also  as  to 
knew  Him  to  be  the  very  Christ,  and  that  for  the  divinity  of  majesty. 

this  reason  they  spared  Him  whom  they  had  3.  Hear,  therefore,  the  word  of  the  Lord, 
with  so  much  eagerness  sought  out  to  be  put '  brethren;  see  how  He  confirmed  to  them  both 
to  death.  j  what  they  said,  "We  know  this  man  whence 

2.  Then  those  same  persons  who  had  said,  •  he    is,"   and  also  what    they  said,    "When 
"Did  the  rulers  know  that  this  is  the  Christ  ?"    Christ  cometh,  no  man  knoweth  whence   He 
proposed  a  question  among  themselves,  by  ]  is.     Then  cried  Christ  in  the  temple,  saying, 
which  it  appeared  to  them  that  He  was  not  the   Ye  both  know  me,  and  ye  know  whence  I  am: 
Christ;    for  they  said   in  addition,  "But  we  !  and  I  am  not  come  of  myself,  but  He  that 
know  this  man  whence  he  is:  but  when  Christ  j  sent  me  is  true,  whom  ye  know  not."     That 
cometh,  no  man  knoweth  whence  he  is."     As  !  is  to  say,  ye  both  know  me,  and  ye  know  me 
to  how  this  opinion  among  the  Jews  arose,  '  not;  ye  both  know  whence  I  am,  and  ye  know 
that    "when  Christ  comes,  no  man  knoweth  :  not  whence  I  am.     Ye  know  whence  I  am: 
whence  He  is"  (for  it  did  not  arise  without  j  Jesus  of  Nazareth,   whose    parents  also    ye 
reason),  if  we  consider  the  Scriptures,  we  find,    knew.     For  in  this    case,  the  birth  of    the 
brethren,  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  have  de- 1  Virgin  alone  was  hidden,  to  whom,  however, 
clared  of  Christ  that  "He  shall  be  called  a   her  husband  was  witness;  for  the  same  was 
Na/.nrene."1     Therefore  they  foretold  whence  '  able  faithfully  to  declare  this,  who  was  also 
II'-  is.     Again,  if  we  seek  the  place  of  His  j  able  as  a  husband  to  be  jealous.     Therefore, 
nativity,  as  that  whence  He  is  by  birth,  neither  j  this  birth  of  the  Virgin  e.vcepted,  they  knew 
was  this  hidden  from   the  Jews,  because  of '  all  that  in  Jesus  pertains  to  man:  Hi- 

the  Scriptures  which  had  foretold  these  things. 'was  known,  His  country  was  known,  His 
For  when  the  Magi,  on  the  appearing  of  ri  family  was  known;  where  He  was  born  w;is 
star,  sought  Him  out  to  worship  Him,  they  to  be  known  by  inquiry.  Rightly  then  did 

cune  to  Herod  and  told  him  what  they  sought   He  say,  "Ye  both  know  me,  and  ye  know 

and  what  they  meant:  and  he.  having  called  whence  I  am,"  according  to  the  flesh  and  form 
together  those  who  had  knowledge  <-f  the  law,  of  man  which  He  bore;  but  according  to  II  - 


=  Matt.ii.  6. 


190 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUST  IN 


[  TKV  IAIK   \X.\I- 


divinity,  ':  And  I  am  not  come  of  myself, 
but  Ik-  that  st/nt  me  is  true,  whom  ye  know 
not;"  but  yet  that  ye  may  know  Him,  be 
lieve  on  Him  whom  He  has  sent,  and  ye  will 
know  Him.  For,  "  No  man  has  seen  l>od  at 
any  time,  except  the  only-begotten  Son,  who 
is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  He  hath  de 
clared  Him:"1  and,  "None  knoweth  the 
Father  but  the  Son,  and  he  to  whom  the  Son 
wills  to  reveal  Him.''  - 

4.  Lastly,  when  He   had   said,   "  But    He 
that  sent  me  is  true,  whom  ye  know  not,"  in 
order  to  show  them  whence  they  might  know 
that  which  they  did  not  know,  He  subjoined, 
*'  I  know  Him."     Therefore  seek  from  me  to 
know  Him.     But  why  is  it  that  I  know  Him  ? 
"  Because  I  am  from  Him,  and  He  sent  me." 
Gloriously  has  He  shown  both.     "  I  am  from 
Him,"  said  He;  because  the  Son  is  from  the 
Father,  and  whatever   the    Son   is,  He  is  of 
Him  whose  Son  He  is.     lience  we  say  that 
the  Lord  Jesus  is  God  of  God:  we  do  not  say 
that  the  Father  is  God  of  God,  but  simply 
God:  and  we  say  that  the  Lord  Jesus  is  Light 
of  Light;   we  do  not  say  that  the  Father  is 
Light  of  Light,  but  simply  Light.      Accord 
ingly,   to  this  belongs  that    which    He  said, 
*'  I  am  from  Him."     But  as  to  my  being  seen 
of  you  in  the  flesh,  "He  sent  me."     When 
thou   nearest   "  He   sent  me,"  do  not  under 
stand  a  difference  of  nature  to  be  meant,  but 
the  authority  of  Him  that  begets. 

5.  "Then  they  sought  to  take  Him:    but 
no  man  laid  hands  on  Him,  because  His  hour 
was  not  yet  come;"  that  is,  because  He  was 
not  willing.     For  what  is  this.      "  His   hour 
was  not  yet  come  "  ?     The  Lord  was  not  born 
under  fate.     This  is  not  to  be  believed  con 
cerning  thee,  much  less  concerning  Him  by 
whom  thou  wast  made.     If  thy  hour  is  His 
good   will,  what   is   His   hour  but   His   good 
will  ?     He  meant  not  therefore    an   hour  in 
which  He  should  be  forced  to  die,  but  that  in 
which  He  would  deign   to  be  put  to  death. 
But  He  was  awaiting  the  time  in  which  He 
should  die,  for  He  awaited  also  the  time  in 
which   He    should  be    born.     The    apostle, 
speaking  of  this  time,  says,  4<  But  when  the 
fullness  of  time  came,  God  sent  His  Son."3 
For  this  cause  many  say,  Why  did  not  Christ 
come  before  ?     To  whom  we  must  make  an 
swer,  Because  the  fullness  of  time  had  not  yet 
come,  while  He  by  whom  the  times  were  made 
sets  their  bounds;    for  He    knew  when    He 
ought  to  come.     In   the    first  place,   it    was 
necessary  that  He  should  be  foretold  through 
a  long  series  of  times  and  years;  for  it  was 
not  something  insignificant  that  was  to  come: 


Matt.  xi. 


He  who  was  to  be  ever  held,  had  to  be  for  a 
long  time  foretold.  The  greater  the  judge 
that  was  coming,  the  longer  the  train  of  her 
alds  that  preceded  him.  In  short,  when  the 
fullness  of  time  came,  He  also  came  who  was 
to  deliver  us  from  time.  For  being  delivered 
from  time,  we  shall  come  to  that  eternity 
where  there  is  no  time:  there  it  is  not  said, 
When  shall  the  hour  come?  for  the  day  is 
everlasting,  a  day  which  is  neither  preceded 
by  a  yesterday,  nor  cut  off  by  a  morrow. 
But  in  this  world  days  roll  on,  some  are  pass 
ing  away,  others  come;  none  abides;  and  the 
moments  in  which  we  are  speaking  drive  out 
one  another  in  turn,  nor  stands  the  first  syl 
lable  for  the  second  to  sound.  Since  we  be 
gan  to  speak  we  are  somewhat  older,  and 
without  doubt  I  am  just  noiv  older  than  I  was 
in  the  rrtorning;  thus,  nothing  stands,  nothing 
remains  fixed  in  time.  Therefore  ought  we 
to  love  Him  by  whom  the  times  were  made, 
that  we  may  be  delivered  from  time  and  be 
fixed  in  eternity,  where  there  is  no  more 
changeableness  of  times.  Great,  therefore, 
is  the  mercy  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  that 
for  our  sakes  He  was  made  in  time,  by  whom 
the  times  were  made;  that  He  was  made 
among  all  things,  by  whom  all  things  were 
made;  that  He  became  what  He  made.  For 
He  was  made  what  He  had  made;  for  He  was 
made  man  who  had  made  man,  lest  what  He 
had  made  should  perish.  According  to  this 
dispensation,  the  hour  of  His  birth  had  now 
come,  and  He  was  born;  but  not  yet  had 
come  the  hour  of  His  suffering,  therefore  not 
yet  had  He  suffered. 

6.  In  short,  that  ye  may  know  that  the 
words  refer,  not  to  the  necessity  of  His  dy 
ing,  but  to  His  power, — I  speak  this  for  the 
sake  of  some  who,  when  they  hear  "His  hour 
was  not  yet  come,"  are  determined  on  believ 
ing  in  fate,  and  their  hearts  become  infatu 
ated; — that  ye  may  know,  then,  that  it  was 
His  power  of  dying,  recollect  the  passion, 
look  at  Him  crucified.  While  hanging  on  the 
tree,  He  said,  "I  thirst."  They,  having 
heard  this,  offered  to  Him  on  the  cross  vin 
egar  by  a  sponge  on  a  reed.  He  received  it, 
and  said,  "It  is  finished;"  and,  bowing  His 
head,  gave  up  the  ghost.  You  see  His  power 
of  dying,  that  He  waited  for  this — until  all 
things  should  be  fulfilled  that  had  been  fore 
told  concerning  Him — to  take  place  before 
His  death.  For  the  prophet  had  said,  "  They 
gave  me  gall  for  my  meat;  and  in  my  thirst 
they  g-ive  me  vinegar  to  drink."4  He  waited 
for  all  these  things  to  be  fulfilled:  after  they 
were  completed,  He  said,  "  It  is  finished;" 


.11    \  \  \  I .  I 


( >\   THE  <•<  &PEL  « >l    >  i      l<  >liv 


and  He  departed   by  power,  because  He  came 
not     by    necessity.        Hence    sonic     wondered 
more   at    tins    His    power   to   die   than  at    His 
ability  to  work   miracles.      Tor  they  came  to 
the  cross  to  take  the  bodies  down  from  the' 
tree,  for  the  Sabbath  was  drawing  near,  and 
tiie  thieves  were  found  still  living.     The  pun 
ishment  of  the  cross  was  so  much  the  harder 
because  it  tortured  men  so  long,  and  all  that  j 
were  crucified  were  killed  by  a  lingering  death. 
But  the  thieves,  that  they  might  not  remain  | 
on  the  tree,  were    forced    to  die  by   having  j 
their  legs  broken,  that  they  might  be  taken  j 
down  thence.     The  Lord,  however,  was  found  ] 
to  be  already  dead,1  and  the  men  marvelled; 
and  they  who  despised   Him  when  living,  so 
wondered  at  Him  when  dead,  that  some  of 
them  said,  "  Truly  this  was  the  Son  of  God.  "z 
Whence  also  that,  brethren,  where  He  says 
to  those  that  seek   Him,   "I  am  He;"   and 
they,  going  backward,  all  fell  to  the  ground  ?' 
Consequently   there    was    in    Him    supreme 
power.     Nor  was  He  forced  to  die  at  an  hour  ; 
but  He  waited  the  hour  on    which  His  will 
might  fittingly  be  done,   not    that  on  which 
necessity  might  be  fulfilled  against  His  will. 

7.  "  But  many  of  the  people  believed  on 
Him."     The    Lord  made  whole  the  humble 
and    the  poor.     The  rulers    were  mad,    and 
therefore  they  not  only  did  not  acknowledge 
the    Physician,  but  even  were  eager  to  slay 
Him.     There  was  a  certain  crowd  of  people 
which  quickly  saw  its  own  sickness,  and  with 
out  delay  recognized  His  remedy.     See  what 
that  very  crowd,    moved    by   His    miracles, 
said:  "  When  Christ  cometh  will  He  do  more 
signs  than  these?"     Surely,  unless  there  will 
be  two  Christs,   this  is  the  Christ.     Conse 
quently,  in  saying  these  things,  they  believed 
on  Him. 

8.  But  those  rulers,  having  heard  the  assur 
ance  of  the  multitude,  and  that  murmuring 
noise  of  the  people  in  which  Christ  was  being 
glorified,  "  sent  officers  to  take  Him."     To 
take  whom  ?    Him  not  yet  willing  to  be  taken. 
Because  then  they  could  not  take  Him  while 
He  would  not,  they  were  sent  to  hear  Him 
teaching.       Teaching    what?      "Then    said 
Jesus,   Yet  a  little    while    I    am  with  you." 
What  ye  wish  to  do  now  ye  will  do,  but  not 
just  now;  because  I  am  not  just  now  willing. 
Why  am  I  now  as  yet  unwilling?     Because 
"yet  a  little  while  I  arn  with  you;  and  then 
I  go  unto  Him  that  sent  me."     I  must  com 
plete  my  dispensation,   and   in    this  manner 
come  to  my  suffering. 

9.  "Ye  shall  seek  me,  and  shall  not  find 
me:  and  where  I  am,  thither  ye  cannot  come. 


i  John 


Matt,  xxvii.  54. 


i  John  xviii.  t>. 


H  already  fun-told  His  resurrer. 
tion;  for  they  would  not  ackno,. 
when  present,  and  afterwards  : 
Him  when  they  saw  the  multitude  alrea-i 
lieving  on  Him.  For  great  signs  were  wr< 
even  when  the  Lord  was  risen  again  and  as 
cended  into  heaven.  Then  mighty  deeds 
were  done  by  His  disciples,  but  He  wrought 
by  them  as  He  wrought  by  Himself:  since, 
indeed,  He  had  said  to  them,  "  Without  me 
ye  can  do  nothing."4  When  that  lame  man 
who  sat  at  the  gate  rose  up  at  Peter's  voice, 
and  walked  on  his  feet,  so  that  men  marvelled, 
Peter  spoke  to  them  to  this  effect,  that  it  was 
not  by  his  own  power  that  he  did  this,  but  in 
the  virtue  of  Him  whom  they  slew.  *  Many 
pricked  in  the  heart  said,  "  What  shall  we 
do  ?  "  For  they  saw  themselves  bound  by  an 
immense  crime  of  impiety,  since  they  slew 
Him  whom  they  ought  to  have  revered  and 
worshipped;  and  this  crime  they  thought  in 
expiable.  A  great  wickedness  indeed  it 
was,  the  thought  of  which  might  make  them 
despair;  yet  it  did  not  behove  them  to  des 
pair,  for  whom  the  Lord,  as  He  hung  on  the 
cross,  deigned  to  pray.  For  He  had  said, 
"  Father,  forgive  them;  for  they  know  not 
what  they  do."8  He  saw  some  who  were  His 
own  among  many  who  were  aliens;  for  these 
He  sought  pardon,  from  whom  at  the  time 
He  was  still  receiving  injury.  He  regarded 
not  that  He  was  being  put  to  death  by  them, 
but  only  that  He  was  dying  for  them.  It 
was  a  great  thing  that  was  forgiven  them,  it 
was  a  great  thing  that  was  done  by  them  and 
for  them,  so  that  no  man  should  despair  of 
the  forgiveness  of  his  sin  when  they  who  slew 
Christ  obtained  pardon.  Christ  died  for  us, 
but  surely  He  was  not  put  to  death  by  us  ? 
But  those  men  indeed  saw  Christ  dying  by 
their  own  villany;  and  yet  they  believed  on 
Christ  pardoning  their  villanies.  Until  they 
drank  the  blood  they  had  shed,  they  des 
paired  of  their  own  salvation.  Therefore 
said  He  this:  "Ye  shall  seek  me,  and  shall 
not  find  me:  and  where  I  am,  ye  cannot 
come;"  because  they  were  to  seek  Him  after 
the  resurrection,  being  pricked  in  their  heart 
with  remorse.  Nor  did  He  say  "  where  I 
will  be,"  but  "  where  I  am."  For  Christ  was 
always  in  that  place  whither  He  was  about 
to  return;  for  He  came  in  such  manner  that 
He  did  not  depart  from  that  place.  Hen;  e 
He  says  in  another  place,  *'  No  man  h 
cended  into  heaven,  but  He  who  came  down 
from  heaven,  the  Son  of  man  who  is  in 
heaven."  "  He  said  not,  who  wiis  in  1:; 
He  spoke  on  the  earth,  and  declared  th.it  He 


4  John  : 
6  Luke 


7  John 


THK  WORKS  ()!•    ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACT  vn  \.\\l. 


was  at  the  same  time  in  heaven.  Ik-  came 
in  such  wise  that  He  departed  not  thence; 
and  He  so  returned  as  not  to  abandon  us. 
What  do  ye  marvel  at  ?  This  is  God's  doing. 
For  man,  as  regards  his  body,  is  in  a  place,  and 
departs  from  a  place;  and  when  he  comes  to 
another  place,  he  will  not  be  in  that  place 
whence  he  came:  but  God  fills  all  things,  and 
is  all  everywhere;  He  is  not  held  in  places 
according  to  space.  Nevertheless  the  Lord 
Christ  was,  as  regards  His  visible  flesh,  on 
the  earth:  as  regards  His  invisible  majesty, 
He  was  in  heaven  and  on  earth;  and  therefore 
He  says,  "Where  I  am,  thither  ye  cannot 
come."  Nor  did  He  say,  "Ye  shall  not  be 
able."  but  "  ye  are  not  able  to  come;  "  for 
at  that  time  they  were  such  as  were  not  able. 
And  that  ye  may  know  that  this  was  not  said 
to  cause  despair,  He  said  something  of  the 
same  kind  also  to  His  disciples:  "Whither  I 
go  ye  cannot  come."  '  Yet  while  praying  in 
their  behalf,  He  said,  "  Father,  I  will  that 
where  1  am  they  also  may  be  with  me."2  And, 
finally,  this  He  expounded  to  Peter,  and  says 
to  him,  "  Whither  I  go  thou  canst  not  follow 
me  now,  but  thou  shall  follow  me  hereafter."3 
10.  "Then  said  the  Jews,"  not  to  Him, 
but  "  to  themselves,  Whither  will  this  man  go, 
that  we  shall  not  find  him  ?  will  he  go  unto 
the  dispersion  among  the  Gentiles,  and  teach 
the  Gentiles  ?"  For  they  knew  not  what  they 
said;  but,  it  being  His  will,  they  prophesied. 
The  Lord  was  indeed  about  to  go  to  the  Gen 
tiles,  not  by  His  bodily  presence,  but  still 
with  His  feet.  What  were  His  feet?  Those 
which  Saul  desired  to  trample  upon  by  per 
secution,  when  the  Head  cried  out  to  him, 
"Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou  me  ?"4 
What  is  this  saying  that  He  said,  "Ye  shall 
seek  me,  and  shall  not  find  me:  and  where  I 
am,  thither  ye  cannot  come  ? "  Wherefore 
the  Lord  said  this  they  knew  not,  and  yet 
they  did  predict  something  that  was  to  be 
without  knowing  it.  For  this  is  what  the  Lord 
said  that  they  knew  not  the  place,  if  place 
however  it  must  be  called,  which  is  the  bosom 
of  the  Father,  from  which  Christ  never  de 
parted;  nor  were  they  competent  to  conceive 
where  Christ  was,  whence  Christ  never  with 
drew,  whither  He  was  to  return,  where  He 
was  all  the  while  dwelling.  How  was  it  pos 
sible  for  the  human  heart  to  conceive  this, 
least  of  all  to  explain  it  with  the  tongue? 
This,  then,  they  in  no  wise  understood;  and 
yet  by  occasion  of  this  they  foretold  our  sal 
vation,  that  the  Lord  would  go  to  the  disper 
sion  of  the  Gentiles,  and  would  fulfill  that 
which  they  read  but  did  not  undersfuid.  "A 


«  John  xiii.  ^ 
I  John  xiii.   ;' 


Join 


people  whom  I  have  not  known  served  me, 
and  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear  obeyed  me."5 
They  before  whose  eyes  He  was,  heard  Him 
not;  those  heard  Him  in  whose  ears  He  was 
sounded. 

11.  For  of  that  Church  of  the  Gentiles 
which  was  to  come,  the  woman  that  had  the 
issue  of  blood  was  a  type:  she  touched  and 
was  not  seen;  she  was  not  known  and  yet  was 
healed.  It  was  in'  reality  a  figure  what  the 
Lord  asked:  "  Who  touched  me  ?"  As  if  not 
knowing,  He  healed  her  as  unknown:  so  has 
He  done  also  to  the  Gentiles.  We  did  not 
get  to  know  Him  in  the  flesh,  yet  we  have 
been  made  worthy  to  eat  His  flesh,  and  to  be 
members  in  His  flesh.  In  what  way  ?  Be 
cause  He  sent  to  us.  Whom  ?  His  heralds, 
His  disciples,  His  servants,  His  redeemed 
whom  He  created,  but  whom  He  redeemed, 
His  brethren  also.  I  have  said  but  little  of 
all  that  they  are:  His  own  members,  Himself; 
for  He  sent  to  us  His  own  members,  and  He 
made  us  His  members.  Nevertheless,  Christ 
has  not  been  among  us  with  the  bodily  form 
which  the  Jews  saw  and  despised;  because 
this  also  was  said  concerning  Him,  even  as 
the  apostle  says:  "  Now  I  say  that  Christ  was 
a  minister  of  the  circumcision  for  the  truth  of 
God,  to  confirm  the  promises  made  unto  the 
fathers.1'6  He  owed  it  to  have  come  to  those 
by  whose  fathers  and  to  whose  fathers  He 
was  promised.  For  this  reason  He  says  also 
Himself:  "I  am  not  sent  but  unto  the  lost 
sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel."7  But  what 
says  the  apostle  in  the  following  words  ? 
"And  that  the  Gentiles  might  glorify  God  for 
His  mercy."  What,  moreover,  saith  the 
Lord  Himself  ?  "Other  sheep  I  have  which  are 
not  of  this  fold.8  He  who  had  said,  "  I  am 
not  sent  but  unto  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house 
of  Israel,"  how  has  He  other  sheep  to  which 
He  was  not  sent,  except  that  He  intimated 
that  He  was  not  sent  to  show  His  bodily 
presence  but  to  the  Jews  only,  who  saw  and 
killed  Him?  And  yet  many  of  them,  both 
before  and  afterwards,  believed.  The  first 
harvest  was  winnowed  from  the  cross,  that 
there  might  be  a  seed  whence  another  harvest 
might  spring  up.  But  at  this  present  time. 
when  roused  by  the  fame  of  the  gospel,  and 
by  its  goodly  odor,  His  faithful  ones  among 
all  nations  believe,  He  shall  be  the  expecta 
tion  of  the  Gentiles,  when  He  shall  come  who 
has  already  come;  when  He  shall  be  seen  by 
all,  He  who  was  then  not  seen  by  some,  by 
some  was  seen;  when  He  shall  come  to  judge 
i  who  came  to  be  judged;  when  He  shall  come 
to  distinguish  who  came  not  to  be  distinguish- 


Rom. 


m   \\xn.l 


o.\  '!  in    GOSPE1    <>i    ST.  JOHN. 


e<l.  For  Christ  \v;is  not  discerned  l>y  the  un 
godly,  i"it  w.i.*.  condemned  with  tiic  ungodly; 
for  it  was  s;iid  concerning  Him.  "  He  was 
;n  . .Minted  among  the  wicked.'"  The  robber 
CM -:ipcd,  (Christ  was  condemned.  He  who 
was  loaded  with  criminal  accusations  received 
pardon;  He  who  lias  released  from  their 
crimes  all  who  confess  Him,  was  condemned. 
Nevertheless  even  the  cross  itself,  if  thou 
consiclerest  it  well,  was  a  judgment-seat;  for 


tiu-   Judge    being   set   up  in    the   middi' 
thief  wiio  belicvc-d    was    delivered,  the 
who  reviled   was  condemned.        Already    He 
signified  what   He  is  to  do  with  tut:  quick  and 
the  dead:   some  He  will  set  on  His  right  hand 
and  others  on    His  left.      That  thief  was  like 
those  that  shall  be  on  the  left  hand,  the  other 
like  those  that  shall  be  on  the  right.      He  was 
undergoing    judgment,    and    He   threatened 
judgment. 

*  Luke  xxii.  43. 


TRACTATE  XXXII, 

CHAPTKR    VII.  37-39. 


1.  AMONG  the  dissensions  and  doublings  of 
the  Jews  concerning  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
among  other  things  which  He  said,  by  which 
some  were  confounded,  others  taught:    "On 
the  last  day  of  that  feast  "  (for  it  was  then  that 
these  things  were  done)  which   is  called   the 
feast  of  tabernacles;  that  is,  the  building  of 
tents,  of  which  feast  you  remember,  my  be 
loved,  that  we  have  already  discoursed,  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  calls,  not  by  speaking  in 
any  way  soever,  but  by  crying  aloud,   that 
whoso  thirsts  may  come  to  Him.     If  we  thirst, 
let  us  come;  and  not  by  our  feet,  but  by  our 
affections;  let  us  come,  not  by  removing  from 
our  place,  but  by  loving.     Although,  accord 
ing  to  the  inner  man,  he  that  loves  does  also 
move  from  a  place.     But  it  is  one  thing  to 
move  with  the  body,  another  thing  to  move 
with  the  heart:  he  migrates  with  the  body  who 
changes  his  place   by  a  motion  of  the   body; 
he  migrates  with  the  heart  who  changes  his 
affection  by  a  motion  of  the   heart.     If  thou 
lovest  one  thing,  and  didst  love  another  thing 
before,  thou  art  not  now  where  thou  wast. 

2.  Accordingly,  the  Lord  cries  aloud  to  us: 
for,   "  He  stood   and   cried  out,  if  any  man 
thirst,  let  him  come  unto  me,  and  drink.      He 
that  believeth  on  me,  as  the  Scripture  saith, 
out  of  his   belly    shall    flow    rivers   of   living 
water."     We  are  not  obliged  to  delay  to  in 
quire  what  this   meant,  since  the  evangelist 
has   explained    it.      For  why  the   Lord   said, 
"If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  me, 
and  drink;  "  and,  "  He  that  believeth  on  me, 
out   of    his   belly   shall    flow  rivers  of   living 
water;"   the  evangelist  has  subsequently  ex 
plained,  saying:   "  Hut   this   spake  He  of  the 
Spirit  which  they  that  believe  on  Him  should 


receive.  For  the  Spirit  was  not  yet  given, 
because  Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified.'1  There 
is  therefore  an  inner  thirst  and  an  inner  belly, 
because  there  is  an  inner  man.  And  that 
inner  man  is  Indeed  invisible,  but  the  outer 
man  is  visible;  but  yet  better  is  the  inner  than 
the  outer.  And  this  which  is  not  seen  is  the 
more  loved;  for  it  is  certain  that  the  inner 
man  is  loved  more  than  the  outer.  How  is 
'  this  certain  ?  Let  every  man  prove  it  in  him 
self.  For  although  they  who  live  ill  may  sur 
render  their  minds  to  the  body,  yet  they  do 
wish  to  live,  and  to  live  is  the  property  of  the 
mind  only;  and  they  who  rule,  manifest  them 
selves  more  than  those  things  that  are  ruled. 
Now  it  is  minds  that  rule,  bodies  are  ruled. 
i  Every  man  rejoices  in  pleasure,  and  receives 
!  pleasure  by  the  body:  but  separate  the  mind 
i  from  it,  and  nothing  remains  in  the  body  to 
rejoice;  and  if  there  is  joy  of  the  body,  it  is 
the  mind  that  rejoices.  If  it  has  joy  of  its 
dwelling,  ought  it  not  to  have  joy  of  itself? 
And  if  the  mind  has  whereof  it  may  have  de 
light  outside  itself,  does  it  remain  without 
delights  within?  It  is  quite  certain  that  a 
man  loves  his  soul  more  than  his  body.  But 
further,  a  man  loves  the  soul  even  in  another 
man  more  than  the  body.  What  is  it  that  is 
loved  in  a  friend,  where  the  love  is  the  purer 
and  more  sincere  ?  What  in  the  friend  is 
loved — the  mind,  or  the  body  ?  If  fidelity  is 
loved,  the  mind  is  loved;  if  benevolence  is 
loved,  the  mind  is  the  seat  of  benevolence:  if 
this  is  what  thou  lovest  in  another,  that  he 
too  loves  thee,  it  is  the  mind  thou  love- 
cause  it  is  not  the  flesh,  but  the  mind  that 
loves.  For  therefore  thou  lovest,  because  he 
loves  thee:  ask  why  he  loves  thee,  and  then 


i94 


THK   WORKS  ol-    SI  .    AUGUSTIN. 


[TKAfTATK     \X.\H. 


see  what  it  is  thou  lovest.     Consequently,  it 
is  more  loved,  and  yet  is  not  seen. 

3.  I  would  say  something  further,  by  which 
it  may  more  clearly  appear  to  you,  beloved, 
how  much  the  mind  is  loved,  and  how  it  is 
preferred  to  the  body.     Those  wanton  lovers 
even,  who  delight  in  beauty  of  bodies,  and  are 
charmed    by   shapeliness  of  limbs,   love  the 
more  when  they  are  loved.     For  when  a  man 
loves, and  finds  that  he  is  regarded  with  hatred, 
he  feels  more  anger  than  liking.     Why  does 
he  feel  anger  rather  than  liking?     Because 
the  love  that  he  bestows  is  not  given  him  in 
return.       If,   therefore,   even    the   lovers    of 
bodies  desire  to  be  loved  in  return,  and  this 
delights  them  more  when  they  are  loved,  what 
shall  we  say  of  the  lovers  of  minds  ?     And  if 
the  lovers  of  minds  are  great,  what  shall  we 
say  of  the  lovers  of  God   who  makes  minds 
beautiful  ?     For  as  the   mind  gives  grace  to 
the  body,  so  it  is  God  that  gives  grace  to  the 
mind.     For  it   is  only  the   mind  that  causes 
that  in  the  body  by  which  it  is  loved;  when 
the  mind  has  left  it,  it  is   a  corpse  at  which 
thou    hast  a  horror;  and   how  much  soever 
thou  mayest  have  loved  its  beautiful   limbs, 
thou  makest   haste  to  bury  it.     Hence,  the 
ornament  of  the  body  is  the  mind;  the  orna 
ment  of  the  mind  is  God. 

4.  The  Lord,  therefore,  cries  aloud  to  us 
to  come  and  drink,  if  we  thirst  within;  and  He 
says  that  when  we  have  drunk,  rivers  of  living 
water  shall  flow  from  our  belly.     The  belly  of 
the  inner  man  is  the  conscience  of  the  heart. 
Having  drunk  that  water  then,  the  conscience 
being  purged  begins  to  live;  and  drinking  in, 
it  will  have  a  fountain,  will  be  itself  a  foun 
tain.     What  is  the   fountain,   and   what  the 
river  that  flows  from  the  belly  of  the  inner 
man  ?     Benevolence,  whereby  a  man  will  con 
sult  the   interest  of  his  neighbor.     For  if  he 
imagines  that  what  he  drinks  ought  to  be  only 
for  his  own  satisfying,  there  is  no  flowing  of 
living  water  from  his  belly;  but  if  he  is  quick 
to  consult  for  the  good  of  his  neighbor,  then 
he  becomes  not  dry,  because  there  is  a  flow 
ing.    We  will  now  see  what  it  is  that  they  drink 
who  believe  in  the  Lord;  because  we  surely 
are  Christians,  and   if  we  believe,  we  drink. 
And  it  is  every  man's  duty  to  know  in  him 
self  whether  or  not  he  drinks,  and  whether  he 
lives  by  what  he  drinks;  for  the  fountain  does 
not  forsake  us  if  we  forsake  not  the  fountain. 

5.  The  evangelist  explained,  as  I  have  said, 
whereof  the  Lord  had  cried  out,  to  what  kind 
of  drink    He  had  invited,  what  He  had   pro 
cured  for  them  that  drink,  saying,  "  But  this 
spake  He  of  the  Spirit,  which  they  that  believe 
on  Him  should  receive:  for  the  Spirit  was  not 
yet  given,  because  Jesus  was   not  yet  glori 


fied."  What  spirit  does  He  speak  of,  if  not 
the  Holy  Spirit?  For  every  man  lias  in  him 
self  a  spirit  of  his  own,  of  which  I  sjwke 
when  I  was  commending  to  you  the  consider 
ation  of  the  mind.  For  every  man's  mind  is 
his  own  spirit:  of  which  the  Apostle  Paul  says, 
"  For  what  man  knoweth  the  things  of  a  man, 
but  the  spirit  of  the  man  which  is  in  him 
self?"  And  then  he  added,  "So  also  the 
things  of  God  knoweth  no  man,  but  the  Spirit 
of  God."1  None  knows  the  things  that  are 
ours  but  our  own  spirit.  I  indeed  do  not 
know  what  are  thy  thoughts,  nor  dost  thou 
know  what  are  mine;  for  those  things  which 
we  think  within  are  our  own,  peculiar  to  our 
selves;  and  his  own  spirit  is  the  witness  of 
every  man's  thoughts.  "  So  also  the  things  of 
God  knoweth  no  man,  but  the  Spirit  of  God." 
We  with  our  spirit,  God  with  His:  so,  how 
ever,  that  God  with  His  Spirit  knows  also  what 
goes  on  within  us;  but  we  are  not  able,  with 
out  His  own  Spirit,  to  know  what  takes  place 
in  God.  God,  however,  knows  in  us  even 
what  we  know  not  in  ourselves.  For  Peter 
did  not  know  his  own  weakness,  when  he  heard 
from  the  Lord  that  he  would  deny  Him 
thrice:  the  sick  man  was  ignorant  of  his  own 
condition;  the  Physician  knew  him  to  be  sick. 
There  are  then  certain  things  which  God 
knows  in  us,  while  we  ourselves  know  them 
not.  So  far,  however,  as  belongs  to  men,  no 
man  knows  a  man  as  he  does  himself:  another 
does  not  know  what  is  going  on  within  him, 
but  his  own  spirit  knows  it.  But  on  receiving 
the  Spirit  of  God,  we  learn  also  what  takes 
place  in  God:  not  the  whole,  for  we  have  not 
received  the  whole.  We  know  many  things 
from  the  pledge;  for  we  have  received  a 
pledge,  and  the  fullness  of  this  pledge  shall  be 
given  hereafter.  Meanwhile,  let  the  pledge 
console  us  in  our  pilgrimage  here;  because  he 
who  has  condescended  to  bind  himself  to  us 
by  a  pledge,  is  prepared  to  give  us  much. 
If  such  is  the  token,  what  must  that  be  of 
which  it  is  the  token  ? 

6.  But  what  is  meant  by  this  which  he  says, 
"  For  the  Spirit  was  not  yet  given,  because 
Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified  ?  "  He  is  under 
stood  to  say  this  in  a  sense  that  is  evident. 
For  the  meaning  is  not  that  the  Spirit  of  God, 
which  was  with  God,  was  not  in  being;  but 
was  not  yet  in  them  who  had  believed  on 
Jesus.  For  thus  the  Lord  Jesus  disposed  not 
to  give  them  the  Spirit  of  which  we  speak, 
until  after  His  resurrection;  and  this  not  with 
out  a  cause.  And  perhaps  if  we  inquire,  He 
will  favor  us  to  find;  and  if  we  knock,  He  will 
open  for  us  to  enter.  Piety  knocks,  not  the 


m    \  \  \  1 1 .  | 


•   \   THE  '.'  >SPE1    •  'I    ST.   Ji  HIV 


hand  though  the  hand  al.-,o  knock*,  if  it 
•mt  (nun  works  of  men  v.  What  then 
is  the  cause  why  the  Lord  Jesus  ('nrist  de 
termined  not  to  give  t'lt!  Holy  Spirit  until  He 
should  IK-  glorified  ?  which  tiling  In-fore  we 
s|>e:ik  of  as  we  may  he  able,  we  must  first  in 
quire,  lest  that  should  trouble  any  one,  in 
what  manner  the  Spirit  was  not  yet  in  holy 
men,  whilst  we  read  in  the  (iospcl  concerning 
the  Lord  Himself  newly  born,  that  Simeon  by 
Holy  Spirit  recognized  Him;  that  Anna 
::ie  widow,  a  prophetess,  also  recognized 
Him;  '  that  John,  who  baptized  Him,  recogniz 
ed  Him;2  that  Zacharias,  being  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  said  many  things;  that  Mary 
herself  received  the  Holy  Ghost  to  conceive 
the  Lord.3  We  have  therefore  many  preced 
ing  evidences  of  the  Holy  Spirit  before  the 
Lord  was  glorified  by  the  resurrection  of  His 
flesh.  Nor  was  it  another  spirit  that  the  pro 
phets  also  had,  who  proclaimed  beforehand 
the  coming  of  Christ.  But  still,  there  was  to 
be  a  certain  manner  of  this  giving,  which  had 
not  at  all  appeared  before.  For  nowhere  do 
we  read  before  this,  that  men  being  gathered 
together  had,  by  receiving  the  Holy  Ghost, 
spoken  in  the  tongues  of  all  nations.  But 
after  His  resurrection,  when  He  first  appeared 
to  His  disciples,  He  said  to  them:  "  Receive 
ye  the  Holy  Ghost."  Of  this  giving  then  it 
is  said,  ''  The  Spirit  was  not  given,  because 
Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified.  And  He  breath 
ed  upon  their  faces,"  *  He  who  with  His  breath 
enlivened  the  first  man,  and  raised  him  up 
from  the  clay,  by  which  breath  He  gave  a 
soul  to  the  limbs;  signifying  that  He  was  the 
same  who  breathed  upon. their  faces,  that  they 
might  rise  out  of  the  mire  and  renounce  their 
miry  works.  Then,  after  His  resurrection, 
which  the  evangelist  calls  His  glorifying,  did 
the  Lord  first  give  the  Holy  Ghost  to  His 
disciples.  Then  having  tarried  with  them 
forty  days,  as  the  book  of  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  shows,  while  they  were  seeing  Him 
and  companying  with  Him,  He  ascended  into 
heaven  in  their  sight.  There  at  the  end  of 
ten  days,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  He  sent 
the  Holy  Ghost  from  above.  Which  having 
received,  they,  who  had  been  gathered  to 
gether  in  one  place,  as  I  have  said,  being 
filled  withal,  spoke  in  the  tongues  of  all 
nations. 

7.  How  then,  brethren,  because  lie  that  is 
baptized  in  Christ,  and  believes  on  Him,  does 
not  speak  now  in  the  tongues  of  all  nations, 
are  we  not  to  believe  that  lie  lias  received  the 
Holy  Ghost5  God  forbid  that  our  heart 
should  be  tempted  by  this  faithle— 


'  Lul-eii.  25- (S 
3  Luke  i.  35-79. 


i.  26-34. 


tain  we  are  that  every  man  n-«eives:  but  only 
as  much  as  the  vessel  of  faith  that  he  shall 
bring  to  the  lo;mtaiu  can  contain,  so  much 
!<•  fill  of  it.  Since,  therefore,  the  Holy 
G'host  is  even  now  received  by  men,  some  one 
may  say,  Why  is  it  that  no  man  speaks  in  the 
tongues  of  all  nations  ?  Because  the  Church 
itself  now  speaks  in  the  tongues  of  all  nations. 
Hefore,  the  Church  was  in  one  nation,  where 
it  spoke  in  the  tongues  of  all.  By  speaking 
then  in  the  tongues  of  all,  it  signified  what 
was  to  come  to  pass;  that  by  growing  among 
the  nations,  it  would  speak  in  the  tongues  of 
all.  Whoso  is  not  in  this  Church,  oV>es  not 
now  receive  the  Holy  Ghost.  For,  being  cut 
off  and  divided  from  the  unity  of  the  mem 
bers,  which  unity  speaks  in  the  tongues  of 
all,  let  him  declare  for  himself;  he  has  it  not. 
For  if  he  has  it,  let  him  give  the  sign  which 
was  given  then.  What  do  we  mean  by  say 
ing,  Let  him  give  the  sign  which  was  then 
given  ?  Let  him  speak  in  all  tongues.  He 
answers  me:  How  then,  dost  thou  speak  in 
all  tongues  ?  Clearly  I  do;  for  every  tongue 
is  mine,  namely,  of  the  body  of  which  I  am 
a  member.  The  Church,  spread  among  the 
nations,  speaks  in  all  tongues;  the  Church  is 
the  body  of  Christ,  in  this  body  thou  art  a 
member:  therefore,  since  thou  art  a  member 
of  that  body  which  speaks  with  all  tongues, 
believe  that  thou  too  speakest  with  all 
tongues.  For  the  unity  of  the  members  is  of 
one  mind  by  charity;  and  that  unity  speaks 
as  one  man  then  spoke. 

8.  Consequently,  we  too  receive  the  Holy 
Ghost  if  we  love  the  Church,  if  we  are  joined 
together  by  charity,  if  we  rejoice  in  the 
Catholic  name  and  faith.  Let  us  believe, 
brethren;  as  much  as  every  man  loves  the 
Church  of  Christ,  so  much  has  he  the  Holy 
Ghost.  For  the  Spirit  is  given,  as  the  apostle 
saith,  "to  manifestation."  To  what  mani 
festation?  Just  as  the  same  apostle  saith, 
"  For  to  one  is  given  by  the  Spirit  the  word  of 
wisdom, to  another  the  word  of  knowledge  after 
the  same  Spirit,  to  another  faith  in  the  same 
Spirit,  to  another  the  gift  of  healing  in  one 
Spirit,  to  another  the  working  of  miracles  in 
the  same  Spirit."5  For  there  are  many  gifts 
given  to  manifestation,  but  thou,  it  may  be, 
hast  nothing  of  all  those  I  have  said.  If 
thou  lovest,  it  is  not  nothing  that  thou  hast: 
if  thou  lovest  unity,  whoever  has  aught  in  that 
unity  has  it  also  for  tliee.  Take  away  envy, 
and 'what  I  have  is  thine  too.  The  envious 
temper  puts  men  apart,  soundness  of  mind 
unites  them.  In  the  body,  the  eye  alone  sees; 
but  is  it  for  itself  alone  that  the  eye  see*  ?  It 


196 


mi;  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUST  IN. 


V.K    XXX II. 


sees  both  for  the  hand  and  the  foot,  and  for 
all  the  other  members.  If  a  blow  be  coming 
against  the  foot,  the  eye  does  not  turn  away 
from  it,  so  as  not  to  take  precaution.  Again, 
in  the  body,  the  hand  alone  works,  but  is  it 
for  itself  alone  the  hand  works  ?  For  the  eye 
also  it  works:  for  if  a  coming  blow  comes, 
not  against  the  hand,  but  only  against  the 
face,  does  the  hand  say,  I  will  not  move,  be 
cause  it  is  not  coming  to  me  ?  So  the  foot  by 
walking  serves  all  the  members:  all  the  other 
members  are  silent,  and  the  tongue  speaks  for 
all.  We  have  therefore  the  Holy  Spirit  if  we 
love  the.  Church;  but  we  love  the  Church  if 
we  stand  firm  in  its  union  and  charity.  For 
the  apostle  himself,  after  he  had  said  that 
diverse  gifts  were  bestowed  on  diverse  men, 
just  as  the  offices  of  the  several  members, 
saith,  "Yet  I  show  you  a  still  more  pre 
eminent  way;"  and  begins  to  speak  of 
charity.  This  he  put  before  tongues  of  men 
and  angels,  before  miracles  of  faith,  before 
knowledge  and  prophecy,  before  even  that 
great  work  of  mercy  by  which  a  man  distri 
butes  to  the  poor  all  that  he  possesses;  and, 
lastly,  put  it  before  even  the  martyrdom  of 
the  body:  before  all  these  so  great  things  he 
put  charity.  Have  it,  and  thou  shalt  have  all: 
for  without  it,  whatever  thou  canst  have  will 
profit  nothing.  But  that  thou  mayest  know 
that  the  charity  of  which  we  are  speaking  re 
fers  to  the  Holy  Spirit  (for  the  question  now 
in  hand  in  the  Gospel  is  concerning  the  Holy 
Spirit),  hear  the  apostle  when  he  says,  "  The 
charity  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  which  is  given  to  us."  ' 

9.  Why  then  was  it  the  will  of  the  Lord, 
seeing  that  the  Spirit's  benefits  in  us  are  the 
greatest,  because  by  Him  the  love  of  God  is 
shed  abroad  in  our  hearts,  to  give  us  that 
Spirit  after  His  resurrection  ?  Why  did  He 
signify  by  this  ?  In  order  that  in  our  resur 
rection  our  love  may  be  inflamed,  and  may 
part  from  the  love  of  the  world  to  run  wholly 
towards  God.  For  here  we  are  born  and 
die:  let  us  not  love  this  world;  let  us  migrate 
hence  by  love;  by  love  let  us  dwell  above,  by 
that  love  by  which  we  love  God.  In  this 
sojourn  of  our  life  let  us  meditate  on  nothing 
else,  but  that  here  we  shall  not  always  be, 


and  that   by   good    living  we   shall  prepare   a 

place   for  ourselves   there,   whence   we   shall 

i  never  migrate.     For  our   Lord  Jesus  Christ, 

after  that  He  is  risen  again,  "  now  dieth  no 

more;"   "  death,"  as  the  apostle  says,  "  shall 

i  no  more   have  dominion  over  Him."2     Be- 

!  hold  what  we  must  love.     If  we  live,  if  we 

I  believe  on  Him  who  is  risen  again,  He  will 

I  give  us,  not  that  which   men   love  here  who 

[  love  not  God,  or  love  the  more  the  less  they 

i  love  Him,  but  love  this  the  less  the  more  they 

love  Him;  but  let  us  see  what  He  has  prom- 

j  ised  us.     Not  earthly  and   temporal   riches, 

not  honors  and   power  in  this  world;  for  you 

see  all  these  things  given  to  wicked  men,  that 

they  may  not  be  highly  prized  by  the  good. 

Not,  in  short,  bodily  health  itself,  though  it  is 

He  that  gives  that  also,  but  that,  as  yon  see, 

He  gives  even  to  the  beasts.     Not  long  life; 

for  what,  indeed,  is  long  that  will  some  day 

have  an  end  ?     It  is  not  length  of  days  that 

He  has  promised  to  His  believers,  as  if  that 

were  a  great  thing,  or  decrepit  old  age,  which 

all  wish  for  before  it  comes,  and  all  murmur 

at  when  it  does  come.     Not  beauty  of  person, 

which  either  bodily  disease  or  that  same  old 

j  age  which  is  desired  drives  away.     One  wishes 

to  be  beautiful,  and   also  to  live  to  be  old: 

these  two  desires  cannot  agree  together;  if 

thou  shalt  be  old,  thou  wilt  not  be  beautiful; 

when  old  age  comes,  beauty  will  flee  away; 

the  vigor  of  beauty  and  the  groaning  of  old 

age  cannot  dwell  together  in  one  body.     All 

these  things,  then,  are  not  what  He  promised 

us  when  He  said,  "  He  that  believeth  in  me, 

let  him  come  and  drink,  and  out  of  his  beljy 

shall   flow  rivers  of  living  water.''     He  has 

promised  us  eternal  life,  where  we  shall  have 

no    fear,  where   we   shall    not   be   troubled, 

whence  we  shall  have  no  migration,  where  we 

shall  not  die;  where  there  is  neither  bewailing 

|  a  predecessor  deceased,  nor  a  hoping  for  a 

j  successor.       Accordingly,    because     such    is 

|  what  He  has  promised  to  us  that  love   Him, 

and  glow  with  the  charity  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 

therefore  He  would   not  give   us   that   same 

Spirit  until  He   should   be  glorified,   so  that 

He  might  show  in  His  body  the  life  which  we 

have  not  now,  but  which  we  hope  for  in  the 

resurrection. 


Rom.  vi.  9 


.\\lll.l 


i  .  JOHN. 


197 


TRACTATE  XXXIII. 

ClIAI'll.K      Vll.     40-53;    VIII.     l-n. 


1.  You  remember,  my  beloved,  that  in  the 
last  discourse,  by  occasion  of  the  passage  of 
the  Gospel  read,  we  spoke  to  you  concerning 
the  Holy  Spirit.      When  the  Lord  had  invited 
those  that  believe  on  Him  to  this  drinking, 
speaking  among  those  who  meditated  to  lay 
hold  of  Him,  and  sought  to  kill  Him,  and  were 
not  able,  because   it  was  not  His  will:  well, 
when  He  had  spoken  these  things,  there  arose 
a  dissension  among  the  multitude  concerning 
Him;    some  thinking  that  He  was  the  very 
Christ,  others  saying  that  Christ  shall  not  arise 
from  Galilee.     But  they  who  had  been   sent 
to  take  Him  returned  clear  of  the  crime  and 
full  of  admiration.     For  they  even  gave  wit 
ness  to  His  divine  doctrine,  when  those  by 
whom  they  had  been  sent  asked,  "  Why  have 
ye  not  brought  him  ? "     They  answered  that 
they  had  never  heard  a  man  so  speak:   "  For 
not  any   man    so   speaks."     But   He   spake 
thus,  because   He  was  God   and   man.     But 
the  Pharisees,  repelling  their  testimony,  said 
to  them:  "Are  ye  also  deceived  ?"     We  see, 
indeed,  that  you  also  have  been  charmed  by 
his  discourses.      "  Hat'h  any  one  of  the  rulers 
or  the  Pharisees  believed  on  him  ?     But  this 
multitude  who  know  not  the  law  are  cursed." 
They  who  knew  not  the  law  believed  on  Him 
who  had  sent  the   law;  and   those   men  who 
were  teaching  the  law  despised  Him,  that  it 
might  be   fulfilled  which   the   Lord    Himself 
had  said,  "  I  am  come  that  they  who  see  not 
may  see,   and   they  that   see  may  be  made 
blind."  '     For  the  Pharisees,  the  teachers  of 
the  law,  were  made  blind,  and  the  people  that 
knew  not  the  law,  and  yet  believed  on  the 
author  of  the  law,  were  enlightened. 

2.  "  Nicodemus,"  however,    "one  of   the 
Pharisees,  who   had    come   to   the    Lord    by 
night." — not  indeed  as  being  himself  unbe 
lieving,  but  timid;  for  therefore  he  came  by 
night  to  the  light,  because  he  wished  to  be 
enlightened  and  feared  to  be  known; — Nic 
odemus,   I  say,  answered  the   Jews,   "  Doth 
our  law  judge  a  man  before  it  hear  him,  and 
know  what  he  doeth  ? "     For  they  perversely 
wished    to    condemn  before    they  examined. 
Nicodemus  indeed   knew,  or  rather  believed, 
that  if  only  they  were  will'ng  to  give  Him  a 
patient   hearing,  they  would   perhaps  become 
like  those  who  were  sent   t«>   take   Him,   bu» 

ix.  39. 


i  preferred  to  believe.  They  answered,  from 
j  the  prejudice  of  their  heart,  what  they  had 
i  answered  to  those  officers,  "Art  thou  also  a 
j  Galilean  ?  "  That  is,  one  seduced  as  it  were 
|  by  the  Galilean.  For  the  Lord  was  said  to 
I  be  a  Galilean,  because  His  parents  were  from 
the  city  of  Nazareth.  I  have  said  "  His 
parents"  in  regard  to  Mary,  not  as  regards 
the  seed  of  man;  for  on  earth  He  sought  but 
a  mother,  He  had  already  a  Father  on  high. 
For  His  nativity  on  both  sides  was  marvellous: 
divine  without  mother,  human  without  father. 
What,  then,  said  those  would-be  doctors  of 
the  law  to  Nicodemus?  "Search  the  Scrip 
tures,  and  see  that  out  of  Galilee  ariseth  no 
prophet."  Yet  the  Lord  of  the  prophets 
arose  thence.  "They  returned,"  saith  the 
evangelist,  "  every  man  to  his  own  house." 

3.  "  Thence  Jesus  went  unto  the  mount;" 
namely,  to  mount  "  Olivet," — unto  the  fruit 
ful  mount,  unto  the  mount  of  ointment,  unto 
the   mount  of   chrism.     For  where,   indeed, 
but  on  mount  Olivet  did  it  become  the  Christ 
to  teach  ?     For  the  name  of  Christ  is  from 
chrism;  y/xfTfia  in  the  Greek,  is  called  in  Latin 
uncfio,  an  anointing.     And    He  has  anointed 
us  for  this  reason,  because  He  has  made  us 
wrestlers  against  the  devil.      "And  early  in 
the  morning  He  came  again  into  the  temple, 
and  all  the  people  came  unto  Tiim;  and   He 
sat  down  and   taught  them."     And   He  was 
not  taken,  for  He  did  not  yet  deign  to  suffer. 

4.  And    now  observe  wherein  the    Lord's 
gentleness   was    tempted    by    His    enemies. 
"And  the  scribes  and   Pharisees  brought  to 
Him  a  woman    just   taken    in  adultery:  and 
they  set  her  in  the  midst,  and  said  to  Him, 
Master,    this  woman  has  just  been  taken  in 
adultery.     Now  Moses  in  the  law  commanded 
us,  that  such  should  be  stoned:  but  "what  say- 
est  thou  ?     But  this  they  said,  tempting  Him. 
that  they  might  accuse  Him."     Why  accuse 
Him?     Had  they  detected   Himself   in  any 
misdeed;  or  was    that  woman    said    to    have 
been  concerned  with   Him   in  any  manner5 
What,   then,    is   the   meaning  of   "tempting 
Him,   that   they   might  accuse    Him":      We 
understand,  brethren,  that  a  wonderful  gen 
tleness  shone  out  pre-eminently  in  the  Lord. 

•!  «served  that  He  was  very  meek,  very 
gentle:  for  of  Him  it  had  been  previously 
foretold,  "Gird  Thy  sword  upon  Thy  thigh. 
O  most  Mighty;  in  Thy  splendor  and  ! 


THK   WORKS  ()!•    ST.    A  f( ;  I'STIN. 


urge  on,  march  on  prosperously,  and  reign, 


because  of  truth, 


meekness,  and  right 


eousness."1  Accordingly,  as  a  teacher,  He 
brought  truth;  as  a  deliverer,  He  brought 
gentleness;  as  a  protector,  He  brought  right 
eousness.  That  He  was  to  reign  on  account 
of  these  things,  the  prophet  had  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  foretold.  When  He  spoke  His  truth  was 
acknowledged;  when  He  was  not  provoked  to 
anger  against  His  enemies,  His  meekness  was 
praised.  Whilst,  therefore,  in  respect  of  these  j 


answered  Wisdom  ?  How  answered  that 
Righteousness  against  which  a  faise  accusa 
tion  was  ready  ?  He  did  not  say,  Let  her 
not  be  stoned;  lest  He  should  seem  to  speak 
against  the  law.  But  Ciod  forbid  that  He 
should  say,  Let  her  be  stoned:  for  He  came 
not  to  lose  what  He  had  found,  but  to  seek 
what  was  lost.  What  then  did  He  answer  ? 
See  you  how  full  it  is  of  righteousness,  how 


full   of  meekness   and   truth 


He   that  is 


without  sin  of  you,"  saith  He,  "  let  him  first 


two, — namely,  His  truth  and  meekness, — His!  cast  a  stone  at  her.*'     O  answer  of  Wisdom 

'    How  He  sent  them  unto  themselves  !      Fur 
without  thev  stood   to  accuse  and 


enemies   were    tormented   with    malice    and 
envy;  in  respect  of  the  third, — namely,  right 


eousness, — they  laid 
Him.      In  what  wav  ? 


a  stumbling-block    for 
Because  the  law  had 


commanded  the  adulterers  to  be  stoned,  and 
surely  the  law  could  not  command  what  was 
unjust:  if  any  man  should  say  other  than  the 
law  had  commanded,  he  would  be  detected 
as  unjust.  Therefore  they  said  among  them 
selves,  "  He  is  accounted  true,  he  appears  to 
be  gentle;  an  accusation  must  be  sought 
against  him  in  respect  of  righteousness.  Let 
us  bring  before  him  a  woman  taken  in  adul 
tery;  let  us  say  to  him  what  is  ordered  in  the 
law  concerning  such:  if  he  shall  approve  her 
being  stoned,  he  will  not  show  his  gentleness; 
if  he  consent  to  let  her  go,  he  will  not  keep 
righteousness.  But,  say  they,  that  he  may 
not  lose  the  reputation  of  gentleness,  for 
which  he  is  become  an  object  of  love  to  the 
people,  without  doubt  he  will  say  that  she 
must  be  let  go.  Hence  we  find  an  opportu 
nity  of  accusing  him,  and  we  charge  him  as 
being  a  transgressor  of  the  law:  saying  to 
him,  Thou  art  an  enemy  to  the  law;  thou  an- 
swerest  against  Moses,  nay,  against  Him  who 
gave  the  law  through  Moses;  thou  art  worthy 
of  death;  thou  too  must  be  stoned  with  this 
woman."  By  these  words  and  sentiments 
they  might  possibly  be  able  to  inflame  envy 
against  Him,  to  urge  accusation,  and  cause 
His  condemnation  to  be  eagerly  demanded. 
But  this  against  whom  ?  It  was  perversity 
against  rectitude,  falsehood  against  the  truth, 
the  corrupt  heart  against  the  upright  heart, 
folly  against  wisdom.  When  did  such  men 
prepare  snares,  into  which  they  did  not  first 
thrust  their  own  heads?  Behold,  the  Lord  in 
answering  them  will  both  keep  righteousness, 
and  will  not  depart  from  gentleness.  He  was 
not  taken  for  whom  the  snare  was  laid,  but 
rather  they  were  taken  who  laid  it,  because 


they  believed   not   on 
them  out  of  the  net. 


Him  who    could   pull 


5.   What  answer,  then,  did  the  Lord   Jesus 
make  ?     How    answered     the    Truth  ?     How 


censure, 

themselves  they  examined  not  inwardly:  they 
saw  the  adulteress,  they  looked  not  into  them 
selves.  Transgressors  of  the  law,  they  wished 
the  law  to  be  fulfilled,  and  this  by  heedlessly 
accusing;  not  really  fulfilling  it,  as  if  condemn 
ing  adulteries  by  chastity.  You  have  heard, 
O  Jews,  you  have  heard,  O  Pharisees,  you 
have  heard,  O  teachers  of  the  law,  the  guar 
dian  of  the  law,  but  have  not  yet  understood 
Him  as  the  Lawgiver.  What  else  does  He 
signify  to  you  when  He  writes  with  His  fin 
ger  on  the  ground  ?  For  the  law  was  written 
with  the  finger  of  God;  but  written  on  stone 
because  of  the  hard-hearted.  The  Lord  now 
wrote  on  the  ground,  because  He  was  seeking 
fruit.  You  have  heard  then,  Let  the  law  be 
fulfilled,  let  the  adulteress  be  stoned.  But  is 
it  by  punishing  her  that  the  law  is  to  be  ful 
filled  by  those  that  ought  to  be  punished  ? 
Let  each  of  you  consider  himself,  let  him 
enter  into  himself,  ascend  the  judgment-seat 
of  his  own  mind,  place  himself  at  the  bar  of 
his  own  conscience,  oblige  himself  to  confess. 
For  he  knows  what  he  is:  for  "  no  man  know- 
eth  the  things  of  a  man,  but  the  spirit  of  man 
which  is  in  him."  Each  looking  carefully 
into  himself,  finds  himself  a  sinner.  Yes, 
indeed.  Hence,  either  let  this  woman  go, 
or  together  with  her  receive  ye  the 
of  the  law.  Had  He  said,  Let  not  the 
teress  be  stoned,  He  would  be  proved  unjust: 
had  He  said,  Let  her  be  stoned,  He  would 
not  appear  gentle:  let  Him  say  what  it  be 
came  Him  to  say,  both  the  gentle  and  the 
just,  "  Whoso  is  without  sin  of  you,  let  him 
first  cast  a  stone  at  her."  This  is  the  voice 
of  Justice:  Let  her,  the  sinner,  be  punished, 
but  not  by  sinners:  let  the  law  be  fulfilled, 
but  not  by  the  transgressors  of  the  law.  This 
certainly  is  the  voice  of  justice:  by  which 
justice,  those  men  pierced  through  as  if  by  a 
dart,  looking  into  themselves  and  finding 
themselves  guilty,  "one  after  another  all 
withdrew."  The  two  were  left  alone,  the 
wretched  woman  and  Mercy.  But  the  Lord, 
having  struck  them  through  with  that  dart  of 


penalty 
e  adul- 


n  \ \\iii. ] 


ON    l  ill .  «,«  ISPEL  OI   ST.  JOHN. 


199 


justice,  deigned  iH>t  to  heed  their  fall,  but,  every  man  acci.rding  to  Ins  deed.-,. "  «  The 
turning  away  1 1  is  look  from  them,  "  again  He  I.on'l  is  gentle,  the  Lord  is  lon^-sultering,  the 
wrote  with  His  linger  on  the  ground."  Lord  is  pitiful;  -but  the  Lord  is  also  pist,  the 

6.  Hut  when  that  woman  \\as  lelt  ;:l(»nc,  and  Lord  is  also  true.  He  bestows  on  thee  space 
all  they  were  gone  out,  He  raised  His  eyes  to  for  correction;  but  thou  Invest  the  dc 
tlie  woman.  \\'r  have  heard  the  voice  of  jus- '  judgment  more  than  the  amendment  of  thy 
tice,  let  us  also  hear  the  voice  of  clemency,  ways.  Hast  thou  been  a  bad  man  yesterday? 
For  I  suppose  that  woman  was  the  more  ter-  To-day  be  a  good  man.  Hast  thou  gone  on 
rified  when  she  had  heard  it  said  by  the  Lord,  in  thy  wickedness  to-day  ?  At  any  rate 
"  He  that  is  without  sin  of  you,  let  him  first  change  to-morrow.  Thou  art  always  expect- 
east  a  stone  at  her."  But  they,  turning  their  ing,  and  from  the  mercy  of  God  makest  ex- 
thought  to  themselves,  and  by  that  very  with-  ceeding  great  promises  to  thyself.  As  if  He, 
drawal  having  confessed  concerning  them-  who  has  promised  thee  pardon  through  re- 
selves,  had  left  the  woman  with  her  great  sin  peritance,  promised  thee  also  a  longer  life. 
to  Him  who  was  without  sin.  And  because  How  knowest  thou  what  to-morrow  may  bring 
she  had  heard  this,  "  He  that  is  without  sin,  forth  ?  Rightly  thou  sayest  in  thy  heart: 
let  him  first  cast  a  stone  at  her,"  she  expected  When  I  shall  have  corrected  my  ways,  God 
to  be  punished  by  Him  in  whom  sin  could  not  will  put  all  my  sins  away.  We  cannot  deny 
be  found.  But  He,  who  had  driven  back  her;  that  God  has  promised  pardon  to  those  that 
adversaries  with  the  tongue  of  justice,  raising ;  have  amended  their  ways  and  are  converted, 
the  eyes  of  clemency  towards  her,  asked  her,  >  For  in  what  prophet  thou  readest  to  me  that 
"  Hath  no  man  condemned  thee  ?"  She  an-  God  has  promised  pardon  to  him  that  amends, 
swered,  "  No  man,  Lord."  And  He  said, '  thou  dost  not  read  to  me  that  God  has  prom- 
"  Neither  do  I  condemn  thee;"  by  whom,  ised  thee  a  long  life. 

perhaps,  thou  didst  fear  to  be  condemned,  8.  From  both,  then,  men  are  in  danger; 
because  in  me  thou  hast  not  found  sin.  i  both  from  hoping  and  despairing,  from  con- 
"  Neither  will  I  condemn  thee."  What  is  !  trary  things,  from  contrary  affections.  Who 
this,  O  Lord?  Dost  Thou  therefore  favor  is  deceived  by  hoping?  He  who  says,  God 
sins?  Not  so,  evidently.  Mark  what  fol-  is  good,  God  is  merciful,  let  me  do  what  I 
lows:  "  Go,  henceforth  sin  no  more."  There-  please,  what  I  like;  let  me  give  loose  reins 
fore  the  Lord  did  also  condemn,  but  con-  j  to  my  lusts,  let  me  gratify  the  desires  of  my 
demned  sins,  not  man.  For  if  He  were  a  I  soul.  Why  this  ?  Because  God  is  merciful, 
patron  of  sin,  He  would  say,  Neither  will  1 1  God  is  good,  God  is  kind.  These  men  are 
condemn  thee;  go,  live  as  thou  wilt:  be  se-  in  danger  by  hope.  And  those  are  in  danger 
cure  in  my  deliverance;  how  much  soever  from  despair,  who,  having  fallen  into  griev- 
thou  wilt  sin.  I  will  deliver  thee  from  all  pun-  ous  sins,  fancying  that  they  can  no  more  be 


ishment  even  of  hell,  and  from  the  torment 
ors  of  the  infernal  world.  He  said  not  this. 
7.  Let  them  take  heed,  then,  who  love  His 
gentleness  in  the  Lord,  and  let  them  fear  His 
truth.  For  "  The  Lord  is  sweet  and  right."  ' 
Thou  lovest  Him  in  that  He  is  sweet;  fear 
Him  in  that  He  is  right.  As  the  meek,  He 
said,  "I  held  my  peace;"  but  as  the  just, 
He  said,  "  Shall  I  always  be  silent?  "2  "  The 
Lord  is  merciful  and  pitiful."  So  He  is, 
certainly.  Add  yet  further,  "Long-suffer 
ing;"  add  yet  further,  "And  very  pitiful:" 
but  fear  what  comes  last,  "And  true."  3  For 
those  whom  He  now  beirs  with  as  sinners, 
He  will  judge  as  despisers.  "Or  despisest 
thou  the  riches  of  His  long-suffering  and  gen 
tleness;  not  knowing  that  the  forbearance  of 


pardoned  upon  repentance,  and  believing  that 
they  are  without  doubt  doomed  to  damnation, 
do  say  with  themselves.  We  are  already  des 
tined  to  be  damned,  why  not  do  what  we 
please  ?  with  the  disposition  of  gladiators  des 
tined  to  the  sword.  This  is  the  reason  that 
desperate  men  are  dangerous:  for,  having  no 
longer  aught  to  fear,  they  are  to  be  feared  ex 
ceedingly.  Despair  kills  these;  hope,  those. 
The  mind  is  tossed  to  and  fro  between  hope 
and  despair.  Thou  hast  to  fear  lest  hope 
slay  thee;  and,  when  thou  hopest  much. from 
mercy,  lest  thou  fall  into  judgment:  again, 
thou  hast  to  fear  lest  despair  slay  thee,  and, 
when  thou  thinkest  that  the  grievous  nns 
which  thou  hast  committed  cannot  be  forgiven 
thee,  thou  dost  not  repent,  and  thou  incur- 


(iod  leadeth  thee  to  repentance  5  Hut  thou,  i  rest  the  sentence  of  Wisdom,  which  says.  "  I 
after  thy  hardness  and  impenitent  heart,  also  will  laugh  at  your  perdition."5  How 
treasures!  up  for  thyself  wrath  against  the  then  does  the  Lord  treat  those  who  are  in 
day  of  wrath  and  the  revelation  of  the  right-  danger  from  both  these  maladies  5  To  those 
eous  judgment  of  God;  who  will  render  to  who  are  in  danger  from  hope,  Ef <e  sayi,  '*Bc 

<  Rt>m.  ii.  4-6.  5  Pr<  .x . 


2OO 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  \\xiv. 


not  slow  to  be  converted  to  the  Lord,  neither 
put  it  off  from  day  to  day;  for  suddenly  His 
anger  will  come,  and  in  the  time  of  vengeance, 
will  utterly  destroy  thee."'  To  those  who 
are  in  danger  from  despair,  what  does  He 
say?  "  In  what  day  soever  the  wicked  man 
shall  be  converted,  I  will  forget  all  his  iniqui 
ties."2  Accordingly,  for  the  sake  of  those 
who  are  in  danger  by  despair,  He  has  offered 
us  a  refuge  of  pardon;  and  because  of  those 
who  are  in  danger  by  hope,  and  are  deluded 


by  delays,  He  has  made  the  day  of  death  un 
certain.  Thou  knowest  not  when  thy  last 
day  may  come.  Art  thou  ungrateful  because 
thou  hast  to-day  on  which  thou  mayest  be 
improved  ?  Thus  therefore  said  He  to  the 
woman,  "Neither  will  1  condemn  thee;" 
but,  being  made  secure  concerning  the  past, 
beware  of  the  future.  "  Neither  will  I  con 
demn  thee  :"  I  have  blotted  out  what  thou 
hast  done;  keep  what  I  have  commanded 
thee,  that  thou  mayest  rind  what  I  have 
promised. 


Ecclus.  v.  8,  9. 


TRACTATE  XXXIV. 

CHAPTER  VIII.    12. 


1.  WHAT  we    have  just  heard  and   atten- j 
lively  received,  as  the  holy  Gospel  was  being ! 
read,  I  doubt  not  that  all  of  us  have  also  en-  ] 
deavored  to  understand,  and  that  each  of  us  ; 
according  to  his  measure  apprehended  what  | 
he  could  of  so  great  a  matter  as  that  which 
has  been  read;  and  while  the  bread  of  the! 
word  is  laid  out,  no  one  can  complain  that  he 
has  tasted  nothing.     But  again  I  doubt  not  J 
that  there  is  scarcely  any  who  has  understood 
the  whole.     Nevertheless,  even  should  there 
be  any  who  may  sufficiently  understand  the 
words  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  now  read  out 
of  the  Gospel,  let  him  bear  with  our  ministry, 
whilst,  if  possible, with  His  assistance, we  may, 
by  treating  thereof,  cause  that  either  all  or 
many  may  understand  that  which  a  few  are 
joyful  of  having  understood  for  themselves. 

2.  I  think  that  what  the  Lord  says,  "  I  am 
the  light  of  the  world,  "  is  clear  to  those  that 
have  eyes,  by  which  they  are  made  partakers 
of   this   light:  but  they  who  have  not  eyes 
except  in  the  flesh  alone,  wonder  at  what  is 
said  by  the  Lord    Jesus  Christ,  "  I  am   the 
light  .of  the  world."     And  perhaps  there  may 
not  be  wanting  some  one  too  who  says  with 
himself:    Whether  perhaps  the   Lord   Christ 
is  that  sun  which  by  its  rising  and   setting 
causes  the  day  ?     For   there    have  not  been 
wanting    heretics   who    thought    this.     The 
Manicheans    have    supposed    that    the    Lord 
Christ  is   that  sun  which  is  visible  to  carnal 
eyes,  exposed  and  public  to  be  seen,  not  only 
by   men,  but  by  the  beasts.      But  the  right 
faith  of  the  Catholic  Church  rejects  such  a  fic 
tion,  and  perceives  it  to  be  a  devilish  doctrine: 
not  only  by  believing  acknowledges  it  to  be 


such,  but  in  the  case  of  whom  it  can,  proves  it 
even  by  reasoning.  Let  us  therefore  reject 
this  kind  of  error,  which  the  Holy  Church  has 
anathematized  from  the  beginning.  Let  us 
not  suppose  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  this 
sun  which  we  see  rising  from  the  east,  setting 
in  the  west;  to  whose  course  succeeds  night, 
whose  rays  are  obscured  by  a  cloud,  which 
removes  from  place  to  place  by  a  set  motion: 
the  Lord  Christ  is  not  such  a  thing  as  this. 
The  Lord  Christ  is  not  the  sun  that  was  made, 
but  He  by  whom  the  sun  was  made.  For 
"all  things  were  made  by  Him,  and  without 
Him  was  nothing  made.'' 

3.  There  is  therefore  a  Light  which  made 
this  light  of  the  sun:  let  us  love  this  Light,  let 
|  us  long  to  understand  it,  let  us  thirst  for  the 
same;  that,  with  itself  for  our  guide,  we  may 
at  length  come  to  it,  and  that  we  may  so  live 
in  it  that  we  may  never  die.  This  is  indeed 
that  Light  of  which  prophecy  long  ago  going 
before  thus  sang  in  the  psalm:  "O  Lord, 
Thou  shalt  save  men  and  beasts;  even  as  Thy 
mercy  is  multiplied,  O  God."  These  are  the 
'words  of  the  holy  psalm:  mark  ye  what  the 
'  ancient  discourse  of  holy  men  of  God  did 
premise  concerning  such  a  light.  "Men," 
saith  it,  "and  beasts  Thou  shalt  save,  O 
Lord;  even  as  Thy  mercy  is  multiplied,  O 
God."  For  since  Thou  art  God,  and  hast 
manifold  mercy,  the  same  multiplicity  of  Thy 
mercy  reaches  not  only  to  men  whom  Thou 
hast  created  in  Thine  own  image,  but  even  to 
the  beasts  which  Thou  hast  made  subservient 
to  men.  For  He  who  gives  salvation  to  man, 
the  same  gives  salvation  also  to  the  beast. 
DM  not  blush  to  think  this  of  the  Lord  thy 


\  \\IV.  I 


ON  'I'm:  &  ISPE1    <  'I    ST.  JOHN. 


(iod:   n;iy,    rather   believe   this  mid    trust    it, 

and   sec   thou   think  not  otherwise.      Ik-  that 

ivcs  thy  horse  and  tliy 

.sheep;   to    conic    to    the    very    least,  also    thy 
hen:   "Salvation   is  of  the  Lord,"1  and   (lod 
;!ie>e.     Thou   art   uneasy,  thou   ques-l 
I     wonder     why     thou     doubtest.  ! 
Shall    He   disdain    to  save  who  deigned    to 
create  ?     Of  the  Lord  is  the  saving  of  angels, ' 
of  men,  and  of  beasts:  ''Salvation  is  of  the  [ 
Lord."     Just  as  no  man  is  from  himself,  so, 
no  man  is  saved  by  himself.     Therefore  most ! 
truly  and  right  well  cloth  the  psalm  say,  "  O 
Lord,    Thou    shalt   save    men    and    beasts." 
Why  ?     "  Even  as  thy  mercy  is  multiplied,  O 
God."    For  Thou  art  God,  Thou  hast  created, 
Thou  savest:  Thou  gavest  being,  Thou  giv- 1 
est  to  be  in  health. 

4.  Since,  therefore,  as  the  mercy  of  God  is ' 
multiplied,    men    and    beasts    are    saved    by 
Him,   have  not    men   something   else  which 
God  as  Creator  bestows  on  them,  which  He 
bestows  not  on  the  beasts  ?     Is  there  no  dis- ' 
tinction   between   the    living   creature    made 
after  the  image  of  God,  and  the  living  crea 
ture    made    subject   to   the    image   of   God?| 
Clearly  there  is:  beyond  that  salvation  com 
mon  to  us  with  the  dumb  animals,  there  is 
what  God  bestows  on  us,  but  not  on  them. 
What  is  this  ?     Follow  on  in  the  same  psalm: 
*'  But  the  sons  of  men  shall  hope  under  the 
covert  of  Thy  wings."     Having  now  a  salva 
tion  in  common  with  their  cattle,  "  the  sons  j 
of  men  shall  hope  undejr  the  covert  of  Thy ! 
wings."     They  have  one    salvation  in    fact,  j 
another  in  hope.     This  salvation  which  is  at 
present   is  common  to  men  and   cattle;  but! 
there   is   another  which  men   hope   for;  and  j 
which  they  who  hope  for  receive,  they  who  j 
despair  of  receive  not.     For  it  saith,  "  The  | 
sons  of  men  shall  hope  under  covert  of  Thy  j 
wings/'     And  they  that   perseveringly  hope! 
are  protected  by  Thee,  lest  they  be  cast  down 
from  their  hope  by  the  devil:  "  Under  covert 
of   Thy   wings   they   shall    hope.''     If   they 
shall  hope,  what  shall  they  hope  for,  but  for  \ 
what  the  cattle  shall  not  have  ?     "  They  shall 
be  fully  drunk  with  the  fatness  of  Thy  house; 
and   from  the  torrent  of  Thy  pleasure  Thou  j 
shalt  give  them  drink."     What  sort  of  wine, 
is  that  with  which  it  is  laudable  to  be  drunk  ? 
What  sort  of  wine  is  that  which  disturbs  not 
the  mind,  but  directs  it?     What  sort  of  wine 
is   that  which    makes    perpetually   sane,   and 
makes  not  insane  by  drinking  ?     "  They  shall 
be  fully  drunk."      How5     "  With  the  fatness 
of  Thy  house;  and  from  the  torrent  of  Thy 
pleasure  Thou  shalt  give  them  drink."      How 


DM  with    I  •         fountain  <>\ 

lite."      The   very   fountain   of  hie   walked   on 
the  eartii,  the  same  who  said,  "  \\ 
let  him  come  unto  ir,<  1   the  foun 

tain  !  l'.;:t  w<-  begin  to  speak  about  the  light, 
and  to  handle  the  question  laid  down  from 
the  Gospel  concerning  the  light.  For  we 
read  how  the  Lord  said,  "  I  am  the  light  of 
the  world."  Thence  arose  a  question,  lest 
any  one,  carnally  understanding  this,  should 
fancy  this  light  to  mean  the  sun:  we  came 
thence  to  the  psalm,  which  having  considered, 
we  found  meanwhile  that  the  Lord  is  the 
fountain  of  life.  Drink  and  live.  "  With 
Thee,"  it  saith,  "is  the  fountain  of  life;" 
therefore,  "  under  the  shadow  of  Thy  wings 
the  sons  of  men  hope,"  seeking  to  be  full 
drunk  with  this  fountain.  But  we  were  speak 
ing  of  the  Light.  Follow  on,  then;  for  the 
prophet,  having  said,  "  With  Thee  is  the 
fountain  of  life,"  went  on  to  add,  "  In  Thy 
light  shall  we  see  light," — God  of  God,  Light 
of  Light.  By  this  Light  the  sun's  light  was 
made;  and  the  Light  which  made  the  sun, 
under  which  He  also  made  us,  was  made  under 
the  sun  for  our  sake.  That  Light  which 
made  the  sun,  was  made,  I  say,  under  the 
sun  for  our  sake.  Do  not  despise  the  cloud 
of  the  flesh;  with  that  cloud  it  is  covered, 
not  to  be  obscured,  but  to  be  moderated. 

5.  That  unfailing  Light,  the  Light  of  wis 
dom,  speaking  through  the  cloud  of  the  flesh, 
says  to  men,  "  I  am  the  light  of  the  world; 
he  that  followeth-  me  shall  not  walk  in  dark 
ness,  but  shall  have  the  light  of  life."     How 
He  has  withdrawn  thee  from  the  eyes  of  the 
flesh,  and  recalled  thee  to  the  eyes  of  the 
heart  !     For  it  is  not  enough  to  say,  "  Whoso 
followeth  me  shall  not  walk  in  darkness,  but 
shall  have  light;  "     He  added  too,  **  of  life;  " 
even  as  it  was  there  said,  "  For  with  Thee  is 
the  fountain  of  life."     See  thus,  my  brethren, 
how  the  words  of  the  Lord  agree  with  the 
truth  of  that  psalm:  both  there,  the  light  is 
put  with  the  fountain  of  life,  and  by  the  Lord 
it  is  said,  "light  of  life."     But  for  bodily 
use,  light  and  fountain  are  different  things: 
our  mouths  seek  a  fountain,  our  eyes  light; 
when  we  thirst  we  seek  a  fountain,  when  we 
are    in    darkness  we    seek   light;  and    it    we 
chance  to  thirst  in  the  night,  we  kindle  a  light 
to  come  to  a  fountain.     Not  so  with  God: 
light  and   fountain   are  the  same  thing:    H<- 
who  shines  for  thee  that  thou  mayest  s< 
same  (lows  for  thee  that  thou  mayest  drink. 

6.  You  see,  then,  my  brethren,  you 

you  see  inwardly,  what  kind  of  light  this  is, 
of  which  the  Lord  says,  "  He  that  followeth 
me  shall  not  walk  in  darkness."  Follow  the 
sun,  and  let  us  see  if  thou  wilt  not  walk  in 


2O2 


THE  WORKS  OK  ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  XXXIV. 


tlarkness.  Behold,  by  rising  it  comes  forth 
to  thee;  it  goes  by  its  course  towards  the 
west  Perhaps  thy  journey  is  towards  the 
east:  unless  thou  goest  in  a  contrary  direc 
tion  to  that  in  which  it  travels,  thou  wilt  cer 
tainly  err  by  following  it,  and  instead  of  east 
wilt  get  to  the  west.  If  thou  follow  it  by 
land,  thou  wilt  go  wrong;  if  the  mariner  fol 
low  it  by  sea,  he  will  go  wrong.  Finally,  it 
seems  to  thee,  suppose,  that  thou  must  follow 
the  sun,  and  thou  also  travellest  thyself 
towards  the  west,  whither  it  also  travels;  let 
us  see  after  it  has  set  if  thou  wilt  not  walk  in 
darkness.  See  how,  although  thou  art  not 
willing  to  desert  it,  yet  it  will  desert  thee,  to 
finish  the  day  by  necessity  of  its  service. 
But  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  even  when  He 
was  not  manifest  to  all  through  the  cloud  of 
His  flesh,  was  yet  at  the  same  time  holding 
all  things  by  the  power  of  His  wisdom.  Thy 
God  is  whole  everywhere:  if  thou  fall  not 
off  from  Him,  He  will  never  fall  away  from 
thee. 

7.  Accordingly,  "  He  that  followeth  me," 
saith  He,  "  shall  not  walk  in  darkness,  but 
shall  have  the  light  of  life."  What  He  has 
promised,  He  put  in  a  word  of  the  future 
tense;  for  He  says  not  has,  but  "shall  have 
the  light  of  life."  Yet  He  does  not  say, 
He  that  shall  follow  me;  but,  he  that  Joes  fol 
low  me.  What  it  is  our  duty  to  do,  He  put 
in  the  present  tense;  but  what  He  has  prom 
ised  to  them  that  do  it,  He  has  indicated  by 
a  word  of  the  future  tense.  "  He  that  fol 
loweth,  shall  have."  That  followeth  now, 
shall  have  hereafter:  followeth  now  by  faith, 
shall  have  hereafter  by  sight.  For,  "  whilst 
we  are  in  the  body,"  saith  the  apostle,  "we 
are  absent  from  the  Lord:  for  we  walk  by 
faith,  not  by  sight."1  When  shall  we  walk 
by  sight  ?  When  we  shall  have  the  light  of 
life,  when  we  shall  have  come  to  that  vision, 
when  this  night  shall  have  passed  away.  Of 
that  day,  indeed,  which  is  to  arise,  it  is  said. 
"In  the  morning  I  will  stand  near  thee,  and 
contemplate  thee."3  What  means  "in  the 
morning  "  ?  When  the  night  of  this  world  is 
over,  when  the  terrors  of  temptations  are 
over,  when  that  lion  which  goeth  about  roar 
ing  in  the  night,  seeking  whom  it  may  devour, 
is  vanquished.  "  In  the  morning  I  will  stand 
near  thee,  and  contemplate."  Now  what  do 
are  think,  brethren,  to  be  our  duty  for  the 
present  time,  but  what  is  again  said  in  the 
psalm,  "  Every  night  through  will  I  wash  my 
couch;  I  will  moisten  my  bed  with  my  tears  "  ? 3 
Every  night  through,  saith  he,  I  will  weep;  I 
will  burn  with  desire  for  the  light.  The  Lord 


6,7. 


si-es  my  desire:  for  another  psalm  says  to 
Him,  "All  my  desire  is  before  Thee;  and  my 
groaning  is  not  hid  from  Thee."  4  Dost  thou 
desire  gold  ?  -Thou  canst  be  seen;  for,  while 
seeking  gold,  thou  wilt  be  manifest  to  men. 
Dost  thou  desire  corn  ?  Thou  askest  one  that 
has  it;  whom  also  thou  informest,  while  seek 
ing  to  get  at  that  which  thou  desirest.  Dost 
i  thou  desire  God  ?  Who  sees,  but  God  ? 
|  From  whom,  then,  dost  thou  seek  God,  as 
thou  seekest  bread,  water,  gold,  silver,  corn? 
From  whom  dost  thou  seek  God,  except  from 
God  ?  He  is  sought  from  Himself  who  has 
promised  Himself.  Let  the  soul  extend  her 
desire,  and  with  more  capacious  bosom  seek 
to  comprehend  that  which  "  eye  hath  not  seen, 
nor  ear  heard,  nor  hath  entered  into  the  heart 
of  man."5  Desire  it  we  can,  long  for  it  we 
can,  pant  after  it  we  can;  but  worthily  con 
ceive  it,  worthily  unfold  it  in  words,  we  can 
not. 

8.  Wherefore,  my  brethren,  since  the  Lord 
says  briefly,  "  I  am  the  light  of  the  world:  he 
that  followeth  me  shall  not  walk  in  darkness, 
but  shall  have  the   light  of  life;  "  in   these 
words  He  has  commanded  one  thing,  prom 
ised  another;  let  us  do  what  He  has  com 
manded,   that   we    may  not    with    shameless 
face  demand  what  He  has  promised;   that  He 
i  may  not  say  to  us  in   His  judgment,  Hast 
;  thou    done    what   I    commanded,    that   thou 
j  shouldest   expect   what  I    promised  ?     What 
I  hast  Thou  commanded,   then,   O  Lord   our 
j  God  ?     He  says  to  thee,  That  thou  shouldest 
i  follow  me.     Thou  hast  sought  counsel  of  life  ? 
|  Of  what  life,  but  of  that  of  which  it  is  said, 
"  With  Thee  is  the  fountain  of  life  "  ?     A  cer 
tain  man  heard  it  said  to  him, "Go,  sell  all 
that  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou 
j  shall   have   treasure  in  heaven;    and    come, 
follow  me."     He  followed  not,  but  went  a  way 
j  sorrowful;   he    sought   the    "good    Master," 
;  went  to  Him  as  a  teacher,  and  despised   His 
teaching;  he  went  away  sorrowful,  tied   and 
j  bound  by  his  lusts;  he  went  away  sorrowful, 
having  a  great  load  of  avarice  on  his  shoul- 
|  ders.     He    toiled    and    fretted;   and    yet    he 
thought  that  He,  who  was  willing  to  rid   him 
of  his  load,  was  not  to  be  followed  but  for 
saken.     But  after  the  Lord  has,  by  the  gospel, 
cried    aloud,  "Come    unto    me,    all   ye    that 
labor,  and  are  heavy  laden,  and   I  will  give 
you  rest;  take  my  yoke  upon  you,  and  learn 
of  me,  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  in  heart, "  J 
how  many,  on  hearing  the  gospel,  have  done 
what  that  rich  man,  on  hearing  from  His  own 
mouth,  did  not  do  ?     Therefore,  let  us  do  it 
now,  let  us  follow  the  Lord;  let  us  loose  the 


5  i  Cor.  ii.  9. 


Matt.  xi.  29. 


Ml        \\\IY.  I 


( »\    I  in:  Q(  >SPEL  <  'I-  ST.  .!•  »H\. 


203 


fetters  by  which  we  are  hindered  from  follow 
ing  Him.  Aiul  who  is  stiltn  it  nt  to  loose 
such  bonds,  unless  He  help,  to  whom  it  is 
said,  "  Thou  hast  burst  asunder  my  bonds  "  ?' 
( )f  whom  another  psalm  says,  "The  Lord 
looseth  them  that  are  in  bonds;  the  Lord 
raisrth  up  them  that  are  crushed  and  op 
pressed."  ' 

9.  And  what  do  they  follow,  who  have 
been  loosed  and  raised  up,  but  the  Light  from 
which  they  hear,  "  I  am  the  light  of  the 
world:  he  that  followeth  me  shall  not  walk  in 
darkness  "  ?  For  the  Lord  gives  light  to  the 
blind.  Therefore  we,  brethren,  having  the 
eye-salve  of  faith,  are  now  enlightened.  For 
His  spittle  did  before  mingle  with  the  earth, 
by  which  the  eyes  of  him  who  was  born  blind 
were  anointed.  We,  too,  have  been  born 
blind  of  Adam,  and  have  need  of  Him  to  en 
lighten  us.  '  He  mixed  spittle  with  clay: 
"  The  Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among 
us."  He  mixed  spittle  with  earth;  hence  it 
was  predicted,  "  Truth  has  sprung  from  the 
earth;"3  and  He  said  Himself,  "lam  the 
way,  the  truth,  and  the  life."  When  we  shall 
see  face  to  face,  we  shall  have  the  full  fruition 
of  the  truth;  for  this  also  is  promised  to  us. 
For  who  would  dare  hope  for  what  God  had 
not  deigned  either  to  promise  or  to  give  ? 
We  shall  see  face  to  face.  The  apostle  says, 
"  Now  I  know  in  part,  now  through  a  glass 
darkly;  but  then,  face  to  face."  4  And  the 
Apostle  John  says  in  his  epistle,  "  Beloved, 
now  are  we  the  sons  of  God;  and  it  has  not 
yet  appeared  what  we  shall  be:  we  know  that, 
when  He  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  Him; 
for  we  shall  see  Him  even  as  He  is."  5  This  is 
a  great  promise;  if  thou  lovest,  follow.  I  do 
love,  sayest  thou,  but  by  what  way  am  I  to 
follow  ?  If  the  Lord  thy  God  had  said  to 
thee,  "  I  am  the  truth  and  the  life,"  in  desir 
ing  truth  and  longing  for  life,  thou  mightest 
truly  ask  the  way  by  which  thou  mightest  come 
to  these,  and  mightest  say  to  thyself:  A  great 
thing  is  the  truth,  a  great  thing  is  the  life,  were 
there  only  the  means  whereby  my  soul  might 
come  thereto  !  Dost  thou  ask  by  what  way  ? 
Hear  Him  say  at  the  first,  "  I  am  the  way." 
Before  He  said  whither,  He  premised  by 
what  way:  "I  am,"  saith  He,  "the  wtxy." 
The  way  whither?  "And  the  truth  and  the 
life.''  First,  He  told  thee  the  way  to  come; 
then,  whither  to  come.  I  am  the  way,  I  am 
the  truth,  I  am  the  life.  Remaining  with 
the  Father,  the  truth  and  life;  putting  on 
flesh,  He  became  the  way.  It  is  not  said  to 
tnee,  Labor  in  finding  a  way  to  come  to  the 
truth  and  life;  this  is  not  said  to  thee.  Slug 


gard,  ..:  '..ty  itself 

and  roused  tiiee   from  thy  sleep;    il,  boi 
it    has    roused    thee,  up   and    wai;  . 
thou  art  trying  to  walk,  and  art   not  a! 
cause  thy  feet  ache.      How  come  thy  feet  to 
ache  ?     Have  they  been  running  over  rough 
places  at  the  bidding  of  avarice?     Hut    tue 
word  of  God  has  healed  even  the  lame.     Be 
hold,  thou  sayest,  I  have  my  feet  sound,  but 
the  way  itself  I  see  not.     He  has  also  enlight 
ened  the  blind. 

10.  All  this  by  faith,  so  long  as  we  are  ab 
sent  from  the  Lord,  dwelling  in  the  body; 
but  when  we  shall  have  traversed  the  way, 
and  have  reached  the  home  itself,  what  shall 
be  more  joyful  than  we  ?  What  shall  be  more 
blessed  than  we  ?  Because  nothing  more  at 
peace  than  we;  for  there  will  be  no  rebelling 
against  a  man.  But  now,  brethren,  it  is  diffi 
cult  for  us  to  be  without  strife.  We  have 
indeed  been  called  to  concord,  we  are  com 
manded  to  have  peace  among  ourselves;  to 
this  we  must  give  our  endeavor,  and  strain 
with  all  our  might,  that  we  may  come  at  last 
to  the  most  perfect  peace;  but  at  present  we 
are  at  strife,  very  often  with  those  whose 
good  we  are  seeking.  There  is  one  who 
goes  astray,  thou  wishest  to  lead  him  to  the 
way;  he  resists,  thou  strivest  with  him:  the 
pagan  resists  thee,  thou  disputest  against  the 
errors  of  idols  and  devils;  a  heretic  resists, 
thou  disputest  against  other  doctrines  of 
devils;  a  bad  catholic  is  not  willing  to  live 
aright,  thou  rebukest  even  thy  brother  within; 
he  dwells  with  thee  in  the  house,  and  seeks 
the  paths  of  ruin;  thou  art  inflamed  with 
eager  passion  to  put  him  right,  that  thou 
mayest  render  to  the  Lord  a  good  account  of 
both  concerning  him.  How  many  necessi 
ties  of  strife  there  are  on  every  side  !  Very 
often  one  is  overcome  with  weariness,  and 
says  to  himself,  "What  have  I  to  do  with 
bearing  with  gainsayers,  bearing  with  those 
who  render  evil  for  good  ?  I  wish  to  benefit 
them,  they  are  willing  to  perish;  I  wear  out 
my  life  in  strife;  I  have  no  peace;  besides, 
I  make  enemies  of  those  whom  I  ought-  to 
have  as  friends,  if  they  regarded  the  good 
will  of  him  that  seeks  their  good:  what  busi 
ness  is  it  of  mine  to  endure  this  ?  Let  me 
return  to  myself,  I  will  be  kept  to  myself, 
I  will  call  upon  my  God.  Do  return  to  thy 
self,  thou  findest  strife  there.  If  thou  hast 
begun  to  follow  God,  thou  findest  strife  there. 
Wnat  strife,  sayest  thou,  do  I  find  ? 
flesh  lusteth  against  the  Spirit,  and  the  Spirit 
against  the  flesh.  "6  Behold  thou  art  thyself, 
thou  art  alone,  thou  art  with  thyself;  behold, 


P*.  rxv 
i  C..r. 


Ps.  xlvi.  8. 
i  John  iii.  a. 


204 


THK  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


i  VIK   XXXV. 


thou  art  bearing  with  no  other  person,  but  yet 
thou  seest  another  law  in  thy  members  war 
ring  against  the  law  of  thy  mind,  and  taking 
•  •aptive  in  the  law  of  sin,  which  is  in  thy 
members.  Cry  aloud,  then,  and  cry  to  God, 
that  He  may  give  thee  peace  from  the  inner 
strife:  "  O  wretched  man  that  I  am,  wiio 
shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death  ? 
The  grace  of  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."1  Because,  "He  that  followeth 
me,"  saith  He,  "  shall  not  walk  in  darkness, 


but  shall  have  the  light  of  life."  All  strife 
ended,  immortality  shall  follow;  for  "the  last 
enemy,  death,  shall  be  destroyed."  And 
what  peace  will  this  be?  "  This  corruptible 
must  put  on  incorruption,  and  this  mortal 
must  put  on  immortality."-  To  which  that 
we  may  come  (for  it  will  then  be  in  reality), 
let  us  now  follow  in  hope  Him  who  said,  "  I 
am  the  light  of  the  world:  he  that  followeth 
me  shall  not  walk  in  darkness,  but  shall  have 
the  light  of  life." 


i  Cor.  xv.  26. 


TRACTATE  XXXV. 

CHAPTER  VIII.   13,  14. 


1.  You  who  were  present  yesterday,  bearj 
in  mind  that  we  were  a  long  while  discoursing 
of  the  words  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  where  j 
He  says,  "  I  am  the  light  of  the  world:  he 
that  followeth  me  shall  not  walk  in  darkness, 
but  shall  have  the  light  of  life;  "  and  if  we 
wished  to  go  on  discoursing  of  that  light,  we 
might  still  speak  a  long  time;    for  it  would 
be  impossible  for  us  to  expound  the  matter 
in  brief.     Therefore,  my  brethren,  let  us  fol 
low  Christ,  the  light  of  the  world,  that  we 
may  not  be  walking  in  darkness.     We  must 
fear  the  darkness, — not  the  darkness  of  the 
eyes,  but  that  of   the  moral  character;  and 
even  if  it  be  the  darkness  of  the  eyes,  it  is  not 
of  the  outer,  but  of  the  inner  eyes,  of  those 
by  which  we  discern,  not  between  white  and 
black,  but  between  right  and  wrong. 

2.  When  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  had  spoken 
these   things,    the    Jews    answered,    "Thou 
bearest  record  of  thyself;  thy  record  is  not 
true."     Before  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  came, 
He  lighted  and  sent  many  prophetic  lamps 
before  Him.     Of  these  was  also  John  Bap 
tist,  to  whom  the  great  Light  itself,  which  is 
the  Lord  Christ,  gave  a  testimony  such  as  was 
given  to  no  other  man;  for  He  said,  "Among 
them  that  are  born  of  women,  there  hath  not 
risen  a  greater  than  John  the  Baptist."1     Yet 
this  man,  than  whom  none  was  greater  among 
those  born  of  women,  said  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  "  I  indeed  baptize  you  in  water;  but 
He  that  is  coming  is  mightier  than  I,  whose 
shoe  I  am  not  worthy  to  loose."  -     See  how 
the  lamps  submits  itself  to  the  Day.     The 


Lord  Himself  bears  witness  that  the  same 
John  was  indeed  a  lamp:  "He  was,"  saith 
He,  "a  burning  and  a  shining  lamp;  and  ye 
were  willing  for  a  season  to  rejoice  in  his 
light."3  But  when  the  Jews  said  to  the 
Lord,  "  Tell  us  by  what  authority  thou  doest 
these  things,"  He,  knowing  that  they  re 
garded  John  the  Baptist  as  a  great  one,  and 
that  the  same  whom  they  regarded  as  a  great 
one  had  borne  witness  to  them  concerning 
the  Lord,  answered  them,  "  I  also  will  ask 
you  one  thing  ;  tell  me,  the  baptism  of  John, 
whence  is  it  ?  from  heaven,  or  from  men  ? " 
Thrown  into  confusion,  they  considered 
among  themselves  that,  if  they  said,  "  From 
men,"  they  might  be  stoned  by  the  people, 
who  believed  John  to  be  a  prophet;  if  they 
said,  "  From  heaven,"  He  might  answer 
them,  "  He  whom  ye  confess  to  have  been  a 
prophet  from  heaven  bore  testimony  to  me, 
and  ye  have  heard  from  him  by  what  author 
ity  I  do  these  things."  They  saw,  then,  that 
whichever  of  these  two  answers  they  made, 
they  would  fall  into  the  snare,  and  they  said, 
"  We  do  not  know."  And  the  Lord  answered 
them,  "  Neither  tell  I  you  by  what  authority 
I  do  these  things.''4  "  I  tell  you  not  what  I 
know,  because  you  will  not  confess  what  you 
know."  Most  justly,  certainly,  were  they 
repulsed,  and  they  departed  in  confusion; 
and  that  was  fulfilled  which  God  the  Father 
says  by  the  prophet  in  the  psalm,  "  I  have 
prepared  a  lamp  for  my  Christ"  (the  lamp 
was  John);  "  His  enemies  I  will  clothe  with 
confusion."  s 


1  John  i.  26.  27. 


3  John  v.  35. 


4  Matt.  xxi.  23-27. 


5  I\s.  cxxxii.  17,  18. 


ii     \\XV.j 


l  111,  GOSPEL  ol-  ST.  JOHN. 


205 


3.    The    Lord    Jrs'is   dins:,   turn,    iiacl    the  true."      I. ft    us    see    what    they   hear;   let    us 

witness  of   prophets  sent   before    Him.  ot"   the  also  hear,  yet  not  as  they  did 

lu-ralds   that     pro  rded    tlie    jnd-e:      He    had  we  believing;   they  wishing  t» 

witness  from   John;   but    He  was  Himself  the  desiring  to  live  through  Christ.      I 

greater   witness   which     He   bore   to    Himself,  ference  distinguish  our  ears  and    mind-,   from 

Hut  t'uose   men  with   their  feeble  <-y<-s  sought  theirs,  and  let  us  hear  what  the  Lord  ai. 

lamps,   bee  .nise  they  were   not  able   to  bear  to  the  Jews.      "Jesus  answered  and   said  to 


the  day;  for  that  same  Apostle  John,  whose 
dospel  we  have  in  our  hands,  says  in  the  be 
ginning  of  his  Ciospel,  concerning  John  the 


them.  Though  I  bear  witness  of  myself,  my 
witness    is   true;  because    I   know   whe: 
came  and  whither  I  go."     The   light  shows 


Haptist:  "There  was  a  man  sent  from  God,  both  other  things  and  also  itself.  Thou 
whose  name  was  John.  He  came  lor  a  wit-:  lightest  a  lamp,  for  instance,  to  look  for  thy 
ness,  to  bear  witness  of  the  light,  that  all ,  coat,  and  the  burning  lamp  affords  thee  light 
men  might  believe  through  him.  He  was  not  i  to  find  thy  coat;  dost  thou  light  the  lamp  to 
the  light,  but  was  sent  to  bear  witness  of  the  see  itself  when  it  burns  ?  A  burning  lamp  is 


light.  That  was  the  true  light,  that  lighteth 
every  man  coming  into  the  world."  If 
"every  man,"  therefore  also  lighteth  John. 
Whence  also  the  same  John  says,  "  We  all 
have  received  out  of  His  fullness."  Where 
fore  discern  ye  these  things,  that  your  minds 
may  profit  in  the  faith  of  Christ,  that  ye  be 
not  always  babes  seeking  the  breasts  and 
shrinking  from  solid  food.  You  ought  to  be 
nourished  and  to  be  weaned  by  our  holy 
mother  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  to  come  to 
more  solid  .food  by  the  mind,  not  by  the 
belly.  This  discern  ye  then,  that  the  light 


indeed  capable  at  the  same  time  of  exposing 
to  view  other  things  which  the  darkness  cov 
ered,  and  also  of  showing  itself  to  thine  eyes. 
So  also  the  Lord  Christ  distinguished  between 
His  faithful  ones  and  His  Jewish  enemies, 
as  between  light  and  darkness:  as  between 
those  whom  He  illuminated  with  the  ray  of 
faith,  and  those  on  whose  closed  eyes  He 
shed  His  light.  So,  too,  the  sun  shines  on 
the  face  of  the  sighted  and  of  the  blind;  both 
alike  standing  and  facing  the  sun  are  shone 
upon  in  the  flesh,  but  both  are  not  enlight 
ened  in  the  eyesight.  The  one  sees,  the 


which  enlighteneth  is  one  thing,  another  ttiat  j  other  sees  not:  the  sun  is  present  to  both, 
which  is  enlightened.  For  also  our  eyes  are  !  but  one  is  absent  from  the  present  sun.  So 
called  lights;1  and  every  man  thus  swears,  likewise  the  Wisdom  of  God,  the  Word  of 
touching  his  eyes,  by  these  lights  of  his:  God,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  is  everywhere 
"So  may  my  lights  live."  This  is  a  cus- j  present,  because  the  truth  is  everywhere,  wis- 
tomary  oath.  Let  these  lights,  if  lights  they  [  dom  is  everywhere.  One  man  in  the  east 
are,  be  opened,  and  shine  for  thee  in  thy  understands  justice,  another  man  in  the  west 


closed  chamber,  when  the  light  is  not  there; 
they  certainly  cannot.  Therefore,  as  these 
which  we  have  in  our  face,  and  call  lights, 
when  they  are  both  healthy  and  open,  nee( 


understands  justice;  is  justice  which  the  one 
understands  a  different  thing  from  that  which 
the  other  understands  ?  In  body  they  are  far 
apart,  and  yet  they  have  the  eyes  of  their 


the  help  of  light  from  without, — which  being   minds  on  one  object.     The  justice  which  I, 
removed  or  not   brought  in,  though  they  are    placed  here,  see,  if  justice  it  is,  is  the  same 


sound  and  are  open,  yet  they  do  not  see, — so 
our  mind,  which  is  the  eye  of  the  soul,  unless 
it  be  irradiated  by  the  light  of  truth,  and 
wondrously  shone  upon  by  Him  who  en 
lightens  and  is  not  enlightened,  will  not  be 
able  to  come  to  wisdom  nor  to  righteousness. 
For  to  live  righteously  is  for  us  the  way  itself. 
But  how  can  he  on  whom  the  light  does  not 
shine  but  stumble  in  the  way  ?  And  hence, 
in  such  a  way.  we  have  need  of  seeing,  in 
such  a  way  it  is  a  great  tiling  to  see.  Now 
Tobias  had  the  eyes  in  his  face  closed,  and 
the  son  gave  his  hand  to  the  father;  and  yet 
the  father,  by  his  instruction,  pointed  out  the 
way  to  the  son. 

4.   The  Jews  then  answered,  "  Thou  bear- 
est    witness    of    thyself;    thy    witness    is    not 


which  the  just  man,  separated  from  me  in  the 
flesh  by  ever  so  many  days'  journey,  also 
sees,  and  is  united  to  me  in  the  light  of  that 
justice.  Therefore  the  light  bears  witness  to 
itself;  it  opens  the  sound  eyes  and  is  its  own 
witness,  that  it  may  be  known  as  the  light. 
But  how  about  the  unbelievers?  Is  it  not 
present  to  them  ?  It  is  present  also  to  them, 
but  they  have  not  eyes  of  the  heart  with  which 
to  see  it.  Hear  the  sentence  fetched  from 
the  Gospel  itself  concerning  them:  "And  the 
light  shineth  in  darkness,  and  the  darkness 
comprehended  it  not."  Hence  the 
saitii,  and  sailh  truly,  "Though  I  bear  wit- 

ij  myself,  my  witness  is  true;  b< 
I  know  whence  1  came  and  whither  I 
He  meant  us  to  understand  the  Father 


<  J..lm  i.  5. 


206 


THI.  WORKS  01-  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


|Tk.\<  TAIK     \.\X\ 


the  Son  gave  glory  to  the  Father.  Himself 
the  equal  glorifies  Him  by  whom  He  \vas 
sent.  Ho\v  ought  man  to  glorify  Him  by 
whom  he  was  created  ! 

5.  "I  know  whence  I  came  and  whither  I 
go.'1     He  who  speaks  to  you  in  person  has 
what  He  has  not  left,  and  yet  He  came;  for| 
by  coming  He  departed  not  thence,  nor  has 
He  forsaken    us   by  returning  thither.   Why  j 
marvel  ye?     It  is  God:  this  cannot  be  done 
by  man;  it  cannot  be  done  even  by  the  sun. 
When  it  goes  to  the  west  it  leaves  the  east, 
and  until  it  returns  to  the  east,  when  about  to 
rise,  it  is  not  in  the  east;  but  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  both  comes  and  is  there,  both  returns 
and   is    here.     Hear  the    evangelist   himself 
speaking  in  another  place,  and,  if  thou  canst, 
understand    it;    if   not,    believe   it:    "God," 
saith  he,  "  no  man  hath  ever  seen,  but  the 
only-begotten  Son,  who  is  in  the  bosom  of 
the   Father,   He    hath  declared   Him."     He 
said  not  was  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  as 
if  by  coming   He   had   quitted   the   Father's 
bosom.     Here  He  was  speaking,  and  yet  He 
declared  that  He  was  there;  and  when  about 
to  depart  hence,  what  said  He  ?     ' '  Lo,  I  am 
with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world."  ' 

6.  The  witness  of  the  light  then  is  true, 
whether    it    be    manifesting    itself    or   other 
things;  for  without  light  thou  canst  not  see 
light,  and  without  light  thou  canst  not  see  any 
other  thing  whatever  that  is   not   light.      If 
light  is  capable  of  showing  other  things  which 
are  not  lights,  is  it  not  capable  of  showing 
itself  ?     Does  not  that  discover  itself,  without 
which  other  things  cannot  be  made  manifest? 
A  prophet  spoke  a  truth;  but  whence  had  he 
it,  unless   he  drew  it   from  the    fountain  of 
truth?     John  spoke  a  truth;  but  whence  he 
spoke  it,  ask  himself:   "  We  all,"   saith  he, 
"have  received  of  His  fullness."     Therefore 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  worthy  to  bear  wit 
ness  to  Himself.     But  in  any  case,  my  breth 
ren,  let  us  who  are  in  the  night  of  this  world 
hear   also  prophecy  with   earnest   attention: 
for  now  our  Lord  willed  to  come  in  humility 
to  our  weakness  and  the  deep  night -darkness 
of  our  hearts.     He  came  as  a  man  to  be  de 
spised  and  to  be  honored,   He  came  to  be 
denied  and  to  be  confessed;  to  be  despised 
and  to  be  denied  by  the  Jews,  to  be  honored 
and  confessed    by  us:  to  be  judged  and    to 
judge;  to  be  judged  unjustly,  to  judge  right 
eously.     Such  then  He  came  that  He  behoved 
to  have  a  lamp  to  bear  witness  to  Him.     For 
what  need  was  there  that   John  should,  as  a 
lamp,  bear  witness  to  the  day,  if  the  day  itself 


could  be  looked  upon  by  our  weakness  ?  But 
we  could  not  look  upon  it:  He  became  weak 
for  the  weak;  by  infirmity  He  healed  infirm 
ity;  by  mortal  flesh  He  took  away  the  death 
of  the  flesh;  of  His  own  body  He  made  a 
salve  for  our  eyes.  Since,  therefore,  the 
Lord  is  come,  and  since  we  are  still  in  the 
night  of  the  world,  it  behoves  us  to  hear  also 
prophecies. 

7.  For  it  is  from  prophecy  that  we  con 
vince  gainsaying  pagans.  Who  is  Christ? 
says  the  pagan.  To  whom  we  reply,  He 
whom  the  prophets  foretold.  What  prophets? 
asks  he.  We  quote  Isaiah,  Daniel,  Jeremiah, 
and  other  holy  prophets:  we  tell  him  that 
they  came  long  before  Christ,  by  what  length 
of  time  they  preceded  His  coming.  We 
make  this  reply  then:  Prophets  came  before 
Him,  and  they  foretold  His  coming*  One  of 
them  answers:  What  prophets  ?  We  quote 
for  him  those  which  are  daily  read  to  us. . 
And,  said  he,  Who  are  these  prophets  ?  We 
answer:  Those  who  also  foretold  the  things 
which  we  see  come  to  pass.  And  he  urges: 
You  have  forged  these  for  yourselves,  you 
have  seen  them  come  to  pass,  and  have  writ 
ten  them  in  what  books  you  pleased,  as  if 
their  coming  had  been  predicted.  Here  in 
opposition  to  pagan  enemies  the  witness  of 
other  enemies  offers  itself.  We  produce 
books  written  by  the  Jews,  and  reply:  Doubt 
less  both  you  and  they  are  enemies  of  our 
faith.  Hence  are  they  scattered  among  the 
nations,  that  we  may  convince  one  class  of 
enemies  by  another.  Let  the  book  of  Isaiah 
be  produced  by  the  Jews,  and  let  us  see  if  it 
is  not  there  we  read,  "  He  was  led  as  a  sheep 
to  be  slaughtered,  and  as  a  lamb  before  his 
shearer  was  dumb,  so  He  opened  not  His 
mouth.  In  humility  His  judgment  was  taken 
away;  by  His  bruises  we  are  healed:  all  we 
as  sheep  went  astray,  and  He  was  delivered 
up  for  our  sins."2  Behold  one  lamp.  Let 
another  be  produced,  let  the  psalm  be  opened, 
and  thence,  too,  let  the  foretold  suffering  of 
Christ  be  quoted:  "They  pierced  my  hands 
and  my  feet,  they  counted  all  my  bones:  but 
they  considered  me  and  gazed  upon  me,  they 
parted  my  garments  among  them,  and  upon 
my  vesture  they  cast  the  lot.  My  praise  is 
with  Thee;  in  the  great  assembly  will  I  con 
fess  to  Thee.  All  the  ends  of  the  earth  shall 
be  reminded,  and  be  converted  to  the  Lord: 
all  countries  of  the  nations  shall  worship  in 
His  sight;  for  the  kingdom  is  the  Lord's,  and 
He  shall  have  dominion  over  the  nations."3 
Let  one  enemy  blush,  for  it  is  another  enemy 
that  gives  me  the  book.  But  lo,  out  of  the 

*  Isa.  liii.  5-8.  !  1'-.  >-\ii.  17-29- 


.  \  \\ .  1 


0\    Till,    (ji  )>!'). I.   (  >\-    ST.     !<  )ll\. 


hook  produced  liy  ti.c  OIK-  runny,  I  have 
vanquished  the  other:  nor  let  that  same  who 
produced  me  the  hook  he  left;  let  him  pro- 
din  c  that  by  which  himself  also  may  he  van 
quished.  1  read  another  prophet,  and  I  find 
the  Lord  speaking  to  the  Jews:  "  I  have  no 
pleasure  in  you,  saitli  the  Lord,  nor  will  I 
sacrifice  at  your  hands':  for  from  the 
rising  of  the  sun  even  to  his  going  down,  a 
pure  sacrifice  is  offered  to  my  name." '  Thou 
dost  not  come,  O  Jew,  to  a  pure  sacrifice;  I 
prove  thee  impure. 

8.  Behold,  even  lamps  bear  witness  to  the 
clay,  because  of  our  weakness,  for  we  cannot 
bear  and  look  at  the  brightness  of  the  day. 
In  comparison,  indeed,  with  unbelievers,  we 
Christians  are  even  now  light;  as  the  apostle 
says,  "  For  ye  were  once  darkness,  but  now 
light  in  the  Lord:  walk  as  children' of  light:"  3 
and   he    says   elsewhere,  "The    night   is    far 
spent,   the  day  is  at  hand:  let  us  therefore 
cast  away  the  works  of  darkness,  and   put  on 
us  the  armor  of  light;  let  us  walkhon  estly 
as  in  the  day."  3      Yet  that  even  the  day  in 
which  we  now  are  is  still  night,  in  comparison 
with  the  light  of  that  to  which  we  are  to  come, 
listen  to  the  Apostle  Peter:  he  says  that  a 
voice  came  to  the  Lord  Christ  from  the  ex 
cellent  glory,  "  Thou  art  my  beloved  Son,  in. 
whom  I  am  well  pleased.     This  voice,"  said 
he,  "  which   came    from   heaven,  we    heard, 
when  we  were  with  Him  in  the  holy  mount." 
Kut  because  we  were  not  there,  and  have  not 
then  heard  this  voice  from  heaven,  the  same 
Peter  says  to  us,  "And  we  have  a  more  sure 
word  of  prophecy."     You  have  not  heard  the 
voice  come  from  heaven,  but  you  have  a  more 
sure  word  of  prophecy.     For  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  foreseeing  that  there  would  be  certain 
wicked  men  who  would  calumniate  His  mira 
cles,  by  attributing  them  to  magical  arts,  sent 
prophets   before    Him.     For,   supposing  He 
was  a  magician,  and  by  magical  arts  caused 
that    He   should    be   worshipped    after    His 
death,  was   He  then  a  magician  before   He 
was  born  ?     Hear  the  prophets,  O  man  dead, 
and  breeding  the  worms  of  calumny,  hear  the 
prophets:  I  read,  hear  them  who  came  before 
the    Lord.      "We    have,"    saith  the  Apostle 
Peter,  "a  more  sure  word    of  prophecy,   to 
which  ye  do  well  to  give  heed,  as  to  a  lamp 
in  n  dark   place,  until   the  day  dawn,  and  the 
day-star  arise  in  your  hearts."4 

9.  When,  therefore,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 


'  Mai.  i.  .... 
3  Rom.  xiii. 


shall  come,  ami,  as  t. it- 
will  bring  to  light  the  hidden  things  of  dark- 
lies.-,,  and  will  make  manifest  the  tho'i- 
the    heart,    that   every    man    may  have    prai.se 
from  ilod;5  then,  in  presence  of  such  a  day, 
lamps  will  not  be  needed:  no  prophet   shall 
then  be  read  to  us,   no  book  of  an  apostle 
shall  be  opened;  we  shall  not  require  the  wit 
ness  of  John,  we  shall  not  need  the  Gospel 
itself.     Accordingly  all    Scriptures   shall    be 
taken  out  of  the  way, — which,  in  the  night  of 
this  world,  were  as  lamps  kindled  for  u»  that 
we  might  not  remain  in  darkness, — when  all 
these  are  taken  away,  that  they  may  not  shine 
as  if  we  needed  them,  and  the  men  of  God,  by 
whom     these   were    ministered    to    us,    shall 
themselves,  together  with  us,  behold  that  true 
and    clear   light.     Well,   what   shall    we    see 
(  after  these  aids  have  been  removed  ?     Where 
with  shall  our  mind  be  fed  ?     Wherewith  shall 
.our  gaze  be  delighted?     Whence  shall  arise 
that  joy  which  neither  eye  hath  seen,  nor  ear 
heard,   nor  hath  gone  up  into  the   heart  of 
;  man  ?     What  shall  we  see  ?    I  beseech  you, 
love  with  me,  by  believing  run  with  me:  let 
I  us  long  for  our  home  above,  let  us  pant  for 
I  our   home   above,    let    us    feel    that   we   are 
i  strangers    here.     What   shall    we   see    then  ? 
Let  the  Gospel   now  tell   us:   "  In  the  begin- 
I  ning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with 
God,  and  the  Word  was  God."     Thou  shall 
,  come  to  the  fountain  from  which  a  little  dew 
has  already  besprinkled  thee:  thou  shall  see 
|  thai  very  light,  from  which  a  ray  was  sent 
I  aslant  and  through  many  windings  into  ihy 
dark  heart,  in  its  purity,  for  the  seeing  and 
bearing  of  which  thou  art  being  purified.    John 
himself    says,   and    this   I   cited    yesterday: 
"  Beloved,  we  are  the  sons  of  God;  and  it 
hath  not  yet  appeared  what  we  shall  be:  we 
know  that,  when  He  shall  appear,  we  shall  be 
like  Him,  for  we  shall  see  Him  even  as  He 
is."6     I  feel  that  your  affections  are  being 
lifted  up  with  me  to  the  things  that  are  above: 
but  the  body,  which  is  corrupt,  weighs  down 
i  the  soul;  and,  the  earthly  habitation  depresses 
I  the  mind  while  meditating  many  things.7     I 
I  am  about  to  lay  aside  this  book,  and  you  too 
are  going  to  depart,  every  man  to  his  own 
house.     It  has  been  good  for  us  to  have  been 
'  in  the  common  light,  good  to  have  been  glad 
therein,  good  to  have  rejoiced   therein;  but 
when  we  part   from  one  another,  let  us  not 
depart  from  Him. 


5  .  Cor.  iv.  5. 


i  John  lii.  3. 


7  Wi»d.  ix.  15. 


208 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.    A.UGUSTIN. 


'1  K  \.    I   Ml      \\\VI. 


TRACTATE    XXXVI. 

CHAl'll.K     YI1I.     15-lS. 

i.  IN  the  four  Gospels,  or  rather  in  the  i  bound  to  trust  it), — if,  I  say,  you  hold  this 
four  books  of  the  one  Gospel,  Saint  John  the  j  rule,  as  men  walking  in  the  light,  you  will 
apostle,  not  undeservedly  in  respect  of  his 


spiritual  understanding  compared  to  the 
eagle,  has  elevated  his  preaching  higher  and 
far  more  sublimely  than  the  other  three;  and 
in  this  elevating  of  it  he  would  have  our 
hearts  likewise  lifted  up.  For  the  other  three 
evangelists  walked  with  the  Lord  on  earth  as 
with  a  man;  concerning  His  divinity  they 
have  said  but  little;  but  this  evangelist,  as  if 
he  disdained  to  walk  on  earth,  just  as  in  the 
very  opening  of  his  discourse  he  thundered  on 
us,  soared  not  only  above  the  earth  and  above 
the  whole  compass  of  air  and  sky,  but  even 
above  the  whole  army  of  angels  and  the  whole 
order  of  invisible  powers,  and  reached  to 
Him  by  whom  all  things  were  made;  saying, 
"In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the 
Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God. 


fight  against  the  calumnies  of  heretical  dark 
ness  without  fear.  For  there  have  not  1  it-en 
wanting  those  who,  in  reading  the  Gospel, 
followed  only  those  testimonies  that  concern 
the  humility  of  Christ,  and  have  been  deaf  to 
those  which  have  declared  His  divinity;  deaf 
for  this,  reason,  that  they  may  be  full  of  evil 
words.  There  have  likewise  been  some,  who, 
giving  heed  only  to  those  which  speak  of  the 
excellency  'of  the  Lord,  even  though  they 
have  read  of  His  mercy  in  becoming  man  for 
our  sakes,  have  not  believed  the  testimonies, 
but  accounted  them  false  and  invented  by 
men;  contending  that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
was  only  God,  not  also  man  Some  in  this  way, 
some  in  that:  both  in  error.  But  the  catho 
lic  faith,  holding  from  both  the  truths  which 
each  holds  and  preaching  the  truth  which 


This   was   in  the  beginning  with   God.      All  1  each  believes,  has  both  understood  that  Christ 
things  were  made  by  Him,  and  without  Him 


was  nothing  made."  To  this  so  great  sub 
limity  of  his  beginning  all  the  rest  of  his 
preaching  well  agrees;  and  he  has  spoken  con 
cerning  the  divinity  of  the  Lord  as  none 
other  has  spoken.  What  he  had  drank  in,  the 
same  he  gave  forth.  For  it  is  not  without 


is  God  and  also  believed  Him  to  be  man:  for 
each  is  written  and  each  is  true.  Shouldst 
thou  assert  that  Christ  is  only  God,  thou 
deniest  the  medicine  whereby  thou  wast 
healed:  shouldst  thou  assert  that  Christ  is 
only  man,  thou  deniest  the  power  whereby 
thou  wast  created.  Hold  therefore  both.  6 


reason  that  it  is  recorded  of  him  in  this  very  |  faithful  soul  and  catholic  heart,  hold  both, 
Gospel,  that  at  supper  he  reclined  on  the  j  believe  both,  faithfully  confess  both.  Christ 
Lord's  bosom.  From  that  breast  then  he  i  is  both  God  and  also  man.  How  is  Christ 
drank  in  secret;  but  what  he  drank  in  secret  j  God  ?  Equal  with  the  Father,  one  with  the 
he  gave  forth  openly,  that  there  may  come  to  Father.  How  is  Christ  man  ?  Born  of  a  vir- 
all  nations  not  only  the  incarnation  of  the  gin,  taking  upon  Himself  mortality  from  man, 


Son  of  God,  and  His  passion  and  resurrec 
tion,  but  also  what  He  was  before  His  incar 
nation,  the  only  Son  of  the  Father,  the  Word 
of  the  Father,  co-eternal  with  Him  that 
begat,  equal  with  Him  by  whom  He  was  sent; 
but  yet  in  that  very  sending  made  less,  that 
the  Father  might  be  greater. 

2.  Whatever,  then,  you  have  heard  stated 
in  lowly  manner  concerning  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  think  of  that  economy  by  which  He 
assumed  flesh;  but  whatever  you  hear,  or 
read,  stated  in  the  Gospel  concerning  Him 
that  is  sublime  and  high  above  all  creatures, 
and  divine,  and  equal  and  coeternal  with  the 
Father,  be  sure  that  this  which  you  read  ap 
pertains  to  the  form  of  God,  not  to  the  form 


but  not  taking  iniquity. 

3  These  Jews  then  saw  the  man;  they 
neither  perceived  nor  believed  Him  to  be 
God:  and  you  have  already  heard  how,  among 
all  the  rest,  they  said  to  Him,  "  Thou  bear- 
est  witness  of  thyself;  thy  witness  is  not 
true."  You  have  also  heard  what  He  said  in 
reply,  as  it  was  read  to  you  yesterday,  and 
according  to  our  ability  discussed.  To-day 
have  been  read  these  words  of  His,  "  Ye 
judge  after  the  flesh."  Therefore  it  is.  saith 
He,  that  you  say  to  me,  "  Thou  bearest  wit 
ness  of  thyself;  thy  witness  is  not  true."  lie- 
cause  you  judge  after  the  flesh,  because  you 
perceive  not  God;  the  man  you  see,  and  by 
persecuting  the  man,  you  offend  God  hidden 

of  the  servant.  For  if  you  hold  this  rule,  you  j  in  Him.  "Ye,"  then,  "judge  after  the 
who  can  understand  it  (inasmuch  as  you  are  I  flesh.0  Because  I  bear  witness  of  myself,  I 
not  all  able  to  understand  it,  but  you  are  all  |  therefore  appear  to  you  arrogant.  For  every 


ii     \\.\V1.  I 


ON   i  in.  G(  >SPE1    <  >i   -  r.  JOHN. 


209 


man,  when  he  wishes  to  bear  commendatory 
witness  of  himself,  seems  arrogant,  and  proud. 
•  il  is  written,  "  Let  not  thy  own  mouth 
praise  thee,  hut  let  thy  neighbor's"  mouth 
|>raise  thec.1  Hut  this  was  said  to  man.  I  Of 
we  are  weak,  and  we  speak  to  the  weak.  We 
ran  speak  the  truth,  but  we  can  also  lie; 
although  we  are  bound  to  speak  the  truth, 
still  we  have  it  in  our  power  to  lie  when  we 


must  be  executed;   for  of    Him  tin-  psalm  had 
sung,  "  Merry  and    judgment    will    I   s 
Thee,  O  Lord."  says  not  "  judg 

ment  and  mercy,"  for  if  judgment   ha.: 
first,    there    would    be    no    mercy;  but    it    is 
mercy    first,    then    judgment.     What    is    the 
mercy  first  ?     The  Creator  of  man  deigned  to 
become  man;  was  made  what  He  had  m.i .!«  , 


that  the  creature   He 


made  might  not 


will.  Hut  far  be  it  from  us  to  think  that  the  perish.  What  can  be  added  to  this  mercy? 
darkness  of  falsehood  could  be  found  in  the  And  yet  He  has  added  thereto.  It  was  not 
splendor  of  the  divine  light.  He  spoke  as  j  enough  for  Him  to  be  made  man,  He  added 
tin  light,  spoke  as  the  truth;  but  the  light '  to  this  that  He  was  rejected  of  men;  it  was 
was  shining  in  the  darkness,  and  the  darkness  '  not  enough  to  be  rejected,  He  was  dishon- 
comprehended  it  not:  therefore  they  judged  jored;  it  was  not  enough  to  be  dishonored,  He 


was  put  to  death;  but  even  this  was  not 
enough,  it  was  by  the  death  of  the  cross. 
For  when  the  apostle  was  commending  to  us 
His  obedience  even  unto  death,  it  was  not 
enough  for  him  to  say,  "  He  became  obedient 


after   the    flesh. 
after  the  flesh." 

4.   "I  judge  not  any  man." 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  then,  judge  any  man  ?     Is 
He  not  the  same  of  whom  we  confess  that  He 

rose  again  on  the  third  day,  ascended  into  unto  death;"  for  it  was  not  unto  death  of  any 
heaven,  there  sits  at  the  right  hand  of  the  j  kind  whatever:  but  he  added,  "even  the 
Father,  and  thence  shall  come  to  judge  the  !  death  of  the  cross.''4  Among  all  kinds  of 
quick  and  the  dead  ?  Is  not  this  our  faith  of  death,  there  was  nothing  worse  than  that 

death.  In  short,  that  wherein  one  is  racked 
by  the  most  intense  pains  is  called  crueiatits, 
which  takes  its  name  from  crux,  a  cross. 


44  Ye,"    saith    He,  "  judge 
Does  not  the 


which  the  apostle  says,  "  With  the  heart  man 
believeth  unto  righteousness,  and  with  the 
mouth  confession  is  made  unto  salvation?"2 


When,  therefore,  we  confess  these  things,  do  For  the  crucified,  hanging  on  the  tree,  nailed 
we  contradict  the  Lord?  We  say  that  He  i  to  the  wood,  were  killed  by  a  slow  lingering 
shall  come  a  judge  of  the  quick  and  the  dead,  death.  To  be  crucified  was  not  merely  to 
whilst  He  says  Himself,  "1  judge  not  any  j  be  put  to  death;  for  the  victim  lived  long  on 


question  may  be  solved  in  two 


the  cross,  not  because  longer  life  was  chosen, 


ways:  Either  that  we  may  understand  this  but  because  death  itself  was  stretched  out 
expression,  "  I  judge  not  any  man,"  to  mean,  that  the  pain  might  not  be  too  quickly  ended. 
I  judge  not  any  man  nou>;  in  accordance  with  \  He  willed  to  die  for  us,  yet  it  is  not  enough 
what  He  says  in  another  place,  ''  I  am  not !  to  say  this;  He  deigned  to  be  crucified,  be 
come  to  judge  the  world,  but  to  save  the  i  came  obedient  even  to  the  death  of  the  cross, 
world;"  not  denying  His  judgment  here,  but  He  who  was  about  to  take  away  all  death, 
deferring  it.  Or.  otherwise,  surely  that  when  !  chose  the  lowest  and  worst  kind  of  death:  He 
He  said,  "Ye  judge  after  the  flesh,"  He  sub- 1  slew  death  by  the  worst  of  deaths.  To  the 
joined,  "  I  judge  not  any  man,"  in  such  man- ;  Jews  who  understood  not,  it  was  indeed  the 
ner  that  thou  shouldst  understand  "after  the  worst  of  deaths,  but  it  was  chosen  by  the 
flesh"  to  complete  the  sense.  Therefore  let !  Lord.  For  He  was  to  have  that  very  cross 
no  scruple  of  doubt  remain  in  our  heart  as  His  sign;  that  very  cross,  a  trophy,  as  it 
against  the  faith  which  we  hold  and  declare  :  were,  over  the  vanquished  devil,  He  was  to 
concerning  Christ  as  judge.  Chiist  is  come,  put  on  the  brow  of  believers,  so  that  the  apos- 
but  first  to  save,  then  to  judge:  to  adjudge  to  tie  said,  "God  forbid  that  I  should  glory, 
punishment  those  who  would  not  be  saved;  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by 
to  bring  them  to  life  who,  by  believing,  did  ,  whom  the  world  is  crucified  to  me,  and  I  to 
not  reject  salvation.  Accordingly,  the  first  j  the  world."5  Nothing  was  then  more  intoler- 
dispensation  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  me-  able  in  the  flesh,  nothing  is  now  more  glori- 
dicinal,  not  judicial;  for  if  He  had  come  to 


judge   first,   He  would   have  found 


ous  on  the  brow.      What  does  He  reserve  for 
none  on  I  His  faithful  one,  when  He  has  put  such  honor 


whom  He  might  bestow  the  rewards  of  right-  on  the  instrument  of  His  own  torture  5 

eousness.     Because,  therefore.   He  saw  that  is  the  cross  no  longer  used  among  t'ae  Romans 

all  were  sinners,  and   that  none  was  exempt  in  the  punishment  of  criminals,  for  where  the 

from  the  death  of  sin,  His  mercy  had  first  to  cross  of  the  Lord  came  to  be  honored,  it  was 

be     craved,    and     afterwards    His     judgment  thought   that    even   a   guilty    man   would    be 


210 


THK   WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUST!  N. 


[TfcACTATI  XXXVI. 


honored  if  he  slioulil  be  crucified.  Hence, 
He  who  came  for  this  cause  judged  no  m.-ui: 
He  suffered  also  the  wicked.  He  suffered 
unjust  judgment,  that  He  might  execute 
righteous  judgment.  But  it  was  of  His  mercy 
that  He  endured  unjust  judgment.  In  short, 
He  became  so  low  as  to  come  to  the  cross; 
yea,  laid  aside  His  power,  but  published  His 
mercy.  Wherein  did  He  lay  aside  His 
power  ?  In  that  He  would  not  come  down 
from  the  cross,  though  He  had  the  power  to 
rise  again  from  the  sepulchre.  Wherein  did 
He  publish  His  mercy  ?  In  that,  when  hang 
ing  on  the  cross,  He  said,  "  Father,  forgive 
them;  for  they  know  not  what  they  do."1 
Whether,  then,  it  be  that  He  said,  "  I  judge 
not  any  man,"  because  He  had  come  not  to 
judge  the  world,  but  to  save  the  world;  or, 
that,  as  I  have  mentioned,  when  He  had  said, 
"Ye  judge  after  the  flesh,"  He  added,  "I 
judge  not  any  man,"  for  us  to  understand 
that  Christ  judgeth  not  after  the  flesh,  like  as 
He  was  judged  by  men. 

5.  But  that  you  may  know  that  Christ  is 
judge  even  now,  hear  what  follows:  "And  if 
I  judge,  my  judgment  is  true."  Behold, 
thou  hast  Him  as  thy  judge,  but  acknowledge 
Him  as  thy  Saviour,  lest  thou  feel  the  judge. 
But  why  has  He  said  that  His  judgment  is 
true?  "Because,"  saith  He,  "I  am  not 
alone,  but  I  and  the  Father  that  sent  me." 
I  have  said  to  you,  brethren,  that  this  holy 
Evangelist  John  soars  exceedingly  high:  it  is 
with  difficulty  that  he  is  comprehended.  But 
we  need  to  remind  you,  beloved,  of  the  deeper 
mystery  of  this  soaring.  Both  in  the  prophet 
Ezekiel,  and  in  the  Apocalypse  of  this  very 
John  whose  Gospel  this  is,  there  is  mentioned 
a  fourfold  living  creature,  having  four  char 
acteristic  faces;  that  of  a  man,  of  an  ox,  of 
a  lion,  and  of  an  eagle.  Those  who  have 
handled  the  mysteries  of  Holy  Scripture  be 
fore  us  have,  for  the  most  part,  understood  | 
by  this  living  creature,  or  rather,  these  four  j 
living  creatures,  the  four  evangelists.  They  • 
have  understood  the  lion  as  put  for  king,  be-  j 
cause  he  appears  to  be,  in  a  manner,  the  king 
of  beasts  on  account  of  his  strength  and  terri 
ble  valor.  This  character  is  assigned  to 
Matthew,  because  in  the  generations  of  the 
Lord  he  followed  the  royal  line,  showing  how 
the  Lord  was,  along  the  royal  line,  of  the 
seed  of  David.  But  Luke,  because  he  begins 
with  the  priesthood  of  Zacharias,  mentioning 
the  father  of  John  the  Baptist,  is  designated 
the  ox;  for  the  ox  was  an  important  victim 
in  the  sacrifice  of  the  priests.  To  Mark  is 
deservedly  assigned  the  man  Christ,  because 


Luke  x.xiii.  34. 


neither  has  he  said  anything  of  the  royal  au 
thority,  nor  did  he  begin  with  the  priestly 
function,  but  only  set  out  with  the  man  Christ. 
All  these  have  departed  but  little  from  the 
things  of  earth,  that  is,  from  those  things 
which  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  performed  on 
earth;  of  His  divinity  they  have  said  very  lit 
tle,  like  men  walking  with  Him  on  the  earth. 
There  remains  the  eagle;  this  is  John,  the 
preacher  of  sublime  truths,  and  a  contempla- 
tor  with  steady  gaze  of  the  inner  and  eternal 
light.  It  is  said,  indeed,  that  the  young 
eagles  are  tested  by  the  parent  birds  in  this 
way:  the  young  one  is  suspended  from  the 
talons  of  the  male  parent  and  directly  ex 
posed  to  the  rays  of  the  sun;  if  it  looks 
steadily  at  the  sun,  it  is  recognized  as  a  true 
brood;  if  its  eye  quivers,  it  is  allowed  to  drop 
off,  as  a  spurious  brood.  Now,  therefore,  con 
sider  how  sublime  are  the  things  he  ought  to 
speak  who  is  compared  to  the  eagle;  and  yet 
even  we,  who  creep  on  the  earth,  weak  and 
hardly  of  any  account  among  men,  venture  to 
handle  and  to  expound  these  things;  and 
imagine  that  we  can  either  apprehend  when 
we  meditate  them,  or  be  apprehended  when 
we  speak. 

6.  Why  have  I  said  this  ?  For  perhaps 
after  these  words  one  may  justly  say  to  me: 
Lay  aside  the  book  then.  Why  dost  thou 
take  in  hand  what  exceeds  thy  measure  ? 
Why  trust  thy  tongue  to  it  ?  To  this  I  reply: 
Many  heretics  abound;  and  God  has  per 
mitted  them  to  abound  to  this  end,  that  we 
may  not  be  always  nourished  with  milk  and 
remain  in  senseless  infancy.  For  inasmuch 
as  they  have  not  understood  how  the  divinity 
of  Christ  is  set  forth  to  our  acceptance,  they 
have  concluded  according  to  their  will:  and 
by  not  discerning  aright,  they  have  brought 
in  most  troublesome  questions  upon  catholic 
believers;  and  the  hearts  of  believers  began 
to  be  disturbed  and  to  waver.  Then  imme 
diately  it  became  a  necessity  for  spiritual 
men,  who  had  not  only  read  in  the  Gospel 
anything  respecting  the  divinity  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  but  had  also  understood  it,  to 
bring  forth  the  armor  of  Christ  against  the 
armor  of  the  devil,  and  with  all  their  might 
to  fight  in  most  open  conflict  for  the  divinity 
of  Christ  against  false  and  deceitful  teachers; 
lest,  while  they  were  silent,  others  might  per 
ish.  For  whoever  have  thought  either  that 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  of  another  substance 
than  the  Father  is,  or  that  there  is  only 
Christ,  so  that  the  same  is  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Spirit;  whoever  also  have  chosen  to 
think  that  He  was  only  man,  not  God  made 
man,  or  God  in  such  wise  as  to  be  mutable  in 
His  Godhead,  or  God  in  such  wise  as  not  to 


•II       \\XVI.j 


ON  TMI-:  •  H  >SPEL  «  'l    ST.   JOHN. 


be  man;  these  have  made  shipwreck  from  the 
faith,  and  have  been  cast  forth  from  the  har 
bor  of  the  Church,  lest  by  their  inquietude 
they  might  wreck  the  ships  in  their  company. 
Which  thing  obliged  that  even  we,  though  least 
and  as  regards  ourselves  wholly  unworthy, 
but  in  regard  of  His  mercy  set  in  some  ac 
count  among  His  stewards,  should  speak  to 
you  what  either  you  may  understand  and  re 
joice  with  me,  or,  if  you  cannot  yet  under 
stand,  by  believing  it  you  may  remain  secure 
in  the  harbor. 

7.  I  will  accordingly  speak;  let  him  who 
can,  understand;  and  let  him  who  cannot  un 
derstand,  believe:  yet  will  I  speak  what  the 
Lord  saith,  "Ye  judge  after  the  flesh;  I 
judge  not  any  man,"  either  now,  or  after  the 
flesh.  "  But  even  if  I  judge,  my  judgment 
is  true."  Why  is  Thy  judgment  true? 
*'  Because  I  am  not  alone,"  saith  He,  "but 
I  and  the  Father  that  sent  me."  What  then, 
O  Lord  Jesus?  If  Thou  wert  alone  would 
Thy  judgment  be  false:  and  is  it  because 
Thou  art  not  alone,  but  Thou  and  the  Father 
that  sent  Thee,  that  Thou  judgest  truly  ?  How 
shall  I  answer?  Let  Himself  answer:  He 
saith,  "  My  judgment  is  true."  Why?  "Be 
cause  I  am  not  alone,  but  I  and  the  Father 
that  sent  me."  If  He  is  with  Thee,  how  has 
He  sent  Thee  ?  And  has  He  sent  Thee,  and 
yet  is  He  also  with  Thee  ?  Is  it  so  that  hav 
ing  been  sent,  Thou  hast  not  departed  from 
Him  ?  And  didst  Thou  come  to  us,  and  yet 
abode  there  ?  How  is  this  to  be  believed  ? 
how  apprehended  ?  To  these  two  questions  I 
answer:  Thou  sayest  rightly,  how  is  it  to  be 
apprehended;  how  believed,  thou  sayest  not 
rightly.  Rather,  for  that  reason  is  it  right  to 
believe  it,  because  it  is  not  immediately  to 
be  apprehended;  for  if  it  were  a  thing  to  be 
immediately  apprehended,  there  would  be  no 
need  to  believe  it,  because  it  would  be  seen. 
It  is  because  thou  dost  not  apprehend  that 
thou  believest;  but  by  believing  thou  art 
made  capable  of  apprehending.  For  if  thou 
dost  not  believe,  thou  wilt  never  apprehend, 
since  thou  wilt  remain  less  capable.  Let 
faith  then  purify  thee,  that  understanding 
may  fill  thee.  "  My  judgment  is  true,"  saith 
He,  "  because  I  am  not  alone,  but  I  and  the 
Father  that  sent  me."  Therefore,  O  Lord 
our  God,  Jesus  Christ,  Thy  sending  is  Thy 
incarnation.  So  I  see,  so  I  understand:  in 
short,  so  I  believe,  in  case  it  may  smack  of 
arrogance  to  say,  so  I  understand.  Doubtless 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  even  here;  rather, 
7.  •</.<•  here  as  to  His  flesh,  is  here  now  as  to 
His  Godhead:  Hi- was  both  with  the  Father 
and  had  not  left  the  Father.  Hence,  in  that 
He  is  said  to  have  been  sent  and  to  have 


come  to  QS,  \\\^  incarnation  is  set  forti. 
for  the  Father  did  not  take  : 

8.  For  there  are  certain  heretics  cal  • 
bellians,  who  are  also   called    I'atripa 

who  affirm  that  it  was  the  Father  Him-elf  that 
had  suffered.  Do  not  thou  so  affirm,  () 
Catholic;  for  if  thou  wilt  be  a  Patripassian, 
thou  wilt  not  be  sane.  Understand,  then, 
that  the  incarnation  of  the  Son  is  termed  the 
sending  of  the  Son;  and  do  not  believe  that 
the  Father  was  Incarnate,  but  do  not  yet  be 
lieve  that  He  departed  from  the  incarnate  Son. 
The  Son  carried  flesh,  the  Father  was  with 
the  Son.  If  the  Father  was  in  heaven,  the 
Son  on  earth,  how  was  the  Father  with  the 
Son?  Because  both  Father  and  Son  were 
everywhere:  for  God  is  not  in  such  manner  in 
heaven  as  not  to  be  on  earth.  Hear  him  who 
would  flee  from  the  judgment  of  God,  and 
found  not  a  way  to  flee  by:  "  Whither  shall  I 
go,"  saith  he,  "  from  Thy  Spirit;  and  whither 
shall  I  flee  from  Thy  face?  If  I  ascend  up 
into  heaven,  Thou  art  there."  The  question 
was  about  the  earth;  hear  what  follows:  "  If 
I  descend  unto  hell,  Thou  art  there."  '  If, 
then,  He  is  said  to  be  present  even  in  hell, 
what  in  the  universe  remains  where  He  is  not 
present  ?  For  the  voice  of  God  with  the  pro 
phet  is,  "  I  fill  heaven  and  earth."3  Hence 
He  is  everywhere,  who  is  confined  by  no 
place.  Turn  not  thou  away  from  Him,  and 
He  is  with  thee.  If  thou  wouldst  come  to 
Him,  be  not  slow  to  love',  for  it  is  not  with 
feet  but  with  affections  thou  runnest.  Thou 
comest  while  remaining  in  one  place,  if  thou 
believest  and  lovest.  Wherefore  He  is  every 
where;  and  if  everywhere,  how  not  also  with 
the  Son  ?  Is  it  so  that  He  is  .not  with  the 
Son,  while,  if  thou  believest,  He  is  even  with 
thee  ? 

9.  How,  then,   is  His  judgment  true,  but 
because  the  Son  is  true?     For  this  He  said: 
"And  if  I  judge,  my  judgment  is  true;  be 
cause  I  am  not  alone,  but  I  and  the  Father 
that  sent  me."     Just  as  if  He  had  said,  "[My 
judgment  is  true,"  because  I  am  the  Son  of 
God.     How  dost  Thou  prove  that  Thou  art 
the  Son  of  God  ?     "  Because  I  am  not  alone, 
but  I  and  the  Father  that  sent  me."     Blush, 
Sabellian;  thou  hearest  the  Son,  thou  hearest 
the  Father.     Father  is   Father,  Son   is  Son. 
He  said  not,  I  am  the  Father,  and  I  the  same 
am  the  Son;  but  He  saith,  "  I  am  not  alone." 
Why   art    Thou    not    alone  ?     Because    the 
Father  is  with  me.      "  I  am,  and  the  Father 
that  sent  me;  "  thou  hearest,  "  I  am,  and  He 
that  sent  me."     Lest  thou  lose  sight  of  the 
person,    distinguish    the    persons.        Distin- 


THK  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  xxxvi. 


guish  by  understanding,  do  not  separate  by 
faithlessness;  lest  again,  fleeing  as  it  were 
Charybdis.  thou  rush  upon  Scylla.  For  the 
whirlpool  of  the  impiety  of  the  Sabellians  was 
swallowing  thee,  to  say  that  the  Father  is  the 
same  who  is  Son:  just  now  thou  hast  learned, 
"  I  am  not  alone,  but  I  and  the  Father  that 
sent  me."  Thou  dost  acknowledge  that  the 
Father  is  Father,  and  that  the  Son  is  Son; 
thou  dost  rightly  acknowledge:  but  do  not 
say  the  Father  is  greater,  the'  Son  is  less;  do 
not  say,  the  Father  is  gold,  the  Son  is  silver. 
There  is  one  substance,  one  Godhead,  one  co- 
eternity,  perfect  equality,  no  unlikeness.  For 
if  thou  only  believe  that  Christ  is  another,  not 
the  same  person  that  the  Father  is,  but  yet 
imagine  that  in  respect  of  His  nature  He  is 
somewhat  different  from  the  Father,  thou  hast 
indeed  escaped  Charybdis,  but  thou  hast  been 
wrecked  on  the  rocks  of  Scylla.  Steer  the 
middle  course,  avoid  each  of  the  two  perilous 
sides.  Father  is  Father,  Son  is  Son.  Thou 
sayest  now,  Father  is  Father,  Son  is  Son: 
thou  hast  fortunately  escaped  the  danger  of 
the  absorbing  whirl;  why  wouldst  thou  go  unto 
the  other  side  to  say,  the  Father  is  this,  the 
Son  that  ?  The  Son  is  another  person  than 
the  Father  is,  this  thou  sayest  rightly;  but 
that  He  is  different  in  nature,  thou  sayest  not 
rightly.  Certainly  the  Son  is  another  person, 
because  He  is  not  the  same  who  is  Father; 
and  the  Father  is  another  person,  because  He 
is  not  the  same  who  is  Son:  nevertheless, 
they  are  not  different  in  nature,  but  the  self 
same  is  both  Father  and  Son.  What  means 
the  self-same  ?  God  is  one.  Thou  hast 
heard,  "  Because  I  am  not. alone,  but  I  and 
the  Father  that  sent  me:  "  hear  how  thou 
mayest  believe  Father  and  Son;  hear  the  Son 
Himself,  "  I  and  the  Father  are  one."  '  He 
said  not,  I  am  the  Father;  or,  I  and  the 
Father  is  one  person;  but  when  He  says,  "  I 
and  the  Father  are  one,"  hear  both,  both  the 
one,  unujn,  and  the  are,  sumus,  and  thou  shall 
be  delivered  both  from  Charybdis  and  from 
Scylla.  In  these  two  words,  in  that  He  said 
one,  He  delivers  thee  from  Arius;  in  that  He 
said  are,  He  delivers  thee  from  Sabellius. 
If  one,  therefore  not  diverse;  if  are,  therefore 
both  Father  and  Son.  For  He  would  not  say 
are  of  one  person;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
He  would  not  say  one  of  diverse.  Hence  the 
reason  why  He  says,  "  my  judgment  is 
true,"  is,  that  thou  mayest  hear  it  briefly,  be 
cause  I  am  the  Son  of  God.  But  I  would 
have  thee  in  such  wise  believe  that  I  am  the 
Son  of  God,  that  thou  mayest  understand  that 
the  Father  is  with  me  :  I  am  not  Son  in  such 


John  x. 


manner  as  to  have  left  Him;  I  am  not  in  such 
manner  here  that  I  should  not  be  with  Him; 
nor  is  He  in  such  manner  there  as  not  to  be 
with  me:  I  have  taken  to  me  the  form  of  a 
servant,  yet  have  I  not  lost  the  form  of  God; 
therefore  He  saith,  "  I  am  not  alone,  but  I 
and  the  Father  that  st-nt  me." 

10.  He  had  spoken  of  judgment;  He  means 
to  speak  of  testimony.     "  In  your  law,''  saith 
He,  "  it  is  written  that  the  testimony  of  two 
men  is  true.     I  am  one  that  bear  witness  of 
myself,  and  the  Father  that  sent  me  beareth 
witness  of  me."     He  expounded  the  law  to 
them  also,  if  they  were  not  unthankful.     For 
it  is  a  great   question,  my  brethren,  and   to 
me  it  certainly  appears  to  have  been  ordained 
in  a  mystery,  where  God  said,  "  In  the  mouth 
of  two  or  three  witnesses  every  word   shall 
stand."  2     Is  truth  sought  by  two  witnesses? 
Clearly  it  is;  so  is  the  custom  of  mankind: 
but  yet  it  may  be  that  even  two  witnesses  lie. 
The  chaste  Susanna  was  pressed  by  two  false 
witnesses:  were  they  not  therefore  false  be 
cause  they  were  two?     Do  we  speak  of  two 
or  of  three  ?     A  whole   people   lied  against 
Christ.3      If,  then,  a  people,  consisting  of  a 
great  multitude  of  men,  was  found  a  false 
witness,  how  is  it  to  be  understood  that  "  in 
the  mouth  of  two  or  three   witnesses  every 
word  shall  stand,'*  unless  it  be  that  in  this 
manner  the  Trinity  is  mysteriously  set  forth 
to  us,  in  which  is  perpetual  stability  of  truth  ? 
Dost  thou  wish  to  have  a  good  cause  ?     Have 
two  or  three  witnesses, — the  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost.     In    short,    when    Susanna,  the 
chaste  woman  and  faithful  wife,  was  pressed 
by  two  false  witnesses,  the  Trinity  supported 
her   in    her   conscience    and    in    secret:  that 
Trinity  raised  up  from  secrecy  one  witness, 
Daniel,  and  convicted  the  two.4      Therefore, 
because  it  is  written  in  your  law  that  the  wit 
ness  of  two  men  is  true,  receive  our  witness, 
lest  ye  feel  our  judgment.     "  For  I,"  saith 
He,  "  judge  not  any  man;  but  I  bear  witness 
of  myself:  "  I  defer  judgment,  I  defer  not  the 
witness. 

11.  Let  us,  brethren,  choose  for  ourselves 
God  as  our  judge,  God  as  our  witness,  against 
the  tongues  of  men,  against  the  weak  suspic 
ions  of  mankind.     For  He  who  is  the  judge 
disdains  not  to  be  witness,  nor  is  He  advanced 
in  honor  when  He  becomes  judge;  since  He 
who  is  witness  will  also   Himself  be    judge. 
In  what  way  is  He  witness  ?     Because  He  asks 
not  another  to  learn  from  Him  who  thou  art. 
In  what  way  is  He  judge  ?     Because  He  has 
the    power   of  killing   and    making   alive,  of 
condemning  and  acquitting,  of  casting  down 


-  1  tent.  xix.  15  ;  Matt,  xviii.  16.       _         3  Luke  xxiii. 
4  Dan.  xiii.  J6-69 (•pocrypluj  addition). 


.1  \.\\\  II.] 


ON    l  HI.  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


into   hell    and   of  raising   up    into   heaven,  of  judge,  but  I..  ilbeappar- 

joimn-  to  tin-   ilcvil  and   of  crowning  with  the  ent  to  tin-  good  and  tin-  bad  in  tin-  judgment, 

anvi<  :  '  I'-n-ioiv,  I  It-  has  tuis  power,  in   that  form  in  which    He   sintered,  ami 

Ib-    s  judge.      NOW,  beO*as£  He  requires  not  again,    and    as<  ended    into    heaven.      For    at 


another  witness  t':iat  He  may  know  tliee;  and 
that  He  who  will  hereafter  judge  thee  is  now 
seeing  thee,  there  is  no  means  whereby  thou 
canst  deceive  Him  when  He  begins  to  judge. 
For  there  is  no  furnishing  thyself  with  false 
witnesses  who  can  circumvent  that  judge  when 
He  shall  begin  to  judge  thee.  This  is  what 
God  says  to  thee:  When  thou  despisedst,  I 


that  moment,  indeed,  as  they  were  beholding 
Him  ascending,  the  angelic  voice  sounded  in 
the  ears  of  His  disciples,  "  So  shall  He  come 
in  like  manner  as  ye  have  seen  Him  going 
into  heaven;  "  '  that  is,  in  the  form  of  man  in 
which  He  was  judged,  will  He  judge,  in  order 
that  also  that  prophetic  utterance  may  be  ful 


filled,    "  They   shall   look   upon    Him  whom 

did  see  it;  and  when  thou  believedst  not,  I  did  I  they    pierced."'       But   when    the  righteous 
not  frustrate  my  sentence.     I  delayed  it,  not  I  go  into  eternal  life,  we  shall  see  Him  as  He 


removed  it.  Thou  wouldst  not  hear  what  I 
enjoined,  thou  shall  feel  what  I  foretold.  But 
if  thou  nearest  what  I  enjoined,  Ihou  shalt 
not  feel  the  evils  which  I  have  foretold,  but 
thou  shalt  enjoy  the  good  things  which  I  have 
promised. 

12.   Let  it  not  by  any  means  surprise  any 


is;  that  will  not  be  the  judgment  of  the 
living  and  the  dead,  but  only  the  reward  of 
the  living. 

13.  Likewise,  let  it  not  surprise  you  thai 
He  says,  "In  your  law  it  is  written  that  the 
testimony  of  two  men  is  true,"  that  any  man 
should  hence  suppose  that  this  was  not  also 


one  that    He  says,  "  My   judgment  is  true;   the  law  of  God,  because  it  is  not  said,  In  tlie 


because  I  am  not  alone,  but  I  and  the  Father 
that  sent  me;  "  whilst  He  has  said  in  another 


law  of  God:  let  him  know  that,  when  it  is  said 
thus,  In  your  lau>,  it  is  just  as  if  He  said,  '*  In 


place,  "The   Father  judgeth   not  any   man,  |  the  law  which  was  given  to  you;"  given  by 

but  all  judgment  hath  He  given  to  the  Son."  I  whom,    except   by   God  ?      Just   as  we    say, 

We  have   already  discoursed  on  these  same  j  "  Our  daily  bread;  *'    and  yet  we  say,  "  Give 

words  of  the  evangelist,  and  we  remind  you  '  us  this  day." 

now  that  this  was  not  said  because  the  Father   - 

will  not  be  with  the  Son  when  He  comes  to  '      .Ami.  n.  ••> Zech.  x.i.  10;  John  xix.  37. 


TRACTATE    XXXVII. 


CHAPTKK  V 


i.  WHAT  in  the  holy  Gospel  is  spoken 
briefly  ougiit  not  briefly  to  be  expounded,  so 
that  what  is  read  may  be  understood.  The 
words  of  the  Lord  are  few,  but  great;  to  be 
valued  not  by  number,  but  by  weight:  not  to 
be  despised  because  they  are  few,  but  to  be 
sought  because  they  are  great.  You  who 
were  present  yesterday  have  heard,  as  we  dis 
coursed  according  to  our  ability  from  that 
whic.u  the  Lord  said,  "  Ye  judge  after  the 
flesh;  I  judge  not  any  man.  But  yet  if  I 
judge,  my  judgment  is  true;  because  I  am 
not  alone,  but  I  and  the  Father  that  sent  me. 
It  is  written  in  your  law,  that  the  testimony 
of  two  men  is  true.  I  am  one  that  bear  wit 
ness  of  myself,  and  the  Father  that  sent  me 
beareth  witness  ot  me."  Yesterday,  as  I  have 
said,  from  these  words  a  discourse  was  de 
livered  to  your  ears  and  to  your  minds. 


When  the  Lord  had  spoken  these  words,  they 
who  heard,  ''  Ye  judge  after  the  flesh,"  mani 
fested  the  truth  of  what  they  had  heard.  For 
they  answered  the  Lord,  as  He  spoke  of  God 
His  Father,  and  said  to  Him,  "  Where  is  thy 
Father  ?"  The  Father  of  Christ  they  under 
stood  carnally,  because  they  judged  the  words 
of  Christ  after  the  flesh.  But  He  who  spoke 
was  openly  flesh,  but  secretly  the  Word:  man 
visible,  God  hidden.  They  saw  the  covering, 
and  despised  the  wearer:  they  despised  be 
cause  they  knew  not;  knew  not,  because  they 
saw  not;  saw  not,  because  they  were  blind; 
they  were  blind,  because  they  believed  not. 

j.  Let  us  see,  then,  what  answer  the  Lord 
made  to  this.  "Where,"  say  they,  "is  thy 
Father  ?"  For  we  have  heard  thee  say,  "  1  am 
not  alone,  but  I  and  the  Father  that  sent  me:  " 
we  see  thee  alone,  we  do  not  see  thy  Father 


214 


THK  WORKS  OK  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TEACTATI  \\.\vn. 


with  thee;  how  sayest  thou  that  thou  art  not 
alone,  but  that  thou  art  with  thy  Father? 
Else  show  us  that  thy  Father  is  with  thee. 
And  the  Lord  answered  them:  Do  ye  know 
me,  that  I  should  show  you  the  Father  ?  This 
is  indeed  what  follows;  this  is  what  He 
answered  in  His  own  words,  the  exposition  of 
which  we  have  already  premised.  For  see 
what  He  said,  "  Ye  neither  know  me  nor  my 
Father:  if  ye  knew  me,  ye  would  perhaps 
know  my  Father  also."  Ye  say  then,  "  Where 
is  thy  Father  ?"  As  if  already  ye  knew  me; 
as  if  what  you  see  were  all  that  I  am.  There 
fore  because  ye  know  not  me,  I  do  not  show 
you  my  Father.  Ye  suppose  me,  in  fact,  to 
be  a  man;  hence  ye  seek  a  man  for  my  father, 
because  4<  ye  judge  after  the  flesh."  But 
because,  according  to  what  you  see,  I  am  one 
thing,  and  another  thing  according  to  what 
you  see  not,  and  that  I  as  hidden  from  you 
speak  of  my  Father  as  hidden,  it  is  requisite 
that  you  should  first  know  me,  and  then  ye 
know  my  Father  also. 

3.  "  For  if  ye  knew  me,  ye  would  perhaps 
know  my  Father  also."     He  who  knows  all 
things  is  not  in  doubt  when  He  says  perhaps, 
but  rebuking.     Now  see  how  this  very  word 
perhaps,  which  seems  to  be  a  word  of  doubt 
ing,  may  be  spoken  chidingly.     Yea,  a  word 
expressive  of  doubt  it  is  when  used  by  man, 
for  man  doubts  because  he  knows  not;  but 
when  a  word  of  doubting  is  spoken  by  God, 
from  whom  surely  nothing  is  hid,  it  is  unbe 
lief  that  is  reproved  by  that  doubting,  not  the 
Godhead  merely  expressing  an  opinion.     For 
men  sometimes  chidingly  express  doubt  con 
cerning  things  which  they  hold  certain;  that 
is,  use  a  word  of  doubting,  while  in  their  heart 
they  doubt  not:  just  as  thou  wouldst  say  to 
thy  slave,  if  thou  wert  angry  with  him,  "  Thou 
despisest  me;  but  consider,  perhaps  I  am  thy 
master."     Hence  also  the  apostle,  speaking 
to  some  who  despised  him,  says:  "And  I  think 
that  I  also  have  the  Spirit  of  God."  *       When 
he  says,  "  I  think,"  he  seems  to  doubt;  but 
he  is  rebuking,  not  doubting.     And  in  another 
place  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  Himself,  rebuk 
ing  the   future    unbelief  of  mankind,   saith: 
"  When   the  Son  of  man  cometh,  will   He, 
thinkest  thou,  find  faith  on  the  earth  ?  "  2 

4.  You  now,  as  I  think,  understand  how  the 
word  perhaps  is  used  here,  in  case  any  weigher 
of  words  and  poiser  of  syllables,  as  if  to  show 
his  knowledge  of  Latin,  finds  fault  with  a  word 
which  the  Word  of  God  spoke;  and  by  blam 
ing  the  Word  of  God,  remain  not  eloquent, 
but  mute.     For  who  is  there  that  speaks  as 
doth  the  Word    which    was  in  the    beginning 


with  God  ?  Do  not  consider  these  words  as 
we  use  them,  and  from  these  wish  to  measure 
that  Word  which  is  God.  Thou  nearest  the 
Word  indeed,  and  despisest  it;  hear  God  and 
fear  Him:  "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word." 
Thou  referrest  to  the  usage  of  thy  conversa 
tion,  and  sayest  within  thyself,  What  is  a 
word?  What  mighty  thing  is  a  word?  It 
sounds  and  passes  away;  after  beating  the  air, 
it  strikes  the  ear  and  is  no  more.  Hear 
further:  "The  Word  was  with  God;"  re 
mained,  did  not  by  sounding  pass  away. 
Perhaps  thou  still  despisest  it:  "  The  Word 
was  God."  With  thyself,  O  man,  a  word  in 
thy  heart  is  a  different  thing  from  sound;  but 
the  word  that  is  with  thee,  in  order  to  pass  to 
me,  requires  sound  for  a  vehicle  as  it  were. 
It  takes  to  itself  sound,  mounts  it  as  a  vehicle, 
runs  through  the  air,  comes  to  me  and  yet 
does  not  leave  thee.  But  the  sound,  in  order 
to  come  to  me,  left  thee  and  yet  did  not  stay 
with  me.  Now  has  the  word  that  was  in  thy 
heart  also  passed  away  with  the  passing  sound  ? 
Thou  didst  speak  thy  thought;  and,  that  the 
thought  which  was  hid  with  thee  might  come 
to  me,  thou  didst  sound  syllables;  the  sound 
of  the  syllables  conveyed  thy  thought  to  my 
ear;  through  my  ear  thy  thought  descended 
into  my  heart,  the  intermediate  sound  flew 
away:  but  that  word  which  took  to  itself  sound 
was  with  thee  before  thou  didst  sound  it,  and 
is  with  me,  because  thou  didst  sound  it,  with 
out  quitting  thee.  Consider  this,  thou  nice 
weigher  of  sounds,  whoever  thou  be.  Thou 
despisest  the  Word  of  God,  thou  who  com- 
prehendest  not  the  word  of  man. 

5.    He,  then,  by  whom  all  things  were  made 
I  knows   all    things,   and    yet  He    rebukes   by 
i  doubting:   "  If  ye  knew  me  ye  would  perhaps 
know  my  Father  also."     He  rebukes  unbe 
lievers.      He  spoke  a  like    sentence  to  the 
disciples,  but  there  is  not  a  word  of  doubting 
in  it,  because  there  was  no  occasion  to  rebuke 
unbelief.      For   this,    "If   ye   knew   me,    ye 
would   perhaps  know  my  Father  also,"  which 
He  said  to  the  Jews,  He  said  also  to  the  dis 
ciples,  when  Philip  asked,  or  rather,  demand 
ed   of   Him,    saying,    "  Lord,    show   us   the 
Father,  and  itsufficeth  us:  "  just  as  if  he  said, 
We  already  know  Thee  even  ourselves;  Thou 
hast  been  apparent  to  us;  we  have  seen  Thee; 
j  Thou   hast  deigned   to  choose    us:  we    have 
followed  Thee,  have  seen  Thy  marvels,  heard 
I  Thy  words  of  salvation,  have  taken  Thy  pre- 
|  cepts    upon   us,   we   hope  in   Thy   promises: 
|  Thou  hast  deigned  to  confer  much  upon  us 
by    Thy  very   presence:    but   still,   while   we 
I  know   Thee,  and    we   do    not  yet    know   the 
Father,  we   are   inflamed   with  desire  to  see 
Him  whom  we  do  not  yet  know;  and  thus,  be- 


TKA.  i  MI     XXXVI I. J 


ON  TIM:  GOSPEL  OF  ST.    lolls. 


-'5 


cause  we  know  Thee,  but  it  is  not  enough 
until  we  know  the  Father,  show  us  the  Father, 
and  it  sufficeth  us.  And  the  Lord,  that  they 
might  understand  that  they  knew  not  what  they 
thought  they  diil  already  know,  said,  "Am  I 
so  long  time  with  you,  and  ye  know  me  not, 
Philip:1  he  who  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the 
Father."  '  Has  tins  sentence  a  word  of  doubt 
ing  in  it2  I>id  He  say,  He  that  hath  seen 
me  hath  perhaps  seen  the  Father  ?  Why  not  ? 
Uecause  it  was  a  believer  that  listened  to  Him, 
not  a  persecutor  of  the  faith:  hence  did  the 
Lord  not  rebuke,  but  teach.  "  Whoso  hath 
seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father  also;  "  and 
here,  "If  ye  knew  me,  ye  would  know  my 
Father  also,1'  let  us  remove  the  word  which 
indicates  the  unbelief  of  the  hearers,  and  it 
is  the  same  sentence. 

6.  Yesterday  we  commended  it  to  your 
consideration,  beloved,  and  said  that  the  sen 
tences  of  the  Evangelist  John,  in  which  he 
narrates  to  us  what  he  learned  from  the  Lord, 
had  not  required  to  be  discussed,  were  that 
possible,  except  the  inventions  of  heretics  had 
compelled  us.  Yesterday,  then,  we  briefly 
intimated  to  you,  beloved,  that  there  are 
heretics  who  are  called  Patripassians,  or 
Sabellians  after  their  founder:  these  say  that 
the  same  is  the  Father  who  is  the  Son;  the 
names  different,  but  the  person  one.  When 
He  wills,  say  they,  He  is  F'ather;  when  He 
wills,  He  is  Son:  still  He  is  one.  There  are 
likewise  other  heretics  who  are  called  Arians. 
They  indeed  confess  that  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  only  Son  of  the  Father;  the  one, 
Father  of  the  Son;  the  other,  Son  of  the 
Father;  that  He  who  is  Father  is  not  Son,  nor 
He  who  is  Son  is  Father;  they  confess  that 
the  Son  was  begotten,  but  deny  His  equality. 
We,  namely,  the  catholic  faith,  coming  from 
the  doctrine  of  the  apostles  planted  in  us,  re 
ceived  by  a  line  of  succession,  to  be  trans 
mitted  sound  to  posterity, — the  catholic  faith, 
I  say,  has,  between  both  those  parties,  that 
is,  between  both  errors,  held  the  truth.  In 
the  error  of  the  Sabellians,  He  is  only  one; 
the  Father  and  Son  is  the  same  person:  in 
the  error  of  the  Arians,  the  Father  and  the 
Son  nre  indeed  different  persons;  but  the  Son 
is  not  only  a  different  person,  but  different  in 
mture.  Thou  midway  between  these,  what 
sayest  thou  ?  Thou  hast  shut  out  the  Sabel- 
lian,  shut  out  the  Arian  also.  The  F'ather  is 
Father,  the  Son  is  Son;  another  person,  not 
another  in  nature;  for,  "  I  anil  the  Father  are 
one,"  which,  so  far  as  I  could.  I  pressed  on 
your  thoughts  yesterday.  When  he  hears 
that  word,  we  arc,  let  the  Sabdlian  go  away 


confounded;  when  he  hears  the  word  on,-,  let 
.::.ui  go  away  <  onfoiinded.  Let  the 
catholic  steer  the  bark  of  ins  faith  between 
both,  since  in  both  he  must  be  on  his  guard 
against  shipwreck.  Say  thou,  then,  what  the 
('•ospel  saith,  "land  the  Father  are  one." 
Not  different  in  nature,  because  one;  not  one 
person,  because  arc. 

7.  A  little  before  He  said,  "  My  judgment 
is  true;  because  I  am  not  alone,  but  I  and  the 
Father  that  sent  me:  "  as  if  He  said,  The 
reason  why  my  judgment  is  true  is,  l>ecause  I 
am  the  Son  of  God,  because  I  speak  the 
truth,  because  I  am  truth  itself.  Those 
men,  understanding  Him  carnally,  said, 
"Where  is  thy  Father  ? "  Now  hear,  ()  Arian: 
"  Ye  neither  know  me,  nor  my  Father;''  be 
cause,  "  If  ye  knew  me,  ye  would  know  my 
Father  also."  What  doth  this  mean,  except 
"land  the  Father  are  one"?  When  thou 
seest  some  person  like  some  other, — give 
heed,  beloved,  it  is  a  common  remark;  let  not 
that  appear  to  you  difficult  which  you  see  to 
be  customary. — when,  I  say,  thou  seest  some 
person  like  another,  and  thou  knowest  the 
person  to  whom  he  is  like,  thou  sayest  in 
wonder,  "  How  like  this  person  is  to  that !  " 
Thou  won  Ids  t  not  say  this  unless  there  were 
two.  Here  one  who  does  not  know  the  per 
son  to  whom  thou  sayest  the  otljer  is  like  re 
marks,  "Is  he  so  like  him?"  And  thou 
answerest  him:  What?  dost  thou  not  know 
that  person?  Saith  he,  ''No,  I  do  not." 
Immediately  thou,  in  order  to  make  known 
to  him  the  person  whom  he  does  not  know  by 
means  of  the  person  whom  he  observes  before 
him,  answerest,  saying,  Having  seen  this  man, 
thou  hast  seen  the  other.  Thou  didst  not, 
surely,  assert  that  they  are  one  person  in  say 
ing  this,  or  that  they  are  not  two;  but  made 
such  answer  because  of  the  likeness:  "  If  thou 
knowest  the  one,  thou  knowest  the  other;  for 
they  are  very  like,  and  there  is  no  difference 
whatever  between  them."  Hence  also  the 
Lord  saith,  tl  If  ye  knew  me,  ye  would  know 
my  Father  also;"  not  that  the  Son  is  the 
Father  but  like  the  Father.  Let  the  Arian 
blush.  Thanks  be  to  the  Lord  that  even  the 
Arian  is  separate  from  the  Sabellian  error, 
and  is  not  a  Patripassian:  he  does  not  affirm 
that  the  Father  assumed  flesh  and  came  t<> 
men,  that  the  F'ather  suffered,  rose  again,  and 
somehow  ascended  to  Himself;  this  lu 
not  affirm;  he  acknowledges  with  me  the 
Father  to  be  Father,  the  Son  to  be  Son. 
But,  O  brother,  thou  hast  escaped  that  ship 
wreck  .  why  go  to  the  other  ?  Father  is  1 
Son  is  Son;  why  dost  thou  affirm  that  t 
is  unlike,  that  He  is  different,  another  sub 
stance?  If  He  were  unlike,  would  He  say  to 


216 


THK   WORKS  ()!•    ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRAI  IAII.    XXXVII. 


His  disciples,  "  He  that  hath  seen  me  hath 
seen  the  Father  "  ?  Would  He  say  to  the 
Jews,  "  If  ye  knew  me,  ye  would  know  my 
Father  also  "  ?  How  would  this  be  true,  un 
less  that  other  was  also  true,  "  I  and  the 
Father  are  one  "  ? 

8.  "  These  words  spake  Jesus  in  the  treas 
ury,  speaking  in  the  temple:"  great  boldness, 
without  fear.  For  He  could  not  suffer  if  He 
did  not  will  it,  since  He  were  not  born  if  He 
did  not  will  it.  What  follows  then?  "And 
no  man  laid  hold  of  Him,  because  His  hour 
was  not  yet  come."  Some,  again,  when  they 
hear  this,  believe  that  the  Lord  Christ  was 
subject  to  fate,  and  say:  Behold,  Christ  is 
held  by  fate  !  O,  if  thy  heart  were  not  fatu 
ous,  thou  wouldst  not  believe  in  fate.  lf/a/c, 
as  some  understand  it,  is  derived  ivomftindo, 
that  is  from  speaking,  how  can  the  Word  of 
God  be  held  by  fate,  whilst  all  things  that  are 
made  are  in  the  Word  itself?  For  God  has 
not  ordained  anything  which  He  did  not  know 
beforehand;  that  which  was  made  was  in  His 
Word.  The  world  was  made;  both  was  made 
and  was  there.  How  both  was  made  and  was 
there  ?  Because  the  house  which  the  builder 
rears,  was  previously  in  his  art;  and  there,  a 
better  house,  without  age,  without  decay: 
however,  to  show  forth  his  art,  he  makes  a 
house;  and  so,  in  a  manner,  a  house  comes 
forth  from  a  house;  and  if  the  house  should 
fall,  the  art  remains.  So  were  all  things  that 
are  made  with  the  Word  of  God;  because 
God  made  all  things  in  wisdom,1  and  all  that 
He  made  were  known  to  Him:  for  He  did  not 
learn  because  He  made,  but  made  because 
He  knew.  To  us  they  are  known,  because 
they  are  made:  to  Him,  if  they  had  not  been 
known,  they  would  not  have  been  made 
Therefore  the  Word  went  before.  And  what 
was  before  the  Word  ?  Nothing  at  all.  For 
were  there  anything  before  it,  it  would  not 
have  been  said,  "  In  the  beginning  was  the 
Word;"  but,  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word 
made.  In  short,  what  says  Moses  concerning 
the  world  ?  "In  the  beginning  God  made  the 
heavens  and  the  earth."  Made  what  was 
not:  well,  if  He  made  what  was  not,  what  was 
there  before?  "In  the  beginning  was  the 
Word. "  And  whence  came  heaven  and  earth? 
"All  things  were  made  by  Him."  Dost 
thou  then  put  Christ  under  fate?  Where  are 
the  fates?  In  heaven,  sayest  thou,  in  the 
order  and  changes  of  the  stars.  How  then  can 
fate  rule  Him  by  whom  the  heavens  and  the 
stars  were  made;  whilst  thy  own  will,  if  thou 
thinkest  rightly,  transcends  even  the  stars  ? 
Or,  because  thou  knowest  that  Christ's  flesh 


was  under  heaven,  is  that  the  reason  why  thou 
thinkest  that  Christ's  power  was  put  under 
the  heavens  ? 

9.  Hear,    thou    fool:   "His   hour  was   not 
yet  come;"   not  the  hour  in  which  He  should 
be  forced  to  die,  but  that  in  which  He  would 
deign  to  be  put  to  death.     For  Himself  knew 
when  He  should  die:  He  considered  all  tilings 
that  were  foretold  of  Him,  and  awaited  all  to 
be  finished  that  was  foretold  to  be  before  His 
suffering;    that  when  all   should  be  fulfilled, 
then  should  come  His    suffering  in  set  order, 
not  by  fatal  necessity.      In  short,  hear  that 
you  may  prove.     Among  the  rest  that  was 
prophesied  of  Him,  it  is  also  written:  "  They 
gave  me  gall  for  meat,  and  in  my  thirst  they 
gave  me  vinegar  to  drink."  a     How  this  hap- 

!  pened,  we  know  from  the  Gospel.     First,  they 
I  gave  Him  gall;  He  received  it,  tasted  it,  and 
j  spat  it  out.     Thereafter,  as  He  hung  on  the 
|  cross,  that  all   that   was    foretold    might   be 
fulfilled,  He  said,  "I  thirst."     They  took  a 
sponge  filled  with  vinegar,  bound  it  to  a  reed, 
and  put  it  to  His  mouth;  He  received  it,  and 
;  said,  "  It  is  finished. "     What  did  that  mean  ? 
All    things    which    were    prophesied    before 
my   death   are  completed,  then    what   do    I 
here  any  longer  ?     In  a  word,  when   He  said 
"  It   is  finished,   He  bowed   His   head,  and 
gave  up  the  ghost."     Did  the  thieves,  who 
were  nailed  beside  Him,   expire  when  they 
|  would  ?     They  were    held  by   the   bonds   of 
flesh,  for  they  were  not  the  creators  of  the 
flesh;  fixed  by  nails,  they  were  a  long  time  tor 
mented,  because  they  had  not  lordship  over 
j  their  weakness.     The   Lord,   however,  when 
I  He  would,  took  flesh  in  a  virgin's  womb:  came 
forth  to  men  when  He   would;  lived  among 
men  so  long   as    He   would ;  and    when    He 
!  would  He  quitted  the  flesh.     This  is  the  part 
I  of  power,  not  of  necessity.     This  hour,  then, 
He  awaited;  not  the  fated,  but  the  fitting  and 
j  voluntary  hour;  that  all  might  first  be  fulfilled 
which  behoved  to  be  fulfilled  before  His  de 
cease.     How  could  he  have  been  under  neces 
sity  of  fate,  when  He  said  in  another  place, 
"  I  have  power  to  lay    down    my  life,  and    I 
have  power  to  take  it  again:  no  man  taketh  it 
from  me,  but  I  lay  it  down  of  myself  and  take 
it  again  ?  "  3     He  showed  this  power  when  the 
Jews  sought  Him.     "  Whom  seek  ye  ?"  saith 
He.     "Jesus,"  said  they.     And  He  answer 
ed,"  I  am  He."     When  they  heard  this  voice, 
"  they  went  back  and  fell  to  the  ground."  4 

10.  Says  one,  If  he  had  this  power,  why, 
when  the  Jews  insulted  him  on  the  cross  and 
said,  "  If  he  be  the  Son  of  God  let  him  come 
down  from  the  cross,"  did  he  not  comedown. 


'   1'-.  .  iv.  24. 

a  Ps. 

Uix.   22. 

3  John  x.  18.                4  John  xviii.  6. 

ON    i  in-   GOSPEL  « >i    ST.  JOHN. 


-'7 


•w  them    his    power  In1    coining    down?    filled   which  the   prophet    had    foretold 

>e   Ilr  was  te. idling  us   patience,  thCK-    a  sheep  He   \\.-i-,  led   to  the   slaughter,  and   as 

lie  deterred   the  demonstration   of    His    a  lamb   before    his    shearer  is    dumb,  s»     !!•• 

power.      Fur  if  He  came  down,  moved  as  it   opened  not    His    mouth. Va     He    would    not 

•i  then  words,  He  would  be  thought  to    have  suffered  did   He  not  will  to  suiter:  did 

have  been  overcome  by  the  sting  of  their  in-  i  He  not  suffer,  that  blood  had  not  been  shed; 

suits.      He  diil  not  come  down;  there  He  re- !  if  that  blood  were  not  shed,  the  world  would 

nuiined  fixed,  to  depart  when  He  would.      For   not   be   redeemed.      Therefore    let    us   give 

what  great  matter  was  it  for  Him   to  descend  ;  thanks  to  the  power  of  His  divinity,  and  to  the 

from  the  cross,  when  He  could  rise  again  from 

the  sepulchre  ?     Let  us,  then,  to  whom  this  is 

ministered,    understand    that   the   power   of 

our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  then  concealed,  will 

be  made  manifest  in  the  judgment,  of  which  j  also  concerning  the  flesh  assumed,  which  the 
it  is  said,  "  God  will  come  manifest;  ourGod,  Jews  did  not  recognize,  and  yet  knew  His 
and  He  will  not  be  silent."  '  Why  is  it  said,  I  lineage:  whence  He  said  to  them  elsewhere, 
"will  come  manifest"?  Because  He,  our  "  Ye  both  know  me,  and  ye  know  whence  I 
God, — namely,  Christ, — came  hidden,  will  am."  Let  us  know  both  in  Christ,  both 
come  manifest.  "And  will  not  be  silent:"  i  wherein  He  is  equal  to  the  Father  and  where- 
why  this  "  will  not  be  silent"?  Because  at  j  in  the  Father  is  greater  than  He.  That  is  the 
first  He  did  keep  silence.  When?  When  Word,  this  is  the  flesh;  that  is  God,  this  is 
He  was  judged;  that  this,  too,  might  be  ful-  man;  but  yet  Christ  is  one,  God  and  man. 


compassion  of  His  infirmity;  both -concerning 
the  hidden  power  which  the  Jews  did  not 
recognize,  whence  it  is  now  said  to  them, 
"  Ye  neither  know  me  nor  my  Father,"  and 


Isa.  liii.  7. 


TRACTATE  XXXVIII. 

CHAPTER   VIII.   21-25. 


1.  THE  lesson   of  the   holy   Gospel   which 
preceded  to-day's  had    concluded  thus:  that 
"  the  Lord  spake,  teaching  in  the  treasury," 
what   it    pleased    Him,  and   what   you    have 
heard;  "and  no  one  laid  hands  on  Him,  for 
His  hour  was  not  yet  come."  '     Accordingly, 
on  the   Lord's  day  we   made   our  subject  of 
discourse   what    He    Himself   thought    fit  to 
give  us.     We  indicated  to  your  Charity  why 
it  was  said,  "His  hour  was   not  yet  come," 
lest  any  in    their   impiety    should    have   the 
effrontery   to   suspect   Christ  as    laid    under 
some  fatal  necessity.     For  the  hour  was  not 
yet  come  when  by  His  own  appointment,  in 
accordance  with  what  was  predicted  regarding 
Him,  He  should  not  be  forced  to  die  unwill 
ingly,  but  be  ready  to  be  slain. 

2.  But  of  His  own  passion  itself,  which  lay 
not  in  any  necessity  He   was    under,  but   in 
His  own  power,  all  that  He  said   in  His  dis 
course  to  the  Jews  was,  "  I  go  away."     For 
to  Christ  the  Lord's  death  was  His  proceeding 
to  the  place  whence  He  had  come,  and  from 
which  He  had  never  departed.      "  I  go  away,' 


said  He,  "and  ye  shall  seek  me,"  not  from 
any  longing  for  me,  but  in  hatred.  For  after 
His  removal  from  human  sight,  He  was 
sought  for  both  by  those  who  hated  Him  and 
those  who  loved  Him;  by  the  former  in  a 
spirit  of  persecution,  by  the  latter  with  the 
desire  of  having  Him.  In  the  Psalms  the 
Lord  Himself  says  by  the  prophet,  "A  place 
of  refuge  hath  failed  me,  and  there  is  none 
that  seeketh  after  my  life;"2  and  again  He 
says  in  another  place  in  the  Psalms,  '*  Let 
them  be  confounded  and  ashamed  who  seek 
after  my  life."3  He  blamed  the  former  for 
not  seeking,  He  condemned  the  latter  be 
cause  they  did.  For  it  is  wrong  not  to  seek 
the  life  of  Christ,  that  is,  in  the  way  the  dis 
ci  pies  sought  it;  and  it  is  wrong  to  seek  the  life 
of  Christ,  that  is,  in  the  way  the  Jews  sought 
it:  for  the  former  sought  to  possess  it,  these 
latter  to  destroy  it.  Accordingly,  because 
these  men  sought  it  thus  in  a  wrong  way,  with 
a  perverted  heart,  what  next  did  He  add  ? 
"Ye  shall  seek  me,  and  " — not  to  let  you 
suppose  that  ye  will  seek  me  for  good — "ye 


'  Chap.  viii.  Jo. 


'Ps.cxlii.4. 


JPv  *!.  14. 


218 


l  Hi;  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACT AT i.  XXXVIII. 


shall  die  in  your  sin."  This  comes  of  seek 
ing  Christ  wrongly,  to  die  in  one's  sin;  this 
of  hating  Him,  through  whom  alone  salvation 
could  be  found.  For,  while  men  whose  hope 
is  in  God  ought  not  to  render  evil  even  for 
evil,  these  men  were  rendering  evil  for  good. 
The  Lord  therefore  announced  to  them  be 
forehand,  and  in  His  foreknowledge  uttered 
the  sentence,  that  they  should  die  in  their  sin. 
And  then  He  adds,  "  Whither  I  go,  ye  cannot 
come.''  He  said  the  same  to  the  disciples 
also  in  another  place;  and  yet  He  said  not  to 
them,  "  Ye  shall  die  in  your  sin.5'  But  what 
did  He  say?  The  same  as  to  these  men: 
"  Whither  I  go,  ye  cannot  come."  '  He  did 
not  take  away  hope,  but  foretold  delay.  For 
at  the  time  when  the  Lord  spake  this  to  the 
disciples,  they  were  not  able  to  come  whither 
He  was  going,  yet  were  they  to  come  after- 
wards;  but  these  men  never,  to  whom  in  His 
foreknowledge  He  said,  "  Ye  shall  die  in  your 
sin.'J 

3.  But  on  hearing  these  words,  as  is  usual 
with  those  whose   thoughts   are   carnal,  who 
judge  after  the  flesh,  and  hear  and  apprehend 
everything  in  a  carnal  way,  they  said,  '*  Will 
he  kill  himself  ?     because  he  said,  Whither  1 
go  ye    cannot    come."     Foolish   words,  and 
overflowing  with  stupidity!      For  why?  could 
they  not  go  whither  He  would  have  proceeded 
had  He  killed  Himself  ?     Were  not  they  them 
selves  to  die  ?     What,  then,  means,  "  Will  he 
kill  himself?  because  he  said,  Whither  I  go 
ye  cannot  come?"     If   He   spake   of  man's 
death,  what  man  is  there  that  does  not  die  ? 
Tuerefore,  by  "whither  I  go"  He  meant,  not 
t,ie  going  to  death,  but  whither  He  was  going 
Himself  after  death.     Such,  then,  was  their 
answer,  because  they  did  not  understand. 

4.  And  what  said  the   Lord  to  those  who 
savored  of  the  earth?     "And   He  said  unto 
tnem,  Ye  are  from  beneath."     For  this  cause  j 
ye  savor  of  the  earth,  because  ye  lick  dust  j 
like  serpents.     Ye   eat  earth  !     What  does  it 
mean  ?     Ye  feed  on  earthly  things,  ye  delight 
in  earthly  things,  ye  gape  after  earthly  things, 
ye  have  no  heart  for  what  is  above.     "  Ye 
are  from  beneath:  I  am  from  above.     Ye  are 
of  this  world:  I  am  not  of  this  world."     For 
how  could  He  be  of  the  world,  by  whom  the 
world  was  made  ?     All  that  are  of  the  world 
come  after  the  world,  because  the  world  pre 
ceded;    and  so   mnn    is   of   the    world.      But 
Christ  was  first,  and  then  the  world;  and  since 
Christ  was    before    the    world,  before    Christ 
there  was  nothing:   because  "  In  the  begin 
ning  was  the  Word;  all  things  were  made  by 
Him."  3     He,  therefore,  was  of  that  which  is 


:  Chap.  xiii.  33. 


2  Chap,  i 


above.  But  of  what  that  is  above  ?  Of  the 
air  ?  Perish  the  thought  !  there  the  birds 
wing  their  flight.  Of  the  sky  that  we  see? 
Again  I  say,  Perish  the  thought !  it  is  there 
that  the  stars  and  sun  and  moon  revolve.  Of 
the  angels  ?  Neither  is  this  to  be  understood: 
by  Him  who  made  all  things  were  the  angels 
also  made.  Of  what,  then,  above  is  Christ  ? 
Of  the  Father  Himself.  Nothing  is  above 
that  God  who  begat  the  Word  equal  with  Him 
self,  co-eternal  with  Himself,  only-begotten, 
timeless,  that  by  Him  time's  own  foundations 
should  be  laid.  Understand,  then,  Christ  as 
from  above,  so  as  in  thy  thought  to  get  be 
yond  everything  that  is  made, — the  whole 
creation  together,  every  material  body,  every 
created  spirit,  everything  in  any  way  subject 
to  change:  rise  above  all,  as  John  rose,  in 
order  to  reach  this:  "  In  the  beginning  was 
the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and 
the  Word  was  God." 

5.  Therefore  said  He,  "  I  am  from  above. 
Ye  are  of  this  world:  I  am  not  of  this  world. 
I  said  therefore  unto  you,  that  ye  shall  die 
in   your   sins."      He    has   explained   to    us, 
brethren,  what  He  wished  to  be  understood 
by  "ye  are  of  this  world."     He  said  there 
fore  in  fact,  "  Ye  are  of  this  world,"  because 
they  were  sinners,  because  they  were  unrighte 
ous,  because  they  were  unbelieving,  because 
they    savored   of  the   earthly.     For   what   is 
your  opinion    as  regards   the  holy   apostles  ? 
What  difference  was  there  between  the  Jews 
and  the  apostles  ?     A.S  great  as  between  dark 
ness  and  light,  as  between  faith  and  unbelief, 
as  between  piety  and  impiety,  as  between  hope 
and   despair,  as   between    love   and    avarice: 
surely  the  difference  was  great.     What  then  ? 
because  there  was  such  a  difference,  were  the 
apostles  not  of  the  world  ?     If  thy  thoughts 
turn  to  the  manner  of  their  birth,  and  whence 
they  came,  inasmuch  as  all  of  them  had  come 
from  Adam,   they  were  of  this  world.     But 
what  said  the  Lord   Himself  to  them?     "I 
have  chosen  you  out  of  the  world." 3     Those, 
then,  who  were  of  the  world,  became  not  of 
the  world,  and  began  to  belong  to  Him  by 
whom  the  world  was  made.     But  these  men 
continued  to  be  of  the  world,  to  whom  it  was 
said,  "Ye  shall  die  in  your  sins." 

6.  Let  none  then,  brethren,  say,  I  am  not 
of  this  world.     Whoever  thou  art  as  a  man, 
thou  art  of  this  world;  but  He  who  made  the 
world  came  to  thee,  and  delivered  thee  from 
this  world.       If  the  world  delights  thee,  thou 
wishest  always  to  be  unclean  (imini/iiJtis);  but 
if  this  world  no  longer  delight  thee.  thou  art 
already  clean  (;//////////.v).     And  yet,  if  through 

3  Chap.  xv.  19. 


I  k\.  i  \n     \\XVIII.] 


ON    l  III.  GOSPEL  <>l    ST.  JOHN. 


some  infirmity  the  world  still  delight  thee,  let    by  whom  He  was  hanged  on  a  tree,  by  v. 
H.m  who  clcanseth    (tnundat}   dwell    in   thee,    when  hanging  He  was   mocked.  b\ 
and  thou  too  shall   lie  clean.'     Hut  if  thou  art    was  wounded   with    t'ne    spear,  by    w'.n.m   gall 
once    clean,  thou    wilt    not    continue    in    the    and   vinegar  were  given    Him    to  drink, 
world;   neither  wilt  thou  hear  what  was  heard    t'ne    members   of  Christ,  for   wiios. 
by  the    jews,  "Ye  shall    die    in  your  sins."    said,    "Father,   forgive  them,  for  they   know 
For  we  are  all  born  with  sin;    we  have  all  in   not  what  they  do."     A;id  what  will  a  convert 
living  added  to  that  wherein  we  were  born,  |  not  be   forgiven,  if  the   shedding  of  ('. 
and  have  since    become  more   of  the    world  |  blood    is    forgiven  ?       What    murderer    need 
than  when  we  were  born  of  our  parents.     And   despair,  if  he  was  restored  to  hope  by  whom 
where  should  we  be,  had  He  not  come,  who  even  Christ  was  slain  ?      After  this  many  be- 
was  wholly  free  from  sin,  to  expiate  all  sin?;lieved;    they   were    presented    with    Christ's 
And  so,  because  in  Him  the  Jews  believed  I  blood  as  a  gift,  that  they  might  drink  it  for 
not,  they  deservedly    heard    [the   sentence],  |  their  salvation,  rather  than  be  held  guilty  of 
"  Ye  shall  die  in  your  sins;"   for  in  no  way  j  shedding  it.     Who  can  despair  ?     And  if  the 
could  ye,  who  were  born  with  sin,  be  without  |  thief  was  saved  on   the  cross, — a   murderer 
sin;  and  yet,  said   He,  if  ye  believe  in   me,  I  shortly   before,  a   little   afterwards   accused, 
although  it  is  still  true  that  ye  were  born  with   convicted,  condemned,   hanged,  delivered, — 
sin,  yet  in  your  sin  ye  shall   not  die.     The   wonder  not.     The  place  of  his  conviction  was 
whole  misery,  then,  of  the  Jews  was  just  this, !  that  of  his  condemnation;  while  that  of  his 
not  to  have   sin.  but   to   die    in    their   sins.  I  conversion  was  the  place  also  of  his  deliver- 
From  this  it  is  that  every  Christian  ought  to  ance.-      Among  this  people,  then,  to   whom 
seek  to  escape;  because  of  this  we  have  re- 1  the  Lord  was  speaking,  were  those  who  should 
course  to  baptism;  on  this  account  do  those  j  yet  die   in   their  sin:  there  were  those   also 
whose  lives  aie  in  danger  from  sickness   or  I  who  should  yet  believe  on   Him  who  spake, 
any  other  cause  become  anxious  for  help;  for  i  and  find  deliverance  from  all  their  sin. 
this  also  is  the  sucking  child  carried   by  his  j      8.   But  look  at  this  which  is  said  by  Christ 
mother  with  pious  hands  to  the  church,  that '  the  Lord:  "If  ye  believe  not  that  I  am,  ye 
he  may  not  go  out  into    the    world    without   shall  die  in  your  sins."     What  is  this,  "  If  ye 


baptism,  and  die  in  the  sin  wherein  he  was 
born.  Most  wretched  surely  the  condition 
and  miserable  the  lot  of  these  men,  who  heard 


believe   not  that  I    am 


I    am  "    what  ? 


There    is    nothing   added;  and    because    He 
added  nothing,  He  left  much  to  be  inferred. 


from  those  truth-speaking  lips,"  Ye  shall  die  For  He  was  expected  to  say  what  He  was, 
in  your  sins  !  "  I  and  yet  He  said  it  not.  What  was  He  ex- 

7.   But  He  explains  whence  this  should  be-  i  pected  to  say  ?     Perhaps,  "  If  ye  believe  not 
fall  them:  "  For  if  ye  believe  not  that  I  am :  that  I  am  "  Christ;  "  if  ye  believe  not  that  I 
[He],  ye  shall  die  in  your  sins."     I  believe,   am  "  the  Son  of  God;  "  if  ye  believe  not  that 
__... 1.:....!.,  ...u..  !:„»«„     I  am  "  the  Word  of  the  Father:  "if  ye  be 
lieve   not   that  I   am"   the    founder  of  the 

should  yot  believe.  But  against  all,  as  it  j  world;  "  if  ye  believe  not  that  I  am  ''  the  form- 
were,  had  that  most  severe  sentence  gone  |  er  and  re-former,  the  creator  and  re-creator, 
forth,  "  Ye  shall  die  in  your  sin;  "  and  there- 1  the  maker  and  re-maker  of  man; — "  if  ye  be- 
by  even  from  those  who  should  yet  believe  |  lieve  not  that  I  am  "  this,  "ye  shall  die  in 
had  hope  been  withdrawn:  the  others  were  j  your  sins."  There  is  much  implied  in  His 
roused  to  fury,  they  to  fear,  yea,  to  more  than  |  only  saying  "  I  am; '  for  so  also  had  God 
fear,  they  were  brought  now  to  despair.  But!  said  to  Moses,  "  I  am  who  am."  Who  can 


brethren,  that  among  the  multitude  who  listen 
ed  to  the  Lord,  there  were  those  also  who 


He  revived  their  hope;  for  He  added,  "  If  ye 
believe  not  that  I  am,  ye  shall  die  in  your 
sins."  Therefore  if  ye  do  believe  that  I  am, 
ye  shall  not  die  in  your  sins.  Hope  was  re 
stored  to  the  desponding,  t'ne  sleeping  were 
aroused,  their  hearts  got  a  fresh  awakening; 


express  what  that  AM  means.' 
God  by  His  angel  sent  His  servant  Moses  to 
deliver  His  people  out  of  Kgypt  (you  have 
read  and  know  what  you  now  hear;  but  I  re 
call  it  to  your  minds);  He  sent  him  trem 
blin,  self-excusing,  but  obedient.  And  while 


and  thereafter  very  many  believed,  as  the  I  thus  excusing  himself,  lie  said  to  God,  whom 
Gospel  itself  attests  in  the  sequel.  For  mem-  he  understood  to  be  speaking  in  the  person 
bers  of  Christ  were  there,  who  had  not  yet  of  the  angel:  If  the  people  say  to  me,  And 
become  attached  to  the  body  of  Christ:  and  who  is  the  (lod  that  hath  sent  thee?  what 
among  that  people  by  whom  He  was  crucified,  shall  I  say  to  them5  And  the  Lord  answered 

him,  "1  am  who  am;"  and  added,  ''Thou  shall 


> 

•  There  is  a  play  here  on  the   words  munjus,  th<    w-.rld.and     

muniius.  clean,  with   its  compound  intmunJus.  ami   ,i~ 
verb  muH,t.,r,:     Su.'h  pl.iys  arr  Irrqu.-nt  in  St.  August. 


220 


T11K   WORKS  OF  ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


•RACTATI  \\.\vm. 


say  to  the  cliiklren  of  Israel,  He  who  is  hath 
sciit  me  to  you."  There  also  He  says  not,  I 
am  God;  or,  I  am  the  framer  of  the  world; 
or,  I  am  the  creator  of  all  things;  or,  I  am 
the  multiplier  of  the  very  people  to  be  deliver 
ed:  but  only  this,  "I  am  who  am;"  and, 
"  Thou  shall  say  to  the  children  of  Israel, 
He  who  is."  He  added  not,  Who  is  your 
God,  who  is  the  God  of  your  fathers;  but  said 
only  this:  "  He  who  is  hath  sent  me  to  you." 
Perhaps  it  was  too  much  even  for  Moses  him 
self,  as  it  is  too  much  for  us  also,  and  much 
more  so  for  us,  to  understand  the  meaning  of 
such  words,  "  I  am  who  am;  "  and,  "  He  who 
is  hath  setil  me  to  you."  And  supposing 
lhat  Moses  comprehended  it,  when  would 
Ihose  to  whom  he  was  sent  comprehend  it  ? 
The  Lord  therefore  put  aside  what  man  could 
not  comprehend,  and  added  what  he  could; 
for  He  said  also  besides,  "  I  am  the  God  of 
Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God 
of  Jacob."1  This  thou  canst  comprehend; 
for  "  I  am  who  am,"  what  mind  can  compre 
hend  ? 

9.  What  then  of  us  ?  Shall  we  venture  to 
say  anything  on  such  words,  "  I  am  who 
am;  "  or  rather  on  this,  thai  you  have  heard 
the  Lord  saying,  "If  ye  believe  not  that  I 
am,  ye  shall  die  in  your  sins  "  ?  Shall  I  ven 
ture  with  these  feeble  and  scarcely  existing 
powers  of  mine  to  discuss  the  meaning  of  thai 
which  Chrisl  ihe  Lord  halh  said,  "  If  ye  be 
lieve  nol  that  I  am  "  ?  I  shall  venture  to  ask 
the  Lord  Himself.  Listen  to  me  as  one  ask 
ing  rather  than  discussing,  inquiring  rather 
than  assuming,  learning  rather  than  teaching, 
and  fail  not  yourselves  also  to  be  asking  with 
me  or  through  me.  The  Lord  Himself,  who 
is  everywhere,  is  also  at  hand.  Let  Him 
hear  the  feeling  thai  prompls  lo  ask,  and 
granl  ihe  fruil  of  understanding.  For  in 
what  words,  even  were  it  so  that  I  compre 
hend  something,  can  1  convey  to  your  hearts 
what  I  comprehend  ?  What  voice  is  ade 
quate  ?  what  eloquence  sufficient  ?  what  pow 
ers  of  intelligence  ?  what  facully  of  uller- 
ance  ? 

10.  I  shall  speak,  ihen,  lo  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ;  I  shall  speak  and  may  He  be  pleased  to 
hear  me.  I  believe  He  is  present,  I  am  fully 
assured  of  il;  for  He  Himself  has  said,  "  Lo, 
I  am  wilh  you  even  lo  Ihe  end  of  ihe  world. "  a 
O  Lord  our  God,  what  is  thai  which  Thou 
saidsl,  "  If  ye  believe  nol  lhal  I  am  ''  ?  For 
whal  is  Ihere  lhal  belongs  nol  lo  Ihe  Ihings 
Thou  hasl  made  ?  Does  nol  heaven  so  be 
long  ?  Does  nol  Ihe  earth  ?  Does  nol  every 
thing  in  earth  and  heaven  ?  Does  not  man 


himself  to  whom  Thou  speakest  ?  Does  not 
the  angel  whom  Thou  sendest  ?  If  all  Ihese 
are  Ihings  made  by  Thee,  whal  is  that  exis 
tence  3  Thou  hast  retained  as  something  ex 
clusively  Thine  own,  which  Thou  hast  given 
to  none  besides,  thai  Thou  mightesl  be  such 
Thyself  alone?  For  how  do  I  hear  "I  am 
who  am,"  as  if  Ihere  were  none  besides  ?  and 
how  do  I  hear  "If  ye  believe  nol  lhat  I  am  "  ? 
j  For  had  they  no  existence  who  heard  Him  ? 
Yea,  though  they  were  sinners,  they  were 
men.  Whal  then  can  I  do  ?  What  that  exis 
tence  is,  let  Him  tell  my  heart,  lei  Him  lell, 
let  Him  declare  it  within;  let  the  inner  man 
hear,  Ihe  mind  apprehend  this  true  exisience; 
for  such  existence  is  always  unvarying  in 
character.4  For  a  thing,  anything  whatever 
(I  have  begun  as  it  were  to  dispute,  and  have 
left  off  inquiring.  Perhaps  I  wish  to  speak 
whal  I  have  heard.  May  He  granl  enlarge- 
menl  lo  my  hearing,  and  lo  yours,  while  I 
speak); — for  anylhing,  whalever  in  short  be 
ils  excellence,  if  it  is  changeable,  does  not 
truly  exist;  for  there  is  no  irue  existence 
wherever  non-existence  has  also  a  place.  For 
whalever  can  be  changed,  so  far  as  changed, 
it  is  nol  that  which  was:  if  it  is  no  longer 
what  it  was,  a  kind  of  death  has  therein  taken 
place;  something  lhal  was  Ihere  has  been 
eliminaled,  and  exists  no  more.  Blackness 
has  died  out  in  the  silvery  locks  of  the  patri 
arch,  comeliness  in  Ihe  body  of  ihe  careworn 
and  crooked  old  man,  slrength  in  ihe  body  of 
Ihe  languishing,  Ihe  [previous]  slanding  pos- 
lure  in  Ihe  body  of  one  walking, walking  in  Ihe 
body  of  one  standing,  walking  and  standing  in 
the  body  of  one  reclining,  speech  in  the 
tongue  of  the  silent; — whalever  changes,  and 
is  whal  il  was  nol,  I  see  Ihere  a  kind  of  life  in 
lhal  which  is,  and  dealh  in  lhal  which  was. 
In  fine,  when  we  say  of  one  deceased,  Where 
is  lhal  person  ?  we  are  answered,  He  was. 
O  Trulh,  il  is  ihou  [alone]  lhal  iruly  art  ! 
For  in  all  aclions  and  movemenls  of  ours, 
yea,  in  every  aclivily  of  Ihe  crealure,  I  find 
Iwo  limes,  Ihe  pasl  and  Ihe  fulure.  I  seek 
for  Ihe  presenl,  nolhing  slands  still:  what  I 
have  said  is  no  longer  present;  what  I  am  go 
ing  to  say  is  not  yet  come:  what  I  have  done 
is  no  longer  present;  what  I  am  going  lo  do 
is  nol  yel  come:  Ihe  life  I  have  lived  is  no 
longer  present;  the  life  I  have  still  lo  live  is 
nol  yel  come.  Pasl  and  fulure  I  find  in  every 
crealure-movemenl:  in  Irulh,  which  is  abid 
ing,  pasl  and  future  I  find  not,  but  the  pres 
ent  alone,  anil  that  unchangeably,  which  has 
no  place  in  the  creature.  Sift  the  mulalions 
of  Ihings,  Ihou  wilt  find  WAS  and  \vn.i.  HK: 


TRACT  vn    \\.\vin.j 


ON    i  in;  GOSPEL  «»i    ST.  JOHN. 


think  on  ( '•(>(!.  thou  wilt  fnul  the  i-.  where 
.  annot  exist.  I  >  :  '•  so  then 
thyself,  rise  beyond  the  boundaries  of  time. 
Hut  who  «  .-in  transcend  tiiL-  powers  of  his 
being?  May  He  raise  us  thither  who  said  to 
the  Father,  "  I  will  that  they  also  be  with 
me  where  I  am."  And  so,  in  making  this 
promise,  that  we  should  not  die  in  our  sins, 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  I  think,  said  nothing 
else  by  these  words,  ''  It  ye  believe  not  that 
1  am;  "  yea,  by  these  words  I  think  He  meant 
nothing  else  than  this,  "  If  ye  believe  not  that 
lam"  God,  "ye  shall  die  in  your  sins." 
Well,  God  be  thanked  that  He  said,  "  Jf  ye 
believe  not,"  and  did  not  say,  If  ye  compre 
hend  not.  For  who  can  comprehend  this? 
Or  is  it  so,  since  I  have  ventured  to  speak 
and  you  have  seemed  to  understand,  that  you 
have  indeed  comprehended  somewhat  of  a 
subject  so  unspeakable?  If  then  thou  com- 
prehendest  not,  faith  sets  thee  free.  There 
fore  also  the  Lord  said  not,  If  ye  compre 
hend  not  that  I  am;  but  said  what  they  were 
capable  of  attaining,  "  If  ye  believe  not  that 
I  am,  ye  shall  die  in  your  sins." 

ii.  And  savoring  as  these  men  always  did 
of  the  earth,  and  ever  hearing  and  answering 
according  to  the  flesh,  what  did  they  say  to 
Him?  "Who  art  thou?"  For  when  thou 
saidst,  "If  ye  believe  not  that  I  am,"  thou 
didst  not  tell  us  what  thou  wert.  Who  art 
thou,  that  we  may  believe  ?  He  answered 
41  The  Beginning."  Here  is  the  existence 
that  [always]  is.  The  beginning  cannot  be 
changed:  the  beginning  is  self-abiding  and 
all-originating;  that  is,  the  beginning,  to  which 
it  has  been  said,  "But  thou  Thyself  art  the 
same,  and  Thy  years  shall  not  fail."  '  "  The 
beginning,1'  He  said,  "  for  so  I  also  speak  to 
you.1'  Believe  me  [to  be]  the  beginning,  that 
ye  may  not  die  in  your  sins.  For  just  as  if 
by  saying,  "Who  art  thou?"  they  had  said 
nothing  else  than  this,  What  shall  we  believe 
thee  to  be?  He  replied,  "The  beginning;" 
that  is,  Believe  me  [to  be]  the  "  beginning." 
For  in  the  Greek  expression  we  discern  what 
we  cannot  in  the  Latin.  For  in  Greek  the 
word  "beginning"'  {principium,  «/#jj),  is  of 
the  feminine  gender,  just  as  with  us  "law" 
(lc.\ )  is  of  the  feminine  gender,  while  it  is  of 
the  masculine  (>"/"'s%)  with  them;  or  as  4<  wis 
dom"  (sapicntia,  irmfin]  is  of  the  feminine 
gender  with  both.  It  is  the  custom  of 
speech,  therefore,  in  different  languages  to 

1  Ps.  cii.  27. 


vary  the  gender  of  words,  t>  -hings 

themselves  there  is  no  place    l.»r  the   distinc 
tion  oi  :        wisdom  is  not  really  !• 
since   Christ    is  the   Wisdom   ot 
Christ  is  termed  of  the  masculine  gender,  wis- 

i  dom  of  the  feminine.  When  then  the  Jews 
said,  *'  Who  art  thou?"  He,  who  lyiew  that 
there  were  some  there  who  should  yet  believe, 
and  therefore  had  said,  Who  art  thou  ?  that 
so  they  might  come  to  know  \vhat  they  ought 
to  believe  regarding  Him,  replied,  "  The  be 
ginning:  "  not  as  if  He  said,  I  am  the  lie- 
ginning;  but  as  if  He  said,  Believe  me  [to 
he]  the  beginning.  Which,  as  I  said,  is  quite 

I  evident  in  the  Greek  language,  where  begin 
ning  ('ifyj)  is  of  the  feminine  gender.3  Just 
as  if  He  had  wished  to  say  that  He  was  the 
Truth,  and  to  their  question,  "  Who  art 
thou?"  had  answered,  I'eritatem*  [the 
Truth];  when  to  the  words,  "  Who  art  thou  ?  '* 

!  He  evidently  ought  to  have  replied,  Veritas* 

;[the  Truth];  that  is,  I  am  the  Truth.  But 
His  answer  had  a  deeper  meaning,  when  He 
saw  that  they  had  put  the  question,  "  Who  art 
thou?"  in  such  away  as  to  mean,  Having 
heard  from  thee,  "  If  ye  believe  not  that  I 
am,"  what  shall  we  believe  thee  to  be  ?  To 
this  He  replied,  "  The  beginning:  "  as  if  He 
said,  Believe  me  to  be  the  beginning.  And 
He  added  "  for  [as  such]  I  also  speak  to 
you;  "  that  is,  having  humbled  myself  on  your 
account,  I  have  condescended  to  such  words. 
For  if  the  beginning  as  it  is  in  itself  had  re 
mained  so  with  the  Father,  as  not  to  receive 
the  form  of  a  servant  and  speak  as  man  with 
men;  how  could  they  have  believed  in  Him, 
since  their  weak  hearts  could  not  have  heard 
the  Word  intelligently  without  some  voice 
that  would  appeal  to  their  senses  ?  Therefore, 
said  He,  believe  me  to  be  the  beginning;  for, 
that  you  may  believe,  .1  not  only  am,  but  also 
speak  to  you.6  But  on  this  subject  I  have 
still  much  to  say  to  you;  may  it  therefore 
please  your  Charity  that  we  reserve  what  re 
mains,  and  by  His  gracious  aid  deliver  it  to 
morrow. 


•  i  cor.  i.  24. 

i  The  Greek  is  -r^v  apxqi'.  which  to  some  has  here  the  sound 
I  of  an  adverb,  like  the  Ijum  J>rin.  ///<•  and  frinium.  So  at  least 
it  sounded  to  Chrysostoin.  Hut  Auguslin's  interpretation  is  fav 
ored  by  Ambrose,  Bernard,  etc. 

4  In  the  accusative  case.  S  In  the-  nomin;itive  case. 

6  August  in   here  matt  >  i   h-  •    human 

the-    mr.inx   whrn-l.y    they    *l).  nil.l  In-  ;<!>!<•    to  I 
il.m  to    In-   tin-  b.-omn-  .  H.,,!    r 

;nr  man  and  si*>krn  to  them,  but  remamrd  alw.r. 
with  the  Father,  and  tilfnt.  thry  «-.>uld  never  h.ivr  had  : 
..i   knowing  that  He  personally  was  the   beginning,  or  believing 
Him  such.-Tk. 


222 


TIIK  WORKS  <>!•    ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATK  \\.\i\. 


TRACTATE    XXXIX. 


CHAPTER  VIII.  26, 


1.  THE  words  of  our  Lord   Jesus   Christ, 
which  He  had  addressed  to  the  Jews,  so  reg 
ulating  His  discourse  that  the  blind  saw  not, 
and  believers'  eyes  were  opened,  are  these, 
which  have  been   read  to-day  from  the  holy 
Gospel:     "Then    said    the    Jesvs,    Who   art 
thou  ?  "     Because  the  Lord  had  said  before, 
"  If  ye  believe  not  that  I  am,  ye  shall  die  in 
your  sins.'"  l     To  this  accordingly  they  re 
joined,  "Who  art  thou?"  as  if  seeking  to 
know  on  whom  they  ought  to  believe,  so  as  not 
to  die  in  their  sin.     He  replied  to  those  who 
asked   Him  :    "  Who  art  thou?"  by  saying, 
*'  The    beginning,  for   [so]    also    I  speak   to 
you."     If  the  Lord  has  called  Himself  the 
beginning,  it  may  be  inquired   whether   the 
Father  also  is  the  beginning.     For  if  the  Son 
who  has  a  Father  is  the  beginning,  how  much 
more  easily  must  God  the  Father  be  under 
stood  as  the  beginning,  who  has  indeed  the 
Son  whose   Father   He    is,   but  has  no  one 
from   whom    He    Himself  proceedeth  ?     For 
the  Son  is  the  Son  of  the  Father,  and  the 
Father  certainly  is  the  Father  of  the  Son;  but 
the  Son  is  called   God   of  God, — the  Son  is 
called    Light  of  Light;  the  Father  is  called 
Light,  but  not,  of  Light, — the  Father  is  called 
God,  but  not,  of  God.     If,  then,  God  of  God, 
Light  of  Light,  is  the  beginning,  how  much 
more  easily  may  we  understand  as  such  that 
Light,  from  whom  the  Light  [cometh],  and 
God,  of  whom  is  God  ?     It  seems,  therefore, 
absurd,  dearly  beloved,  to  call  the  Son  the  be 
ginning,  and  not  to  caH  the  Father  the  begin 
ning  also. 

2.  But  what  shall  we  do  ?     Are  there,  then, 
two  beginnings  ?     Let  us  beware  of  saying  so. 
What  then  ?  if  both  the  Father  is  the  begin 
ning  and   the    Son  the    beginning,   how  are 
there  not  two  beginnings  ?     In  the  same  way 
that  we  call  the  Father  God,  and  the  Son  God, 
and  yet  say  not  that  there  are  two  Gods;  and 
yet  He  who  is  the  Father  is  not  the  Son,  He 
who  is  the  Son  is  not  the   Father;  and  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  Spirit  of  the  Father  aijd  of 
the  Son,  is  neither  the   Father  nor  the  Son. 
Although,  then,  as  Catholic  ears   have  been 
taught  in  the  bosom  of  mother  Church,  neither 
He  who  is  the  Father  is  the  Son,  nor  He  who 
is  the  Son  is   the    Father,  nor   is   the    Holy 
Spirit,  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son,  either 


Chap. 


the  Son  or  the  Father,  yet  we  say  not  that 
there  are  three  Gods;  although,  if  we  are 
asked  of  each  apart,  we  must,  of  whichever 
we  are  questioned,  confess  that  He  is  God. 

3.  But  all  this  seems  absurd  to  those  who 
drag  up  familiar  things  to  a  level  with  things 
little  known,  visible  things  with  invisible,  and 
compare  the  creature  to  the  Creator.  For  unbe 
lievers  sometimes  question  us  and  say:  Whom 
you  call  the  Father,  do  you  call  him  God  ?    We 
answer,  God,     Whom  you  call  the  Son,  do  you 
call   him  God  ?     We  answer,   God.      Whom 
you  call  the  Holy  Spirit,  do  you  call  him  God  ? 
We  answer,  God.     Then,  say  they,  are  the 
Father,  and    the  Son,   and    the  Holy    Spirit 
three   Gods  ?     We    answer,   No.      They  are 
confounded,  because  they  are  not  enlightened; 
they  have  their  heart  shut  up,  because  they 
want  the  key  of  faith.     Let  us  then,  brethren, 
by  an  antecedent  faith  that  heals  the  eye  of 
our  heart,  receive  without  obscurity  what  we 
understand, — and  what  we   understand   not, 
believe  without  hesitation;  let  us  not  quit  the 
foundation  of  faith  in  order  to  reach  the  sum 
mit  of  perfection.     The   Father  is  God,  the 
Son  is  God,  the  Holy  Spirit  is  God:  and  yet 
He  is  not  the  Father  who  is  the  Son,  nor  He 
the  Son  who  is  the    Father,  and    the    Holy 
Spirit,  the  Spirit  of  the  Father  and  the  Son, 
is    neither   the    Father   nor   the    Son.      The 
Trinity  is  one  God.     The  Trinity  is  one  eter 
nity,  one  power,  one  majesty; — three,  but  not 
[three]  Gods.     Let  not  the  reviler  answer  me: 
"  Three  what,  then  ?  For,"  he  adds,  "  if  there 
are  three,  you  must  say, three  what  ? "  I  reply: 
The  Father,  and  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit. 
"  See,"  he  says,  "  you  have  named  three;  but 
express  what  the  three  are  ?' '  Nay,  count  them 
yourself;  for  I  make  out  three  when  I  say,  the 
Father,  and  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit.    For 
the  Father  is  God  as  respects  Himself,  but 
[He  is]  the  Father  as  respects  the  Son;  the 
Son  is  God  as  respects  Himself,  but  He  is  the 
Son  as  regards  the  Father. 

4.  What  I  say  you  may  gather  from  daily 
analogies.      So  it    is  with  one  man  and  an 
other,  if  the  one  be  a  father,  the  other  his 
son.   He  is  man    as    regards    himself,  but  a 
father  as  regards  his  son;  and  the  son  man 
as  respects  himself,  but  a  son  as  respects  his 
father.     For  father  is  a  name  given  relatively, 
and  so  with   son;  but   these   are   two   men. 
And  certainly  God  the  Father  is  Father  in  a 


,  ,K     \\\I\     | 


ON    I  in    GOSPEL  OF  ST,  JOHN 


relative  sense,  that  is,  in  relation  to   t 
and  ('.oil  tli-  >n    relatively,  that  is,  in 

relation  to  the  Father;  but  not  as  the  former 
are  t\vo  men  are  these  two  ('rods.  Why  is  it  not 
SO  here  ''  I'.ccausi- that  belongs  to  one  sphere 
and  this  to  another;  for  this  is  divine.  There 
is  here  something  ineffable  which  cannot  be  ex- 
plained  in  words.that  there  should  both  be,and 
not  be,  number.  For  see  if  there  appear  not  a 
kind  of  number,  Father,  and  Son,  and  Holy 
(ihost — the  Trinity.  If  three,  three  what? 
Here  number  fails.  And  so  God  neither 
keeps  apart  from  number,  nor  is  comprehend 
ed  by  number.  Because  there  are  three,  there 
is  a  kind  of  number.  If  you  ask  three  what, 
number  ceases.  Hence  it  is  said,  "  Great  is 
our  Lord,  and  great  His  power;  and  of  His 
understanding  there  is  no  number.'"  When 
you  have  begun  to  reflect,  you  begin  to  num 
ber;  when  you  have  numbered,  you  cannot 
tell  what  you  have  numbered.  The  Father 
is  Father,  the  Son  is  Son,  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
the  Holy  Spirit.  What  are  these  three,  the 
Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit?  Are 
They  not  three  Gods?  No.  Are  They  not 
three  Almighties?  No.  Not  three  Creators 
of  the  world '  No.  Is  the  Father  then 
almighty?  Manifestly  almighty.  And  is 
the  Son  then  not  almighty  ?  Clearly  the  Son 
is  also  almighty.  And  is  the  Holy  Spirit  then 
not  almighty?  He,  too,  is  almighty.  Are 
there  then  three  Almighties  ?  No;  only  one 
Almighty.  Only  in  Their  relation  to  each 
other  do  They  suggest  number,  not  in  Their 
essential  existence.  For  though  God  the 
Father  is,  as  respects  Himself,  God  along 
with  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  there  are 
not  three  Gods;  and,  though  as  respects  Him 
self  He  is  omnipotent,  as  well  as  the  Son  and 
the  Holy  Spirit,  there  are  not  three  omni- 
potents;  for  in  truth  He  is  the  Father  not  in 
respect  to  Himself,  but  to  the  Son;  nor  is  the 
Son  so  in  respect  to  Himself,  but  to  the 
Father;  nor  is  the  Spirit  so  as  regards  Him 
self,  in  as  far  as  He  is  called  the  Spirit  of  the 
Father  and  of  the  Son.  I  have  no  name  to 
give  the  three,  save  the  Father,  the  Son,  and 
the  Holy  Spirit,  one  God,  one  Almighty. 
And  so  one  beginning. 

5.  Take  an  illustration  from  the  Holy  Scrip 
tures,  whereby  you  may  in  some  measure 
comprehend  what  I  am  saying.  After  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  rose  again,  and  was  pleased 
to  ascend  into  heaven,  at  the  end  of  ten 
days  He  sent  from  thence  the  Holy  Spirit,  by 
whom  those  who  were  present  in  that  one 
chamber  were  filled,  and  began  to  speak  in 
the  languages  of  all  nations.  The  Lord's 


murderers,    terrified     by    tin-    miracle,    were 
pricked  to  the  heart  and  sorrowed;   sorrowing, 
iangeil;   and    be  in;,'   ch.vi^ed.  believed. 
There  were  added  to  the  Lord's  body,  that  is, 
i  to  the    number    of  believers,  three    thousand 
people.      And  so  also  by  the  working  of  an- 
:  other   miracle   there    were    added  other   five 
thousand.     A   considerable   community   was 
created,  in  which  all,  receiving  the  Holy  Spirit, 
i  by  whom  spiritual  love  was  kindled,  were  by 
I  their  very  love  and  fervor  of  spirit  welded  into 
'  one,  and  began  in  the  very  unity  of  fellow 
ship  to  sell  all  that  they  had,  and  to  lay  the 
;  price  at  the  apostles'   feet,  that  distribution 
1  might  be  made  to  every  one  as  each  had  need. 
And    the   Scripture  says  this   of   them,  that 
"  they  were  of  one  soul  and  one  heart  toward 
God."a     Give  heed  then,  brethren,  and  from 
i  this  acknowledge  the  mystery  of  the  Trinity, 
how  it  is  we  say,  There  is  both  the  Father,  and 
|  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  yet  there  is 
j  one  God.     See  !  there  were  so  many  thou- 
!  sands  of  these,  and  yet  there  was  one  heart; 
there  were  so  many  thousands,  and  one  soul. 
But  where?     In  God.     How  much  more  so 
God  Himself?     Do  I  err  at  all  in  word  when 
I  call  two  men  two  souls,  or  three  men  three 
souls,  or  many  men   many  souls?     Surely  I 
speak  correctly.     Let   them   approach   God, 
and  one  soul  belongs  to  all.     If  by  approach 
ing  God  many  souls  by  love  become  one  soul, 
and  many  hearts  one  heart,  what  of  the  very 
fountain  of  love  in  the  Father  and  Son  ?     Is 
it  not  still   more   so  here  that  the  Trinity  is 
!  one  God  ?     For  thence,  of  that  Holy  Spirit, 
i  does  love  come  to  us,  as  the  apostle  says: 
"The  love  of  God   is  shed    abroad   in  our 
hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  is  given  unto 
us."3     If  then  the  love  of  God,  shed  abroad 
in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost    which    is 
given  unto  us,  makes  many  souls-  one  soul, 
and  many  hearts  one  heart,  how  much  rather 
are  the  Father  and  Son  and  Holy  Spirit,  one 
God,  one  light,  and  one  beginning? 

6.  Let  us  hear,  then,  the  Beginning  who 
speaks  to  us:  "I  have,"  said  He,  "many 
things  to  say  of  you  and  to  judge."  You  re 
member  that  He  said,  "  I  do  not  judge  any 
one."4  See,  now  He  says,  "I  have  many 
things  to  say  of  you  and  to  judge."  But, 
"  I  do  not  judge"  is  one  thing:  "  I  have  to 
judge"  is  another;  for  He  had  come  t<> 
the  world,  not  to  judge  the  world.5  In  say 
ing,  "  I  have  many  things  to  say  of  you  and 
to  judge,"  He  speaks  of  the  future  judgment. 
For  therefore  did  He  ascend,  that  He  may 
come  to  judge  the  living  and  the  dead.  No 
one  will  judge  more  justly  than  He  who  was 


Ps.  cxlvii.  5  (marg.). 


3  Acts  ii.  and  iv.  33,  etc. 
4Ver.  15. 


r.  5. 
SChap.  xii.  47- 


224 


I  UK   WORKS  OF  ST.   AIV.TSTIN. 


[Tku  i  AII    XXXIX. 


unjustly  judged.      "  Many  things,"  said   lie, 
"  have  I  to  say  of  you  and  to  judge;  but   He 
that  sent   me    is  true."     See    how    the    Son, 
His  equal,  gives  glory  to  the   Father.      For 
He  sets  us  an  example,  and  says  as  it  were 
in  our  hearts:  O  believer,  if  thou  hearest  my 
gospel,  the  Lord  thy  God  saith  to  thee,  when 
I,  in  the  beginning  God  the  Word  with  God,  \ 
equal  with  the  Father,co-eternal  with  Him  that  j 
begat,  give  glory  to  Him  whose  Son  I  am,  { 
how  canst  thou  be  proud  before  Him,  whose 
servant  thou  art  ? 

7.  "  I  have  many  things,"  He  said,  "  to  say 
of  you  and  to  judge:  but  He  that  sent  me  is 
true;  "  as  if  He  had  said,  Therefore  I  judge 
the  truth,  because,  as  the  Son  of  the  True 
One,  I  am  the  truth.     The  Father  true,  the 
Son  the    truth, — which   do   we    account   the 
greater?     Let  us  reflect,  if  we  can,  which  is 
the   greater,  the    True  One  or  the    Truth.1] 
Take  some  other  instances.     Is  a  pious  man, 
or  piety,  the  more  comprehensive  ?     Surely 
piety  itself;    for  the   pious  is  derived   from  i 
piety,  not  piety  from  the  pious.     For  piety  j 
may  still  exist,  though  he  who  was  pious  be 
came  impious.     He  has  lost  his  piety,  but  has 
taken  nothing  from  piety  itself.     What  also 
of  comely   and    comeliness  ?     Comeliness  is 
more  than  comely;  for  comeliness  gives  ex 
istence  to   the   comely,    not   the   comely   to 
comeliness.     And  so  of  chaste  and  chastity. 
Chastity    is    clearly    something    more    than 
chaste.   For  if  chastity  had  no  existence,  one 
would    have    no   ground    to   be   chaste;    but 
though  one  may  refuse  to  be  chaste,  chastity 
remains  entire.     If  then  t'.ie  term  piety  im 
plies  more  than  the  term    pious,  comeliness 
more  than  comely,  chastity  than  chaste,  shall 
we  say  that  the  Truth  is  more  than  the  True 
One  ?     If  we  say  so,  we  shall  begin   to  say 
that  the  Son  is  greater  than  the  Father.     For 
the    Lord  Himself   says  most  distinctly,  "  I 
am  the  way,  and    the  truth,  and  the  life."1' 
Therefore,  if  the  Son  is  the  truth,  what  is  the 
Father  but   what   the    Truth    Himself  says, 
"  He  that  sent  me  is  true  "  ?     The  Son  is  the 
truth,  the  Father  true.     I  inquire  which  is  the 
greater,    but   find    equality.       For   the   true 
Father  is  true   not  because   He  contained  a 
part  of  that  truth,  but  because  He  begat  it 
entire. 

8.  I  see  I  must  speak  more  plainly.     And, 
not  to  detain  you  long,  let  me  treat  only  of 
this  point  to-day.     When  I  have  finished  what. 


with  God's  help,  I  wish  to  say,  my  dis- 
'  course  shall  close.  I  have  said  this,  then,  to 
enlist  your  attention.  Every  soul,  as  being 
a  thing,  is  mutable;  and  although  a  great 
creature,  yet  a  creature;  though  superior  to 
the  body,  yet  made.  Every  soul,  then,  since 
it  is  changeable — that  is,  sometimes  believes, 
sometimes  disbelieves;  at  one  time  wishes,  at 
another  time  refuses;  at  one  time  is  adulter 
ous,  at  another  chaste;  now  good,  and  again 
wicked, — is  changeable.  But  God  is  that 
which  is,  and  so  has  retained  as  His  own 
peculiar  name,  "  I  am  who  am."  3  Such  also 
is  the  Son,  when  He  says,  "  If  ye  believe  not 
that  I  am;  "  and  thereto  pertains  also,  "  Who 
art  thou  ?  The  Beginning'' (ver.  25).  God 
therefore  is  unchangeable,  the  soul  change 
able.  When  the  soul  receives  from  God  the 
elements  of  its  goodness  it  becomes  good  by 
participation,  just  as  by  participation  thine 
eye  seeth.  For  it  sees  not  when  the  light  is 
withdrawn,  while  so  long  as  it  shares  in  the 
light  it  sees.  Since  then  by  participation  the 
soul  is  made  good,  if  //  changes  and  becomes 
bad,  the  goodness  remains  that  made  it  good. 
For  there  is  a  goodness  of  which  it  partook 
when  good;  and  when  it  has  turned  to  evil, 
that  goodness  continues  entire.  If  the  soul 
fall  away  and  become  evil,  there  is  no  lessen 
ing  of  goodness;  if  it  return  and  become  good, 
that  goodness  is  not  enlarged.  Thine  eye 
participates  in  this  light,  and  thou  seest.  Is 
it  shut  ?  Then  thou  hast  not  diminished  the 
light.  Is  it  open  ?  Thou  hast  not  increased  the 
light.  By  this  illustration,  brethren,  under 
stand  that  if  the  soul  is  pious,  there  is  piety 
with  God,  of  which  the  soul  is  partaker;  if 
the  soul  is  chaste,  there  is  chastity  with  God, 
of  which  it  partakes;  if  it  is  good,  there  is 
goodness  with  God,  of  which  it  partakes;  if 
it  is  true,  there  is  truth  with  God,  of  which 
the  soul  is  partaker.  Whereof  if  the  soul  is 
no  partaker,  every  man  is  false;4  and  if  every 
man  may  be  false,  no  man  is  true  of  himself.5 
But  the  true  Father  is  true  of  Himself,5  for 
He  begat  the  Truth.  It  is  one  thing  to  say, 
That  man  is  true,  for  he  has  taken  in  the 
truth:  it  is  another,  God  is  true,  for  He  begat 
the  Truth.  See  then  how  God  is  true, — not 
by  participating  in,  but  by  generating  the 
Truth.  I  see  you  have  understood  me,  and 
am  glad.  Let  this  suffice  you  to-day.  The 
rest,  according  as  He  gives  it,  we  shall  ex 
pound  when  the  Lord  pleases. 


Verax  an  veritas. 


Johr 


5  I.x.  iii.  14. 


Ps.  cxvi. 


; 


ON   'I1  UK  GOSPEL  ol-    ST.    JOHN. 


TRACTATE    XL. 

Cn  \rn  k    VIII.    28-32. 


1.  OF  the  holy  Gospel  according  to  John, 
which  you  see  in  our  hand,  your  C'hanty  has 
already  heard  much,  whereon  by  Hod's  grace 
we  have  discoursed  according  to  our  ability, 
pressing  on  your  notice  that  this  evangelist, 
specially,  has  chosen  to  speak  of  the  Lord's 
divinity,  wherein  He  is  equal  with  the  Father 
and  the  only  Son  of  God;  and  on  that  account 
he  has  been  compared  to  the  eagle,  because  j 
no  other  bird  is  understood  to  take  a  loftier ' 
flight.     Accordingly,  to  what  follows  in  order, 
as  the  Lord  enables  us  to  treat  of  it,  listen 
with  all  your  attention. 

2.  We  have  spoken  to  you  on  the  preced 
ing  passage,  suggesting  how  the  Father  may 
be  understood  as   True,  and  the  Son  as  the 
Truth.     But  when  the  Lord  Jesus  said,  "  He 
that  sent  me  is  true,"  the  Jews  understood  not 
that  He  spake  to  them  of  the  Father.     And 
He  said  to  them,  as  you  have  just  heard  in 
the  reading,  "  When  ye  have  lifted  up  the  Son 
of  man,  then   shall  ye  know  that  I  am,   and 
[that"|  I    do    nothing   of  myself;  but  as  the 
Father  hath  taught  me,  I  speak  these  things. " 
What  means  this?     For  it  looks  as  if  all  He 
said  was,  that  they  would  know  who  He  was 
after  His  passion.     Without  doubt,  therefore, 
He  saw  that  some  there,  whom  He  Himself 
knew,  whom  with  the  rest  of  His  saints  He 
Himself  in  His    foreknowledge    had   chosen 
before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  would  be 
lieve  after  His  passion.     These  are  the  very 
persons  whom  we  are  constantly  commending, 
and  with  much  entreaty  setting  forth  for  your 
imitation.     For  on  the  sending  down  of  the 
Holy   Spirit   after   the    Lord's    passion,  and 
resurrection,  and    ascension,  when    miracles 
were  being  done  in  the  name  of  Him  whom, 
as  if  dead,  the  persecuting  Jews  had  despised, 
they  were  pricked   in  their  hearts;  and   they 
who  in  their  rage  slew  Him  were  changed  and 
believed;  and  they  who  in   their  rage   shed 
His  blood,  now  in  the  spirit  of  faith  drank  it; 
to  wit,  those  three  thousand,  and  those  five 
thousand    Jews'   whom   now   He   saw  there,  j 
when  He  said,  ''  When  ye  have  lifted   up  the 
Son  of  man,  then  shall  ye  know  that   I  am 

|  Hr|."  It  was  as  if  He  had  said,  I  let  your 
ivm-nition  lie  over  till  I  have  conrpleted  my 
passion:  in  your  own  order  ye  shall  know  who 
1  am.  Not  that  all  who  heard  Him  were 


only  then  to  believe,  that  is,  after  the  Lord's 
passion;  fora  little  after  it  is  said,  "A*  1  It- 
spake  these  words,  many  believed  on  Him; '' 
and  the  Son  of  man  was  not  yet  lifted  up. 
But  the  lifting  up  He  is  speaking  of  is  that  of 
His  passion,  not  of  His  glorification;  of  the 
cross,  not  of  heaven;  for  He  was  exalted  there 
also  when  He  hung  on  the  tree.  But  that 
exaltation  was  His  humiliation;  for  then  He 
became  obedient  even  to  the  death  of  the 
cross.2  This  required  to  be  accomplished 
by  the  hands  of  those  who  should  afterwards 
believe,  and  to  whom  He  says,  "  When  ye 
have  lifted  up  the  Son  of  man,  then  shall  ye 
know  that  I  am  [He]."  And  why  so,  but 
that  no  one  might  despair,  however  guilty 
his  conscience,  when  he  saw  those  forgiven 
their  homicide  who  had  slain  the  Christ? 

3.  The  Lord  then,  recognizing  such  in  that 
crowd,  said,  "  When  ye  have  lifted  up  the 
Son  of  man,  then  shall  ye  know  that  I  am 
[He]."  You  know  already  what  "I  am" 
signifies;  and  we  must  not  be  continually  re 
peating,  lest  so  great  a  subject  beget  distaste. 
Recall  that,  "  I  am  who  am,"  and  "  He  who 
is  hath  sent  me,"  3  and  you  will  recognize  the 
meaning  of  the  words,  "  Then  shall  ye  know 
that  I  am."  But  both  the  Father  is,  and  the 
Holy  Spirit  is.  To  the  same  is  belongs  the 
whole  Trinity.  But  because  the  Lord  spake 
as  the  Son,  in  order  that,  when  He  says, 
"  Then  shall  ye  know  that  I  am,"  there  might 
be  no  chance  of  entrance  for  the  error  of  the 
Sabellians,  that  is,  of  the  Patripassians, — an 
error  which  I  have  charged  you  not  to  hold, 
but  to  beware  of, — the  error,  I  mean,  of  those 
who  have  said,  The  Father  and  Son  are  one 
and  the  same;  two  names,  but  one  reality; 
— to  guard  them  against  that  error,  when  the 
Lord  said,  "Then  shall  ye  know  that  I  am," 
that  He  might  not  be  understood  as  Himself 
the  Father,  He  immediately  added,  "And  I 
do  nothing  of  myself;  but  as  my  Father 
taught  me,  I  speak  these  things."  Already 
was  the  Sabellian  beginning  to  rejoice  over 
the  discovery  of  a  ground  for  his  error;  but 
immediately  on  showing  himself  as  it  were  in 
the  shade,  he  was  confounded  by  the  light  of 
the  following  sentence.  Thou  thoughtest  that 
He  was  the  Father,  because  He  said,  "I 
mi  "  Hear  now  that  He  is  the  Son:  "And 


-  I'hil.  ii.  8. 


. 


226 


THE   WORKS  OF  ST.   AU'.t'STIN. 


[Ti;  \<   IAI  i-.    XI.. 


I  do  nothing  of  myself."  What  means  this, 
"  I  do  nothing  of  myself"?  Of  myself  I  am 
not.  For  the  Son  is  God,  of'  the  Father; 
but  the  Father  is  God,  yet  not  of  the  Son. 
The  Son  is  God  of  God,  and  the  Father  is 
God,  but  not  of  God.  The  Son  is  light  of 
light;  and  the  Father  is  light,  but  not  of  light. 
The  Son  is,  but  there  is  [One]  of  whom  He 
is;  and  the  Father  is,  but  there  is  none  of 
whom  He  is. 

4.  Let  not  then,  my  brethren,  His  further 
words,  "As  my  Father  hath  taught  me,  I 
speak  these  things,"  be  the  occasion  of  any 
carnal  thought  stealing  into  your  minds.  For 
human  weakness  cannot  think,  but  as  it  is  ac 
customed  to  act  and  to  hear.  Do  not  then 
set  before  your  eyes  as  it  were  two  men,  one 
the  father,  the  other  the  son,  and  the  father 
speaking  to  the  son;  as  any  one  of  you  may 
do,  when  you  say  something  to  your  son,  ad 
monishing  and  instructing  him  how  to  speak, 
to  charge  his  memory  with  what  you  have  told 
him,  and,  having  done  so,  to  express  it  in 
words,  to  enunciate  distinctly,  and  convey  to 
the  ears  of  others  what  he  has  apprehended 
with  his  own.  Think  not  thus,  lest  you  be 
fabricating  idols  in  your  heart.  The  human 
shape,  the  outlines  of  human  limbs,  the  form 
of  human  flesh,  the  outward  senses,  stature 
and  motions  of  the  body,  the  functions  of  the 
tongue,  the  distinctions  of  sounds, — think  not 
of  such  as  existing  in  that  Trinity,  save  as 
they  pertain  to  the  servant-form,  which  the 
only-begotten  Son  assumed,  when  the  Word 
was  made  flesh  to  dwell  among  us."  Thereof 
I  forbid  thee  not,  human  weakness,  to  think 
according  to  thy  knowledge:  nay,  rather  I 
require  thee.  If  the  faith  that  is  in  thee  be 
true,  think  of  Christ  as  such;  but  as  such  of 
the  Virgin  Mary,  not  of  God  the  Father.  He 
was  an  infant,  He  grew  as  a  man,  He  walked 
as  a  man,  He  hungered,  He  thirsted  as  a 
man,  He  slept  as  a  man;  at  last  He  suffered 
as  a  man,  hung  on  the  tree,  was  slam  and 
buried  as  a  man.  In  the  same  form  He  rose 
again;  in  the  same,  before  the  eyes  of  His 
disciples,  He  ascended  into  heaven;  in  the 
same  will  He  yet  come  to  judgment.  For 
angel  lips  have  declared  in  the  Gospel,  "  He 
shall  so  come  in  like  manner  as  ye  have  seen 
Him  go  into  heaven." 3  When  then  you  think 
of  the  servant-form  in  Christ,  think  of  a  human 
likeness,  if  you  have  faith;  but  when  you 
think,  "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and 
the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was 
God,"  4  away  with  all  human  fashioning  from 
your  heart.  Banish  from  your  thoughts 
everything  bounded  by  cnrpoival  limits,  in- 


*  Dt :  so  in 

3  Ait-  i.    I.. 


2  Chap.  i.  14. 
4  Chap.  i.  i. 


eluded  in  local  measurement,  or  spread  out 
in  a  mass,  how  great  soever  its  size.  Perish 
utterly  such  -\  figment  from  your  heart. 
Think,  if  you  can,  on  the  beauty  of  wisdom, 
picture  to  yourself  the  beauty  of  righteous 
ness.  Has  that  a  shape  ?  a  size  ?  a  color  ? 
It  has  none  of  these,  arid  yet  it  is;  for  if  it 
were  not,  it  would  neither  be  loved  nor  worthy 
of  praise,  nor  be  cherished  in  our  heart  and 
life  as  an  object  of  honor  and  affection.  But 
men  here  become  wise;  and  whence  would 
they  so,  had  wisdom  no  existence  ?  And 
further,  O  man,  if  thou  canst  not  see  thine 
own  wisdom  with  the  eyes  of  the  flesh,  nor 
think  of  it  by  the  same  mental  imagery  as 
thou  canst  of  bodily  things,  wilt  thou  dare  to 
thrust  the  shape  of  a  human  body  on  the 
wisdom  of  God  ? 

5.  What  shall  we  say  then,  brethren  ?  How 
spake  the  Father  to  the  Son,  seeing  that  the 
Son  says,  "As  the  Father  taught  me,  I  speak 
these  things"?  Did  He  speak  to  Him? 
When  the  Father  taught  the  Son,  did  He  use 
words,  as  you  do  when  you  teach  your  son  ? 
How  could  He  use  words  to  the  Wrord  ! 
What  words,  many  in  number,  could  be  used 
to  the  one  Word?  Did  the  Word  of  the 
Father  approach  His  ears  to  the  Father's 
mouth?  Such  things  are  carnal:  banish  them 
from  your  hearts.  For  this  I  say,  if  only 
you  have  understood  my  words,  I  certainly 
have  spoken  and  my  words  have  sounded, 
and  by  their  sound  have  reached  your  ears, 
and  through  your  sense  of  hearing  have  car 
ried  their  meaning  to  your  mind,  if  so  be  you 
have  understood.  Suppose  that  some  person 
of  Latin 5  speech  has  heard,  but  has  only 
heard  without  understanding,  what  I  have 
said.  As  regards  the  noise  issuing  from  my 
mouth,  he  who  has  understood  not  has  been  a 
sharer  therein  just  like  yourselves.  He  has 
heard  that  sound;  the  same  syllables  have 
smote  on  his  ears,  but  they  have  produced 
no  effect  on  his  mind.  Why  ?  Because  he 
understood  not.  But  if  you  have  understood, 
whence  comes  your  understanding?  My 
words  have  sounded  in  the  ear:  have  I  kindled 
any  light  in  the  heart  ?  Without  doubt,  if 
what  I  have  said  is  true,  and  this  truth  you 
have  not  only  heard,  but  also  understood, 
two  things  have  there  been  wrought  (distin 
guish  between  them),  hearing  and  intelli 
gence.  Hearing  has  been  wrought  by  me, 
but  by  whom  has  understanding  ?  I  have 
spoken  to  the  ear,  that  you  might  hear;  who 
has  spokefi  to  your  heart  for  understanding? 
Doubtless  some  one  has  also  said  something 


5  "  Latin  ''  here,  as  used  by  Augustin,  would  require  to  be 
translated  "  Engibh,"  to  give  the  exact  force  of  the  illustration  in 
an  English  version.— TK. 


ON    I  Hi:  GOSPE1    <  'I    ST.    IOM\ 


to  your  heart,  that  not  only  the  noiM-  of  words 
might  strike  your  ear,  but  something  also  of 
thu  truth  might  deseend  into  your  heart. 
Some  one  has  spoken  also  to  your  heart,  but 
you  do  not  see  him.  If,  brethren,  you  have 
understood,  your  heart  also  lias  been  spoken 
to.  Intelligence  is  the  gift  of  I'.od.  And 
who.  if  you  have  understood,  has  spoken  so 
in  your  heart,  but  He  to  whom  the  Psalm  says, 
"(live  me  understanding,  that  I  may  learn 
Thy  commandments?'*1  For  example,  the 
bishop  has  spoken.  What  has  he  said  ?  some 


not  so  much  hath  the  One  been  sent  by  the 
other,  but  ye  lioth  i.  And  yet, 

while  Both  are  together,  <  >ne  was  sent,  the 
Other  was  the  sender;  for  incarnation  is  a 
sending,  and  the  incarnation  itself  belongs 
only  to  the  Son  and  not  to  the  Father.  The 
Father  therefore  sent  the  Son,  but  did  not 
withdraw  from  the  Son.  For  it  was  not  that 
the  Father  was  absent  from  the  place  to  which 
He  sent  the  Son.  For  where  is  not  the 
Maker  of  all  things  ?  Where  is  He  not,  who 
said,  "I  fill  heaven  and  earth''?3  But  per- 


one  asks.  You  repeat  what  he  has  spoken,  haps  the  Father  is  everywhere,  and  the  Son 
and  add,  He  has  said  the  truth.  Then  an-  not  so?  Listen  to  the  evangelist:  "  He  was 
other,  who  has  not  understood,  says,  What  has  j  in  this  world,  and  the  world  was  made  by 
he  said,  or  what  is  it  you  are  praising?  Both  Him."4  Therefore  said  He,  "  He  that  sent 
have  heard  me;  I  have  spoken  to  both;  but  me,''  by  whose  power  as  Father  I  am  incar- 
to  one  of  them  God  has  spoken.  If  we  may  nate,  "  is  with  me,-  hath  not  left  me."  Why 
compare  small  things  with  great  (for  what  are  i  hath  He  not  left  me?  "He  hath  not  left 
we  to  Him  ?),  something,  I  know  not  what,  of  j  me,"  He  says,  "  alone;  for  I  do  always  those 
an  incorporeal  and  spiritual  kind  God  works  [things  that  please  Him."  That  equality  ex- 
in  us,  which  is  neither  sound  to  strike  the  ists  always;  not  from  a  certain  beginning, 

and    then  onwards;    but  without    beginning, 

without  end. 


ear,  nor  color  to  be  discerned  by  the  eyes, 
nor  smell  to  enter  the  nostrils,  nor  taste  to  be 
judged  of  by  the  mouth,  nor  anything  hard 
or  soft  to  be  sensible  to  the  touch;  yet  some 
thing  there  is  which  it  is  easy  to  feel, — im 
possible  to  explain.  If  then  God,  as  I  was 
saying,  speaks  in  our  hearts  without  sound, 


how  speaks    He    to   His   Son  ?     Thus   then,    disposed,  understood  and   be.ieved  on  Him  ! 


brethren,  think  thus  as  much  as  you  can,  if, 
as  I  have  said,  we  may  in  some  measure  com 
pare  small  things  with  great:  think  thus.  In 


For  Divine 
time,    since 


generation  has  no 
time    itself    was 


beginning 

created  by  the  Only-begotten. 

7.  ''As  He  spake  these  wnrds,  many  be 
lieved  on  Him."  Would  that,  while  I  speak 
also,  many,  who  before  this  were  otherwise 


For  perhaps  there  are  some  Arians  in  this 
large  assembly.  I  dare  not  sus[>ect  that 
there  are  any  Sabellians,  who  say  that  the 


an  incorporeal  way  the  Father  spoke  to  the !  Father  Himself  is  one  with  the  Son,  seeing 
Son,  because  in  an  incorporeal  way  the  Father  that  heresy  is  too  old,  and  has  been  gradually 
begat  the  Son.  Nor  did  He  so  teach  Him  eviscerated.  But  that  of  the  Arians  seems 
as  if  He  had  begotten  Him  untaught;  but  to  still  to  have  some  movement  about  it,  like 
have  taught  Him  is  the  same  as  to  have  be-  that  of  a  putrefying  carcase,  or  certainly,  at 
gotten  Him  full  of  knowledge;  and  this,  I  the  most,  like  a  man  at  the  last  gasp;  and 
"The  Father  hath  taught  me,"  is  the  same  j  from  this  some  still  require  deliverance,  just 
as,  The  Father  hath  begotten  me  already '  as  from  that  other  many  were  delivered, 
knowing.  For  if,  as  few  understand,  tne  na- ;  This  province,  indeed,  did  not  use  to  have 
ture  of  the  Truth  is  simple,  to  be  is  to  the  such;  but  ever  since  the  arrival  of  many 
Son  the  same  as  to  know.  From  Him  there- j  foreigners,  some  of  these  have  also  found 
fore  He  has  knowledge,  from  whom  He  has  |  their  way  to  our  neighborhood.  See  then, 
being/  Not  that  from  Him  He  had  first :  while  the  Lord  spake  these  words,  many  Jews 
being,  and  afterwards  knowledge;  but  as  in  ,  believed  on  Him.  May  I  see  also  that,  while 
U'-vtting  He  gave  Him  to  be,  so  in  begetting  I  am  speaking,  Arians  are  believing,  not  on 
H<-  ^ave  Him  to  know;  for,  as  was  said,  to  me,  but  with  me  ! 
the  simple  nature  of  the  Truth,  being  is  not,  8.  "Then  said  the  Lord  to  those  Jews  who 


one  tiling  and  knowing  another,  but  one  and 
the  s%me. 

6.  Thus  then  He  spake  to  the  Jews,  and 
added,  "And  He  that  sent  me  is  with  me." 
He  had  already  said  this  also  before,  but  of 
this  important  point  He  is  constantly  remind 
ing  them,  "  He  sent  me,"  and  "  He  is  with 
me."  If  then,  O  Lord,  He  is  with  Thee, 


'  Ps.  cxix.  73. 


believed  on  Him,  If  ye  continue  in  my  word." 
"Continue,"  I  say,  for  you  are  now  initiated 
and  have  begun  to  be  there.  "  If  ye  con 
tinue,"  that  is.  in  the  faith  which  is  now  be 
gun  in  you  who  believe,  to  what  will  you  at 
tain  ?  Seethe  nature  ot  the  !>e-  .lining,  and 
whither  it  leads.  You  have  loved  the  founda 
tion,  give  heed  to  the  summit,  and  out  of  this 


228 


nil.  WORKS  OK  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


\  1 1  \  i . 


low  condition  seek  that  other  elevation.  For 
faith  uas  Humility,  but  knowledge  and  immor 
tality  and  eternity  possess  not  lowliness,  but, 
loftiness;  that  is,  upraising,  all-sufficiency, 
eternal  stability,  full  freedom  from  hostile 
assault,  from  fear  of  failure.  That  which  has 
its  beginning  in  faith  is  great,  but  is  despised.  ' 
In  a  building  also  the  foundation  is  usually 
of  little  account  with  the  unskilled.  A  large 
trench  is  made,  and  stones  are  thrown  in  every 
way  and  everywhere.  No  embellishment, 
no  beauty  are  apparent  there;  just  as  also  in 
the  root  of  a  tree  there  is  no  appearance  of 
beauty.  And  yet  all  that  delights  you  in  the 
tree  has  sprung  from  the  root.  You  look  at 
the  root  and  feel  no  delight:  you  look  at  the 
tree  and  admire  it.  Foolish  man  !  what  you 
admire  has  grown  out  of  that  which  gave  you 
no  delight.  The  faith  of  believers  seems  a  | 
thing  of  little  value, — you  have  no  scales  to 
weigh  it.  Hear  then  to  what  it  attains,  and 
see  its  greatness:  as  the  Lord  Himself  says 
in  another  place,  "  If  ye  have  faith  as  a  grain 
of  mustard  seed." '  What  is  there  of  less 
account  than  that,  yet  what  is  there  pervaded 
with  greater  energy  ?  What  more  minute, 
yet  what  more  fervidly  expansive  ?  And  so 
*'  ye  '*  also,  He  says,  "  if  ye  continue  in  my 
word,"  wherein  ye  have  believed,  to  what  will 
ye  be  brought?  "ye  shall  be  my  disciples 
indeed."  And  what  does  that  benefit  us? 
"  and  ye  shall  know  the  truth." 

9.  What,  brethren,  does  He  promise  be 
lievers  ?  "And  ye  shall  know  the  truth." 
Why  so  ?  Had  they  not  come  to  such  know 
ledge  when  the  Lord  was  speaking?  If  they 
had  not,  how  did  they  believe  ?  They  be 
lieved,  not  because  they  knew,  but  that  they 
might  come  to  know.  For  we  believe  in  order 
that  we  may  know,  we  do  not  know  in  order 
that  we  may  believe.  For  what  we  shall  yet 
know,  neither  eye  hath  seen,  nor  ear  heard, 
nor  hath  it  entered  the  heart  of  man.2  For 
what  is  faith,  but  believing  what  you  see  not  ? 
Faith  then  is  to  believe  what  you  see  not; 
truth,  to  see  what  you  have  believed,  as  He 
Himself  saith  in  a  certain  place.  The  Lord 
then  walked  on  earth,  first  of  all,  for  the  crea 
tion  of  faith.  He  was  man,  He  was  made  in 
a  low  condition.  He  was  seen  by  all,  but 
not  by  nil  was  He  known.  By  many  was  He 
rejected,  by  the  multitude  was  He  slain,  by 
few  was  He  mourned;  and  yet  even  by  those 
who  mourned  Him,  His  true  being  was  still 
unrecognized.  All  this  is  the  beginning  as 
it  were  of  faith's  lineaments  and  future  up 
building.  As  the  Lord,  referring  thereto, 
saith  in  a  certain  place,  "  He  that  loveth  me 


keepeth  my  commandments;  and  he  that 
loveth  me  shall  be  loved  of  my  Fatherland  I 
will  love  him,  and  will  manifest  myself  to 
him."  3  They  certainly  already  saw  the  per 
son  to  whom  they  were  listening;  and  yet  to 
them,  if  they  loved  Him,  does  He  give  it  as 
a  promise  that  they  should  see  Him.  So  also 
here,  "Ye  shall  know  the  truth."  How  so? 
Is  that  not  the  truth  which  Thou  hast  been 
speaking?  The  truth  it  is,  but  as  yet  it  is 
only  believed,  not  beheld.  If  you  abide  in 
that  which  is  believed,  you  shall  attain  to 
that  which  is  seen.  Hence  John  himself,  the 
holy  evangelist,  says  in  his  epistle,  "  Dearly 
beloved,  we  are  the  sons  of  God;  but  it  is  not 
yet  apparent  what  we  shall  be."  We  are  so 
already,  and  something  we  shall  be.  What 
more  shall  we  be  than  we  are  ?  Listen:  "  It 
is  not  yet  apparent  what  we  shall  be:  [but] 
we  know  that,  when  He  shall  appear,  we  shall 
be  like  Him."  How?  "  For  we  shall  see 
Him  as  He  is."4  A  great  promise,  but  the 
reward  of  faith.  You  seek  the  reward;  then 
let  the  work  precede.  If  you  believe,  ask 
for  the  reward  of  faith;  but  if  you  believe 
not,  with  what  face  can  you  seek  the  reward 
of  faith?  "If"  then  "ye  continue  in  my 
word,  ye  shall  be  my  disciples  indeed,"  that 
ye  may  behold  the  very  truth  as  it  is,  not 
through  sounding  words,  but  in  dazzling  light, 
wherewith  He  shall  satisfy5  us:  as  we  read 
in  the  psalm,  "  The  light  of  Thy  countenance 
is  impressed  upon  us."6  We  are  God's 
money:  we  have  wandered  away  as  coin  from 
the  treasury.  The  impression  that  was 
stamped  upon  us  has  been  rubbed  out  by  our 
wandering.  He  has  come  to  refashion,  for 
He  it  was  that  fashioned  us  at  first;  and  He 
is  Himself  asking  for  His  money,  as  Caesar 
for  his.  Therefore  He  says,  "  Render  unto 
Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's,  and  unto 
God  the  things  that  are  God's:"7  to  Caesar 
his  money,  to  God  yourselves.  And  then 
shall  the  truth  be  reproduced  in  us. 

10.  What  shall  I  say  to  your  Charity  ?  Oh 
that  our  hearts  were  in  some  measure  z.spiring 
after  that  ineffable  glory  !  Oh  that  we  were 
passing  our  pilgrimage  in  sighs,  and  loving  not 
the  world,  and  continually  pushing  onwards 
with  pious  minds  to  Him  who  hath  called  us  ! 
Longing  is  the  very  bosom  of  the  heart.  We 
shall  attain,  if  with  all  our  power  we  give  way 
to  our  longing.  Such  in  our  behalf  is  the  ob 
ject  of  the  divine  Scriptures,  of  the  assembling 
of  the  people,  of  the  celebration  of  the  sacra- 


3  Chap.  xiv.  21.  •«  i 

5  (  )r  "  iinprt-ss  ;"    siitiarrrit,  or  signa 

6  Ps.  iv.  6:   AUK-,  with  Vul.v.-..  tr.^-1.,1, 

and  indio.,  instead  of  active  and  imperat., 

:  M.ut.  .\.\ii.  21. 


John  lii    2. 
f  -/.'. 
""  I'  —  I  : 

av  1  .i._t    \  i  r-..  —'!'«. 


Tk  v  i  \  1 1    \ I  I   | 


ON    I  UK  GOSPEL  OI   ST,  JOHN. 


229 


ments,  of  holy  baptism,  of  singing  (iod's 
.  and  of  this  our  own  exposition, — that 
this  lon^in-  may  not  only  be  implanted  and 
germinate,  l>nt  also  expand  to  such  a  measure 
of  capacity  as  to  be  tit  to  take  in  what  eye 
hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  nor  hath  en 
tered  into  the  heart  of  man.  Hut  love  with 
me.  He  who  loves  God  is  not  much  in  love 
with  money.  And  I  have  but  touched  on  this 
infirmity,  not  venturing  to  say,  He  loves  not 
money  at  all,  but,  He  loves  not  money  much; 
as  if  money  were  to  be  loved,  but  not  in  a 
great  degree.  Oh,  were  we  loving  God 
worthily,  we  should  have  no  love  at  all  for 
money  !  Money  then  will  be  thy  means  of 
pilgrimage,  not  the  stimulant  of  lust;  some 
thing  to  use  for  necessity,  not  to  joy  over  as  a 
means  of  delight.  Love  God,  if  He  has 
wrought  in  thee  somewhat  of  that  which  thou 
hearest  and  praisest.  Use  the  world:  let  not 
the  world  hold  thee  captive.  Thou  art  pass 
ing  on  the  journey  thou  hast  begun;  thou 
hast  come,  again  to  depart,  not  to  abide. 
Thou  art  passing  on  thy  journey,  and  this  life 
is  but  a  wayside  inn.  Use  money  as  the 
traveller  at  an  inn  uses  table,  cup,  pitcher, 
and  couch,  with  the  purpose  not  of  remaining, 
but  of  leaving  them  behind.  If  such  you 
would  be,  you,  who  can  stir  up  your  hearts 
and  hear  me;  if  such  you  would  be,  you  will 
attain  to  His  promises.  It  is  not  too  much 
for  your  strength,  for  mighty  is  the  hand  of 
Him  who  hath  called  you.  He  hath  called 


you.  Call  upon  Him,  say  to  Him,  Tnou  hast 
called  ns,  we  call  upon  Thee;  see,  we  have 
heard  Thee  calling  ns,  hear  us  calling  upon 
Thee:  lead  ns  whither  Thou  liast  promised; 
perfect  what  Thou  hast  begun;  forsake  not 
Thine  own  gifts;  leave  not  Thine  own  field; 
let  Thy  tender  shoots  yet  be  gathered  into 
Thy  barn.  Temptations  abound  in  the  world, 
but  greater  is  He  who  made  the  world. 
Temptations  abound,  but  he  fails  not  whose 
hope  reposes  in  Him  in  whom  there  is  no  de 
ficiency. 

n.  I  have  been  exhorting  you,  brethren, 
to  this  in  such  words,  because  the  freedom  of 
which  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  speaks  belongs 
not  to  this  present  time.  Look  at  what  He 
added:  "Ye  shall  be  my  disciples  indeed; 
and  ye  shall  know  the  truth,  and  the  truth 
shall  set  you  free.''  What  means  that — 
"  shall  set  you  free  "  ?  It  shall  make  you 
I  freemen.  In  a  word,  the  carnal,  and  fleshly- 
:  minded  Jews — not  those  who  had  believed, 
|  but  those  in  the  crowd  who  believed  not — 
i  thought  that  an  injury  was  done  them,  be- 
I cause  He  said  to  them,  "The  truth  shall 
I  make  you  free."  They  were  indignant  at 
j  being  designated  as  slaves.  And  slaves  truly 
t  they  were;  and  He  explains  to  them  what 
slavery  it  is,  and  what  is  that  future  freedom 
which  is  promised  by  Himself.  But  of  this 
liberty  and  of  that  slavery  it  were  too  long  to 
j  speak  to-day. 


TRACTATE  XLI. 

CHAPTER   VIII.  31-36. 


i.  OF  what  follows  of  the  previous  lesson, 
and  has  been  read  publicly  to  us  to-day  from 
the  holy  Gospel,  I  then  deferred  speaking, 
because  I  had  already  said  much,  and  of  that 
liberty  into  which  the  grace  of  the  Saviour 
calieth  us  it  was  needful  to  treat  in  no  cursory 
or  negligent  way.  Of  this,  by  the  Lord's 
help,  we  purjx>se  speaking  to  you  to-day. 
For  those  to  whom  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
was  speaking  were  Jews,  in  a  large  measure 
indeed  His  enemies,  but  also  in  some  meas 
ure  already  become,  and  yet  to  be,  His 
friends;  for  some  He  saw  there,  as  we  have 
already  said,  who  should  yet  believe  after  His 
passion.  Looking  to  these,  He  had  said, 
"When  ye  have  lifted  up  the  Sun  of  man, 


then  shall  ye  know  that  I  am  [He]."  '  There 
also  were  those  who,  when  He  so  spake, 
straightway  believed.  To  them  He  spake 
what  we  have  heard  to-day:  "  Then  said  Jesus 
to  those  Jews  who  believed  on  Him,  If  ye 
continue  in  my  word,  ye  shall  be  my  disciples 
indeed."  By  continuing  ye  shall  be  so;  for 
as  now  ye  are  believers,  by  so  continuing  ye 
shall  be  beholders.  Hence  there  follows, 
"And  ye  shall  know  the  truth."  The  truth 
is  unchangeable.  The  truth  is  bread,  which 
refreshes  our  minds  and  fails  not;  changes 
the  eater,  and  is  not  itself  changed  into  the 
eater.  The  truth  itself  is  the  Word  of  God. 


Chap.  viii.  .-3. 


TIIK  WORKS  OF  ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


[Ti:.\-   PATE    XI   I. 


God  with  God,  the  only-begotten  Son.  This 
Truth  \vas  tor  our  sake  clothed  with  flesh,  that 
He  might  be  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  the 
prophecy  fulfilled,  "  Truth  has  sprung  from 
the  earth. ' ' '  This  Truth  then,  when  speaking 
to  the  Jews,  lay  hid  in  the  flesh.  But  He  lay 
hid  not  in  order  to  be  denied,  but  to  be  de 
ferred  [in  His  manifestation];  to  bedeferred, 
in  order  to  suffer  in  the  flesh;  and  to  suffer 
in  the  flesh,  in  order  that  flesh  might  be 
redeemed  from  sin.  And  so  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  standing  full  in  sight  as  regards  the 
infirmity  of  flesh,  but  hid  as  regards  the  ma 
jesty  of  Godhead,  said  to  those  who  had  be 
lieved  on  Him,  when  He  so  spake,  "If  ye 
continue  in  my  word,  ye  shall  be  my  disciples 
indeed."  For  he  that  endureth  to  the  end 
shall  be  saved.2  "And  ye  shall  know  the 
truth,"  which  now  is  hid  from  you,  and 
speaks  to  you.  "And  the  truth  shall  free 
you."  This  word,  liber abit  [shall  free],  the 
Lord  hath  taken  from  libertas  [freedom]. 
For  liberal  [frees,  delivers]  is  properly  noth 
ing  else  but  liberum  facit  [makes  free].  As 
salvat  [he  saves]  is  nothing  else  but  salvittn 
facit  [he  makes  safe];  as  he  heals  is  nothing 
else  but  he  makes  whole;  he  enriches  is  nothing 
else  but  he  makes  rich;  so  liberat  [he  frees]  is 
nothing  else  but  liberum  facit  [he  makes  free]. 
This  is  clearer  in  the  Greek  word.3  For  in 
Latin  usage  we  commonly  say  that  a  man  is 
delivered  (liber art),  in  regard  not  to  liberty, 
but  only  to  safety,  just  as  one  is  said  to  be 
delivered  from  some  infirmity.  So  is  it  said 
customarily,  but  not  properly.  But  the  Lord 
made  such  use  of  this  word  in  saying,  "And 
the  truth  shall  make  you  free  (liber abit},'" 
that  in  the  Greek  tongue  no  one  could  doubt 
that  He  spake  of  freedom. 

2.  In  short,  the  Jews  also  so  understood 
and  "answered  Him;''  not  those  who  had 
already  believed,  but  those  in  that  crowd  who 
were  not  yet  believers.  "  They  answered 
Him,  We  are  Abraham's  seed,  and  were  never 
in  bondage  to  any  man:  how  sayest  thoti,  Ye 
shall  be  free  ?  "  But  the  Lord  had  not  said, 
"Ye  shall  be  free,"  but,  "The  truth  shall 
make  you  free."  That  word,  however,  they, 
because,  as  I  have  said,  it  is  clearly  so  in  the 
Greek,  understood  as  pointing  only  to  free 
dom,  and  puffed  themselves  up  as  Abraham's 
seed,  and  said,  "  We  are  Abraham's  seed,  and 
were  never  in  bondage  to  any  man:  ho\v  say- 
est  thou,  Ye  shall  be  free?"  O  inflated 
skin  !  such  is  not  magnanimity,  but  windy 
swelling.  For  even  as  regards  freedom  in 
this  life,  how  was  that  the  truth  when  you 
said,  "  We  were  never  in  bondage  to  any 


3  t  At  l't't  jJUKTll. 


man"?  Was  not  Joseph  sold?4  Were  not 
the  holy  prophets  led  into  captivity?5  And 
again,  did  not  that  very  nation,  when  making 
bricks  in  Egypt,  also  serve  hard  rulers,  not 
only  in  gold  and  silver,  but  also  in  clay  ?6  If 
you  \vere  never  in  bondage  to  any  man.  un 
grateful  people,  why  is  it  that  God  is  contin 
ually  reminding  you  that  He  delivered  you 
from  the  house  of  bondage  ?7  Or  mean  you, 
perchance,  that  your  fathers  were  in  bondage, 
but  you  who  speak  were  never  in  bondage  to 
any  man  ?  How  then  were  you  now  paying 
tribute  to  the  Romans,  out  of  which  also  you 
formed  a  trap  for  the  Truth  Himself,  as  if  to 
ensnare  Him,  when  you  said,  "  Is  it  lawful  to 
give  tribute  to  Caesar  ? "  in  order  that,  had 
He  said.  It  is  lawful,  you  might  fasten  on  Him 
as  one  ill-disposed  to  the  liberty  of  Abraham's 
seed;  and  if  He  said,  It  is  not  lawful,  you 
might  slander  Him  before  the  kings  of  the 
earth,  as  forbidding  the  payment  of  tribute  to 
such  ?  Deservedly  were  you  defeated  on 
producing  the  money,  and  compelled  your 
selves  to  concur  in  your  own  capture.  For 
there  it  was  told  you,  "  Render  to  Caesar  the 
things  that  are  Caesar's,  and  to  God  the 
things  that  are  God's,"  after  your  own  reply, 
that  the  money-piece  bore  the  image  of 
Caesar.8  For  as  Caesar  looks  for  his  own  im 
age  on  the  coin,  so  God  looks  for  His  in  man. 
Thus,  then,  did  He  answer  the  Jews.  I  am 
moved,  brethren,  by  the  hollow  pride  of  men, 
because  even  of  that  very  freedom  of  theirs, 
which  they  understood  carnally,  they  lied 
when  they  said,  "We  were  never  in  bondage 
to  any  man." 

3.  But  to  the  Lord's  own  answer,  let  us 
give  better  and  more  earnest  heed,  lest  we 
ourselves  be  also  found  bondmen.  For 
"Jesus  answered  them,  Verily,  verily,  I  say 
unto  you,  that  every  one  who  committeth  sin 
is  the  servant  of  sin."  He  is  the  servant — 
would  that  it  were  of  man,  and  not  of  sin  ! 
Who  will  not  tremble  at  such  words?  The 
Lord  our  God  grant  us,  that  is,  both  you  and 
me,  that  I  may  speak  in  fitting  terms  of  this 
freedom  to  be  sought,  and  of  that  bondage 
to  be  avoided.  "Amen,  amen  [verily,  ver 
ily],  I  say  unto  you."  The  Truth  speaks: 
and  in  what  sense  does  the  Lord  our  God 
claim  it  as  His  to  say,  "Amen,  amen,  I  say 
unto  you  "  ?  His  charge  is  weighty  in  so  an 
nouncing  it.  In  some  sort,  if  lawful  to  be 
said,  His  form  of  swearing  is,  "Amen,  amen, 
I  s;iy  unto  you."  Amen  in  a  way  may  be  in 
terpreted,  [It  is]  true  [truly,  verily];  and  yet 
it  is  not  interpreted,  though  it  might  have 

4  (Icn.  xxxvii.  28.         5  2  Kini;-  xxiv.  (I  /«-k.  • 

I   \    i.  14.  7  Ex.  xiii.  i  ;  iH-ut.  v.  6,  etc. 

8  Matt.  xxii.  15-21. 


ON   i  in;  <;osi'i;i.  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


231 


been  said,  What  is  true  [verily]  I  say  unto 
you.  Neither  the  Greek  translator  nor  the 
Latin  Iris  dared  to  do  so;  lor  this  word  A;n,-n  is 
neither  Greek  nor  Latin,  but  Hebrew.  So  it 
has  remained  without  interpretation,  to  pn>- 
sess  honor  as  the  covering  of  something  hid- 
den;  not  in  order  to  be  disowned,  but  that  it 
might  not,  as  a  thing  laid  bare  to  the  eye,  fall 
into  disrepute.  And  yet  it  is  not  once,  but 
twice  uttered  by  the  Lord,  "Amen,  amen,  I 
say  unto  you."  And  now  learn  from  the 
very  doubling,  how  much  was  implied  in  the 
charge  before  us. 

4.  What,  then,  is  the  charge  given  ?  Ver 
ily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  saith  the  Truth, 
who  surely,  though  He  had  not  said,  Verily, 
I  say,  could  not  possibly  lie.  Yet  [thereby] 
He  impresses,  inculcates  His  charge,  arouses 
in  a  way  the  sleeping,  makes  them  attentive, 
and  would  not  be  contemned.  What  does 
He  say  ?  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you, 
that  every  one  who  committeth  sin  is  the  ser 
vant  of  sin."  Miserable  slavery  !  Men  fre 
quently,  when  they  suffer  under  wicked  mas 
ters,  demand  to  get  themselves  sold,  not 
seeking  to  be  without  a  master,  but  at  all 
events  to  change  him.  What  can  the  servant 
of  sin  do  ?  To  whom  can  he  make  his  de 
mand  ?  To  whom  apply  for  redress  ?  Of 
whom  require  himself  to  be  sold  ?  And  then 
at  times  a  man's  slave,  worn  out  by  the  com 
mands  of  an  unfeeling  master,  finds  rest  in 
flight.  Whither  can  the  servant  of  sin  flee? 
Himself  he  carries  with  him  wherever  he  flees. 
An  evil  conscience  flees  not  from  itself;  it 
has  no  place  to  go  to;  it  follows  itself.  Yen, 
he  cannot  withdraw  from  himself,  for  the  sin 
he  commits  is  within.  He  has  committed  sin 
to  obtain  some  bodily  pleasure.  The  pleas 
ure  passes  away;  the  sin  remains.  What  de 
lighted  is  gone;  the  sting  has  remained  be 
hind.  Evil  bondage  !  Sometimes  men  flee 
to  the  Church,  and  we  generally  permit  them, 
uninstructed  as  they  are— men,  wishing  to  be 
rid  of  their  master,  who  are  unwilling  to  be 
rid  of  their  sins.  But  sometimes  also  those 
subjected  to  an  unlawful  and  wicked  yoke 
flee  for  refuge  to  the  Church;  for,  though 
free-born  men,  they  are  retained  in  bondage: 
and  an  appeal  is  made  to  the  bishop.  And 
unless  he  care  to  put  forth  every  effort  to 
save  free -birth  from  oppression,  he  is  ac 
counted  unmerciful.  Let  us  all  flee  to  Christ, 
and  appeal  against  sin  to  God  as  our  deliv 
erer.  Let  us  seek  to  get  ourselves  sold,  that 
we  may  be  redeemed  by  His  blood.  For  the 
Lord  says,  "Ye  were  sold  for  nought,  and 
ye  shall  be  redeemed  without  money."  ' 

'  Isa.  iii.  3. 


Without  price,  that  i*.  <>i    your  own;  I.' 
of  mine.      So  saith  the  Lord :   for  He  II 
has  [iaid  the  price,  not  in  money,  but  His  own 
blood.      Otherwise    we     had     remained    both 
bondmen  and  indigent. 

5.  From  this  bondage,  then,  we  are  set  free 
by  the  Lord  alone.  He  who  had  it  not, 
Himself  delivers  us  from  it;  for  He  alone 
came  without  sin  in  the  flesh.  For  the  little 
ones  whom  you  see  carried  in  their  mothers' 
hands  cannot  yet  walk,  and  are  already  in 
fetters;  for  they  have  received  from  Adam 
what  they  are  loosened  from  by  Christ.  To 
them  also,  when  baptized,  pertains  tnat  grace 
which  is  promised  by  the  Lord;  for  He  only 
can  deliver  from  sin  who  came  without  sin, 
and  was  made  a  sacrifice  for  sin.  For  you 
heard  when  the  apostle  was  read:  "We  are 
ambassadors,"  he  says,  "  for  Christ,  as 

!  though  God  were  exhorting  you  by  us;  we 
beseech  you  in  Christ's  stead,'' — that  is,  as 
if  Christ  were  beseeching  you,  and  for  what  ? 
— ' '  to  be  reconciled  unto  God. "  If  the  apos 
tle  exhorts  and  beseeches  us  to  be  reconciled 
unto  God,  then  were  we  enemies  to  God. 
For  no  one  is  reconciled  unless  from  a  state 
of  enmity.  And  we  have  become  enemies  not 

|  by  nature,  but  by  sin.  From  the  same  source 
are  we  the  servants  of  sin,  that  we  are  the 
enemies  of  God.  God  has  no  enemies  in  a 
state  of  freedom.  They  must  be  slaves;  and 
slaves  will  they  remain  unless  delivered  by 
Him  to  whom  they  wished  by  their  sins  to  be 
enemies.  Therefore,  says  he,  "  We  beseech 
you  in  Christ's  stead  to  be  reconciled  unto 
God."  But  how  are  we  reconciled,  save  by 
the  removal  of  that  which  separates  between 
us  and  Himself?  For  He  says  by  the  pro 
phet,  "  He  hath  not  made  the  ear  heavy  that 
it  should  not  hear;  but  your  iniquities  have 
separated  between  you  and  your  God."  * 
And  so,  then,  we  are  not  reconciled,  unless 
that  which  is  in  the  midst  is  taken  away,  and 
something  else  is  put  in  its  place.  For  there 
is  a  separating  medium,  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  there  is  a  reconciling  Mediator.  The 
separating  medium  is  sin,  the  reconciling 
Mediator  is  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ:  "  For 
there  is  one  God  and  Mediator  between  God 
and  men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus."3  To  take 
then  away  the  separating  wall,  which  is  sin, 
that  Mediator  has  come,  and  the  priest  has 
Himself  become  the  sacrifice.  And  because 
He  was  made  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  offering  Him 
self  as  a  whole  burnt-offering  on  the  cross  of 
His  passion,  the  apostle,  after  saying,  "We 
beseech  yon  in  Christ's  sk-nd  to  be  reconciled 
unto  God," — as  if  we  had  said.  How  shall 


Isa.  lix.  i,  2. 


•nil-;  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGT  STIN. 


[TKACTAIE    XI. I. 


we  be  able  to  be  reconciled  ? — goes  on  to  say, 
"He  hath  made  Him,"  that  is,  Christ  Him 
self,  "  who  knew  no  sin,  [to  be]  sin  for  us, 
that  \ve  may  be  the  righteousness  of  God  in 
Him:"  l  "  Him,"  he  says,  Christ  Himself  our 
God,  "who  knew  no  sin."  For  He  came  in 
the  flesh,  that  is,  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,2 
but  not  in  sinful  flesh,  because  He  had  no 
sin  at  all;  and  therefore  became  a  true  sacri 
fice  for  sin,  because  He  Himself  had  no  sin. 

6.  But  perhaps,  through  some  special  per 
ception  of  my  own,  I  have  said  that  sin  is  a 
sacrifice  for  sin.     Let  those  who  have  read  it 
be  free  to  acknowledge  it;  let  not  those  who 
have  not  read  it  be  backward;  let  them  not,  I 
say,  be  backward  to  read,  that  they  may  be 
truthful    in   judging.      For  when   God    gave 
commandment  about  the  offering  of  sacrifices 
for  sin,  in  which  sacrifices  there  was  no  expi 
ation  of  sins,  but  the  shadow  of   things  to 
come,  the  self-same  sacrifices,  the  self-same 
offerings,  the  self-same  victims,  the  self-same 
animals,  which  were  brought  forward  to  be 
slain  for  sins,  and  in  whose  blood  that  [true] 
blood  was  prefigured,  are  themselves  called 
sins3  by  the  law;  and  that  to  such  an  extent 
that  in  certain  passages  it  is  written  in  these 
terms,  that  the  priests,  when  about  to  sacri 
fice,  were  to  lay  their  hands  on  the  head  of 
the  sin,  that  is,  on  the  head  of  the  victim 
about  to  be    sacrificed    for  sin.      Such   sin, 
then,  that  is,  such  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  was  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  made,  "  who  knew  no  sin." 

7.  With  efficacious  merit  does  He  deliver 
from  this  bondage  of  sin,  who  saith  in  the 
psalms:    "  I   am  become  as  a  man   without 
help,  free  among  the  dead."4     For  He  only 
was  free,  because  He  had  no  sin.     For  He 
Himself  says  in    the  Gospel,   "  Behold,  the 
prince  of  this  world  cometh,"  meaning  the 
devil  about  to  come  in  the  persons  of  the  per 
secuting    Jews; — "behold,"    He    says,   "he 
cometh,  and  shall  find  nothing  in  me."5    Not 
as  he  found  some  measure  of  sin  in  those 
whom  he  also  slew  as  righteous;  in  me  he 
shall  find  nothing.     And  just  as  if  He  were 
asked,    If   he    shall    find   nothing    in    Thee, 
wherefore  will    he  slay  Thee  ?      He   further 
said,  "  But  that  all  may  know  that  I  do  the 
will  of  my  Father,  rise  and  let  us  go  hence." 
I  do  not,  He  says,  pay  the  penalty  of  death 
as  a  necessity  of  my  sinfulness;  but  in  the 
death  I  die,  I  do  the  will  of  my  Father.     And 
in  this,  I  am  doing  rather  than  enduring  it; 
for,  were  I  unwilling,  I  should  not  have  had 

«  2  Cor.  v.  30,  21.  »  Rom.  viii.  3. 

1  That  is,  "  sin-offerings."     I'fccata  is  here  used  to  correspond 
to  the  Hebrew  C^N  :lnct  TXUn,    which   signify,  the  one,  both 

trespass  and  trespass-offering,  and   the  other,  sin  and  sin-Ber 
ing:  indicating  the  thoroughness  of  the  substitutionary  idea.— TR. 
4  Ps.  Ixxxviii.  4,  5.  5  Chap.  xiv.  30,  31. 


the  suffering  to  endure.  You  have  Him  say 
ing  in  another  place,  "  I  have  power  to  lay 
down  my  life,  and  I  have  power  to  take  it  up 


again. 


Here  surely  is  one  "  free  among 


the  dead." 

8.  Since,  then,  every  one  that  committeth 
sin  is  the  servant  of  sin,  listen  to  what  is  our 
hope  of  liberty.  "And  the  servant,"  He 
says,  "  abideth  not  in  the  house  for  ever." 
The  church  is  the  house,  the  servant  is  the 
sinner.  Many  sinners  enter  the  church. 
Accordingly  He  has  not  said,  "  The  servant  " 
is  not  in  the  house,  but  "abideth  not  in  the 
house  for  ever."  If,  then,  there  shall  be  no 
servant  there,  who  will  be  there  ?  For  "when" 
as  the  Scripture  speaketh,  "the  righteous 
king  sitteth  on  the  throne,  who  will  boast  of 
having  a  clean  heart  ?  or  who  will  boast  that 
he  is  pure  from  his  sin  ?"  7  He  has  greatly 
alarmed  us,  my  brethren,  by  saying,  "  The 
servant  abideth  not  in  the  house  for  ever." 
But  He  further  adds,  "  But  the  Son  abideth 
ever/'  Will  Christ,  then,  be  alone  in  His 
house  ?  Will  no  people  remain  at  His  side  ? 
Whose  head  will  He  be,  if  there  shall  be  no 
body  ?  Or  is  the  Son  all  this,  both  the  head 
and  the  body  ?  For  it  is  not  without  cause 
that  He  has  inspired  both  terror  and  hope: 
terror,  in  order  that  we  should  not  love  sin; 
and  hope,  that  we  should  not  be  distrustful  of 
the  remission  of  sin.  "  Every  one,"  He  says, 
"that  committeth  sin  is  the  servant  of  sin. 
And  the  servant  abideth  not  in  the  house 
for  ever."  What  hope,  then,  have  we.  who 
are  not  without  sin  ?  Listen  to  thy  hope: 
"  The  Son  abideth  for  ever.  If  the  Son, 
therefore,  shall  make  you  free,  then  shall  ye 
be  free  indeed."  Our  hope  is  this,  brethren, 
to  be  made  free  by  the  free  One;  and  that, 
in  setting  us  free,  He  may  make  us  His  ser 
vants.  For  we  were  the  servants  of  lust;  but 
being  set  free,  we  are  made  the  servants  of 
love.  This  also  the  apostle  says:  "  For, 
brethren,  ye  have  been  called  unto  liberty; 
only  use  not  liberty  for  an  occasion  to  the 
flesh,  but  by  love  serve  one  another."8  Let 
not  then  the  Christian  say,  I  am  free;  I  have 
been  called  unto  liberty:  I  was  a  slave,  but 
have  been  redeemed,  and  by  my  very  redemp 
tion  have  been  made  free,  I  shall  do  what  I 
please:  no  one  may  balk  me  of  my  will,  if 
I  am  free.  But  if  thou  committest  sin  with 
such  a  will,  thou  art  the  servant  of  sin.  Do 
not  then  abuse  your  liberty  for  freedom  in 
sinning,  but  use  it  for  the  purpose  of  sinning 
not.  For  only  if  thy  will  is  pious,  will  it  be 
free.  Thou  wilt  be  free,  if  thou  art  a  servant 
still,— free  from  sin,  the  servant  of  righteous- 


•Chap.  x. 


.    \  I  1. 1 


ON    l  IN.  GOSPEL  ol    ST.  JOHN. 


.<-re  the 

servants  of  sin,  ye  were  tree  from  ri^uteous- 
ness.  I'.ut  now,  being  made  free  from  sin, 
and  become  servants  to  God,  ye  have  your 
fruit  unto  liolincss.  and  the  end  everlasting 
life."'  Let  us  be  striving  after  the  latter, 
and  he  doing  tiie  other. 

9.  Tne  first  stage  of  liberty  is  to  he  free 
from  crimes.  Give  heed,  my  brethren,  give 
heed,  that  I  may  not  by  any  means  mislead 
your  understanding  as  to  the  nature  of  that 
liberty  at  present,  and  what  it  will  be.  Sift 
any  one  soever  of  the  highest  integrity  in  this 
life,  and  however  worthy  he  may  already  be 
of  the  name  of  upright,  yet  is  he  not  without 
sin.  Listen  to  Saint  John  himself,  the  author 
of  the  Gospel  before  us,  when  he  says  in  his 
epistle,  "If  we  say  that  we  have  no  sin,  we 
deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us."  * 
He  alone  could  say  this  who  was  "  free  among 
the  dead:"  of  Him  only  could  it  be  said,  who 
knew  no  sin.  It  could  be  said  only  of  Him, 
for  He  also  "was  in  all  points  tempted  like 
as  we  are,  yet  without  sin."  3  He  alone  could 
say,  "  Behold,  the  prince  of  this  world  cometh, 
and  shall  find  nothing  in  me."  Sift  any  one 
else,  who  is  accounted  righteous,  yet  is  he 
not  in  all  respects  without  sin;  not  even  such 
as  was  Job,  to  whom  the  Lord  bore  such  testi 
mony,  that  the  devil  was  filled  with  envy,  and 
demanded  that  he  should  be  tempted,  and 
was  himself  defeated  in  the  temptation,  to  the 
end  that  Job  might  be  proved.4  And  he  was 
proved  for  this  reason,  not  that  the  certainty 
of  his  carrying  off  the  conqueror's  wreath 
was  unknown  to  God,  but  that  he  might  be 
come  known  as  an  object  of  imitation  to 
others.  And  what  says  Job  himself?  "  For 
who  is  clean?  not  even  the  infant  whose  life 
is  but  a  day's  span  upon  the  earth.''5  But  it 
is  plain  that  many  are  called  righteous  with 
out  opposition,  because  the  term  is  under 
stood  as  meaning,  free  from  crime;  for  in 
human  affairs  there  is  no  just  ground  of  com 
plaint  attaching  to  those  who  are  free  from 
criminal  conduct.  But  crime  is  grievous  sin, 
deserving  in  the  highest  measure  to  be  de 
nounced  and  condemned.  Not,  however, 
that  (iod  condemns  certain  sins,  and  justifies 
and  praises  certain  others.  He  approves  of 
none.  He  hates  them  all.  As  the  physician 
dislikes  the  ailment  of  the  .Tiling,  and  works 
by  his  healing  measures  to  get  the  ailment 
removed  and  the  ailing  relieved;  so  God  by 
his  grace  worketh  in  us,  that  sin  may  be  con 
sumed,  and  man  made  free.  But  when,  you 
will  be  saying,  is  it  consumed  ?  If  it  is  les- 


'  Rom.  vi.  20,  21. 

3  Heb.  iv.  15. 

5  Jobxiv.  4,  5;  ;i..(.r<Iiiu-  to  .treading of 


«Job 

f  the  S 


,  why  is  it  not  consumed  ?     That  i 
ing  less  in  the  life  of  those  who  are  advancing 
onwards,    which   is  consumed     in   the   lile   ot 
those  who  have  attained  to  perfection. 

10.  The  first  stage  of  liberty,  then,  is  to  be 
free  from  crimes  [sinful  conduct].     And  so 
the  Apostle  Paul,  when  he  determined  on  tiie 
ordination  of  either  elders  or  deacons,  or  who 
ever  was  to  be  ordained  to  the  superintend 
ence  of  the  Church,  says  not,  If  any  one  is 
without  sin;  for  had   he  said  so,  every  one 
would  be  rejected  as  unfit,  none  would  be  or 
dained:  but  he  says,  "  If  any  one  is  without 
crime"   [K.V.    blame],6    such    as,    murder, 
adultery,     any    uncleanness    of    fornication, 
theft,  fraud,  sacrilege,  and  others  of  that  sort. 
When  a  man  has  begun  to  be  free  from  these 
(and  every  Christian  man  ought  to  be  so), 
he  begins  to  raise  his  head  to  liberty;  but  that 
is  liberty  begun,  not  completed.     Why,  says 
some  one,  is  it  not  completed  liberty  ?     Be 
cause,  "  I   see  another  law  in  my  members 
warring  against  the  law  of  my  mind;"     "  for 
what  I  would,"  he  says,  *'  that  do  I  not;  but 
what  I  hate,  that  do  I."7     "The  flesh,"  he 
says,    "  lusteth  against   the    spirit,    and    the 
spirit  against  the  flesh;  so  that  ye  do  not  the 
things  that  ye  would."  3     In  part  liberty,  in 
part  bondage:  not  yet  entire,  not  yet  pure, 
not  yet  full  liberty,  because  not  yet  eternity. 
For  we  have  still  infirmity  in  part,  in  part  we 
have  attained  to  liberty.     Whatever  has  been 
our  sin,  was  previously  wiped  out  in  baptism. 
But  because  all  our  iniquity  has  been  blotted 
out,  has  there  remained    no    infirmity  ?      If 
there  had  not,  we  should  be  living  here  without 
sin.     Yet  who  would  venture  to  say  so,  but 
the  proud,  but  the  man  unworthy  of  the  De 
liverer's  mercy,  but  he  who  wishes  to  be  self- 
deceived,  and  who  is  destitute  of  the  truth  ? 
Hence,  from  the  fact  that  some  infirmity  re 
mains,  I  venture  to  say  that,  in  what  measure 
we  serve  God,  we  are  free;  in  what  measure 
we  serve  the  law  of  sin,  we  are  still  in  bon 
dage.     Hence  says  the  apostle,  what  we  be 
gan  to  say,  "  I  delight  in  the  law  of  God  after 
the  inward  man."9     Here  then  it  is,  wherein 
we  are  free,  wherein  we  delight  in  the  law  of 
God;  for  liberty  has  joy.      For  as  long  as  it 
is    from  fear  that   thou  doest  what  is  right, 
God  is  no  delight  to  thee.     Find  thy  delight 
in  Him,  and  thou  art  free.     Fear  not  punish 
ment,  but  love  righteousness.     Art  thou  not 
yet  able  to  love   righteousness?     Fear  even 
punishment,  that  thou   mayest  attain  to  the 
love  of  righteousness. 

11.  In  the  measure  then   s[x>ken  of  above, 
he  felt  himself  to  be  alreadv  tree,  and  there- 


;.,!.  x.   ,;. 


-  R.-m     I 

•  R..III.     .  : 


234 


THE  WORKS  01    ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATK  XII. 


fore  said,  "  I  delight  in  the  law  of  God  after 
the  inward  man."  I  delight  in  the  law,  I 
delight  in  its  requirements,  I  delight  in  right 
eousness  itself.  "  But  I  see  another  law  in 
my  members" — this  infirmity  which  remains 
— "warring  against  the  law  of  my  mind,  and 
bringing  me  into  captivity  to  the  law  of  sin, 
which  is  in  my  members."  On  this  side  he 
feels  his  captivity,  where  righteousness  has 
not  been  perfected;  for  where  he  delights  in 
the  law  of  God,  he  is  not  the  captive  but  the 
friend  of  the  law;  and  therefore  free,  because 
a  friend.  What  then  is  to  be  done  with  that 
which  so  remains  ?  What,  but  to  look  to  Him 
who  has  said,  "If  the  Son  shall  make  you 
free,  then  shall  ye  be  free  indeed  "  ?  Indeed 
he  also  who  thus  spake  so  looked  to  Him: 
"O  wretched  man  that  I  am,''  he  says, 
"  who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this 
death  ?  I  thank  God,  through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord."  Therefore  "if  the  Son  shall 
make  you  free,  ye  shall  be  free  indeed.'1 
And  then  he  concluded  thus:  "  So  then,  with 
the  mind  I  myself  serve  the  law  of  God;  but 
with  the  flesh  the  law  of  sin."  '  1  myself,  he 
says;  for  there  are  not  two  of  us  contrary  to 
each  other,  coming  from  different  origins; 
but  "  with  the  mind  I  myself  serve  the  law  of 
God,  and  with  the  flesh  the  law  of  sin,"  so 
long  as  languor  struggles  against  salvation. 
12.  But  if  with  the  flesh  thou  servest  the 
law  of  sin,  do  as  the  apostle  himself  says: 
"  Let  not  sin  therefore  reign  in  your  mortal 
body,  that  ye  should  obey  it  in  the  lust  there 
of:  neither  yield  ye  your  members  as  weapons 
of  unrighteousness  unto  sin.  "a  He  says  not, 
Let  it  not  be;  but,  "Let  it  not  reign."  So 
long  as  sin  must  be  in  thy  members,  let  its 
reigning  power  at  least  be  taken  away,  let  not 
its  demands  be  obeyed.  Does  anger  rise? 
Yield  not  up  thy  tongue  to  anger  for  the  pur 
pose  of  evil-speaking;  yield  not  up  thy  hand 
or  foot  to  anger  for  the  purpose  of  striking. 
That  irrational  anger  would  not  rise,  were 
there  no  sin  in  the  members.  But  take  away 
its  ruling  power;  let  it  have  no  weapons  where 
with  to  fight  against  thee.  Then  also  it  will 
learn  not  to  rise,  when  it  begins  to  find  the 
lack  of  weapons.  "  Yield  not  your  members 
as  weapons  of  unrighteousness  unto  sin," 
else  will  ye  be  entirely  captive,  and  there  will 
be  no  room  to  say,  "  With  the  mind  I  serve 
the  law  of  God."  For  if  the  mind  keep  pos 
session  of  the  weapons,  the  members  are  not 
roused  to  the  service  of  raging  sin.  Let  the 
inward  ruler  keep  possession  of  the  citadel, 
because  it  stands  there  under  a  greater  ruler, 
and  is  certainof  assistance.  Let  it  bridle  anger; 


Rom.  vii.  23-25. 


=  Rom.  vi.  12,  13. 


let  it  restrain  evil  desire.  There  is  within  some- 
thing  that  needs  bridling,  that  needs  restrain- 
ing,  that  needs  to  be  kept  in  command.  And 
what  did  that  righteous  man  wish,  who  with 
the  mind  was  serving  the  law  of  God,  but  that 
there  should  be  a  complete  deliverance  from 
that  which  needed  to  be  bridled  ?  And  this 
ought  every  one  to  be  striving  after  who  is 
aiming  at  perfection,  that  lust  itself  also,  no 
longer  receiving  the  obedience  of  the  mem 
bers,  may  every  day  be  lessened  in  the  ad 
vancing  pilgrim.  "To  will,"  he  says,  "is 
present  with  me;  but  not  so,  how  to  perfect 
that  which  is  good."  3  Has  he  said,  To  Jo 
good  is  not  present  with  me  ?  Had  he  said 
so,  hope  would  be  wanting.  He  does  not  say, 
To  do  is  not  present  with  me,  but,  "  To  per 
fect  is  not  present  with  me."  For  what  is 
the  perfecting  of  good,  but  the  elimination 
and  end  of  evil  ?  And  what  is  the  elimination 
of  evil,  but  what  the  law  says,  "  Thou  shall 
not  lust  [covet]  "  ?4  To  lust  not  at  all  is  the 
perfecting  of  good,  because  it  is  the  elimina 
ting  of  evil.  This  he  said,  "  To  perfect  that 
which  is  good  is  not  present  with  me,"  be 
cause  his  doing  could  not  get  the  length  of 
setting  him  free  from  lust.  He  labored  only 
to  bridle  lust,  to  refuse  consent  to  lust,  and 
not  to  yield  his  members  to  its  service.  "  To 
perfect,"  then,  he  says,  "that  which  is  good 
is  not  present  with  me."  I  cannot  fulfill  the 
commandment,  "  Thou  shalt  not  lust." 
What  then  is  needed?  To  fulfill  this:  "Go 
not  after  thy  lusts."  5  Do  this  meanwhile  so 
long  as  unlawful  lusts  are  present  in  thy  flesh; 
"  Go  not  after  thy  lusts."  Abide  in  the  ser 
vice  of  God,  in  the  liberty  of  Christ.  With 
the  mind  serve  the  law  of  thy  God.  Yield 
not  thyself  to  thy  lusts.  By  following  them, 
thou  addest  to  their  strength.  By  giving 
them  strength,  how  canst  thou  conquer,  when 
on  thine  own  strength  thou  art  nourishing  en 
emies  against  thyself? 

13.  What  then  is  that  full  and  perfect  lib 
erty  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  said,  "  If  the  Son 
shall  make  you  free,  then  shall  ye  be  free  in 
deed;"  and  when  shall  it  be  a  full  and  per 
fect  liberty?  When  enmities  are  no  more; 
when  "death,  the  last  enemy,  shall  be  des 
troyed."  "  For  tli is  corruptible  must  put  on 
incorruption,  and  this  mortal  must  put  on  im 
mortality. — And  when  this  mortal  shall  have 
put  on  immortality,  then  shall  be  brought  to 
pass  the  saying  that  is  written.  Death  is  swal 
lowed  up  in  victory.  O  death,  where  is  thy 
struggle  ?  "  6  What  is  this,  "  O  death,  where 
is  thy  struggle  "  ?  "  The  flesh  lusteth  against 
the  spirit,  and  the  spirit  against  the  flesh," 

3  Rom.  vii.  16.  «  Ex.  xx.  17.  5  F.cclus.  xviii.  30. 

6  i  Cor.  xv.  26,  53-55.     Struggle,  "  conttniio." 


Ml      XI.  II.] 


ON  'I  ill-;  GOSPEL  <>i    ST,  JOHN. 


235 


but  only  when  the  flesh  of  sin  was  in  vigor. 
"O  death,  where  is  [now]  thy  struggle?" 
Now  shall  we  live-,  no  more  shall  we  die,  in 
Him  who  died  for  us  anil  rose  again:  "that 
they,"  he  says,  "who  live,  should  no  longer 
live  unto  themselves,  but  unto  Him  who  died 
for  them  and  rose  again."  '  Let  us  be  pray 
ing,  as  those  who  are  wounded,  for  the  phy 
sician;  let  us  be  carried  into  the  inn  to  be 
healed.  For  it  is  He  who  promises  salvation, 
who  pitied  the  man  left  half-alive  on  the  road 
by  robbers.  He  poured  in  oil  and  wine,  He 


healed  tin-  wounds,  He  put  him  on  hi, 

•k  him  to  the  inn,  He  commended  him 
innkeeper's  care.  To  what  innkeeper  ? 
Perhaps  to  him  who  said,  "  \\Y  are  ambas^a- 
dors  for  Christ."  He  gave  also  two  pence 
to  pay  for  the  healing  of  the  wounded  man.* 
And  perhaps  these  are  the  two  command 
ments,  on  which  hang  all  the  law  and  the 
prophets.'  Therefore,  brethren,  is  the  Church 
also,  wherein  the  wounded  is  healed  mean 
while,  the  traveller's  inn;  but  above  the 
Church  itself,  lies  the  possessor's  inheritance. 


TRACTATE  XLII. 

CHAPTKR  VIII.   37-47. 


i.  OUR  Lord,  in  the  form  of  a  servant,  yet 
not  a  servant,  but  even  in  servant-form  the 
Lord  (for  that  form  of  flesh  was  indeed  ser 
vant-like;  but  though  He  was  "  in  the  like 
ness  of  sinful  flesh,"  '  yet  was  He  not  sinful 
flesh)  promised  freedom  to  those  who  believed 
in  Him.  But  the  Jews,  as  if  proudly  glorying 
in  their  own  freedom,  refused  with  indignation 
to  be  made  free,  when  they  were  the  servants 
of  sin.  And  therefore  they  said  that  they 
were  free,  because  Abraham's  seed.  What 
answer,  then,  the  Lord  gave  them  to  this,  we 
have  heard  in  the  reading  of  this  day's  lesson. 
44 1  know,"  He  said,  "  that  ye  are  Abraham's 
children;  but  ye  seek  to  kill  me,  because  my 
word  taketh  no  hold  in  you."  I  recognize 
you,  He  says;  "  Ye  are  the  children  of  Abra 
ham,  but  ye  seek  to  kill  me."  I  recognize 
the  fleshly  origin,  not  the  believing  heart. 
<4  Ye  are  the  children  of  Abraham,"  but  after 
the  flesh.  Therefore  He  says,  "Ye  seek  to 
kill  me,  because  my  word  taketh  no  hold  in 
you."  If  my  word  were  taken,  it  would  take 
hold:  if  ye  were  taken,  ye  would  be  enclosed 
like  fishes  within  the  meshes  of  faith.  What 
then  means  that — "  taketh  no  hold  in  you  "  ? 
It  taketh  not  hold  of  your  heart,  because  not 
received  by  your  heart.  For  so  is  the  word  of 
God,  and  so  it  ought  to  be  to  believers,  as  a 
hook  to  the  fish:  it  takes  when  it  is  taken. 
No  injury  is  done  to  those  who  are  taken; 
since  they  are  taken  for  salvation,  and  not  for 
destruction.  Hence  the  Lord  says  to  His 
disciples:  "  Come  after  me,  and  I  shall  make 
you  fishers  of  men."  3  But  such  were  not 


Rom.  viii.  3. 


1  Matt.  iv.  19. 


these;  and  yet  they  were  the  children  of 
Abraham, — children  of  a  man  of  God,  un 
righteous  themselves.  For  they  inherited  the 
fleshly  genus,  but  were  become  degenerate, 
by  not  imitating  the  faith  of  him  whose 
children  they  were. 

2.  You  have  heard,  indeed,  the  Lord 
saying,  "  I  know  that  ye  are  Abraham's 
children."  Hear  what  He  says  afterwards: 
"  I  speak  that  which  I  have  seen  with  my 
Father;  and  ye  do  that  which  ye  have  seen 
with  your  father."  He  had  already  said,  "  I 
know  that  ye  are  Abraham's  children."  What 
is  it,  then,  that  they  do?  What  He  told 
them:  "Ye  seek  to  kill  me."  This  they 
never  saw  with  Abraham.  But  the  Lord 
wishes  God  the  Father  to  be  understood  when 
He  says,  "  I  speak  that  which  I  have  seen 
;  with  my  Father."  I  have  seen  the  truth:  I 
speak  the  truth,  because  I  am  the  Truth. 
j  For  if  the  Lord  speaks  the  truth  which  He 
has  seen  with  the  Father,  He  has  seen  Him 
self — He  speaks  Himself;  because  He  Him- 
|  self  is  the  Truth  of  the  Father,  which  He  saw 
|  with  the  Father.  For  He  is  the  Word — the 
i  Word  which  was  with  God.  The  evil,  then, 
which  these  men  do,  and  which  the  Lord 
chides  and  reprehends,  where  have  they  seen 
it  ?  With  their  father.  When  we  come  to- 
hear  in  what  follows  the  still  clearer  statement 
who  is  their  father,  then  shall  we  understand 
what  kind  of  things  they  saw  with  such  a  father; 
for  as  yet  He  names  not  their  father.  A  lit 
tle  above  He  referred  to  Abraham,  but  in 
regard  to  their  fleshly  origin,  not  their  simi 
larity  of  life.  He  is  about  to  speak  of  that 
other  father  of  theirs,  who  neither  begat  them 


THK   \\ORKS  OF  ST.   AlV.fSTIN". 


U  i  \n.    XI. II. 


nor  created  them  to  i>e  men.  But  still  they 
were  his  children  in  as  far  as  they  were  evil, 
not  in  as  far  as  they  were  men;  in  what  they 
imitated  him,  and  not  as  created  by  him. 

3.  "  They  answered  and   said  unto   Him, 
Abraham  is  our  father;''   as   if,   What   hast 
thou  to  say  against  Abraham  ?   or,   If  thou 
canst,  dare  to  find  fault  with  Abraham.      Not 
that  the  Lord  dared  not  find  fault  with  Abra 
ham;    but  Abraham  was  not  one  to  be  found 
fault  with  by  the  Lord,  but  rather  approved. 
But  these  men  seemed  to  challenge   Him  to 
say  some  evil  of  Abraham,  and  so  to  have  some 
occasion    for    doing    what     they    purposed. 
"  Abraham  is  our  father." 

4.  Let    us    hear   how  the    Lord    answered 
them,  praising  Abraham  to  their  condemna 
tion.     "  Jesus   saith    unto   them,    If   ye   are 
Abraham's  children,  do  the  works  of  Abra 
ham.     But  now  ye  seek  to  kill  me,  a  man 
that  hath  told  you  the  truth,  which  I  have 
heard  of  God:  this  did  not  Abraham."     See, 
he  was  praised,  they  were  condemned.     Abra 
ham  was  no  manslayer.     I  say  not,  He  im 
plies,   I  am  Abraham's  Lord;    though  did  I 
say  it,  I  would  say  the  truth.     For  He  said 
in  another  place,   "  Before  Abraham  was,  I 
am  "  (ver.  58);  and  then  they  sought  to  stone 
Him.     He  said  not  so.     But  meanwhile,  as 
you  see  me,  as  you  look  upon  me,  as  alone 
you  think  of  me,  I  am  a  man.     Wherefore, 
then,  wish  you  to  kill  a  man  who  is  telling 
you  what  he  has  heard  of  God,  but  because 
you  are  not  the  children  of  Abraham  ?     And 
yet    He   said  above,   "  I    know   that  ye  are 
Abraham's   children."     He    does   not   deny 
their    origin,    but    condemns    their    deeds. 
Their  flesh  was  from  him,  but  not  their  life. 

5.  But  we,  dearly  beloved,  do  we  come  of 
Abraham's  race,  or  was  Abraham  in  any  sense 
our  father  according  to  the  flesh  ?     The  flesh 
of  the  Jews  draws  its  origin  from  his  flesh, 
not   so    the   flesh    of   Christians.     We   have 
come  of  other  nations,  and  yet,  by  imitating 
him,  we  have  become  the  children  of  Abra 
ham.     Listen  to  the  apostle:  "  To  Abraham 
and  to   his   seed  were  the  promises   made. 
He  saith  not,"  he  adds,  "And  to  seeds,  as  of 
many;  but  as  of  one,  And  to  thy  seed,  which 
is  Christ.     And  if  ye  be  Christ's,  then  are  ye 
Abraham's  seed,  and  heirs  according  to  the 
promise."1     We    then    have   become    Abra 
ham's  seed  by  the  grace  of  God.   It  was  not  of 
Abraham's  flesh  that  God  made  any  co-heirs 
with  him.     He  disinherited  the  former,   He 
adopted  the  latter;  and  from  that  olive  tree 
whose  root  is  in  the  patriarchs,  He  cut  off  the 
proud   natural   branches,   and   engrafted   the 


lowly  wild  olive.2  And  so,  when  the  Jews 
came  to  John  to  be  baptixed,  he  broke  out 
upon  them,  and  addressed  them,  "  O  genera, 
tion  of  vipers."  Very  greatly  indeed  did 
they  boast  of  the  loftiness  of  their  origin,  but 
he  called  them  a  generation  of  vipers, — not 
even  of  human  beings,  but  of  vipers.  He 
saw  the  form  of  men,  but  detected  the  poison. 
Yet  they  had  come  to  be  changed,3  because 
at  all  events  to  be  baptized ;  and  lie  said  to 
them,  "  O  generation  of  vipers,  who  hath 
warned  you  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come  ? 
Bring  forth  therefore  fruits  meet  for  repen 
tance.  And  think  not  to  say  within  your 
selves,  We  have  Abraham  to  our  father;  for 
God  is  able  of  these  stones  to  raise  up  children 
unto  Abraham."4  If  ye  bring  not  forth  fruits 
meet  for  repentance,  flatter  not  yourselves 
about  such  a  lineage.  God  is  able  to  condemn 
you,  without  defrauding  Abraham  of  children. 
For  He  has  a  way  to  raise  up  children  to 
Abraham.  Those  who  imitate  his  faith  shall 
be  made  his  children.  "  God  is  able  of  these 
stones  to  raise  up  children  unto  Abraham." 
Such  are  we.  In  our  parents  we  were  stones, 
when  we  worshipped  stones  for  our  god.  Of 
such  stones  God  has  created  a  family  to  Abra 
ham. 

6.  Why,  then,   does  this  empty  and  vain 
bragging  exalt  itself?     Let  them  cease  boast 
ing  that  they  are  the  children  of  Abraham. 
They  have  heard  what  they  ought  to   have 
heard:  "  If  ye  are  the  children  of  Abraham," 
prove  it  by  your  deeds,  not  by  words.     "  Ye 
seek  to  kill  me,  a  man;  " — I  say  not,  mean 
while,  the  Son  of  God;  I  say  not  God;  I  say 
not  the  Word,  for  the  Word  dies  not     I  say 
merely  this  that  you  see;  for  only  what  you 
see  can  you  kill,  and  whom  you  see  not  can 
you  offend.     "This,"   then,  "  did  not  Abra 
ham."     "Ye  do  the  works  of  your  father." 
And  as  yet  He  says  not  who  is  that  father  of 
theirs. 

7.  And    now   what   answer   did    they  give 
Him?     For  they  began  somewhat  to  realize 
that  the    Lord    was    not   speaking  of  carnal 
generation,  but  of  their  manner  of  life.     And 
because  it  is  the  custom  of  the  Scriptures, 
which  they  read,  to  call  it,  in  a  spiritual  sense, 
fornication,  when  the  soul  is,  as  it  were,  pros 
tituted  by  subjection  to  many  false  gods,  they 
made  this  reply:  "Then  said  they  to  Him, 

\  We  be  not  born  of  fornication;    we  have  one 
;  Father,  even  God."     Abraham  has  now  lost 
i  his  importance.     For  they  were  repulsed  as 
they  ought  to  have  been  by  the  truth-speak 
ing  mouth;  because  such  was  Abraham,  whose 
deeds  they  failed  to  imitate,  and  yet  gloried 


:  Gal.  iii.  16,  29. 


2  Rom.  xi.  17. 
4  Matt.  iii.  7-.,. 


3  In  some  editions,  "  to  be  cleansed. 


TKV  i  MI.  XI. II.) 


(  >N    I  in.  GOSPEL  <>i    >  r.  JOHN. 


in  his  lineage.  And  they  altered  their  reply, 
saying,  I  believe,  with  themselves.  As  often 
as  \\e  name  Abraham,  he  goes  on  to  say  to 
us,  \\  iiv  do  ye  not  imitate  him  in  whose 
ye  -lory  ?  Such  a  man,  so  holy,  just, 
and  guileless,  we  cannot  imitate.  Let  ns  call 
God  our  Father,  and  see  what  he  will  say  to 
us. 

8.  Has  falsehood   indeed  found  something 
to  say,  and  should  not  truth  find  its  fitting  re 
ply  ?     Let  us  hear  what  they  say:  let  us  hear 
what  they   hear.     "  We   have  one   Father,*' 
they  say,  "  even  God.     Then  said  Jesus  unto 
them,   If   God  were  your  Father,  ye  would 
[doubtless]  love  me;    for  I  proceeded  forth 
and  came  from  God;  neither  came  I  of  my 
self,  but  He  sent  me."     Ye  call  God  Father; 
recognize  me,   then,   as  at  least  a  brother. 
At  the  same  time  He  gave  a  stimulus  to  the 
hearts  of  the  intelligent,  by  touching  on  that 
which  He  has  a  habit  of  saying,  "  I  came  not 
of  myself:  He  sent  me.     I  proceeded  forth 
and  came  from  God."     Remember  what  we  j 
are  wont  to  say:  From  Him  He  came;  and  ; 
from  whom  He  came,  with   Him   He  came. 
The  sending  of  Christ,  therefore,  is  His  in 
carnation.     But   as  respects  the  proceeding 
forth  of  the  Word  from  God,  it  is  an  eternal 
procession.     Time  holds  not  Him  by  whom 
time  was  created.     Let  no  one  be  saying  in 
his  heart,  Before  the  Word  was,  how  did  God 
exist  ?     Never  say,  Before  the  Word  of  God  j 
was.     God  was  never  without  the  Word,  be 
cause    the  Word    is   abiding,  not  transient ; 
God,  not  a  sound;  by  whom  the  heaven  and 
earth  were  made,  and  which  passed  not  away 
with  those  things  that  were  made  upon  the  ! 
earth.     From  Him,  then,  He  proceeded  forth  j 
as  God,  the  equal,  the  only  Son,  the  Word  of  j 
the  Father;  and  came  to  us,   for  the  Word 
was  made  flesh  that  He  might  dwell  among 
us.      His    coming   indicates    His    humanity; 
His  abiding,   His  divinity.      It  is  His  God 
head  towards  which,  His  humanity  whereby, 
we  make  progress.      Had  He  not  become  that 
whereby  we  might  advance,  we  should  never 
attain  to  Him  who  abideth  ever. 

9.  "Why,"   He  says,  "do  ye  not  under 
stand  my  speech  ?     Even  because  ye  cannot 
hear  my  word."     And  so  they  could  not  un 
derstand,  because  they  could  not  hear.     And 
whence  could  they  not  hear,  but  just  because 
they  refused   to  be  set  right  by  believing  ? 
And   why  so  ?     "Ye  are  of  your  father  the 
devil."     How  long  do  ye  keep  speaking  of  a 
father?     How   often   will    ye    change    your 
fathers, — at  one  time  Abraham,  at  another 
God  ?     Hear   from    the   Son   of   God   whose 
children  ye  be:   "  Ye  are  of  your  father  the 
devil." 


10.  Here,  now,  we  must  l>e\ 
heresy  of  the  Manicheans,  which  affirms  that 
there  is  a  certain  principle  of  evil,  and 
tain  family  of  darkness  with  its  pr;' 
had  tiie  presumption  to  fight  against  God;  but 
that  God,  not  to  let  His  kingdom  be  subdued 
by  the  hostile  family,  despatched  against 
them,  as  it  were,  His  own  offspring,  princes 
of  His  own  [kingdom  of]  light;  and  so  sub 
dued  that  race  from  which  the  devil  derives 
his  origin.  From  thence,  also,  they  say  our 
flesh  derives  its  origin,  and  accordingly  think 
the  Lord  said,  "  Ye  are  of  your  father  the 
devil,"  because  they  were  evil,  as  it  were,  by 
nature,  deriving  their  origin  from  the  oppos 
ing  family  of  darkness.  So  they  err,  so  their 
eyes  are  blinded,  so  they  make  themselves 
the  family  of  darkness,  by  believing  a  false 
hood  against  Him  who  created  them.  For 
every  nature  is  good;  but  man's  nature  has 
been  corrupted  by  an  evil  will.  What  God 
made  cannot  be  evil,  if  man  were  not  [a  cause 
of]  evil  to  himself.  But  surely  the  Creator 
is  Creator,  and  the  creature  a  creature  [a 
thing  created].  The  creature  cannot  be  put 
on  a  level  with  the  Creator.  Distinguish  be 
tween  Him  who  made,  and  that  which  He 
made.  The  bench  cannot  be  put  on  a  level 
with  the  mechanic,  nor  the  pillar  with  its  buil 
der;  and  yet  the  mechanic,  though  he  made 
the  bench,  did  not  himself  create  the  wood. 
But  the  Lord  our  God,  in  His  omnipotence 
and  by  the  Word,  made  what  He  made.  He 
had  no  materials  out  of  which  to  make  all 
that  He  made,  and  yet  He  made  it.  For 
they  were  made  because  He  willed  it,  they 
were  made  because  He  said  it;  but  the  things 
made  cannot  be  compared  with  the  Maker. 
If  thou  seekest  a  proper  subject  of  compari 
son,  turn  thy  mind  to  the  only-begotten  Son. 
How,  then,  were  the  Jews  the  children  of 
the  devil  ?  By  imitation,  not  by  birth.  Lis 
ten  to  the  usual  language  of  the  Holy  Scrip 
tures.  The  prophet  says  to  those  very  Jews, 
"  Thy  father  was  an  Amorite,  and  thy  mother 
a  Hittite."1  The  Amorites  were  not  a  na 
tion  that  gave  origin  to  the  Jews.  The  Hit- 
tites  also  were  themselves  of  a  nation  alto 
gether  different  from  the  race  of  the  Jews. 
But  because  the  Amorites  and  Hittites  were 
impious,  and  the  Jews  imitated  their  impie 
ties,  they  found  parents  for  themselves,  not 
of  whom  they  were  born,  but  in  whose  dam 
nation  they  should  share,  because  following 
their  customs.  But  perhaps  you  inquire, 
Whence  is  the  devil  himself?  From  the 
same  source  certainly  as  the  other  angels. 
But  the  other  angels  continued  in  their  obedi- 


F.zeU.  xvi.  3. 


238 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[T»ACI  in  XLII. 


ence.     He,  by  disobedience  nnd  pride,   fell 
as  an  angel,  and  became  a  devil. 

11.  But  listen  now  to  what  the  Lord  says: 
"Ye,"  said    He,  "are    of   your   father   the 
devil,  and  the  lusts  of  your  father  ye  will  do." 
This  is  how  ye  are  his  children,  because  such 
are  your  lusts,  not  because  ye  are  born  of  him. 
What  are  his  lusts  ?     "  He  was  a  murderer 
from  the  beginning."    This  it  is  that  explains, 
"  the  lusts  of  your  father  ye  will  do."     "  Ye 
seek  to  kill  me,  a  man  that  telleth  you  the 
truth."     He,  too,  had   ill-will   to  man,  and 
slew  man.     For  the  devil,   in   his  ill-will  to 
man,  assuming  the  guise  of  a  serpent,  spoke 
to  the  woman,  and  from  the  woman  instilled 
his  poison  into  the  man.     They  died  by  lis 
tening  to  the  devil,1  whom  they  would   not 
have  listened  to  had  they  but  listened  to  the 
Lord;  for  man,  having  his  place  between  Him 
who  created  and  him  who  was  fallen,  ought 
to  have  obeyed  the  Creator,  not  the  deceiver. 
Therefore  "  he  was  a  murderer  from  the  be 
ginning."     Look   at    the    kind    of    murder, 
brethren.     The  devil   is  called   a  murderer, 
not  as  armed  with  a  sword,  or  girded  with 
steel.     He  came  to  man,  sowed  his  evil  sug 
gestions,  and  slew  him.       Think  not,  then, 
that  thou  art  not  a  murderer  when  thou  per- 
suadest  thy  brother   to   evil.     If   thou   per- 
suadest  thy  brother  to  evil,  thou  slayest  him. 
And  to  let  thee  know  that  thou  slayest  him, 
listen  to  the  psalm:  "  The  sons  of  men,  whose 
teeth  are  spears  and  arrows,  and  their  tongue 
a  sharp   sword."2     Ye,  then,   "will   do   the 
lusts  of  your  father; "  and  so  ye  go  madly 
after  the  flesh,  because  ye  cannot  go  after  the 
spirit.     "  He  was  a  murderer  from  the  begin 
ning;  "  at  least  in  the  case  of  the  first  of  man 
kind.     From    the    very   time    that    murder 
[manslaughter]  could  possibly  be  committed, 
he  was  a  murderer  [manslayer].     Only  from 
the   time   that   man    was  made   could    man 
slaughter  be  committed.     For  man  could  not 
be   slain    unless  man  was  previously  made. 
Therefore,  "  he  was  a  murderer  from  the  be 
ginning."     And  whence  a  murderer  ?     "And 
he  stood  [abode]  not  in  the  truth."     There 
fore  he  was  in   the  truth,   and   fell  by  not 
standing  in  it.     And  why  "stood  he  not  in 
the  truth"?     "Because  the  truth  is  not  in 
him;"  not  as  in  Christ.     In  such  a  way  is 
the  truth  [in    Him],  that  Christ  Himself  is 
the  Truth.     If,   then,   he   had   stood   in   the 
truth,    he  would   have   stood   in   Christ;    but 
"  he  abode  not  in  the  truth,  because  there  is 
no  truth  in  him." 

12.  "When  he  speaketh  a  lie,  he  speaketh 
of  his  own:  for  he  is  a  liar,  and  the  father  of 


it."'  What  is  this?  You  have  heard  the 
words  of  the  Gospel:  you  have  received 
them  with  attention.  Here  now,  I  repeat 
them,  that  you  may  clearly  understand  the 
subject  of  your  thoughts.  The  Lord  said 
those  things  of  the  devil  which  ought  to  have 
been  said  of  the  devil  by  the  Lord.  That 
"  he  was  a  murderer  from  the  beginning"  is 
true,  for  he  slew  the  first  man;  "  and  he 
abode  not  in  the  truth,"  for  he  lapsed  from 
the  truth.  "  When  he  speaketh  a  lie,"  to 
wit,  the  devil  himself,  "  he  speaketh  of  his 
own;  "  for  he  is  a  liar,  and  its  [his]  father." 
From  these  words  some  have  thought  that 
the  devil  has  a  father,  and  have  inquired  who 
was  the  father  of  the  devil.  Indeed  this  de 
testable  error  of  the  Manicheans  has  found 
means  down  to  this  present  time  wherewith 
to  deceive  the  simple.  For  they  are  wont  to 
say,  Suppose  that  the  devil  was  an  angel,  and 
fell;  and  with  him  sin  began  as  you  say;  but, 
Who  was  his  father?  We,  on  the  contrary, 
reply,  Who  of  us  ever  said  that  the  devil  had 
a  father  ?  And  they,  on  the  other  hand,  re 
join,  The  Lord  saith,  and  the  Gospel  declares, 
speaking  of  the  devil,  "  He  was  a  murderer 
from  the  beginning,  and  abode  not  in  the 
truth,  because  there  is  no  truth  in  him. 
When  he  speaketh  a  lie,  he  speaketh  of  his 
own:  for  he  is  a  liar,  and  his  father." 

13.  Hear  and  understand.  I  shall  not 
send  thee  far  away  [for  the  meaning];  under 
stand  it  from  the  words  themselves.  The 
Lord  called  the  devil  the  father  of  falsehood. 
What  is  this  ?  Hear  what  it  is,  only  revolve 
the  words  themselves,  and  understand.  It  is 
not  every  one  who  tells  a  lie  that  is  the  father 
of  his  lie.  For  if  thou  hast  got  a  lie  from 
another,  and  uttered  it,  thou  indeed  hast  lied 
in  giving  utterance  to  the  lie;  but  thou  art 
not  the  father  of  that  lie,  because  thou  hast 
got  it  from  another.  But  the  devil  was  a  liar 
of  himself.  He  begat  his  own  falsehood; 
he  heard  it  from  no  one.  As  God  the  Father 
begat  as  His  Son  the  Truth,  so  the  devil, 
having  fallen,  begat  falsehood  as  his  son. 
Hearing  this,  recall  now  and  reflect  upon  the 
words  of  the  Lord.  Ye  catholic  minds,  con 
sider  what  ye  have  heard;  attend  to  what  He 
says.  "He" — who?  The  devil — "was  a 
murderer  from  the  beginning."  We  admit  it, 
-  -he  slew  Adam.  "And  he  abode  not  in  the 
truth."  We  admit  it,  for  he  lapsed  from  the 


3  In  this  and  the  following  paragraph,  Augustin  deals  with  the 

rendering  given   to  these  words  l>y  the-  Manichaeans  in  support  of 

their   heresy,   stand    in   sc,  lion    10.       The    words   " />,tt,->-  ,-jus" 

(o  narrip  airroO),  taken  by  themselves,  might  of  course  mean  cither 

"  his  father"  or  "  the  father  of  it  "  [i.e.  «i  falsehood].     Itoth  the 

C.rc.-k  idiom  and  the  context  require  the  latter;  hnt  the  Manichz- 

ans  adopted   the  former,  and   made  the  passage   run,  "  for  he  [i.e. 

the  devil]  is  a  liar,  and  [so  is]  his   father.1'     Hence  the  question 

made    to    put    afterwards,  "  Who   was   his  [the   devil's] 

id  oar  author's  exposition  of  the  passage.— TR. 


HI     XI. 1 1.] 


ON  THK  G<  >si'i;i. 


JOHN. 


239 


truth.  "  l!erause  there  is  no  truth  in  him." 
True:  by  falling  away  I'rom  the  truth  lie  lias 
lost  its  possession.  "  \Vhen  he  speaketh  a 
lie,  he  speaketh  of  his  own:  for  lie  is  a  liar, 
and  the  father  of  it."  He  is  both  a  liar,  and 
the  father  of  lies.  For  thou,  it  may  be,  art 
a  liar,  because  thou  interest  a  lie;  but  thou 
art  not  its  father.  For  if  thou  hast  got  what 
thou  sayest  from  the  devil,  and  hast  believed 
the  devil,  thou  art  a  liar,  but  not  the  father 
of  the  lie.  But  he,  because  he  got  not  else 
where  the  lie  wherewith  in  serpent-  form  he 
slew  man  as  if  by  poison,  is  the  father  of  lies; 
just  as  God  is  Father  of  truth.  Withdraw, 
then,  from  the  father  of  lies:  make  haste  to 
the  Father  of  truth;  embrace  the  truth,  that 
you  may  enter  into  liberty. 

14.  Those  Jews,  then,  spake  what  they  saw 
with  their   father.     And  what  was  that  but 
falsehood?     But    the    Lord     saw   with    His 
"Father  what  He  should  speak:  and  what  was 
that,  but  Himself?     What,  but  the  Word  of 
the    Father  ?     What,    but    the   truth    of   the 
Father,  eternal  itself,  and  co-eternal  with  the 
Father?     He,  then,  "was  a  murderer  from 
the  beginning,  and  abode  not  in  the  truth, 
because  there  is  no  truth  in  him;  when  he 
speaketh  a  lie,  he  speaketh  of  his  own,  for  he 
is   a    liar,"  —  and    not  only  a    liar,   but   also 
*'  the  father  of  it;"  that  is,  of  the  very  lie 
that  he  speaks  he  is  the  father,  for  he  himself 
begat  his  lie.     "And  because  /tell  you  the 
truth,  ye  believe  me  not.     Which  of  you  con- 
victeth  me  of  sin,"  as  I  convict  both  you  and 
your  father?     "  If  I  say  the  truth,  why  do  ye 
not  believe  me,"  but  just  because  ye  are  the 
children  of  the  devil  ? 

15.  "He  that   is   of  God   heareth  God's 
words:  ye  therefore  hear  them  not,  because 
ye  are  not  of  God."     Here,  again,  it  is  not 
of  their  nature  as  men,  but  of  their  depravity, 
that  you  are  to  think.      In  this  way  they  are 
of  God,  and  yet  not  of  God.     By  nature  they 
are  of  God,  in  depravity  they  are  not  of  God. 
Give  heed,  I  pray  you.     In  the  gospel  you 
have  the  remedy  against  the  poisonous  and 
impious  errors  of  the  heretics.     For  of  these 
words  also  the  Manicheans  are  accustomed  to 
say,  See,   here  there  are   two  natures,1  —  the 
one  good  and  the  other  bad;  the  Lord  says  it. 
What  says  the  Lord?     "Ye  therefore  hear 
me  not,  because  ye  are  not  of  God."     This 
is  what  the  Lord   says.      What  then,  he  re 
joins,  dost  thou   say  to  that?     Hear  what   I 
say.     They  are  both  of  God,  and  not  of  God. 
T>y  nature  they  are  of  God:  by  depravity  they 
are  not  of  God;  for  the  good  nature  which  is 
of  God   sinned   voluntarily  by  believing  the 


persuasive   words  of  the  devil,  and   w... 
ruptrd;   and  so   it  is   seeking  m,  IK.-- 

cause  no  longer  in  health.  That  is  what  I 
My,  But  thou  thinkest  it  impossible  that 
they  should  be  of  God,  and  yet  not  of  God. 
Hear  why  it  is  not  impossible.  They  are  of 
God,  and  yet  not  of  God,  in  the  same  way 
as  they  are  the  children  of  Abraham,  and  yet 
not  the  children  of  Abraham.  Here  you 
have  it.  It  is  not  as  you  say.  Hearken  to 
the  Lord  Himself;  it  is  He  that  said  to  them, 
"  I  know  that  ye  are  the  children  of  Abra 
ham. "  Could  there  be  any  lie  with  the 
Lord  ?  Surely  not.  Then  is  it  true  what 
the  Lord  said  ?  It  is  true.  Then  it  is  true 
that  they  were  the  children  of  Abraham  ?  It 
is  true.  But  listen  to  Himself  denying  it. 
He  who  said,  "  Ye  are  the  children  of  Abra 
ham,"  Himself  denied  that  they  were  the 
children  of  Abraham.  "  If  ye  are  Abraham's 
children,  do  the  deeds  of  Abraham.  But  now 
ye  seek  to  kill  me,  a  man  that  telleth  you 
the  truth,  which  I  have  heard  from  God:  this 
did  not  Abraham.  Ye  do  the  works  of  your 
father,"  that  is,  of  the  devil.  How,  then, 
were  they  both  Abraham's  children,  and  yet 
not  his  children?  Both  states  He  showed  in 
them.  They  were  both  Abraham's  children  in 
their  carnal  origin,  and  not  his  children  in 
the  sin  of  following  the  persuasion  of  the 
devil.  So,  also,  apply  it  to  our  Lord  and 
God,  that  they  were  both  of  Him,  and  not  of 
Him.  How  were  they  of  Him?  Because 
He  it  was  that  created  the  man  of  whom  they 
were  born.  How  were  they  of  Him?  Be 
cause  He  is  the  Architect  of  nature, — Him 
self  the  Creator  of  flesh  and  spirit.  How, 
then,  were  they  not  of  Him  ?  Because  they 
had  made  themselves  depraved.  They  were 
no  longer  of  Him",  because,  imitating  the 
devil,  they  had  become  the  children  of  the 
devil. 

1 6.  Therefore  came  the  Lord  God  to  man 
as  a  sinner.  Thou  hast  heard  the  two  names, 
both  man  and  sinner.  As  man,  he  is  of  God  ; 
as  a  sinner,  he  is  not  of  God.  Let  the  moral 
evil 3  in  man  be  distinguished  from  his  nature. 
Let  that  nature  be  owned,  to  the  praise  of  the 
Creator;  let  the  evil  be  acknowledged,  that 
the  physician  may  be  called  in  to  its  cure. 
When  the  Lord  then  said,  "  He  that  is  of 
God  heareth  the  words  of  God:  ye  therefore 
hear  them  not,  because  ye  are  not  of  God." 
He  did  not  distinguish  the  value  of  different 
natures,  or  find,  beyond  their  own  soul  and 
body,  any  nature  in  men  which  had  not  been 
vitiated  by  sin;  but  foreknowing  thos< 
should  yet  believe,  them  He  called  </  </W, 


TK. 


240 


THK    WORKS  OF   ST.     UV.l'STIN. 


[TRACTATK  XLII1. 


because  yet  to  be  born  again  of  God  by  the 
adoption  of  regeneration.  To  these  apply  the 
words,  "  He  that  is  of  God  heareth  the  words 
of  God."  But  that  which  follows,  "  Ye  there 
fore  hear  them  not,  because  ye  are  not  of 
God,"  was  said  to  those  who  were  not  only 
corrupted  by  sin  (for  this  evil  was  common 
to  all),  but  also  foreknown  as  those  who 
would  not  believe  with  the  faith  that  alone 
could  deliver  them  from  the  bondage  of  sin. 
On  this  account  He  foreknew  that  those  to 
whom  He  so  spake  would  continue  in  that 


which  they  derived  from  the  devil,  that  is, 
'in  their  sins,  and  would  die  in  the  impiety  in 
which  they  resembled  him;  and  would  not 
'come  to  the  regeneration  wherein  they  would 
be  the  children  of  God,  that  is,  be  born  of 
the  God  by  whom  they  were  created  as  men. 
In  accordance  with  this  predestinating  pur 
pose  did  the  Lord  speak;  and  not  that  He 
had  found  any  man  amongst  them  who  either 
by  regeneration  was  already  of  God,  or  by 
nature  was  no  longer  of  God. 


TRACTATE   XLIII. 

CHAPTER  VIII.  48-59. 


1.  IN  that  lesson  of  the  holy  Gospel  which  j 
has  been  read  to-day,  from  power  we  learn  | 
patience.     For  what  are  we  as  servants  to  the 
Lord,  as  sinners  to  the  Just  One,  as  creatures 
to  the  Creator  ?     Howbeit,  just  as  in  what  we  ! 
are  evil,  we  are  so  of  ourselves;  so  in  what 
ever  respects  we  are  good,  we  are  so  of  Him, 
and  through  Him.     And  nothing  does  man  , 
so  seek  as  he  does  power.     He   has   great 
power  in  the  Lord  Christ;  but  let  him  first 
imitate  His  patience,  that  he  may  attain  to 
power.     Who  of  us  would  listen  with  patience 
if  it  were  said  to  him,  "  Thou  hast  a  devil  "  ? 
as  was  said  to  Him,  who  was  not  only  bring 
ing   men   to   salvation,    but   also    subjecting 
devils  to  His  authority. 

2.  For  when  the  Jews  had  said,  "Say  we 
not  well  that  thou  art  a  Samaritan,  and  hast 
a  devil  ?  "  of  these  two  charges  cast  at  Him, 
He  denied  the  one,  but  not  the  other.     For 
He  answered  and  said,  "  I  have  not  a  devil." 
He  did  not  say,  I  am  not  a  Samaritan;  and  I 
yet  the  two  charges    had   been    made.     Al 
though  He  returned  not  cursing  with  cursing, 
although   He  met  not  slander  with  slander, 
yet  was  it  proper  for  Him  to  deny  the  one 
charge  and  not  to  deny  the  other.     And  not 
without  a  purpose,  brethren.     For  Samaritan 
means  keeper.'     He  knew  that  He  was  our 
keeper.     For  "  He  that  keepeth  Israel  neither 
slumbereth  nor  sleepeth;  "3  and,  "  Except  the 
Lord  keep  the  city,  they  wake  in  vain  who 
keep  it."3     He  then   is  our  Keeper  who   is 

'  Samaria,  Hebrew  "^tyS,  literally,  "a  keep,"  from  -«;~  to 
keep,   to   guard  ;    hence,    according   to    Augustin,    "Samaritan," 


~*2 '•!.'•  ;l  Deeper,  a  guardian. — TK. 
»  Ps.  cxxi.  4. 


our  Creator.  For  did  it  belong  to  Him  to 
redeem  us,  and  would  it  not  be  His  to  pre 
serve  us  ?  Finally,  that  you  may  know  more 
fully  the  hidden  reason  4  why  He  ought  not 
to  have  denied  that  He  was  a  Samaritan,  call 
to  mind  that  well-known  parable,  where  a 
cert.iin  man  went  down  from  Jerusalem  to 
Jericho,  and  fell  among  thieves,  who  wounded 
him  severely,  and  left  him  half  dead  on  the 
road.  A  priest  came  along  and  took  no  no 
tice  of  him.  A  Levite  came  up,  and  he  also 
passed  on  his  way.  A  certain  Samaritan 
came  up — He  who  is  our  Keeper.  He  went 
up  to  the  wounded  man.  He  exercised 
mercy,  and  did  a  neighbor's  part  to  one 
whom  He  did  not  account  an  alien.5  To 
this,  then,  He  only  replied  that  He  had  not  a 
devil,  but  not  that  He  was  not  a  Samaritan. 

3.  And  then  after  such  an  insult,  this  was 
all  that  He  said  of  His  own  glory:  "  But  I 
honor,"  said  He,  "my  Father,  and  ye  dis 
honor  me."     That  is,    I  honor  not  myself, 
that  ye  may  not  think  me  arrogant.     I  have 
One  to  honor;  and  did  ye  recognize  me,  just 
as  I  honor  the  Father,  so  would  ye  also  honor 
me.     I  do  what  I  ought;  ye  do  not  what  ye 
ought. 

4.  "And  I,"  said  He,  "  seek  not  mine  own 
glory:  there  is  one  that  seeketh  and  judgeth." 
Whom  does  He  wish  to  be  understood  but 
the  Father?     How,  then,  does  He  say  in  an 
other  place,  "  The  Father  judgeth  no  man, 
but  hath  committed  all   judgment    unto  the 
Son,"6  while  here  He  says,  "  I  seek  not  mine 
own  glory:    there   is   one   that    seeketh   and 
judgeth"?      If,   then,  .the    Father    judgeth, 


3  Ps.  ex* 


5  Luke  x.  30-37. 


*  Chap.  v. 


.ii      XI  III. I 


ON  THK  GOSPEL  <  >i    ST.    |<  >ll\. 


241 


lio\v  is    it   tint    Ho  judgeth    no  man,  but   hath 
c  ommitted  ;ill  judgment  unto  tne  Son? 

5.  In  order  to  solve  this  point,  attend.      It 
may  IK-  solved  by  [quoting]  'i  similar  mode,  of 
speaking.     Thou  hast  it  written,  "  God  tempt - 
etii  not   anvman;"'   and   again   thou    hast   it 
written,  "The  Lord  your  Cod  tempteth  you, 
to  know  whether  you    love  Him."        Just   the 
point  in  dispute,  you  see.      For  how  docs  (i<\i 
tempt  not  anv  man,  and  how  docs  the  Lord  \t>iu 
(iod  tempt  you,  to  kmm>  whether  ye  lore  Him  1  > 
It  is  also  written,  "There  is  no  fear  in  love;1 
but  perfect  love  casteth  out  fear; "  '  and  in  ' 
another  place  it  is  written,  "  The  fear  of  the 
Lord  is  clean,   enduring   for  ever."4     Here 
also  is  the    point  in  dispute.      For  how  does 
perfect  lore  cast  out  fear,   if  the  fear  of  the 
Lord,  which  is  clean,  endtt reth  for  ei'er  ? 

6.  We  are  to  understand,  then,  that  there 
are  two  kinds  of  temptation:   one,  that  de 
ceives;   the  other,  that  proves.     As  regards 
that   which   deceives,    God  tempteth   not  any 
man;  as  regards  that  which  proves,  the  Lord 
vour   God  tempteth  you,  that   He    may   know 
whether  ye  love  Him.     But  here  again,  also, 
there  arises  another  question,  how  He  tempt 
eth  that  He  may  ktwv,  from  whom,  prior  to 
the  temptation,  nothing  can   be  hid.     It    is  I 
not  that  God  is  ignorant;  but  it  is  said,  that 
He  may  knm>.',  that  is,  that  He  may  make  you 
to  know.     Such  modes  of  speaking  are  found 
both    in  our   ordinary  conversation,   and   in 
writers  of  eloquence.      Let  me  say  a  word  on  ] 
our  style  of   conversation.     We    speak    of  a  [ 
blind  ditch,  not  because  it  has  lost  its  eyes,  i 
but  because  by  lying  hid  it  makes  us  blind  to  | 
its  existence.    One  speaks  of  "  bitter  lupins,"  j 
that  is,  "sour;"  not  that  they  themselves  are 
bitter,  but  because  they  occasion  bitterness 
to  those  who  taste  them.5     And  so  there  are 
also   expressions    of   this    sort   in    Scripture. 
Those  wiio  take  the  trouble  to  attain  a  know 
ledge  of  such  points  have  no  trouble  in  solv 
ing   them.     And   so    "  the    Lord    your   God 
tempts  you,  that  He  may  know.1'     What  is 
this,  "that  He  may  know"?     That  He  may 
make  you  to  know  "  if  you  love  Him."     Job 
was  unknown  to  himself,  but  he  was  not  un 
known    to  God.     He    led    the   tempter    into 
[Job],  and    brought  him  to  a  knowledge  of 
himself. 

7.  What  then  of  the  two  fears?     There  is 
a  servile  fear,  and  there  is  a  clean  [chaste] 
fear:    there    is  the   fear  of  suffering  punish 
ment,  there   is  another  fear  of  losing  right 
eousness.      That  fear  of  suffering  punishment 


xiii.  3. 
Ps.  xix.  9. 


. 

lib.  i.  75:    Trisles  Ittfinot  »<>//   yiti'.t   if  si  sunt 
tristfS,  ittt  <f  iiin  gusttifi  i <>/.•/>  /y/,««/,  hoc  eft,  tt -istft /,iciunt. 


is  slavish.  What  great  tinng  is  it  t 
punishment?  The  vilest  slave  and  the  cruel- 
est  robber  do  so.  It  is  no  great  thing  : 
punishment,  but  great  it  is  to  love  righteous 
ness.  Has  he,  then,  who  love.-,  r:. 
no  tear'  ( 'ertainly  he  has;  not  of  incurring 
of  punishment,  but  of  losing  righteousness. 
My  brethren,  assure  yourselves  of  it,  and 
draw  your  inference  from  that  which  you  love. 
Some  one  of  you  is  fond  of  money.  Can  I 
find  any  one,  think  you,  who  is  not  so  ?  Yet 
from  this  very  thing  which  he  loves  he  may 
understand  my  meaning.  He  is  afraid  of 
loss:  why  is  he  so  ?  Because  he  loves  money. 
In  the  same  measure  that  he  loves  money,  is 
he  afraid  of  losing  it.  So,  then,  some  one  is 
found  to  be  a  lover  of  righteousness,  who  at 
heart  is  much  more  afraid  of  its  loss,  who 
dreads  more  being  stripped  of  his  righteous 
ness,  than  thou  of  thy  money.  This  is  the 
fear  that  is  clean — this  [the  fear]  that  endur- 
eth  for  ever.  It  is  not  this  that  love  makes 
away  with,  or  casteth  out,  but  rather  embraces 
it,  and  keeps  it  with  it,  and  possesses  it  as  a 
companion.  For  we  come  to  the  Lord  that 
we  may  see  Him  face  to  face.  And  there  it 
is  this  pure  fear  that  preserves  us;  for  such  a 
fear  as  that  does  not  disturb,  but  reassure. 
The  adulterous  woman  fears  the  coming  of 
her  husband,  and  the  chaste  one  fears  her 
husband's  departure. 

8.  Therefore,  as,  according  to  one  kind  of 
temptation,  "God  tempteth  not  any  man:" 
but  according  to  another,  "  The  Lord  your 
God  tempteth  you;"   and  according  to  one 
kind  of  fear,  "there  is  no  fear  in  love;   but 
perfect  love  casteth  out  fear;  "  but  according 
to  another,  "  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is  clean, 
enduring  for  ever;  " — so  also,  in  this  passage, 
according   to  one   kind   of   judgment,    "the 
Father  judgeth  no  man,  but  hath  committed 
all  judgment  unto  the  Son;"    and  according 
to  another,  "I,"  said  He,  "seek  not  mine 
own   glory:    there   is  one   that   seeketh    and 
judgeth." 

9.  This  point  may  also  be  solved  from  the 
word    itself.       Thou    hast    penal    judgment 
spoken  of  in  the  Gospel:  "  He  that  believeth 
not    is    judged6    already;"    and    in    another 
place,  "  The  hour  is  coming,  when  those  who 
are  in  the  graves  shall  hear  His  voice,  and 
shall  come  forth;    they  that  have  done  x("H'» 
unto  the  resurrection  of  life;   and  they  that 
have  done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of  judg 
ment."7     You  see  how  He  has  put  judgment 
for  condemnation  ami  punishment.      And  yet 
if  judgment  were  always  to  be  taken  for  con 
demnation,  should  we  ever  have  heard  in  the 


Juhn  ill.  18. 


/*,//<  /«»/.     John  v.  z8,  29. 


242 


Till',   WORKS  OF  ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


[Tu 


ps->lm,  "  Judge  me,  O  God  "  ?     In  the  former 
place,  judgment  is  used  in  the  sense  of  inflict 


ing   pain;    here,    it   i 
discernment.1     How 


used    in   the   sense 
so  ?     Just    because 


expounded  by  him  who  says,  "  Judge  me,  O 
God."  For  read,  and  see  what  follows. 
What  is  this  "Judge  me,  O  God,"  but  just 
what  lie  adds,  "  and  discern2  my  cause  against 
an  unholy  nation"?1  Because  then  it  was 
said,  "  Judge  me,  O  God,  and  discern  [the 
true  merits  of]  my  cause  against  an  unholy 
nation;'1  similarly  now  said  the  Lord  Christ, 
"I  seek  not  mine  own  glory:  there  is  one 
that  seeketh  and  judgeth."  How  is  there 
"  one  that  seeketh  and  judgeth  "  ?  There  is 
the  Father,  who  discerns  and  distinguishes 
between  my  glory  and  yours.  For  ye  glory  in 
the  spirit  of  this  present  world.  Not  so  do  I, 


Word  was  God  "  ?) — in  respect,  I  say,  to  His 
very  form  as  a  servant,  the  difference  is  gu-at 
between  the  glory  of  Christ  and  the  glory  of 
other  men.  Of  that  glory  He  spoke,  when 
the  devil-possessed  heard  Him  say,  "  I  seek 
not  mine  own  glory:  there  is  one  that  seeketh 
and  judgeth/' 

10.  But  what  sayest  Thou,  O  Lord,  of 
Thyself?  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  If 
a  man  keep  my  saying,  he  shall  never  see 
death."  Ye  say,  "Thou  hast  a  devil."  I 
call  you  to  life:  keep  my  word  and  ye  shall 
not  die,  They  heard,  "  He  shall  never  see 
death  who  keepeth  my  word,"  and  were  angry, 
because  already  dead  in  that  death  from 
which  they  might  have  escaped.  "  Then  said 
the  Jews,  Now  we  know  that  thou  hast  a 
devil.  Abraham  is  dead,  and  the  prophets; 


who  say  to  the  Father,  "  Father,  glorify  Thou  !  and  thou  sayest,  If  a  man  keep  my  saying, 
me  with  that  glory  which  I  had  with  Thee  be- j  he  shall  never  taste  of  death."  See  how 
fore  the  world  was."  4  What  is  "  that  glory  "  ?  [  Scripture  speaks:  "  He  shall  not  see."  that 
One  altogether  different  from  human  infla-  is,  "taste  of  death."  "  He  shall  see  death 
tion.  Thus  doth  the  Father  judge.  And  so  — he  shall  taste  of  death."  Who  seeth? 
to  "judge"  is  to  "discern."1  And  what  Who  tasteth  ?  What  eyes  has  a  man  to  see 
does  He  discern  ?  The  glory  of  His  Son  with  when  he  dies  ?  When  death  at  its  com 
ing  shuts  up  those  very  eyes  from  seeing 
aught,  how  is  it  said,  "  he  shall  not  see 


from  the  glory  of  mere  men;  for  to  that  end 
is  it  said,  "  God,  Thy  God,  hath  anointed 
Thee  with  the  oil  of  gladness  above  Thy  fel 
lows."5  For  not  because  He  became  man 
is  He  now  to  be  compared  with  us.  We,  as 
men,  are  sinful,  He  is  sinless;  we.  as  men,  in 
herit  from  Adam  both  death  and  delinquency, 
He  received  from  the  Virgin  mortal  flesh,  but 
no  iniquity.  In  fine,  neither  because  we  wish 
it  are  we  born,  nor  as  long  as  we  wish  it  do 
we  live,  nor  in  the  way  that  we  wish  it  do  we 
die:  but  He,  before  He  was  born,  chose  of 
whom  He  should  be  born;  at  His  birth  He 
brought  about  the  adoration  of  the  Magi; 
He  grew  as  an  infant,  and  showed  Himself 
God  by  His  miracles,  and  surpassed  man  in 
His  weakness.  Lastly,  He  chose  also  the 
manner  of  His  death,  that  is,  to  be  hung  on 
the  cross,  and  to  fasten  the  cross  itself  on  the 
foreheads  of  believers,  so  that  the  Christian 
may  say,  "God  forbid  that  I  should  glory, 
save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  6 
On  the  very  cross,  when  He  pleased,  He 
made  His  body  be  taken  down,  and  departed; 


When  it  taketh  every 

remain  in  the  palate? 

see/'    and    "  he   will 


death"?     With  what  palate,   also,  and   with 

what  jaws  can  death  be  tasted,  that  its  savor 

may  be  discovered  ? 

sense  away,  what  will 

But    here,    "  he    will 

taste,"  are  used  for  that  which  is  really  the 

case,  he  will  know  by  experience. 

1 1.  Thus  spake  the  Lord  (it  is  scarcely  suf 
ficient  to  say),  as  one  dying  to  dying  men; 
for  "  to  the  Lord  also  belong  the  issues  from 
death,"  7  as  saith  the  psalm.  Seeing,  then, 
He  was  both  speaking  to  those  destined  to 
die,  and  speaking  as  one  appointed  to  death 
Himself,  what  mean  His  words,  "  He  who 
keepeth  my  saying  shall  never  see  death;"' 
save  that  the  Lord  saw  another  death,  from 
which  He  was  come  to  deliver  us — the  second 
death,  death  eternal,  the  death  of  hell,8  the 
death  of  damnation  with  the  devil  and  his 
angels?  This  is  real  death;  for  that  other  is 
only  a  removal.  What  is  that  other  death  ? 
The  leaving  of  the  body — the  laying  down  of 


in  the  very  sepulchre,  as  long  as  it  pleased  ;a  heavy  burden;  provided  another  burden  be 
Him,   He  lay;   and,  when  He   pleased,   He 
arose  as  from  a  bed.     So,  then,  brethren,  in 
respect  to  His  very  form  as  a  servant  (for 


not  carried  away,  to  drag  the  man  headlong 
to  hell.  Of  that  real  death  then  did  the  Lord 
say,  "  He  who  keepeth  my  saying  shall  never 


tvho  can  speak  of  that  other  form  as  it  ought   see  death." 
to  l)e  spoken  of,  "  In  the  beginning  was  the        12.   Let  us  not  be  frightened  at  that  other 

death,  but  let  us  fear  this  one.     But,  what  is 


Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the 


1  Ditcretionem,  Jisctrnr,—\ega\  terms,  implying  the  judicial 
expiscation  and  discrimiiiatin;;  of  tlu- real  facts  and  merits  of  a 
case,  by  sifting  the  evidence  and  separating  the  true  from  the 
false.  -  Sci-  previous  note.  <  ljs.  xliii.  i. 

4  John  xvii.  5.  5  Ps.  xlv.  j.  6  Gal.  vi.  14. 


very  grievous,  many,  through  a  perverse  fear 
of  that  other,  have  fallen  into  this.     It  has 


7  PS.  Ixviii.   20. 


8  Geltenn.inim. 


i    -     x  :    \i,:n.| 


ON    I! 


GOSPEL  01  -  i .  JOHN. 


243 


hern  >aid  to  some,  Adore  idols;  for  if  you  do 
it  not,  you  shall  be  put  to  death:  or,  as  Nehu- 
ehadne/./ar  said,  If  you  do  not,  you  shall  be 
thrown  into  the  furnace  of  flaming  fire. 
Many  feared  and  adored.  Shrinking  from 
death,  they  died.  Through  fear  of  tne  death 
which  cannot  lie  escaped,  they  fell  into  that 
which  they  might  happily  have  escaped,  had 
they  not,  unhappily,  heen  afraid  of  that  which 
is  inevitable.  As  a  man,  thou  art  born — art 
destined  to  die.  Whither  wilt  thou  go  to 
escape  death?  What  wilt  thou  do  to  escape 
it  ?  That  thy  Lord  might  comfort  thee  in 
thy  necessary  subjection  to  death,  of  His  own 
good  pleasure  He  condescended  to  die. 
When  thou  seest  the  Christ  lying  dead,  art 
thou  reluctant  to  die?  Die  then  thou  must; 
thou  hast  no  means  of  escape.  Be  it  to-day, 
be  it  to-morrow;  it  is  to  be  —  the  debt  must 
be  paid.  What,  then,  does  a  man  gain  by 
fearing,  fleeing,  hiding  himself  from  discov 
ery  by  his  enemy  ?  Does  he  get  exemption 
from  death  ?  No,  but  that  he  may  die  a  little 
later.  He  gets  not  security  against  his  debt, 
but  asks  a  respite.  Put  it  off  as  long  as  you 
please,  the  thing  so  delayed  will  come  at  last. 
Let  us  fear  that  death  which  the  three  men 
feared  when  they  said  to  the  king,  "God  is 
able  to  deliver  us  even  from  that  flame;  and 
if  not,"  etc.1  There  was  there  the  fear  of 
that  death  which  the  Lord  now  threatens, 
when  they  said,  But  also  if  He  be  not  willing 
openly  to  deliver  us.  He  can  crown  us  with 
victory  in  secret.  Whence  also  the  Lord, 
when  on  the  eve  of  appointing  martyrs  and 
becoming  the  head-martyr  Himself,  said, 
"  Be  not  afraid  of  them  that  kill  the  body,  and 
after  that  have  no  more  that  they  can  "do." 
How  "  have  they  no  more  that  they  can  do  "  ? 
What  if,  after  having  slain  one,  they  threw 
his  body  to  be  mangled  by  wild  beasts,  and 
torn  to  pieces  by  birds  ?  Cruelty  seems  still 
to  have  something  it  can  do.  But  to  whom 
is  it  done?  He  has  departed.  The  body  is 
there,  but  without  feeling.  The  tenement 
lies  on  the  ground,  the  tenant  is  gone.  And 
so  "  after  that  they  have  no  more  that  they 
can  do;"  for  they  can  do  nothing  to  that 
which  is  without  sensation.  '*  But  fear  Him 
who  hath  power  to  destroy  both  body  and  soul 
in  hell  fire."  *  Here  is  the  death  that  He  spake 
of  when  He  said,  "He  that  keepeth  my  say 
ing  shall  never  see  death."  Let  us  keep  then, 
brethren,  His  own  word  in  faith,  as  those  who 
are  yet  to  attain  to  sight,  when  the  liberty  we 
receive  has  reached  its  fullness. 

13.  But  those  men,  indignant,  yet  dead,  and 
predestinated  to  death  eternal,  answered  with 


insults,  and  said,  "  Now  we  know  that  thou 
hast  a  devil.  Abraham  is  dead,  and  tin-  pro 
phets."  But  not  in  that  death  which  t 
meant  to  he  understood  was  eitiier  Abraham 
dead  or  the  prophets.  For  these  wen- de-id, 
and  yet  they  live:  those  others  were  alive,  and 
yet  they  had  died.  For,  replying  in  a  certain 

I  place  to  the  Sadducees,  when  they  stirred  the 
question  of  the  resurrection,  the  Lord  Him 
self  speaks  thus:  "  But  as  touching  the  resur 
rection  of  the  dead,  have  ye  not  read  how 
the  Lord  said  to  Moses  from  the  bush,  I  am 
the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaac, 

'  and  the  God  of  Jacob?  He  is  not  the  God 
of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living."3  If,  then, 
they  live,  let  us  labor  so  to  live,  that  after 
death  we  may  be  able  to  live  with  them. 
"  Whom  makest  thou  thyself,"  they  add, 
that  thou  sayest,  "  he  shall  never  see  death 
who  keepeth  my  saying,"  when  thou  knowest 
thit  both  Abraham  is  dead  and  the  prophets  ? 

14.  "  Jesus  answered,  If  I  glorify  myself, 
my  glory  is  nothing:  it  is  my  Father  that 
glorifieth  me."     He  said  this  on  account  of 
their    saying,     "  Whom    makest    thou    thy 
self?"     For    He    refers    His    glory   to   the 
Father,  of  whom  it  is  that  He  is  God.     From 
this  expression  also  the  Arians  sometimes  re 
vile  our  faith,  and   say,  See,  the   Father  is 
greater;  for  at  all  events  He  glorifies  the  Son. 
Heretic,  hast  thou  not  read  of  the  Son  Him 
self  also  saying  that  He  glorifies  His  Father  ? 4 

j  If  both  He  glorifieth  the  Son,  and  the  Son 
glorifieth  the  Father,  lay  aside  thy  stubborn 
ness,  acknowledge  the  equality,  correct  thy 
perversity. 

15.  "It  is,"  then,  said   He,  "my  Father 
that  glorifieth  me;  of  whom  ye  say,  that  He 
is  your  God:  and  ye  have  not  known  Him." 
See,   my  brethren,  how  He  shows  that  God 
Himself  is  the  Father  of  the  Christ,  who  was 
announced   also  to  the  Jews.     I   say  so  for 
this  reason,  that  now  again  there  are  certain 
heretics  who  say  that  the  God  revealed  in  the 
Old  Testament  is  not  the  Father  of  Christ, 
but  some  prince  or  other,  I  know  not  what, 
of  evil  angels.     There  are  Manicheans  who 
say  so;  there  are   Marcionites  who  say  so. 
There  are  also,  perhaps,  other  heretics,  whom 
it  is  either  unnecessary  to  mention,  or  all  of 
whom  I  cannot  at  present  recall;   yet  there 
have  not  been  wanting  those  who  said  this. 
Attend,  then,  that  you  may  have  something 
also  to  affirm  against  such.     Christ  the  Lord 
calleth   Him   His   Father  whom   they  called 
their  God,  and  did  not  know;  for  had  they 
known  [that  God]  Himself  they  would  have 
received  His  Son.     **  But  I,"  said  He,  "  know 


"  Dan.  iii.  16-18. 

1  u  In  the  gehenna  of  fn 


1    ikr  xii.  4,  5.  3  Matt.  xxii.  31,  is  ;  Kx.  iii.  6. 


. 


244 


THE  WORKS  OK  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TKACTATK  XI  III. 


Him."  To  those  judging  after  the  flesh  He 
might  have  seemed  from  such  words  to  be 
self-assuming,  because  He  said,  "  I  know 
Him.''  But  see  what  follows:  "  If  I  should 
say  that  I  know  Him  not,  I  shall  be  a  liar  like 
unto  you."  Let  not,  then,  self-assumption 
be  so  guarded  against  as  to  cause  the  relin- 
quishment  of  truth.  "  But  I  know  Him,  and 
keep  His  saying.'*  The  saying  of  the  Father 
He  was  speaking  as  Son;  and  He  Himself 
was  the  Word  of  tne  Father,  that  was  speak 
ing  to  men. 

16.  "  Your  father  Abraham  rejoiced  to  see 
my  day;  and  he  saw,  and  was  glad."  Abra 
ham's  seed,  Abraham's  Creator,  bears  a  great 
testimony  to  Abraham.  "Abraham  rejoiced," 
He  says,  "  to  see  my  day."  He  did  not  fear, 
but  "  rejoiced  to  see  it."  For  in  him  there 
•vas  the  love  that  casteth  out  fear.1  He  says 
not,  rejoiced  because  he  saw;  but  "  rejoiced 
that  he  might  see."  Believing,  at  all  events, 
he  rejoiced  in  hope  to  see  with  the  under 
standing.  "And  he  saw."  And  what  more 
could  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  say,  or  what 
more  ought  He  to  have  said  ?  "And  he 
saw/'  He  says,  "and  was  glad.''  Who  can 
unfold  this  joy,  my  brethren  ?  If  those  re 
joiced  whose  bodily  eyes  were  opened  by  the 
Lord,  what  joy  was  his  who  saw  with  the  eyes 
of  his  soul  the  light  ineffable,  the  abiding 
Word,  the  brilliance  that  dazzles  the  minds 
of  the  pious,  the  unfailing  Wisdom,  God 
abiding  with  the  Father,  and  at  some  time  to 
come  in  the  flesh  and  yet  not  to  withdraw 
from  the  bosom  of  the  Father?  All  this  did 
Abraham  see.  For  in  saying  "my  day, "  it 
may  be  uncertain  of  what  He  spake;  whether 
the  day  of  the  Lord  in  time, when  He  should 
come  in  the  flesh,  or  that  day  of  the  Lord 
which  knows  not  a  dawn,  and  knows  no  de 
cline.  But  for  my  part  I  doubt  not  that 
father  Abraham  knew  it  all.  And  where  shall 
I  find  it  out  ?  Ought  the  testimony  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  satisfy  us  ?  Let  us  sup 
pose  that  we  cannot  find  it  out,  for  perhaps 
it  is  difficult  to  say  in  what  sense  it  is  clear 
that  Abraham  "rejoiced  to  see  the  day"  of 
Christ,  "  and  saw  it,  and  was  glad."  And 
though  we  find  it  not,  can  the  Truth  have 
lied  ?  Let  us  believe  the  Truth,  and  cherish 
no  doubt  of  Abraham's  merited  rewards.2 
Yet  listen  to  one  passage  that  occurs  to  me 
meanwhile.  When  father  Abraham  sent  his 
servant  to  seek  a  wife  for  his  son  Isaac,  he 
bound  him  by  this  oath,  to  fulfill  faithfully 
what  he  was  commanded,  and  know  also  for 
himself  what  to  do.  For  it  was  a  great  mat 
ter  that  was  in  hand  when  marriage  was 


sought  for  Abraham's  seed.  But  that  the  ser 
vant  might  apprehend  what  Abraham  knew, 
that  it  was  not  offspring  after  the  flesh  he  de 
sired,  nor  anything  of  a  carnal  kind  concern 
ing  his  race  that  was  referred  to,  he  said  to 
the  servant  whom  he  sent,  "  Put  thy  hand 
under  my  thigh,  and  swear  by  the  God  of 
heaven.3  What  connection  has  the  God  of 
heaven  with  Abraham's  thigh  ?  Already  you 
understand  the  mystery:4  by  thigh  is  meant 
race.  And  what  was  that  swearing,  but  the 
signifying  that  of  Abraham's  race  would  the 
God  of  heaven  come  in  the  flesh  ?  Fools  find 
fault  with  Abraham  because  he  said,  Put  thy 
hand  under  my  thigh.  Those  who  find  fault 
with  Christ's  flesh  find  fault  with  Abraham's 
conduct.  But  let  us,  brethren,  if  we  acknow 
ledge  the  flesh  of  Christ  as  worthy  of  venera 
tion,  despise  not  that  thigh,  but  receive  it  as 
spoken  of  prophetically.  For  a  prophet  also 
was  Abraham.  Whose  prophet  ?  Of  his  own 
seed,  and  of  his  Lord.  To  his  own  seed  he 
pointed  in  saying,  "  Put  thy  hand  under  my 
thigh."  To  his  Lord  he  pointed  in  adding, 
"  and  swear  by  the  God  of  heaven." 

17.  The  angry  Jews  replied,   "Thou  art 
not  yet  fifty  years  old,  and  hast  thou  seen 
Abraham?"     And  the  Lord:    "Verily,  ver 
ily,   I    say  unto   you,  Before  Abraham   was 
made,  I  am."5     Weigh  the  words,  and  get  a 
knowledge  of  the  mystery.     "  Before  Abra 
ham   was   made."     Understand,    that    "was 
made"     refers    to    human    formation;    but 
"am"   to   the    Divine   essence.     "He   was 
made,"  because  Abraham  was  a  creature.     He 
did   not  say,   Before  Abraham  was,   I  was; 
but,  "  Before  Abraham  was  made,''  who  was 
not  made  save  by  me,  "  I  am."     Nor  did  He 
say  this,  Before  Abraham  was  made   I  was 
made;    for  "  In  the  beginning  God  created 
the  heaven  and  the  earth;"6  and  "in  the  be 
ginning  was  the  Word."7     "  Before  Abraham 
was  made,  I  am."     Recognize  the  Creator — 
distinguish  the  creature.     He  who  spake  was 
made  the  seed  of  Abraham;  and  that  Abra 
ham  might  be  made,  He  Himself  was  before 
Abraham. 

1 8.  Hence,  as  if  by  the  most  open  of  all 
insults  thrown  at  Abraham,  they  were  now 
excited  to  greater  bitterness.     Of  a  certainty 
it  seemed  to  them  that  Christ  the  Lord  had 
uttered  blasphemy  in  saying,  "  Before  Abra 
ham  was   made,    I   am."     "Therefore  took 
they  up  stones  to  cast  at  Him."  To  what  could 
so  great  hardness  have  recourse,  save  to  its 
like  ?     "  But  Jesus  "  [acts]  as  man,  as  one  in 


John  iv.  18. 


3  Gen.  xxiv.  .-4. 

5  A  nt,;ji,,i»i  Abraham  fieret  ego 
ttnta.1,  t  ' 

6  Gen.  i 


4  Sacramentum. 
m.    Greek,  "n-ptK  ' 


:Chap.  i.  i. 


TRACT  A  1 1    \ 


ON    I  Hi:  GOSP1  !    <>i    ST.  JOHN, 


245 


•in  of  a   servant,  as   lowly,  a»   about  to 
•offer,  about    to  die,  aliont  to  redeem   us  with 


•>f  stones5  It  were  not  a  great  thing 
to  C.od;  but  better  was  it  that  patience  should 
be  commended  than  power  everted.  There- 


His    blood;    not    as    He  who   rV-    not    as    the 

Word    in    the   beginning,  and  the  Word    with    fore  "  He  hid  Himselt  "  from  them,  t'n 

God.      For  when  they  took  up  stones   to  cast    might  not  be  stoned.     As  man,  He  fled  from 

at   Him,  what  great  thing  were  it  had  they   the    stones;   but  woe   to   those    from  whose 

been    instantly   swallowed   up  in   the   gaping  j  stony  hearts  God  has  fled  ? 

earth,  and   found  the  inhabitants  of  hell  in 


TRACTATE   XLIV. 

CHAPTER  IX. 


1.  WE  have  just  read  the  long  lesson  of 
the  man  born  blind,  whom  the  Lord  Jesus 
restored  to  the  light;  but  were  we  to  attempt 
handling  the  whole  of  it,    and   considering, 
according  to  our  ability,  each  passage  in  a 
way  proportionate  to  its  worth,  the  day  would 
be  insufficient.     Wherefore  I  ask  and  warn 
your  Charity  not  to  require  any  words  of  ours 
on  those  passages  whose  meaning  is  manifest; 
for  it  would  be  too  protracted  to  linger  at 
each.     I    proceed,    therefore,    to    set    forth 
briefly  the  mystery  of  this  blind  man's  enlight 
enment.     All,  certainly,  that  was  done  by  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  both  works  and  words,  are 
worthy  of  our  astonishment  and  admiration: 
His    works,    because    they   are    facts;    His 
words,  because  they  are  signs.     If  we  reflect, 
then,  on  what  is  signified  by  the  deed  here 
done,  that  blind  man  is  the  human  race;  for 
this   blindness   had    place   in   the    first  man 
through  sin,  from  whom  we  all  draw  our  ori 
gin,  not  only  in  respect  of  death,  but  also  of 
unrighteousness.     For  if   unbelief  is    blind 
ness,    and    faith   enlightenment,    whom   did 
Christ  find  a  believer  at  His  coming  ?  seeing 
that  the   apostle,   belonging   himself   to  the 
family  of  the  prophets,  says:  "And  we  also 
in  times  past  were  by  nature  the  children  of 
wrath,   even   as  others."1     If    "children  of 
wrath,"  then  children  of  vengeance,  children 
of  punishment,  children  of  hell.     For  how  is 
it  "by  nature,"  save  that  through  the  first 
man  sinning  moral  evil  rooted  itself  in  us  as 
a  nature?     If  evil  has  so  taken  root  within 
us,  every  man  is  born  mentally  blind.     For 
if  he  sees,  he  has  no  need  of  a  guide.      If  he 
does  need  one  to  guide  and  enlighten  him, 
then  is  lie  blind  from  his  birth. 

2.  The  Lord  came:  what  did  He  do?     He 
set  forth  a  great  mystery.     "  He  spat  on  the 


F.ph.  ii.  3. 


ground,"  He  made  clay  of  His  spittle;  for 
the  Word  was  made  flesh.3  "And  He 
anointed  the  eyes  of  the  blind  man."  The 
anointing  had  taken  place,  and  yet  he  saw 
not.  He  sent  him  to  the  pool  which  is  called 
Siloam.  But  it  was  the  evangelist's  concern 
to  call  our  attention  to  the  name  of  this  pool; 
and  he  adds,  "Which  is  interpreted,  Sent." 
You  understand  now  who  it  is  that  was  sent; 
for  had  He  not  been  sent,  none  of  us  would 
have  been  set  free  from  iniquity.  Accord 
ingly  he  washed  his  eyes  in  that  pool  which 
is  interpreted,  Sent- -he  was  baptized  in 
Christ.  If.  therefore,  when  He  baptized 
him  in  a  manner  in  Himself,  He  then  en 
lightened  him;  when  He  anointed  Him,  per 
haps  He  made  him  a  catechumen.3  In  many 
different  ways  indeed  may  the  profound 
meaning  of  such  a  sacramental  act  be  set 
forth  and  handled;  but  let  this  suffice  your 
Charity.  You  have  heard  a  great  mystery. 
Ask  a  man,  Are  you  a  Christian  ?  His  an 
swer  to  you  is,  I  am  not,  if  he  is  a  pagan  or 
a  Jew.  But  if  he  says,  I  am;  you  inquire 
again  of  him,  Are  you  a  catechumen  or  a  be 
liever?  If  he  reply,  A  catechumen;  he  has 
been  anointed,  but  not  yet  washed.  But  how 
anointed  '  Inquire,  and  he  will  answer  you. 
Inquire  of  him  in  whom  he  believes.  In  that 
very  respect  in  which  he  is  a  catechumen  he 
says,  In  Christ.  See,  I  am  speaking  in  a  way 
both  to  the  faithful  and  to  catechumens. 
What  have  I  said  of  the  spittle  and  the  clay  ? 
That  the  Word  was  made  flesh.  This  even 
catechumens  hear;  but  that  to  which  they 
have  been  anointed  is  not  all  they  need;  let 
them  hasten  to  the  font  if  they  are  in  search 
of  enlightenment. 

3.  And  now,  because  of  certain  points  in 

i     .;- 

»  The  name  given  to  <>nr  who  was  under  instruction  for  bap 
tism,  unit  tor  entrance  into  the  full  privileges  of  church  member- 
-I.,,,. 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRALI.VII    XL IV. 


the  lesson  before  us,  let  us  run  over  the  words 
of  the  Lord,  and  of  the  whole  lesson  itself, 
rather  than  make  them  a  theme  of  discourse. 
"As  He  passed  out,  He  saw  a  man  who  was 
blind;"  blind,  not  from  any  cause  what 
ever,  but  "  from  his  birth."  "And  His  dis 
ciples  asked  Him,  Rabbi.*'  You  know  that 
"  Rabbi  *'  is  Master.  They  called  Him  Mas 
ter,  because  they  desired  to  learn.  The 
question,  at  all  events,  they  proposed  to  the 
Lord  as  a  master,  "  Who  did  sin,  this  man, 
or  his  parents,  that  he  was  born  blind?" 
Jesus  answered,  "  Neither  hath  this  man 
sinned,  nor  his  parents,"  that  he  was  born 
blind.  What  is  this  that  He  has  said?  If 
no  man  is  sinless,  were  the  parents  of  this 
blind  man  without  sin?  Was  he  himself 
either  born  without  original  sin,  or  had  he 
committed  none  in  the  course  of  his  lifetime  ? 
Because  his  eyes  were  closed,  had  his  lusts 
lost  their  wakefulness  ?  How  many  evils  are 
done  by  the  blind  ?  From  what  evil  does  an 
evil  mind  abstain,  even  though  the  eyes  are 
closed  ?  He  could  not  see,  but  he  knew  how 
to  think,  and  perchance  to  lust  after  some 
thing  which  his  blindness  hindered  him  from 
attaining,  and  so  still  in  his  heart  to  be  judged 
by  the  searcher  of  hearts.  -If,  then,  both  his 
parents  had  sin,  and  the  man  himself  had 
sin,  wherefore  said  the  Lord,  "  Neither  hath 
this  man  sinned,  nor  his  parents/'  but  only 
in  respect  to  the  point  on  which  he  was  ques 
tioned,  "  that  he  was  born  blind  "  ?  For  his 
parents  had  sin;  but  not  by  reason  of  the  sin 
itself  did  it  come  about  that  he  was  born 
blind.  If,  then,  it  was  not  through  the 
parents'  sin  that  he  was  born  blind,  why  was 
he  born  blind  ?  Listen  to  the  Master  as  He 
teaches.  He  seeks  one  who  believes,  to  give 
him  understanding.  He  Himself  tells  us 
the  reason  why  that  man  was  born  blind: 
"Neither  hath  this  man  sinned,"  He  says, 
"  nor  his  parents:  but  that  the  works  of  God 
should  1)6  made  manifest  in  him." 

4.  And  then,  what  follows  ?  "I  must  work 
the  works  of  Him  that  sent  me."  See,  here 
is  that  sent  one  [Siloam],  wherein  the  blind 
man  washed  his  face.  And  see  what  He  said: 
"  I  must  work  the  works  of  Him  that  sent 
me,  while  it  is  day."  Recall  to  thy  mind 
the  way  in  which  He  gives  universal  glory  to 
Him  of  whom  He  is:1  for  that  One  has  the 
Son  who  is  of  Him;  He  Himself  has  no  One 
of  whom  He  is.1  Hut  wherefore,  Lord,  saidst 
Thou,  "  While  it  is  day  "  ?  Hearken  why  He 
did  so.  "  The  night  cometh  when  no  man 
can  work.'1  Not  even  Thou,  Lord.  Will 
that  night  have  such  power  that  not  even 

1  <>r.  "  from  whom  He  proceeds."     The  Son  is  of  the  Father, 
•tier  is  of  none. 


Thou,  whose  work  the  night  is,  wilt  be  able 
to  work  therein?  For  I  think,  Lord  Jesus, 
nay  I  do  not  think,  but  believe  and  hold  it 
sure,  that  Thou  wast  there  when  (iod  said, 
"Let  there  be  light,  and  there  was  light."1 
For  if  He  made  it  by  the  Word,  He  made  it 
by  Thee:  and  therefore  it  is  said,  "All  things 
were  made  by  Him;  and  without  Him  was 
nothing  made."3  "  God  divided  between  the 
light  and  the  darkness:  the  light  He  called 
Day,  and  the  darkness  He  called  Night."  4 

5.  What  is  that  night  wherein,  when  it 
comes,  no  one  shall  be  able  to  work  ?  Hear 
what  the  day  is,  and  then  thou  wiltlmderstand 
what  the  night  is.  But  how  shall  we  hear 
what  the  day  is  ?  Let  Himself  tell  us:  "As 
long  as  I  am  in  this  world,  I  am  the  light  of 
the  world."  See,  He  Himself  is  the  day. 
Let  the  blind  man  wash  his  eyes  in  the  day, 
that  he  may  behold  the  day.  "As  long," 
He  says,  "  as  I  am  in  the  world,  I  am  the 
light  of  the  world."  Then  will  it  be  night  of 
a  kind  unknown  to  me,  when  Christ  will  no 
longer  be  there;  and  so  no  one  will  be  able  to 
work.  An  inquiry  remains,  my  brethren; 
patiently  listen  to  me  as  I  inquire.  With 
you  I  inquire:  with  you  shall  I  find  Him  to 
whom  my  inquiry  is  addressed.  We  are 
agreed;  for  it  is  expressly  and  definitely 
stated  that  the  Lord  proclaimed  Himself  in 
this  place  as  the  day,  that  is,  the  light  of  the 
world.  "As  long,"  He  says,  "as  I  am  in 
this  world,  I  am  the  light  of  the  world." 
Therefore  He  Himself  works.  But  how  long 
is  He  in  this  world  ?  Are  we  to  think,  breth 
ren,  that  He  was  here  then,  and  is  here'  no 
longer?  If  we  think  so,  then  already,  after 
the  Lord's  ascension,  did  that  fearful  night 
begin,  when  no  one  can  work.  If  that  night 
began  after  the  Lord's  ascension,  how  was  it 
that  the  apostles  wrought  so  much  ?  Was 
that  the  night  when  the  Holy  Spirit  came, 
and,  filling  all  who  were  in  one  place,  gave 
them  the  power  of  speaking  in  the  tongues  of 
every  nation  ?5  Was  it  night  when  that  lame 
man  was  made  whole  at  the  word  of  Peter,  or 
rather,  at  the  word  of  the  Lord  dwelling  in 
Peter?6  Was  it  night  when,  as  the  disciples 
were  passing  by,  the  sick  were  laid  in  couches, 
that  they  might  be  touched  at  least  by  their 
shadow  as  they  passed?7  Yet,  when  the 
Lord  was  here,  there  was  no  one  made  whole 
by  His  shadow  as  He  passed;  but  He  Him 
self  had  said  to  the  disciples,  *'  Greater  things 
than  these  shall  ye  do."8  Yes,  the  Lord  had 
said,  "Greater  things  than  these  shall  ye 
do;  "  but  let  not  flesh  and  blood  exalt  itself: 


-  dm.  i.   ;. 
i   Arts  ii.    I    (-. 


U'h.ip.  i.    ;. 
<•  Acts  iii.  6-8. 


4  C.er,.  i.  4,  5. 
7  Acts  v.  15. 


Ml       XI    IV.) 


ON  THE  ' .» >SPEL  « -I    -  I.    |<  >ll\. 


let  surli  hear  Him  aiso  saying. 
.  do  notlni;. 


Without  me   anil    He  spiv. id  the  clay  upon  his  eyes,  and 


6.    What  then  ?     What  shall  we  say  of  that 
night  ?     When    will    it   be,  when  no  one  shall 


said  unto  him,  do  and  wash  in  the  pool  of 
Si  loam  (which  is,  by  interpretation,  Sent). 
He  went  his  way  therefore,  and  washed,  and 


be  able  to  work  ?     It  will  be  that  night  of  the   came  seeing."     As  these  words  are  clear,  we 
wicked,  that   night  of  those  to  whom   it  shall    may  pass  them  over. 

be  said  in  tiictnd,  ' '  1  )epart  into  everlasting!      8.   "The    neighbors  therefore,   and    those 
Tire,  prepared   for  the  devil  and  his  angels."    who  saw  him  previously,  for  he  was  a  beggar, 


Hut  it  is  here  called  night,  not  flame,  nor  fire. 


said, 


Is  not  this  he  who  sat  and  begged  ? 
Hearken,  then,  why  it  is  also  night.  Of  a  Some  said,  It  is  he:  others,  No;  but  he  is  like 
certain  .servant  He  says,  "  Hind  ye  him  hand  j  him."  The  opening  of  iiis  eyes  had  altered 

his 


and  foot,  and  cast  him  into  outer  darkness." 
Let  man,  then,  work  while  he  liveth,  that  he 
may  not  be  overtaken  by  that  night  when  no 
man  can  work.  It  is  now  that  faith  is  work 
ing  by  love;  and  if  now  we  are  working,  then 
this  is  the  day — Christ  is  here.  Hear  His 
promise,  and  think  Him  not  absent.  It  is 
Himself  who  hath  said,  '  Lo,  I  am  with  you." 
How  long  ?  Let  there  be  no  anxiety  in  us 
who  are  alive;  were  it  possible,  with  this 
very  word  we  might  place  in  perfect  security 
the  generations  still  to  come.  "  Lo, "  He 
says,"  I  am  with  you  always,  even  to  the  end 
of  the  world."  >  That  day,  which  is  completed 
by  the  circuit  of  yonder  sun,  has  but  few 
hours;  the  day  of  Christ's  presence  extends 
even  to  the  end  of  the  world.  But  after  the 


countenance.  ''  He  said,  I  am  he." 
His  voice  utters  its  gratitude,  that  it  might 
not  be  condemned  as  ungrateful.  "  There 
fore  said  they  unto  him,  How  were  thine  eyes 
opened  ?  He  answered,  The  man  who  is 
called  Jesus  made  clay,  and  anointed  mine 
eyes,  and  said  unto  me,  Go  to  the  pool  of 
Siloam,  and  wash:  and  I  went  and  washed, 
and  saw."  See,  he  is  become  the  herald  of 
grace;  see,  he  preaches  the  gospel;  endowed 
with  sight,  he  becomes  a  confessor.  That 
blind  man  mak^s  confession,  and  the  heart 
of  the  wicked  was  troubled;  for  they  had  not 
in  their  heart  what  he  had  now  in  his  counte 
nance.  "  They  said  to  him,  Where  is  he 
who  hath  opened  thine  eyes?  He  said,  I 
know  not."  In  these  words  the  man's  own 


resurrection  of  the  living  and  the  dead,  when  [  soul  was  like  that  of  one  only  as  yet  anointed, 
He  shall  say  to  those  placed  at  His  right '  but  not  yet  seeing.  Let  us  so  put  it,  breth- 
hand,  "Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  re- i  ren,  as  if  he  had  that  anointing  in  his  soul, 
ceive  the  kingdom;  "  and  to  those  at  His  left, !  He  preaches,  and  knows  not  the  Being  whom 
"Depart  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for ;  he  preaches. 

the  devil  and  his  angels;  "4  then  shall  be  the  9.  "They  brought  to  the  Pharisees  him 
night  when  no  man  can  work,  but  only  get  who  had  been  blind.  And  it  was  the  Sabbath 
back  what  he  has  wrought  before.  There  is  when  Jesus  made  the  clay,  and  opened  his 


a  time  for  working,  another  for  receiving;  for 
the  Lord  shall  render  to  every  one  according 
to  his  works.5  While  thou  livest,  be  doing, 
if  thou  art  to  be  doing  at  all;  for  then  shall 
come  that  appalling  night,  to  envelope  the 
wicked  in  its  folds.  But  even  now  every  un 
believer,  when  he  dies,  is  received  within  that 
night:  there  is  no  work  to  be  done  there.  In 
that  night  was  the  rich  man  burning,  and  ask 
ing  a  drop  of  water  from  the  beggar's  finger ; 
he  mourned,  agonized,  confessed,  b 


eyes.  Then  again  the  Pharisees  also  asked 
how  he  had  received  his  sight.  And  he  said 
unto  them,  He  put  clay  upon  mine  eyes, 
and  I  washed,  and  do  see.  Therefore  said 
some  of  the  Pharisees;  "  not  all,  but  some;  for 
some  were  already  anointed.  Wnat  then  said 
those  who  neither  saw  nor  were  anointed  ? 
"  This  man  is  not  of  God,  because  he  keep- 
eth  not  the  Sabbath."  He  it  was  rather  who 
kept  it,  who  was  without  sin.  For  this  is  the 
spiritual  Sabbath,  to  have  no  sin.  In  fact, 


lief  was  vouchsafed.     He  even  endeavored  to  j  brethren,  it  is  of  this  that  God  admonishes 
do  good;  for  he  said  to  Abraham,   "  Father)  us,  when  He  commends  the  Sabbath  to  our 

notice:  "Thou  shall  do  no  servile  work  "7 
These  are  God's  words  when  commending  the 
Sabbath,  "Thou  shall  do  no  servile  work." 
Now  ask  the  former  lessons,  what  is  meant 
by  servile  work;8  and  listen  to  the  Lord: 
"  Every  one  that  committed)  sin  is  the  ser 
vant  of  sin."9  But  these  men,  neither  see- 


Abraham,  send  Lazarus  to  my  brethren,  that 
he  may  tell  them  what  is  being  done  here, 
lest  they  also  come  into  this  place  of  tor 
ment."6  Unhappy  man !  when  thou  wert 
living,  then  was  the  time  for  working:  now 
thou  art  already  in  the  night,  in  which  no 
man  can  work. 


7.   "  When  He  had  thus  spoken,  He  s-pat 
on  the  ground,  and  made  clay  of  the  spittle, 


Chap.  xv.  <.  M.-:t.  ait.  <  '  M.nt 

M..tt.  xxv.  34,  41.       5  Matt.  xvi.  1-7.  6  I.ukc 


Kxviii.  28. 


ing,  as  I  said,  nor  anointed,  kept  the  Sabbath 
carnally,  ami  profaned  it  spiritually.    "  Others 


9  Chap 


248 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


ii.  XI- IV. 


said,  How  can  a  man  that  is  a  sinner  do  such 
miracles?"  These  were  the  anointed  ones. 
"And  there  was  a  division  among  them." 
The  day  had  divided  between  the  light  and 
the  darkness.  "  They  say  then  unto  the  blind 
man  again,  What  sayest  thou  of  him  who  hath 
opened  thine  eyes  ?  "  What  is  thy  feeling 
about  him  ?  what  is  thine  opinion  ?  what  is 
thy  judgment  ?  They  sought  how  to  revile 
the  man,  that  he  might  be  cast  out  of  the 
synagogue,  but  be  found  by  Christ.  But  he 
steadfastly  expressed  what  he  felt.  For  he 
said,  "That  he  is  a  prophet."  As  yet,  in 
deed,  anointed  only  in  heart,  he  does  not 
thus  far  confess  the  Son  of  God,  and  yet  he 
speaks  not  untruthfully.  For  the  Lord  saith 
of  Himself,  "A  prophet  is  not  without  honor, 
save  in  his  own  country."  ' 

10.  "Therefore  the  Jews  did  not  believe 
concerning  him,  that  he  had  been  blind,  and 
received  his  sight,  till  they  called  the  parents 
of  him  that  received  his  sight; ''  that  is,  who 
had  been  blind,  and  had  come  to  the  posses 
sion  of  sight.    "And  they  asked  them,  saying, 
Is  this  your  son,  who  ye  say  was  born  blind  ? 
how  then  doth  he  now  see  ?     His  parents  an 
swered  them,  and  said,  WTe  know  that  this  is 
our  son,  and  that  he  was  born  blind:  but  how 
he  now  seeth,  we  know   not;    or  who  hath 
opened   his  eyes,  we   know  not.     And  they 
said,  Ask  himself;  he  is  of  age,  let  him  speak 
of  himself."     He  is  indeed  our  son,  and  we 
might  justly  be  compelled  to  answer  for  him 
as  an  infant,  because  then  he  could  not  speak 
for  himself:  from  of  old  he  has  had  power  of 
speech,  only  now  he  sees:  we  have  been  ac 
quainted  with  him  as  blind  from  his  birth,  we 
know  him  as  having  speech  from  of  old,  only 
now  do  we  see  him  endowed  with  sight:  ask 
himself,   that  you    may  be   instructed;   why 
seek  to  calumniate  us  ?     "  These  words  spake 
his  parents,  because  they  feared  the  Jews: 
for  the  Jews  had  conspired  already,  that  if 
any  man  did  confess  that  He  was  Christ,  he 
should  be  put  out  of  the  synagogue."     It  was 
no  longer  a  bad  thing  to  be  put  out  of  the 
synagogue.     They  cast  out,  but  Christ   re 
ceived.     "  Therefore  said  his  parents,  He  is 
of  age,  ask  himself." 

11.  "  Then  again  called  they  the  man  who 
had  been  blind,  and  said  unto  him,  Give  God 
the  glory."     What  is  that,  "Give  God   the 
glory"?     Deny   what    thou    hast   received. 
Such  conduct  is  manifestly  not  to  give  God 
the   glory,    but    rather   to   blaspheme    Him. 
"  Give  God,"  they  say,  "  the  glory:  we  know 
that  this  man  is  a  sinner.     Then  said  he,    If 
he  is  a  sinner,  I  know  not:  one  thing  I  know, 


that  whereas  I  w;is  blind,  now  I  see.  Then 
said  they  to  him,  What  did  lie  to  thee  ?  how 
opened  he  thine  eyes?"  And  he,  indignant 
now  at  the  hardness  of  the  Jews,  and  as  one 
brought  from  a  state  of  blindness  to  sight, 
unable  to  endure  the  blind,  "  answered  them, 
I  have  told  you  already,  and  ye  have  heard: 
wherefore  would  ye  hear  it  again?  Will  ye 
also  become  his  disciples?"  What  means, 
"Will  ye  also,"  but  that  I  am  one  already? 
"Will  ye  also  be  so?"  Now  I  see,  but  see 
not  askance. 

12.  "They   cursed    him,  and    said,  Thou 
art  his  disciple."     Such  a  malediction  be  up 
on  us,  and  upon  our  children  !     For  a  male 
diction  it  is,  if  thou  layest  open  their  heart, 
not  if  thou  ponderest  the  words.     "  But  we 
are   Moses"  disciples.       We  know   that  God 
spake  unto  Moses:  as  for  this  fellow,  we  know 
not    from   whence    he    is."     Would    ye   had 
known    that    "God    spake  to    Moses!"    ye 
would  have  also  known  that  God  preached  by 
Moses.     For  ye  have  the  Lord  saying,  "  Had 
ye  believed  Moses,  ye  would  have  also  be 
lieved,  me;  for  he  wrote  of  me."  2     Is  it  thus 
ye   follow  the   servant,  and  turn  your  back 
against  the  Lord  ?     But  not  even  the  servant 
do  ye  follow;  for  by  him  ye  would  be  guided 
to  the  Lord. 

13.  "  The    man    answered   and    said   unto 
them,  Herein  is  a  marvellous  thing,  that  ye 
know  not  from  whence  he  is,  and  yet  he  hath 
opened  mine  eyes.     Now  we  know  that  God 
heareth  not  sinners;  but  if  any  man  is  a  wor 
shipper  of  God,  and  doeth  His  will,  him  He 
heareth."     He    speaks     still     as    one    only 
anointed.     For   God   heareth    even   sinners. 
For  if  God  heard  not  sinners,  in  vain  would 
the  publican,  casting  his  eyes  on  the  ground, 
and  smiting  on  his  breast,  have  said,  "  Lord, 
be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner."      And  that  con 
fession  merited  justification,  as  this  blind  man 
enlightenment.     "  Since  the  world  began  was 
it  not  heard  that  any  man  opened  the  eyes  of 
one  that  was  born  blind.       If  this  man  were 
not  of  God,   he  could   do   nothing."     With 
frankness,    constancy,   and   truthfulness    [he 
spoke].     For  these  things  that  were  done  by 
the  Lord,  by  whom  were  they  done  but  by 
God  ?     Or  when  would  such  things  be  done 
by  disciples,  were  not  the  Lord  dwelling  in 
them? 

14.  "They  answered  and  said  unto  him, 
Thou    wast    wholly   born    in    sins."     What 
means  this  "  wholly  "?     Even  to  blindness  of 
the  eyes.     But  He  who  has  opened  his  eyes, 
also  saves  him  wholly:  He  will  grant  a  resur 
rection  at  His  right  hand,  who  gave  enlight- 


Matt.  xiii.  57. 


Chap.  v.  46. 


\n    XI.V.  ] 


TIII-;  GOSPEL  MI-  ST.  JOHN. 


enment  to  his  countenance.      "  Thou  • 

er  born  in  sins,  and  dost,  tiioii  teach  us? 
And  they  cast  him  out."  They  had  made 
him  their  master:  many  questions  had  they 
asked  for  their  ov.-n  instruction,  and  they  un 
gratefully  cast  forth  their  teacher. 

15.  But,   as   I   have    already   said    before,' 
brethren,  when  they  expel,  the  Lord  receiv- 
eth;  for  the  rather  that  he  was  expelled,  was 
he  made  a  Christian.     "  Jesus  heard  that  they  j 
had  cast  him  out;  and  when  He  had   found 
him,  He  said  unto  him,  Dost  thou  believe  on 
the  Son  of  God  ?  "     Now  He  washes  the  face  ' 
of  his  heart.     "  He  answered  and  said,"  as 
one  still  only  anointed,  "Who  is  he,  Lord, 
that  I  might  believe  on  him  ?     And  Jesus  said 
unto  him,  Thou  hast  both  seen  Him,  and  it 
is  He  that  talketh  with  thee."     The  One  is; 
He  that  is  sent;  the  other  is  one  washing  his 
face  in   Siloam,  which   is   interpreted,   Sent. 
And  now  at  last,  with  the  face  of  his  heart 
washed,  and    a  conscience  purified,  acknow 
ledging  Him  not  only  as  the  son  of  man, 
which  he  had  believed  before,  but  now  as  the 
Son  of  God,  who  had  assumed  our  flesh,  "  he 
said,  Lord,  I  believe."     It  is  but  little  to  say, 
"  I  believe:  "     wouldst  thou  also  see  what  he 
believes    Him  ?     "  He   fell    down   and    wor 
shipped  Him." 

16.  "And  Jesus  said  to  him."     Now  is  He, 
the  day,  discerning  between  the  light  and  the 
darkness.     "  For  judgment  am  I  come  into 
this  world;  that  they  who  see  not  might  see, 
and  they  who   see   might  be   made   blind." 
What  is  this,  Lord  ?     A  weighty  subject   of 
inquiry  hast  Thou  laid  on  the  weary;     but  re 
vive  our  strength  that  we  may  be  able  to  un 
derstand   what   Thou   hast   said.     Thou  art 
come   "that  they  who  see  not   may  see:" 
rightly  so,  for  Thou  art  the  light:  rightly  so, 
for  Thou  art  the  day:  rightly  so,  for  Thou 
deliverest  from  darkness:  this  every  soul  ac 
cepts,  every  one  understands.     What  is    this 
that   follows,  "And    those  who  see   may  be 
made  blind  ?  "     Shall  then,  because  Thou  art 
come,  those  be  made  blind  who  saw  ?     Hear 
what  follows,  and  perhaps  thou  wilt  understand. 


17.  l:\  th€M  words,  tiicn,  were  "  vunr  of 
'.stnrbed,  "  and  s;ud  unto 
Him,  AIT  we  blind  also'"  Hear  now  what 
it  is  that  moved  tiic-m,  "And  they  who  see  may 
IK-  made  blind."  "Jesus  said  unto  them,  If 
ye  were  blind,  ye  should  have  no  sin;" 
while  blindness  itself  is  sin.  "  If  ye  were 
blind,"  that  is,  if  ye  considered  yourselves 
blind,  if  ye  called  yourselves  blind,  ye  also 
would  have  recourse  to  the  physician:  "if" 
then  in  this  way  "  ye  were  blind,  ye  should 
have  no  sin;"  for  I  am  come  to  take  away 
sin.  "  But  now  ye  say,  We  see;  [therefore] 
your  sin  remaineth."  Wherefore?  Because 
by  saying,  "We  see:"  ye  seek  not  the  phy 
sician,  ye  remain  in  your  blindness.  This, 
then,  is  that  which  a  little  above  we  did  not 
understand,  when  He  said,  "  I  am  come,  that 
they  who  see  not  may  see;  "  for  what  means 
this,  k<  that  they  who  see  not  may  see  "  ?  They 
who  acknowledge  that  they  do  not  see,  and 
seek  the  physician,  that  they  may  receive 
sight.  And  they  who  see  may  be  made 
]  blind:  "  what  means  this,  "  they  who  see  may 
be  made  blind  ''  ?  That  they  who  think  they 
see,  and  seek  not  the  physician,  may  abide 
in  their  blindness.  Such  discerning  therefore 
of  one  from  another  He  called  judgment, 
when  He  said,  "  For  judgment  I  am  come 
into  this  world,"  whereby  He  distinguishes 
the  cause  of  those  who  believe  and  make  con- 
j  fession  from  the  proud,  who  think  they  see, 
:  and  are  therefore  the  more  grievously  blinded : 
i  just  as  the  sinner,  making  confession,  and 
seeking  the  physician,  said  to  Him,  "Judge 
me,  O  God,  and  discern  my  cause  against 
the  unholy  nation,"1 — namely,  those  who  say, 
"We  see,"  and  their  sin  remaineth.  But  it 
was  not  that  judgment  He  now  brought  into 
the  world,  whereby  in  the  end  of  the  world 
He  shall  judge  the  living  and  the  dead.  For 
in  respect  to  this  He  had  said,  "  I  judge  no 
|  man;  "  3  seeing  that  He  came  the  first  time, 
"not  to  judge  the  world,  but  that  the  world 
through  Him  might  be  saved."  * 


>  Chap.  viii.  15. 


3  Chap.  iii.  17. 


TRACTATE   XLV 

CHAPTER   X.    i-io. 

i.  OUR  Lord's  discourse  to  the  Jews  began  one.  For  when  the  Lord  had  said,  "  For  judg- 
in  connection  with  the  man  who  was  born  ment  I  am  come  into  this  world;  that  they 
blind  and  was  restored  to  sight.  Your  Char-  who  see  not  might  see,  and  they  who  see  might 
ity  therefore  ought  to  know  and  be  advised  be  made  blind,"— which,  on  the  occasion  of 
that  to-day's  lesson  is  interwoven  with  that  I  its  reading,  we  expounded  according  to  our 


250 


Till-;  WORKS  OF  ST.  A.UGUSTIN. 


[TH.UTAII.   XI.V. 


ability, — some  of  the  Pharisees  said,  "Are  we 
blind  also?'*  To  whom  He  replied.  "  If  ye 
were  blind,  ye  should  have  no  sin:  but  now 
ye  say,  We  see;  [therefore]  your  sin  remain- 
eth."1  To  these  words  He  added  what  we 
have  been  hearing  to-day  when  the  lesson  was 
read. 

2.  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  He  that 
entereth  not  by  the  door  into  the  sheepfold, 
but  climbeth  up  some  other  way,  the  same  is 
a  thief  and  a  robber."     For  they  declared 
that  they  were  not  blind;  yet  could  they  see 
only  by  being  the  sheep  of  Christ.     Whence 
claimed    they  possession    of   the  light,  who 
were  acting  as  thieves  against  the  day  ?     Be 
cause,  then,  of  their  vain  and  proud  and  in 
curable  arrogance,  did  the  Lord  Jesus  subjoin 
these  words,  wherein  He  has  given  us  also 
salutary  lessons,   if    we   lay  them   to  heart. 
For  there  are  many  who,  according  to  a  cus 
tom  of  this  life,  are  called  good  people, — good 
men,  good  women,   innocent,  and  observers 
as  it  were  of  what  is  commanded   in  the  law; 
paying  respect  to    their  parents,   abstaining 
from  adultery,  doing  no  murder,  committing 
no  theft,  giving  no  false  witness  against  any 
one,  and  observing,  all  else  that  the  law  re 
quires — yet  are  not  Christians;  and  for  the 
most   part    ask    boastfully,   like    these   men, 
"Are  we  blind  also?"     But  just  because  all 
these  things  that  they  do,  and  know  not  to 
what  end  they  should  have  reference,  the)' 
do  to  no  purpose,  the  Lord  has  set  forth  in 
to-day's   lesson    the  similitude   of   His   own 
flock,  and  of  the  door  that   leads  into  the 
sheepfold.     Pagans  may  say,   then,  We  live 
well.     If  they  enter  not  by  the  door,  what 
good  will  that  do  them,  whereof  they  boast  ? 
For  to  this  end  ought  good  living  to  benefit 
every  one,  that  it  may  be  given  him  to  live 
for  ever:  for  to  whomsoever    eternal  life  is 
not  given,  of  what  benefit  is  the  living  well  ? 
For  they  ought  not  to  be  spoken  of  as  even 
living  well,  who  either  from  blindness  know 
not  the  end  of  a  right  life,  or  in  their  pride 
despise  it.     But  no  one  has  the  true  and  cer 
tain  hope  of  living  always,  unless  he  know 
the  life,  that  it  is  Christ;  and  enter  by  the 
gate  into  the  sheepfold. 

3.  Such,  accordingly,    for    the    most    part 
seek  to  persuade  men  to  live  well,  and  yet 
not  to  be  Christians.     By  another  way  they 
wish  to  climb  up,  to  steal  and  to  kill,  not  as 
the  shepherd,  to  preserve  and  to  save.     And 
thus  there   have  been  certain    philosophers, 
holding  many  subtle    discussions    about  the 
virtues  and  the  vices,  dividing,  defining,  draw 
ing  out  to  their  close  the  most  acute  processes 


Chap.  ix.  30-41. 


of  reasoning,  filling  books,  brandishing  their 
wisdom  with  rattling  JMWS;  who  would  even 
dare  to  say  to  people,  Follow  us,  keep  to  our 
sect,  if  you  would  live  happily.  But  they  had 
not  entered  by  the  door:  they  wished  to  des 
troy,  to  slay,  and  to  murder. 

4.  What  shall  I  say  of  such  ?     Look,   the 
Pharisees  themselves  were   in  the    habit   of 
reading,  and  in  what  they  read,  their  voices 
re-echoed  the  Christ,  they  hoped  He  would 
come,  and  recognized  Him  not  when  present; 
they  boasted,  even  they,  of  being  amongst 
those  who  saw,  that  is,  among  the  wise,  and 
they  disowned  the  Christ,  and  entered  not  in 
by  the  door.     Therefore  would  such  also,  if 
they  chanced  to  seduce  any,  seduce  them  to 
be    slaughtered    and    murdered,    not    to   be 
brought  into  liberty.     Let  us  leave  these  also 
to  themselves,  and  look  at  those  who  glory 
in   the   name   of    Christ    Himself,    and    see 
whether  even  they  perchance  are  entering  in 
by  the  door. 

5.  For  there  are  countless   numbers   who 
not  only  boast  that  they  see,  but  would  have 
it  appear  that  they  are  enlightened  by  Christ; 
yet  are  they  heretics.     Have  even  they  some 
how  entered  by  the  gate  '     Surely  not.     Sab- 
ellius  says,  He  who  is  the  Son  is  Himself  the 
Father;  but   if   the   Son,    then    is   there   no 
Father.     He  enters  not  by  the  door,  who  as 
serts  that  the  Son  is  the  Father.     Arius  says, 
The  Father  is  one  thing,  the  Son  is  another 
thing.     He  would  say  rightly  if  he  said,  An 
other  person;    but  not  another  thing.2     For 
when  he  says,  Another  thing,  he  contradicts 
Him  who   says   in   his   hearing,  "  I   and   my 
Father  are  One."3    Neither  does  he  therefore 
enter  by  the  door;  for  he  preaches  a  Christ 
such  as  he  fabricates  for  himself,  not  such  as 
the  truth  declares  Him.    Thou  hast  the  name, 
thou  hast  not  the  reality.     Christ  is  the  name 
of  something;  keep  hold  of  the  thing  itself,  if 
thou  \vouldst  benefit  by  the  name.     Another, 
I  know  not  from  whence,  says  with  Photinus,4 
Christ  is  mere  man;  He  is  not  God.     He  en 
ters  not  in  by  the  door,  for  Christ  is  both  man 
and  God.     But  why  need  I  make  many  refer 
ences,  and  enumerate  the  many  vanities  of 
heretics?     Keep  hold  of   this,  that  Christ's 
sheepfold  is  the  Catholic  Church.     Whoever 
would  enter  the  sheepfold,  let  him  enter  by 
the  door,  let  him  preach  the  true  Christ.     Not 
only  let  him  preach  the  true  Christ,  but  seek 
Christ's  glory,    not   his  own;    for  many,  by 
seeking     their    own    glory,    have    scattered 
Christ's    sheep,   instead    of  gathering  them. 
For  Christ  the  Lord  is  a  low  gateway:  he  who 

Or,  "substance:"    Aliut,  *,»,• 

3  Ver.  38,   ununt :  lit.  "  one  thini;  .ir  substance." 

4  Bubop   of    Sirmium,   who   published   his  heretical   opinions 

about  .\. i..  J4j. 


•v  I.Y.j 


ON  TIM;  cosi'Li.  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


-5' 


enters  by  this  gateway  must  humble  himself, 
that  he  may  l>e  able  to  enter  with  head  un 
harmed.  Hut  he  that  humbleth  not,  but  e.\- 


tiiat  we  on  our  part  knock,  that  it  may  be 
opened  unto  u.s;  while  t:iey,  by  divnvning 
Christ,  refused  to  enter  for  salvation,  and 
alteth  himself,  wis'.ies  to  (limb  over  the  wall;  preferred  remaining  outside  to  be  drst: 
and  he  that  elimbeth  over  the  wall,  is  exalted  In  as  far,  then,  as  we  listen  to  these  words 
only  to  fall.  with  a  pious  mind,  in  as  far  as,  before  we  un- 

6.   Thus    far,    however,    the     Lord     Jrsiis   derstand   them,   we  believe  them  to  be  true 
speaks  in  covert  language;  not  a.s  \<  •  1  divine,  we  stand  at  a  great  distance  from 

understood.  He  names  the  door,  He  names  these  men.  For  when  two  persons  are  listen- 
the  sheepfold,  He  names  the  sheep:  all  this  I  ing  to  the  words  of  the  gospel,  the  one  im- 
He  sets  forth,  but  does  not  yet  explain.  Let !  pious,  the  other  pious,  and  some  of  these  are 
us  read  on  then,  for  He  is  coming  to  those  i  such  as  neither  perhaps  understands,  the  one 
words,  wherein  He  may  think  proper  to  give  I  says,  It  has  said  nothing;  the  other  says,  It 
us  some  explanation  of  what  He  has  said;  i  has  said  the  truth,  and  what  it  has  said  is 
from  the  explanation  of  which  He  will  per- 1  good,  but  we  do  not  understand  it.  This  lat- 
haps  enable  us  to  understand  also  what  He  \  ter,  because  he  believes,  now  knocks,  that  he 
has  not  explained.  For  He  gives  us  what  is  j  may  be  worthy  to  have  it  opened  up  to  him, 
plain,  for  food;  what  is  obscure,  for  exercise.  I  if  he  continue  knocking;  but  the  other  still 
"  He  that  entereth  not  by  the  door  into  the  |  hears  the  words,  "  If  ye  believe  not,  ye  shall 
sheepfold,  but  elimbeth  up  some  other  way."  (  not  understand."2  Why  do  I  draw  your  at- 
Woe  to  the  wretch,  for  he  is  sure  to  fall  !  tention  to  this  ?  Even  for  this  reason,  that 
Let  him  then  be  humble,  let  him  enter  by  the  j  when  I  have  explained  as  I  can  these  obscure 
door:  let  him  walk  on  the  level  ground,  and  words,  or,  because  of  their  great  abstruseness, 
he  shall  not  stumble.  "  The  same,"  He  says,  1 1  have  either  myself  failed  to  arrive  at  an  un- 
"  is  a  thief  and  a  robber."  The  sheep  of  an-  J  derstanding  of  them,  or  wanted  the  faculty  of 
other  he  desires  to  call  his  own  sheep,  his  explaining  what  I  do  understand,  or  every 


own,  that  is,  as  carried  off  by  stealth,  for  the 
purpose,  not  of  saving,  but  of  slaying  them. 
Therefore  is  he  a  thief,  because  what  is  an- 


one  has  been  so  dull  as  not  to  follow  me,  even 
when  I  give  the  explanation,  yet  should  he 
not  despair  of  himself;  but  continue  in  faith, 
walk  ou  in  the  way,  and  hear  the  apostle  say- 


anything  ye  be  otherwise 


other's  he   calls  his  own;  a  robber,  because 

what  he  has  stolen  he  also  kills.     "  But  he   ing,   "  And 

that  entereth  in  by  the  door  is  the  shepherd  ,  minded,  God  shall  reveal  even  this  unto  you. 

of  the  sheep:    to  him    the   porter  openeth."    Nevertheless   whereto   we   have   already   at- 


Concerning  this  porter  we  shall  make  inquiry, 
when  we  have  heard  of  the  Lord  Himself  what 


tained,  let  us  walk  therein." 

8.   Let  us  begin,   then,  with   hearing    His 


is  the  door  and  who  is  the  shepherd.  "  And  exposition  of  what  we  have  heard  Him  pro- 
the  sheep  hear  his  voice:  and  he  calleth  his  pounding.  "Then  said  Jesus  unto  them 
own  sheep  by  name."  For  He  has  their,  again,  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  I  am 
names  written  in  the  book  of  life.  "  He  call-  ;  the  door  of  the  sheep."  See,  He  has  opened 
eth  his  own  sheep  byname."  Hence,  says  j  the  very  door  which  was  shut  in  His  former 
the  apostle,  "The  Lord  knoweth  them  that }  description.  He  Himself  is  the  door.  We 
are  His."1  "And  he  leadeth  them  out.  I  have  come  to  know  it;  let  us  enter,  or  rejoice 
And  when  he  putteth  forth  his  own  sheep,  he  that  we  are  already  within.  "All  that  ever 


goeth  before  them,  and  the  sheep  follow  him: 


came  are  thieves  and  robbers."     What  is  this, 


for  they  know  his  voice.  And  a  stranger  do  Lord,  "All  that  ever  came  "?  How  so  ?  hast 
they  not  follow,  but  do  flee  from  him:  for  they  j  Thou  not  come?  But  understand;  I  said, 
know  not  the  voice  of  strangers."  These  are  ]  "All  that  ever  came,"  meaning,  of  course,  ex- 
veiled  words,  full  of  topics  of  inquiry,  preg-  elusive  of  myself.4  Let  us  recollect  then, 
nant  with  sacramental  signs.  Let  us  follow '  Before  His  coming  came  the  prophets:  were 
then,  and  listen  to  the  Master  as  He  makes  they  thieves  and  robbers  ?  God  forbid.  They 
some  opening  into  these  obscurities;  and  per-  did  not  come  apart  from  Him,  for  they  came 
haps  by  the  opening  He  makes,  He  will  cause 

lie   f  i     ..it-er  7lsa-  vil-  0,  according  U>  the  Septuacint.  which,  however,  can 

US  tO   tiller.  hardly  lie*.,id  h.-r.-  t..«u.-  th.-  in.  .HI-IK  of  the  Hebrew  : 

7.     "This   parable   Spake    JeSUS    UntO    them;     Kn^lMi   version  ^-iv.-s  ai-retty   nmcl   translation   of  the   Utter. 

but  they  understood  not  what  He  spake  unto    "  ',"{.,,;,.  in.  ,s,  ,6. 

them."     Nor  we  also,  perhaps.     What,  then,  I     < 

is  the  difference  between  them  and  us.  before      -^o^oO,"  -b.-t.  «h..hare  un- 

even  we  can  understand  these  words'     This,    J^^fa^^^^'l^p^d?^ 

^ 1  in  omit   them.  !>.-.  .in»r  of  the  u*e 

made  of  them  by  some  early  heretics  to  throw  discredit  on  the  <  >ld 
i  2  Tim.  ii.  19 


252  TIIK    WORKS   OF  ST.    AUGUSTIN.  [TRACTATK  XLV. 


with  Him.  When  al)out  to  come,  He  sent  drink  the  same  spiritual  drink."  The  Red 
heralds,  but  retained  possession  of  the  hearts  Sea  signifies  baptism;  Moses,  their  leader 
of  His  messengers.  Do  you  wish  to  know  through  the  Red  Sea,  signifies  Christ;  the 
that  they  came  with  Him,  who  is  Himself  people,  who  passed  through,  signify  believers; 
ever  existent  ?  Certainly  He  assumed  human  |the  death  of  the  Egyptians  signifies  the  aboli- 
flesh  at  the  time  appointed.  But  what  means  tion  of  sins.  Under  different  signs  there  is 
that  "ever"?  "In  the  beginning  was  the  the  same  faith.  It  is  with  different  signs  as 


Word."1  With  Him,  therefore,  came  those 
who  came  with  the  word  of  God.  "  I  am," 
said  He,  "the  way,  and  the  truth,  and  the 
life.""  If  He  is  the  truth,  with  Him  came 
those  who  were  truthful.  As  many,  there 
fore,  as  were  apart  from  Him,  were  "  thieves 
and  robbers,"  that  is,  had  come  to  steal  and 
to  destroy. 

9.  'But  the  sheep  did  not  hear  them." 
This  is  a  more  important  point,  "the  sheep 
did  not  hear  them."  Before  the  advent  of 


with  different  words  [verbs];  for  verbs  change 
their  sounds  through  the  tenses,  and  verbs 
are  indeed  nothing  else  than  signs.  For  they 
are  words  because  of  what  they  signify:  take 
away  the  meaning  from  a  word,6  and  it  be 
comes  a  senseless  sound.  All,  therefore, 
have  become  signs.  Was  not  the  same  faith 
theirs  by  whom  these  signs  were  employed, 
and  by  whom  were  foretold  in  prophecy  the 
very  things  which  we  believe?  Certainly  it 
was:  but  they  believed  that  they  were  yet  to 


our   Lord    Jesus   Christ,  when    He   came    in  come,  and  we,  that  they  have  come.     In  like 
humility    in    the    flesh,    righteous    men    pre-  manner  does  he  also  say,  "They  all  drank 


ceded,  believing  in  the  same  way  in  Him  ithe  same  spiritual  drink;  "  "  the  same  spirit- 
who  was  to  come,  as  we  believe  in  Him  who  ual,"  for  it  was  not  the  same  material  [drink], 
has  come.  Times  vary,  but  not  faith.  For  For  what  was  it  they  drank?  "For  they 
verbs  themselves  also  vary  with  the  tense,  'drank  of  the  spiritual  Rock  that  followed 
when  they  are  variously  declined.  He  is  to  them;  and  that  Rock  was  Christ."7  See, 
come,  has  one  sound;  He  has  come,  has  an-  then,  how  that  while  the  faith  remained,  the 
other:  there  is  a  change  in  the  sound  between  signs  were  varied.  There  the  rock  was  Christ; 
He  is  to  come,  and  He  has  come:3  yet  the  to  us  that  is  Christ  which  is  placed  on  the 
same  faith  unites  both, — both  those  who  be-  altar  of  God.  And  they,  as  a  great  sacra- 
lieved  that  He  would  come,  and  those  who  mental  sign  of  the  same  Christ,  drank  the 
have  believed  that  He  is  come.  At  different  water  flowing  from  the  rock:  what  we  drink  is 
times,  indeed,  but  by  the  one  doorway  of  .known  to  believers.  If  one's  thoughts  turn 
faith,  that  is,  by  Christ,  do  we  see  that  both  to  the  visible  form,  the  thing  is  different; 
have  entered.  We  believe  that  the  Lord  Jesus  if  to  the  meaning  that  addresses  the  under- 
Christ  was  born  of  the  Virgin,  that  He  came  standing,  they  drank  the  same  spiritual  drink, 
in  the  flesh,  suffered,  rose  again,  ascended  As  many,  then,  at  that  time  as  believed, 
into  heaven:  all  this,  just  as  you  hear  verbs  whether  Abraham,  or  Isaac,  or  Jacob,  or 
of  the  past  tense,  we  believe  to  be  already  Moses,  or  the  other  patriarchs  or  prophets 
fulfilled.  In  that  faith  a  partnership  is  also  who  foretold  of  Christ,  were  sheep,  and  heard 
held  with  us  by  those  fathers  who  believed  Christ.  His  voice,  and  not  another's,  did 
that  He  would  be  born  of  the  Virgin,  would  they  hear.  The  Judge  was  present  in  the 
suffer,  would  rise  again,  would  ascend  into  person  of  the  Crier.  For  even  when  the 
heaven;  for  to  such  the  apostle  pointed  when  judge  speaks  through  the  crier,  the  clerk8 
he  said,  "  But  we  having  the  same  spirit  of  does  not  make  it,  The  crier  said;  but  the 
faith,  according  as  it  is  written,  I  believed,  judge  said.  But  others  there  are  whom  the 
and  therefore  have  I  spoken;  we  also  believe,  sheep  did  not  hear,  in  whom  Christ's  voice 
and  therefore  speak."4  The  prophet  said,  had  no  place, — wanderers,  uttering  falsehoods, 
"  I  believed,  therefore  have  I  spoken:  "  5  the  prating  inanities,  fabricating  vanities,  mis- 
apostle  says,  "  We  also  believe,  and  therefore  leading  the  miserable. 

speak."  But  to  let  you  know  that  their  faith  \  10.  Why  is  it,  then,  that  I  have  said,  This 
is  one,  listen  to  him  saying,  "Having  the  is  a  more  important  point?  What  is  there 
same  spirit  of  faith,  we  also  believe."  So  about  it  obscure  and  difficult  to  understand? 
also  in  another  place,  "  For  I  would  not  have  Listen,  I  beseech  you.  See,  the  Lord  Jesus 
you  ignorant,  brethren,  how  that  all  our  Christ  Himself  came  and  preached.  Much 
fathers  were  under  the  cloud,  and  all  passed  more  surely  was  that  the  Shepherd's  voice 
through  the  sea:  and  were  all  baptized  unto  which  was  uttered  by  the  very  mouth  of  the 
Moses  in  the  cloud  and  in  the  sea;  and  did  • — 
all  eat  the  same  spiritual  meat,  and  did  all  mM^i^\A^^^^^^ 


7  i  Cor. 


'  Chap.  i.  i.  ••  Chap.  xiv.  6.  3  I'enfnru;  at,  tt  vemt.         e  Kjcctf>tar     the  person  employed  to  take  down  notes  of  the 

\  a  Cor.  iv.  13.  5  1's.  L-XVI.  to.  idecisions,  sentences,  etc.,  in  the  public  courts  or  assemblies.—  1  K. 


TlJA.    I  All-      XI.Y.j 


ON     I  UK  r,()SI'KL  OF   ST.    JOHN. 


Shepherd.  l'<>r  if  the  Shepherd's  voice  came 
through  the  prophets,  how  much  more  did 
the  Shepherd's  o\vn  tongue  give  utterance  to 
the  Sliepherd's  voice  ?  Yet  all  did  not  hear 
Him.  Hut  what  are  we  to  think?  Those 
who  did  hear,  were  they  sheep?  Ix>?  Judas 
heard,  and  was  a  wolf:  he  followed,  but,  clad 
in  sheep-skin,  he  was  laying  snares  for  the 
Shepherd.  Some,  again,  of  those  who  cruci 
fied  Christ  did  not  hear,  and  yet  were  sheep; 
for  such  He  saw  in  the  crowd  when  He  said,  | 
"  When  ye  have  lifted  up  the  Son  of  man,  | 
then  shall  ye  know  that  I  am  He."1  Now, 
how  is  this  question  to  be  solved  ?  They  that 
are  not  sheep  do  hear,  and  they  that  are 
sheep  do  not  hear.  Some,  who  are  wolves, 
follow  the  Shepherd's  voice;  and  some,  that 
are  sheep,  contradict  it.  Last  of  all,  the 
sheep  slay  the  Shepherd.  The  point  is 
solved;  for  some  one  in  reply  says.  But  when 
they  did  not  hear,  as  yet  they  were  not  sheep, 
they  were  then  wolves:  the  voice,  when  it 
was  heard,  changed  them,  and  out  of  wolves 
transformed  them  into  sheep;  and  so,  when  | 
they  became  sheep,  they  heard,  and  found  the 
Shepherd,  and  followed  Him.  They  built 
their  hopes  on  the  Shepherd's  promises,  be 
cause  they  obeyed  His  precepts. 

1 1.  That  question  has  been  solved  in  a  way, 
and  perhaps  satisfies  every  one.  But  I  have 
still  a  subject  of  concern,  and  what  concerns 
me  I  shall  impart  to  you,  that,  in  some  sort 
inquiring  together,  I  may  through  His  revela 
tion  be  found  worthy  with  you  to  attain  the 
solution.  Hear,  then,  what  it  is  that  moves 
me.  By  the  Prophet  Ezekiel  the  Lord  re-1 
bukes  the  shepherds,  and  among  other  things 
says  of  the  sheep,  "  The  wandering  sheep 
have  ye  not  recalled."2  He  both  declares 
it  a  wanderer,  and  calls  it  a  sheep.  If,  while 
wandering,  it  was  a  sheep,  whose  voice  was  it 
hearing  to  lead  it  astray?  For  doubtless  it 
would  not  be  straying  were  it  hearing  the 
shepherd's  voice:  but  it  strayed  just  because 
it  heard  another's  voice;  it  heard  the  voice 
of  the  thief  and  the  robber.  Surely  the 
sheep  do  not  hear  the  voice  of  robbers. 
"  Those  that  came,"  He  said, — and  we  are 
to  understand,  apart  from  ntet  -that  is, 
"  those  that  came  apart  from  me  are  thieves 
and  robbers,  and  the  sheep  did  not  hear 
them/'  Lord,  if  the  sheep  did  not  hear 
them,  how  can  the  sheep  wander?  If  the 
sheep  hear  only  Thee,  and  Thou  art  the  truth, 
whoever  heareth  the  truth  cannot  certainly 
fall  into  error.  But  they  err,  and  are  called 
sheep.  For  if,  in  the  very  midst  of  their 
wandering,  they  were  not  called  sheep,  it 

'  (  Imp.  viii.  28.  z  Ezek.  xxxiv.  <. 


would  not  IK-  sriid  by  K/ekiel,  "  Tur  w.mder- 
ing  sheep  have  ye  not  recalled."  How  is  it 
at  the  same  time  a  wanderer  and  a  sheep? 
Has  it  heard  the  voice  of  another?  Surely 
"the  sheep  did  not  hear  them."  Accord 
ingly  many  are  just  now  being  gathered  into 
Christ's  fold,  and  from  being  heretics  are  be 
coming  catholics.  They  are  rescued  from 
the  thieves,  and  restored  to  the  shepherds: 
and  sometimes  they  murmur,  and  become 
wearied  of  Him  that  calls  them  back,  and 
have  no  true  knowledge  of  him  that  would 
murder  them;  nevertheless  also,  when,  after 
a  struggle,  those  have  come  who  are  sheep, 
they  recognize  the  Shepherd's  voice,  and  are 
glad  they  have  come,  and  are  ashamed  of 
their  wandering.  When,  then,  they  were 
glorying  in  that  state  of  error  as  in  the  truth, 
and  were  certainly  not  hearing  the  Shepherd's 
voice,  but  were  following  another,  were  they 
sheep,  or  were  they  not  ?  If  they  were  sheep, 
how  can  it  be  the  case  that  the  sheep  do  not 
listen  to  aliens  ?  If  they  were  not  sheep, 
wherefore  the  rebuke  addressed  to  those  to 
whom  it  is  said,  "  The  wandering  sheep  have 
ye  not  recalled  "  ?  In  the  case  also  of  those 
already  become  catholic  Christians,  and  be 
lievers  of  good  promise,  evils  sometimes  oc 
cur:  they  are  seduced  into  error,  and  after 
their  error  are  restored.  When  they  were 
thus  seduced,  and  were  rebaptized,  or  after  the 
companionship  of  the  Lord's  fold  were  turned 
back  again  into  their  former  error,  were  they 
sheep,  or  were  they  not  ?  Certainly  they  were 
catholics.  If  they  were  faithful  catholics, 
they  were  sheep.  If  they  were  sheep,  how 
was  it  that  they  could  listen  to  the  voice  of  a 
stranger  when  the  Lord  saith,  "The,  sheep 
did  not  hear  them  "  ? 

12.  You  hear,  brethren,  the  great  impor 
tance  of  the  question.  I  say  then,  "  The 
Lord  knoweth  them  that  are  His."3  He 
knoweth  those  who  were  foreknown,  He  know 
eth  those  who  were  predestinated;  because  it 
is  said  of  Him,  "  For  whom  He  did  fore 
know,  He  also  did  predestinate  to  be  con 
formed  to  the  image  of  His  Son,  that  He 
might  be  the  firstborn  among  many  brethren. 
Moreover,  whom  He  did  predestinate,  them 
He  also  called;  and  whom  He  called,  them 
He  also  justified;  and  whom  He  justified, 
them  He  also  glorified.  If  God  be  for  us. 
who  can  be  against  us  ? "  Add  to  this:  "  He 
that  spared  not  His  own  Son,  but  delivered 
Him  up  for  us  all,  how  hath  He  not  with 
Him  also  freely  given  us  all  things?"  But 
what  "us"?  Those  who  are  foreknown, 
predestinated,  justified,  glorified:  regarding 


254 


THE  WORKS  <>1    ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRAC-IATH    XLV. 


whom  there  follows,  "  Who  shall  lay  anything 
to  the  charge  of  God's  elect  ?"'  Therefore 
"  the  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are  His;  "  they 
are  the  sheep.  Such  sometimes  do  not  know 
themselves,  but  the  Shepherd  knoweth  them, 
according  to  this  predestination,  this  fore 
knowledge  of  God,  according  to  the  election 
of  the  sheep  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world:  for  so  saith  also  the  apostle,  "Accord 
ing  as  He  hath  chosen  us  in  Him  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world."  =  According,  then, 
to  this  divine  foreknowledge  and  predestina 
tion,  how  many  sheep  are  outside,  how  many 
wolves  within  !  and  how  many  sheep  are  in 
side,  how  many  wolves  without !  How  many 
are  now  living  in  wantonness  who  will  yet  be 
chaste  !  how  many  are  blaspheming  Christ 
who  will  yet  believe  in  Him  !  how  many  are 
giving  themselves  to  drunkenness  who  will 
yet  be  sober  !  how  many  are  preying  on  other 
people's  property  who  will  yet  freely  give  of 
their  own  !  Nevertheless  at  present  they  are 
hearing  the  voice  of  another,  they  are  follow 
ing  strangers.  In  like  manner,  how  many 
are  praising  within  who  will  yet  blaspheme; 
are  chaste  who  will  yet  be  fornicators;  are 
sober  who  will  wallow  hereafter  in  drink;  are 
standing  who  will  by  and  by  fall  !  These  are 
not  the  sheep.  (For  we  speak  of  those  who 
were  predestinated, — of  those  whom  the  Lord 
knoweth  that  they  are  His.)  And  yet  these, 
so  long  as  they  keep  right,  listen  to  the  voice 
of  Christ.  Yea,  these  hear,  the  others  do 
not;  and  yet,  according  to  predestination, 
these  are  not  sheep,  while  the  others  are. 

13.  There  remains  still  the  question,  which 
I  no\v  think  may  meanwhile  thus  be  solved. 
There  .is  a  voice  of  some  kind, — there  is,  I 
say,  a  certain  kind  of  voice  of  the  Shepherd, 
in  respect  of  which  the  sheep  hear  not 
strangers,  and  in  respect  of  which  those  who 
are  not  sheep  do  not  hear  Christ.  What  a 
word  is  this  !  "  He  that  endureth  to  the  end, 
the  same  shall  be  saved."3  No  one  of  His 
own  is  indifferent  to  such  a  voice,  a  stranger 
does  not  hear  it:  for  this  reason  also  does  He 
announce  it  to  the  former,  that  he  may  abide 
perseveringly  with  Himself  to  the  end;  but 
by  one  who  is  wanting  in  such  persevering 
continuance  with  Him,  such  a  word  remains 
unheard.  One  has  come  to  Christ,  and  has 
heard  word  after  word  of  one  kind  and  an 
other,  all  of  them  true,  all  of  them  salutary; 
and  among  all  the  rest  is  also  this  utterance, 
"  He  that  endureth  to  the  end,  the  same  shall 
be  saved."  He  who  has  heard  this  is  one  of 
the  sheep.  But  there  was,  perhaps,  some  one 
listening  to  it,  who  treated  it  with  dislike, 


with  coldness,  and  heard  it  as  that  of  a 
stranger.  If  he  was  predestinated,  he  strayed 
for  the  time,  but  he  was  not  lost  for  ever:  he 
returns  to  hear  what  he  has  neglected,  to  do 
what  he  has  heard.  For  if  he  is  one  of  those 
who  are  predestinated,  then  both  his  very 
wandering  and  his  future  conversion  have 
been  foreknown  by  God:  if  he  has  strayed 
away,  he  will  return  to  hear  that  voice  of  the 
Shepherd,  and  to  follow  Him  who  saith,  "  He 
that  endureth  to  the  end,  the  same  shall  be 
saved."  A  good  voice,  brethren,  it  is;  true 
and  shepherd-like,  the  very  voice  of  salvation 
in  the  tabernacles  of  the  righteous.4  For  it 
is  easy  to  hear  Christ,  easy  to  praise  the  gos 
pel,  easy  to  applaud  the  preacher:  but  to  en- 
Idure  unto  the  end.  is  peculiar  to  the  sheep 
,  who  hear  the  Shepherd's  voice.  A  temptation 
befalls  thee,  endure  thou  to  the  end,  for  the 
temptation  will  not  endure  to  the  end.  And 
what  is  that  end  to  which  thou  shalt  endure  ? 
Even  till  thou  reachest  the  end  of  thy  path 
way.  For  as  long  as  thou  hearest  not  Christ, 
He  is  thine  adversary  in  the  pathway,  that  is, 
in  this  mortal  life.  And  what  doth  He  say? 
"Agree  with  thine  adversary  quickly,  while 
thou  art  in  the  way  with  him." s  Thou  hast 
heard,  hast  believed,  hast  agreed.  If  thou 
hast  been  at  enmity,  agree.  If  thou  hast  got 
the  opportunity  of  coming  to  an  agreement, 
i  keep  not  up  the  quarrel  longer.  For  thou 
knowest  not  when  thy  way  will  be  ended,  and 
it  is  known  to  Him.  If  thou  art  a  sheep,  and 
if  thou  endurest  to  the  end,  thou  shalt  be 
saved:  and  therefore  it  is  that  His  own  de 
spise  not  that  voice,  and  strangers  hear  it 
not.  According  to  my  ability,  as  He  gave 
me  the  power,  I  have  either  explained  to  you 
i  or  gone  over  with  you  a  subject  of  great  pro- 
i  fundity.  If  any  have  failed  fully  to  under 
stand,  let  him  retain  his  piety,  and  the  truth 
will  be  revealed:  and  let  not  those  who  have 
understood  vaunt  themselves  as  swifter  at  the 
expense  of  the  slower,  lest  in  their  vaunting 
they  turn  out  of  the  track,  and  the  slower 
more  easily  attain  the  goal.  But  let  all  of  us 
be  guided  by  Him  to  whom  we  say,  "  Lead 
me,  O  Lord,  in  Thy  way,  and  I  will  walk  in 
Thy  truth."6 

14.  By  this,  then,  which  the  Lord  hath 
explained,  that  He  Himself  is  the  door,  let 
us  find  entrance  to  what  He  has  set  forth, 
but  not  explained.  And  indeed  who  it  is  that 
is  the  Shepherd,  although  He  hath  not  told 
us  in  the  lesson  we  have  read  to-day,  yet  in 
that  which  follows  He  very  plainly  tells  us:  "  I 
am  the  good  Shepherd.''  And  although  He 
had  not  said  so,  whom  else  but  Himself  ought 


Rom.  vii.  79-33. 


'  Eph.  i.  4. 


3  Matt,  x.  22. 


5  Matt.  v.  25. 


6  Ps.  Ixxxv 


Ml       XI    V.  | 


<  »\    nil-:  GOSPEL  <  >i    ST,    l<  >IIN. 


we  t<>  have   understood  in   those  words  where 
th,  "  He  that   entereth   in  by  the   door 


to  go  out  by  Christ  is.  in  accordance  also  with 
that    same    faith,    to    take    to    outside    works, 


is  the  Shepherd  of  the  sheep.  To  Him  the  that  is  to  say,  in  the  presence  of  others, 
poster  openeth:  and  the  shvep  hear  His  voice:  Hence,  also,  we  read  in  a  psalm,  "  Man  goeth 
and  He  callctli  His  own  sheep  by  name,  and  forth  to  his  work;"6  and  the  Lord  Himself 
leadeth  them  out.  And  when  He  pntteth  saifh,  "  Let  your  works  shine  before  men."  7 
forth  His  own  sheep,  He  goeth  before  them,  !  But  I  am  better  pleased  that  the  Truth  Him- 
and  the  sheep  follow  Him:  for  they  know  i  self,  like  a  good  Shepherd,  and  therefore  a 
His  voice  "  ?  For  who  else  calleth  His  own  !  good  Teacher,  hath  in  a  certain  measure  re- 
sheep  by  name,  and  leadeth  them  hence  unto  j  minded  us  how  we  ought  to  understand  His 
eternal  life,  but  He  who  knoweth  the  names  j  words,  "He  shall  go  in  and  out,  and  find 
of  those  that  are  fore-ordained?  Hence  He  '  pasture,"  when  He  added  in  the  sequel, 
said  to  His  disciples,  "  Rejoice  that  your  j  "  The  thief  cometh  not,  but  for  to  steal,  and 
names  are  written  in  heaven;  "  '  for  from  this  j  to  kill,  and  to  destroy:  I  am  come  that  they 
it  is  that  He  calleth  them  by  name.  And  I  might  have  life,  and  that  they  might  have  it 
who  else  putteth  them  forth,  save  He  who  more  abundantly."  For  He  seems  to  me  to 
puttech  away  their  sins,  that,  freed  from  their  have  meant,  That  they  may  have  life  in  com- 
grievous  fetters,  they  may  be  able  to  follow  |  ing  in,  and  have  it  more  abundantly  at  their 
Him?  And  who  hath  gone  before  them  to  I  departure.  For  no  one  can  pass  out  by  the 
the  place  whither  they  are  to  follow  Him,  but  j  door — that  is,  by  Christ — to  that  eternal  life 


He  who,  rising  from  the  dead,  dieth  no  more; 
and  death  shall  have  no  more  dominion  over 
Him;2  and  who,  when  He  was  manifest  here 
in  the  flesh,  said,  "  Father,  I  will  that  they 
also  whom  Thou  hast  given  me  be  with  me 
where  I  am"?3  Hence  it  is  that  He  saith, 
*'  I  am  the  door:  by  me  if  any  man  enter  in, 
he  shall  be  saved,  and  shall  go  in  and  out, 
and  find  pasture."  In  this  He  clearly  shows 
that  not  only  the  Shepherd,  but  the  sheep 
also  enter  in  by  the  door. 

15.   But  what  is  this,  "  He  shall  go  in  and 
out,  and   find   pasture  "  ?     To  enter  indeed 


which  shall  be  open  to  the  sight,  unless  by 
the  same  door—  that  is,  by  the  same  Christ 
— he  has  entered  His  church,  which  is  His 
fold,  to  the  temporal  life,  which  is  lived  in 
saith,  "  I  am  come 
life,"  that  is,  faith, 


faith.     Therefore,    He 
that     they    may    have 


which  worketh  by  love;8  by  which  faith  they 
enter  the  fold  that  they  may  live,  for  the  just 
liveth  by  faith:9  "and  that  they  may  have  it 
more  abundantly,"  who,  enduring  unto  the 
end,  pass  out  by  this  same  door,  that  is,  by 
the  faith  of  Christ;  for  as  true  believers  they 
die,  and  will  have  life  more  abundantly  when 


into  the  Church  by  Christ  the  door,  is  emi- '  they  come  whither  the  Shepherd  hath  pre- 
nently  good;  but  to  go  out  of  the  Church,  '  ceded  them,  where  they  shall  die  no  more, 
as  this  same  John  the  evangelist  saith  in  his1  Although,  therefore,  there  is  no  want  of  pas- 
epistle,  "They  went  out  from  us,  but  they  ture  even  here  in  the  fold,  -for  we  may  tin- 


were  not  of  us,"  4  is  certainly  otherwise  than 
good.  Such  a  going  out  could  not  then  be 
commended  by  the  good  Shepherd,  when  He 
said,  "And  he  shall  go  in  and  out,  and  find 
pasture."  There  is  therefore  not  only  some 
sort  of  entrance,  but  some  outgoing  also  that 
is  good,  by  the  good  door,  which  is  Christ. 
But  what  is  that  praiseworthy  and  blessed 
outgoing?  I  might  say,  indeed,  that  we  en 
ter  when  we  engage  in  some  inward  exercise 
of  thought;  and  go  out,  when  we  take  to 
some  active  work  without:  and  since,  as  the 


derstand  the  words  "  and  shall  find  pasture  " 
as  referring  to  both,  that  is,  both  to  their  go 
ing  in  and  their  going  out,— yet  there  only 
will  they  find  the  true  pasture.,  where  they 
shall  be  filled  who  hunger  and  thirst  after 
righteousness,10-  such  pasture  as  was  found 
by  him  to  whom  it  was  said,  "  To-day  shall 
thou  be  with  me  in  paradise."  "  But  how 
He  Himself  is  the  door,  and  Himself  the 
Shepherd,  so  that  He  also  may  in  a  certain 
respect  be  understood  as  going  in  and  out  by 
Himself,  and  who  is  the  porter,  it  would  be 


apostle  saith,  Christ  dwelleth  in  our  hearts  by  j  too  long  to  inquire  to-day,  and,  according  to 
faith,5  to  enter  by  Christ  is  to  give  ourselves  the  grace  given  us  by  Himself,  to  unfold  in 
to  thought  in  accordance  with  that  faith;  but  the  way  of  dissertation. 


i  Luke  x.  20. 
4  i  John 

rl  g 

l-ph.  ,u.  ,-. 

3  Chap.  xvii.  24. 

«  Ps.  civ.  23. 

9  Rom.  i.   i;. 

6. 

»  Gal.  v.  6 
11  Luke  xx 

ii-  4> 

2. SO 


THE  WORKS  oi    ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTAII:  Xl.YI. 


TRACTATE    XLVI. 

CHAPTER   X.  11-13. 
THE  Lord  Jesus  is  speaking  to  His  sheep  j  in   our  views,   be    still    standing   before   the 


— to  those  already  so,  and  to  those  yet  to  be 
come  such — who  were  then  present;  for  in 
the  place  where  they  were,  there  were  those 
who  were  already  His  sheep,  as  well  as  those 
who  were  afterwards  to  become  so:  and  He 
likewise  shows  to  those  then  present  and  those 
to  come,  both  to  them  and  to  us,  and  to  as 
many  also  after  us  as  shall  yet  be  His  sheep, 
who  it  is  that  had  been  sent  to  them.  All, 


door.  His  grace  and  mercy  have  revealed  to 
us  the  Shepherd,  by  His  calling  Himself  so; 
have  revealed  to  us  also  the  door,  when  He 
declared  Himself  such;  but  He  hath  left  us 
to  search  out  the  doorkeeper  for  ourselves. 
Whom,  then,  are  we  to  call  the  doorkeeper ? 
Whomsoever  we  fix  upon,  we  must  take  care 
not  to  think  of  him  as  greater  than  the  door 
itself;  for  in  men's  houses  the  doorkeeper  is 


therefore,  hear  the  voice  of  their  Shepherd  j  greater  than  the  door.     The  doorkeeper    is 
saying,    "I    am    the   good    Shepherd."     He  j  placed  before  the  door,  not  the  door  before 


would  not  add  "good,"  were  there  not  b?d 
shepherds.  But  the  bad  shepherds  are  those 
who  are  thieves  and  robbers,  or  certainly  hire 
lings  at  the  best.  For  we  ought  to  examine 
into,  to  distinguish,  and  to  know,  all  the 
characters  whom  He  has  here  depicted.  The 
Lord  has  already  unfolded  two  points,  which 
He  had  previously  set  forth  in  a  kind  of  cov 
ert  form:  we  already  know  that  He  is  Him 
self  the  door,  and  we  know  that  He  is  Him 
self  the  Shepherd.  Who  the  thieves  and 
robbers  are,  was  made  clear  in  yesterday's 


the  doorkeeper;  because  the  porter  keepeth 
the  door,  not  the  door  the  porter.  I  dare 
not  say  that  any  one  is  greater  than  the  door, 
for  I  have  heard  already  what  is  the  door: 
that  is  no  longer  unknown  to  me,  I  am  not 
left  to  my  own  conjecture,  and  I  have  not 
got  much  room  for  mere  human  guess  work: 
God  hath  said  it,  the  Truth  hath  said  it,  and 
we  cannot  change  what  the  Unchangeable 
hath  uttered. 

3.  In  respect,  then,  of  the  profound  nature 
of  this  question,  I  shall  tell  you  what  I  think: 


lesson;  and  to-day  we  have  heard  of  the  j  let  each  one  make  the  choice  that  pleases 
hireling,  as  we  have  heard  also  of  the  wolf,  j  him,  but  let  him  think  of  it  reverently;  as  it 
Yesterday  the  porter  was  also  introduced  by  j  is  written,  "Think  of  the  Lord  with  good- 
name.  Among  the  good,  therefore,  are  the  J  ness,  and  in  simplicity  of  heart  seek  Him."* 


door,  the  doorkeeper,  the  shepherd,  and  the 
sheep:  among  the  bad,  the  thieves  and  rob 
bers,  the  hirelings,  and  the  wolf. 

2.  We  understand  the  Lord  Christ  as  the 
door,  and  also  as  the  Shepherd;  but  who  is  to 
be  understood  as  the  doorkeeper  ?  For  the 
former  two,  He  has  Himself  explained:  the 
doorkeeper  He  has  left  us  to  search  out  for 
ourselves.  And  what  doth  He  say  of  the 


Perhaps  we  ought  to  understand  the  Lord 
Himself  as  the  doorkeeper:  for  the  shepherd 
and  the  door  are  in  human  respects  as  much 
different  from  each  other  as  the  doorkeeper 
and  the  door;  and  yet  the  Lord  has  called 
Himself  both  the  Shepherd  and  the  door. 
Why,  then,  may  we  not  understand  Him  also 
as  the  doorkeeper?  For  if  we  look  at  His 
personal  qualities,3  the  Lord  Christ  is  neither 


doorkeeper?  "  To  him,"  He  saith,  "  the  j  a  shepherd,  in  the  way  we  are  accustomed  to 
porter  [doorkeeper]'  openeth."  To  whom  |  know  and  to  see  shepherds;  nor  is  He  a  door, 
doth  he  open?  To  the  Shepherd.  What  I  for  no  artisan  made  Him:  but  if,  because  of 
doth  he  open  to  the  Shepherd  ?  The  door,  some  point  of  similarity,  He  is  both  the  door 


And  who  is  also  the  door?  The  Shepherd 
Himself.  Now,  if  Christ  the  Lord  had  not 
Himself  explained,  had  not  Himself  said,  "  I 


and  the  Shepherd,  I  venture  to  say,  He  is 
also  a  sheep.  True,  the  sheep  is  under  the 
shepherd;  yet  He  is  both  the  Shepherd  and 


am  the   Shepherd,"  and  "I   am  the  door,"  a  sheep.     Where  is  He  the  Shepherd  ?     Look, 
would  any  of  us  have  ventured  to  say  that  I  here  thou  hast  it;  read  the  Gospel:  "  I  am 


any 

Christ  is  Himself  both  the  Shepherd  and  the 
door ?  For  had  He  said,  "I  am  the  Shep 
herd,"  and  had  not  said,  "I  am  the  door," 
we  should  be  setting  ourselves  to  inquire 
what  was  the  door,  and  perhaps,  mistaken 


the  good  Shepherd."  Where  is  He  a  sheep  ? 
Ask  the  prophet:  "  He  was  led  as  a  s  icep  to 
the  slaughter."4  Ask  the  friend  of  the  bride 
groom:  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  that  tak- 
eth  away  the  sin  of  the  world.'  5  Moreover. 


*  Wisdom  i. 


.,-tntfs. 

i.  29. 


TRACT  AT  K  XI.  VI.] 


ON    I  in.  GOSPEL  •  •!    ST,  JOHN. 


I  am  going  i"  ->.iy  something  of  a  still  more 
wonderful  kind,  in  aaordaiu e  witli  these 
points  of  similarity,  For  hotii  the  lamb,  and 
the  sheep,  and  the  shepherd  are  friendly  with 
our  anoiiu-r,  I  nit  from  the  lions  as  their  foes 
the  sheep  are  protected  by  their  shepherds: 
and  yet  of  Christ,  who  is  both  sheep  anil  Shep 
herd,  we  have  it  said,  "  The  Lion  of  the  tribe 
of  Judah  hath  prevailed."1  All  this,  breth 
ren,  understand  in  connection  with  points  of 
similarity,  not  with  personal  qualities.  It  is 
a  common  thing  to  see  the  shepherds  sitting 
on  a  rock,  and  there  guarding  the  cattle  com 
mitted  to  their  care.  Surely  the  shepherd  is 
better  than  the  rock  that  he  sits  upon;  and 
yet  Christ  is  both  the  Shepherd  and  the  rock. 
All  this  by  way  of  comparison.  But  if  thou 
askest  me  for  His  peculiar  personal  quality:3 
"  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the 
Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was 
God."  3  If  thou  askest  me  for  the  personal 
quality  peculiarly  His  own:  The  only  Son. 
from  everlasting  to  everlasting  begotten  of 
the  Father,  the  equal  of  Him  that  begat,  the 
Maker  of  all  things,  unchangeable  with  the 
Father,  unchanged  by  the  assuming  of  human 
form,  man  by  incarnation,  the  Son  of  man, 
and  the  Son  of  God.  All  this  that  I  have 
said  is  not  figure,  but  reality. 

4.  Therefore,  let  us  not,  brethren,  be  dis 
turbed   in   understanding   Him,   in   harmony 
with    certain    resemblances,  as    Himself   the 
door,  and  also  the  doorkeeper.      For  what  is 
the  door  ?     The  way  of  entrance.     Who  is 
the  doorkeeeper  ?     He  who  opens  it.     Who, 
then,  is  He  that  opens  Himself,  but  He  who 
unveils    Himself   to    sight?     See,   when   the 
Lord  spoke  at  first  of  the  door,  we  did  not 
understand:    so   long  as  we   did   not  under 
stand,  it  was  shut:  He  who  opened  it  is  Him 
self  the  doorkeeper.     There  is  no  need,  then, 
of  seeking  any  other  meaning,  no  need;  but 
perhaps  there  is  the  desire.     If  there  is  so, 
quit  not  the  path,  go  not  outside  of  the  Trin 
ity.     If  thou  art  in  quest  of  some  other  im 
personation  of  the  doorkeeper,  bethink  thee 
of  the  Holy  Spirit;  for  the  Holy  Spirit  will 
not  think  it  unmeet  to  be  the  doorkeeper, 
when  the  Son  has  thought  it  meet  to  be  Him 
self  the  door.     Look  at  the  doorkeeper   as 
perhaps  the  Holy  Spirit:  about  Him  the  Lord 
saith  to  His  disciples,  "  He  shall  guide  you 
into  all  truth."4     What  is  the  door?     Christ. 
What   is  Christ?     The  Truth.     Who,   then. 
openeth  the  door,  but  He  who  guideth  into 
all  truth  ? 

5.  Hut  what  are  we  to  say  of  the  hireling  ? 
He  is  not  mentioned  here  among  the  good. 


"The    good    Shepherd,"  II  -iveth 

His  life  for  the  sheep.  P.ut  he  that 
hireling,  and  no'  the  Shepherd,  whose  own  the 
sheep  are  not,  seeth  the  wolf  coming,  and  leav- 
eth  the  sheep,  and  fleeth;  and  the  wolf  catch- 
eth  them,  and  scattereth  the  sheep."  The 
hireling  does  not  here  bear  a  good  character, 
and  yet  in  some  respects  is  useful;  nor  would 
he  be  called  an  hireling,  did  he  not  receive 
hire  from  his  employer.  Who  then  is  this 
hireling,  that  is  both  blameworthy  and  need- 
ful  ?  And  here,  brethren,  let  the  Lord  Him 
self  give  us  light,  that  we  may  know  who  the 
hirelings  are,  and  be  not  hirelings  ourselves. 
Who  then  is  the  hireling  ?  There  are  some 
in  office  in  the  church,  of  whom  the  Apostle 
Paul  saith,  "Who  seek  their  own,  not  the 
things  that  are  Jesus  Christ's.  "  What  means 
that,  "  Who  seek  their  own  "  ?  Who  do  not 
love  Christ  freely,  who  do  not  seek  after  God 
for  His  own  sake;  who  are  pursuing  after 
temporal  advantages,  gaping  for  gain,  covet 
ing  honors  from  men.  When  such  things 
are  loved  by  an  overseer,  and  for  such  things 
God  is  served,  whoever  such  an  one  may 
be,  he  is  an  hireling  who  cannot  count  him 
self  among  the  children.  For  of  such  also 
the  Lord  saith:  "  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  they 
have  their  reward."3  Listen  to  what  the 
Apostle  Paul  says  of  St.  Timothy:  "  But  I 
trust  in  the  Lord  Jesus  to  send  Timothy 
shortly  unto  you,  that  I  also  may  be  of  good 
comfort,  when  I  know  your  circumstances; 
for  I  have  no  man  like-minded,  who  will  nat 
urally  6  care  for  you.  For  all  seek  their  own, 
not  the  things  which  are  Jesus  Christ's."7 
The  shepherd  mourned  in  the  midst  of  hire 
lings.  He  sought  some  one  who  sincerely 
loved  the  flock  of  Christ,  and  round  about 
him,  amongst  those  who  were  with  him  at 
that  time,  he  found  not  one.  Not  that  there 
was  no  one  then  in  the  Church  of  Christ 
but  the  Apostle  Paul  and  Timothy,  who  had 
a  brother's8  concern  for  the  flock;  but  it  so 
happened  at  the  time  of  his  sending  Timothy, 
that  he  had  none  else  of  his  sons  about 
him;  only  hirelings  were  with  him,  "who 
sought  their  own,  not  the  things  which  are 
Jesus  Christ's.''  And  yet  he  himself,  with  a 
brother's  anxiety  -for  the  flock,  preferred 
sending  his  son,  and  remaining  himself 
amongst  hirelings.  Hirelings  are  also  found 
among  ourselves,  but  the  Lord  alone  distin- 
guisheth  them.  He  that  searcheth  the  heart, 
distinguisheth  them;  and  yet  sometimes  we 
know  them  ourselves.  For  it  was  not  with 
out  a  purpose  that  the  Lord  Himself  said  also 
of  the  wolves:  "  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know 


•  Rev.  v.   s. 

3  Chap.  i.  i. 

17 


tntf.it. 
4  Chap.  xvi.  13. 


•  i.  <;. 
:  I-hil. 


.- .  like  a  hrnthcr. 
.<;.-,  like  a  brother. 


258 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUST1N. 


[TRACTATE  XLVI. 


them."  '  Temptations  put  many  to  the  ques 
tion,  and  then  their  thoughts  are  made  man 
ifest;  but  many  remain  undiscovered.  The 
Lord's  fold  must  have  as  overseers,  both 
those  who  are  children  and  those  who  are 
hirelings.  But  the  overseers,  who  are  sons, 
are  the  shepherds.  If  they  are  shepherds, 
how  is  there  but  one  Shepherd,  save  that  all 
of  them  are  members  of  the  one  Shepherd, 
to  whom  the  sheep  belong  ?  For  they  are 
also  members  of  Himself  as  the  one  sheep; 
because  "  as  a  sheep  he  was  led  to  the  slaugh 
ter." 

6.  But  give  heed  to  the  fact  that  even  the 
hirelings  are  needful.  For  many  indeed  in 
the  Church  are  following  after  earthly  profit, 
and  yet  preach  Christ,  and  through  them  is 
heard  the  voice  of  Christ;  and  the  sheep  fol 
low,  not  the  hireling,  but  the  Shepherd's 
voice  speaking  through  the  hireling.  Hearken 
to  the  hirelings  as  pointed  out  by  the  Lord 
Himself:  "  The  scribes,"  He  saith,  "  and  the 
Pharisees  sit  in  Moses'  seat:  do  what  they 
say;  but  do  not  what  they  do."2  What  else 
said  He  but,  Listen  to  the  Shepherd's  voice 
speaking  through  the  hirelings?  For  sitting 
in  Moses'  seat,  they  teach  the  law  of  God; 
therefore  God  teacheth  by  them.  But  if  they 
wish  to  teach  their  own  things,  hear  them 
not,  do  them  not.  For  certainly  such  seek 
their  own,  not  the  things  which  are  Jesus 
Christ's;  but  no  hireling  has  dared  to  say  to 
Christ's  people,  Seek  your  own,  not  the  things 
which  are  Jesus  Christ's.  For  his  own  evil 
conduct  he  does  not  preach  from  the  seat  of 
Christ:  he  does  injury  by  the  evil  that  he 
does,  not  by  the  good  that  he  says.  Pluck 
the  grapes,  beware  of  the  thorn.  It  is  well; 
I  see  that  you  have  understood;  but  for  the 
sake  of  those  that  are  slower,  I  shall  repeat 
these  words  with  greater  plainness.  How 
said  I,  Pluck  the  bunch  of  grapes,  beware  of 
the  thorn;  when  the  Lord  saith,  "Do  men 
gather  grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles"? 
That  is  quite  true:  and  yet  what  I  said  is  also 
true,  Pluck  the  bunch  of  grapes,  beware  of 
the  thorn.  For  sometimes  the  grape-cluster, 
springing  from  the  root  of  the  vine,  finds  its 
support  in  a  common  hedge;  its  branch 
grows,  becomes  embedded1  among  thorns,  and 
the  thorn  bears  other  fruit  than  its  own.  For 
the  thorn  has  not  been  produced  from  the 
vine,  but  has  become  the  resting-place  of  its 
runner.  Make  thine  inquiries  only  at  the 
roots.  Seek  for  the  thorn-root,  thou  wilt  find 
it  apart  from  the  vine:  seek  the  origin  of  the 
grape,  and  from  the  root  of  the  vine  it  will  be 
found  to  have  sprung.  And  so,  Moses'  seat 


was  the  vine;  the  morals  of  the  Pharisees  were 
the  thorns.  Sound  doctrine  cometh  through 
the  wicked,  as  the  vine-branch  in  a  hedge,  a 
bunch  of  grapes  among  thorns.  Gather  care 
fully,  so  as  in  seeking  the  fruit  not  to  tear 
thine  hand;  and  while  thou  art  to  hear  one 
speaking  what  is  good,  imitate  him  not  when 
doing  what  is  evil.  "  What  they  tell  you, 
do," — gather  the  grapes;  "  but  what  they  do, 
do  not," — beware  of  the  thorns.  Even  through 
hirelings  listen  to  the  voice  of  the  Shepherd, 
but  be  not  hirelings  yourselves,  seeing  ye  are 
members  of  the  Shepherd.  Yea,  Paul  him 
self,  the  holy  apostle  who  said,  "  I  have  no 
one  who  hath  a  brother's  concern  about  you; 
for  all  seek  their  own,  not  the  things  which 
are  Jesus  Christ's,"  draws  a  distinction  in 
another  place  between  hirelings  and  sons;  and 
see  what  he  saith:  "  Some  preach  Christ  even 
of  envy  and  strife,  and  some  also  of  good  will : 
some  of  love,  knowing  that  I  am  set  for  the 
defence  of  the  gospel;  but  some  also  preach 
Christ  of  contention,  not  sincerely,  supposing 
to  add  affliction  to  my  bonds."-  These  were 
hirelings  who  disliked  the  Apostle  Paul. 
And  why  such  dislike,  but  just  because  they 
were  seeking  after  temporal  things  ?  But 
mark  what  he  adds:  "What  then?  notwith 
standing,  every  way,  whether  in  pretence  or 
in  truth,  Christ  is  preached:  and  I  therein  do 
rejoice,  yea,  and  will  rejoice."3  Christ  is 
the  truth:  let  the  truth  be  preached  in  pre 
tense  by  hirelings,  let  it  be  preached  in  truth 
by  the  children:  the  children  are  waiting 
patiently  for  the  eternal  inheritance  of  the 
Father,  the  hirelings  are  longing  for,  and  in 
a  hurry  to  get,  the  temporal  pay  of  their  em 
ployer.  For  my  part  let  me  be  shorn  of  the 
human  glory,  which  I  see  such  an  object  of 
envy  to  hirelings:  and  yet  by  the  tongues 
joth  of  hirelings  and  of  children  let  the  divine 
glory  of  Christ  be  published  abroad,  seeing 
:hat,  "  whether  in  pretense  or  in  truth,  Christ 
s  preached." 

7.  We  have  seen  who  the  hireling  is  also. 
Who,  but  the  devil,  is  the  wolf?  And  what 
was  said  of  the  hireling  ?  "  When  he  seeth 
the  wolf  coming,  he  fleeth:  but  the  sheep  are 
lot  his  own,  and  he  careth  not  for  the  sheep." 
Was  the  Apostle  Paul  such  an  one  ?  Cer- 
:ainly  not.  Was  Peter  such  an  one  ?  Far 
rom  it.  Was  such  the  character  of  the  other 
apostles,  save  Judas,  the  son  of  perdition? 
Surely  not.  Were  they  shepherds  then  ?  Cer 
tainly  they  were.  And  how  is  there  one 
Shepherd  ?  I  have  already  said  they  were 
shepherds,  because  members  of  the  Shepherd. 
In  that  head  they  rejoiced,  under  that  head 


'  Matt.  vii.  16. 


J  I'hil.  i.  15-18. 


ii     XI. VI  I.  j 


ON  THK  GOSPEL  Of   ST.  JOHN. 


they  were  in  harmony  together,  with  one  spirit 
they  lived  in  the  bond  of  one  body;  and  there 
fore  belonged  all  of  them  to  the  one  Shep 
herd.  If,  then,  they  were  shepherds,  and  not 
hirelings,  wherefore  tied  they  when  suffering 
persecution?  Explain  it  to  us,  ()  Lord.  In 
an  epistle,  I  have  seen  Paul  fleeing:  he  was 
let  down  by  the  wall  in  a  basket,  to  escape 
the  hands  of  his  persecutor.1  Had  he,  then, 
no  care  of  the  sheep,  whom  he  thus  aban 
doned  at  the  approach  of  the  wolf?  Clearly 
he  had,  but  he  commended  them  by  his 
prayers  to  the  Shepherd  who  was  sitting  in 
heaven;  and  for  their  advantage  he  preserved 
himself  by  flight,  as  he  says  in  a  certain  place, 
41  To  abide  in  the  flesh  is  needful  for  you."  * 
For  all  had  heard  from  the  Shepherd  Him 
self,  "  If  they  persecute  you  in  one  city,  flee 
ye  into  another."  3  May  the  Lord  be  pleased 
to  explain  to  us  this  point  !  Lord,  Thou 
saidst  to  those  whom  Thou  didst  certainly 
wish  to  be  faithful  shepherds,  and  whom 
Thou  didst  form  into  Thine  own  members, 
"  If  they  persecute  you,  flee."  Doest  Thou, 
then,  injustice  to  them,  when  Thou  blamest 
the  hirelings  who  flee  when  they  see  the  wolf 
coming  !  We  ask  Thee  to  tell  us  what  mean 
ing  lies  hid  in  the  depths  of  the  question. 
Let  us  knock,  and  the  keeper  of  the  door, 
which  is  Christ,  will  be  here  to  reveal  Him 
self. 

8.  Who  is  the  hireling  that  seeth  the  wolf 
coming,  and  fleeth  ?  He  that  seeketh  his 
own,  not  the  things  which  are  Jesus  Christ's. 
He  is  one  that  does  not  venture  plainly  to 
rebuke  an  offender.4  Look,  some  one  or 
other  has  sinned — grievously  sinned ;  he  ought 
to  be  rebuked,  to  be  excommunicated:  but 
once  excommunicated,  he  will  turn  into  an 
enemy,  hatch  plots,  and  do  all  the  injury  he 
can.  At  present,  he  who  seeketh  his  own, 
not  the  things  that  are  Jesus  Christ's,  in 
order  not  to  lose  what  he  follows  after,  the 
advantages  of  human  friendship,  and  incur 
the  annoyances  of  human  enmity,  keeps  quiet 
and  does  not  administer  rebuke.  See,  the 




wolf  has  caught  a  sheep  by  the  throat;  the 
devil  has  enticed  a  believer  into  adultery: 
tliou  boldest  thy  peace  thou  utterest  no 
reproof.  ()  hireling,  thou  hast  seen  the  wolf 
coming  and  hast  fled  !  Perhaps  he  answers 
and  says:  Sec,  I  am  here;  I  have  not  fled. 
Thou  hast  tied,  because  thou  hast  been  silent; 
thou  hast  been  silent,  because  thou  hast  been 
afraid.  The  flight  of  the  mind  is  fear.  Thou 
stoodest  with  thy  body,  thou  fleddest  in  thy 
spirit,  which  was  not  the  conduct  of  him 
who  said,  '*  Though  I  be  absent  in  the  flesh, 
yet  am  I  with  you  in  the  spirit."5  For  how 
did  he  flee  in  spirit,  who,  though  absent  in 
the  flesh,  yet  in  his  letters  reproved  the 
fornicators  ?  Our  affections  are  the  motions 
of  our  minds.  Joy  is  expansion  of  the 
mind;  sorrow,  contraction  of  the  mind;  de 
sire,  a  forward  movement  of  the  mind;  and 
fear,  the  flight  of  the  mind.  For  thou  art 
expanded  in  mind  when  thou  art  glad;  con 
tracted  in  mind  when  thou  art  in  trouble; 
thou  movest  forward  in  mind  when  thou  hast 
an  earnest  desire;  and  thou  fleest  in  mind 
when  thou  art  afraid.  This,  then,  is  how 
the  hireling  is  said  to  flee  at  the  sight  of  the 
wolf.  Why?  "Because  he  careth  not  for 
the  sheep."  Why  "careth  he  not  for  the 
sheep"?  "Because  he  is  an  hireling." 
What  is  that,  "  he  is  an  hireling"  ?  He  seek 
eth  a  temporal  reward,  and  shall  not  dwell  in 
the  house  for  ever.  There  are  still  some 
things  here  to  be  inquired  about  and  dis 
cussed  with  you,  but  it  is  not  prudent  to 
burden  you.  For  we  are  ministering  the 
Lord's  food  to  our  fellow-servants;  we  feed  as 
sheep  in  the  Lord's  pastures,  and  are  fed  to 
gether.  And  just  as  we  must  not  withhold 
what  is  needful,  so  our  weak  hearts  are  not  to 
be  overcharged  with  the  abundance  of  pro 
visions.  Let  it  not  then  annoy  your  Charity 
that  I  do  not  take  up  to-day  all  that  I  think 
is  still  here  to  be  discussed;  but  the  same 
lesson  will,  in  the  Lord's  name,  be  read  over 
to  us  again  on  the  preaching  days,  and  be, 
i  with  His  help,  more  carefully  considered. 


i  3  COT.  xi.  33. 
3  Matt.  x.  23. 


"Phil.  i.  34. 
4  i  Tim.  v. 


5  Col.    ii.  5. 


TRACTATE    XLVII. 

CHATTER  X.   14-21. 


i.  THOSE  of  you  who  hear  the  word  of  our 
Clod,  not  only  with  willingness,  but  also  with 
attention,  doubtless  remember  our  promise. 


because,  having  lingered  over  certain  closely 
related  topics,  we  could  not  discuss  all  that 
we  owed  to  your  powers  of  understanding. 


Indeed  the  same  gospel  lesson  has  also  been  j  Accordingly,  what  has  been  already  saiil  and 
read  to-day  which  was  read  last  Lord's  day;    discoursed  about  we  do  not  inquire   into  to- 


260  THK    \\OKKS    OF    ST.    AUGUST1N.  |THA«TATK  Xl.VII 


day,  lest  by  continual  repetitions  we  should 
be  prevented  from  reaching  what  has  still  to 
be  spoken.  You  know  now  in  the  Lord's 
name  who  is  the  good  Shepherd,  and  in  what 
way  good  shepherds  are  His  members,  and 
therefore  the  Shepherd  is  one.  You  know 
who  is  the  hireling  we  have  to  bear  with; 
who  the  wolf,  and  the  thieves,  and  the  robbers 


whence  had  they  the  power  apart  from  Him, 
who  Himself  had  said,  "  Without  me  ye  can 
do  nothing"?*  But  from  the  same  source 
we  can  show  what  others  also  have  done,  for 
the  apostle  John  himself,  wiio  preached  the 
very  gospel  you  have  been  hearing,  has  said 
in  his  epistle,  "  Just  as  Christ  laid  down  His 
life  for  us,  so  ought  we  also  to  lay  down  our 


we  have  to  beware  of;  who  are  the  sheep,  and  ; lives  for  the  brethren."  3  "  We  ought,"  he 
what  is  the  door  whereby  both  sheep  and  says:  He  made  us  debtors  who  first  set  the 
shepherd  enter:  how  we  are  to  understand  i  example.  To  the  same  effect  it  is  written  in 
the  doorkeeper.  You  know  also  that  every  a  certain  place,  "  If  tliou  sittest  down  to  sup 


one  who  entereth  not  by  the  door  is  a  thief 
and  a  robber,  and  cometh  not  but  to  steal, 
and  to  kill,  and  to  destroy.  All  these  sayings 


at  a  ruler's  table,  make  wise  observation  of 
what  is  set  before  thee;  and  put  to  thy  hand, 
knowing  that  it  will  be  thy  duty  to  make 


have,  as  I  think,  been  sufficiently  handled,  similar  provision  in  turn."4  You  know  what 
To-day  we  ought  to  tell  you,  as  far  as  the! is  meant  by  the  ruler's  table:  you  there  find 
Lord  enables  us  (for  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ;  let  him  who 
hath  Himself  told  us  that  He  is  both  the, comes  to  such  a  table  be  ready  with  similar 
Shepherd  and  the  door,  and  that  the  good  !  provision.  And  what  is  such  similar  pro- 
Shepherd  entereth  in  by  the  door),  how  it  is  j  vision?  As  He  laid  down  His  life  for  us,  so 
that  He  entereth  in  by  Himself.  For  if  no  ought  we  also,  for  the  edification  of  others, 
one  is  a  good  shepherd  but  he  that  entereth  [and  the  maintenance  of  the  faith,5  to  lay  doinn 
by  the  door,  and  He  Himself  is  pre-eminently  '  our  lives  for  the  brethren.  To  the  same  effect 
the  good  Shepherd,  and  also  Himself  the  He  said  to  Peter,  whom  He  wished  to  make 
door,  I  can  understand  it  only  in  this  way,  a  goqd  shepherd,  not  in  Peter's  own  person, 
that  He  entereth  in  by  Himself  to  His  sheep,  but  as  a  member  of  His  body:  "  Peter,  lovest 
and  calleth  them  to  follow  Him,  and  they,  thou  me?  Feed  my  sheep."  This  He  did 
going  in  and  out,  find  pasture,  which  is  to  once,  again,  and  a  third  time,  to  the  disci- 
say,  eternal  life.  I  pie's  sorrow.  And  when  the  Lord  had  ques- 
2.  I  proceed,  then,  without  more  delay,  tioned  him  as  often  as  He  judged  it  needful, 
When  I  seek  to  get  into  you,  that  is,  into  that  he  who  had  thrice  denied  might  thrice 
your  heart,  I  preach  Christ:  were  I  preaching  confess  Him,  and  had  a  third  time  given  him 
something  else,  I  should  be  trying  to  climb  j  the  charge  to  feed  His  sheep,  He  said  to 
up  some  other  way.  Christ,  therefore,  is  my  jhim,  "  When  thou  wast  young,  thou  girdedst 
gate  to  you:  by  Christ  I  get  entrance,  not  to  thyself,  and  walkedst  whither  thou  wouldest: 
your  houses,  but  to  your  hearts.  It  is  by 'but  when  thou  shalt  be  old,  thou  shalt  stretch 
Christ  I  enter:  it  is  Christ  in  me  that  you  forth  thy  hands,  and  another  shall  gird  thee, 
have  been  willingly  hearing.  And  why  is  it  land  carry  thee  whither  thou  wouldest  not." 
you  have  thus  willingly  hearkened  to  Christ! And  the  evangelist  has  explained  the  Lord's 
in  me  ?  Because  you  are  the  sheep  of  Christ,  meaning:  "  But  this  spake  He,  signifying  by 
purchased  with  the  blood  of  Christ.  You  |what  death  he  should  glorify  God."  6  "Feed 
acknowledge  your  own  price,  which  is  not  my  sheep"  applies,  then,  to  this,  that  thou 
paid  by  me,  but  is  preached  by  my  instru-  shouldst  lay  down  thy  life  for  my  sheep, 
mentality.  He,  and  only  He,  was  the  buyer,  ',  3.  And  now  when  He  saith,  "As  the 
who  shed  precious  blood — the  precious  blood  Father  knoweth  me,  even  so  know  I  the 
of  Him  who  was  without  sin.  Yet  made  He  Father/'  who  can  be  ignorant  of  His  mean- 
precious  also  the  blood  of  His  own,  for  whom  ing?  For  He  knoweth  the  Father  by  Him- 
He  paid  the  price  of  blood:  for  had  He  not, self,  and  we  by  Him.  That  He  hath  know- 
made  the  blood  of  His  own  precious,  it  would  ledge  by  Himself,  we  know  already:  that  we 


not  have  been  said,  "  Precious  in  the  sight  of 


also  when  He  saith,  "  The  good  Shepherd 
giveth  His  life  for  the  sheep,"  He  is  not  the 
only  one  who  has  done  such  a  deed;  and  yet 
if  those  who  have  done  so  are  His  members, 
He  only  Himself  was  the  doer  of  it.  For 
He  was  able  to  do  so  without  them,  but 


also  have  knowledge  by  Him,  we  have  like- 


the  Lord  is  the  death  of  His  saints."  *     So 

2  Chap.  xv.  5.  ^  i   John  111.  i'>. 

4  I'rov.  xxiii/i,  2,  according  to  the  Scptuagiot.  wboM  reading 
of  verse  2  must  have  been  somewhat  different  from  that  of  the 
present  Hebrew  text,  with  which  our  Knglish  version  pretty  <  !.-<-ly 
agrees:  "  And  thou  shalt  put  a  knife  to  thy  throat,  if  thou  art  a 
man  of  appetite "  (<"•/•'  >  •'•  •</".  "if  thou  hast  control  over  thy  ap- 


petite,"  T.rX  '.!•£  :  "^I'ZX        *°  somewhat  similarly  the  Vul- 
irate.  which  makes'  the  last  clause,  "  if  thou  hast   power  over  thy 

5  This  clause,  "  for  the  edification,'   etc.,  is  wanting  in  many 
of  the   MM. 

6  Chap.  xxi.  15-19. 


,i    XI. VI  I.] 


ON    i  in.  GOSP1  I    '  'I    ST,  JOHN. 


261 


wise  learned,  for  this  also  we  have  learned  ot 
Him.  For  Hi-  Himself  hath  said:  "  No  one 
hath  seen  Hod  at  any  time;  Imt  the  only- 
begotten  Son,  who  is  in  'hi-  bosom  of  the 
,  He  hath  declared  Hun."'  And  so 


by    Him  do  we  also  ^ct 
whom  He  hath  (!• 

also  He  saith: 


this  knowledge,  to 

Him.      In    another 
o  one  knoweth  the 


Son,  but  the  Father;  neither  knoweth  any 
one  the  Father,  save  the  Son,  and  he  to 
whomsoever  the  Son  will  reveal  Him."  A 
He  then  knoweth  the  Father  by  Himself, 
and  we  know  the  Father  by  Him;  so  into  the 
sheepfold  He  entereth  by  Himself,  and  we  by 


For  both  Peter,  and  Paul,  and  the  other 

re,  as  all  good  bisho;  icrds. 

Hut  none  of  us  calleth  himself  the  door. 
This — the  way  of  entrance  for  the  sheep  - 
He  has  retained  as  exclusively  belonging  to 
Himself.  In  short,  Paul  discharged  the  office 
of  a  good  shepherd  when  he  preached  Christ, 
because  he  entered  by  the  door.  But  when 
the  undisciplined  sheep  began  to  create 
schisms,  and  to  set  up  other  doors  before 
them,  not  of  entrance  to  their  joint  assembly, 
but  for  falling  away  into  divisions,  saying, 
some  of  them,  "  I  am  of  Paul;  "  others,  "I  am 
of  Cephas;  "  others,'4  I  of  Apollos;"  others, 


"  I  of  Christ:  "  terrified  for  those  who  said, 
"I  am  of  Paul," — as  if  calling  out  to  the 
sheep,  Wretched  ones,  whither  are  you  going  ? 
I  am  not  the  door,- -he  said,  "  Was  Paul  cru 
cified  for  you  ?  or  were  ye  baptized  in  the 


Him.  We  were  saying  that  by  Christ  we 
have  a  door  of  entrance  to  you;  and  why? 
Because  we  preach  Christ.  We  preach 
Christ;  and  therefore  we  enter  in  by  the 
door.  But  Christ  preacheth  Christ,  for  He 

preacheth  Himself;  and  so  the  Shepherd  en- 1  name  of  Paul?"4  But  those  who  said, 
tereth  in  by  Himself.  When  the  light  shows  I  am  of  Christ,"  had  found  the  door, 
the  other  things  that  are  seen  in  the  light,  I  4.  But  of  the  one  sheepfold  and  of  the  one 
does  it  need  some  other  means  of  being  made  Shepherd,  you  are  now  indeed  being  con- 
visible  itself  ?  The  light,  then,  exhibits  both  stantly  reminded;  for  we  have  commended 
other  things  and  itself.  Whatever  we  under-  much  the  one  sheepfold,  preaching  unity, 
stand,  we  understand  with  the  intellect:  and  |  that  all  the  sheep  should  enter  by  Christ,  and 
how,  save  by  the  intellect,  do  we  understand  j  none  of  them  should  follow  Donatus.  Never- 


the  intellect  itself  ?  But  does  one  in  the  same 
way  with  the  bodily  eye  see  both  other  things 
and  [the  eye]  itself?  For  though  men  see 
with  their  eyes,  yet  their  own  eyes  they  see 
not.  The  eye  of  the  flesh  sees  other  things, 
itself  it  cannot  [see]:  but  the  intellect  uncler- 


theless,  for  what  particular  reason  this  was 
said  by  the  Lord,  is  sufficiently  apparent. 
For  He  was  speaking  among  the  Jews,  and 
had  been  specially  sent  to  the  Jews,  not  for 
the  sake  of  that  class  who  were  bound  up  in 
their  inhuman  hatred  and  persistently  abiding 


stands   itself   as   well   other  things.     In    the  I  in  darkness,  but  for  the  sake  of  some  in  the 


same  way  as  the  intellect  seeth  itself,  so  also 
doth  Christ  preach  Himself.  If  He  preach 
eth  Himself,  and  by  preaching  entereth  into 
thee,  He  entereth  into  thee  by  Himself. 
And  He  is  the  door  to  the  Father,  for  there 
is  no  way  of  approach  to  the  Father  but  by 
Him.  "  For  there  is  one  God  and  one  Medi 
ator  between  God  and  men,  the  man  Christ 
Jesus." 3  Many  things  are  expressed  by  a 
word:  all  that  I  have  just  said,  I  have  said, 
of  course,  by  means  of  words.  If  I  were 
wishing  to  speak  also  of  a  word  itself,  how 
could  I  do  so  but  by  the  use  of  the  word  ? 
And  thus  both  many  things  are  expressed  by 
a  word,  which  are  not  the  same  as  the  word, 
and  the  word  itself  can  only  be  expressed  by 
means  of  the  word.  By  the  Lord's  help  we 
have  been  copious  in  illustration.  Remem 
ber,  then,  how  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  both 


nation  whom  He  calls  His  sheep:  of  whom 
He  saith,  "  I  am  not  sent  but  to  the  lost 
sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel."5  He  knew 
them  even  amid  the  crowd  of  His  raging 
foes,  and  foresaw  them  in  the  peace  of  believ 
ing.  What,  then,  does  He  mean  by  saying. 
"  I  am  not  sent  but  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the 
house  of  Israel,"  but  that  He  exhibited  His 
bodily,  presence  only  to  the  people  of  Israel  ? 
He  did  not  proceed  Himself  to  the  Gentiles, 
but  sent:  to  the  people  of  Israel  He  both  sent 
and  came  in  person,  that  those  who  proved 
despisers  should  receive  the  greater  judg 
ment,  because  favored  also  with  the  sight  of 
His  actual  presence.  The  Lord  Himself  was 
there:  there  He  chose  a  mother:  there  He 
wished  to  be  conceived,  to  be  born,  to  shed 
His  blood:  there  are  His  footprints,6  now  ob 
jects  of  adoration  where  last  He  stood,  and 


the  door  and  the  Shepherd:  the  door,  in  pre 
senting  Himself  to  view;  the  Shepherd,  in 
entering  in  by  Himself.  And  indeed,  breth 
ren,  because  He  is  the  Shepherd,  He  hath 
given  to  His  members  to  be  so  lik< 

4  i  Cor.  i.  i                                                 *  Matt.  xv.  34. 
«  Of   Christ's   footprints  on    Mount   Olivet,  impreMM  on  the 

Around,  there  is  mention  made  in  ihe  w»rk««f   Jerome,  in  the  book 
on  "  Hebrew  pl.i                                i'-,  in  the  n.nn 
-'.'es;  as  likewise  in  the  H                             '  Milpitius 
-  -..mew-hat  uncertain,  hut 
-  day,  and 
certain  acts  of  worship  performed  in  their  honor 

i  Chap.  i.  18.                -  Mai; 

262 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  XI.VII. 


whence  He  ascended  to  heaven:  but  to  the 
Gentiles  He  only  sent. 

5.  But  perhaps  some   one  thinks  that,  as 
He   Himself  came  not  to  us,  but  sent,  we 
have  not  heard  His  own  voice,  but  only  the 
voice  of  those  whom  He  sent.     Far  from  it: 
let  such  a  thought  be  banished   from  your 
hearts;   for  He  Himself  was  in  those  whom 
He  sent.     Listen  to  Paul  himself  whom  He 
sent;  for  Paul  was  specially  sent  as  an  apos 
tle  to  the  Gentiles;  and  it  is  Paul  who,  terri 
fying  them  not  with  himself  but  with  Him, 
saith,  "  Do   ye   wish   to   receive  a  proof   of 
Him  who  speaketh  in  me,  that  is,  of  Christ  ?  "  ' 
Listen    also    to   the    Lord    Himself.     "And 
other  sheep  I  have,"  that  is,  among  the  Gen 
tiles,  "which  are  not  of  this  fold,"  that  is, 
of  the  people  of  Israel:  "them  also  must  I 
bring.''     Therefore,  even  when  it  is  by  the 
instrumentality  of  His  servants,  it  is  He  and 
not  another  that  bringeth  them.     Listen  fur 
ther:  "  They  shall  hear  my  voice."    See  here 
also,  it  is  He  Himself  who  speaks  by  His  ser 
vants,   and  it  is  His  voice  that  is  heard    in 
those  whom  He  sends.     "  That  there  may  be 
one  fold,  and  one  shepherd."     Of  these  two 
flocks,  as  of  two  walls,  is  the  corner-stone 
formed.2     And  thus  is  He  both  door  and  the 
corner-stone:  all  by  way  of  comparison,  none 
of  them  literally. 

6.  For  I  have  said  so  before,  and  earnestly 
pressed  it  on  your  notice,  and  those  who  com 
prehend  it  are  wise,  yea,  those  who  are  wise 
do  comprehend  it;  and  yet  let  those  who  are 
not  yet  intellectually  enlightened,  keep  hold 
by  faith  of  what  they  cannot  as  yet  under 
stand.     Christ  is  many  things  metaphorically, 
which   strictly  speaking3  He   is   not.     Meta 
phorically  Christ  is  both  a  rock,  and  a  door, 
and  a  corner-stone,  and  a  shepherd,  and  a 
lamb,  and  a  lion.     How  numerous  are  such 
similitudes,  and  as  many  more  as  would  take 
too  long  to  enumerate  !     But  if  you  select  the 
strict  significations  of  things  as  you  are  accus 
tomed  to  see  them,  then  He  is  neither  a  rock, 
for  He  is  not  hard  and  senseless;  nor  a  door, 
for  no  artisan  made  Him;  nor  a  corner-stone, 
for  He  was  not  constructed  by  a  builder;  nor 
a  shepherd,   for  He   is  no  keeper  of   four- 
footed  animals;  nor  a  lion,  as  it  ranks  among 
the  beasts  of   the  forest;    nor  a  lamb,  as  it 
belongs  to  the  flock.     All  such,  then,  are  by 
way  of  comparison.    But  what  is  He  properly  ? 
"  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and    the 
Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God 
[God  was  the  Word]."     And  what,  as  He  ap 
peared  in  human  nature?     "And  the  Word 
was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us  [in  us].''4 


7.  Hear  also  what  follows.  "  Therefore 
dotli  my  Father  love  me,"  He  saith,  "be 
cause  I  lay  down  my  life,  that  I  might  take  it 
again. "  What  is  this  that  He  says  ?  "  There 
fore  doth  my  Father  love  me:'*  because  I  die, 
that  I  may  rise  again.5  For  the  "  I ''  is 
uttered  with  special  emphasis:  "  Because  / 
|  lay  clown,"  He  saith,  "  /  lay  down  my  life," 
"  1  lay  down."  What  is  that  "  I  lay  down  "  ? 
I  LAY  it  down.  Let  the  Jews  no  longer  boast: 
they  might  rage,  but  they  could  have  no 
power:  let  them  rage  as  they  can;  if  I  were 
unwilling  to  lay  down  my  life,  what  would  all 
their  raging  effect  ?  By  one  answer  of  His 
they  were  prostrated  in  the  dust:  when  they 
were  asked,  "Whom  seek  ye?"  they  said, 
"Jesus;"  and  on  His  saying  to  them,  "I 
am  He,  they  went  backward,  and  fell  to  the 
ground."6  Those  who  thus  fell  to  the  ground 
at  one  word  of  Christ  when  about  to  die, 
what  will  they  do  at  the  sound  of  His  voice 
when  coming  to  judgment?  "I.  I,"  I  say, 
"  lay  down  my  life,  that  I  may  take  it  again." 
Let  not  the  Jews  boast,  as  if  they  had  pre 
vailed;  He  Himself  laid  down  His  life.  "  I 
laid  me  down  [to  sleep],"  He  says  [else 
where].  You  know  the  psalm:  "I  laid  me 
down  and  slept;  and  I  awaked  [rose  up],  for 
the  Lord  sustaineth  me."  What  of  that — "I 
lay  down  "  ?  Because  it  was  my  pleasure,  I 
did  so.  What  does  "  I  lay  down  "  mean  ?  I 
died.  Was  it  not  a  lying  down  to  sleep  on 
His  part,  who,  when  He  pleased,  rose  from 
the  tomb  as  He  would  from  a  bed  ?  But  He 
loves  to  give  glory  to  the  Father,  that  He 
may  stir  us  up  to  glorify  our  Creator.  For 
in  adding,  "  I  arose,  for  the  Lord  sustaineth 
me;"  think  you  there  was  here  a  kind  of 
failing  in  His  power,  so  that,  while  He  had  it 
in  His  own  power  to  die,  He  had  it  not  in 
His  power  to  rise  again  ?  So,  indeed,  the 
words  seem  to  imply  when  not  more  closely 
considered.  "  I  lay  down  to  sleep;  "  that  is, 
I  did  so,  because  I  pleased.  "And  I  arose:" 
why?  "Because  the  Lord  sustaineth  [will 
sustain]  me."7  What  then?  wouldst  Thou 
not  have  power  to  rise  of  Thyself?  If  Thou 
hadst  not  the  power,  Thou  wouldst  not  have 
said,  "  I  have  power  to  lay  down  my  life,  and 
I  have  power  to  take  it  again."  But,  as 
showing  that  not  only  did  the  Father  raise 
the  Son,  but  the  Son  also  raised  Himself. 


«  r  Cor. 

3  l\r pr 


'Kph.ii.  11-22. 
i  Chap.  i.  i,  14. 


5  Migne  says  that  "  there  is,  perhaps,  in  this  passage  somethinjj 
either  superfluous  or  lacking."     But  there  does  not  seem  any  real 
cause  for  such  a  supposition.  -'1'K. 

6  Chap,  xviii.  4-6. 

•  I'-,  iii.  5.  It  need  scarcely  be  said  that  this  psalm  cannot 
bear  the  Messianic  interpretation  attached  to  it  by  Augustin,  any 
more  than  1'rov.  xxiii.  i,  2,  similarly  applied  in  Sec.  2  of  this  lec- 
ture  ;  and  frequently  elsewhere,  lint  the  accommodation  at  the 
will  of  the  writer  of  all  <  >ld  Testament  Scripture  equally  to  such  a 
purpose  was  characteristic  of  the  a^e.— TK. 


I  I    \.    I. Ml      \!    \   I  I.  I 


ON  THE  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


263 


hear  lio\v,  in  .-mother  passage  in  tlu-  Gospel, 
M,  "  Destroy  this  temple,  and  in  three 
days  I  will  rai>e  it  up."  And  the  evangelist 
adds:  "  Hut  this  He  spake  of  the  temple  of 
is  body."1  For  only  that  which  died  was 
restored  to  life.  The  Word  is  not  mortal,  His 
soul  is  not  mortal.  If  even  thine  dieth  not, 
could  the  Lord's  be  subject  to  death? 

8.  How  can  I  know,  thou    wilt   say,  that 
mine  dieth  not  ?     Slay   it  not   thyself,  and   it 
cannot  die.     How,  thou  asketh,  can   I   slay 
my    soul  ?     To    say    nothing    meanwhile    of 
other  sins,   "The  mouth   that  lieth,  slayeth  j 
the  soul."  *     How,  thou  sayest,  can  I  be  sure 
that  it  dieth  not  ?     Listen  to  the  Lord  Himself 
giving    security    to    His   servant:    "  Be    not 
afraid  of  them  that  kill  the  body,  and  after 
that  have  no  more  that  they. can  do."      But 
what  in   the    plainest  terms   does    He    say  ? 
44  Fear  Him  who   hath    power   to   slay  both 
soul  and  body  in  hell."3     Here  you  have  the 
fact  that  it  dieth,  and  that  it  cloth  not  die. 
What  is  its  dying?     What   is  dying  to  thy 
flesh  ?     Dying,  to  thy  flesh,  is  the  losing  of 
its  life:  dying  to  thy  soul,  is  the  losing  of  its 
life.     The  life  of  thy  flesh  is  thy  soul:  the 
life  of  thy  soul  is  thy  God.     As  the  flesh  dies 
in   losing  the  soul,  which  is  its  life,  so  the 
soul  dieth  in  losing  God,  who  is  its  life.     Of 
a  certainty,  then,  the  soul  is  immortal.      Man 
ifestly  immortal,  for  it  liveth  even  when  dead. 
For  what  the  apostle  said  of  the  luxurious 
widow,  may  also  be  said  of  the  soul  if  it  has 
lost  its  God,  "  she  is  dead  while  she  liveth."  4 

9.  How,  then,  does  the  Lord  lay  down  His 
life  [soul]?5     Let  us,  brethren,  inquire  into 
this  a  little  more  carefully.     The  time  is  not 
so  pressing  as  is  usual  on  the  Lord's  day:  we 
have  leisure,  and  theirs  will  be  the  profit  who 
have  assembled  to-day  also  to  wait  on  the 
Word  of  God.     "  I  lay  down  my  life,"  He 
says.     Who  lays  down  ?    What  lays  He  down  ? 
What  is  Christ?     The  Word  and  man.     Not 
man  as  being  flesh  alone:   but  as  man  con 
sists  of  flesh  and  soul,  so,  in  Christ  there  is  a 
complete  humanity.     For  He  would  not  have 
assumed  the  baser  part,  and  left  the  better 
behind,  seeing  that  the  soul  of  man  is  cer 
tainly  superior   to  the    body.     Since,   then, 
there  is  entire   manhood   in   Christ,  what  is 
Christ?     The    Word,    I     repeat,    and    man. 
What   is  the  Word   and   man?     The   Word, 
soul,  and  flesh.     Keep  hold  of  that,  for  there 
has  been   no  lack  of  heretics  on  this  point 
also,  expelled   as  they  were  some  time  ago 
from  the  catholic  truth,  but  still  persisting, 

1  Chap.  ii.  19,  21.  i.  ii. 

'  ,tt.  x.  28,  and  I.uke  atii.  4.  5.  <  i  Tim.  v.  <  . 

5  The  won!  ,inini,i.  according  to  Aufrustin's    explanation  of 
h   above,  may   be    rendered    in  these   sections   cither   " 
"life."     The  original  also  is  *vX»|.— TR. 


like  thieves  and  robbers  who  enter  not  by  the 
door,  to  lay  their  snares  around  the  fold. 
These  heretics  are  termed  Apollinarians,'  -md 
have  ventured  to  assert  dogmatically  that 
Christ  is  only  the  word  and  flesh,  and  con 
tend  that  He  did  not  assume  a  human  soul. 
And  yet  some  of  them  could  not  deny  that 
there  was  a  soul  in  Christ.  See  their  intol 
erable  absurdity  and  madness.  They  would 
have  Him  to  possess  an  irrational  soul,  but 
deny  Him  a  rational  one.  They  allowed 
Him  a  mere  animal,  they  deprived  Him  of  a 
human,  soul.  But  they  took  away  Christ's 
reason  by  losing  their  own.  Let  it  be  other 
wise  with  us,  who  have  been  nourished  and 
established  in  the  catholic  faith.  Accord 
ingly,  on  this  occasion  I  would  remind  your 
Charity,  that,  as  in  former  lectures,  we  have 

fiven  you  sufficient  instruction  against  the 
abellians  and  Arians,— the  Sabellians,  who 
say,  The  Father  is  the  same  as  the  Son — the 
Arians,  who  say,  The  Father  is  one  being, 
the  Son  is  another,  as  if  the  Father  and  Son 
were  not  of  the  same  substance  -  -  and  also, 
provided  you  remember  as  you  ought,  against 
the  Photinian  heretics,  who  have  asserted 
that  Christ  was  mere  man,  and  destitute  of 
Godhead:7  and  against  the  Manicheans,  who 
maintain  that  He  was  God  only  without  any 
true  humanity:  we  may,  on  this  occasion,  in 
speaking  about  the  soul,  give  you  some  in 
struction  also  in  opposition  to  the  Apollina 
rians,  who  say  that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  had 
no  human  soul,  that  is,  a  rational  intelligent 
soul, — that  soul,  I  mean,  by  which,  as  men, 
we  differ  from  the  brutes. 

10.  In  what  sense,  then,  did  our  Lord  say 
here,  "  I  have  power  to  lay  down  my  soul 
[life]"  ?  Who  lays  down  his  soul,  and  takes 
it  again  ?  Is  it  as  being  the  Word  that  Christ 
does  so?  Or  is  it  the  human  soul  He  pos 
sesses  that  lays  down  and  resumes  its  own 
existence  ?  Or  is  it  His  fleshly  nature  that 
lays  down  its  life  and  takes  it  again  ?  Let  us 
sift  each  of  the  three  questions  I  have  sug 
gested,  and  choose  that  which  conforms  to  the 
standard  of  truth.  For  if  we  say  that  the 
Word  of  God  laid  down  His  soul,  and  took  it 
again,  we  should  have  to  fear  the  entrance  of 
a  wicked  thought,  and  have  it  said  to  us: 
Then  there  was  a  time  when  that  soul  was 
separated  from  the  Word,  and  a  time,  after 
His  assumption  of  that  soul,  when  He  was 
without  a  soul.  I  see,  indeed,  that  the  Word 


.  Apollinaris.  bishop  of  Alexandria,  who  held  that  the 
body  whu  h  (  hn-t  .i-suinril  had  only  a  x-nMtu  .-.  and  nut  a  rational 
soul,  and  that  His  divine-  nature  mpptied  the  place  ..f  the  latter. 
His  I),H  trim  -  wi-r<-  <  ondrmm .1  by  th,-  (  ..uncil  of  Alexandria,  A.D. 
362,  and  he  himself  was  deposed  by  the  (',. un.il  ..f  K.>mc,  vi>. 
378. -TR. 

•'..'/   which,  howrvcr,  U  wanting  in  ul!  thr  MS-. 


264 


THK   WORKS  OF  ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


(TKA<  ivir.    XI. VI  I. 


was  once  without  a  human  soul,  but  only  so, 
when  "  in  the  beginning  was  the  \Vonl,  and 
the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was 
God."  But  from  the  time  that  the  Word  was 
made  flesh,  to  dwell  amongst  us,1  and  man 
hood  was  assumed  by  the  Word,  that  is,  our 
whole  nature,  soul  and  flesh,  what  more  could 
His  passion  and  death  do  than  separate  the 
body  from  the  soul  ?  It  separated  not  the 
soul  from  the  Word.  For  if  the  Lord  died, 
yea,  because  He  died  (for  He  did  so  for  us 
on  the  cross),  doubtless  His  flesh  breathed 
out  that  which  was  its  life:  for  a  short  time 
the  soul  forsook  the  flesh,  although  destined 
by  its  own  return  to  raise  the  flesh  again  to 
life.  But  I  cannot  say  that  the  soul  was  sep 
arated  from  the  Word.  He  said  to  the  soul 
of  the  thief,  "  To-day  shalt  tliou  be  with  me 
in  paradise."  -  He  forsook  not  the  believing 
soul  of  the  robber,  and  did  He  abandon  His 
own?  Surely  not;  but  when  the  Lord  took 
that  of  the  other  into  His  keeping,  He  cer 
tainly  retained  His  own  in  indissoluble  union. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  say  that  the  soul 
laid  down  and  reassumed  itself,  we  fall  into 
the  greatest  absurdity;  for  what  was  not  sep 
arated  from  the  Word,  was  inseparable  from 
itself. 

1 1.  Let  us  turn,  then,  to  what  is  true  and 
easily  understood.  Take  the  case  of  any 
man,  who  does  not  consist  of  the  word  and 


life;  but  it  is  not  all  who  lay  it  down  for 
Christ.  And  no  one  has  power  to  resume 
what  he  has  laid  down.  But  Christ  both  laid 
it  down  for  us,  and  did  so  when  it  pleased 
Him;  and  when  it  pleased  Him,  He  took  it 
again.  To  lay  down  one's  soul  then,  is  to 
die.  As  also  the  Apostle  Peter  said  to  the 
Lord:  "  I  will  lay  down  my  life  [soul]  for  Thy 
sake;"4  that  is,  I  will  die  for  Thy  sake. 
View  it,  then,  as  referable  to  the  flesh:  the 
flesh  layeth  down  its  life,  and  the  flesh  taketh 
it  again;  not,  indeed,  the  flesh  by  its  own 
power,  but  by  the  power  of  Him  that  inhab- 
iteth  it.  The  flesh,  then,  layeth  down  its  life 
in  expiring.  Look  at  the  Lord  Himself  on 
the  cross:  He  said,  "I  thirst:  "  those  who 
were  present  dipped  a  sponge  in  vinegar, 
fastened  it  to  a  reed,  and  applied  it  to  His 
mouth;  then,  having  received  it,  He  said,  "  It 
is  finished;  "  meaning,  All  is  fulfilled  which 
had  been  prophesied  regarding  me  as,  prior 
to  my  death,  still  in  the  future.  And  because 
He  had  the  power,  when  He  pleased,  to  lay 
down  His  life,  after  He  had  said,  "  It  is 
finished,"  what  adds  the  evangelist?  "And 
He  bowed  His  head,  and  gave  up  the 
spirit."5  This  is  to  lay  down  the  soul 
Only  let  your  Charity  attend  to  this 
bowed  His  head,  and  gave  up  the  spirit." 
Who  gave  up?  what  gave  He  up?  He  gave 
up  the  spirit;  His  flesh  gave  it  up.  What 


;oul  [life], 
is.     "  He 


soul  and  flesh,  but  only  of  soul  and  flesh;  and  means,  the  flesh  gave  it  up  ?  The  flesh  sent 
let  us  inquire  how  any  such  man  lays  down !  it  forth,  breathed  it  out.  For  so,  in  becom- 
his  life.  Can  no  ordinary  man  do  so?  Thou  ing  separated  from  the  spirit,  we  are  said  to 
mayest  say  to  me:  No  man  has  power  to  lay,  expire.  Just  as  getting  outside  the  paternal 
down  his  life  [soul],  and  to  take  it  again,  j  soil  is  to  be  expatriated,  turning  aside  from 
But  were  not  a  man  able  to  lay  down  his  life,  the  track  is  to  deviate;  so  to  become  sepa- 
the  Apostle  John  would  not  say,  "As  Christ  rated  from  the  spirit  is  to  expire;  and  that 
laid  down  his  life  for  us,  even  so  ought  we  \  spirit  is  the  soul  [life].  Accordingly,  when 
also  to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren."  3  the  soul  quits  the  flesh,  and  the  flesh  remains 
Therefore  may  we  also  (if  only  we  are  filled  without  the  soul,  then  is  a  man  said  to  lay 
with  His  courage,  for  without  Him  we  can  do  down  his  soul  [his  human  life].  When  did 
nothing)  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren.  Christ  lay  down  His  life  ?  When  it  pleased  the 
When  some  holy  martyr  has  laid  down  his  \  Word.  For  sovereign  authority  resided  in 
life  for  the  brethren,  who  laid  it  down,  and  the  Word;  and  therein  lay  the  "power  to  de- 
what  laid  he  down  ?  If  we  understand  this,  termine  when  the  flesh  should  lay  down  its 
we  shall  perceive  in  what  sense  it  was  said  by  life,  and  when  it  should  take  it  again. 
Christ,  "  I  have  power  to  lay  down  my  life."  ,  12.  If,  then,  the  flesh  laid  down  its  life, 
Art  thou  prepared,  O  man,  to  die  for  Christ?1  how  did  Christ  lay  down  His  life?  For  the 
I  am  prepared,  he  replies.  Let  me  repeat  I  flesh  is  not  Christ.  Certainly  in  this  way, 
the  question  in  other  words.  Art  thou  pre-'that  Christ  is  both  flesh,  and  soul,  and  the 
pared  to  lay  down  thy  life  for  Christ?  And  Word;  and  yet  these  three  things  are  not 
to  these  words  he  makes  me  the  same  reply,  |  three  Christs,  but  one.  Ask  thine  own 
I  am  prepared,  as  he  had,  when  I  said.  Art  human  nature,  and  from  thyself  ascend  to 
thou  prepared  to  die  ?  To  lay  down  one's  life  •  what  is  above  thee,  and  which,  if  not  yet  able 
[soul],  is,  then,  the  same  as  to  die.  But  in  i  to  be  understood,  can  at  least  be  believed, 
whose  behalf  is  the  sacrifice  in  this  case?  For  in  the  same  way  that  one  man  is  soul  and 
For  all  men,  when  they  die,  lay  down  their  body,  is  one  Christ  both  the  Word  and  man. 


Chap. 


3  i  John  iii.  16. 


4  Chap  xiii.  37. 


5  Chap. 


28-30. 


m   \i  \  i i.l 


o.\   THE  GOSPEL  «  >!    ST.  JOHN. 


)iu    ami    ill. in  tiii;   i\><»        mi]f»|    I'm     «i  11    a  acivdiii, 

Apply,  then,  the  subject  to  any  '  being  made  in  the  likeness  of  men,  and  found 
e  is  now  the  Apostle   Paul?     It    in   fashion  as  a  man."     And  who  is  this,  but 


('•insider  what  I  have  said,  and  understand,  ture  as  the  Word,  is  God  with  C.od  ?  Hut 
The  soul  and  body  are  two  things,  but  one  look  at  what  follov,  -uptied  Himself, 

man:   the  W<>rd   and   man  are  two  things,  but    and   took   upon    Him   the   form  of  a  servant; 
one  Christ, 
man.     Where 

one  answer.  At  rest  with  Christ,  he  speaks  the  same  Christ  Jesns  Himself?  Hut  here 
truly.  And  likewise,  should  one  reply,  In  we  have  now  all  the  parts,  both  the  Word  in 
the  sepulchre  at  Rome,  he  is  equally  right,  that  form  of  God  which  assumed  the  form 
The  one  answer  I  get  refers  to  his  soul,  the  of  a  servant,  and  the  soul  and  the  flesh  in 
other  to  his  flesh.  And  yet  we  do  not  say  that  form  of  a  servant  which  was  assumed 
that  there  are  two  Apostle  Pauls,  one  who ;  by  the  form  of  God.  "He  humbled  Him- 
rests  in  Christ,  another  who  was  laid  in  the  self,  and  became  obedient  unto  death."  ' 
sepulchre;  although  we  may  say  that  the  Now  in  His  death,  it  was  His  flesh  only  that 
Apostle  Paul  liveth  in  Christ,  and  that  the  was  slain  by  the  Jews.  For  if  He  said  to  His 
same  apostle  lieth  dead  in  the  tomb.  Some  disciples,  "  Fear  not  them  that  kill  the  body, 
one  dieth,  and  we  say,  He  was  a  good  man,  but  are  notable  to  kill  the  soul,"*  how  could 
and  faithful;  he  is  in  peace  with  the  Lord:!  they  do  more  in  His  own  case  than  kill  the 
and  then  immediately,  Let  us  attend  his  ob-  body?  And  yet  in  the  slaying  of  His  flesh, 
sequies,  and  lay  him  in  the  sepulchre.  Thou  I  it  was  Christ  that  was  slain.  Accordingly, 
art  about  to  bury  one  whom  thou  hadst  just  when  the  flesh  laid  down  its  life,  Christ  laid  it 
declared  to  be  in  peace  with  God;  for  the  lat-  •  down;  and  when  the  flesh,  in  order  to  its  res- 
ter  regards  the  soul  which  blooms  eternally,  <  urrection,  assumed  its  life,  Christ  assumed  it. 
and  the  other  the  body,  which  is  laid  down  Nevertheless  this  was  done,  not  by  the  power 
in  corruption.  But  while  the  partnership  of  of  the  flesh,  but  of  Him  who  assumed  both 
the  flesh  and  soul  has  received  the  name  of !  soul  and  flesh,  that  in  them  these  very  things 


man,  the  same  name  is  now  applied  to  either 
of  them,  singly  and  by  itself. 

13.   Let  no  one,  then,  be  perplexed,  when 


he  hears  that  the  Lord  has  said,  "  I  lay  down 
my  life,  and  I  take  it  again."     The  flesh  lay- 


might  receive  fulfillment. 

14.     ''This     commandment," 


He 


says, 


"  have  I  received  of  my  Father/'    The  Word 


received  not  the  commandment  in  word,  but 
in  the  only- begotten  Word  of  the  Father  every 

eth  it  down,  but  by  the  power  of  the  Word:  commandment    resides.      But  when   the  Son 

the  flesh  taketh  it  again,  but  by  the  same  i  is  said   to  receive  of   the   Father  what    He 

power.     Even  His  own  name,  the  Lord  Christ,  possesses  essentially  in  Himself,  as  it  is  said, 

was  applied  to   His  flesh  alone.     How  can  "As  the  Father  hath  life  in  Himself,  so  hath 

you  prove  it?  says  some  one.     We  believe  of  He  given  to  the   Son  to  have  life  in  Him- 

a  certainty  not  only  in  God  the  Father,  but  self,"3 while  the  Son  is  Himself  the  life. there 

also  in  Jesus  Christ  His  Son,  our  only  Lord:  is  no  lessening  of  His  authority,  but  the  set- 

and  this  that  I  have  just  said  contains  the  ting  forth  of  His  generation.     For  the  Father 

whole,  in    Jesus   Christ    His   Son,  our   only  added  not  after-gifts  as  to  a  son  whose  state 

Lord.     Understand   that  the  whole   is  here:  was   imperfect  at  birth,   but  on  Him  whom 

the  Word,  and  soul,  and  flesh.     At  all  events  He  begat  in  absolute  perfection  He  bestowed 

thou  confessest  what  is  also  held  by  the  same  all  gifts  in  begetting.     In  this  manner  He 

faith,  that  thou  believest  in  that  Christ  who  gave   Him  equality  with    Himself,   and   yet 

was  crucified  and  buried.     Ergo,  thou  deniest  begat  Him  not  in  a  state  of  inequality.     But 

not  that  Christ  was  buried;  and  yet  it  was  the  while  the  Lord  thus  spake,  for  the  light  was 

burial  only  of  His  flesh.     For  had  the  soul  shining  in    the  darkness,  and  the   darkness 

been  there,  He  would  not  have  been  dead:  comprehended  it  not,4  "there  was  a  dissen- 

but  if  it  was  a  true  death,  and  its  resurrec-  sion  again  created  among  the  Jews  for  these 

tion  real,  it  was  previously  without  life  in  the  sayings,  and  many  of  them  said.  He  hath  a 
tomb;  and  yet  it  was  Christ  that  was  buried.  '.  devil,  and  is  mad:  why  hear  ye  him  ?"    This 

And  so  the  flesh  apart  from  the  soul  was  also  was    the    thickest    darkness.     Others   said, 

Christ,   for   it  was   only  the    flesh    that  was  "  These  are  not  the  words  of  him  that  hath  a 

buried.     Learn    the   same    likewise    in    the  devil;    can    a   devil    open    the   eyes   of    the 

words  of  an  apostle.     "Let  this  mind,"  he  blind?''     The  eyes  of  such  were  now  begun 

says,  "be  in  you,  which  was  also  in  Christ  to  be  opened, 

Jesus:    who,    being    in   the    form   of    God, 

thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God."  t  pw|  ..  ^                              a  NUu  ^  ^ 

Who,  save  Christ  Jesus,  as  respects  His  na-  tj,,hnv.'26.'                              4  Chap',  i.' 5. ' 


266 


WORKS  OK   ST. 


[TKACTAIK  XI.VIII. 


TRACTATE   XLVIII. 

CHAPTER  X.  22-42. 


i.  As  I  have  already  charged  you,  beloved, 
you  ought  steadfastly  to  bear  in  mind  that 
Saint  John  the  evangelist  would  not  have  us 
be  always  nourished  with  milk,  but  fed  with 
solid  food.  Still,  whoever  is  hardly  able  as 
yet  to  partake  of  the  solid  food  of  God's 
word,  let  him  find  nourishment  in  the  milk  of 
faith;  and  the  word  which  he  cannot  under 
stand,  let  him  not  hesitate  to  believe.  For 
faith  is  the  deserving:  understanding,  the 
reward.  In  the  very  labor  of  intent  applica 
tion  the  eye  of  our  mind  struggles '  to  get  rid 
of  the  foul  films  of  human  mists,  and  be 
cleared  up  to  the  word  of  God.  Labor,  then, 
will  not  be  declined  if  love  is  present;  for  you 
know  that  he  who  loves  his  labor  is  insensible 
to  its  pain.  For  no  labor  is  grievous  to  those 
who  love  it.  If  cupidity  on  the  part  of  the 
avaricious  endures  so  great  toils,  what  in  our 
case  will  not  love  endure  ? 

2.  Listen  to  the  Gospel:  "And  it  was  at 
Jerusalem  the  Enccenia."2  Encoenia  was  the 
festival  of  the  dedication  of  the  temple.  For 
in  Greek  kainos  means  neiu;  and  whenever 
there  was  some  new  dedication,  it  was  called 
Encoenia.3  And  now'  this  word  is  come  into 
common  use;  if  one  puts  on  a  new  coat,  he  is 
said  "encceniare"  (to  renovate,  or  to  hold 
an  encaenia).  For  the  Jews  celebrated  in  a 
solemn  manner  the  day  on  which  the  temple 
was  dedicated;  and  it  was  the  very  feast  day 


them  a  nearer  approach  in  believing,  but  the 
pressure  of  persecution.  They  sought  to  hear 
the  Lord  saying,  I  am  Christ;  and  probably 
enough  they  only  thought  of  the  Christ  in 
a  human  way.  The  prophets  preached 
Christ;  but  the  Godhead  of  Christ  asserted  in 
the  prophets  and  in  the  gospel  itself  is  not 
perceived  even  by  heretics;  and  how  much 
less  by  Jews,  so  long  as  the  vail  is  upon  their 
heart  ?4  In  short,  in  a  certain  place,  the  Lord 
Jesus,  knowing  that  their  views  of  the  Christ 
were  cast  in  a  human  mould,  not  in  the  Di 
vine,  taking  His  stand  on  the  human  ground, 
and  not  on  that  where  along  with  the  assump 
tion  of  humanity  He  also  continued  Divine, 
He  said  to  them,  "  What  think  ye  of  Christ  ? 
Whose  Son  is  He  ? "  Following  their  own 
opinion,  they  replied,  "Of  David.1'  For  so 
they  had  read,  and  this  only  they  retained; 
because  while  they  read  of  His  divinity,  they 
did  not  understand  it.  But  the  Lord,  to  pin 
them  down  to  some  inquiry  touching  the 
divinity  of  Him  whose  apparent  weakness 
they  despised,  answered  them:  "How,  then, 
doth  David  in  spirit  call  Him  Lord,  saying, 
The  LORD  said  unto  my  Lord,  Sit  Thou  on 
my  right  hand,  till  I  put  Thine  enemies  un 
der  Thy  feet?  If  David,  then,  in  spirit  call 
Him  Lord,  how  is  He  his  son?"5  He  did 
not  deny,  but  questioned.  Let  no  one  think, 
on  hearing  this,  that  the  Lord  Jesus  denied 


when  the  Lord  spake  what  has  just  been  read.  '  that  He  was  the  Son  of  David.  Had  Christ 
3.  "It  was  winter.  And  Jesus  walked  in  i  the  Lord  given  any  such  denial,  He  would 
the  temple  in  Solomon's  porch.  Then  came  j  not  have  enlightened  the  blind  who  so  ad- 
the  Jews  round  about  Him,  and  said  unto  I  dressed  Him.  For  as  He  was  passing  by 
Him,  How  long  dost  thou  keep  our  mind  in  j  one  day,  two  blind  men,  who  were  sitting  by 
suspense  ?  If  thou  be  the  Christ,  tell  us  |  the  wayside,  cried  out,  "Have  mercy  upon 
plainly."  They  were  not  desiring  the  truth,  j  us,  thou  Son  of  David."  And  on  hearing 
but  preparing  a  calumny.  "  It  was  winter,"  j  these  words  He  had  mercy  on  them.  He 
and  they  were  chill;  because  they  were  slow  (Stood  still,  healed,  enlightened  them;6  for 
to  approach  that  divine  fire.  For  to  approach  |  He  owned  the  name.  The  Apostle  Paul  also 
is  to  believe:  he  who  believes,  approaches; !  says,  *' Who  was  made  of  the  seed  of  David 
who  denies,  retires.  The  soul  is  not  moved  according  to  the  flesh;  "  7  and  in  his  Epistle 


by  the  feet,  but  by  the  affections.  They  had 
become  icy  cold  to  the  sweetness  of  loving 
Him,  and  they  burned  with  the  desire  of  do 
ing  Him  an  injury.  They  were  far  away, 
while  there  beside  Him.  It  was  not  with 


»  Des,i,1at,  strnjrjrli-s  to  sweating. 

*  Encaenia,  iyicoivia,  from  iv  and  naive*,  nfif. 

i  It  wa<  ;i  f.-.ist.  hdwcvrr,  institiitrd  by  Tudas  Maccabzus,  to 
commemorate  his  purification  of  the  temple,  after  its  profanation 
by  Antiochus.  TK. 


to  Timothy,  "  Remember  that  Jesus  Christ 
was  raised  from  the  dead,  [He  that  is]  of  tne 
seed  of  David,  according  to  my  gospel."8 
For  the  Virgin  Mary  drew  her  origin,  and 
hence  our  Lord  also,  from  the  seed  of 
David. 

4.   The  Jews  made  this  inquiry  of  Christ, 


4  2  Cor.  iii.  15. 
r  Ruin.  i.  3. 


5  Matt. 
8  2  Tirr 


:xii.  42-45. 


M.itt.  xx.  30-34. 


TRACTAII    M.VIII.] 


ON  THK  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


267 


chiefly  in  order  that,  should  He  say,  I  run 
Christ,  they  might,  m  accordance  with  the 
only  sense  they  attached  to  such  a  name,  that 
He  was  of  the  seed  of  David,  calumniate 
1  lim  with  aiming  at  the  kingly  power.  There 
is  more  than  this  in  His  answer  to  them: 
they  wished  to  calumniate  Him  with  claim 
ing  to  he  the  Son  of  David.  He  replied  that 
He  was  the  Son  of  God.  And  how  ?  Listen: 
"  Jesus  answered  them,  I  tell  you,  and  ye 
believe  not:  the  works  that  I  do  in  my 
Father's  name,  they  bear  witness  of  me:  but 
ye  believe  not;  because  ye  are  not  of  my 
sheep."  Ye  have  already  learned  above  (in 
Lecture  XLV.)  who  the  sheep  are:  be  ye 
sheep.  They  are  sheep  through  believing, 
sheep  in  following  the  Shepherd,  sheep  in  not 
despising  their  Redeemer,  sheep  in  entering 
by  the  door,  sheep  in  going  out  and  finding 
pasture,  sheep  in  the  enjoyment  of  eternal 
life.  What  did  He  mean,  then,  in  saying  to 
them,  "  Ye  are  not  of  my  sheep  "  ?  That  He 
saw  them  predestined  to  everlasting  destruc 
tion,  not  won  to  eternal  life  by  the  price  of  His 
own  blood. 

5.  "  My  sheep  hear  my  voice,  and  I  know 
them,  and  they  follow  me:  and  I  give  unto 
them  eternal  life."     This  is  the  pasture.     If 
you  recollect,  He  had  said  before,  "And  he 
shall  go  in  and  out,  and  find  pasture.''     We 
have    entered    by   believing   -we   go   out   at 
death.1     But  as  we  have  entered  by  the  door 
of  faith,  so,  as  believers,  we  quit  the  body; 
for  it  is  in  going  out  by  that  same  door  that 
we  are  able  to  find  pasture.     The  good  pas 
ture  is  called  eternal    life;    there    no   blade 
withereth — all  is  green  and  flourishing.   There 
is  a  plant  commonly  said  to  be  ever-living; 
there  only  is  it  found  to  live.     "  I  will  give," 
He    says,    "unto    them,"    unto   my   sheep, 
"eternal    life.'1     Ye   are  on   the   search  for 
calumnies,   just  because  your  only  thoughts 
are  of  the  life  that  is  present. 

6.  "And    they   shall    never   perish:"    you 
may  hear  the  undertone,  as  if  He  had  said  to 
them,  Ye   shall   perish   for  ever,  because  ye 
are  not  of  my  sheep.     "  No  one  shall  pluck 
them  out  of  my  hand."     Give  still  greater 
heed  to  this:  "That  which  my  Father  gave 
me  is  greater  than  all."2     What  can  the  wolf 


do?     U  the   thief  and    the   robber? 

They  destroy  none  but  those  predestined  to 
destruction.  I'.ut  of  those  sheep  of  which  the 
apostle  says,  "The  Lord  knoweth  them  that 
arc  His;"'  and  "Whom  He  did  foreknow, 
them  He  also  did  predestinate;  and  whom 
He  did  predestinate,  them  He  also  called; 
and  whom  He  called,  them  He  also  justified; 
and  whom  He  justified,  them  He  also  glori 
fied;  "  4 — there  is  none  of  such  sheep  as  these 
that  the  wolf  seizes,  or  the  thief  steals,  or  the 
robber  slays.  He,  who  knows  what  He  gave 
for  them,  is  sure  of  their  number.  And  it  is 
this  that  He  says:  "  No  one  shall  pluck  them 
out  of  my  hand;  "  and  in  reference  also  to  the 
Father,  ' '  That  which  my  Father  gave  me  is 
greater  than  all."  What  did  the  Father  give 
to  the  Son  that  was  greater  than  all  ?  To  be 
His  own  only-begotten  Son.  What,  then, 
means  "  gave  "  ?  Was  He  to  whom  He  gave 
previously  existent,  or  gave  He  in  the  act  of 
begetting  ?  For  if  He  previously  existed  to 
whom  He  gave  the  gift  of  Sonship,  there  was 
a  time  when  He  was,  and  was  not  the  Son. 
Far  be  it  from  us  to  suppose  that  the  Lord 
Christ  ever  was,  and  yet  was  not  the  Son. 
Of  us  such  a  thing  may  be  said:  there  was  a 
time  when  we  were  the  sons  of  men,  but  were 
,  not  the  sons  of  God.  For  we  are  made  the 
i  sons  of  God  by  grace,  but  He  by  nature,  for 
!  such  was  He  born.  And  yet  not  so,  as  that 
i  one  may  say,  He  did  not  exist  till  He  was 
j  born;  for  He,  who  was  coeternal  with  the 
:  Father,  was  never  unborn.  Let  him  who  is 
I  wise  understand:  and  whoever  understands 
not,  let  him  believe  and  be  nourished,  and 
he  will  come  to  understanding.  The  Word 
of  God  was  always  with  the  Father,  and  always 
the  Word;  and  because  the  Word,  therefore 
the  Son.  So  then,  always  the  Son,  and 
always  equal.  For  it  is  not  by  growth  but  by 
birth  that  He  is  equal,  who  was  always  born, 
the  Son  of  the  Father,  God  of  God,  coeternal 
of  the  Eternal.  But  the  Father  is  not  God 
of5  the  Son:  the  Son  is  God  of5  the  Father; 
therefore  in  begetting  the  Son,  the  Father 
"  gave  "  Him  to  be  God,  in  begetting  He  gave 
Him  to  be  coeternal  with  Himself,  in  beget 
ting  He  gave  Him  to  be  His  equal.  This  is 
that  which  is  greater  than  all.  How  is  the 


(neut.l,  ami  M"y>  HIKIM  .1;  while  the  Alexandrian  ha- 

and  n*l£ov  di'-iit.i.     The  Vulgate,  and  some  uf  the  other  early 


versions,   have    Augustin's  reading ;    but  the    Peshito 
which  is  the  earliest  of   them  all,  supports  the  other. 
rendering   being,  "  For   my   Falher,  who   gave   t«>   me,   than   all 
greater  |is|    He."     Modern   critics   have   generally   adopted    the 
masc.   rt-.i  h,   Hengel,  and  others,  almost  ignoring 

th«-   Other,  AM    Stirr   <Ii-  <•;  while 

A 1  ford,  in  a  very  strange  and  ui,^.,  t!ie  neuter 

in  his  (irrrk  text,  and    n  ••  i •  >n  in    his  notes. 

it    tin-  transcriber  had   :  into  the 

[In-   pri-vioii-  sim:;.,r  exprOKKM  in  i  h  • 

and  then  Ittift*  was  made  neuter   by  s<mir  other  to  agree  with  it. 
I  his  i,  more   likely  than   the  reverse  ;  and  our  Knglish  rc*diii£  is 

:  ^factory  than  Au.vrustin's. — TK. 
3  Tim.  ii.  iy.  4  Rom.  viii.  jv,  30.  5  De. 


268 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


MI    XLVITI. 


Son  the  life,  and  the  possessor  of  life  ?  What 
He  has,  He  is:  as  for  thee,  thou  art  one 
thing,  thou  hast  another.  For  example,  thou 
hast  wisdom,  but  art  thou  wisdom  itself  ?  In 
short,  because  thou  thyself  art  not  that  which 
thou  hast,  shouldst  thou  lose  what  thou  hast, 
thou  returnest  to  the  state  of  no  longer  hav 
ing  it:  and  sometimes  thou  re-acquirest, 
sometimes  thou  losest.  As  our  eye  has  no 
light  inherently  in  itself,  it  opens,  and  admits 
it;  it  shuts,  and  loses  it.  It  is  not  thus  that 
the  Son  of  God  is  God — not  thus  that  He  is 
the  Word  of  the  Father;  and  not  thus  is  He 
the  Word,  that  passes  away  with  the  sound, 
but  that  which  abides  in.  its  birth.  In  such  a 
way  hath  He  wisdom  that  He  is  Himself  wis 
dom,  and  maketh  men  wise:  and  life,  that 
He  is  Himself  the  life,  and  maketh  others 
alive.  This  is  that  which  is  greater  than  all. 
The  evangelist  John  himself  looked  to  heaven 
and  earth  when  wishing  to  speak  of  the  Son 
of  God;  he  looked,  and  rose  above  them  all. 
He  thought  on  the  thousands  of  angelic 
armies  above  the  heavens;  he  thought,  and, 
like  the  eagle  soaring  beyond  the  clouds,  his 
mind  overpassed  the  whole  creation:  he  rose 
beyond  all  that  was  great,  and  arrived  at  that 
which  was  greater  than  all;  and  said,  "  In 
the  beginning  was  the  Word."  But  because 
He,  of1  whom  is  the  Word,  is  not  of  the 
Word,  and  the  Word  is  of  Him,  whose  Word 
He  is;  therefore  He  says,  "  That  which  the 
Father  gave  me,"  namely,  to  be  His  Word, 
His  only-begotten  Son,  the  brightness  of  His 
light,  "  is  greater  than  all."  Therefore,  "No 
one,"  He  says,  "  plucketh  my  sheep  out  of 
my  hand.  No  one  can  pluck  them  out  of  my 
Father's  hand." 

7.  "Out  of  my  hand, "and  "out  of  my 
Father's  hand."  What  is  this,  "No  one 
plucketh  them  out  of  my  hand,"  and  "No 
one  plucketh  them  out  of  my  Father's  hand  "  ? 
Have  the  Father  and  Son  one  hand,  or  is 
the  Son  Himself,  shall  we  say,  the  hand  of 
His  Father?  If  by  hand  we  are  to  under 
stand  power,  the  power  of  Father  and  Son  is 
one;  for  their  Godhead  is  one.  But  if  we 
mean  hand  in  the  way  spoken  of  by  the  pro 
phet,  "And  to  whom  is  the  arm  of  the  Lord 
revealed?"1  the  Father's  hand  is  the  Son 
Himself,  which  is  not  to  be  so  understood  as 
if  God  had  the  human  form,  and,  as  it  were, 
bodily  members;  but  that  all  things  were 
made  by  Him.  For  men  also  are  in  the  habit 
of  calling  other  men  their  hands,  by  whom 
they  get  done  what  they  wish.  And  some 
times  also  the  very  work  done  by  a  man's 
hand  is  called  his  hand;  as  one  is  said  to  rec- 


ognixc-  his  hand  when  he  reco^m/cs  what  he 
has  written.  Since,  then,  there  are  many 
ways  of  speaking  of  the  hand  of  a  man,  who 
literally  has  a  hand  among  the  members  of 
his  body;  how  much  rather  must  there  be 
more  than  one  way  of  understanding  it,  when 
we  read  of  the  hand  of  God,  who  has  no 
bodily  form  ?  And  in  this  way  it  is  better  here, 
by  the  hand  of  the  Father  and  Son,  to  under 
stand  the  power  of  the  Father  and  the  Son; 
lest,  in  taking  here  the  hand  of  the  Father 
as  spoken  of  the  Son,  some  carnal  thought 
also  about  the  Son  Himself  should  set  us 
looking  for  the  Son  as  somehow  to  be  simi 
larly  regarded  as  the  hand  of  Christ.  There 
fore,  "no  one  plucketh  them  out  of  my 
Father's  hand;"  that  is,  no  one  plucketh 
them  from  me. 

8.  But  that  there  may  be  no  more  room  for 
hesitation,    hear   what   follows:     "I    and  my 
Father  are  one."     Up  to  this  point  the  Jews 
were  able  to  bear  Him;  they  heard,  "  I  and  my 
Father  are  one,"  and  they  bore  it  no  longer; 
and  hardened  in  their  own  way,  they  had  re 
course  to  stones.     "  They  took  up  stones  to 

!  stone  Him."  The  Lord,  because  He  suffered 
not  what  He  was  unwilling  to  suffer,  and  only 
suffered  what  He  was  pleased  to  suffer,  still 
addresses  them  while  desiring  to  stone  Him. 
"  The  Jews  took  up  stones  to  stone  Him. 
Jesus  answered  them,  Many  good  works  have 
I  showed  you  from  my  Father;  for  which  of 
those  works  do  ye  stone  me  ?  And  they  an- 
swered,  For  a  good  work  we  stone  thee  not, 
but  for  blasphemy,  and  because  that  thou, 
being  a  man,  makest  thyself  God."  Such 
was  their  reply  to  His  words,  "I  and  my 
Father  are  one.  '  You  see  here  that  the 
Jews  understood  what  the  Arians  understand 
not.  For  they  were  angry  on  this  account, 
that  they  felt  it  could  not  be  said,  "  I  and  my 
Father  are  one,"  save  where  there  was  equal 
ity  of  the  Father  and  the  Son. 

9.  But  see  what  answer  the  Lord  gave  to 
their  dull  apprehension.     He  saw  that  they 
could  not  bear  the  brilliance  of  the  truth,  and 
He  tempered  it  with  words.     "Is  it  not  writ 
ten  in  your  law,"  that  is,  as  given  to  you, 
"  that  I  said,  Ye  are  gods  ?  "  3     And  the  Lord 
called  all  the  Scriptures  generally,  the    law: 
although  elsewhere  He  speaks  more  definitely 
of  the  law,   distinguishing  it  from  the  pro 
phets;  as  it  is  said,  "The  law  and  the  pro 
phets  were  until  John;  "  4  and  "  On  these  two 
commandments  hang  all  the  law  and  the  pro 
phets."5     Sometimes,   however,   He  divided 
the  same  Scriptures  into  three  parts,  as  where 
He  saith,  "All  things  must  be  fulfilled  which 


•  Isu.  liii.  i. 


3  Ps.  Ixxxti.  6. 


4  Luke  xvi.  16.  5  Matt.  xxii.  40. 


TRJW  i  \n    \i. vi  1 1. 1 


i  HI.  GOSPEL  <)i    ST.  JOHN. 


were  written  in  the  law,  and  tin-  prophets,  and 
the  psalms,  concerning  nu1. "'  Hut  now  Ilr 
includes  t'no  psalms  also  under  the  name  <>! 
t'ne  law,  where  it  is  written,  "  I  said,  Ye  are 
gods.  It"  He  calleth  them  gods,  to  whom  the 
word  of  (iod  came,  and  the  Scripture  cannot 
•ken:  say  ye  of  Him.  whom  the  Father 
hath  sanctified,  and  sent  into  the  world.  Thou 
blasphemes!;  because  I  said,  I  am  the  Son 
of  God  ?"  If  the  word  of  God  came  to  men, 
that  they  might  be  called  gods,  how  can  the 
very  Word  of  (iod,  who  is  with  God,  be  other 
wise  than  God  ?  If  by  the  word  of  God  men  be 
come  gods,  if  by  fellowship  they  become  gods, 
can  He  by  whom  they  have  fellowship  not  be 
God  ?  If  lights  which  are  lit  are  gods, is  the 
light  which  enlightenet'h  not  God  ?  If  through 
being  warmed  in  a  way  by  saving  fire  they  are 
constituted  gods,  is  He  who  gives  them  the 
warmth  other  than  God  ?  Thou  approaches! 
the  light  and  art  enlightened,  and  numbered 
among  the  sons  of  God;  if  thou  withdrawest 
from  the  light,  thou  fallest  into  obscurity,  and 
art  accounted  in  darkness;  but  that  light  ap- 
proacheth  not,  because  it  never  recedeth  from 
itself.  If,  then,  the  word  of  God  maketh  you 
gods,  how  can  the  Word  of  God  be  otherwise 
than  God  ?  Therefore  did  the  Father  sanctify 
His  Son,  and  send  Him  into  the  world.  Per 
haps  some  one  may  be  saying:  If  the  Father 
sanctified  Him,  was  there  then  a  time  when 
He  was  not  sanctified  ?  He  sanctified  in  the 
same  way  as  He  begat  Him.  For  in  the  act 
of  begetting  He  gave  Him  the  power  to  be 
holy,  because  He  begat  Him  in  holiness. 
For  if  that  which  is  sanctified  was  unholy  be 
fore,  how  can  we  say  to  God  the  Father, 
"  Hallowed  be  Thy  name  "?2 

10.  "  If  I  do  not  the  works  of  my  Father, 
believe  me  not.  But  if  I  do,  though  ye  will 
not  believe  me,  believe  the  works;  that  ye 
may  know  and  believe  that  the  Father  is  in 
me,  and  I  in  Him."  The  Son  says  not, 
"  the  Father  is  in  me,  and  I  in  Him,"  as  men 
can  say  it.  For  if  we  think  well,  we  are  in 
God;  and  if  we  live  well,  God  is  in  us:  be 
lievers,  by  participating  in  His  grace,  and 
being  illuminated  by  Himself,  are  in  Him, 
and  He  in  us.  But  not  so  is  it  with  the  only- 
begotten  Son:  He  is  in  the  Father,  and  the 
Father  in  Him;  as  one  who  is  equal  is  in  him 
whose  equal  he  is.  In  short,  we  can  some 
times  say,  We  are  in  God,  and  God  is  in  us; 
but  can  we  say,  I  and  God  are  one  ?  Thou 
art  in  God,  because  God  contains  thee;  God 
is  in  thee,  because  thou  art  become  the  tem 
ple  of  God:  but  because  thou  art  in  God,  and 
God  is  in  thee,  canst  thou  say.  He  that  seeth 


me    seeth    G«>d;    as    the    Only-bcgotte: 
•  H<-  that  hath  seen  me,  hath  seen  the  I 
also;"3  and    "I  and   the   Father  are   < 
Recognize  the  prerogative  of  the  Lord,  and 
the   privilege  of  the  servant.     The  p: 
tive  of  the  Lord  is  equality  with  the  Father: 
the  privilege  of  the  servant  is  fellowship  with 
the  Saviour. 

n.  "Therefore  they  sought  to  apprehend 
Him."  Would  they  had  apprehended  by  faith 
and  understanding,  not  in  wrath  and  murder! 
For  now,  my  brethren,  when  I  speak  thus,  it 
is  the  weak  one  wishing  to  apprehend  what  is 
strong,  the  small  what  is  great,  the  fragile 
what  is  solid;  and  it  is  we  ourselves — both 
you  who  are  of  the  same  matter  as  I  am,  and 
I  myself  who  speak  to  you — who  all  wish  to 
apprehend  Christ.  And  what  is  it  to  appre 
hend  Him?  [If]  thou  hast  understood,  thou 
hast  apprehended.  But  not  as  did  the  Jews: 
thou  hast  apprehended  in  order  to  possess, 
they  wished  to  apprehend  in  order  to  make 
away  with  Him.  And  because  this  was  the 
j  kind  of  apprehension  they  desired,  what  did 
He  do  to  them  ?  "  He  escaped  out  of  tiieir 
I  hands."  They  failed  to  apprehend  Him,  be- 
!  cause  they  lacked  the  hand  of  faith.  The 
Word  was  made  flesh;  but  it  was  no  great 
'  task  to  the  Word  to  rescue  His  own  flesh 
from  fleshy  hands.  To  apprehend  the  Word 
in  the  mind,  is  the  right  apprehension  of 
Christ. 

12.   "And    He   went   away   again    beyond 
Jordan,  into  the   place  where    John  at   first 
baptized;   and  there  He  abode.     And  many 
resorted  unto  Him,  and  said,  John,  indeed, 
did  no  miracle."     You   remember  what  was 
said  of  John,  that  he  was  a  light,  and  bore 
witness  to  the  day.4     Why,  then,  say  these 
I  among  themselves,  "John  did  no  miracle"? 
!  John,  they  say,  signalized  himself  by  no  mir- 
[  acle;  he  did  not  put  devils  to  flight,  he  drove 
'  away  no  fever,  he  enlightened  not  the  blind, 
]  he  raised  not  the  dead,  he  fed  not  so  many 
thousand  men  with  five  or  seven  loaves,  he 
j  walked  not  upon  the  sea,  he  commanded  not 
I  the   winds   and    the  waves.     None   of  these 
things  did  John,  and  in  all  he  said  he  bore 
witness  to  this  man.     By  lamp-light  we  may 
advance  to  the  day.     "  John  did  no  miracle: 
but  all  things  that  John  spake  of  this  man 
were  true."     Here  are  those  who  apprehended 
in  a  different  way  from  the  Jews.     The  Jews 
wished  to  apprehend  one  who  was  departing 
from  them,  these  apprehended  one  who  re 
mained   with   them.      In   a   word,   what   is   it 
that    follows?        "And     many    believed    on 
Him." 


viv.  9. 


4  Chap.  v.  35,  33. 


THK   WORKS  OK  ST.   AUGUST1N. 


[TRACIAIK  XI. IX. 


TRACTATE   XLIX. 

CHAPTER  XI.  1-54. 


1.  AMONG  all  the  miracles  wrought  by  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  resurrection  of  Laza 
rus  holds  a  foremost  place  in  preaching.     But 
if   we  consider  attentively  who   did    it,   our 
duty  is  to  rejoice  rather  than  to  wonder.     A 
man  was  raised  up  by  Him  who  made  man: 
for   He   is  the  only  One  of  the   Father,  by 
whom,  as  you  know,  all  things  were  made. 
And  if  all  things  were  made  by  Him,  what 
wonder   is    it   that  one  was  raised   by  Him, 
when  so  many  are  daily  brought  into  the  world 
by  His  power  ?     It  is  a  greater  deed  to  create 
men  than  to  raise  them  again  from  the  dead. 
Yet  He  deigned  both  to  create  and  to  raise 
again;    to    create    all,    to    resuscitate    some. 
For  though  the  Lord   Jesus  did  many  such 
acts,  yet  all  of  them  are  not  recorded;  just 
as  this  same  St.  John  the  evangelist  himself 
testifies,  that  Christ  the  Lord  both  said  and 
did  many  things   that  are  not  recorded;1  but 
such  were  chosen   for  record  as  seemed    to 
suffice  for  the  salvation  of  believers.     Thou 
hast  just  heard  that  the  Lord  Jesus  raised  a 
dead  man  to  life;  and  that  is  sufficient  to  let 
thee   know   that,   were    He    so    pleased,    He 
might  raise  all  the  dead  to  life.     And,  mdeed, 
this  very  work  has  He  reserved  in  His  own 
hands  till  the  end  of  the  world.     For  while 
you  have  heard  that  by  a  great  miracle  He 
raised  one  from  the  tomb  who  had  been  dead 
four  days,  "  the  hour  is  coming/'  as  He  Him 
self  saith,  "  in  the  which  all  that  are  in  the 
graves  shall  hear  His  voice,  and  shall  come 
forth."     He  raised  one  who  was  putrid,  and 
yet  in  that  putrid  carcase  there  was  still  the 
form  of  limbs;  but  at  the  last  day  He  wilf  by 
a  word  reconstitute  ashes  into  human  flesh. 
But  it  was  needful  then  to  do  only  some  such 
deeds,  that  we,  receiving  them  as  tokens  of 
His  power,  may  put  our  trust  in  Him,  and  be 
preparing  for  that  resurrection  which  shall  be 
to  life  and  not  to  judgment.     So,  indeed,  He 
saith,  "  The  hour  is  coming,  in  the  which  all 
that  are  in  the  graves  shall  hear  His  voice, 
and  shall  come  forth;    they  that  have  done 
good,  unto  the  resurrection  of  life;  and  they 
that  have  done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of 
damnation."2 

2.  We  have,  however,  read  in  the  Gospel 
of  three  dead  persons  who  were  raised  to  life 
by  the  Lord,  and,  let  us  hope,  to  some  good 


1  Chap.  xx.  30. 


Chap.  v.  28,  29. 


purpose.  For  surely  the  Lord's  deeds  are 
not  merely  deeds,  but  signs.  And  if  they 
are  signs,  besides  their  wonderful  character, 
they  have  some  real  significance:  and  to  find 
out  this  in  regard  to  such  deeds  is  a  some 
what  harder  task  than  to  read  or  hear  of 
them.  We  were  listening  with  wonder,  as  at 
the  sight  of  some  mighty  miracle  enacted  be 
fore  our  eyes,  in  the  reading  of  the  Gospel, 
how  Lazarus  was  restored  to  life.  If  we  turn 
our  thoughts  to  the  still  more  wonderful  works 
of  Christ,  every  one  that  believeth  riseth 
again:  if  we  all  consider,  and  understand  that 
more  horrifying  kind  of  death,  every  one  who 
sinneth  dies.3  But  every  man  is  afraid  of  the 
death  of  the  flesh;  few,  of  the  death  of  the 
soul.  In  regard  to  the  death  of  the  flesh, 
which  must  certainly  come  some  time,  all  are 
on  their  guard  against  its  approach:  this  is 
the  source  of  all  their  labor.  Man,  destined 
to  die,  labors  to  avert  his  dying;  and  yet 
man,  destined  to  live  for  ever,  labors  not  to 
cease  from  sinning.  And  when  he  labors  to 
avoid  dying,  he'  labors  to  no  purpose,  for  its 
only  result  will  be  to  put  off  death  for  a  while, 
not  to  escape  it;  but  if  he  refrain  from  sin 
ning,  his  toil  will  cease,  and  he  shall  live  for 
ever.  Oh  that  we  could  arouse  men,  and  be 
ourselves  aroused  along  with  them,  to  be  as 
great  lovers  of  the  life  that  abideth,  as  men 
are  of  that  which  passeth  away  !  What  will  a 
man  not  do  who  is  placed  under  the  peril  of 
death  ?  When  the  sword  was  overhanging  their 
heads,  men  have  given  up  every  means  of  liv 
ing  they  had  in  reserve.  Who  is  there  that 
has  not  made  an  immediate  surrender  of  all, 
to  escape  being  slain  ?  And,  after  all,  he  has 
perhaps  been  slain.  Who  is  there  that,  to 
save  his  life,  has  not  been  willing  at  once  to 
lose  his  means  of  living,  and  prefer  a  life  of 
beggary  to  a  speedy  death  ?  Who  ha-s  had  it 
said  to  him,  Be  off  to  sea  if  you  would  escape 
with  your  life,  and  has  delayed  to  do  so  ? 
Who  has  had  it  said  to  him,  Set  to  work  if 
you  would  preserve  your  life,  and  has  con 
tinued  a  sluggard  ?  It  is  but  little  that  God 
requires  of  us,  that  we  may  live  for  ever:  and 
we  neglect  to  obey  Him.  God  says  not  to 
thee,  Lose  all  you  have,  that  you  may  live  a 


3  Another  reading  of  this  sentence  may  b«  :   "  If  we  reflect,  it 

is  by  a  more  wonderful  work  of  Christ  that  every  (me  who  believ- 

uain  to  life  :  if  we  reflect  all,  and  understand,  it  is  by  a 

more  horrible  death  that  every  sinner  dieth." 


.  vn  xi.ix.j 


<  »\    rill.  GOSPEL  ol-1  Si'.    |<  )il\. 


27' 


little  time  oppressed  with  toil;  but,  C.ive  to 
the  poor  of  what  you  have,  that,  you  may  live 
always  exempt  from  labor.  The  lovers  of 
this  temporal  life,  which  is  theirs,  neither 
when,  nor  as  long  as  they  wish,  are  our  ac 
cusers;  and  we  accuse  not  ourselves  in  turn, 
so  sluggish  are  we,  so  lukewarm  about  obtain 
ing  eternal  life,  which  will  be  ours  if  we  wash 


are  habituated  to  crime,  abandoned  in  morals. 
Thou  saye.st  to  such  an  one,  Do  not  so.  Jlut 
when  wilt  thou  be  listened  to  by  one  on  whom 
the  earth  is  thus  heaped,  who  is  breeding  cor 
ruption,  and  pressed  down  with  the  weight  of 
habit  ?  And  yet  the  power  of  Christ  was  not 
unequal  to  the  task  of  restoring  such  an  one 
to  life.  We  know,  we  have  seen,  we  see  every 


it,  and  will  be  imperishable  when  we  have  it;]  clay  men  changing  the  very  worst  of  habits, 
but  this  death  which  we  fear,  notwithstanding  i  and  adopting  a  better  manner  of  life  than  that 
all  our  reluctance,  will  yet  be  ours  in  posses-  of  those  who  blamed  them.  Thou  detestedst 
sion.  such  a  man:  look  at  the  sister  of  Lazarus  her- 

3.  If,  then,  the  Lord  in  the  greatness  of  j  self  (if,  indeed,  it  was  she  who  anointed  the 
His  grace  and  mercy  raiseth  our  souls  to  life,  j  Lord's  feet  with  ointment,  and  wiped  with  her 
that  we  may  not  die  for  ever,  we  may  well  hair  what  she  had  washed  with  her  tears),  who 


understand  that  those  three  dead  persons 
whom  He  raised  in  the  body,  have  some  figu 
rative  significance  of  that  resurrection  of  the 
soul  which  is  effected  by  faith:  He  raised  up 
the  ruler  of  the  synagogue's  daughter,  while 
still  lying  in  the  house;1  He  raised  up  the 
widow's  young  son,  while  being  carried  out 
side  the  gates  of  the  city;3  and  He  raised  up 
Lazarus,  when  four  days  in  the  grave.  Let 
each  one  give  heed  to  his  own  soul:  in  sin 
ning  he  dies:  sin  is  the  death  of  the  soul. 
But  sometimes  sin  is  committed  only  in 
thought.  Thou  hast  felt  delight  in  what  is 
evil,  thou  hast  assented  to  its  commission, 
thou  hast  sinned;  that  assent  has  slain  thee: 
but  the  death  is  internal,  because  the  evil 


had  a  better  resurrection  than  her  brother; 
she  was  delivered  from  the  mighty  burden  of 
a  sinful  character.  For  she  was  a  notorious 
sinner;  and  had  it  said  of  her,  "  Her  many 
sins  are  forgiven  her,  for  she  has  loved 
much."  3  We  see  many  such,  we  know  many: 
let  none  despair,  but  let  none  presume  in 
himself.  Both  the  one  and  the  other  are  sin 
ful.  Let  thine  unwillingness  to  despair  take 
such  a  turn  as  to  lead  thee  to  make  choice  of 
Him  in  whom  alone  thou  mayest  well  pre 
sume. 

4.  So  then  the  Lord  also  raised  Lazarus  to 
life.  You  have  heard  what  type  of  character 
he  represents;  in  other  words,  what  is  meant 
by  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus.  Let  us  now, 


thought    had    not    yet   ripened    into   action,  j  therefore,  read  over  the  passage;  and  as  there 


The  Lord  intimated  that  He  would  raise  such 
a  soul  to  life,  in  raising  that  girl,  who  had  not 
yet  been  carried  forth  to  the  burial,  but  was 
lying  dead  in  the  house,  as  if  sin  still  lay 
concealed.  But  if  thou  hast  not  only  har 
bored  a  feeling  of  delight  in  evil,  but  hast 
also  done  the  evil  thing,  thou  hast,  so  to 
speak,  carried  the  dead  outside  the  gate: 
thou  art  already  without,  and  being  carried 
to  the  tomb.  Yet  such  an  one  also  the  Lord 
raised  to  life,  and  restored  to  his  widowed 
mother.  If  thou  hast  sinned,  repent,  and  the 


is  much  in  this  lesson  clear  already,  we  shall 
not  go  into  any  detailed  exposition,  so  as  to 
take  up  more  thoroughly  the  necessary  points. 
"  Now  a  certain  man  was  sick,  [named]  Laz 
arus,  of  Bethany,  the  town  of  Mary  and 
Martha,  his  sisters."  In  the  previous  lesson 
you  remember  that  the  Lord  escaped  from  the 
hands  of  those  who  sought  to  stone  Him,  and 
went  away  beyond  Jordan,  where  John  bap 
tized.4  When  the  Lord  therefore  had  taken 
up  His  abode  there,  Lazarus  fell  sick  in 
Bethany,  which  was  a  town  lying  close  to 


Lord  will  raise  thee  up,  and  restore  thee  to  :  Jerusalem. 

thy  mother  Church.     The  third  example  ofj      5.    "But  Mary  was  she  who  anointed  the 
A  grievous  kind  of  death  >  Lord  with  ointment,  and  wiped  His  feet  with 


death  is  Lazarus. 

it  is,  and  is  distinguished  as  a  habit  of  wick 
edness.  For  it  is  one  thing  to  fall  into  sin, 
another  to  form  the  habit  of  sinning.  He 
who  falls  into  sin,  and  straightway  submits  to 
correction,  will  be  speedily  restored  to  life; 
for  he  is  not  yet  entangled  in  the  habit,  he  is 
not  yet  laid  in  the  tomb.  But  he  who  has 
become  habituated  to  sin,  is  buried,  and  has 
it  properly  said  of  him,  "he  stinketh;"  for 
his  character,  like  some  horrible  smell,  begins 
to  be  of  the  worst  repute.  Such  are  all  who 


her  hair,  whose  brother  Lazarus  was  sick. 
Therefore  his  sisters  sent  unto  Him,  saying." 
We  now  understand  whither  it  was  they  sent, 
namely,  where  the  Lord  was;  for  He  was 


'Mark  v.  41,42 


Luke  vi 


i  Luke  vii.  37-47.  Augustm  is  mistaken  here,  although  his 
error  has  been  followed  by  many  ancient  writers,  and  some  in 
more  recent  times.  The  time,  place,  and  circumstances  make  it 
iii>[X)ssihle  for  the  incident  here  referred  to.  to  IK-  the  S.IM 
which  took  place  in  Bethany  immediately  before  our  I.<ud's  i  rm  i- 
lixi.ni.  On  that  last  occasion  only  w.is  it  la/am-.'  si»ler.  Mary. 
who  anointed  Jesus.  I  .uke  hi  re  speaks  unlv  of  a  woman  that  was 
a  sinner  .  and  there  is  little  evidence  to  connect  her  with  any  of 
the  other  Scriuture  women,  even  with  M.iry  ol  M.t^ilala,  as  is 
often  done,  and  who  is  first  mentioned  by  I. uke  in  a  different  con 
nection  in  the  following  chapter  (viii.  »».— TK. 

4  Chap.  x.  39,  40. 


THE  WORKS  or  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TKACI  ATI.  XI. !\. 


away,  as  you  know,  beyond  the  Jordan. 
They  sent  messengers  to  the  Lord  to  tell 
Him  that  their  brother  was  ill.  He  delayed 
to  heal,  that  He  might  be  able  to  raise  to  life. 
But  what  was  the  message  sent  by  his  sisters  ? 
"  Lord,  behold,  he  whom  Thou  lovest  is  sick." 
They  did  not  say,  Come;  for  the  intimation 
was  all  that  was  needed  for  one  who  loved. 
They  did  not  venture  to  say,  Come  and  heal 
him:  they  ventured  not  to  say,  Command 
there,  and  it  shall  be  done  here.  And  why 
not  so  with  them,  if  on  these  very  grounds 
the  centurion's  faith  was  commended  ?  For 
he  said,  "  I  am  not  worthy  that  Thou  should- 
est  enter  under  my  roof;  but  speak  the  word 
only,  and  my  servant  shall  be  healed."1  No 
such  words  said  these  women,  but  only, 
V  Lord,  behold,  he  whom  Thou  lovest  is 
sick."  It  is  enough  that  Thou  knowest;  for 
Thou  art  not  one  that  loveth  and  forsaketh. 
But  says  some  one,  How  could  a  sinner  be 
represented  by  Lazarus,  and  be  so  loved  by 
the  Lord  ?  Let  him  listen  to  Him,  when  He 
says,  "  I  came  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but 
sinners."2  For  had  not  God  loved  sinners, 
He  would  not  have  come  down  from  heaven 
to  earth. 

6.  "  But  when  Jesus  heard  [that],  He  said, 
This  sickness  is  not  unto  death,  but  for  the 
glory  of  God,  that  the  Son  of  God  may  be 
glorified."     Such  a  glorifying  of  Himself  did 
not   add    to  His  dignity,   but   benefited   us. 
Hence  He  says,  "  is  not  unto  death,"  because 
even  that  death  itself  was  not  unto  death,  but 
rather  unto  the  working  of  a  miracle  whereby 
men  might  be  led  to  faith  in  Christ,  and  so 
escape  the  real  death.     And  mark  how  the 
Lord,  as   it  were   indirectly,  called   Himself 
God,  for  the  sake  of  some  who  deny  that  the 
Son  is  God.     For  there  are  heretics  who  make 
such  a  denial,  that  the  Son  of  God  is  God. 
Let  them  hearken  here:  "  This  sickness/'  He 
says,  "  is  not  unto  death,  but  for  the  glory  of 
God."     For  what  glory?     For  the  glory  of 
what  God?     Hear  what   follows:   "That  the 
Son  of  God  may  be  glorified. "     "  This  sick 
ness,"  therefore,  He  says,  "  is  not  unto  death, 
but  for  the  glory  of  God,  that  the  Son  of  God 
may  be  glorified  thereby."    By  what  ?    By  that 
sickness. 

7.  "  Now  Jesus  loved  Martha,  and  her  sis 
ter  Mary,  and  Lazarus."     The  one  sick,  the 
others  sad,  all  of  them  beloved:  but  He  who 
loved  them  was  both  the  Saviour  of  the  sick, 
nay   more,  the   Raiser  of  the   dead   and  the 
Comforter   of   the    sad.     "  When   He   heard 
therefore   that   he  was   sick,  He  abode  then 
two  days  still  in  the  same  place."     They  sent 


Him  word:  He  abode  where  He  was:  and  the 
time  ran  on  till  four  days  were  completed. 
And  not  in  vain,  were  it  only  that  perhaps, 
nay  that  certainly,  even  the  very  number  of 

I  days     has     some     sacramental     significance. 

I  "Then  after  that  He  saith  again  to  His  dis 
ciples,  Let  us  go  into  Judea:  "  where  He  had 
been  all  but  stoned,  and  from  which  He  had 
apparently  departed  for  the  very  purpose  to 
escape  being  stoned.  For  as  man  He  de 
parted;  but  returned  as  if  in  forgetfulness  of 

]  all  infirmity,  to  show  His  power.  "Let  us 
go,"  He  said,  "into  Judea." 

8.  And  now  see  how  the  disciples  were  ter 
rified  at  His  words.  "The  disciples  say  unto 
Him,  Master,  the  Jews  of  late  sought  to  stone 
Thee,  and  goest  Thou  thither  again  ?  Jesus 
answered,  Are  there  not  twelve  hours  in  the 
day  ?"  What  means  such  an  answer  ?  They 
said  to  Him,  "The  Jews  of  late  sought  to 
stone  Thee,  and  goest  Thou  thither  again  " 
to  be  stoned  ?  And  the  Lord,  "  Are  there  not 
twelve  hours  in  the  day  ?  If  any  man  walk 
in  the  day,  he  stumbleth  not,  because  he 
seeth  the  light  of  this  world:  but  if  he  walk 
in  the  night,  he  stumbleth,  because  there  is 
no  light  in  him."  He  spoke  indeed  of  the 
day,  but  to  our  understanding  as  if  it  were 
still  the  night.  Let  us  call  upon  the  Day 
to  chase  away  the  night,  and  illuminate  our 
hearts  with  the  light.  For  what  did  the  Lord 
mean  ?  As  far  as  I  can  judge,  and  as  the 
height  and  depth  of  His  meaning  breaks  into 
light,  He  wished  to  argue  down  their  doubt 
ing  and  unbelief.  For  they  wished  by  their 
counsel  to  keep  the  Lord  from  death,  who 
had  come  to  die,  to  save  themselves  from 
death.  In  a  similar  way  also,  in  another 
passage,  St.  Peter,  who  loved  the  Lord,  but 
did  not  yet  fully  understand  the  reason  of 
His  coming,  was  afraid  of  His  dying,  and  so 
displeased  the  Life,  to  wit,  the  Lord  Him 
self:  for  when  He  was  intimating  to  the  disci 
ples  what  He  was  about  to  suffer  at  Jerusalem 
at  the  hands  of  the  Jews,  Peter  made  reply 
among  the  rest,  and  said,  "  Far  be  it  from 
Thee,  Lord;  pity  Thyself:  this  shall  not  be 
unto  Thee."  And  at  once  the  Lord  replied, 
''  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan:  for  thou  savor- 
est  not  the  things  that  be  of  God,  but  those 
that  be  of  men."  And  yet  a  little  before, 
in  confessing  the  Son  of  God,  he  had  merited 
commendation:  for  he  heard  the  \vords, 
"  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bar-jona:  for  flesh 
and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but 
my  Father  who  is  in  heaven.'1 3  To  whom 
He  had  said,  "  Blessed  art  thou,"  He  now 
says,  "  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan;  "  because 


Matt.  ix.   .3. 


3  Matt.  xvi.  16-23. 


.ii    XI.IX.) 


ON    I  Ml-:  GOSPEL  OF  S  I.   J( 


273 


it   was   not   of   himself 
'l    what    then? 


that    he    was    Me-  "And    after   t'.iat    He   saith    unt«. 

Tor    llesh    and    Mood    ()ur  friend  La/arus  sleepeth;   but  I  go,  that  1 
hath  not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father    may  awake   him   out  of   sleep."      It   was  true 
who  is  in  hc.ivi'ii."      See,  this  is  how  thou  art    what  He    said.      To   Ins    sisters    he  was 
Messed,  not  from  anything  that  is  thine  o\vn, 
but  from   that  which  is  mine.      Not  tii  it  1  am 
the    Father,    but    that    all    things    whicii    the 


Father  hath  are  mine.1  P.ut  it  his  blessed 
ness  came  from  the  Lord's  own  working,  from 
whose  [working]  came  lie  to  be  Satan  ?  He 


to  the  Lord  he  was  asleep.  He  was  dead  to 
men,  who  could  not  raise  him  again;  but  the 
Lord  aroused  him  with  as  great  ease  from 


the  tomb  as  one  arouseth  a  sleeper  from  his 
bed.  Hence  it  was  in  reference  to  His  own 
power  that  He  spoke  of  him  as  sleeping:  for 


there  telis  us:  lor  1  le  assigned  the  reason  of  others  also,  who  are  dead,  are  frequently 
such  blessedness,  when  He  said,  "  Flesh  and  spoken  of  in  Scripture  as  sleeping;  as  when 
blood  hath  not  revealed  this  unto  thee,  but  ,  the  apostle  says,  "  But  I  would  not  have  you 


my  Father  who  is  in  heaven:"  that  is  the 
cause  of  thy  blessedness.  But  that  I  said, 
"  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan,  hear  also  its 
cause.  For  thou  savorest  not  the  things  that 


to  be  ignorant,  brethren,  concerning  those 
who  are  asleep,  that  ye  sorrow  not,  even  as 
others  who  have  no  hope."4  Therefore  he 
also  spoke  of  them  as  sleeping,  because  fore- 


be  of  God,  but  those  that  be  of  men."  Let  telling  their  resurrection.  And  so,  all  t.-e 
no  one  then  flatter  himself:  in  that  which  is  dead  are  sleeping,  both  good  and  bad.  But 
natural  to  himself  he  is  Satan,  in  that  which  |  just  as,  in  the  case  of  those  who  sleep  and 
is  of  God  he  is  blessed.  For  all  that  is  of ,  waken  day  by  day,  there  is  a  great  difference 
his  own,  whence  comes  it,  but  from  his  sin?  las  to  what  they  severally  see  in  their  sleep: 
Put  away  the  sin,  which  is  thine  own.  Right-  some  experience  pleasant  dreams;  others, 
eousness,  He  saith,  belongeth  unto  me.  For  dreams  so  frightful  that  the  waking  are  afraid 
what  hast  thou  that  thou  didst  not  receive  ?  =  !  to  fall  asleep  for  fear  of  their  recurrence:  so 
Accordingly,  when  men  wished  to  give  counsel  every  individual  sleeps  and  wakens  in  circum- 
to  God.  disciples  to  their  Master,  servants  to  stances  peculiar  to  himself.  And  there  is  a 


their  Lord,   patients  to  their  Physician, 

reproved   them    by  saying 

twelve  hours  in  the  day  ? 

in  the  day,  he  stumbleth  not." 


He 


difference  as  to  the  kind  of  custody  one  may 


Follow  me, 

if  ye  would  not  stumble:  give  not  counsel  to 
me,  from  whom  you  ought  to  receive  it.  To 
what,  then,  refer  the  words,  "Are  there  not 


"Are    there   not  |  be  placed  in,  who  is  afterwards  to  be  taken 
If  any  man  walk    before  the  judge.     For  the  kind  of  custody 
which    men   are    placed   depends   on   the 


merits  of  the  case:  some  are  required  to  be 
guarded  by  lictors,  an  office  humane  and  mild, 
and  becoming  a  citizen;  others  are  given  up 


twelve  hours  in  the  day  "?  Just  that  to  point  to  subordinates;5  some,  again,  are  sent  to 
Himself  out  as  the  day,  He  made  choice  of  prison:  and  in  the  prison  itself  all  are  not 
twelve  disciples.  If  I  am  the  day,  He  says,  thrust  together  into  its  lowest  dungeons,  but 
and  you  the  hours,  is  it  for  the  hours  to  give  i  dealt  with  in  proportion  to  the  merits  and 
counsel  to  the  day  ?  The  day  is  followed  by  superior  gravity  of  the  charges.  As,  then, 
the  hours,  not  the  hours  by  the  day.  If  these,  there  are  different  kinds  of  custody  among 
then,  were  the  hours,  what  in  such  a  reckon-  j  those  engaged  in  official  life,  so  there  are 
ing  was  Judas?  Was  he  also  among  the  different  kinds  of  custody  for  the  dead,  and 


twelve  hours  ?  If  he  was  an  hour,  he  had 
light;  and  if  he  had  light,  how  was  the  Day 
betrayed  by  him  to  death  ?  But  the  Lord,  in 
so  speaking,  foresaw,  not  Judas  himself,  but 
his  successor.  For  Judas,  when  he  fell,  was 
succeeded  by  Matthias,  and  the  duodenary 


differing  merits  in  those  who  rise  again.  The 
beggar  was  taken  into  custody,  so  was  the 
rich  man:  but  the  one  into  Abraham's 
bosom;  the  other,  where  he  thirsted,  and 
found  not  a  drop  of  water.6 

10.   Therefore,  to  make  this  the  occasion 


number  preserved.3  It  was  not,  then,  with- ,  of  instructing  your  Charity,  all  souls  have, 
out  a  purpose  that  the  Lord  made  choice  of  i  when  they  quit  this  world,  their  different  re- 
twelve  disciples,  but  to  indicate  that  He  Him-  ceptions.  The  good  have  joy;  the  evil,  tor- 
self  is  the  spiritual  Day.  Let  the  hours  then  ments.  But  when  the  resurrection  takes 
attend  upon  the  Day,  let  them  preach  the 


Day,  be  made  known  and  illuminated  by  the 
Day,  and   by  the  preaching  of  the  hours'  may    * 
the  world  believe  in  the   Day.      And  so  in  a 
summary  way  it  was  just  this  that  He  said: 
Follow  me,  if  ye  would  not  stumble. 


4  f  ThcsR  iv 

Soptt*  •,.  underli 


.  underling*.     In  the 

ifius  ;  for  Varro,    Isidoms,  anil  others 


Chap.  xvi.  15. 


1ft  tones     were    so   called  a/>  nf>ta  *</<>,  as    beinic   doubt - 
•;    as  assistants  to  the  decuriones  and    military   adju- 
!  :ioy    were   also  att.uhcd    to    various  otii,  es :    and   hence 
re    artisan   ottiiines,   and  those    belong  mtf  to  official    or 
pri-on  li!e.  in  wii  .ition  they  are  u«ed  here;  as  alto 

in  AinSr..  .nitnttt ry  on  tkf  KfA.- 

thr-r  words  :   "  Nor  did  1'aul  and  Silas  delay  to  baptize  the  jailor 
(,'//;,'«.  ///  i.irif-r/Jl." 
'    1  like  xvi.  22-24. 


2/4 


1111.  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACT  A  IK    XI.  IX. 


place,  both  the  joy  of  the  good  will  be  fuller, 
and  the  torments  of  the  wicked  heavier,  when 
they  shall  be  tormented  in  the  body.  The  holy 
patriarchs,  prophets,  apostles,  martyrs,  and 
good  believers,  have  been  received  into  peace; 
but  all  of  them  have  still  in  the  end  to  receive 
the  fulfillment  of  the  divine  promises;  for 
they  have  been  promised  also  the  resurrection 
of  the  flesh,  the  destruction  of  death,  and 
eternal  life  with  the  angels.  This  we  have  all 
to  receive  together;  for  the  rest,  which  is 
given  immediately  after  death,  every  one,  if 
worthy  of  it,  receives  when  he  dies.  The 
patriarchs  first  received  it — think  only  from 
what  they  rest;  the  prophets  afterwards;  more 
recently  the  apostles;  still  more  lately  the 
holy  martyrs,  and  day  by  day  the  good  and 
faithful.  Thus  some  have  now  been  in  that 
rest  for  long,  some  not  so  long;  others  for 
fewer  years,  and  others  whose  entrance  therein 
is  still  less  than  recent.  But  when  they  shall 
wake  from  this  sleep,  they  shall  all  together 
receive  the  fulfillment  of  the  promise. 

ii.  "Our  friend  Lazarus  sleepeth;  but  I 
go,  that  I  may  awake  him  out  of  sleep.  Then 
said  His  disciples" — according  to  their  under 
standing  they  replied — "  Lord,  if  he  sleep,  he 
shall  do  well."  For  the  sleep  of  the  sick  is 
usually  a  sign  of  returning  health.  "  How- 
beit  Jesus  spake  of  his  death,  but  they 
thought  that  He  spake  of  the  taking  of  rest 
in  sleep.  Then  said  Jesus  unto  them  plainly,  '* 
— for  He  said  somewhat  obscurely,  "  He 
sleepeth;  "—therefore  He  said  plainly,  "  Laz 
arus  is  dead.  And  I  am  glad  for  your  sakes 
that  I  was  not  there,  to  the  intent  ye  may 
believe."  I  even  know  that  he  is  dead,  and 
I  was  not  there:  for  he  had  been  reported  not 
as  dead,  but  sick.  But  what  could  remain 
hid  from  Him  who  had  created  it,  and  into 
whose  hands  the  soul  of  the  dying  man  had 
departed  ?  This  is  why  He  said,  "  I  am  glad 
for  your  sakes  that  I  was  not  there,  to  the 
intent  ye  may  believe;  "  that  they  might  now 
begin  to  wonder  that  the  Lord  could  assert 
his  death,  which  He  had  neither  seen  nor 
heard  of.  For  here  we  ought  specially  to 
bear  in  mind  that  as  yet  the  disciples  them 
selves,  who  already  believed  in  Him,  had 
their  faith  built  up  by  miracles:  not  that  a 
•faith,  utterly  wanting  till  then,  might  begin 
to  exist;  but  that  what  had  previously  come 
into  being  might  be  increased;  although  He 
made  use  of  such  an  expression  as  if  only 
then  they  would  begin  to  believe.  For  He 
said  not,  "  I  am  glad  for  your  sakes,"  that 
your  faith  may  be  increased  or  confirmed; 
but,  "that  ye  may  believe;"  which  is  to  be 
understood  as  meaning,  that  your  faith  may 
be  fuller  and  more  vigorous. 


12.  "Nevertheless,  let  us  go  unto  him. 
Then  said  Thomas,  who  is  called  Didymus, 
unto  his  fellow-disciples,  Let  us  also  go,  that 
we  may  die  with  Him.  Therefore  Jesus 
came,  and  found  that  he  had  [lain]  in  the 
grave  four  days  already."  Much  might  be 
said  of  the  four  days,  according  to  the  wont 
of  the  obscure  passages  of  Scripture,  which 
bear  as  many  senses  as  there  is  diversity  of 
those  who  understand  them.  Let  us  express 
also  our  opinion  of  what  is  meant  by  one  four 
days-  dead.  For  as  in  the  former  case  of  the 
blind  man  we  understand  in  a  way  the  human 
race,  so  in  the  case  of  this  dead  man  many 
perhaps  are  also  to  be  understood;  for  one 
thing  may  be  signified  by  different  figures. 
When  a  man  is  born,  he  is  born  already  in  a 
state  of  death;  for  he  inherits  sin  from  Adam. 
Hence  the  apostle  says:  "  By  one  man  sin  en 
tered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin;  and 
so  that  passed  upon  all  men,  wherein  all  have 
sinned."'  Here  you  have  one  day  of  death, 
because  man  inherits  it  from  the  seed  stock 
of  death.  Thereafter  he  grows,  and  begins 
to  approach  the  years  of  reason  that  he  may 
know  the  law  of  nature,  which  every  one  has 
had  implanted  in  his  heart:  What  thou  wouldst 
not  have  done  to  thyself,  do  not  to  another. 
Is  this  learned  from  the  pages  of  a  book,  and 
not  in  a  measure  legible  in  our  very  nature  ? 
Hast  thou  any  desire  to  be  robbed  ?  Certainly 
not.  See  here,  then,  the  law  in  thy  heart: 
What  thou  art  unwilling  to  suffer,  be  unwil 
ling  to  do.  This  law  also  is  transgressed  by 
men;  and  here,  then,  we  have  the  second 
day  of  death.  The  law  was  also  divinely 
given  through  Moses,  the  servant  of  God; 
and  therein  it  is  said, "Thou  shalt  not  kill; 
thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery;  thou  shalt 
not  bear  false  witness;  honor  thy  father  and 
mother;  thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbor's 
property;  thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbor's 
wife." '  Here  you  have  the  written  law,  and 
it  also  is  despised:  this  is  the  third  day  of 
death.  What  remains  ?  The  gospel  also 
comes,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  preached, 
Christ  is  everywhere  published;  He  threatens 
hell,  He  promises  eternal  life;  and  that  also 
is  despised.  Men  transgress  the  gospel:  and 
this  is  the  fourth  day  of  death.  Now  he  de 
servedly  stinketh.  But  is  mercy  to  be  denied 
to  such?  God  forbid;  for  to  raise  such  also 
from  the  dead,  the  Lord  thinks  it  not  unfit 
ting  to  come. 

13.  "And  many  of  the  Jews  had  come  to 
Martha  and  Mary,  to  comfort  them  concern 
ing  their  brother.  Then  Martha,  as  soon  as 
she  heard  that  Jesus  was  coming,  went  and 


UK     XI. IX.  | 


(  »\    I  ill.  r,i  tSPEL  <)!•   ST.   J<U1\ 


ilun;  but  Mary  sat  [still]  in  the  house. 
Tnen  said  Martha  unto  JCMI^,  Lord,  if  Thou 
liadst  l.een  here,  my  brother  had  not  died. 
J'.ut  I  know  that  even  no\v,  whatsoever  Thou 
wilt  ask  of  Hod,  God  will  give  it  Thee."  She 
did  not  say,  Hut  even  now  I  ask  Thee  to  raise 
my  brother  to  life  again.  Kor  how  could  she 
know  if  such  a  resurrection  would  be  of  bene 
fit  to  her  brother  ?  She  only  said,  I  know- 
that  Thou  canst,  and  whatsoever  Thou  art 
pleased,  Thou  doest:  for  Thy  doing  it  is  de 
pendent  on  Thine  own  judgment,  not  on  my 
presumption.  "  But  even  now  I  know  that, 
whatsoever  Thou  wilt  ask  of  God,  God  will 
give  it  Thee." 

14    "Jesus    saith   unto   her,  Thy  brother 
shall    rise    again."     This    was    ambiguous,  j 
For  He  said  not,  Even  now  I  will  raise  thy  I 
brother;  but,  "  Thy  brother  shall  rise  again.  • 
Martha  saith  unto  Him,  I  know  that  he  shall  , 
rise  again  in  the  resurrection,  at  the  last  day." 
Of  that  resurrection  I  am  sure,  but  uncertain 
about  this.      "  Jesus  saith  unto  her,  I  am  the 
resurrection."     Thou  sayest,  My  brother  shall  I 
rise  again  at  the  last  day:  true;  but  by  Him, 
through  whom  he  shall  rise  then,  can  he  rise  j 
even  now,  for  "  I,"  He  says,  "  am  the  resur-j 
rection  and  the  life."     Give  ear,  brethren, 
give  ear  to  what  He  says.     Certainly  the  uni-j 
versal  expectation  of  the  bystanders  was  that  j 
Lazarus,  one  who  had  been  dead  four  days,1 
would  live  again;  let  us  hear,  and  rise  again. 
How  many  are  there  in  this  audience  who  are 
crushed  down  under  the  weighty  mass  of  some 
sinful  habit  !     Perhaps  some  are  hearing  me 
to  whom  it  may  be  said,  "  Be  not  drunk  with 
wine,  wherein  is  excess;"2  and  they  say,  We 
cannot.     Some  others,  it  may  be,  are  hear 
ing  me,  who  are  unclean,  and  stained  with 
lusts   and   crimes,  and   to  whom    it   is   said,  ! 
Refrain   from   such   conduct,  that  ye   perish  < 
not;  and  they  reply,  We  cannot  give  up  ourj 
habits.     O  Lord,  raise  them  again.     "  I  am," 
He  says,   "  the   resurrection   and    the   life." 
The  resurrection  because  the  life. 

15.  "  He  that  believeth  in  me,  though  he 
v/ere  dead,  yet  shall  he  live:  and  whosoever 
liveth  and  believeth  in  me  shall  never  die." 
What  meaneth  this?  "  He  that  believeth  in 
me,  though  he  were  dead,"  just  as  Lazarus  is 
dead,  "yet  shall  he  live;'"  for  He  is  not  the 
God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living.  -Such 
was  the  answer  He  gave  the  Jews  concerning 
their  fathers,  long  ago  dead,  that  is,  ronrern- 
ing  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob:  I  am  the 
God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaac,  and 
the  God  of  Jacob:  He  is  not  the  God  of  the 


I  h.tt    is  (Aiiyn-.tin    hrrr  wouM 


tin-  riiililnnl  .if 


ivniK  under  the  fourth  and  most  terrible  form  of  spiritual 
death  ref.-rred  to  before.       I 
v.  18. 


dead,  but  of  the  living;  tor  ail  live  unto 
Him.''  '  Believe  then,  and  though  thou  wert 
dead,  yet  shall  thou  live:  but  if  thou  believ- 
est  not,  even  while  thou  livest  thou  art  dead. 
Let  us  prove  this  likewise,  that  if  thou  believ- 
est  not,  though  thou  livest  thou  art  dead. 
To  one  who  was  delaying  to  follow  Him,  and 
saying,  *'  Let  me  first  go  and  bury  my 
father,"  the  Lord  said,  "  Let  the  dead  bury 
their  dead;  but  come  thou  and  follow  me."4 
There  was  there  a  dead  man  requiring  to  be 
buried,  there  were  there  also  dead  men  to 
bury  the  dead:  the  one  was  dead  in  the  flesh, 
the  others  in  soul.  And  how  comes  death 
on  the  soul  ?  When  faith  is  wanting.  How 
comes  death  on  the  body  ?  When  the  soul  is 
wanting.  Therefore  thy  soul's  soul  is  faith. 
"He  that  believeth  in  me,"  says  Christ,  though 
he  were  dead  in  the  flesh,  yet  shall  he  live  in 
the  spirit;  till  the  flesh  also  rise  again,  never 
more  to  die.  This  is  "  he  that  believeth  in 
me,"  though  he  die,  "  yet  shall  he  live.  And 
whosoever  liveth"  in  the  flesh,  "and  believ 
eth  in  me,''  though  he  shall  die  in  time  on  ac 
count  of  the  death  of  the  flesh,  "  shall  never 
die,"  because  of  the  life  of  the  spirit,  and  the 
immortality  of  the  resurrection.  Such  is  the 
meaning  of  the  words,  "And  whosoever  liveth 
and  believeth  in  me  shall  never  die.  Believ- 
est  thou  this  ?  She  saith  unto  Him,  Yea,  Lord, 
I  have  believed  that  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God,  who  hast  come  into  the  world." 
When  I  believed  this,  I  believed  that  Thou  art 
the  resurrection,  that  Thou  art  the  life:  I  be 
lieved  that  he  that  believeth  in  Thee,  though 
he  die,  yet  shall  he  live;  and  whosoever  liveth 
and  believeth  in  Thee,  shall  never  die. 

1 6.  "And  when  she  had  so  said,  she  went 
her  way,  and  called  Mary  her  sister  silently, 
saying,  The  Master  is  come,  and  calleth  for 
thee. "     It   is  worthy  of  notice   the  way   in 
which  the  whispering  of  her  voice  was  denom 
inated  silence.     For  how  could  she  be  silent, 
when  she  said,  "  The  Master  is  come,  and  call 
eth  for  thee"?     It  is  also  to  be  noticed  why- 
it  is  that  the  evangelist  has  not  said  where,  or 
when,   or    how  the   Lord    called    for    Mary; 
namely,  that  in  order  to  preserve  the  brevity 
of  the  narrative,  it  may  rather  be  understood 
from  the  words  of  Martha. 

17.  "As  soon  as  she  heard  that,  she  arose 
quickly,  and  came  unto  Him.      For  Jesus  was 
not  yet  come  into  the  town,  but  was  still  in 
that    place    where    Martha    met    Him.     The 
Jews,  then,  who  were  with  her  in  the  house, 
and  comforted  her,  when  they  saw  Mary,  that 
she  rose   up  hastily,  anil  went  out,   followed 
her,  saying,  She  goeth  unto  the  grave,  to  weep 
there."      What   cause   had    the   evangelist    to 

3  Matt.  xxii.  31.  and  I.uke  xx.  17.  3* 


276 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  XI. IX. 


tell  us  this?  To  show  us  what  it  was  that 
occasioned  the  numerous  concourse  of  people 
to  be  there  when  l.a/arus  was  raised  to  life. 
For  the  Jews,  thinking  that  her  reason  for 
hastening  away  was  to  seek  in  weeping  the 
solace  of  her  grief,  followed  her;  that  the 
great  miracle  of  one  rising  again  who  had 
been  four  days  dead,  might  have  the  presence 
of  many  witnesses. 

18.  "Then  when  Mary  was  come  where 
Jesus  was,  and  saw  Him,  she  fell  down  at  His 
feet,  saying  unto  Him,  Lord,  if  Thou  hadst 
been  here,  my  brother  had  not  died.  When 
Jesus  therefore  saw  her  weeping, and  the  Jews 
also  weeping,  who  were  with  her,  He  groaned 
in  the  spirit,  and  troubled  Himself,1  and  said, 
Where  have  ye  laid  him  ?  "  Something  there 
is,  did  we  but  know  it,  that  He  has  suggested 
to  us  by  groaning  in  the  spirit,  and  troubling 
Himself.  For  who  could  trouble  Him,  save 
He  Himself?  Therefore,  my  brethren,  first 
give  heed  here  to  the  power  that  did  so,  and 
then  look  for  the  meaning.  Thou  art  troub 
led  against  thy  will;  Christ  was  troubled  be 
cause  He  willed.  Jesus  hungered,  it  is  true, 
but  because  He  willed;  Jesus  slept,  it  is  true, 
but  because  He  willed;  He  was  sorrowful,  it 
is  true,  but  because  He  willed;  He  died,  it  is 
true,  but  because  He  willed:  in  His  own  power 
it  lay  to  be  thus  and  thus  affected  or  not. 
For  the  Word  assumed  soul  and  flesh,  fitting 
on  Himself  our  whole  human  nature  in  the 
oneness  of  His  person.  For  the  soul  of  the 
apostle  was  illuminated  by  the  Word;  so  was 
the  soul  of  Peter,  the  soul  of  Paul,  of  the 
other  apostles,  and  the  holy  prophets, — the 
souls  of  all  were  illuminated  by  the  Word; 
but  of  none  was  it  said,  "  The  Word  was  made 
flesh;"2  of  none  was  it  said,  "  I  and  the  Father 
are  one."3  The  soul  and  flesh  of  Christ  is 
one  person  with  the  Word  of  God,  one  Christ. 
And  by  this  [Word]  wherein  resided  the 
supreme  power,  was  infirmity  made  use  of  at 
the  beck  of  His  will;  and  in  this  way  "He 
troubled  Himself." 

19.  I  have  spoken  of  the  power:  look  now 
to  the  meaning.  It  is  a  great  criminal  that  is 
signified  by  that  four  days'  death  and  burial. 
Why  is  it,  then,  that  Christ  troubleth  Himself, 
but  to  intimate  to  thee  how  thou  oughtest  to 
be  troubled,  when  weighed  down  and  crushed 
by  so  great  a  mass  of  iniquity  ?  For  here 
thou  hast  been  looking  to  thyself,  been  seeing 
thine  own  guilt,  been  reckoning  for  thyself: 
I  have  done  this,  and  God  has  spared  me;  I 
have  committed  this,  and  He  hath  borne  with 
me;  I  have  heard  the  gospel,  and  despised  it; 
I  have  been  baptized,  and  returned  again  to 


'  As  in  margin  of  English  Version. 
2  Chap.  i.  it. 


the  same  course:  what  am  I  doing?  whither 
am  I  going?  how  shall  I  escape?  When  thou 
speakest  thus,  Christ  is  already  groaning;  for 
thy  faith  is  groaning.  In  the  voice  of  one 
who  groanetli  thus,  there  comes  to  light  the 
hope  of  his  rising  again.  If  such  faith  is 
within,  there  is  Christ  groaning;  for  if  there 
is  faith  in  us,  Christ  is  in  us.  For  what  else 
says  the  apostle:  "  That  Christ  may  dwell  in 
your  hearts  by  faith."4  Therefore  thy  faith 
in  Christ  is  Christ  Himself  in  thy  heart. 
This  is  why  He  slept  in  the  ship;  and  why, 
when  His  disciples  were  in  danger  and  already 
on  the  verge  of  shipwreck,  they  came  to  Him 
and  awoke  Him.  Christ  arose,  laid  His  com 
mands  on  the  winds  and  waves,  and  there  en 
sued  a  great  calm.5  So  also  with  thee;  the 
winds  enter  thy  heart,  that  is,  where  thou  sail- 
est,  where  thou  passest  along  this  life  as  a 
stormy  and  dangerous  sea;  the  winds  enter, 
the  billows  rise  and  toss  thy  vessel.  What 
are  the  winds  ?  Thou  hast  received  some  in 
sult,  and  art  wroth:  that  insult  is  the  wind; 
that  anger,  the  waves.  Thou  art  in  danger, 
thou  preparest  to  reply,  to  render  cursing  for 
cursing,  and  thy  vessel  is  already  nigh  to 
shipwreck.  Awake  the  Christ  who  is  sleep 
ing.  For  thou  art  in  commotion,  and  mak 
ing  ready  to  render  evil  for  evil,  because 
Christ  is  sleeping  in  thy  vessel.  For  the  sleep 
of  Christ  in  thy  heart  is  the  forgetfulness  of 
faith.  But  if  thou  arousest  Christ,  that  is, 
recallest  thy  faith,  what  dost  thou  hear  said 
to  thee  by  Christ,  when  now  awake  in  thy 
heart  ?  I  [He  says]  have  heard  it  said  to  me, 
"  Thou  hast  a  devil,"  6  and  I  have  prayed  for 
them.  The  Lord  hears  and  suffers;  the  ser 
vant  hears  and  is  angry  !  But  thou  wishest 
to  be  avenged.  Why  so  ?  I  am  already 
avenged.  When  thy  faith  so  speaks  to  thee, 
command  is  exercised,  as  it  were,  over  the 
winds  and  waves,  and  there  is  a  great  calm. 
As,  then,  to  awaken  Christ  in  the  vessel  is 
just  to  awaken  faith;  so  in  the  heart  of  one 
who  is  pressed  down  by  a  great  mass  and 
habit  of  sin,  in  the  heart  of  the  man  who  has 
been  a  transgressor  even  of  the  holy  gospel 
and  a  despiser  of  eternal  punishment,  let 
Christ  groan,  let  s-ucli  a  man  betake  himself 
to  self-accusation.  Hear  still  more:  Christ 
wept;  let  man  bemoan  himself.  For  why  did 
Christ  weep,  but  to  teach  man  to  weep? 
Wherefore  did  He  groan  and  trouble  Him 
self,  but  to  intimate  that  the  faith  of  one  who 
has  just  cause  to  be  displeased  with  himself 
ought  to  be  in  a  sense  groaning  over  the  ac 
cusation  of  wicked  works,  to  the  end  that  the 
habit  of  sinning  may  give  way  to  the  vehe 
mence  of  penitential  sorrow  ? 


Chap.  x.  30. 


Eph.  iii.  17. 


24-26. 


ii     XI. IX.) 


o\  THF.  GOSPEL  01   ST.  JOHN. 


20. 

him5' 


'And  He  said.  Where  have  ye  laid 
Tnou  knewest  that  lie  was  dead,  and 
art  Thou  ignorant  of  the  place  of  his  burial  ? 
The  meaning  here  is,  that  a  inau  thus  lost 
heroines,  as  it  were,  unknown  to  God.  I  have 
not  ventured  to  say,  Is  unknown  for  what  is 
unknown  to  Him?-  hut,  As  it  were  unknown. 
And  how  do  we  prove  this?  Listen  to  the 
Lord,  who  will  yet  say  in  the  judgment,  "I 

"       What 
I  see 


know   you    not:    depart    from    me." ' 
does  that  mean,  "I  know  you  not" 


you  not  in  that- light  of  mine — in  that  right 
eousness  which  I  know.  So  here,  also,  as  if 
knowing  nothing  of  such  a  sinner,  He  said, 
*' Where  have  ye  laid  him?"  Similar  in 


eluded  all  under  sin,  that  the  promi*c  by  faith 
Of  Jesu>  Christ  might  be  given  to  them  that be- 
l;<-vr."  Therefore  "  take  ye  away  the  stone." 
23.  "  Martha,  the  sister  of  him  that  was 
dead,  saith  unto  Him,  Lord,  by  this  time 
he  stinketh:  for  he  hath  been  [dead]  four 
days.9  Jesus  saith  unto  her,  Have  I  not  said 
unto  thee,  that,  if  thou  helievest,  thou  shall 
see  the  glory  of  God  ?  "  What  does  He  mean 
by  tnis,  "thou  shall  see  the  glory  of  God  "? 
That  He  can  raise  to  life  even  one  who  is 
putrid  and  hath  been  four  days  [dead]. 
"  For  all  have  sinned,  and  come  short  of  the 
glory  of  God;  "  I0  and,  "  Where  sin  abounded, 
grace  also  did  superahound."  " 

character  was  God's  voice  in  Paradise  after  24.  "Then  they  took  away  the  stone, 
man  had  sinned:  "Adam,  where  art  thou  ?"  2 ;  And  Jesus  lifted  up  His  eyes,  and  said, 
*'  They  say  unto  Him,  Lord,  come  and  see.1'  Father,  I  thank  Thee,  that  Thou  hast  heard 
What  means  this  "see"?  Have  pity.  For' me.  And  I  knew  that  Thou  nearest  me 
the  Lord  sees  when  He  pities.  Hence  it  is 'always:  but  because  of  the  people  that  stand 
said  to  Him,  "  Look  upon  my  humility  [affiic- j  by  I  said  it,  that  they  may  believe  that  Thou 
tion]  and  my  pain,  and  forgive  all  my  sins.1'4 !  hast  sent  me.  And  when  He  had  thus 
21.  "Jesus  wept.  Then  said  the  Jews,  Be-  •  spoken,  He  cried  with  a  loud  voice."  He 
hold  how  He  loved  him  !  "  "  Loved  him,"  j  groaned,  He  wept,  He  cried  with  a  loud  voice, 
what  does  that  mean  ?  "I  came  not  to  call  j  With  what  difficulty  does  one  rise  who  lies 
the  righteous,  but  sinners  to  repentance."3  crushed  under  the  heavy  burden  of  a  habit  of 
"  But  some  of  them  said,  Could  not  this  man,  sinning  !  And  yet  he  does  rise:  he  is  quick- 
who  opened  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  have  caused  |  ened  by  hidden  grace  within;  and  after  that 
that  even  this  man  should  not  die?"  But !  loud  voice  he  riseth.  For  what  followed? 


that 

He,  who  would  do  nought  to  hinder  his  dying, 
had  something  greater  in  view  in  raising  him 
from  the  dead. 

22.    "Jesus   therefore    again   groaning   in 
Himself,   cometh  to   the  tomb."     May   His 


"  He  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  Lazarus,  come 
forth.  And  immediately  he  that  was  dead 
came  forth,  bound  hand  and  foot  with  band 
ages;"  and  his  face  was  bound  about  with  a 
napkin."  Dost  thou  wonder  how  he  came 


groaning  have  thee  also  for  its  object,  if  thou  |  forth  with  his  feet  bound,  and  wonderest  not 
wouldst  re-enter  into  life  !  Every  man  who  I  at  this,  that  after  four  days'  interment  he  rose 
lies  in  that  dire  moral  condition  has  it  said  to  from  the  dead  ?  In  both  events  it  was  the 
him,  "  He  cometh  to  the  tomb."  "  It  was  a  power  of  the  Lord  that  operated,  and  not  the 
cave,  and  a  stone  had  been  laid  upon  it.''  j  strength  of  the  dead.  He  came  forth,  and 


Dead  under  that  stone,  guilty  under  the  law. 
For  you  know  that  the  law,  which  was  given 
to  the  Jews,  was  inscribed  on  stone.5  And 
all  the  guilty  are  under  the  law:  the  right- 
living  are  in  harmony  with  the  law.  The 
law  is  not  laid  on  a  righteous  man."  What 
mean  then  the  words,  "  Take  ye  away  the 
Preach  grace.  For  the  Apostle 


yet  still  was  bound.  Still  in  his  burial  shroud, 
he  has  already  come  outside  the  tomb.  What 
does  it  mean  ?  While  thou  despisest  [Christ], 
thou  liest  in  the  arms  of  death;  and  if  thy 
contempt  reacheth  the  lengths  I  have  men 
tioned,  thou  art  buried  as  well:  but  when  thou 
makest  confession,  thou  comest  forth.  For 
what  is  this  coming  forth,  but  the  open  ac- 


stone  _ 

Paul  calleth  himself  a  minister  of  the  New  knpwledgmcnt  thou  makest  of  thy  state,  in 
Testament,  not  of  the  letter,  but  of  the  spirit;  quitting,  as  it  were,  the  old  refuges  of  dark- 
"  for  the  letter,"  he  says,  "  killeth,  but  the  |  ness  ?  But  the  confession  thou  makest  is 
spirit  giveth  life."7  The  letter  that  killeth  effected  by  God,  when  He  crieth  with  a  loud 
is  like  the  stone  that  crusheth.  '*  Take  ye  voice,  or  in  other  words,  calleth  thee  in 
away,"  He  saith,  "the  stone."  Take  away  abounding  grace.  Accordingly,  when  the 
the  weight  of  the  law;  preach  grace.  "  For !  dead  man  had  come  forth,  still  hound;  con- 
if  there  had  been  a  law  given,  which  could  fessing,  yet  guilty  still;  that  his  sins  also 
have  given  life,  verily  righteousness  should  might  be  taken  away,  the  Lord  said  to  His 
he  by  the  law.  But  the  Scripture  hath  con-  '  servants:  "Loose  him,  and  let  him 

What  does  He  mean  by  such  words?     What- 

i.i.  ,.  — r 


'  Mali.  vn.  2(. 
4  Mali.  .x.  ,,. 
7  2  C'or.  iii.  o. 


H  r.al    iii.  21,  22.         9  nHatri<fu,,HHt  fst 
"  Hum    v.  20.  '-  Instills  :  l'«r.  «t«i,xai«. 


iii.  23. 


278 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  XLIX. 


soever  ye  shall  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed 
in  heaven.1 

25.  "Then    many   of   the   Jews  who   had 
come  to  Mary,  and  had  seen  the  things  which 
Jesus  did,  believed  on   Him.     But  some  of 
them  went  away  to  the  Pharisees,  and  told 
them  what  things  Jesus  had  done."     All  of 
the  Jews  who  had  come  to  Mary  did  not  be 
lieve,  but  many  of  them  did.      "  But  some  of 
them,"  whether  of  the  Jews  who  had  come, 
or  of  those  who  had  believed,  "  went  away  to 
the   Pharisees,    and   told    them   what   things 
Jesus  had  done:  "  whether  in  the  way  of  con 
veying  intelligence,  in  order  that  they  also 
might    believe,    or   rather    in    the    spirit   of 
treachery,  to  arouse  their  anger.     But  who 
ever   were    the    parties,    and    whatever   their 
motive,  intelligence  of  these  events  was  car 
ried  to  the  Pharisees. 

26.  "  Then  gathered  the  chief  priests  and 
the  Pharisees  a  council,  and  said,  What  do 
we  ?"     But  they  did  not  say,  Let  us  believe. 
For  these  abandoned  men  were  more  occupied 
in   considering  what   evil    they  could  do  to 
effect  His  ruin,  than  in  consulting  for  their 
own  preservation:  and  yet  they  were  afraid, 
and  took  counsel  of  a  kind  together.     For 
"  they  said,  What  do  we  ?  for  this  man  doeth 
many  miracles:  if  we  let  him  thus  alone,  all 
men  will  believe  on  him;   and  the  Romans 
shall  come,  and  take  away  both  our  place  and 
nation."     They  were  afraid   of  losing   their 
temporal  possessions,  and  thought  not  of  life 
eternal;   and    so    they    lost    both.     For   the 
Romans,  after  our  Lord's    passion  and  en 
trance  into  glory,  took  from  them  both  their 
place  and  nation,  when  they  took  the  one  by 
storm  and  transported   the  other:    and   now 
that  also  pursues  them,  which  is  said  else 
where,  "  But   the  children  of   the   kingdom 
shall  go  into  outer  darkness."2     But  this  was 
what    they    feared,    that   if    all    believed   on 
Christ,  there  would  be  none  remaining  to  de 
fend  the  city  of  God  and  the  temple  against 
the  Romans;  just  because  they  had  a  feeling 
that  Christ's   teaching  was  directed   against 
the  temple  itself  and  their  own  paternal  laws. 

27.  "And  one  of  them,  [named]  Caiaphas, 
being  the   high   priest  that  same  year,  said 
unto  them,  Ye  know  nothing  at  all,  nor  con 
sider  that  it  is  expedient  for  us  that  one  man 
should  die  for  the  people,  and  that  the  whole 
nation  perish  not.     And  this  spake  he  not  of 
himself;  but  being  high  priest  that  year,  he 
prophesied."     We  are   here  taught  that  the 
Spirit  of  prophecy  used  the  agency  even  of 
wicked    men   to    foretell    what   was    future; 
which,  however,  the  evangelist  attributes  to 


the  divine  sacramental  fact  that  he  was  pon 
tiff,  which  is  to  say,  the  high  priest.  It  may, 
however,  be  a  question  in  what  way  he  is 
|  called  the  high  priest  of  that  year,  seeing  that 
God  appointed  one  person  to  be  high  priest, 
who  was  to  be  succeeded  only  at  his  death  by 
another.  But  we  are  to  understand  that 
ambitious  schemes  and  contentions  among 
the  Jews  led  to  the  appointment  afterwards 
of  more  than  one,  and  to  their  annual  turn  of 
service.  For  it  is  said  also  of  Zacharias:  "And 
it  came  to  pass  that,  while  he  executed  the 
priest's  office  before  God  in  the  order  of  his 
course,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  priest's 
office,  his  lot  was  to  burn  incense  when  he 
went  into  the  temple  of  the  Lord."3  From 
which  it  is  evident  that  there  were  more  than 
one,  and  that  each  had  his  turn:  for  it  was 
lawful  for  the  high  priest  alone  to  place  the 
incense  on  the  altar.4  And  perhaps  also  there 
were  several  in  actual  service  in  the  same 
year,  who  were  succeeded  next  year  by  several 
others,  and  that  it  fell  by  lot  to  one  of  them 
to  burn  incense.  What  was  it,  then,  that 
Caiaphas  prophesied  ?  "  That  Jesus  should 
die  for  the  nation;  and  not  for  the  nation 
only,  but  that  also  He  should  gather  together 
in  one  the  children  of  God  that  were  scattered 
abroad."  This  is  added  by  the  evangelist; 
for  Caiaphas  prophesied  only  of  the  Jewish 
nation,  in  which  there  were  sheep  of  whom 
the  Lord  Himself  had  said,  "  I  am  not  sent 
but  unto  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of 
Israel."  5  But  the  evangelist  knew  that  there 
were  other  sheep,  which  were  not  of  this  fold, 
but  which  had  also  to  be  brought,  that  there 
might  be  one  fold  and  one  shepherd.6  But 
this  was  said  in  the  way  of  predestination;  for 
those  who  were  still  unbelieving  were  as  yet 
neither  His  sheep  nor  the  children  of  God. 

28.  "  Then,  from  that  day  forth,  they  took 
counsel  together  for  to  put  Him  to  death. 
Jesus  therefore  walked  no  more  openly  among 
the  Jews;  but  went  thence  unto  a  country 
near  to  the  wilderness,  into  a  city  called 
Ephrnim,  and  there  continued  with  His  dis 
ciples."  Not  that  there  was  any  failure  in 
His  power,  by  which,  had  He  only  wished, 
He  might  have  continued  His  intercourse 
with  the  Jews,  and  received  no  injury  at  their 
hands;  but  in  His  human  weakness  He  fur 
nished  His  disciples  with  an  example  of  liv 
ing,  by  which  He  might  make  it  manifest  that 
it  was  no  sin  in  His  believing  ones,  who  are 
His  members,  to  withdraw  from  the  presence 
of  their  persecutors,  and  escape  the  fury  of 
the  wicked  by  concealment,  rather  than  in 
flame  it  by  showing  themselves  openly. 


Matt.  x% 


i  Luke  i.  8.  9 
5  Matt.  xv.  24. 


I    X.    XXX.    7. 

Chap.  N.  16. 


;  .ii     I    j 


ON  THE  GOSPEL  OI   ST,  joiiN. 


2  79 


TRACTATE    L. 

('HAI'IIK    XI.    55-57;    XII.     I-II. 


1.  YESTERDAY'S  lesson  in  the  holy  Gospel, 
on  which  we  spake  as  the  Lord  enabled  us, 
is  followed  by  to-day's,  on  which  we  purpose 
to  speak  in  the  same  spirit  of   dependence. 
Some  passages  in  the  Scriptures  are  so  clear 
as  to   require  a  hearer  rather   than   an    ex 
pounder:  over  such  we  need  not  tarry,  that 
we  may  have  sufficient  time  for  those  which 
necessarily  demand  a  fuller  consideration. 

2.  "And  the  Jews'   passover  was   nigh  at 
hand."     The  Jews  wished  to  have  that  feast- 
day  crimsoned  with  the  blood  of  the  Lord. 
On  it  that  Lamb  was  slain,  who  hath  conse 
crated   it  as  a  feast-day  for  us  by  His  own 
blood.     There  was  a   plot   among  the    Jews 
about  slaying  Jesus:  and  He,  who  had  come 
from  heaven  to  suffer,  wished  to  draw  near  to 
the  place  of  His  suffering,  because  the  hour 
of    His    passion   was    at    hand.     Therefore 
"  many  went  out  of  the  country  up  to  Jerusa 
lem  before  the  passover,  to  sanctify  them 
selves."     The  Jews  did  so  in  accordance  with 
the  command  of  the  Lord  delivered  by  holy 
Moses  in  the  law,  that  on  the  feast-day  of  the 
passover  all  should  assemble  from  every  part 
of  the  land,  and  be  sanctified  in  celebrating 
the  services  of  the  day.     But  that  celebration 
was  a  shadow   of   the    future.     And   why  a 
shadow  ?     It  was  a  prophetic  intimation  of  the 
Christ  to  come,  a  prophecy  of  Him  who  on 
that  day  was  to  suffer  for  us:    that   so  the 
shadow  might  vanish  and  the  light  come;  that 
the  sign  might  pass  away,  and  the  truth  be  re 
tained.     The  Jews  therefore  held  the  pass- 
over  in  a  shadowy  form,  but  we  in  the  light. 
For  what  need  was  there  that  the  Lord  should 
command  them  to  slay  a  sheep  on  the  very 
day  of  the  feast,  save  only  because  of  Him  it 
was  prophesied,  "  He  is  led  as  a  sheep  to  the 
slaughter"?1     The  door-posts   of   the  Jews 
were  sealed  with  the  blood  of  the  slaughtered 
animal:  with  the  blood  of  Christ  are  our  fore 
heads  sealed.     And  that  sealing — for  it  had 
a  real  significance — was  said  to  keep  away  the 
destroyer  from  the  houses  that  were  sealed:3 
Christ's  seal  drives  away  the  destroyer  from 
us,  if  we  receive  the  Saviour  into  our  hearts. 
But  why    have    I   said    this  ?     Because   many 
have  their  door-posts  sealed  while  there  is  no 
inmate  abiding  within:    they   find   it   easy   to 
have  Christ's  seal  in  the  forehead,  and  yet  at 


heart  refuse  admission  to  His  word.  There 
fore,  brethren,  I  have  said,  and  I  repeat  it, 
Christ's  seal  driveth  from  us  the  destroyer,  if 
only  we  have  Christ  as  an  inmate  of  our 
hearts.  I  have  stated  these  things,  lest  any 
one's  thoughts  should  be  turning  on  the 
i  meaning  of  these  festivals  of  the  Jews.  The 
Lord  therefore  came  as  it  were  to  the  victim's 
place,  that  the  true  passover  might  be  ours, 
when  we  celebrated  His  passion  as  the  real 
offering  of  the  lamb. 

3.  "Then  sought  they  for  Jesus:  "  but  with 
evil   intent.     For  happy  are  they  who   seek 

j  for  Jesus  in  a  way.that  is  good.  They  sought 
j  for  Him,  with  the  intent  that  neither  they  nor 
I  we  should  have  Him  more:  but  in  departing 
from  them,  He  has  been  received  by  us. 
Some  who  seek  Him  are  blamed,  others  who 
do  so  are  commended;  for  it  is  the  spirit  ani 
mating  the  seeker  that  finds  either  praise  or 
condemnation.  Thence  you  have  it  also  in 
the  psalms,  "  Let  them  be  confounded  and 
put  to  shame  that  seek  after  my  soul:  "  3  such 
are  those  who  sought  with  evil  purpose.  But 
in  another  place  he  says,  "  Refuge  hath  failed 
me,  and  there  is  no  one  that  seeketh  after  my 
soul."4  Those  who  sought,  and  those  who 
did  not,  are  blamed  alike.  Therefore  let  us 
seek  for  Christ,  that  He  may  be  ours,  that  we 
may  keep  Him,  and  not  that  we  may  slay 
Him;  for  these  men  sought  to  get  hold  of 
Him,  but  only  for  the  purpose  of  speedily 
getting  quit  of  Him  forever.  "Therefore 
they  sought  for  Him,  and  spake  among  them 
selves:  What  think  ye,  that  He  will  not  come 
to  the  feast?" 

4.  "  Now  the  chief  priests  and  the  Phari 
sees  had  given  a  commandment,  that,  if  any 
man  knew  where  He  were,  he  should  show  it, 
that  they  might  take  Him."     Let  us  for  our 
parts  show  the  Jews  where  Christ  is.     Would, 
indeed,  that  all  the  seed  of  those  who  had 
given  commandment  to  have  it  shown  them 
where  Christ  was,  would  but  hear  and  appre 
hend  !     Let   them  come   to   the  church  and 
hear  where  Christ  is,  and  take  Him.     They 
may  hear  it  from  us,  they  may  hear  it  from  the 
gospel.      He  was  slain    by  their  forefathers, 
He  was  buried,  He  rose  again,  He  was  recog 
nized  by  the  disciples,  He  ascended  before 
their  eyes  into   heaven,  anil  there  sitteth  at 


.  lni.  7. 

. 

3  Ps. 

xl.  ,«. 

4  IV  ,xlii.  4.  , 

targ. 

280 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACT A  1 1    1  . 


the  right  hand  of  the  Father;   and  He  who 
was  judged  is  yet  to  come  as  Judge  of  all:  let 
them  hear,   and  hold    fast.     Do  they  reply, ' 
How  shall  I  take  hold  of  the  absent  ?  how 
shall  I  stretch  up  my  hand  into  heaven,  and 
take  hold  of  one  who  is  sitting  there  ?     Stretch 
up  thy  faith,  and  thou  hast  got  hold.     Thy 
forefathers  held  by  the  flesh,  hold  thou  with 
the  heart;  for  the  absent  Christ  is  also  pres 
ent.     But  for  His  presence,  we  ourselves  were  : 
unable  to  hold  Him.     But  since  His  word  is, 
true,  "Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  to  the 
end  of  the  world,"  '  He  is  away,  and  He  is 
here;  He  has  returned,  and  will  not  forsake  , 
us;  for  He  has  carried  His  body  into  heaven,  j 
but    His    majesty   He    has    never  withdrawn 
from  the  world. 

5.  "  Then  Jesus,  six  days  before  the  pass- 
over,   came  to  Bethany,  where  Lazarus  was 
who  had  been  dead,  whom  Jesus  raised  from 
the  dead.     And  there  they  .made  Him  a  sup 
per;  and  Martha  served:  but  Lazarus  was  one 
of  them  that  reclined  at  the  table."     To  pre- 1 
vent  people  thinking  that  the  man  had  become  j 
a  phantom,  because  he   had   risen   from  the  j 
dead,  he  was  one  of  those  who  reclined  at 
table;  he  was  living,  speaking,  feasting:  the 
truth  was  made  manifest,  and  the  unbelief  of 
the  Jews  was  confounded.     The  Lord,  there 
fore,  reclined  at  table  with  Lazarus  and  the 
others;  and  they  were  waited  on  by  Martha, 
one  of  the  sisters  of  Lazarus. 

6.  But  "  Mary,''  the  other  sister  of  Laza 
rus,  "took  a  pound  of  ointment  of  pure  nard, 
very  precious,  and  anointed  the  feet  of  Jesus, 
and  wiped   His  feet  with  her  hair;    and  the 
house  was  filled  with  the  odor  of   the  oint 
ment."     Such  was  the  incident,  let  us  look 
into  the  mystery  it  imported.     Whatever  soul 
of  you  wishes  to  be  truly  faithful,  anoint  like 
Mary  the  feet  of  the  Lord  with  precious  oint 
ment.     That  ointment  was  righteousness,  and 
therefore  it  was  [exactly]  a  pound  weight:  but 
it  was  ointment  of  pure  nard  \nardi fistici], 
very  precious.     From  his  calling  it  "  pistici,"  3 
we  ought  to  infer  that  there  was  some  locality 
from  which  it  derived  its  preciousness:    but 
this  does  not  exhaust  its  meaning,  and  it  har 
monizes   well    with   a   sacramental    symbol. 
The  root  of  the  word  ["  pure  "]  in  the  Greek 
is  by  us  called  "  faith."       Thou  wert  seeking 
to  work  righteousness:  the  just  shall  live  by 
faith.3     Anoint  the  feet  of  Jesus:  follow  by  a  I 
good  life  the  Lord's  footsteps.     Wipe  them  ! 
with  thy  hair:  what  thou  hast  of  superfluity, 


1  Matt,  xxviii.  20. 

*  The  full  expression  is  nardi  pistici  fretiosi  :  Or.  'Vapfiou 
irtffTucrjs  TToAxm/xov  :  "  iriaTiicos  from  irnrris,  trustworthy  ^  hence, 
rtniiint,  f>n>-i- ,-  though  Aug.  seems  to  indicate  that  it  may  also 
nave  had  a  geographical  reference. — TR. 

'  Rum.  i.  17. 


give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  hast  wiped  the  feet 
of  the  Lord;  for  the  hair  seems  to  be  the 
superfluous  part  of  the  body.  Thou  hast 
something  to  spare  of  thy  abundance:  it  is 
superfluous  to  thee,  but  necessary  for  the 
feet  of  the  Lord.  Perhaps  on  this  earth  the 
Lord's  feet  are  still  in  need.  For  of  whom 
but  of  His  members  is  He  yet  to  say  in  the 
end,  "  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  to  one  of  the 
least  of  mine,  ye  did  it  unto  me  "  ?4  Ye  spent 
what  was  superfluous  for  yourselves,  but  ye 
have  done  what  was  grateful  to  my  feet. 

•j.  "And  the  house  was  filled  with  the 
odor."  The  world  is  filled  with  the  fame  of 
a  good  character:  for  a  good  character  is  as 
a  pleasant  odor.  Those  who  live  wickedly 
and  bear  the  name  of  Christians,  do  injury  to 
Christ:  of  such  it  is  said,  that  through  them 
"  the  name  of  the  Lord  is  blasphemed."  5  If 
through  such  God's  name  is  blasphemed, 
through  the  good  the  name  of  the  Lord  is 
honored.  Listen  to  the  apostle,  when  he 
says,  "We  are  a  sweet  savor  of  Christ  in 
every  place."  As  it  is  said  also  in  the  Song 
of  Songs,  "  Thy  name  is  as  ointment  poured 
forth."6  Attend  again  to  the  apostle:  "  We 
are  a  sweet  savor,"  he  says,  "of  Christ  in 
every  place,  both  in  them  that  are  saved,  and 
in  them  that  perish.  To  the  one  we  are  the 
savor  of  life  unto  life,  to  the  other  the  savor 
of  death  unto  death:  and  who  is  sufficient  for 
these  things  ?  "  7  The  lesson  of  the  holy  Gos 
pel  before  us  affords  us  the  opportunity  of 
so  speaking  of  that  savor,  that  we  on  our  part 
may  give  worthy  utterance,  and  you  diligent 
heed,  to  what  is  thus  expressed  by  the  apostle 
himself,  "And  who  is  sufficient  for  these 
things  ?  "  But  have  we  any  reason  to  infer 
from  these  words  that  we  are  qualified  to  at 
tempt  speaking  on  such  a  subject,  or  you  to 
hear?  We,  indeed,  are  not  so;  but  He  is 
sufficient,  who  is  pleased  to  speak  by  us  what 
it  may  be  for  your  profit  to  hear.  The  apos 
tle,  you  see,  is,  as  he  calls  himself,  "  a  sweet 
savor:  "  but  that  sweet  savor  is  "  to  some  the 
savor  of  life  unto  life,  and  to  otners  the  savor 
of  death  unto  death;"  and  yet  all  the  while 
"a  sweet  savor"  in  itself.  For  he  does  not 
say,  does  he,  To  some  we  are  a  sweet  savor 
unto  life,  to  others  an  evil  savor  unto  death  ? 
He  called  himself  a  sweet  savor,  not  an  evil; 
and  represented  himself  as  the  same  sweet 
savor,  to  some  unto  life,  to  others  unto  death. 
Happy  they  who  find  life  in  this  sweet  savor  ! 
but  what  misery  can  be  greater  than  theirs, 
to  whom  the  sweet  savor  is  the  messenger  of 
death  ? 

8.   And  who  is  it,  says   some  one,  that  is 


i  Matt.  xxv.  40. 
'Song  of  Sol.  i.  3. 


5  Rom.  ii.  24. 
7  i  Cor.  ii.  14-16. 


T>  v  rxTj  i..|  o\    i  IN-:  GOSPE1    "i   ST.  JOHN. 

tints  slain    by  the  sweet   savor?      It    is  to  this    he  bear  it  about,  or   bear   it  away  v      For  the 
;>ostle  alludes  in   the  words,     "And  who    common  service  he  bore  it,  as  a  thief  he  bore 


is  sufficient  for  these  things  ?  "  Jn  what  won 
derful  ways  Clod  brings  it  about  that  the  good 
savor  is  fraught  both  with  life  to  the  tM><>d, 


it  away. 

jo.    Look  now,  and  learn   that  this  Judas 
did   not  become  perverted  only   at  the  time 


and  with  death  to  the  wicked;  how  it  is  so,  so  when  he  yielded  to  the  bribery  of  the  Jews 
far  as  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  inspire  my  and  betrayed  his  Lord.  For  not  a  few,  inat- 
tiiou-hts  (for  it  may  still  conceal  a  deeper  |  tentive  to  the  Gospel,  suppose  that  Judas  only 
meaning  beyond  017  power  to  penetrate), — yet  peri  shed  when  he  accepted  money  from  the 
so  far,  I  say,  as  my  power  of  penetration  has!  Jews  to  betray  the  Lord.  It  was  not  then 
reached,  you  ought  not  to  have  the  ijiforma-  j  that  he  perished,  but  he  was  already  a  thief, 
tion  withheld.  The  integrity  of  the  Apostle  •  and  a  reprobate,  when  following  the  Lord;  for 
Paul's  life  and  conduct,  his  preaching  of  j  it  was  with  his  body  and  not  with  his  heart 
righteousness  in  word  and  exhibition  of  it  in  that  he  followed.  He  made  up  the  apostolic 
works,  his  wondrous  power  as  a  teacher  and  number  of  twelve,  but  had  no  part  in  the 
his  fidelity  as  a  steward,  were  everywhere  j  apostolic  blessedness:  he  had  been  made  the 
noised  abroad:  he  was  loved  by  some,  and  j  twelfth  in  semblance,  and  on  his  departure, 
envied  by  others.  For  he  himself  tells  us  in  and  the  succession  of  another,  the  apostolic 
a  certain  place  of  some,  that  they  preached  reality  was  completed,  and  the  entireness  of 
Christ  not  sincerely,  but  of  envy;  "think-  the  number  conserved.'  What  lesson  then, 
ing,"  he  says,  "to  add  affliction  to  my  j  my  brethren,  did  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  wish 
bonds."  But  what  does  he  add  ?  "Whether  to  impress  on  His  Church,  when  it  pleased 
in  pretence  or  in  truth,  let  Christ  be  Him  to  have  one  castaway  among  the  twelve, 
preached."1  They  preach  who  love  me,  but  this,  that  we  should  bear  with  the  wicked, 
they  preach  who  hate  me;  in  that  good  savor'  and  refrain  from  dividing  the  body  of  Christ  ? 
the  former  live,  in  it  the  others  die:  and  yet]  Here  you  have  Judas  among  the  saints, — that 
by  the  preaching  of  both  let  the  name  of)  Judas,  mark  you  !  who  was  a  thief,  yea — do 
Christ  be  proclaimed,  with  this  excellent  |  not  overlook  it — not  a  thief  of  any  ordinary- 
savor  let  the  world  be  filled.  Hast  thou  type,  but  a  thief  and  a  sacrilegist:  a  robber  of 
been  loving  one  whose  conduct  evidenced  his  money  bags,  but  of  such  as  were  the  Lord's; 
goodness  ?  then  in  this  good  savor  thou  hast  j  of  money  bags,  but  of  such  as  were  sacred, 
lived.  Hast  thou  been  envying  such  a  one  ?  If  there  is  a  distinction  made  in  the  public 
then  in  this  same  savor  thou  hast  died.  But ;  courts  between  such  crimes  as  ordinary  theft 
hast  thou,  pray,  in  thus  choosing  to  die,  con-  i  and  peculation, — for  by  peculation  we  mean 
verted  this  savor  into  an  evil  one  ?  Turn  from  ,  the  theft  of  public  property;  and  private  theft 
thine  envious  feelings,  and  the  good  savor  will  i  is  not  visited  with  the  same  sentence  as  pub- 
cease  to  slay  thee.  lie, — how  much  more  severe  ought  to  be  the 

9.  And  now,  lastly,  listen  to  what  we  have  sentence  on  the  sacrilegious  thief,  who  has 
here,  how  this  ointment  was  to  some  a  sweet  dared  to  steal,  not  from  places  of  any  ordin- 
savor  unto  life,  and  to  others  a  sweet  savor lary  kind,  but  to  steal  from  the  Church?  He 
unto  death.  When  the  pious  Mary  had  i  who  thieves  from  the  Church,  stands  side  by 
rendered  this  grateful  service  to  the  Lord,  side  with  the  castaway  Judas.  Such  was  this 
straightway  one  of  His  disciples,  Judas  Isca-  j  man  Judas,  and  yet  he  went  in  and  out  with 
riot,  who  was  yet  to  betray  Him,  said,  "  Why  j  the  eleven  holy  disciples.  With  them  he 
was  not  this  ointment  sold  for  three  hundred  came  even  to  the  table  of  the  Lord:  he  was 
pence,  and  given  to  the  poor?"  Alas  for  permitted  to  have  intercourse  with  them,  but 
thee,  wretched  man !  the  sweet  savor  hath  he  could  not  contaminate  them.  Of  one 
slain  thee.  For  the  cause  that  led  him  so  to  bread  did  both  Peter  and  Judas  partake,  and 
speak  is  disclosed  by  the  holy  evangelist.  !  yet  what  communion  had  the  believer  with  the 
But  we,  too,  might  have  supposed,  had  not  j  infidel  ?  Peter's  partaking  was  unto  life,  but 
the  real  state  of  his  mind  been  revealed  in  that  of  Judas  unto  death.  For  that  good  bread 
t'ne  liospel,  that  the  care  of  the  poor  might  was  just  like  the  sweet  savor.  For  as  the 
have  induced  him  so  to  speak.  Not  so.  sweet  savor,  so  also  does  the  good  bread  give 
What  then?  Hearken  to  a  true  witness:  life  to  the  good,  and  bring  death  to  the  wicked. 
"This  he  said,  not  that  he  cared  for  the  poor;  "  For  he  that  onteth  unworthily,  eateth  and 
but  because  he  was  a  thief,  and  had  the  money  drinketh  judgment  to  himself:"4  "judgment 
bat;,  and  bare-  what  was  put  therein."  Did  to  himself,"  not  to  thee.  If,  then,  it  is  judg- 

•  I'ini.  i.  16, 18.  ~  ment  to  himself,  not  to  thee,  bear  as  one  that 


as  used  by  John,  may  signify  here,  carrifj, 
bore,  in  a  «»•><)  sense;  or  carried  off  as  a  thief:  for  the  latter 
sense,  see  chap.  xx.  15.  IK. 


282 


THK   \V()KKS  OK  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


I'l'u  \<-TATE  L. 


is  good  with  him  that  is  evil,  that  thou  may-   conciled  by  ihe  Church,  the  person  so  recon- 
est  attain  unto  the  rewards  of  the  good,  and   ciled  is  loosed  in  heaven: — if  such,  then,   is 
into  the  punishment  of    the   the  case  in  the  Church,  Peter,  in  receiving 


be  not  hurled 

wicked. 

1 1.  Lay  to  heart  our  Lord's  example  while 
living  with  man  upon  earth.  Why  had  He  a 
money  bag,  who  was  ministered  unto  by 


the  keys,  represented  the  holy  Church.  If, 
then,  in  the  person  of  Peter  were  represented 
the  good  in  the  Church,  and  in  Judas'  person 
were  represented  the  bad  in  the  Church,  then 


angels,  save  to  intimate  that  His  Church  was  |  to  these  latter  was  it  said,  "  But  me  ye  will 
destined  thereafter  to  have  her  repository  for  |  not  have  always."  But  what  means  the  "  not 
money?  Why  gave  He  admission  to  a  thief,  j  always;"  and  what,  the  "always"?  If  thou 
save  to  teach  His  Church  patiently  to  bear  |  art  good,  if  thou  belongest  to  the  body  repre- 


with  thieves  ?  But  he  who  had  formed  the 
habit  of  abstracting  money  from  the  bag,  did 
not  hesitate  for  money  received  to  sell  the 


sented  by  Peter,  thou  hast  Christ  both  now 
and  hereafter:  tunv  by  faith,  by  sign,  by  the 
sacrament  of  baptism,  by  the  bread  and  wine 


Lord  Himself.  But  let  us  see  what  answer  \  of  the  altar.  Thou  hast  Christ  now,  but  thou 
our  Lord  gave  to  such  words.  See,  brethren:  j  wilt  have  Him  always;  for  when  thou  hast 
He  does  not  say  to  him,  Thou  speakest  so  on  j  gone  hence,  thou  wilt  come  to  Him  who  said 
account  of  thy  thievishness.  He  knew  him  to  the  robber,  "  To-day  shalt  thou  be  with  me 
to  be  a  thief,  yet  did  not  betray  him,  but  \  in  paradise."3  But  if  thou  livest  wickedly, 
rather  endured  him,  and  showed  us  an  exam-  thou  mayest  seem  to  have  Christ  now,  because 
pfe  of  patience  in  tolerating  the  wicked  in  the  thou  enterest  the  Church,  signest  thyself  with 
Church.  "  Then  said  Jesus  to  him:  Let  her!  the  sign  of  Christ,  art  baptized  with  the  bap- 
keep  it  against  the  day  of  my  burial."  '  He  tism  of  Christ,  minglest  thyself  with  the  mem- 
announced  that  His  own  death  was  at  hand,  bers  of  Christ,  and  approachest  His  altar: 
12.  But  what  follows?  "  Kor  the  poor  ye  j  now  thou  hast  Christ,  but  by  living  wickedly 
have  always  with  you,  but  me  ye  will  not  have  thou  wilt  not  have  Him  always, 
always."  We  can  certainly  understand,  "  the  i  13.  It  may  be  also  understood  in  this  way: 
poor  ye  have  always;"  what  He  has  thus  said  I  "  The  poor  ye  will  have  always  with  you,  but 
is  true.  When  were  the  poor  wanting  in  the  me  ye  will  not  have  always."  The  good  may 
Church?  "  But  me  ye  will  not  have  always;"  j  take  it  also  as  addressed  to  themselves,  but 
what  does  He  mean  by  this  ?  How  are  we  not  so  as  to  be  any  source  of  anxiety;  for  He 
to  understand,  "  Me  ye  will  not  have  always  "?  j  was  speaking  of  His  bodily  presence.  For 
Don't  be  alarmed:  it  was  addressed  to  Judas,  i  in  respect  of  His  majesty,  His  providence, 
Why,  then,  did  He  not  say,  thou  wilt  have,  His  ineffable  and  invisible  grace,  His  own 
but,  ye  will  hare  ?  Because  Judas  is  not  here  [  words  are  fulfilled,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  al- 
a  unit.  One  wicked  man  represents  the  whole  j  way,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world."4  But  in 
body  of  the  wicked;  in  the  same  way  as  Peter,  I  respect  of  the  flesh  He  assumed  as  the  Word, 
the  whole  body  of  the  good,  yea,  the  body  of  in  respect  of  that  which  He  was  as  the  son  of 
the  Church,  but  in  respect  to  the  good.  For  I  the  Virgin,  of  that  wherein  He  was  seized  by 
if  in  Peter's  case  there  were  no  sacramental  \  the  Jews,  nailed  to  the  tree,  let  down  from  the 
symbol  of  the  Church,  the  Lord  would  not  cross,  enveloped  in  a  shroud,  laid  in  the  sep- 
have  said  to  him,  "  I  will  give  unto  thee  the  \  ulchre,  and  manifested  in  His  resurrection, 
keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven:  whatsoever  j  "  ye  will  not  have  Him  always."  And  why? 
thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in  Because  in  respect  of  His  bodily  presence 
heaven;  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  on  He  associated  for  forty  days  with  His  disci- 
earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven."2  If  this  |  pies,  and  then,  having  brought  them  forth 
was  said  only  to  Peter,  it  gives  no  ground  of  for  the  purpose  of  beholding  and  not  of  fol- 
action  to  the  Church.  But  if  such  is  the  case)  lowing  Hire,  He  ascended  into  heaven,5  and 
also  in  the  Church,  that  what  is  bound  on  j  is  no  longer  here.  He  is  there,  indeed,  sitting 
earth  is  bound  in  heaven,  and  what  is  loosed  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father;  and  He  is 
on  earth  is  loosed  in  heaven, — for  when  the  |  here  also,  having  never  withdrawn  the  pres- 
Church  excommunicates,  the  excommunicated  ence  of  His  glory.  In  other  words,  in  re- 


person  is  bound  in  heaven;  when  one  is  re- 


1  Aujjustin's  words,  sinite  illaitt, 
sfret  il/na,  as  rendered  above,  diffe 
our  English  version,  and  are  mor 

with    by  far  the    larger    number  of    (Ireek 
re_ad,  "A«J>«  avTr>v  iva  «i«  Trji-  rjucpav  Tou  ivra.^>ia<Tnov 
aiiro.     Our    Knx'ii*h   version,  "  Let    her  alone.  :ii;.iiiisl  the  day  of 
my  buryini;  hath  she  kept  this."  is  taken   from  MSS.  which  omit 
IKO,  and  have  Ttrrip^ntv  instead  of  T7)pij«rjj.— Tk. 

»  Matt.  xvi.  i,y. 


spect  of  His  divine  presence  we  always  have 


Christ;  in  respect  of  His  presence  in  the  flesh 
it  was  rightly  said  to  the  disciples,  "  Me  ye 
In  this  respect  the 

hich   Church  enjoyed  His  presence  only  for  a  few 
days:  now  it  possesses  Him  by  faith,  without 


iderably  from  those  ,,f     w\\\    not    |iave    .-,lu-ays.  " 
difficult  to  understand;    but  '    _  .  J. 


3  Luke  xxiii.  43. 


A,  i-  i.  3,  9,  10. 


1  K  \(    I   Ml-      1.1. j 


ON  -nil-;  GOSPEL  OF  BT.  JOHN. 


seeing  Him  with  the  eyes.  In  whichever 
way,  then,  it  was  said,  "  Hut  me  ye  will  not 
have  always,"  it  can  no  longer,  I  suppose, 
alter  this  twofold  solution,  remain  as  a  sub- 
ject  of  doubt. 

14.  Let  us  listen  to  the  other  few  points 
that  remain:  "  Much  people  of  the  Jews 
therefore  knew  that  He  was  there:  and  they 
came  not  for  Jesus'  sake  only,  but  that  they 
might  see  Lazarus,  whom  He  had  raised  from 
the  dead."  They  were  drawn  by  curiosity, 
not  by  charity:  they  came  and  saw.  Hearken 
to  the  strange  scheming  of  human  vanity. 
Having  seen  Lazarus  as  one  raised  from  the 
dead, — for  the  fame  of  such  a  miracle  of  the 
Lord's  had  been  accompanied  everywhere 
with  so  much  evidence  of  its  genuineness,  and 


it  had  been  so  openly  performed,  that  they 
could  neither  conceal  nor  deny  what  had  been 
done, — only  think  of  the  plan  they  hit  u|>on. 
"  Hut  the  chief  priests  consulted  that  they 
might  put  Lazarus  also  to  death;  because  that 
by  reason  of  him  many  of  the  Jews  went 
away,  and  believed  on  Jesus."  O  foolish 
consultation  and  blinded  rage  !  Could  not 
Christ  the  Lord,  who  was  able  to  raise  the 
dead,  raise  also  the  slain  ?  When  you  were 
preparing  a  violent  death  for  Lazarus,  were 
you  at  the  same  time  denuding  the  Lord  of 
His  power?  If  you  think  a  dead  man  one 
thing,  a  murdered  man  another,  look  you 
only  to  this,  that  the  Lord  made  both,  and 
raised  Lazarus  to  life  when  dead,  and  Him 
self  when  slain. 


TRACTATE    LI. 

CHAPTER   XII.  12-26. 


1.  AFTER  our  Lord's  raising  of  one  to  life, 
who  had  been  four  days  dead,  to  the  utter 
amazement  of  the  Jews,some  of  whom  believed 
on  seeing  it,  and  others  perished  in  their  envy, 
because  of  that  sweet  savor  which  is  unto  life 
to  some,  and  to  others  unto  death;1  after  He 
had  sat  down  to  meat  with  Lazarus — the  one 
who  had  been  dead  and  raised  to  life — reclin 
ing- also  at  table,  and  after  the  pouring  on  His 
feet  of  the  ointment  which  had  filled  the  house 
with  its  odor;    and  after  the  Jews  also   had 
shown  their  own  spiritual  abandonment  in  con 
ceiving  the  useless  cruelty  and  the  monstrous 
ly  foolish  and  insane  guilt  of  slaying  Lazarus; 
— of  all  which  we  have  spoken  as  we  could, 
by  the  grace  of  the  Lord,    in   previous  dis 
courses:    let   your   Charity  now   notice   how 
abundant  before  our  Lord's  passion  was  the 
fruit  that  appeared  of  His  preaching,  and  how 
large  was  the  flock  of  lost  sheep  of  the  house 
of    Israel  which    had  heard    the    Shepherd's 
voice. 

2.  For  the  Gospel,  the  reading  of  which 
you  have  just  been  listening  to,  says:  "  0" 
the  next  day  much  people  that  were  come  to 
the   feast,   when   they   heard   that   Jesus  was 
coming  to  Jerusalem,  took  branches  of  palm 
trees  and  went  forth  to  meet  Him,  and  cried, 
Hosanna:  blessed   is  He  that  cometh  in  the 
name  of  the   Lord  as  the   King  of   Israel." 
The  branches  of  palm  trees  are  laudatory  em 


blems,  significant  of  victor}',  because  the  Lord 
was  about  to  overcome  death  by  dying,  and 
by  the  trophy  of  His  cross  to  triumph  over 
the  devil,  the  prince  of  death.  The  exclama 
tion  used  by  the  worshipping"  people  is  Ho 
sanna,  indicating,  as  some  who  know  the  He 
brew  language  affirm,  rather  a  state  of  mind 
than  having  any  positive  significance;3  just  as 
in  our  own  tongue 4  we  have  what  are  called 
interjections,  as  when  in  our  grief  we  say, 
Alas!  or  in  our  joy,  Ha!  or  in  our  admiration, 
O  how  fine!  where  O!  expresses  only  the  feel 
ing  of  the  admirer.  Of  the  same  class  must 
we  believe  this  word  to  be,  as  it  has  failed  to 
find  an  interpretation  both  in  Greek  and  Latin, 
like  that  other,  "  Whosoever  shall  say  to  his 
brother,  Raca."  5  For  this  also  is  allowed  to 
be  an  interjection,  expressive  of  angry  feel 
ings. 

3.  But  when  it  is  said,  "  Blessed  is  He  that 
cometh   in  the  name  of  the   Lord,  [as]  the 


1  3  Cor.  ii    15. 


2  Obiecrantit,  literally  tiiffliiint,   which   is  scarcely   suitable 
to  the  context. 

3  The    "some"  here  referred  to  by  Auvrustin  could  scarcely 
have  had  a  very  extensive  knowledge  of  the  Hebrew  i.u  . 

the  word  //manna,  though  left  untr.mslau-d,  as  a  well-known  ex- 
i  1. tin.it ion  of  the  lews  in  their  religious  service-.,  is  p.irt  of  the  same 
quotation  from  Psalm  cxviii.  (see  vers.  25,  2^>>  with  the  word*  that 
follow  in  the  text.  The  sacred  writers  gave  the  nearest  equivalent 
in  llnek  1,-tters  (Wo»W,  Hosamia)  of  the  Hebrew  tf;  .-,;•• '.I' '  ~ 
Save  nowl-TR. 

4  In  text,  in  litt&ta  latinn. 

N~-  N-'-       •  -"      -,*r»  was. 

an  insulting  epithet  of  common  us.-  from  an  early  prruxl  among 
the  Kabyli.ini.ins,  ami  in  our  Lord's  day  amonx  the  inh.i 

I'.ile-tine.   It  exactly  answers  to  our  f,/i\'t,  or  numskull, 
and  is  of  frequent  occurrence  afterwards  in  the  same  sense  in  rab- 
rritingi     'I'   . 


2S4 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUST1N 


1  1  K.UMATE    LI. 


King  of  Israel,"  by  "in  the  name  of  the 
Lord"  we  are  rather  to  understand  "in  the 
name  of  God  the  Father,"  although  it  might 
also  be  understood  as  ///  His  own  name,  inas 
much  as  He  is  also  Himself  the  Lord.  As 
we  find  Scripture  also  saying  in  another  place, 
"  The  Lord  rained  [upon  Sodom  fire]  from 
the  Lord."1  But  His  own  words  are  a  better 
guide  to  our  understanding,  when  He  saith, 
"  I  am  come  in  my  Father's  name,  and  ye 
receive  me  not:  another  will  come  in  his  own 
name,  and  him  ye  will  receive."2  For  the 
true  teacher  of  humility  is  Christ,  who  hum 
bled  Himself,  and  became  obedient  unto 
death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross.3  But  He 
does  not  lose  His  divinity  in  teaching  us  hu 
mility;  in  the  one  He  is  the  Father's  equal, 
in  the  other  He  is  assimilated  to  us.  By  that 
which  made  Him  the  equal  of  the  Father,  He 
called  us  into  existence;  and  by  that  in 
which  He  is  like  unto  us,  He  redeemed  us 
from  ruin. 

4.  These,  then,  were  the  words  of  praise 
addressed  to  Jesus  by  the  multitude,  "Ho- 
sanna:  blessed  is  He  that  cometh  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord,  the  King  of  Israel."     What  a 
cross  of   mental   suffering   must   the   Jewish 
rulers  have  endured  when  they  heard  so  great 
a  multitude  proclaiming  Christ  as  their  King! 
But  what  honor  was  it  to  the  Lord  to  be  King 
of  Israel  ?     What  great  thing  was   it  to  the 
King  of  eternity  to  become  the  King  of  men  ? 
For  Christ's  kingship  over  Israel  was  not  for 
the  purpose  of  exacting  tribute,   of   putting 
swords  into  His  soldiers'  hands,  of  subduing 
His  enemies  by  open  warfare;  but  He  was 
King  of  Israel  in  exercising  kingly  authority 
over  their  inward  natures,  in  consulting  for 
their  eternal  interests,  in  bringing  into  His 
heavenly   kingdom   those    whose   faith,    and 
hope,  and  love  were  centred  in  Himself.     Ac 
cordingly,  for  the  Son  of  God,  the  Father's 
equal,   the  Word   by  whom  all  things  were 
made,   in  His  good  pleasure  to  be  King  of 
Israel,  was  an  act  of  condescension  and  not 
of   promotion;  a  token   of   compassion,  and 
not  any  increase  of  power.     For  He  who  was 
called  on  earth  the  King  of  the  Jews,  is  in 
the  heavens  the  Lord  of  angels. 

5.  "And  Jesus,   when    He  had    found  a 
young  ass,  sat  thereon."     Here  the  account 
is  briefly  given:  for  how  it  all  happened  may 
be  found  at  full  length  in  the  other  evangel 
ists.4     But  there  is  appended  to  the  circum 
stance  itself  a  testimony  from  the  prophets, 
to  make  it  evident  that  He  in  whom  was  ful 
filled  all  they  read  in  Scripture,  was  entirely 
misunderstood  by   the  evil-minded  rulers  of 


»  Gen.  xix.  24.  *  Chap.  v.  41.  3  Phil. 

4  Matt.  xxi.  1-16;  Mark  xi.  i-n  ;   Luke  xix.  29-48. 


the  Jews.  Jesus,  then,  "  found  a  young  ass, 
and  sat  thereon;  as  it  is  written,  Fear  not, 
daughter  of  Zion:  behold,  thy  King  cometh, 
sitting  on  an  ass's  colt."  Among  that  peo 
ple,  then,  was  the  daughter  of  Zion  to  be 
found;  for  Zion  is  the  same  as  Jerusalem. 
Among  that  very  people,  I  say,  reprobate 
and  blind  as  they  were,  was  the  daughter  of 
Zion,  to  whom  it  was  said,  "  Fear  not,  daugh 
ter  of  Zion:  behold,  thy  King  cometh,  sitting 
on  an  ass's  colt."  This  daughter  of  Zion, 
who  was  thus  divinely  addressed,  was  amongst 
those  sheep  that  were  hearing  the  Shepherd's 
voice,  and  in  that  multitude  which  was  cele 
brating  the  Lord's  coming  with  such  religious 
zeal,  and  accompanying  Him  in  such  warlike 
array.  To  her  was  it  said,  "  Fear  not:"  ac 
knowledge  Him  whom  thou  art  now  extolling, 
and  give  not  way  to  fear  when  He  comes  to 
suffering;  for  by  the  shedding  of  His  blood 
is  thy  guilt  to  be  blotted  out,  and  thy  life  re 
stored.  But  by  the  ass's  colt,  on  which  no 
man  had  ever  sat  (for  so  it  is  found  recorded 
in  the  other  evangelists),  we  are  to  understand 
the  Gentile  nations  which  had  not  received 
the  law  of  the  Lord;  by  the  ass,  on  the  other 
hand  (for  both  animals  were  brought  to  the 
Lord),  that  people  of  His  which  came  of  the 
nation  of  Israel,  and  was  already  so  far  sub 
dued  as  to  recognize  its  Master's  crib. 

6  "  These  things  understood  not  His  dis 
ciples  at  the  first;  but  when  Jesus  was  glori 
fied,"  that  is,  when  He  had  manifested  the 
power  of  His  resurrection,  "  then  remembered 
they  that  these  things  were  written  of  Him, 
and  they  had  done  these  things  unto  Him," 
that  is,  they  did  nothing  else  but  what  had 
been  written  concerning  Him.  In  short,  men 
tally  comparing  with  the  contents  of  Scripture 
what  was  accomplished  both  prior  to  and  in 
the  course  of  our  Lord's  passion,  they  found 
this  also  therein,  that  it  was  in  accordance 
with  the  utterance  of  the  prophets  that  He  sat 
on  an  ass's  colt. 

7.  "  The  people,  therefore,  that  was  with 
Him  when  He  called  Lazarus  out  of  his  tomb, 
and  raised  him  from  the  dead,  bare  record. 
For  this  cause  the  crowd  also  met  Him,  for 
that  they  heard  that  He  had  done  this  mir 
acle.     The  Pharisees,  therefore,  said  among 
themselves:  Perceive  ye  that  we  prevail  noth 
ing?     Behold,  the  whole  world  is  gone  after 
Him."     Mob  set  mob  in  motion.5     "  But  why 
art  thou,  blinded   mob  that  thou   art,    filled 
with  envy  because  the  world  has  gone  after 
its  Maker?" 

8.  "  And  there  were  certain  Gentiles  among 
them  that  had  come  up  to  worship  at  the  feast: 


I        5  Turfia  lurlwit  ttirhat 


i      LI.] 


ON  'I  HI;  GOSPEL  <>i    S  r.  JOHN. 


285 


the  same  came  I'M -n-l'mv  t<>   I'.iilip,  who  was  otherwise,  "  He  tiiat  loveth  his  life  shall  lose 

oi   Bethsaidaol  Galilee,  And  desired  him,  say-  it."      !><>   not  !<>%•<•   for  finr  of  losing;   love   it 

ing,  Sir,  we  wonid  see  Jesus.      Philip  cometh  not  here,  lest  thou    lose   it  in  eternity.      Hut 

and  telleth  Andrew:  and  again  Andrew  and  what  I  liave  said  last  seems  better  to  corn-s- 

1'hilip  tell  Jesus."       Let    us  hearken  to  the  pond   with   the   meaning  of  the  Gospel,    for 

Lord's  reply.     Sec  how  the  Jews  wish  to  kill  there  follow  the  words,  "And  he  that  hateth 

Him,  the  Gentiles  to  see  Hun;  and  yet  those,  his  life  in  this  world  shall  keep  it  unto  life 


too,  were  of  the  Jews  who  cried,  "  Blessed  is 
He  that  domain  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  the 


eternal."     So  that  when  it  is  said  in  the  pre 
vious  clause,  "  He  that  loveth,"  there  is  to  he 


King  of  Israel."  Here,  then,  were  they  of  understood  in  this  world,  he  it  is  that  shall 
the  circumcision  and  they  of  the  uncircumcis- j  lose  it.  "  But  he  that  hateth,"  that  is,  in 
ion,  like  two  house  walls  running  from  differ- 1  this  world,  is  he  that  shall  keep  it  unto  life 
ent  directions  and  meeting  together  with  the  eternal.  Surely  a  profound  and  strange  dec- 
kiss  of  peace,  in  the  one  faith  of  Christ.  Let  laration  as  to  the  measure  of  a  man's  love 
us  listen,  then,  to  the  voice  of  the  Corner-  for  his  own  life  that  leads  to  its  destruction, 
stone:  "  And  Jesus  answered  them,  saying,  j  and  of  his  hatred  to  it  that  secures  its  preser- 
The  hour  is  come  that  the  Son  of  man  should  vation  !  If  in  a  sinful  way  thou  lovest  it, 
be  glorified."  Perhaps  some  one  supposes  '  then  dost  thou  really  hate  it;  if  in  a  way  ac- 
here  that  He  spake  of  Himself  as  glorified,  cordant  with  what  is  good  thou  hast  hated  it, 
because  the  Gentiles  wished  to  see  Him.  then  hast  thou  really  loved  it.  Happy  they 
Such  is  not  the  case.  But  He  saw  the  Gen- '  who  have  so  hated  their  life  while  keeping  it, 
tiles  themselves  in  all  nations  coming  to  the  j  that  their  love  shall  not  cause  them  to  lose  it. 
faith  after  His  own  passion  and  resurrection,  |  But  beware  of  harboring  the  notion  that  thou 
because,  as  the  apostle  says,  "  Blindness  in  mayest  court  self-destruction  by  any  such  un- 
part  has  happened  to  Israel,  until  the  fullness  derstanding  of  thy  duty  to  hate  thy  life  in 
of  the  Gentiles  should  be  come  in.''1  Taking  this  world.  For  on  such  grounds  it  is  that 
occasion,  therefore,  from  those  Gentiles  who  certain  wrong-minded  and  perverted  people, 
desired  to  see  Him,  He  announces  the  future  who,  with  regard  to  themselves,  are  mur- 
fullness  of  the  Gentile  nations,  and  promises  '  derers  of  a  specially  cruel  and  impious  char- 
the  near  approach  of  the  hour  when  He  should  j  acter,  commit  themselves  to  the  flames,  suffo- 
be  glorified  Himself,  and  when,  on  its  con- 1  cate  themselves  in  water,  dash  themselves 
summation  in  heaven,  the  Gentile  nations '  against  a  precipice,  and  perish.  This  was  no 
should  be  brought  to  the  faith.  To  this  it  is  ,  teaching  of  Christ's,  who,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  the  prediction  pointed,  "  Be  Thou  ex-  met  the  devil's  suggestion  of  a  precipice  with 
alted,  O  God,  above  the  heavens,  and  Thy 
glory  above  all  the  earth."2  Such  is  the  full 


ness  of  the  Gentiles,  of  which  the  apostle 
saith,  "  Blindness  in  part  is  happened  to 
Israel,  till  the  fullness  of  the  Gentiles  come 
in." 

9.  But  the  height  of  His  glorification  had 


the  answer,  "  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan;  for 
it  is  written, "Thou  shall  not  tempt  the  Lord 


thy  God. "3  To  Peter  also  He  said,  signify 
ing  by  what  death  he  should  glorify  God, 
"When  thou  wast  young,thou  girdedst  thyself, 
I  and  walkedst  whither  thou  wouldest:  but  when 
thou  shalt  be  old,  another  shall  gird  thee, 


to  be  preceded  by  the  depth  of  His  passion,    and  carry  thee  whither  thou  wouldest  not;"4 
Accordingly,  He  went  on   to  add,  "  Verily,  j  where  He  made  it  sufficiently  plain  that  it  is 
verily,  I  say  unto  you,  except  a  grain  of  wheat  I  not  by  himself  but  by  another  that  one  must 


fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  it  abideth  alone; 
but  if  it  die,  it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit." 
But  He  spake  of  Himself.  He  Himself  was 
the  grain  that  had  to  die,  and  be  multiplied; 


be  slain  who  follows  in  the  footsteps  of  Christ. 
And  so,  when  one's  case  has  reached  the  crisis 
that  this  condition  is  placed  before  him,  either 
that  he  must  act  contrary  to  the  divine  corn- 


to   suffer   death  through  the  unbelief  of  the  j  mandment  or  quit  this  life,  and  that  a  man  is 


Jews,  and  to  be    multiplied    in  the  faith    of 
many  nations. 

10.  And  now,  by  way  of  exhortation  to  fol 
low  in  the  path  of  His  own  passion,  He  adds, 
"  He  that  loveth  his  life  shall  lose  it,"  which 
may  be  understood  in  two  ways:  "He  that 
loveth  shall  lose,"  that  is,  If  thou  lovest,  be 
ready  to  lose;  if  thou  wouldst  possess  life  in 
Christ,  be  not  afraid  of  death  for  Christ.  Or 


Rom.   xi.  25. 


I's.    .MM.    -. 


compelled  to  choose  one  or  other  of  the  two 
by  the  persecutor  who  is  threatening  him  with 
death,  in  such  circumstances  let  him  prefer 
dying  in  the  love  of  God  to  living  under  His 
anger,  in  sucli  circumstances  let  him  hate  his 
life  in  this  world  that  he  may  keep  it  unto  life 
eternal. 

ii.    "  If  any  man  serve  me.  let  him  follow 
me."     What  is  that,   "let  him  follow    me," 


4  Chap.  xxi.  18,  19. 


286 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  LI. 


but  just,  let  him  imitate  me?  "Because 
Christ  suffered  for  us,"  says  the  Apostle 
Peter,  "  leaving  us  an  example  that  we  should 
follow  His  steps."1  Here  you  have  the  mean 
ing  of  the  words,  "If  any  man  serve  me,  let 
him  follow  me."  But  with  what  result  ?  what 
wages?  what  reward  ?  "And  where  I  am," 
He  says,  "there  shall  also  my  servant  be." 
Let  Him  be  freely  loved,  that  so  the  reward 
of  the  service  done  Him  may  be  to  be  with 
Him.  For  where  will  one  be  well  apart  from 
Him,  or  when  will  one  come  to  feel  himself  in 
an  evil  case  in  company  with  Him  ?  Hear  it 
still  more  plainly:  "If  any  man  serve  me, 
him  will  my  Father  honor."  And  what  will 
be  the  honor  but  to  be  with  His  Son  ?  For 
of  what  He  said  before,  "  Where  I  am,  there 
shall  also  my  servant  be,"  we  may  under 
stand  Him  as  giving  the  explanation,  when 
He  says  here,  "  him  will  my  Father. honor." 
For  what  greater  honor  can  await  an  adopted 
son  than  to  be  with  the  Only-begotten;  not, 
indeed,  as  raised  to  the  level  of  His  God 
head,  but  made  a  partaker  of  His  eternity  ? 
12.  But  it  becomes  us  rather  to  inquire 
what  is  to  be  understood  by  this  serving  of 
Christ  to  which  there  is  attached  so  great  a 
reward.  For  if  we  have  taken  up  the  idea 
that  the  serving  of  Christ  is  the  preparation 
of  what  is  needful  for  the  body,  or  the  cook 
ing  and  serving  up  of  food,  or  the  mixing  of 
drink  and  handing  the  cup  to  one  at  the  sup 
per  table;  this,  indeed,  was  done  to  Him  by 
those  who  had  the  privilege  of  His  bodily 
presence,  as  in  the  case  of  Martha  and  Mary, 

when  Lazarus  also  was  .one  of  those  who  sat  I  certainly  it  was  in  reference  to  such  a  work 
at  the  table.  But  in  that  sort  of  way  Christ  that  He  was  also  ^leased  to  make  and  to  style 
was  served  also  by  the  reprobate  Judas;  for  Himself  a  servant,  when  He  says,  "  Even  as 


implies,  and  not  rather  see  its  disclosure  in 
the  words  themselves  ?  for  when  He  said,  "  If 
any  man  serve  me,  let  him  follow  me,"  He 
wished  it  to  be  understood  just  as  if  He  had 
said,  If  any  man  doth  not  follow  me,  he  serv- 
eth  me  not.  And  those,  therefore,  are  the 
servants  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  seek  not  their 
own  things,  but  the  things  that  are  Jesus 
Christ's.4  For  "let  him  follow  me"  is  just 
this:  Let  him  walk  in  my  ways,  and  not  in 
his  own;  as  it  is1  written  elsewhere,  "  He  that 
saith  he  abideth  in  Christ,  ought  himself  also 
so  to  walk,  even  as  He  walked."5  For  he 
ought,  if  supplying  food  to  the  hungry,  to  do 
it  in  the  way  of  mercy  and  not  of  boasting, 
seeking  therein  nothing  else  but  the  doing  of 
good,  and  not  letting  his  left  hand  know  what 
his  right  hand  doeth;6  in  other  words,  that 
all  thought  of  self-seeking  should  be  utterly 
estranged  from  a  work  of  charity.  He  that 
serveth  in  this  way  serveth  Christ,  and  will 
have  it  rightly  said  to  him,  "  Inasmuch  as  ye 
did  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  those  who  are 
mine,  ye  did  it  unto  me."7  And  thus  doing 
not  only  those  acts  of  mercy  that  pertain  to 
the  body,  but  every  good  work,  for  the  sake 
of  Christ  (for  then  will  all  be  good,  because 
"  Christ  is  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteous 
ness  to  every  one  that  believeth  " 8),  he  is 
Christ's  servant  even  to  that  work  of  special 
love,  which  is  to  lay  down  his  life  for  the 
brethren,  for  that  were  to  lay  it  down  also  for 
Christ.  For  this  also  will  He  say  hereafter 
in  behalf  of  His  members:  Inasmuch  as  ye 
did  it  for  these,  ye  have  done  it  for  me.  And 


it  was  he  also  who  had  the  money  bag;  and 
although  he  had  the  exceeding  wickedness  to 
steal  of  its  contents,  yet  it  was  he  also  who 


provided    what   was 
And   so  also,   when 


needful    for   the  meal.2 
our  Lord   said  to  him, 


"What  thou  doest,  do  quickly,"  there  were 
some  who  thought  that  He  only  gave  him  or 
ders  to  make  some  needful  preparations  for 
the  feast-day,  or  to  give  something  to  the 
poor.3  In  no  sense,  therefore,  was  it  of  this 
class  of  servants  that  the  Lord  said,  "  Where 
I  am,  there  shall  also  my  servant  be,"  and 
*'  If  any  man  serve  me,  him  will  my  Father 
honor;"  for  we  see  that  Judas,  who  served  in 


this  way,  became  an 
rather  than  of  honor, 
where  to  find  out  what  this  serving  of  Christ 


the  Son  of  man  came  not  to  be  ministered 
unto  [served],  but  to  minister  [serve],  and  to 
lay  down  His  life  for  many."9  Every  one, 
therefore,  is  the  servant  of  Christ  in  the  same 
way  as  Christ  also  is  a  servant.  And  he  that 
serveth  Christ  in  this  way  will  be  honored  by 
His  Father  with  the  signal  honor  of  being  with 
His  Son,  and  having  nothing  wanting  to  his 
happiness  for  ever. 

13.  Accordingly,  brethren,  when  you  hear 
the  Lord  saying,  "  Where  I  am,  there  shall 
also  my  servant  be,"  do  not  think  merely  of 
good  bishops  and  clergymen.  But  be  your 
selves  also  in  your  own  way  serving  Christ, 


object   of  reprobation  '  by  good  lives,  by  giving  alms,  by  preaching 


Why,  then,  go  else- 


.  Pet.ii.  21. 

3  Chap.  xii.  2-6.  There  is  no  ground  in  these  verses  for  AUKUS- 
•  of  that  su 


tin's  notion  that  the  expense 


ip;>er  was  defray; 


the  funds  in  Judas'   keeping.     The  whole  account   l<-.r, 
iii.it  it  w.is  provided  by  I.a/um^  ami  iii^  sist.-r-. 
striitly  speaking,  iiroirioav  (ver.  2)  leaves  it  undetermined.— TK. 
3  Chap.  xiii.  27,  29. 


His  name  and  doctrine  as  you  can;  and  every 
father  of  a  family  also,  be  acknowledging  in 
this  name  the  affection  he  owes  as  a  parent 
to  his  family.  For  Christ's  sake,  and  for  the 
sake  of  life  eternal,  let  him  be  warning,  and 


4   Phil.   ii.  21. 

7  Matt.  xxv.  40. 


5  i  John  ii.  6. 
*  Rom.  x.  4. 


6  Matt.  vi.  3. 
9  Matt.  xx.  28. 


.1    I. II. I 


TIM-:  GOSPEL  ()!••  ST.  JOHN. 


287 


teaching,  and  exhorting,  and  correcting  all  hit  I  neither  bishops  nor  clergy,  hut  young  men 

household;   let    him   show  kindliness,  and   e\-    and    virgins,    those    advanced    in    years    with 
ercise  discipline;  and   so  in   his  own  house  he    those   who  were   not,   many   married    person-, 


will  l>e  filling  an  ecclesiastical  and  kind  of 
episcopal  office,  and  serving  Christ,  that  he 
may  be  with  Him  for  ever.  For  even  that 
noblest  service  of  suffering  has  been  rendered 
by  many  of  your  class;  for  many  who  were 


both  male  and  female,  many  fathers  and 
mothers  of  families,  have  served  Christ  even 
to  the  laying  down  of  their  lives  in  martyrdom 
for  His  sake,  and  have  been  honored  by  the 
Father  in  receiving  crowns  of  exceeding  glory. 


TRACTATE  LII. 

CHAPTKR  XII.  27-36. 


1.  AFTER  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  words 
of  yesterday's  lesson,  had  exhorted  His  serv 
ants  to  follow  Him,  and  had  predicted  His 
own  passion  in  this  way,  that  unless  a  corn 
of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  it  abid- 
eth  alone;  but  if  it  die,  it  bring 2th  forth  much 
fruit;  and  also  had  stirred  up  those  who  wished 
to  follow  Him  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  to 
hate  their  life  in  this  world  if  their  thought 
was  to  keep  it  unto  life  eternal, — He  again 
toned  down  His  own  feelings  to  our  infirm 
ity  and   says,   where  our  lesson  to-day  com 
menced,    "Now    is     my    soul1     troubled." 
Whence,  Lord,  was  Thy  soul  troubled  ?     He 
had,   indeed,  said  a  little  before,  "  He  that 
hateth  his  life  [soul]  in  this  world  shall  keep 
it  unto  life  eternal."     Dost  thou  then  love 
thy  life  in  this  world,  and  is  thy  soul  troubled 
as  the  hour  approacheth  when  thou  shalt  leave 
this  world  ?     Who  would  dare  affirm  this  of 
the  soul  [life]  of  the  Lord  ?     We  rather  it  was 
whom  He  transferred  unto  Himself;  He  took 
us  into  His  own  person  as  our  Head,  and  as 
sumed  the  feelings  of  His  members;  and  so 
it  was  not  by  any  others  He  was  troubled,  but, 
as  was  said  of  Him  when  He  raised  Lazarus, 
"  He  was  troubled  in  Himself."2     For  it  be 
hoved   the  one   Mediator  between   God  and 
men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  just  as  He  has 
lifted  us  up  to  the  heights  of  heaven,  to  de 
scend  with  us  also  into  the  lowest  depths  of 
suffering. 

2.  I  hear  Him  saying  a  little  before,  "  The 


'  The  wore!  antm.i  used  here,  and  frequently  elsewhere,  and 
«  onv-puniliiii:  tn  tin-  C.n-rk  >liv\i,  d>-n«ies  ••  hiiin.iti  lit.-,"  in  refer 
ence  to  its  internal  principle  or  -.uli-.tam  e  ;  .uul  dilli-r-;  ti»ni  "  \it.i  " 
(dr.  <,'u»i).  a*  in  thi-  wonK  following  aliovr,  "unto  rti-rnal  life" 
(-•it,i»t),  whirh  exprMMf  i.ithi-r  the  Keneral  idea  of  life  in  its  ex 
istence,  agKre<ate  qualities,  and  duration.  <  >ur  Kn.v;lish  word 
'••"ml,"  whirh  hi -t  correspond*  with  ,inirrt,i,  is,  howcvi-r,  morr 
restricted  in  the  idea  which  it  popularly  suggests;  and  hence,  as 
in  our  Knulish  version  of  tin-  Scriptures,  the  apparent  confusion, 
\vhu-h  is  unavoidable,  in  translating  anintti  sometimes  by 


jul"  and  sometimes  by  "  life." — T 
;;:  literally,  as  in  mai 
troubled  "Himself." 


'  Chap.  xi. 


gin  of  English  Bible,  "  He 


|  hour  cometh  that  the  Son  of  man  should  be 
glorified:  if  a  corn  of  wheat  die,  it  bringeth 
forth  much  fruit."  I  hear  this  also,  "  He 
thaj  hateth  his  life  in  this  world  shall  keep  it 
unto  life  eternal."  Nor  am  I  permitted 
merely  to  admire,  but  commanded  to  imitate, 
and  so,  by  the  words  that  follow,  "  If  any 
man  serve  me,  let  him  follow  me;  and  where 
I  am,  there  shall  also  my  servant  be,"  I  am 
all  on  fire  to  despise  the  world,  and  in  my 
sight  the  whole  of  this  life,  however  length 
ened,  becomes  only  a  vapor;  in  comparison 
with  my  love  for  eternal  things,  all  that  is 
temporal  has  lost  its  value  with  me.  And 
now,  again,  it  is  my  Lord  Himself,  who  by 
such  words  has  suddenly  transported  me  from 
the  weakness  that  was  mine  to  the  strength 
that  was  His,  that  I  hear  saying,  "  Now  is 
my  soul  troubled."  What  does  it  mean  ? 
How  biddest  Thou  my  soul  follow  Thee  if  I 
behold  Thine  own  troubled  ?  How  shall  I  en 
dure  what  is  felt  to  be  heavy  by  strength  so 
great?  What  is  the  kind  of  foundation  I  can 
seek  if  the  Rock  is  giving  way  ?  But  me- 
thinks  I  hear  in  my  own  thoughts  the  Lord 
giving  me  an  answer,  saying,  Thou  shalt  fol 
low  me  the  better,  because  it  is  to  aid  thy 
power  of  endurance  that  I  thus  interpose. 
Thou  hast  heard,  as  addressed  to  thyself,  the 
voice  of  my  fortitude;  hear  in  me  the  voice 
of  thy  infirmity:  I  supply  strength  for  thy  run 
ning,  and  I  check  not  thy  hastening,  but  I 
transfer  to  myself  thy  causes  for  trembling, 
and  I  pa*re  the  way  for  thy  marching  along. 
O  Lord  our  Mediator,  God  above  us,  man  for 
us,  I  own  Thy  mercy  !  For  because  Thou, 
who  art  so  great,  art  troubled  through  the 
good  will  of  Thy  love,  Thou  preservest,  by 
the  richness  of  Thy  comfort,  the  many  in 
Thy  body  who  are  troubled  by  the  continual 
experience  of  their  own  weakness,  from  per 
ishing  utterly  in  their  despair. 


288 


THK  WORKS  OK  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTAT,     III. 


3.  In  a  word,  let  the  man  who  would  fol 
low  learn  the  road  by  which  lie  must  travel. 
Perhaps  an  hour  of  terrible  trial  has  come, 
and  the  choice  is  set  before  thee  either  to  do 
iniquity  or  endure  suffering;  the  weak  soul  is 
troubled,  on  whose  behalf  the  invincible  soul 
[of  Jesus]  was  voluntarily  troubled;  set  then 
the  will  of  God  before  thine  own.  For  notice 
what  is  immediately  subjoined  by  thy  Creator 
and  thy  Master,  by  Him  who  made  thee,  and 
became  Himself  for  thy  teaching  that  which 
He  made;  for  He  who  made  man  was  made 
man,  but  He  remained  still  the  unchangeable 
God,  and  transplanted  manhood  into  a  better 
condition.  Listen,  then,  to  what  He  adds  to 
the  words,  "  Now  is  my  soul  troubled." 
"And  what  shall  I  say  ?  Father,  save  me  from 
this  hour:  but  for  this  cause  came  I  unto  this 
hour.  Father,  glorify  Thy  name."  He  has 
taught  thee  here  what  to  think  of,  what  to 
say,  on  whom  to  call,  in  whom  to  hope,  and 
whose  will,  as  sure  and  divine,  to  prefer  to 
thine  own,  which  is  human  and  weak.  Imag 
ine  Him  not,  therefore,  as  losing  aught  of  His 
own  exalted  position  in  wishing  thee  to  rise 
up  out  of  the  depths  of  thy  ruin.  For  He 
thought  it  meet  also  to  be  tempted  by  the 
devil,  by  whom  otherwise  He  would  never 
have  been  tempted,  just  as,  had  He  not  been 
willing,  He  would  never  have  suffered;  and 
the  answers  He  gave  to  the  devil  are  such  as 
thou  also  oughtest  to  use  in  times  of  tempta 
tion.1  And  He,  indeed,  was  tempted,  but 
not  endangered,  that  He  might  show  thee, 
when  in  danger  through  temptation,  how  to 
answer  the  tempter,  so  as  not  to  be  carried 
away  by  the  temptation,  but  to  escape  its 
danger.  But  when  He  here  said,  "  Now  is 
my  soul  troubled;"  and  also  when  He  says, 
"My  soul  is  sorrowful,  even  unto  death;" 
and  "  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup 
pass  from  me;  "  He  assumed  the  infirmity  of 
man,  to  teach  him,  when  thereby  saddened 
and  troubled,  to  say  what  follows:  "  Never 
theless,  Father,  not  as  I  will,  but  as  Thou 
wilt."2  For  thus  it  is  that  man  is  turned 
from  the  human  to  the  divine,  when  the  will 
of  God  is  preferred  to  his  own.  But  to  what 
do  the  words  "  Glorify  Thy  name  "  refer,  but 
to  His  own  passion  and  resurrection  ?  For 
what  else  can  it  mean,  but  that  the  Father 
should  thus  glorify  the  Son,  who  in  like  man 
ner  glorifieth  His  own  name  in  the  similar 
sufferings  of  His  servants?  Hence  it  is  re 
corded  of  Peter,  that  for  this  cause  He  said 
concerning  him,  "Another  shall  gird  thee, 
and  carry  thee  whither  thou  wouklest  not."  be 
cause  He  intended  to  signify  "  by  what  death 


he  should  glorify  God."'  Therefore  in  him, 
too,  did  God  glorify  His  name,  because  thus 
also  does  He  glorify  Christ  in  His  members. 

4.  "  Then  came  there  a  voice  from  heaven, 
[saying],   I  have    both    glorified    it,  and   will 
glorify  it  again."     "  I  have  both  glorified  it," 
before  I  created  the  world,  "  and  I  will  glorify 
it  again,"  when  He  shall  rise  from  the  dead 
and   ascend    into   heaven.     It   may   also   be 
otherwise  understood.     "  I   have  both  glori 
fied  it,"— when  He  was  born  of  the  Virgin, 
when  He  exercised  miraculous  powers;  when 
the  Magi,  guided  by  a  star  in  the  heavens, 
bowed  in  adoration  before  Him;  when  He  was 
recognized    by    saints    filled    with   the    Holy 
Spirit;  when   He  was  openly  proclaimed  by 
the  descent  of  the   Spirit  in  the   form  of  a 
dove,    and    pointed    out    by   the   voice    that 
sounded  from  heaven;  when  He  was  transfig 
ured  on  the  mount;  when  He  wrought  many 
miracles,  cured  and  cleansed  multitudes,  fed 
so  vast  a  number  with  a  very  few  loaves,  com 
manded  the  winds  and  the  waves,  and  raised 
the   dead; — "and   I   will   glorify   it   again;" 
when    He   shall   rise    from    the   dead;   when 
death   shall    have   no  longer   dominion    over 
Him;  and  when  He  shall  be  exalted  over  the 
heavens  as  God,  and  His  glory  over  all  the 
earth. 

5.  "  The  people  therefore  that  stood  by, 
and  heard  it,  said  that  it  thundered:   others 
said,   An   angel    spake    to    Him.     Jesus   an 
swered  and  said,  This  voice  came  not  because 
of   me,  but    for   your    sakes."     He   thereby 
showed  that  the  voice  made  no  intimation  to 
Him  of  what  He  already  knew,  but  to  those 
who   needed   the   information.     And   just  as 
that  voice  was  uttered  by  God,  not  on  His 
account,  but  on  that  of  others,  so  His  soul 
was  troubled,  not  on  His  own  account,  but 
voluntarily  for  the  sake  of  others. 

6.  Look  at  what  follows:   "  Now,"  He  says, 
"is    the     judgment   of   the   world."     What, 
then,  are  we  to  expect  at  the  end  of  time  ? 
But  the  judgment  that  is  looked  for  in  the 
end  will  be  the  judging  of  the  living  and  the 
dead,   the  awarding  of  eternal  rewards   and 
punishment.     Of  what  sort,  then,  is  the  judg 
ment  now  ?     I   have  already,   in   former  les 
sons,  as  far  as  I  could,  put  you  in  mind,  be 
loved,  that  there  is  a  judgment   spoken  of, 
not  of  condemnation,  but  of  discrimination;4 
as    it    is  written,  "  Judge    me,  O    God,   and 
plead      [discern,     discriminate]      my     cause 
against  an  unholy  nation."  s     And  many  are 
the  judgments  of  God;  as  it  is   said  in  the 
psalm,  "  Thy  judgments  are  a  great  deep."  6 


i  Chap.  xxi.  18,  19. 

4  Or,  discernment,  Jisc retio ;  see  Tract.  XT,TTT.  sec.  9. 

r  IV  .\liii.  i.  •  wvi  • . 


Tkv  i  \    i    I  1 1.  ] 


ON     INK  C.OSI'KI.  OK   ST.    JOHN. 


2S9 


And   the  apostle  also  says,  "  O  the  ti 
the   riches  of  the  wisdom  and  the   knowledge 


God  ' 
ments 


how  unsearchable  are   His 

To    such     judgment!    does 


that 


spoken  of  here  by  the  Lord  also  belong, 
44  Now  is  the  judgment  of  this  world;  "  while 
that  judgment  in  the  end  is  reserved,  when 


what  is   now  being  done,  and   not  wha: 

be,  so  long  afterwards,  at  the  last  day.     The 

Lord,  therefore,  foretold  what  He  knc 

alter  His  own  passion  and  glorification,  many 

nations  throughout  the  whole  world,  in 

hearts  the  devil  was  an  inmate,  would  become 

believers,  and  the  devil,  when  thus  renounced 


the    living   and     the    dead    shall     at    last   be   by  faith,  is  cast  out. 

judged.  The  devil,  therefore,  had  posses-  8.  But  some  one  says,  Was  he  then  not 
sion  of  the  human  race,  and  held  them  by  the  cast  out  of  the  hearts  of  the  patriarchs  and 
written  bond  of  their  sins  as  criminals  ame-  j  prophets,  and  the  righteous  of  olden  time? 
nable  to  punishment;  he  ruled  in  the  hearts  of  Certainly  he  was.  How,  then,  is  it  said, 
unbelievers,  and,  deceiving  and  enslaving  |  "  Now  he  shall  be  cast  out"  ?  How  else  can 
them,  seduced  them  to  forsake  the  Creator  j  we  think  of  it,  but  that  what  was  then  done 
and  give  worship  to  the  creature;  but  by  faith  '  in  the  case  of  a  very  few  individuals,  was 
in  Christ,  which  was  confirmed  by  His  death  now  foretold  as  speedily  to  take  place  in 
and  resurrection,  and,  by  His  blood,  which  many  and  mighty  nations  ?  Just  as  also  that 
was  shed  for  the  remission  of  sins,  thousands  j  other  saying,  <4  For  the  Spirit  was  not  yet 
of  believers  are  delivered  from  the  dominion  given,  because  that  Jesus  was  not  yet  glori- 
of  the  devil,  are  united  to  the  body  of  Christ,  |  fied,"  3  may  suggest  a  similar  inquiry,  and 
and  under  this  great  head  are  made  by  His  find  a  similar  solution.  For  it  was  not  with- 


one  Spirit  to  spring  up  into  new  life  as  His 
faithful  members.  This  it  was  that  He  called 
the  judgment,  this  righteous  separation,  this 


out  the  Holy  Spirit  that  the  prophets  pre 
dicted  the  events  of  the  future;  nor  was  it  so 
that  the  aged  Simeon  and  the  widowed  Anna 


expulsion   of    the   devil    from    His   own    re-    knew  by  the   Holy  Spirit  the  infant  Lord;3 
deemed.  and  that  Zacharias  and  Elisabeth  uttered  by 

7.  Attend,  in  short,  to  His  own  words,  the  Holy  Spirit  so  many  predictions  concern- 
For  just  as  if  we  had  been  inquiring  what  He  j  ing  Him,  when  He  was  not  yet  born,  but  only 
meant  by  saying,  "  Now  is  the  judgment  of  \  conceived.4  But  "the  Spirit  was  not  yet 
the  world,"  He  proceeded  to  explain  it  when  given;  '  that  is,  with  that  abundance  of  spirit- 


He  says,  "  Now  shall  the  prince  of  this  world 
be  cast  out."  What  we  have  thus  heard  was 
the  kind  of  judgment  He  meant.  Not  that 


one,  therefore,  which  is  yet  to  come  in 
end,    when    the    living   and    dead     shall 


the 


ual  grace  which  enabled  those  assembled  to 
gether  to  speak  in  every  language,5  and  thus 
announce  beforehand  in  the  language  of  every 
nation  the  Church  of  the  future:  and  so  by 


judged,  some  of  them  set  apart  on  His  right 
hand,  and  the  others  on  His  left;  but  that 
judgment  by  which  "  the  prince  of  this  world 
shall  be  cast  out."  In  what  sense,  then,  was 
he  within,  and  whither  did  He  mean  that  he 
was  to  be  cast  out?  Was  it  this:  That  he 
was  in  the  world,  and  was  cast  forth  beyond 
its  boundaries?  For  had  He  been  speaking 


be  I  this  spiritual  grace  it  was  that  nations  were 


gathered  into  congregations,  sins  were  par 
doned  far  and  wide,  and  thousands  of  thou 
sands  were  reconciled  unto  God. 

9.  But  then,  says  some  one,  since  the 
devil  is  thus  cast  out  of  the  hearts  of  be 
lievers,  does  he  now  tempt  none  of  the  faith 
ful  ?  Nay,  verily,  he  does  not  cease  to  tempt. 
But  it  is  one  thing  to  reign  within,  another  to 


of  that  judgment  which  is  yet  to  come  in  the  assail  from  without;  for  in  like  manner  the 
end,  some  one's  thoughts  might  have  turned  best  fortified  city  is  sometimes  attacked  by 
to  that  eternal  fire  into  which  the  devil  is  to  an  enemy  without  being  taken.  And  if  some 
be  cast  with  his  angels,  and  all  who  belong  to  of  his  arrows  are  discharged,  and  reach  us, 
him; — that  is,  not  naturally,  but  through  the  apostle  reminds  us  how  to  render  them 
moral  delinquency;  not  because  he  created  i  harmless,  when  he  speaks  of  the  breastplate 


or  begat  them,  but  because  he  persuaded  and 
kept  hold  of  them:  some  one,  therefore, 
might  have  thought  that  that  eternal  fire  was 
outside  the  world,  and  that  this  was  the 


and  the  shield  of  faith.6  And  if  he  some 
times  wounds  us,  we  have  the  remedy  at  hand. 
For  as  the  combatants  are  told.  "  These 
things  I  write  unto  you,  that  ye  sin  not: 


meaning  of  the  words,  "  he  shall  be  cast  out."  so  those  who  are  wounded  have  the  sequel  to 
But  as  He  says,  "Now  is  the  judgment  of!  listen  to,  <4And  if  any  man  sin,  we  have  an 
this  world,"  and  in  explanation  of  His  mean- 1  Advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ,  the 


ing,  adds,  "  Now  shall  the  prince  of  this  world 
be  cast  out,"  we  are  thereby  to  understand 


:  . 


righteous;  and  He  is  the  propitiation  for  our 
sins."7     And  what  do  we  pray  for  when  we 


:.  4-6. 


<  l.uU-ii.  25-38. 
» I    Ihcss.v.  8. 


Luke  i.  41-45,  67-49. 
i  John  n.  i,  2. 


290 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


L'l'K.V    I    \ll        i.II. 


say,  "  Forgive  us  our  debts,"  but  for  the 
healing  of  our  wounds?  And  what  else  do 
we  ask,  when  we  say,  "  Lead  us  not  into 
temptation,"  '  but  that  he  who  thus  lies  in 
wait  for  us,  or  assails  us  from  without,  may 
fail  on  every  side  to  effect  an  entrance,  and 
be  unable  to  overcome  us  either  by  fraud  or 
force?  Nevertheless,  whatever  engines  of 
war  he  may  erect  against  us,  so  long  as  he  has 
no  more  a  place  in  the  heart  that  faith  in 
habits,  he  is  cast  out.  But  "  except  the  Lord 
keep  the  city,  the  watchman  waketh  but  in 
vain."  •  Presume  not,  therefore,  about  your- 
selvesj  if  you  would  not  have  the  devil,  who 
has  once  been  cast  out,  to  be  recalled  within. 

10.  On  the  other  hand,  let  us  be  far  from 
supposing  that  the  devil  is  called  in  any  such 
way  the  prince  of  the  world,  as  that  we  should 
believe  him  possessed  of  power  to  rule  over 
the  heaven  and  the  earth.     The  world  is  so 
spoken  of   in   respect   of   wicked   men,   who 
have  overspread  the  whole  earth;  just  as  a 
house  is  spoken  of  in  respect  to  its  inhab 
itants,  and  we  accordingly  say,  It  is  a  good 
house,  or  a  bad  house;  not  as  finding  fault 
with,  or  approving  of,  the  erection  of  walls 
and  roofs,  but  the  morals  either  of  the  good 
or  the  bad  within  it.     In  a  similar  way,  there 
fore,  it  is  said,  "The  prince  of  this  world;  " 
that  is,  the  prince  of  all  the  wicked  who  in 
habit  this  world.     The  world  is  also  spoken 
of  in  respect  to  the  good,  who  in  like  manner 
have  overspread  the  whole  earth;  and  hence 
the  apostle  says,  "God  was  in  Christ,  recon 
ciling  the  world  unto  Himself."3     These  are 
they  out  of  whose  hearts  the  prince  of  this 
world  is  ejected. 

11.  Accordingly,  after  saying,  "Now  shall 
the  prince  of   this  world  be  cast  out,"   He 
added,  "And  I,  if  I  be  lifted    up  from  the 
earth,  will  draw  all  things4  after  me."     And 
what  "all"  is  that,  but  those  out  of  which 
the  other  is  ejected  ?     But  He  did  not  say, 
All  men,  but  "  all  things;  "  for  all  men  have 
not  faith.5     And,  therefore,   He  did  not  al 
lude  to  the  totality  of  men,  but  to  the  creat 
ure  in  its  personal  integrity,  that  is,  to  spirit, 
and  soul,  and  body;  or  all  that  which  makes 
us  the  intelligent,  living,  visible,  and  palpable 
beings  we  are.     For  He  who  said,  "  Not  a 
hair  of  your  head  shall  perish,"6  is  He  who 
draweth  all  things  after  Him.     Or  if  by  "all 
things"  it  is  men  that  are  to  be  understood. 
we  can  speak  of  all  things  that  are  foreor 
dained  to  salvation:  of  all  which  He  declared, 


1  Matt.  vi.  12,  13.  2  Ps.  cxxvii.  i.  3  a  Cor.  v.  19. 

4  There  are  here   two  readings  in   the  Greek   MSS.,  navTa*  (all 
men),  and  iracra  (all  things),  of   which  the  former  seems  now  the 
better  approved  ;  but  the  latter  is  that  adopted  by  Augustm  and 
the  Vultfate.— TR. 

5  2  Thess.  iii.  2.  6  Luke  xxi.  18. 


when  previously  speaking  of  His  sheep,  that 
not  one  of  them  would  be  lost.7  And  of  a 
certainty  all  classes  of  men,  both  of  every 
language  and  every  age,  and  all  grades  of 
rank,  and  all  diversities  of  talents,  and  all 
the  professions  of  lawful  and  useful  arts,  and 
all  else  that  can  be  named  in  accordance  with 
the  innumerable  differences  by  which  men, 
save  in  sin  alone,  are  mutually  separated, 
from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  and  from  the 
king  to  the  beggar,  "all,"  He  says,  "will  I 
draw  after  me;  "  that  He  may  be  their  head, 
and  they  His  members.  But  this  will  be,  He 
adds,  "  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,"  that 
is,  when  I  am  lifted  up;  for  He  has  no  doubt 
of  the  future  accomplishment  of  that  which 
He  came  to  fulfill.  He  here  alludes  to  what 
He  said  before:  "  But  if  the  corn  of  wheat 
die,  it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit."  For  what 
else  did  He  signify  by  His  lifting  up,  than 
His  suffering  on  the  cross  ?  an  explanation 
which  the  evangelist  himself  has  not  omitted; 
for  he  has  appended  the  words,  "And  this 
He  said  signifying  what  death  He  should 
die." 

12.  "  The  people  answered  Him,  We  have 
heard  out  of  the  law  that  Christ  abideth  for 
ever:  and  how  sayest  Thou,  The  Son  of  man 
must  be  lifted  up?     And  who  is  this  Son  of 
man?"     It  had  stuck  to  their  memory  that 
the  Lord  was  constantly  calling  Himself  the 
Son  of  man.     For,  in  the  passage  before  us, 
He  does  not  say,  If  the  Son  of  man  be  lifted 
up  from  the  earth;  but  had  called  Himself  so 
before,  in  the  lesson  which  was  read  and  ex 
pounded  yesterday,  when  those  Gentiles  were 
announced  who  desired    to  see  Him:  "The 
hour  is  come  that  the  Son  of  man  should  be 
glorified  "   (ver.  23).     Retaining  this,  there 
fore,  in  their  minds,  and  understanding  what 
He  now  said,  "  When  I  am  lifted  up  from  the 
earth,"  of  the  death  of  the  cross,   they  in 
quired  of  Him,  and  said,  "We  have  heard 
out  of  the  law  that  Christ  abideth  for  ever; 
and  how  sayest  Thou,  The  Son  of  man  must 
be  lifted  up?  who  is  this  Son  of  man  ?  "     For 
if  it  is  Christ,  He,  they  say,  abideth  for  ever; 
and  if  He  abideth  for  ever,  how  shall  He  be 
lifted  up  from  the  earth,  that  is,  how  shall 
He  die  through  the    suffering  of   the  cross? 
For  they  understood  Him  to  have  spoken  of 
what  they  themselves  were  meditating  to  do. 
And  so  He  did  not  dissipate  for  them  the  ob 
scurity  of  such  words  by  imparting  wisdom, 
but  by  stimulating  their  conscience. 

13.  "Then   said   Jesus   unto  them,  Yet  a 
little8  light  is  in  you."     And  by  this  it  is  you 
understand    that    Christ    abideth    for    ever. 


7  Chap.  x.  28. 


.!/,'<//, -uin  lumen. 


Ml      1 . 1  I  I  .  1 


ON   THE  GOSPEL  OF  ST,  JOHN. 


291 


44  Walk,  then,  while  ye  have  the  light,  lest 
darkness  come  upon  you."  Walk,  draw  near, 
come  to  the  full  understanding  that  Christ 
shall  both  die  and  shall  live  for  ever;  that  He 
shall  shed  His  blood  to  redeem  us,  and  as 
cend  on  high  to  carry  His  redeemed  along 
with  Him.  But  darkness  will  come  upon 
you,  if  your  belief  in  Christ's  eternity  is  of 
such  a  kind  as  to  refuse  to  admit  in  His  case 
the  humiliation  of  death.  4'And  he  that 
walketh  in  darkness  knoweth  not  whither  he 
goeth."  So  may  he  stumble  on  that  stone  of 
stumbling  and  rock  of  offence  which  the  Lord 
Himself  became  to  the  blinded  Jews:  just  as 
to  those  who  believed,  the  stone  which  the 
builders  despised  was  made  the  head  of  the 
corner.'  Hence,  they  thought  Christ  un 
worthy  of  their  belief;  because  in  their  im 
piety  they  treated  His  dying  with  contempt, 
they  ridiculed  the  idea  of  His  being  slain: 


and  yet  it  was  the  very  death  of  the  grain  of 
corn  that  was  to  lead  to  its  own  multiplication. 
and  the  lifting  up  of  one  who  was  drawing  all 
things  after  Him.  t4  While  ye  have  the 
light,"  He  adds,  44  believe  in  the  light,  that  ye 
may  be  the  children  of  light."  While  you 
have  possession  of  some  truth  that  you  have 
heard,  believe  in  the  truth,  that  you  may  be 
born  again  in  the  truth. 

14.  '4  These  things  spake  Jesus,  and  de 
parted,  and  did  hide  Himself  from  them." 
Not  from  those  who  had  begun  to  believe  and 
to  love  Him,  nor  from  those  who  had  come 
to  meet  Him  with  branches  of  palm  trees  and 
songs  of  praise;  but  from  those  who  saw  and 
hated  Him,  for  they  saw  Him  not,  but  only 
stumbled  on  that  stone  in  their  blindness. 
But  when  Jesus  hid  Himself  from  those  who 
desired  to  slay  Him  (as  you  need  from  for- 
getfulness  to  be  often  reminded),  He  had 
regard  to  our  human  weakness,  but  derogated 
not  in  aught  from  His  own  authority. 


TRACTATE    LIII. 

CHAPTER  XII.  37-43. 


1.  WHEN  our  Lord  Christ,  foretelling  His 
own   passion,    and    the    fruitfulness    of    His 
death  in  being  lifted  upon  the  cross,  said  that 
He  would  draw  all  [things]  after  Him;  and 
when  the  Jews,  understanding  that  He  spake 
of  His  death,  put  to  Him  the  question  how 
He  could    speak  of  death  as  awaiting  Him, 
when  they  heard  out  of  the   law  that  Christ 
abideth  for  ever;    He  exhorted  them,  while 
still  they  had  in  them  the  little  light,  which 
had  so  taught  them  that  Christ  was  eternal, 
to  walk,  to  make  themselves  acquainted  with 
the  whole  subject,  lest  they  should  be  over 
taken  with   darkness'.     And,   when   He    had 
said  this,  He  hid  Himself  from  them.     With 
these  points  you  have  been  made  acquainted 
in  former  Lord's  day  lessons  and  discourses. 

2.  The  evangelist  thereafter  brings  forward 
what  has  formed  the  brief  subject  of  to-day's 
reading,  and  says,  4<  But  though  He  had  done 
so  many  miracles  before  them,  yet  they  be 
lieved  not  on  Him:  that  the  saying  of  Isaiah 
t'lie    prophet    might    be    fulfilled,    which    he 
spake,  Lord,  who  hath  believed  our  report  ? 
and  to  whom  hath  the  arm  of  the  Lord  been 
revealed  ? "  Where    he   makes   it   sufficiently 
plain  that  the  Son  of  God  is  Himself  the  arm 
of  the  Lord;  not  that  the  person  of  God  the 


Father  is  determined  by  the  shape  of  human 
flesh,  and  that  the  Son  is  attached  to  Him 
as  a  member  of  His  body;  but  because  all 
things  were  made  by  Him,  and  therefore  He 
'  is  designated  the  arm  of  the  Lord.  For  as  it 
!  is  with  thine  arm  that  thou  workest,  so  the 
[  Word  of  God  is  styled  His  arm;  because  by 
|  the  Word  He  elaborated  the  world.  For  why 
does  a  man,  in  order  to  do  some  work,  stretch 
forth  his  arm,  but  because  the  doing  of  it 
does  not  straightway  follow  his  word?  And 
if  he  was  endowed  with  such  pre-eminent 
power  that  what  he  said  was  done  without  any 
movement  of  his  body,  then  would  his  word 
be  his  arm.  But  the  Lord  Jesus,  the  only- 
begotten  Son  of  God  the  Father,  as  He  is 
no  mere  member  of  the  Father's  body,  so  is 
He  no  mere  thinkable,  and  audible,  and 
transitory  word;  for,  as  all  things  were  made 
by  Him,  He  was  the  word  of  God. 

3.  When,  therefore,  we  hear  that  the  Son 
of  God  is  the  arm  of  God  the  Father,  let  no 
carnal  custom  raise  its  distracting  din  in  our 
ears;  but  as  far  as  His  grace  enables  us,  let 
us  think  of  that  power  anil  wisdom  of  God 
by  which  all  things  were  made.  Surely  such 
an  arm  as  that  is  neither  held  out  by  stretch 
ing,  nor  drawn  in  by  contracting  it.  For  He 


292 


THK   \VDKKS  ()!•'  ST.   AUGUSTIN 


|  TK\.  i  AM     I. III. 


is  not  one  and  the  same  with  the  Father,  but 
He  and  the  Father  are  one;  and  as  equal 
with  the  Father,  He  is  in  all  respects  com 
plete,  as  well  as  the  Father:  so  that  no  room 
is  left  open  for  the  abominable  error  of  those 
who  assert  that  the  Father  alone  exists,  but 
according  to  the  difference  of  causes  is  Him 
self  sometimes  called  the  Son,  sometimes  the 
Holy  Spirit;  and  so  also  from  these  words 
may  venture  to  say,  See,  you  perceive  that 
the  Father  alone  exists,  if  the  Son  is  His 
arm:  for  a  man  and  his  arm  are  not  two  per 
sons,  but  one.  Not  understanding  nor  con 
sidering  how  words  are  transferred  from  one 
thing  to  another,  on  account  of  some  mutual 
likeness,  even  in  our  daily  forms  of  speech 
about  things  the  most  familiar  and  visible; 
and  how  much  the  more  must  it  be  so,  in 
order  that  things  ineffable  may  find  some  sort 
of  expression  in  our  speech,  things  which,  as 
they  really  exist,  cannot  be  expressed  in 
words  at  all  ?  For  even  one  man  styles  an 
other  his  arm,  by  whom  he  is  accustomed  to 
transact  his  business:  and  if  he  is  deprived  of 
him,  he  says  in  his  grief,  I  have  lost  my 
arm;  and  to  him  who  has  taken  him  away, 
he  says,  You  have  deprived  me  of  my  arm. 
Let  them  understand,  then,  the  sense  in  which 
the  Son  is  termed  the  arm  of  the  Father,  as 
that  by  which  the  Father  hath  executed  all 
His  works;  that  they  may  not,  by  failing  to 
understand  this,  and  continuing  in  the  dark 
ness  of  their  error,  resemble  those  Jews  of 
whom  it  was  said,  "And  to  whom  hath  the 
arm  of  the  Lord  been  revealed  ? " 

4.  And  here  we  meet  with  the  second  ques 
tion,  to  treat  of  which,  indeed,  in  aYiy  adequate 
manner,  to  investigate  all  its  mysterious 
windings,  and  throw  them  open  to  the  light 
in  a  befitting  way,  I  think  within  the  scope 
neither  of  my  own  powers,  nor  of  the  short 
ness  of  the  time,  nor  of  your  capacity.  Yet,  as 
we  cannot  allow  ourselves  so  far  to  disappoint 
your  expectations  as  to  pass  on  to  other 
topics  without  saying  something  on  this,  take 
what  we  shall  be  able  to  offer  you:  and  where 
in  we  fail  to  satisfy  your  expectations,  ask 
the  increase  of  Him  who  appointed  us  to 
plant  and  to  water;  for,  as  the  apostle  saith, 
"  Neither  is  he  that  planteth  anything,  nor  he 
that  watereth;  but  God  that  giveth  the  in 
crease."  '  There  are  some,  then,  who  mut 
ter  among  themselves,  and  sometimes  speak 
out  when  they  can,  and  even  break  forth  into 
turbulent  debate,  saying:  What  did  the  Jews 
do,  or  what  fault  was  it  of  theirs,  if  it  was  a 
necessity  "that  the  saying  of  Isaiah  the  pro 
phet  should  be  fulfilled,  which  he  spake, 

iii.  7. 


Lord,  who  hath  believed  our  report?  and  to 
whom  hath  the  arm  of  the  Lord  been  re 
vealed  ?"  To  whom  our  answer  is,  that  the 
Lord,  in  His  foreknowledge  of  the  future, 
foretold  by  the  prophet  the  unbelief  of  the 
Jews;  He  foretold  it,  but  did  not  cause  it. 

i  For  God  does  not  compel  any  one  to  sin  sim 
ply  because  He  knows  already  the  future  sins 
of  men.  For  He  foreknew  sins  that  were 
theirs,  not  His  own;  sins  that  were  referable 
to  no  one  else,  but  to  their  own  selves.  Ac 
cordingly,  if  what  He  foreknew  as  theirs  is 
not  really  theirs,  then  had  He  no  true  fore 
knowledge:  but  as  His  foreknowledge  is  in 
fallible,  it  is  doubtless  no  one  else,  but  they 
themselves,  whose  sinfulness  God  foreknew, 
that  are  the  sinners.  The  Jews,  therefore, 
committed  sin,  with  no  compulsion  to  do  so 
on  His  part,  to  whom  sin  is  an  object  of  dis 
pleasure;  but  He  foretold  their  committing 
of  it,  because  nothing  is  concealed  from  His 
knowledge  And  accordingly,  had  they 
wished  to  do  good  instead  of  evil,  they  would 
not  have  been  hindered;  but  in  this  which 
they  were  to  do  they  were  foreseen  of  Him 
who  knows  what  every  man  will  do,  and  what 
He  is  yet  to  render  unto  such  an  one  accord 
ing  to  his  work. 

5.  But  the  words  of  the  Gospel  also,  that 
follow,  are  still  more  pressing,  and  start  a 
question  of  more  profound  import:  for  He 
goes  on  to  say,  "Therefore  they  could  not 
believe,  because  that  Isaiah  said  again,  He 
hath  blinded  their  eyes,  and  hardened  their 
heart;  that  they  should  not  see  with  their 
eyes,  nor  understand  with  their  heart,  and  be 
converted,  and  I  should  heal  them."  For  it 
is  said  to  us:  If  they  could  not  believe,  what 
sin  is  it  in  man  not  to  do  what  he  cannot  do? 
and  if  they  sinned  in  not  believing,  then  they 
had  the  power  to  believe,  and  did  not  use  it. 
If,  then,  they  had  the  power,  how  says  the 
Gospel,  "Therefore  they  could  not  believe, 
because  that  Isaiah  said  again,  He  hath 
blinded  their  eyes,  and  hardened  their  heart;  '* 
so  that  (which  is  of  grave  import)  to  God 
Himself  is  referred  the  cause  of  their  not  be 
lieving,  inasmuch  as  it  is  He  who  "hath 
blinded  their  eyes,  and  hardened  their  heart  "  ? 
For  what  is  thus  testified  to  in  the  propheti- 

;  cal  Scriptures,  is  at  least  not  spoken  of  the 
devil,  but  of  God.  For  were  we  to  suppose  it 
said  of  the  devil,  that  he  "  hath  blinded  their 
eyes,  and  hardened  their  heart;  "  we  have  to 
undertake  the  task  of  being  able  to  show  what 
blame  was  theirs  in  not  believing,  of  whom  it 
is  said,  "  they  could  not  believe."  And  then, 
what  reply  shall  we  give  touching  another  tes 
timony  of  this  very  prophet,  which  the  Apos 
tle  Paul  has  adopted,  when  he  says:  "  Israel 


M.       I.I  I  I     | 


ON    i  in.  i,«  8PEL  <>i    ST.  JOHN. 


hath  not  obtained  that  which  he  seeketh  for; 
but  the  election  Inth  obtained  it,  and  the  rest 
were  l)linded,  according  as  it  is  written,  C"><1 
hath  given  them  the  spirit  of  remorse,  eyes 
that  they  should  not  see,  and  ears  that  they 
should  not  hear,  unto  this  day  "  ?' 

<>.   Such,  as  you  have  just  heard,  brethren, 
is  the  question  that  comes  before  us,  and  you 
can  perceive  how  profound  it  is;  but  we  shall 
give  what  answer  we  can.     "They  could  not 
believe,"    because    that   Isaiah   the    prophet 
foretold  it;  and  the  prophet  foretold  it  be 
cause  God  foreknew  that  such  would  be  the 
case.     But  if  I  am  asked  why  they  could  not, 
I  reply  at  once,  because  they  would  not;  for  j 
certainly  their  depraved  will  was  foreseen  by  j 
God,  and   foretold  through    the   prophet  by 
Him  from  whom  nothing  that  is  future  can  be  i 
hid.     But  the  prophet,  sayest  thou,  assigns 
another  cause  than  that  of  their  will.     What 
cause  does  the  prophet  assign  ?     That  "  God 
hath  given  them  the  spirit  of  remorse,  eyes 
that  they  should  not  see,  and  ears  that  they 
should  not  hear;  and  hath  blinded  their  eyes, 
and    hardened    their   heart."     This   also,    II 
reply,   their   will   deserved.     P'or   God    thus ! 
blinds  and   hardens,  simply  by  letting  alone  ', 
and  withdrawing  His  aid:    and  God  can  do  ', 
this  by  a  judgment  that  is  hidden,  although 
not  by  one  that  is  unrighteous.     This  is  a 
doctrine  which  the  piety  of  the  God-fearing ; 
ought  to  preserve  unshaken  and  inviolable  in  ! 
all  its  integrity:    even  as  the  apostle,  when 
treating  of  the  same  intricate  question,  says,  j 
"What  shall  we  say  then  ?  is  there  unright 
eousness  with  God  ?  God  forbid."  *     If,  then, ' 
we  must  be  far  from  thinking  that  there  is ; 
unrighteousness  with  God,  this  only  can  it  be,  | 
that,  when    He   giveth    His   aid,   He   acteth  j 
mercifully;  and,  when  He  withholdeth  it,  He 
acteth  righteously:  for  in  all  He  doeth,  He  j 
acteth   not   rashly,    but   in   accordance   with 
judgment.     And    still    further,  if   the   judg 
ments  of  the  saints  are  righteous,  how  much 
more  those  of  the  sanctifying  and  justifying 
God  ?       They   are    therefore    righteous,    al 
though    hidden.     Accordingly,    when    ques 
tions  of  this  sort  come  before  us,  why  one  is 
dealt  with  in  such  a  way,  and  another  in  such  j 
another  way;  why  this  one  is  blinded  by  be- i 
ing  forsaken  of  God,  and  that  one  is  enlight 
ened  by  the  divine  aid  vouchsafed  to  him:  let 
us  not  take  upon  ourselves  to  pass  judgment 
on  the  judgment  of  so  mighty  a  judge,  but 
tremblingly  exclaim  with  the  apostle,  "  ()  the 
depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and 
knowledge  of  God  !  how  unsearchable  are  His 


Rom.  xi.  7;    Isa.  vi.   i..;   "  spirit  of 
lish  Bible,  wfam  the  text  has 
Ruin.  ix.  14. 


i  margin  of 


judgment*,  and  His  way*  piM  finding  out!"1 
As  it  is  also  said  in  tue  psalm,  "  Tuy  judg 
ments  are  as  a  great  deep."4 

7.  Let  not  then,  brethren,  the  expectations 
of  your  Charity  drive  me  to  attempt  the  task 
of  penetrating  into  such  a  deep,  of  sounding 
such  an  abyss,  of  searching  into  what  is  un 
searchable.     I  own  my  own  little  measure  of 
ability,  and  I  think  I  have  some  perception 
of  yours  also,  as  equally  small.     This  is  too 
high  for  my  stature,  and  too  strong  for  my 
strength;    and  for  yours  also,  I   think.     Let 
us,  therefore,  listen  together  to  the  admoni 
tion  and  to  the  words  of  Scripture:    "Seek 
not  out  the  things  that  are  too  high  for  thee, 
neither  search  the  things  that  are  above  thy 
strength."  5     Not  that  such  things  are  forbid 
den  us,  since  the  divine  Master  saith,  "  There 
is  nothing  hid  that  shall  not  be  revealed:"6 
but  if  we  walk  up  to  the  measure  of  our  pres 
ent  attainments,  then,  as  the  apostle  tells  us, 
not  only  what  we   know  not  and    ought  to 
know,   but  also  if  we  are  minded  to   know 
anything  else,  God  will  reveal  even  this  unto 
us.7     But  if  we  have  reached  the  pathway  of 
faith,  let  us  keep  to   it  with  all  constancy: 
let  it   be  our   guide  to  the  chamber  of   the 
King,  in  whom  are  hid  all  the  treasures  of 
wisdom  and  knowledge.3     For  it  was  in   no 
spirit  of  grudging  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
Himself  acted  towards  those  great  and  spec 
ially  chosen  disciples  of  His,  when  He  said, 
'*  I  have  many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but 
ye  cannot  bear  them  now."9     We  must  be 
walking,  making  progress,  and  growing,  that 
our   hearts   may   become    fit   to  receive   the 
things  which  we  cannot  receive  at  present. 
And  if  the  last  day  shall  find  us  sufficiently 
advanced,  we  shall  then  learn  what  here  we 
were  unable  to  know. 

8.  If,  however,  any  one  considers  himself 
able,  and  has  confidence  enough,  to  give  a 
clearer  and  better  exposition  of  the  question 
before  us,  God  forbid  that  I  should  not  be 
still  more  ready  to  learn  than  to  teach.     Only 
let  no  one  dare  to  defend  the  freedom  of  the 
will  in  any  such  way  as  to  attempt  depriving 
us  of  the  prayer  that  says,  "  Lead  us  not  into 
temptation;  "  and,  on  the  other  hand,  let  no 
one  deny  the    freedom  of    the  will,  and  so 
venture  to  find  an  excuse  for  sin.     But  let  us 
give  heed  to  the  Lord,  both  in  commanding 
and  in  offering  His  aid;  in  both  telling  us  our 
duty,  and  assisting  us  to  discharge  it.     For 
some  He  hath  let  be  lifted  up  to  pride  through 
an  overweening  trust  in  their  own  wills,  while 
others    He    hath    let    fall    into    carelessness 


<  K..M,    . 

v.  26. 
9  Chap.  xvi.  12. 


t  l'~    D 
7  Phil,  i: 


..  -•-•  (Ji). 


294 


THK  WORKS  OF  ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTA.I    I  III. 


through  a  contrary  excess  of  distrust.  The  justifieth  the  ungodly;5  to  believe  in  the 
former  say:  \\'hy  do  we  ask  God  not  to  let  us  Mediator,  without  whose  interposition  we 
when  it  is  all  in  cannot  be  reconciled  unto  God;  to  believe  in 
the  Saviour,  who  came  to  seek  and  to  save 


be  overcome  by  temptation 

our  own  power?     The  latter  say:  Why  should 


we  try  to  live  well,  when  the  power  to  do  so 
is  in  the  hands  of  God  ?  O  Lord,  O  Father, 
who  art  in  heaven,  lead  us  not  into  any  of 
these  temptations;  but  "  deliver  us  from 
evil !  "  :  Listen  to  the  Lord,  when  He  says, 


that  which  was  lost;10  to  believe  in  Him  who 
said,  "Without  me  ye  can  do  nothing."11 
Because,  then,  being  ignorant  of  that  right 
eousness  of  God  that  justifieth  the  ungodly, 
he  wishes  to  set  up  his  own  to  satisfy  the 


I  have  prayed  for  thee,  Peter,  that  thy  faith  j  minds  of  the  proud,  such  a  man  cannot  be- 


fail  not;"2  that  we  may  never  think  of  our 
faith  as  so  lying  in  our  free  will  that  it  has 
no  need  of  the  divine  assistance.  Let  us 
listen  also  to  the  evangelist,  when  he  says, 


lieve  on  Christ.  And  so,  those  Jews  "could 
not  believe:  "  not  that  men  cannot  be  changed 
for  the  better;  but  so  long  as  their  ideas  run 
in  such  a  direction,  they  cannot  believe. 


"He  hath  given  them  power  to  become  the  |  Hence  they  are  blinded  and  hardened;  tor, 
sons  of  God;  "3  that  we  may  not  imagine  it  as  j  denying  the  need  of  divine  assistance,  they 
altogether  beyond  our  own  power  that  we  be-  are  not  assisted.  God  foreknew  this  regard- 
lieve:  but  in  both  let  us  acknowledge  His  i  ing  these  Jews  who  were  blinded  and  hard- 


beneficent  acting.  For,  on  the  one  side,  we 
have  to  give  Him  thanks  that  the  power  is 
bestowed;  and  on  the  other,  to  pray  that  our 
own  little  strength  may  not  utterly  fail.  It 
is  this  very  faith  that  worketh  by  love,4  ac 
cording  to  the  measure  thereof  that  the  Lord 
hath  given  to  every  man;5  that  he  that  glori- 
eth  may  glory,  not  in  himself,  but  in  the 
Lord.6 

9.  It  is  no  wonder,  then,  that  they  could 
not  believe,  when  such  was  their  pride  of 
will,  that,  being  ignorant  of  the  righteousness 
of  God,  they  wished  to  establish  their  own: 
as  the  apostle  says  of  them,  "  They  have  not 
submitted  themselves  unto  the  righteousness 


ened,  and  the  prophet  by  His  Spirit  foretold 
it. 

ii.  But  when  he  added,  "And  they  should 
be  converted,  and  I  should  heal  them,"  is 
there  a  "  not  "  to  be  understood,  that  is,  they 
should  not  be  converted,  connecting  it  with 
the  clause  before,  where  it  is  said,  "  that  they 
should  not  see  with  their  eyes  and  understand 
with  their  heart;  "  for  here  also  it  is  certainly 
meant,  "and  should  not  understand  "?  For 
conversion  itself  is  likewise  a  gift  of  His 
grace,  as  when  it  is  said  to  Him,  "  Turn  us, 


of  God/ 


For  it  was  not  by  faith,  but  as 


it  were  by  works,  that  they  were  puffed  up; 
and  blinded  by  this  very  self-elation,  they 
stumbled  against  the  stone  of  stumbling. 
And  so  it  is  said,  "  they  could  not,"  by  which 
we  are  to  understand  that  they  would  not;  in 


O  God  of  Hosts." 
to    understand    this 


Or  may  it  be  that  we  are 
also   as    actually  taking 


place  through  the  merciful  experience  of  the 
divine  method  of  healing,  [namely  this,]  that, 
being  of  proud  and  perverse  wills,  and  wish 
ing  to  establish  their  own  righteousness,  they 
were  left  alone  for  the  very  purpose  of  being 
blinded;  and  thus  blinded  in  order  that  they 
might  stumble  on  the  stone  of  stumbling,  and 


the  same  way  as  it  was  said  of  the  Lord  our  j  have  their  faces  filled  with   shame;   and  so, 


God,  "  If  we   believe  not,  yet   He   abideth 
faithful,  He  cannot  deny  Himself."' 
said  of  the  Omnipotent,  "  He  cannot." 


And 


so,  just  as  it  is  a  commendation  of  the  divine 
will  that  the  Lord  "cannot  deny  Himself/' 
that  they  "could  not  believe"  is  a  fault 
chargeable  on  the  will  of  man. 

10.  And,  look  you  !  so  also  say  I,  that 
those  who  have  such  lofty  ideas  of  themselves 
as  to  suppose  that  so  much  must  be  attributed 
to  the  powers  of  their  own  will,  that  they 
deny  their  need  of  the  divine  assistance  in 
order  to  a  righteous  life,  cannot  believe  on 
Christ.  For  the  mere  syllables  of  Christ's 
name,  and  the  Christian  sacraments,  are  of  no 
profit,  where  faith  in  Christ  is  itself  resisted. 
For  faith  in  Christ  is  to  believe  in  Him  that 


'  Matt.  vi.  i  j. 
4C.al.  V.   6. 
7  kora.  x.  3. 


2  I. nke  xxii.  32. 
s  Rom.  xii.  3. 
*2Tim.ii.,3. 


Chap.  i.  12. 
>  «  Cor.  i.  31. 


being  thus  humbled,  might  seek  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  and  no  longer  a  righteousness  of 
their  own,  that  inflated  their  pride,  but  the 
righteousness  of  God,  that  justifieth  the  un 
godly  ?  For  this  very  way  turned  out  to  the 
good  of  many  of  them,  who  were  afterwards 
filled  with  remorse  for  wickedness,  and  be 
lieved  on  Christ;  and  on  whose  behalf  He 
Himself  had  put  up  the  prayer,  "  Father,  for 
give  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do. " I3 
And  it  is  of  that  ignorance  of  theirs  also  that 
the  apostle  says,  "I  bear  them  record  that 
they  have  a  zeal  of  God,  but  not  according  to 
knowledge:  "  for  he  then  goes  on  also  to  add, 
"  For  they,  being  ignorant  of  God's  right 
eousness,  and  seeking  to  establish  their  own 
righteousness,  have  not  submitted  themselves 
unto  the  righteousness  of  God."14 


f  kutn.  iv.  5. 
.-  IVs.  Ixxx.  7. 


'°  Luke  xix.  10. 
«3  Luke  xxiii.  34. 


11  Chap.  xv.  5. 
M  koin.  x.  2,  3. 


i     I  IV  ] 


o\  -I'm-;  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  JOHN, 


295 


12.  "  These  things  said  Isaiah,  when  he 
saw  His  glory,  and  spake  of  Hun."  What 
Isaiah  saw,  and  liow  it  refers  to  Christ  the 
Lord,  are  to  be  read  and  learned  in  his  book. 
For  he  saw  Him,  not  as  lie  i->,  but  in  some 
symbolical  way  to  suit  the  form  that  the  vis 
ion  of  the  prophet  had  itself  to  assume.  For 
Moses  likewise  saw  Him,  and  yet  we  find  him 
saving  to  Him  whom  he  saw,  "If  I  have 
found  grace  in  Thy  sight,  show  me  now  Thy 
self,  that  I  may  clearly  see  Thee;"1  for  he 
saw  Him  not  as  He  is.  But  the  time  when 
this  shall  yet  he  our  experience,  that  same 
Saint  John  the  Evangelist  tells  us  in  his  Epis 
tle:  "  Dearly  beloved,  [now]  are  we  the  sons 
of  God;  and  it  hath  not  yet  become  manifest 
what  we  shall  be:  because  we  know  that,  when 
He  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  Him;  for 
we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is."  *  He  might  have 
said  "  for  we  shall  see  Him,"  without  adding 
"as  He  is;"  but  because  he  knew  that  He 
was  seen  of  some  of  the  fathers  and  prophets, 
but  not  as  He  is,  therefore  after  saying  "  we 
shall  see  Him,"  he  added  "as  He  is."  And 
be  not  deceived,  brethren,  by  any  of  those 
who  assert  that  the  Father  is  invisible,  and 
the  Son  visible.  This  assertion  is  made  by 
those  who  think  that  the  latter  is  a  creature, 
and  whose  understanding  runs  not  in  har 
mony  with  the  words,  "  I  and  my  Father 
one."3  Accordingly,  as  respects  the  form  of 
God  wherein  He  is  equal  with  the  Father,  the 
Son  also  is  invisible:  but,  in  order  to  be  seen 


of  men,  He  assumed  the  form  of  a  servant, 
and  being  made  in  the  likeness  of  men,4  be 
came  visible  to  man.  He  showed  Himself, 
therefore,  even  before  His  incarnation,  to  the 
eyes  of  men,  as  it  pleased  Him,  in  the  creat 
ure-form  at  His  command,  but  not  as  He  is. 
Let  us  be  purifying  our  hearts  by  faith,  that 
we  may  be  prepared  for  that  ineffable  and,  so 
to  speak,  invisible  vision.  For  "  blessed  are 
the  pure  in  heart;  for  they  shall  see  God.''s 

13.    "  Nevertheless  among  the  chief  rulers 

also  many  believed  on  Him;  but,  because  of 

the  Pharisees,  they  did  not  confess  Him,  lest 

they  should  be  put  out  of  the  synagogue:  for 

they  loved  the  glory  of  men  more  than  the 

glory   of    God."     See    how    the    evangelist 

j  marked  and  disapproved  of  some,  who  yet, 

|  he  said,  believed  on  Him:  who,  if  ever  they 

did  advance  though  this  gateway   of    faith, 

I  would    thereby  also   overcome   that    love   of 

I  human  glory  which  had  been  overcome  by  the 

|  apostle,  when  he  said,   "God  forbid  that  I 

should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord 

Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  the  world  is  crucified 

unto  me,  and   I  unto  the  world."6     For  to 

this  end  also  did  the   Lord    Himself,    when 

derided  by  the  madness  of  human  pride  and 

|  impiety,   fix   His  cross  on   the   foreheads  of 

j  those  who  believed  on  Him,  on  that  which  is 

in  a  manner  the  abode  of  modesty,  that  faith 

j  may  learn  not  to  blush  at  His  name,  and  love 

the  glory  of  God  more  than   the   glory   of 

men. 


Ex.  xxziii.  13. 


i  John  iii.  2. 


3  Chap.  x.  30. 


Phil.  ii.  7. 


t'.al.  vi.  14. 


TRACTATE'  LIV 

CHAPTER  XII.  44-50. 


i .  WHILST  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  speak 
ing  among  the  Jews,  and  giving  so  many  mi 
raculous  signs,  some  believed  who  were  fore 
ordained  to  eternal  life,  and  whom  He  also 
colled  His  sheep;  but  some  did  not  believe, 
and  could  not  believe,  because  that,  by  the 
mysterious  yet  not  unrighteous  judgment  of 
God,  they  had  been  blinded  and  hardened, 
because  forsaken  of  Him  who  resisteth  the 
proud,  but  giveth  grace  unto  the  humble.' 
But  of  those  who  believed,  there  were  some 
whose  confession  went  so  far,  that  they  took 
brandies  of  palm  trees,  and  met  Him  as  He 
approached,  turning  in  their  joy  that  very 


|  confession  into  a  service  of  praise:  while  there 
I  were  others,  belonging  to  the  chief  rulers, 
|  who  had  not  the  boldness  to  confess  their 

faith,  lest  they  should  be  put  out  of  the  syn- 
;  agogue;  and  whom  the  evangelist  has  branded 
!  with  the  words,  that  "  they  loved  the  praise  of 
,  men  more  than  the  praise  of  God  "(ver.  43). 
i  Of  those  also  who  did  not  believe,  there  were 

some    who    would    afterwards    believe,    anil 

whom  He  foresaw,  when  He  said,"  When  ye 
i  have  lifted  up  the  Son  of  man,  then  shall  ye 
'acknowledge  that  I  am  He:  "  J  but  there  were 
j  some  who  would  remain  in  the  same  unbelief, 

and  be  imitated  by  the  Jewish  nation  of  the 


Jas.  iv.  6. 


•»  Chap.  viii.  28. 


296 


THF.   WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUST1N. 


[TRACTATK  I. IV. 


present  day,  which,  being  shortly  afterwards 
crushed  in  war,  according  to  the  prophetic  tes 
timony  which  was  written  concerning  Christ, 
has  since  been  scattered  almost  through  the 
whole  world. 

2.  While  matters  were  in  this  state,  and 
His  own  passion  was  now  at  hand,  "  Jesus 
cried,  and  said,"  as  our  lesson  to-day  com 
mences,  "  He  that  believeth  on  me,  believeth 
not  on  me,  but  on  Him  that  sent  me;  and  he 
that  seeth  me,  seeth  Him  that  sent  me."  He 
had  already  said  in  a  certain  place,  "  My  doc 
trine  is  not  mine,  but  His  that  sent  me."1 
Where  we  understood  that  He  called  His 
doctrine  just  what  He  is  Himself,  the  Word 
of  the  Father;  and  in  saying,  "  My  doctrine 
is  not  mine,  but  His  that  sent  me,"  implied 
this,  that  He  was  not  of  Himself,  but  had 
His  being  from  another.2  For  He  was  God 
of  God,  the  Son  of  the  Father:  but  the  Father 
is  not  God  of  God,  but  God,  the  Father  of 
the  Son.  And  now  when  He  says,  "  He  that  | 
believeth  on  me,  believeth  not  on  me,  but  on 
Him  that  sent  me,"  how  else  are  we  to  under 
stand  it,  but  that  He  appeared  as  man  to 
men,  while  He  remained  invisible  as  God  ? 
And  that  none  might  think  that  He  was  no 
more  than  what  they  saw  of  Him,  He  indi 
cated  His  wish  to  be  believed  on,  as  equal  in 
character  and  rank  with  the  Father,  when  He 
said,  '*  He  that  believeth  on  me,  believeth 
not  on  me,"  that  is,  merely  on  what  he  seeth 
of  me,  "but  on  Him  that  sent  me,"  that  is,  | 
on  the  Father.  But  he  that  believeth  on  the  j 
Father,  must  believe  that  He  is  the  Father;  j 
and  he  that  believeth  on  Him  as  the  Father, 
must  believe  that  He  has  a  Son;  and  in  this 
way,  he  that  believeth  on  the  Father,  must 
believe  on  the  Son.  But  let  no  one  believe 
about  the  only-begotten  Son  just  what  (hey 
believe  about  those  who  are  called  the  sons  of 
God  by  grace  and  not  by  nature,  as  the  evan 
gelist  says,  "  He  gave  them  power  to  become 
the  sons  of  God,'" 3  and  according  to  what  the 
Lord  Himself  also  mentioned,  as  declared  in 
the  law,  *'  I  said,  Ye  are  gods;  and  all  of  you 
children  of  the  Most  High:"4  because  He 
said,  "  He  that  believeth  on  me,  believeth 
not  on  me,''  to  show  that  the  whole  extent  of 
our  faith  in  Christ  should  not  be  limited  by 
His  manhood.  He  therefore,  He  saith,  be 
lieveth  on  me,  who  doth  not  believe  on  me 
merely  according  to  what  he  seeth  of  me,  but 
on  Him  that  sent  me:  so  that,  believing  thus 
on  the  Father,  he  may  believe  that  He  has  a 
Son  co-equal  with  Himself,  and  then  attain 
to  a  true  faith  in  me.  For  if  one  should 
think  that  He  has  sons  only  according  to 


grace,  who  are  certainly  no  more  than  His 
creatures,  and  not  the  Word,  but  those  made 
by  the  Word,  and  that  He  has  no  Son  co 
equal  and  co-eternal  with  Himself,  ever  born, 
alike  incommutable,  in  nothing  dissimilar  and 
inferior,  then  he  believes  not  on  the  Father 
who  sent  Him,  for  the  Father  who  sent  Him 
is  no  such  conception  as  this. 

3.  And,  accordingly,  after  saying,  "  He 
that  believeth  on  me,  believeth  not  on  me, 
but  on  Him  that  sent  me/'  that  it  might  not 
|  be  thought  that  He  would  have  the  Father 
so  understood,  as  if  He  were  the  Father  only 
of  many  sons  regenerated  by  grace,  and  not 
j  of  the  only-begotten  Word,  His  own  co- 
j  equal,  He  immediately  added,  "And  he  that 
seeth  me,  seeth  Him  that  sent  me."  Does 
He  say  here,  He  that  seeth  me,  seeth  not  me, 
but  Him  that  sent  me,  as  He  had  said,  "  He 
that  believeth  me,  believeth  not  on  me,  but 
on  Him  that  sent  me"  ?  For  He  uttered  the 
former  of  these  words,  that  He  might  not  be 
believed  on  merely  as  He  then  appeared, 
that  is,  as  the  Son  of  man;  and  the  latter, 
that  He  might  be  believed  on  as  the  equal  of 
the  Father.  He  that  believeth  on  me,  be 
lieveth  not  merely  on  what  He  sees  of  me, 
but  believeth  on  Him  that  sent  me.  Or, 
when  he  believeth  on  the  Father,  who  begat 
me,  His  own  co-equal,  let  him  believe  on  me, 
not  as  he  seeth  me,  but  as  [he  believeth]  on 
Him  that  sent  me;  for  so  far  does  the  truth, 
that  there  is  no  distance  between  Him  and 
me,  reach,  that  He  who  seeth  me,  seeth  Him 
that  sent  me.  Certainly,  Christ  the  Lord 
Himself  sent  His  apostles,  as  their  name  im 
plies:  for  as  those  who  in  Greek  are  called 
angeli  are  in  Latin  called  nnnfii  [messengers], 
so  the  Greek  apostoli  [apostles]  becomes  the 
Latin  missi  [persons  sent].  But  never  would 
any  of  the  apostles  have  dared  to  say,  "  He 
that  believeth  on  me,  believeth  not  on  me, 
but  on  Him  that  sent  me;  "  for  in  no  sense 
whatever  would  he  say,  "  He  that  believeth 
on  me."  We  believe  an  apostle,  but  we  do 
not  believe  on  him;  for  it  is  not  an  apostle 
that  justifieth  the  ungodly.  But  to  him  that 
believeth  on  Him  that  justifieth  the  ungodly, 
his  faith  is  counted  for  righteousness.5  An 
apostle  might  say,  He  that  receiveth  me,  re- 
ceiveth  Him  that  sent  me;  or,  He  that  hear- 
eth  me,  heareth  Him  that  sent  me;  for  the 
Lord  tells  them  so  Himself:  "  He  that  receiv 
eth  you,  receiveth  me;  and  he  that  receiveth 
me,  receiveth  Him  that  sent  me."  6  For  the 
master  is  honored  in  the  servant,  and  the 
father  in  the  son:  but  then  the  father  is  as  it 
were  in  the  son,  and  the  master  as  it  were  in 


1  Chap.  vii.  16. 
'Chap.  i.  12. 


*  Tra«t.  XXIX.,  haberet  a 
4  Chap.  x.  34  ;  Ps.  Ixxxii.  6. 


I  IV  1 


ON     I  I  IK  C.OSl'KL  OF  ST.   JOHN. 


297 


;  vant.  But  the  only-begotten  Son  could 
rightly  say,  "  Believe  on  Clod,  and  believe  on 
me; "  '  as  also  what  He  saith  here,  "  He  that 
believeth  on  me,  believeth  not  on  me,  but  on 
Him  that  sent  me."  He  did  not  turn  away 
the  faith  of  the  believer  from  Himself,  but  | 
only  would  not  have  the  believer  continue  in 
the  form  of  a  servant:  because  every  one  who  ; 
believeth  in  the  Father  that  sent  Him,  I 
straightway  believeth  on  the  Son,  without 
whom  he  knoweth  that  the  Father  hath  no 
existence  as  such,  and  thus  reacheth  in  his 
faith  to  the  belief  of  His  equality  with  the 
Father,  in  conformity  with  the  words  that  fol 
low,  "And  he  that  seeth  me,  seeth  Him  that 
sent  me." 

4.  Attend  to  what  follows:  *'  I  am  come  a 
light  into  the  world,  that  whosoever  believeth 
on  me  should  not  abide  in   darkness."     He 
said  in  a  certain  place  to  His  disciples,  "  Ye 
are  the  light  of  the  world.     A  city  that  is  set 
on  a  hill  cannot  be  hid.     Neither  do  men  light 
a  candle,  and  put  it  under  a  bushel,  but  on  a 
candlestick;  that  it  may  give  light  to  all  that 
are  in  the  house:  so  let  your  light  shine  be 
fore  men,  that  they  may  see  your  good  works, 
and  glorify  your  Father  who  is  in  heaven:"- 
but  He  did  not  say  to  them,  Ye  are  come  a 
light  into  the  world,  that  whosoever  believeth 
on  you  should  not  abide  in  darkness.     Such 
a  statement,  I  maintain,  can  nowhere  be  met 
with.     All    the  saints,  therefore,  are  lights, 
but   they  are    illuminated   by   Him    through 
faith;  and  every  one  that  becomes  separated 
from    Him  will    be   enveloped    in   darkness. 
But  that  Light,  which  enlightens  them,  can 
not  become  separated  from  itself;  for  it  is  al 
together  beyond    the  reach  of  change.     We 
believe,  then,  the  light  that  has  thus  been  lit, 
as  the  prophet  or  apostle:  but  we  believe  him 
for  this  end,  that  we  may  not  believe  on  that 
which  is  itself  enlightened,  but,  with  him,  on  I 
that  Light- which  has  given  him  light;  so  that 
we,  too,  maybe  enlightened,  not  by  him,  but, 
along  with   him,  by  the  same   Light  as   he. 
And  when  He  saith,  "  That  whosoever  believ 
eth  on  me   may  not  abide  in  darkness,"  He 
makes    it  sufficiently  manifest   that  all   have 
been  found   by   Him  in  a  state  of  darkness: 
but  that  they  may  not  abide  in  the  darkness  j 
wherein  they  have  been  found,  they  ought  to ' 
believe  on  that  Light  which  hath  come  into  j 
the  world,  for  thereby  was  the  world  created. 

5.  "And  if  any  man,"  He  says,  "  hear  my  ' 
words,  and  keep  them  not,  I  judge  him  not." 
Remember  what  I  know  you  have  heard  in 
former  lessons;  and  if  any  of  you  have  for 
gotten,  recall  it:  and  those  of  you  who  were 

«  Chap.  xiv.  i.  3  Matt.  v.  14-16. 


absent  then,  but  are  present  now,  hear  how  it 
is  that  the  Son  saith,  "  I  judge  him  not," 
while  in  another  place  He  says,  "  The  Father 
judgeth  no  man,  but  hath  committed  all  judg 
ment  unto  the  Son;  "  3  namely,  that  thereby 
we  are  to  understand,  It  is  not  now  that  I 
judge  him.  And  why  not  now?  Listen  to 
the  sequel:  "  For  I  am  not  come,"  He  says, 
44  to  judge  the  world,  but  to  save  the  world;" 
that  is,  to  bring  the  world  into  a  state  of  sal 
vation.  Now,  therefore,  is  the  season  of 
mercy,  afterwards  will  be  the  time  for  judg 
ment:  for  He  says,  "  I  will  sing  to  Thee,  O 
Lord,  of  mercy  and  judgment."  4 

6.  Hut  see  also  what  He  says  of  that  future 
judgment  in  the  end:  "  He  that  despiseth  me, 
and   receiveth  not  my  words,   hath  one   that 
judgeth  him:  the  word  that   I   have  spoken, 
the  same  shall  judge  him  in  the  last  day." 
He  says  nut,  He  that  despiseth  me,  and  re 
ceiveth  not  my  words,  I  judge  him  not  at  the 
last  day;   for  had   He  said   so,  I  do  not  see 
how  it  could  have  been  else  than  contradictory 
of  that  other  statement,  when  He  says,  "  The 
Father  judgeth  no  man,  but  hath  committed 
all  judgment  unto  the  Son."     But  when  He 
said,  "  He  that  despiseth  me,  and  receiveth 
not  my  words,  hath  one  to  judge  him,"  and, 
for  the  information  of  those  who  were  waiting 
to  hear  who  that  one  was,  went  on  to  add, 
"  The  word   that  I  have   spoken,   the  same 
shall  judge  him  in  the  last  day,"  He  made  it 
sufficiently  manifest  that  He   Himself  would 
then  be  the  judge.     For  it  was  of  Himself  He 
spake,  Himself  He  announced,  and  Himself 
He  set  forth  as  the  gate  whereby  He  entered 
as  the  Shepherd  to  His  sheep.     In  one  way, 
therefore,    will    those   be    judged    who    have 
never  heard  that  word,  in  another  way  those 
who    have     heard    and    despised.     "  For   as 
many  as  have  sinned  without  law,*'  says  the 
apostle,  "  shall  also  perisli  without  law;  and 
as  many  as  have  sinned  in  the  law,  shall  be 
judged  by  the  law."5 

7.  "For  I  have  not,"  He  says,  "spoken 
of  myself."     He  says  that  He  has  not  spoken 
of  Himself,  because  He  is  not  of  Himself. 
Of  this  we  have  frequently  discoursed  already; 
so  that  now,  without   any  more   instruction, 
we  have  simply  to  remind  you  of  it  as  a  truth 
with   which    you    are    familiar.     "  But    the 
Father  who  sent  me,   He  gave   me  a  com 
mandment    what   I    should    say,  and    what  I 
should  speak."     We  would  not  stay  to  elabo 
rate   this,  did   we   know  that   we   were   now 
speaking   with    those   with    whom   we    have 
spoken  on   former  occasions,  and  of  these, 
not  with  all,  but  such  only  whose  memories 


i  Chap.  v. 


'Rom. 


298 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUS1  IN. 


[TkACTATK     l.IV. 


have  retained  wliat  they  heard:  but  because 
there  are  perhaps  some  now  present  who  did 
not  hear,  and  some  in  a  similar  condition  who 
have  forgotten  what  they  heard,  on  their  ac 
count  let  those  who  remember  what  they  have 
heard  bear  with  our  delay.  How  giveth  the 
Father  a  commandment  to  His  only  Son? 
With  what  words  doth  He  speak  to  the  Word, 
seeing  that  the  Son  Himself  is  the  only- 
begotten  Word  ?  Could  it  be  by  an  angel, 
seeing  that  by  Him  the  angels  were  created  ? 
Was  it  by  means  of  a  cloud,  which,  when  it 
gave  forth  its  sound  to  the  Son,  gave  it  not 
on  His  account,  as  He  Himself  also  tells  us 
elsewhere,  but  for  the  sake  of  others  who 
were  needing  to  hear  it  (ver.  29)  ?  Could  it 
be  by  any  sound  issuing  from  the  lips,  where 
bodily  form  was  wanting,  and  where  there  is 
no  such*  local  distance  separating  the  Son 
from  the  Father  as  to  admit  of  any  interven 
ing  air,  to  give  effect,  by  its  percussion,  to 
the  voice,  and  render  it  audible?  Let  us  put 
away  all  such  unworthy  notions  of  that  incor 
poreal  and  ineffable  subsistence.  The  only 
Son  is  the  Word  and  the  Wisdom  of  the 
Father,  and  therein  are  all  the  commandments 
of  the  Father.  For  there  was  no  time  that 
the  Son  knew  not  the  Father's  command 
ment,  so  as  to  make  it  necessary  for  Him  to 
possess  in  course  of  time  what  He  possessed 
not  before.  For  what  He  has  received  from 
the  Father,  He  received  in  being  born,  and 
was  given  it  in  being  begotten.  For  the  life 
He  is,  and  life  He  certainly  received  in  being 
born,  while  yet  there  was  no  antecedent  time 
when  life  was  wanting  to  His  personal  exist 
ence.  For,  on  the  one  hand,  the  Father  has 
life,  and  is  what  He  has:  and  yet  He  received 
it  not,  because  He  is  not  of  any  one.  But 
the  Son  received  life  as  the  Father's  gift,  of 
whom  He  is:  and  so  He  Himself  is  what  He 
has;  for  He  has  life,  and  is  the  life.  Listen 
to  Himself  when  He  says,  "As  the  Father 
hath  life  in  Himself,  so  hath  He  given  to  the 
Son  to  have  life  in  Himself."1  Could  He 
give  it  to  one  who  was  in  being,  and  yet 
hitherto  was  destitute  thereof?  On  the  con 
trary,  in  the  very  begetting  it  was  given  by 
Him  who  begat  the  life,  and  so  life  begat  the 
life.  And  to  show  that  He  begat  the  life 
equal,  and  not  inferior  to  Himself,  it  was  said, 
"As  He  hath  life  in  Himself,  so  hath  He  also 
given  to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  Himself." 
He  gave  life;  for  in  begetting  the  life,  what 
was  it  He  gave  Him,  save  to  be  the  life? 
And  as  His  nativity  is  itself  eternal,  there 
never  was  a  time  without  that  Son  who  is  the 
life,  and  never  was  there  a  time  when  the  Son 

'  Chap.  v.  26. 


Himself  was  without  the  life;  and  as  His  na 
tivity  is  eternal,  so  He,  who  was  thus  born, 
is  eternal  life.  And  so  the  Father  gave  not 
to  the  Son  a  commandment  which  He  had 
not  already;  but,  as  I  said,  in  the  Wisdom  of 
the  Father,  that  is,  in  the  word  of  the  Father, 
are  laid  up  all  the  Father's  commandments. 
And  yet  the  commandment  is  said  to  have 
been  given  Him,  because  He,  to  whom  it  is 
thus  given,  is  not  of  Himself:  and  to  give 
that  to  the  Son  which  He  never  was  without, 
is  the  same  in  meaning  as  to  beget  that  Son 
who  never  was  without  existence. 

S.  There  follow  the  words:  "And  I  know 
that  His  commandment  is  life  everlasting.'' 
If,  then,  the  Son  Himself  is  eternal  life,  and 
the  Father's  commandment  the  same,  what 
else  is  expressed  than  this,  I  am  the  Father's 
commandment  ?  And  in  like  manner,  in  what 
He  proceeds  to  say,  "  Whatsoever  I  speak, 
even  as  the  Father  said  unto  me,  so  I  speak," 
let  us  not  be  taking  the  "  said  unto  me"  as 
if  the  Father  used  words  in  speaking  to  the 
only  Word,  or  that  the  Word  of  God  needed 
words  from  God.  The  Father  spake  to  the 
Son  in  the  same  way  as  He  gave  life  to  the 
Son;  not  that  He  knew  not  the  one,  or  had 
not  the  other,  but  just  because  He  was  the 
Son.  What,  then,  do  the  words  mean,  "  Even 
as  He  said  unto  me,  so  I  speak;  "  but  just,  I 
speak  the  truth  ?  So  the  former  said  as  the 
Truthful  One 2  what  the  latter  thus  spake  as 
the  Truth.  The  Truthful  begat  the  Truth. 
What,  then,  could  He  now  say  to  the  Truth  ? 
For  the  Truth  had  no  imperfection  to  be  sup 
plied  by  additional  truth.  He  spake,  therefore, 
to  the  Truth,  because  He  begat  the  Truth. 
And  in  like  manner  the  Truth  Himself  speaks 
what  has  been  said  to  Him;  but  only  to  those 
who  have  understanding,  and  who  are  taught 
by  Him  as  the  God-begotten  Truth.  But 
that  men  might  believe  what  they  had  not  yet 
capacity  to  understand,  words  that  were  audi 
ble  issued  from  His  human  lips;  sounds  pass 
ing  rapidly  away  broke  on  the  ear,  and  speed 
ily  completed  the  little  term  of  their  duration: 
but  the  truths  themselves,  of  which  the  sounds 
are  but  signs,  passed,  as  it  were,  into  the 
memory  of  those  who  heard  them,  and  have 
come  down  to  us  also  by  means  of  written 
characters  as  signs  addressed  to  the  eye. 
But  it  is  not  thus  that  the  Truth  speaks;  He 
speaks  inwardly  to  the  souls  of  the  intelligent; 
He  needs  no  sound  to  instruct,  but  floods 
the  mind  with  the  light  of  understanding. 
And  lie,  then,  who  in  that  light  is  able  to  be 
hold  the  eternity  of  His  birth,  himself  hears 
in  the  same  way  the  Truth  speaking,  as  He 


I 


ON  THE  GOSPEL  Of   ST.  joilN. 


299 


heard  the  Father  telling  Him  what  He  should 
spi-ak.  He  has  awakened  in  us  a  great  long 
ing  for  that  sweet  experience  of  His  presence 
within:  but  it  is  by  daily  growth  that  we  ac 


quire  it;  it  is  by  walking  that  we  grow,  and  it 
is  by  forward  eiforts  we  walk,  so  as  to  be  able 
at  last  to  attain  it. 


TRACTATE    LV 

CHAPTKR  XIII.   1-5. 


i.  THK  Lord's  Supper,  as  set  forth  in  John, 
must,  with  His  assistance,  be  unfolded  in  a 
becoming  number  of  Lectures,  and  explained 
with  all  the  ability  He  is  pleased  to  grant  us. 
"  Now,  before  the  feast  of  the  passover,  when 
Jesus  knew  that  His  hour  was  come  that  He 
should  depart  out  of  this  world  unto  the 
Father,  having  loved  His  own  who  were  in 
the  world,  He  loved  them  unto  the  end." 
Pascha  (passover)  is  not,  as  some  think,  a 
Greek  noun,  but  a  Hebrew:  and  yet  there  oc 
curs  in  this  noun  a  very  suitable  kind  of  ac 
cordance  in  the  two  languages.  For  inas 
much  as  the  Greek  word  paschcin  means  to 
suffer •,  therefore  pasc ha  has  been  supposed  to 
mean  suffering,  as  if  the  noun  derived  its 
name  from  His  passion:  but  in  its  own  lan 
guage,  that  is,  in  Hebrew,  pascha  means 
passover; '  because  the  pascha  was  then  cele 
brated  for  the  first  time  by  God's  people, 
when,  in  their  flight  from  Egypt,  \\\vy  passed 
over  the  Red  Sea.a  And  now  that  pro 
phetic  emblem  is  fulfilled  in  truth,  when 
Christ  is  led  as  a  sheep  to  the  slaughter,3  that 
by  His  blood  sprinkled  on  our  doorposts, 
that  is,  by  the  sign  of  His  cross  marked  on 
our  foreheads,  we  may  be  delivered  from  the 
perdition  awaiting  this  world,  as  Israel  from 
the  bondage  and  destruction  of  the  Egypt 
ians;  <  and  a  most  salutary  transit  we  make 
when  we  pass  over  from  the  devil  to  Christ, 
and  from  this  unstable  world  to  His  well- 
established  kingdom.  And  therefore  surely 
do  we  pass  over  to  the  ever-abiding  God,  that 
we  may  not  pass  away  with  this  passing  world. 
The  apostle,  in  extolling  God  for  such  grace 
bestowed  upon  us,  says:  "  Who  hath  deliv 
ered  us  from  the  power  of  darkness,  and  hath 
translated  us  into  the  kingdom  of  the  Son  of 
His  love."5  This  name,  then,  of  pascha, 
which,  as  I  have  said,  is  in  Latin  called  //•<///- 


'   Tra'tsitiis,  transit,  pass  over.— TR. 

a  Kx.  xiv.  _>.,.     A  i  urious  mistake  nf   Au^u^nn's   to   derive  the 
name  of  the  feast  from  I>r.i.  1\  /,/  ,.>/«(.•  ,' .    >•  i! 
of  Jehovah'^ /.u.i/'/c  <'•'<•>-  the  houses  of  the   Israelites,  when   Mr 
firstborn    of    Kvrypt  !     Compare    Ex.   xii.    11,13,33,27. 

liii.  7.  *  Kx.  xii.  23.  5  Col.  i.  13. 


situs  (pass  over),  is  interpreted,  as  it  were, 
for  us  by  the  blessed  evangelist,  when  he  says, 
"  Before  the  feast  of  pascha,  wiien  Jesus  knew 
that  His  hour  was  come  that  He  should  pass 
out  of  this  world  to  the  Father."  Here  you 
see  we  have  both  pascha  and  pass-over. 
Whence,  and  whither  does  He  pass? 
Namely,  "out  of  this  world  to  the  Father.'' 
The  hope  was  thus  given  to  the  members  in 
their  Head,  that  they  doubtless  would  yet 
follow  Him  who  was  "  passing  "  before.  And 
what,  then,  of  unbelievers,  who  stand  alto 
gether  apart  from  this  Head  and  His  members? 
Do  not  they  also  pass  away,  seeing  that  they 
abide  not  here  always  ?  They  also  do  plainly 
pass  away:  but  it  is  one  thing  to  pass  from 
the  world,  and  another  to  pass  away  with  it; 
one  thing  to  pass  to  the  Father,  another  to 
pass  to  the  enemy.  For  the  Egyptians  also 
passed  over  [the  sea];  but  they  did  not  pass 
through  the  sea  to  tiie  kingdom,  but  in  the 
sea  to  destruction. 

2.  "When  Jesus  knew,"  then,  "that  His 
hour  was  come  that  He  should  pass  out  of 
this  world  unto  the  Father,  having  loved  His 
own  who  were  in  the  world,  He  loved  them 
unto  the  end."  In  order,  doubtless,  that 
they  also,  through  that  love  of  His,  might 
pass  from  this  world  where  they  now  were,  to 
their  Head  who  had  passed  hence  before 
them.  For  what  mean  these  words,  *'  to  the 
end,"  but  just  to  Christ  ?  "  For  Christ  is  the 
end  of  the  law,"  says  the  apostle,  "  for  right 
eousness  to  every  one  that  believeth."  6  The 
end  that  consummates,  not  that  consumes; 
the  end  whereto  we  attain,  not  wherein  we 
perish.  Exactly  thus  are  we  to  understand 
the  passage,  "  Christ  our  passover  is  sacri 
ficed."7  He  is  our  end;  into  Him  do  we 
pass.  For  I  see  that  these  gospel  words  may 
also  be  taken  in  a  kind  of  human  sense,  that 
Christ  loved  His  own  even  unto  death,  so 
that  this  may  be  the  meaning  of  "  He  loved 
them  unto  the  end."  This  meaning  is 


Rom.  x.  4. 


3°° 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  LV. 


human,  not  divine:'  for  it  was  not  merely  up 
to  this  point  that  we  were  loved  by  Him,  who 
loveth  us  always  and  endlessly.  God  forbid 
that  He,  whose  death  could  not  end,  should 
have  ended  His  love  at  death.  Even  after 
death  that  proud  and  ungodly  rich  man  loved 
his  five  brethren;2  and  is  Christ  to  be  thought 
of  as  loving  us  only  till  death  ?  God  forbid, 
beloved.  He  would  have  come  in  vain  with 
a  love  for  us  that  lasted  till  death,  if  that  love 
had  ended  there.  But  perhaps  the  words, 
*'  He  loved  them  unto  the  end,"  may  have 
to  be  understood  in  this  way,  That  He  so 
loved  them  as  to  die  for  them.  For  this  He 
testified  when  He  said,  "Greater  love  hath 
no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay  down  his 
life  for  his  friends."3  We  have  certainly  no 
objection  that  "  He  loved  them  unto  the 
end"  should  be  so  understood,  that  is,  it 
was  His  very  love  that  carried  Him  on  to 
death. 

3.  "And  the  supper,"  he  says,  "having 
taken  place,4  and  the  devil   having  now  put 
into  the  heart  of  Judas  Iscariot,  Simon's  son, 
to    betray   Him,   [Jesus]   knowing    that    the 
Father  had  given  all  things  into  His   hands, 
and  that  He  has  come  from  God,  and  is  going 
to  God;    He  riseth  from  supper,  and  layeth 
aside  His  garments;    and  took  a  towel,  and 
girded    Himself.      After    that    He    poureth 
water  into  a  basin,  and  began  to  wash  the  dis 
ciples'  feet,  and  to  wipe  them  with  the  towel 
wherewith  He  was  girded."     We  are  not  to 
understand  by  the  supper  having  taken  place, 
as  if  it  were  already  finished  and  over;  for 
it  was  still  going  on  when  the  Lord  rose  and 
washed   His  disciples'   feet.     For  He  after 
wards  sat  down  again,  and  gave  the  morsel 
[sop]  to  His  betrayer,  implying  certainly  that 
the   supper  was  not    yet   over,  or,   in   other 
words,  that  there  was  still  bread  on  the  table. 
Therefore,  by  supper  having  taken  place,  is 
meant  that  it  was  now  ready,  and  laid  out  on 
the  table  for  the  use  of  the  guests. 

4.  But  when  he  says,  "  The  devil  having 
now  put   into   the  heart   of   Judas    Iscariot, 
Simon's  son,  to  betray  Him; ''   if  one  inquires, 
what  was  put  into  Judas'  heart,  it  was  doubt 
less  this,  "to  betray  Him."     Such  a  putting 
[into  the  heart]  is  a  spiritual  suggestion:    and 
entereth    not   by   the   ear,    but   through   the 
thoughts;    and  thereby  not  in  a  way  that  is 
corporal,    but   spiritual.      For   what   we   call 
spiritual  is  not  always  to  be  understood  in  a 
commendatory   way.     The   apostle    knew   of 
certain  spiritual  things  [powers],  of  wicked- 


1  That  is,  "applies  to  Christ's  humanity,  not  His  divinity." 
— TR. 

2  Luke  xvi.  27,  28.  3  Chap.  TV.  13. 

4  Cixnnfacta  ;  Rtiirvov  ytvoptvov.     See  Auguslin's  explanation 
below.— TR. 


ness  in  heavenly  places,  against  which  he 
testifies  that  we  have  to  maintain  a  struggle;5 
and  there  would  not  be  spiritual  wickednesses, 
were  there  not  also  wicked  spirits.  For  it  is 
from  a  spiritual  being  that  spiritual  things 
get  their  name.  But  how  sucn  things  are 
done,  as  that  devilish  suggestions  should  be  in 
troduced,  and  so  mingle  with  human  thoughts 
that  a  man  accounts  them  his  own,  how  can 
he  know  ?  Nor  can  we  doubt  that  good  sug 
gestions  are  likewise  made  by  a  good  spirit 
in  the  same  unobservable  and  spiritual  way; 
but  it  is  matter  of  concern  to  which  of  these 
the  human  mind  yields  assent,  either  as  de 
servedly  left  without,  or  graciously  aided  by, 
the  divine  assistance.  The  determination, 
therefore,  had  now  been  come  to  in  Judas' 
heart  by  the  instigation  of  the  devil,  that  the 
disciple  should  betray  the  Master,  whom  he 
had  not  learned  to  know  as  his  God.  In  such 
a  state  had  he  now  come  to  their  social  meal, 
a  spy  on  the  Shepherd,  a  plotter  against  the 
Redeemer,  a  seller  of  the  Saviour;  as  such 
was  he  now  come,  was  he  now  seen  and  en 
dured,  and  thought  himself  undiscovered:  for 
he  was  deceived  about  Him  whom  he  wished 
to  deceive.  But  He,  who  had  already 
scanned  the  inward  state  of  that  very  heart, 
was  knowingly  making  use  of  one  who  knew 
it  not. 

5.  "[Jesus]  knowing  that  the   Father  has 
given  all  things  into  His  hands."     And  there 
fore  also  the  traitor  himself:    for  if  He  had 
him  net  in  His  hands,  He  certainly  could  not 
use   him   as    He   wished.      Accordingly,   the 
traitor   had    been   already   betrayed   to  Him 
whom  he  sought  to  betray;  and  he  carried  out 
his  evil  purpose  in  betraying  Him  in  such  a 
way,  that  good  he  knew  not  of  was  the  issue 
in   regard   to  Him  who  was  betrayed.     For 
the  Lord  knew  what  He  was  doing  for  His 
friends,  and  patiently  made  use  of  His  ene 
mies:    and    thus   had   the    Father   given    all 
things    into    His   hands,    both    the    evil   for 
present  use,  and  the  good  for  the  final  issue. 
"  Knowing  also  that  He  has  come  from  God, 
and  is  going  to  God:"   neither  quitting  God 
when  He  came  from  Him,  nor  us  when  He 
returned. 

6.  Knowing,  then,  these  things,  "  He  riseth 
from  supper,  and  layeth  aside  His  garments; 
and  took  a  towel,  and  girded  Himself.     After 
that  He  poureth  water  into  a  basin,  and  began 
to  wash  the  disciples'  feet,  and  to  wipe  them 
with  the  towel  wherewith   He  was  girded." 
We  ought,  dearly  beloved,  carefully  to  mark 
the  meaning  of  the  evangelist;    because  that, 
when    about    to    speak    of    the    pre-eminent 


LVLJ 


ox  TIM-;  GOSPEL  01    ST.  JOHN. 


30' 


luimility  of  the  Lord,  it  \vris  his  desire  first  to 
commend  Mis  majesty.  It  is  in  reference  to 
this  that  he  says,  "  Jesus  knowing  that  the 
Father  had  given  all  things  into  Mis  hands, 
and  that  Mr  lias  conic  from  ( iod,  and  is  ;;oinL;' 
to  (',(ul."  It  is  Me,  therefore,  into  whose 
hands  the  Father  had  given  all  things,  who 
now  washes,  not  the  disciples1  hands,  but 
their  feet:  and  it  was  just  while  knowing  that 
Me  had  come  from  God,  and  was  proceeding 
to  i',od,  that  He  discharged  the  office  of  a 
servant,  not  of  God  the  Lord,  hut  of  man.  And 
this  also  is  referred  to  by  the  prefatory  notice 
he  has  been  pleased  to  make  of  His  betrayer, 
who  was  now  come  as  such,  and  was  not  un 
known  to  Him;  that  the  greatness  of  His 
humility  should  be  still  further  enhanced  by 
the  fact  that  He  did  not  esteem  it  beneath 
His  dignity  to  wash  also  the  feet  of  one 
whose  hands  He  already  foresaw  to  be  steeped 
in  wickedness, 

7.  But  why  should  we  wonder  that  He  rose 
from  supper,  and  laid  aside  His  garments, 
who,  being  in  the  form  of  God,  made  Him 
self  of  no  reputation?'  And  why  should  we 
wonder,  if  He  girded  Himself  with  a  towel, 
who  took  upon  Him  the  form  of  a  servant, 
and  was  found  in  the  likeness  of  a  man?* 
Why  wonder,  if  He  poured  water  into  a  basin 
wherewith  to  wash  His  disciples'  feet,  who 


I.iterallv,  "emptied  Himself,"  as  in  the  Greek.— TR. 
Phil,  ii.  6,  7. 


poured  His  blood  upon  the  earth  to  wash 
away  the  filth  of  their  sins?  Wny  wonder,  if 
with  the  towel  wherewith  He  was  girded  He 
wiped  the  feet  He  had  washed,  who  with  the 
very  flesh  that  clothed  Him  laid  a  firm  path 
way  for  the  footsteps  of  His  evangelists  ?  In 
order,  indeed,  to  gird  Himself  with  the  towel, 
He  laid  aside  the  garments  He  wore;  but 
when  He  emptied  Himself  [of  His  divine 
glory]  in  order  to  assume  the  form  of  a  serv 
ant,  He  laid  not  down  what  He  had,  but  as 
sumed  that  which  He  had  not  before.  When 
about  to  be  crucified.  He  was  indeed  stripped 
of  His  garments,  and  when  dead  was  wrapped 
in  linen  clothes:  and  all  that  suffering  of 
His  is  our  purification.  When,  therefore, 
about  to  suffer  the  last  extremities  [of  humilia 
tion,]  He  here  illustrated  beforehand  its 
friendly  compliances;  not  only  to  those  for 
whom  He  was  about  to  endure  death,  but  to 
him  also  who  had  resolved  on  betraying  Him 
to  death.  Because  so  great  is  the  beneficence 
of  human  humility,  that  even  the  Divine 
Majesty  was  pleased  to  commend  it  by  His 
own  example;  for  proud  man  would  have 
perished  eternally,  had  he  not  been  found  by 
the  lowly  God.  For  the  Son  of  man  came  to 
seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost.3  And 
as  he  was  lost  by  imitating  the  pride  of  the 
deceiver,  let  him  now,  when  found,  imitate 
the  Redeemer's  humility. 


3  Luke  xi.x.  10. 


TRACTATE    LVI. 

CHAPTER  XIII.  6-10. 


i.  WHEN  the  Lord  was  washing  the  disci 
ples'  feet,  "  He  cometh  to  Simon  Peter;  and 
Peter  saith  unto  Him,  Lord,  dost  Thou  wash 
my  feet?'*  For  who  would  not  be  filled  with 
fear  at  having  his  feet  washed  by  the  Son  of 
God  ?  Although,  therefore,  it  was  a  piece  of 
the  greatest  audacity  for  the  servant  to  con 
tradict  his  Lord,  the  creature  his  God;  yet 
Peter  preferred  doing  this  to  the  suffering  of 
his  feet  to  be  washed  by  his  Lord  and  God. 
Nor  ought  we  to  think  that  Peter  was  one 
amongst  others  who  so  expressed  their  fear 
and  refusal,  seeing  that  others  before  him 
had  suffered  it  to  be  done  to  themselves  with 
cheerfulness  and  equanimity.  For  it  is  easier 
so  to  understand  the  words  of  the  Gospel, 
because  that,  after  saying,  "  He  began  to 


wash  the  disciples'  feet,  and  to  wipe  them 
with  the  towel  wherewith  He  was  girded,''  it 
is  then  added,  "Then  cometh  He  to  Simon 
Peter,''  as  if  He  had  already  washed  the  feet 
of  some,  and  after  them  had  now  come  to 
the  first  of  them  all.  For  who  can  fail  to 
know  that  the  most  blessed  Peter  was  the 
first  of  the  apostles  ?  But  we  are  not  so 
to  understand  it,  that  it  was  after  some  others 
that  He  came  to  him;  but  that  He  began  with 
him.1  When,  therefore,  He  began  to  wash 
the  disciples'  feet,  He  came  to  him  with 
whom  He  began,  namely,  to  Peter;  and  then 
Peter  took  fright  at  what  any  one  of  them 


1  It  is  curious  to  noiji  <•  how  Au^uslin   here  rtniir.uii   '- 
viousandnatiir.il    explanation  it    ;  .  uphold 

thr  primacy  of  Peter.     It  looks  as  if  here  he  suddenly  felt  that  his 
former  words  were  rather  adverse  to  the  notion.— TK. 


302 


THK  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACT ATK  I. VI. 


might  have  been  frightened,  and  said,  "  Lord, 
dost  Thou  wash  my  feet?"  What  is  implied 
in  this  "  Thou  "  ?  and  what  in  "  my  "  ?  These 
are  subjects  for  thought  rather  than  for 
speech;  lest  perchance  any  adequate  concep 
tion  the  soul  may  have  formed  of  such  words 
may  fail  of  explanation  in  the  utterance. 

2.  But  "  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him, 
What  I  do  thou   knowest  not  now,  but  thou 
shalt  know  hereafter."     And  not  even  yet, 
terrified  as  he  was  by  the  sublimity  of  the 
Lord's  action,  does  he  allow  it  to  be  done, 
while  ignorant  of  its  purpose;  but  is  unwilling 
to  see,  unable  to  endure,  that  Christ  should 
thus    humble    Himself    to    his    very    feet. 
"Thou    shalt   never,"  he   says,   "wash    my 
feet."     What  is  this  "never"  [in  aternum~\  ? 
I  will  never  endure,  never  suffer,  never  per 
mit  it:  that  is,  a  thing  is  not  done  "/«  ceter- 
num  "  which  is  never  done.     Then  the  Sav 
iour,  to  terrify  His  reluctant  patient  with  the 
danger  of  his  own  salvation,  says,  "  If  I  wash 
thee  not,  thou  shalt  have  no  part  with  me." 
He  speaks  in  this  way,  "  If  I  wash  thee  not," 
when  He  was  referring  only  to  his  feet;  just 
as  it  is  customary  to  say,  You  are  trampling 
on   me,    when    it   is   only   the    foot   that   is 
trampled  on.     And  now  the  other,  in  a  per 
turbation  of  love  and  fear,  and  more  fright 
ened  at   the  thought  that   Christ  should    be 
withheld   from    him,  than  even  to  see  Him 
humbled   at  his  feet,  exclaims,  "  Lord,  not 
my  feet   only,  but   also   my  hands   and   my 
head.1'    Since  this,  indeed,  is  Thy  threat,  that 
my  bodily  members  must  be  washed  by  Thee, 
not  only  do  I  no  longer  withhold  the  lowest, 
but  I  lay  the  foremost  also  at  Thy  disposal. 
Deny  me  not  having  a  part  with  Thee,  and 
I  deny  Thee  not  any  part  of  my  body  to  be 
washed. 

3.  "  Jesus  saith  to  him,  He  that  is  washed 
needeth  not  save  to  wash  his  feet,  but  is  clean 
every   whit."     Some   one    perhaps   may    be 
aroused  at  this,  and  say:  Nay,  but  if  he  is 
every  whit  clean,  what  need  has  He  even  to 
wash  his  feet  ?     But  the  Lord  knew  what  He 
was  saying,  even  though  our  weakness  reach 
not  into  His  secret  purposes.     Nevertheless, 
so  far  as  He  is  pleased  to  instruct  and  teach 
us  out  of  His  law,  up  to  the  little  measure  of 
my  apprehension,  I  would  also,  with  His  help, 
make  some  answer  bearing  on  the  depths  of 
this  question:  and,  first  of  all,  I  shall  have  no 
difficulty  in  showing  that  there  is  no  self-con 
tradiction  in  the  manner  of  expression.     For 
who  may  not  say,  as  here,  with  the  greatest 
propriety,  He  is  all  clean,  except '  his  feet  ? — 
although  he  would  speak  with  greater  elegance 


1  Of  course,  it  is  a  mere  elegance  in  the  I.atinity  to  which  Au- 
jrustin  here  refers,  as  between  frmttrf*4l»  and  nisi fedes,  when 


were  he  to  say,  He  is  all  clean,  save  '  his  feet; 
which  is  equivalent  in  meaning.  Thus,  then, 
doth  the  Lord  say,  "  He  needeth  not  save  to 
wash  his  feet,  but  is  all  clean."  All,  that  is, 
except,  or  save1  his  feet,  which  he  still  needs 
to  wash. 

'  4.  But  what  is  this  ?  what  does  it  mean  ? 
and  what  is  there  in  it  we  need  to  examine? 
The  Lord  says,  The  Truth  declares  that  even 
he  who  has  been  washed  has  need  still  to  wash 
his  feet.  What,  my  brethren,  what  think  you 
of  it?  save  that  in  holy  baptism  a  man  has  all 
of  him  washed,  not  all  save  his  feet,  but  every 
whit;  and  yet,  while  thereafter  living  in  this 
human  state,  he  cannot  fail  to  tread  on  the 
ground  with  his  feet.  And  thus  our  human 
feelings  themselves,  which  are  inseparable 
from  our  mortal  life  on  earth,  are  like  feet 
wherewith  we  are  brought  into  sensible  con 
tact  with  human  affairs;  and  are  so  in  such  a 
way,  that  if  we  say  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive 
ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us."  And 
every  day,  therefore,  is  He  who  intercedeth 
for  us 3  washing  our  feet:  and  that  we, too  have 
daily  need  to  be  washing  our  feet,  that  is, 
ordering  aright  the  path  of  our  spiritual  foot 
steps,  we  acknowledge  even  in  the  Lord's 
prayer,  when  we  say,  "  Forgive  us  our  debts, 
as  we  also  forgive  our  debtors."4  For  "if," 
as  it  is  written,  "we  confess  our  sins,"  then 
verily  is  He,  who  washed  His  disciples'  feet, 
"  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and 
to  cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness,"5  that 
is,  even  to  our  feet  wherewith  we  walk  on  the 
earth. 

5.  Accordingly  the  Church,  which  Christ 
cleanseth  with  the  washing  of  water  in  the 
word,  is  without  spot  and  wrinkle,6  not  only 
in  the  case  of  those  who  are  taken  away  im 
mediately  after  the  washing  of  regeneration 
from  the  contagious  influence  of  this  life,  and 
tread  not  the  earth  so  as  to  make  necessary 
the  washing  of  their  feet,  but  in  those  also  who 
have  experienced  such  mercy  from  the  Lord 
as  to  be  enabled  to  quit  this  present  life  even 
with  feet  that  have  been  washed.  But  al 
though  the  Church  be  also  clean  in  respect  of 
those  who  tarry  on  earth,  because  they  live 
righteously;  yet  have  they  need  to  be  washing 
their  feet,  because  they  assuredly  are  not 
without  sin.  For  this  cause  is  it  said  in  the 
Song  of  Songs,  "  I  have  washed  my  feet;  how 
shall  I  defile  them?"7  For  one  so  speaks 
when  he  is  constrained  to  come  to  Christ,  and 
n  coming  has  to  bring  his  feet  into  contact 
with  the  ground.  But  again,  there  is  another 
question  that  arises.  Is  not  Christ  above? 


llialtfying  the  expression,  Mumius  esl  lotus  "  (he  is  all  clean). 

i  John  i.  8.  3  Rom.  viii.  34.  4  Matt.  vi.  12. 

i  John  i.  y.  <>  Kph.  v.  26,  27.  7  Song  of  Sol.  v.  3. 


.  \  1 1.  1  VI  I.] 


ON  THF.  GOSPEL  "I    ST    .1-  >!!N. 


li:ith  He  not  ascended  into  heaven,  am! 
He  not  at  the  Father's  right  hand  ?  Dot-snot 
the  apostle  expressly  declare,  "  If  ye,  then, 
be  risen  with  Christ,  set  your  thoughts  on 
•hings  which  are  above,  where  Christ  is 
sitting  on  die  right  hand  of  C.od.  Seek  the 
things  which  are  above,  not  things  which  are 
on  earth  ?"  '  How  is  it,  then,  that  to  get  to 
Christ  we  are  compelled  to  tread  the  earth, 
since  rather  our  hearts  ought  to  be  turned 
upwards  toward  the  Lord,  that  we  may  be  en 


abled   to  dwell    in    His   pre^  .11   see, 

brethren,  the  shortness  of  the  time  to-day 
curtails  our  consideration  of  this  question. 
A  nil  if  you  perhaps  fail  in  some  measure  to 
do  so,  yet  I  for  my  part  see  how  much 
ing  up  it  requires.  And  therefore  I  beg  of 
you  to  suffer  it  rather  to  be  adjourned,  than  to 
be  treated  now  in  too  negligent  and  restricted 
a  manner;  and  your  expectations  will  not  be 
defrauded,  but  only  deferred.  For  the  Lord 
who  thus  makes  us  your  debtors,  will  be  pres 
ent  to  enable  us  also  to  pay  our  debts. 


TRACTATE    LVII. 

CHAPTER  XIII.  6-10  (continued),  and  Soxc,  OF  Soi..  V.  2,  3. 


IN  WHAT  WAV  THE  CHURCH  SHOULD  FEAR  TO  cleansed  by  Him  who  washed  His  disciples' 
DEFILE  HER  FEET,  WHILE  PROCEEDING  ON  ,  feet,5  and  ceaseth  not  to  make  intercession 
HER  WAY  TO  CHRIST.  i  for  us.6  And  here  occurred  the  words  of  the 

Church  in  the  Song  of  Songs,  when  she  saith, 

i.  I  HAVE  not  been  unmindful  of  my  debt,  j  "  I  have  washed  my  feet;  how  shall  I  defile 
and  acknowledge  that  the  time  of  payment  them?"  when  she  wished  to  go  and  open  to 
has  now  come.  May  He  give  me  wherewith '  that  Being,  fairer  in  form  than  the  sons  of 
to  pay,  as  He  gave  me  cause  to  incur  the  men,7  who  had  come  to  her  and  knocked,  and 
debt.  For  He  has  given  me  the  love,  of;  asked  her  to  open  to  Him.  This  gave  rise 
which  it  is  said,  "  Owe  no  man  anything,  but  to  a  question,  which  we  were  unwilling  to 
to  love  one  another."1  May  He  give  also  compress  into  the  narrow  limits  of  the  time, 
the  word,  which  I  feel  myself  owing  to  those  and  therefore  deferred  till  now,  in  what  sense 
I  love.  I  put  off  your  expectations  till  now)  the  Church,  when  on  her  way  to  Christ,  may 
for  this  reason,  that  I  might  explain  as  I  could  !  be  afraid  of  defiling  her  feet,  which  she  had 
how  it  is  we  come  to  Christ  along  the  ground,  washed  in  the  baptism  of  Christ, 
when  we  are  commanded  rather  to  seek  the  2.  For  thus  she  speaks:  "  I  sleep,  but  my 
things  which  are  above,  not  the  things  which  )  heart  waketh:  it  is  the  voice  of  my  Beloved  " 
are  upon  the  earth.3  For  Christ  is  sitting  i  that  knocketh  at  the  gate."  And  then  He 
above,  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father:  but  also  says:  "Open  to  me,  my  sister,  my  near- 
He  is  assuredly  here  also;  and  for  that  reason  est,  my  dove,  my  perfect  one;  for  my  head  is 
said  also  to  Saul,  as  he  was  raging  on  the  j  filled  with  dew,  and  my  hair  with  the  drops  of 
earth,  ''Why  persecutest  thou  me?"3  But  the  night."  And  she  replies:  "I  have  put 
the  topic  on  which  we  were  speaking,  and  i  off  my  dress;  how  shall  I  put  it  on  ?  I  have 
which  led  to  our  entering  on  this  inquiry,  was  washed  my  feet;  how  shall  I  defile  them  ?  "  9 
our  Lord's  washing  His  disciples'  feet,  after  :O  wonderful  sacramental  symbol!  O  lofty 
the  disciples  themselves  had  already  been  mystery  !  Does  she,  then,  fear  to  defile  her 
washed,  and  needed  not,  save  to  wash  their  [feet  in  coming  to  Him  who  washed  the  feet 
feet.  And  we  there  saw  it  to  be  understood  of  His  disciples  ?  Her  fear  is  genuine;  for  it 
that  a  man  is  indeed  wholly  washed  in  bap-  is  along  the  earth  she  has  to  come  to  Him, 
tism;  but  while  thereafter  he  liveth  in  this  i  who  is  still  on  earth,  because  refusing  to  leave 
present  world,  and  with  the  feet  of  his  human  j  His  own  who  are  stationed  here.  Is  it  not 
passions  treadeth  on  this  earth,  that  is,  in  his  He  that  saith,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  always, 
life-intercourse  with  others,  he  contracts  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world  "  5 '  Is  it  not 


enough  to  call  forth  the  prayer,  "  Forgive  us   He 
our  debts." «     And  thus  from  these  also  is  he 


Rom.  xii 


»Col.  iii.  i.  i. 
4  Matt. 


that   saith,    "  Ye   shall   see   the   heavens 


5  Chap,  xiii 


i.  5.  6  Rom 

<•//>,  literally  cousin  (by  the  father's  tide). 


«°  Matt,  xxviii. 


304 


THI-:  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACT,* 


opened,  and  the  angels  of  (lod  ascending  and 
descending  upon  the  Son  of  man  "  ? '  If  they 
ascend  to  Him  because  He  is  above,  how  do 
they  descent!  to  Him,  but  because  He  is  also 
here?  Therefore  saith  the  Church:  "I  have 
washed  my  feet;  how  shall  I  defile  them?" 
She  says  so  even  in  the  case  of  those  who, 
purified  from  all  dross,  can  say:  "  I  desire  to 
depart,  and  to  be  with  Christ;  nevertheless 
to  abide  in  the  flesh  is  more  needful  for 
you."2  She  says  it  in  those  who  preach 
Christ,  and  open  to  Him  the  door,  that  He 
may  dwell  by  faith  in  the  hearts  of  men.3  In 
such  she  says  it,  when  they  deliberate  whether 
to  undertake  such  a  ministry,  for  which  they 
do  not  consider  themselves  qualified,  so  as  to 
discharge  it  blamelessly,  and  so  as  not,  after 
preaching  to  others,  themselves  to  become 
castaways.4  For  it  is  safer  to  hear  than  to 
preach  the  truth:  for  in  the  hearing,  humility 
is  preserved;  but  when  it  is  preached,  it  is 
scarcely  possible  for  any  man  to  hinder  the 
entrance  of  some  small  measure  of  boasting, 
whereby  the  feet  at  least  are  defiled. 

3.  Therefore,  as  the  Apostle  James  saith, 
'*  Let  every  man  be  swift  to  hear,  slow  to 
speak."5  As  it  is  also  said  by  another  man 
of  God,  "  Thou  wilt  make  me  to  hear  joy  and 
gladness,  and  the  bones  Thou  hast  humbled 
will  rejoice."6  This  is  what  I  said:  When 
the  truth  is  heard,  humility  is  preserved. 
And  another  says:  "  But  the  friend  of  the 
bridegroom  standeth  and  heareth  him,  and 


ishing  slothfulness,  but  in  acquiring  wisdom. 
"  I  sleep,  and  my  heart  waketh."  I  am  still, 
and  see  that  Thou  art  the  Lord:8  for  "the 
wisdom  of  the  scribe  cometh  by  opportunity 
of  leisure;  and  he  that  hath  little  business 
shall  become  wise."9  "I  sleep,  and  my 
heart  waketh:  "  I  rest  from  troublesome  bus 
iness,  and  my  mind  turns  its  attention  to 
divine  concerns  (or  communications).10 

4.  But  while  the  Church  finds  delightful  re 
pose  in  those  who  thus  sweetly  and  humbly 
sit  at  her  feet,  here  is  one  who  knocks,  and 
says:  "  What  I  tell  you  in  darkness,  that 
speak  ye  in  light;  and  what  ye  hear  in  the 
ear,  that  preach  ye  upon  the  house-tops."  " 
It  is  His  voice,  then,  that  knocks  at  the  gate, 
and  says:  "  Open  to  me,  my  sister,  my  neigh 
bor,  my  dove,  my  perfect  one;  for  my  head  is 
filled  with  dew,  and  my  locks  with  the  drops 
of  the  night."  As  if  He  had  said,  Thou  art 
at  leisure,  and  the  door  is  closed  against  me: 
thou  art  caring  for  the  leisure  of  the  few,  and 
through  abounding  iniquity  the  love  of  many 
is  waxing  cold.12  The  night  He  speaks  of  is 
iniquity:  but  His  dew  and  drops  are  those 
who  wax  cold  and  fall  away,  and  make  the 
head  of  Christ  to  wax  cold,  that  is,  the  love 
of  God  to  fail.  For  the  head  of  Christ  is 
God.'3  But  they  are  borne  on  His  locks,  that 
is,  their  presence  is  tolerated  in  the  visible 
sacraments;  while  their  senses  never  take 
hold  of  the  internal  realities.  He  knocks, 
therefore,  to  shake  off  this  quiet  from  His  in- 


rejoiceth  greatly  because  of  the  bridegroom's  j active  saints,  and  cries,  "Open  to  me,"  thou 


Let  us  rejoice  in  the  hearing  that 
comes  from  the  noiseless  speaking  of  the  truth 
within  us.  For  although,  when  the  sound  is 
outwardly  uttered,  as  by  one  that  readeth,  or 
proclaimeth,  or  preacheth,  or  disputeth,  or 
corr.mancleth,  or  comforteth,  or  exhorteth,  or 


even  by  one 


sings  or  accompanies  his 


voice  on  an  instrument,  those  who  do  so  may 
fear  to  defile  their  feet,  when  they  aim  at 
pleasing  men  with  the  secretly  active  desire 
of  human  applause.  Yet  the  one  who  hears 
such  with  a  willing  and  pious  mind,  has  no 
room  for  self-gratulation  in  the  labors  of 
others;  and  -with  no  self-inflation,  but  with 
the  joy  of  humility,  rejoices  because  of  the 
Master's  words  of  truth.  Accordingly,  in 
those  who  hear  with  willingness  and  humility, 
and  spend  a  tranquil  life  in  sweet  and  whole 
some  studies,  the  holy  Church  will  take  de 
light,  and  may  say,  "  I  sleep,  and  my  heart 
waketh."  And  what  is  this,  "I  sleep,  and 


who,  through  my  blood,  art  become  "  my 
sister;"  through  my  drawing  nigh,  "my 
neighbor;"  through  my  Spirit,  '"my  dove;" 
through  my  word  which  thou  hast  fully  learned 
in  thy  leisure,  "my  perfect  one:"  open  to 
me,  go  and  preach  me  to  others.  For  how 
shall  I  get  in  to  those  who  have  shut  their 
door  against  me,  without  some  one  to  open  ? 
and  how  shall  they  hear  without  a  preacher  ? u 
5.  Hence  it  happens  that  those  who  love  to 
devote  their  leisure  to  good  studies,  and 
shrink  from  encountering  the  troubles  of  toil 
some  labors,  as  feeling  themselves  unsuited  to 
undertake  and  discharge  such  services  with 
credit,  would  prefer,  were  it  possible,  to  have 
the  holy  apostles  and  ancient  preachers  of  the 
truth  again  raised  up  against  that  abounding 
of  iniquity  which  hath  so  reduced  the  warmth 
of  Christian  love.  But  in  regard  to  those  who 
have  already  left  the  body,  and  put  off  the 
garment  of  the  flesh  (for  they  are  not  utterly 


my  heart  waketh,"  but  just  I  sit  down  quietly    parted),  the  Church  replies,  "  I  have  put  off 
to  listen?     My  leisure  is  not  laid  out  in  nour-   my  dress;    how  shall   I   put   it  on?"     That 


'  Chap.  i.  Si. 
4  1  for.    i\.  .7. 
7  Chap.  iii.  2q. 


=  Phil.  i.  23, 
5  Jas.  i.  19. 


Kph.  iii.  17. 
•  1's.  h.  8. 


8  Ps.  xlvi.  10.  9  Ecclus.  xxxviu.  24- 

»<•  Two  readings,  affcctibus  or  nffatibus.         "  Matt.  x.  27. 
«=  Matt.  xxiv.  ia  M  i  Cor.  xi.  3.  '•»  Horn.  x.   14. 


I  RA<    I  Ml      I   \  III    | 


o\    I  in.  GOSPEL  <  >i    ST.  JOHN 


dress  shall,  indeed,  yet  be  recovered;  and  in 
the  persons  of  those  \vlio  have  meanwhile  laid 
it  aside,  shall  the  Church  again  put  on  the 
garment  of  llesh:  only  not  now,  when  the  cold 
are  needing  to  lie  warmed;  but  then,  when 
the  dead  shall  rise  again.  Keali/.ing,  then, 
her  present  dit'ticulty  through  the  scarcity  of 
preachers,  and  remembering  those  members  of 
her  own  who  were  so  sound  in  word  and  holy 
in  character,  but  are  now  disunited  from  their 
bodies,  the  Church  says  in  her  sorrow,  "  I 
have  put  off  my  dress;  how  shall  I  put  it  on  ? " 
How  can  those  members  of  mine,  who  had 
siu-h  surpassing  power,  through  their  preach 
ing,  to  open  the  door  to  Christ,  now  return  to 
the  bodies  which  they  have  laid  aside  ? 

6.  And  then,  turning  again  to  those  who 
preach,  and  gather  in  and  govern  the  congre 
gations  of  His  people,  and  so  open  as  they 
can  to  Christ,  but  are  afraid,  amid  the  diffi 
culties  of  such  work,  of  falling  into  sin,  she 
says,  "  I  have  washed  my  feet;  how  shall  I 
defile  them?"  For  whosoever  offendeth  not 
in  word,  the  same  is  a  perfect  man.  And 
who,  then,  is  perfect  ?  Who  is  there  that  of 
fendeth  not  amid  such  an  abounding  of  iniq- 
uity,  and  such  a  freezing  of  charity  ?  "I  have 


washed  my  feet;  how  shall  I  defile  thc-in  ?  " 
At  times  1  read  and  hear:  "  My  brethren,  be 
not  many  masters,  seeing  that  ye  shall  receive 

the  greater  condemnation:  for  in  many  things 
we  offend  all."1  "I  have  washed  my  feet; 
how  shall  I  defile  them?'*  But  see,  I  rise 
and  open.  Christ,  wash  them.  "  Forgive  us 
our  debts,"  because  our  love  is  not  altogether 
extinguished:  for  "we  also  forgive  our 
debtors."2  When  we  listen  to  Thee,  the 
bones  which  have  been  humbled  rejoice  with 
Thee  in  the  heavenly  places.3  Hut  when  we 
preach  Thee,  we  have  to  tread  the  ground  in 
order  to  open  to  Thee:  and  then,  if  we  are 
blameworthy,  we  are  troubled;  if  we  are  com 
mended,  we  become  inflated.  Wash  our  feet, 
that  were  formerly  cleansed,  but  have  again 
been  defiled  in  our  walking  through  the  earth 
to  open  unto  Thee.  Let  this  be  enough  to 
day,  beloved.  But  in  whatever  we  have  hap 
pened  to  offend,  by  saying  otherwise  than  we 
ought,  or  have  been  unduly  elated  by  your 
commendations,  entreat  that  our  feet  may  be 
washed,  and  may  your  prayers  find  accept 
ance  with  God. 


Matt.  vi.  12. 


TRACTATE   LVIII. 

CHAPTER   XIII.   10-15. 


1.  WE  have  already,  beloved,  as  the  Lord 
was  pleased  to  enable  us,  expounded  to  you 
those  words  of  the  Gospel,  where  the  Lord, 
in  washing  His  disciples'  feet,  says,  "  He  that 
is  once  washed  needeth  not  save  to  wash  his 
feet,  but  is  clean  every  whit."     Let  us  now 
look  at  what  follows.     "And  ye,"  He  says, 
"are  clean,   but  not  all."     And   to  remove 
the  need  of  inquiry  on  our  part,  the  evangel 
ist  has  himself  explained  its  meaning,  by  add 
ing:  "  For  He  knew  who  it  was  that  should 
betray  Him;  therefore  said   He,  Ye  are  not 
all  clean."     Can  anything  be  clearer?     Let 
us  therefore  pass  to  what  follows. 

2.  "  So,  after   He   had   washed  their  feet, 
and   had   taken   His  garments,   and   was   set 
down   again,    He   said    unto   them,  Know   ye 
what  I  have  done  to  you?"     Now  it  is  that 
the  blessed  Peter  gets  that  promise  fulfilled: 
for  he  had  been  put  off  when,  in  the  midst  of 
his    trembling    and    asserting.    "  Thou    shall 
never  wash  my  feet,"  lie  received  the  answer, 
"  What  I  do,  thou  knowesl  nol  now,  bul  thou 

n 


shall  know  hereafter"  (vers.  7,  8).  Here, 
then,  is  thai  very  hereafler;  il  is  now  lime  to 
tell  what  was  a  litlle  ago  deferred.  Accord 
ingly,  Ihe  Lord,  mindful  of  His  foregoing 
promise  lo  make  him  understand  an  act  of 
His  so  unexpected,  so  wonderful,  so  frighten 
ing,  and,  but  for  His  own  still  more  lerrify- 
ing  rejoinder,  impossible  lo  be  permilled,  lhal 
the  Master  not  only  of  themselves,  but  of 
angels,  and  the  Lord  not  only  of  Ihem,  but  of 
all  ihings,  should  wash  the  feet  of  His  own 
disciples  and  servants:  having  then  promised 
to  let  him  know  the  meaning  of  so  important 
an  act,  when  He  said,  "  Thou  shall  know 
afterwards,"  begins  now  to  show  them  what 
it  was  thai  He  did. 

3.  "Ye  call  me,"  He  says,  "Master  and 
Lord:  and  ye  say  well;  for  so  I  am."  "Ye 
say  well,"  for  ye  only  say  the  truth;  I  am 
indeed  what  ye  say.  There  is  a  precept  laid 
on  man:  "  Let  nol  ihine  own  mouth  praise 
tliee,  but  the  moulh  of  Ihy  neighbor."  '  For 

'  Hn.v.  xxvii.  3. 


Till;   WORKS  OF  ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


[TKA.-I  \n:    I.Vlh 


self-pleasing  is  a  perilous  thing  for  one  who 
has  to  be  on  his  guard  against  falling  into 
pride.  But  He  who  is  over  all  things,  how 
ever  much  He  commend  Himself,  cannot 
exalt  Himself  above  His  actual  dignity:  nor 
can  God  be  rightly  termed  arrogant.  For  it 
is  to  our  advantage  to  know  Him,  not  to  His; 
nor  can  any  one  know  Him,  unless  that  self- 
knowing  One  make  Himself  known.  If  He, 
then,  by  abstaining  from  self-commendation, 
wish,  as  it  were,  to  avoid  arrogance,  He  will 
deny  us  the  power  of  knowing  Him.  And  no 
one  surely  would  blame  Him  for  calling  Him 
self  Master,  even  though  believing  Him  to  be 
nothing  more  than  a  man;  seeing  He  only 
makes  profession  of  what  even  men  them 
selves  in  the  various  arts  profess  to  such  an 
extent,  without  any  charge  of  arrogance,  tfiat 
they  are  termed  professors.  But  to  call 
Himself  also  the  Lord  of  His  disciples, — of 
men  who,  in  an  earthly  sense,  were  themselves 
also  free-born, — who  would  tolerate  it  in  a 
man  ?  But  it  is  God  that  speaks.  Here  no 
elation  is  possible  to  loftiness  so  great,  no  lie 
to  the  truth:  the  profit  is  ours  to  be  the  sub 
jects  of  such  loftiness,  the  servants  of  the 
truth.  That  He  calls  Himself  Lord  is  no 
imperfection  on  His  side,  but  a  benefit  on 
ours.  The  words  of  a  certain  profane  '  author 
are  commended,  when  he  says,  "All  arro 
gance  is  hateful,  and  specially  disagreeable 
is  that  of  talent  and  eloquence;  "  -  and  yet, 
when  the  same  person  was  speaking  of  his  own 
eloquence,  he  said,  "  I  would  call  it  perfect, 
were  I  to  pronounce  judgment;  nor,  in  truth, 
would  I  greatly  fear  the  charge  of  arro 
gance."3  If,  then,  that  most  eloquent  man 
had  in  truth  no  fear  of  being  charged  with 
arrogance,  how  can  the  truth  itself  have  such 
a  fear?  Let  Him  call  Himself  Lord  who  is 
the  Lord,  let  Him  say  what  is  true  who  is  the 
Truth;  so  that  I  may  not  fail  to  learn  that 
which  is  profitable,  by  His  being  silent  about 
that  which  is.  The  most  blessed  Paul — cer 
tainly  not  himself  the  only-begotten  Son  of 
God,  but  the  servant  and  apostle  of  that  Son; 
not  the  Truth,  but  a  partaker  of  the  truth — 
declares  with  freedom  and  consistency,  "And 
though  I  would  desire  to  glory,  I  shall  not  be 
a  fool;  for  I  say  the  truth."4  For  it  would 
not  be  in  himself,  but  in  the  truth,  which  is 
superior  to  himself,  that  he  was  glorying  both 
humbly  and  truly:  for  it  is  he  also  who  has 
given  the  charge,  that  he  that  glorieth  should 
glory  in  the  Lord.5  Could  thus  the  lover 
of  wisdom  have  no  fear  of  being  chargeable 
with  foolishness,  though  he  desired  to  glory? 
and  would  wisdom  itself,  in  its  glorying,  have 


Str.u/aris.  *  Cicero,  in  (.'.  Ctecitimn. 

t  Cicero,  tie  Oratore.  4  2  Cor.  xii.  6.  5  i  i 


any  fear  of  such  a  charge  ?  He  had  no  fear 
of  arrogance  who  said,  "  My  soul  shall  make 
lier  boast  in  the  Lord;  "  fj  and  could  the  power 
of  the  Lord  have  any  such  fear  in  commend 
ing  itself,  in  which  His  servant's  soul  is  mak- 
ng  her  boast?  "Ye  call  me,"  He  says, 
"  Master  and  Lord:  and  ye  say  well;  for  so  I 
am."  Therefore  ye  say  well,  that  I  am  so: 
for  if  I  were  not  what  ye  say,  ye  would  be 
wrong  to  say  so,  even  with  the  purpose  of 
praising  me.  How,  then,  could  the  Truth 
deny  what  the  disciples  of  the  Truth  affirm  ? 
How  could  that  which  was  said  by  the  learners 
be  denied  by  the  very  Truth  that  gave  them 
their  learning?  How  can  the  fountain  deny 
what  the  drinker  asserts?  how  can  the  light 
hide  what  the  beholder  declares  ? 

4.  "  If  I,  then,"  He  says,  "  your  Lord  and 
Master,  have  washed  your  feet,  ye  also  ought 
to  wash  one  another's  feet.     For  I  have  given 
you  an  example,  that  ye  should  do  as  I  have 
done  to  you."     This,  blessed  Peter,  is  what 
thou  didst  not  know  when  thou  wert  not  al 
lowing  it  to  be  done.    This  is  what  He  prom 
ised  to  let  thee  know  afterwards,   when  thy 
Master  and  thy  Lord  terrified  thee  into  sub 
mission,    and    washed    thy    feet.     We    have 
learned,  brethren,  humility  from  the  Highest; 
let  us,  as  humble,  do  to  one  another  what  He, 
the  Highest,  did  in  His  humility.     Great  is 
the  commendation  we  have  here  of  humility: 
and  brethren  do  this  to  one  another  in  turn, 
even  in  the  visible  act  itself,  when  they  treat 
one  another  with  hospitality;  for  the  practice 
of  such  humility  is  generally  prevalent,  and 
finds  expression  in  the  very  deed  that  makes 
it  discernible.     And  hence  the  apostle,  when 
he  would  commend  the  well-deserving  widow, 
says,  "  If  she  is  hospitable,  if  she  has  washed 
the  saints'  feet."7     And  wherever  such  is  not 
the  practice  among  the  saints,  what  they  do 
not  with  the  hand  they  do  in  heart,  if  they  are 
of  the  number  of  those  who  are  addressed  in 
the  hymn  of  the  three  blessed  men,  "  O  ye 
holy  and  humble  of  heart,  bless  ye  the  Lord."8 
But  it  is  far  better,  and  beyond  all  dispute 
more  accordant  with  the  truth,  that  it  should 
also  be  done  with  the  hands;  nor  should  the 
Christian  think  it  beneath  him  to  do  what  was 
done  by  Christ.     For  when  the  body  is  bent 
at  a  brother's  feet,  the  feeling  of  such  humil 
ity  is  either  awakened  in  the  heart  itself,  or  is 
strengthened  if  already  present. 

5.  But  apart  from  this  moral  understanding 
of  the  passage,  we  remember  that  the  way  in 


6  Ps.  xxxiv.  2.  7  i  Tim.  v.  10. 

8  Dan.  iii.  88  ;   that  is,  in  the  apocryphal  piece  called  "  The 

S,ingoftht  '/'/ir,;-  ( Vu'M >;•„."  and  which,  as  it  has  10  place  in  the 

Hebrew  Scriptures,  is  also  omitted   in  our   English  vt-rsion.     Its 

-Id   fall  between  the  itf  and  24th  verses  of  chap.  iii. 


ON    I  in:  &OSPEL  oi-  ST.  JOHN. 


which  we  commended  to  your  attention  the 
grandeur  of  this  art  of  the  Lord's,  was  that, 
in  washing  the  fret  of  disciples  who  were 
already  washed  and  clean,  the  Lord  instituted 
a  sign,  to  tiie  end  that,  on  account  of  the 
human  feelings  t'uat  occupy  us  on  earth,  how 
ever  far  we  may  have  advanced  in  our  appre 
hension  of  righteousness,  we  might  know  that 
we  are  not  exempt  from  sin;  which  He  there 
after  washes  away  by  interceding  for  us,  when 
we  pray  the  Father,  who  is  in  heaven,  to  for- 
give  us  our  debts,  as  we  also  forgive  our 
debtors.1  What  connection,  then,  can  such 
an  understanding  of  the  passage  have  with 
that  which  He  afterwards  gave  Himself,  when 
He  explained  the  reason  of  His  act  in  the 
words,  "  If  I  then,  your  Lord  and  Master, 
have  washed  your  feet,  ye  also  ought  to  wash 
one  another's  feet.  For  I  have  given  you  an 
example,  that  ye  should  do  as  I  have  done  to 
you  "  ?  Can  we  say  that  even  a  brother  may 
cleanse  a  brother  from  the  contracted  stain  of 
wrongdoing?  Yea,  verily,  we  know  that  of 
this  also  we  were  admonished  in  the  profound 
significance  of  this  work  of  the  Lord's,  that 
we  should  confess  our  faults  one  to  another, 
and  pray  for  one  another,  even  as  Christ  also 
rnaketh  intercession  for  us.2  Let  us  listen  to 
the  A postle  James,  who  states  this  precept 

«  Matt.  vi.  12.  2  Rom.  viii.  34. 


with    t.  clearness    when    h<- 

"Confess  your  faults  one  to  another,  and 
pray  one  for  another."  *  For  of  this  also  the 
Lord  gave  us  the  example.  For  if  He  who 
neither  lias,  nor  had,  nor  will  have  any  sin, 
prays  for  our  sins,  how  much  more  ought  we 
to  pray  for  one  another's  in  turn  !  And  if 
He  forgives  us,  whom  we  have  nothing  to  for 
give;  how  much  more  ought  we,  who  are  una 
ble  to  live  here  without  sin,  to  forgive  one 
another  !  For  what  else  does  the  Lord  ap 
parently  intimate  in  the  profound  significance 
of  this  sacramental  sign,  when  He  says,  "  For 
I  have  given  you  an  example,  that  ye  should 
do  as  I  have  done  to  you;"  but  what  the 
apostle  declares  in  the  plainest  terms,  "  For 
giving  one  another,  if  any  man  have  a  quarrel 
against  any:  even  as  Christ  forgave  you,  so 
also  do  ye"  ?4  Let  us  therefore  forgive  one 
another  his  faults,  and  pray  for  one  another's 
faults,  and  thus  in  a  manner  be  washing  one 
another's  feet.  It  is  our  part,  by  His  grace, 
to  be  supplying  the  service  of  love  and  humil 
ity:  it  is  His  to  hear  us,  and  to  cleanse  us 
from  all  the  pollution  of  our  sins  through 
Christ,  and  in  Christ;  so  that  what  we  forgive 
even  to  others,  that  is,  loose  on  earth,  may 
be  loosed  in  heaven. 


3jas.  v.  16. 


4  Col.  iii.  13. 


TRACTATE    LIX. 

CHAPTKR    XIII.    16-20. 


i.  WE  have  just  heard  in  the  holy  Gospel '  He  had  not  therefore  chosen  the  person  whom, 


the  Lord  speaking,  and  saying,  "  Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you,  The  servant  is  not 
greater  than  his  lord,  nor  the  apostle  [he 
that  is  sent]  greater  than  he  that  sent  him: 
if  ye  know  these  things,  blessed  shall  ye  be  if 
ye  do  them."  He  said  this,  therefore,  because 
He  had  washed  the  disciples'  feet,  as  the 
Master  of  humility  both  by  word  and  example. 
But  we  shall  be  able,  with  His  help,  to  han 
dle  what  is  in  need  of  more  elaborate  handling, 
if  we  linger  not  at  what  is  perfectly  clear. 
Accordingly,  after  uttering  these  words,  the 
Lord  added,  "  I  speak  not  of  you  all:  I  know 


by  these  words,  He  setteth  utterly  apart  from 
His  chosen  ones.  When  I  say  then,  He  con 
tinues,  "  Blessed  shall  ye  be  if  ye  do  them,  I 
speak  not  of  you  all:"  there  is  one  among 
you  who  will  not  be  blessed,  and  who  will  not 
do  these  things.  "  I  know  whom  I  have 
chosen."  Whom,  but  those  who  shall  be 
blessed  in  the  doing  of  what  has  been  com 
manded  and  shown  as  needful  to  be  done,  by 
Him  who  alone  can  make  them  blessed  ?  The 
traitor  Judas,  He  says,  is  not  one  of  those 
that  have  been  chosen.  What,  then,  is  meant 
by  what  He  says  in  another  place,  "  Have  I 

whom  I  have  chosen:  but,  that  the  Scripture  not  chosen  you  twelve,  and  one  of  you  is  a 
may  be  fulfilled.  He  that  eateth  bread  with  devil?"  '  Was  it  that  lie  also  was  chosen  for 
me,  shall  lift  up  his  heel  upon  me."  And  I  some  purpose,  for  which  he  was  really  neces- 
what  is  this,  but  that  he  shall  trample  upon  !  sary;  although  not  for  the  blessedness  of 

me  ?     We  know  of  whom  He  speaks:  it  is  Ju-    

das,  that  betrayer  of  His,  who  is  referred  to.  ,      ,  ci,ap.  vi.  70. 


Till.  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


1'1'UA<    IAIF.      I. IX. 


which  He  has  just  been  saying,  "  Blessed 
shall  ye  be  if  ye  do  these  things"?  He 
speaketh  not  so  of  them  all;  for  He  knows 
whom  He  has  chosen  to  be  associated  with 
Himself  in  blessedness.  Of  such  he  is  not 
one,  who  ate  His  bread  in  order  that  he 
might  lift  up  his  heel  upon  Him.  The  bread 
they  ate  was  the  Lord  Himself;  he  ate  the 
Lord's  bread  in  enmity  to  the  Lord:  they  ate 
life,  and  he  punishment.  "  For  he  that 
eateth  unworthily,"  says  the  apostle,  "  eateth 
judgment  unto  himself.'' '  "  From  this 
time,"  2  Christ  adds,  "  I  tell  you  before  it 
come;  that  when  it  is  come  to  pass,  ye  may 
believe  that  I  am  He:"  that  is,  1  am  He  of 
whom  the  Scripture  that  preceded  has  just 
said,  *'  He  that  eateth  bread  with  me,  shall 
lift  up  his  heel  upon  me." 

2.  He  then  proceeds  to  say:  "  Verily,  ver 
ily,  I  say  unto  you,  He  that  receiveth  whom 
soever  I  send,  receiveth  me;  and  he  that  re 
ceiveth  me,  receiveth  Him  that  sent  me." 
Did  He  mean  us  to  understand  that  there  is 
as  little  distance  between  one  sent  by  Him, 
and  Himself,  as  there  is  between  Himself  and 
God  the  Father?  If  we  take  it  in  this  way,  I 
know  not  what  measurements  of  distance 
(which  may  God  forbid  !)  we  shall  be  adopt 
ing,  in  the  Arian  fashion.  For  they,  when 
they  hear  or  read  these  words  of  the  Gospel, 
have  immediate  recourse  to  their  dogmatic 
measurements,  whereby  they  ascend  not  to 
life,  but  fall  headlong  into  death.  For  they 
straightway  say:  The  Son's  messenger  stands 
at  the  same  relative  distance  from  the  Son,  as 
expressed  in  the  words,  "  He  that  receiveth 
whomsoever  I  send,  receiveth  me,"  as  that 
in  which  the  Son  Himself  stands  from  the 
Father,  when  He  said,  "  He  that  receiveth 
me,  receiveth  Him  that  sent  me."  But  if 
thou  sayest  so,  thou  forgettest,  heretic,  thy 
measurements.  For  if,  because  of  these 
words  of  the  Lord,  thou  puttest  the  Son  at  as 
great  a  distance  from  the  Father  as  the  mes 
senger  [apostle]  from  the  Son,  where  dost 
thou  purpose  to  place  the  Holy  Spirit  ?  Has 
it  escaped  thee,  that  ye  are  wont  to  place 
Him  after  the  Son  ?  He  will  therefore  come 
in  between  the  messenger  and  the  Son;  and 
much  greater,  then,  will  be  the  distance  be 
tween  the  Son  and  His  messenger,  than  be 
tween  the  Father  and  His  Son.  Or  perhaps, 
to  preserve  that  distinction  between  the  Son 
and  His  messenger,  and  between  the  Father 
and  His  Son,  at  their  equality  of  distance, 
will  the  Holy  Spirit  be  equal  to  the  Son? 


But  as  little  will  ye  allow  this.  And  where, 
then,  do  ye  think  of  placing  Him,  if  ye  place 
the  Son  as  far  beneath  the  Father,  as  ye  place 
the  messenger  beneath  the  Son?  Restrain, 
therefore,  your  foolhardy  presumption;  and 
do  not  be  seeking  to  find  in  these  words  the 
same  distance  between  the  Son  and  His  mes 
senger  as  between  the  Father  and  His  So  i. 
But  listen  rather  to  the  Son  Himself,  when 
He  says,  "  I  and  my  Father  are  one."  3  For 
there  the  Truth  hath  left  you  no  shadow  of 
distance  between  the  Begetter  and  the  Only- 
begotten;  there  Christ  Himself  hath  erased 
your  measurements,  and  the  rock  hath  broken 
your  staircase  to  pieces. 

3.  But  now  that  the  heretical  slander  h?.s 
been  disposed  of,  in  what  sense  are  we  to  jn- 
derstand  these  words  of  the  Lord:  "  He  that 
receiveth  whomsoever  I  send,  receiveth  me; 
and  he  that  receiveth  me,  receiveth  Him  that 
sent  me  "  ?  For  if  we  were  inclined  to  under 
stand  the  words,  "  He  that  receiveth  me,  re 
ceiveth  Him  that  sent  me,'*  as  expressing 
the  oneness  in  nature  of  the  Father  and  the 
Son;  the  sequence  from  the  similar  arrange 
ment  of  words  in  the  other  clause,  *'  He  that 
receiveth  whomsoever  I  send,  receiveth  me," 
would  be  the  unity  in  nature  of  the  Son  and 
His  messenger.  And  there  might,  indeed, 
be  no  impropriety  in  so  understanding  it,  see 
ing  that  a  twofold  substance  belongeth  to  the 
strong  man,  who  hath  rejoiced  to  run  the 
race;4  for  the  Word  was  made  flesh,5  that  is, 
God  became  man.  And  accordingly  He 
might  be  supposed  to  have  said,  *'  He  that 
receiveth  whomsoever  I  send,  receiveth  me/' 
with  reference  to  His  human  nature;  "and 
he  that  receiveth  me"  as  God,  "receiveth 
Him  that  sent  me."  But  in  so  speaking,  He 
was  not  commending  the  unity  of  nature,  but 
the  authority  of  the  Sender  in  Him  who  is 
sent.  Let  every  one,  therefore,  so  receive 
Him  that  is  sent,  that  in  His  person  he  may 
give  heed  to  Him  who  sent  Him.  If,  then, 
thou  lookest  for  Christ  in  Peter,  thou  wilt  find 
the  disciple's  instructor;  and  if  thou  lookest 
for  the  Father  in  the  Son,  thou  wilt  find  the 
Begetter  of  the  Only-begotten:  and  so  in  Him 
j  who  is  sent,  thou  art  not  mistaken  in  receiv- 
!  ing  the  Sender.  What  follows  in  the  Gospel 
'  cannot  be  compressed  within  the  shortness  of 
the  time  remaining.  And  therefore,  dearly  be 
loved,  let  what  has  been  said,  if  thought  suf 
ficient,  be  received  in  a  healthful  way,  as  pas 
ture  for  the  holy  sheep;  and  if  it  is  somewhat 
scanty,  let  it  be  ruminated  over  with  ardent 
desire  for  more. 


'  i  Cor.  x\.  20. 

3  A  tnndo  ;  ( Ireek,  'ATT'  ap-ri  ;  margin  of  English    liible,  "  Fr 
henceforth."-'!  k. 


4-Ps.  XIX.  5. 


5  Chap.  i.  14. 


I    I  \.  j 


UN    THK  UOSI'KL  <)F  ST,    jollN. 


309 


TRACTATE    LX. 

CUAITKR    XIII.     21. 


1.  IT   is   no  light  question,  brethren,  that 
meets  us  in  the  Gospel  of  the  blessed  John, 
when  he  says:  "  When  Jesus  had  thus  said, 
He  was  troubled  in  spirit,  and  testified,  and 
said,  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  that  one 
of  you  shall  betray  me."     Was  it  for  this  rea 
son  that  Jesus  was  troubled,  not  in  flesh,  but 
in    spirit,  that    He    was   now   about   to   say, 
"One  of  you  shall  betray  me"?     Did  this 
occur  then  for  the  first  time  to  His  mind,  or 
was  it  at  that  moment  suddenly  revealed  to 
Him  for  the  first  time,  and  so  troubled  Him 
by  the  startling  novelty  of  so  great  a  calam 
ity  ?     Was  it  not  a  little  before  that  He  was 
using  these  words,   i4  He  that  eateth  bread 
with  me  will  lift  up  his  heel  against  me "  ? 
And    had    He    not  also,   previously  to  that, 
said,  "And  ye  are  clean,  but  not  all  "  ?  where 
the  evangelist  added,   "  For  He   knew  who 
should  betray  Him:  "  '  to  whom  also  on  a  still 
earlier  occasion  He  had  pointed  in  the  words, 
"  Have  not  I  chosen  you  twelve,  and  one  of 
you  is  a  devil  ?  "  3     Why  is  it,  then,  that  He 
"  was  now  troubled  in  spirit,"  when  "  He  tes 
tified,   and    said,  Verily,  verily,    I    say   unto 
you,  that  one  of  you  shall  betray  me  "  ?  Was 
it  because  now  He  had  so  to  mark  him  out, 
that  he  should  no  longer  remain  concealed 
among  the  rest,  but  be  separated  from  the 
others,  that  therefore  "  He  was  troubled  in 
spirit  "  ?     Or  was  it  because  now  the  traitor 
himself  was  on  the  eve  of  departing  to  bring 
those   Jews  to  whom  he  was   to  betray  the 
Lord,  that  He  was  troubled  by  the  imminency 
of  His  passion,  the  closeness  of  the  danger, 
and  the  swooping  hand  of  the  traitor,  whose 
resolution  was  foreknown?     For  some  such 
cause  it  certainly  was  that  Jesus  "  was  troub 
led  in  spirit,"  as  when  He  said,  "  Now  is  my 
soul  troubled;  and  what  shall  I  say  ?     Father, 
save  me  from  this  hour;  but  for  this  cause 
came  I  unto  this  hour."3     And  accordingly, 
just  as  then  His  soul  was  troubled  as  the  hour 
of  His  passion  approached;  so  now  also,  as 
Judas  was  on  the  point  of  going  and  coming, 
and  the  atrocious  villainy  of  the  traitor  neared 
its    accomplishment,    "He   was    troubled    in 
spirit." 

2.  He  was  troubled,  then,  who  had  jxwer 
to  lay  down  His  life,  and  had  power  to  take  it 
again.4     That   mighty  power  is  troubled,  the 


Chap.  viii.  18,  10,  u. 

•    '.  -7- 


-  Chap.  M.  71. 
i  Chap.  x.  18. 


firmness  of  the  rock  is  disturbed:  or  is  it 
rather  our  infirmity  that  is  troubled  in  Him  ? 
Assuredly  so:  let  servants  believe  nothing 
unworthy  of  their  Lord,  but  recognize  their 
own  membership  in  their  Head.  He  who 
died  for  us,  was  also  Himself  troubled  in  our 
place.  He,  therefore,  who  died  in  power, 
was  troubled  in  the  midst  of  His  power:  He 
who  shall  yet  transform5  the  body  of  our 
humility  into  similarity  of  form  with  the  body 
of  His  glory,  hath  also  transferred  into  Him 
self  the  feeling  of  our  infirmity,  and  sympa- 
thizeth  with  us  in  the  feelings  of  His  own 
soul.  Accordingly,  when  it  is  the  great,  the 
brave,  the  sure,  the  invincible  One  that  is 
troubled,  let  us  have  no  fear  for  Him,  as  if 
He  were  capable  of  failing:  He  is  not  perish 
ing,  but  in  search  of  us  [who  are].  Us,  I 
say;  it  is  us  exclusively  whom  He  is  thus  seek 
ing,  that  in  His  trouble  we  may  behold  our 
selves,  and  so,  when  trouble  reaches  us,  may 
not  fall  into  despair  and  perish.  By  His 
trouble,  who  could  not  be  troubled  save  with 
His  own  consent,  He  comforts  such  as  are 
troubled  unwillingly. 

3.  Away  with  the  reasons  of  philosophers, 
who  assert  that  a  wise  man  is  not  affected  by 
mental  perturbations.  God  hath  made  fool 
ish  the  wisdom  of  this  world;6  and  the  Lord 
knoweth  the  thoughts  of  men,  that  they  are 
vain.7  It  is  plain  that  the  mind  of  the  Chris 
tian  may  be  troubled,  not  by  misery,  but  by 
pity:  he  may  fear  lest  men  should  be  lost  to 
Christ;  he  may  sorrow  when  one  is  being  lost; 
he  may  have  ardent  desire  to  gain  men  to 
Christ;  he  may  be  filled  with  joy  when  such 
is  being  done;  he  may  have  fear  of  falling 
away  himself  from  Christ;  he  may  sorrow 
over  his  own  estrangement  from  Christ;  he 
may  be  earnestly  desirous  of  reigning  with 
Christ,  and  he  may  be  rejoicing  in  the  hope 
that  such  fellowship  with  Christ  will  yet  be 
his  lot.  These  are  certainly  four  of  what  they 
call  perturbations — fear  and  sorrow,  love  and 
gladness.  And  Christian  minds  may  have 
sufficient  cause  to  feel  them,  and  evidence 
their  dissent  from  the  error  of  Stoic  philoso 
phers,  and  all  resembling  them:  who  indeed, 
just  as  they  esteem  truth  to  be  vanity,  rr-ard 


5  Phil.  iii.  21.  The  text  has  tr.insfifnr.trit  (prrt.),  "hath 
transformed,"  in  this  as  well  as  in  tin-  n.-\t  i  l.uisr,  "  hath  trans- 
frrr.-.l."  but  here  it  is  evidently  a  misprint  I-  r 

i.  20.  hr.  u. 


10 


TIIK   WORKS  ()!•    ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTAII    I.  XI. 


also  insensibility  as  soundness;  not  knowing 
that  a  man's  mind,  like  the  limbs  of  his  body, 
is  only  the  more  hopelessly  diseased  when  it 
has  lost  even  the  feeling  of  pain. 

4.  But  says  some  one:  Ought  the  mind  of 
the  Christian  to  be  troubled  even  at  the  pros 
pect   of   death  ?     For  what   comes  of   those 
words  of  the  apostle,  that  he  had  a  desire  to 
depart,  and  to  be  with  Christ,1  if  the  object 
of  his  desire  can  thus  trouble  him  when  it 
comes  ?     Our  answer  to  this  would  be  easy, 
indeed,  in  the  case  of  those  who  also  term 
gladness  itself  a  perturbation  [of  the  mind]. 
For  what  if  the  trouble  he  thus    feels  arises 
entirely  from  his  rejoicing  at  the  prospect  of 
death  ?     But  such  a  feeling,  they  say,  ought 
to  be  termed   gladness,  and   not  rejoicing.2 
And  what  is  that,  but  just  to  alter  the  name, 
while  the  feeling  experienced  is  the  same  ? 
But  let  us  for  our  part  confine  our  attention 
to  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  and  with  the  Lord's 
help  seek  rather  such  a  solution  of  this  ques 
tion  as  will  be  in  harmony  with  them;   and 
then,  seeing  it  is  written,  "  When  He  had  thus 
said,  He  was  troubled  in  spirit,"  we  will  not 
say  that  it  was  joy  that  disturbed  Him;  lest 
His  own  words   should   convince  us  of  the 
contrary  when  He  says,  "My  soul  is  sorrow 
ful,  even  unto  death."  3     It  is  some  such  feel 
ing  that  is  here  also  to  be  understood,  when, 
as  His  betrayer  was  now  on  the  very  point  of 
departing   alone,   and    straightway  returning 
along  with  his  associates,  "  Jesus  was  troubled 
in  spirit." 

5.  Strong-minded,  indeed,  are  those  Chris 
tians,   if  such   there  are,  who  experience   no 
trouble  at  all  in  the  prospect  of  death;  but 
for  all  that,  are  they  stronger-minded  than 
Christ  ?     Who  would  have  the  madness  to  say 
so  ?     And  what  else,   then,   does   His  being 


troubled  signify,  but  that,  by  voluntarily 
assuming  the  likeness  of  their  weakness,  He 
comforted  the  weak  members  in  His  own 
body,  that  is,  in  His  Church;  to  the  end  that, 
if  any  of  His  own  are  still  troubled  at  the 
approacli  of  death,  they  may  fix  their  gaze 
upon  Him,  and  so  be  kept  from  thinking 
themselves  castaways  on  this  account,  and 
being  swallowed  up  in  the  more  grievous 
death  of  despair  ?  And  how  great,  then,  must 
be  that  good  which  we  ought  to  expect  and 
hope  for  in  the  participation  of  His  divine 
nature,  whose  very  perturbation  tranquillizes 
us,  and  whose  infirmity  confirms  us  ?  Whether, 
therefore,  on  this  occasion  it  was  by  His  pity 
for  Judas  himself  thus  rushing  into  ruin,  or 
by  the  near  approach  of  His  own  death,  that 
He  was  troubled,  yet  there  is  no  possibility 
j  of  doubting  that  it  was  not  through  any  in- 
|  firmity  of  mind,  but  in  the  fullness  of  power, 
that  He  was  troubled,  and  so  no  despair  of 
salvation  need  arise  in  our  minds,  when  we 
are  troubled,  not  in  the  possession  of  power, 
but  in  the  midst  of  our  weakness.  He  cer 
tainly  bore  the  infirmity  of  the  flesh, — an  in 
firmity  which  was  swallowed  up  in  His  resur 
rection.  But  He  who  was  not  only  man,  but 
God  also,  surpassed  by  an  ineffable  distance 
the  whole  human  race  in  fortitude  of  mind. 
He  was  not,  then,  troubled  by  any  outward 
pressure  of  man,  but  troubled  Himself;  which 
was  very  plainly  declared  of  Him  when  He 
raised  Lazarus  from  the  dead:  for  it  is  there 
written  that  He  troubled  Himself,4  that  it  may 
be  so  understood  even  where  the  text  does 
not  so  express  it,  and  yet  declares  that  He 
was  troubled.  For  having  by  His  power  as 
sumed  our  full  humanity,  by  that  very  power 
He  awoke  in  Himself  our  human  feelings 
whenever  He  judged  it  becoming. 


Phil.  i. 


'-  Caudi 


3  Matt.  xxvi.  38.  I        4  Chap.  xi.  33,  margi 


TRACTATE   LXI. 


CHAPTER    XIII.   21-26. 


i.  THIS  short  section  of  the  Gospel,  breth 
ren,  we  have  in  this  lesson  brought  forward 
for  exposition,  as  thinking  that  we  ought  also 
to  say  something  of  the  Lord's  betrayer,  as 
now  plainly  enough  disclosed  by  the  dipping 
and  holding  out  to  him  of  the  piece  of  bread. 
Of  that  indeed  which  precedes,  (namely),  that 
Jesus,  when  about  to  point  him  out,  was 


troubled,  in  spirit,  we  have  treated  in  our  last 
discourse;  but  what  I  perhaps  omitted  to 
mention  there,  the  Lord,  by  His  own  pertur 
bation  of  spirit,  thought  proper  to  indicate 
this  also,  that  it  is  necessary  to  bear  with 
false  brethren,  and  those  tares  that  are  among 
ttie  wheat  in  the  Lord's  field  until  harvest- 
time,  because  that  when  we  are  compelled  by 


TRACTATI    LXI.] 


ON    l  III.  GOSPEL  Ol    >l  .  JOHN, 


:  i 


urgeir  rate  some  of  them  even 

before  the  harvcst.it  cannot  In-  dime  without 
disturbance  to  the  Church.  Such  disturbance 
to  His  saints  in  the  future,  through  schis 
matics  and  heretics,  the  Lord  in  a  way  fore 
told  and  prefigured  in  Himself,  when,  at  the 
moment  of  that  wicked  man  Judas'  depar 
ture,  and  of  his  thereby  bringing  to  an  end, 
in  a  very  open  and  decided  way,  his  past  in 
termingling  with  the  wheat,  in  which  he  had 

long  been  tolerated,  He  was  troubled,  not  in  !  as  if  it  were  about  another;  and  gave  himself 
body,  but  in  spirit.  For  it  is  not  spitefulness,  '  a  place  in  the  line  of  his  narrative  becoming 
but  charity,  that  troubles  His  spiritual  mem- 1  one  who  was  the  recorder  of  public  events, 
bers  in  scandals  of  this  kind;  lest  perchance,  \  and  not  as  one  who  made  himself  the  subject 


bosom,  one  of  His  disciples,  whom  Jesus 
loved  "  What  he  meant  by  saying  " 
bosom,"  he  tells  us  a  little  further  on.  where 
he  says,  "on  the  breast  of  Jesus."  It  was 
that  very  John  whose  Gospel  is  before  us,  as 
he  afterwards  expressly  declares.'  For  it 
was  a  custom  with  those  who  have  supplied  us 
with  the  sacred  writings,  that  when  any  of 
them  was  relating  the  divme  history,  and 
came  to  something  affecting  himself,  he  spoke 


separating  some  of  the  tares,  any  of  the 
wheat  should  also  be  uprooted  therewith. 

2.  "Jesus,"  therefore,  "was  troubled  in 
spirit,  and  testified,  and  said:  Verily,  verily, 
I  say  unto  you,  that  one  of  you  shall  betray 
me."  "One  of  you,"  in  number,  not  in 


of  his  preaching.  Saint  Matthew  acted  also 
in  this  way,  when,  in  coming  in  the  course  of 
his  narrative  to  himself,  he  says,  "  He  saw  a 
publican  named  Matthew,  sitting  at  the  re 
ceipt  of  custom,  and  saith  unto  him,  Follow 
me."3  He  does  not  say,  He  saw  ;;/<•,  and 


merit;  in  appearance,  not  in  reality;  in  bodily  said  to  vie:  So  also  acted  the  blessed  Moses, 
commingling,  not  by  any  spiritual  tie;  a  com-  writing  all  the  history  about  himself  as  if  it 
panion  by  fleshly  juxtaposition,  not  in  any  i  concerned  another,  and  saying,  "  The  Lord 


unity  of  the  heart;  and  therefore  not  one  who 
is  of  you,  but  one  who  is  to  go  forth  from 
you.  For  how  else  can  .this  "  one  of  you  " 


said  unto  Moses. "*  Less  habitually  was  this 
done  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  not  however  in 
any  history  which  undertakes  to  explain  the 


be  true,  of  which  the  Lord  so  testified,  and  course  of  public  events,  but  in  his  own  epis- 
said,  if  that  is  true  which  the  writer  of  this | ties.  At  all  events,  he  speaks  thus  of  him- 
very  Gospel  says  in  his  Epistle,  "  They  went  |  self:  "  I  knew  a  man  in  Christ  fourteen  years 
out  from  us,  but  they  were  not  of  us;  for  if  i  ago,  (whether  in  the  body,  or  whether  out  of 
they  had  been  of  us,  they  would  no  doubt  i  the  body,  I  cannot  tell:  God  knoweth;)  such 
have  continued  with  us  "?'  Judas,  therefore,  an  one  caught  up  into  the  third  heaven."5 
was  not  of  them;  for,  had  he  been  of  them,  |  And  so,  when  the  blessed  evangelist  also  says 


he  would  have  continued  with  them.  What, 
then,  do  the  words  "  One  of  you  shall  betray 
me"  mean,  but  that  one  is  going  out  from 
you  who  shall  betray  me  ?  Just  as  he  also, 
who  said,  "If  they  had  been  of  us,  they  would 


here,  not,  I  was  leaning  on  Jesus'  bosom,  but, 
"  There  was  leaning  one  of  the  disciples,"  let 
us  recognize  a  custom  of  our  author's,  rather 
than  fall  into  any  wonder  on  the  subject. 
For  what  loss  is  there  to  the  truth,  when  the 


no  doubt  have  continued  with  us,"  had  said  j  facts  themselves  are  told  us, 


all  boast- 


before,  "They  went  out  from  us."  And 
thus  it  is  true  in  both  senses,  "of  us,"  and 
"  not  of  us;  "  in  one  respect  "  of  us,"  and  in 
another  "  not  of  us;"  "of  us  "  in  respect  to 


fulness  of  language  is  in  a  measure  avoided  ? 
For  thus  at  least  did  he  relate  that  which  most 
signally  pertained  to  his  praise. 

5.   But  what  mean  the  words,  "  whom  Jesus 


sacramental  communion,  but  "  not  of  us  "  in  |  loved  "  ?  As  if  He  did  not  love  the  others, 
respect  to  the  criminal  conduct  that  belongs  j  of  whom  this  same  John  has  said  above,  "  He 
exclusively  to  themselves.  loved  them  to  the  end"  (ver.  i);  and  as  the 

3.  "  Then  the  disciples  looked  one  on  an-  Lord  Himself,  "Greater  love  hath  no  man 
other,  doubting  of  whom  He  spake."  For !  than  this,  that  a  man  lay  down  his  life  for  his 
while  they  were  imbued  with  a  reverential  love  j  friends."  And  who  could  enumerate  all  the 
to  their  Master,  they  were  none  the  less  af-  j  testimonies  of  the  sacred  pages,  in  which  the 
fected  by  human  infirmity  in  their  feelings  Lord  Jesus  is  exhibited  as  the  lover,  not  only 
towards  each  other.  Each  one's  own  con-  of  this  one,  or  of  those  who  were  then  around 
science  was  known  to  himself;  but  as  he  was  Him,  but  of  such  also  as  were  to  be  His 


ignorant  of  his  neighbor's,  each  one's  self- 
assurance  was  such  that  each  was  uncertain 
all  the  others  were 

leaning    on    Jesus' 


of   all    the  others,   and 
uncertain  of  that  one. 
4.    "  Now    there    was 


ijohnii.  .,,. 


members  in  the  distant  future,  and  of  His 
universal  Church  ?  But  there  is  some  truth, 
doubtless,  underlying  these  words,  and  hav 
ing  reference  to  the  bosom  on  which  tiie  nar 
rator  was  leaning.  For  what  else  can  be  in- 


1  Chap.  xxi.  20-24. 
l  Kx.  vi.  i. 


3I2 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSI  IN. 


[TRACTATK.    I. XI  I. 


dicated  by  the  bosom  but  some  hidden  truth  ?  beckoning,  '  which  expresses  outwardly  by 
But  there  is  another  more  suitable  passage,  some  sort  of  signs  what  had  previously  been 
where  the  Lord  may  enable  us  to  say  some-  conceived  within  !  What,  then,  did  his  beck- 
thing  about  this  secret  that  may  prove  suffi- '  oning  mean  ?  What  else  but  that  which  fol- 
cient.  lows?  "Who  is  it  of  whom  He  speaks?" 


6.   "  Simon   Peter  therefore  beckons,  and 
says  to  him. ' ' '    The  expression  is  noteworthy, 


Such  was  the  language  of  Peter's  beckoning; 
for  it  was  by  no  vocal  sounds,  but  by  bodily 


'  The  original  MSS.  give  different  readings  of  this  verse.     That 
followed   by  our    Knglish  version  is  supported  by  the  Codd.  Ale 


as  indicating  that  something  was  said  not  by  gestures,  that  he  spake.  "  He  then,  having 
any  sound  of  words,  but  by  merely  beckon-  leaned  back  on  Jesus'  breast," — surely  the 
ing  with  the  head.  "  He  beckons,  and  says;"  j  very  bosom3  of  His  breast  this,  the  secret 
that  is,  his  beckoning  is  his  speech.  For  if  place  of  wisdom  ! — "  saith  unto  Him,  Lord, 
one  is  said  to  speak  in  his  thoughts,  as  Scrip-  ;  who  is  it  ?  Jesus  answered,  He  it  is  to  whom 
ture  saith,  "  They  said  [reasoned]  with  them-  I  shall  give  a  piece  of  bread,  when  I  have 
selves;"3  how  much  more  may  he  do  so  by  dipped  it.  And  when  He  had  dipped  the 

bread,  he  gave  it  to  Judas  Iscariot,  the  son 
of  Simon.     And   after  the  bread,  Satan  en- 
into  him."     The  traitor  was  disclosed, 

What 

he  £0t  was  good,  but  to  his  own  hurt  he  re- 
„   ceived    it,  because,   evil    himself,  in  an  evil 

one,  and  says  lo  him,  Say    ask],  who  is  it  of  whojn  He  speaks?  .    .       , 

Of  the  early  versions,  the  Syriac  adopts  the  former,  while  the  Vul-     Spirit     he    received    what    Was    gOOd.        But    WC 

much  to  say  about  that  dipped  bread 

the  original  text  ;  but  the  latter  has  some  special  arguments  of  an  j 
internal  kind  in  its  favor :  such  as  the  consideration  that,  from  its 
peculiar  and  somewhat  redundant  form,  //  could  hardly  have  been 
substituted  in  place  of  the  former,  which  is  smoother  and  more 
elegant,  while  the  converse  is  perfectly  supposable  ;  and  also  the 


Latin    version  used   by   Augustin 

rus,  et  didt  e,\  Quis  est  de  quo  the  coverts  of  darkness  were  revealed. 


oC  Aeytt-"  Simon   Peter  therefore  beckons  to  this 


weighty  fact   that  John   nowhere  else  makes  use  of  the  optati 
mood,  as  he  would   here  (ris  av  «ITJ),  if  the  former  reading— that 
followed  by  our  English  version— were  the  true  one. — TK. 
=>  Wisd.  of  Sol.  ii.  i. 


which  Was   presented    tO  tllC   false-hearted 

ciple,  and  about  that  which  follows;  and  for 
these  we  shall  require  more  time  than  re 
mains  to  us  now  at  the  close  of  this  discourse. 


3  Pectoris  sinus  ;  the  hollow,  the  inmost  part  of  the  breast. 


TRACTATE    LXII. 

CHAPTER   XIII.   26-31. 


i.   I  KNOW,  dearly  beloved,  that  some  may 
be  moved,  as  the  godly  to  inquire  into  the 
meaning  of,  and  the  ungodly  to  find   fault 
with,  the  statement,  that  it  was  after  the  Lord 
had  given  the  bread,  that  had  been  dipped, 
to  His  betrayer  that  Satan  entered  into  him. 
For  so  it  is  written:  "And  when  He  had  dip 
ped  the  bread,  He  gave  it  to  Judas  Iscariot, 
the  Son  of  Simon.     And  after  the  bread,  then  i 
entered  Satan  into  him."     For  they  say.  Was  i 
this  the  worth  of  Christ's  bread,  given  from  ' 
Christ's  own  table,  that  after  it  Satan   should 
enter  into  His  disciple  ?     And  the  answer  we  \ 
give  them  is,  that  thereby  we  are  taught  rather 
how  much  we  need   to  beware  of  receiving 
what  is  good  in  a  sinful  spirit.     For  the  point 
of  special  importance  is,  not  the  thing  that  is 
received,  but  the  person  that  receives  it;  and  | 
not  the  character  of  the  thing  that  is  given, 
but  of  him  to  whom  it  is  given.     For  even 
good  things  are  hurtful,  and  evil  things  are 
beneficial,  according  .to  the  character  of  the 


recipients.  "Sin,"  says  the  apostle,  "that 
it  might  appear  sin,  wrought  death  to  me  by 
that  which  is  good."  '  Thus,  you  see,  evil  is 
brought  about  by  the  good,  so  long  as  that 
which  is  good  is  wrongly  received.  It  is  he 
also  that  says:  "  Lest  I  should  be  exalted  un 
duly  through  the  greatness  of  my  revelations, 
there  was  given  to  me  a  thorn  in  my  flesh, 
the  messenger  of  Satan  to  buffet  me.  For 
which  thing  I  besought  the  Lord  thrice,  that 
He  would  take  it  away  from  me;  and  He 
said  unto  me,  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee: 
for  strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness."2 
And  here,  you  see,  good  was  brought  about 
by  that  which  was  evil,  when  the  evil  was  re 
ceived  in  a  good  spirit.  Why,  then,  do  we 
wonder  if  Christ's  bread  was  given  to  Judas, 
that  thereby  he  should  be  made  over  to  the 
devil;  when  we  see,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
Paul  was  visited  by  a  messenger  of  the  devil, 


'  3  Cor.  xii.  7-9. 


\  !  I .     I  .  \  1  I  .  ) 


ON  TIIK  r.osi-F.i.  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


3 '  3 


that  by  such  an  instrumentality  he  might  be 
perfected  in  Christ?  In  tins  way.  both  the 
good  was  injurious  to  the  evil  man,  and  the 
evil  was  beneficial  to  the  good.  Bear  in  mind 
the  meaning  of  the  Scripture,  "  Whosoever 
shall  eat  the  bread  or  drink  the  cup  of  the' 
Lord  unworthily,  shall  be  guilty  of  the  body  j 
and  blood  of  the  Lord."1  And  when  the 
apostle  said  this,  he  was  dealing  with  those 
who  were  taking  the  body  of  the  Lord,  like  ] 
any  other  food,  in  an  undiscerning  and 
careless  spirit.  If,  then,  he  is  thus  taken  to 
task  who  does  not  discern,  that  is,  does  not 
distinguish  from  the  other  kinds  of  food,  the 
body  of  the  Lord,  what  condemnation  must 
be  his,  who  in  the  guise  of  a  friend  comes  as 
an  enemy  to  His  table  !  If  negligence  in  the 
guest  is  thus  visited  with  blame,  what  must  be 
the  punishment  that  will  fall  on  the  man  that 
sells  the  very  person  who  has  invited  him  to 
his  table  !  And  why  was  the  bread  given  to 
the  traitor,  but  as  an  evidence  of  the  grace 
he  had  treated  with  ingratitude  ? 

2.  It  was  after  this  bread,  then,  that  Satan 
entered    into   the   Lord's   betrayer,   that,    as 
now  given  over  to  his  power,  he  might  take 
full  possession  of  one  into  whom  before  this 
he  had  only  entered  in  order  to  lead  him  into 
error.     For  we  are  not  to  suppose  that  he 
was  not  in  him  when  he  went  to  the  Jews  and 
bargained    about  the   price  of   betraying  the 
Lord;   for  the  evangelist   Luke  very  plainly 
attests  this  when   he   says:    "  Then  entered 
Satan  into  Judas,  who  was  surnamed  Iscariot, 
being  one  of   the  twelve;   and  he  went    his 
way,  and  communed  with  the  chief  priests."* 
Here,  you   see,  it   is   shown  that  Satan  had 
already    entered    into   Judas.     His    first   en 
trance,  therefore,  was  when  he  implanted  in 
his  heart  the  thought  of  betraying  Christ;  for 
in  such  a  spirit  had  he  already  come  to  the 
supper.     But  now,  after  the  bread,  he  entered 
into   him,  no  longer  to  tempt  one  who  be 
longed  to  another,  but  to  take  possession  of 
him  as  his  own. 

3.  But  it  was  not  then,  as  some  thoughtless 
readers  suppose,  that  Judas  received  the  body 
of  Christ.     For  we  are  to  understand  that  the 
Lord  had  already  dispensed  to  all  of  them  the 
sacrament   of    His   body   and    blood,    when 
Judas  also  was  present,  as  very  clearly  related 
by  Saint  Luke;3  and  it  was  after  this  that  we 
come    to   the  moment  when,   in    accordance 
with   John's  account,  the  Lord  made  a  full 
disclosure  of    His  betrayer  by  dipping  and 
holding  out  to  him  the  morsel  of  bread,  and 
intimating    perhaps    by    the    dipping   of    the 
bread  the  false  pretensions  of  the  other.     For 


the  dipping  of  a  thing  does  not  always  imply 
its  washing;  but  sonic  things  are  dip|>ed  in 
order  to  be  dyed.  l!ut  if  a  good  meaning  is 
to  be  here  attached  to  the  dipping,  his  ingrat 
itude  for  that  good  was  deservedly  followed 
by  damnation. 

4.  But  still,  possessed  as  Judas  now  was, 
not  by  the  Lord,  but  by  the  devil,  and  now 
that  the  bread  had  entered  the  belly,  and  an 
enemy  the  soul  of  this  man  of  ingratitude: 
still,  I  say,  there  was  this  enormous  wicked 
ness,  already  conceived  in  his  heart,  waiting 
to  be  wrought  out  to  its  full  issue,  for  which 
the  damnable  desire  had    always    preceded. 
Accordingly,  when  the  Lord,  the  living  Bread, 
had  given  this  bread  to  the  dead,  and  in  giv 
ing  it  had  revealed  the  betrayer  of  the  Bread, 
He  said,   "What  thou  doest,  do  quickly." 
He  did  not  command  the  crime,  but  foretold 
evil  to   Judas,   and   good    to  us.     For  what 
could  be  worse  for  Judas,  or  what  could  be 
better  for  us,  than  the  delivering  up  of  Christ, 
— a  deed  done  by  him  to  his  own  destruction, 
but   done,  apart    from    him,   in   our   behalf? 
"What  thou  doest,  do  quickly."     Oh  that 
word   of   One   whose  wish  was  to  be  ready 
rather  than  to  be  angry  !     That  word  !     ex 
pressing  not  so  much  the  punishment  of  the 
traitor  as  the  reward  awaiting  the  Redeemer  ! 
For  He  said,  "  What  thou  doest,  do  quickly," 
not  as  wrathfully  looking  to  the  destruction 
of  the  trust-betrayer,  but  in  His  own  haste  to 
accomplish  the  salvation  of  the  faithful;  for 
He  was  delivered  for  our  offences,4  and  He 
loved  the  Church,  and  gave  Himself  for  it.5 
And    as   the   apostle   also   says   of    himself: 
"  Who  loved  me,  and  gave  Himself  forme."4 
Had  not,  then,  Christ  given  Himself,  no  one 
could  have  given  Him  up.     What  is  there  in 
Judas'  conduct  but  sin?     For  in  delivering 
up  Christ  he  had  no  thought  of  our  salvation, 
for  which   Christ  was   really  delivered,  but 
thought  only  of  his  money  gain,  and  found 
the  loss  of  his  soul.     He  got  the  wages  he 
wished,  but  had  also  given  him,  against  his 
wish,  the  wages  he  merited.     Judas  delivered 
up  Christ,  Christ  delivered  Himself  up:  the 
former  transacted  the  business  of  his  own  sell 
ing  of  his  Master,  the  latter  the  business  of 
our    redemption.     "  What    thou    doest,    do 
quickly,''  not  because  thou  hast  the  power  in 
thyself,  but  because  He  wills  it  who  has  all 
the  power. 

5.  "  Now  no  one  of  those  at  the  table  knew 
for  what  intent  He  spake  this  unto  him.      For 
some  of  them  thought,  because  Judas  had  the 
money-bag,  that   Jesus  said    unto   him,  Buy 
those  things  which  we  have  need  of  against 


i  Cor. 


:  xxii.  3, 


3  Luke  xxii.  19-91.    .        4  Rom.  jv,  25. 


SEph.v.  ,5. 


«  Gal.  ii.  3o. 


3*4 


THE  WORKS  01    ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


;  \ir.    I.XIII. 


the  feast;  or,  that  he  should  give  something 
to  the  poor."  The  Lord,  therefore,  had  also 
a  money-box,  where  He  kept  the  offerings  of 
believers,  and  distributed  to  the  necessities  of 
His  own,  and  to  others  who  were  in  need.  It 
was  then  that  the  custom  of  having  church- 
money  was  first  introduced,  so  that  thereby 
we  might  understand  that  His  precept  about 
taking  no  thought  for  the  morrow1  was  not  a 
command  that  no  money  should  be  kept  by 
His  saints,  but  that  God  should  not  be  served 
for  any  such  end,  and  that  the  doing  of  what 
is  right  should  not  be  held  in  abeyance 
through  the  fear  of  want.  For  the  apostle 
also  has  this  foresight  for  the  future,  when  he 
says:  "If  any  believer  hath  widows,  let  him 
give  them  enough,  that  the  church  may  not 
be  burdened,  that  it  may  have  enough  for 
them  that  are  widows  indeed."  - 


'  Matt.  vi.  34. 


6.  "  He  then,  having  received  the  morsel 
of  bread,  went  immediately  out:  and  it  was 
night."  And  he  that  went  out  was  himself 
the  night.  "  Therefore  when "  the  night 
"was  gone  out,  Jesus  said,  Now  is  the  Son 
of  man  glorified."  The  day  therefore  uttered 
speech  unto  the  day,  that  is,  Christ  did  so  to 
His  faithful  disciples,  that  they  might  hear 
and  love  Him  as  His  followers;  and  the  night 
showed  knowledge  unto  the  night,3  that  is, 
Judas  did  so  to  the  unbelieving  Jews,  that  they 
might  come  as  His  persecutors,  and  make 
Him  their  prisoner.  But  now,  in  considering 
these  words  of  the  Lord,  which  were  addressed 
to  the  godly,  before  His  arrest  by  the  un 
godly,  special  attention  on  the  part  of  the 
hearer  is  required;  and  therefore  it  will  be 
more  becoming  in  the  preacher,  instead  of 
hurriedly  considering  them  now,  to  defer  them 
till  a  future  occasion. 


TRACTATE    LXIII 

CHAPTER  XIII.  31,  32 


i.  LET  us  give  our  mind's  best  attention, 
and,  with  the  Lord's  help,  seek  after  God. 
The  language  of  the  divine  hymn  is:  "Seek 
God  and  your  soul  shall  live."1  Let  us  search 
for  that  which  needs  to  be  discovered,  and 
into  that  which  has  been  discovered.  He 
whom  we  need  to  discover  is  concealed,  in 
order  to  be  sought  after;  and  when  found,  is 
infinite,  in  order  still  to  be  the  object  of  our 
search.  Hence  it  is  elsewhere  said,  "Seek 
His  face  evermore."2  For  He  satisfies  the 
seeker  to  the  utmost  of  his  capacity;  and 
makes  the  finder  still  more  capable,  that  he 
may  seek  to  be  filled  anew,  according  to  the 
growth  of  his  ability  to  receive.  Therefore 
it  was  not  said,  "Seek  His  face  evermore," 
in  the  same  sense  as  of  certain  others,  who 
are  "  always  learning,  and  never  coming  to  a 
knowledge  of  the  truth;"3  but  rather  as  the 
preacher  saith,  "When  a  man  hath  finished, 
then  he  beginneth;"4  till  we  reach  that  life 
where  we  shall  be  so  filled,  that  our  natures 
shall  attain  their  utmost  capacity,  because  we 
shall  have  arrived  at  perfection,  and  no  longer 
be  aiming  at  more.  For  then  all  that  can 
satisfy  us  will  be  revealed  to  our  eyes.  But 
here  let  us  always  be  seeking,  and  let  our  re- 


'  Ps.  l.xix.  32. 
3  2  Tun.  iii.  7. 


Ps.  ,  v.  4. 
Ecclus.  xviii.  7. 


ward  in  finding  put  no  enu  to  our  searching. 
For  we  do  not  say  that  it  will  not  be  so  always, 
because  it  L  only  so  here;  but  that  here  we 
must  always  be  seeking,  lest  at  any  time  we 
should  imagine  that  here  we  can  ever  cease 
from  seeking.  For  those  of  whom  it  is  said 
that  they  are  "  always  learning,  and  never 
coming  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth,"  are 
here  indeed  always  learning;  but  when  they 
depart  this  life  they  will  no  longer  be  learn 
ing,  but  receiving  the  reward  of  their  error. 
For  the  words,  "always  learning,  and  never 
coming  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth,"  mean, 
as  it  were,  always  walking,  and  never  getting 
into  the  road.  Let  us,  on  the  other  hand, 
be  walking  always  in  the  way,  till  we  reach 
the  end  to  which  it  leads;  let  us  nowhere  tarry 
in  it  till  we  reach  the  proper  place  of  abode: 
and  so  we  shall  both  persevere  in  our  seek 
ing,  and  be  making  some  attainments  in  our 
finding,  and.  thus  seeking  and  finding,  be 
passing  on  to  that  which  remains,  till  the  very 
end  of  all  seeking  shall  be  reached  in  that 
world  where  perfection  shall  admit  of  no  fur 
ther  effort  at  advancement.  Let  these  pref 
atory  remarks,  dearly  beloved,  make  your 
Charity  attentive  to  this  discourse  of  our 
Lord's,  which  He  addressed  to  the  disciples 
before  His  passion:  for  it  is  profound  in  it- 


TRACTAH     LXIII.] 


ON    i  in.  GOSPEL  "i   ST,  JOHN. 


self;  and  where,  in  particular,  the  preacher 
purposes  to  expend  much  labor,  the  hearer 
ought  not  to  he  remiss  in  attention. 

2.  What  is  it,  then,  thai  the  Lord  says, 
after  that  Judas  went  out,  to  do  quickly  what 
he  purposed  doing,  namelv,  betraying  the 
Lord  ?  What  says  the  day  when  the  night  had 
gone  out?  What  says  the  Redeemer  when 
the  seller  had  departed?  "  Now,"  He  says, 
"  is  the  Son  of  man  glorified."  Why  "  tunv  "/ 
It  was  not,  was  it,  merely  that  His  betrayer 
was  gone  out.  and  that  those  were  at  hand 
who  were  to  seize  and  slay  Him  ?  Is  it  thus 
that  He  "  is  now  glorified,"  to  wit,  that  His 
dee]>er  humiliation  is  approaching;  that  over 
Him  are  impending  both  bonds,  and  judg 
ment,  and  condemnation,  and  mocking,  and 


crucifixion,  and  death  ? 
or  rather  humiliation  ? 


Is  this  glorification, 
Even  when  He  was 


working  miracles,  does  not  this  very  John  say 
of  Him,  <4  The  Spirit  was  not  yet  given,  be 
cause  that  Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified"?1 
Even  then,  therefore,  when  He  was  raising 
the  dead,  He  was  not  yet  glorified;  and  is  He 
glorified  now,  when  drawing  near  in  His  own 
person  unto  death  ?  He  was  not  yet  glorified 
when  acting  as  God,  and  is  He  glorified  in 
going  to  suffer  as  man  ?  It  would  be  strange 
if  it  were  this  that  God,  the  great  Master,  signi 
fied  and  taught  in  such  words.  We  must  as 
cend  higher  to  unveil  the  words  of  the  Highest, 
who  reveals  Himself  somewhat  that  we  may 
find  Him,  and  anon  hides  Himself  that  we  may 
seek  Him,  and  so  press  on  step  by  step,  as  it 
were,  from  discoveries  already  made  to  those 
that  still  await  us.  I  get  here  a  sight  of 
something  that  prefigures  a  great  reality. 
Judas  went  out,  and  Jesus  is  glorified;  the 
son  of  perdition  went  out,  and  the  Son  of  man 
is  glorified.  He  it  was  that  had  gone  out,  on 
whose  account  it  had  been  said  to  them  all, 
"And  ye  are  clean,  but  not  all"  (ver.  10). 
When,  therefore,  the  unclean  one  departed, 
all  that  remained  were  clean,  and  continued 


i  N.-  iiad  said.  See,  so  will  it  be  in  that  day 
of  my  glorification  yet  to  mine,  when  none  of 
the  wicked  shall  be  present,  and  none  of  the 
good  shall  be  wanting.  His  words,  In. 
are  not  expressed  in  this  way:  Now  is  / 
///w/tlie  glorification  of  the  Son  of  man;  but 
expressly,  "  Now  is  the  Son  of  man  glori 
fied:  "  just  as  it  was  not  said,  The  Rock  sig 
nified  Christ;  but,  "  That  Rock  was  Christ."  J 
Nor  is  it  said,  The  good  seed  signified  the 
children  of  the  kingdom,  or,  The  tares  signi 
fied  the  children  of  the  wicked  one;  but  what 
is  said  is,  "The  good  seed,  these  are  the 
children  of  the  kingdom;  and  the  tares,  the 
children  of  the  wicked  one."4  According, 
then,  to  the  usage  of  Scripture  language, 
which  speaks  of  the  signs  as  if  they  were  the 
things  signified,  the  Lord  makes  use  of  the 
words,  "  Now  is  the  Son  of  man  glorified;" 
indicating  that  in  the  completed  separation  of 
that  arch  sinner  from  their  company,  and  in 
the  remaining  around  Him  of  His  saints,  we 
have  the  foreshadowing  of  His  glorification, 
when  the  wicked  shall  be  finally  separated, 
and  He  shall  dwell  with  His  saints  through 
eternity. 

3.  But  after  saying,  "  Xow  is  the  Son  of 
man  glorified,"  He  added,  "  and  God  is  glori 
fied  in  Him."  For  this  is  itself  the  glorify 
ing  of  the  Son  of  man,  that  God  should  be 
glorified  in  Him.  For  if  He  is  not  glorified 
in  Himself,  but  God  in  Him,  then  it  is  He 
whom  God  glorifies  in  Himself.  And  just  as 
if  to  give  them  this  explanation,  He  furthers 
adds:  "  If  God  is  glorified  in  Him,  God  shall 
also  glorify  Him  in  Himself."  That  is,  "If 
God  is  glorified  in  Him,"  because  He  came 
not  to  do  His  own  will,  but  the  will  of  Him 
that  sent  Him;  "and  God  shall  glorify  Him 
in  Himself,"  in  such  wise  that  the  human 
nature,  in  which  He  is  the  Son  of  man,  and 
which  was  so  assumed  by  the  eternal  Word, 
should  also  be  endowed  with  an  eternal  im 


mortality.     "And,1' 


He 


says, 


He 


shall 

with  their  Cleanser.  Something  like  this  will (  straightway  glorify  Him;  '*  predicting,  to  wit, 
it  be  when  this  world  shall  have  been  con- 1  by  such  an  asseveration,  His  own  resurrection 
quered  by  Christ,  and  shall  have  passed  away,  in  the  immediate  future,  arid  not,  as  it  were, 
and  there  shall  be  no  one  that  is  unclean  re-  j  ours  in  the  end  of  the  world.  For  it  is  this 
maining  among  His  people;  when,  the  tares  j  very  glorification  of  which  the  evangelist  had 
having  been  separated  from  the  wheat,  the  i  previously  said,  as  I  mentioned  a  little  ago, 
righteous  shall  shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the  j  that  on  this  account  the  Spirit  was  not  yet  in 
kingdom  of  their  Father.3  The  Lord,  fore-|  their  case  given  in  that  new  way,  in  which  He 
seeing  such  a  future  as  this,  and  in  testimony '  was  yet  to  be  given  after  the  resurrection  to 
that  such  was  signified  now  in  the  separation  those  who  believed,  because  that  Jesus  was 
of  the  tares,  as  it  were,  by  the  departure  of  not  yet  glorified:  that  is,  mortality  was  not 
Judas,  and  the  remaining  behind  of  the  yet  clothed  with  immortality,  and  temporal 
wheat  in  the  persons  of  the  holy  apostles,  weakness  transformed  into  eternal  strength, 
said,  "  Now  is  the  Son  of  man  glorified:  "  as  This  glorification  may  also  be  indicated  in  the 


Chap.  vii.  39- 


Matt.  xiii.  43. 


4  Matt.  xiii.  38. 


3i6 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACT  \  1 1    l.XIV. 


words,  "  Now  is  the  Son  of  man  glorified;  " 
so  that  the  word  "  now"  may  be  supposed  to 
refer,  not  to  His  impending  passion,  but  to 
His  closely  succeeding  resurrection,  as  if 


what  was  now  so  near  at  hand  had  actually 
been  accomplished.  Let  this  suffice  your  af 
fection  to-day;  we  shall  take  up,  when  the 
Lord  permits  us,  the  words  that  follow. 


TRACTATE    LXIV. 

CHAPTER  XIII.  33. 


IT  becomes  us,  dearly  beloved,  to  keep 
in  view  the  orderly  connection  of  our  Lord's 
words.  For  after  having  previously  said,  but 


subsequently  to    Judas'   departure,   and    his   presence  unknown  to  mortal  senses,  of  which 


separation  from  even  the  outward  communion 
of  the  saints,  "  Now  is  the  Son  of  man  glori 
fied,  and  God  is  glorified  in  Him;  " — whether 
He  said  so  as  pointing  to  His  future  kingdom, 
when  the  wicked  shall  be  separated  from  the 
good,  or  that  His  resurrection  was  then  to 
take  place,  that  is,  was  not  to  be  delayed,  like 
ours,  till  the  end  of  the  world; — and  having 
then  added,  "  If  God  is  glorified  in  Him,  God 
shall  also  glorify  Him  in  Himself,  and  shall 
straightway  glorify  Him,"  whereby  without 
any  ambiguity  He  testified  to  the  immediate 
fulfillment  of  His  own  resurrection;  He  pro- j 
ceeded  to  say,  "Little  children,  yet  a  little 
while  I  am  with  you."  To  keep  them,  there 
fore,  from  thinking  that  God  was  to  glorify 
Him  in  such  a  way  that  He  would  never  again 
be  joined  with  them  in  earthly  intercourse, 
He  said,  "  Yet  a  little  while  I  am  with  you: '' 


presence;  but  He  was  no  longer  with  them  in 
the  fellowship  of  human  infirmity. 

2.   There  is  also  another  form  of  His  divine 


He  likewise  says,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway, 
even  to  the  end  of  the  world."2  This,  at 
least,  is  not  the  same  as  "  yet  a  little  while  I 
am  with  you;  "  for  it  is  not  a  little  while  until 
the  end  of  the  world.  Or  if  even  this  is  so 
(for  time  flies,  and  a  thousand  years  are  in 
God's  sight  as  one  day,  or  as  a  watch  in  the 
night,)3  yet  we  cannot  believe  that  He  in 
tended  any  such  meaning  on  this  occasion, 
especially  as  He  went  on  to  say,  "  Ye  shall 
seek  me,  and  as  I  said  unto  the  Jews,  Whither 
I  go,  ye  cannot  come."  That  is  to  say,  after 
this  little  while  that  I  am  with  you,  "  ye  shall 
seek  me,  and  whither  I  go,  ye  cannot  come." 
Is  it  after  the  end  of  the  world  that,  whither 
He  goes,  they  will  not  be  able  to  come  ? 
And  where,  then,  is  the  place  of  which  He 
is  going  to  say  a  little  after  in  this  same  dis 
course,  "  Father,  I  will  that  they  also  be  with 


as  if  He  had  said,  Straightway  indeed  I  shall  j  me  where  I  am"?4     It  was  not  then  of  that 


be  glorified  in  my  resurrection;  and  yet  I  am 
not  straightway  to  ascend  into  heaven,  but 
""yet  a  little  while  I  am  with  you."  For,  as 
we  find  it  written  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
He  spent  forty  days  with  them  after  His  res 
urrection,  going  in  and  out,  and  eating  and 
drinking: '  not  indeed  that  He  had  any  expe 
rience  of  hunger  and  thirst,  but  even  by  such 


presence  of  His  with  His  own  which  He  is 
maintaining  with   them 


world   that   He   now  spake, 


the  end  of  the 
when  He  said, 
"Yet  a  little  while  I  am  with  you;"  but 
either  of  that  state  of  mortal  infirmity  in  which 
He  dwelt  with  them  till  His  passion,  or  of 
that  bodily  presence  which  He  was  to  main 
tain  with  them  up  till  His  ascension.  Which- 


€vidences  confirmed  the  reality  of  His  flesh,  ever  of  these  any  one  prefers,  he  can  do  so 
which  no  longer  needed,  but  still  possessed  without  being  at  variance  with  the  faith, 
the  power,  to  eat  and  to  drink.  Was  it,  then,  3.  That  no  one,  however,  may  deem  that 
these  forty  days  He  had  in  view  when  He  sense  inconsistent  with  the  true  one,  in  which 
said,  "  Yet  a  little  while  I  am  with  you,"  orjwe  say  that  the  Lord  may  have  meant  the 
something  else  ?  For  it  may  also  be  under-  communion  of  mortal  flesh  which  He  held 
stood  in  this  way:  "Yet  a  little  while  I  am  with  the  disciples  till  His  passion,  when  He 


with  you;"  still,  like  you,  I  also  am  in  this 
state  of  fleshly  infirmity,  that  is,  till  He  should 
die  and  rise  again:  for  after  He  rose  again 
He  was  with  them,  as  has  been  said,  for  forty 
days  in  the  full  manifestation  of  His  bodily 


said,  "Yet  a  little  while  I  am  with  you;  "  let 
those  words  also  of  His  after  His  resurrec 
tion,  as  found  in  another  evangelist,  be  taken 
into  consideration,  when  He  said,  "  These 
are  the  words  which  I  spake  unto  you,  while  I 


i.  3. 

*  Matt,  xxviii. 

20. 

3  Ps.  XC.  4. 

4  Chap. 

nfi 

24- 

.  \  1 1.   I. XV. ) 


ON    i  ur.  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


3 '  7 


was  yet  with  you:"'  as  if  then  He 
longer  with  them,  even  at  the  very  time  that 
they  were  standing  by,  seeing,  touching,  and 
talking  with  Him.  What  does  He  mean, 
then,  by  saving.  "  while  I  was  yet  with  you,'* 
but,  while  1  was  yet  in  that  state  of  mortal 
flesh  wherein  ye  still  remain  ?  For  then,  in 
deed,  He  had  been  raised  again  in  the  same 
flesh;  but  He  was  no  longer  associated  with 
them  in  the  same  mortality.  And  accord 
ingly,  as  on  that  occasion,  when  now  clothed 
in  fleshly  immortality,  He  said  with  truth, 
"  while  I  was  yet  with  you,"  to  which  we  can 
attach  no  other  meaning  than,  while  I  was  yet 
with  you  in  fleshly  mortality;  so  here  also, with 
out  any  absurdity,  we  may  understand  His 
words,  ''  Yet  a  little  while  I  am  with  you,"  as 
if  He  had  said,  Yet  a  little  while  I  am  mortal 
like  yourselves.  Let  us  look,  then,  at  the 
words  that  follow. 

4.  "  Ye  shall  seek  me:  and  as  I  said  unto 
the  Jews,  Whither  I  go,  ye  cannot  come;  so 
say  I  to  you  now."  That  is,  ye  cannot  come 
now.  But  when  He  said  so  to  the  Jews,  He 
did  not  add  the  "  now."  '  The  former,  there 
fore,  were  not  able  at  that  time  to  come  where 
He  was  going,  but  they  were  so  afterwards; 
because  He  says  so  a  little  afterwards  in  the 
plainest  terms  to  the  Apostle  Peter.  For,  on 
the  latter  inquiring,  "  Lord,  whither  goest 
Thou?"  He  replied  to  him,  "Whither  I  go 
thou  canst  not  follow  me  now;  but  thou  shalt 
follow  me  afterwards"  (ver.  36).  But  what  it 
means  is  not  to  be  carelessly  passed  over. 


'  Luke  xxiv.  44. 

2  Scarcely  an  admissible  use  of  the  "  now  "  (apn),  which  mani 
festly  refers  to  the  time  of  Jesus  saying  so  to  the  disciples,  and  not 
to  the  period  of  their  inability  to  come.— TK. 


For  whither  was  it  that  the  disciples  could  not 
then  follow  the  Lord,  but  were  able  after 
wards?  If  we  s  iv,  to  death,  what  tin: 
be  discovered  when  any  one  of  the  s. 
men  will  find  it  impossible  to  die;  since  such, 
in  this  perishable  body,  is  the  lot  of  man,  that 
therein  life  is  not  a  whit  easier  than  death  ? 
They  were  not,  therefore,  at  that  time  less 
able  to  follow  the  Lord  to  death,  but  they 
were  less  able  to  follow  Him  to  the  life  which 
is  deathless.  For  thither  it  was  the  Lord  was 
going,  that,  rising  from  the  dead,  He  should 
die  no  more,  and  death  should  no  more  have 
dominion  over  Him.3  For  as  the  Lord  was 
about  to  die  for  righteousness'  sake,  how  could 
they  have  followed  Him  now,  who  were  as 
yet  unripe  for  the  ordeal  of  martyrdom  ?  Or, 
with  the  Lord  about  to  enter  the  fleshly 
immortality,  how  could  they  have  followed 
Him  now,  when,  even  though  ready  to  die, 
they  would  have  no  resurrection  till  the  end 
of  the  world?  Or,  on  the  point  of  going,  as 
the  Lord  was,  to  the  bosom  of  the  Father, 
and  that  without  any  forsaking  of  them,  just 
as  He  had  never  quitted  that  bosom  in  com 
ing  to  them,  how  could  they  have  followed 
Him  now,  since  no  one  can  enter  on  that  state 
of  felicity  but  he  that  is  made  perfect  in  love  ? 
And  to  show  them,  therefore,  how  it  is  that 
they  may  attain  the  fitness  to  proceed,  where 
He  was  going  before  them,  He  says,  "A  new 
commandment  I  give  unto  you,  that  ye  love 
one  another  "  (ver.  34).  These  are  the  steps 
whereby  Christ  must  be  followed;  but  any 
fuller  discourse  thereon  must  be  put  off  till 
another  opportunity. 


TRACTATE    LXV. 

CHAPTER  XIII.  34.  35. 


i.  THE  Lord  Jesus  declares  that  He  is  giv 
ing  His  disciples  a  new  commandment,  that 
they  should  love  one  another.  "A  new  com 
mandment,"  He  says,  "  I  give  unto  you,  that 
ye  love  one  another."  But  was  not  this  al 
ready  commanded  in  the  ancient  law  of  C.oil. 
where  it  is  written,  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself"?1  Why,  then,  is  it 
called  a  new  one  by  the  Lord,  when  it  is  prov 
ed  to  be  so  old  ?  Is  it  on  this  account  a 


new  commandment,  because  He  hath  divested 
us  of  the  old,  and  clothed  us  with  the  new 
man  ?  For  it  is  not  indeed  every  kind  of 
]  love  that  renews  him  that  listens  to  it,  or 
rather  yields  it  obedience,  but  that  love  re 
garding  which  the  Lord,  in  order  to  distin 
guish  it  from  all  carnal  affection,  added,  "as 
I  have  loved  you."  For  husbands  and  wives 
love  one  another,  and  parents  and  children, 
and  all  other  human  relationships  that  bind 
men  together:  to  say  nothing  of  the  blame 
worthy  and  damnable  love  which  is  mutually 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


<  \<  r A  1 1-.   l.\V. 


felt  by  adulterers  and  adulteresses,  by  forni-    "  Love  is  strong  as  death."6     For  by  this 
cators  and  prostitutes,  and  all  others  who  are   love  it  is  brought  about,  that,  while  still  held 


knit  together  by  no  human  relationship,  but 
by  the  mischievous  depravity  of  human  life. 
Christ,  therefore,  hath  given  us  a  new  com 
mandment,  that  we  should  love  one  another, 


in  the  present  corruptible  body,  we  die  to  this 
world,  and  our  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God; 
yea,  that  love  itself  is  our  death  to  the  world, 
and  our  life  with  God.  For  if  that  is  death 


as  He  also  hath  loved  us.     This  is  the  love   when  the  soul  quits  the  body,  how  can  it  be 
that  renews  us,  making  us  new  men,  heirs  of  other   than  death  when-  our  love   quits  the 


the  New  Testament,  singers  of  the  new  song. 
It  was  this  love,  brethren  beloved,  that  re 
newed  also  those  of  olden  time,  who  were  then 
the  righteous,  the  patriarchs  and  prophets,  as 
it  did  afterwards  the  blessed  apostles:  it  is  it, 
too,  that  is  now  renewing  the  nations,  and 
from  among  the  universal  race  of  man,  which 
overspreads  the  whole  world,  is  making  and 
gathering  together  a  new  people,  the  body  of 
the  newly-married  spouse  of  the  only-begotten 


world  ?  Such  love,  therefore,  is  strong  as 
death.  And  what  is  stronger  than  that  which 
bindeth  the  world  ? 

2.  Think  not  then,  my  brethren,  that  when 
the  Lord  says,  "A  new  commandment  I  give 
unto  you,  that  ye  love  one  another,  there  is 
any  overlooking  of  that  greater  command 
ment,  which  requires  us  to  love  the  Lord  our 
God  with  all  our  heart,  and  with  all  our  soul, 
land  with  all  our  mind;  for  along  with  this 


Son  of  God,  of  whom  it  is  said  in  the  Song  |  seeming  oversight,  the  words  "that  ye  love 
of  Songs,  "  Who  is  she  that  ascendeth,  made  one  another"  appear  also  as  if  they  had 
white  ?  "  '  Made  white  indeed,  because  re-  no  reference  to  that  second  commandment, 
newed;  and  how,  but  by  the  new  command-  which  says,  "  Thou  shall  love  thy  neighbor  as 
ment?  Because  of  this,  the  members  thereof  thyself."  For  "on  these  two  command- 
have  a  mutual  interest  in  one  another;  and  if!  ments,"  He  says,  "  hang  all  the  law  and  the 


one  member  suffer,  all  the  members  suffer 
with  it;  and  one  member  be  honored,  all  the 
members  rejoice  with  it.2  For  this  they  hear 
and  observe,  "A  new  commandment  I  give 
unto  you,  that  ye  love  one  another:  "  not  as 
those  love  one  another  who  are  corrupters,  nor 


prophets."7  But  both  commandments  may 
be  found  in  each  of  these  by  those  who  have 
good  understanding.  For,  on  the  one  hand, 
he  that  loveth  God  cannot  despise  His  com 
mandment  to  love  his  neighbor;  and  on  the 
other,  he  who  in  a  holy  and  spiritual  way  lov 


eth  his  neighbor,  what  doth  he  love  in  him 
but  God  ?  That  is  the  love,  distinguished 
from  all  mundane  love,  which  the  Lord  spec- 


as  men  love  one  another  in  a  human  way; 
but  they  love  one  another  as  those  who  are 
God's,  and  all  of  them  sons  of  the  Highest, 
and  brethren,  therefore,  of  His  only  Son,  ially  characterized,  when  He  added,  "as  I 
with  that  mutual  love  wherewith  He  loved  have  loved  you."  For  what  was  it  but  God 
them,  when  about  to  lead  them  on  to  the  goal  i  that  He  loved  in  us  ?  Not  because  we  had 
were  all  sufficiency  should  be  theirs,  and  j  Him,  but  in  order  that  we  might  have  Him; 
where  their  every  desire  should  be  satisfied  and  that  He  may  lead  us  on,  as  I  said  a  little 
with  good  things.3  For  then  there  will  be  j  ago,  where  God  is  all  in  all.  It  is  in  this  way, 


nothing  wanting  they  can  desire,  when  God 
will  be  all  in  all.4  An  end  like  that  has  no 
end.  No  ona  dieth  there,  where  no  one  ar- 
riveth  save  he  that  dieth  to  this  world,  not 
that  universal  kind  of  death  whereby  the  body 
is  bereft  of  the  soul;  but  the  death  of  the 
elect,  through  which,  even  while  still  remain- 


also,  that  the  physician  is  properly  said  to 
love  the  sick;  and  what  is  it  he  loves  in  them 
but  their  health,  which  at  all  events  he  desires 
to  recall;  not  their  sickness,  which  he  comes 
to  remove  ?  Let  us,  then,  also  so  love  one 
another,  that,  as  far  as  possible,  we  may  by 
the  solicitude  of  our  love  be  winning  one  an- 


ing  in  this  mortal  flesh,  the  heart  is  set  on  other  to  have  God  within  us.  And  this  love 
the  things  which  are  above.  Of  such  a  death  is  bestowed  on  us  by  Him  who  said,  "As  I 
it  is  that  the  apostle  said,  "  For  ye  are  dead,  j  have  loved  you,  that  ye  also  love  one  an- 
and  your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God."5  j  other."  For  this  very  end,  therefore,  did  He 
And  perhaps  to  this,  also,  do  the  words  refer,  j  love  us,  that  we  also  should  love  one  another; 
I  bestowing  this  on  us  by  His  own  love  to  us, 

•Song  of  Sol.  viii.  5,  where  Augustin,  in  Healtata,  follows  the     that    VVC    sh°ulcl    bfi    b°Ujld    tO    °nC    another    in 
n    their    misreading   and    alteration   of   the   original     mtltlial   loVC,  aild,  Utllted  together  as  members 

by  so  pleasant  a  bond,  should  be  the  body  of 
so  mighty  a  Head. 

3.   "By  this,"   He    adds,   "shall  all  men 
know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye  have  love 


_.._,_. 


"from  the  -wilderness"  (as  in  chap. 


6),    into 


rp.  or  some  such  participle.     The  Vulgate  dif- 

f>-r>  fnun  AiiKUstin,  and  reads  correctly,  de  dtserto,  hut  interposes 
between   this  and   the   next  <  lansr   .in..th.-r    p:uti.  ipial   ei 


t  aJjfliu-Hs,  abounding  in  delights 
lows  the  original. 
2  i  Cor.  xii.  . 
4  i  Cor.  xv.  28. 


Our  KiiKlish  version  fol- 


i  I's.  i  iii 
Sfol.  ii 


1  Song  of  Sol.  viii.  6. 


..  ii    I. XVI.  I 


« >\    nil-;  GOSPEL  <>i    ST.  JOHN. 


one  to  another:"  ns  it  He  said,  Other  gifts 
of  mine  an-  pOIMSMd  in  common  with  you 
by  those  who  arc  not  mine. — not  only  nature, 
life,  perception,  reason,  and  that  safety  which 
is  equally  the  privilege  of  men  and  beasts; 
but  also  languages,  sacraments,  prophecy, 
knowledge,  faith,  the  bestowing  of  their 
goods  upon  the  poor,  and  the  giving  of  their 
body  to  the  flames:  but  because  destitute  of 
charity,  they  only  tinkle  like  cymbals;  they 
are  nothing,  and  by  nothing  are  they  pro 
fited.1  It  is  not,  then,  by  such  gifts  of  mine, 
however  good,  which  may  be  alike  possessed 
by  those  who  are  not  my  disciples,  but  <4  by 
this  it  is  that  all  men  shall  know  that  ye  are 
my  disciples,  that  ye  have  love  one  to  an 
other."  O  thou  spouse  of  Christ,  fair 
amongst  women  !  O  thou  who  ascendest  in 
whiteness,  leaning  upon  thy  Beloved  !  for  by 
His  light  thou  art  made  dazzling  to  whiteness, 
by  His  assistance  thou  art  preserved  from 
falling.  How  well  becoming  thee  are  the 


words    in   that  Song  of  Songs,  which    : 
were,  thy  bridal  chant,  "  That  there  is  love  in 
thy  delights"!'     This   it  is  that  suffers   not 
thy  soul  to  perish  with  the  ungodly:  it  is  this 
that  judges  thy  cause,  and  is  strong  as  death, 
and  is  present  in  thy  delights.      How  wonder 
ful  is  the  character  of  that  death,  which  was 
!  all  but  swallowed  up  in  penal  sufferings,  had 
!  it   not    been   over   and    above    absorbed    in 
|  delights  !     But  here  this  discourse  must  now 
be  closed;    for  we  must  make  a   new  com 
mencement    in    dealing  with  the  words  that 
follow. 


»  i  Cor.  xiii.  1-3. 


*  Song  of  Sol.  vii.  6,  according  to  the  Septuagint.  It  is  very 
doubtful,  however,  whether  the  I. XX.  themselves  held  the  mean 
ing  drawn  from  their  version  by  Augustin.  It  seems  all  to  depend 
on  where  they  inserted  the  point  of  interrogation  (;) ;  and  the  MSS. 
vary.  The  Vatican,  that  in  common  use,  places  it  a/lrr  a-yairi) 
(love),  which  could  hardly  have  been  Augustin's  reading.  Other 
MSS.  place  it  at  the  end  of  the  verse,  making  the  whole  a  single 
sentence,  as  in  our  Knglish  version.  Augustin  must  have  found 
the  point  immediately  after  i)Svvfr^  ("  thou  art  pleasant  "),  thus 

,  disjoining  ayairq  from  what  precedes,  and  making  it,  with  iv 
Tpv<£ai?  o-ou,  a  clause  by  itself.  The  Musoretic  punctuation  of  thr 

!  Hebrew  gives  some  grounds  for  Augustin's  reading  :  for  there  is  H 
larger  disjunctive  accent  over  H?23?i  ("  thou  art  pleasant  "),  indi 
cating  the  central  pause  of  the  verse  ;  while  the  minor  disjunctive 
under  ~2~N  '"•«>'  ""'>'  '"'  intended  to  make  up  by  emphasis  for  the 
abruptness  of  the  language, — TR. 


TRACTATE    LXVI. 


CHAPTER   XIII.    36-38. 


i.  WHILE  the  Lord  Jesus  was  commend 
ing  to  the  disciples  that  holy  love  wherewith 
they  should  love  one  another,  "  Simon  Peter 
saith  unto  Him,  Lord,  whither  goest  Thou  ?'' 
So,  at  all  events,  said  the  disciple  to  his. Mas 
ter,  the  servant  to  his  Lord,  as  one  who  was 
prepared  to  follow.  Just  as  for  the  same  rea 
son  the  Lord,  who  read  in  his  mind  the  pur 
pose  of  such  a  question,  made  him  this  reply: 
"  Whither  I  go,  thou  canst  not  follow  me 
now;  "  as  if  He  said,  In  reference  to  the  ob 
ject  of  thy  asking,  thou  canst  not  now.  He 
does  not  say,  Thou  canst  not;  but  "  Thou 
canst  not  now/'  He  intimated  delay,  with 
out  depriving  of  hope;  and  that  same  hope, 
which  He  took  not  away,  but  rather  bestowed, 
in  His  next  words  He  confirmed,  by  proceed 
ing  to  say,  "Thou  shalt  follow  me  after 
wards."  Why  such  haste,  Peter  ?  The  Rock 
(pet) a}  has  not  yet  solidified  thee  by  His 
Spirit.  Be  not  lifted  up  with  presumption, 
"  Thou  canst  not  now;  "  be  not  cast  now  into 
despair,  "Thou  shalt  follow  afterwards." 
But  what  does  he  say  to  this?  "Why  can 
not  I  follow  Thee  now?  I  will  lay  down  my 
life  for  Thy  sake."  He  saw  what  was  the 


[  kind  of   desire   in   his  mind;    but  what  the 
i  measure  of  his  strength,   he  saw  not.     The 
weak  man  boasted  of  his  willingness,  but  the 
j  Physician    had  an  eye   on   the  state    of   his 
health;  the  one  promised,  the  Other  foreknew: 
i  the  ignorant  was  bold;  He  that  foreknew  all, 
j  condescended    to    teach.     How    much    had 
j  Peter  taken  upon  himself,  by  looking  only  at 
I  what  he  wished,  and  having  no  knowledge  of 
what  he  was  able  !     How  much  had  he  taken 
upon  himself,  that,  when  the  Lord  had  come 
to  lay  down  His  life  for  His  friends,  and  so 
for  him  also,  he  should  have  the  assurance  to 
offer  to  do  the  same  for  the  Lord;  and  while 
as  yet  Christ's  life  was  not  laid  down  for  him 
self,  he  should  promise  to  lay  down  his  own 
life    for   Christ!     "Jesus"    therefore    "an 
swered  him,  Wilt  thou   lay  down  thy  life  for 
my  sake  ? "     Wilt  thou  do  for  me  what  I  have 
not  yet  done  for  thee  ?     "  Wilt  thou  lay  down 
thy  life   for  my  sake?"     Canst  thou  go  be 
fore,   who  art   unable  to   follow?     Why   dost 
thou  presume  so  far?  what  dost  thou  think  of 
thyself    what  dost  thou   imagine   thyself  to 
be?     Hear  what  thou  art:   "Verily,  verily,  I 
say  unto  thee,  The  cock  shall  not  crow,  till 


120 


Tin:  WORKS  OF  si.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  I.XVI. 


thou  hast  denied  me  thrice."  See,  that  is 
howthou  wilt  speedily  become  manifest  to  thy 
self,  who  art  now  talking  SO  loftily,  and  know- 
est  not  that  thou  art  but  a  child.  Thou 
promisest  me  thy  death,  and  thou  wilt  deny 
me  thy  life.  Thou,  who  now  thinkest  thyself 
able  to  die  for  me,  learn  to  live  first  for  thy 
self;  for  in  fearing  the  death  of  thy  flesh, 
thou  wilt  occasion  the  death  of  thy  soul. 
Just  as  much  as  it  is  life  to  confess  Christ,  it 
is  death  to  deny  Him. 

2.  Or  was  it  that  the  Apostle  Peter,  as 
some  with  a  perverse  kind  of  favor  strive  to 
excuse  him,'  did  not  deny  Christ,  because, 
when  questioned  by  the  maid,  he  replied  that 
he  did  not  know  the  man,  as  the  other  evan 
gelists  more  expressly  affirm  ?  As  if,  indeed, 
he  that  denies  the  man  Christ  does  net  deny 
Christ;  and  so  denies  Him  in  respect  of  what 
He  became  on  our  account,  that  the  nature 
He  had  given  us  might  not  be  lost.  Who 
ever,  therefore,  acknowledges  Christ  as  God, 
and  disowns  Him  as  man,  Christ  died  not  for 
him;  for  as  man  it  was  that  Christ  died.  He 
who  disowns  Christ  as  man.  finds  no  reconcil 
iation  to  God  by  the  Mediator.  For  there  is 
one  God,  and  one  Mediator  between  God  and 
men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus.2  He  that  denies 
Christ  as  man  is  not  justified:  for  as  by  the 
disobedience  of  one  man,  many  were  made 
sinners;  so  also  by  the  obedience  of  one  man 
shall  many  be  made  righteous.3  He  that 
denies  Christ  as  man,  shall  not  rise  again 
into  the  resurrection  of  life;  for  by  man  is 
death,  and  by  man  is  also  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead:  for  as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in 
Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive.4  And  by  what 
means  is  He  the  Head  of  the  Church,  but  by 
His  manhood,  because  the  Word  was  made 
flesh  ?  that  is,  God,  the  Only-begotten  of  God 
the  Father,  became  man.  And  how  then  can 
one  be  in  the  body  of  Christ  who  denies  the 
man  Christ  ?  Or  how  can  one  be  a  member 
who  disowns  the  Head  ?  But  why  linger  over 
a  multitude  of  reasons  when  the  Lord  Him 
self  undoes  all  the  windings  of  human  argu 
mentation  ?  For  He  says  not,  The  cock  shall 
not  crow  till  thou  hast  denied  the  man;  or, 
as  He  was  wont  to  speak  in  His  more  familiar 
condescension  with  men,  The  cock  shall  not 
crow  till  thou  hast  thrice  denied  the  Son  of 


man;  but  He  says,  "  till  thou  hast  denied  me 
thrice."  What  is  that  "me,"  but  just  what 
He  was  ?  and  what  (vas  He  but  Christ  ?  What 
ever  of  Him,  therefore,  he  denied,  he  denied 
Himself,  he  denied  the  Christ,  he  denied  the 
Lord  his  God.  For  Thomas  also,  his  fellow- 
disciple,  when  he  exclaimed,  "  My  Lord  and 
my  God,"  did  not  handle  the  Word,  but  only 
His  flesh;  and  laid  not  his  inquisitive  hands 
on  the  incorporeal  nature  of  God,  but  on  His 
human  body.5  And  so  he  touched  the  man, 
and  yet  recognized  his  God.  If,  then,  what 
the  latter  touched,  Peter  denied;  what  the 
latter  invoked,  Peter  offended.  "  The  cock 
shall  not  crovv  till  thou  hast  denied  me 
thrice."  Although  thou  say,  "  I  know  not  the 
man;  "  although  thou  say,  "  Man,  I  know  not 
what  thou  sayesc;  "  although  thou  say,  "  I 
am  not  one  of  His  disciples;  "6  thou  wilt  be 
denying  me.  If,  which  it  were  sinful  to 
doubt,  Christ  so  spake,  and  foretold  the  truth, 
then  doubtless  Peter  denied  Christ.  Let  us 
not  accuse  Christ  in  defending  Peter.  Let 
infirmity  acknowledge  its  sin;  for  there  is  no 
falsehood  in  the  Truth.  When  Peter's  in 
firmity  acknowledged  its  sin,  his  acknowledg 
ment  was  full;  and  the  greatness  of  the  evil 
he  had  committed  in  denying  Christ,  he 
showed  by  his  tears.  He  himself  reproves 
his  defenders,  and  for  their  conviction,  brings 
his  tears  forward  as  witnesses.  Nor  have  we, 
on  our  part,  in  so  speaking,  any  delight  in 
accusing  the  first  of  the  apostles;  but  in  look 
ing  on  him,  we  ought  to  take  home  the  lesson 
to  ourselves,  that  no  man  should  place  his 
confidence  in  human  strength.  For  what  else 
had  our  Teacher  and  Saviour  in  view,  but  to 
show  us,  by  making  the  first  of  the  apostles 
himself  an  example,  that  no  one  ought  in  any 
way  to  presume  of  himself  ?  And  that,  there 
fore,  really  took  place  in  Peter's  soul,  for 
which  he  gave  cause  in  his  body.  And  yet 
he  did  not  go  before  in  the  Lord's  behalf, 
as  he  rashly  presumed,  but  did  so  otherwise 
than  he  reckoned.  For  before  the  death  and 
resurrection  of  the  Lord,  he  both  died  when 
he  denied,  and  returned  to  life  when  he  wept; 
but  he  died,  because  he  himself  had  been 
proud  in  his  presumption,  and  he  lived  again, 
because  that  Other  had  looked  on  him  with 
kindness. 


>  See  Ambrose, 
3  Rom.  v.  19. 


Cor.  xv.  21,  22. 


5  Chap.  xx.  27,  28. 

6  Matt.  xxvi.  34,  69-74,  i 


nd  Luke  xxii.  55-60. 


Tk.\.  i  \ii 


ON  -nil-:  r,<  >SPEL  <>F  ST.   IOIIN. 


TRACTATE    LXVII. 

ClIAl'IIK     XI\".     1-3. 


1.  OUR  special  attention,  brethren,  must  be 
earnestly  turned  to  God,  in  order  that  we  may 
be  able  to  obtain  some  intelligent  apprehen 
sion  of  the  words  of  the  holy  Gospel,  which 
have  just  been  ringing  in  our  ears.     For  the 
Lord   Jesus  saith:    "  Let  not  your  heart  be 
troubled.     Believe '  in  God,  and  believe  \or^ 
believe  also]  in  me."     That  they  might  not 
as  men  be  afraid  of  death,  and  so  be  troubled, 
He  comforts  them  by  affirming  Himself  also 
to  be  God.     "  Believe/'  He  says,  "  in  God, 
believe  also  in  me."      For  it  follows  as  a  con 
sequence,  that  if  ye  believe  in  God,  ye  ought 
to  believe  also  in  me:    which  were  no  conse 
quence   if   Christ  were    not  God.     "  Believe 
in  God,  and  believe  in  "  Him,  who,  by  nature 
and  not  by  robbery,  is  equal  with  God;   for 
He  emptied  Himself;  not,  however,  by  losing 
the  form  of  God,  but  by  taking  the  form  of  a 
servant.2     You  are  afraid  of  death  as  regards 
this  servant   form,    "  let    not   your  heart  be 
troubled,"  the  form  of  God  will  raise  it  again. 

2.  But  why  have  we  this  that  follows,  "  In 
my  Father's  house  are  many  mansions,"  but 
that  they  were  also  in  fear  about  themselves  ? 
And  therein  they  might  have  heard  the  words, 
"  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled."     For,  was 
there  any  of  them  that  could  be  free  from 
fear,  when  Peter,  the  most  confident  and  for 
ward  of   them  all,  was  told,  "  The  cock  shall 
not  crow  till  thou  hast  denied  me.  thrice"  ?3 
Considering  themselves,  therefore,  beginning 
with  Peter,  as  destined  to  perish,  they  had 
cause  to  be  troubled:  but  when  they  now  hear, 
"  In  my  Father's  house  are  many  mansions: 
if  it  were  not  so,  I  would  have  told  you;  for  I 
go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you,"  they  are  re 
vived   from  their  trouble,   made  certain  and 
confident  that  after  all  the  perils  of  tempta 
tions  they  shall  dwell  with  Christ  in  the  pres 
ence  of   God.     For,  albeit   one    is    stronger 
than   another,  one  wiser  than  another,  one 
more  righteous  than  another,  "in  the  Father's 
house  there  are  many  mansions;"    none  of 
them  shall  remain  outside  that   house,  where 
every  one,  according  to  his  deserts,  is  to  re 
ceive  a  mansion.      All  alike  have  that  penny, 
which  the  householder  orders  to  be  given  to 
all  that    have  wrought  in  the  vineyard,  mak 
ing  no  distinction  therein  betuTi'M  those  who 


1  A  few  of  the  MSS.  have  " ye  believe , "  aftrr  thr  Yulxjatr:   tin- 
Greek  verb  also,  IUO-T«V*T«  which  occurs    t\vi.  <•   in    thi-  • 
doubtful,  lignifying,  y?  M it-re,  or,  belit-.-f  (imperative). — MIGNE. 

3  Phil  3  Chap,  xiii.  38. 


have  labored  less  and  those  who  have  labored 
more:4  by  which  penny,  of  course,  is  signi 
fied  eternal  life,  wherein  no  one  any  longer 
lives  to  a  different  length  than  others,  since 
in  eternity  life  has  no  diversity  in  its  measure. 
But  the  many  mansions  point  to  the  different 
grades  of  merit  in  that  one  eternal  life.  For 
there  is  one  glory  of  the  sun,  another  glory 
of  the  moon,  and  another  glory  of  the  stars: 
for  one  star  differeth  from  another  star  in 
glory;  and  so  also  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead.  The  saints,  like  the  stars  in  the  sky, 
obtain  in  the  kingdom  different  mansions  of 
diverse  degrees  of  brightness;  but  on  account 
of  that  one  penny  no  one  is  cut  off  from  the 
kingdom;  and  God  will  be  all  in  all5  in  such 
a  way,  that,  as  God  is  love,6  love  will  bring 
it  about  that  what  is  possessed  by  each  will 
be  common  to  all.  For  in  this  way  every  one 
really  possesses  it,  when  he  loves  to  see  in 
another  what  he  has  not  himself.  There  will 
not,  therefore,  be  any  envying  amid  this 
diversity  of  brightness,  since  in  all  of  them 
will  be  reigning  the  unity  of  love. 

3,  Every  Christian  heart,  therefore,  must 
utterly  reject  the  idea  of  those  who  imagine 
that  there  are  many  mansions  spoken  of, 
because  there  will  be  some  place  outside  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  which  shall  be  the  abode 
of  those  blessed  innocents  who  have  departed 
this  life  without  baptism,  because  without  it 
they  cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
Faith  like  this  is  not  faith,  inasmuch  as  it  is 
not  the  true  and  catholic  faith.  Are  you  not 
so  foolish  and  blinded  with  carnal  imagina 
tions  as  to  be  worthy  of  reprobation,  if  you 
should  thus  separate  the  mansion,  I  say  not 
of  Peter  and  Paul,  or  any  of  the  apostles,  but 
even  of  any  baptized  infant  from  the  kingdom 
of  heaven;  do  you  not  think  yourselves  de 
serving  of  reprobation  in  thus  putting  a  sepa 
ration  between  these  and  the  house  of  God 
the  Father  ?  For  the  Lord's  words  are  not, 
In  the  whole  world,  or,  In  all  creation,  or.  In 
everlasting  life  and  blessedness,  there  are 
many  mansions;  but  He  says,  "In  my 
Father's  house  are  many  mansions."  Is  not 
that  the  house  where  we  have  a  building  of 
God,  a  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in 
the  heavens  ?7  Is  not  that  the  house  whereof 
we  *invj  to  the  Lord,  "  Blessed  are  they  that 


4  Matt.  xx.  9. 
6  i  John  iv.  8. 


5  i  Cor.  xv.  41,  42,  28. 
7  a  Cor.  v.  i. 


322 


TIIK  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACT ATK  I.XVIIf. 


dwell  in  Thy  house;  they  shall  praise  Thee 
for  ever  and  ever"  ?'  Will  you  then  venture 
to  separate  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven  the 
house,  not  of  every  baptized  brother,  but  of 
God  the  Father  Himself,  to  whom  all  we  who 
are  brethren  say,  "Our  Father,  who  art  in 
heaven,"3  or  divide  it  in  such  a  way  as  to 
make  some  of  its  mansions  inside,  and  some 
outside,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ?  Far,  far 
be  it  from  those  who  desire  to  dwell  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  to  be  willing  to  dwell  in 
such  folly  with  you:  far  be  it,  I  say,  that  since 
every  house  of  sons  that  are  reigning  can  be 
nowhere  else  but  in  the  kingdom,  any  part  of 
the  royal  house  itself  should  be  outside  the 
kingdom. 

4.   "And  if  I  go/'  He  says,  "and  prepare 


a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again,  and  receive 
you  unto  myself;  that  where  I  am,  there  ye 
may  be  also.  And  whither  I  go  ye  know, 
and  the  way  ye  know."  O  Lord  Jesus,  how 
goest  Thou  to  prepare  a  place,  if  there  are 
already  many  mansions  in  Thy  Father's  house, 
where  Thy  people  shall  dwell  with  Thyself? 
Or  if  Thou  receivest  them  unto  Thyself,  how 
wilt  Thou  come  again,  who  never  withdrawest 
Thy  presence  ?  Such  subjects  as  these,  be 
loved,  were  we  to  attempt  to  explain  them  with 
such  brevity  as  seems  within  the  proper 
bounds  of  our  discourse  to-day,  would  cer 
tainly  suffer  in  clearness  from  compression, 
and  the  very  brevity  would  become  itself  a 
second  obscurity;  we  shall  therefore  defer 
this  debt,  which  the  bounty  of  our  Family- 
head  will  enable  us  to  repay  at  a  more  suita 
ble  opportunity. 


TRACTATE   LXVIII 


ON    THE    SAME    1'ASSAGK. 


i.  WE  acknowledge,  beloved  brethren,  that 
we  are  owing  you,  and  ought  now  to  repay, 
what  was  left  over  for  consideration,  how  we 
can  understand  that  there  is  no  real  mutual 
contrariety  between  these  two  statements, 
namely,  that  after  saying,  "In  my  Father's 
house  are  many  mansions:  if  it  were  not  so, 
I  would  have  told  you,  that  I  go  to  prepare  a 
place  for  you;" — where  He  makes  it  clear 
enough  that  He  said  so  to  them  for  the  very 
reason  that  there  are  many  mansions  there 
already,  and  there  is  no  need  of  preparing 
any;1 — the  Lord  again  says:  "And  if  I  go 
and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again 
and  receive  you  unto  myself;  that  where  I 
am,  there  ye  may  be  also."  How  is  it  that 
He  goes  and  prepares  a  place,  if  there  are 
many  mansions  already?  If  there  were  not 
such,  He  would  have  said,  "  I  go  to  prepare." 
Or  if  the  place  has  still  to  be  prepared,  would 
He  not  then  also  properly  have  said,  "  I  go 
to  prepare  "?  Are  these  mansions  in  exist 
ence  already,  and  yet  needing  still  to  be  pre 
pared  ?  For  if  they  were  not  in  existence, 

1  The  apparent  contrari'-ty  tli:it  Augustin  here  deals  with,  partly 
arises  from  a  mistaken  interpretation  of  the  second  half  of  verse 
2, as  given  above.  His  Uitin  version  read,  sf  quo  tuiiius.,  iH.ris- 
tern  Tobis  quia  vai/.>,  etc.,  and  is  a  close  verbal  rendering  of  Un 
original  text,  as  found  in  several  MSS., — ei  Si  n'ri,  elnov  av  u/uic, 
on  irofxvojiai,— although  some  others  omit  the  on.  But  while 
verbally  »-.\acl.  grammatical  accuracy  and  a  f:iir  exegesis  will  ad 
mit  of  a  pause  after  v^lv  (rv>/>/.t),  as  the  general  sense  i.f  tin-  pas 
sage  requires.  "On  might  thus  be  used  in  the  161 
or,  as  it  often  is,  as  a  particle  introducing  a  direct  statement. — TK. 


He  would  have  said,  "I  go  to  prepare." 
And  yet,  because  their  present  state  of  exist 
ence  is  such  as  still  to  stand  in  need  of  prep 
aration,  He  does  not  go  to  prepare  them  in 
the  same  sense  as  they  already  exist;  but  if 
He  go  and  prepare  them  as  they  shall  be 
hereafter,  He  will  come  again  and  receive  His 
own  to  Himself;  that  where  He  is,  there  they 
may  be  also.  How  then  are  there  mansions 
in  the  Father's  house,  and  these  not  different 
ones  but  the  same,  which  already  exist  in  a 
sense  in  which  they  can  admit  of  no  prepara 
tion,  and  yet  do  not  exist,  inasmuch  as  they 
are  still  to  be  prepared  ?  How  are  we  to 
think  of  this,  but  in  the  same  way  as  the  pro- 

f)het,  who  also  declares  of  God,  that  He  has 
already]  made  that  which  is  yet  to  be.  For 
he  says  not,  Who  will  make  what  is  yet  to  be, 
but,  "Who  has  made  what  is  yet  to  be."3 
Therefore  He  has  both  made  such  things  and 
is  yet  to  make  them.  For  they  have  not  been 


3  Isa.  xlv.  n,  according  to  the  Spptuagint,  whose  reading,  as 
usual,  is  followed  by  AuglUtin,  although  here  a  very  manifest 
mistranslation  of  the  Hebrew.  The  words  are,  "  Thus  saith  Jeho 
vah,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  ("i^HJJ  7*r*N~  *~XV>  •"»'  his 
Maker,  Ask  me  of  things  to  come,"  etc.  This  is  the  rendering 
really  in  accordance  with  the  usual  Hebrew  idiom,  with  the  sense 
-^age  itself,  and  with  the  frequent  use  of  }'<>/s,->  (M.ikeri 
by  Isaiah,  'it  is  that  also  approved  by  the  Masoretie  pointing,  and 
followed  generally  by  the  other  translations,  including  the  Vul 
gate,  which  has:  plast.-s  fins:  r,-ntura  int.' 
The  IAN.,  however,  makes  //,iV//,/>v,.//i  dependent 

(notwithstanding  itsown suffix),  instead..)'  the 

and  reads,  6  troiij<ra?  (<i\nov  in  some  .  opiesi  ra  iirtpxon(i-a,  which 
Augustin  renders  in  the  text :  qui /,\-it  yutr/utura  sunt.-  -'lit. 


,M     I  \VIII.] 


ON    i  in.  GOSPEL  <>i    ST.  JOHN. 


.it  all  it"  Hr  h.-is  nut  made  tiu-in;  nor 
will  they  ever  In-  n  He-  make  them  not  Him- 
sclt.  Hi'  has  made  them  therefore  in  the  way 
of  fore-ordaining  them;  He  h:>s  yet  to  make 
them  in  the  way  of  actual  elaboration.  Just 
as  the  (iospel  plainly  intimates  when  He 

Ills  disciples,  that  is  to  say,  at  the  time 
of  His  calling  them;1  and  yet  the  apostle 
"  He  chose  us  before  the  foundation  of 
the  world,"  *  to  wit,  by  predestination,  not  by 
actual  calling.  "And  whom  He  did  predes 
tinate,  them  He  also  called;"3  He  hath 
chosen  by  predestination  before  the  founda 
tion  of  the  world,  He  chooses  by  calling  be 
fore  its  close.  And  so  also  has  He  prepared 
those  mansions,  and  is  still  preparing  them; 
and  He  who  has  already  made  the  things 
which  are  yet  to  be,  is  now  preparing,  not 
different  ones,  but  the  very  mansions  He  has 
already  prepared:  what  He  has  prepared  in 
predestination,  He  is  preparing  by  actual 
working.  Already,  therefore,  they  are,  as  re 
spects  predestination;  if  it  were  not  so,  He 
would  have  said,  I  will  go  and  prepare,  that 
is,  I  will  predestinate.  But  because  they  are 
not  yet  in  a  state  of  practical  preparedness, 
He  says,  "And  if  I  go  and  prepare  a  place  for 
you,  I  will  come  again,  and  receive  you  unto 
myself." 

2.  But  He  is  in  a  certain  sense  preparing 
the  dwellings  by  preparing  for  them  the 
dwellers.  As,  for  instance,  when  He  said, 
"  In  my  Father's  house  are  many  dwellings," 
what  else  can  we  suppose  the  house  of  God  to 
mean  but  the  temple  of  God  ?  And  what  that 
is,  ask  the  apostle,  and  he  will  reply,  '*  For 
the  temple  of  God  is  holy,  which  [temple]  ye 
are"4  This  is  also  the  kingdom  of  God, 
which  the  Son  is  yet  to  deliver  up  to  the 
Father;  and  hence  the  same  apostle  says, 
"  Christ,  the  beginning,  and  then  they  that 
nre  Christ's  in  His  presence;  then  [cometh] 
the  end,  when  He  shall  have  delivered  up  the 
kingdom  to  God,  even  the  Father;  "  5  that  is, 
those  whom  He  has  redeemed  by  His  blood, 
He  shall  then  have  delivered  up  to  stand  be 
fore  His  Father's  face.  This  is  that  kingdom 
of  heaven  whereof  it  is  said,  "  The  kingdom 
of  heaven  is  likened  unto  a  man  who  sowed 
good  seed  in  his  field.  But  the  good  seed  are 
the  children  of  the  kingdom;"  and  although 
now  they  are  mingled  with  tares,  at  the  end 
the  King  Himself  shall  send  forth  His  angel*, 
"and  they  shall  gather  out  of  His  kingdom 
all  things 'that  offend.  Then  shall  the  right 
eous  shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the  kingdom  of 
their  Father."6  The  kingdom  will  shine 
forth  in  the  kingdom  when  [those  that  are] 


the  kingdom  shall  have  reached  the  kingdom; 
just  as  we  now  pray  when  we  say,  I  \ 
Kingdom  OOmC."'  Kven  now,  therefore', 
already  is  the  kingdom  called,  but  onl\ 
being  called  together.  For  if  it  were  not  now 
called,  it  could  not  be  then  said,  "  They  shall 
gather  out  of  His  kingdom  everything  that 
offends."  But  the  realm  is  not  yet  reigning. 
Accordingly  it  is  already  so  far  the  kingdom, 
that  when  all  offences  shall  have  been  gath 
ered  out  of  it,  it  shall  then  attain  to  sover 
eignty,  so  as  to  possess  not  merely  the  name 
of  a  kingdom,  but  also  the  power  of  govern 
ment.  For  it  is  to  this  kingdom,  standing 
then  at  the  right  hand,  that  it  shall  be  said  in 
the  end,  "Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father, 
receive  the  kingdom;  "8  that  is,  ye  who  were 
the  kingdom,  but  without  the  power  to  rule, 
come  and  reign;  that  what  you  formerly  were 
only  in  hope,  you  may  now  have  the  power  to 
be  in  reality.  This  house  of  God,  therefore, 
this  temple  of  God,  this  kingdom  of  God  and 
kingdom  of  heaven,  is  as  yet  in  the  process 
of  building,  of  construction,  of  preparation, 
of  assembling.  In  it  there  will  be  mansions, 
even  as  the  Lord  is  now  preparing  them;  in 
it  there  are  such  already,  even  as  the  Lord 
has  already  ordained  them. 

3.  But  why  is  it  that  He  went  aivay  to  make 
such  preparation,  when,  as  it  is  certainly  we 
ourselves  that  are  the  subjects  in  need  of  prep 
aration,  His  doing  so  will  be  hindered  by 
leaving  us  behind  ?  I  explain  it,  Lord,  as  I 
can:  it  was  surely  this  Thou  didst  signify  by 
the  preparation  of  those  mansions,  that  the 
just  ought  to  live  by  faith.9  For  he  who  is 
sojourning  at  a  distance  from  the  Lord  has 
need  to  be  living  by  faith,  because  by  this  we 
are  prepared  for  beholding  His  countenance.10 
For  "  blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they 
shall  see  God;""  and  "He  purifieth  their 
hearts  by  faith."  "  The  former  we  find  in  the 
Gospel,  the  latter  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 
But  the  faith  by  which  those  who  are  yet  to 
see  God-  have  their  hearts  purified,  while  so 
journing  at  a  distance  here,  believeth  what  it 
doth  not  see;  for  if  there  is  sight,  there  is  no 
longer  faith.  Merit  is  accumulating  now  to 
the  believer,  and  then  the  reward  is  paid  into 
the  hand  of  the  beholder.  Let  the  Lord  then 
go  and  prepare  us  a  place;  let  Him  go,  that 
He  may  not  be  seen;  and  let  Him  remain 
concealed,  that  faith  may  be  exercised.  For 
then  is  the  place  preparing,  if  it  is  by  faith  we 
nre  living.  Let  the  believing  in  that  place  be 
desired,  that  the  place  desired  may  itself  be 
possessed;  the  longing  of  love  is  the  prepara 
tion  of  the  mansion.  Prepare  thus.  Lord. 


I. like  vi.  i  ;. 


•>  Eph.  i.  4. 

xv.  23,  : 


3  Rum.  viii.  30. 

*  Matt.  xiii.  14,  38-43. 


-  M..II.  vi. 


"  Matt.  x.  8. 


- 


324 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  I.X1X. 


what  Thou  art  preparing;  for  Thou  art  pre 
paring  us  for  Thyself,  and  Thyself  for  us, 
inasmuch  as  Thou  art  preparing  a  place  both 
for  Thyself  in  us,  and  for  us  in  Thee.  For 
Thou  hast  said,  "Abide  in  me,  and  I  in 
you."1  As  far  as  each  one  has  been  a  par 
taker  of  Thee,  some  less,  some  more,  such 
will  be  the  diversity  of  rewards  in  proportion 
to  the  diversity  of  merits;  such  will  be  the 
multitude  of  mansions  to  suit  the  inequalities 
among  their  inmates;  but  all  of  them,  none  the 
less,  eternally  living,  and  endlessly  blessed. 
Why  is  it  that  Thou  goest  away  ?  Why  is  it 
Thou  comest  again  ?  If  I  understand  Thee 
aright,  Thou  withdrawest  not  Thyself  either 
from  the  place  Thou  goest  from,  or  from  the 


'  Chap.  xv.  4. 


place  Thou  comest  from:  Thou  goest  away 
by  becoming  invisible,  Thou  comest  by  again 
becoming  manifest  to  our  eyes.  But  unless 
Thou  remainest  to  direct  us  how  we  may  still 
be  advancing  in  goodness  of  life,  how  will  the 
place  be  prepared  where  we  shall  be  able  to 
dwell  in  the  fullness  of  joy?  Let  what  we 
have  said  suffice  on  the  words  which  have 
been  read  from  the  Gospel  as  far  as  "  I  will 
come  again,  and  receive  you  to  myself."  But 
the  meaning  of  what  follows,  "  That  where  I 
am,  there  ye  may  be  also;  and  whither  I  go 
ye  know,  and  the  way  ye  know,"  we  shall  be 
in  a  better  condition — after  the  question  put 
by  the  disciple,  that  follows,  and  which  we 
also  may  be  putting,  as  it  were,  through  him 
— for  hearing,  and  more  suitably  situated  for 
making  the  subject  of  our  discourse. 


TRACTATE   LXIX. 

CHAPTER  XIV.  4-6. 


i.  WE  have   now  the  opportunity,  dearly  |  other  declares  that  he  does  not  know,  to  wit, 
beloved,  as  far  as  we  can,  of  understanding1  the  place  to  which,  and  the  way  whereby,  He 


the  earlier  words  of  the  Lord  from  the  later, 
and  His  previous  statements  by  those  that 
follow,  in  what  you  have  heard  was  His  answer 


is  going.  But  he  does  not  know  that  he  is 
speaking  falsely;  they  knew,  therefore,  and 
did  not  know  that  they  knew.  He  will  con- 
to  the  question  of  the  Apostle  Thomas.  For  i  vince  them  that  they  already  know  what  they 
when  the  Lord  was  speaking  above  of  the  j  imagine  themselves  still  to  be  ignorant  of. 
mansions,  of  which  He  both  said  that  they  j  "Jesus  saith  unto  him,  I  am  the  way,  and 
already  were  in  His  Father's  house,  and  that  j  the  truth,  and  the  life."  What,  brethren. 
He  was  going  to  prepare  them;  where  we  un-  j  does  He  mean  ?  See,  we  have  just  heard  the 
derstood  that  those  mansions  already  existed  disciple  asking,  and  the  Master  instructing, 
in  predestination,  and  are  also  being  prepared  and  we  do  not  yet,  even  after  His  voice  has 
through  the  purifying  by  faith  of  the  hearts !  sounded  in  our  ears,  apprehend  the  thought 
of  those  who  are  hereafter  to  inhabit  them,  j  that  lies  hid  in  His  words.  But  what  is  it  we 
seeing  that  they  themselves  are  the  very  house  '  cannot  apprehend  ?  Could  His  apostles,  with 
of  God;  and  what  else  is  it  to  dwell  in  God's,  whom  He  was  talking,  have  said  to  Him,  We 
house  than  to  be  in  the  number  of  His- people,  j  do  not  know  Thee?  Accordingly,  if  they 
since  His  people  are  at  the  same  time  in  God,  |  knew  Him,  and  He  Himself  is  the  way,  they 
and  God  in  them  ?  To  make  this  preparation  :  knew  the  way;  if  they  knew  Him  who  is  Him- 
the  Lord  departed,  that  by  believing  in  Him,  j  self  the  truth,  they  knew  the  truth;  if  they 
though  no  longer  visible,  the  mansion,  whose  [  knew  Him  who  is  also  the  life,  they  knew  the 
outward  form  is  always  hid  in  the  future,  may  life.  Thus,  you  see,  they  were  convinced 
now  by  faith  be  prepared;  for  this  reason,  that  they  knew  what  they  knew  not  that  they 
therefore,  He  had  said,  "And  if  I  go  away  knew. 

and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  2.  What  is  it,  then,  that  we  also  have  noi 
again,  and  receive  you  to  myself;  that  where  apprehended  in  this  discourse?  What  else, 
I  am,  there  ye  may  be  also.  And  whither  I  go  think  you,  brethren,  but  just  that  He  said, 
ye  know,  and  the  way  ye  know."  In  reply  "  And  whither  I  go  ye  know,  and  the  way  ve 
to  this,  "Thomas  saith  unto  Him,  Lord,  we  know"?  And  here  we  have  discovered  that 
know  not  whither  Thou  goest;  and  how  can  they  knew  the  way,  because  they  knew  Him 
we  know  the  way  ?  "  Both  of  these  the  Lord  who  is  the  way:  the  way  is  that  by  which  we 
had  said  that  they  knew;  both  of  them  this  go;  but  is  the  way  the  place  also  to  which  we 


TK  ICTAT1     i.XIX.j 


<>\    I  111.  GOSPKL  01-   ST.  JOHN. 


325 


go?     And  yet  each  o!  •  ml  that  they 

knew,  both  whither  He  was  going,  and  the 
w;iy.  There  was  need,  therefore,  for  His  say 
ing,  "  I  am  the  way,"  in  order  to  show  those 
who  knew  Him  that  they  knew  the  way,  which 
they  thought  themselves  ignorant  of;  but 
what  need  was  there  for  His  saying,  "  I  am 
tin-  way,  and  the  truth,  and  the  life,"  when, 
after  knowing  the  way  by  which  He  went, 
they  had  still  to  learn  whither  He  was  going, 
but  just  because  it  was  to  the  truth  and  to  the 
life  He  was  going?  By  Himself,  therefore, 
IK  was  going  to  Himself.  And  whither  go 
we,  but  to  Him  ?  and  by  what  way  go  we,  but 
by  Him  ?  He,  therefore,  went  to  Himself  by 
Himself,  and  we  by  Him  to  Him;  yea,  like 
wise  both  He  and  we  go  thus  to  the  Father. 
For  He  says  also  in  another  place  of  Himself, 
*'  I  go  to  the  Father;  "  '  and  here  on  our  ac 
count  He  says,  "  No  man  cometh  unto  the 
Father  but  by  me."  And  in  this  way,  He 
goeth  by  Himself  both  to  Himself  and  to  the 
Father,  and  we  by  Him  both  to  Him  and  to 
the  Father.  Who  can  apprehend  such  things 
save  he  who  has  spiritual  discernment  ?  and 
how  much  is  it  that  even  he  can  apprehend, 
although  thus  spiritually  discerning?  Breth 
ren,  how  can  you  desire  me  to  explain  such 
things  to  you  ?  Only  reflect  how  lofty  they 
are.  You  see  what  I  am,  I  see  what  you  are; 
in  all  of  us  the  body,  which  is  corrupted,  bur 
dens  the  soul,  and  the  earthly  tabernacle 
weigheth  down  the  mind  that  museth  upon 
many  things.2  Do  we  think  we  can  say,  "  To 
Thee  have  I  lifted  up  my  soul,  O  Thou  that 
dwellest  in  the  heavens  "  ?3  But  burdened  as 
we  are  with  so  great  a  weight,  under  which 
we  groan,  how  shall  I  lift  up  my  soul  unless 
He  lift  it  with  me  who  laid  His  own  down 
for  me  ?  I  shall  speak  then  as  I  can,  and  let 
each  of  you  who  is  able  receive  it.  As  He 
gives,  I  speak;  as  He  gives,  the  receiver  re- 
ceiveth;  and  as  He  giveth,  there  is  faith  for 
him  who  cannot  yet  receive  with  understand 
ing.  For,  saith  the  prophet,  "  If  ye  will  not 
believe,  ye  shall  not  understand."4 

3.  Tell  me,  O  my  Lord,  what  to  say  to 
Thy  servants,  my  fellow-servants.  The  Apos 
tle  Thomas  had  Thee  before  him  in  order  to 
ask  Thee  questions,  and  yet  could  not  under 
stand  Thee  unless  he  had  Thee  within  him; 


•  (!,.,]>.  xvi.  10.  \\iMl.  ix.  is.  3  Ps.  cxxiii. 

vii.  Q,  according  to  I.  XX.  .which  reads, 


owii  ni)  O'VI'TJTC. 


f\.arfv<rr\rt, 
2*2Xr\  however,  will  scarcely  admit  the  mean 


ing  of  "understand"   (<rvvy\rt).     There  is  a  play  in  the  Hebrew 
upon  the  verb  "*7pX,  which  is  the  one  used  in  both  clau 


clauses,  first  it 


the   Hifhil,  where  it  means  to  cleave  fast  to.    to  show  a  firm 
trust  in  ;  and  secondly,  in  the  .V//A.I/,  to  be  kehi/.ist. 
firmed  in  one's  trust.     Hence  the  rendering  of  our  Knv;lish  I'.iMe 
is  more  correct:  "If  ye   will   not   believe,  surely  ye  shall   not  tx- 
established."-TR. 


I  ask  Thee  be<  aiise  I  know  that  Thou  art  over 
me;  and  1  ask,  seeking,  as  far  as  I  can,  to  let 
my  soul  diffuse  itself  in  that  same  region  over 
me  where  I  may  listen  to  Thee,  who  usest  no 
external  sound  to  convey  Thy  teaching.  Tell 
me,  I  pray,  how  it  is  that  Thou  goest  to  Thy 
self.  Didst  Thou  formerly  leave  Thyself  to 
come  to  us,  especially  as  Thou  earnest  not  of 
Thyself,  but  the  Father  sent  Thee?  I  know, 
indeed,  that  Thou  didst  empty  Thyself;  but 
in  taking  the  form  of  a  servant,5  it  was  neither 
that  Thou  didst  lay  down  the  form  of  God  as 
something  to  return  to,  or  that  Thou  lost  it 
as  something  to  be  recovered;  and  yet  Thou 
didst  come,  and  didst  place  Thyself  not  only 
before  the  carnal  eyes,  but  even  in  the  very 
hands  of  men.  And  how  otherwise  save  in 
Thy  flesh  ?  By  means  of  this  Thou  didst 
come,  yet  abiding  where  Thou  wast;  by  this 
means  Thou  didst  return,  without  leaving  the 
place  to  which  Thou  hadst  come.  If,  then, 
by  such  means  Thou  didst  come  and  return, 
by  such  means  doubtless  Thou  art  not  only 
the  way  for  us  to  come  unto  Thee,  but  wast 
the  way  also  for  Thyself  to  come  and  to  re 
turn.  For  when  Thou  didst  return  to  the  life, 
which  Thou  art  Thyself,  then  of  a  truth  that 
same  flesh  of  Thine  Thou  didst  bring  from 
death  unto  life.  The  Word  of  God,  indeed, 
is  one  thing,  and  man  another;  but  the  Word 
was  made  flesh,  or  became  man.  And  so  the 
person  of  the  Word  is  not  different  from  that 
of  the  man,  seeing  that  Christ  is  both  in  one 
person;  and  in  this  way,  just  as  when  His 
flesh  died,  Christ  died,  and  when  His  flesh  was 
buried,  Christ  was  buried  (for  thus  with  the 
heart  we  believe  unto  righteousness,  and  thus 
with  the  mouth  do  we  make  confession  unto 
salvation6);  so  when  the  flesh  came  from 
death  unto  life,  Christ  came  to  life.  And  be 
cause  Christ  is  the  Word  of  God,  He  is  also 
the  life.  And  thus  in  a  wonderful  and  in 
effable  manner  He,  who  never  laid  down  or 
lost  Himself,  came  to  Himself.  But  God,  as 
was  said,  had  come  through  the  flesh  to  men, 
the  truth  to  liars;  for  God  is  true,  and  every 
man  a  liar.7  When,  therefore,  He  withdrew 
His  flesh  from  amongst  men,  and  carried  it 
up  there  where  no  liar  is  found,  He  also 
Himself — for  the  Word  was  made  flesh— re 
turned  by  Himself,  that  is,  by  His  flesh,  to 
the  truth,  which  is  none  other  but  Himself. 
And  this  truth,  we  cannot  doubt,  although 
found  amongst  liars,  He  preserved  even  in 
death;  for  Christ  was  once  dead,  but  never 
false. 

4.  Take  an  example,  very  different  in  char 
acter  and  wholly  inadequate,  yet  in  some  lit- 


5  Phil.  li.  7. 


I 


326 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  I. XX. 


tie  measure  helpful  to  the  understanding  of 
God,  from  things  that  are  in  peculiarly  inti 
mate  subjection  to  God.  See  here  in  my  own 
case,  while  as  far  as  pertains  to  my  mind  I 
am  just  the  same  as  yourselves,  if  I  keep 
silence  I  am  so  to  myself;  but  if  I  speak  to 
you  something  suited  to  your  understanding, 
in  a  certain  sense  I  go  forth  to  you  without 
leaving  myself,  but  at  the  same  time  approach 
you  and  yet  quit  not  the  place  from  which  I 
proceed.  But  when  I  cease  speaking,  I  re 
turn  in  a  kind  of  way  to  myself,  and  in  a  kind 
of  way  I  remain  with  you,  if  you  retain  what 
you  have  heard  in  the  discourse  I  am  deliver 


ing.  And  if  the  mere  image  that  God  made 
is  capable  of  this,  what  may  not  God,  the 
very  image  of  God,  not  made  by,  but  born  of 
God;  whose  body,  wherein  He  came  forth  to 
us  and  returned  from  us,  has  not  ceased  to 
be,  like  the  sound  of  my  voice,  but  abides 
there,  where  it  shall  die  no  more,  and  death 
shall  have  no  more  dominion  over  it  ?'  Much 
more,  perhaps,  might  and  ought  to  have  been 
said  on  these  words  of  the  Gospel;  but  your 
souls  ought  not  to  be  burdened  with  spiritual 
food,  however  pleasant,  especially  as  the  spirit 
is  willing,  but  the  flesh  is  weak.3 

'  Rom.  vi.  9.  a  Matt.  xxvi.  41. 


TRACTATE    LXX, 

CHAPTER  XIV.   7-10. 


i.  THE  words  of  the  holy  Gospel,  brethren, 
are  rightly  understood  only  if  they  are  found 
to  be  in  harmony  with  those  that  precede;  for 
the  premises  ought  to  agree  with  the  conclu 
sion,  when  it  is  the  Truth  that  speaks.  The 
Lord  had  said  before,  "And  if  1  go  and  pre 
pare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again  and 
receive  you  unto  myself;  that  where  I  am, 
there  ye  may  be  also:"  and  then  had  added, 
"And  whither  I  go  ye  know,  and  the  way  ye 
know;"  and  showed  that  all  He  said  was  that 
they  knew  himself.  What,  therefore,  the 
meaning  was  of  His  going  to  Himself  by 
Himself, — for  He  also  lets  the  disciples  see 
that  it  is  by  Him  that  they  are  to  come  to 
Him, — we  have  already  told  you,  as  we  could, 
in  our  last  discourse.  When  He  says,  there 
fore,  "  That  where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be 
also,"  where  else  were  they  to  be  but  in  Him 
self  ?  In  this  way  is  He  also  in  Himself,  and 
they,  therefore,  are  just  where  He  is,  that  is, 
in  Himself.  Accordingly,  He  Himself  is  that 
eternal  life  which  is  yet  to  be  ours,  when  He 
has  received  us  unto  Himself;  and  as  He  is 
that  life  eternal,  so  is  it  in  Him,  that  where 
He  is  there  shall  we  be  also,  that  is  to  say, 
in  Himself.  "  For  as  the  Father  hath  life  in 
Himself,"  and  certainly  that  life  which  He 
has  is  in  no  wise  different  from  what  He  is 
Himself  as  its  possessor,  "  so  hath  He  given 
to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  Himself/' '  inas 
much  as  He  is  the  very  life  which  He  hath  in 
Himself.  But  shall  we  then  actually  be  what 
He  is,  (namely),  the  life,  when  we  shall  have 


begun  our  existence  in  that  life,  that  is,  in 
Himself?  Certainly  not,  for  He,  by  His 
very  existence  as  the  life,  hath  life,  and  is 
Himself  what  He  hath;  and  as  the  life,  is  in 
Him,  so  is  He  in  Himself:  but  we  are  not 
that  life,  but  partakers  of  His  life,  and  shall 
be  there  in  such  wise  as  to  be  wholly  incapa 
ble  of  being  in  ourselves  what  He  is,  but  so 
as,  while  ourselves  not  the  life,  to  have  Him 
as  our  life,  who  has  Himself  the  life  on  this 
very  account  that  He  Himself  is  the  life. 
In.  short,  He  both  exists  unchangeably  in 
Himself  and  inseparably  in  the  Father.  But 
we,  when  wishing  to  exist  in  ourselves,  were 
thrown  into  inward  trouble  regarding  our 
selves,  as  is  expressed  in  the  words,  "  My 
soul  is  cast  down  within  me:  "  2  and  changing 
from  bad  to  worse,  cannot  even  remain  as  \ve 
were.  But  when  by  Him  we  come  unto  the 
Father,  according  to  His  own  words,  "  No 
man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  me,"  and 
abide  in  Him,  no  one  shall  be  able  to  separate 
us  either  from  the  Father  or  from  Him. 

2.  Connecting,  therefore,  His  previous 
words  with  those  that  follow,  He  proceeded 
to  say,  "  If  ye  had  known  me,  ye  should  rrr- 
tainly  have  known  my  Father  also."  This 
conforms  to  His  previous  words,  "  No  man 
cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  me."  And 
then  He  adds:  "And  from  henceforth  ye 
know  Him,  and  have  seen  Him."  But 
Philip,  one  of  the  apostles,  not  understanding 
what  he  had  just  heard,  said,  "  Lord,  show  us 
the  Father,  and  it  sufficeth  us."  And  the 


1  Chap.  v.  26. 


Ml       I    \\.| 


ON   THK  GOSPEL  <>K  ST.    JOHN. 


Lord  replied  to  him,  "  Have  I  been  M>  long 
time  with  you,  and  yet  have  ye  not  known  me, 
IMiilip?  he  that  seeth  me,  seeth  also  the 
Father."  1 1  en-  you  see  He  complains  that  He- 
had  been  so  long  time  with  them,  and  yet  He 
was  not  known.  But  had  He  not  Himself  said, 
"And  whither  I  go  ye  know,  and  the  way  ye 
know; "  and  on  their  saying  that  they  knew  it 
not,  had  convinced  them  that  they  did  know, 
by  adding  the  words:  "  I  am  the  way,  and  the 
truth,  and  the  life"?  How,  then,  says  He 
now,  "  Have  I  been  so  long  tune  with  you,  and 
have  ye  not  known  me  ? "  when,  in  fact,  they 
knew  both  whither  He  went  and  the  way,  on 
no  other  grounds  save  that  they  really  knew 
Himself?  But  this  difficulty  is  easily  solved 
by  saying  that  some  of  them  knew  Him,  and 
others  did  not,  and  that  Philip  was  one  of 
those  who  did  not  know  Him;  so  that,  when 
He  said,  "And  whither  I  go  ye  know,  and 
the  way  ye  know,"  He  is  understood  as  hav 
ing  spoken  to  those  that  knew,  and  not  to 
Philip,  who  has  it  said  to  him,  "  Have  I  been 
so  long  time  with  you,  and  have  ye  not  known 
me,  Philip?"  To  such,  then,  as  already 
knew  the  Son,  was  it  now  also  said  of  the 
Father,  "And  from  henceforth  ye  know  Him, 
and  have  seen  Him:"  for  such  words  were 
used  because  of  the  all-sided  likeness  subsist 
ing  between  the  Father  and  the  Son;  so  that, 
because  they  knew  the  Son,  they  might  hence 
forth  be  said  to  know  the  Father.  Already, 
therefore,  they  knew  the  Son,  if  not  all  of 
them,  those  at  least  to  whom  it  is  said,  "And 
whither  I  go  ye  know,  and  the  way  ye  know; " 
for  He  is  Himself  the  way.  But  they  knew 
not  the  Father,  and  so  have  also  to  hear, 
"If  ye  have  known  me,  ye  have  known  my 
Father  also;''  that  is,  through  me  ye  have 
known  Him  also.  For  I  am  one,  and  He 
another.  But  that  they  might  not  think  Him 
unlike,  He  adds,  "And  from  henceforth  ye 
know  Him,  and  have  seen  Him."  For  they 
saw  His  perfectly  resembling  Son,  but  needed 
to  have  the  truth  impressed  on  them,  that  ex 
actly  such  as  was  the  Son  whom  they  saw, was 
the  Father  also  whom  they  did  not  see.  And 
to  this  points  what  is  afterwards  said  to  Philip, 
"  He  that  seeth  me,  seeth  also  the  Father." 
Not  that  He  Himself  was  Father  and  Son, 
which  is  a  notion  of  the  Sabellians,  who  are 
also  called  Patripassians,1  condemned  by  the 
Catholic  faith;  but  that  Father  and  Son  are  so 
alike,  that  he  who  knoweth  one  knoweth 
both.  For  we  are  accustomed  to  speak  in 
this  way  of  two  who  closely  resemble  each 


1  That  is,  those  who  ascribed  suffering  to  the  Father;  because 
the  Sabellians,  denying  the  distinct  personality  of  the  Son,  and  re- 
f-ardinx  Him  as  only  a  special  revelation  of  C.od  the  K.i: 
chargeable,  therefore,  with  holding  that  it  was  (lod  the   Father 
who  really  suffered  and  died  on  the  cross. — TR. 


other,  to  those  who  are  in  the  habit  of  seeing 
one  of  them,  and  wish  to  know  what  like  the 
other  is,  so  that  we  say,  In  seeing  the  one, 
you  have  seen  the  other.  In  this  way,  then, 
is  it  said  "  He  that  seeth  me,  seeth  also  the 
Father."  Not,  certainly,  that  He  who  is  the 
Son  is  also  the  Father,  but  that  the  Son  in  no 
respect  disagrees  with  the  likeness  of  the 
Father.  For  had  not  the  Father  and  Son  been 
two  persons,  it  would  not  have  been  said,  "  If 
ye  have  known  me,  ye  have  known  my  Father 
also."  Such  is  certainly  the  case,  for  "no 
one,"  He  says,  "  cometh  unto  the  Father 
but  by  me:  if  ye  have  known  me,  ye  have 
known  my  Father  also;"  because  it  is  I,  who 
am  the  only  way  to  the  Father,  that  will  lead 
you  to  Him,  that  He  also  may  Himself  be 
come  known  to  you.  But  as  I  am  in  all  re 
spects  His  perfect  image,  "  from  henceforth 
ye  know  Him"  in  knowing  me;  "and  have 
seen  Him,"  if  you  have  seen  me  with  the 
spiritual  eyesight  of  the  soul. 

3.  Why,  then,  Philip,  dost  thou  say,"  Show 
us  the  Father,  and  it  sufficeth  us?  Have  I 
been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  yet  have  ye 
not  known  me,  Philip?  He  that  seeth  me, 
seeth  the  Father  also."  If  it  interests  thee 
much  to  see  this,  believe  at  least  what  thou 
seest  not.  For  "how,"  He  says,  "  sayest 
thou,  Show  us  the  Father?"  If  thou  hast 
seen  me,  who  am  His  perfect  likeness,  thou 
hast  seen  Him  to  whom  I  am  like.  And  if 
thou  canst  not  directly  see  this,  "  believest 
thou  not,"  at  least,  "  that  I  am  in  the  Father, 
and  the  Father  in  me?"  But  Philip  might 
say  here,  "  I  see  Thee  indeed,  and  believe 
Thy  full  likeness  to  the  Father;  but  is  one  to 
be  reproved  and  rebuked  because,  when  he 
sees  one  who  bears  a  likeness  to  another,  he 
wishes  to  see  that  other  to  whom  he  is  like  ? 
I  know,  indeed,  the  image,  but  as  yet  I  know 
only  the  one  without  the  other;  it  is  not 
enough  for  me,  unless  I  know  that  other 
whose  likeness  he  bears.  Show  us,  therefore, 
the  Father,  and  it  sufficeth  us."  But  the 
Master  really  reproved  the  disciple  because 
He  saw  into  the  heart  of  his  questioner.  For 
it  was  with  the  idea,  as  if  the  Father  were 
somehow  better  than  the  Son,  that  Philip  had 
the  desire  to  know  the  Father:  and  so  he  did 
not  even  know  the  Son,  because  believing  that 
He  was  inferior  to  another.  It  was  to  correct 
such  a  notion  that  it  was  said,  "  He  that 
seeth  me,  seeth  the  Father  also.  How  say 
est  thou,  Show  us  the  Father?"  I  see  the 
meaning  of  thy  words:  it  is  not  the  original 
likeness  thou  seekest  to  see,  but  it  is  that 
other  thou  thinkest  the  superior.  "  Believest 
thou  not  that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the 
Father  in  me  ? "  Why  desirest  thou  to  dis- 


328 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUST1N. 


[TRACTATE    I. XX I. 


cover  some  distance  between  those  who  are 
thus  alike?  why  cravest  thou  the  separate 
knowledge  of  those  who  cannot  be  separated  ? 
What,  after  this,  He  says  not  only  to  Philip, 


but  to  all  of  them  together,  must  not  now 
be  thrust  into  a  corner,  in  order  that,  by 
His  help,  it  may  be  the  more  carefully  ex 
pounded. 


TRACTATE    LXXI. 

CHAPTER  XIV.   10-14. 


1.  GIVE  close  attention,  and  try  to  under 
stand,  beloved;  for  while  it  is  we  who  speak, 
it  is  He  Himself  who  never  withdraweth  His 
presence  from  us  who  is  our  Teacher.     The 
Lord  saith,  what  you  have  just  heard  read, 
"  The  words  that  I  speak  unto  you,  I  speak 
not  of  myself:  but  the  Father,  that  dwelleth 
in   me,   He  doeth   the  works."     Even   His 
words,   then,   are   works  ?     Clearly   so.     For 
surely  he  that  edifies  a  neighbor  by  what  he 
says,  works  a  good  work.     But  what  mean 
the  words,  "  I  speak  not  of  myself/'  but,  I 
who  speak  am  not  of  myself  ?     Hence  He  at 
tributes  what  He  does  to  Him,  of  whom  He, 
that  doeth  them,  is.     For  the  Father  is  not 
God  [as  born,  etc.]  of  any  one  else,  while  the 
Son  is  God,  as  equal,  indeed,  to  the  Father, 
but  [as  born]  of  God  the  Father.     Therefore 
the  former  is  God,  but  not  of  God;  and  the 
Light,  but  not  of  light:   whereas  the  latter  is 
God  of  God,  Light  of  Light. 

2.  For  in  connection  with  these  two  clauses, 
— the  one  where  it  is  said,  "  I  speak  not  of 
myself;"   and  the  other,  which  runs,    "but 
the  Father  that  dwelleth   in   me,   He  doeth 
the  works," — we  are  opposed  by  two  differ 
ent  classes  of  heretics,  who,  by  each  of  them 
holding  only  to  one  clause,  run  off,  not  in  one, 
but  opposite  directions,  and  wander  far  from 
the    pathway   of    truth.     For    instance,    the 
Arians  say,  See  here,  the  Son  is  not  equal  to 
the   Father,    He   speaketh   not  of   Himself. 
The  Sabellians,  or  Patripassians,  on  the  other 
hand,  say,  See,  He  who  is  the  Father  is  also 
the  Son;  for  what  else  is  this,  "The  Father 
that  dwelleth  in  me,  He  doeth  the  works," 
but  I  that  do  them  dwell   in  myself?     You 
make  contrary  assertions,  and  that  not  only 
in  the  sense  that  any  one  thing  is  false,  that 
is,  contrary  to  truth,  but  in  this  also,  when 
two  things  that  are  both  false  contradict  one 
another.     In  your  wanderings  you  have  taken 
opposite  directions;  midway  between  the  two 
is  the   path  you   have   left.     You   are  a   far 
longer  distance  apart  from  each  other  than 
from  the  very  way  you  have  both  forsaken. 


Come  hither,  you  from  the  one  side,  and  you 
from  the  other:  pass  not  across,  the  one  to 
the  other,  but  come  from  both  sides  to  us,  and 
make  this  the  place  of  your  mutual  meeting. 
Ye  Sabellians,  acknowledge  the  Being  you 
overlook;  Arians,  set  Him  whom  you  subor 
dinate  in  His  place  of  equality,  and  you  will 
both  be  walking  with  us  in  the  pathway  of 
truth.  For  you  have  grounds  on  both  sides 
that  make  mutual  admonition  a  duty.  Lis 
ten,  Sabellian:  so  far  is  the  Son  from  being 
the  same  as  the  Father,  and  so  truly  is  He 
another,  that  the  Arian  maintains  His  infer 
iority  to  the  Father.  Listen,  Arian:  so  truly 
is  the  Son  equal  to  the  Father,  that  the  Sabel 
lian  declares  Him  to  be  identical  with  the 
Father.  Do  thou  restore  the  personality  thou 
hast  abstracted,  and  thou,  the  full  dignity 
thou  hast  lowered,  and  both  of  you  stand  to 
gether  on  the  same  ground  as  ourselves:  be 
cause  the  one  of  you  [who  has  been  an  Arian], 
for  the  conviction  of  the  Sabellian,  never  lets 
out  of  sight  the  personality  of  Him  who  is 
distinct  from  the  Father,  and  the  other  [who 
lias  been  a  Sabellian]  takes  care,  for  the  con 
viction  of  the  Arian,  of  not  impairing  the  dig 
nity  of  Him  who  is  equal  with  the  Father. 
For  to  both  of  you  He  cries,  "  I  and  my 
Father  are  one."1  When  He  says  "one," 
let  the  Arians  listen;  when  He  says,  "  we 
are,"  let  the  Sabellians  give  heed,  and  no 
longer  continue  in  the  folly  of  denying,  the 
one,  His  equality  [with  the  Father],  the  other, 
His  distinct  personality.  If,  then,  in  saying, 
"The  words  that  I  speak  unto  you,  I  speak 
not  of  myself,"  He  is  thereby  accounted  of 
a  power  so  inferior,  that  what  He  doeth  is 
not  what  He  Himself  willeth;  listen  to  what 
He  also  said,  "As  the  Father  raiseth  up  the 
dead  and  quickeneth  them,  even  so  the  Son 
quickeneth  whom  He  will."  And  so  like 
wise,  if  in  saying,  **  The  Father  that  dwelleth 
in  me,  He  doeth  the  works,"  He  is  on  that 
account  not  to  be  regarded  as  distinct  in 


1  Chap.  x.  30. 


TK\.  i  \n     I  \\II.1 


ON  THE  GOSPEL  OI   ST,  JOHN. 


329 


trom  the  Father.  1ft  us  listen  to  His 
other  words,  "  What  things  soever  the  Father 
doeth,  these  also  doeth  the  Son  likewise;"1 
and  He  will  be  understood  a:,  speaking  not  of 
one  person  twice  over,  but  of  two  who  arc- 
one.  But  just  because  their  mutual  equal 
ity  is  such  as  not  to  interfere  with  their  dis 
tinct  personality,  therefore  He  speaketh  not 
of  Himself,  because  He  is  not  of  Himself; 
and  the  Father  also,  that  dwelleth  in  Him, 
Himself,  doeth  the  works,  because  He,  by 
wiiom  and  with  whom  He  doeth  them,  is  not, 
save  of  [the  Father]  Himself.  And  then  He 
goes  on  to  say,  "  Believe  ye  not  that  I  am  in 
the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  me  ?  Or  else 
believe  me  for  the  very  works'  sake."  For 
merly  it  was  Philip  only  who  was  reproved, 
but  now  it  is  shown  that  he  was  not  the  only 
one  there  that  needed  reproof.  "  For  the 
very  works'  sake,"  He  says,  "  believe  ye  that 
I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  me:  " 
for  had  we  been  separated,  we  should  have 
been  unable  to  do  any  kind  of  work  insepara 
bly. 

3.  But  what  is  this  that  follows  ?  "  Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you,  He  that  believeth  on 
me,  the  works  that  I  do  shall  he  do  also;  and 
greater  works  than  these  shall  he  do;  because 
I  go  unto  my  Father.  And  whatsoever  ye 
shall  ask  in  my  name,  that  will  I  do,  that  the 
Father  may  be  glorified  in  the  Son.  If  ye 
shall  ask  anything  in  my  name,  I  will  do  it." 
And  so  He  promised  that  He  Himself  would 
also  do  those  greater  works.  Let  not  the 
servant  exalt  himself  above  his  Lord,  or  the 
disciple  above  his  Master.-  He  says  that 
they  will  do  greater  works  than  He  doeth 
Himself;  but  it  is  all  by  His  doing  such  in  or 


Chap.  v.  21,  19. 


'  Chap. 


liy  them,  and  not  as  it"  they  did  them  of  them 
selves.  Hence  the  song  that  is  add: 
to  Him,  "  I  will  love  Thee,  ()  Lord,  my 
strength."  '  But  what,  then,  are  those  greater 
works?  Was  it  that  their  very  shadow,  a-, 
they  themselves  passed  by,  healed  the  sick  ?4 
For  it  is  a  mightier  thing  for  a  shadow,  than 
for  the  hem  of  a  garment,  to  possess  the 
power  of  healing.5  The  one  work  was  done 
by  Christ  Himself,  the  other  by  them;  and 
yet  it  was  He  that  did  both.  Nevertheless, 
when  He  so  spake,  He  was  commending  the 
efficacious  power6  of  His  own  words:  for  it 
was  in  this  sense  He  had  said,  "  The  words 
that  I  speak  unto  you,  I  speak  not  of  myself; 
but  the  Father  that  dwelleth  in  me,  He  doeth 
the  works."  What  works  was  He  then  refer 
ring  to,  but  the  words  He  was  speaking  ? 
They  were  hearing  and  believing,  and  their 
faith  was  the  fruit  of  those  very  words:  how- 
beit,  when  the  disciples  preached  the  gospel, 
it  was  not  small  numbers  like  themselves,  but 
nations  also  that  believed;  and  such,  doubt 
less,  are  greater  works.  And  yet  He  said 
not,  Greater  works  than  these  shall  ye  do,  to 
lead  us  to  suppose  that  it  was  only  the  apos 
tles  who  would  do  so;  for  He  added,  "  He 
that  believeth  on  me,  the  works  that  I  do 
shall  he  do  also;  and  greater  works  than 
these  shall  he  do.''  Is  the  case  then  so,  that 
he  that  believeth  on  Christ  doeth  the  same 
works  as  Christ,  or  even  greater  than  He  did  ? 
Points  like  these  are  not  to  be  treated  in  a 
cursory  way,  nor  ought  they  to  be  hurriedly 
disposed  of;  and,  therefore,  as  our  present 
discourse  must  be  brought  to  a  close,  we  are 
obliged  to  defer  their  further  consideration. 


3  Ps.  xviii.  i. 
5  Matt.  xiv.  36. 


4  Acts  v.  15. 
*  Ojxra. 


TRACTATE    LXXII 


ON    THK    SAMK    PASSAC.K. 


i.  IT  is  no  easy  matter  to  comprehend 
what  is  meant  by,  or  in  what  sense  we  are  to 
receive,  these  words  of  the  Lord,  "He  that! 
believeth  on  me.  the  works  that  I  do  shnll  he 
do  also.  "  and  then,  to  this  great  difficulty  in 
the  way  of  our  understanding,  He  has  added 
another  still  more  difficult,  "And  greater 
things  than  these  shall  he  do."  What  are  we 
to  make  of  it  ?  We  have  not  found  one  who 
did  such  works  as  Christ  did;  and  are  we 
likely  to  find  one  who  will  do  even  greater  ? 


But  we  remarked  in  our  last  discourse,  that 
it  was  a  greater  deed  to  heal  the  sick  by  the 
passing  of  their  shadow,  as  was  done  by  the 
disciples,  than  as  the  Lord  Himself  did  by  the 
touch  of  the  hem  of  His  garment;  and  that 
more  believed  on  the  apostles  than  on  the 
Lord  Himself,  when  preaching  with  His  own 
lips;  so  that  we  might  suppose  works  like 
these  to  be  understood  as  greater:  not  that 
the  disciple  was  to  be  greater  than  his  Mas 
ter,  or  the  servant  than  his  Lord,  or  the 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSI  IN. 


[TRACT.VIK  I. XX 1 1. 


adopted  son  than  the  Only-begotten,  or  man 
than  God,  but  that  by  them  He  Himself 
would  condescend  to  do  these  greater  works, 
while  telling  them  in  another  passage,  "  With 
out  me  ye  can  do  nothing."1  While  He 
Himself,  on  the  other  hand,  to  say  nothing 
of  His  other  works,  which  are  jiumberless, 
made  them  without  any  aid  from  themselves, 
and  without  them  made  this  world;  and  be 
cause  He  Himself  thought  meet  to  become 
man,  without  them  He  made  also  Himself. 
But  what  have  they  [made  or  done]  without 
Him,  save  sin?  And  last  of  all,  He  straight 
way  also  withdrew  from  the  subject  all  that 
could  cause  us  agitation;  for  after  saying, 
"  He  that  believeth  on  me,  the  works  that  I 
do  shall  he  do  also;  and  greater  works  than 
these  shall  he  do;  "  He  immediately  went  on 
to  add,  "  Because  I  go  unto  the  Father;  and 
whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  my  name,  that  will 
I  do."  He  who  had  said,  "  He  will  do," 
afterwards  said,  "I  will  do;"  as  if  He  had 
said,  Let  not  this  appear  to  you  impossible; 
for  he  that  believeth  on  me  can  never  become 
greater  than  I  am,  but  it  is  I  who  shall  then 
be  doing  greater  things  than  now;  greater 
things  by  him  that  believeth  on  me,  than  by 
myself  apart  from  him;  yet  it  is  I  myself 
apart  from  him,2  and  I  myself  by  him  [that 
will  do  the  works]:  and  as  it  is  apart  from 
him,  it  is  not  he  that  will  do  them;  and  as, 
on  the  other  hand,  it  is  by  him,  although  not 
by  his  own  self,  it  is  he  also  that  will  do 
them.  And  besides,  to  do  greater  things 
by  one  than  apart  from  one,  is  not  a  sign  of 
deficiency,  but  of  condescension.  For  what 
can  servants  render  unto  the  Lord  for  all  His 
benefits  towards  them?3  And  sometimes 
He  hath  condescended  to  number  this  also) 
amongst  His  other  benefits  towards  them, 
namely,  to  do  greater  works  by  them  than  | 
apart  from  them  Did  not  that  rich  man  go 
away  sad  from  His  presence,  when  seeking 
counsel  about  eternal  life?  He  heard,  and 
cast  it  away:  and  yet  in  after  days  the  coun 
sel  that  fell  on  his  ears  was  followed,  not  by  j 
one,  but  by  many,  when  the  good  Master  was 
speaking  by  the  disciples;  He  was  an  object 
of  contempt  to  the  rich  man,  when  warned  by 
Himself  directly,  and  of  love  to  those  whom 
by  means  of  poor  men  He  transformed  from 
rich  into  poor.  Here,  then,  you  see,  He  did 
greater  works  when  preached  by  believers, 
than  when  speaking  Himself  to  hearers. 
2.  But  there  is  still  something  to  excite 


1  Chap.  xv.  5. 

-  That  is,  here,  "  without  any  lelf-oriffinating  aid  of  i 
he  had  any  independent  and  meritorious  *h;irt-  in   the  work.     An- 
Kiistin  plays  on   the  prepositions,  f>er  (eu»i),  and  fircrter  (<•«;«>. 

3  Ps.  cxvi.  12. 


thought  in  His  doing  such  greater  works  by 
the  apostles;  for  He  said  not,  as  if  merely 
with  reference  to  them,  The  works  that  I  do 
shall  ye  do  also;  and  greater  works  than  these 
shall  ye  do:  but  wishing  to  be  understood  as 
speaking  of  all  that  belonged  to  His  family, 
said,  "  He  that  believeth  on  me,  the  works 
that  I  do  shall  he  do  also;  and  greater  works 
than  these  shall  he  do."  If,  then,  he  that 
believeth  shall  do  such  works,  he  that  shall 
do  them  not  is  certainly  no  believer:-  just  as 
"  He  that  loveth  me,  keepeth  my  command 
ments,"4  implies,  of  course,  that  he  who 
keepeth  them  not,  loveth  not.  In  another 
place,  also,  He  says,  *'  He  that  heareth  these 
sayings  of  mine  and  doeth  them,  I  will  liken 
him  unto  a  wise  man,  who  buildeth  his  house 
upon  a  rock;"5  and  he,  therefore,  who  is  un 
like  this  wise  man,  without  doubt  either  hear 
eth  these  sayings  and  doeth  them  not,  or  fail- 
eth  even  to  hear  them.  "  He  that  believeth 
in  me/'  He  says,  "though  he  die,  yet  shall 
he  live;"6  and  he,  therefore,  that  shall  not 
live,  is  certainly  no  believer  now.  In  a 
similar  way,  also,  it  is  said  here,  "  He  that 
believeth  in  me  shall  do  [such  works]:  "  he 
is,  therefore,  no  believer  who  shall  not  do  so. 
What  have  we  here,  then,  brethren?  Is  it 
that  one  is  not  to  be  reckoned  among  believ 
ers  in  Christ,  who  shall  not  do  greater  works 
than  Christ?  It  were  hard,  unreasonable, 
intolerable,  to  suppose  so;  that  is,  unless  it 
be  rightly  understood.  Let  us  listen,  then, 
to  the  apostle,  when  he  says,  "  To  him  that 
believeth  on  Him  that  justifieth  the  ungodly, 
his  faith  is  counted  for  righteousness. ' ' 7  This 
is  the  work  in  which  we  may  be  doing  the 
works  of  Christ,  for  even  our  very  believing 
in  Christ  is  the  work  of  Christ.  It  is  this 
He  worketh  in  us,  not  certainly  without  us. 
Hear  now,  then,  and  understand,  "  He  that 
believeth  on  me,  the  works  that  I  do  shall  he 
do  also:  "  I  do  them  first,  and  he  shall  do 
them  afterwards;  for  I  do  such  works  that  he 
may  do  them  also.  And  what  are  the  works, 
but  the  making  of  a  righteous  man  out  of  an 
ungodly  one  ? 

3.  "And  greater  works  than  these  shall  he 
do."  Than  what,  pray?  Shall  we  say  that 
one  is  doing  greater  works  than  all  that  Christ 
did  who  is  working  out  his  own  salvation  with 
fear  and  trembling  ?8  A  work  which  Christ  is 
certainly  working  in  him,  but  not  without 
him;  and  one  which  I  might,  without  hesita 
tion,  call  greater  than  the  heavens  and  the 
earth,  and  all  in  both  within  the  compass 
of  our  vision.  For  both  heaven  and  earth 
shall  pass  away,9  but  the  salvation  and  justi- 


4Cha-p.  xiv.  21.  ?  Matt.  vii.  24.  6Chap.  xi.  25. 

7  Rom.  iv.  5.  «  Phil.  ii.  u.  9  Matt.  xxiv.  35. 


TRACTAM    !  \\III.] 


ON  THE  GOSPEL  OF  ST.   JOHN. 


fication  of  those  predestinated  therqto,  that 
is,  of  those  whom  He-  foreknoweth,  shall  con 
tinue  forever.  In  the  former  there  is  only 
the  working  of  God,  but  in  the  latter  there  is 
also  His  image.  Hut  there  are  also  in  the 


is  no  necessity  requiring  us  to  suppose  that 
all   of  Christ's  works   are   to  be   understood. 
For  He  spake,  perhaps,  only  af  ///,•„•  Hc  \vas 
now  doing;    and   the  work   He  was  d<> 
that  time  was  uttering  the  words  of  faith,  and 


heavens,  thrones,  governments,  principalities,,  of  such  works  specially  had   He  spoken  just 
powers,  archangels,  and  angels,  which  are  all  j  before  when    He    said,    "The  words   that   I 


of  them  the  work  of  Christ;  and  is  it,  then, 
greater  works  also  than  these  that  he  doeth, 
who,  with  Christ  working  in  him,  is  a  co- 
worker  in  his  own  eternal  salvation  and  justi 
fication  ?  I  dare  not  call  for  any  hurried 
decision  on  such  a  point:  let  him  who  can, 
understand,  and  let  him  who  can,  judge 
whether  it  is  a  greater  work  to  create  right 
eous  beings  than  to  make  righteous  the  un 
godly.  For  at  least,  if  there  is  equal  power 
employed  in  both,  there  is  greater  mercy  in 
the  latter.  For  "  this  is  the  great  mystery  of 
godliness  which  was  manifested  in  the  flesh, 
justified  in  the  Spirit,  seen  of  angels,  preached 
unto  the  Gentiles,  believed  on  in  the  world, 
received  up  into  glory."  '  But  when  He  said, 
"  Greater  works  than  these  shall  he  do,"  there 


1  i  Tim.  iii.  16.  On  account  of  the  well-known  textual  contro 
versy  among  Biblicists,  this  passage,  as  quoted  by  Augustin,  is  so 
far  valuable,  as  it  shows  us  how  he  read  and  understood  the  point 
in  dispute,  namely,  whether  it  is  "  GOD  was  manifested  "  (as  in 
our  Knglish  version),  or,  "  WHO  [which]  was  manifested,"  as  here 
by  Augustin  -^  in  otln -r  words,  whether  the  original  ti-xt  read  9«< 


•o*  befo 


The   evidence 


nust  eqi 


illy  divided 


between  the  two  ;  and  the  difficulty  is  chiefly  caused  by  the  cir- 


speak  unto  you,  I  speak  not  of  myself:  but 
the  Father,  that  dwelleth  in  me,  He  doeth  the 
works."  His  words,  accordingly,  were  His 
works.  And  it  is  assuredly  something  less 
to  preach  the  words  of  righteousness,  which 
He  did  apart  from  us,  than  to  justify  the  un 
godly,  which  He  does  in  such  a  way  in  us 
that  we  also  are  doing  it  ourselves.  It  re 
mains  for  us  to  inquire  how  the  words  are 
to  be  understood,  "  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask 
in  my  name,  I  will  do  it."  Because  of  the 
many  things  His  believing  ones  ask.  and  re 
ceive  not,  there  is  no  small  question  claiming 
our  attention;  but  as  this  discourse  must  now 
be  concluded,  we  must  allow  at  least  a  little 
delay  for  its  consideration  and  discussion. 


cumstance,  that  in  the  earliest  MSS.,  the  Uncial,  8EO2  (God)  is 
usually  written  in  a  contracted  form,  consisting  of  the  first  and 
last  letters,  95,  which  differs  from  the  pronoun  o«  (who),  written 
O2,  merely  by  the  little  line  inside  the  9,  and  another  line  over  the 

llyoin 
fter  date.     To 


rely  by  the  little  line  inside  the  w.aml  another  line 
contraction  ;  bothnf  which  may  have  been  unintentionally  omitted 


us  now,  the  question  is  of  less  importance,  as,  if  the  true  reading 
be  if  (who),  its  antecedent  can  only  be  Xpivrdf  (Christ).  [The 
R.  V.,  in  accordance  with  the  oldest  MSS.  and  the  best  critical 
edition,  reads  :  "  He  who  (6?)  was  manifested. — TR. 


TRACTATE    LXXIII. 


AGAIN    ON    THE    SAME    PASSAGE. 


i.  THK  Lord,  by  His  promise,  gave  those 
whose  hopes  were  resting  on  Himself  a  spe 
cial  ground  of  confidence,  when  He  said, 
"  For  I  go  to  the  Father;  and  whatsoever  ye 
shall  ask  :n  my  name,  I  will  do  it."  His 
proceeding,  therefore,  to  the  Father,  was  not 
with  any  vie»v  of  abandoning  the  needy,  but 
of  hearing  and  answering  their  petitions.  But 
what  is  to  be  made  of  the  words,  "  Whatso 
ever  ye  shall  ask,"  when  we  behold  His  faith 
ful  ones  so  often  asking  and  not  receiving  ? 
Is  it,  shall  we  say,  for  no  other  reason  but 
that  they  ask  amiss  ?  For  the  Apostle  James 
made  this  a  ground  of  reproach  when  he  said, 
"  Ye  ask  and  receive  not,  because  ye  ask 
amiss,  that  ye  may  consume  it  upon  your 
lusts."1  What  one,  therefore,  wishes  to  re 
ceive,  in  order  to  turn  to  an  improper  use, 
God  in  His  mercy  rather  refuses  to  bestow. 


Nay,  more,  if  a  man  asks  what  would,  if  an 
swered,  only  tend  to  his  injury,  there  is  surely 
greater  cause  to  fear,  lest  what  God  could  not 
withhold  with  kindness,  He  should  give  in 
His  anger.  Do  we  not  see  how  the  Israelites 
got  to  their  own  hurt  what  their  guilty  lusting 
craved  ?  For  while  it  was  raining  manna  on 
them  from  heaven,  they  desired  to  have  flesh 
to  eat.2  They  disdained  what  they  had,  and 
shamelessly  sought  what  they  had  not:  as  if  it 
were  not  better  for  them  to  have  asked  not  to 
have  their  unbecoming  desires  gratified  with 
the  food  that  was  wanting,  but  to  have  their 
own  dislike  removed,  and  be  made  themselves 
to  receive  aright  the  food  that  was  provided. 
For  when  evil  becomes  our  delight,  and  what 
is  good  the  reverse,  we  ought  to  be  entreating 
('.oil  rather  to  win  us  back  to  the  love  of  the 
good,  than  to  grant  us  the  evil.  Not  that  it 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATK    I. XXIII. 


is  wrong  to  eat  flesh,  for  the  apostle,  speaking 
of  this  very  thing,  says,  "  Every  creature  of 
God  is  good,  and  nothing  to  be  refused  which  j 
is  received  with  thanksgiving;"1  but  be 
cause,  as  he  also  says,  "It  is  evil  for  that 
man  who  eateth  with  offense;"2  and  if  so, 
with  offense  to  man,  how  much  more  so  if  to 
God  ?  to  whom  it  was  no  light  offense,  on  the 
part  of  the  Israelites,  to  reject  what  wisdom 
was  supplying,  and  ask  for  that  which  lust 
was  craving:  although  they  would  not  actually 
make  the  request,  but  murmured  because  it 
was  wanting.  But  to  let  us  know  that  the 
wrong  lies  not  with  any  creature  of  God,  but 
with  obstinate  disobedience  and  inordinate 
desire,  it  was  not  in  swine's  flesh  that  the  first 
man  found  death,  but  in  an  apple;3  and  it 
was  not  for  a  fowl,  but  for  a  dish  of  pottage, 
that  Esau  lost  his  birthright.4 

2.  How,    then,    are    we    to    understand 
"  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask,  I  will   do  it,"  if 
there  are  some  things  which  the  faithful  ask, 
and  which  God,  even  purposely  on  their  be 
half,  leaves  undone  ?     Or  ought  we  to  suppose 
that  the  words  were  addressed   only  to  the 
apostles  ?     Surely  not.     For  what  He  has  got 
the  length  of  now  saying  is  in  the  very  line 
of  what  He  had  said  before:  "  He  that  believ- 
eth  in  me,  the  works  that  I  do  shall  he  do 
also;   and  greater  works  than  these  shall  he 
do;  "  which  was  the  subject  of  our  previous 
discourse.     And  that  no  one  might  attribute 
such  power  to  himself,  but  rather  to  make  it 
manifest  that  even  these  greater  works  were 
done  by  Himself,  He  proceeded  to  say,  "  For 
I  go  to  the  Father;   and  whatsoever  ye  shall 
ask  in  my  name,  I  will  do  it."     Was  it  the 
apostles  only  that  believed  on  Him  ?     When, 
therefore,   He  said,   "  He  that  believeth  on 
me,"  He   spake  to  those,  among  whom  we 
also  by  His  grace  are  included,  who  by  no 
means  receive  everything  that  we  ask.     And 
if  we   turn  our  thoughts  even  to  the   most 
blessed  apostles,  we  find  that  he  who  labored 
more  than  they  all,  yet  not  he,  but  the  grace  of 
God  that  was  with  him,5  besought  the  Lord 
thrice  that  the  messenger  of  Satan  might  de 
part  from  him,  and  received  not  what  he  had 
asked.6     What  shall  we  say,  beloved  ?     Are 
we  to  suppose  that  the  promise  here  made, 
"  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  my  name,  I  wil 
do  it,"  was  not  fulfilled  by  Him  even  to  the 
apostles  ?     And  to  whom,  then,  will  ever  His 
promise  be   fulfilled,  if  therein   He  has  de 
ceived  His  own  apostles  ? 

3.  Wake  up,  then,  believer,  and  give  care 
ful  heed  to  what  is  stated  here,  "  in  my  name:' 
for  in  these  words  He  does  not  say,  "  whatso 


'  i  Tim. 
4  Gen.  \\ 


3  Rom.  xiv.  20. 
5  i  C'or.  xv.   10. 


en.  iii.  6. 
Cor.  xii.  8. 


ever  ye  shall  ask  "  in  any  way;  but,  "  in  my 
name."  How,  then,  is  He  called,  who  prom 
ised  so  great  a  blessing?  Christ  Jesus,  of 
course:  Christ  means  King,  and  Jesus  means 
Saviour  !  for  certainly  it  is  not  any  one  who 
's  a  king  that  will  save  us,  but  only  the  Sav 
our-King;  and  therefore,  whatsoever  we  ask 
:hat  is  adverse  to  the  interests  of  salvation, 
,ve  do  not  ask  in  the  name  of  the  Saviour. 
And  yet  He  is  the  Saviour,  not  only  when  He 
does  what  we  ask,  but  also  when  He  refuses 
:o  do  so;  since  by  not  doing  what  He  sees  to 
3e  contrary  to  our  salvation,  He  manifests 
Himself  the  more  fully  as  our  Saviour.  For 
the  physician  knows  which  of  his  patient's  re 
quests  will  be  favorable,  and  which  will  be 
adverse,  to  his  safety;  and  therefore  yields 
not  to  his  wishes  when  asking  what  is  preju 
dicial,  that  he  may  effect  his  recovery.  Ac 
cordingly,  when  we  wish  Him  to  do  whatso 
ever  we  ask,  let  it  not  be  in  any  way,  but  in 
His  name,  that  is,  in  the  name  of  the  Saviour, 
that  we  present  our  petition.  Let  us  not, 
then,  ask  aught  that  is  contrary  to  our  own 
salvation;  for  if  He  do  that,  He  does  it  not 
as  the  Saviour,  which  is  the  name  He  bears 
to  His  faithful  disciples.  For  He  who  conde 
scends  to  be  the  Saviour  of  the  faithful,  is 
also  a  Judge  to  condemn  the  ungodly.  What 
soever,  therefore,  any  one  that  believeth  on 
Him  shall  ask  in  that  name  which  He  bears 
to  those  who  believe  on  Him,  He  will  do  it; 
for  He  will  do  it  as  the  Saviour.  But  if  one 
that  believeth  on  Him  asketh  something 
through  ignorance  that  is  injurious  to  his 
salvation,  he  asketh  it  not  in  the  name  of  the 
Saviour;  for  His  Saviour  He  will  no  longer 
be  if  He  do  aught  to  impede  his  salvation. 
And  hence,  in  such  a  case,  in  not  doing  what 
He  is  entreated  to  do,  His  way  is  kept  the 
clearer  for  doing  what  His  name  imports. 
And  on  that  account,  not  only  as  the  Saviour, 
but  also  as  the  good  Master,  He  taught  us,  in 
the  very  prayer  He  gave  us,  what  we  should 
ask,  in  order  that,  whatsoever  we  shall  ask, 
He  may  do  it;  and  that  we,  too,  might  there 
by  understand  that  we  cannot  be  asking  in 
the  Master's  name  anything  that  is  inconsist 
ent  with  the  rule  of  His  own  instructions. 

4.  There  are  some  things,  indeed,  which, 
although  really  asked  in  His  name,  that  is,  in 
harmony  with  His  character  as  both  Saviour 
and  Master,  He  doeth  not  at  the  time  we  ask 
them,  and  yet  He  faileth  not  to  do  them. 
For  when  we  pray  that  the  kingdom  of  God 
may  come,  it  does  not  imply  that  He  is  not 
doing  what  we  ask,  because  we  do  not  begin 
at  once  to  reign  with  Him  in  the  everlasting 
kingdom:  for  what  we  ask  is  delayed,  but  not 
denied.  Nevertheless,  let  us  not  fail  in  pray- 


m    i  \\iv. ] 


<  i\    i  in,  <;<  >SPEL  OK  ST.  JOHN. 


333 


0  an-  as  those  that  sow 
-•I;  and  indue  season  we  shall  reap.1 
And  even  when  we  are  asking  aright,  let  us! 
ask  Him  at  the  same  time  not  to  do  what  we 
ask  amiss;  for  tluTc  is  reference  to  this  also 
in  the  Lord's  Prayer,  when  we  say,  "  Lead  us 
not  into  temptation."-'  For  surely  the  temp 
tation  is  no  slight  one  if  thine  own  request 
1  -e  hostile  to  thy  cause.  But  we  must  not  lis 
ten  with  indifference  to  the  statement  that  the 
Lord  (to  prevent  any  from  thinking  that  what 
He  promised  to  do  to  those  that  asked,  He 

'  Cal.  vi.  9  3  Matt.  vi.  9-13. 


would  do  without  the  Father,  after  | 
"  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  my  name,  I  will 
do  it  ")  immediately  added.  "  That  the  1 
may  be  glorified  in  the  Son:  if  ye  shall  ask 
anything  in  my  name,  I  will  do  it."  In  no 
respect,  therefore,  does  the  Son  act  without 
tin  Father,  since  He  so  acts  for  the  very 
purpose  that  in  Him  the  Father  may  be  glori 
fied.  The  Father,  therefore,  acts  in  the  Son, 
that  the  Son  may  be  glorified  in  the  Father: 
and  the  Son  acts  in  the  Father,  that  the 
Father  may  be  glorified  in  the  Son;  for  the 
Father  and  the  Son  are  one. 


TRACTATE    LXXIV. 

CHAI'TKR    XIV.    15-17. 


i.  WE  have  heard,  brethren,  while  the  Gos 
pel  was  read,  the  Lord  saying:  "  If  ye  love 
me,  keep  my  commandments:  and  I  will  ask 
the  Father,  and  He  shall  give  you  another 
Comforter  [Paraclete],  that  He  may  abide 
with  you  for  ever;  [even]  the  Spirit  of  truth; 
whom  the  world  cannot  receive,  because  it 
seeth  Him  not,  neither  knoweth  Him:  but 
ye  shall  know  Him;  for  He  shall  dwell  with 
you,  and  shall  be  in  you." '  There  are  many 
points  which  might  form  the  subject  of  inquiry 
in  these  few  words  of  the  Lord;  but  it  were 
too  much  for  us  either  to  search  into  all  that 
is  here  for  the  searching,  or  to  find  out  all 
that  we  here  search  for.  Nevertheless,  as 
far  as  the  Lord  is  pleased  to  grant  us  the 
power,  and  in  proportion  to  our  capacity  and 
yours,  attend  to  what  we  ought  to  say  and 
you  to  hear,  and  receive,  beloved,  what  we 
on  our  part  are  able  to  give,  and  apply  to 
Him  for  that  wherein  we  fail.  It  is  the  Spirit, 
the  Comforter,  that  Christ  has  promised  to 
His  apostles;  but  let  us  notice  the  way  in 
which  He  gave  the  promise.  "If  ye  love 
me,"  He  says,  "  keep  my  commandments: 
and  I  will  ask  the  Father,  and  He  shall  give 
you  another  Comforter,  that  He  may  abide 
with  you  forever;  [even]  the  Spirit  of  truth." 
We  have  here,  at  all  events,  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  the  Trinity,  whom  the  catholic  faith  ac- 


>  Augusiin  has  ci<gnott-rtis  for  the  second  "  know."  and  tfit  for 
that  iiiun.ui.it, •!>•  precedta*.  The  (iri-.-k  text,  however,  has 
y.nuaxw  in  both  j.l.i.  . -s  and  in  the  present  tense.  He  has  also 
in, i nt-l'it  ,-t  in  TI'/'IS  ,  i  i.'.  The  tense  of  poxi,  whether/rrr<-»if  or 
future,  depends  simply  on  thr  place  of  the  accent,  ptrti,  or 
nl,-,  as  between  the  two  readings  iat\v  and  €<TT<U,  the 
preponderance-  of  MS.  authority  seems  in  favor  of  the  latter  ;  al 
though  the  f-r,-sfnt  ytvuMTKtrt  in  the  principal  i  I.IIIM-  would  be  more 
naturally  followed  by  an  equally />W<-///V  present  in  those  which 

fallow.— TR. 


knowledges  to  be  consubstantial  and  co-eter 
nal  with  Father  and  Son:  He  it  is  of  whom 
the  apostle  says,  "The  love  of  God  is  shed 
abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  who 
is  given  unto  us."2  How,  then,  doth  the 
Lord  say,  "  If  ye  love  me,  keep  my  com 
mandments:  and  I  will  ask  the  Father,  and 
He  shall  give  you  another  Comforter;  "  when 
He  saith  so  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  without  [hav 
ing]  whom  we  can  neither  love  God  nor  keep 
His  commandments?  How  can  we  love  so 
as -to  receive  Him,  without  whom  we  cannot 
love  at  all  ?  or  how  shall  we  keep  the  com 
mandments  so  as  to  receive  Him,  without 
whom  we  have  no  power  to  keep  them  ?  Or 
can  it  be  that  the  love  wherewith  we  love 
Christ  has  a  prior  place  within  us,  so  that,  by 
thus  loving  Christ  and  keeping  His  command 
ments,  we  become  worthy  of  receiving  the 
Holy  Spirit,  in  order  that  the  love,  not  of 
Christ,  which  had  already  preceded,  but  of 
God  the  Father,  may  be  shed  abroad  in  our 
hearts  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  is  given  unto 
us  ?  Such  a  thought  is  altogether  wrong. 
For  he  who  believes  that  he  loveth  the  Son, 
and  loveth  not  the  Father,  certainly  loveth 
not  the  Son,  but  some  figment  of  his  own 
imagination.  And  besides,  this  is  the  apos 
tolic  declaration,  "  No  one  saith,  Lord  Jesus,3 
but  in  the  Holy  Spirit:4  and  who  is  it  that 
calleth  Him  Lord  Jesus  but  he  that  loveth 
Him,  if  he  so  call  Him  in  the  wiy  the  apos 
tle  intended  to  be  understood  ?  For  many 

=  Rom.  v.  5. 

'  '  >r.  The  weight  of  authority  is  clearly  in 

favor  of  thr  Trading  followed    l>y  Au^ustiM — Aeyti,  Krpiof  'liy^ovf, 

(jiving  the  direct   utterance  of  the  speaker  :  and    not  the  indirect 

.  Ki'pioy  'Irfffoui',  followed  by  our  Knglish  version.— TR. 

4  i  (or.  xii.  3. 


334 


Tin:  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTVII    I. XX IV. 


call  Him  so  with  their  lips,  hut  deny  Him  in 
their  hearts  and  works;  just  as  He  saith  of 
such,  "  For  they  profess  that  they  know 
God,  but  in  works  they  deny  Him."1  If  it  is 
by  works  He  is  denied,  it  is  doubtless  also 
by  works  that  His  name  is  truly  invoked. 
"No  one,"  therefore,  "saith,  Lord  Jesus," 
in  mind,  in  word,  in  deed,  with  the  heart,  the 
lips,  the  labor  of  the  hands, — no  one  saith, 
Lord  Jesus,  but  in  the  Holy  Spirit;  and  no 
one  calls  Him  so  but  he  that  loveth.  And 
accordingly  the  apostles  were  already  calling 
Him  Lord  Jesus:  and  if  they  called  Him  so, 
in  no  way  that  implied  a  feigned  utterance, 
with  the  mouth  confessing,  in  heart  and  works 
denying  Him;  if  they  called  Him  so  in  all 
truthfulness  of  soul,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
they  loved.  And  how,  then,  did  they  love, 
but  in  the  Holy  Spirit  ?  And  yet  they  are 
commanded  to  love  Him  and  keep  His  com 
mandments,  previous  and  in  order  to  their  re- 1  Spirit],  or  to  him  who  has.  For  it  is  made  to 
ceiving  the  Holy  Spirit:  and  yet,  without  him  who  has  not,  in  order  that  he  may  have; 


them  by  Himself,  and  afterwards  sent  by 
Him  from  heaven?4  And  so,  why  that  same 
giving  on  His  part  which  took  place  publicly, 
also  took  place  twice,  is  another  question:  for 
it  may  be  that  this  twofold  bestowal  of  His  in 
a  public  way  took  place  because  of  the  two 
commandments  of  love, that  is,to  our  neighbor 
and  to  God,  in  order  that  love  might  be  im 
pressively  intimated  as  pertaining  to  the  Holy 
Spirit.  And  if  any  other  reason  is  to  be 
sought  for,  we  cannot  at  present  allow  our 
discourse  to  be  improperly  prolonged  by  such 
an  inquiry:  provided,  however,  it  be  admitted 
that,  without  the  Holy  Spirit, -we  can  neither 
love  Christ  nor  keep  His  commandments; 
while  the  less  experience  we  have  of  His 
presence,  the  less  also  can  we  do  so;  and  the 
fuller  our  experience,  so  much  the  greater 
our  ability.  Accordingly,  the  promise  is  no 
vain  one,  either  to  him  who  has  not  [the  Holy 


having  that  Spirit,  they  certainly  could  not 
love  Him  and  keep  His  commandments. 

2.  We  are  therefore  to  understand  that  he 
who  loves  has  already  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
by  what  he  has  becomes  worthy  of  a  fuller 
possession,  that  by  having  the  more  he  may 
love  the  more.  Already,  therefore,  had  the 
disciples  that  Holy  Spirit  whom  the  Lord 
promised,  for  without  Him  they  could  not 
call  Him  Lord;  but  they  had  Him  not  as  yet 
in  the  way  promised  by  the  Lord.  Accord 
ingly  they  both  had,  and  had  Him  not,  inas 
much  as  they  had  Him  not  as  yet  to  the  same 
extent  as  He  was  afterwards  to  be  possessed. 
They  had  Him,  therefore,  in  .a  more  limited 
sense:  He  was  yet  to  be  given  them  in  an 
ampler  measure.  They  had  Him  in  a  hidden 
way,  they  were  yet  to  receive  Him  in  a  way 
that  was  manifest;  for  this  present  possession 
had  also  a  bearing  on  that  fuller  gift  of  the 


and  to  him  who  has,  that  he  may  have  more 
abundantly.  For  were  it  not  that  He  was 
possessed  by  some  in  smaller  measure  than  by 
others,  St.  Elisha  would  not  have  said  to  St. 
Elijah,  "  Let  the  spirit  that  is  in  thee  be  in 
a  twofold  measure  in  me.5 

3.  But  when  John  the  Baptist  said,  "For 
God  giveth  not  the  Spirit  by  measure,"  6  he 
was  speaking  exclusively  of  the  Son  of  God, 
who  received  not  the  Spirit  by  measure;  for 
in  Him  dwelleth  all  the  fullness  of  the  God 
head.7  And  no  more  is  it  independently  of 
the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  that  the  Mediator 
between  God  and  men  is  the  man  Christ 
Jesus:8  for  with  His  own  lips  He  tells  us  that 
the  prophetical  utterance  had  been  fulfilled 
in  Himself:  "  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon 
me;  because  He  hath  anointed  me,  and  hath 
sent  me  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  poor."9 
For  His  being  the  Only-begotten,  the  equal 


Holy  Spirit,  that  they  might  come  to  a  con-   of  the  Father,  is  not  of  grace,  but  of  nature; 


scions  knowledge  of  what  they  had.  It  is  in 
speaking  of  this  gift  that  the  apostle  says: 
"  Now  we  have  received,  not  the  spirit  of  this 
world,  but  the  spirit  which  is  of  God,  that  we 
may  know  the  things  that  are  freely  given  to 


but  the  assumption  of  human  nature  into  the 
personal  unity  of  the  Only-begotten  is  not  of 
nature,  but  of  grace,  as  the  Gospel  acknowl 
edges  itself  when  it  says,  "  And  the  child 
grew,  and  waxed  strong,  being  filled  with  wis- 


us  of  God."2  For  that  same  manifest  be- !  dom,  and  the  grace  of  God  was  in  Him/ 
stowal  of  the  Holy  Spirit  the  Lord  made,  not  But  to  others  He  is  given  by  measure, — a 
once,  but  on  two  separate  occasions.  For  measure  ever  enlarging  until  each  has  received 
close  on  the  back  of  His  resurrection  from  his  full  complement  up  to  the  limits  of  his 
the  dead  He  breathed  on  them  and  said,  own  perfection.  As  we  are  also  reminded  by 
"  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Spirit."  3  And  because  the  apostle,  "  Not  to  think  of  ourselves  more 
He  then  gave  [the  Spirit],  did  He  on  that  highly  than  we  ought  to  think,  but  to  think 
account  fail  in  afterwards  sending  Him  accord- 1  soberly;  according  as  God  hath  dealt  to  every 


ing  to  His  promise  ?     Or  was  it  not  the  very 
same  Spirit  who  was  both  then  breathed  upon 


Cor.  ii. 


3  Chap.  xx.  22. 


man  the  measure  of  faith."  "     Nor  is  it  the 


•>  At  N  ii.   4. 

:  Col.  ii.  o. 
10  Luke  ii.  4: 


6  Chap.  iii.  34. 
9  Luke  iv.  18-21. 


,ii      1  \  \Y.  ] 


o\     I  111. 


l.  I.  (  )!••   ST.    JOHN. 


335 


Spirit    Himself  that   is  divided,  but   t: 
botowcd  by  the  Spirit:  lor  there  are  diversities 
of  gifts,  but  the  same  Spirit.1 

4.  I'.ut  when  Il<-  says.  "I  will  ask  the 
Father,  and  He  shall  give  you  anotlie: 
clete,"  He  intimates  that  He  Himself  is  also 
a  paraclete.  For  paraclete  is  in  Latin  called 
•fits  (advocate);  and  it  is  said  of  Christ, 
"  \\Y  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus 
Christ  the  righteous."  *  But  He  said  that  the 
world  could  not  receive  the  Holy  Spirit,  in 
much  the  same  sense  as  it  is  also  said,  *'  The 
minding  of  the  flesh  is  enmity  against  God: 
for  it  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God;  neither 
indeed  can  be;  "3  just  as  if  we  were  to  say, 
Unrighteousness  cannot  be  righteous.  For 
in  speaking  in  this  passage  of  the  world,  He 
refers  to  those  who  love  the  world;  and  such 
a  love  is  not  of  the  Father.4  And  thus  the 
love  of  this  world,  which  gives  us  enough  to  ! 
do  to  weaken  and  destroy  its  power  within  us, 
is  in  direct  opposition  to  the  love  of  God, 
which  is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  who  is  given  unto  us.  "  The 
world,"  therefore,  "cannot  receive  Him.  be 
cause  it  seeth  Him  not,  neither  knoweth 


i  Cor.  xii.  4. 
Rom.  viii.  7,  marg. 


John  ii.  i. 
John  it.  16. 


Him."  For  worldly  love  pi.ssessrth  not 
those  invisible  eyes,  whereby,  save  in  an  in 
visible  way,  the  Holy  Spirit  cannot  be  seen. 

5.  But  ye,"  He  adds,  "shall  know  Him; 
for  He  shall  dwell  with  you,  and  be  in  you." 
He  will  be  in  them,  that  He  may  dwell  with 
them;  He  will  not  dwell  with  them  to  the  end 
that  He  may  be  in  them:  for  the  being  any 
where  is  prior  to  the  dwelling  there.  Hut  to 
prevent  us  from  imagining  that  His  words, 
"  He  shall  dwell  with  you,"  were  spoken  in 
the  same  sense  as  that  in  which  a  guest 
usually  dwells  with  a  man  in  a  visible  way, 
He  explained  what  "  He  shall  dwell  with  you  " 
meant,  when  He  added  the  words,  "  He 
shall  be  in  you."  He  is  seen,  therefore,  in 
an  invisible  way:  nor  can  we  have  any  knowl 
edge  of  Him  unless  He  be  in  us.  For  it  is 
in  a  similar  way  that  we  come  to  see  our  con 
science  within  us:  for  we  see  the  face  of  an 
other,  but  we  cannot  see  our  own;  but  it  is 
our  own  conscience  we  see,  not  another's. 
And  yet  conscience  is  never  anywhere  but 
within  us:  but  the  Holy  Spirit  can  be  also 
apart  from  us,  since  He  is  given  that  He  may 
also  be  in  us.  But  we  cannot  see  and  know 
Him  in  the  only  way  in  which  He  may  be 
seen  and  known,  unless  He  be  in  us. 


TRACTATE    LXXV. 


CHAPTER    XIV.    18-21. 


i.  AFTER  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
lest  any  should  suppose  that  the  Lord  was  to 
give  Him,  as  it  were,  in  place  of  Himself,  in 
any  such  way  as  that  He  Himself  would  not 
likewise  be  with  them,  He  added  the  words: 
"  I  will  not  leave  you  orphans;  I  will  come 
to  you. "  Orplianl  [Greek]  are  pupilli  [parent- 
less  children]  in  Latin.  The  one  is  the  Greek, 
the  other  the  Latin  name  of  -the  same  thing: 
for  in  the  psalm  where  we  read,  "  Thou  art 
the  helper  of  the  fatherless "  [in  the  Latin 
version,  pupillo\t  the  Greek  has  orphano.1 
Accordingly,  although  it  was  not  the  Son  of 
God  that  adopted  sons  to  His  Father,  or  willed 
that  we  should  have  by  grace  that  same 
Father,  who  is  His  Father  by  nature,  yet  in  a 
sense  it  is  paternal  feelings  toward  us  that 
He  Himself  displays,  when  He  declares,  "  I 
will  not  leave  you  orphans;  I  will  come  to 
you."  In  the  same  way  He  calls  us  also  the 


i  children  of  the  bridegroom,  when  He  says, 

"  The  time  will  come,  when  the  bridegroom 

|  shall  be  taken  away  from  them,  and  then  shall 

;  the  children  of  the  bridegroom  fast/'2     And 

I  who  is  the  bridegroom,  but  Christ  the  Lord  ? 

2.   He  then  goes  on  to  say,  "Yet  a  little 

while,   and   the  world    seeth   me    no  more." 

How  so  ?  the  world  saw  Him  then;  for  under 

j  the  name  of  the  world  are  to  be  understood 

,  those  of  whom  He  spake  above,  when  saying 

1  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  "Whom  the  world  cannot 

j  receive,   because   it  seeth   Him   not,  neither 

knoweth  Him."     He  was    plainly  visible  to 

the  carnal  eyes  of  the  world,  while  manifest 

in  the  flesh;  but  it  saw  not  the  Word  that  lay 

hid  in  the  flesh:    it  saw  the  man,  but  it  saw 

not  God:    it  saw  the    covering,  but  not  the 

Being  within.      But  as,  after  the  resurrection. 

even  His  very  flesh,  which  He  exhibited  both 

to  the  sight  and  to  the  handling  of  His  own, 

:x.  15. 


336 


THE  WORKS  ()]•    ST.   AUGUS1  IN. 


[TRACTATE  L.\.\\'. 


He  refused  to  exhibit  to  others,  we  may  in 
this  way  perhaps  understand  the  meaning  of 
the  words,  "Yet  a  little  while,  and  the  world 
seeth  me  no  more;  but  ye  shall  see  me:  be 
cause  I  live,  ye  shall  live  also." 

3.  What  is  meant  by  the  words,  "Because 
I   live,   ye   shall   live  also"?     Why  did   He 
speak  in  the  present  tense  of  His  own  living, 
and  in  the  future  of  theirs,  but  just  by  way  of 
promise  that  the  life  also  of  the  resurrection- 
body,  as  it  preceded  in  His  own  case,  would 
certainly  follow  in  theirs  ?     And  as  His  own 
resurrection  was  in  the  immediate  future,  He 
put  the  word  in  the  present  tense  to  signify 
its  speedy  approach:  but  of  theirs,  as  delayed 
till  the  end  of  the  world,  He  said  not,  ye  live; 
but,    "ye    shall    live.''     With    elegance   and 
brevity,  therefore,   by  means  of  two  words, 
one  of  them  in  the  present  tense  and  the  other 
in  the  future,  He  gave  the  promise  of  two 
resurrections,  to  wit,  His  own  in  the  immedi 
ate  future,  and  ours  as  yet  to  come  in  the  end 
of  the  world.     "  Because  I  live,"  He  says, 
"ye    shall    live   also:"    because    He    liveth, 
therefore  shall  we  live  also.     For  as  by  man 
is  death,  by  man  also  is  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead.    For  as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in 
Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive.1     As  it  is  only 
through  the  former  that  every  one  is  liable  to 
death,  it  is  only  through  Christ  that  any  one 
can  attain  unto  life.    Because  we  did  not  live, 
we  are  dead;  because  He  lived,  we  shall  live 
also.     We  were  dead  to  Him,  when  we  lived 
to  ourselves;   but,  because  He  died    in  our 
behalf,   He  liveth  both  for  Himself  and  for 
us.     For,  because   He  liveth,  we  shall    live 
also.     For  while  we  were  able  of  ourselves  to 
attain  unto  death,  it  is  not  of  ourselves  also 
that  life  can  come  into  our  possession. 

4.  "  In  that  day,"  He  says,  "ye  shall  know 
that  I  am  in  my  Father,  and  ye  in  me,  and  I 
in  you.'*     In  what  day,  but  in  that  whereof 
He  said,  "  Ye  shall  live  also  "  ?     For  then  will 
it  be  that  we  can  see  what  we  believe.     For 
even  now  is  He  in  us,  and  we  in  Him:    this 
we  believe  now,  but  then  shall  we  also  know 
it;  although  what  we  know  even  now  by  faith, 
we  shall  know  then  by  actual  vision.      For  as 
long  as  we  are  in  the  body,  as  it  now  is,  to 
wit,  corruptible,  and  encumbering  to  the  soul, 


we  live  at  a  distance  from  the  Lord;  for  we 
walk  by  faith,  not  by  sight.1  Then  accord 
ingly  it  will  be  by  sight,  for  we  shall  see  Him 
as  He  is.3  For  if  Christ  were  not  even  now 
in  us,  the  apostle  would  not  say,  "And  if 
Christ  be  in  you,  the  body  is  dead  indeed  be- 
j  cause  of  sin;  but  the  spirit  is  life  because  of 
righteousness.''4  But  that  we  are  also  in 
Him  even  then,  He  makes  sufficiently  clear, 
when  He  says,  "  I  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the 
branches."5  Accordingly  in  that  day,  when 
we  shall  be  living  the  life,  whereby  death 
shall  be  swallowed  up,  we  shall  know  that  He 
is  in  the  Father,  and  we  in  Him,  and  He  in 
|  us;  for  then  shall  be  completed  that  very 
state  which  is  already  in  the  present  begun 
by  Him,  that  He  should  be  in  us,  and  we  in 
Him. 

5.  "He  that  hath  my  commmandments," 
He  adds,  "  and  keepeth  them,  he  it  is  that 
loveth  me."  He  that  hath  [them]  in  his 
memory,  and  keepeth  them  in  his  life;  who 
hath  them  orally,  and  keepeth  them  morally; 
who  hath  them  in  the  ear,  and  keepeth  them 
in  deed;  or  who  hath  them  in  deed,  and  keep 
eth 'them  by  perseverance; — "he  it  is,"  He 
says,  "that  loveth  me."  By  works  is  love 
made  manifest  as  no  fruitless  application  of 
a  name.  "And  he  that  loveth  me,5'  He  says, 
"  shall  be  loved  of  my  Father,  and  I  will  love 
him,  and  will  manifest  myself  to  him."  But 
what  is  this,  "  I  will  love"  ?  Is  it  as  if  He 
were  then  only  to  love,  and  loveth  not  at 
present  ?  Surely  not.  For  how  could  the 
Father  love  us  apart  from  the  Son,  or  the 
Son  apart  from  the  Father  ?  Working  as 
They  do  inseparably,  ho'w  can  They  love 
apart?6  But  He  said,  "  I  will  love  him,"  in 
reference  to  that  which  follows,  "and  I  will 
manifest  myself  to  him."  "  I  will  love,  and 
will  manifest;  "  that  is,  I  will  love  to  the  very 
extent  of  manifesting.  For  this  has  been  the 
present  aim  of  His  love,  that  we  may  believe, 
and  keep  hold  of  the  commandment  of  faith; 
but  then  His  love  will  have  this  for  its  object, 
that  we  may  see,  and  get  that  very  sight  as 
the  reward  of  our  faith:  for  we  also  love  now, 
by  believing  in  that  which  we  shall  see  here 
after;  but  then  shall  we  love  in  the  sight  of 
that  which  now  we  believe. 


=  2  Cor.  v.  7. 

5  Chap.  xv.  5. 


i   Johniii.  2. 
Stparabilittr. 


Rom.  viii. 


n    i. \.\\i. | 


ON  THK  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


337 


TRACTATE    LXXVI. 

Cn  \M  IK     XI  V.    22-24. 


1.  WHII.K  the  disciples  thus  question,  and 
Jesus  their  Master  replies  to  them,  we  also, 
as  it  were,  are  learning  along  with  them,  when 
we  either  read  or  listen  to  the  holy  Gospel. 
Accordingly,    because    the    Lord    had    said, 
"  Yet  a  little  while,  and  the  world  seeth  me 
no  more;  hut  ye  shall  see  me,"  Judas — not 
indeed    His    betrayer,    who    was    surnamed 
Iscariot,  but  he  whose  epistle  is  read  among 
the  canonical  Scriptures — asked  Him  of  this 
very  matter:  "  Lord,  how  is  it  that  Thou  wilt 
manifest  Thyself  unto  us,  and  not  unto  the 
world  ? "     Let  us,  too,  be  as  it  were  question 
ing  disciples  with  them,   and   listen    to  our 
common   Master.     For  Judas  the  holy,   not 
the  impure,  the  follower,  but  not  the  perse 
cutor  of  the  Lord,  has  inquired  the  reason 
why  Jesus  was  to  manifest  Himself  to  His 
own,  and  not  to  the  world;   why  it  was  that 
yet  a  little  while,  and  the  world  should  not 
see  Him,  but  they  should  see  Him. 

2.  "  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him,  If 
a  man  love  me,  he  will  keep  my  word:  and 
my  Father  will  love  him,  and  we  will  come 
unto  him,  and  make  our  abode  with  him.      He 
that  loveth  me  not,  keepeth  not  my  sayings." 
Here  we  have  set  forth  the  reason  why  He  is 
to  manifest  Himself  to  His  own,  and  not  to 
that  other  class  whom   He  distinguishes  by 
the  name  of  the  world;  and  such  is  the  reason 
also  why  the  one  loveth  Him,  and  the  other 
loveth    Him    not.     It    is    the   very    reason, 
whereof  it  is  declared  in  the  sacred  psalm, 
"Judge    me,  O    God,  and    plead    my  cause 
against  an  unholy  nation."  '     For  such  as  love 
are  chosen,  because  they  love:  but  those  who 
have  not  love,  though  they  speak  with   the 
tongues  of   men  and  angels,   are  become  a 
sounding  brass  and  a  tinkling  cymbal;    and 
though  they  had  the  gift  of   prophecy,  and 
knew  all  mysteries  and  all   knowledge,  and 
had  all  faith  so  that  they  could  remove  moun 
tains,  they  are  nothing;  and  though  they  dis 
tributed  all  their  substance,  and  gave  their 
body  to  be  burnt,  it  profiteth  them  nothing.2 
The  saints  are  distinguished  from  the  world 
by  that  love  which  maketh  the  one-minded  3 
to  dwell  [together]  in  a  house  4     In  this  house 


1  Ps.  xliii.   i.  *  '  Cor.  xiii.  1-3.  i  l'n,tniiftfs. 

4  I's.  Ixviii.  f.  :  according  to  Augustin's  translation  and  adapta 
tion  of  the  words  n.T'2   C*V~*    IT*i*2. ;md  which  the  Vulgate 

has  also  rendered  somewhat  similarly,  ijui  ittkabitare  facit  ttnius 
tnorit  in  dunio.     The   English  version  is  rather  more  accordant 


Father  and  Son  make  their  abode,  and  im 
part  that  very  love  to  those  whom  They  shall 
also  honor  at  last  with  this  promised  self- 
manifestation;  of  which  the  disciple  ques 
tioned  his  Master,  that  not  only  those  who 
then  listened  might  learn  it  from  His  own 
lips,  but  we  also  from  his  Gospel.  For  he 
had  made  inquiry  about  the  manifestation  of 
Christ,  and  heard  [in  reply]  about  His  loving 
and  abiding.  There  is  therefore  a  kind  of 
inward  manifestation  of  God,  which  is  entirely 
unknown  to  the  ungodly,  who  receive  no 
manifestation  of  God  the  Father  and  the 
Holy  Spirit:  of  the  Son,  indeed,  there  might 
have  been  such,  but  only  in  the  flesh;  and 
that,  too,  neither  of  the  same  kind  as  the 
other,  nor  able  under  any  form  to  remain  with 
them,  save  only  for  a  little  while;  and  even 
that,  for  judgment,  not  for  rejoicing;  for 
punishment,  not  for  reward. 

3.  We  have  now,  therefore,  to  understand, 
so  far  as  He  is  pleased  to  unfold  it,  the 
meaning  of  the  words,  "  Yet  a  little  while, 
and  the  world  seeth  me  no  more;  but  ye  shall 
see  me."  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  after  a 
little  while  He  was  to  withdraw  even  His 
body,  in  which  the  ungodly  also  were  able  to 
see  Him,  from  their  sight:  for  none  of  them 
saw  Him  after  His  resurrection.  But  since  it 
was  declared  on  the  testimony  of  angels,  *'  He 
shall  so  come  in  like  manner  as  ye  have  seen 
Him  go  into  heaven;  "  and  our  faith  stands 
to  this,  that  He  will  come  in  the  same  body 
to  judge  the  living  and  the  dead;  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  He  will  then  be  seen  by  the 
world,  meaning  by  the  name,  those  who  are 
aliens  from  His  kingdom.  And,  on  this  ac 
count,  it  is  far  better  to  understand  Him  as 
having  intended  to  refer  at  once  to  that  epoch, 
when  He  said,  "  Yet  a  little  while,  and  the 
world  seeth  me  no  more,"  when  in  the  end 
of  the  world  He  shall  be  taken  away  from  the 
sight  of  the  damned,  that  for  the  future  He 
may  be  seen  only  of  those  with  whom,  as 


with  the  context,  "  who  setteth  the  solitary  in  families,"  or  rather, 
"who  makrlh  the  solitary  [lit.  those  standing  alone]  to  dwell  ia 
a  house,"  mcirg.  ;  that  is,  if  "J*rj*  miv'ht  not  even  here  retain  it-s 


proper  meaning  of  ^only  one"  and,  hence,  u  bflwfd  one"     At 

.ill  r\.  nis,  tin-  word  thus  Used,  and  its  pl.u  e  in  the  rout-     • 

r.ist 


r\.  nis,  tn-  wor         us     se,  an        s  p.u  e  in       e  rou-     • 

preceding  vi-rse).  may  warrant  the  romt>inati< 
-.-that  those  who  are  "ones  standing  alone-."  fl 
t  off  from  others,  in  a  human  sense,  are    C^TTV.  "  <"»/>'  <'*•'*,' 


:'>t,-s"\n  the  heavenly  Father's  sight,  to  whom  Hee» 
tends  a  special  protection,  and  provideth  a  home.—  TK. 

i.  n. 


338 


THK   WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN 


[TRACTATI:  I. XXVI  I. 


those  that  love  Him,  the  Father  and  Himself 
are  making  their  abode.  But  He  said,  "  a  lit 
tle  while,"  because  that  which  appears  tedi 
ous  to  men  is  very  brief  in  the  sight  of  God: 
for  of  this  same  "  little  while  "  our  evangelist, 
John,  himself  says,  "  Little  children,  it  is  the 
last  time."1 

4.  But  further,  lest  any  should  imagine 
that  the  Father  and  Son  only,  without  the 
Holy  Spirit,  make  their  abode  with  those 
that  love  Them,  let  him  recall  what  was  said 
above  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  "Whom  the  world 
cannot  receive,  because  it  seeth  Him  not, 
neither  knoweth  Him:  but  ye  shall  know 
Him;  for  He  shall  dwell  with  you,  and  shall 
be  in  you"  (ver.  17).  Here  you  see  that, 
along  with  the  Father  and  the  Son,  the 
Holy  Spirit  also  taketh  up  His  abode  in  the 
saints;  that  is  to  say,  within  them,  as  God 
in  His  temple.  The  triune  God,  Father, 
and  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  come  to  us  while 
we  are  coming  to  Them:  They  come  with 
help,  we  come  with  obedience;  They  come  to 
enlighten,  we  to  behold;  They  come  to  fill, 
we  to  contain:  that  our  vision  of  Them  may 
not  be  external,  but  inward;  and  Their  abid 
ing  in  us  may  not  be  transitory,  but  eternal. 
The  Son  doth  not  manifest  Himself  in  such  a 
way  as  this  to  the  world:  for  the  world  'is 
spoken  of  in  the  passage  before  us  as  those, 
of  whom  He  immediately  adds,  "  He  that 
loveth  me  not,  keepeth  not  my  sayings.'' 
These  are  such  as  never  see  the  Father  and 
the  Holy  Spirit:  and  see  the  Son  for  a  little 
while,  not  to  their  attainment  of  bliss,  but  to 


John  ii.  18. 


their  condemnation;  and  even  Him,  not  in 
the  form  of  God,  wherein  He  is  equally  in 
visible  with  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Spirit, 
but  in  human  form,  in  which  it  was  His  will 
to  be  an  object  of  contempt  in  suffering,  but 
of  terror  in  judging  the  world. 

5.  But  when  He  added,  "And  the  saying 
which  ye  have  heard  is  not  mine,  but  the 
Father's  who  sent  me,"  let  us  not  be  filled 
with  wonder  or  fear:  He  is  not  inferior  to  the 
Father,  and  yet  He  is  not,  save  of  the  Father: 
He  is  not  unequal  in  Himself,  but  He  is  not 
of  Himself.  For  it  was  no  false  word  He 
uttered  when  He  said,  "  He  that  loveth  me 
not,  keepeth  not  my  sayings."  He  called 
them,  you  see,  His  own  sayings;  does  He, 
then,  contradict  Himself  when  He  said  again, 
"And  the  saying  which  ye  have  heard  is  not 
mine"  ?  And,  perhaps,  it  was  on  account  of 
some  intended  distinction  that,  when  He  said 
His  own,  He  used  "sayings"  in  the  plural; 
but  when  He  said  that  "the  saying,"  that  is, 
the  Word,  was  not  His  own,  but  the  Father's, 
He  wished  it  to  be  understood  of  Himself. 
For  in  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the 
Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God.2 
For  as  the  Word,  He  is  certainly  not  His  own, 
but  the  Father's:  just  as  He  is  not  His  own 
image,  but  the  Father's;  and  is  not  Himself 
His  own  Son,  but  the  Father's.  Rightly, 
therefore,  does  He  attribute  whatever  He 
does,  as  equal,  to  the  Author  of  all,  of  whom 
He  has  this  very  prerogative,  that  He  is  in 
all  respects  His  equal. 


'  Chap.  i.  i. 


TRACTATE    LXXVII. 

CHAPTER  XIV.   25-27. 


i.  IN  the  preceding  lesson  of  the  holy  Gos 
pel,  which  is  followed  by  the  one  that  has 
just  been  read,  the  Lord  Jesus  had  said  that 
He  and  the  Father  would  come  to  those  who 
loved  Them,  and  make  Their  abode  with 
them.  But  He  had  also  already  said  above 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  "  But  ye  shall  know  Him; 
for  He  shall  dwell  with  you,  and  shall  be  in 
you  "  (ver.  17):  by  which  we  understood  that 
the  divine  Trinity  dwelleth  together  in  the 
saints  as  in  His  own  temple.  But  now  He 
saith,  "  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you 
while  [still]  dwelling  with  you."  That  dwell 
ing,  therefore,  which  He  promised  in  the 
future,  is  of  one  kind;  and  this,  which  He 


declares  to  be  present,  is  of  another.  The 
one  is  spiritual,  and  is  realized  inwardly  by 
the  mind;  the  other  is  corporal,  and  is  exhib 
ited  outwardly  to  the  eye  and  the  ear.  The 
one  brings  eternal  blessedness  to  those  who 
have  been  delivered,  the  other  pays  its  visits 
in  time  to  those  who  await  deliverance.  As 
regards  the  one,  the  Lord  never  withdraws 
from  those  who  love  Him;  as  regards  the 
other,  He  comes  and  goes.  "  These  things, 
He  says,  "  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  while 
[still]  dwelling  with  you;"  that  is,  in  His 
bodily  presence,  wherein  He  was  visibly  con 
versing  with  them. 

2.   "  But  the  Comforter,"  He  adds,  "  [which 


.1   I  \\\  1 1. 1 


>.\    I  ill.  .;•  >SPEL  Ol    ST.  JOHN. 


i.s]   tin-    Holy  Ghost,  whom    the    Father  will    p.  .en  going 

si-iu I  in  my  name.  Ho  shall  teach  you  all  His  own  peace  He  will  give  us  whc: 
tilings,  and  bring  all  things  to  your  rcmrm-  <  ometh  in  the  end.  Peace  He  leaveth  with 
brance,  whatsoever  I  have  said  unto  you."  us  in  t'nis  world,  His  own  peace  He  will  give 
Is  it,  then,  that  the  Son  speaks,  and  the  Holy  us  in  the  world  to  come.  His  own  pern  <  II- 
Spirit  teaches,  so  that  we  merely  get  hold  of  leaveth  with  us,  and  abiding  therein  we  con- 
the  words  that  are  uttered  by  the  Son,  and  quer  the  enemy.  His  own  peace  He  will  give 
then  understand  them  by  the  teaching  of  the  us  when,  with  no  more  enemies  to  fight,  we 
Spirit  ?  as  if  the  Son  could  speak  without  the!  shall  reign  as  kings.  Peace  He  leaveth  with 
Holy  Spirit,  or  the  Holy  Spirit  teach  without'  us,  that  here  also  we  may  love  one  another: 
the  Son:  or  is  it  not  rather  that  the  Son  also ;  His  own  peace  will  He  give  us,  where  we 
teacheth  and  the  Spirit  speaketh,  and,  when  '  shall  be  beyond  the  possibility  of  dissension, 
it  is  God  that  speaketh  and  teacheth  any-  j  Peace  He  leaveth  with  us,  that  we  may  not 
thing,  that  the  Trinity  itself  is  speaking  and  (judge  one  another  of  what  is  secret  to  each, 
teaching?  And  just  because  it  is  a  Trinity,  while  here  on  earth:  His  own  peace  will  He 
its  persons  required  to  be  introduced  Individ- 1  give  us,  when  He  "will  make  manifest  the 
ually,  so  that  we  might  hear  it  in  its  distinct  I  counsels  of  the  heart;  and  then  shall  every 
personality,  and  understand  its  inseparable  !  man  have  praise  of  God."  <  And  yet  in  Him 
nature.1  Listen  to  the  Father  speaking  in  the  '  and  from  Him  it  is  that  we  have  peace, 
passage  where  thou  readest,  "The  Lord  said  whether  that  which  He  leaveth  with  us  when 
unto  me,  Thou  art  my  Son:  "  *  listen  to  Him  going  to  the  Father,  or  that  which  He  will 
also  teaching,  in  that  where  thou  readest,  give  us  when  we  ourselves  are  brought  by  Him 
"  Every  man  that  hath  heard,  and  hath  learn-  to  the  Father.  And  what  is  it  He  leaveth 


ed  of  the  Father,  cometh  unto  me.; 


The 


Son,  on  the  other  hand,  thou  hast  just  heard 


with  us,  when  ascending  from  us,  save   His 
ov/n  presence,  which  He  never  withdraweth  ? 


speaking;  for  He  saith  of  Himself,  "  What-    For  He  Himself  is  our  peace  who  hath  made 
soever  I  have   said   unto  you:  "   and   if  thou 


wouldst  also  know  Him  as  a  Teacher,  bethink 
thyself  of  the  Master,  when  He  saith,  "One 
is  your  Master,  even  Christ."4  Further 
more,  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  whom  thou  hast  just 
been  told  of  as  a  Teacher  in  the  words,  "  He 
shall  teach  you  all  things,"  listen  to  Him  also 


both  one.7      It  is  He,  therefore,  that  becomes 
our  peace,  both  when   we   believe  that  He  is, 


and  when  we  see  Him  as  He 


For  if,  so 


long  as  we  are  in  this  corruptible  body  that 
burdens  the  soul,  and  are  walking  by  faith, 
not  by  sight,  He  forsaketh  not  those  who  are 
sojourning  at  a  distance  from  Himself;9  how 


speaking,  where  thou  readest  in  the  Acts  of  |  much  more,  when  we  have  attained  to  that 
the  Apostles,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  said  to  the  j  sight,  shall  He  fill  us  with  Himself? 
blessed  Peter,  "  Go  with  them,  for  I  have  sent  4.  But  why  is  it  that,  when  He  said,  "Peace 
them."*  The  whole  Trinity,  therefore,  both  I  leave  with  you,"  He  did  not  add,  "  my;  " 
speaketh  and  teacheth:  but  were  it  not  also  j  but  when  He  said,  "I  give  unto  you,"  He 
brought  before  us  in  its  individual  personality,  }  there  made  use  of  it  ?  Is  "  mv  "  to  be  under- 


it  would  certainly  altogether  surpass  the  power 
of  human  weakness  to  comprehend  it.  For 
as  it  is  altogether  inseparable  in  itself,  it  could 
never  be  known  as  the  Trinity,  were  it  always 
spoken  of  inseparably;  for  when  we  speak  of 
the  Father,  and  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit, 
we  certainly  do  not  pronounce  them  simul 
taneously,  and  yet  in  themselves  they  cannot 
be  else  than  simultaneous.  But  when  He 
added,  "  He  will  bring  to  your  remembrance," 
we  ought  also  to  understand  that  we  are  com 
manded  not  to  forget  that  these  pre-eminently 
salutary  admonitions  are  part  of  that  grace 
which  the  Holy  Spirit  brings  to  our  remem 
brance. 


stood  even  where  it  is  not  expressed,  on  the 
ground  that  what  is  expressed  once  may  have 
a  reference  to  both  ?  Or  may  it  not  be  that 
here  also  we  have  some  underlying  truth  that 
has  to  be  asked  and  sought  for,  and  opened 
up  to  those  who  knock  thereat?  For  what, 
if  by  His  own  peace  He  meant  such  to  be 
understood  as  that  which  He  possesses  Him 
self  ?  whereas  the  peace,  which  He  leaves  us 
in  this  world,  may  more  properly  be  termed 
our  peace  than  His.  For  He,  who  is  alto 
gether  without  sin,  has  no  elements  of  discord 
in  Himself;  while  the  peace  we  possess, 
meanwhile,  is  such  that  in  the  midst  of  it  we 


have    still    to   be    saying,    "  Forgive    us   our 
3.   "Peace,"  He  said,  "I  leave  with  you,  [  debts."  I0     A  certain   kind  of  peace,  accord- 
my  peace   I  give  unto  you."     It  is  here  we  |  ingly,  we  do  possess,  inasmuch  as  we  delight 


reail    in   the   prophet,   "Peace   upon   peace:" 


«  Earn   [7>/»f/V.i/V/«l   ,/istimftt  ,•«<//> 


3  Chap,  v 
5  Acts  x. 


Uigere. 

'  Ps.  ii.  7. 


in  the  law  of  God  after  the  inward   man:   but 
it  is  not  a  full  peace,  for  we  see  another  law 


r.  iv.  5. 

. 


John  iii.  2. 


340 


I  Hi:  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  LXXXVIII. 


in  our  members  warring  against  the  law  of 
our  mind.1  In  the  same  way  we  have  peace 
in  our  relations  with  one  another,  just  because, 
in  mutually  loving,  we  have  a  mutual  confi 
dence  in  one  another:  but  no  more  is  such  a 
peace  as  that  complete,  for  we  see  not  the 
thoughts  of  one  another's  hearts;  and  we  have 
severally  better  or  worse  opinions  in  certain 
respects  of  one  another  than  is  warranted  by 
the  reality.  And  so  that  peace,  although  left 
us  by  Him,  is  our  peace:  for  were  it  not  from 
Him,  we  should  not  be  possessing  it,  such  as 
it  is;  but  such  is  not  the  peace  He  has  Him 
self.  And  if  we  keep  what  we  received  to  the 
end,  then  such  as  He  has  shall  we  have,  when 
we  shall  have  no  elements  of  discord  of  our 
own,  and  we  shall  have  no  secrets  hid  from 
one  another  in  our  hearts.  But  I  am  not 
ignorant  that  these  words  of  the  Lord  may 
be  taken  so  as  to  seem  only  a  repetition  of 
the  same  idea,  "  Peace  I  leave  with  you,  my 
peace  I  give  unto  you:  "  so  that  after  saying 
"  peace,"  He  only  repeated  it  in  saying  "  my 
peace;"  and  what  He  had  meant  in  saying 
"I  leave  with  you,"  He  simply  repeated  in 
saying  "  I  give  unto  you.''  Let  each  one 
understand  it  as  he  pleases;  but  it  is  my  de 
light,  as  I  believe  it  is  yours  also,  my  beloved 
brethren,  to  keep  such  hold  of  that  peace 


Rom.  vii.  22,  23. 


here,  where  our  hearts  are  making  common 
cause  against  the  adversary,  that  we  may  be 
ever  longing  for  the  peace  which  there  will  be 
no  adversary  to  disturb. 

5.  But  when  the  Lord  proceeded  to  say, 
"  Not  as  the  world  giveth,  give  I  unto  you," 
what  else  does  He  mean  but,  Not  as  those 
give  who  love  the  world,  give  I  unto  you? 
For  their  aim  in  giving  themselves  peace  is 
that,  exempt  from  the  annoyance  of  lawsuits 
and  wars,  they  may  find  enjoyment,  not  in 
God,  but  in  the  friendship  of  the  world;  and 
although  they  give  the  righteous  peace,  in 
ceasing  to  persecute  them,  there  can  be  no 
true  peace  where  there  is  no  real  harmony, 
because  their  hearts  are  at  variance.  For  as 
one  is  called  a  consort  who  unites  his  lot 
(sortciti)  with  another,  so  may  he  be  termed 
concordant  whose  heart  has  entered  into  a 
similar  union.2  Let  us,  therefore,  beloved, 
with  whom  Christ  leaveth  peace,  and  to  whom 
He  giveth  His  own  peace,  not  after  the  world's 
way,  but  in  a  way  worthy  of  Him  by  whom 
the  world  was  made,  that  we  should  be  of  one 
heart  with  Himself,  having  our  hearts  run 
into  one,  that  this  one  heart,  set  on  that  which 
is  above,  may  escape  the  corruption  of  the 
earth. 


*  Consors  diciiur,  gui  sortem  jungit — concert  dicendus,  qi. , 
cordajungit. 


TRACTATE    LXXVIII. 

CHAPTER  XIV.  27,   28. 


i .  WE  have  just  heard,  brethren, these  words 
of  the  Lord,  which  He  addressed  to  His  dis 
ciples:  "  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled, 
neither  let  it  be  afraid.  Ye  have  heard  how 
I  said  unto  you,  I  go  away,  and  come  unto 
you:  if  ye  loved  me,  ye  would  surely  rejoice, 
because  I  go  unto  the  Father;  for  the  Father 
is  greater  than  I."  Their  hearts  might  have 
become  filled  with  trouble  and  fear,  simply 
because  of  His  going  away  from  them,  even 
though  intending  to  return;  lest,  possibly, 
in  the  very  interval  of  the  shepherd's  absence, 
the  wolf  should  make  an  onset  on  the  flock. 
But  as  God,  He  abandoned  not  those  from 
whom  He  departed  as  man:  and  Christ  Him 
self  is  at  once  both  man  and  God.  And  so 
He  both  went  away  in  respect  of  His  visible 
humanity,  and  remained  as  regards  His  God 
head:  He  went  away  as  regards  the  nature 
which  is  subject  to  local  limitations,  and  re 


mained  in  respect  of  that  which  is  ubiquitous. 
Why,  then,  should  their  heart  be  troubled  and 
afraid,  when  His  quitting  their  eyesight  was 
of  such  a  kind  as  to  leave  unaltered  His  pres 
ence  in  their  heart?  Although  even  God, 
who  has  no  local  bounds  to  His  presence,  may 
depart  from  the  hearts  of  those  who  turn  away 
from  Him,  not  with  their  feet,  but  their  moral 
character;  just  as  He  comes  to  such  as  turn 
to  Him,  not  with  their  faces,  but  in  faith,  and 
approach  Him  in  the  spirit,  and  not  in  the 
flesh.  But  that  they  might  understand  that 
it  was  only  in  respect  of  His  human  nature 
that  He  said,  "I  go  and  come  to  you,"  He 
went  on  to  say,  "If  ye  loved  me,  ye  would 
surely  rejoice,  because  I  go  unto  the  Father; 
for  the  Father  is  greater  than  I."  And  so, 
then,  in  that  very  respect  wherein  the  Son  is 
not  equal  to  the  Father,  in  that  was  He  to 
go  to  the  Father,  just  as  from  Him  is  He 


Ti:\. 


I.  \\VIII    1 


ON  THE  GOSIM.i    ol    ST.   JOHN. 


341 


hereafter  to  come  to  judge  the  quick  and  the 
dr.nl:  while  ill  so  far  as  the  Only-begotten  is 
equal  to  Him  that  begat.  He  never  withdraws 
from  the  Father;  but  with  Hirn  is  everywhere 
perfectly  equal  in  that  Godhead  which  knows 
of  no  local  limitations.  For  "  bein^  a->  lie 
was  in  the  form  of  God,"  as  the  apostle  says, 
"  He  tliought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with 
(.«ul."  For  how  could  that  nature  be  rob 
bery,  which  was  His,  not  by  usurpation,  but 
by  birth?  "But  He  emptied  Himself,  tak 
ing  upon  Him  the  form  of  a  servant;  "  '  and 
so,  not  losing  the  former,  but  assuming  the 
latter,  and  emptying  Himself  in  that  very  re 
spect  wherein  He  stood  forth  before  us  here 
in  a  humbler  state  than  that  wherein  He  still 
remained  with  the  Father.  For  there  was  the 
accession  of  a  servant-form,  with  no  recession 
of  the  divine:  in  the  assumption  of  the  one 
there  was  no  consumption  of  the  other.  In 
reference  to  the  one  He  says,  "  The  Father  is 
greater  than  I;"  but  because  of  the  other, 
"  I  and  my  Father  are  one."  3 

2.  Let  the  Arian  attend  to  this,  and  find 
healing  in  his  attention;  that  wrangling  may 
not  lead  to  vanity,  or,  what  is  worse,  to  insan 
ity.  For  it  is  the  servant-form  which  is  that 
wherein  the  Son  of  God  is  less,  not  only  than 
the  Father,  but  also  than  the  Holy  Spirit; 
and  more  than  that,  less  also  than  Himself, 
for  He  Himself,  in  the  form  of  God,  is  greater 
than  Himself.  For  the  man  Christ  does  not 
cease  to  be  called  the  Son  of  God,  a  name 
which  was  thought  worthy  of  being  applied 
even  to  His  flesh  alone  as  it  lay  in  the  tomb. 
And  what  else  than  this  do  we  confess,  when 
we  declare  that  we  believe  in  the  only-begot 
ten  Son  of  God,  who,  under  Pontius  Pilate, 
was  crucified,  and  buried  ?  And  what  of  Him 
was  buried,  save  the  flesh  without  the  spirit  ? 
And  so  in  believing  in  the  Son  of  God,  who 
was  buried,  we  surely  affix  the  name,  Son  of 
God,  even  to  His  flesh,  which  alone  was  laid 
in  the  grave.  Christ  Himself,  therefore,  the 
Son  of  God,  equal  with  the  Father  because  in 
the  form  of  God,  inasmuch  as  He  emptied 
Himself,  without  losing  the  form  of  God,  but 
assuming  that  of  a  servant,  is  greater  even 
than  Himself;  because  the  unlost  form  of  God 
is  greater  than  the  assumed  form  of  a  servant. 
And  what,  then,  is  there  to  wonder  at,  or 
what  is  there  out  of  place,  if,  in  reference  to 
this  servant-form,  the  Son  of  God  says,  "  The 
Father  is  greater  than  I;"  and  in  speaking 
of  the  form  of  God,  the  self-same  Son  of  God 
declares,  "  I  and  my  Father  are  one  "  ?  For 
one  they  are,  inasmuch  as  "  The  Word  was 
God;"  and  greater  is  the  Father,  inasmuch 


Phil.  ii.  6,  7. 


'  Chap.  x.  30. 


as  "  the  Word  was  made  flesh."  <  Let  me  add 
what  cannot  be  gainsaid  by  Arians  and  Kuno- 
mians:4  in  respect  of  this  servant-form,  Christ 
as  a  child  was  inferior  also  to  His  own  parents, 
when,  according  to  Scripture,  "  He  was  sub 
ject"*  as  an  infant  to  His  seniors.  Why, 
then,  heretic,  seeing  that  Christ  is  both  God 
and  man,  when  He  speaketh  as  man,  dost 
thou  calumniate  God  ?  He  in  His  own  person 
commends  our  human  nature;  dost  thou  dare 
in  Him  to  asperse  the  divine?  Unbelieving 
and  ungrateful  as  thou  art,  wilt  thou  degrade 
Him  who  made  thee,  just  for  the  very  reason 
that  He  is  declaring  what  He  became  because 
of  thee  ?  For  equal  as  He  is  with  the  Father, 
the  Son,  by  whom  man  was  made,  became 
man,  in  order  to  be  less  than  the  Father:  and 
had  He  not  done  so,  what  would  have  become 
of  man  ? 

3.  May  our  Lord  and  Master  bring  home 
clearly  to  our  minds  the  words,  "  If  ye  loved 
me,  ye  would  surely  rejoice,  because  I  go 
unto  the  Father;  for  the  Father  is  greater 
than  I."  Let  us,  along  with  the  disciples, 
listen  to  the  Teacher's  words,  and  not,  with 
strangers,  give  heed  to  the  wiles  of  the  de 
ceiver.  Let  us  acknowledge  the  twofold  sub 
stance  of  Christ;  to  wit,  the  divine,  in  which 
he  is  equal  with  the  Father,  and  the  human, 
in  respect  to  which  the  Father  is  greater. 
And  yet  at  the  same  time  both  are  not  two, 
for  Christ  is  one;  and  God  is  not  a  quater- 
nity,  but  a  Trinity.  For  as  the  rational  soul 
and  the  body  form  but  one  man,  so  Christ, 
while  both  God  and  man,  is  one;  and  thus 
Christ  is  God,  a  rational  soul,  and  a  body. 
In  all  of  these  we  confess  Him  to  be  Christ, 
we  confess  Him  in  each.  Who,  then,  is  He 
that  made  the  world  ?  Christ  Jesus,  but  in 
the  form  of  God.  Who  is  it  that  was  crucified 
under  Pontius  Pilate  ?  Christ  Jesus,  but  in 
the  form  of  a  servant.  And  so  of  the  several 
parts  whereof  He  consists  as  man.  Who  is 
He  who  was  not  left  in  hell  ?  Christ  Jesus, 
but  only  in  respect  of  His  soul.  Who  was  to 
rise  on  the  third  day,  after  being  laid  in  the 
tomb?  Christ  Jesus,  but  solely  in  reference 
to  His  flesh.  In  reference,  then,  to  each  of 
these,  He  is  likewise  called  Christ  And  yet 
all  of  them  are  not  two,  or  three,  but  one 
Christ.  On  this  account,  therefore,  did  He 
say,  "  If  ye  loved  me,  ye  would  surely  rejoice, 
because  I  go  unto  the  Father;"  for  human 
nature  is  worthy  of  congratulation,  in  being 
so  assumed  by  the  pnly-begotten  Word  as  to 


'  (  h.ip.  i.  i,  14. 

<  The  Eunontians  were  a  branch  of  thr  Arians,  only  slightly 
differing  in  some  of  their  •  g    th<-  essential  inferiority 

to  God,  and  the  creatnrebood  ••!  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Spirit.    At 

.1  -t-t  i,  they  belong  to  the  fourth  century,  and  derived  their  name 
from  Kunomius,  bishop  of  Cyzicus.— TK. 
5  I.uke  ii.  51. 


342 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TtACTATI   I. XXIX. 


be  constituted  immortal  in  heaven,  and, 
earthy  in  its  nature,  to  be  so  sublimated  and 
exalted,  that,  as  incorruptible  dust,  it  might 
take  its  seat  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father. 
In  such  a  sense  it  is  that  He  said  He  would 
go  to  the  Father.  For  in  very  truth  He  went 
unto  Him,  who  was  always  with  Him.  But 
His  going  unto  Him  and  departing  from  us 
were  neither  more  nor  less  than  His  trans 
forming  and  immortalizing  that  which  He  had 


taken  upon  Him  from  us  in  its  mortal  condi 
tion,  and  exalting  that  to  heaven,  by  means 
:  of  which  He  lived  on  earth  in  man's  behalf. 
And  who  would  not  draw  rejoicing  from  sucn 
a  source,  who  lias  such  love  to  Christ  that  he 
can  at  oqce  congratulate  his  own  nature  as 
already  immortal  in  Christ,  and  cherish  the 
hope  that  he  himself  will  yet  become  so 
through  Christ? 


TRACTATE    LXXIX. 

CHAPTER   XIV.    29-31. 


i.  OUR  Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ, 
had  said  unto  His  disciples,  "  If  ye  loved  me, 
ye  would  surely  rejoice,  because  I  go  unto 
the  Father;  for  the  Father  is  greater  than 
I."  And  that  He  so  spake  in  His  servant- 
form,  and  not  in  that  of  God,  wherein  He  is 
equal  with  the  Father,  is  well  known  to  faith 
as  it  resides  in  the  minds  of  the  pious,  not  as 


hast  believed,"  did  not  believe  only  what  he 
saw;  but  he  saw  one  thing,  and  believed  an 
other:  for  he  saw  Him  as  man,  and  believed 
Him  to  be  God.  He  perceived  and  touched 
the  living  flesh,  which  he  had  seen  in  the  act 
of  dying,  and  he  believed  in  the  Deity  in 
folded  in  that  flesh.  And  so  he  believed  with 
the  mind  what  he  did  not  see,  by  the  help  of 


it  is  feigned  by  the  scornful  nnd  senseless,  that  which  was  apparent  to  his  bodily  senses. 
And  then  He  added,  "And  now  I  have  told  But  though  we  may  be  said  to  believe  what  we 
you  before  it  come  to  pass,  that,  when  it  is  I  see,  just  as  every  one  says  that  he  believes 


pass,  ye  might  believe."  What  can 
He  mean  by  this,  when  the  fact  rather  is,  that 
a  man  ought,  before  it  comes  to  pass,  to  be 
lieve  that  which  demands  his  belief?  For  it 
forms  the  very  encomium  of  faith  when  that 
which  is  believed  is  not  seen.  For  what 
greatness  is  there  in  believing  what  is  seen, 
as  in  those  words  of  the  same  Lord,  when,  in 
reproving  a  disciple,  He  said,  "  Because  thou 


his  own  eyes,  yet  that  is  not  to  be  mistaken 
for  the  faith  which  is  built  up  by  God  in  our 
souls;  but  from  things  that  are  seen,  we  are 
brought  to  believe  in  those  which  are  invisi 
ble.  Wherefore,  beloved,  in  the  passage  be 
fore  us,  when  our  Lord  says, "And  now  I  have 
told  you  before  it  come  to  pass,  that,  when  it 
is  come  to  pass,  ye  might  believe;"  by  the 
words,  "when  it  is  come  to  pass,"  He  cer 
tainly  means,  that  they  would  yet  see  Him 


hast  seen,   thou   hast   believed;    blessed 

they  that  see  not,  and  yet  believe."  '  And  I i  after  His  death,  alive,  and  ascending  to  His 
hardly  know  whether  any  one  can  be  said  to  Father;  at  the  sight  of  which  they  should 
believe  what  he  sees;  for  this  same  faith  is  then  be  compelled  to  believe  that  He  was  in- 
thus  defined  in  the  epistle  addressed  to  the  deed  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  (iod, 
Hebrews:  "Now  faith  is  the  substance  of  seeing  He  could  do  such  a  thing,  even  after 
those  that  hope.2  the  assurance  3  of  things  not  i  predicting  it,  and  also  could  predict  it  before 
seen."  Accordingly,  if  faith  is  in  things  that ;  He  did  it:  and  this  they  should  then  believe, 


are  believed,  and  that,  too,  in  things  which 
are  not  seen,4  what  mean  these  words  of  the 
Lord,  "And  now  I  have  told  you  before  it 


not  with  a  new,  but  with  an  augmented  faith; 
or  at  least  [with  a  faith]  that  had  been  im 
paired5  by  His  death,  and  was  now  repaired' 


come  to  pass,  that,  when  it  is  come  to  pass,  by  His  resurrection.  For  it  was  not  that 
ye  might  believe  "  ?  Ought  He  not  rather  to  they  had  not  previously  also  believed  Him  to 
have  said,  And  now  I  have  told  you  before  it  be  the  Son  of  God,  but  when  His  own  predic- 
come  to  pass,  th?t  ye  may  believe  what,  when  tions  were  actually  fulfilled  in  Him,  that 
it  is  come  to  pass,  ye  shall  see  ?  For  even  he  faith,  which  was  still  weak  at  the  time  of  His 
who  was  told,  "  Because  thou  hast  seen,  thou  !  here  speaking  to  them,  and  at  the  time  of 

His  death  almost  ceased  to  exist,  sprang  up 
again  into  new  life  and  increased  vigor. 


xx.  29. 

-  'I  •  xt,  .(•/*'•''<"'•'''"'".  although  many  MSS.   have 
or  iferamfartun,  "  things  hoped  for." 

4  Heb.  xi. 


TKV  i  \n     l.\\\.| 


ON  Tin;  GOSPEL  01    ST,  JOHN. 


343 


2.  I'.ut  \vliat  sny>  I  It  next  ''  '*  Hw 
I  will  not.  talk  mucii  with  you;  for  the  prince 
of  this  world  cometh;"  and  who  is  that,  hut 
the  ilevil  ?  "And  hath  nothing  iu  nu:;  "  that 
is  to  say,  no  sin  at  all.  For  hv  such  wonls 
He  points  to  the  devil,  as  the  prince,  not  of 
His  creatures,  but  of  sinners,  wiiom  He  here 
designates  by  the  name  of  this  world.  And 
as  often  as  the  name  of  the  world  is  used  in 
a  bad  sense,  He  is  pointing  only  to  the  lovers 
of  such  a  world;  of  whom  it  is  elsewhere  re 
corded,  "  Whosoever  will  be  a  friend  of  this 
world,  becomes  the  enemy  of  God."  '  Far  be 
it  from  us,  then,  so  to  understand  the  devil 
as  prince  of  the  world,  MS  if  he  wielded  the 
government  of  the  whole  world,  that  is,  of 
heaven  and  earth,  and  all  that  is  in  them;  of 
which  sort  of  world  it  was  said,  when  we  were 
lecturing  on  Christ  the  Word,  "And  the  world 
was  made  by  Him."2  The  whole  world, 
therefore,  from  the  highest  heavens  to  the 
lowest  earth,  is  subject  to  the  Creator,  not 
to  the  deserter;  to  the  Redeemer,  not  to  the 
destroyer;  to  the  Deliverer,  not  to  the  en 
slaver;  to  the  Teacher,  not  to  the  deceiver. 
And  in  what  sense  the  devil  is  to  be  under 
stood  as  the  prince  of  the  world,  is  still  more 
clearly  unfolded  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  who, 
after  saying,  "We  wrestle  not  against  flesh 
and  blood,''  that  is,  against  men,  went  on  to 
say,  "but  against  principalities  and  powers, 
and  the  world-rulers  of  this  darkness."  3  For 
in  the  very  next  word  he  has  explained  what 
he  meant  by  "world,"  when  he  added,  '' of 
this  darkness;"  so  that  no  one,  by  the  name 
of  the  world,  should  understand  the  whole 
creation,  of  which  in  no  sense  are  fallen  angels 
the  rulers.  "  Of  this  darkness,"  he  says,  that 
is,  of  the  lovers  of  this  world:  of  whom, 


'  las.  iv.  4.  a  Chap.  i.  10. 

3  Eph.  vi.  12:  Aujfustin,  rectores  munJi  tenebrarum  harum; 
original,  TOUS  itoo>oiepaTopa?  TOU  O-KOTOUS  TOiirou. 


i,    not 

from  any  deserving  of  their  own,  but  by   the 

grace   of  God,  to  whom   he  says,  "Ye  were 

sometimes  darkness;  but   now  are  ye  light  in 

the    Lord."4     For  all   have  been   under  the 

rulers  of  this  darkness,  that  is,  [under  the 

rulers]  of  wicked  men,  or  darkness,  as  it  were, 

in  subjection  to  darkness:  but  "  thanks  be  to 

God,  who  hath  delivered  us,"  says  the  same 

apostle,  "  from  the  power  of  darkness,  and 

hath  translated   us  into  the   kingdom  of  the 

Son  of  His  love."5     And  in  Him  the  prince 

of  this  world,  that  is,  of  this  darkness,  had 

nothing;  for  neither  did  He  come  with  sin  as 

God,  nor  had   His  flesh  any  hereditary  taint 

of  sin  in  its  procreation  by  the  Virgin.      And, 

as   if  it  were  said  to   Him,  Why,  then,  dost 

Thou  die,  if  Thou   hast  no  sin  to   merit  the 

punishment  of  death  ?  He  immediately  added, 

"  But  that  the  world  may  know  that  I  love 

!  the  Father,  and  as  the  Father  gave  me  com- 

!  mandment,    even    so    I    do:  arise,  let   us   go 

,  hence."     For  He   was  sitting  at  table  with 

those  who  were  similarly  occupied.     But  "let 

us  go,"    He   said,   and   whither,   but    to  the 

place   where   He,  who  had   nothing   in   Him 

deserving  of  death,  was  to  be  delivered  up  to 

j  death  ?     But  He  had  the  Father's  command- 

i  ment  to  die,  as  the  very  One  of  whom  it  had 

j  been  foretold,  "  Then  I  paid  for  that  which  I 

took  not  away;"6  and   so  appointed  to  pny 

death  to  the  full,  while  owing  it  nothing,  and 

1  to  redeem  us  from  the  death  that  was  our  due. 

i  For  Adam  had  seized  on  sin  as  a  prey,  when, 

deceived,  he  presumptuously  stretched  forth 

|  his  hand  to  the  tree,  and  attempted  to  invade 

the  incommunicable   name  of  that  Godhead 

which  was  disallowed  him,  and  with  which  the 

Son  of  God  was  endowed   by  nature,  and   not 

by  robbery. 


4  Eph. 


5  Col.  j.  12,  13. 


'Pt.bux.4. 


TRACTATE    LXXX. 

CHAPTER  XV.    1-3. 


i.  THIS  passage  of  the  Gospel,  brethren, 
where  the  Lord  calls  Himself  the  vine,  and 
His  disciples  the  branches,  declares  in  so 
many  words  that  the  Mediator  between  God 
and  men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus,1  is  the  head 
of  the  Church,  and  that  we  are  His  members. 


For  as  the  vine  and  its  branches  are  of  one 
nature,  therefore,  His  own  nature  as  God  be 
ing  different  from  ours,  He  became  man,  that 
in  Him  human  nature  might  be  the  vine,  and 
we  who  also  are  men  might  become  brandies 
thereof.  What  mean,  then,  the  won' 
am  the  true  vine  "  ?  Was  it  to  the  literal  vine, 
from  which  that  metaphor  was  drawn,  that 


344 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUST1N. 


ITKA.TATK  I. XXX. 


He  intended  to  point  them  by  the  addition  of 
"  true  "  ?  For  it  is  by  similitude,  and  not  by 
any  personal  propriety,  that  He  is  thus  called 
a  vine;  just  as  He  is  also  termed  a  sheep,  a 
lamb,  a  lion,  a  rock,  a  corner-stone,  and  other 
names  of  a  like  kind,  which  are  themselves 
rather  the  true  ones,  from  which  these  are 
drawn  as  similitudes,  not  as  realities.  But 
when  He  says,  "  I  am  the  true  vine,"  it  is  to 
distinguish  Himself,  doubtless,  from  that 
[vine]  to  which  the  words  are  addressed: 

How  art  thou  turned  into  sourness,'  as  a 
strange  vine  ? '' 2  For  how  could  that  be  a 
true  vine  which  was  expected  to  bring  forth 
grapes  and  brought  forth  thorns  ?3 

2.  "  I  am,"  He  says,  "  the  true  vine,  and 
my  Father  is  the  husbandman.  Every  branch 
in  me  that  beareth  not  fruit,  He  taketh  away; 
and  every  one  that  beareth  fruit,  He  purgeth 
it,  that  it  may  bring  forth  more  fruit."  Are, 
then,  the  husbandman  and  the  vine  one  ? 
Christ  is  the  vine  in  the  same  sense  as  when 
He  said,  "The  Father  is  greater  than  I;"4 
but  in  that  sense  wherein  He  said,  "  I  imd  my 
Father  are  one,"  He  is  also  the  husbandman. 
And  yet  not  such  a  one  as  those,  whose  whole 
service  is  confined  to  external  labor;  but  such, 
that  He  also  supplies  the  increase  from  within. 
*'  For  neither  is  he  that  planteth  anything, 
neither  he  that  watereth;  but  God  that  giveth 
the  increase."  But  Christ  is  certainly  God, 
for  the  Word  was  God;  and  so  He  and  the 
Father  are  one:  and  if  the  Word  was  made 
flesh, — that  which  He  was  not  before, — He 
nevertheless  still  remains  what  He  was.  And 
still  more,  after  saying  of  the  Father,  as  of 
the  husbandman,  that  He  taketh  away  the 
fruitless  branches,  and  pruneth  the  fruitful, 
that  they  may  bring  forth  more  fruit,  He 
straightway  points  to  Himself  as  also  the 
purger  of  the  branches,  when  He  says,  "  Now 
ye  are  clean  through  the  word  which  I  have 
spoken  unto  you."  Here,  you  see,  He  is 
also  the  pruner  of  the  branches — a  work  which 
belongs  to  the  husbandman,  and  not  to  the 
vine;  and  more  than  that,  He  maketh  the 
branches  His  workmen.  For  although  they 
give  not  the  increase,  they  afford  some  help; 
but  not  of  themselves:  *'  For  without  me," 
He  says,  "  ye  can  do  nothing.'"  And  listen, 
also,  to  their  own  confession:  "What,  then, 
is  Apollos  ?  and  what  is  Paul  ?  but  ministers 
by  whom  ye  believed,  even  as  the  Lord  gave 


1  Hebrew  *H2>  pass.  part,  of  "H^i  to  depart  [from  Cod],  and 


to  every  man.  I  have  planted,  Apollos 
watered."  And  this,  too,  "as  the  Lord  gave 
to  every  man;"  and  so  not  of  themselves. 
In  that,  however,  which  follows,  "but  God 
gave  the  increase,"5  He  works  not  by  them, 
but  by  Himself;  for  work  like  that  exceeds 
the  lowly  capacity  of  man,  transcends  the 
lofty  powers  of  angels,  and  rests  solely  and 
entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  Triune  Husband 
man.  "Now  ye  are  clean,"  that  is,  clean, 
and  yet  still  further  to  be  cleansed.  For, 
had  they  not  been  clean,  they  could  not  have 
borne  fruit;  and  yet  every  one  that  beareth 
fruit  is  purged  by  the  husbandman,  that  he 
may  bring  forth  more  fruit.  He  bears  fruit 
because  he  is  clean;  and  to  bear  more,  he  is 
cleansed  still  further.  For  who  in  this  life 
is  so  clean  as  not  to  be  in  need  of  still  further 
and  further  cleansing  ?  seeing  that,  "  if  we  say 
that  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves, 
and  the  truth  is  not  in  us;  but  if  we  confess 
our  sins,  He  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us 
our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unright 
eousness;  "  to  cleanse  in  very  deed  the  clean, 
that  is,  the  fruitful,  that  they  may  be  so  much 
the  more  fruitful,  as  they  have  been  made  the 
cleaner. 

3.  "  Now  ye  are  clean  through  the  word 
which  I  have  spoken  unto  you."  Why  does 
He  not  say,  Ye  are  clean  through  the  baptism 
wherewith  ye  have  been  washed,  but  "  through 
the  word  which  I  have  spoken  unto  you," 
save  only  that  in  the  water  also  it  is  the  word 
thatcleanseth  ?  Take  away  the  word,  and  the 
water  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  water. 
The  word  is  added  to  the  element,  and  there 
results  the  Sacrament,  as  if  itself  also  a  kind 
of  visible  word.  For  He  had  said  also  to  the 
same  effect,  when  washing  the  disciples'  feet, 
"  He  that  is  washed  needeth  not,  save  to  wash 
his  feet,  but  is  clean  every  whit."6  And 
whence  has  water  so  great  an  efficacy,  as  in 
touching  the  body  to  cleanse  the  soul,  save  by 
the  operation  of  the  word ;  and  that  not  be 
cause  it  is  uttered,  but  because  it  is  believed  ? 
For  even  in  the  word  itself  the  passing  sound 
is  one  thing,  the  abiding  efficacy  another. 
"  This  is  the  word  of  faith  which  we  preach," 
says  the  apostle,  "that  if  thou  shrill  confess 
with  thy  mouth  that  Jesus  is  the  Lord,  and 
shall  believe  in  thine  heart  that  God  hath 
raised  Him  from  the  dead,  thou  shall  be 
saved.  For  with  the  heart  man  believelh 
unto  righteousness,  and  with  the  mouth  con 
fession  is  made  unto  salvation."7  Accord- 
|  ingly,  we  read  in  ihe  Acls  of  the  Apostles, 
"  Purifying  their  hearts  by  faith;  "  8  and,  says 
the  blessed  Peter  in  his  epistle,  "  Even  as 


5  i  Cor.  iii.  5-7. 
7  Rom.  x.  10. 


6  Chap.  xiii.  10. 


XX  I.I 


ON  TIIK  GOSPEL  <>K  ST,  Jo! IN. 


baptism  doth  also  now  save  us,  not  the  put 
ting  a\vay  of  the  tilth  of  the  flesh,  but  the 
answer1  of  a  good  conscience.'*  "This  is 
the  word  of  faith  which  we  preach,"  whereby 
baptism,  doubtless,  is  also  consecrated,  in 
order  to  its  possession  of  the  power  to  cleanse. 
For  Christ,  who  is  the  vine  with  us,  and  the 
husbandman  with  the  Father,  "loved  the 
Church,  and  gave  Himself  for  it."  And  then 
read  the  apostle,  and  see  what  he  atlds: 
"  That  He  might  sanctify  it,  cleansing  it 
with  the  washing  of  water  by  the  word."" 


Literally,  "  questioning,"  i*ttrroga,tio,  i  Pet.  iii.  ai. 
tph.  v.  25,  26. 


The  cleansing,  therefore,  would  on  no  a< 
be  attributed  to  the  fleeting  and  perishable 
element,  were  it  not  for  that  which  is  added, 
"  by  the  word."  This  word  of  faith  pos 
such  virtue  in  the  Church  of  God,  that  through 
the  medium  of  him  who  in  faith  presents,  and 
blesses,  and  sprinkles  it,  He  cleanseth  even 
the  tiny  infant,  although  itself  unable  as  yet 
with  the  heart  to  believe  unto  righteousness, 
and  to  make  confession  with  the  mouth  unto 
salvation.  All  this  is  done  by  means  of  the 
word,  whereof  the  Lord  saith,  "  Now  ye  are 
clean  through  the  word  which  I  have  spoken 
unto  you." 


TRACTATE    LXXXI. 

CHAPTER  XV.  4-7. 


i.  JESUS  called  Himself  the  vine,  and  His  I  the  performance  of  good  works.  Fight  they 
disciples  the  branches,  and  His  Father  the  not  against  such  a  truth,  those  men  of  corrupt 
husbandman;  whereon  we  have  already  dis-  mind,  reprobate  concerning  the  faith,2  whose 
coursed  as  we  were  able.  But  in  the  present  reply  is  only  full  of  impious  talk,  when  they 
passage,  while  still  speaking  of  Himself  as  say:  It  is  of  God  that  we  have  our  existence 
the  vine,  and  of  His  branches,  or,  in  other  as  men,  but  it  is  of  ourselves  that  we  are 
words,  of  the  disciples,  He  said,  "Abide  in  righteous?  What  is  it  you  say,  you  who  de- 
me,  and  I  in  you."  They  are  not  in  Him  in  ceive  yourselves,  and,  instead  of  establishing 
the  same  kind  of  way  that  He  is  in  them.  ]  freewill,  cast  it  headlong  down  from  the 
And  yet  both  ways  tend  to  their  advantage,  heights  of  its  self-elevation  through  the  empty 
and  not  to  His.  For  the  relation  of  the  regions  of  presumption  into  the  depths  of  an 
branches  to  the  vine  is  such  that  they  contrib-  ocean  grave  ?  Why,  your  assertion  that  man 
ute  nothing  to  the  vine,  but  from  it  derive  of  himself  worketh  righteousness,  that  is  the 

height  of  your  self-elation.  But  the  Truth 
contradicts  you,  and  declares,  "The  branch 
cannot  bear  fruit  of  itself,  except  it  abide  in 


their  own  means  of  life;  while  that  of  the 
vine  to  the  branches  is  such  that  it  supplies 
their  vital  nourishment,  and  receives  nothing 
from  them.  And  so  their  having  Christ  abid- 


the  vine.'"     Away  with  you    no\v   over   your 


ing  in  them,  and  abiding  themselves  in  Christ,  i  giddy  precipices,  and,  without  a  spot  whereon 
are  in  both  respects  advantageous,  not  to  i  to  take  your  stand,  vapor  away  at  your  windy 
Christ,  but  to  the  disciples.  For  when  the  talk.  These  are  the  empty  regions  of  your 
branch  is  cut  off,  another  may  spring  up  from  presumption.  But  look  well  at  what  is  track- 
the  living  root;  but  that  which  is  cut  off  can- 1  ing  your  steps,  and,  if  you  have  any  sense 

remaining,  let  your  hair  stand  on  end.     For 


not  live  apart  from  the  root. 

2.   And  then  He  proceeds  to  say:   "As  the 

branch   cannot   bear  fruit  of  itself,  except  it '  himself  is  not  in  the  vine,  and  he  that  is  not 
abide  in  the  vine;  no  more  can  ye,  except  ye  |  in  the  vine  is  not  in  Christ,  and    he   that   is 


whoever  imagines  that   he  is  bearing  fruit  of 


abide  in  me."     A  great  encomium  on  grace, 


not  in  Christ   is  not  a  Christian.     Such  are 


my  brethren, — one  that  will  instruct  the  souls  the  ocean  depths  into  which  you  have  plunged, 
of  the  humble,  and  stop  the  mouths  of  the  i      3.   Ponder  ; r'gain  and  again  what  the  Truth 

proud.      Let    those    now  answer   it,  if    they  has  still  further  to  say:  "  I  am  the  vine,"  He 

<lare,  who,  ignorant  of  God's   righteousness,  adds,  "  ye  are  the  branches:  he   that  abideth 

and  going  about   to  establish  their  own,  have  in  me,  .-.nd  1  in  him,  the  same  bringeth   forth 

not  submitted  themselves  unto  the  righteous-  much  fruit;  tor  without  me  ye  can  do  noth- 

nessofGod.1     Let  the  self-complacent  answer  ing."     For  just  to  keep  any  from  supposing 

it,  who  think   they  have  no    need   of  God    for  that  the  branch  can   bear  at  least  some   little 

>  Rom.  x.  3.  =  2  Tim.  iii.  8. 


346 


Till;  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  l.XXXII. 


fruit  of  itself,  after  saying,  "the  same  bring- 
eth  forth  much  fruit,"  His  next  words  are 
not,  Without  me  ye  can  do  but  little,  hut  "  ye 
can  do  nothing."  Whether  then  it  be  little 
or  much,  without  Him  it  is  impracticable;  for 
without  Him  nothing  can  be  done.  For  al 
though,  when  the  branch  beareth  little  fruit, 
the  husbandman  purgeth  it  that  it  may  bring 
forth  more;  yet  if  it  abide  not  in  the  vine, 
and  draw  its  life  from  the  root,  it  can  bear  no 
fruit  whatever  of  itself.  And  although  Christ 


in  Christ,  and  other  things  we  desire  because 
still  in  this  world.  For  at  times,  in  connec 
tion  with  this  our  present  abode,  we  are  in 
wardly  prompted  to  ask  what  we  know  not  it 
would  be  inexpedient  for  us  to  receive.  But 
God  forbid  that  such  should  be  given  us  if 
we  abide  in  Christ,  who,  when  we  ask,  only 
does  what  will  be  for  our  advantage.  Abid 
ing,  therefore,  ourselves  in  Him,  when  His 
words  abide  in  us  we  shall  ask  what  we  will, 
and  it  shall  be  done  unto  us.  For  if  we  ask, 


would  not  have  been  the  vine  had  He  not  |  and  the  doing  follows  not,  what  we  ask  is  not 
been  man,  yet  He  could  not  have  supplied  !  connected  with  our  abiding  in  Him,  nor  with 
such  grace  to  the  branches  had  He  not  also  [  His  words  which  abide  in  us,  but  with  that 
been  God.  And  just  because  such  grace  is  i  craving  and  infirmity  of  the  flesh  which  are 


so  essential  to  life,  that  even  death  itself 
ceases  to  be  at  the  disposal  of  free-will,  He 
adds,  "  If  any  one  abide  not  in  me,  he  shall 
be  cast  forth  as  a  branch,  and  wither;  and 
they  shall  gather  him,  and  cast  him  into  the 
fire,  and  he  is  burned."  The  wood  of  the 


not  in  Him,  and  have  not  His  words  abiding 
in  them.  For  to  His  words,  at  all  events, 
belongs  that  prayer  which  He  taught,  and  in 
which  we  say,  "  Our  Father,  who  art  in  heav 
en."2  Let  us  only  not  fall  away  from  the 
words  and  meaning  of  this  prayer  in  our  peti- 


vine,  therefore,  is  in  the  same  proportion  the  tions,  and  whatever  we  ask.  it  shall  be  done 
more  contemptible  if  it  abide  not  in  the  vine,  unto  us.  For  then  only' may  His  words  be  said 
as  it  is  glorious  while  so  abiding;  in  fine,  as  to  abide  in  us,  when  we  do  what  He  has  com- 
the  Lord  likewise  says  of  them  in  the  prophet  i  manded  us,  and  love  what  He  has  promised. 
Ezekiel,  when  cut  off,  they  are  of  no  use  for  i  But  when  His  words  abide  only  in  the  mem 


ory,  and  have  no  place  in  the  life,  the  branch 
is  not  to  be  accounted  as  in  the  vine,  because  it 
draws  not  its  life  from  the  root.  It  is  to  this 
distinction  that  the  word  of  Scripture  has  re 
spect,  "  and  to  those  that  remember  His  com 
mandments  to  do  them.''  3  For  many  retain 
them  in  their  memory  only  to  treat  them  with 
contempt,  or  even  to  mock  at  and  assail  them. 
It  is  not  in  such  as  have  only  some  kind  of 
contact,  but  no  connection,  that  the  words  of 
Christ  abide;  and  to  them,  therefore,  they 
will  not  be  a  blessing,  but  a  testimony  against 

So  abiding  in  the  Saviour,  can  they  wish  any- 1  them;  and  because  they  are  present  in  them 
thing   that    is    inconsistent   with    salvation  ?  j  without  abiding  in  them,  they  are  held  fast  by 


any  purpose  of  the  husbandman,  and  can  be 
applied  to  no  labor  of  the  mechanic.1  The 
branch  is  suitable  only  for  one  of  two  things, 
either  the  vine  or  the  fire:  if  it  is  not  in  the 
vine,  its  place  will  be  in  the  fire;  and  that  it 
may  escape  the  latter,  may  it  have  its  place 
in  the  vine. 

4.  "If  ye  abide  in  me,"  He  says,  "and 
my  words  abide  in  you,  ye  shall  ask  what  ye 
will,  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  you."  For 
abiding  thus  in  Christ,  is  there  aught  they 
can  wish  but  what  will  be  agreeable  to  Christ  ? 


Some  things,  indeed,  we  wish  because  we  are 


Ezek.  xv.  5. 


them  for  the  very  purpose  of  being  judged 
according  to  them  at  last. 


3  PS.  Ci 


TRACTATE    LXXXII. 

CHAPTER  XV.  8-10. 


i.  THE  Saviour,  in  thus  speaking  to  the 
disciples,  commends  still  more  and  more  the 
grace  whereby  we  are  saved,  when  He  says, 
"  Herein  is  my  Father  glorified,1  that  ye  bear 
very  much  fruit,  and  be  made  my  disciples." 
Whether  we  say  glorified,  or  made  bright,  both 

1  Cliirificatus,  literally,  "clarified,"  or  made  bright,  clear,  to 
men's  eyes.  See  immediately  afterwards  in  text. 


are  the  rendering  given  us  of  one  Greek  verb. 
namely  doxazcin  (»<>;>L"t>.y).  For  what  is 
doxa  (<W£«)  in  Greek,  is  in  Latin  glory.  I 
have  thought  it  worth  while  to  mention  this, 
because  the  apostle  says,  "  If  Abraham  was 
justified  by  works,  lie  hath  glory,  but  not  be 
fore  God."  *  For  this  is  the  glory  before  C/W, 


n    i. \\.\n.] 


ON  TIII-:  GOSPEL  OK  ST.  JOHN. 


347 


:-y  God.  ;iiul  not  man,  is  jjorilied,  when  ye  abide  in  my  love  if  ye  keep  not  my 

lie  is  justified,  not  by  works,  but  by   faith,  so  mandments;  for  it  is  only  if  ye  have  kept  them 

that  even  his  doing  well    is   imparted   to   him  that  ye   shall   abide.      In  other  words,  it  will 

by  God;  just  as  the  branch,  as  I  have  stated  thus  be  made  apparent  that  ye  shall   abide  in 

above,'   cannot   bear    fruit    ot    it. self.      For    if  my  love   if  ye  keep  my  commandments, 

herein  God   the    Father    is   glorified,  that   we  that  no  one   need   deceive   himself  by   saying 

bear  much  fruit,  and  be  made  the  disciples  of  that  he  loveth   Him,  if  he   keepeth   not   His 

Christ,  let  us  not  credit  our  own  glory  there-  commandments.      For  we  love   Him  just  in 


with,  as  if  we  had  it  of  ourselves.  For  of 
Him  is  such  a  grace,  and  accordingly  therein 
the  glory  is  not  ours,  but  His.  Hence  also, 
in  another  passage,  after  saying,  "  Let  your 
light  so  shine  before  men  that  they  may  see 
your  good  works;  "  to  keep  them  from  the 
thought  that  such  good  works  were  of  them 


selves.    He    immediately  added,   *4  and 
glorify  your  Father  who  is  in  heaven."  * 


may 
For 


herein  is  the  Father  glorified,  that  we  bear 
much  fruit,  and  be  made  the  disciples  of 
Christ.  And  by  whom  are  we  so  made,  but 
by  Him  whose  mercy  hath  forestalled  us? 
For  we  are  His  workmanship,  created  in 
Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works.3 

2.  "As  the  Father  hath  loved  me,"  He 
says,  "  so  have  I  loved  you:  continue  ye  in  my 
love."  Here,  then,  you  see,  is  the  source  of 
our  good  works.  For  whence  should  we  have 
them,  were  it  not  that  faith  worketh  by  love  ?4 
And  how  should  we  love,  were  it  not  that  we 
were  first  loved  ?  With  striking  clearness  is 
this  declared  by  the  same  evangelist  in  his 
epistle:  "  We  love  God  because  He  first  loved 
us."3  But  when  He  says,  "As  the  Father 
hath  loved  me,  so  have  I  loved  you,"  He  in 
dicates  no  such  equality  between  our  nature 


the  same  measure  as  we  keep  His  command- 
ments;  and  the  less  we  keep  them,  the  less 
we  love.  And  although,  when  He  saith, 
"  Continue  ye  in  my  love,"  it  is  not  apparent 
what  love  He  spake  of;  whether  the  love  we 
bear  to  Him,  or  that  which  He  bears  to  us: 
yet  it  is  seen  at  once  in  the  previous  clause. 
For  He  had  there  said,  "So  have  I  loved 
you;"  and  to  these  words  He  immediately 
adds,  "Continue  ye  in  my  love:"  accord 
ingly,  it  is  that  love  which  He  bears  to  us. 
What,  then,  do  the  words  mean,  "  Continue  ye 
love,"  but  just,  continue  ye  in  my 
And  what  do  these  mean,  "  If  ye 
keep  my  commandments,  ye  shall  abide  in  my 
love,"  but,  hereby  shall  ye  know  that  ye  shall 
abide  in  the  love  which  I  bear  to  you,  if  ye 
keep  my  commandments  ?  It  is  not,  then, 
for  the  purpose  of  awakening  His  love  to  us 
that  we  first  keep  His  commandments;  but 
this,  that  unless  He  loves  us,  we  cannot  keep 
His  commandments.  This  is  a  grace  which 
lies  all  disclosed  to  the  humble,  but  is  hid 
from  the  proud. 

4.  But  what  are  we  to  make  of  that  which 
follows:  "  Even  as  I  have  kept  my  Father's 
commandments,  and  abide  in  His  love "  ? 


in    my 
grace  ? 


and  His  as  there  is  between  Himself  and  the  I  Here  also  He  certainly  intended  us  to  under- 
Father,  but  the  grace  whereby  the  Mediator 
between   God    and    men    is   the    man   Christ 


Jesus.6  For  He  is  pointed  out  as  Mediator 
when  He  says,  *'  The  Father — me,  and  I — 
you."  For  the  Father,  indeed,  also  loveth 
us,  but  in  Him;  for  herein  is  the  Father  glori 
fied,  that  we  bear  fruit  in  the  vine,  that  is,  in 
the  Son,  and  so  be  made  His  disciples. 

3.  "  Continue  ye,"  He  says,  *'  in  my  love.'' 
How  shall  we  continue  ?  Listen  to  what  fol 
lows:  "  If  ye  keep  my  commandments,  ye 
shall  abide  in  my  love."  Love  brings  about 
the  keeping  of  His  commandments;  but  does 
the  keeping  of  His  commandments  bring 
about  love  ?  Who  can  doubt  that  it  is  love 


stand  that  fatherly  love  wherewith  He  was 
loved  of  the  Father.  For  this  was  what  He 
has  just  said,  "As  the  Father  hath  loved  me, 
so  have  I  loved  you;"  and  then  to  these  He 
added  the  words,  "  Continue  ye  in  my  love;  " 
in  that,  doubtless,  wherewith  I  have  loved 
you.  Accordingly,  when  He  says  also  of  the 
Father,  "  I  abide  in  His  love,"  we  are  to  un 
derstand  it  of  that  love  which  was  borne  Him 
by  the  Father.  But  then,  in  this  case  also,  is 
that  love  which  the  Father  bears  to  the  Son 
referable  to  the  same  grace  as  that  wherewith 
we  are  loved  of  the  Son:  seeing  that  we  on 


our    part   are    sons,   not 


nature,  but 


grace;  while  the  Only-begotten  is  so  by  nature 


which  precedes  ?     For  he  has  no  true  ground  1  and  not  by  grace  ?     Or  is  this  even  in  the  Son 


for  keeping  the  commandments  who  is  desti 
tute  of   love.     And   so,    in    saying,    "  If   ye 
keep  my  commandments,  ye  shall  abide  in  my 


Himself  to  be  referred  to  His  condition  as 
man  ?  Certainly  so.  For  in  saying,  "As  the 
Father  hath  loved  me,  so  have  I  loved  you," 


love,"  He  shows  not  the  source  from  which  |  He   pointed  to  the   grace    that    was    His   as 
love  springs,   but  the   means    whereby   it  is    Mediator.     For  Christ  Jesus  is  the  Mediator 


manifested.     As  if  He  said,  Think  not  that 


I  XXXI. 


v.  16. 
5  i  John  iv.  ig 


i  F.nh. 


between  God  and  men,  not  in  respect  to  His 
Godhead,  but   in   respect  to  His  manhood.  7 

7  No*  in  quantum  Dent,  ltd  in  quantum  komo  ett. 


TIIK  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


ii.    1. XXXI 1 1. 


And  certainly  it  is  in  reference  to  this  His 
human  nature  that  we  read,  "And  Jesus  in- 
creased  in  wisdom  and  age,  and  in  favor 
[grace]  with  God  and  men."  '  In  harmony, 
therefore,  with  this,  we  may  rightly  say  that 
while  human  nature  belongs  not  to  the  nature 
of  God,  yet  such  human  nature  does  by  grace 
belong  to  the  person  of  the  only-begotten  Son 
of  God;  and  that  by  grace  so  great,  that  there 
is  none  greater,  yea,  none  that  even  approaches 
equality.  For  there  were  no  merits  that  pre- 


Luke  ii.  52. 


ceded  that  assumption  of  humanity,  but  all 
His  merits  began  with  that  very  assumption. 
The  Son,  therefore,  abideth  in  the  love  where 
with  the  Father  hath  loved  Him,  and  so  hath 
kept  His  commandments.  For  what  are  we 
to  think  of  Him  even  as  man,  but  that  God  is 
His  lifter  up?2  for  the  Word  was  God,  the 
Only-begotten,  co-eternal  with  Him  that  be 
gat;  but  that  He  might  be  given  to  us  as 
Mediator,  by  grace  ineffable,  the  Word  was 
made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us. 3 


•  Ps.  iii.  3. 


3  Chap.  i.  i,  14. 


TRACTATE   LXXXIII. 

CHAPTER  XV.   ii,  12. 


i.  You  have  just  heard,  beloved,  the  Lord 
saying  to  His  disciples,  "  These  things  have 
I  spoken  unto  you,  that  my  joy  might  be  in 
you,  and  that  your  joy  might  be  full."  And 
what  else  is  Christ's  joy  in  us,  save  that  He 


was  neither  less  without  us,  nor  became  greater 
because  of  us.  His  joy,  therefore,  over  our 
salvation,  which  was  always  in  Him,  when  He 
foreknew  and  foreordained  us,  began  to  be  ///' 
us  when  He  called  us;  and  this  joy  we  properly 


is  pleased  to  rejoice  over  us  ?  And  what  is  call  our  own,  as  by  it  we,  too,  shall  yet  be 
this  joy  of  ours  which  He  says  is  to  be  made  blessed:  but  this  joy,  as  it  is  ours,  increases 
full,  but  our  having  fellowship  with  Him  ?  On  and  advances,  and  presses .  onward  persever- 


this  account  He  had  said  to  the  blessed  Peter, 
"  If  I  wash  thee  not.  thou  shalt  have  no  part 
with  me/'  *  His  joy,  therefore,  in  us  is  the 
grace  He  hath  bestowed  upon  us:  and  that  is 
also  our  joy.  But  over  it  He  rejoiced  even 
from  eternity,  when  He  chose  us  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world.2  Nor  can  we  rightly 
say  that  His  joy  was  not  full;  for  God's  joy 
was  never  at  any  time  imperfect.  But  that 
joy  of  His  was  not  in  us:  for  we,  in  whom  it 


ingly  to  its  own  completion.  Accordingly,  it 
has  its  beginning  in  the  faith  of  the  regener 
ate,  and  its  completion  in  the  reward  when 
they  rise  again.  Such  is  my  opinion  of  the 
purport  of  the  words,  "These  things  have 
I  spoken  unto  you,  that  my  joy  might  be  in 
you,  and  that  your  joy  might  be  made  full: " 
that  mine  "might  be  in  you;1'  that  yours 
"  might  be  made  full."  For  mine  was  always 
full,  even  before  ye  were  called,  when  ye 


could  be,  had  as  yet  no  existence;  and  even  were  foreknown  as  those  whom  I  was  after- 
when  our  existence  commenced,  it  began  not  I  wards  to  call;  but  it  finds  its  place  in  you  also, 
to  be  in  Him.  But  in  Him  it  always  was,  when  ye  are  transformed  into  that  which  I 
who  in  the  infallible  truth  of  His  own  fore- j  have  foreknown  regarding  you.  And  "that 


knowledge   rejoiced 


we  should  yet  be 


His  own.  Accordingly,  He  had  a  joy  over 
us  that  was  already  full,  when  He  rejoiced  in 
foreknowing  and  foreordaining  us:  and  as 
little  could  there  be  any  fear  intermingling  in 
that  joy  of  His,  lest  there  should  be  any  pos 
sible  failure  in  what  He  foreknew  would  be 


yours  may  be  full:  "  for  ye  shall  be  blessed, 
what  ye  are  not  as  yet;  just  as  ye  are  now 
created,  who  had  no  existence  before. 

2.  "This,"  He  says,  "is  my  injunction, 
that  ye  love  one  another,  as  I  have  loved 
you/'  Whether  we  call  it  injunction  or  com 
mandment,3  both  are  the  rendering  of  the 


done  by  Himself.  Nor,  when  He  began  to  j  same  Greek  word,  cntolc  (i>-»/.r;).  But  He 
do  what  He  foreknew  that  He  would  do,  was  had  already  made  this  same  announcement  on 
there  any  increase  to  His  joy  as  the  expres- 1  a  former  occasion,  when,  as  ye  ought  to  re- 
sion  of  His  blessedness;  otherwise  His  mak-  member,  I  repounded  it  to  you  to  the  best  of 
ing  of  us  must  have  added  to  His  blessed-  my  ability.4  For  this  is  what  He  says  there, 
ness.  Be  such  a  supposition,  brethren,  far!  "A  new  commandment  I  give  unto  you,  that 
from  our  thoughts;  for  the  blessedness  of  God  ye  love  one  another;  as  I  have  loved  you, 


1  Chap.  xiii.  8. 

»Eph.i.4. 

1  Prtrcfpl 

inn,  she  tnanilatiivt. 

4  See  Tract.  LXV 

i     1  \\\IV.| 


oN   THE  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


349 


that  ye  also  love  one  another."1  And  so  the  j  loveth  who  doth  not  believe.  One  may,  in- 
repetitton  of  this  commandment  is  its  com-  j  deed,  hope  for  pardon  who  dors  not  love,  luit 
inendation:  only  that  there  He  said,  "A  new  he  hopes  in  vain;  but  no  one  can  despair  who 
commandment  I  give  unto  you;"  and  here,  loves.  Therefore,  where  there  is  love,  there 
"This  is  my  commandment:"  ///<•/•/•,  as  if  of  necessity  will  there  be  faith  and  hope; 
there  had  been  no  such  commandment  before;  and  where  there  is  the  love  of  our  neighbor, 
and  /i<-><\  as  if  He  had  no  other  commandment  there  also  of  necessity  will  be  the  love  of  God. 


to  give  Mem.  Hut  there  it  is  spoken  of  as 
"  new,"  to  keep  us  from  persevering  in  our 
old  courses;  here,  it  is  called  "  mine,"  to  keep 
us  from  treating  it  with  contempt. 

3,  I'.ut  when  He  said  in  this  way  here, 
"  This  is  my  commandment,"  as  if  there  were 
none  else,  what  are  we  to  think,  my  brethren  ? 
Is,  then,  the  commandment  about  that  love, 
wherewith  we  love  one  another,  His  only  one  ? 
Is  there  not  also  another  that  is  still  greater, 
— that  we  should  love  God  ?  Or  has  God  in 
very  truth  given  us  such  a  charge  about  love 
alone,  that  we  have  no  need  of  searching  for 
others?  There  are  three  things  at  least  that 
the  apostle  commends  when  he  says,  "  But 
now  abide  faith,  hope,  charity,  these  three;  but 
the  greatest  of  these  is  charity.""  And  al 
though  in  charity,  that  is,  in  love,  are  com 
prehended  the  two  commandments;  yet  it  is 
here  declared  to  be  the  greatest  only,  and 
not  the  sole  one.  Accordingly,  what  a  host  of 
commandments  are  given  us  about  faith,  what 
a  multitude  about  hope  !  who  is  there  that 
could  collect  them  together,  or  suffice  to 
number  them  ?  But  let  us  ponder  the  words 
of  the  same  apostle:  "  Love  is  the  fullness  of  [ 
the  law."  3  And  so,  where  there  is  love,  what 
can  be  wanting?  and  where  it  is  not,  what  is 
there  that  can  possibly  be  profitable  ?  The 
devil  believes,4  but  does  not  love:  no  one 


•  Chap.  xiii.  34. 
3  Horn.  xui.  10. 


*  i  Cor.  xiii.  13. 
4  Jas.  u.  19. 


For  he  that  loveth  not  God,  how  loveth  he  his 
neighbour  as  himself,  seeing  that  he  loveth 
not  even  himself?  Such  an  one  is  both  im 
pious  and  iniquitous;  and  he  that  loveth  in 
iquity,  manifestly  loveth  not,  but  hateth  his 
own  soul.5  Let  us,  therefore,  be  holding  fast 
to  this  precept  of  the  Lord,  to  love  one  an 
other;  and  then  all  else  that  is  commanded 
we  shall  do,  for  all  else  we  have  contained  in 
this.  But  this  love  is  distinguished  from  that 
which  men  bear  to  one  another  as  such;  for 
in  order  to  mark  the  distinction,  it  is  added, 
'*  as  I  have  loved  you."  And  wherefore  is  it 
that  Christ  loveth  us,  but  that  we  may  be 
fitted  to  reign  with  Christ?  With  this  aim, 
therefore,  let  us  also  be  loving  one  another, 
that  we  may  manifest  the  difference  of  our 
love  from  that  of  others,  who  have  no  such 
motive  in  loving  one  another,  because  the  love 
itself  is  wanting.  But  those  whose  mutual 
love  has  the  possession  of  God  Himself  for 
its  object,  will  truly  love  one  another;  and, 
therefore,  even  for  the  very  purpose  of  loving 
one  another,  they  love  God.  There  is  no 
such  love  as  this  in  all  men;  for  few  have  this 
motive  for  their  love  one  to  another,  that  God 
may  be  all  in  all. 6 


5  Ps.  xi.  5.  Aujtiistin  here,  as  usual,  along  with  the  Vulgate, 
follows  the  Septuagint  in  what  is  clearly  a  mistranslation  of  the 
Hebrew  text.which  is  correctly  rendered  gram  mat  ically  in  our  Eng 
lish  version,  though  not  exactly  according  to  the  Masorctic 
punctuation.  ,"5X11?  (fcnO  shows  that  "his  soul"  is  the  subject, 

and  not  the  object  of  the  hatred.— TK.  «  i  Cor.  xv.  28. 


TRACTATE    LXXXIV. 

CHAPTER   XV.    13. 


i.  THE  Lord,  beloved  brethren,  hath  de 
fined  that  fullness  of  love  which  we  ought  to 
bear  to  one  another,  when  He  said:  "  Greater 
love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  -lay 
down  his  life  for  his  friends."  Inasmuch, 
then,  as  He  had  said  before,  "This  is  my 
commandment,  that  ye  love  one  another,  as 
I  have  loved  you;"  and  appended  to  these 
words  what  you  have  just  been  hearing, 
"  Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that 
a  man  lay  down  his  life  for  his  friends;  "  there 


follows  from  this  as  a  consequence,  what  this 
same  Evangelist  John  says  in  his  epistle, 
*'  That  as  Christ  laid  down  His  life  for  us, 
even  so  we  also  ought  to  lay  down  our  lives 
for  the  brethren;"'  loving  one  another  in 
truth,  as  He  hath  loved  us,  who  laid  down 
His  life  for  us.  Such  also  is  doubtless  the 
meaning  of  what  we  read  in  the  Proverbs  of 
Solomon:  "  If  thou  sittest  down  to  supper  at 


i  John  iii.  16. 


350 


THK   WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUST!  X. 


in  i.xxxiv. 


the  table  of  a  ruler,  consider  wisely  what  is 
set  before  thee;  and  so  put  to  thy  hand,  know 
ing  that  thou  art  bound  to  make  similar  prep 
arations."1  For  what  is  the  table  of  the 
ruler,  but  that  from  which  we  take  the  body 
and  blood  of  Him  who  laid  down  His  life  for 
us  ?  And  what  is  it  to  sit  thereat,  but  to  ap 
proach  in  humility?  And  what  is  it  to  con 
sider  intelligently  what  is  set  before  thee,  but 
worthily  to  reflect  on  the  magnitude  of  the 
favor  ?  And  what  is  it,  so  to  put  to  thy  hand, 
as  knowing  that  thou  art  bound  to  make  simi 
lar  preparations,  but  as  I  have  already  said, 
that,  as  Christ  laid  down  His  life  for  us,  so 
we  also  ought  to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the 
brethren  ?  For  as  the  Apostle  Peter  also 
says,  **  Christ  suffered  for  us,  leaving  us  an 
example,  that  we  should  follow  His  steps."2 
This  is  to  make  similar  preparations.  This 
it  was  that  the  blessed  martyrs  did  in  their 
burning  love;  and  if  we  celebrate  their  memo 
ries  in  no  mere  empty  form,and,  in  the  banquet 
whereat  they  themselves  were  filled  to  the 
full,  approach  the  table  of  the  Lord,  we  must, 
as  they  did,  be  also  ourselves  making  similar 
preparations.  For  on  these  very  grounds  we 
do  not  commemorate  them  at  that  table  in 
the  same  way,  as  we  do  others  who  now  rest 
in  peace,  as  that  we  should  also  pray  for 
them,  but  rather  that  they  should  do  so  for 
us,  that  we  may  cleave  to  their  footsteps;  be 
cause  they  have  actually  attained  that  fullness 
of  love,  than  which,  our  Lord  hath  told  us, 
there  cannot  be  a  greater.  For  such  tokens 
of  love  they  exhibited  for  their  brethren,  as 
they  themselves  had  equally  received  at  the 
table  of  the  Lord. 

2.  But  let  us  not  be  supposed  to  have  so 
spoken  as  if  on  such  grounds  we  might  pos 
sibly  arrive  at  an  equality  with  Christ  the 
Lord,  if  for  His  sake  we  have  undergone  wit 
ness-bearing  even  unto  blood.  He  had 
power  to  lay  down  His  life,  and  to  take  it 
again;3  but  we  have  no  power  to  live  as  long 
as  we  wish;  and  die  we  must,  however  unwill 
ing:  He,  by  dying,  straightway  slew  death  in 
Himself;  we,  by  His  death,  are  delivered 
from  death:  His  flesh  saw  no  corruption;4 
ours,  after  corruption,  shall  in  the  end  of  the 
world  be  clothed  by  Him  with  incorruption:  He 
had  no  need  of  us,  in  order  to  work  out  our  sal 
vation;  we,  without  Him,  can  do  nothing: 
He  gave  Himself  as  the  vjne,  to  us  the 
branches;  we,  apart  from  Him,  can  have  no 
life.  Lastly,  although  brethren  die  for  breth 
ren,  yet  no  martyr's  blood  is  ever  shed  for 
the  remission  of  the  sins  of  brethren,  as  was 


'  Prov.  xxiii.  i,  a:    see  Mow,  and  also  Tract.  XLVII.  sec.  2, 
note  4. 

a  i  Pet.  ii.  21.  3  Chap.  x.  18.  4  Acts  ii.  31. 


the  case  in  what  He  did  for  us;  and  in  this 
respect  He  bestowed  not  on  us  aught  for  imi 
tation,  but  something  for  congratulation.  In 
as  far,  then,  as  the  martyrs  have  shed  their 
blood  for  the  brethren,  so  far  have  they  ex 
hibited  such  tokens  of  love  as  they  themselves 
perceived  at  the  table  of  the  Lord.  (One 
might  imitate  Him  in  dying,  but  no  one  could, 
in  redeeming.)5  In  all  else,  then,  that  I  have 
said,  although  it  is  out  of  my  power  to  men 
tion  everything,  the  martyr  of  Christ  is  far  in 
ferior  to  Christ  Himself.  But  if  any  one  shall 
set  himself  in  comparison,  I  say,  not  with  the 
power,  but  with  the  innocence  of  Christ,  and 
(I  would  not  say)  in  thinking  that  he  is  heal 
ing  the  sins  of  others,  but  at  least  that  he  has 
no  sins  of  his  own,  even  so  far  is  his  avidity 
overstepping  the  requirements  of  the  method 
of  salvation;  it  is  a  matter  of  considerable 
moment  for  him,  only  he  attains  not  his  de 
sire.  And  well  it  is  that  he  is  admonished  in 
that  passage  of  the  Proverbs,  which  immedi 
ately  goes  on  to  say,  "  But  if  thy  greed  is  too 
great,  be  not  desirous  of  his  dainties;  for  it 
is  better  that  thou  take  nothing  thereof,  than 
that  thou  shouldst  take  more  than  is  befitting. 
For  such  things, ;>  it  is  added,  "have  a  life 
of  deceit,"  that  is,  of  hypocrisy.  For  in 
asserting  his  own  sinlessness,  he  cannot  prove, 
but  only  pretend,  that  he  is  righteous.  And 
so  it  is  said,  "  For  such  have  a  deceiving  life." 
There  is  only  One  who  could  at  once  have 
human  flesh  and  be  free  from  sin.  Appro 
priately  are  we  commanded  that  which  fol 
lows;  and  such  a  word  and  proverb  is  well 
adapted  to  human  weakness,  when  it  is  said, 
"  Lay  not  thyself  out,  seeing  thou  art  poor, 
against  him  that  is  rich."  For  the  rich  man 
is  Christ,  who  was  never  obnoxious  to  punish 
ment  either  through  hereditary  or  personal 
debt  and  is  righteous  Himself,  and  justifies 
others.  Lay  not  thyself  out  against  Him, 
thou  who  art  so  poor,  that  thou  art  manifestly 
to  the  eyes  of  all  the  daily  beggar  that  thou 
art  in  thy  prayer  for  the  remission  of  sins. 
"But  keep  thyself,"  he  says,  "from  thine 
own  counsel"  ["cease  from  thine  own  wis 
dom" — E.  V.].  From  what,  but  from  this 
delusive  presumption  ?  For  He,  indeed,  in 
asmuch  as  He  is  not  only  man  but  also  God, 
can  never  be  chargeable  with  evil.  "  For  if 
thou  turn  thine  eye  upon  Him,  He  will  no- 
whe're  be  visible."  "Thine  eye,"  that  is, 
the  human  eye,  wherewith  thou  distinguishest 
that  which  is  human;  "if  thou  turn  it  upon 
Him,  He  will  nowhere  be  visible,"  because 


5  This   parenthesized  sentence  is  found.^  according  to  Migne, 
inserted  here  in  six  MSS.     In  thr.-r  -  immediately  be 

fore  the  second  following  sentence,  beginning,  "  Hut  if  any  one," 
etc.    In  other  MSS.  it  is  wanting;  and  Migne  omits  it  from  the  text. 


,n    LXXXV.] 


(  .\  THE  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


j.nol  be  seen  wit.il  sue, i  OrgUM  «»f  sight 
thine.  "  For  He  will  provide  Himself 
win-s  like  an  eagle's,  and  will  depart  to  the 
house  of  His  overseer,"  '  from  which,  at  all 
events,  1  le  came  to  us,  and  found  us  not  such 
as  He  Himself  was  who  came.  Let  us  there 
fore  love  one  another,  even  as  Christ  hath 


loved  us,  and  given  Himself  for  us.-  "  Pof 
greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man 
lay  clown  his  life  for  his  friends."  And  let 
us  be  imitating  Him  in  such  a  spirit  of  rev 
erential  obedience,  that  we  shall  never  have 
the  boldness  to  presume  on  a  comparison  be 
tween  Him  and  ourselves. 


'The   whole  »f  tins  |Ms-.ii:r, 
I    ,,n<l   .-,  <|iiot,-d 


sec. 


I 
Of   this  I.e.  tur 


3-5,  as  I  for  those  who  wrre  unacquainted  with  the   Hebrew  ;    and  hence 
and  in     transformation*,  "missions,  and  interpolations  of  words,  and  even 
y  from  ,  of  sentences,  on  the  part  of  copyists  and  commentators, 
the  Hebrew  text,  ami  even  from  the  Scptuagint  (which  is  itself  j  suited  in    the  very  various   readings   of   different  versions.     The 
,  onsi.l,  ntbly  astr.iyl,  that  it  is  hardly  possible  to  account  for  the  !  passage  as  jqven  by  Augu.stin  is  a  «ood  example  of  his  ingenuity 
.Inferences;    and  we  refrain    from  attempting   it.     The  text  had     in  spiritualizing  the  statements  of  Scripture.— TR. 
evidently  been  felt  to  be  obscure  from  very  early  times,  especially          3  Gal.  u.  20. 


TRACTATE    LXXXV, 

CHAPTER  XV.    14,  15. 


i.  WHKN  the  Lord  Jesus  had  commended 
the  love  which  He  manifested  toward  us  in  dy 
ing  for  us,  and  had  said,  "  Greater  love  hath  no 
man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay  down  his  life 
for  his  friends,"  He  added,  "Ye  are  my 
friends,  if  ye  do  whatsoever  I  command  you." 
What  great  condescension  !  when  one  cannot 
even  be  a  good  servant  unless  he  do  his  lord's 
commandments;  the  very  means,  which  only 
prove  men  to  be  good  servants,  He  wished  to 
be  those  whereby  His  friends  should  be 
known.  But  the  condescension,  as  I  have 
termed  it,  is  this,  that  the  Lord  condescends 
to  call  those  His  friends  whom  He  knows  to  be 
His  servants.  For,  to  let  us  know  that  it  is  the 
duty  of  servants  to  yield  obedience  to  their 
master's  commands,  He  actually  in  another 
place  reproaches  those  who  are  servants,  by 
saying,  "And  why  call  ye  me,  Lord,  Lord, 
and  do  not  the  things  that  I  say  ?  "  '  Accord 
ingly,  when  ye  say  Lord,  prove  what  you  say 
by  doing  my  commandments.  Is  it  not  to 
the  obedient  servant  that  He  is  yet  one  day 


He  introduces  the  name  of  friend  in  such  a 
way  as  to  withdraw  that  of  servant;  not  as  if 
to  include  both  in  the  one  term,  but  in  order 
that  the  one  should 
vacated  by  the  other. 


succeed   to   the    place 
What  does  it  mean  ? 


Is  it  this,  that  even  in  doing  the  Lord's  com 
mandments  we  shall  not  be  servants?  Or 
this,  that  then  we  shall  cease  to  be  servants, 
when  we  have  been  good  servants  ?  And  yet 
who  can  contradict  the  Truth,  when  He  says, 
"  Henceforth  I  call  you  not  servants?'*  and 
shows  why  He  said  so:  "  For  the  servant," 
He  adds,  "  knoweth  not  what  his  lord  doeth." 
Is  it  that  a  good  and  tried  servant  is  not  like 
wise  entrusted  by  his  master  with  his  secrets  ? 
What  does  He  mean,  then,  by  saying,  "  The 
servant  knoweth  not  what  his  lord  doeth"? 
Be  it  that  "  he  knoweth  not  what  he  doeth," 
is  he  ignorant  also  of  what  he  commands  ? 
For  if  he  were  so,  how  can  he  serve  ?  Or 
how  is  he  a  servant  who  does  no  service  ? 
And  yet  the  Lord  speaks  thus:  "  Ye  are  my 
friends,  if  ye  do  whatsoever  I  command  you. 


to  say,  "Well  done,  thou  good  servant;  be-  Henceforth  I  call  you  not  servants."  Truly 
cause  thou  hast  been  faithful  over  a  few  j  a  marvellous  statement!  Seeing  we  cannot 
things,  I  will  make  thee  ruler  over  many  j  serve  the  Lord  but  by  doing  His  command- 
things:  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord  "? '  ments,  how  is  it  that  in  doing  so  we  shall 
One,  therefore,  who  is  a  good  servant,  can  be  cease  to  be  servants  ?  If  I  be  not  a  servant 
both  servant  and  friend. 

2.   But  let  us  mark  what  follows.      "  Hence 


forth  I  call  you  not  servants;    for  the  servant 


in  doing  His  commandments,  and  yet  cannot 
be  in  His  service  unless  I  so  do,  then,  in  my 
very  service,  I  am  no  longer  a  servant. 

3.  Let  us,  brethren,  let  us  understand,  and 


knoweth    not   what    his   lord    doeth."      How, 

then,  are  we  to  understand  the  good   servant    may  the  Lord  enable  us  to  understand,  and 

to  be  both  servant  and  friend,  when  He  says,    enable    us   also   to    do  what   we    understand. 


11  Henceforth  I  call  you  not  servants;    for  the 
servant  knoweth   not  what   his  lord  doeth"? 


I.ukc  vi.  46. 


And  if  we  know  this,  we  know  of  a  truth  what 
the  Lord  doeth;  for  it  is  only  the  Lord  that 
so  enables  us,  and  by  such  means  only  do  we 
attain  to  His  friendship.  For  just  as  there 


352 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATK     I A  XX  VI. 


are  two  kinds  of  fear,  which  produce  two 
classes  of  fearers;  so  there  are  two  kinds  of 
service,  which  produce  two  classes  of  servants. 
There  is  a  fear,  which  perfect  love  casteth 
out;1  and  there  is  another  fear,  which  is 
clean,  and  endureth  for  ever.2  The  fear 
that  lies  not  in  love,  the  apostle  pointed  to 
when  he  said,  "  For  ye  have  not  received  the 
spirit  of  service  again  to  fear."3  But  he  re 
ferred  to  the  clean  fear  when  he  said,  "  Be 
not  high-minded,  but  fear."4  In  that  fear 
which  love  casteth  out,  there  has  also  to  be 
cast  out  the  service  along  with  it:  for  both  j 
were  joined  together  by  the  apostle,  that  is,  j 
the  service  and  the  fear,  when  he  said,  "  For 
ye  have  not  received  the  spirit  of  service  again 
to  fear."  And  it  was  the  servant  connected 
with  this  kind  of  service  that  the  Lord  also 
had  in  His  eye  when  He  said,  "  Henceforth  I 
call  you  not  servants;  for  the  servant  knoweth 
not  what  his  lord  doeth."  Certainly  not  the 
servant  characterized  by  the  clean  fear,  to 
whom  it  is  said,  "  Well  done,  thou  good  serv 
ant:  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  lord;" 
but  the  servant  who  is  characterized  by  the 
fear  which  love  casteth  out,  of  whom  He  else 
where  saith,  "  The  servant  abideth  not  in  the 
house  for  ever,  but  the  Son  abideth  ever."5 
Since,  therefore,  He  hath  given  us  power  to 
become  the  sons  of  God,,6  let  us  not  be  serv 
ants,  but  sons:  that,  in  some  wonderful  and 
indescribable  but  real  way,  we  may  as  servants 
have  the  power  not  to  be  servants;  servants, 
indeed,  with  that  clean  fear  which  distin- 


i  John  iv.  18. 
Rom.  xi.  20. 


*  Ps.  xix.  9. 
5  Chap.  viii.  35. 


3  Rom.  viii.  15. 
6  Chap.  i.  12. 


guishes  the  servant  that  enters  into  the  joy 
of  his  lord,  but  not  servants  with  the  fear  that 
has  to  be  cast  out,  and  which  marketh  him 
that  abideth  not  in  the  house  for  ever.  But 
let  us  bear  in  mind  that  it  is  the  Lord  that 
enableth  us  to  serve  so  as  not  to  be  servants. 
And  this  it  is  that  is  unknown  to  the  servant, 
who  knoweth  not  what  his  Lord  doeth;  and 
who,  when  he  doeth  any  good  thing,  is  lifted 
up  as  if  he  did  it  himself,  and  not  his  Lord; 
and  so,  glories  not  in  the  Lord,  but  in  him 
self,  thereby  deceiving  himself,  because  glory 
ing,  as  if  he  had  not  received.7  But  let  us, 
beloved,  in  order  that  we  may  be  the  friends 
of  the  Lord,  know  what  our  Lord  doeth.  For 
it  is  He  who  makes  us  not  only  men,  but  also 
righteous,  and  not  we  ourselves.  And  who 
but  He  is  the  doer,  in  leading  us  to  such  a 
knowledge  ?  For  "we  have  received  not  the 
spirit  of  this  world,  but  the  Spirit  which  is  of 
God,  that  we  might  know  the  things  that  are 
freely  given  to  us  of  God."  8  Whatever  good 
there  is,  is  freely  given  by  Him.  And  so  be 
cause  this  also  is  good,  by  Him  who  graciously 
imparteth  all  good  is  this  gift  of  knowing  like 
wise  bestowed;  that,  in  respect  of  all  good 
things  whatever,  he  that  glorieth  may  glory 
in  the  Lord.9  But  the  words  that  follow, 
"  But  I  have  called  you  friends;  for  all  things 
that  I  have  heard  oif  my  Father  I  have  made 
known  unto  you,"  are  so  profound,  that  we 
must  by  no  means  compress  them  within  the 
limits  of  the  present  discourse,  but  leave 
them  over  till  another. 


9lCc 


TRACTATE   LXXXVI. 

CHAPTER   XV.   15,   16. 


i.  IT  is  a  worthy  subject  of  inquiry  how  j 
these  words  of  the  Lord  are  to  be  understood, 
"  But  I  have  called  you  friends;  for  all  things 
that  I  have  heard  of  my  Father  I  have  made 
known  unto  you."  For  who  is  there  that  dare 
affirm  or  believe  that  any  man  knoweth  all 
things  that  the  only-begotten  Son  hath  heard 
of  the  Father;  when  there  is  no  one  that  can 
comprehend  even  how  He  heareth  any  word 
of  the  Father,  being  as  He  is  Himself  the  only 
Word  of  the  Father  ?  Nay  more,  is  it  not  the 
case  that  a  little  afterwards,  in  this  same  dis 
course,  which  He  delivered  to  the  disciples 
between  the  Supper  and  His  passion,  He  said, 


"I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you, 
but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now  "  ? '  How,  then, 
are  we  to  understand  that  He  made  known 
unto  the  disciples  all  that  He  had  heard  of 
the  Father,  when  there  are  many  things  that 
He  saith  not,  just  because  He  knows  that 
they  cannot  bear  them  now?  Doubtless 
what  He  is  yet  to  do  He  says  that  He  has 
done  as  the  same  Being  who  hath  made  those 
things  which  are  yet  to  be.2  For  as  He  says 
by  the  prophet,  "  They  pierced  my  hands  and 
my  feet,"3  and  not,  They  will  yet  pierce;  but 


i  Chap.  xvi.  12. 


TKA<  ,M:     LXXXVL] 


o.\  Till;  GOSPEL  OF  ST.    fOHN, 


353 


speaking  as  it  were  of  the  past,  and  yet  pre 
dicting  what  was  still  in  the  future:  so  also 
in  the  passage  before  us  He  declares  that  He 
has  made  known  to  the  disciples  all,  that  He 
knows  He  will  vet  make  known  in  that  fullness 
of  knowledge,  whereof  the  apostle  says,  ';  Hut 
when  that  which  is  perfect  is  come,  then  that 
which  is  in  part  shall  be  done  away."  For  in 
the  same  place  he  adds:  "  Now  I  know  in 
part,  but  then  shall  I  know,  even  as  also  I 
am  known:  and  now  through  a  glass  in  a 
riddle,  but  then  lace  to  face."  '  For  the  same 
apostle  also  says  that  we  have  been  saved  by 
the  washing  of  regeneration,1  and  yet  declares 
in  another  place,  "  We  are  saved  by  hope: 
but  hope  that  is  seen  is  no  hope;  for  what  a 
man  seeth,  why  doth  he  yet  hope  for  ?  But 
if  we  hope  for  that  we  see  not,  then  do  we 
with  patience  wait  for  it."J  To  a  similar  pur 
pose  it  is  also  said  by  his  fellow-apostle  Peter, 
"  In  whom,  though  now  seeing  Him  not,  ye 
believe;  and  in  whom,  when  ye  see  Him,  ye 
shall  rejoice  with  a  joy  unspeakable  and 
glorious:  receiving  the  reward  of  faith,  even 
the  salvation  of  your  souls."4  If,  then,  it  is 
now  the  season  of  faith,  and  faith's  reward  is 
the  salvation  of  our  souls;  who,  in  that  faith 
which  worketh  by  love,5  can  doubt  that  the 
day  must  come  to  an  end,  and  at  its  close  the 
reward  be  received;  not  only  the  redemption 
of  our  body,  whereof  the  Apostle  Paul 
speaketh,6  but  also  the  salvation  of  our  souls, 
as  we  are  told  by  the  Apostle  Peter  ?  For  the 
felicity'  springing  from  both  is  at  this  present 
time,  and  in  the  existing  state  of  mortality,  a 
matter  rather  of  hope  than  of  actual  posses 
sion.  But  this  it  concerns  us  to  remember, 
that  our  outward  man,  to  wit  the  body,  is  still 
decaying;  but  the  inward,  that  is,  the  soul,  is 
being  renewed  day  by  day.7  Accordingly, 
while  we  are  waiting  for  the  immortality  of 
the  flesh  and  salvation  of  our  souls  in  the 
future,  yet  with  the  pledge  we  have  received, 
it  may  be  said  that  we  are  saved  already;  so 
that  knowledge  of  all  things  which  the  Only- 
begotten  hath  heard  of  the  Father  we  are  to 
regard  as  a  matter  of  hope  still  lying  in  the 
future,  although  declared  by  Christ  as  some 
thing  He  had  already  imparted. 

2.  "  Ye  have  not  chosen  me,"  He  says, 
"  but  I  have  chosen  you.''  Grace  such  as 
that  is  ineffable.  For  what  were  we  so  long 
as  Christ  had  not  yet  chosen  us,  and  we  were 
therefore  still  destitute  of  love  ?  For  he  who 
hath  chosen  Him,  how  can  he  love  Him? 
Were  we,  think  you,  in  that  condition  which 
is  sung  of  in  the  psalm:  "  I  had  rather  be  an 

'  i  Cor.  xiii.  1.1,  12.  »  Tit.  iii.  5.  ^  Rom.  viii.  24,  25. 

4  ,    IN  •  5  Gal.  V.  6.  ^  R.-m.  ^:-. 

iv.  .(•. 


abject  in  the  house  of  the  Lord,  than  dwell  in 
the  tents  of  wickedness"?"  Certainly  not. 
What  were  we  then,  but  sinful  and  lost?  We 
had  not  yet  come  to  believe  on  Him,  in  order 
to  lead  to  His  choosing  us;  for  if  it  were 
those  who  already  believed  that  He  chose, 
then  was  He  chosen  Himself,  prior  to  His 
choosing.  But  how  could  He  say,  "Ye  have 
not  chosen  me,"  save  only  because  His  mercy 
anticipated  us?9  Here  surely  is  at  fault  the 
vain  reasoning  of  those  who  defend  the  fore 
knowledge  of  God  in  opposition  to  His 
grace,  and  with  this  view  declare  that  we  were 
chosen  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,10 
because  God  foreknew  that  we  should  be 
good,  but  not  that  He  Himself  would  make 
us  good.  So  says  not  He,  who  declares, 
"Ye  have  not  chosen  me."  For  had  He 
chosen  us  on  the  ground  that  He  foreknew 
that  we  should  be  good,  then  would  He  also 
have  foreknown  that  we  would  not  be  the  first 
to  make  choice  of  Him.  For  in  no  other 
way  could  we  possibly  be  good:  unless,  for 
sooth,  one  could  be  called  good  who  has 
never  made  good  his  choice.  What  was  it 
then  that  He  chose  in  those  who  were  not 
good  ?  For  they  were  not  chosen  because  of 
their  goodness,  inasmuch  as  they  could  not  be 
good  without  being  chosen.  Otherwise  grace 
is  no  more  grace,  if  we  maintain  the  priority 
of  merit.  Such,  certainly,  is  the  election  of 
grace,  whereof  the  apostle  says:  "Even  so 
then  at  this  present  time  also  there  is  a  rem 
nant  saved  according  to  the  election  of  grace.'* 
To  which  he  adds:  "  And  if  by  grace,  then 
is  it  no  more  of  works;  otherwise  grace  is  no 
more  grace."11  Listen,  thou  ungrateful  one, 
listen:  "Ye  have  not  chosen  me,  but  I  have 
chosen  you."  Not  that  thou  mayest  say,  I 
am  chosen  because  I  already  believed.  For 
if  thou  wert  believing  in  Him,  then  hadst 
thou  already  chosen  Him.  But  listen:  "  Ye 
have  not  chosen  me."  Not  that  thou  mayest 
say,  Before  I  believed  I  was  already  doing 
good  works,  and  therefore  was  I  chosen.  For 
what  good  work  can  be  prior  to  faith,  when 
the  apostle  says,  "  Whatsoever  is  not  of  faith 
is  sin  "  ? "  What,  then,  are  we  to  say  on  hear 
ing  such  words,  *'  Ye  have  not  chosen  me," 
but  that  we  were  evil,  and  were  chosen  in 

I  order  that  we  might  be  good  through  the  grace 
of  Him  who  chose  us  ?  For  it  is  not  by  grace, 
if  merit  preceded:  but  it  is  of  grace:  and 
therefore  that  grace  did  not  find,  but  effected 
the  merit. 

3.  See    then,   beloved,   how  it   is   that    He 

!  chooseth    not   the   good,   but    maketh 
whom  Ho  has  chosen  good.      "  I  have  chosen 


Ps.  Ixxxiv.  10. 
Rom.  xi.  5,  6. 


9  Ps.  !i\ 

viv.  23. 


354 


TIIK  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACT  \ir.   I. \\xvii. 


you,"  He  saith,  "and  appointed  yon  that  ye 
should  go  and  bring  fortli  frnit,  and  [that] 
your  fruit  should  remain."  And  is  not  that 
the  fruit,  whereof  He  had  already  said, 
"Without  me  ye  can  do  nothing"?1  He 
hath  chosen  therefore,  and  appointed  that  we 
should  go  and  bring  forth  fruit;  and  no  fruit, 
accordingly,  had  we  to  induce  His  choice  of 
us.  "That  ye  should  go,"  He  said,  "and 
bring  forth  fruit."  We  go  to  bring  forth, 
and  He  Himself  is  the  way  wherein  we  go, 
and  wherein  He  hath  appointed  us  to  go. 
And  so  His  mercy  hath  anticipated  us  in  all. 


"And  that  your  fruit,"  He  saith,  "should 
remain;  that  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  of  the 
Father  in  my  name,  lie  may  give  it  you." 
Accordingly  let  love  remain;  for  He  Himself 
is  our  fruit.  And  this  love  lies  at  present  in 
longing  desire,  not  yet  in  fullness  of  enjoy 
ment;  and  whatsoever  with  that  longing  desire 
we  shall  ask  in  the  name  of  the  only-begotten 
Son,  the  Father  giveth  us.  But  what  is  not 
expedient  for  our  salvation  to  receive,  let  us 
not  imagine  that  we  ask  that  in  the  Saviour's 
name:  but  we  ask  in  the  name  of  the  Saviour 
only  that  which  really  belongs  to  the  way  of 
salvation. 


TRACTATE    LXXXVII. 

CHAPTKR  XV.    17-19. 


i.  IN  the  Gospel  lesson  which  precedes  this 
one,  the  Lord  had  said:  "  Ye  have  not  chosen 
me,  but  I  have  chosen  you,  and  appointed 
you,  that  ye  should  go  and  bring  forth  fruit, 
and  [that]  your  fruit  should  remain;  that 
whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  of  the  Father  in  my 
name,  He  may  give  it  you.''  On  these  words 
you  remember  that  we  have  already  dis 
coursed,  as  the  Lord  enabled  us.  But  here, 
that  is,  in  the  succeeding  lesson  which  you 
have  heard  read,  He  says:  "These  things  I 
command  you,  that  ye  love  one  another.'' 
And  thereby  we  are  to  understand  that  this 
is  our  fruit,  of  which  He  had  said,  "I  have 
chosen  you,  that  ye  should  go  and  bring  forth 
fruit,  and  [that]  your  fruit  should  remain." 
And  what  He  subjoined,  "  That  whatsoever 
ye  shall  ask  of  the  Father  in  my  name,  He 
may  give  it  you,"  He  will  certainly  give  us  if 
we  love  one  another;  seeing  that  this  very 
thing  He  has  also  given  us,  in  choosing  us 
when  we  had  no  fruit,  because  we  had  chosen 
Him  not;  and  appointing  us  that  we  should 
bring  forth  fruit, — that  is,  that  we  should  love 
one  another, — a  fruit  that  we  cannot  have 
apart  from  Him,  just  as  the  branches  can  do 
nothing  apart  from  the  vine.  Our  fruit, 
therefore,  is  charity,  which  the  apostle  ex 
plains  to  be,  "Out  of  a  pure  heart,  and  a 
good  conscience,  and  faith  unfeigned."  '  So 
love  we  one  another,  and  so  love  we  God. 
For  it  would  be  with  no  true  love  that  we 
loved  one  another,  if  we  loved  not  God.  For 
every  one  loves  his  neighbor  as  himself  if  he 


loves  God;  and  if  he  loves  not  God,  he  loves 
not  himself.  For  on  these  two  commandments 
|  of  love  hang  all  the  law  and  the  prophets: 2  this 
is  our  fruit.  And  it  is  in  reference,  there 
fore,  to  such  fruit  that  He  gives  us  command 
ment  when  He  says,  "  These  things  I  com 
mand  you,  that  ye  love  one  another."  In 
j  the  same  way  also  the  Apostle  Paul,  when 
i  wishing  to  commend  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  in 
opposition  to  the  deeds  of  the  flesh,  fjosited 
this  as  his  principle,  saying,  "  The  fruit  of 
the  Spirit  is  love;"  and  then,  as  if  springing 
from  and  bound  up  in  this  principle,  he 
wove  the  others  together,  which  are  "joy, 
peace,  long-suffering,  kindness,  goodness, 
faith,  meekness,  temperance.".3  For  who 
can  truly  rejoice  who  loves  not  good  as  the 
source  of  his  joy  ?  Who  can  have  true  peace, 
if  he  have  it  not  with  one  whom  he  truly 
loves  ?  Who  can  be  long-enduring  through 
persevering  continuance  in  good,  save  through 
fervent  love?  Who  can  be  kind,  if  he  love 
not  the  person  he  is  aiding?  Who  can  be 
good,  if  he  is  not  made  so  by  loving?  Who 
can  be  sound  in  the  faith,  without  that  faith 
which  worketh  by  love  ?  Whose  meekness 
can  be  beneficial  in  character,  if  not  regulated 
by  love?  And  who  will  abstain  from  that 
which  is  debasing,  if  he  love  not  that  which 
dignifies  ?  Appropriately,  therefore,  does  the 
good  Master  so  frequently  commend  love,  as 
the  only  thing  needing  to  be  commended, 
without  which  all  other  good  things  can  be 
of  no  avail,  and  which  cannot  be  possessed 


M.itt.  xxii.  40. 


I  \.\XVII.) 


ON  THK  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


355 


without  bringing  with  it  those  other  good 
tilings  that  make  a  man  truly  good. 

t.  I'.nt  alongside  of  this  love  we  ought  also 
patiently  to  endure  the  hatred  of  the  world. 
For  it  must  of  necessity  hate  those  whom  it 
perceives  recoiling  from  that  which  is  l«"vcd 
by  itself.  Hut  the  Lord  supplies  us  with 
special  consolation  from  His  own  case,  when, 
after  saying,  "  These  things  I  command  you, 
that  ye  love  one  another,"  He  added,  "If 
the  world  hate  you,  know  that  it  hated  me 
before  [it  hated]  you."  Why  then  should 
the  member  exalt  itself  above  the  head? 
Thou  refusest  to  be  in  the  body  if  thou  art 
unwilling  to  endure  the  hatred  of  the  world 
along  with  the  Head.  "If  ye  were  of 
the  world,"  He  says,  "the  world  would  love 
its  own."  He  says  this,  of  course,  of  the 
whole  Church,  which,  by  itself,  He  frequently 
also  calls  by  the  name  of  the  world:  as  when 
it  is  said,  "  God  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the 
world  unto  Himself."  '  And  this  also:  "The 
Son  of  man  came  not  to  condemn  the  world, 
but  that  the  world  through  Him  might  be 
saved."3  And  John  says  in  his  epistle:  "  We 
have  an  advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus 
Christ  the  righteous:  and  He  is  the  propitia 
tion  for  our  sins;  and  not  for  ours  only,  but 
also  [for  those]  of  the  whole  world."3  The 
whole  world  then  is  the  Church,  and  yet 
the  whole  world  hateth  the  Church.  The 
world  therefore  hateth  the  world,  the  hostile 
that  which  is  reconciled,  the  condemned 
that  which  is  saved,  the  polluted  that  which  is 
cleansed. 

3.  Hut  that  world  which  God  is  in  Christ 
reconciling  unto  Himself,  which  is  saved  by 
Christ,  and  has  all  its  sins  freely  pardoned 
by  Christ,  has  been  chosen  out  of  the  world 
that  is  hostile,  condemned,  and  defiled.  For 
out  of  that  mass,  which  has  all  perished  in 
Adam,  are  formed  the  vessels  of  mercy, 
whereof  that  world  of  reconciliation  is  com 
posed,  that  is  hated  by  the  world  which  be- 
longeth  to  the  vessels  of  wrath  that  are 
formed  out  of  the  same  mass  and  fitted  to  de 
struction.4  Finally,  after  saying,  *'  If  ye 
were  of  the  world,  the  world  would  love  its 
own,"  He  immediately  added,  "But  because 


'  2  Cor.  v.  19. 
3  i  John  ii.  i,  2. 


Mohniii.  17. 
«kom.  i\.  ii. 


not  of  the  world,  but  I  have  chosen 
you  out  of  the  world,  therefore  the  world 
hateth  you."  And  so  these  men  were  them 
selves  also  of  that  world,  and,  that  they  might 
no  longer  be  of  it,  were  chosen  out  of  it, 
through  no  merit  of  their  own,  for  no  good 
works  of  theirs  had  preceded;  and  not  by 
nature,  which  through  free-will  had  become 
totally  corrupted  at  its  source:  but  gratui 
tously,  that  is,  of  actual  grace.  For  He  who 
chose  the  world  out  of  the  world,  effected  for 
Himself,  instead  of  finding,  what  He  should 
choose:  for  "  there  is  a  remnant  saved  accord 
ing  to  the  election  of  grace.  And  if  by 
grace,1'  he  adds,  "then  is  it  no  more  of 
works:  otherwise  grace  is  no  more  grace."5 

4.  lint  if  we  are  asked  about  the  love  which 
is  borne  to  itself  by  that  world  of  perdition 
which  hateth  the  world  of  redemption;  we 
reply,  it  loveth  itself,  of  course,  with  a  false 
love,  and  not  with  a  true.  And  hence,  it  loves 
itself  falsely,  and  hates  itself  truly.  For  he 
that  loveth  wickedness,  hateth  his  own  soul.6 
And  yet  it  is  said  to  love  itself,  inasmuch  as 
it  loves  the  wickedness  that  makes  it  wicked; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  said  to  hate 
itself,  inasmuch  as  it  loves  that  which  causes 
it  injury.  It  hates,  therefore,  the  true  nature 
that  is  in  it,  and  loves  the  vice:  it  hates 
what  it  is.  as  made  by  'the  goodness  of  God, 
and  loves  what  has  been  wrought  in  it  by  free 
will.  And  hence  also,  if  we  rightly  under 
stand  it,  we  are  at  once  forbidden  and  com 
manded  to  love  it:  thus,  we  are  forbidden, 
when  it  is  said  to  us,  "  Love  not  the  world;  "7 
and  we  are  commanded,  when  it  is  said  to  us, 
"Love  your  enemies."8  These  constitute 
the  world  that  hateth  us.  And  therefore  we 
are  forbidden  to  love  in  it  that  which  it  loves 
in  itself;  and  we  are  enjoined  to  love  in  it 
what  it  hates  in  itself,  namely,  the  workman 
ship  of  God,  and  the  various  consolations  of 
His  goodness.  For  we  are  forbidden  to  love 
the  vice  that  is  in  it,  and  enjoined  to  love  the 
nature,  while  it  loves  the  vice  in  itself,  and 
hates  the  nature:  so  that  we  may  both  love 
and  hate  it  in  a  right  manner,  whereas  it  loves 
and  hates  itself  perversely. 


5  Rom.  xi.  5.  6. 

«  Ps.  xi.  5.     See  Tract.  LXXXIII.  sec.  3.  note  4. 

7  i  John  ii.  15.  »  Luke  vi.  27. 


356 


TIIK  WORKS  oi-   ST.   AUGUSTIN.         [TRACTAW    i.xxxvm. 


TRACTATE    LXXXVIII. 

CHAPTER  XV.   20,  21. 


1.  THE  Lord,  in  exhorting  His  servants  to 
endure  with  patience  the  hatred  of  the  world, 
proposes  to  them  no  greater  and  better  ex 
ample  than    His  own;    seeing    that,  as  the 
Apostle  Peter  says,  "Christ  suffered   for  us, 
leaving  us  an  example,  that  we  should   follow 
His  steps."  '     And  if  we  really  do  so,  we  do 
it  by  His  assistance,  who  said,  "  Without  me 
ye  can  do  nothing."     But  further,  to  those 
to  whom  He  had  already  said,  "  If  the  world 
hate  you,  know  that  it  hated  me  before  [it 
hated]  you,"  He  now  also  says  in  the  word 
you  have  just  been  hearing,  when  the  Gospel 
was  read,  "  Remember  my  word  that  I  said 
unto  you,  The  servant  is  not  greater  than  his 
lord:    if  they  have  persecuted  me,  they  will 
also  persecute  you;  if  they  have  kept  my  say 
ing,  they  will  keep  yours  also."     Now  in  say 
ing,   "  The  servant    is  not  greater  than   his 
lord,"  does  He  not  clearly  indicate  how  He 
would  have  us  understand  what  He  had  said 
above,    "  Henceforth    I    call   you    not    serv 
ants  "  ?2    For,  you  see,  He  calleth  them  serv 
ants.     For  what  else    can    the  words  imply, 
"  The  servant  is  not  greater  than  his  lord:    if 
they  have  persecuted  me,  they  will  also  perse 
cute  you  "  ?     It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  when 
it  is  said,  "Henceforth  I  call  you  not  serv 
ants,"  He  is  to  be  understood  as  speaking  of 
that  servant 3  who  abideth  not  in  the  house 
for  ever/   but  is   characterized  by  the   fear 
which  love  casteth  out;5   whereas,  when  it   is 
here  said,  "  The  servant  is  not  greater  than 
his  lord:    if  they  have  persecuted  me,  they 
will    also    persecute    you,"    that    servant    is 
meant  who  is  distinguished  by  the  clean  fear 
which  endureth   for  ever.6      For  this  is  the 
servant  who  is  yet  to  hear,  "  Well  done,  thou 
good  servant:    enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy 
Lord."' 

2.  "  But  all  these  things,"  He  says,  "will 
they  do  unto  you  for  my  name's  sake,  because 
they  know  not    Him  that    sent  me."      And 
what  are  "all  these  things"  that  "they  will 
do,"  but  what  He  has  just  said,  namely,  that 
they  will  hate  and  persecute  you,  and  despise 
your  word  ?     For  if  they  kept  not  their  word, 
and  yet  neither  hated  nor  persecuted  them; 
or  if  they  even  hated,  but  did  not  persecute 
them:  it  would  not  be  all  these  things  that  they 
did.     But  "  all  these  things  will  they  do  unto 


5  i  John  is. 


t.  I  XXXV.  src.  3. 


3  Chap.  xv.  15,  xiii.  16. 
•s  Chap.  viii.  35. 
7  Matt. 


you  for  my  name's  sake," — what  else  is  that 
but  to  say,  they  will  hate  me  in  you,  they  will 
persecute  me  in  you;  and  your  word,  just 
because  it  is  mine,  they  will  not  keep?  For 
"  all  these  things  will  they  do  unto  you  for  my 
name's  sake:"  not  for  yours,  but  mine.  So 
much  the  more  miserable,  therefore,  are  those 
who  do  such  things  on  account  of  that  name, 
as  those  are  blessed  who  suffer  such  things  in 
its  behalf:  as  He  Himself  elsewhere  saith, 
"  Blessed  are  they  that  suffer  persecution  for 
righteousness'  sake."8  For  that  is  on  my 
account,  or  "  for  my  name's  sake;  "  because, 
as  we  are  taught  by  the  apostle,  "  He  is  made 
of  God  unto  us  wisdom,  and  righteousness, 
and  santification,  and  redemption;  that,  ac 
cording  as  it  is  written,  He  that  glorieth,  let 
him  glory  in  the  Lord."9  For  the  wicked  do 
such  things  to  the  wicked,  but  not  for  right 
eousness'  sake;  and  therefore  both  are  alike 
miserable,  those  who  do,  and  those  who  suffer 
them.  The  good  also  do  such  things  to  the 
wicked:  where,  although  the  former  do  so  for 
righteousness'  sake,  yet  the  latter  suffer  them 
not  on  the  same  behalf. 

3.  But  some  one  says,  If,  when  the  wicked 
persecute  the  good  for  the  name  of  Christ, 
the  good  suffer  for  righteousness'  sake,  then 
surely  it  is  for  righteousness'  sake  that  the 
wicked  do  so  to  them;  and  if  such  is  the  case, 
then  also,  when  the  good  persecute  the  wicked 
for  righteousness'  sake,  it  is  for  righteousness' 
sake  likewise  that  the  wicked  suffer.  For  if 
the  wicked  can  assail  the  good  with  persecu 
tion  for  the  name  of  Christ,  why  cannot  the 
wicked  suffer  persecution  at  the  hands  of  the 
good  on  the  same  account;  and  what  is  that, 
but  for  righteousness'  sake  ?  For  if  the  good 
act  not  so  on  the  same  account  as  that  on 
which  the  wicked  suffer,  because  the  good  do 
so  for  righteousness'  sake,  while  the  wicked 
suffer  for  unrighteousness,  so  then  neither  can 
the  wicked  act  so  on  the  same  account  as  that 
for  which  the  good  suffer,  because  the  wicked 
do  so  by  unrighteousness,  while  the  good  suffer 
for  righteousness'  sake.  And  how  then  will 
that  be  true,  "All  these  things  will  they  do 
unto  you  for  my  name's  sake,"  when  the 
former  do  it  not  for  the  name  of  Christ,  that 
is,  for  righteousness'  sake,  but  because  of  their 
own  iniquity?  Such  a  question  is  solved  in 
this  way,  if  only  we  understand  the  words, 


9  i  Cor.  i.  30,  31. 


:  \\\l\.j 


(  i\     I  Hi-;   tlOSl'KL  OK   SI'.    J<  >H\ 


'All  these  things  will  they  do  unto  you  for 
my  name's  sake,"  as  referring  entirely  to  the 
righteous,  as  if  it  had  been  said,  All  these 
things  will  ye  sutler  at  their  hands  for  my 
name's  sake,  so  that  the  words,  "  they  will  do 
unto  you,"  are  equivalent  to  these,  Ye  will 
suiier  at  their  hands.  Hut  if  "  for  my  name's 
sake  "  is  to  be  taken  as  if  He  had  said,  For 
my  name's  sake  which  they  hate  in  you,  so 
also  may  the  other  be  taken  for  that  right 
eousness1  sake  which  they  hate  in  you;  and 
in  this  way  the  good,  when  they  institute  per 
secution  against  the  wicked,  may  be  rightly 
said  to  do  so  both  for  righteousness'  sake,  in 
their  love  for  which  they  persecute  the  wicked, 
and  for  that  wickedness'  sake  which  they  hate 
in  the  wicked  themselves;  and  so  also  the 
wicked  may  be  said  to  suffer  both  for  the  iniq 


uity  that  is  punished  in  their  persons,  and  |  they  both  hate  and  persec 
for  the  righteousness  which  is  exercised  in  added,  "  Because  they  know 
their  punishment. 

4.   It  may  also  be  inquired,  if  the  wicked 
also  persecute  the   wicked,   just  as    ungodly  1  where  recorded,  "But  to  know  Thee  is  per- 
princes  and  judges,  while  they  were  the  per- 1  feet  intelligence." '     Kor  those  who  with  such 

knowledge    know    the    Father,    by   whom 


own"?  (ver.  19.)  Kor  those  whom  it  pun- 
isheth  cannot  be  loved  by  the  world,  which, 
we  see,  generally  punisheth  the  classes  <tt 
crimes  mentioned  above,  save  only  that  the 
world  is  both  «n  those  who  punish  such 
crimes,  and  in  those  that  love  them. 
Therefore  that  world,  which  is  to  be  under 
stood  as  existing  in  the  wicked  and  ungodly, 
both  hateth  its  own  in  respect  of  that  section 
of  men  in  whose  case  it  inflicts  injury  on  the 
criminal,  and  loveth  its  own  in  respect  of  that 
other  section  in  whose  case  it  shows  favor  to 
its  own  partners  in  criminality.  Hence,  "All 
these  things  will  they  do  unto  you  for  my 
name's  sake,"  is  said  either  in  reference  to 
that  for  the  sake  of  which  ye  suffer,  or  to 
that  on  account  of  which  they  themselves  so 
deal  with  you,  because  that  which  is  in  you 
persecute.  And  He 
not  Him  that 

sent  me."     This  is  to  be  understood  as  spoken 
of  that  knowledge  of  which  it   is  also  else- 


secutors  of  the  godly,  certainly  also  punished 
murderers  and  adulterers,  and  all  classes  of 
evil-doers  whom  they  ascertained  to  be  acting 
contrary  to  the  public  laws,  how  are  we  to 
understand  the  words  of  the  Lord,  "  If  ye 


Christ  was  sent,  can  in  no  wise  persecute 
those  whom  Christ  is  gathering;  for  they  also 
themselves  are  being  gathered  by  Christ  along 
with  the  others. 


were  of   the  world,  the  world  would  love  its       iwisd. 


TRACTATE    LXXXIX. 

CHAPTER  XV.   22,  23. 


i.  THE  Lord  had  said  above  to  His  disci 
ples,  "If  they  have  persecuted  me,  they  will 
also  persecute  you;  if  they  have  kept  my  say 
ing,  they  will  keep  yours  also.  Hut  all  these 
things  will  they  do  unto  you  for  my  name's 
sake,  because  they  know  not  Him  that  sent 
me."  And  if  we  inquire  of  whom  He  so 
spake,  we  find  that  He  was  led  on  to  these 
words  from  what  He  had  said  before,  "If  the 
world  hate  you,  know  ye  that  it  hated  me  be 
fore  [it  hated]  you;  "  and  now  in  adding,  "  If 
I  had  not  come  and  spoken  unto  them,  they 
had  not  had  sin,"  He  more  expressly  pointed 
to  the  Jews.  Of  them,  therefore,  He  also 
uttered  the  words  that  precede,  for  so  does 
the  context  itself  imply.  For  it  is  of  the  same 
parties  that  He  said,  "If  I  had  not  come  and 
spoken  unto  them,  they  had  not  had  sin;  "  of 
whom  He  also  said,  "If  they  have  persecuted 
me,  they  will  also  persecute  you;  if  they  have 


kept  my  saying,  they  will  keep  yours  also; 

but  all  these  tilings  will  they  do  unto  you  for 

my  name's  sake,  because  they  know  not  Him 

that  sent  me;  "   for  it  is  to  these  words  that 

He  also  subjoins  the  following:  4t  If  I  had  not 

come  and  spoken  unto  them,  they  had  not 

had  sin."     The  Jews,  therefore,   persecuted 

Christ,  as  the  Gospel  very  clearly  indicates, 

and  Christ  spake  to  the   Jews,  not  to  other 

!  nations;   and   it  is  they,  therefore,   that   He 

'  meant  to  be   understood   by  the  world,  that 

!  hateth  Christ  and  His  disciples;  and,  indeed, 

not  those  alone,  but  even  these  latter  were 

shown  by  Him  to  belong  to  the  same  world. 

What,   then,  does   He    mean  by  the   words, 

"  If  I   had  not  come  and   spoken  unto  them, 

,  they   had    not   had    sin "  ?     Was  it    that    the 

Jews   were   without   sin    before  Christ   came 

to  them  in  the  flesh  ?     Who,  though  he  were 

i  the  greatest  fool,  would   say  so  ?      But  it  is 


358 


THE   WORKS  OK  ST.    ATGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATK  I, XXXIX. 


some  great  sin,  and  not  every  sin,  that  He 
would  have  to  he  understood,  as  it  were,  under 
the  general  designation.  For  this  is  the  sin 
wherein  all  sins  are  included;  and  whosoever 
is  free  from  it,  has  all  his  sins  forgiven  him: 
and  this  it  is,  that  they  believed  not  on  Christ, 
who  came  for  the  very  purpose  of  enlisting 
their  faith.  From  this  sin,  had  He  not  come, 
they  would  certainly  have  been  free.  His 
advent  has  become  as  much  fraught  with 
destruction  to  unbelievers,  as  it  is  with  salva 
tion  to  those  that  believe;  for  He,  the  Head 
and  Prince  of  the  apostles,  has  Himself,  as  it 
were,  become  what  they  declared  of  them 
selves,  "  to  some,  indeed,  the  savour  of  life 
unto  life;  and  to  some  the  savour  of  death 
unto  death."  ' 

2.  But  when  He  went  on  to  say,  "  But  now 
they  have  no  excuse  for  their  sin,"  some  may 
be  moved  to  inquire  whether  those  to  whom 
Christ  neither  came  nor  spake,  have  an  ex 
cuse  for  their  sin.     For  if  they  have  not,  why 
is  it  said  here  that  these  had  none,  on  the 
very  ground  that  He  did  come  and  speak  to 
them  ?     And  if  they  have,  have  they  it  to  the 
extent  of  thereby  being  barred  from  punish 
ment,  or  of  receiving  it  in  a  milder  degree  ? 
To  these  inquiries,  with  the  Lord's  help  and 
to  the  best  of  my  capacity,  I  reply,  that  such 
have  an  excuse,  not  for  every  one  of  their 
sins,  but    for  this   sin   of   not   believing   on 
Christ,  inasmuch  as  He  came  not  and  spake 
not  to  them.     But  it  is  not  in  the  number  of 
such  that  those  are  to  be  included,  to  whom 
He  came  in  the  persons  of  His  disciples,  and 
to  whom  He  spake  by  them,  as  He  also  does 
at  present;  for  by  His  Church  He  has  come, 
and  by  His  Church  He  speaks  to  the  Gentiles. 
For  to  this  are  to  be  referred  the  words  that 
He  spake,  "  He  that  receiveth  you,  receiveth 
me;"2   and,   "He  that    despiseth   you,  de- 
spiseth    me."3      "Or   would   ye,"    says   the 
Apostle  Paul,  "have  a  proof   of   Him  that 
speaketh  in  me,  namely  Christ."4 

3.  It   remains   for  us  to  inquire,  whether 
those  who,  prior  to  the   coming  of  Christ  in 
His  Church  to  the  Gentiles  and  to  their  hear 
ing  of  His  Gospel,  have  been,   or  are   now 
being,  overtaken  by  the  close  of  this  life,  can 
have  such  an  excuse?     Evidently  they  can, 
but  not  on    that  account    can    they  escape 
damnation.     "  For  as  many  as  have  sinned 
without  the  law,  shall  also  perish  without  the 
law;  and  as  many  as  have  sinned  in  the  law, 
shall  be  judged  by   the    law."5     And  these 
words  of  the  apostle,  inasmuch  as  his  saying, 
"  they  shall  perish,"  has  a  more  terrible  sound 
than  when  lie  says,  "they  shall  be  judged/' 


seem  to  show  that  such  an  excuse  can  not  only 
avail  them  nothing,  but  even  becomes  an  ad 
ditional  aggravation.      For  those  that  excuse 
themselves  because  they  did  not  hear,  "  shall 
perish  without  the  law." 

4.  But  it  is  also  a  worthy  subject  of  inquiry, 
whether  those  who  met  the  words  they  heard 
with  contempt,  and  even  with  opposition,  and 
that  not  merely  by  contradicting  them,  but 
also  by  persecuting  in  their  hatred  those  from 
whom  they  heard  them,  are  to  be  reckoned 
among  those  in  regard  to  whom  the  words, 
"  they  shall  be  judged  by  the  law,"  convey 
somewhat  of  a  milder  sound.  But  if  it  is  one 
thing  to  perish  without  the  law,  and  another 
to  be  judged  by  the  law;  and  the  former  is 
the  heavier,  the  latter  the  lighter  punishment: 
such,  without  a  doubt,  are  not  to  have  their 
place  assigned  in  that  lighter  measure  of 
punishment;  for,  so  far  from  sinning  in  the 
law,  they  utterly  refused  to  accept  the  law  of 
Christ,  and,  as  far  as  in  them  lay,  would  have 
had  it  altogether  annihilated.  But  those  that 
sin  in  the  law,  are  such  as  are  in  the  law,  that 
is,  who  accept  it,  and  confess  that  it  is  holy, 
and  the  commandment  holy,  and  just,  and 
good;6  but  fail  through  infirmity  in  fulfilling 
what  they  cannot  doubt  is  most  righteously 
enjoined  therein.  These  are  they  in  regard 
to  whose  fate  there  may  perhaps  be  some  dis 
tinction  made  from  the  perdition  of  those 
who  are  without  the  law :  and  yet  if  the 
apostle's  words,  "  they  shall  be  judged  by  the 
law,"  are  to  be  understood  as  meaning,  they 
shall  not  perish,  what  a  wonder  if  it  were  so  ! 
For  his  discourse  was  not  about  infidels  and 
believers  to  lead  him  to  say  so,  but  about 
Gentiles  and  Jews,  both  of  whom,  certainly, 
if  they  find  not  salvation  in  that  Saviour  who 
came  to  seek  that  which  was  lost,7  shall  doubt 
less  become  the  prey  of  perdition;  although  it 
may  be  said  that  some  shall  perish  in  a  more 
terrible,  others  in  a  more  mitigated  sense;  in 
other  words,  that  some  shall  suffer  a  heavier, 
and  others  a  lighter  penalty  in  their  perdition. 
For  he  is  rightly  said  to  perish  as  regards  God, 
whoever  is  separated  by  punishment  from  that 
blessedness  which  He  bestows  on  His  saints, 
and'the  diversity  of  punishments  is  as  great 
as  the  diversity  of  sins;  but  the  mode  thereof 
is  accounted  too  deep  by  divine  wisdom  for 
human  guessing  to  scrutinize  or  express. 
At  all  events,  those  to  whom  Christ  came, 
and  to  whom  He  spake,  have  not,  for  their 
great  sin  of  unbelief,  any  such  excuse  as 
,  may  enable  them  to  say,  We  saw  not,  we 
heard  not:  whether  it  be  that  such  an  excuse 
would  not  be  sustained  by  Him  whose  judg- 


<"nr.  ii.  it', 
e'ur.  xiii.   ;. 


2  Matt. 
5  Rom. 


3  Luke  x.  16. 


Rom.  vii.  12. 


7  I.uke  xix.  to. 


.1    \<  .  ] 


ON  •nil.  GOSPEL  01    ST.  JOHN. 


.09 


incuts  arc  ansean  haHr,  «>r  whether  it  would, 
and  that,  if  not  for  their  entire  deliverance 
from  damnation,  at  least  for  its  partial  al 
leviation. 

5.   "  He  that  nateth  me,"  1  hateth 

my  Father  also."  Here  it  may  l>e  said  to  us, 
Who  can  hate  one  whom  he  knows  not  ?  And 
certainly  before  saying,  "  If  I  had  not  come 
and  spoken  unto  them,  they  had  not  had 
sin,"  He  had  said  to  His  disciples,  "These 
things  will  they  do  unto  you,  because  they 
know  not  Him  that  sent  me."  How,  then, 
do  they  both  know  not,  and  hate  ?  For  if  the 


notion  they  have  formed  of  Him  is  not  that 
which  He  is  in  Himself,  hut  seme  unknown 
conjecture  of  their  own,  then  certainly  it  is  not 
Himself  they  are  found  to  hate,  but  that 
figment  which  they  devise  or  rather  suspect 
in  their  error.  And  yet,  were  it  not  that  men 
j  could  hate  that  which  they  know  not,  the 
Truth  would  not  have  asserted  both,  namely, 
that  they  both  know  not,  and  hate  His  Father. 
But  such  a  possibility,  if  by  the  Lord's  help 
we  are  able  to  show  it,  cannot  be  demonstrated 
at  present,  as  this  discourse  must  now  be 
brought  to  a  close. 


TRACTATE    XC. 

CHAPTER    XV.   23. 


i.  THE  Lord  says,  as  you  have  just  been 
hearing,  "He  that  hateth '  me,  hateth  my 
Father  also;"  and  yet  He  had  said  a  little 
before,  "  These  things  will  they  do  unto  you, 
because  they  know  not  Him  that  sent  me." 
A  question  therefore  arises  that  cannot  be 
overlooked,  how  they  can  hate  one  whom  they 
know  not  ?  For  if  it  is  not  God  as  He  really 
is,  but  something  else,  I  know  not  what,  that 
they  suspect  or  believe  Him  to  be,  and  hate 
this;  then  assuredly  it  is  not  God  Himself 
that  they  hate,  but  the  thing  they  conceive  in 
their  own  erroneous  suspicion  or  baseless 
credulity;  and  if  they  think  of  Him  as  He 
really  is,  how  can  they  be  said  to  know  Him 
not  ?  It  may  be  the  case,  indeed,  with  regard 
to  men,  that  we  frequently  love  those  whom 
we  have  never  seen;  and  in  this  way  it  can,  on 
the  other  hand,  be  none  the  less  impossible 
that  we  should  hate  those  whom  we  have  never 
seen.  The  report,  for  instance,  whether  good 
or  bad,  about  some  preacher,  leads  us  not 
improperly  to  love  or  to  hate  the  unknown. 
But  if  the  report  is  truthful,  how  can  one,  of 
whom  we  have  got  such  true  accounts,  be 
spoken  of  as  unknown  ?  Is  it  because  we  .have 
not  seen  his  face  ?  And  yet,  though  he  him 
self  does  not  see  it,  he  can  be  known  to  no 
one  better  than  to  himself.  The  knowledge 
of  any  one,  therefore,  is  not  conveyed  to  us 
in  his  bodily  countenance,  but  only  lies  open 
to  our  apprehension  when  his  life  and  char 
acter  are  revealed.  Otherwise  no  one  would 
be  able  to  know  himself,  because  unable  to 
see  his  o>vn  face.  But  surely  he  knows  him 
self  more  certainly  than  he  is  known  to 
others,  inasmuch  as  by  inward  inspection  he 


]  can  the  more  certainly  see  what  he  is  conscious 
I  of,  what  he  desires,  what  he  is  living  for;  and 
it  is  when  these  are  likewise  laid  open  to  us, 
that  he  becomes  truly  known  to  ourselves. 
And  as  these,  accordingly,  are  commonly 
brought  to  us  regarding  the  absent,  or  even 
the  dead,  either  by  hearsay  or  correspondence, 
it  thus  comes  about  that  people  whom  we  have 
never  seen  by  face  (and  yet  of  whom  we  are 
not  entirely  ignorant),  we  frequently  either 
hate  or  love. 

2.  But  in  such  cases  our  credulity  is  fre 
quently  at  fault;  for  sometimes  even  history, 
and  still  more  ordinary  report,  turns  out  to  be 
false.  Yet,  it  ought  to  be  our  concern,  in 
order  not  to  be  misled  by  an  injurious  opinion, 
seeing  we  cannot  search  into  the  consciences  of 
men,  to  have  a  true  and  certain  sentiment 
about  things  themselves.  I  mean,  that  in 
regard  to  this  or  that  man,  if  we  know  not 
whether  he  is  immodest  or  modest,  we  should 
at  all  events  hate  immodesty  and  love  mod 
esty:  and  if  in  regard  to  some  one  or  other  we 
know  not  whether  he  is  unjust  or  just,  we 
should  at  any  rate  love  justice  and  abhor  in 
justice;  not  such  things  as  we  erroneously 
fancy  to  ourselves,  but  such  as  we  believingly 
perceive  according  to  God's  truth,  the  one  to 
be  desired,  the  other  to  be  shunned;  so  that, 
when  in  regard  to  things  themselves  we  do 
desire  what  ought  to  be  desired,  and  utterly 
avoid  what  ought  to  be  avoided,  we  may  find 
pardon  for  the  mistaken  feelings  which  we  at 
i  times,  yea,  at  all  times,  entertain  regarding 
the  actual  state  of  others  which  is  hidden  from 
our  eyes.  For  this,  I  think,  has  to  do  with 
human  temptation,  without  which  we  cannot 


36o 


Till-:  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


|TK.v  i  MI     XC. 


pass  through  this  life,  so  that  the  apostle  said, 
"  No  temptation  should  befall  you  but  such  as 
is  common  to  man."1  For  what  is  so  com 
mon  to  man  as  inability  to  inspect  the  heart 
of  man;  and  therefore,  instead  of  scrutinizing 
its  inmost  recesses,  to  suspect  for  the  most 
part  something  very  different  from  what  is 
going  on  therein?  And  although  in  these 
dark  regions  of  human  realities,  that  is,  of 
other  people's  inward  thoughts,  we  cannot 
clear  up  our  suspicions,  because  we  are  only 
men,  yet  we  ought  to  restrain  our  judgments, 
that  is,  all  definite  and  fixed  opinions,  and 
not  judge  anything  before  the  time,  until  the 
Lord  come,  and  bring  to  light  the  hidden 
things  of  darkness,  and  make  manifest  the 
counsels  of  the  hearts;  and  then  shall  every 
man  have  praise  of  God.2  When,  therefore, 
we  are  falling  into  no  error  in  regard  to  the 
thing  itself,  so  that  there  is  an  accordance 
with  right  in  our  reprobation  of  vice  and  ap 
probation  of  virtue;  surely,  if  a  mistake  is 
committed  in  connection  with  individuals,  a 
temptation  so  characteristic  of  man  is  within 
the  scope  of  forgiveness. 

3.  But  amid  all  these  darknesses  of  human 
hearts,  it  happens  as  a  thing  much  to  be  won 
dered  at  and  mourned  over,  that  one,  whom 
we  account  unjust,  and  who  nevertheless  is 
just,  and  in  whom,  without  knowing  it,  we 
love  justice,  we  sometimes  avoid,  and  turn 
away  from,  and  hinder  from  approaching  us, 
and  refuse  to  have  life  and  living  in  common 
with  him;  and,  if  necessity  compel  the  in 
fliction  of  discipline,  whether  to  save  others 
from  harm  or  bring  the  person  himself  back 
to  rectitude,  we  even  pursue  him  with  a  salu 
tary  harshness;  and  so  afflict  a  good  man  as 
if  he  were  wicked,  and  one  whom  unknow 
ingly  we  love.  This  takes  place  if  one,  for 
example's  sake,  who  is  modest  is  believed  by 
us  to  be  the  opposite.  For,  beyond  doubt, 
if  I  love  a  modest  person,  he  is  himself  the 
very  object  that  I  love;  and  therefore  I  love 
the  man  himself,  and  know  it  not.  And  if  I 
hate  an  immodest  person,  it  is  on  that  ac 
count,  not  him  that  I  hate:  for  he  is  not  the 
thing  that  I  hate;  and  yet  to  that  object  of 


Cor.  i 


my  love,  with  whom  my  heart  makes  con 
tinual  abode  in  the  love  of  modesty,  I  am 
ignorantly  doing  an  injury,  erring  as  I  do, 
not  in  the  distinction  I  make  between  virtue 
and  vice,  but  in  the  thick  darkness  of  the 
human  heart.  Accordingly,  as  it  may  so 
happen  that  a  good  man  may  unknowingly 
hate  a  good  man,  or  rather  loves  him  without 
knowing  it  (for  the  man  himself  he  loves  in 
loving  that  which  is  good;  for  what  the  other 
is,  is  the  very  thing  that  he  loves);  and  with 
out  knowing  it,  hates  not  the  man  himself, 
but  that  which  he  supposes  him  to  be:  so 
may  it  also  be  the  case  that  an  unjust  man 
hates  a  just  man,  and,  wnile  he  opines  that 
he  loves  one  who  is  unjust  like  himself,  un 
knowingly  loves  the  just  man;  and  yet  so 
j  long  as  he  believes  him  to  be  unjust,  he  loves 
not  the  man  himself,  but  that  which  he  im 
agines  him  to  be.  And  as  it  is  with  another 
man,  so  is  it  also  with  God.  For,  to  con 
clude,  had  the  Jews  been  asked*  if  they  loved 
God,  what  other  answer  would  they  have  given 
but  that  they  did  love  Him,  and  that  not  with 
any  intentional  falsehood,  but  because  errone 
ously  fancying  that  they  did  so  ?  For  how 
could  they  love  the  Father  of  the  truth,  who 
were  filled  with  hatred  to  the  truth  itself? 
For  they  do  not  wish  their  own  conduct  to  be 
condemned,  and  it  is  the  truth's  task  to  con 
demn  such  conduct;  and  thus  they  hated  the 
truth  as  much  as  they  hated  their  own  punish 
ment,  which  the  truth  awards  to  such.  But 
they  know  not  that  to  be  the  truth  which  lays 
its  condemnation  on  such  as  they:  therefore 
they  hate  that  which  they  know  not;  and  hat 
ing  it,  they  certainly  cannot  but  also  hate 
Him  of  whom  it  is  born.  And  in  this  way, 
because  they  know  not  the  truth,  by  whose 
judgment  they  are  condemned,  as  that  which 
is  born  of  God  the  Father;  of  a  surety  also 
they  both  know  not,  and  hate  [the  Father] 
Himself.  Miserable  men !  who,  because 
wishing  to  be  wicked,  deny  that  to  be  the 
truth  whereby  the  wicked  are  condemned. 
For  they  refuse  to  own  that  to  be  what  it  is, 
when  they  ought  themselves  to  refuse  to  be 
what  they  are  ;  in  order  that,  while  it  remains 
the  same,  they  may  be  changed,  lest  by  its 
judgment  they  fall  into  condemnation. 


\ii.   \n.| 


ON     I  III.   (,(  )SI'!-:i.  <)F   S  I.    |<  »!I\. 


361 


TRACTATE  XCI. 

CHAI-I  KK   X\'.   24,  25. 


1.  THK   Lord   had  said,   "He   that   hateth 
me,  hateth  my  Father  also."     For  of  a  cer 
tainty  he  that  hateth  the  truth  must  also  hate 
Him  of  whom  the  truth  is  horn  ;    on  which 
subject  we  have  already  spoken,  as  we  were 
granted    ability.      And    then    He  added   the 
words  on   which  we   have  now  to  discourse: 
"If    I   had   not  done  among  [in]  them  the 
works  which  none  other  man  did,  they  had 
not  l\ad  sin."    To  wit,  that  great  sin  whereof 
He  also  says  before,  "  If  I  had  not  come  and 
spoken   unto  them,  they  had  not  had   sin." 
Their  sin  was  that  of  not  believing  on  Him 
who  thus  spake  and  wrought.     For  they  were 
not  without  sin  before  He  so  spake  to  them 
and  did  such  works  among  them;  but  this  sin 
of  theirs,  in  not  believing  on  Him,  is  thus 
specially  mentioned  because  really  inclusive 
in  itself  of  all   sins  besides.     For  had   they 
been  clear  of  this  one,  and  believed  on  Him, 
all  else  would  also  have  been  forgiven. 

2.  But  what  is  meant  when,  after  saying, 
"  If  I  had  not  done  among  them  works,"  He 
immediately  added,  "which  none  other  man 
did  "  ?     Of  a  certainty,  among  all  the  works 
of  Christ,  none  seem  to  be  greater  than  the 
raising  of  the  dead;    and   yet  we  know  that 
the  same  was  done  by  the  prophets  of  olden 
time.     For  Elias  did   so; '   and  Elisha  also, 
both  when  alive   in  the  flesh,2  and  when  he 
lay  buried  in  his  sepulchre.     For  when  cer 
tain  men,  who  were  carrying  a  dead  person, 
had  fled  thither  for  refuge  from  an  onset  of 
their  enemies,  and  had  laid  him  down  therein, 
he   instantly  came   again  to  life.3     And   yet 
there  were  some  works  that  Christ  did  which 
none  other  man  did:    as,  when  He  fed  the 
five  thousand  men  with  five  loaves,  and  the 
four  thousand  with  seven;4   when   He  walked 
on  the  waters,  and  gave   Peter  power  to  do 
the  same;5   when  He  changed  the  water  into 
wine;6   when  He  opened  the  eyes  of  a  man 
that  was  born  blind,7  and  many  besides,  which 
it  would  take  long  to  mention.      But  we  are 
answered,  that  others  also  have  done  works 
which  even   He  did  not,  and  which  no  other 
man   has  done.     For  who  else   save    Moses 
smote    the    Egyptians    with     so    many    and 
mighty  plagues,8  as  when   He  led  the  people 
through  the  parted  waters  of  the  sea,9  when 


he  obtained  manna  for  them  from  heaven  in 
their  hunger,10  and  water  from  the  rock  in 
their  thirst  ?"  Who  else  save  Joshua  the  son 
of  Nun  "divided  the  stream  of  the 'Jordan  for 
the  people  to  pass  over,'3  and  by  the  utter 
ance  of  a  prayer  to  God  bridled  and  stopped 
the  revolving  sun  ?M  Who  save  Samson  ever 
]  quenched  his  thirst  with  water  flowing  forth 
from  the  jawbone  of  a  dead  ass  ?  's  Who  save 
Elias  was  carried  aloft  in  a  chariot  of  fire?'6 
Who  save  Elisha,  as  I  have  just  mentioned, 
i  after  his  own  body  was  buried,  restored  the 
dead  body  of  another  to  life  ?  Who  else  be- 
i  sides  Daniel  lived  unhurt  amid  the  jaws  of 
famishing  lions,  that  were  shut  up  with  him  ?  '7 
And  who  else  save  the  three  men  Ananias, 
Azariah,  and  Mishael,  ever  walked  about  un 
harmed  in  flames  that  blazed  and  did  not 
burn  ?  '* 

3.   I    pass   by  other  examples,   as  these   I 
consider  to  be  sufficient  to  show  that  some  of 
the  saints  have  done  wonderful  works,  which 
I  none  other  man  did.     But  we  read  of  no  one 
whatever  of  the  ancients  who  cured  with  such 
power  so  many  bodily  defects,  and  bad  states 
of  the  health,  and  troubles  of  mortals.     For, 
!  to  say  nothing  of  those  individual  cases  which 
;  He  healed,  as  they  occurred,  by  the  word  of 
;  command,  the  Evangelist  Mark  says  in  a  cer- 
i  tain  place:    "And  at  even,  when  the  sun  had 
1  set,  they  brought  unto  Him  all  that  were  dis 
eased,   and   them    that   were    possessed    with 
devils.     And  all  the  city  was  gathered  together 
at  the  door.     And  He  healed  many  that  were 
sick  of  divers  diseases,  and   cast  out  many 
devils."  ''     And   Matthew,   in  giving  us  the 
same  account,  has  also  added  the  prophetic 
testimony,   when   he  says:     "  That  it  might 
be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  Isaiah  the 
prophet,  saying,  Himself  took  our  infirmities, 
and  bare  our  sickness."  "°    In  another  passage 
also  it  is  said  by  Mark:    "And  whithersoever 
He  entered,  into  villages,  or  cities,  or  coun 
try,  they  laid  the  sick  in  the  streets,  and  be 
sought  Him  that  they  might  touch  if  it  were 
but  the  border  of  His  garment:    and  as  many 
as  touched  Him  were  made  whole. ""     None 
other  man  did  such  things  ///  them.     For  so 
are  we  to  understand  the  words  in  ///<•///,  not 


1  i  Kin^s  xvii.  21,  22.         -  2  Kings  iv.  35.        3  2  Kings  xin.  n. 
«  Matt.  xiv.  15-21,  and  xv.  12-38.  5  Matt.  xiv.  25-29. 

6  John  ij.  9.  ix.  7. 

8  Ex.  vii.-xii.  9  Ex.  xiv.  21-20. 


»  r.x.  xvi.  "  r.x.  xvii.  o. 

«  "  Jesus  Nave  "  :  'IitffoOt  (wii*)  Nawij,  Sept.,  Josh.  i.  i. 

u  losh.  x.  ,2-14.  '5  ludg.  xv.  ,9. 

1*2  Kings  u.  u.  >7  DSD  l8  Dan.  ui.  23-27. 


Kim;- 


Matt.  viii.  17. 


362 


T11K  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[Tk.VI.VlF.     \l    II. 


among  them,  or  in  their  presence;  but  di 
rectly  ///  ///<•///,  because  He  healed  them.  For 
He  wished  them  to  understand  the  works  as 
those  which  not  only  occasioned  admiration, 
but  conferred  also  manifest  healing,  and  were 
benefits  which  they  ought  surely  to  have  re 
quited  with  love,  and  not  with  hatred.  He 
transcends,  indeed,  the  miracles  of  all  be 
sides,  in  being  born  of  a  virgin,  and  in  pos 
sessing  alpne  the  power,  both  in  His  con 
ception  and  birth,  to  preserve  inviolate  the 
integrity  of  His  mother:  but  that  was  done 
neither  before  their  eyes  nor  in  them.  For 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth  of  such  a  miracle 
was  reached  by  the  apostles,  not  through  any 
onlooking  that  they  had  in  common  with 
others,  but  in  the  course  of  their  separate 
discipleship.  Moreover,  the  fact  that  on  the 
third  day  He  restored  Himself  to  life  from 
the  very  tomb,  in  the  flesh  wherein  He  had 
been  slain,  and,  never  thereafter  to  die,  with 
it  ascended  into  heaven,  even  surpasses  all 
else  that  He  did:  but  just  as  little  was  this 
done  either  in  the  Jews  or  before  their  eyes; 
nor  had  it  yet  been  done,  when  He  said,  "  If 
I  had  not  done  among  them  the  works  which 
none  other  man  did." 

4.  The  works,  then,  are  doubtless  those 
miracles  of  healing  in  connection  with  their 
bodily  complaints  which  He  exhibited  to  such 
an  extent  as  no  one  before  had  furnished 
amongst  them:  for  these  they  saw,  and  it  is 
in  reproaching  them  therewith  that  He  pro 
ceeds  to  say,  "  But  now  have  they  both  seen 
and  hated  both  me  and  my  Father:  but  [this 
cometh  to  pass]  that  the  word  might  be  ful 


filled  that  is  written  in  their  law,  They  hated 
me  without  a  cause  [gratuitously]."  He  calls 
it,  their  law,  not  as  invented  by  them,  but 
given  to  them:  just  as  we  say,  "  Our  daily 
bread;"  which,  nevertheless,  we  ask  of  God 
in  conjoining  the  words  "Give  us."1  But 
one  hates  gratuitously  who  neither  seeks  ad 
vantage  from  the  hatred  nor  avoids  incon 
venience:  so  do  the  wicked  hate  the  Lord; 
and  so  also  is  He  loved  by  the  righteous,  that 
is  to  say,  gratuitously  [gratis,  freely,]  inas 
much  as  they  expect  no  other  gifts  beyond 
Himself,  for  He  Himself  will  be  all  in  all. 
But  whoever  would  be  disposed  to  look  for 
something  more  profound  in  the  words  of 
Christ,  "  If  I  had  not  done  among  them  the 
works  which  none  other  man  did  "  (for  al 
though  such  were  done  by  the  Father,  or  the 
Holy  Spirit,  yet  no  one  else  did  them,  for  the 
whole  Trinity  is  one  and  the  same  in  sub 
stance),  he  will  find  that  it  was  He  who  did  it 
even  when  some  man  of  God  did  something 
similar.  For  in  Himself  He  can  do  every 
thing  by  Himself;  but  without  Him  no  one 
can  do  anything.  For  Christ  with  the  Father 
and  the  Holy  Spirit  are  not  three  Gods,  but 
one  God,  of  whom  it  is  written,  "  Blessed  be 
the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  who  only  doeth  won 
drous  things." 2  No  one  else,  therefore, 
really  himself  did  the  works  which  He  did 
amongst  them;  for  any  one  else  who  did  any 
such  works,  did  them  only  through  His  doing. 
But  He  Himself  did  them  without  any  doing 
on  their  part. 


TRACTATE    XCII. 

CHAPTER  XV.  26,  27. 


i.  THE  Lord  Jesus,  in  the  discourse  which 
He  addressed  to  His  disciples  after  the  sup 
per,  when  Himself  in  immediate  proximity  to 
His  passion,  and,  as  it  were,  on  the  eve  of 
departure,  and  of  depriving  them  of  His  bod 
ily  presence  while  continuing  His  spiritual ! 
presence  to  all  His  disciples  till  the  very  end  j 
of  the  world,  exhorted  them  to  endure  the 
persecutions  of  the  wicked,  whom  He  distin 
guished  by  the  name  of  the  world:  and  from 
which  He  also  told  them  that  He  had  chosen 
the  disciples  themselves,  that  they  might 
know  it  was  by  the  grace  of  God  they  were 
what  they  were,  and  by  their  own  vices  they 


had  been  what  they  had  been.  And  then 
His  own  persecutors  and  theirs  He  clearly 
signified  to  be  the  Jews,  that  it  might  be  per 
fectly  apparent  that  they  also  were  included 
in  the  appellation  of  that  damnable  world  that 
persecuteth  the  saints.  And  when  He  had 
said  of  them  that  they  knew  not  Him  that 
sent  Him,  and  yet  hated  both  the  Son  and  the 
Father,  that  is,  both  Him  who  was  sent  and 
Him  who  sent  Him, — of  all  which  we  have 
already  treated  in  previous  discourses, — He 
reached  the  place  where  it  is  said,  "This 
cometh  to  pass,  that  the  word  might  be  ful 
filled  that  is  written  in  their  law,  They  hated 


TRACTMI    \c\\] 


:  III.  GOSPEL  i  'I    ST.  JOHN. 


363 


me  without  a  cause."  Ami  then  He  added, 
as  if  by  way  ot  consequence,  the  words 
whereon  we  have  undertaken  at  present  to 
discourse  :  "  Hut  when  the  Comforter  is 
come,  whom  I  will  send  unto  you  from  the  Fa 
ther,  even  the  Spirit  of  truth,  who  proceedeth 
from  the  Father,  He  shall  bear  witness 
of  me:  and  ye  also  shall  bear  witness,  be 
cause  ye  have  been  with  me  from  the  be 
ginning."  But  what  connection  has  this  with 
what  He  had  just  said,  "  But  now  have 
they  both  seen  and  hated  both  me  and  my 
Father:  but  that  the  word  might  be  fulfilled 
that  is  written  in  their  law,  They  hated  me 
without  a  cause"?  Was  it  that  the  Com 
forter,  when  He  came,  even  the  Spirit  of 
truth,  convicted  those,  who  thus  saw  and 
hated,  by  a  still  clearer  testimony  ?  Yea, 
verily »  some  even  of  those  who  saw,  and  still 
hated,  He  did  convert,  by  this  manifestation 
of  Himself,  to  the  faith  that  worketh  by  love.1 
To  make  this  view  of  the  passage  intelligible, 
we  recall  to  your  mind  that  so  it  actually  be 
fell.  For  when  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  the 
Holy  Spirit  fell  upon  an  assembly  of  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty  men,  among  whom  were  all 
the  apostles;  and  when  they,  filled  therewith, 
were  speaking  in  the  language  of  every  nation; 
a  goodly  number  of  those  who  had  hated, 
amazed  at  the  magnitude  of  the  miracle  (es 
pecially  when  they  perceived  in  Peter's  ad 
dress  so  great  and  divine  a  testimony  borne 
in  behalf  of  Christ,  as  that  He,  who  was  slain 
by  them  and  accounted  amongst  the  dead, 
was  proved  to  have  risen  again,  and  to  be 
now  alive),  were  pricked  in  their  hearts  and 
converted;  and  so  became  aware  of  the  benefi 
cent  character  of  that  precious  blood  which 
had  been  so  impiously  and  cruelly  shed,  be 
cause  themselves  redeemed  by  the  very  blood 
which  they  had  shed.2  For  the  blood  of 
Christ  was  shed  so  efficaciously  for  the  re 
mission  of  all  sins,  that  it  could  wipe  out 
even  the  very  sin  of  shedding  it%.  With  this 
therefore  in  His  eye,  the  Lord  said,  "They 
hated  me  without  a  cause:  but  when  the 
Comforter  is  come,  He  shall  bear  witness  of 
me;''  saying,  as  it  were,  They  hated  me,  and 
slew  me  when  I  stood  visibly  before  their 
eyes;  but  such  shall  be  the  testimony  borne 
in  my  behalf  by  the  Comforter,  that  He  will 
bring  them  to  believe  in  me  when  I  am  no 
longer  visible  to  their  sight. 

2.  "And  ye  also,"  He  says,  "  shall  bear  wit 
ness,  because  ye  have  been  with  me  from  the 
beginning."  The  Holy  Spirit  shall  bear  wit 
ness,  and  so  also  shall  ye.  For,  just  because 
ye  have  been  with  me  from  the  beginning, 


|  ye  can  preach  what  ye  know;  which  ye  cannot 
do  at  present,  because  the  fullness  of  that 
Spirit  is  not  yet  present  within  you.  "He 
therefore  shall  testify  of  me,  and  ye  also  shall 
bear  witness:"  for  the  love  of  God  shed 
abroad  in  your  hearts  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
who  shall  be  given  unto  you,3  will  give  you 
the  confidence  needful  for  such  witness- 
bearing.  And  that  certainly  was  still  want 
ing  to  Peter,  when,  terrified  by  the  question 
I  of  a  lady's  maid,  he  could  give  no  true  testi- 
jmony;  but,  contrary  to  his  own  promise,  was 
driven  by  the  greatness  of  his  fear  thrice  to 
deny  Him.4  But  there  is  no  such  fear  in 
I  love,  for  perfect  love  casteth  out  fear.5  Jn 
fine,  before  the  Lord's  passion,  his  slavish 
fear  was  questioned  by  a  bond-woman;  but 
after  the  Lord's  resurrection,  his  free  love  by 
the  very  Lord  of  freedom:6  and  so  on  the 
one  occasion  he  was  troubled,  on  the  other 
tranquillized;  there  he  denied  the  One  he  had 
|  loved,  here  he  loved  the  One  he  had  denied. 
1  But  still  even  then  that  very  love  was  weak 
|  and  straitened,  till  strengthened  and  expanded 
I  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  And  then  that  Spirit, 
pervading  him  thus  with  the  fullness  of  richer 
grace,  kindled  his  hitherto  frigid  heart  to  such 
a  witness-bearing  for  Christ,  and  unlocked 
those  lips  that  in  their  previous  tremor  had 
suppressed  the  truth,  that,  when  all  on  whom 
|  the  Holy  Spirit  had  descended  were  speaking 
I  in  the  tongues  of  all  nations  to  the  crowds  of 
Jews  collected  around,  he  alone  broke  forth 
before  the  others  in  the  promptitude  of  his 
testimony  in  behalf  of  the  Christ,  and  con 
founded  His  murderers  with  the  account  of 
His  resurrection.  And  if  any  one  would  en 
joy  the  pleasure  of  gazing  on  a  sight  so  charm 
ing  in  its  holiness,  let  him  read  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles:7  and  there  let  him  be  filled 
with  amazement  at  the  preaching  of  the 
blessed  Peter,  over  whose  denial  of  his  Mas 
ter  he  had  just  been  mourning;  there  let  him 
behold  that  tongue,  itself  translated  from 
diffidence  to  confidence,  from  bondage  to 
liberty,  converting  to  the  confession  of  Christ 
the  tongues  of  so  many  of  His  enemies,  not 
one  of  which  he  could  bear  when  lapsing  him 
self  into  denial.  And  what  shall  I  say  more  ? 
In  him  there  shone  forth  such  an  effulgence 
of  grace,  and  such  a  fullness  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  such  a  weight  of  most  precious 
truth  poured  from  the  lips  of  the  preacher, 
that  he  transformed  that  vast  multitude  of 
Jews  who  were  the  adversaries  and  murderers 
of  Christ  into  men  that  were  ready  to  die  for 
His  name,  at  whose  hands  he  himself  was 
formerly  afraid  to  die  with  his  Master.  All 


i  Gal.  v.  6 


'  Acts  ii.  3. 


t  Rom.  v.  5.  4  Matt.  xxvi.  69-74 

6  John  xxi.  15. 


5  i  John  iv.  18. 
7  Acuii.-v. 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTAIK   XCIII. 


this  did  that  Holy  Spirit  when  sent,  who  had 
previously  only  been  promised.  And  it  was 
these  great  and  marvellous  gifts  of  His  own 
that  the  Lord  foresaw,  when  He  said,  "  They 
have  both  seen  and  hated  both  me  and  my 
Father:  that  the  word  might  be  fulfilled  that 
is  written  in  their  law,  They  hated  me  without 
a  cause.  But  when  the  Comforter  is  come, 


whom  I  will  send  unto  you  from  the  Father, 
even  the  Spirit  of  truth,  who  proceedeth  from 
the  Father,  He  shall  testify  of  me:  and  ye 
also  shall  bear  witness."  For  He,  in  bearing 
witness  Himself,  and  inspiring  such  witnesses 
with  invincible  courage,  divested  Christ's 
friends  of  their  fear,  and  transformed  into 
love  the  hatred  of  His  enemies. 


TRACTATE    XCIII. 

CHAPTER  XVI.   1-4. 


i.  I\  the  words  preceding  this  chapter  of 
the  Gospel,  the  Lord  strengthened  His  disci 
ples  to  endure  the  hatred  of  their  enemies, 
and  prepared  them  also  by  His  own  example 
to  become  the  more  courageous  in  imitating 
Him:  adding  the  promise,  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  should  come  to  bear  witness  of  Him, 
and  also  that  they  themselves  could  become 
His  witnesses,  through  the  effectual  working  of 
His  Spirit  in  their  hearts.  For  such  is  His 
meaning  when  He  saith,  "  He  shall  bear  wit 


he  preached  Christ  even  to  the  death,  whom, 
in  his  fear  of  death,  he  had  previously  denied. 
And  so  the  Lord  in  this  succeeding  chapter, 
on  which  we  have  now  to  address  you,  saith, 
"  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that 
ye  should  not  be  offended."  As  it  is  sung 
in  the  psalm,  "Great  peace  have  they  who 


love    Thy 


and    nothing    shall    offend 


them."3     Properly   enough,    therefore, 

the    promise   of   the    Holy  Spirit,  by  whose 

operation  in  their  hearts  they  should  be  made 


ness  of  me,  and  ye  also  shall  bear  witness."  |  His    witnesses,    He    added,    "These    things 
That  is  to  say,  because  He  shall  bear  witness,  I  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that  ye  should  not 


ye  also  shall  bear  witness:  He  in  your  hearts, 
you  in  your  voices;  He  by  inspiration,  you 
by  utterance:  that  the  words  might  be  ful 
filled,  "  Their  sound  hath  gone  forth  into  all 
the  earth."  '  For  it  would  have  been  to  little 
purpose  to  have  exhorted  them  by  His  ex 
ample,  had  He  not  also  filled  them  with  His 
Spirit.  Just  as  we  see  that  the  Apostle  Peter, 
after  having  heard  His  words,  when  He  said, 
"  The  servant  is  not  greater  than  his  lord:  if 
they  have  persecuted  me,  they  will  also  per 
secute  you;  "  2  and  seen  that  already  fulfilled 


be  offended."  For  when  the  love  of  God  is 
shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
given  unto  us,4  they  have  great  peace  who  love 
God's  law,  so  that  nothing  may  offend  them. 

2.  And  then  He  expressly  declares  what 
they  were  to  suffer:  "  They  shall  put  you  out 
of  the  synagogues."  But  what  harm  was  it 
for  the  apostles  to  be  expelled  from  the  Jew 
ish  synagogues,  as  if  they  were  not  to  separate 
themselves  therefrom,  although  no  one  ex 
pelled  them  ?  Doubtless  He  meant  to  an 
nounce  with  reprobation,  that  the  Jews  would 


in  Him,  wherein,  had  example  been  sufficient,  i  refuse  to  receive  Christ,  from  whom  they  as 


he  ought  to  have  imitated  the  patient  endur 
ance  of  his  Lord,  yet  succumbed  and  fell  into 


certainly  would  refuse  to  withdraw;    and  so  it 
would  come  to  pass  that  the  latter,  who  could 


denial,  as  utterly  unable  to  bear  what  He  saw   not  exist  without  Him,  would  also  be  cast  out 
his  Master  enduring.     But  when  he  really  re-  j  along  with  Him  by  those  who  would  not  have 


ceived  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  he  preached 
Him  whom  he  had  denied;  and  whom  he  had 
been  afraid  to  confess,  he  had  no  fear  now  in 
openly  proclaiming.  Already,  indeed,  had 


Him  as  their  place  of  abode.  For  certainly, 
as  there  was  no  other  people  of  God  than  that 
seed  of  Abraham,  they  would,  had  they  only 
acknowledged  and  received  Christ,  have  re- 


he  been  sufficiently  taught  by  example  to  |  mained  as  the  natural  branches  in  the  olive 
know  what  was  proper  to  be  done;  but  not  tree;5  nor  would  the  churches  of  Christ  have 
yet  was  he  inspired  with  the  power  to  do  what  been  different  from  the  synagogues  of  the 
he  knew:  he  had  got  instruction  to  stand,  but  j  Jews,  for  they  would  have  been  one  and  the 
not  the  strength  to  keep  him  from  falling,  same,  had  they  also  desired  to  abide  in  Him. 
But  after  this  was  supplied  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  But  having  refused,  what  remained  but  that, 


Ps.  xix.  4. 


Chap.  xv.  20. 


3  Ps.  cxix.  165. 


5  Rom.  xi.  17. 


Ml       .VIII.] 


ON   Till:  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


continuing  themselves  out  of  Christ,  they  put 
out  iif  I!R-  synagogues  those  who  would  not 
abandon  Ciirist  ?  For  having  received  en- 
Holy  Spirit,  and  so  become  His  witnesses, 
they  would  certainly  not  belong  to  the  c  las-, 
of  whom  it  is  said:  "  Many  of  the  chief  rulers 
of  the  JeA-s  believed  on  Him;  but  for  fear 
of  the  |ews  they  dared  not  confess  Him,  lest 
they  should  be  put  out  of  the  synagogue:  for 
they  loved  the  praise  of  men  more  than  the 
praise  of  God.'"  And  so  they  believed  on 
Him,  but  not  in  the  way  He  wished  them  to 
believe  when  He  said:  "  How  can  ye  believe, 
who  expect  honor  one  of  another,  and  seek 
not  the  honor  that  cometh  from  God  only  ?  "  * 
It  is,  therefore,  with  those  disciples  who  so 
believe  in  Him,  that,  filled  with  the  "Holy 
Spirit,  or,  in  other  words,  with  the  gift  of  di 
vine  grace,  they  no  longer  belong  to  those 
who,  "  ignorant  of  the  righteousness  of  God, 
and  going  about  to  establish  their  own,  have 
not  submitted  themselves  to  the  righteous 
ness  of  God;  "3  nor  to  those  of  whom  it  is 
said,  "They  loved  the  praise  of  men  more 
than  the  praise  of  God:"  that  the  prophecy 
harmonizes,  which  finds  its  fulfillment  in  their 
own  case:  "  They  shall  walk,  O  Lord,  in  the 
light  of  Thy  countenance:  and  in  Thy  name 
shall  they  rejoice  all  the  day;  and  in  Thy  right 
eousness  shall  they  be  exalted:  for  Thou  art 
the  glory  of  their  strength."  4  Rightly  enough 
is  it  said  to  such,  "They  shall  cast  you  out 
of  the  synagogues;  "  that  is,  they  who  "  have 
a  zeal  for  God,  but  not  according  to  knowl 
edge;"  because,  "ignorant  of  God's  right 
eousness,  and  going  about  to  establish  their 
own,"  5  they  expel  those  who  are  exalted,  not 
in  their  own  righteousness,  but  in  God's,  and 
have  no  cause  to  be  ashamed  at  being  ex 
pelled  by  men,  since  He  is  the  glory  of  their 
strength. 

3.  Finally,  to  what  He  had  thus  told  them, 
He  added  the  words:  "  But  the  hour  cometh, 
that  whosoever  killeth  you  will  think  that  he 
doeth  God  service:  and  these  things  will  they 
do  unto  you,  because  they  have  not  known 
the  Father,  nor  me."  That  is  to  say,  they 
have  not  known  the  Father,  nor  His  Son,  to 
whom  they  think  they  will  be  doing  service  in 
slaying  you.  Words  which  the  Lord  added 
in  the  way  of  consolation  to  His  own,  who 
should  be  driven  out  of  the  Jewish  syna 
gogues.  For  it  is  in  thus  announcing  before 
hand  what  evils  they  would  have  to  endure  for 
their  testimony  in  His  behalf,  that  He  said, 
"They  will  put  you  out  of  the  synagogues.'1 
Nor  does  He  say.  And  the  hour  cometh,  that 
whosoever  killeth  you  will  think  that  he  doeth 


«  Chap.xii.  42,  43. 
4  Ps.  Uxxix.   15-17. 


"Chap. 
5  Rom. 


3  Rom.  x.  3. 


What  then?  "Hut  the  hour 
"  just  in  the  way  He  would  have 
spoken,  were  He  foretelling  them  of  some 
thing  good  that  would  follow  such  evils. 
What,  then,  does  He  mean  by  the  words, 
"  They  will  put  you  out  of  the  synagogues: 
but  the  hour  cometh  "  ?  As  if  He  would  have 
gone  on  to  say  this:  They,  indeed,  will  scatter 
you,  but  I  will  gather  you;  or,  They  shall,  in- 
deed,  scatter  you,  but  the  hour  of  your  joy 
cometh.  What,  then,  has  the  word  which  He 
uses,  "but  the  hour  cometh,"  to  do  here,  as  if 
He  were  going  on  to  promise  them  comfort 
after  their  tribulation,  when  apparently  He 
ought  rather  to  have  said,  in  the  form  of  con 
tinuous  narration,6  And  the  hour  cometh  ?  But 
He  said  not,  And  it  cometh,  although  predict 
ing  the  approach  of  one  tribulation  after  an 
other,  instead  of  comfort  after  tribulation. 
Could  it  have  been  that  such  a  separation  from 
the  synagogues  would  so  discompose  them, 
that  they  would  prefer  to  die,  rather  than  re 
main  in  this  life  apart  from  the  Jewish  assem 
blies?  Far  surely  would  those  be  from  such 
discomposure,  who  were  seeking,  not  the 
praise  of  men,  but  of  God.  What,  then,  of 
the  words,  "  They  will  put  you  out  of  the  syna 
gogues:  but  the  hour  cometh; ''  when  appar 
ently  He  ought  rather  to  kave  said,  Atui  the 
hour  cometh,  "  that  whosoever  killeth  you  will 
think  that  he  doeth  God  service"  ?  For  it  is 
not  even  said,  But  the  hour  cometh  that  they 
shall  kill  you,  as  if  implying  that  their  com 
fort  for  such  a  separation  would  be  found  in 
the  death  that  would  befall  them;  but  "  The 
hour  cometh,"  He  says,  "that  whosoever 
killeth  you  will  think  that  he  doeth  God  serv 
ice."  On  the  whole,  I  do  not  think  He  wished 
to  convey  any  further  meaning  than  that 
they  might  understand  and  rejoice  that  they 
themselves  would  gain  so  many  to  Christ,  by 
being  driven  out  of  the  Jewish  congregations, 
that  it  would  be  found  insufficient  to  expel 
them,  and  they  would  not  suffer  them  to  live 
for  fear  of  all  being  converted  by  their  preach 
ing  to  the  name  of  Christ,  and  so  turned  away 
from  the  observance  of  Judaism,  as  if  it  were 
the  very  truth  of  God.  For  so  ought  we  to 
understand  the  reference  of  His  words  to 
the  Jews,  when  He  said  of  them,  "  They  will 
put  you  out  of  the  synagogues."  For  the 
witnesses,  in  other  words,  the  martyrs  of 
Christ,  were  likewise  slain  by  the  Gentiles: 
they,  however,  thought  not  that  it  was  to  the 
true  God,  but  to  their  own  false  deities,  that 
they  were  doing  service  when  they  so  acted. 
But  every  Jew  that  slew  the  preachers  of 
Christ  reckoned  that  he  was  doing  God  serv- 


•  tndicatn*  modo. 


i66 


WORKS  OK  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[  i  RAI  i MI   xnv. 


ice;  believing  as  he  did  that  all  who  were 
converted  to  Christ  were  deserting  the  God 
of  Israel.  For  it  was  also  by  the  same  rea 
soning  that  they  were  incited  to  the  murder 
of  Christ  Himself:  because  their  own  words 
on  this  subject  have  also  been  put  on  record. 
"Ye  perceive  that  the  whole  world  is  gone 
after  him:  "'  "  If  we  let  him  live,  the  Romans 
will  come,  and  take  away  both  our  place  and 
nation."  And  those  of  Caiaphas:  "It  is  ex 
pedient  for  us  that  one  man  should  die  for 
the  people,  and  not  that  the  whole  nation 
should  perish."3  And  accordingly  in  this 
address  He  sought  by  His  own  example  to 
stimulate  His  disciples,  to  whom  He  had  just 
been  saying,  "If  they  have  persecuted  me, 
they  will  also  persecute  you;"3  that  as  in 
slaying  Him  they  thought  they  had  done  God 
a  service,  so  also  would  it  be  in  reference  to 
them. 

4.  Such,  then,  is  the  meaning  of  these 
words:  "  They  will  put  you  out  of  the  syna 
gogues;  "  but  have  no  fear  of  solitude:  inas 
much  as,  when  separated  from  their  assem 
bly,  you  will  assemble  so  many  in  my  name, 
that  they,  in  very  fear  lest  the  temple,  that 
was  with  them,  and  all  the  sacraments  of  the 
old  law,  should  be  deserted,  will  slay  you: 
actually,  in  thus  shedding  your  blood,  full  of 
the  notion  that  they  are  doing  God  service. 
An  illustration  surely  of  the  apostle's  words, 
"  They  have  a  zeal  for  God,  but  not  accord 
ing  to  knowledge;  "  4  when  they  imagine  that 
they  are  doing  God  service  in  slaying  His  serv 
ants.  Appalling  mistake  !  Is  it  thus  thou 
wouldst  please  God  by  striking  down  the  God- 
pleaser;  and  is  the  living  temple  of  God  by 
thy  blows  laid  level  with  the  ground,  that 
God's  temple  of  stone  may  not  be  deserted? 
Accursed  blindness  !  But  it  is  in  part  that  it 
has  happened  to  Israel,  that  the  fullness  of 
the  Gentiles  might  come  in:  in  part,  I  say, 


'  Chap.  xii.  19. 
J  Chap.  xv.  20. 


*  Chap.  xi.  4i 
4  Rom.  x.  2. 


and  not  totally,  has  it  happened.  For  not 
all,  but  only  some  of  the  branches  have  been 
broken  off,  that  the  wild  olive  might  be  in 
grafted.0  For  just  at  the  time  when  the  dis 
ciples  of  Christ,  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit, 
were  speaking  in  the  tongues  of  all  nations, 
and  performing  many  divine  miracles,  and 
scattering  divine  utterances  on  every  side, 
Christ,  even  though  slain,  was  so  beloved, 
that  His  disciples,  when  expelled  from  the 
congregations  of  the  Jews,  gathered  into  a 
congregation  of  their  own  a  vast  multitude  of 
those  very  Jews,  and  had  no  fear  of  being 
left  to  solitude.6  Whereupon,  accordingly, 
the  others,  reprobate  and  blind,  being  in 
flamed  with  wrath,  and  having  a  zeal  of  God, 
but  not  according  to  knowledge,  and  believ 
ing  that  they  were  doing  God  service,  put 
them  to  death.  But  He,  who  was  slain  for 
them,  gathered  those  together;  just  as  He 
had  also,  before  He  was  slain,  instructed  them 
in  what  was  to  happen,  lest  their  minds,  left 
ignorant  and  unprepared,  should  be  cast  into 
trouble  by  evils,  however  transient,  that  were 
unexpected  and  unprovided  for;  but  rather 
by  knowing  of  them  beforehand,  and  sustain 
ing  them  with  patience,  might  be  led  onward 
to  everlasting  blessing.  For  that  such  was 
the  cause  of  His  making  these  announcements 
to  them  beforehand,  is  shown  also  by  His 
words  that  followed:  "  But  these  things  have 
I  told  you,  that,  when  their  time  shall  come, 
ye  may  remember  that  I  told  you  of  them." 
Their  hour  was  an  hour  of  darkness,  a  mid 
night  hour.  But  the  Lord  commanded  His 
loving-kindness  in  the  daytime,  and  made 
them  sing  of  it  in  the  night:7  when  the  Jew 
ish  night  threw  no  confusion  of  darkness  into 
the  day  of  the  Christians,  separated  as  it  was 
from  themselves;  and  when  that  which  could 
slay  the  flesh  had  no  power  to  darken  their 
faith. 


5  Rom.  xi.  25,  17. 


TRACTATE     XCIV. 

CHAPTER  XVI.  4-7. 


i.  WHEN  the  Lord  Jesus  had  foretold  His 
disciples  the  persecutions  they  would  have  to 
suffer  after  His  departure,  He  went  on  to  say: 
"And  these  things  I  said  not  unto  you  at  the 
beginning,  because  I  was  with  you;  but  now 
I  go  my  way  to  Him  that  sent  me."  And 
here  the  first  thing  we  have  to  look  at  is, 


whether  He  had  not  previously  foretold  them 
of  the  sufferings  that  were  to  come.  And  the 
three  other  evangelists  make  it  sufficiently 
clear  that  He  had  uttered  such  predictions 
prior  to  the  approach  of  the  supper:'  which 


'  Matt.  xxiv.  9  ;  Mark  xiii.  9-13  ;  and  Luke  .xxi.  12-17. 


TK.VIAII      XflY.) 


ON  Till-;  GOSPEL  <  >l    ST.   JOHN. 


367 


ITU  Over,  according  tO  John,  When  He  spake,    «>me,  ye   may   remember  t'uat    I    told    \ 
and  added,  "And  these  things  I  said  not  unto    them  "  (ver.  4).      These   tiim-s,   I  say,   I  have 
you    at    the    beginning,    because    I    was    with    told   you,   not   merely   berause    ye   shall    have 
you."      Are   we,  then,  to  settle  such  a  ques-    to  endure  such  things,  but  because,  when  the 
tion  in  tuis  way,  that  they,  too,   tell  us  t'uat    Comiorter  is  come,  He  shall  bear  with- 
He  was  near  His  passion  when  He  said  these   me,  that  ye  may  not  keep  them  back  through 
things  ?     Then  it  was  not  when   He  was  with  I  fear,  and  by  whom  ye  yourselves  shall  also  be 
them  at  the  beginning  that   He  so  spake,  for  !  enabled  to  bear  witness.     "And  these  things 
He  was  on  the  very  eve  of  departing,  and  !  I  said  not  unto  you  at  the  beginning,  became 
proceeding  to  the  Father:    and  so  also,  even  1 1  was  with  you,"  and  I  myself  was  your  corn- 
according  to  these  evangelists,  it  is   strictly  I  fort  through  my  bodily  presence  exhibited  to 
true  what  is  here  said,  "And  these  things  1 1  your  human  senses,  and  which,  as  infants,  ye 
said   not  unto  you  at  the  beginning."     But  j  were  able  to  comprehend. 
what  are  we  to  do  with  the  credibility  of  the       3.   "  But   now   I   go  my  way  to   Him   that 


Gospel  according  to  Matthew,  who  relates  that 
such  announcements  were  made  to  them  by 
the  Lord,  not  only  when  He  was  on  the  eve 
of  sitting  down  with  His  disciples  to  the  pass- 
over  supper,  but  also  at  the  beginning,  when 
the  twelve  apostles  are  for  the  first  time  ex 
pressed  by  name,  and  sent  forth  on  the  work 


sent  me;  and  none  of  you,"  He  says,  "  ask- 
eth  me,  Whither  goest  Thou?"  He  means 
that  His  departure  would  be  such  that  none 
would  ask  Him  of  that  which  they  should  see 
taking  place  in  broad  daylight  before  their 
eyes:  for  previously  to  this  they  had  asked 
Him  whither  He  was  going,  and  had  been 


of  God?1  What,  then,  is  the  meaning  of  what  I  answered  that  He  was  going  whither  they 
He  says  here,  "And  these  things  I  said  not :  themselves  could  not  tiien  come.4  Now, 
unto  you  at  the  beginning,  because  I  was  with  |  however,  He  promises  that  He  will  go  away 
you;''  but  that  what  He  says  here  of  the  Holy  in  such  a  manner  that  none  of  them  shall  ask 


Spirit  who  was  to  come  to  them,  and  to  bear 
witness,  when  they  should   have  such  ills  to 


Him  whither  He  goes.     For  a  cloud  received 
Him  when  He  ascended  up  from  their  side; 


endure,   this  He  said  not  unto  them  at  the  j  and  of  His  going  into  heaven  they  made  no 

verbal  inquiry,  but  had  ocular  evidence.5 
4.   "  But  because  I  have  said  these  things 


beginning,  because  He  was  with  themselves  ? 

2.  The  Comforter  then,  or  Advocate  (for 
both  form  the  interpretation  of  the  Greek 
word,  paraclete),  had  become  necessary  on 
Christ's  departure:  and  therefore  He  had  not 
spoken  of  Him  at  the  beginning,  when  He 


unto  you,"  He  adds,  "sorrow  hath  filled 
your  heart.1'  He  saw,  indeed,  what  effect 
these  words  of  His  were  producing  in  their 
hearts;  for  having  not  yet  within  them  the 


was  with  them,  because  His  own  presence  was   spiritual  consolation,  which   they  were  after- 
their  comfort;   but  on  the  eve  of  His  own  de-   wards  to  have  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  what  they 


parture  it  behoved  Him  to  speak  of  His  com 
ing,  by  whom  it  would  be  brought  about  that 
with  love  shed  abroad  in  their  hearts  they 
would  preach  the  word  of  God  with  all  bold 
ness;  and  with  Him  inwardly  bearing  witness 
with  them  of  Christ,  they  also  should  bear 
witness,  and  feel  it  to  be  no  cause  of  stum 
bling  when  their  Jewish  enemies  put  them  out 
of  the  synagogues,  and  slew  them,  with  the 
thought  that  they  were  doing  God  service; 
because  the  charity  beareth  all  things,3  which 
was  to  be  shed  abroad  in  their  hearts  by  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.3  In  this,  therefore, 
is  the  whole  meaning  to  be  found,  that  He 
was  to  make  them  His  martyrs,  that  is,  His 
witnesses  through  the  Holy  Spirit;  so  that  by 
His  effectual  working  within  them,  they  would 
endure  the  hardships  of  all  kinds  of  persecu 
tion,  and,  set  aglow  at  that  divine  fire,  lose 
none  of  their  warmth  in  the  love  of  prearh- 
ing.  "These  things,"  therefore,  He  says. 


still  saw  objectively  in  Christ  they  were  afraid 
of  losing;  and  because  they  could  have  no 
doubt  they  were  about  to  lose  Him  whose  an 
nouncements  were  always  true,  their  human 
feelings  were  saddened,  because  their  carnal 
view  of  Him  was  to  be  left  a  blank.  But  He 
knew  what  was  most  expedient  for  them,  be 
cause  that  inward  sight,  wherewith  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  yet  to  comfort  them,  was  undoubt 
edly  superior;  not  by  bringing  a  human  body 
into  the  bodies  of  those  who  saw,  but  by  infus 
ing  Himself  into  the  hearts  of  those  who  be 
lieved.  And  then  He  adds,  "Nevertheless  I 
tell  you  the  truth,  it  is  expedient  for  you  that  I 
go  away.  For  if  I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter 
will  not  come  unto  you;  but  if  I  depart,  I  will 
send  Him  unto  you:  "  as  if  He  had  said,  It  is 
expedient  for  you  that  this  form  of  a  servant 
be  taken  away  from  you;  as  the  Word  made 
indeed  flesh  I  dwell  among  you;  but  I  would 
not  that  ye  should  continue  to  love  me  car- 


"  have  I  told  you,  that,  when  their  time  shall    nally,  and,  content  with  such   milk,  desire  to 


I  Chap.  xiii.  36. 


5  Acts  i.  9-1 1. 


368 


THE  WORKS  OK  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TKA.  IATE  XCV. 


remain  infants  always.  "  It  is  expedient  for 
you  that  I  go  away:  for  if  I  go  not  away,  tue 
Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you."  If  I 
withdraw  not  the  tender  nutriment  wherewith 
I  have  nourished  you,  ye  will  acquire  no  keen 


the  Father  "will  come  unto  him,  and  will 
make  Our  abode  with  him;  "  4  seeing  that  He 
also  promised  that  He  would  send  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  such  a  way  that  He  would  be  witli 
them  for  ever?  In  this  way  it  was,  on  the 


relish  of  solid  food;   if  ye  adhere  in  a  carnal  |  other  hand,  that  seeing  they  were  yet  out  of 
way  to  the  flesh,  ye  will  not  have  room  for   '' 


the  Spirit.     For  what  is  this,  "If  I  go  not 
away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you; 


their  present  carnal  or  animal  condition  to 
become  spiritual,  with  undoubted  certainty 
also  were  they  yet  to  have  in  a  more  compre- 


but  if  I  depart,  I  will  send  Him  unto  you  ''  ?   hensive  way  both  the  Father,  and   the  Son, 

and  the  Holy  Spirit.     But  in  no  one  are  we 


Was  it  that   He   could  not   send   Him  while 

located   here  Himself?     Who  would  venture 

to  say  so?     Neither  was  it,  that  where  He 

was,  thence  the  Other  had  withdrawn,  or  that 

He  had  so  come  from  the  Father  as  that  He 

did  not  still  abide  with  the  Father.     And  still 

further,  how  could  He,  even  when  having  His 

own  abode  on  earth,  be  unable  to  send  Him, 

who  we  know  came  and  remained  upon  Him  at 

His  baptism  ;  '  yea,  more,  from  whom  we  know 

that  He  was  never  separable?     What  does  it 

mean,  then,  "  If  I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter 

will  not  come  unto  you;  "  but  that  ye  cannot 

receive  the  Spirit  so  long  as  ye  continue  to  j  to  notice;   where  those  who  have  a  right  un- 

know  Christ  after  the  flesh  ?     Hence  one  who  j  derstanding  can  never  imagine  a  separation 

had   already   been    made   a    partaker   of  the  |  of  natures. 

Spirit  says,  "Though  we  have  known  Christ  j      6.   But  that  which  follows,  "And  when  He 


to  believe  that  the  Father  is  present  without 
the  Son  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  or  the  Father 
and  the  Son  without  the  Holy  Spirit,  or  the 
Son  without  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Spirit, 
or  the  Holy  Spirit  without  the  Father  and 
the  Son,  or  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Spirit 
without  the  Son;  but  wherever  any  one  of 
Them  is,  there  also  is  the  Trinity,  one  God. 
But  here  the  Trinity  had  to  be  suggested 
in  such  a  way  that,  although  there  was  no  di 
versity  of  essence,  yet  the  personal  distinction 
of  each  one  separately  should  be  presented 


after  the  flesh,  yet  now  henceforth  know  we 
no  more."2     For  now  even  the  very 
esh  of  Christ  he  did   not  know  in  a  carnal 


is  come,  He  will  convince  the  world  of  sin,  and 
of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment:  of  sin, 
indeed,  because  they  believe  not  on  me;  but 


way,  when  brought  to  a  spiritual  knowledge  I  of  righteousness,  because  I  go  to  the  Father, 
of  the  Word  that  had  been  made  flesh.  And  and  ye  shall  see  me  no  more;  and  of  judg- 
such,  doubtless,  did  the  good  Master  wish  to  |  ment,  because  the  prince  of  this  world  is 
intimate,  when  He  said,  "  If  I  go  not  away,  judged  "  (vers.  8-n);  as  if  it  were  sin  simply 
the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you;  but  if  not  to  believe  on  Christ;  and  as  if  it  were 


I  depart,  I  will  send  Him  unto  you.'' 

5.  But  with  Christ's  bodily  departure,  both 
the  Father  and  the  Son,  as  well  as  the  Holy 


very  righteousness  not  to  see  Christ;  and  as 
that   were   the   very    judgment,    that   the 
prince    of   this   world,  that   is,  the   devil,  is 


Spirit,  were  spiritually  present  with  them,  i  judged:  all  this  is  very  obscure,  and  cannot 
For  had  Christ  departed  from  them  in  such  a  j  be  included  in  the  present  discourse,  lest 
sense  that  it  would  be  in  His  place,  and  not  (  brevity  only  increase  the  obscurity;  but  must 
along  with  Him,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  would  be  rather  be  deferred  till  another  occasion  for 
present  in  them,  what  becomes  of  His  promise  [  such  explanation  as  the  Lord  may  enable  us 


when  He  said,   "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway, 
even  to  the  end  of  the  world;"3  and,  I  and 


to  give. 


'  Chap.  i.  32. 


3  Matt,    xxviii. 


4  Chap.  xiv.  23. 


TRACTATE     XCV. 

CHAPTER   XVI.  8-n. 


i.   THE    Lord,    when    promising   that    He  not  reprove  the  world  of  sin,  when  He  said, 

would  send  the  Holy  Spirit,  said,  "  When  He  "  If  I  had  not  come  and  spoken  unto  them, 

is  come,  He  will  reprove  the  world  of  sin,  and  they  had  not  had  sin;  but  now  they  have  no 

of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment."     What  cloak  for  their  sin  "  ?     And  that  no  one  may 

does  it  mean?     Is  it  that  the  Lord  Christ  did  take  it  into  his  head   to  say  that  this  applied 


o\  TIM-;  GOSPK1    ()1    ST.  JOHN. 


369 


properly  t<>  the  Jews,  :m«l  not  to  the  wnrl.l, 
(lul  Ik-  not  say  in  .mother  place,  "  If  ye  were 
of  the  \voild,  the  world  would  love  his  own  "  ?  ' 
Did  He  not  reprove  it  of  righteousness,  when 
lie  said,  "()  n-iiteous  leather,  the  workl  hath 
not  known  Thee  "  ? '  And  did  He  not  reprove 
it  of  judgment  when  He  declared  that  He 
would  say  to  those  on  the  left  hand,  "  Depart 
ye  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil 
rind  his  angels  "  ?3  And  many  other  passages 
an-  to  be  found  in  the  holy  evangel,  where 
Christ  reproveth  the  world  of  these  things. 
Why  is  it,  then,  He  attributeth  this  to  the 
Holy  Spirit,  as  if  it  were  His  proper  preroga 
tive  ?  Is  it  that,  because  Christ  spake  only 
among  the  nation  of  the  Jews,  He  does  not 
appear  to  have  reproved  the  world,  inasmuch 
as  one  may  be  understood  to  be  reproved  who 
actually  hears  the  reprover;  while  the  Holy 
Spirit,  who  was  in  His  disciples  when  scatter 
ed  throughout  the  whole  world,  is  to  be  un 
derstood  as  having  reproved  not  one  nation, 
but  the  world  ?  For  mark  what  He  said  to 
them  when  about  to  ascend  into  heaven:  "It 
is  not  for  you  to  know  the  times  or  the 
moments,  which  the  Father  hath  put  in  His 
own  power.  But  ye  shall  receive  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  cometh  upon  you: 
and  ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto  me  in  Jeru 
salem,  and  in  all  Judea,  and  in  Samaria,  and 
unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth."  4  Sure 
ly  this  is  to  reprove  the  world.  But  would 
any  one  venture  to  say  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
reproveth  the  world  through  the  disciples  of 
Christ,  and  that  Christ  Himself  doth  not, 
when  the  apostle  exclaims,  "  Would  ye  receive 
a  proof  of  Him  that  speaketh  in  me,  namely 
Christ  ?  "  5  And  so  those,  surely,  whom  the 
Holy  Spirit  reproveth,  Christ  reproveth  like 
wise.  But  in  my  opinion,  because  there  was 
to  be  shed  abroad  in  their  hearts  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  that  love 6  which  casteth  out  the  fear,7 
that  might  have  hindered  them  from  ventur 
ing  to  reprove  the  world  which  bristled  with 
persecutions,  therefore  it  was  that  He  said, 
"He  shall  reprove  the  world :  "  as  if  He 
would  have  said,  He  shall  shed  abroad  love  in 
your  hearts,  and,  having  your  fear  thereby  ex 
pelled,  ye  shall  have  freedom  to  reprove. 
We  have  frequently  said,  however,  that  the 
operations  of  the  Trinity  are  inseparable;8 
but  the  Persons  needed  to  be  set  forth  one  by 
one,  that  not  only  without  separating  Them, 
but  also  without  confounding  Them  together, 
we  may  have  a  right  understanding  both  of 
Their  Unity  and  Trinity. 

2.   He  next  explains  what  He  has  said  "of 


»  fliap.  xv.  22, 
4  Arts  i.  7,  8. 
-  i  J,-hn  iv.  18. 


-  ( 'h;i|>.  xvii.  25. 
x.ii.  3. 


i  M..tt.   xxv.  41. 
6  Kom.  v.  5. 


sin,  and  of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment." 
"Of  sin  indeed,"  He  says,  "  because  they 
have  believed  not  on  me."  For  tin's  sin,  as 
if  it  were  the  only  one,  He  has  put  before  the 
others;  because  with  the  continuance  of  this 
one,  all  others  are  retained,  and  in  the  re 
moval  of  this,  the  others  are  remitted.  "  But 
of  righteousness,"  He  adds,  "because  I  go 
to  the  Father,  and  ye  shall  see  me  no  more." 
And  here  we  have  to  consider  in  the  first 
place,  if  any  one  is  rightly  reproved  of  sin, 
how  he  may  also  be  rightly  reproved  of  right 
eousness.  For  if  a  sinner  ought  to  be  re 
proved  just  because  he  is  a  sinner,  will  any 
one  imagine  that  a  righteous  man  is  also  to 
be  reproved  because  he  is  righteous  ?  Surely 
not.  For  if  at  any  time  a  righteous  man  also 
is  reproved,  he  is  rightly  reproved  on  this 
account,  that,  according  to  Scripture,  "  There 
is  not  a  just  man  upon  earth,  that  doeth  good, 
and  sinneth  not."  And  accordingly,  when  a 
righteous  man  is  reproved,  he  is  reproved  of 
sin,  and  not  of  righteousness.  Since  in  that 
divine  utterance  also,  where  we  read,  "  Be 
not  made  righteous  over-much,"9  there  is 
notice  taken,  not  of  the  righteousness  of  the 
wise  man,  but  of  the  pride  of  the  presumptu 
ous.  The  man,  therefore,  that  becomes 
"righteous  over-much,"  by  that  very  excess 
becomes  unrighteous.  For  he  makes  himself 
righteous  over-much  who  says  that  he  has  no 
sin,  or  who  imagines  that  he  is  made  right 
eous,  not  by  the  grace  of  God,  but  by  the  suf 
ficiency  of  his  own  will:  nor  is  he  righteous 
through  living  righteously,  but  is  rather  self- 
inflated  with  the  imagination  of  being  what  he 
is  not.  By  what  means,  then,  is  the  world  to 
be  reproved  of  righteousness,  if  not  by  the 
righteousness  of  believers  ?  Accordingly,  it  is 
convinced  of  sin,  because  it  believeth  not  on 
Christ;  and  it  is  convinced  of  the  righteous 
ness  of  those  who  do  believe.  For  the  very 
comparison  with  believers  is  itself  a  reproving 
of  unbelievers.  And  this  the  exposition  itself 
sufficiently  indicates.  For  in  wishing  to  open 
up  what  He  has  said,  He  adds,  "Of  right 
eousness,  because  I  go  to  the  Father,  and  ye 
shall  see  me  no  more."  He  does  not  say, 
And  they  shall  see  me  no  more;  that  is,  those 
|  of  whom  He  had  said,  "because  they  have 
i  believed  not  on  me."  Of  them  He  spake, 
when  expounding  what  He  denominated  sin, 
in  the  words,  "  because  they  have  believed  not 
on  me;  "  but  when  expounding  what  He  called 
righteousness,  whereof  the  world  is  convicted, 
He  turned  to  those  to  whom  He  was  speak 
ing,  and  said,  "  because  I  go  to  the  Father, 
and  ye  shall  see  me  no  more."  Wherefore  it 


Ml.   20,    l6. 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TKA<  i  AIK    XCY. 


is  of  its  own  sins,  but  of  others'  righteous 
ness,  that  the  world  is  convicted,  just  as  dark 
ness  is  reproved  by  the  light:  "  For  all 
things,"  says  the  apostle,  "  that  are  reproved, 
are  made  manifest  by  the  light."1  For  the 
magnitude  of  the  evil  chargeable  on  those  who 
do  not  believe,  may  be  made  apparent  not 
only  by  itself,  but  also  by  the  goodness  of 
those  who  do  believe.  And  since  the  cry  of 
unbelievers  usually  is,  How  can  we  believe 
what  we  do  not  see  ?  so  the  righteousness  of 
unbelievers  just  required  this  very  definition, 
"  Because  I  go  to  the  Father,  and  ye  shall 
see  me  no  more."  For  blessed  are  they  who 
see  not,  and  yet  do  believe.2  For  of  those 
also  who  saw  Christ,  the  faith  in  Him  that 
met  with  commendation  was  not  that  they 
believed  what  they  saw,  namely,  the  Son  of 
man;  but  that  they  believed  what  they  did 
not  see,  namely,  the  Son  of  God.  But  after 
His  servant-form  was  itself  also  withdrawn 
from  their  view,  then  in  every  respect  was  the 
word  truly  fulfilled,  "  The  just  liveth  by 
faith."3  For  "faith,"  according  to  the 
definition  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  "  is 
the  confidence  of  those  that  hope,4  the  con 
viction  of  things  that  are  not  seen." 

3.  But  how  are  we  to  understand,  "  Ye 
shall  see  me  no  more  "  ?  For  He  saith  not,  I 
go  to  the  Father,  and  ye  shall  not  see  me,  so 
as  to  be  understood  as  referring  to  the  inter 
val  of  time  when  He  would  not  be  seen, 
whether  short  or  long,  but  at  all  events  term 
inable;  but  in  saying,  "  Ye  shall  see  me  no 
more,"  as  if  a  truth  announced  beforehand 
that  they  would  never  see  Christ  in  all  time 
coming.  Is  this  the  righteousness  we  speak 
of,  never  to  see  Christ,  and  yet  to  believe  on 
Him;  seeing  that  the  faith  whereby  the  just 
liveth  is  commended  on  the  very  ground  of 
believing  that  the  Christ  whom  it  seeth  not 
meanwhile,  it  shall  see  some  day?  Once 
more,  in  reference  to  this  righteousness,  are 
we  to  say  that  the  Apostle  Paul  was  not  right 
eous  when  confessing  that  He  had  seen  Christ 
after  His  ascension  into  heaven,5  which  was 
undoubtedly  the  time  of  which  He  had  already 
said,  "Ye  shall  see  me  no  more"?  Was 
Stephen,  that  hero  of  surpassing  renown,  not 
righteous  in  the  spirit  of  this  righteousness, 
who,  when  they  were  stoning  him,  exclaimed, 
*'  Behold,  I  see  the  heavens  opened,  and  the 
Son  of  man  standing  on  the  right  hand  of 
God  "  ?6  What,then,  is  meant  by  "  I  go  to  the 
Father,  and  ye  shall  see  me  no  more,"  but  just 
this,  As  I  am  while  with  you  now?  For  at 
that  time  He  was  still  mortal  in  the  likeness 


1  Kph.  v.  13.  3  Chap.  xx.  29. 

i  Kom.  i    17  ;  Hab.  ii.  4  ;  and  Heb.  xi.  i. 
4  Sfierantium  tu6stantta.  5  i  Cor.  xv.  8. 

6  Acts  vii.  56. 


of  sinful  flesh. 7  He  could  suffer  hunger  and 
thirst,  be  wearied,  and  sleep;  and  this  Christ, 
that  is,  Christ  in  such  a  condition,  they  wen- 
no  more  to  see  after  He  had  passed  from  this 
world  to  the  Father;  and  such,  also,  is  the 
righteousness  of  faith,  whereof  the  apostle 
says,  "Though  we  have  known  Christ  after 
the  flesh,  yet  now  henceforth  know  we  Him 
no  more."  8  This,  then,  He  says,  will  be  your 
righteousness  whereof  the  world  shall  be  re 
proved,  "  because  I  go  to  the  Father,  and  ye 
shall  see  me  no  more:  "  seeing  that  ye  shall 
believe  in  me  as  in  one  whom  ye  shall  not  see; 
and  when  ye  shall  see  me  as  I  shall  be  then, 
ye  shall  not  see  me  as  I  am  while  with  you 
meanwhile;  ye  shall  not  see  me  in  my  humil 
ity,  but  in  my  exaltation;  nor  in  my  mortality, 
but  in  my  eternity;  nor  at  the  bar,  but  on  the 
throne  of  judgment:  and  by  this  faith  of 
yours,  in  other  words,  your  righteousness,  the 
Holy  Spirit  will  reprove  an  unbelieving  world. 
4.  He  will  also  reprove  it  "  of  judgment, 
because  the  prince  of  this  world  is  judged.1' 
Who  is  this,  save  he  of  whom  He  saith  in 
another  place,  "  Behold,  the  prince  of  the 
world  cometh,  and  shall  find  nothing  in  me;  "  9 
that  is,  nothing  within  his  jurisdiction,  noth 
ing  belonging  to  him;  in  fact,  no  sin  at  all  ? 
For  thereby  is  the  devil  the  prince  of  the 
world.  For  it  is  not  of  the  heavens  and  of  the 
earth,  and  of  all  that  is  in  them,  that  the 
devil  is  prince,  in  the  sense  in  which  the  world 
is  to  be  understood,  when  it  is  said,  "And 
the  world  was  made  by  Him;  "  but  the  devil 
is  prince  of  that  world,  whereof  in  the  same 
passage  He  immediately  afterwards  subjoins 
the  words,  "And  the  world  knew  Him  not;  "I0 
that  is,  unbelieving  men,  wherewith  the  world 
through  its  utmost  extent  is  filled:  among 
whom  the  believing  world  groaneth.  which  He, 
who  made  the  world,  chose  out  of  the  world; 
and  of  whom  He  saith  Himself,  "  The  Son  of 
man  came  not  to  judge  the  world,  but  that 
the  world  through  Him  might  be  saved."  " 
He  is  the  judge  by  whom  the  world  is  con 
demned,  the  helper  whereby  the  world  is 
saved:  for  just  as  a  tree  is  full  of  foliage  and 
fruit,  or  a  field  of  chaff  and  wheat,  so  is  the 
world  full  of  believers  and  unbelievers. 
Therefore  the  prince  of  this  world,  that  is, 
the  prince  of  the  darkness  thereof,  or  of  un 
believers,  out  of  whose  hands  that  world  is 
rescued,  to  which  it  is  said,  "  Ye  were  at  one 
time  darkness,  but  now  are  ye  light  in  the 
Lord:  "I2  the  prince  of  this  world,  of  whom  He 
elsewhere  saith,  "Now  is  the  prince  of  this 
world  cast  out,"13  is  assuredly  judged,  inas- 


7  Rom.  viii.  3. 
1°  Chap.  i.  10. 
U  Chap.  xii.  31 


«  2  Cor.  y.  16. 
««  Chap.  iii.  17. 


9  Chap.  xiv.  30. 

'--  Kph   v.  8. 


Tl:  \.   l  \i  I     \»'VI.] 


ON    i  HI.  GOSPEL  OK  ST.  JOHN. 


37' 


much   as    he    is    irrevocably    destined    to   the 
iud^im-iit  of  everlasting  fire.      And   so  of  this 
indgment,  by  which  the  prince  of  the  world  is 
indeed,  is  the   world    reproved    by   the    Holy 
Spirit;   for  it  is  judged  along  with  its   princi-, 
whom  it  imitates  in  its  own  pride  and  impiety. 
"  I  01    if  God,"  in  the  words  of  the'  ApoMle 
I'cti-r,    "spared  not  tlie  angels  tliat   sinned, 
but  thrust  them  into  prisons  of  infernal  dark-  ; 
:id   gave  them   up  to  be   reserved   forj 
punishment  in   the   judgment,"1   how   is  the  I 
world   otherwise  than  reproved  of  this  judg-  1 
ment  by  the   Holy   Spirit,  when  it  is   in   the  I 


Pet.  ii.  4. 


Holy  Spirit    that    the    apo*-  iketh? 

Li-t  men,  therefore,  believe  in  Christ,  that 
they  be  not  convicted  of  the  sin  of  their  own 
unbelief,  whereby  all  sins  are  retained:  let 
them  make  their  way  into  the  number  of  be 
lievers,  that  they  be  not  convicted  of  the 
righteousness  of  those,  whom,  as  justified, 
they  fail  to  imitate:  let  them  beware  of  that 
ffiture  judgment,  that  they  be  not  judged 
with  the  prince  of  the  world,  whom,  judged 
as  he  is,  they  continue  to  imitate.  For  the 
unbending  pride  of  mortals  can  have  no 
thought  of  being  spared  itself,  as  it  is  thus 
called  to  think  with  terror  of  the  punishment 
that  overtook  the  pride  of  angels. 


TRACTATE    XCVI. 

CHAPTKR  XVI.    12,   13. 


i.  IN  this  •  portion  of  the  holy  Gospel, 
where  the  Lord  says  to  His  disciples,  "  I  have 
yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but  ye  can 
not  bear  them  now,"  there  meets  us  first  this 
subject  of  needful  inquiry,  how  it  was  that 
He  said  a  little  before,  "All  things  that  I  have 
heard  of  my  Father  I  have  made  known  unto 
you,"1  and  yet  says  here,  "  I  have  yet  many 
things  to  say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear 
them  now."  But  how  it  was  that  He  spake 
of  what  He  had  not  yet  clone  as  if  it  were 
done,  just  as  the  prophet  testifies  that  God  has 


made  those  things  which  are 


to  come. 


when  He  says,  "  Who  hath  made  those  things 
which  are  still  to  come,"2  we  have  already 
explained  as  well  as  we  could  when  dealing 
with  those  words  themselves.  Now,  however, 
you  are  perhaps  wishing  to  know  what  those 
things  were  which  the  apostles  were  then  un 
able  to  bear.  But  which  of  us  would  venture 


you,"  yet  perhaps  some  of  them:  but  what 
they  were  which  He  Himself  thus  omitted  to 
tell  them,  it  would  be  rash  to  have  even  the 
wish  to  presume  to  say.  For  at  that  time  the 
apostles  were  not  yet  fitted  even  to  die  for 
Christ,  when  He  said  to  them,  "  Ye  cannot 
follow  me  now,"  and  when  the  very  foremost 
of  them,  Peter,  who  had  presumptuously  de 
clared  that  he  was  already  able,  met  with  a  dif 
ferent  experience  from  what  he  anticipated:3 
and  yet  afterwards  a  countless  number  both  of 
men  and  women,  boys  and  girls,  youths  and 
maidens,  old  and  young,  were  crowned  with 
martyrdom;  and  the  sheep  were  found  able 
for  that  which,  when  the  Lord  spake  these 
words,  the  shepherds  were  still  unable  to 
bear.  Ought,  then,  those  sheep  to  have  been 
asked,  in  that  extremity  of  trial,  when  re 
quired  to  contend  for  the  truth  even  unto 
death,  and  to  shed  their  blood  for  the  name 


to  assert  his  own  present  capacity  for  what  or  doctrine  of  Christ; — ought  they,  I  say,  to 
they  wanted  the  ability  to  receive  ?  And  on  j  have  been  asked,  Which  of  you  would  venture 
this  account  you  are  neither  to  expect  me  to  I  to  account  himself  ready  for  martyrdom,  for 

tell   you   things  which   perhaps   I   could   not  which    Peter   was    still    unfitted,    even    when 

comprehend  myself  were  they  told  me  by  an-  taught  face  to  face  by  the  Lord  Himself?     In 

other;  nor  would  you  be  able  to  bear  them,  the   same  way,  therefore,  one   may   say   that 

even  were  I  talented  enough  to  let  you  hear  Christian  people,  even  when  desiring  to  hear, 

of  things  that  are  above  your  comprehension,  ought  not  to  be  told  what  those  things  are  of 

It  may  be,  indeed,  that  some  among  you   are  which  the  Lord  then  said,  "  I  have  yet  many 

fit    enough     already     to    comprehend     things  tilings  to   say  unto  you,  but   ye   cannot  bear 

which  are    sfill    beyond    the   grasp   of  others;  them  now."      If  the  apostles  were  still  unable, 

and  if  not  all  about  which  the  divine   Master  much  more  so  are    ye:   although   it    may    be 

said,  "  I  have  yet  many   things   to    say    unto  that   many    now    can    bear    what    Peter    then 


C'hap.  xv. 


laa.  xlv.  n,  S«|  ' 


3  Chap. 


372 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATK  XCVL 


could  not,  in  the  same  way  as  many  are  able 
to  be  crowned  with  martyrdom  which  at  that 
time  was  still  beyond  the  power  of  Peter, 
more  especially  that  now  the  Holy  Spirit  has 
been  sent,  as  He  was  not  then,  of  whom  He 


went    on    immediately   to 


the    words, 


"  Howbeit  when  He,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  is 
come,  He  will  teach  you  all  truth/'  therelry 
showing  of  a  certainty  that  they  could  not 
bear  what  He  had  still  to  say,  because  the 
Holy  Spirit  had  not  yet  come  upon  them. 

2.  Well,  then,  let  us  grant  that  it  is  so, 
that  many  can  now  bear  those  tilings  when 
the  Holy  Spirit  has  been  sent,  which  could 
not  then,  prior  to  His  coming,  be  borne  by 
the  disciples:  do  we  on  that  account  know 
what  it  is  that  He  would  not  say,  as  we  should 
know  it  were  we  reading  or  hearing  it  as 
uttered  by  Himself?  For  it  is  one  thing  to 
know  whether  we  or  you  could  bear  it;  but 
quite  another  to  know  what  it  is,  whether  able 
to  be  borne  or  not.  But  when  He  Himself 
was  silent  about  such  things,  which  of  us 
could  say,  It  is  this  or  that?  Or  if  he  ven 
ture  to  say  it,  how  will  he  prove  it  ?  For  who 
could  manifest  such  vanity  or  recklessness  as 
when  saying  what  he  pleased  to  whom  he 
pleased,  even  though  true,  to  affirm  without 
any  divine  authority  that  it  was  the  very  thing 
which  the  Lord  on  that  occasion  refused  to 
utter?  Which  of  us  could  do  such  a  thing 
without  incurring  the  severest  charge  of  rash- 


3.  But  it  seems  to  me  also  very  absurd  to 
say  that  the  disciples  could  not  then  have 
borne  what  we  find  recorded,  about  things 
invisible  and  of  profoundest  import,  in  the 
apostolic  epistles,  which  were  written  in  after 
days,  and  of  which  there  is  no  mention  that 
the  Lord  uttered  them  when  His  visible  pres 
ence  was  with  them.  For  why  could  they  not 
bear  then  what  is  now  read  in  their  books, 
and  borne  by  every  one,  even  though  not 
understood  ?  Some  things  there  are,  indeed, 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures  which  unbelieving  men 
both  have  no  understanding  of  when  they 
read  or  hear  them,  and  cannot  bear  when  they 
are  read  or  heard:  as  the  pagans,  that  the 
world  was  made  by  Him  who  was  crucified;  as 
the  Jews,  that  He  could  be  the  Son  of  God, 
who  broke  up  their  mode  of  observing  the 
Sabbath;  as  the  Sabellians,  that  the  Father, 
and  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit  are  a  Trinity;  as 
the  Arians,  that  the  Son  is  equal  to  the 
Father,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  to  the  Father 
and  Son;  as  the  Photinians,  that  Christ  is 
not  only  man  like  ourselves,  but  God  also, 
equal  to  God  the  Father;  as  the  Manicheans, 
that  Christ  Jesus,  by  whom  we  must  be  saved, 
condescended  to  be  born  in  the  flesh  and  of 
the  flesh  of  man;  and  all  others  of  divers  per 
verse  sects,  who  can  by  no  means  bear  what 
ever  is  found  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  in 
the  Catholic  faith  that  stands  out  in  opposi 
tion  to  their  errors,  just  as  we  cannot  bear 

ness, — a  thing  which  gets  no  countenance  !  their  sacrilegious  vaporings  and  mendacious 
from  prophetic  or  apostolic  authority  ?  For  insanities.  For  what  else  is  it  not  to  be  able 
surely  if  we  had  read  any  such  thing  in  the  'to  bear,  but  not  to  retain  in  our  minds  with 
books  confirmed  by  canonical  authority,  which  !  calmness  and  composure  ?  But  what  of  all 
were  written  after  our  Lord's  ascension,  it  j  that  has  been  written  since  our  Lord's  ascen- 
would  not  have  been  enough  to  have  read  I  sion  with  canonical  truth  and  authority,  is  it 
such  a  statement,  had  we  not  also  read  in  the  not  read  and  heard  with  equanimity  by  every 
same  place  that  this  was  actually  one  of  those  j  believer,  and  catechumen  also,  before  in  his 
things  which  the  Lord  was  then  unwilling  to  j  baptism  he  receive  the  Holy  Spirit,  even 
tell  His  disciples,  because  they  were  unable  j  although  it  is  not  yet  understood  as  it  ought 
to  bear  them.  As  if,  for  example,  I  were  to  to  be?  How  then,  could  not  the  disciples 


say  that  the  words  which  we  read  at  the  open 
ing  of  this  Gospel,  "  In  the  beginning  was  the 


bear  any  of  those  things  which  were  written 
after  the  Lord's  ascension,  even  though  the 


Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  was  not  yet  sent  to  them,  when 
Word  was  God;  the  same  was  in  the  begin- j  now  they  are  all  borne  by  catechumens  prior 
ning  with  God:  "  and  those  which  follow,  be-  to  their  reception  of  the  Holy  Spirit?  For 
cause  they  were  written  afterwards,  and  yet  although  the  sacramental  privileges  of  be- 


without  any  mention  of  their  being  uttered  by 
the  Lord  Jesus  when  He  was  here  in  the  flesh, 
but  were  written  by  one  of  His  apostles,  to 
whom  they  were  revealed  by  His  Spirit,  were 
some  of  those  which  the  Lord  would  not  then 
utter,  because  the  disciples  were  unable  to 


lievers  are  not  exhibited  to  them,  it  does  not 
therefore  happen  that  they  cannot  bear  them; 
but  in  order  that  they  may  be  all  the  more 
ardently  desired  by  them,  they  are  honorably 
concealed  from  their  view. 

4.   Wherefore,  beloved,  you  need  not  expect 


bear  them;  who  would  listen  to  me  in  making  to  hear  from  us  what  the  Lord  then  refrained 
so   rash  a   statement?     But  if   in   the   same  |  from  telling  His  disciples,  because  they  were 


passage  where  we  read  the  one  we  were  also 
to  read  the  other,  who  would  not  give  due 
credence  fco  such  an  apostle  ? 


still  unable  to  bear  them:  but  rather  seek  to 
grow  in  the  love  that  is  shed  abroad  in  your 
hearts  by  the  Holy  Spirit  who  is  given  unto 


m 


<  »N    i  IN.  <;<  >si'i.i.  OK  ST.  JOHN. 


373 


you;1  that,  fervent  in  spirit,  and  loving  spirit 
ual  things,  you  may  IK-  able,  not  by  any  sign 
apparent  to  your  bodily  eyes,  or  any  sound 
striking  on  your  bodily  cars,  but  by  the  in 
ward  eyesight  and  hearing,  to  become  ac 
quainted  with  that  spiritual  light  and  that 
spiritual  word  which  carnal  men  are  unable 
to  bear.  For  that  cannot  be  loved  which  is 
altogether  unknown.  But  when  what  is 
known,  in  however  small  a  measure,  is  also 
loved,  by  the  self-same  love  one  is  led  on  to 
a  better  and  fuller  knowledge.  If,  then,  you 
grow  in  the  love  which  the  Holy  Spirit  spreads 
abroad  in  your  hearts,  "He  will  teach  you 
all  truth;"  or,  as  other  codices  have  it,  "  He 
will  guide  you  in  all  truth:"2  as  it  is  said, 
"  Lead  me  in  Thy  way,  O  Lord,  and  I  will 
walk  in  Thy  truth."1  So  shall  the  result  be, 
that  not  from  outward  teachers  will  you  learn 
those  things  which  the  Lord  at  that  time  de 
clined  to  utter,  but  be  all  taught  of  God;4  so 
that  the  very  things  which  you  have  learned 
and  believed  by  means  of  lessons  and  ser 
mons  supplied  from  without  regarding  the 
nature  of  God,  as  incorporeal,  and  unconfined 
by  limits,  and  yet  not  rolled  out  as  a  mass  of 
matter  through  infinite  space,  but  everywhere 
whole  and  perfect  and  infinite,  without  the 
gleaming  of  colors,  without  the  tracing  of 
bodily  outlines,  without  any  markings  of  let 
ters  or  succession  of  syllables, — your  minds 
themselves  may  have  the  power  to  perceive. 
Well,  now,  I  have  just  said  something  which 
is  perhaps  of  that  same  character,  and  yet 
you  have  received  it;  and  you  have  not  only 
been  able  to  bear  it,  but  have  also  listened  to 
it  with  pleasure.  But  were  that  inward 
Teacher,  who,  while  still  speaking  in  an  ex 
ternal  way  to  the  disciples,  said,  "  I  have  still 
many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot 
bear  them  now,"  wishing  to  speak  inwardly 
to  us  of  what  I  have  said  of  the  incorporeal 
nature  of  God  in  the  same  way  as  He  speaks 
to  the  angels,  who  always  behold  the  face  of 
the  Father,5  we  should  still  be  unable  to  bear 
them.  Accordingly,  when  He  says.  "  He  will 
teach  you  all  truth,'1  or  "  will  guide  you  into 
all  truth,"  I  do  not  think  the  fulfillment  is 
possible  in  any  one's  mind  in  this  present  life 


'  Rom.  v.  5. 
i'l's.  Ixxxvi.  ii. 


ri«7«^,   ,,r  «V  T^ 
>  Chap.  vi.  45.  5  Matt,  xviii 


(for  who  is  there,  while  living  in  this  corrupt 
ible  and  soul-oppressing  body,'- that  can  know 
all  truth,  when  even  the  apostle  says,  "  \\V 
kno\v  in  part  "?),  but  because  it  is  effected  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  of  whom  we  have  now  received 
the  earnest,7  that  we  shall  attain  also  to  the 
actual  fullness  of  knowledge:  whereof  it  is  said 
by  the  same  apostle,  "  But  then  face  to  face;" 
and,  "  Now  I  know  in  part,  but  then  shall  I 
know  even  as  also  I  am  known;"8  not  as  a 
thing  which  he  knows  fully  in  this  life,  but 
which,  as  a  thing  that  would  still  be  future 
on  to  the  attainment  of  that  perfection,  the 
Lord  promised  us  through  the  love  of  the 
Spirit,  when  He  said,  "  He  will  teach  you  all 
truth,"  or  "  will  guide  you  unto  all  truth." 

5.  As  these  things  are  so,  beloved,  I  warn 
you  in  the  love  of  Christ  to  beware  of  impure 
seducers  and  sects  of  obscene  filthiness,  where 
of  the  apostle  says,  "  But  it  is  a  shame  even  to 
speak  of  those  things  which  are  done  of  them 
in  secret :" 9  lest,  when  they  begin  to  teach 
their  horrible  impurities,  which  no  human  ear 
whatever  can  bear,  they  declare  them  to  be 
the  very  things  whereof  the  Lord  said,  "  I 
have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but  ye 
cannot  bear  them  now  ;"  and  assert  that  it  is 
the  Holy  Spirit's  agency  that  makes  such  im 
pure  and  detestable  things  possible  to  be 
borne.  The  evil  things  which  no  human  mod 
esty  whatever  can  endure  are  of  one  kind,  and 
of  quite  another  are  the  good  things  which 
man's  little  understanding  is  unable  to  bear: 
the  former  are  wrought  in  unchaste  bodies, 
the  latter  are  beyond  the  reach  of  all  bodies; 
the  one  is  perpetrated  in  the  filthiness  of  the 
flesh,  the  other  is  scarcely  perceivable  by  the 
pure  mind.  "  Be  ye  therefore  renewed  in  the 
spirit  of  your  mind/'10  and  "understand 
what  is  the  will  of  God,  which  is  good,  and 
acceptable,  and  perfect; "  "  that,  "  rooted  and 
grounded  in  love,  ye  may  be  able  to  com 
prehend,  with  all  saints,  what  is  the  length., 
and  breadth,  and  height,  and  depth,  even  to 
know  the  love  of  Christ  which  passeth  knowl 
edge,  that  ye  may  be  filled  with  all  the  full 
ness  of  God.""  For  in  such  a  way  will  the 
Holy  Spirit  teach  you  all  truth,  when  He 
shall  shed  abroad  that  love  ever  more  and 
more  largely  in  your  hearts. 


'  Whd.  ix.  15.  7  a  Cor.  i.  3i. 

>  Eph.  v.  12.  ">  F.ph 

'  Eph.  iii.  17-19. 


i  Cor.  xiii.  9.  la. 
Rom.  xii.  a. 


374 


THK   WORKS  OF  ST.    A.UGUSTIN. 


[THAI  i  A  IK   XCVII. 


TRACTATE    XCVII. 

CHAPTER  XVI.   12,   13  (continued}. 


i.  THE  Holy  Spirit,  whom  the  Lord  prom- 


Where  is  His  name  not  found  in  the  mouths 


sed  to  send  to  His  disciples,  to  teach  them  of  readers,  disputants,  inquirers,  respondents, 
all  the  truth  which,  at  the  time  He  was  speak-  adorers,  singers,  all  sorts  of  haranguers,  and 
ing  to  them,  they  were  unable  to  bear:  of  lastly  even  of  blasphemers  themselves  ?  And 
the  which  Holy  Spirit,  as  the  apostle  says,  we  although  no  one  keeps  silence  about  Him, 
have  now  received  "the  earnest,"  '  an  ex-  who  is  there  that  apprehends  Him  as  He  is  to 
pression  whereby  we  are  to  understand  that  be  understood,  although  He  is  never  out  of 
His  fullness  is  reserved  for  us  till  another  life:  the  mouths  and  the  hearing  of  men  ?  Who  is 
that  Holy  Spirit,  therefore,  teacheth  believers  there,  whose  keenness  of  mind  can  even  get 
also  in  the  present  life,  as  far  as  they  can  near  Him?  Who  is  there  that  would  have 
severally  apprehend  what  is  spiritual;  and  en-  known  Him  as  the  Trinity,  had  not  He  Him- 
kindles  a  growing  desire  in  their  breasts,  self  desired  so  to  become  known  ?  And  what 
according  as  each  one  makes  progress  in  that  man  is  there  that  now  holds  his  tongue  about 
love,  which  will  lead  him  both  to  love  what  he  that  Trinity;  and  yet  what  man  is  there  that 
knows  already,  and  to  long  after  what  still  has  any  such  idea  of  it  as  the  angels  ?  The 
remains  to  be  known:  so  that  those  very  things  very  things,  therefore,  that  are  incessantly 
which  he  has  some  notion  of  at  present,  he  being  uttered  off-hand  and  openly  about  the 
may  know  that  he  is  still  ignorant  of,  as  they  eternity,  the  truth,  the  holiness  of  God,  are 
are  yet  to  be  known  in  that  life  which  eye  understood  well  by  some,  and  badly  by  others: 
hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  nor  the  heart  of  nay  rather,  are  understood  by  some,  and  not 
man  hath  perceived.3  But  were  the  inner '  understood  at  all  by  others.  For  he  that 
Master  wishing  at  present  to  say  those  things  understands  in  a  bad  way,  does  not  under- 
in  such  a  way  of  knowing,  that  is,  to  unfold  i  stand  at  all.  And  in  the  case  even  of  those 
and  make  them  patent  to  our  mind,  our  hu- 1  by  whom  they  are  understood  in  a  right  sense, 
man  weakness  would  be  unable  to  bear  them.  '.  by  some  they  are  perceived  with  less,  by 
Whereof  you  remember,  beloved,  that  I  have  others  with  greater  mental  vividness,  and  by 
already  spoken,  when  we  were  occupied  with  none  on  earth  are  apprehended  as  they  are  by 
the  words  of  the  holy  Gospel,  where  the  Lord  the  angels.  In  the  very  mind,  therefore,  that 
says,  "  I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  is  to  say,  in  the  inner  man,  there  is  a  kind  of 
you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now."  Not  j  growth,  not  only  in  order  to  the  transition 
that  in  these  words  of  the  Lord  we  should  be!  from  milk  to  solid  food,  but  also  to  the  tak- 
suspecting  an  over-fastidious  concealment  of  I  ing  of  food  itself  in  still  larger  and  larger 


no  one  Knows  waac  secrets,  wnicn  niignt  ue 
uttered  by  the  Teacher,  but  could  not  be 
borne  by  the  learner,  but  those  very  things 
which  in  connection  with  religious  doctrine  we 
read  and  write,  hear  and  speak  of,  as  within 
the  knowledge  of  such  and  such  persons,  were 
Christ  willing  to  utter  to  us  in  the  self-same 
way  as  He  speaks  of  them  to  the  holy  angels, 
in  His  own  Person  as  the  only-begotten  Word 
of  the  Father,  and  co-eternal  with  Him,  where 
are  the  human  beings  that  could  bear  them, 
even  were  they  already  spiritual,  as  the  apos 
tles  still  were  not  when  the  Lord  so  spake  to 
them,  and  as  they  afterwards  became  when 
the  Holy  Spirit  descended  ?  For,  of  course, 
whatever  may  be  known  of  the  creature,  is 
less  than  the  Creator  Himself,  who  is  the 
supreme  and  true  and  unchangeable  God. 
And  yet  who  keeps  silence  about  Him  ? 

of  a  space-covering  mass  of  matter,  but  in 
that  of  an  illuminated  understanding;  because 
that  food  is  itself  the  light  of  the  understand 
ing.     In  order,  then,  to  your  growth  and  ap 
prehension  of  God,  and   in   order  that  your 
apprehension   may  keep  full  pace  with  your 
ever-advancing  growth,  you  ought  to  be  ad 
dressing  your  prayer,  and  turning  your  hope, 
not  to  the  teacher  whose  voice  only  reaches 
your  ears,  that  is,  who  plants  and  waters  only 
by  outside  labor,  but  to  Him  who  giveth.the 
increase.3 
2.   Accordingly,  as  I  have  admonished  you 
in  my   last   sermon,  take   heed,  those  of  you 
specially  who  are  still  children  and  have  need 
of  a  milk  diet,  of  turning  a  curious  ear  to  men, 
who  have   found   occasion  for  self-deception 
and  the  deceiving  of  others  in  the  words  of 

1  -  Cor.  i.  ...                                                 -  i  Cor.  ii.  9. 

3  i  Cor.  iii.  6. 

TRACTATI   \<  \  n.| 


o\  THE  GOSPEL  < 'I    ST,  JOHN. 


375 


of  slain  animal*,  or  of  the  cries  and  flights  of 
birds,  or  of  multiform  demoniacal  si^ns,  are 
distilled  by  converse  witli  abandoned  wretches 
into  the  ears  of  persons  who  are  on  the  brink 
of  destruction.  And  it  is  because  of  these 
unlawful  and  punishable  secrets  that  the 
woman  mentioned  above  is  styled  not  merely 
"  foolish,"  but  also  "  audacious."  But  such 
things  are  alien  not  only  to  the  reality,  but  to 
the  very  name  of  our  religion.  And  what 
shall  we  say  of  this  foolish  and  brazen-faced 

sweetness  in  contrast  with  the  impurities  of  [woman  seasoning,  as  she  does,  so  many 
wickedness;  and  that  honor  may  be  given  to  |  wicked  heresies,  and  serving  up  so  many  de- 
llim,  and  fear  and  modesty  of  demeanor  as-  j  testable  fables  with  Christian  forms  of  ex 


the  Lord,  "  1  have  yi  '  many  thin--- 
unto  you,  but  ye  cannot  1  ear  them  now,"  in 
order  to  the  discovery  of  that  which  is  un 
known,  while  you  still  have  minds  that  are  in 
competent  to  discriminate  between  the  true 
and  the  false;  and  most  especially  on  account 
of  the  obscene  lewdnessrs  which  Satan  has 
instilled,  by  God's  permission,  into  unstable 
and  carnal 'souls,  for  this  end,  that  His  judg 
ments  may  everywhere  be  objects  of  terror, 
and  that  pure  discipline  may  best  manifest  its 


sumed 


every  one, 


kept  from  falling  into  such  evils  by  His  kingly 
power,  or  been  raised  out  of  them  by  His  up 
lifting  hand.  Beware,  with  fear  and  prayer,  of 


who   has  either  been  j  pression  ?     Would  that  they  were  only  such  as 


are  found  in  theatres,  whether  as  the  subjects 
of  song  or  dancing,  or  turned  into  ridicule  by  a 
mimicking  buffoonery;  and  not,  some  of  them, 


rushing  into  that  mystery  of  Solomon's,  where  :  such  as  makes  us  grieve  at  the  foolishness, 
the  woman  that  is  foolish  and  brazen-faced,  |  while  wondering  at  the  audacity  that  could 
and  become  destitute  of  bread,"   invites  the    have  contrived  them,  against  God  !     And  yet 


passers-by  with  the  words,  "Come  and  make 
a  pleasant  feast  on  hidden  bread,  and  the 
sweetness  of  stolen  waters. " '  For  the  woman 
thus  spoken  of  is  the  vanity  of  the  impious, 
who,  utterly  senseless  as  they  are,  fancy  that 
they  know  something,  just  as  was  said  of  that 
woman,  that  she  had  "become  destitute  of 
bread;  "  who,  though  destitute  of  a  single 
loaf,  promises  loaves;  in  other  words,  though 
ignorant  of  the  truth,  she  promises  the  knowl 
edge  of  the  truth.  But  it  is  bread  of  a  hid 
den  character  she  promises,  and  which  she 
declares  is  partaken  of  with  pleasure,  as  well 
as  the  sweetness  of  stolen  waters;  in  order 
t.hat  what  is  publicly  forbidden  to  be  uttered 
or  believed  in  the  Church,  may  be  listened  to 
and  acted  upon  with  willingness  and  relish. 
For  by  such  secrecy  profane  teachers  give  a 
kind  of  seasoning  to  their  poisons  for  the 
curious,  that  thereby  they  may  imagine  that 
they  learn  something  great,  because  counted 
worthy  of  holding  a  secret,  and  may  imbibe 
the  more  sweetly  the  folly  which  they  regard 
as  wisdom,  the  hearing  of  which,  as  a  thing 
prohibited,  they  are  represented  as  stealing. 
3.  Hence  the  system  of  magical  arts  corn- 


all  these  utterly  senseless  heretics,  who  wish 
to  he  styled  Christians,  attempt  to  color  the 
audacities  of  their  devices,  which  are  per 
fectly  ahorrent  to  every  human  feeling,  with 
the  chance  presented  to  them  of  that  gospel 
sentence  uttered  by  the  Lord,  "  I  have  yet 
many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot 
bear  them  now:  "  as  if  these  were  the  very 
things  which  the  apostles  could  not  then  bear, 
and  as  if  the  Holy  Spirit  had  taught  them 
what  the  unclean  spirit,  with  all  the  length  he 
can  carry  his  audacity,  blushes  to  teach  and 
to  preach  in  broad  daylight. 

4.  It  is  such  whom  the  apostle  foresaw 
through  the  Holy  Spirit,  when  he  said:  "  For 
the  time  will  come  when  they  will  not  endure 
sound  doctrine;  but  after  their  own  lusts  shall 
they  heap  to  themselves  teachers,  having 
itching  ears;  and  they  shall  turn  away  their 
ears  from  the  truth,  and  shall  be  turned  unto 
fables. ''*  For  that  mentioning  of  secrecy  and 
theft,  whereof  it  is  said,  "Partake  with 
pleasure  of  hidden  bread  and  the  sweetness  of 
stolen  waters,0  creates  an  itching  in  those 
who  listen  with  ears  that  are  lusting  after 
spiritual  fornication,  just  as  by  a  kind  of  itch 
ing  also  of  desire  in  the  flesh  the  soundness 


mends    its   nefarious  rites   to  those  who  are 

deceived,   or   ready  to  be  so,   by  a  sacrile-  of  chastity  is  corrupted.      Hear,   therefore, 

gious  curiosity.      Hence,  also,  those  unlawful    how  the  apostle  foresaw  such  things,  and  gave 


divinations  by  the  inspection  of  the  entrails 


I'r.iv.  ix.   13-17,  according   t. 
"7;     ii   i.M.I.-rrd  i,'f>,^   i/,u.»*oC, 

.—  .-£.•«  mon 

M.. 


7: 
rvrr.  ;is  well  as  th 


SeptUAgint,  where,  in  verse- 
•in  want  of  a  m..rsrl  of 
.  The  form  ..I 

ini;.  sll-u  - 


salutary  admonition  about  avoiding  them, 
when  he  said,  "Shun  profane  novelties  of 
words;  for  they  increase  unto  much  ungodli 
ness,  and  their  speech  insinuates  itself  as 
doth  a  cancer."1  He  did  not  say  novelties 
but  added,  "  profane.'1 


with  the  Hebrew  and 


translates  K«yo^MVi««  ("bab- 
ranccs,"  r-oM/VWM/ii,  Vulgate)  as  if   it  read 
novelties  of  words."— TK. 


3/6 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATK  XCVIII. 


For  there  are  also  novelties  of  words  in  per 
fect  harmony  with  religious  doctrine,  as  is 
told  us  in  Scripture  of  the  very  name  of 
Christians,  when  it  began  to  he  used.  For  it 
was  in  Antioch  that  the  disciples  were  first 
called  Christians  after  the  Lord's  ascension, 
as  we  read  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles: '  and 
certain  houses  were  afterwards  called  by  the 
new  names  of  hospices2  and  monasteries;  but 
the  things  themselves  existed  prior  to  their 
names,  and  are  confirmed  by  religious  truth, 
which  also  forms  their  defense  against  the 
wicked.  In  opposition  also  to  the  impiety  of 
Arian  heretics,  they  coined  the  new  term, 
Patris  Homousios;3  but  there  was  nothing 
new  signified  by  such  a  name;  for  what  is 
called  Homousios  is  just  this:  "  I  and  my 
Father  are  one,"4  to  wit,  of  one  and  the  same 
substance.  For  if  every  novelty  were  pro 
fane,  as  little  should  we  have  it  said  by  the 
Lord,  "A  new  commandment  I  give  unto 
you;"5  nor  would  the  Testament  be  called 
New,  nor  the  new  song  be  sung  throughout 
the  whole  earth.  But  there  is  profanity  in 
the  novelties  of  words,  when  it  is  said  by  "  the 
foolish  and  audacious  woman,  Come  and  en 
joy  the  tasting  of  hidden  bread,  and  the  sweet 
ness  of  stolen  waters."  From  such  enticing 
words  of  false  science  the  apostle  also  gives  his 
prohibitory  warning,  in  the  passage  where  he 
says,  "O  Timothy,  keep  that  which  is  com 
mitted  to  thy  trust,  avoiding  profane  novelties 

1  Acts  xi .  26, 
XenodocJtia,  houses  of  entertainment  for  strangers. 

substance)  with  the  Father,"  as  ap- 


3  "  Of  the  same  essence  (or 
plied  to  Christ. 

4  Chap.  x.  30. 


of  expression,  and  oppositions  of  science 
falsely  so  called;  which  sonic  professing,  have 
erred  concerning  the  faith."6  For  there  is 
nothing  that  these  men  so  love  as  to  profess 
science,  and  to  deride  as  utter  silliness  faith 
in  those  verities  which  the  young  are  enjoined 
to  believe. 

5.  But  some  one  will  say,  Have  spiritual 
men  nothing  in  the  matter  of  doctrine,  which 
they  are  to  say  nothing  about  to  the  carnal, 
but  to  speak  out  upon  to  the  spiritual?  If 
I  shall  answer,  They  have  not,  I  shall  be  im 
mediately  met  with  the  words  of  the  Apostle 
Paul  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians:  "  I 
could  not  speak  unto  you  as  unto  spiritual, 
but  as  unto  carnal.  As  unto  babes  in  Christ 
I  have  given  you  milk  to  drink,  and  not  meat 
to  eat:  for  hitherto  ye  were  not  able;  neither 
yet  now  are  ye  able;  for  ye  are  yet  carnal; "  7 
and  with  these,  "We  speak  wisdom  among 
them  that  are  perfect;"  and  with  these  also, 
"Comparing  spiritual  things  with  spiritual: 
but  the  natural  man  perceiveth  not  the  things 
of  the  Spirit  of  God;  for  they  are  foolishness 
unto  him."!  The  meaning  of  all  this,  in 
order  that  these  words  of  the  apostle  may  no 
longer  lead  to  the  hankering  after  secrets 
through  the  profane  novelties  of  verbiage,  and 
that  what  ought  always  to  be  shunned  by  the 
spirit  and  body  of  the  chaste  may  not  be  as 
serted  as  only  unable  to  be  borne  by  the  car 
nal,  we  shall,  with  the  Lord's  permission, 
make  the  subject  of  dissertation  in  another 
discourse,  so  that  for  the  time  we  may  bring 
the  present  to  a  close. 


5  Chap.  xiii.  34. 


Cor.  ii.  6,  13,  14. 


TRACTATE   XCVIII 

CHAPTER  XVI.   12,  13  (continued). 


i.  FROM  the  words  of  our  Lord,  where  He 
says,  "  I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto 
you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now,"  there 
arose  a  difficult  question,  which  I  recollect  to 
have  put  off,  that  it  might  be  handled  after 
wards  at  greater  leisure,  because  my  last  dis 
course  had  reached  its  proper  limits,  and 
required  to  be  brought  to  a  close.  And  now, 
accordingly,  as  we  have  time  to  redeem  our 
promise,  let  us  take  up  its  discussion  as  the 
Lord  Himself  shall  grant  us  ability,  who  put 
it  into  our  heart  to  make  the  proposal.  And 
the  question  is  this:  Whether  spiritual  men 
have  aught  in  doctrine  which  they  should  with 


hold  from  the  carnal,  but  declare  to  the 
spiritual.  For  if  we  shall  say,  They  have 
not,  we  shall  meet  with  the  reply,  What, 
then,  is  to  be  made  of  the  words  of  the  apos 
tle  in  writing  to  the  Corinthians:  "  I  could 
not  speak  unto  you  as  unto  spiritual,  but  as 
unto  carnal.  As  unto  babes  in  Christ,  I  have 
given  you  milk  to  drink,  and  not  meat  to  eat: 
for  hitherto  ye  were  not  able;  neither  yet 
now  are  ye  able;  for  ye  are  yet  carnal?"1 
But  if  we  say.  They  have,  we  have  cause  to 
fear  and  take  heed,  lest  under  such  a  pretext 


\  1II.J 


«»\  TIIK  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


377 


detestable  doctrines  be  taught  in  secret,  and 
under  the  name  of  spiritual,  as  things  which 
cannot  be  understood  by  the  <  arnal,  may 
*eem  not  only  capable  of  being  whitewashed 
by  plausible  excuses,  but  deserving  also  to 
be  lauded  in  preaching. 
2.  In 


it"  any  man  be  ignorant,  let  him  be  ignorant."4 
Assuredly  he  would  haVe  the  knowledge  of 
the  spiritual  to  be  substantial,  wherever  not 
only  faith  had  found  a  suitable  abode,  but  a 
certain  power  of  understanding  was  possessed; 
and  whereby  such  believed  those  very  things 


the  first  place,  then,  your  Charity  which  as  spiritual  they  likewise  acknowl- 
ought  to  know  that  it  is  Christ  Himself  as  edged.  But  "  let  him  be  ignorant,"  he  says, 
crucified,  wherewith  the  apostle  says  that  he  who  "is  ignorant;"  because  it  was  not  yet 
has  fed  those  who  are  babes  as  with  milk;  but  j  revealed  to  him  to  know  that  which  he  be- 
His  flesh  itself,  in  which  was  witnessed  His !  lieves.  When  this  takes  place  in  a  man's 
real  death,  that  is,  both  His  real  wounds  !  mind,  he  is  said  to  be  known  of  God;  for  it  is 
when  transfixed  and  His  blood  when  pierced,  I  God  who  endows  him  with  this  po»ver  of  un 
does  not  present  itself  to  the  minds  of  the  derstanding,  as  it  is  elsewhere  said,  "  But  now, 
carnal  in  the  same  manner  as  to  that  of  the  knowing  Clod,  or  rather,  being  known  of 
spiritual,  and  so  to  the  former  it  is  milk,  and  ' ''  '  "  *  ''"  :' 


to  the  latter  it  is  meat;  for  if  they  do  not  hear 
more  than  others,  they  understand  better. 
For  the  mind  has  not  equal  powers  of  percep 
tion  even  for  that  which  is  equally  received 
by  both  in  faith.  And  so  it  happens  that  the 
preaching  of  Christ  crucified,  by  the  apostle, 
was  at  once  to  the  Jews  a  stumbling-block, 
and  to  the  Gentiles  foolishness;  and  to  those 
who  are  called,  both  Jews  and  Greeks,  the 
power  of  God,  and  the  wisdom  of  God;  "  '  but 
to  the  carnal,  as  babes  who  held  it  only  as  a 
matter  of  faith,  and  to  the  spiritual,  as  those 
of  greater  capacity,  who  perceived  it  as  a 
matter  of  understanding;  to  the  former,  there 
fore,  as  a  milk-draught,  to  the  latter  as  solid 
food:  not  that  the  former  knew  it  in  one  way 
out  in  the  world  at  large,  and  the  latter  in 
another  way  in  their  secret  chambers;  but  that 
what  both  heard  in  the  same  measure  when 
it  was  publicly  spoken,  each  apprehended  in 
his  own  measure.  For  inasmuch  as  Christ 
was  crucified  for  the  very  purpose  of  shedding 
His  blood  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  of 
divine  grace  being  thereby  commended  in  the 
passion  of  His  Only-begotten,  that  no  one 
should  glory  in  man,  what  understanding  had 
they  of  Christ  crucified  who  were  still  saying, 


For  it  was  not  then  that  God  first 
knew  those  who  were  foreknown  and  chosen 
before  the  foundation  of  the  world;6  but  then 
it  was  that  He  made  them  to  know  Himself. 

3.  Having  ascertained  this,  therefore,  at 
the  outset,  that  the  very  things,  which  are 
equally  heard  by  the  spiritual  and  the  carnal, 
are  received  by  each  according  to  the  slender 
measure  of  his  own  capacity, — by  some  as 
babes,  by  others  as  those  of  riper  years, — by 
one  as  milk  nourishment,  by  another  as  solid 
food, — there  seems  no  necessity  for  any  mat 
ters  of  doctrine  being  retained  in  silence  as 
secrets,  and  concealed  from  infant  believers, 
as  things  to  be  spoken  of  apart  to  those  who 
are  older,  or  possessed  of  a  riper  understand 
ing;  and  let  us  regard  it  as  needful  to  act 
thus,  just  because  of  the  words  of  the  apostle, 
"  I  could  not  speak  unto  you  as  unto  spiritual, 
but  as  unto  carnal."  For  even  this  very 
statement  of  his,  that  he  knew  nothing  among 
them  but  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified,7  he 
could  not  speak  unto  them  as  unto  spiritual, 
but  as  unto  carnal;  because  even  that  they 
were  not  able  to  receive  as  spiritual.  But  all 
who  were  spiritual  among  them  received  with 
spiritual  understanding  the  very  same  truths 
which  the  others  only  heard  as  carnal;  and  in 

"  I  am  of  Paul  "  ?3     Was  it  such  as  Paul  him-   this  way  may  we  understand  the  words,  ''  I 
self  had,  who  could  say,   "But  God    forbid  ]  could  not  speak  unto  you  as  unto  spiritual, 

but  as  unto  carnal,"  as  if  he  said,  What  I  did 


that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  "?*  In  regard,  therefore, 
even  to  Christ  crucified,  he  himself  found 
food  in  proportion  to  his  own  capacity,  and 
nourished  them  with  milk  in  accordance  with 


speak,  ye  could  not  receive  as  spiritual,  but 
as  carnal.  For  "  the  natural  man''  — that  is, 
the  man  whose  wisdom  is  of  a  mere  human 
kind,  and  is  called  natural  [literally,  soulish] 


their   infirmity.      And   still    further,   knowing  from  the  soal,  and  carnal  from  the  flesh,  be- 
that  what  he  wrote  to  the  Corinthians  might '  cause  the  complete  man  consists  of  soul  and 

doubtless  be  understood  in  one  way  by  those  flesh — "  perceiveth    not   the    things    of   the 

who  were  still  babes,  and  differently  by  those  Spirit   of   God;"8  that    is,    the    measure   of 

of  greater   capacity,    he  said,   "If  any   one  grace  bestowed  on  believers  by  the  cross  of 

among  you  is  a  prophet,  or  spiritual,  let  him  Christ,  and  thinks  that  all  that  is  effected  by 

acknowledge  that  the  things  that  I  write  unto  that  cross  is  to  provide  us  with  an  example 

you  are  the  commandment  of  the  Lord:  but  for  our  imitation  in  contending  even  to  death 


i  Cor.i.  23, 


Cor.  i. 


37.  38. 


*i  r,,r.  ii.  14. 


Kph.  i. 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSI  IN. 


[TK.X.  i  Air   XCVI1I. 


for  the  truth.  For  if  men  of  this  type,  who 
have  no  desire  to  be*  aught  else  than  men, 
knew  how  it  is  that  Christ  crucified  is  "  made 
of  God  unto  us  wisdom,  and  righteousness, 
and  snnctification,  and  redemption,  that,  ac 
cording  as  it  is  written,  He  that  glorieth,  let 
him  glory  in  the  Lord."  '  they  would  doubt 
less  no  longer  glory  in  man,  nor  say  in  a 
carna!  spirit,  "  I  am  of  Paul,  and  I  of  Apollos, 
and  I  of  Cephas;  "  but  in  a  spiritual  way,  "  I 
am  of  Christ.  ''3 

4.  But  the  question  is  still  further  raised 
by  what  we  read  in  the  Epistle  to  the  He 
brews:  "  Wiien  now  for  the  time  ye  ought  10 
be  teachers,  ye  have  need  again  to  be  taught 
which  be  the  first  principles  of  the  oracles  of 
God;  and  are  become  such  as  have  need  of 
milk,  and  not  of  strong  meat.  For  every 
one  that  useth  milk  hath  no  experience  in  the 
word  of  righteousness;  for  he  is  a  babe.  But 
strong  meat  belongeth  to  them  that  are  per 
fect,  even  those  who  by  habit  have  their  senses 
exercised  to  distinguish  good  from  evil."3 
For  here  we  see,  as  if  clearly  defined,  what 
he  calls  the  strong  meat  of  the  perfect;  and 
which  is  the  same  as  that  which  he  writes  to 
the  Corinthians,  "  We  speak  wisdom  among 
them  that  are  perfect."  4  But  who  it  was  that 
he  wished  in  this  passage  to  be  understood  as 
perfect,  he  proceeded  to  indicate  in  the  words, 
"  Even  those  who  by  habit  have  their  senses 
exercised  to  distinguish  good  from  evil." 
Those,  therefore,  who,  through  a  weak  and 
undisciplined  mind,  are  destitute  of  this 
power,  will  certainly,  unless  enabled  by  what 
may  be  called  the  milk  of  faith  to  believe 
both  the  invisible  things  which  they  see  not, 
and  the  comprehensible  things  \vhich  they  do 
not  yet  comprehend,  be  easily  seduced  by  the 
promise  of  science  to  vain  and  sacrilegious 
fables:  so  as  to  think  both  of  good  and  evil 
only  under  corporeal  forms,  and  to  have  no 
idea  of  God  Himself  save  as  some  sort  of 
body,  and  be  able  only  to  view  evil  as  a  sub 
stance;  while  there  is  rather  a  kind  of  falling 
away  from  the  immutable  Substance  in  the 
case  of  all  mutable  substances,  which  were 
made  out  of  nothing  by  the  immutable  and 
supreme  substance  itself,  which  is  God.  And 
assuredly  whoever  not  only  believes,  but  also 
through  the  exercised  inner  senses  of  his 
mind  understands,  and  perceives,  and  knows 
this,  there  is  no  longer  cause  for  fear  that  he 
will  be  seduced  by  those  who,  while  account 
ing  evil  to  be  a  substance  uncreated  by  God, 
make  God  Himself  a  mutable  substance,  as 
is  done  by  the  Manicheans,  or  any  other 


pests,  if  such  there  be,  that  fall  into  similar 
foily. 

5.  But  to  those  who  are  still  babes  in  mind, 
and  who  as  carnal,  the  apostle  says,  require 
to  be  nourished  with  milk,  all  discoursing  on 
such  a  subject,  wherein  we  deal  not  only  with 
the  believing,  but  also  with  the  understanding 
and  the  knowing  of  what  is  spoken,  must  be 
burdensome,  as  being  still  unable  to  perceive 
such  things,  and  be  more  fitted  to  oppress 
than  to  feed  them.     Whence  it  comes  to  pass 
that  the  spiritual,  while  not  altogether  silent 
on  such  subjects  to  the  carnal,  because  of  the 
Catholic  faith  which  is  to  be  preached  to  all, 
yet  do  not  so  handle  them  as,  in  their  wish 
to  simplify  them  to  understandings  that  are 
still  deficient  in  capacity,  to  bring  their  dis 
course  on  the  truth  into  disrepute,  rather  than 
the  truth  that  is  in  their  discourse  within  the 
perceptions  of  their  hearers.     Accordingly  in 
his  Epistle  to  the  Colossians  he  says:   "And 
though  I  be  absent  in  the  flesh,  yet  am  I  with 
you  in  the  spirit,  joying  and  beholding  your 
order,  and  that  which  is  lacking5  in  your  faith 
in  Christ."6     And   in  that  to  the  Thessalo- 
nians:  "  Night  and  day,"  he  says,  "praying 
more  abundantly,  that  we  might  see  your  face, 
and  might  perfect  that   which  is   lacking  in 
your  faith."  7     Here  we  are,  of  course,  to  un 
derstand  those  who  were  under  such  primary 
catechetical     instruction,    as     implied     their 
nourishment  with  milk  and   not;  with   strong 
meat;  of  the  former  of  which  there  is  mention 
made  in   the  Epistle  to   the   Hebrews  of  an 
abundant  supply  for  such  as  nevertheless  he 
would  now  have  had  to  be  feeding  on  solid 
food.      Accordingly    he    says:    "Therefore 
leaving  the  word  of  the  beginning  of  Christ, 
let  us  have  regard  to  the  completion;  not  lay- 

j  ing  again  the  foundation  of  repentance  from 
j  dead  works,  and  of  faith  toward  God,  of  the 
doctrine  of  the  baptismal  font,  and  of  the  lay 
ing  on  of  hands,  and  of  resurrection  of  the 
dead,  and  of  eternal  judgment." 8  This  is  the 
copious  supply  of  milk,  without  which  even 
they  cannot  live,  who  have  already  indeed 
their  reason  sufficiently  in  use  to  enable  them 
to  believe,  but  who  cannot  distinguish  good 
from  evil,  so  as  to  be  not  only  a  matter  of  faith, 
but  also  of  understanding  (which  belongs  to 
the  department  of  solid  food).  But  when  he 
includes  doctrine  also  in  his  description  of  the 
milk,  it  is  that  which  has  been  delivered  to 
us  in  the  Creed  and  the  Lord's  Prayer. 

6.  But  let  us  be  far  from   supposing  that 
there  is  any  contrariety  between  this  milk  and 


Cor.L»  »x. 

Cor.  ii.  6. 


Cor. 


5  In   place  of  TO   <rrcp<ufia,   tolitiity,  ttnulf*tttUU,   Aiiyustin 
reads  TO   uo-Ttprj^a,  that  •H'liich  is  lacking.     So  also  in   i 

Ito  Paulintis,  which  is  marked  140  (in  Milne's  edition  of  Auy:s.tin). 
«  Col.  ii.  5.  7  i  Thess.  fii    10.  *  Heb.  vi.  ,,  ,. 


TK\.-I  \n,    \t  \  Ml.] 


ON  Till-:  GOSPEL  Ol   ST.  JOHN. 


the  food  of  spiritual  things  that  has  in  he  re 
ceived  by  the  sound  understanding,  and  which 
was  wanting  to  the  Colossians  and  Thessalo- 
nians,  and  had  still  to  be  supplied.  For  the 
supply  of  the  deficiency  implies  no  disap 
proval  of  that  which  existed.  For  even  in  the 
very  food  that  we  take,  so  far  is  there  from 
bciiiL;  any  contrariety  between  milk  and  solid 
food,  that  the  latter  itself  becomes  milk,  in 
order  to  make  it  suitable  to  babes,  whom  it 
reaches  through  the  medium  of  the  mother's  or 
the  nurse's  body;  so  did  also  mother  Wisdom 
herself,  who  is  solid  food  in  the  lofty  sphere 
of  angels,  condescend  in  a  manner  to  become 
milk  for  babes,  when  the  Word  became  flesh, 
and  dwelt  among  us. l  But  the  man  Christ 
Himself,  who  in  His  true  flesh,  true  cross, 
true  death,  and  true  resurrection  is  called  the 
pure  milk  of  babes,  is,  when  rightly  under 
stood  by  the  spiritual,  found  to  be  the  Lord 
of  angels.  Accordingly,  babes  are  not  to  be 
so  fed  with  milk  as  always  to  remain  without 
understanding  the  Godhead  of  Christ;  nor  are 
they  to  be  so  withdrawn  from  milk  as  to  turn 
their  backs  on  His  manhood.  And  the  same 
thing  may  also  be  stated  in  another  way  in 
this  manner:  they  are  neither  so  to  be  fed 
with  milk  as  never  to  understand  Christ  as 
Creator,  nor  so  to  be  withdrawn  from  milk  as 
ever  to  turn  their  backs  on  Christ  as  Mediator. 
In  this  respect,  indeed,  the  similitude  of 
maternal  milk  and  solid  food  scarcely  harmo 
nizes  with  the  reality  as  thus  stated,  but  rather 
that  of  a  foundation:  for  when  the  child  is 
weaned,  so  as  to  be  withdrawn  from  the  nour 
ishment  of  infancy,  he  never  looks  again 
amongst  solid  food  for  the  breasts  which  he 
sucked;  but  Christ  crucified  is  both  milk  to 
sucklings  and  meat  to  the  more  advanced. 
And  the  similitude  of  a  foundation  is  on  this 
account  the  more  suitable,  because,  for  the 
completion  of  the  structure,  the  building  is 
added  without  the  foundation  being  with 
drawn. 

7.  And  since  this  is  the  case,  do  you,  who 
ever  you  be,  who  are  doubtless  many  of  you 
still  babes  in  Christ,  be  making  advances  to 
wards  the  solid  food  of  the  mind,  not  of  the 
belly.  Grow  in  the  ability  to  distinguish  good 
from  evil,  and  cleave  more  and  more  to  the 
Mediator,  who  delivers  you  from  evil;  which 
does  not  admit  of  a  local  separation  from  you, 
but  rather  of  being  healed  within  you.  But 
whoever  shall  say  to  you.  Believe  not  Christ 
to  be  truly  man.  or  that  the  body  of  any  man 
or  animal  whatever  was  created  by  the  true 
God,  or  that  the  Old  Testament  was  given  l>y 
the  true  God,  and  anything  else  of  the  same 


sort,  for  such  things  as  these  were   not  told 
you  previously,  when   your   nourishment   was 
milk,  because   your   heart   was   still    unfit   for 
the   apprehension    of  the    truth:   such   an   one 
provides  you  not  with  meat,  but  with   poison. 
For  therefore  it  was  that  the  blessed  apostle, 
in    addressing   those   who   appeared    to    him 
already  perfect,  even  after  calling  himself  im- 
;  perfect,  said,  "  Let  us,  therefore,  as  many  as 
;  be  perfect,  be  thus  minded:  and   if  in  any- 
|  thing    ye   be    otherwise    minded,    God    shall 
i  reveal  even  this  unto  you."     And  that  they 
!  might  not  rush  into  the  Hands  of  seducers, 
I  whose  desire  would  be  to  turn  them  away  from 
the  faith  by  promising  them  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth,  and  suppose  such  to  be  the  meaning 
of   the    apostle's   words,   "God    shall    reveal 
even    this    unto   you,''    he    forthwith    added, 
"  Nevertheless,  whereto  we  have  already  at 
tained,  let  us  walk  by  the   same  rule."3     If, 
|  then,  thou  hast  come  to  some  understanding 
of  what  is  not  at  variance  with  the  rule  of  the 
i  Catholic  faith,  whereto  thou  hast  attained  as 
|  the  way  that  is  guiding  thee  to  thy  fatherland; 
and  hast  so  understood  it  as  to  feel  it  a  duty 
to  dismiss  all  doubts  whatever  on  the  subject: 
add  to  the  building,  but  do  not  abandon  the 
foundation.     And  surely  of  such  a  character 
ought  to  be  any  teaching  given  by  elders  to 
j  those  who  are  babes,  as  not  to  involve  the  as 
sertion  that  Christ  the  Lord   of  all.  and   the 
prophets  and  apostles,  who  are  much  farther 
advanced  in  age  than  themselves,  had  in  any 
respect  spoken  falsely.     And  not  only  ought 
you   to  avoid   the  babbling   seducers  of  the 
mind,  who    prate    away    at    their    fables   and 
i  falsehoods,  and  in  such    vanities    make    the 
j  promise,   forsooth,  of  profound  science  con- 
j  trary   to   the    rule   of  faith,    which   we    have 
I  accepted  as  Catholic;  but  avoid  those  also  as 
a  still  more  insidious  pest  than  the    others, 
I  who  discuss  truthfully  enough  the  immutabil- 
I  ity  of  the  divine  nature,  or  the    incorporeal 
creature,  or  the  Creator,  and  fully  prove  what 
i  they  affirm  by  the  most  conclusive  documents 
I  and  reasonings,  and  yet  attempt  to  turn  you 
j  away    from  the  one  Mediator  between   God 
and  men.     For  such  are  those  of  whom  the 
apostle  says,  "  Because  that,  when  they  knew 
God,  they  glorified  Him  not  as  God."3     For 
]  what  advantage  is  it  to  have  a  true  understand- 
!  ing  of  the  immutable  Good  to  one  who   has 
no  hold. of  Him  by  whom  there  is  deliverance 
from  evil  ?     And  let  not  the  admonition  of  the 
most   Messed  apostle   by  any    means   lose  its 
place  in  your  hearts:    "If  any  man  preach  any 
j  other  gospel   unto  you   than  that  ye  have  re 
ceived,  let  him  be  accursed."4      He  does  not 


i  Chap.  i.  i,  1 


••  Phil.  i. 


'  kt.m.  i.  .-I 


38o 


THE   WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  XCIX. 


say.  More  than  yc  have  received;  hut,  '  Other 
than  ye  have  received."  For  had  he  said  the 
former,  he  would  be  prejudging  himself,  inas 
much  as  he  desired  to  come  to  the  Thessalo- 
nians  to  supply  what  was  lacking  in  their  faith. 
But  one  who  supplies,  adds  to  what  was  de 
ficient,  without  taking  away  what  existed: 
while  he  that  transgresses  the  rule  of  faith,  is 
not  progressing  in  the  way,  but  turning  aside 
from  it. 

8.  Accordingly,  when  the  Lord  says,  "I 
have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but  ye 
cannot  bear  them  now,"  He  means  that  what 
they  were  still  ignorant  of  had  afterwards  to 
be  supplied  to  them,  and  not  that  what  they 
had  already  learned  was  to  be  subverted. 
And  He,  indeed,  as  I  have  already  shown  in 
a  former  discourse,  could  so  speak,  because 
the  very  things  which  He  had  taught  them, 
had  He  wished  to  unfold  them  to  them  in  the 
same  way  as  they  are  conceived  in  regard  to 
Him  by  the  angels,  their  still  remaining 
human  weakness  would  be  unable  to  bear. 
But  any  spiritual  man  may  teach  another  man 
what  he  knows,  provided  the  Holy  Spirit 
grant  him  an  enlarged  capacity  for  profiting, 
wherein  also  the  teacher  himself  may  get 
some  further  increase,  in  order  that  both  may 


be  taught  of  God. '     Although  even  among 
the    spiritual    themselves   there    are    some, 
doubtless,  who  are  of  greater  capacity  and  in 
a  better  condition  than   others;  so  that  one 
.  of  them  attained  even  to  things  of  which  it  is 
I  not  lawful  for  a  man  to  speak.     Taking  ad 
vantage  of  which,  there  have  been  some  vain 
individuals,  who,  with  a  presumption  that  be- 
I  trays  the  grossest  folly,  have  forged  a  Reve 
lation  of  Paul,  crammed  with  all  manner  of 
I  fables,  which  has  been  rejected  by  the  ortho- 
|  dox  Church;  affirming  it  to  be  that  whereof  he 
j  had  said  that  he  was  caught  up  into  the  third 
heavens,  and  there  heard  unspeakable  words 
"  which  it  is  not  lawful  for  a  man  to  utter."' 
Nevertheless,  the  audacity  of  such  might  be 
tolerable,   had  he  said  that  he  heard    words 
which  it  is  not  as  yet  lawful  for  a  man  to  utter; 
|  but  when  he  said,  "  which  it  is  not  lawful  for 
a  man  to  utter,"  who  are  they  that  dare  to 
utter  them  with   such  impudence    and  non- 
|  success  ?     But  with  these  words  I  shall  now 
1  bring   this   discourse    to  a   close;  whereby   I 
would   have   you  to  be  wise   indeed  in   that 
i  which  is  good,  but  untainted  by  that  which  is 
!  evil. 

I         '  Chap.  vi.  45. 


.TRACTATE    XCIX. 

CHAPTER  XVI.   13. 


i.  WHAT  is  this  that  the  Lord  said  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  when  promising  that  He  would 
come  and  teach  His  disciples  all  truth,  or 
guide  them  into  all  truth:  "  For  He  shall  not 
speak  of  Himself;  but  whatsoever  He  shall 
hear,  that  shall  He  speak"?  For  this  is 
similar  to  what  He  said  of  Himself,  "  I  can 
of  mine  own  self  do  nothing:  as  I  hear,  I 
judge."1  But  when  expounding  that,  we 
said  that  it  might  be  taken  as  referring  to 
His  human  nature;  *  so  that  He  seemed  as  the 
Son  to  announce  beforehand  that  His  own 
obedience,  whereby  He  became  obedient  even 
unto  the  death  of  the  cross, 3  would  have  its 
place  also  in  the  judgment,  when  He  shall 
judge  the  quick  and  the  dead;  for  He  shall 
do  so  for  the  very  reason  that  He  is  the  Son 
of  man.  Wherefore  He  said,  "  The  Father 
judgeth  no  man,  but  hath  committed  all  judg 
ment  unto  the  Son;  "  for  in  the  judgment 
He  will  appear,  not  in  the  form  of  God, 


Chap. 


Tracts.  XIX. -XXI  I. 


wherein  He  is  equal  to  the  Father,  and  can 
not  be  seen  by  the  wicked,  but  in  the  form  of 
man,  in  which  He  was  made  even  a  little  lower 
than  the  angels;  although  then  He  will  come 
in  glory,  and  not  in  His  original  humility,  yet 
in  a  way  that  will  be  conspicuous  both  to  the 
good  and  to  the  bad.  Hence  He  says  further: 
"And  He  hath  given  Him  authority  to  execute 
judgment  also,  because  He  is  the  Son  of 
man."4  In  these  words  of  His  own  it  is  made 
clear  that  it  is  not  that  form  that  will  be  pre 
sented  in  the  judgment,  wherein  He  was  when 
He  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with 
God;  but  that  which  He  assumed  when  He 
made  Himself  of  no  reputation. 5  For  He 
emptied  Himself  in  assuming  the  form  of  a 
servant;6  in  which,  also,  for  the  purpose  of 
executing  judgment,  He  seems  to  have  com 
mended  His  obedience,  when  He  said,  **  I 
can  of  mine  own  self  do  nothing:  as  I  hear,  I 


4  Cffap.  V.  23,  27. 

5  Literally,  "when  He  emptied  Himself/ 

6  Phil.  ii.  6,  7. 


(  )\    TI1K   l.OSl'l.l.   (>1-    ST.    JullV 


For  Adam,  by  whose  disobedience,  tute  the  one  person   of  the  Holy  Spirit,  is 

a.-,  Mat  of  one  man,  many  were  in.ulc  sinners,  compelled  also  to  affirm  the  same  tiling  of  that 

did  not  judge  as  he  heard;   for  he  prcvari<  -atcd  fire;  and   so   may   understand   that   he  ought 

what  he   heard,  and   of"  Ins   oun   sell    did    t;ir  to  assert  neither.      For  those  things  in  r> 

evil  that  lu-  did;   for   he  did   not  the  will  of  to  the  substance  of  God,  which  needed  at  any 

(iod,  hut  his  own:  while  this  latter,  by  whose  ;  time  to  be  represented  in  some  outward  way, 

oUdience,  as  that  also  of  one  man,  many  are  and  so  exhibited  themselves  to  men's  bodily 

made  righteotfs,*  was  not  only  obedient  even  senses,  and  then  passed  away,  were  formed 

unto   the   death   of  the   cross,  in    respect   of  for  the  moment  by  divine  power  from   the 

which  He  was  judged  as  alive  from  the  dead;  subservient  creation,  and  not  from  the  domi- 

but  promised  also  that  He  would  be  showing  nant  nature    itself;    which,  ever  abiding  the 


obedience  in  the  very  judgment  itself,  wherein 
He  is  yet  to  act  as  judge  of  the  quick  and  the 
dead,  when  He  said,  "  I  can  of  mine  own  self 
do  nothing:  as  I  hear,  I  judge."  But  when 
it  is  said  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  "  For  He  shall 
not  speak  of  Himself;  but  whatsoever  He 
shall  hear,  that  shall  He  speak,"  shall  we 
dare  to  harbor  the  notion  that  it  was  so  said  j 
in  reference  to  any  human  nature  of  His,  or 
the  assumption  of  any  creature-form  ?  For  it 
was  the  Son  alone  in  the  Trinity  who  assumed 
the  form  of  a  servant,  a  form  which  in  His 
case  was  fitted  into  the  unity  of  His  person, 
or,  in  other  words,  that  the  one  person,  Jesus 
Christ,  should  be  the  Son  of  God  and  the  Son 
of  man;  and  so  that  we  should  be  kept  from 
preaching  a  quaternity  instead  of  the  Trinity, 
which  God  forbid  that  we  should  do.  And  it 
is  on  account  of  this  one  personality  as  con 
sisting  of  two  substances,  the  divine  and  the 
human,  that  He  sometimes  speaks  in  accord 
ance  with  that  wherein  He  is  God,  as  when 
He  says,  "  I  and  my  Father  are  one;  " 2  and 
sometimes  in  accordance  with  His  manhood, 
as  in  the  words,  "  For  the  Fattier  is  greater 
than  I;''3  in  accordance  with  which  also  we 
have  understood  those  words  of  His  that  are 
at  present  under  discussion,  "  I  can  of  mine 
own  self  do  nothing:  as  I  hear,  I  judge." 
But  in  reference  to  the  person  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  a  considerable  difficulty  arises  how  we 
are  to  understand  the  words,  "  For  He  shall 
not  speak  of  Himself;  but  whatsoever  He 
shall  hear,  that  shall  He  speak;"  since  in  it 
there  exists  not  one  substance  of  Godhead 
and  another  of  humanity,  or  of  any  other 
creature  whatsoever. 

2  For  the  fact  that  the  Holy  Spirit  appear 
ed  in  bodily  form,  as  a  dove, 4  was  a  sight 
begun  and  ended  at  the  time:  just  as  also, 
when  He  descended  upon  the  disciples,  there 
were  seen  upon  them  cloven  tongues  as  of  fire, 
which  also  sat  upon  every  one  of  them.  s  Any 
one,  therefore,  who  says  that  the  dove  was 
connected  with  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  unity 
of  His  person,  as  that  it  and  Godhead  (for 
tne  Holy  Spirit  is  God)  should  goto  consti- 


i  Rom.  v.  19. 
4  Matt.  iii.  if.. 


*  Chap.  x.  30. 

5.  A.  b 


3  Chap.  xiv.  28. 


same,  excites  into  action  whatever  it  pleases; 
and,  itself  unchangeable,  changes  all  things 
else  at  its  pleasure.  In  the  same  way  also 
did  that  voice  from  the  cloud  actually  strike 
upon  the  bodily  ears,  and  on  that  bodily 
sense  which  is  called  the  hearing;6  and  yet  in 
no  way  are  we  to  believe  that  the  Word  of 
God,  which  is  the  only-begotten  Son,  is  de 
fined,  because  He  is  called  the  Word,  by  syl 
lables  and  sounds:  for  when  a  sermon  is  in 
course  of  delivery,  all  the  sounds  cannot  be 
pronounced  simultaneously;  but  the  various 
individual  sounds  come,  as  it  were,  in  their 
own  order  to  the  birth,  and  succeed  those 
which  are  dying  away,  so  that  all  that  we  have 
to  say  is  completed  only  by  the  last  syllable. 
Very  different  from  this,  surely,  is  the  way  in 
which  the  Father  speaketh  to  the  Son,  that  is 
to  say,  God  to  God,  His  Word.  But  this,  so 
far  as  it  can  be  understood  by  man,  is  a  mat 
ter  for  the  understanding  of  those  who  are 
fitted  for  the  reception  of  solid  food,  and  not 
of  milk.  Since,  therefore,  the  Holy  Spirit 
became  not  man  by  any  assumption  of  hu 
manity,  and  became  not  an  angel  by  any  as 
sumption  of  angelic  nature,  and  as  little  en 
tered  into  the  creature-state  by  the  assumption 
of  any  creature-form  whatever,  how,  in  regard 
to  Him,  are  we  to  understand  those  words  of 
our  Lord,  "  For  He  shall  not  speak  of  Him 
self;  but  whatsoever  He  shall  hear,  that  shall 
He  speak"?  A  difficult  question;  yea,  too 
difficult.  May  the  Spirit  Himself  be  present, 
that,  at  least  up  to  the  measure  of  our  power 
of  thinking  on  such  a  subject,  we  may  be  able 
to  express  our  thoughts,  and  that  these,  ac 
cording  to  the  little  measure  of  my  ability, 
may  find  entrance  into  your  understanding. 

3.  You  ought,  then,  to  be  informed  in  the 
first  place,  and,  those  of  you  who  can,  to  un 
derstand,  and  the  others,  who  cannot  as  yet 
understand,  to  believe,  that  in  that  substantial 
essence,  which  is  (iod,  the  senses  are  not,  as 
if  through  some  material  structure  of  a  body, 
distributed  in  their  appropriate  places:  as,  in 
the  mortal  flesh  of  all  animals  there  is  in  one 
place  sight,  in  another  hearing,  in  another 


6  Luke  ix.  35. 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACT  \  1 1-    X«  IX. 


taste,  in  another  smelling,  and  over  the  whole 
the  sense  of  touch.  Far  be  it  from  us  to  be 
lieve  so  in  the  case  of  that  incorporeal  and 
immutable  nature.  In  it,  therefore,  hearing 
and  seeing  are  one  and  the  same  thing.  In 
this  way  smelling  also  is  said  to  exist  in  God; 
as  the  apostle  says,  "As  Christ  also  hath  loved 
us,  and  hath  given  Himself  for  us  an  offering 
and  a  sacrifice  to  God  for  a  sweet-smelling 
savor."  '  And  taste  may  be  included,  in  ac- 
cord-ince  with  which  God  hateth  the  bitter  in  j 
temper,  and  spueth  out  of  His  mouth  those 
who  are  lukewarm,  and  neither  cold  nor  hot:" 
and  Christ  our  God3  saith,  "  My  meat  is  to. 
do  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  me."4  There 
is  also  that  divine  sense  of  touch,  in  accord 
ance  with  which  the  spouse  saith  of  the  bride 
groom:  "  His  left  hand  is  under  my  head,  and 
his  right  hand  shall  embrace  me."5  But 
these  are  not  in  God's  case  in  different  parts 
of  the  body.  For  when  He  is  said  to  know, 
all  are  included:  both  seeing,  and  hearing, 
and  smelling,  and  tasting,  and  touching;  with 
out  any  alteration  of  His  substance,  and 
without  the  existence  of  any  material  element 
which  is  greater  in  one  place  and  smaller  in 
another:  and  when  there  are  any  such 
thoughts  of  God  in  those  even  who  are  old  in 
years,  they  are  the  thoughts  only  of  a  childish 
mind. 

4.  Nor  need  you  wonder  that  the  ineffable 
knowledge  of  God,  whereby  He  is  cognizant 
of  all  things,  is,  because  of  the  various  modes 
of  human  speech  designated  by  the  names  of 
all  those  bodily  senses;  since  even  our  own 
mind,  in  other  words,  the  inner  man, — to 
which,  while  itself  exercising  its  knowing 
faculty  in  one  uniform  way,  the  different  sub 
jects  of  its  knowledge  are  communicated  by 
those  five  messengers,  as  it  were,  of  the  body, 
when  it  understands,  chooses,  and  loves  the 
unchangeable  truth, — is  said  both  to  see  the 
light,  whereof  it  is  said,  "That  was  the  true 
light;  "  and  to  hear  the  word,  whereof  it  is 
said,  "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word ;  "6  and 
to  be  susceptible  of  smell,  of  which  it  is  said, 
"  We  will  run  after  the  smell  of  thy  oint 
ments;  "  ~  and  to  drink  of  the  fountain,  where 
of  it  \z  said,  "  With  Thee  is  the  fountain  of 
life;  "  8  and  to  enjoy  the  sense  of  touch,  when 
it  is  said,  "  But  it  is  good  for  me  to  cleave 
unto  God;"9  in  all  of  which  it  is  not  differ 
ent  things,  but  the  one  intelligence,  that  is 
expressed  by  the  names  of  so  many  senses. 
When,  therefore,  it  is  said  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
"  For  He  shall  not  speak  of  Himself;  but 
whatsoever  He  shall  hear,  that  shall  He 


'  Eph.  v.  2.  -  Rev.  iii.  16.  <  /><•»*  CAristi 

4  Chap.  iv.  34.         5  Son*  of  Sol.  ii.  6.          6  Chap.  i.  p,  i. 
-  >..ny  of  >,,!.  i.  4,  Septuagint.  I  xxvi.  9. 


speak,"  so  much  the  more  is  a  simple  nature, 
which  is  simple  [uncompounded]  in  the 
truest  sense,  to  be  either  understood  or  be 
lieved,  which  in  its  extent  and  sublimity  far 
surpasses  the  nature  of  our  minds.  For 
there  is  mutability  in  our  mind,  which  comes 
by  learning  to  the  perception  of  what  it  was 
previously  ignorant  of,  and  loses  by  unlearn 
ing  what  it  formerly  knew;  and  is  deceived  by 
what  has  a  similarity  to  truth,  so  as  to  ap 
prove  of  the  false  in  place  of  the  true,  and  is 
hindered  by  its  own  obscurity  as  by  a  kind  of 
darkness  from  arriving  at  the  truth.  And  so 
that  substance  is  not  in  the  truest  sense  sim 
ple,  to  which  being  is  not  identical  with  know 
ing;  for  it  can  exist  without  the  possession  of 
knowledge.  But  it  cannot  be  so  with  that 
divine  substance,  for  it  is  what  it  has.  And  on 
this  account  it  has  not  knowledge  in  any  such 
way  as  that  the  knowledge  whereby  it  knows 
should  be  to  it  one  thing,  and  the  essence 
whereby  it  exists  another;  but  both  are  one. 
Nor  ought  that  to  be  called  both,  which  is 
simply  one.  "As  the  Father  hath  life  in 
Himself,"  and  He  Himself  is  not  something 
different  from  the  life  that  is  in' Him;  "so 
hath  He  given  to  the  Son  to  have  life  in 
Himself,"  lo  that  is,  hath  begotten  the  Son, 
that  He  also  should  Himself  be  the  life. 
Accordingly  we  ought  to  accept  what  is  said 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  "  For  he  shall  not  speak 
of  Himself;  but  whatsoever  He  shall  hear, 
that  shall  He  speak,"  in  such  a  way  as  to 
understand  thereby  that  He  is  not  of  Himself. 
Because  it  is  the  Father  only  who  is  not  of 
another.  For  the  Son  is  born  of  the  Father, 
and  the  Holy  Spirit  proceedeth  from  the 
Father;  but  the  Father  is  neither  born  of, 
nor  proceedeth  from,  another.  And  yet 
surely  there  should  not  on  that  account  occur 
to  human  thought  any  idea  of  disparity  in 
the  supreme  Trinity;  for  both  the  Son  is 
equal  to  Him  of  whom  He  is  born,  and  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  Him  from  whom  He  proceed 
eth.  But  what  difference  there  is  in  such  a 
case  between  proceeding  and  being  born, 
would  be  too  lengthy  to  make  the  subject  of 
inquiry  and  dissertation,  and  would  make  our 
definition  liable  to  the  charge  of  rashness, 
even  after  we  had  discussed  it;  for  such  a 
thing  is  of  the  utmost  difficulty,  both  for  the 
mind  to  comprehend  in  any  adequate  way, 
and  even  were  it  so  that  the  mind  has  attain 
ed  to  any  such  comprehension,  for  the  tongue 
to  explain,  however  able  the  one  that  pre 
sides  as  a  teacher,  or  he  that  is  present  as  a 
hearer.  Accordingly,  "  He  shall  not  speak 
of  Himself;"  because  He  is  not  of  Himself. 


'  Chap.  v.  36. 


Ml.      \(     I\     | 


ON    I  III.  G<  tSPEL  <>l    ST,   J<  )ll\. 


38, 


"Hut  whatMK-ver  He  shall  hear,  that  shall  For  the  Son  is  Son  of  the  Father  -ilone,  anrl 
II  ipeak: "  Hf  sh.ili  hear  of  Him  from  the  Father  is  Father  of  the  Son  alone;  but 
whom  He  proeeedeth.  To  Him  hearing  is  the  Holy  Spirit  is  not  the  Spirit  of  o: 
knowing;  but  knowing  is  being,  as  has  been  them,  but  <>t  both.  You  have  the  Lord  Him- 
diseussed  above.  lieeaiiM-.  t'nen,  He  is  not  sell"  savin-,  "  For  it  is  not  ye  that  speak,  but 
of  Himself,  but  of  Him  from  whom  He  pro-  •  the  Spirit  of  your  Father  that  speaketh  in 
:i),  and  of  whom  He  lias  essence,  of  ,  you;  "'  and  you  have  the  ajx>stle,  "  God  hath 
Him  He  has  knowledge;  from  Him,  there-  sent  forth  the  spirit  of  His  Son  into  your 
fore,  He  has  hearing,  which  is  nothing  else  ,  hearts. '' 3  Are  there,  then,  two,  the  one  of 
than  knowledge.  [the  Father,  the  other  of  the  Son?  Certainly 

5.  And  be  not  disturbed  by  the  fact  that   not.      For   there    is    "one   body,"  he    said, 
the  verb  is  put  in  the  future  tense.     For  it  is   when  referring  to  the  Church;  and  presently 


not   said,    whatsoever    He    hath    heard,    or, 


whatsoever    He    heareth; 


whatsoever 


He  shall  hear,  that  shall  He  speak."      For 
such  hearing  is  everlasting,  because  the  know- 


added,  "and  one  Spirit."  And  mark  how 
he  there  makes  up  the  Trinity.  "As  ye  are 
called,"  he  says,  "  in  one  hope  of  your  call 
ing."  "One  Lord,"  where  he  certainly 


ing  is  everlasting.  But  in  the  case  of  what  is  i  meant  Christ  to  be  understood;  but  it  remain- 
eternal,  without  beginning  and  without  end,  j  ed  that  he  should  also  name  the  Father:  and 
in  whatever  tense  the  verb  is  put,  whether  in  |  accordingly  there  follows,  "One  faith,  one 
the  past,  or  present,  or  future,  there  is  no  baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of  all,  who  is 
falsehood  thereby  implied.  For  although  to  '  above  all,  and  through  all,  and  in  you  all."4 
that  immutable  and  ineffable  nature,  there  is  And  since,  then,  just  as  there  is  one  Father, 


no  proper  application  of  Was  and  Will  be, 
but  only  Is:  for  that  nature  alone  Is  in  truth, 
because  incapable  of  change;  and  to  it  there- 


and  one  Lord,  namely,  the  Son,  so  also  there 
is  one  Spirit;  He  is  doubtless  of  both:  es 
pecially  as  Christ  Jesus  Himself  saith,  "  The 


fore  was  it  exclusively  suited  to  say,  "  I  Am 

That  I  Am,"  and  "Thou  shalt  say  unto  the 

children  of  Israel,  He  Who  Is  hath  sent  me  j  the  Spirit  of  His  Son  into  your  hearts." 

unto  you:"1  yet  on  account  of  the  change 


Spirit  of  your  Father  that  dwelleth  in  you;  " 
[  and  the  apostle  declares,  "  God  hath  sent  forth 


have    the    same 


You 

apostle,  saying    in     another 


ableness  of  the  times  amid  which  our  mortal  I  place,  "  But  if  the  Spirit  of  Him  that  raised 


and  changeable  life  is  spent,  there  is  nothing 
false  in  our  saying,  both  it  was,  and  will  be, 
and  is.  It  was  in  past,  it  is  in  present,  it  will 
be  in  future  ages.  It  was,  because  it  never 


up  Jesus  from  the  dead  dwell  in  you,"  where 
he  certainly  intended  the  Spirit  of  the  Father 
to  be  understood;  of  whom,  however,  he  says 
in  another  place,  "  But  if  any  man  have  not 


was  wanting;  it  wiil  be,  because  it  will  never  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  His."s 
J>e  wanting;  it  is,  because  it  always  is.  For '  And  many  other  testimonies  there  are,  which 
it  has  not,  like  one  who  no  longer  survives,  plainly  show  that  He,  who  in  the  Trinity  is 


died  with  the  past;  nor,  like  one  who  abideth 
not,  is  it  gliding  away  with  the  present;  nor, 
as  one  who  had  no  previous  existence,  will  it 
rise  up  with  the  future.  Accordingly,  as  our 


styled  the  Holy  Spirit,  rs  the  Spirit  both  of 
the  Father  and  of  the  Son. 

7.   And  for  no  other  reason,  I  suppose,  is 
He  called  in  a  peculiar  way  the  Spirit;  since 


ft^wjuuuua     \j\.     11  me,      lie,      wiiu     uiiiUUKii     tin  I  tu 

times  was  not,  is  not,  and  will  not  by  any  pos-  ai 
sibility  be  found  wanting,  may  correctly  be  G 
spoken  of  in  any  tense  whatever  of  a  verb. 
The  Holy  Spirit,  therefore,  is  always  hearing, 
because  He  always  knows:  ergo,  He  both 
knew,  and  knows,  and  will  know;  and  in  the 


human    manner   of  speaking  varies  with  the   though  asked  concerning  each  person  in  His 

revolutions   of   time,    He,    who   through    all   turn,  we  cannot   but   admit  that  the  Father 

and  the  Son  are  each  of  them  a  Spirit;  for 
God  is  a  Spirit,6  that  is,  God  is  not  carnal, 
but  spiritual.  By  the  name,  therefore,  which 
they  each  also  hold  in  common,  it  was  re 
quisite  that  He  should  be  distinctly  called, 
who  is  not  the  one  nor  the  other  of  them,  but 

same  way  He  both  heard,  and  hears,  and  will  j  in  whom  what  is  common  to   both    becomes 

hear;  for,  as  we  have  already  said,  to  Him  j  apparent.      Why,  then,  should  we  not  believe 

hearing   is   one   with    knowing,   and    knowing 

with  Him  is  one  with    being.      From    Him, 

therefore,    He    heard,    and    hears,    and    will 

hear,  of  whom  He  is;  and  of  Him  He  is,  from 

whom  He  proceeds. 

6.   Some  one  may  here  inquire  whether  the 

Holy   Spirit    proceedeth   also  from  the  Son. 


that  the  Holy  Spirit  proceedeth  also  from  the 
Son,  seeing  that  He  is  likewise  the  Spirit  of 
the  Son  ?  For  did  He  not  so  proceed.  He 
could  not,  when  showing  Himself  to  His  dis 
ciples  after  the  resurrection,  have  breathed 
upon  them,  and  said,  "  Receive  ye  the  Holy 
Spirit."7  For  what  else  was  signified  by 


5  Rom. 


4  F.ph.  iv.  4-6. 
XX.  73. 


384 


THK  WORKS  OK  ST.  .\rc;iTsTi\. 


[TKA.-I.MT     MIX. 


such  a  breathing  upon  them,  but  that  from 
Him  also  the  Holy  Spirit  proceedeth  ?  And 
of  the  same  character  also  are  His  words  re 
garding  the  woman  that  suffered  from  the 
bloody  flux:  "Some  one  hath  touched  me; 
for  I  perceive  that  virtue  is  gone  out  of  me."  ' 
For  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  also  designated 
by  the  name  of  virtue,  is  both  clear  from  the 
passage  where  the  angel,  in  reply  to  Mary's 
question,  "  How  shall  this  be,  seeing  I  know 
not  a  man?"  said,  "The  Holy  Ghost  shall 
come  upon  thee,  and  the  power  [virtue]  of 
the  highest  shall  overshadow  thee;"2  and 
our  Lord  Himself  when  giving  His  disciples 
the  promise  of  the  Spirit,  said,  "  But  tarry  ye 
in  the  city,  until  ye  be  endued  with  power 
[virtue]  from  on  high;"3  and  on  another 
occasion,  "  Ye  shall  receive  the  power  [virtue] 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  coming  upon  you,  and  ye 
shall  be  witnesses  unto  me."4  It  is  of  this 
virtue  that  we  are  to  believe,  that  the  evan 
gelist  says,  "Virtue  went  out  of  Him,  and 
healed  them  all."5 

8.  If,  then,  the  Holy  Spirit  proceedeth 
both  from  the  Father  and  from  the  Son,  why- 
said  the  Son,  "  He  proceedeth  from  the 
Father"  ?6  Why,  do  you  think,  but  just  be 
cause  it  is  to  Him  He  is  wont  to  attribute 
even  that  which  is  His  own,  of  whom  He  Him 
self  also  is?  Hence  we  have  Him  saying, 
"  My  doctrine  is  not  mine,  but  His  that  sent 
me."  7  If,  therefore,  in  such  a  passage  we  are 
to  understand  that  as  His  doctrine,  which 
nevertheless  He  declared  not  to  be  His  own, 
but  the  Father's,  how  much  more  in  that  other 
passage  are  we  to  understand  the  Holy  Spirit 
as  proceeding  from  Himself,  where  His 
words,  "  He  proceedeth  from  the  Father," 
were  uttered  so  as  not  to  imply,  He  proceed 
eth  not  from  me?  But  from  Him,  of  whom 
the  Son  has  it  that  He  is  God  (for  He  is  God 
of  God),  He  certainly  has  it  that  from  Him 
also  the  Holy  Spirit  proceedeth:  and  in  this 
way  the  Holy  Spirit  has  it  of  the  Father  Him 
self,  that  He  should  also  proceed  from  the 


Son,   even  as   He  proceedeth   from  the    Fa- 
ther. 

9.  In  connection  with  this,  we  come  also  to 
some  understanding  of  the  further  point,  that 
is,  so  far  as  it  can  be  understood  by  such  be 
ings  as  ourselves,  why  the  Holy  Spirit  is  not 
said  to  be  born,  but  to  proceed:  since,  if  He 
also  were  called  by  the  name  of  Son,  He 
could  not  avoid  being  called  the  Son  of  both, 
which  is  utterly  absurd.  For  no  one  is  a  son 
of  two,  unless  of  a  father  and  mother.  But 
it  would  be  utterly  abhorrent  to  entertain  the 
suspicion  of  any  such  intervention  between 
God  the  Father  and  God  the  Son.  For  not 
even  a  son  of  human  parents  proceedeth  at 
the  same  time  from  father  and  from  mother: 
but  at  the  time  that  he  proceedeth  from  the 
father  into  the  mother,  it  is  not  then  that  he 
proceedeth  from  the  mother;  and  when  he 
cometh  forth  from  the  mother  into  the  light 
of  day,  it  is  not  then  that  he  proceedeth  from 
the  father.  But  the  Holy  Spirit  proceedeth 
not  from  the  Father  into  the  Son,  and  then 
proceedeth  from  the  Son  to  the  work  of  the 
creature's  sanctification;  but  He  proceedeth 
at  the  same  time  from  both:  although  this 
the  Father  hath  given  unto  the  Son,  that  He 
should  proceed  from  Him  also,  even  as  He 
proceedeth  from  Himself.  And  as  little  can 
we  say  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  not  the  life, 
seeing  that  the  Father  is  the  life,  and  the 
Son  is  the  life.  And  in  the  same  way  as  the 
j  Father,  who  hath  life  in  Himself,  hath  given 
I  to  the  Son  also  to  have  life  in  Himself;  so 
hath  He  also  given  that  life  should  proceed 
from  Him,  even  as  it  also  proceedeth  frorr^ 
Himself.8  But  we  come  now  to  the  words 
of  our  Lord  that  follow,  when  He  saith: 
"And  He  will  show  you  things  to  come.  He 
shall  glorify  me;  for  He  shall  receive  of  mine, 
and  shall  show  it  unto  you.  All  things  that 
the  Father  hath  are  mine:  therefore,  said  I, 
that  He  shall  take  of  mine,  and  shall  show  it 
unto  you."  But  as  the  present  discourse  has 
already  been  protracted  to  some  length,  they 
must  be  left  over  for  another. 


»  Luke  viii.  46.  2  Luke  i.  34,  35. 

4  Acts  i.  8,  ntarg.        5  Luke  vi.  19. 
7  Chap.  vii.  16. 


3  Luke  xxiv.  49. 
Chap.  xv.  26 


8  This  passage  from  sec.  8,  Augustin  has  transferred  into  Book 
XV.  "  On  the  Trinity,"  chap.  27. 


-.11    ('.  I 


I  Ml.  (\(  >SPEL  <  >l    ST, 


TRACTATE  C. 


ii'    \\"I.     1.^-1 


i.  WHEN  our  Lord  gave  the  promise  of  the 
coming  of  His  Holy  Spirit,  He  said,  "  He 
shall  tench  you  all  truth,"  or,  as  we  read  in 
some  copies,  "  He  shall  guide  you  into  all 
truth.  For  He  shall  not  speak  of  Himself; 
hut  whatsoever  He  shall  hear,  that  shall  He 
speak."  On  these  Gospel  words  we  have 
already  discoursed  as  the  Lord  enahled  us; 
and  now  give  your  attention  to  those  that  fol 
low.  "And  He  will  show  you,"  He  said, 
"things  to  come."  Over  this,  which  is  per 
fectly  plain,  there  is  no  need  to  linger;  for  it 
contains  no  question  that  demands  from  us 
any  regular  exposition.  But  the  words  that 
He  proceeds  to  add,  "  He  shall  make  me 
clearly  known; '  for  He  shall  receive  of  mine, 
and  shall  show  it  unto  you,"  are  not  to  be 
carelessly  passed  over.  For  by  the  words, 
"  He  shall  make  me  clearly  known,"  we  may 
understand,  that  by  shedding  abroad  [God's] 
love  in  the  hearts  of  believers,  and  making 
them  spiritual,  He  showed  them  how  it  was 
that  the  Son  was  equal  to  the  Father,  whom 
previously  they  had  only  known  according  to 
the  flesh,  and  as  men  themselves  had  thought 
of  Him  only  as  man.  Or  at  least  that,  filled 
themselves  through  that  very  love  with  bold 
ness,  and  divested  of  all  fear,  they  might  pro 
claim  Christ  unto  men;  and  so  His  fame  be 
spread  abroad  through  the  whole  world. 
So  that  He  said,  "  He  shall  make  me  clearly 
known,"  as  if  meaning,  He  shall  free  you 
from  fear,  and  endow  you  with  a  love  that  will 
so  inflame  your  zeal  in  preaching  me,  that 
you  will  send  forth  the  odor,  and  commend 
the  honor  of,  my  glory  throughout  the  world. 
For  what  they  were  to  do  in  the  Holy  Spirit, 
He  said  that  the  Spirit  Himself  would  also  do, 
as  is  implied  in  the  words,  "  For  it  is  not  ye 
that  speak,  but  the  Spirit  of  your  Father  that 
speaketh  in  you."  *  The  Greek  word,  indeed, 
which  is  <)<i:-dfT£i,  has  been  rendered  by  the 
Latin  interpreters  in  their  respective  trans 
lations,  clarificabit  ("  shall  make  clearly 
known ")  by  one,  and  glorificabit  ("  shall 
glorify  ")  by  another:  for  the  idea  expressed 
in  (ireek  by  the  one  term  <W£«,  from  which  is 
derived  the  verb  ilo^itzt,  may  be  interpreted 
both  by  claritas  (brightness)  and  g/criii 
(glory).  For  by  glory  every  one  becomes 
bright,  and  glorious  by  brightness;  and  hence 


i  Clarificiibit  :  see  below. 


i  M-.it.  \.  .-.,. 


what  is  signified  by  both  words,  is  one  and 
the  same  thing.  And,  as  the  most  famous 
writers  of  the  Latin  tongue  in  olden  time  have 
defined  it,  glory  is  the  generally  diffused  and 
accepted  fame  of  any  one  accompanied  with 
praise.  But  when  this  happened  in  the  world 
in  regard  to  Christ,  we  are  not  to  suppose 
that  it  was  the  bestowing  of  any  great  thing 
on  Christ,  but  on  the  world.  For  to  praise 
what  is  good  is  not  of  benefit  to  that  which 
receives,  but  to  those  who  give  the  commen 
dation. 

2.  But  there  is  also  a  false  glory,  when  the 
praise  given  is  the  result  of  a  mistake,  whether 
in  regard  to  things  or  to  persons,  or  to  both. 
For  men  are  mistaken  in  regard  to  things, 
when  they  think  that  to  be  good  which  is  evil; 
and  in  regard  to  persons,  when  they  think 
one  to  be  good  who  is  evil;  and  in  regard  to 
both,  when  what  is  actually  a  vice  is  esteemed 
a  virtue;  and  when  he  who  is  praised  for 
something  is. destitute  of  what  he  is  supposed 
to  have,  whether  he  be  good  or  evil.  To 
credit  vain-glorious  persons3  with  the  things 
they  profess,  is  surely  a  huge  vice,  and  not 
a  virtue;  and  yet  you  know  how  common  is 
the  laudatory  fame  of  such;  for,  as  Scripture 
says,  "  The  sinner  is  praised  in  the  desires  of 
his  soul,  and  he  who  practises  iniquity  is 
blessed."4  Here  those  who  praise  are  not 
mistaken  in  the  persons,  but  in  the  things; 
for  that  is  evil  which  they  believe  to  be  good. 
But  those  who  are  morally  corrupted  with  the 
evil  of  prodigality  are  undoubtedly  such  as 
those  who  praise  them  do  not  simply  suspect, 
but  perceive  them  to  be.  But  further,  if  one 
feign  himself  a  just  man,  and  be  not  so,  but. 
as  regards  all  that  he  seems  to  do  in  a  praise 
worthy  way  in  the  sight  of  men,  does  it  not 
for  God's  sake,  that  is,  for  the  sake  of  true 
righteousness,  but  makes  glory  from  men  the 
only  glory  he  seeks  and  hankers  after;  while 
those  with  whom  his  extolled  fame  is  gener 
ally  accepted  think  of  him  only  as  living  in  a 


3  f/istrionitus,  literally,  play-actors. 

.  .  *  1's.  x.  ;.  AiiKiistin  hen-, 'as  i>u.,l,  follows  the  Si-ptii.ik-int. 
-  not  passive,  but,  instead  of  its  usual  ac 
cusative,  takrs  -y  with  th<-  subj.-ct  of  praise,  and  is  rendered  with 
sutTn  irnt  accuracy  in  the  English  version.  ^""".  •''••".  must  be 

t  r.uisl.  ltd)  nctirtly,  with    "the   , 

its  tn>ittin<itn'i' :    and  the  verse  should  thus  read,  *'  'I 

bonttth   of    his  soul's  desire,  and  the  dcfrauder  blesseth   [and] 

blasphemeth  lehovah."     It  would  be  natural  enough  in  the  de- 

frmoder  to  do  both.— T«. 


3s" 


TIN;  WORKS  OK  ST.  AIV.ITSTIN. 


[    i'lCA'    I  A  I1-.     <  '. 


praisewortliy  way  for  (iocl's  sake, — they  are 
not  mistaken  in  the  thing,  but  are  deceived 
in  the  person.  For  that  which  they  believe 
to  be  good,  is  good;  but  the  person  whom 
they  believe  to  be  good,'  is  the  reverse.  But 
if,  for  example,  skill  in  magical  arts  be  es 
teemed  good,  and  any  one,  so  long  as  he  is 
believed  to  have  delivered  his  country  by 
those  same  arts  whereof  all  the  while  he  is 
utterly  ignorant,  attain  amongst  the  irreligious 
to  that  generally  accepted  renown  which  is 
defined  as  glory,  those  who  so  praise  err  in 
both  respects;  to  wit,  both  in  the  thing,  for 
they  esteem  that  good  which  is  evil;  and  in 
the  person,  for  he  is  not  at  all  what  they 
suppose  him.  But  when,  in  regard  to  any 
one  who  is  righteous  by  God's  grace  and  for 
God's  sake,  in  other  words,  truly  righteous, 
there  is  on  account  of  that  very  righteousness 
a  generally  accepted  fame  of  a  laudatory  kind, 
then  the  glory  is  indeed  a  true  one;  and  yet 
we  are  not  to  suppose  that  thereby  the  right 
eous  man  is  made  blessed,  but  rather  those 
who  praise  him  are  to  be  congratulated,  be 
cause  they  judge  rightly,  and  love  the  right 
eous.  And  how  much  more,  then,  did  Christ 
the  Lord,  by  His  own  glory,  benefit,  not  Him 
self,  but  those  whom  He  also  benefited  by 
His  death  ? 

3.  But  that  is  not  a  true  glory  which  He 
has  among  heretics,  with  whom,  nevertheless, 
He  appears  to  have  a  generally  accepted  fame 
accompanied  with  praise.  Such  is  no  true 
glory,  because  in  both  respects  they  are  mis 
taken,  for  they  both  think  that  to  be  good 
which  is  not  good,  and  they  suppose  Christ  to 
be  what  Christ  is  not.  For  to  say  that  the 
only-begotten  Son  is  not  equal  to  Him  that 
begat,  is  not  good:  to  say  that  the  only- 
begotten  Son  of  God  is  man  only,  and  not 
God,  is  not  good:  to  say  that  the  flesh  of  the 
Truth  is  not  true  flesh,  is  not  good.  Of  the 
three  doctrines  which  I  have  stated,  the  first 
is  held  by  the  Arians,  the  second  by  the 
Photinians,  and  the  third  by  the  Manicheans. 
But  inasmuch  as  there  is  nothing  in  any  of 
them  that  is  good,  and  Christ  has  nothing  to 
do  with  them,  in  both  respects  they  are  in  the 
wrong;  and  they  attach  no  true  glory  to 
Christ,  although  there  may  appear  to  be 
amongst  them  a  generally  accepted  fame  re 
garding  Christ  of  a  laudatory  character.  And 
accordingly  all  heretics  together,  whom  it 
would  be  too  tedious  to  enumerate,  who  have 
not  right  views  regarding  Christ,  err  on  this 
account,  that  their  views  are  untrue  regarding 
both  good  things  and  evil.  The  pagans,  also, 
of  whom  great  numbers  are  landers  of  Christ, 
are  themselves  also  mistaken  in  both  respects, 
saying,  as  they  do,  not  in  accordance  with  the 


truth  of  God,  but  rather  with  their  own  con 
jectures,  that  He  was  a  magician.  For  they 
reproach  Christians  as  being  destitute  of 
skill;  but  Christ  they  laud  as  a  magician,  and 
so  betray  what  it  is  that  they  love:  Christ  in 
deed  they  do  not  love,  since  what  they  love  is 
that  which  Christ  never  was.  And  thus,  then, 
in  both  respects  they  are  in  error,  for  it  is 
wicked  to  be  a  magician;  and  as  Christ  was 
good,  He  was  not  a  magician.  Wherefore, 
as  we  have  nothing  to  say  in  this  place  of 
those  who  malign  and  blaspheme  Christ, — for 
it  is  of  His  glory  we  speak,  wherewith  He  was 
glorified  in  the  world, — it  was  only  in  the  holy 
Catholic  Church  that  the  Holy  Spirit  glorified 
Him  with  His  true  glory.  For  elsewhere, 
that  is,  either  among  heretics  or  certain 
pagans,  the  glory  He  has  in  the  world  cannot 
be  a  true  one,  even  where  there  is  a  generally 
accepted  fame  of  Him  accompanied  with 
praise.  His  true  glory,  therefore,  in  the 
Catholic  Church  is  celebrated  in  these  words 
by  the  prophet:  "  Be  thou  exalted,  O  God, 
above  the  heavens;  and  Thy  glory  above  all 
the  earth."1  Accordingly,  that  after  His 
exaltation  the  Holy  Spirit  was  to  come,  and  to 
glorify  Him,  the  sacred  psalm,  and  the  Only- 
begotten  Himself,  promised  as  an  event  of  the 
future,  which  we  see  accomplished. 

4.  But  when  He  says,  "  He  shall  receive 
of  mine,  and  shall  show  it  unto  you,1'  listen 
thereto  with  Catholic  ears,  and  receive  it  with 
Catholic  minds.  For  not  surely  on  that 
account,  as  certain  heretics  have  imagined,  is 
the  Holy  Spirit  inferior  to  the  Son;  as  if  the 
Son  received  from  the  Father,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit  from  the  Son,  in  reference  to  certain 
gradations  of  natures.  Far  be  it  from  us  to 
believe  this,  or  to  say  it,  and  from  Christian 
hearts  to  think  it.  In  fine,  He  Himself 
straightway  solved  the  question,  and  explain 
ed  why  He  said  so.  "All  things  that  the 
Father  hath  are  mine:  therefore,  said  1,  that 
He  shall  take  of  mine,  and  shall  show  it  unto 
you."  What  would  you  more?  The  Holy 
Spirit  thus  receives  of  the  Father,  of  whom 
the  Son  receives;  for  in  this  Trinity  the  Son 
is  born  of  the  Father,  and  from  the  Father 
the  Holy  Spirit  proceedeth.  He,  however, 
who  is  born  of  none,  and  proceedeth  from 
none,  is  the  Father  alone.  But  in  what  sense 
it  is  that  the  only-begotten  Son  said,  "All 
things  that  the  Father  hath  are  mine"  (for  it 
certainly  was  not  in  the  same  sense  as  when 
it  was  said  to  that  son,  who  was  not  only  be 
gotten,  but  the  elder  of  two,  "  Thou  art  ever 
with  me;  and  all  that  I  have  is  thine),"  2  will 
have  our  careful  consideration,  if  the  Lord 


Luke 


ON   TIM.  i,<  >SPEL   <  •!•    S  I      .!'  >!IV 


so  will,  in  connection  with  the  passage  when:  so  that  our  present  discourse  may  be  here 
tiic  <  inly-begotten  saith  to  tin-  Father,  "And  brought  to  a  close,  as  the  words  that  follow 
all  mine  are  Thine,  and  Thine  are  mine;"1  require  a  different  opening  for  their  discus- 

-  I  sion. 


TRACTATE    CI. 

CHAPTKR  XVI.  16-23. 


i.  THF.SE  words  of  the  Lord,  when  He  says, 
*'A  little  while,  and  ye  shall  no  more  see  me: 
and  again  a  little  while,  and  ye  shall  see  me; 
because  I  go  to  the  Father,"  were  so  obscure 


proceeds  to  say,  "  that  they  were  desirous  to 
ask  Him,  and  said  unto  them,  Ye  Inquire 
among  yourselves  of  that  I  said,  A  little 
while,  and  ye  shall  not  see  me:  and  again  a 


to  the  disciples,  before  what   He  thus  says   little   while,   and    ye    shall    see    me.     Verily 


was   actually    fulfilled,    that    they     inquired 


verily,  I  say  unto  you,  That  ye  shall  weep 


among  themselves  what  it  was  that  He  said, 
and  had  to  confess  themselves  utterly  igno 
rant.     For  the  Gospel  proceeds,  "Then  said  i  be  turned  into  joy:"  which  may  be  under- 
some   of   His   disciples    among    themselves,    stood    in  this  way,   that  the  disciples    were 


and  lament,  but  the  world  shall  rejoice;  and 
ye  shall  be  sorrowful,  but  your  sorrow  shall 


What  is  this  that  He  saith  unto  us,  A  little 
while,  and  ye  shall  not  see  me:  and  again  a 
little  while,  and  ye  shall  see  me;  and,  Because 
I  go  to  the  Father?  They  said  therefore, 
What  is  this  that  He  saith,  A  little  while  ?  we 
know  not  what  He  saith.''  This  is  what 
moved  them,  that  He  said,  "A  little  while, 

again  a   little 
For  in  what 
'A  little 


thrown  into  sorrow  over  the  death  of  the  Lord, 
and  straightway  were  filled  with  joy  at  His 
resurrection;  but  the  world,  whereby  are 
signified  the  enemies  that  slew  Christ,  were, 
of  course,  in  a  state  of  rapture  over  the  mur 
der  of  Christ,  at  the  very  time  when  the  dis 
ciples  were  filled  with  sorrow.  For  by  the 


of  the   world   the    wickedness  of  this 
may  be    understood;  in   other   words, 


and  ye  shall   not  see   me:  and 
while,  and  ye  shall   see  me." 

precedes,  because  He  had  not  said,  "A  little  those  who  are  the  friends  of  this  world.  As 
while,"  but  only,  "  I  go  to  the  Father  and  ye  I  the  Apostle  James  says  in  his  epistle,  "  Who- 
shall  see  me  no  more,"  '  He  appeared  to  them  soever  will  be  a  friend  of  this  world,  is  be- 
to  have  spoken,  as  it  were,  quite  plainly,  and  come  the  enemy  of  God;  "  4  for  the  effect  of 
they  had  no  inquiry  among  themselves  re-  j  that  enmity  to  God  was,  that  not  even  His 
garding  it.  But  now,  what  was  then  obscure  '  Only-begotten  was  spared, 
to  them,  and  was  shortly  afterwards  revealed,  3.  And  then  He  goes  on  to  say,  "A  woman 
is  already  perfectly  manifest  tons:  for  after  j  when  she  is  in  travail  hath  sorrow,  because 
a  little  while  He  suffered,  and  they  saw  Him 
not;  again,  after  a  little  while  He  rose,  and 


they  saw  Him.  But  how  the  words  are  to  be 
taken  that  He  used,  "  Ye  shall  no  more  see 
me,"  inasmuch  as  by  the  word  "  more  "2  He 
wished  it  to  be  understood  that  they  would 
not  see  Him  afterwards,  we  have  explained  at 
the  passage  where  He  said,  The  Holy  Spirit 
"  shall  convince  of  righteousness,  because  I 
go  to  the  Father,  and  ye  shall  see  me  no 
more; "  3  meaning  thereby,  that  they  would 
never  afterwards  see  Christ  in  His  present 
state  of  subjection  to  death. 

2.   "Now  Jesus  knew,"  as    the    evangelist 


her  hour  is  come:  but  as  soon  as  she  is  de 
livered  of  the  child,  she  remembereth  no  more 
the  anguish,  for  joy  that  a  man  is  born  into 
the  world.  And  ye  now  therefore  have  sor 
row;  but  I  will  see  you  again,  and  your  heart 
shall  rejoice,  and  your  joy  no  man  taketh  from 
you."  Nor  does  the  metaphor  here  employ 
ed  seem  difficult  to  understand;  for  its  key  is 
at  hand  in  the  exposition  given  by  Himself 
of  its  meaning.  For  the  pangs  of  parturi 
tion  are  compared  to  sorrow,  and  the  birth 
itself  to  joy;  which  is  usually  all  the  greater 
when  it  is  not  a  girl  but  a  boy  that  is  born. 
But  when  He  said,  "  Your  joy  no  man  taketh 
from  you,"  for  their  joy  was  Jesus  Himself, 


-•  i  h  •   i,as  h.-r. •.  ••  \v  shai:  i:  u    there  is  implied  what  was  said  by  the  apostle, 

& y^sii^sSA  fc*s&tftSi  Jftn* ,v,f. "  "™*>  !*»*  r^^d  fr»^ th-  ^e^,  <i^th  n,> 

ugustin  >riw«   nan,  which  has  thus  th 


more"),   rciuli  n-d    by    Atixustin  y.i/ 
greater  weight  of  authority  on  its  side.— TR. 
3  Ab-.v 


4  Jas.  iv.  4. 


388 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE 


more;    and  death  shall  have  no  more  domin 
ion  over  Him."  , 

4.  Hitherto  in  this  section  of  the  Gospel, 
whereon  we  are  discoursing  to-day,  the  tenor 
of   everything   has  been,  I  may  say,  of  easy 
understanding:    a  much    closer    attention   is 
needful  in  connection  with  the  words  that  fol 
low.     For  what  does  He  mean  by  the  words, 
"And  in  that  day  ye  shall  ask  me  nothing  ''? 
The  verb  to  ask,  used  here,  means  not  only 
to   beg   of,    but   also   to   question;    and   the 
Greek  Gospel,  of  which  this  is  a  translation, 
has  a  word  that  may  also  be   understood   in 
both  senses,  so  that  by  it  the  ambiguity  is 
not  removed; 3  and  even  though  it  were  so, 
every  difficulty  would  not  thereby  disappear. 
For  we  read  that  the  Lord  Christ,  after  He 
rose  again,  was  both  questioned  and  petition 
ed.      He  was  asked  by  the  disciples,  on  the 
eve  of  His  ascension  into  heaven,  when  He 
would  be  manifested,  and  when  the  kingdom 
of  Israel  would  come; 3  and  even  when  already 
in  heaven,  He  was  petitioned  [asked]  by  St. 
Stephen  to  receive  his  spirit.4      And  who  dare 
either  think  or  say  that  Christ  ought  not  to 
be  asked,  sitting  as  He  does  in  heaven,  and 
yet  was  asked  while  He  abode  on  earth  ?  or 
that  He  ought  not  to  be  asked  in  His  state  of 
immortality,  although  it  was  men's  duty  to 
ask  Him  while  still  in  His  state  of  subjection 
to  death  ?     Nay,  beloved,  let  us  ask  Him  to 
untie  with    His    own  hands  the  knot  of  our 
present  inquiry,  by  so  shining  into  our  hearts 
that  we  may  perceive  what  He  saith. 

5.  For  I  think  that  His  words,  "  But  I  will 
see  you  again,  and  your  heart  shall  rejoice, 
and  your  joy  no  man  taketh  from  you,"  are 
not  to  be  referred  to  the  time  of  His  resur 
rection,  and  when  He  showed  them  His  flesh 
to  be  looked  at  and  handled;5  but  rather  to 
that  of  which  He  had  already  said,  "  He  that 
loveth  me,  shall  be  loved  of  my  Father;  and 
I  will  love  him,  and  will  manifest  myself  to 
him."6     For  He  had  already  risen,  He  had 
already  shown  Himself  to  them  in  the  flesh, 
and  He  was  already  sitting  at  the  right  hand 
of  the  Father,  when  that  same  Apostle  John, 
whose   Gospel    this   is,    says   in    his   epistle, 
"  Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God;  and 
it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be:  but 
we  know  that,  when  He  shall  be  manifested, 
we  shall  be  like  Him;  for  we  shall  see  Him  as 
He   is."7     That   vision   belongs   not    to  this 
life,  but  to  the  future;  and  is  not  temporal, 
but  eternal.     "And   this  is  life  eternal,"  in 
the  words  of  Him  who  is  that  life,  "  that  they 
might    know   Thee  the  only   true  God,   and 


om.  vi.  9.  a  Greek,  i 

cts  \-ii.  so.  5  Chap.  xx.  27. 

John  iii.  2. 


i  Acts  1.  6. 
Ch«p.  xr. 


Jesus  Christ,  whom  Thou  hast  sent."8  Of 
this  vision  and  knowledge  the  apostle  says, 
"Now  we  see  through  a  glass,  in  a  riddle: 
but  then  face  to  face:  now  I  know  in  part; 
but  then  shall  I  know  even  as  also  I  am 
known."9  At  present  the  Church  is  in  trav 
ail  with  the  longing  for  this  fruit  of  all  he-r 
labor,  but  then  she  shall  bring  to  the  birth  in 
its  actual  contemplation;  now  she  travails  in 
birth  with  groaning,  then  shall  she  bring  forth 
in  joy;  now  she  travails  in  birth  through  her 
prayers,  then  shall  she  bring  forth  in  her 
praises.  Thus,  too,  is  it  a  male  child;  since 
to  such  fruit  in  the  contemplation  are  all  the 
duties  of  her  present  conduct  to  be  referred. 
For  He  alone  is  free;  because  He  is  desired 
on  His  own  account,  and  not  in  reference  to 
aught  besides.  Such  conduct  is  in  His 
service;  for  whatever  is  done  in  a  good  spirit 
has  a  reference  to  Him,  because  it  is  done 
on  His  behalf;  while  He,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  got  and  held  in  possession  on  His  own 
account,  and  not  on  that  of  aught  besides. 
And  there,  accordingly,  we  find  the  only  end 
that  is  satisfying  to  ourselves.  He  will  there 
fore  be  eternal;  for  no  end  can  satisfy  us, 
save  that  which  is  found  in  Him  who  is  end 
less.  With  this  was  Philip  inspired,  when  he 
said,  "  Show  us  the  Father,  and  it  sufficeth 
us."  And  in  that  showing  the  Son  gave 
promise  also  of  His  own  presence,  when  He 
said,  "  Believest  thou  not  that  I  am  in  the 
Father,  and  the  Father  in  me?"10  Of  that, 
therefore,  which  alone  sufficeth  us,  we  are 
very  appropriately  informed,  "  Your  joy  no 
man  taketh  from  you." 

6.  On  this  point,  also,  in  reference  to  what 
has  been  said  above,  I  think  we  may  get  a 
still  better  understanding  of  the  words,  "A 
little  while,  and  ye  shall  no  more  see  me: 
and  again  a  little  while,  and  ye  shall  see  me." 
For  the  whole  of  that  space  over  which  the 
present  dispensation  extends,  is  but  a  little 
while;  and  hence  this  same  evangelist  says  in 
his  epistle,  "It  is  the  last  hour.""  For  in 
this  sense  also  He  added,  *'  Because  I  go  to 
the  Father/'  which  is  to  be  referred  to  the 
preceding  clause,  where  He  saith,  "A  little 
while,  and  ye  shall  no  more  see  me;"  and 
not  to  the  subsequent,  where  He  saith,  "And 
again  a  little  while,  and  ye  shall  see  me." 
For  by  His  going  to  the  Father,  He  was  to 
bring  it  about  that  they  should  not  see  Him. 
And  on  this  account,  therefore,  His  words 
did  not  mean  that  He  was  about  to  die,  and 
to  be  withdrawn  from  their  view  till  His 
resurrection;  but  that  He  was  about  to  go  to 
the  Father,  which  He  did  after  His  resurrec- 


"Chap.  xxii. 
>    t'h.ip.  xiv. 


i  Cof.  xiii.  12. 
,  John  .i.  ,8. 


TKA«-I  \i  i    i   1 1.  | 


ON   THK  r.DSI'I.I.  ()!•    ST.   JOHN. 


lion,  ami  when,  after  holding  intercourse  with 
them  tor  forty  days.  He  ascended  into 
heaven.1  He  therefore  addressed  the  words, 
"A  little  while,  and  ye  shall  no  more  see 
me,"  to  those  who  saw  Him  at  the  tune  in 
bodily  form;  because  He  was  about  to  goto 
the  Father,  and  never  thereafter  to  be  seen  in 
that  mortal  state  wherein  they  now  beheld 
Him  when  so  addressing  them.  But  the 
words  that  He  added,  "And  again  a  little 
while,  and  ye  shall  see  me,"  He  gave  as  a 
promise  to  the  Church  universal:  just  as  to 
it,  also,  He  gave  the  other  promise,  "  Lo,  I 
am  with  you  always,  even  to  the  end  of  the 
world."*  The  Lord  is  not  slack  concerning 
His  promise:  a  little  while,  and  we  shall  see 
Him,  where  we  shall  have  no  more  any  re 
quests  to  make,  any  questions  to  put;  for 


nothing  shall  remain  to  be  desired,  nothing  lie 
hid  to  be  inquired  about.  This  little  while 
appears  long  to  us,  because  it  is  still  in  con 
tinuance;  when  it  is  over,  we  shall  then  feel 
what  a  little  while  it  was.  Let  not,  then,  our 
joy  be  like  that  of  the  world,  whereof  it  is 
said,  "  But  the  world  shall  rejoice;  "  and  yet 
let  not  our  sorrow  in  ^availing  in  birth  with 
such  a  desire  be  unmingled  with  joy;  but, 
as  the  apostle  says,  be  "rejoicing  in  hope, 
patient  in  tribulation,  '3  for  even  the  woman 
in  travail,  to  whom  we  are  compared,  has 
herself  more  joy  over  the  offspring  that  is 
soon  to  be,  than  sorrow  over  her  present  pains. 
But  let  us  here  close  our  present  discourse, 
for  the  words  that  follow  contain  a  very  try 
ing  question,  and  must  not  be  unduly  cur 
tailed,  so  that  they  may,  if  the  Lord  will, 
obtain  a  more  befitting  explanation 


Acts  i.  3,  9. 


TRACTATE    Oil. 

CHAPTKR    XVI.    23-28. 


i.  WE  have  now  to  consider  these  words  of 
the  Lord,  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  If 
ye  shall  ask  anything  of  the  Father  in  my 
name,  He  will  give  it  you."  It  has  already 
been  said  in  the  earlier  portions  of  this  dis 
course  of  our  Lord's,  on  account  of  those  who 
ask  some  things  of  the  Father  in  Christ's 
name  and  receive  them  not,  that  there  is 
nothing  asked  of  the  Father  in  the  Saviour's 
name  that  is  asked  in  contrariety  to  the 
method  of  salvation.1  For  it  is  not  the  sound 
of  the  letters  and  syllables,  but  what  the 
sound  itself  imports,  and  what  is  rightly  and 
truly  to  be  understood  by  that  sound,  that  He 
is  to  be  regarded  as  declaring,  when  He  says, 
"in  my  name."  Hence,  he  who  has  such 
ideas  of  Christ  as  ought  not  to  be  entertained 
of  the  only  Son  of  God,  asketh  not  in  His 
name,  even  though  he  may  not  abstain  from 
the  mention  of  Christ  in  so  many  letters  and 
syllables;  since  it  is  only  in  His  name  he 
asketh,  of  whom  he  is  thinking  when  he  ask 
eth.  But  he  who  has  such  ideas  of  Him  as 
ought  to  be  entertained,  asketh  in  His  name, 
and  receiveth  what  he  asketh,  if  he  asketh 
nothing  that  is  contrary  to  his  own  everlasting 
salvation.  And  lie  receiveth  it  when  he 
ought  to  receive  ic.  For  some  things  are  not 


refused,  but  are  delayed  till  they  can  be  given 
at  a  suitable  time.  In  this  way,  surely,  we 
are  to  understand  His  words,  "  He  will  give 
you,"  so  that  thereby  we  may  know  that 
those  benefits  are  signified  which  are  properly 
applicable  to  those  who  ask.  For  all  the 
saints  are  heard  effectively2  in  their  own  be 
half,  but  are  not  so  heard  in  behalf  of  all 
besides,  whether  friends  or  enemies,  or  any 
others:  for  it  is  not  said  in  a  general  kind  of 
way,  "  He  will  give; "  but,  "  He  will  give 
you." 

2.  "Hitherto,"  He  says,  "ye  have  not 
asked  anything  in  my  name.  Ask,  and  ye 
shall  receive,  that  your  joy  may  be  full." 
This  that  He  calls  a  full  joy  is  certainly  no 
carnal  joy,  but  a  spiritual  one;  and  when  it. 
shall  be  so  great  as  to  be  no  longer  capable 
of  any  additions  to  it,  it  will  then  doubtless 
be  full.  Whatever,  then,  is  asked  as  belong 
ing  10  the  attainment  of  this  joy,  is  to  be 
asked  in  the  name  of  Christ,  if  we  under 
stand  the  grace  of  God,  and  if  we  are  truly  in 
quest  of  a  blessed  life.  But  if  aught  differ 
ent  from  this  is  asked,  there  is  nothing  asked: 
not  that  the  thing  itself  is  nothing  at  all,  but 
that  in  comparison  with  what  is  so  great,  any 
thing  else  that  is  coveted  is  virtually  nothing. 


'Above,  Tract.  I.XXI1I. 


>•,  heard  and  answered. 


390 


THE  WORKS  01    ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  CIL 


For,  of  course,  the  man  is  not  actually  noth 
ing,  of  whom  the  apostle  says,  "  He  who 
thinketh  himself  to  be  something,  when  he  is 
nothing.'1 '  But  surely  in  comparison  with 
the  spiritual  man,  who  knows  that  by  the 
grace  of  God  he  is  what  he  is,  he  who  makes 
vain  assumptions  is  nothing.  In  this  way, 
then,  may  the  words  also  be  rightly  under 
stood,  "  Verily,  verilyj  I  say  unto  you,  if  ye 
shall  ask  anything  of  the  Father  in  my  name, 
He  will  give  [it]  you;"  that  by  the  words, 
"  if  anything,"  should  not  be  understood  any 
thing  whatever,  but  anything  that  is  not 
really  nothing  in  connection  with  the  life  of 
blessedness.  And  what  follows,  "  Hitherto  ye 
have  not  asked  anything  in  my  name,"  may 
be  understood  in  two  ways:  either,  that  ye 
have  not  asked  in  my  name,  because  a  name 
that  ye  have  not  known  as  it  is  yet  to  be 
known;  or,  ye  have  not  asked  anything,  since 
in  comparison  with  that  which  ye  ought  to 


As  it  is  also  said  in  another  psalm:  "  I  shall 
be  satisfied  when  Thy  glory  shall  lie  reveal 
ed."6  For  petition  has  to  do  with  some  kind 
of  want,  which  can  have  no  place  there  where 
such  abundance  shall  reign. 

4.  It  remains,  therefore,  for  us,  so  far  as 
my  capacity  to  apprehend  it  goes,  to  under 
stand  Jesus  as  having  promised  that  He 
would  cause  His  disciples,  from  being  carnal 
and  natural,  to  become  spiritual,  although 
not  yet  such  as  we  shall  be,  when  a  spiritual 
body  shall  also  be  ours;  but  such  as  was  he 
who  said,  "  We  speak  wisdom  among  them 
that  are  perfect;"  7  and,  "  I  could  not  speak 
unto  you  as  unto  spiritual,  but  as  unto  car 
nal;"8  and,  "We  have  received,  not  the 
spirit  of  the  world,  but  the  Spirit  who  is  of 
God;  that  we  might  know  the  things  that  are 
freely  given  to  us  of  God.  Which  things  also 
we  speak,  not  in  the  words  which  man's  wis 
dom  teacheth,  but  which  the  Spirit  teacheth; 


have  asked,  what  ye  have  asked  is  to  be  ac-  comparing  spiritual  tilings  with  spiritual, 
counted  as  nothing.  In  order,  then,  that  j  But  the  natural 9  man  perceiveth  not  the  things 
they  may  ask  in  His  name,  not  that  which  is  j  of  the  Spirit  of  God."  And  thus  the  natural 
nothing,  but  a  full  joy  (since  anything  differ- 1  man,  perceiving  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit 


ent  from  this  that  they  ask  is  virtually  noth- 


"Ask,  and    ye    shall    receive,  that   your   joy 
may  be  full;  "  that  is,  ask  this  in  my  name 


of  God,  hears  in  such  a  way  whatever  is  told 


ing),  He  addresses  to  them  the  exhortation,    him  of  the  nature  of  God,  that  he  can  con 


ceive  of  nothing  else  but  some  bodily  form, 
however  spacious  or  immense,  however  lus- 


that  your  joy  may  be  full,  and  ye  shall  re-  trous  and  magnificent,  yet  still  a  body:  and 
ceive.  For  His  saints,  who  persevere  in  ask-  j  therefore  he  holds  as  proverbs  all  that  is  said 
ing  such  a  good  thing  as  this,  will  in  no  wise  of  the  incorporeal  and  immutable  substance 


be  defrauded  by  the  mercy  of  God. 

3.    "  These    things,"    said    He,    "  have 


of  wisdom;  not  that  he  accounts  them  as  prov 
erbs,  but  that  his  thoughts  follow  the  same 


spoken   to   you    in    proverbs:    but    the    hour  direction  as  those  who   habitually  listen  to 


cometh,  when  I  shall  no  more  speak  unto  you 
in  proverbs,  but  I  shall  show  you  plainly  of 
my  Father. "  I  might  be  disposed  to  say  that 
this  hour,  whereof  He  speaketh,  must  be  | 
understood  as  that  future  period  when  we 
shall  see  openly,  as  the  blessed  Paul  says, 
"  face  to  face; "  that  what  He  says,  "  These 
things  have  I  spoken  to  you  in  proverbs,"  is 
one  with  what  has  been  said  by  the  same 


proverbs  without  understanding  them.  But 
when  the  spiritual  man  begins  to  discern  all 
things,  and  he  himself  is  discerned  by  no 
man,  he  perceives,  even  though  in  this  life  it 
still  be  through  a  glass  and  in  part,  not  by 
any  bodily  sense,  and  not  by  any  imaginative 
conception  which  catches  at  or  devises  the 
likenesses  of  all  sorts  of  bodies,  but  by  the 
clearest  understanding  of  the  mind,  that  God 


apostle,  "Now  we  see  through,  a  glass,  in  a  '  is  not  material,  but  spiritual:  in  such  a  way 
riddle:"2  and  "I  will  show  you,"  because  { does  the  Son  show  us  openly  of  the  Father, 
the  Father  shall  be  seen  through  the  instru- 1  that  He,  who  thus  shows,  is  also  Himself  seen 
mentality  of  the  Son,  is  akin  to  what  He  says  ;  to  be  of  the  same  substance.  And  then  it  is 
elsewhere,  "  Neither  knoweth  any  man  the  j  that  those  who  ask,  ask  in  His  name;  for  in 
Father,  save  the  Son,  and  [he]  to  whom  the  i  the  sound  of  that  name  they  understand 
Son  shall  be  pleased  to  reveal  Him."3  But  - 
such  a  sense  seems  to  be  interfered  with  by 
that  which  follows:  "At  that  day  ye  shall  ask 
in  my  name."  For  in  that  future  world, 
when  we  have  reached  the  kingdom  where  we 
shall  be  like  Him,  for  we  shall  see  Him  as 

Hf  is,4  What  Shall  We  then  have  tO  ask,  When  plied:  so  that  while  Fhe  rendering  of  the  Septuagint  may  be  gram- 
rinr  (Icsirp  dnll  }•>?  untkfiprl  with  <rnnrl  thincrc'5  "Iatitally  defensible,  "  I  shall  be  satisfied  when  Thy  glory  is  inani- 
)C  Satisfied  \\ltll  g()0d  ttlingb  .  f,.s,,.,|,"  yet  the  strict  meaning  of  the  words,  the  context,  and  the 

that   <>f  thr  Knglish  version,  '   I  shall  be  sat- 
,-ith  Thy  likeness."— TR. 

8  i  Cor.  iii.  j.  9  Animalis. 


5.     So  the  Septuagint  translate  rfipw  V7"? 
'used,  however. 


lal.  vi. 
John  ii 


•  i  Cur.  xiii. 
5  1's.  ciii.  5. 


3  Matt. 


entuation,  fa 

sficcl.  on  awakin 

/  i  C\.r.  u.  i  . 


TBACTATI    tin.] 


ON    l  IN.  '.'  fiPEL  "1    ST.  JOHN. 


39* 


nothing  else  tlum  what  the  reality  is  that  is 
called  by  thai  name,  and  harbor  not,  in  vanity 
or  infirmity  of  mind,  the  fiction  of  the  Father 
be-in-  in  .mi-  place,  and  the  Son  in  another, 
standing  before  the  Father  and  making  re 
quest  in  our  behalf,  with  the  material  sub 
stances  of  both  occupying  each  its  own  place, 
and  the  Word  pleading  verbally  for  us  with 
Him  whose  Word  He  is,  while  a  definite 
space  interposes  between  the  mouth  of  the 
speaker  and  the  ears  of  the  hearer;  and  other 
such  absurdities  which  those  who  are  natural, 
and  at  the  same  time  carnal,  fabricate  for 
themselves  in  their  hearts.  For  any  such 
thing,  suggested  by  the  experience  of  bodily 
habits,  as  occurs  to  spiritual  men  when  think 
ing  of  God,  they  deny  and  reject,  and  drive 
away,  like  troublesome  insects,  from  the  eyes 
of  their  mind;  and  resign  themselves  to  the 
purity  of  that  light  by  whose  testimony  and 
judgment  they  prove  these  bodily  images  that 
thrust  themselves  on  their  inward  vision  to  be 
altogether  false.  These  are  able  to  a  certain 
extent  to  think  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in 
respect  of  His  manhood,  as  addressing  the 
Father  on  our  behalf;  but  in  respect  to  His 
Godhead,  as  hearing  [and  answering]  us  along 
with  the  Father.  And  this  I  am  of  opinion 
that  He  indicated,  when  He  said,  "And  I  say 
not  that  I  will  pray  the  Father  for  you."  But 
the  intuitive  perception  of  this,  how  it  is  that 
the  Son  asketh  not  the  Father,  but  that  Father 
and  Son  alike  listen  to  those  who  ask,  is  a 
height  that  can  be  reached  only  by  the  spirit 
ual  eye  of  the  mind. 

5.  "For  the  Father  Himself,"  He  says, 
"  loveth  you,  because  ye  have  loved  me." 
Is  it  trie  case,  then,  that  He  loveth,  because 
we  love;  or  rather,  that  we  love,  because  He 
loveth  ?  Let  this  same  evangelist  give  us  the 
answer  out  of  his  own  epistle:  "We  love 
Him,"  he  says,  "because  He  first  loved 
us.*'1  This,  then,  was  the  efficient  cause  of 

«  i  Johniv.  19. 


our  loving,  that  »v<  \.-id  certainly 

to  love  God   is  the  gift  of  God.      He  it  was 

J  that  gave  the  grace  to  love  Him,  who  loved 
while  still  unlove;!.  Even  when  displeasing 
Him  we  were  loved,  that  there  might  be  that 
in,  us  whereby  we  should  become  pleasing  in 
His  sight.  For  we  could  not  love  the  Son 
unless  we  loved  the  Father  also.  The  Father 
loveth  us,  because  we  love  the  Son;  seeing  it 

.j  is  of  the  Father  and  Son  we  have  received 
[the  power]  to  love  both  the  Father  and  the 

I  Son:  for  love  is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by 
the  Spirit  of  both,*  by  which  Spirit  we  love 
both  the  Father  and  the  Son,  and  whom  we 
love  along  with  the  Father  and  the  Son.  God, 
therefore,  it  was  that  wrought  this  religious 
love  of  ours  whereby  we  worship  God;  and 
He  saw  that  it  is  good,  and  on  that  account 
He  Himself  loved  that  which  He  had  made. 
But  He  would  not  have  wrought  in  us  some 
thing  He  could  love,  were  it  not  that  He 
loved  ourselves  before  He  wrought  it. 

6.  "And  ye  have  believed,"  He  adds, 
"that  I  came  out  from  God.  I  came  forth 
from  the  Father,  and  am  come  into  the 
world:  again  I  leave  the  world,  and  go  to  the 
Father."  Clearly  we  have  believed.  For 
surely  it  ought  not  to  be  accounted  a  thing 
incredible  because  of  this,  that  in  coming  to 
the  world  He  came  forth  in  such  a  sense  from 
the  Father  that  He  did  not  leave  the  Father 
behind;  and  that,  on  leaving  the  world,  He 
goes  to  the  Father  in  such  a  sense  that  He 
does  not  actually  forsake  the  world.  For  He 
came  forth  from  the  Father  because  He  is  of 
the  Father;  and  He  came  into  the  world,  in 
showing  to  the  world  His  bodily  form,  which 
He  had  received  of  the  Virgin.  He  left  the 
world  by  a  bodily  withdrawal,  He  proceeded 
to  the  Father  by  His  ascension  as  man,  but 
He  forsook  not  the  world  in  the  ruling  activ 
ity  of  His  presence. 

*  Rom.  v.  5. 


TRACTATE    GUI. 

CHAPTER    XVI.   29-33. 


i.  THE  inward  state  of  Christ's  disciples, 
when  before  His  passion  He  talked  with  them 
as  with  children  of  great  things,  but  in  such 
a  way  as  befitted  the  great  things  to  be  spoken 
to  children,  because,  having  not  yet  received 
the  Holy  Spirit,  as  they  did  after  His  resur 
rection,  either  by  His  own  breathing  upon 


them,  or  by  descent  from  above,  they  had  a 
:  mental  capacity  for  the  human  rather  than  the 
divine, — is  everywhere  declared  through  the 
'Gospel    by    numerous    testimonies;  and   of  a 
I  piece  therewith,  is  what  they  said  in  the  les 
son    before    us.      For,    says   the   evangelist, 
"His     disciples     say    unto     Him:     Lo,    now 


392 


THi;  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  CUT. 


spenkest  Thou  plainly,  and  utterest  no  prov 
erb.  Now  we  are  sure  that  Thou  knowest  all 
things,  and  needest  not  that  any  man  should 
ask  Thee:  by  this  we  believe  that  Thou  earn 
est  forth  from  God."  The  Lord  Himself  had 
said  shortly  before,  "These  things  have^  I 
spoken  unto  you  in  proverbs:  the  hour  com- 
eth,  when  I  shall  no  more  speak  to  you  in 
proverbs."  How,  then,  say  they,  "  Lo,  now 
speakest  Thou  plainly,  and  utterest  no  prov 
erb  "  ?  Was  the  hour,  indeed,  already  come, 
when  He  had  promised  that  He  would  no 
more  speak  unto  them  in  proverbs  ?  Certainly 
that  such  an  hour  had  not  yet  come,  is  shown 
by  the  continuation  of  His  words,  which  run 
in  this  way:  "  These  things,"  said  He, 
"  have  I  spoken  unto  you  in  proverbs:  the 
hour  cometh,  when  I  shall  no  more  speak 
unto  you  in  proverbs,  but  I  shall  show  you 
plainly  of  my  Father.  At  that  day  ye  shall 
ask  in  my  name:  and  I  say  not  unto  you, 
that  I  will  pray  the  Father  for  you:  for  the 
Father  Himself  loveth  you,  because  ye  have 
loved  me,  and  have  believed  that  I  came  out 
from  God.  I  came  forth  from  the  Father, 
and  have  come  into  the  world:  again,  I  leave 
the  world,  and  go  to  the  Father"  (vers. 
25-28).  Seeing  that  throughout  all  these 
words  He  is  still  promising  that  hour  when 
He  shall  no  more  speak  in  proverbs,  but  shall 
show  them  openly  of  the  Father;  the  hour, 
when  He  says  that  they  will  ask  in  His  name, 
and  that  He  will  not  pray  the  Father  for 
them,  on  the  ground  that  the  Father  Himself 
loveth  them,  and  that  they  also  have  loved 
Christ,  and  have  believed  that  He  came  forth 
from  the  Father,  and  was  come  into  the 
world,  and  was  again  about  to  leave  the  world 
and  go  to  the  Father:  when  thus  that  hour  is 
still  the  subject  of  promise  when  He  was  to 
speak  without  proverbs,  why  say  they,  "  Lo, 
now  speakest  Thou  plainly,  and  utterest  no 
proverb  ;"  but  just  because  those  things, 


Father;  "  now  He  says,  "  The  Father  is  with 
me."  Who  goes  to  him  who  is  with  him  ? 
This  is  a  word  to  him  that  understandeth,  a 
proverb  to  him  that  understandeth  not:- and 
yet  in  such  way  that  what  at  present  is  unin 
telligible  to  babes,  is  in  some  sort  sucked  in; 
and  even  though  it  yield  them  not  solid  food, 
which  they  cannot  as  yet  receive,  it  denies 
them  not  at  least  a  milky  diet.  It  was  from 
this  diet  that  they  drew  the  knowledge  that 
He  knew  all  things,  and  needed  not  that  any 
one  should  ask  Him:  and,  indeed,  why  they 
said  this,  is  a  topic  worthy  of  inquiry.  For 
one  would  think  they  ought  rather  to  have 
said,  Thou  needest  not  to  ask  any  one;  not, 
"That  any  one  should  ask  Thee."  They 
had  just  said,  "  We  are  sure  that  Thou  know 
est  all  things:"  and  surely  He  that  knoweth 
all  things  is  accustomed  rather  to  be  ques 
tioned  by  those  who  do  not  know,  that  in 
reply  to  their  questions  they  may  hear  what 
they  wish  from  Him  who  knoweth  all  things; 
and  not  to  be  Himself  the  questioner,  as  if 
wishing  to  know  something,  when  He  know 
eth  all  things.  What,  then,  are  we  to  under 
stand  by  this,  that,  when  apparently  they 
ought  to  have  said  to  Him,  whom  they  knew 
to  be  omniscient,  Thou  needest  not  to  ask 
any  man,  they  considered  it  more  befitting  to 
say,  "  Thou  needest  not  that  any  man  shmild 


ask  Thee 


Yea,  is  it  not  the  case  that  we 


read  of  both  being  done;  to  wit,  that  the 
Lord  both  asked,  and  was  asked  questions  ? 
But  this  latter  is  speedily  answered:  for  this 
was  needful  not  for  Him,  but  for  those  rather 
whom  He  questioned,  or  by  whom  He  was 
questioned.  For  He  never  questioned  any 
for  the  purpose  of  learning  anything  from 
them,  but  for  the  purpose  rather  of  teaching 
them.  And  for  those  who  put  questions  to 
Him,  as  desirous  of  learning  something  of 
Him,  it  was  assuredly  needful  to  be  made  ac 
quainted  with  some  things  by  Him  who  knew 


which  He  knows  to  be  proverbs  to  those  who  everything.      And    doubtless   on   the    same 
have  no  understanding,  they  are  still  so  far  account  also  it  was  that  He  needed  not  that 


from  understanding,  that  they  do  not  even 
understand  that  they  do  not  understand  them  ? 
For  they  were  babes,  and  had  as  yet  no  spirit 
ual  discernment  of  what  they  heard  regarding 
things  that  had  to  do  not  with  the  body,  but 
with  the  spirit. 

2.  And  still  further  admonishing  them  of 
their  age  as  still  small  and  infirm  in  regard  to 
the  inner  man,  "Jesus  answered  them:  Do 
ye  now  believe?  Behold  the  hour  cometh, 
yea,  is  now  come,  that  ye  shall  be  scattered 
every  man  to  his  own,  and  shall  leave  me 
alone.  And  yet  I  am  not  alone,  because  the 
Father  is  with  me."  He  had  said  shortly  be 
fore,  "  I  leave  the  world,  and  go  to  the 


any  man  should  ask  Him.  As  it  is  the  case 
that  we,  when  questioned  by  those  who  wish 
to  get  some  information  from  us,  discover  by 
their  very  questionings  what  it  is  that  they 
wish  to  know,  we  therefore  need  to  be  ques 
tioned  by  those  whom  we  wish  to  teach,  in 
order  that  we  may  be  acquainted  with  their 
inquiries  that  call  for  an  answer:  but  He, 
who  knew  all  things,  had  no  need  even  of 
that,  and  as  little  need  had  He  of  discovering 
by  their  questions  what  it  was  that  any  one 
desired  to  know  of  Him,  for  before  a  question 
was  put,  He  knew  the  intention  of  him  who 
was  to  put  it.  But  He  suffered  Himself  to 
be  questioned  on  this  account,  that  He  might 


'i  PC  CIV.] 


ON  THI-; 


Ki.  <>K  si1.  JOHN. 


393 


show  to  those  who  were  then  present,  or  to 
those  who  should  either  hear  the  things  that 
wen-  to  be  spoken  or  read  them  when  written, 
what  was  the  character  of  those  by  whom  He 
was  questioned;  and  in  this  way  we  might 
come  to  know  both  the  frauds  that  were  pow 
erless  to  impose  upon  Him,  and  the  ways  of 
approach  tiiat  would  turn  to  our  profit  in  His 
si-iit.  But  to  foresee  the  thoughts  of  men, 
and  thus  to  have  no  need  that  any  one  should 
ask  Him,  was  no  great  matter  for  God,  but 
great  enough  for  the  babes,  who  said  to  Him, 
"  By  this  we  believe  that  Thou  earnest  forth 
from  God."  A  much  greater  thing  it  was, 
for  the  understanding  of  which  He  wished  to 
have  their  minds  expanded  and  enlarged,  that, 
on  their  saying,  and  saying  truly,  ''  Thou 
earnest  forth  from  God,"  He  replied,  "  The 
Father  is  with  me;''  in  order  that  they  should 
not  think  that  the  Son  had  come  forth  from 
the  Father  in  any  sense  that  would  lead  them 
to  suppose  that  He  had  also  withdrawn  from 
His  presence. 

3.  And  then,  in  bringing  to  a  close  this 
weighty  and  protracted  discourse,  He  said, 
"  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that 
in  me  ye  might  have  peace.  In  the  world 
ye  shall  have  tribulation;  but  be  of  good 
cheer,  I  have  overcome  the  world."  The 
beginning  of  such  tribulation  was  to  be  found 
in  that  whereof,  in  order  to  show  that  they 
were  infants,  to  whom,  as  still  wanting  in  in 
telligence,  and  mistaking  one  thing  for  an 
other,  all  the  great  and  divine  things  He  had 
said  were  little  better  than  proverbs,  He  had 
previously  said,  "Do  ye  now  believe?  Be 
hold,  the  hour  cometh,  yea,  is  now  come, 
that  ye  shall  be  scattered,  every  man  to  his 
own."  Such,  I  say,  was  the  beginning  of  the 
tribulation,  but  not  in  the  same  measure  of 
their  perseverance.  For  in  adding,  "and 
ye  shall  leave  me  alone,"  He  did  not  mean 
that  they  would  be  of  such  a  character  in  the 
subsequent  tribulation,  which  they  should 
have  to  endure  in  the  world  after  His  ascen 


sion,  as  thus  to  desert  Him;  but  that  in  Him 
they  should  have  peace  by  still  abiding  in 
Him.  But  on  the  occasion  of  His  apprehen 
sion,  not  only  did  they  outwardly  abandon 
His  bodily  presence,  but  they  mentally  aban 
doned  their  faith.  And  to  this  it  is  that  His 
words  have  reference,  "  Do  ye  now  believe  ? 
Behold,  the  hour  cometh,  that  ye  shall  be 
scattered  to  your  own,  and  shall  leave  me:" 
as  if  He  had  said,  You  will  then  be  so  con 
founded  as  to  leave  behind  you  even  what 
you  now  believe.  For  they  fell  into  such 
despair  and  such  a  death,  so  to  speak,  of  their 
old  faith,  as  was  apparent  in  the  case  of 
Cleophas,  who,  after  His  resurrection,  un 
aware  that  he  was  speaking  with  Himself,  and 
narrating  what  had  befallen  Him,  said,  "  We 
trusted  that  it  had  been  He  who  should  have 
redeemed  Israel."  '  That  was  the  way  in 
which  they  then  left  Him,  abandoning  even 
the  very  faith  wherewith  they  had  formerly 
believed  in  Him.  But  in  that  tribulation, 
which  they  encountered  after  His  glorifica- 
I  tion  and  they  themselves  had  received  the 
Holy  Spirit,  they  did  not  leave  Him:  and 
though  they  fled  from  city  to  city,  from  Him 
self  they  did  not  flee;  but  in  order  that,  while 
having  tribulation  in  the  world,  they  might 
have  peace  in  Him,  instead  oi  being  fugitives 
from  Him,  it  was  rather  Himself  that  they 
made  their  refuge.  For  in  receiving  the  Holy 
Spirit,  there  was  wrought  in  them  the  very 
state  described  to  them  now  in  the  words, 
"Be  of  good  cheer,  I  have  overcome  the 
world."  They  were  of  good  cheer,  and  they 
conquered.  But  in  whom,  save  in  Him  ?  For 
He  had  not  overcome  the  world,  were  it  still 
to  overcome  His  members.  Hence  said  the 
apostle,  "  Thanks  be  unto  God,  who  giveth 
us  the  victory; "  and  immediately  added, 
"  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ:  "  3  through 
Him  who  had  said  to  His  own,  "  Be  of  good 
cheer,  I  have  overcome  the  world.'* 


Luke  xxiv.  ai. 


i  Cor.  xv.  57 


TRACTATE    CIV. 


C'll  \IMI  K     XVII.    I. 


i.  BEFORK  these  words,  which  we  are  now,  diately  before,  but  to  all  that  He  had  address- 
with  the  Lord's  help,  to  make  the  subject  of  ed  to  them,  whether  from  the  time  that  He 
discourse,  Jesus  had  said,  "  These  things  have  began  to  account  them  disciples,  or  at  least 
I  spoken  unto  you,  that  in  me  ye  might  have  from  the  time  after  supper  when  He  corn- 
peace;"  which  we  are  to  consider  as  referring,  i  menced  this  admirable  and  lengthened  dis- 
not  to  the  later  words  uttered  by  Him  imme-  course.  He  gave  them,  indeed,  such  a  reason 


394 


TIIK   WORKS  OF  ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  CIV. 


for  speaking  to  them,  that  either  all  He  ever 
spake  to  them  may  with  the  utmost  propriety 
be  referred  to  that  end,  or  those  especially, 
as  His  last  words,  which  He  now  spake  when 
on  the  eve  of  dying  for  them,  after  that  he 
who  was  to  betray  Him  had  quitted  their 
company.  For  He  gave  this  as  the  cause  of 
His  discourse,  that  in  Him  they  might  have 
peace,  just  as  it  is  wholly  on  this  account  that 
we  are  Christians.  For  this  peace  will  have 
no  temporal  end,  but  will  itself  be  the  end  of 
every  pious  intention  and  action  that  are  ours 
at  present.  For  its  sake  we  are  endowed 
with  His  sacraments,  for  its  sake  we  are  in 
structed  by  His  works  and  sayings,  for  its 
sake  we  have  received  the  earnest  of  the 
Spirit,  for  its  sake  we  believe  and  hope  in 
Him,  and  according  to  His  gracious  giving 
are  enkindled  with  His  love:  by  this  peace  we 
are  comforted  in  all  our  distresses,  by  it  we 
are  delivered  from  them  all:  for  its  sake  we 
endure  with  fortitude  every  tribulation,  that 
in  it  we  may  reign  in  happiness  without  any 
tribulation.  Fitly  therewith  did  He  bring 
His  words  to  a  close,  which  were  proverbs  to 
the  disciples,  who  as  yet  had  little  under 
standing,  but  would  afterwards  understand 
them,  when  He  had  given  them  the  Holy 
Spirit  of  promise,  of  whom  He  had  said  be 
fore:  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you, 
being  yet  present  with  you.  But  the  Com 
forter,  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  the  Father  will 
send  in  my  name,  He  shall  teach  you  all 
things,  and  bring  all  things  to  your  remem 
brance,  whatsoever  I  have  said  unto  you.'" 
Such,  doubtless,  was  to  be  the  hour,  wherein 
He  promised  that  He  would  no  more  speak 
unto  them  in  proverbs,  but  show  them  openly 
of  the  Father.  For  these  same  words  of  His, 
when  revealed  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  were  no 
more  to  be  proverbs  to  those  who  had  un 
derstanding.  For  when  the  Holy  Spirit  was 
speaking  in  their  hearts,  there  was  not  to  be 
silence  on  the  part  of  the  only-begotten  Son, 
who  had  said  that  in  that  hour  He  would  show 
them  plainly  of  the  Father,  which,  of  course, 
would  no  longer  be  a  proverb  to  them  when 
now  endowed  with  understanding.  But  even 
this  also,  how  it  is  that  both  the  Son  of  God 
and  the  Holy  Spirit  speak  at  once  in  the 
hearts  of  their  spiritual  ones,  yea  the  Trinity 
itself,  which  is  ever  inseparably  at  work,  is  a 
word  to  those  who  have,  but  a  proverb  to 
those  who  are  without,  understanding. 

2.  When,  therefore,  He  had  told  them  on 
what  account  He  had  spoken  all  things, 
namely,  that  in  Him  they  might  have  peace 
while  having  distress  in  the  world,  and  had 
exhorted  them  to  be  of  good  cheer,  because 


Chap. 


15, 26. 


He  had  overcome  the  world;  having  thus 
finished  His  discourse  to  them,  He  then  di 
rected  His  words  to  the  Father,  and  began  to 
pray.  For  so  the  evangelist  proceeds  to  say: 
"  These  things  spake  Jesus,  and  lifted  up  His 
eyes  to  heaven,  and  said:  Father,  the  hour  is 
come;  glorify  Thy  Son."  The  Lord,  the 
Only-begotten  and  co-eternal  with  the  Father, 
could  in  the  form  of  a  servant  and  out  of  the 
form  of  a  servant,  if  such  were  needful,  pray 
in  silence;  but  in  this  other  way  He  wished  to 
show  Himself  as  one  who  prayed  to  the 
Father,  that  He  might  remember  that  He  was 
still  our  Teacher.  Accordingly,  the  prayer 
which  He  offered  for  us,  He  made  also  known 
to  us;  seeing  that  it  is  not  only  the  delivering 
of  discourses  to  them  by  so  great  a  Master, 
but  also  the  praying  for  them  to  the  Father, 
that  is  a  means  of  edification  to  disciples. 
And  if  so  to  those  who  were  present  to  hear 
what  was  said,  it  is  certainly  so  also  to  us  who 
were  to  have  the  reading  of  it  when  written. 
Wherefore  in  saying  this,  ''Father,  the  hour  is 
come;  glorify  Thy  Son,"  He  showed  that  all 
time,  and  every  occasion  when  He  did  any 
thing  or  suffered  anything  to  be  done,  were 
arranged  by  Him  who  was  subject  to  no  time: 
since  those  things,  which  were  individually 
future  in  point  of  time,  have  their  efficient 
causes  in  the  wisdom  of  God,  wherein  there 
are  no  distinctions  of  time.  Let  it  not,  then, 
be  supposed  that  this  hour  came  through  any 
urgency  of  fate,  but  rather  by  the  divine 
appointment.  It  was  no  necessary  law  of  the 
heavenly  bodies  that  tied  to  its  time  the 
passion  of  Christ;  for  we  may  well  shrink 
from  the  thought  that  the  stars  should  compel 
their  own  Maker  to  die.  It  was  not  the  time, 
therefore,  that  drove  Christ  to  His  death, 
but  Christ  who  selected  the  time  to  die:  who 
also  fixed  the  time,  when  He  was  born  of 
the  Virgin,  with  the  Father,  of  whom  He  was 
born  independently  of  time.  And  in  accord 
ance  with  this  true  and  salutary  doctrine,  the 
Apostle  Paul  also  says,  "But  when  the  fullness 
of  the  time  was  come,  God  sent  forth  His 
Son;  "3  and  God  declares  by  the  prophet,  "  In 
an  acceptable  time  have  I  heard  Thee,  and  in 
a  day  of  salvation  have  I  helped  thee;  "  3  and 
yet  again  the  apostle,  "  Behold,  now  is  the  ac 
cepted  time;  behold,  now  is  the  day  of  salva 
tion."  4  He  then  may  say,  "  Father,  the  hour 
is  come,1'  who  has  arranged  every  hour  with 
the  Father:  saying,  as  it  were,  "  Father,  the 
hour,''  which  we  fixed  together  for  the  sake 
of  men  and  of  my  glorification  among  them, 
"  is  come,  glorify  Thy  Son,  that  Thy  Son  also 
may  glorify  Thee." 

3.  The    glorification    of   the    Son    by    the 

3  Isa.  xlix.  8.  4  2  Cor.  vi.  2. 


TRACTATI   rv  ] 


ON  Tin:  GOSPEL  OK  ST.  JOHN. 


l-'atlu-r  is    understood    l>y  some   to   consist    in 
this,  that  He  spared  Him   not,  but  delivered 


trious),  although   lie  might  as  well  hav 
" 


Him  ii|)  for  us  all.1      Hut    if  we  say   that    He    meaning 


"  (glorify),   which   is  the   same   in 
And   for  the   same   reason,  in  the 

was  glorified  by  His  passion,  how  much  more  apostle's  epistle  where  we  find  "g/urm," 
was  He  so  by  His  resurrection  !  Fof  in  His  "  claritas"  might  have  been  used;  for  by  so 
passion  our  attention  is  directed  more  to  His  doing,  the  meaning  would  have  been  equally 
humility  than  to  His  glory,  in  accordance  preserved.  But  not  to  depart  from  the  sound 
with  the  testimony  of  the  apostle,  who  says,  of  the  words,  just  as  "  clarijiciitio''  (the  mak- 


He  humbled  Himself,  and  became  obedient 
unto  death,   even  the  death  of  the  cross:" 


ing    lustrous)    is    derived     from    "claritas" 
(lustre),    so    is    "  glorijicatio "    (the     making 


the  former    read, 


whence  we  have  the 


men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  might  be  made 
lustrous  or  glorious  by  His  resurrection,  He 
was  first  humbled  by  suffering;  for  had  He 
not  died,  He  would  not  have  risen  from  the 
dead.  Humility  is  the  earning  of  glory;  glory, 
the  reward  of  humility.  This,  however, 


and  then  he  goes  on  to  say  of  His  glonfica-  1  glorious)  from  "gloria"  (glory).      In  order, 

lion,  "  Wherefore  God  also  hath  highly  exalted  |  then,   that    the   Mediator  between    God   and 

Him,  and  given  Him  a  name  which  is  above 

every  name:  that  in  the  name  of  Jesus  every 

knee  should  bow,  of   things  in   heaven,  and 

things  in  earth,  and  things  under  the  earth; 

and  that  every  tongue  should  confess  that  the 

Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  in  the  glory  of  God  the 

Father."     This    is   the   glorification   of   our 

Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  took  its  commence 

ment  from   His   resurrection.     His   humility 

accordingly  begins  in  the  apostle's  discourse 

with  the  passage  where  he  says,  "  He  emptied 

Himself,  and  took  upon  Him  the  form  of  a 

servant;  "  and  reaches  "  even  to  the  death  of 

the  cross.''     But  His  glory  begins  with  the 

clause  where  he  says,  "  Wherefore  God  also 

hath  exalted   Him;  "  and  reaches  on  to  the 

words,  "  is  in  the  glory  of  God  the  Father."8 

For  even  the  noun  itself,  if  the  language  of 

the  Greek  codices  be  examined,  from  which 

the  apostolic  epistles  hive  been  translated  into 

Latin,  which  in  the  latter  is  read,  glory,  is  in 


was  done  in  the  form  of  a  servant;  but  He  was 
always  in  the  form  of  God,  and  always  shall 
His  glory  continue:  yea,  it  was  not  in  the 
past  as  if  it  were  no  more  so  in  the  present, 
nor  shall  it  be,  as  if  it  did  not  yet  exist;  but 
without  beginning  and  without  .end,  His 
glory  is  everlasting.  Accordingly,  when  He 
says,  '*  Father,  the  hour  is  come;  glorify  Thy 
Son,"  it  is  to  be  understood  as  if  He  said, 
The  hour  is  come  for  sowing  the  seed-corn  of 
humility,  delay  not  the  fruit  of  my  glory. 
But  what  is  the  meaning  of  the  words  that 
follow:  '*  That  Thy  Son  may  glorify  Thee  " 
Was  it  that  God  the  Father  likewise  endured 
the  humiliation  of  the  body  or  of  suffering, 
I  out  of  which  He  must  needs  be  raised  to 


verb  derived  in  Greek  for  the  purpose  of  say-  1  glory  ?  If  not,  how  then  was  the  Son  to 
ing  here,  di'>;>HTi>»  (glorify),  which  the  Latin  ;  glorify  Him,  whose  eternal  glory  could  neither 
translator  renders  by  "  clarified  "  (make  ill  us-  appear  diminished  through  human  form,  nor 

~~  be  enlarged  in  the  divine  ?  Hut  I  will  not 
confine  such  a  question  within  the  present 
discourse,  or  draw  the  latter  out  to  greater 


Rom  yi»i  32 


byour  English  version,  which  is  alone  grammatically  and  trxtua 
correct:  "That  (esus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  (eifibfaio 
God  the  Father/'— TR. 


length  by  such  a  discussion. 


TRACTATE    CV. 

CHAPTER   XVII.    1-5. 


i.  THAT  the  Son  was  glorified  by  the  Father 
in  His  form  of  a  servant,  which  the  Father 
raised  from  the  dead  anil  set  at  His  own  right 
hand,  is  indicated  by  the  event  itself,  and  is 
nowhere  doubted  by  the  Christian.  Hut  as 
He  not  only  said,  "  Father,  glorify  Thy  Son." 
but  likewise  added,  "  that  Thy  Son  may 
glorify  Thee,"  it  is  worthy  of  inquiry  how  it 


was  that  the  Son  glorified  the  Father,  seeing 
that  the  eternal  glory  of  the  Father  neither 
suit'ered  diminution  in  any  human  form,  nor 
could  be  increased  in  respect  of  its  own  divine 
perfection.  In  itself,  indeed,  the  glory  of 
the  Father  could  neither  be  diminished  nor 
enlarged;  but  without  any  doubt  it  was  less 
among  men  when  God  was  known  only  in 


396 


THK  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  CV. 


Judea:'  and  as  yet  children  •  praised  not  the 
name  of  the  Lord  from  the  rising  of  the  sun 
to  its  going  down.1  But  inasmuch  as  this  was 
effected  by  the  gospel  of  Christ,  to  wit,  that 
the  Father  became  known  through  the  Son  to 
the  Gentiles,  assuredly  the  Son  also  glorified 
the  Father.  Had  the  Son,  however,  only 


died,  and  not  risen  again,  He  would  without 


doubt    have   neither   been    glorified    by 
Father,    nor  have  glorified  the   Father; 


the  Son  the  same  as  the  Father,  nor  the  Holy 
Spirit  the  same  as  the  Father  anil  the  Son; 
for  the  Father  and  Son  and  Holy  Spirit  are 
three  [persons],  yet  the  Trinity  itself  is  one 
God.  If,  then,  the  Son  glorifies  Thee  in  the 
same  manner  "  as  Thou  hast  given  Him  power 
over  all  flesh,"  and  hast  so  given,  "  that  He 
should  give  eternal  life  to  all  that  Thou  hast 


now  having  been  glorified  through  His  resur 
rection  by  the  Father,  He  glorifies  the  Father 
by  the  preaching  of  His  resurrection.  For 
this  is  disclosed  by  the  very  order  of  the 
words:  "  Glorify,"  He  says,  "  Thy  Son,  that 
Thy  Son  may  glorify  Thee;  "  saying,  as  it 
were,  Raise  me  up  again,  that  by  me  Thou 
mayest  become  known  to  all  the  world. 

2.  And  then  expanding  still  further  how  it 
was  that  the  Father  should  be  glorified  by  the 
Son,  He    says:  "As    Thou    hast   given   Him 
power   over   all    flesh,  that    He   should   give 
eternal  life  to  all  that  Thou  hast  given  Him." 
By  all  flesh,  He  meant  every  man,  signifying 
the  whole  by  a  part;  as,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  whole  man  is   signified   by  the  superior 
part,  when  the  apostle  says,  "  Let  every  soul 
be  subject  to  the  higher  powers. "  3     For  what 
else  did  He  mean  by  "  every  soul,"  save  every 
man  ?     And  this,  therefore,  that  power  over 
all  flesh  was  given  to  Christ  by  the  Father,  is 
to  be  understood  in  respect  of  His  humanity; 
for  in  respect  of  His  Godhead  all  things  were 
made  by  Himself,  and  in  Him  were  created 
all  things  in  heaven  and  in  earth,  visible  and 
invisible.4      "As,"    then,    He    says,    "Thou 
hast  given  Him  power  overall  flesh/'  so  may 
Thy  Son  glorify  Thee,  in  other  words,  make 
Thee    known   to    all   flesh   whom   Thou  hast 
given  Him.      For  Thou  hast  so  given,  "that 
He  should  give  eternal  life  to  all  that  Thou 
hast  given  Him." 

3.  "And  this,"  He  adds,  "is  eternal  life, 
that  they  may  know  Thee,  the  only  true  God, 
and  Jesus    Christ,  whom  Thou  hast    sent." 
The  proper  order  of  the  words  is,  "  That  they 
may    know   Thee    and    Jesus    Christ,    whom 
Thou    hast   sent,    as   the    only   true    God." 
Consequently,  therefore,    the  Holy    Spirit  is 
also  understood,  because  He  is  the  Spirit  of 

substantial  and 
For  the  Father 
and  Son  are  not  two  Gods,  nor  are  the  Father 
and  Son  and  Holy  Spirit  three  Gods;  but  the 
Trinity  itself  is  the  one  only  true  God.  And 
yet  the  Father  is  not  the  same  as  the  Son,  nor 


the  |  given  Him,"  and  "this  is  life  eternal,  that 
they  may  know  Thee;"  in  this  way,  there 
fore,  the  Son  glorifies  Thee,  that  He  makes 


but 


the  Father  and   Son,  as  the 
•consubstantial  love  of  both. 


xvi.  i. 

I1-,  cxiii.  i,  i  :  /«,-> 
"I:'.  "  servant*.' -Tt 

i  Horn,  xiii.  i. 


r',  from  the 


The  Hebrew  is 


Thee 
Him. 


known   to  all   whom   Thou   hast  given 
Accordingly,  if  the  knowledge  of  God 


is  eternal  life,  we  are  making  the  greater  ad 
vances  to  life,  in  proportion  as  we  are  enlarg 
ing  our  growth  in  such  a  knowledge.  And 
we  shall  not  die  in  the  life  eternal;  for  then, 
when  there  shall  be  no  death,  the  knowledge 
of  God  shall  be  perfected.  Then  will  be 
effected  the  full  effulgence  of  God,  because 
then  the  completed  glory,  as  expressed  in 
Greek  by  <}«£«.  For  from  it  we  have  the  word 
iiozaffiiv,  that  is  used  here,  and  which  some 
Latins  have  interpreted  by  "  clarified  ''  (make 
effulgent),  and  some  by  "  glorifiea  "  (glorify). 
But  by  the  ancients,  glory,  from  which  men 
are  styled  glorious,  is  thus  defined:  Glory  is 
the  widely-spread  fame  of  any  one  accom 
panied  with  praise.  But  if  a  man  is  praised 
when  the  fame  regarding  him  is  believed,  how 
will  God  be  praised  when  He  Himself  shall 
be  seen  ?  Hence  it  is  said  in  Scripture, 
"  Blessed  are  they  that  dwell  in  Thy  house; 
they  will  be  praising  Thee  for  ever  and  ever."5 
There  will  God's  praise  continue  without 
end,  where  there  shall  be  the  full  knowledge 
of  God;  and  because  the  full  knowledge, there 
fore  also  the  complete  effulgence  or  glorifica 
tion. 

4.  But  God  is  first  of  all  glorified  here, 
while  He  is  being  made  known  to  men  by 
word  of  mouth,  and  preached  through  the 
faith  of  believers.  Wherefore,  He  says,  "  I 
have  glorified  Thee  on  the  earth:  I  have  fin 
ished  the  work  which  Thou  gavest  me  to 
do."  He  does  not  say,  Thou  orderedst; 
but.  "  Thou  gavest:  "  where  the  evident  grace 
of  it  is  commended  to  notice.  For  what  has 
the  human  nature  even  in  the  Only-begotten, 
that  it  has  not  received  ?  Did  it  not  receive 
this,  that  it  should  do  no  evil,  but  all  good 
tilings,  when  it  was  assumed  into  the  unity  of 
His  person  by  the  Word,  by  whom  all  things 
wen-  made?  But  how  has  He  finished  the 
work  which  was  committed  unto  Him  to  do, 
when  there  still  remains  the  trial  of  the  pas 
sion  wherein  He  especially  furnished  His 
martyrs  with  the  example  they  were  to  follow, 


TRACT  A 


o\     IIN.  (.OSI'KL  OK  ST.   JOHN. 


397 


»f,  says  the  apostle  I'eter,  "Christ 
sulk-red  for  us,  leaving  us  an  example,  that 
we  should  follow  His  steps:"  '  but  just  that 
He  says  He  has  finished,  what  He  knew  with 
perfect  certainty  taat  He  would  finish?  Just 
as  long  before,  in  prophecy,  He  used  words  . 
in  the  past  tense,  when  what  He  said  was  to 
take  place  very  many  years  afterwards: 
"  They  pierced,"  He  says,  "  my  hands  and 
my  feet,  they  counted3  all  my  bones;"*  He 
says  not,  They  will  pierce,  and,  They  will 
count.  And  in  this  very  Gospel  He  says, 
"All  things  that  I  have  heard  of  my  Father, 
I  have  made  known  unto  you;"3  to  whom 
He  afterward  declares,  "  I  have  yet  many 
things  to  say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear 
them  now.''4  For  He,  who  has  predestinated 
all  that  is  to  be  by  sure  and  unchangeable 
causes,  has  done  whatever  He  is  to  do:  as  it 
was  also  declared  of  Him  by  the  prophet, 
"  Who  hath  made  the  things  that  are  to  be."  s 
5.  In  a  way  similar,  also,  to  this,  He  pro 
ceeds  to  say:  *'And  now,  O  Father,  glorify 
thou  me  with  Thine  own  self  with  the  glory 
which  I  had  with  Thee  before  the  world  was." 
For  He  had  said  above,  "  Father,  the  hour  is 
come;  glorify  Thy  Son,  that  Thy  Son  may 
glorify  Thee: "  in  which  arrangement  of  the 
words  He  had  shown  that  the  Father  was  first 
to  be  glorified  by  the  Son.  in  order  that  the 
Son  might  glorify  the  Father.  But  now  He 
said,  "  I  have  glorified  Thee  on  the  earth:  I 
have  finished  the  work  which  Thou  gavest 
me  to  do;  and  now  glorify  Thou  me;  "  as  if 
He  Himself  had  been  the  first  to  glorify  the 
Father,  by  whom  He  then  demands  to  be 
glorified.  We  are  therefore  to  understand 
that  He  used  both  words  above  in  accordance 
with  that  which  was  future,,  and  in  the  order 
in  which  they  were  future,  "  Glorify  Thy  Son, 
that  Thy  Son  may  glorify  Thee:  "  but  that 
He  now  used  the  word  in  the  past  tense  of 
that  which  was  still  future,  when  He  said,  "  I 
have  glorified  Thee  on  the  earth:  I  have  fin 
ished  the  work  which  Thou  gavest  me  to  do." 
And  then,  when  He  said,  "And  now,  O 
Father,  glorify  Thou  me  with  Thine  own 
self,"  as  if  He  were  afterwards  to  be  glorified 
by  the  Father,  whom  He  Himself  had  first 
glorified;  what  did  He  intimate  but  that,  I 
when  He  said  above,  "  I  have  glorified  Thee  | 
on  the  earth,"  He  had  so  spoken  as  if  He  had 
done  what  He  was  still  to  do;  but  that  here 


'  i  Pet.  ji.  31. 

•  Ps.  xxii.  id,  17.  fiinumerarerunt  \.they  counted),  in  accord 
ance  with  a  reading  of  thi-  Srptiiav;int— that  found  in  thr  printed 
text  -f|i|p4»»Mij<raK.  A  hrttcr  r.-admi;,  howrv.-r.  is  al-o  found  in 
MS*.,  i( ijpirt^ntrrt,  conforming  in  person,  though  not  in  tense,  to 
the  Hebrew  ".EJX  (•  ">•'>•  muni  i.-TK. 

3  Chap.  xv.  15.  4  Chap.  xvi.  12. 

5  Isa.  xlv.  ii,  according  to  the  Septuagint.  See  note.  Tract. 
LXVIII.  sec.  i. 


•nanded  of  the  Father  to  do  that  where 
by  the  Son  should  yet  do  so;  in  other  words, 
that  the  Father  should  glorify  the  Son,  by 
means  of  which  glorification  of  the  Son,  the 
Son  also  was  yet  to  glorify  the  Father?  In 
line,  if,  in  connection  with  that  which  was  still 
future,  we  put  the  verb  also  in  the  future 
tense,  where  He  has  used  the  past  in  place  of 
the  future  tense,  there  will  remain  no  obscu 
rity  in  the  sentence:  as  if  He  had  said,  "  I 
will  glorify  Thee  on  the  earth:  I  will  finish 
the  work  which  Thou  hast  given  me  to  do; 
and  now,  O  Father,  glorify  Thou  me  with 
Thine  own  self."  In  this  way  it  is  as  plain 
as  when  He  says,  "Glorify  Thy  Son,  that 
Thy  Son  may  glorify  Thee:  "  and  this  is  in 
deed  the  whole  sentence,  save  that  here  we 
are  told  also  the  manner  of  that  same  glorifi 
cation,  which  there  was  left  unnoticed;  as  if 
the  former  were  explained  by  the  latter  to 
those  whose  hearts  it  was  able  to  stir,  how  it 
was  that  the  Father  should  glorify  the  Son, 
and  most  of  all  how  the .  Son  also  should 
glorify  the  Father.  For  in  saying  that  the 
Father  was  glorified  by  Himself  on  the  earth, 
but  He  Himself  by  the  Father  with  the 
Father's  very  self,  He  showed  them  assuredly 
the  manner  of  both  glorifications.  For  He 
Himself  glorified  the  Father  on  earth  by 
preaching  Him  to  the  nations;  but  the  Father 
glorified  Him  with  His  own  self  in  setting 
Him  at  His  own  right  hand.  But  on  that 
very  account,  when  He  says  afterward  in  ref 
erence  to  the  glorifying  of  the  Father,  "  I 
have  glorified  Thee,"  He  preferred  putting 
the  verb  in  the  past  tense,  in  order  to  show 
that  it  was  already  done  in  the  act  of  predes 
tination,  and  what  was  with  perfect  certainty 
yet  to  take  place  was  to  be  accounted  as 
already  done;  namely,  that  the  Son,  having 
been  glorified  by  the  Father  with  the  Father, 
would  also  glorify  the  Father  on  the  earth. 

6.  But  this  predestination  He  still  more 
clearly  disclosed  in  respect  of  His  own  glori 
fication,  wherewith  He  was  glorified  by  the 
Fatherj  when  He  added,  "  With  the  glory 
which  I  had,  before  the  world  was,  with 
Thee."  The  proper  order  of  the  words  is, 
"  which  I  had  with  Thee  before  the  world 
was."  To  this  apply  His  words,  "And  now 
glorify  Thou  me;  '*  that  is  to  say,  as  then,  so 
also  now:  as  then,  by  predestination;  so  also 
now,  by  consummmation:  do  Thou  in  the 
world  what  had  already  been  done  with  Thee 
before  the  world:  do  in  its  own  time  what 
Thou  hast  determined  before  all  times.  This, 
some  have  imagined,  should  be  so  understood 
as  if  the  human  nature,  which  was  assumed 
by  the  Word,  were  converted  into  the  Word, 
and  the  man  were  changed  into  God;  yea, 


39* 


THK  WORKS  OF  ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  CV. 


were  we  reflecting  with  some  care  on  the  opin 
ions  they  have  advanced,  as  if  the  humanity 
were  lost  in  the  Godhead.  For  no  one  would 
go  the  length  of  saying  that  out  of  such  a 
transmutation  of  the  humanity  the  Word  of 
God  is  either  doubled  or  increased,  so  that 
either  what  was  one  should  now  be  two,  or 
what  was  less  should  now  be  greater.  Ac 
cordingly,  if  with  His  human  nature  changed 
and  converted  into  the  Word,  the  Word  of 
God  will  still  be  as  great  as  He  was,  and  what 
He  was,  where  is  the  humanity,  if  it  is  not  lost? 

7.  But  to  this  opinion,  which  I  certainly  do 
not  see  to  be  conformable  to  the  truth,  there 
is  nothing  to  urge  us,  if,  when  the  Son  says, 
"And  now,  O  Father,  glorify  Thou  me  with 
Thine  own  self,  with  the  glory  which  I  had 
with  Thee  before  the  world  was,"  we  under 
stand  the  predestination  of  the  glory  of  His 
human    nature,    as    thereafter,    from    being 
mortal,  to  become  immortal  with  the  Father; 
and  that  this  had  already  been  done  by  pre 
destination  before  the  world  was,  as  also  in 
its  own  time  it  was  done  in  the  world.     For 
if  the  apostle  has  said  of  us,  "According  as 
He  hath  chosen  us  in  Him  before  the  foun 
dation    of   the   world,"1    why    should    it   be 
thought  incongruous  with  the  truth,   if  the 
Father  glorified  our  Head  at  the  same  time  as 
He  chose  us  in    Him    to  be    His    members? 
For  we  were  chosen  in  the  same  way  as  He 
was  glorified;  inasmuch  as  before  the  world 
was,   neither  we  nor  the  Mediator  between 
God  and  men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus,2  were 
yet  in  existence.     But  He  who,  in  as  far  as 
He   is   His  Word,  of  His  own    self  "  made 
even  those  things  which  are  yet  to  come," 
and  "calleth  those  things  which  are  not  as 
though  they  were,'* 3  certainly,  in  respect  of 
His  manhood  as  Mediator  between  God  and 
men,  was  Himself  glorified  on  our  behalf  by 
God  the  Father  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  if  it  be  so  that  we  also  were  then  chosen 
in  Him.     For  what  saith  the  apostle?     "And 
we  know  that  all  things  work  together  for  good 
to  them  that  love  God,  to  them  who  are  the 
called  according  to  His  purpose.     For  whom 
He  did   foreknow,  He  also  did   predestinate 
to  be  conformed   to  the   image  of  His  Son, 
that  He  might  be  the  first-born  among  many 
brethren:    and  whom    He   did    predestinate, 
them  He  also  called."  4 

8.  But  perhaps  we  shall  have  some  fear  in 


•  Eph.  i.  4. 
3  Rom.  iv.  17. 


2  i  Tim.  ii.  5. 

4  Rom.  viii.  28-30. 


saying  that  He  was  predestinated,  because 
the  apostle  seems  to  have  said  so  only  in  ref 
erence  to  our  being  made  conformable  to  His 
image.  As  if,  indeed,  any  one,  faithfully 
considering  the  rule  of  faith,  were  to  deny 
that  the  Son  of  God  was  predestinated,  who 
yet  cannot  deny  that  He  was  man.  For  it  is 
rightly  said  that  He  was  not  predestinated  in 
respect  of  His  being  the  Word  of  God,  God 
with  God.  For  how  could  He  be  predesti 
nated,  seeing  He  already  was  what  He  was, 
without  beginning  and  without  ending,  ever 
lasting  ?  But  that,  which  as  yet  was  not,  had 
to  be  predestinated,  in  order  that  it  might 
come  to  pass  in  its  time,  even  as  it  was  pre 
destinated  so  to  come  before  all  times.  Ac 
cordingly,  whoever  denies  predestination  of 
the  Son  of  God,  denies  that  He  was  also  Him 
self  the  Son  of  man.  But,  on  account  of 
those  who  are  disputatious,  let  us  also  on  this 
subject  listen  to  the  apostle  in  the  exordium 
of  his  epistles.  For  both  in  the  first  of  his 
epistles,  which  is  that  to  the  Romans,  and  in 
the  beginning  of  the  epistle  itself,  we  read: 
"Paul,  a  servant  of  Jesus  Christ,  called  [to 
be]  an  apostle,  separated  unto  the  gospel  of 
God,  which  He  had  promised  afore  by  His 
prophets  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  concerning 
His  Son,  who  was  made  for  Him  of  the  seed 
of  David  according  to  the  flesh,  who  was  pre 
destinated  5  the  Son  of  God  in  power,  accord 
ing  to  the  Spirit  of  holiness,  by  the  resurrec 
tion  from  the  dead."  5  In  respect,  then,  of 
this  predestination  also,  He  was  gloried  be 
fore  the  world  was,  in  order  that  His  glory 
might  be,  by  the  resurrection  from  the  dead, 
with  the  Father,  at  whose  right  hand  He  sit- 
teth.  Accordingly,  when  He  saw  that  the  time 
of  this,  His  predestinated  glorification,  was 
now  come,  in  order  that  what  had  already 
been  done  in  predestination  might  also  be 
done  now  in  actual  accomplishment,  He  said 
in  His  prayer,  "And  now,  O  Father,  glorify 
Thou  me  with  Thine  own  self  with  the  glory 
which  I  had  with  Thee  before  the  world  was:  " 
as  if  He  had  said,  The  glory  which  I  had  with 
Thee,  that  is,  that  glory  which  I  had  with 
Thee  in  Thy  predestination,  it  is  time  that  I 
should  have  with  Thee  also  in  sitting  at  Thy 
right  hand.  But  as  the  discussion  of  this 
question  has  already  kept  us  long,  what  fol 
lows  must  be  taken  into  consideration  in  an 
other  discourse. 


=;  Rom.  i.  1-4:  6pi<r9«i-To«,  determined,  tit-dared,  not  "fire- 
dt-stintttt-tf"  which  is  a  mistake  of  the  Latin  version  used  by  Au- 
gustin.— TR. 


'1  K.V  i  \i  i   CVL] 


ON    Till.   COSI'KI.  OK  ST.    JOHN. 


399 


TRACTATE    CVI. 

CiiAi'ii.k    XVII.   6-8. 


1.  Ix  tliis  discourse  we  purpose  speaking, 
as  lie  gives  us  grace,  on  these  words  of  the 
Lord    which   run   thus;   "  1    have   manifested 
Thy  name  unto  the  men  whom  Thou  gavest 
me  out  of  the  world."     If  He  said  this  only 
of  those  disciples  with  whom  He  had  supped, 
and  to  whom,  before  beginning  His  prayer, 
He  had  said  so  much,  it  can  have  nothing  to 
do  with  that  clarification,  or,  as  others  have 
translated   it,  glorification,   whereof   He   was 
previously   speaking,   and   whereby   the    Son 
clarifies  or  glorifies  the   Father.     For   what 
great  glory,  or  what  like  glory,  was  it  to  be 
come  known  to  twelve,  or  rather  eleven  mor 
tal   creatures  ?     But   if,    in  saying,    "  I   have 
manifested   Thy  name   unto  the  men   whom 
Thou  gavest  me  out  of  the  world,"  He  wish- 
ed  all  to  be  understood,  even  those  who  were 
still  to  believe  on  Him,  as  belonging  to  His 
great  Church  which  was  yet  to  be  made  up  of 
all  nations,  and    of  which   it   is   said    in    the 
psalm,  "  I  will  confess  to  Thee  in  the  great 
Church  [congregation];"1  it  is  plainly   that 
glorification  wherewith  the  Son  glorifies  the 
Father,  when  He  makes  His  name  known  to 
all  nations  and   to  so  many  generations  of 
men.      And    what    He    says    here,  "  I    have 
manifested   Thy  name  unto  the   men  whom 
Thou  gavest  me  out  of  the  world,"  is  similar 
to  what  He  had  said  a  little  before,  "  I  have 
glorified  Thee  upon  the  earth  "  (ver.  4);  put 
ting  both  here  and  there   the   past   for   the 
future,  as  One  who  knew  that  it  was  predes 
tinated  to  be  done,  and  therefore  saying  that 
He  had  done  what  He  had  still  to  do,  though 
without  any  uncertainty,  in  the  future. 

2.  But  what  follows  makes  it  more  credible 
that    His   words,  "  I    have    manifested    Thy 
name  to  the  men  whom  Thou  gavest  me  out 
of  the  world,"  were  spoken  by  Him  of  those 
who  were  already  His  disciples,  and  not  of 
all  who  were  yet  to  believe   on   Him.     For 
after  these  words,  He  added:  "Thine  they 
were,  and  Thou  gavest  them   me;  and  they 
have  kept  Thy  word.     Now  they  have  known 
that  all  things,  whatsoever  Thou  hast  given  i 
me,  are  of  Thee:  for  I  have  given  unto  them 
the  words  which  Thou  gavest  me;  and  they 
have  received  them,  and   have  known  surely 
that  I  came  out  from  Thee,  and  they  have 
believed    that   Thou    didst   send    me."     Al 


though  all  these  words  also  might  have  been 
said  of  all  believers  still  to  come,  when  that 
which  was  now  a  matter  of  hope  had  been 
turned  into  fact,  inasmuch  as  they  were  words 
that  still  pointed  to  the  future;  yet  we  are 
impelled  the  more  to  understand  Him  as 
uttering  them  only  of  those  who  were  at  that 
time  His  disciples,  by  what  He  says  shortly 
afterwards:  "  While  I  was  with  them,  I  kept 
them  in  Thy  name,  those  that  Thou  gavest 
me  I  have  kept,  and  none  of  them  is  lost,  but 
the  son  of  perdition;  that  the  Scripture 
might  be  fulfilled  "  (ver.  12);  meaning  Judas, 
who  betrayed  Him,  for  He  was  the  only  one 
of  the  apostolic  twelve  that  perished.  And 
then  He  adds,  "And  now  come  I  to  Thee," 
from  which  it  is  manifest  that  it  was  of  His 
own  bodily  presence  that  He  said,  "  While  I 
was  with  them,  I  kept  them,''  as  if  already 
that  presence  were  no  longer  with  them.  For 
in  this  way  He  wished  to  intimate  His  own 
ascension  as  in  the  immediate  future,  when  He 
said,  "And  now  come  I  to  Thee:"  going, 
that  is,  to  the  Father's  right  hand;  whence 
He  is  hereafter  to  come  to  judge  the  quick 
and  the  dead  in  the  self-same  bodily  pres 
ence,  according  to  the  rule  of  faith  and  sound 
doctrine:  for  in  His  spiritual  presence  He  was 
still,  of  course,  to  be  with  them  after  His 
ascension,  and  with  the  whole  of  His  Church 
in  this  world  even  to  the  end  of  time.2  We 
cannot,  therefore,  rightly  understand  of  whom 
He  said,  "  While  I  was  with  them,  I  kept 
them,"  save  as  those  only  who  believed  on 
Him,  whom  He  had  already  begun  to  keep 
by  His  bodily  presence,  but  was  now  to  leave 
without  it,  in  order  that  He  might  keep  them 
with  the  Father  by  His  spiritual  presence. 
Thereafter,  indeed,  He  also  unites  with  them 
the  rest  of  His  disciples,  when  He  says, 
"  Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone,  but  for  those 
also  who  shall  believe  on  me  through  their 
word."  Where  He  shows  still  more  clearly 
that  He  was  not  speaking  before  of  all  who 
belonged  to  Him,  in  the  passage  where  He 
saith,  "  I  have  manifested  Thy  name  unto 
the  men  whom  Thou  gavest  me,"  but  of  those 
only  who  were  listening  to  Him  when  He  so 
spake. 

3.   From  the  very  outset,  therefore,  of  His 
prayer,  wjien    "  He    lifted    up    His    eyes   to 


400 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  CVL 


heaven,  and  said,  Father,  the  hour  is  come; 
glorify    Thy    Son,  that   Thy   Son    also   may 
glorify  Thee,"  on  to   what   He  said 
afterwards,     "And    now,    O    Father,    glorify 


In  respect,  therefore,  of  His  being  the  maker 
of  this   world    that  is   visible    in    heaven  and 


a   little    earth  around  us,  God  was  known  unto  all  na 


tions    even   before   they 
into  the  faith  of  Christ. 


were    indoctrinated 
But  in  this  respect, 


Thou  me  with  Thine  own  self  with  the  glory 

which  I  had  with  Thee  before  the  world  was," 

He  wished  all  His  disciples  to  be  understood. 

to  whom  He  makes  the  Father  known,  and  l  side  of  false  gods,  God  was  known  in  Judah 

thereby   glorifies    Him.       For   after   saying,  |  alone.     But  in  respect  of  His  being  the  Father 

*'  That   Thy   Son    may   glorify   Thee,"    He 


that  He  was  not,  without  grievous  wrong  be- 
ng  clone  to  Himself,  to  be  worshipped  along- 


straightway  showed  how  that  was  to  be  done, 
by  adding,  "As  Thou  hast  given  Him  power 


of  this  Christ,  by  whom  He  taketh  away  the 
sin  of  the  world,  this  name  of  His,  previously 
kept  secret  from  all,  He  now  made  manifest 


over  all  flesh,  that  He  should  give  eternal  life  I  to  those  whom  the  Father  Himself  had  given 
to  as  many  as   Thou   hast  given    Him:  and  |  Him  out  of  the  world.     But  how  had  He  done 


this  is  life  eternal,  that  they  might  know  Thee 
the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom 
Thou  hast  sent."  For  the  Father  cannot  be 
glorified  through  any  knowledge  attained  by 
men,  unless  He  also  be  known  by  whom  He  is 
glorified,  that  is  to  say,  by  whom  He  is  made 
known  to  the  nations  of  the  world.  The 
glorification  of  the  Father  is  not  that  which 
was  displayed  in  connection  with  the  apostles 
only,  but  that  which  is  displayed  in  all  men, 
of  whom  as  His  members  Christ  is  the  head. 
For  the  words  cannot  be  understood  as  ap 
plied  to  the  apostles  only,  "As  Thou  hast 
given  Him  power  over  all  flesh,  that  He 
should  give  eternal  life  to  as  many  as  Thou 
hast  given  Him;"  but  to  all,  assuredly,  on 
whom,  as'  believing  on  Him,  eternal  life  is 
bestowed. 

4.  Accordingly,  let  us  now  see  what  He 
says  about  those  disciples  of  His  who  were 
then  listening  to  Him.  "  I  have  manifested," 
He  says.  "Thy  name  unto  the  men  whom 
Thou  gavest  me."  Did  they  not,  than,  know 
the  name  of  God  when  they  were  Jews  ?  And 
what  of  that  which  we  read,  "  God  is  known 
in  Judah;  His  name  is  great  in  Israel"?1 
Therefore,  "I  have  manifested  Thy  name 
unto  these  men  whom  Thou  gavest  me  out  of 


the   world,"  and    who   are   now   hearing   my 


so,  if  the  hour  were  not  yet  come,  of  which 
He  had  formerly  said  that  the  hour  would 
come,  "  when  I  shall  no  more  speak  unto  you 
in  proverbs,  but  I  shall  show  you  plainly  of 
my  Father"  ?a  Can  it  be  supposed  that  the 
proverbs  themselves  contained  such  a  plain 
anouncement?  Why,  then,  is  it  said,  "  I  will 
declare  to  you  openly,"  but  just  because 
that  "  in  proverbs  "  is  not  "openly"?  But 
when  it  is  no  longer  concealed  in  proverbs, 
but  uttered  in  plain  words,  then  without  a 
doubt  it  is  spoken  openly.  How,  then,  had 
He  manifested  what  He  had  not  as  yet  openly 
declared  ?  It  must  be  understood,  therefore, 
in  this  way,  that  the  past  tense  is  put  for  the 
future,  like  those  other  words,  "All  things 
that  I  have  heard  of  my  Father,  I  have  made 
known  unto  you:"3  as  something  He  had 
not  yet  done,  but  spake  of  as  if  He  had,  be 
cause  His  doing  of  it  He  knew  to  be  infallibly 
pre-determined. 

5.  But  what  are  we  to  make  of  the  words. 
"  Whom  Thou  gavest  me  out  of  the  world  "  ? 
For  it  is  said  of  them  that  they  were  not  of 
the  world.  But  this  they  attained  to  by  re 
generation,  and  not  by  generation.  And 
what,  also,  of  that  which  follows,  "  Thine  they 


were,  and    Thou    gavest   them    me"?     Was 
there    a   time   when    they    belonged    to  the 

words:  not  that  name  of  Thine  whereby  Thou  j  Father,  and  not  to  His  only-begotten  Son; 
art  called  God,  but  that  whereby  Thou  art  |  and  had  the  Father  once  on  a  time  anything 
called  my  Father:  a  name  that  could  not  be  I  apart  from  the  Son  ?  Surely  not.  Neverthe- 
manifested  without  the  manifestation  of  the  I  less,  there  was  a  time  when  God  the  Son  had 
Son  Himself.  For  this  name  of  God,  by  ,  something,  which  that  same  Son  as  man  pos- 
which  He  is  called,  could  not  but  be  known  sessed  not;  for  He  had  not  yet  become  man 
in  some  way  to  the  whole  creation,  and  so  to  j  of  an  earthly  mother,  when  He  possessed  all 
every  nation,  before  they  believed  in  Christ,  things  in  common  with  the  Father.  Where- 
For  such  is  the  energy  of  true  Godhead,  that  ]  fore  in  saying,  "Thine  they  were,"  there  is 
it  cannot  be  altogether  and  utterly  hidden  thereby  no  self-disruption  made  by  God  the 
from  any  rational  creature,  so  long  as  it  makes  Son,  apart  from  whom  there  was  nothing  ever 
use  of  its  reason.  For,  with  the  exception  of  possessed  by  the  Father;  but  it  is  His  custom 
a  few  in  whom  nature  has  become  outrage-  to  attribute  all  the  power  He  possesses  to 
ously  depraved,  the  whole  race  of  man  ac-  Him,  of  whom  He  Himself  is,  who  has  the 
knowledges  God  as  the  maker  of  this  world,  power.  For  of  whom  He  has  it  that  He  is,  of 


Chap.  xvL  25. 


3  Chap.  xv.  15. 


TRACTAII    CVI.] 


ON  TIII-:  GOSPEL  <>F  ST.  JOHN. 


401 


Hun  Hi-  has  it  that  He  is  al.lc;  and  both  to 
gether  He  always  had,  for  lie  never  had  being 
without  having  ability.  Accordingly,  what 
ei'er  the  Father  could  [do],  always  side  by 
side  with  Him  could  the  Son;  since  He,  who 
Qevef  had  being  without  having  ability,  was 
never  without  the  Father,  as  the  Father  never 
was  without  Him.  And  thus,  as  the  Father 
is  eternally  omnipotent,  so  is  the  Son  co-eter- 
nally  omnipotent;  and  if  all-powerful,  cer 
tainly  all-possessing.1  For  such  rather,  if 
we  would  speak  exactly,  is  the  word  by  which 
we  translate  what  is  called  by  the  Greeks 
iravToxfuiTtufi;  which  our  writers  would  not 
interpret  by  the  term  omnipotent,  seeing 
that  xavritzftdrMp  is  all-possessing,  were  it  not 
that  they  felt  it  to  be  equivalent  in  meaning. 
What,  then,  could  the  eternal  all-possessing 
ever  have,  that  the  co-eternal  all-possessing 
had  not  likewise?  In  saying,  therefore, 
"And  Thou  gavest  them  me,"  He  intimated 
that  it  was  as  man  He  had  received  this 
power  to  have  them;  seeing  that  He,  who 
was  always  omnipotent,  was  not  always  man. 
Accordingly,  while  He  seems  rather  to  have 
attributed  it  to  the  Father,  that  He  received 
them  from  Him,  since  all  that  is,  is  of  Him, 
of  whom  He  is;  yet  He  also  gave  them  to 
Himself,  that  is,  Christ,  God  with  the  Father, 
gave  men  to  the  manhood  of  Christ,  which 
had  not  its  being  with  the  Father.  Finally, 
He  who  says  in  this  place,  "  Thine  they  were, 
and  Thou  gavest  them  me/'  had  already  said 
in  a  previous  passage  to  the  same  disciples, 
"I  have  chosen  you  out  of  the  world."1 
Here,  then,  let  every  carnal  thought  be 
crushed  and  annihilated.  The  Son  says  that 
the  men  were  given  Him  by  the  Father  out 
of  the  world,  to  whom  He  says  elsewhere, 
"  I  have  chosen  you  out  of  the  world." 
Those  whom  God  the  Son  chose  along  with 
the  Father  out  of  the  world,  the  very  same 
Son  as  man  received  out  of  the  world  from 
the  Father;  for  the  Father  had  not  given 
them  to  the  Son  .had  He  not  chosen  them. 
And  in  this  way,  as  the  Son  did  not  thereby 
set  the  Father  aside,  when  He  said,  "  I  have 
chosen  you  out  of  the  world,"  seeing  that 
they  were  simultaneously  chosen  by  the 
Father  also:  as  little  did  He  thereby  exclude 
Himself,  when  He  said,  "  Thine  they  were," 
for  they  were  equally  also  the  property  of 
the  Son.  Hut  now  that  same  Son  as  man  re 
ceived  those  who  belonged  not  to  Himself, 
because  He  also  as  God  received  a  servant- 
form  which  was  not  originally  His  own. 

6.   He  proceeds    to    say,  "And  they    have 
kept  Thy  word:  now  they  have  known  that 


|  all  things,  whatsoever  Thou  hast  given  me, 

'  are  of  Tnee;  "  that  is,  they  have  known  that 
I  run  of  Thee.  For  the  Father  gave  all  things 
at  the  very  time  when  He  begat  Him  who 
was  to  have  all  things.  "  For  I  have  given 
unto  them,"  He  says,  "  the  words  which  Thou 
gavest  me;  and  they  have  received  them;'* 
that  is,  they  have  understood  and  kept  hold 
of  them.  For  the  word  is  received  when  it  is 
perceived  by  the  mind.  "And  they  have 

j  known  truly,"  He  adds,  "that  I  came  out 
from  Thee,  and  they  have  believed  that  Thou 

!  didst  send  me."  In  this  last  clause  we  must 
also  supply  "truly;"  for  when  He  said, 
"  They  have  known  truly,"  He  intended  its 
explanation  by  adding,  "  and  they  have  be 
lieved."  That,  therefore,  "they  have  be 
lieved  truly  "  which  "  they  have  known  truly;  " 
just  as  "  I  came  out  from  Thee  "  is  the  same 
as  "Thou  didst  send  me."  When,  there 
fore,  He  said,  "  They  have  known  truly," 
lest  any  might  suppose  that  such  a  knowledge 
was  already  acquired  by  sight,  and  not  by 
faith,  He  subjoined  the  explanation,  "And 
they  have  believed,"  so  that  we  should  supply 
"truly, "and  understand  the  saying,  "They 
have  known  truly,"  as  equivalent  to  "  They 
have  believed  truly:"  not  in  the  way  which 
He  intimated  shortly  before,  when  He  said, 
"  Do  ye  now  believe  ?  The  hour  cometh,  and 
is  now  come,  that  ye  shall  be  scattered,  every 

I  man  to  his  own,  and  shall  leave  me  alone."3 
But  "they  have  believed  truly,"  that  is,  in 
the  way  it  ought  to  be  believed,  without  con- 

!  straint,  with  firmness,  constancy,  and  forti 
tude:  no  longer  now  to  go  to  their  own,  and 
leave  Christ  alone.  As  yet,  indeed,  the  dis 
ciples  were  not  of  the  character  He  here 

I  describes  in  words  of  the  past  tense,  as  if  they 

I  were  so  already,  but  as  thereby  declaring  be- 

i  forehand  what  sort  they  were  yet  to  be',  name 
ly,  when  they  had  received  the  Holy  Spirit, 

,  who,  according  to  the  promise,  should  teach 
them  all  things.  For  how  was  it,  before  they 
received  the  Spirit,  that  they  kept  that  word 
of  His  which  He  spake  regarding  them,  as  if 
they  had  done  so,  when  the  chief  of  them 
thrice  denied  Him,4  after  hearing  from  His 
lips  the  future  fate  of  the  man  who  denied 
Him  before  men?5  He  had  given  them, 
therefore,  as  He  said,  the  words  which  the 
Father  gave  Him;  but  when  at  length  they 
received  them  spiritually,  not  in  an  outward 
way  with  their  ears,  but  inwardly  in  their 
hearts,  then  they  truly  received  them,  for  then 
they  truly  knew  them;  and  they  .ruly  knew 
them,  because  they  truly  believed. 

7.   But  what  human  language  will  suffice  to 


•  Chap.  xv.  19. 


3  Chap.  xvi.  31,  32. 


69-74. 


5  Ma 


402 


Till:  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGVSTIN. 


[TRACIAIK   CVII. 


explain  how  the  Father  gave  those  words  to 
the  Son  ?  The  question,  of  course,  will  ap 
pear  easier  if  we  suppose  Him  to  have  receiv 
ed  such  words  in  His  capacity  as  the  Son  of 
man.  And  yet,  although  thus  born  of  the 
Virgin,  who  will  undertake  to  relate  when  and 
how  it  was  that  He  learned  them,  since  even 
that  very  generation  which  He  had  of  the 
Virgin  who  will  venture  to  declare  ?  But  if  our 
idea  be  that  He  received  these  words  of  the 
Father  in  His  capacity  as  begotten  of,  and 
co-eternal  with,  the  Father,  let  us  then  ex 
clude  all  such  thoughts  of  time  as  if  He 


existed  previous  to  His  possessing  them,  and 
so  received  the  possession  of  that   which  He 
had  not  before;  for  whatever  God  the  Father 
gave  to  God  the  Son,  He  gave  in  the  act  o,f 
|  begetting.     For  the  Father  gave  those  things 
to  the  Son  without  which  He  could  not  be  the 
I  Son,  in  the  same  manner  as  He  gave  Him 
i  being  itself.     For  how  otherwise  would   He 
,  give  any  words  to  the  Word,  wherein  in  an 
ineffable  way    He    hath    spoken    all    things? 
But   now,  in    reference  to  what  follows,  you 
I  must  defer  your  expectations  till  another  dis 
course. 


TRACTATE    CVII. 

CHAITKR  XVII.   9-13. 


1.  WHEN    the   Lord   was   speaking  to  the 
Father   of    those   whom   He  already  had  as 
disciples,    He   said    this    also    among   other 
things:     "  I   pray  for  them.     I  pray  not  for 
the  world,  but    for  those   whom  Thou   hast 
given  me."     By  the   world,  He  now  wishes 
to   be    understood    those    who    live    accord 
ing  to  the  lust  of  the  word,  and  stand   not 
in  the  gracious  lot  of  such  as  were  to  be 
chosen  by  Him  out  of  the  world.     Accord 
ingly  it  is  not   for  the  world,  but  for  those 
whom  the  Father  hath  given  Him,  that  He 
expresses  Himself  as  praying:  for  by  the  very 
fact  of  their  having  already  been  given  Him 
by  the  Father,  they  have  ceased  to  belong  to 
that  world  for  which  He  refrains  from  pray 
ing. 

2.  And    then    He   adds,    "  For    they   are 
Thine."     For  the  Father  did  not  lose  those 
whom  He  gave,  in  the  act  of  giving  them  to 
the  Son;  since  the  Son  still  goes  on  to  say, 
"And   all    mine   are    Thine,  and    Thine   are 
mine.''     Where  it  is  sufficiently  apparent  how 
it  is  that  all  that  belongs  to  the  Father  belongs 
also  to  the  Son;  in  this  way,  namely,  that  He 
Himself   is   also   God,    and,  of    the   Father 
born,  is  the  Father's  equal:  and  not  as  was 
said  to  one  of  the  two  sons,  to  wit,  the  elder, 
"  Thou  art  ever  with  me;  and  all  that  I  have 
is    thine."'     For  that  was  said  of  all  those 
creatures    which    are    inferior   to    the   holy 
rational  creature,  and  are  certainly  subordi 
nate   to    the    Church;   wherein    its    universal 
character   is   understood   as   including   those 

1  Luke  xv.  31. 


two  sons,  the  elder  and  the  younger,  along 
with  all  the  holy  angels,  whose  equals  we  shall 
be  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ  and  of  God:3 
but  here  it  was  said,  "And  all  mine  are  Thine, 
and  Thine  are  mine,"  with  this  meaning,  that 
even  the  rational  creature  is  itself  included, 
which  is  subject  only  to  God,  so  that  all  be 
neath  it  are  also  subject  to  Him.  As  it  then 
belongs  to  God  the  Father,  it  would  not  at  the 
same  time  be  the  Son's  likewise,  were  He  not 
equal  to  the  Father:  for  to  it  He  was  refer 
ring  when  He  said,  "  I  pray  not  for  the  world, 
but  for  those  whom  Thou  hast  given  me:  for 
they  are  Thine,  and  all  mine  are  Thine,  and 
Thine  are  mine."  Nor  is  it  morally  admissi 
ble  that  the  saints,  of  whom  He  so  spake, 
should  belong  to  any  save  to  Him  by  whom 
they  were  created  and  sanctified:  and  for  the 
same  reason,  everything  also  that  is  theirs 
must  of  necessity  be  His  also  to  whom  they 
themselves  belong.  Accordingly,  since  they 
belong  both  to  the  Father  and  to  the  Son, 
they  demonstrate  the  equality  of  those  to 
whom  they  equally  belong.  But  when  He 
says,  speaking  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  "All 
things  that  the  Father  hath  are  mine;  there 
fore  said  I,  that  He  shall  take  of  mine,  and 
shall  show  it  unto  you,"  3  He  referred  to  those 
things  which  concern  the  actual  deity  of  the 
Father,  and  in  which  He  is  equal  to  Him,  in 
having  all  that  He  has.  And  no  more  was 
it  of  the  creature,  which  is  subject  to  the 
Father  and  the  Son,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  was 
to  receive  that  whereof  He  said,  "  He  shall 


Luke  xx.  36. 


3  Chap. 


\n 


oN  THE  <•(  >SPEL  OI   ST.  JOHN. 


e  ot  mine;"   I. ut.   most   certainly  of  the 
I'.ithn,  troni  whom  tin-  Spirit  proceedeth,  ami 


<>!"  whom  also  tue  So 
3.    He   pr< 


i  is  bom. 

"And   I   am  glorified 


of  departure'     And   such  in  particular  is  the 
w;iy  we  :uc  wont  to  speak  of  those  who 
the  point  ot  death,      And  besides  all  else,  the 
Lord   Himself,  as   if  foreseeing  tin-   thoughts 


them."  lie  now  speaks  of  His  glorification  that  might  possibly  be  excited  in  those  who 
as  already  accomplished,  although  it  was  still  were  afterwards  to  read  these  words,  added, 
future;  while  a  little  before  He  was  demand-  "And  I  come  to  Thee:"  explaining  thereby 


ing  of  the  Father  its  accomplishment.  But 
whether  this  be  the  same  glorification,  where- 
Ol  II.-  had  said,  "And  now,  O  Father,  glorify 
Thou  me  with  Thine  own  self  with  the  glory 
which  I  had  with  Thee  before  the  world  was," 
is  certainly  a  point  worthy  of  examination. 
For  if  "with  Thee,"  how  can  it  be  "in 
them"?  Is  it  when  this  very  knowledge  is 
imparted  to  them,  and,  through  them,  to  all 
who  believe  them  as  His  witnesses  ?  In  such 
a  way  we  may  clearly  understand  Christ  as  j 


in  some  measure  why   He   said,  "I    am    no 
more  in  the  world." 

5.  Accordingly  He  commends  to  the  Fa- 
ther's  care  those  whom  He  was  about  to 
leave  by  His  bodily  absence,  saying:  "  Holy 
Father,  keep  through  Thine  own  name  those 
whom  Thou  hast  given  me."  That  is  to  say, 
as  man  He  prays  to  God  in  behalf  of  His 
disciples,  whom  He  has  received  from  God. 
But  attend  to  what  follows:  "  That  they  may 
be  one,"  He  says,  "  even  as  we."  He  does 


having  said  of  the  apostles,  that  He  was  glori-   not  say,  That  they  may  be  one  with  us,  or, 
fied  in  them;  for  in  saying  that  it  was  already  '  that  they  and  we  may  be  one,  as  we  are  one; 
accomplished,  He  showed  that  it  was  already  |  but  He  says,  "  That  they  may  be  one,  even  as 
*   foreordained,  and  only  wished  what  was  future   we:"  meaning,  of  course,  that  in  their  nature 


to  be  regarded  as  certain. 

4.  "And  now,"  He  adds,  "  I  am  no  more 
in  the  world,  and  these  are  in  the  world."  If 
your  thoughts  turn  to  the  very  hour  in  which 


they  may  be  one,  even  as  we  are  one  in  ours, 
Which  certainly  would  not  be  spoken  with 
truth,  unless  in  this  respect,  that  He,  as  God, 
is  of  the  same  nature  as  the  Father  also,  in 
accordance  with  what  He  has  said  elsewhere, 
"  I  and  the  Father  are  one;  "'  and  not  with 


He  was  speaking,  both  were  still  in  the  world; 
to  wit,  He  Himself,  and  those  of  whom  He 
was  so  speaking:  for  it  is  not  in  respect  of  j  what  He  also  is  as  man,  for  in  this  respect  He 
the  tendency  of  heart  and  life  that  we  can  or  said,  "  The  Father  is  greater  than  I."  3  But 
ought  to  understand  it,  so  that  they  should  be  since  one  and  the  same  person  is  God  and 
described  as  still  in  the  world,  on  the  ground  j  man,  we  are  to  understand  the  manhood  in 
that  they  still  savored  of  the  earthly;  and  :  respect  of  His  asking;  but  the  Godhead,  in 
that  He  was  no  longer  in  the  world,  because  as  far  as  He  Himself,  and  He  whom  He  asks, 
divine  in  the  disposition  of  His  mind.  For  j  are  one.  But  there  is  still  a  passage  in  what 
there  is  one  word  used  here,  which  makes  any  ]  follows,  where  we  must  have  a  more  careful 
such  understanding  altogether  inadmissible; !  discussion  of  this  subject, 
because  He  does  not  say,  And  I  am  not  in  I  6.  But  here  He  proceeds:  "  While  I  was 
the  world;  but,  "  I  am  no  more  in  the  world:  "  j  with  them,  I  kept  them  in  Thy  name."  Since 
thereby  showing  that  He  Himself  had  been  i  I  am  coming,  He  says,  to  Thee,  keep  them 
in  the  world,  but  was  no  more  so.  And  are  in  Thy  name,  in  which  I  myself  have  kept 
we  then  at  liberty  to  believe  that  He  at  one  [  them  while  I  was  with  them.  In  the  Father's 
time  savored  of  the  worldly,  and,  delivered  j  name,  the  Son  as  man  kept  His  disciples, 
at  length  from  such  a  mistake,  no  longer  re-  i  when  placed  side  by  side  with  them  in  human 
tained  the  old  disposition  ?  Who  would  ven- ,  presence;  but  the  Father  also,  in  the  name 
ture  to  shut  himself  up  in  so  profane  a  mean-  j  of  the  Son,  kept  those  whom  He  heard  and 
ing.  It  remains,  therefore,  that  in  the  same  \  answered  when  praying  in  the  name  of  the 
sense  in  which  He  Himself  also  was  previous- 1  Son.  For  to  them  had  it  also  been  said  by 
ly  in  the  world,  He  declared  that  He  was  no '  the  Son  Himself:  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
longer  in  the  world,  that  is  to  say,  in  His  |  you,  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  the  Father  in 
bodily  presence;  in  other  words,  showing!  any  name.  He  will  give  it  you."3  But  we 
thereby  that  His  own  absence  from  the  world  \  are  not  to  take  this  in  any  such  carnal  way, 
was  now  in  the  immediate  future,  and  theirs  as  that  the  Father  and  Son  keep  us  in  turn, 
later,  when  He  said  that  He  was  no  longer ;  with  an  alternation  in  the  guardianship  of 
here,  and  that  they  were  so,  akhough  both  both  in  guarding  us,  as  if  one  succeeded 
He  and  they  were  still  present.  For  He  thus  when  the  other  departed;  for  we  are  guarded 
spake,  as  a  man  in  harmony  with  men,  in  ac-  all  at  once  by  the  Father,  and  Son,  and  ll"!y 
cordance  with  the  prevailing  custom  of  human  Spirit,  who  is  the  one  true  and  blessed  God. 
speech.  Do  we  not  say  every  day,  he  is  no  - 
longer  here,  of  one  who  is  on  the  very  point  «chap.  *.  3o.  >chaP.  xiv.  ,3.  ichap.  xvi.  23. 


404 


THE   WORKS  01    ST.   Al(,l  STIN. 


MI.     C\    HI. 


lint  Scripture  does  not  exalt  us  save  by  de 
scending  to  us:  as  the  Word,  by  becoming 
flesh,  came  down  to  lift  us  up,  and  fell  not 
so  as  to  remain  Himself  in  the  depths.  If 
we  have  known  Him  who  thus  descendeth, 
let  us  rise  with  Him  who  lifteth  us  up;  and 
let  us  understand,  when  He  speaks  thus, 
that  He  is  marking  a  distinction  in  the  per 
sons,  without  making  any  separation  of  the 
natures.  While,  therefore,  the  Son  in  bodily 
presence  was  keeping  His  disciples,  the  Fa 
ther  was  not  waiting  the  Son's  departure  in 
order  to  succeed  to  the  guardianship,  but 
both  were  keeping  them  by  Their  spiritual 
power;  and  when  the  Son  withdrew  from  them 
His  bodily  presence,  He  retained  along  with 
the  Father  the  spiritual  guardianship.  For 
when  the  Son  also  as  man  assumed  the  office 
of  their  guardian,  He  did  not  withdraw  them 
from  the  Father's  guardianship;  and  when 
the  Father  gave  them  to  the  guardianship  of 
the  Son,  in  the  very  giving  He  acted  not 
apart  from  Him  to  whom  He  gave  them,  but 
gave  them  to  the  Son  as  man,  yet  not  apart 
from  that  same  Son  Himself  as  God. 

7.  The  Son  therefore  goes  on  to  say: 
"  Those  that  Thou  gavest  me,  I  have  kept, 
and  none  of  them  is  lost,  but  the  son  of  per 
dition;  that  the  Scripture  might  be  fulfilled." 


The  betrayer  of  Christ  was  called  the  son  of 
perdition,  as  foreordained  to  perdition,  ac 
cording  to  the  Scripture,  where  it  is  specially 
prophesied  of  him  in  the  logth'  Psalm. 

8.  "And  now,"  He  says,  "come  I  to 
Thee;  and  these  things  I  speak  in  the  world, 
that  they  may  have  my  joy  fulfilled  in  them 
selves/'  See  !  He  says  that  He  speaketh  in 
the  world,  when  He  had  said  only  a  little  be 
fore,  "I  am  no  more  in  the  world:"  the 
reason  of  which  we  have  there  explained,  or 
rather  have  shown  that  He  Himself  explained 
it.  Accordingly,  on  the  one  hand,  as  He  had 
not  yet  departed,  He  was  still  here;  and  be 
cause  He  was  on  the  very  point  of  departure, 
in  a  kind  of  way  He  was  no  more  here.  But 
what  this  joy  is  whereof  He  says,  "  That 
they  may  have  my  joy  fulfilled  in  themselves," 
has  already  been  elucidated  above,  where  He 
says,  "  That  they  may  be  one, even  as  we  are." 
This  joy  of  His  that  is  bestowed  on  them  by 
Him,  was  to  be  fulfilled,  He  says,  in  them;  * 
and  for  that  very  end  declared  that  He  had 
spoken  in  the  world.  This  is  that  peace  and 
blessedness  in  the  world  to  come,  for  the  at 
taining  of  which  we  must  live  temperately, 
and  righteously,  and  godly  in  the  present. 


Augustin  :    "  io8th"  (Vulg.). 


TRACTATE     CVIII 

CHAPTER   XVII.    14-19. 


i.  WHILE  the  Lord  is  still  speaking  to  the 
Father,  and  praying  for  His  disciples,  He 
says:  "I  have  given  them  Thy  saying;  and 
the  world  hath  hated  them."  That  hatred 
they  had  not  yet  experienced  in  those  suffer 
ings  of  their  own,  which  afterwards  overtook 
them;  but  He  speaks  thus  in  His  usual  way, 
foretelling  the  future  in  words  of  the  past 
tense.  And  then,  subjoining  the  reason  of 
their  being  hated  by  the  world,  He  says, 
"  Because  they  are  not  of  the  world,  even  as 
I  am  not  of  the  world."  This  was  conferred 
on  them  by  regeneration;  for  by  generation 
they  were  of  the  world,  as  He  had  already 
said  to  them,  "  I  have  chosen  you  out  of  the 
world. " '  It  was  therefore  a  gracious  privilege 
bestowed  upon  them,  that  they,  like  Himself, 
should  not  be  of  the  world,  through  the  de 
liverance  which  He  was  giving  them  from  the 
world.  He-,  however,  was  never  of  the  world; 
for  even  in  respect  of  His  servant-form  He 
w.-is  born  of  that  Holy  Spirit  of  whom  they 


'  Chap.   xv.  ,  ,. 


were  born  again.  For  if  on  that  account  they 
were  no  more  of  the  world,  because  born 
again  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  on  the  same  account 
He  was  never  of  the  world,  because  born  of 
the  Holy  Spirit. 

2.  "I  pray  not,"  He  adds,  "that  thou 
shouldest  take  them  out  of  the  world,  but  that 
Thou  shouldest  keep  them  from  the  evil." 
For  they  still  accounted  it  necessary  to  be  in 
the  world,  although  they  were  no  longer  of  it. 
Then  He  repeats  the  same  statement:  "  They 
are  not  of  the  world,  even  as  I  am  not  of  the 
world.  Sanctify  them  in  the  truth."  For  so 
are  they  kept  from  the  evil,  as  He  had  pre 
viously  prayed  that  they  might  be.  But  it 
may  be  inquired  how  they  were  no  more  of 
the  world,  if  they  were  not  yet  sanctified  in 
the  truth;  or,  if  they  already  were,  why  He 
requests  that  they  should  be  so.  Is  it  not 
because  even  those  who  are  sanctified  still 
continue  to  make  progress  in  the  same  sancti- 
fication,  and  grow  in  holiness;  and  do  not  so 
without  the  aid  of  (iod's  grace,  but  by  His 
sanctifying  of  their  progress,  even  as  He 


Tu.vri  VH     <  \  ill    ] 


ON    i' UK  GOSPEL  OF  ST,  JOHN. 


405 


sanctilk-d  their  outset  ?  And  hence  the  apos 
tle  likewise  says:  "He  who  hath  bc-un  a 
yood  work  in  you,  will  perform  it  until  the 
day  Of  JeStlt  Christ."  '  The  heirs  therefore 
of  the  New  Testament  are  sanctified  in  that 
truth  which  was  adumbrated  in  the  purifica 
tions  of  the  Old  Testament;  and  when  they 
are  sanctified  in  the  truth,  they  are  in  other 
words  sanctified  in  Christ,  who  said  in  truth, 
"  I  am  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and  the  life."2 
As  also  when  He  said,  "  The  truth  shall  make 
you  free,''  in  explanation  of  His  words,  He 
added  soon  after,  "  If  the  Son  shall  make 
you  free,  ye  shall  be  free  indeed; "  3  in  order 
to  show  that  what  He  had  previously  called 
the  truth,  He  a  minute  afterwards  denomi 
nates  the  Son.  And  what  else  did  He  mean 
by  the  words  before  us,  "  Sanctify  them  in  the 
truth,''  but.  Sanctify  them  in  me  ? 

3.  Finally,  He  proceeds,  and  doing  so  fails 
not  to  suggest  the  same  with  increasing  clear 
ness:  "  Thy  speech  (sermo)  is  truth."  What 
else  did  He  mean  than  "  I  am  the  truth  "  ? 
For  the  Greek  Gospel  has  Mfos,  which  is  also 
the  word  that  is  found  in  the  passage  where 
it  is  said,  "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word, 
and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word 
was  God."  And  that  Word  at  least  we  know 
to  be  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God,  which 
"was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us."4 
Hence  also  there  might  have  been  put  here, 
as  it  actually  has  been  put  in  certain  copies, 
"  Thy  Word  is  truth;"  just  as  in  some  copies 
that  other  passage  is  written,  "  In  the  be 
ginning  was  the  speech."  But  in  the  Greek 
without  any  variation  it  is  /H^V  in  both  cases. 
The  Father  therefore  sanctifies  in  the  truth, 
that  is,  in  His  own  Word,  in  His  Only  be 
gotten,  His  own  heirs  and  His  (the  Son's) 
co-heirs. 

4.  But  now  He  still  goes  on  to  speak  of 
the  apostles,  for  He  proceeds  to  add,  "  As 
Thou  hast  sent  me  into  the  world,  even  so 
have  I  also  sent  them  into  the  world."  Whom 
did  He  so  send  but  His  apostles  ?  For  even 
the  very  name  of  apostles,  which  is  a  Greek 
word,  signifies  in  Latin  nothing  more  than, 
those  that  are  sent.  God,  therefore,  sent  His 
Son,  not  in  sinful  tlesh,  but  in  the  likeness  of 
sinful  flesh;5  and  His  Son  sent  those  who, 
born  themselves  in  sinful  flesh,  were  sanctified 
by  Him  from  the  defilement  of  sin. 

5.  But  since,  on  the  ground  that  the  Medi 
ator  between  God  and  men,  the  man  Christ 
JeMis.  has  become  Head  of  the  Church,  they 
are  His  members;  therefore  He  says  in  the 
words  that  follow,  "  And  for  their  sakes  I 


'  I'hil.   i.  6. 
i  Chap.  i.  i,  14. 


2  Chap. 

5  Rom.  viii.  j. 


3  Chap.  viii.  33-36. 


sanctify  myself."  For  what  means  He  by 
the  words,  "  And  for  their  sakes  I  sanctify 
myself,"  but  I  sanctify  them  in  myself,  since 
they  also  are  [part  of]  myself?6  For  those 
of  whom  He  so  speaks  are,  as  I  have  said, 
His  members;  and  the  head  and  body  are  one 
,  Christ,  as  the  apostle  teaches  when  he  says 
of  the  seed  of  Abraham,  "And  if  ye  be 
I  Christ's,  then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed,"  after 
|  having  said  before,  "  He  saith  not,  And  to 
seeds,  as  in  many,  but  as  in  one,  And  to  thy 
seed,  which  is  Christ."7  If,  then,  the  seed 
of  Abraham  is  Christ,  what  else  is  declared 
to  those  to  whom  he  says,  "  Then  are  ye 
Abraham's  seed,"  but  then  are  ye  Christ? 
Of  the  same  character  is  what  this  very  apos 
tle  said  in  another  place:  "Now  I  rejoice  in 
my  sufferings  for  you,  and  fill  up  that  which 
is  lacking  of  the  afflictions  of  Christ  in  my 
flesh."8  He  said  not,  of  my  afflictions,  but 
' '  of  Christ's ; ' '  for  he  was  a  member  of  Christ, 
and  in  his  persecutions,  such  as  it  behoved 
Christ  to  suffer  in  the  whole  of  His  body,  he 
also  was  filling  up  his  own  share  of  His  afflic 
tions.  And  to  be  assured  of  the  certainty  of 
this  in  the  present  passage,  give  heed  to  what 
follows.  For  after  saying,  "And  for  their 
sakes  I  sanctify  myself,"  to  let  us  understand 
that  He  thereby  meant  that  He  would  sanc 
tify  them  in  Himself,  He  immediately  added, 
"  That  they  also  may  be  sanctified  in  the 
trutn."  And  what  else  is  this  but  in  me,  in 
accordance  with  the  fact  that  the  truth  is  that 
Word  in  the  beginning  which  is  God  ?  In 
whom  also  the  Son  of  man  was  Himself  sanc 
tified  from  the  beginning  of  His  creation, 
when  the  Word  was  made  flesh,  for  the  Word 
and  the  man  became  one  person.  Then  ac 
cordingly  He  sanctified  Himself  in  Himself, 
that  is,  Himself  the  man  in  Himself  the  Word; 
for  the  Word  and  the  man  is  one  Christ,  who 
sanctifies  the  manhood  in  die  Word.  But  in 
behalf  of  His  members  He  says,  "And  for 
their  sakes  I," — that  is,  that  the  benefit  may 
be  also  theirs,  for  they  too  are  [included  in 
the]  I,  just  as  it  benefited  me  in  myself,  be 
cause  I  am  man  apart  from  them — "  I  sanc 
tify  myself,"  that  is,  I  sanctify  them  as  if  it 
were  my  own  self  in  me,  since  in  me  they 
also  are  I.  "That  they  also  may  be  sancti 
fied  in  the  truth."  For  what  else  mean  the 
words  "they  also,"  but  ["they"]  in  the 
same  ivav  as  I;  "in  the  truth,"  and  that 
"truth"  am  I?  After  this  He  now  begins 
to  speak  not  only  of  the  apostles,  but  also  of 
the  rest  of  His  members,  which  we  shall  treat 
of,  as  grace  may  be  granted  us,  in  another 
discourse. 

Cum  et  if-ti tint  ego.  7  Gal.  iii.  29,  16.  8  Col.  i.34- 


'I  UK  WOKKS  OK  ST.  A.UGUSTIN. 


[TKACTATK  CIX. 


TRACTATE    CIX. 

CHAPTER   XVII.   20. 


i  THE  Lord  Jesus,  in  the  now  close  proxi-  through  tUeir  word,  hut  had  done  so  at  some 
mity  of  His  passion,  after  praying  for  His  previous  time  either  of  themselves,  or  in 
disciples,  whom  He  also  named  apostles,  some  other  supposable  manner.  For  was 
with  whom  He  had  partaken  of  that  last  Nathanael  with  Him  at  that  time?2  Was 
supper  from  which  His  betrayer  had  taken  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  who  begged  His  body 
his  departure  on  being  revealed  by  the  sop  of  from  Pilate,  and  of  whom  this  same  evangelist 
bread,  and  with  whom,  after  the  latter's  de-  John  testifies  that  he  was  already  His  disci- 
parture,  and  before  beginning  His  prayer  in  (  pie  ?3  Were  His  mother,  Mary,  and  other 
their  behalf,  He  had  already  spoken  at  length,  women  who,  we  know  from  the  Gospel,  had 
conjoined  all  others  also  who  were  yet  to  been  prior  to  that  time  His  disciples  ?  Were 
believe  on  Him,  and  said  to  the  Father,  those  with  Him  then,  of  whom  this  evan- 
"  Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone,"  that  is,  for  gelist  John  frequently  says,  "  Many  believed 
the  disciples  who  were  with  Him  at  the  time,  on  Him  "  ?4  For  whence  came  the  multitude 
"but  for  them  also,"  He  adds,  "who  shall  I  of  those  who,  with  branches  of  trees,  partly 
believe  on  me  through  their  word."  Where- j  preceded  and  partly  followed  Him  as  He  sat 
by  He  wished  all  His  own  to  be  understood:  on  the  ass,  saying,  "  Blessed  is  He  that 
not  only  such  as  were  then  in  the  flesh,  but  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord;"  and  along 
those  also  who  were  yet  to  come.  For  all  with  them  the  children  of  whom  He  Himself 
that  have  since  believed  on  Him  have  doubt-  [declared  that  the  prophecy  had  been  uttered, 
less  believed,  and  shall  yet  believe  till  He  "  Out  of  the  mouth  of  babes  and  of  sucklings 
come,  through  the  word  of  the  apostles;  for  Thou  hast  perfected  praise"?5  Whence  the 
to  themselves  He  had  said,  "  And  ye  also  i  five  hundred  brethren,  to  all  of  whom  at  once 
shall  bear  witness,  because  ye  have  been  with  j  He  would  not  have  appeared  after  His  re- 
me  from  the  beginning;  "  '  and  by  them  was  ,  surrection6  had  they  not  previously  believed 
the  gospel  ministered  even  before  it  was ,  on  Him?  Whence  that  hundred  and  nine 
written,  and  every  one  assuredly  who  believ-  who,  with  the  eleven,  were  a  hundred  and 
eth  on  Christ  believeth  the  gospel.  Accord-  twenty,  when,  being  assembled  together  after 


ingly,  those  who  He  says  should  believe  on 
Him  through  their  word,  are  not  to  be  under 
stood  as  referring  only  to  such  as  heard  the 
apostles  themselves  while  they  lived  in  the 
flesh;  but  others  also  after  their  decease,  and 
we,  too,  born  long  afterwards,  have  believed 
on  Christ  through  their  word.  For  they  that 
were  then  with  Him  preached  to  the  others 
what  they  had  heard  from  Him;  and  so  their 
word,  that  we  too  might  believe,  has  found 
its  way  to  us,  and  wherever  His  Church 
exists,  and  shall  yet  reach  down  to  posterity, 
whoever  and  wherever  they  be  who  shall  here 
after  believe  on  Him. 

2.  In  this  prayer,  therefore,  Jesus  may 
seem  to  have  omitted  praying  for  some  of 
His  own,  unless  we  carefully  examine  His 
words  in  the  prayer  itself.  For  if  He  prayed 
first  for  those,  as  we  have  already  shown,  who 
were  then  with  Him,  and  afterwards  for  those 
also  who  should  'believe  on  Him  through 
their  word,  it  may  be  said  that  He  prayed 
not  for  those  who  were  neither  with  Him 
when  He  so  spake,  nor  afterwards  believed 


'  Chap. 


His  ascension,  they  waited  and  received  the 
promise  of  the  Holy  Spirit?7  Whence  came 
all  these,  save  from  those  -of  whom  it  was 
said,  "  Many  believed  on  Him  "  ?  For  them, 
therefore,  the  Saviour  did  not  at  this  time 
pray,  seeing  it  was  for  those  He  prayed  who 
were  then  with  Him,  and  for  others  not  who 
had  already,  but  who  were  yet  to  believe  on 
Him  through  their  word.  But  these  were 
certainly  not  with  Him  on  that  occasion,  and 
had  already  believed  on  Him  at  some  pre 
vious  period.  I  say  nothing  of  the  aged 
Simeon,  who  believed  on  Him  when  an  infant; 
of  Anna  the  prophetess;8  of  Zacharinh  and 
Elisabeth,  who  prophesied  of  Him  before  He 
was  born  of  the  Virgin;9  of  their  son  John, 
His  forerunner,  the  friend  of  the  Bridegroom, 
who  both  recognized  Him  in  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  preached  Him  in  His  absence,  and 
pointed  Him  out  when  He  was  present  to  the 


3  The  intiTroKMtivi-  particle-,  nuiittfuid.  beginnim:  llii--  anil  the 

following  sentences,  implies  a  Mfatirt  answer.     If  Nattuuutel  be 

identified  with  llarttmloim-w,  the  answer   would  be  affirmative.— 
TK. 

3  Chap.  xix.  38.  *  Chap.  ii.  23,  iv.  ;  I,  vii      i.  viii.  30,  x.  42. 

5  Matt.  xxi.  q  ;   Ps.  viii.  2.  6  i  Cor.  \v    < 

7  Acts  i.  15,  and  ii.  4.  8  Luke  ii.  25-38. 

9  Luke  i.  41-45,  67-79. 


i    <   1X.J 


i  Hi;  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


407 


recognition  of  others;'  !  say  nothing  of  these, 
as  it  might  be  replied  that  He  ought  not  to 
have  prayed  for  such  when  dead,  who  had 
gone  hence  with  their  great  merits,  and  hav 
ing  met  with  a  welcome  reception  were-  now  at 
rest;  for  a  similar  answer  is  also  given  in  con 
nection  with  the  righteous  of  olden  time. 
For  which  of  them  could  have  been  saved 
from  the  damnation  awaiting  the  whole  mass 
of  perdition,  which  has  been  caused  by  one 
man,  had  he  not  believed,  through  the  revela 
tion  of  the  Spirit,  in  the  one  Mediator  between 
God  and  men  as  yet  to  come  in  the  flesh  ? 
But  behoved  He  to  pray  for  the  apostles, 
and  not  to  pray  for  so  many  who  were  still 
alive,  but  were  not  then  with  Him,  and  had 
already  at  some  previous  period  been  brought 
to  the  faith  ?  Who  is  there  that  would  say 
so? 

3.  We  are  therefore  to  understand  that 
their  faith  in  Him  was  not  yet  such  as  He 
wished  it  to  be,  inasmuch  as  even  Peter  him 
self,  to  whom,  on  making  the  confession, 
"Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God,"  He  had  borne  so  excellent  a  testimony, 
was  disposed  rather  to  hinder  Him  from  dy 
ing  than  to  believe  in  His  resurrection  when 
dead,  and  hence  was  called  immediately  there 
after  by  the  same  of  Satan.2  Those,  accord 
ingly,  are  found  to  be  the  greater  in  faith 
who  were  long  since  deceased,  and  yet, 
through  the  revelation  of  the  Spirit,  had  no 
manner  of  doubt  that  Christ  would  rise  again, 
than  those  who,  after  attaining  to  the  belief 
that  He  should  redeem  Israel,  at  the  sight  of 
His  death  lost  all  the  hope  they  previously- 
possessed  regarding  Him.  The  best  thing 
for  us,  therefore,  to  believe  is,  that  after  His 
resurrection,  when  the  Holy  Spirit  was  be 
stowed,  and  the  apostles  taught  and  confirmed, 
and  from  its  outset  constituted  teachers  in 
the  Church,  others,  through  their  word,  at 
tained  the  proper  faith  in  Christ,  or,  in  other 
words,  that  they  then  got  firm  hold  of  the 
faith  of  His  resurrection.  And  in  this  way 
also,  that  all  those  who  seemed  to  have  already 
believed  on  Him  really  belonged  to  the 
number  of  those  for  whom  He  prayed,  when 
He  said,  "  Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone, 
but  for  them  also  who  shall  believe  on  me 
through  their  word." 

4.  But  we  have  still  in  reserve  for  the 
further  solution  of  this  question  the  blessed 
apostle,  and  that  robber  who  was  a  villain  in 
wickedness,  but  a  believer  on  the  cross.  For 
the  Apostle  Paul  tells  us  that  he  was  made 
an  apostle  not  of  men,  nor  by  man,  but  by 
Jesus  Christ:  and  speaking  of  his  own  gospel, 


.  •  I  or  I  neither  received  it  of  man, 
neither  did  I  learn  it,  but  by  the  revelation 
of  Jesus  Christ."  '  How  then  was  lie  among 
those  of  whom  it  is  said,  "  They  shall  believe- 
on  inr  through  their  word  "?  On  Ihe  other 
hand,  the  robber  believed  at  Ihe  very  time 
when  in  the  case  of  the  teachers  themselves 
such  faith  as  they  previously  possessed  had 
utterly  failed.  Not  even  he,  therefore,  be 
lieved  on  Christ  through  their  word,  and  yet 
his  faith  was  such  that  he  confessed  that  He 
whom  he  saw  nailed  to  the  cross  would  not 
only  rise  again,  but  would  also  reign,  when 
he  said,  "  Remember  me  when  Thou  comest 
into  Thy  kingdom."4 

5.  Accordingly  it  remains  that  if  we  are  to 
believe  that  the  Lord  Jesus,  in  this  prayer, 
prayed  for  all  of  His  own  who  either  then 
were  or  should  thereafter  be  in  this  life,  which 
is  a  state  of  trial  upon  earth,5  we  must  so  un 
derstand  the  expression,  "  through  their 
word,"  as  to  believe  that  it  here  signified 
the  word  of  faith  itself  which  they  preached 
in  the  world,  and  that  it  was  called  their  word 
because  it  was  primarily  and  principally 
preached  by  them.  For  it  was  already  in  the 
course  of  being  preached  by  them  in  the 
earth  when  Paul  received  that  same  word  of 
theirs  by  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Whence  also  it  came  about  that  he  compared 
the  Gospel  with  them,  lest  by  any  means  he 
had  run,  or  should  run,  in  vain;  and  they 
gave  him  their  right  hand  because  in  him 
also  they  found,  although  not  given  him  by 
them,  their  own  word  which  they  were  already 
preaching,  and  in  which  they  were  now  es 
tablished.6  And  in  regard  to  this  word  of  the 
resurrection  of  Christ,  it  is  said  by  the  same 
apostle,  "Whether  it  were  I,  or  they,  so  we 
preach,  and  so  ye  believed;"7  and  again, 
*'  This  is  the  word  of  faith/'  he  says,  "  which 
we  preach,  that  if  thou  shall  confess  with  thy 
mouth  thai  Jesus  is  Ihe  Lord,  and  shall  be 
lieve  in  Ihine  heart  that  God  hath  raised  Him 
from  Ihe  dead,  thou  shall  be  saved."8  And 
in  Ihe  Acls  of  Ihe  Aposlles  we  read  lhal  in 
Christ,  God  hath  marked  out  [the  ground  of] 
faith  unto  all  men,  in  that  He  hath  raised 
Him  from  the  dead.9  Accordingly,  this  word 
of  faith,  because  principally  and  primarily 
preached  by  Ihe  aposlles  who  adhered  to 
Him,  was  called  iheir  word.  Nol,  however, 
on  that  account  does  it  cease  to  be  the  word 
of  God  because  it  is  called  their  word;  for 


Chap,  i .  i 


Malt.  xvi.  16,  23. 


3  Gal.  i.  i,  12.  4  I. nkr  xxtii.  43. 

5  Job  vii.   i:    Tentatio  safer  terratn.  VN":'    Ml' 

lish  vrrvion.  "  An  appointed  time   (mart:.,  warfare)  u|>on  earth." 
;.uls  ••w..rf.ire"  into  the  text,  and   "time  of  service" 


tin- 

;-  K.iin.  x.  8,  9. 


XV.    II. 

9  Acts  xvii.  31. 


408 


TIIK   WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSI1N. 


[TRACT ATK  CX. 


Then   it  was 
ordination    of 


the  same  apostle  says  that  the  Thessalonians 

received   it   from   him  "  not  as  the  word  of 

men,  but,  as  it  is  in  truth,  the  word  of  God.'*  ' 

"Of  God,"  for  the  very  reason  that  it  was 

freely  given  by  God;  but  called  '*  their  word," 

because  primarily  and  principally  committed 

to  them  by  God  to  be  preached.     In  the  same 

way  also  the  thief  mentioned  above  had  in  the 

matter  of  his  own  faith  their  word,  which  was 

called  theirs  precisely  because  the  preaching 

of  it  primarily  and   principally  pertained  to  j  whether  then  alive  or  thereafter  to  live  in  the 

the  office  they  filled.     And  once  more,  when  i  flesh,  were  prayed  for  by  our  Redeemer  when, 

murmuring  arose  among  the  Grecian  widows  in  I  praying  for  the  apostles  who  were  then  with 

reference  to  the  serving  of  the  tables,  previous    Him,  He  also  conjoined  those  who  were  yet 

to  the  time  when  Paul  was  brought  to  the  faith   to  believe  on  Him  through  their  word.     But 

of  Christ,  the  reply  given  by  the  apostles,  who  what,  after  such  conjunction,   He  then  pro- 

before  then  had   adhered   to  the  Lord,  was:   ceeds  to  say,  must  be  reserved  for  discussion 

"  It  is  not  good  that  we  should  leave  the  word   in  another  discourse. 


of  God,  and  serve  tables."2 
that  they  provided  for  the 
deacons,  that  they  themselves  might  not  be 
drawn  aside  from  the  duty  of  preaching  the 
word.  Hence  that  was  properly  enough 
called  their  word  which  is  the  word  of  faith, 
whereby  all,  from  whatever  quarter  they  had 
heard  it,  believed  on  Christ,  or,  as  yet  to 
hear  it,  should  thereafter  believe.  In  this 
prayer,  therefore,  all  whom  He  redeemed, 


Thess.  ii.  13. 


TRACTATE    CX. 

CHAPTER  XVII.  21-23. 


i.  AFTER  the  Lord  Jesus  had  prayed  for  His 
disciples  whom  He  had  with  Him  at  the  time, 
and  had  conjoined  with  them  others  who  were 
also  His  own,  by  saying,  "  Neither  pray  I  for 
these  alone,  but  for  them  also  who  shall  believe 
on  me  through  their  word,"  as  if  we  were 
inquiring  what  or  wherefore  He  prayed  for 
them,  He  straightway  subjoined,  "  That  they 
all  may  be  one;  as  Thou,  Father,  [art]  in 
me,  and  I  in  Thee,  that  they  also  may  be 
one  in  us."  And  a  little  above,  while  still 
praying  for  the  disciples  alone  who  were  then 
with  Him,  He  said,  "  Holy  Father,  keep  in 
Thine  own  name  those  whom  Thou  hast  given 
me,  that  they  may  be  one,  as  we  are''  (ver. 
n).  It  is  the  same  thing,  therefore,  that  He 
now  also  prayed  for  in  our  behalf,  as  He  did 
at  that  time  in  theirs,  namely,  that  all — to  wit, 
both  we  and  they — may  be  one.  And  here 
we  must  take  particular  notice  that  the  Lord 
did  not  say  that  we  all  may  be  one,  but,  "that 
they  all  may  be  one;  as  Thou  Father,  in  me, 
and  I  in  Thee"  (where  is  to  be  understood 
are  one,  as  is  more  clearly  expressed  after 
wards)  ;  because  He  had  also  said  before  of 
the  disciples  who  were  with  Him,  "  That  they 
may  be  one,  as  we  are."  The  Father,  there 
fore,  is  in  the  Son,  and  the  Son  in  the  Father, 
in  such  a  way  as  to  be  one,  because  they  are 
of  one  substance  ;  but  while  we  may  indeed 
be  in  them,  we  cannot  be  one  with  them  ;  for 


they  and  we  are  not  of  one  substance,  in  as 
far  as  the  Son  is  God  along  with  the  Father. 
But  in  as  far  as  He  is  man,  He  is  of  the  same 
substance  as  we  are.  But  at  present  He 
wished  rather  to  call  attention  to  that  other 
statement  which  He  made  use  of  in  another 
place,  "  I  and  the  Father  are  one,''1  where 
He  intimated  that  His  own  nature  was  the 
same  with  that  of  the  Father.  And  accord 
ingly,  though  the  Father  and  Son,  or  even 
the  Holy  Spirit,  are  in  us,  we  must  not  sup 
pose  that  they  are  of  one  nature  with  our 
selves.  And  hence  they  are  in  us,  or  we  are 
in  them,  in  this  sense,  that  they  are  one  in 
their  own  nature,  and  we  are  one  in  ours. 
For  they  are  in  us,  as  God  in  His  temple  ; 
but  we  are  in  -them,  as  the  creature  in  its 
Creator. 

2.  But  then  after  saying,  "  That  they  also 
may  be  one  in  us,"  He  added,  "That  the 
world  may  believe  that  Thou  hast  sent  me." 
What  does  He  mean  by  this  ?  Is  it  that  the 
world  will  then  be  brought  to  the  faith,  when 
we  shall  all  be  one  in  the  Father  and  Son? 
Is  not  such  a  state  the  everlasting  peace, 
and  the"  reward  of  faith,  rather  than  faith  it 
self?  For  we  shall  be  one  not  in  order  to  our 
believing,  but  because  we  have  believed.  But 
although  in  this  life,  because  of  the  common 

'  Chap.  x.  30. 


TKA.  i 


ON    l  III.  GOSPEL  <>i    ST.   JOHN, 


409 


faith  itself,  all  who  believe  in  OIK-  arc  one, 
according  to  the  words  of  the  apostle,  "  For 
ye  are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus  ;"'  even  thus 
we  arc  one,  not  in  order  to  our  believing, 
but  because  we  do  believe.  What,  then,  is 
meant  by  the  words,  "That  they  all  may  be 
one,  that  the  world  may  believe"?  This, 
doubtless,  that  the  "all"  are  themselves  the 
believing  world.  For  those  who  shall  be  one 
are  not  of  one  class,  and  the  world  that  is 
thereafter  to  believe  on  this  very  ground  that 
these  shall  be  one,  of  another  ;  since  it  is  per 
fectly  certain  that  He  says,  "  That  they  all 
may  be  one,"  of  those  of  whom  He  had  said 
before,  "  Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone,  but 
for  those  also  who  shall  believe  on  me  through 
their  word,"  immediately  adding  as  He  does, 
"  That  they  all  may  be  one."  And  this  "  all," 
what  is  it  but  the  world  ;  not  certainly  that 
which  is  hostile,  but  that  which  is  believing? 
For  you  see  here  that  He  who  had  said,  "  I 
pray  not  for  the  world,"  now  prayeth  for  the 
world  that  it  may  believe.  For  there  is  a 
world  whereof  it  is  written,  "  That  we  might 
not  be  condemned  with  this  world."1  For 
that  world  He  prayeth  not,  for  He  is  fully 
aware  to  what  it  is  predestinated.  And  there 
is  a  world  whereof  it  is  written,  "  For  the  Son 
of  man  came  not  to  condemn  the  world,  but 
that  the  world  through  Him  might  be  saved  ;"' 
and  hence  the  apostle  also  says,  "  God  was 
in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto  Him 
self."4  For  this  world  it  is  that  He  prayeth, 
in  saying,  "  That  the  world  may  believe  that 
Thou  hast  sent  me."  For  through  this  faith 
the  world  is  reconciled  unto  God  when  it 
believes  in  the  Christ  whom  God  has  sent. 
How,  then,  are  we  to  understand  Him  when 
He  says,  "  That  they  also  may  be  one  in  us, 
that  the  world  may  believe  that  Thou  hast 
sent  me,"  but  just  in  this  way,  that  He  did 
not  assign  the  cause  of  the  world  believing 
to  the  fact  that  those  others  are  one,  as  if  it 
believed  on  the  ground  that  it  saw  them  to 
be  one;  for  the  world  itself  here  consisteth 
of  all  who  by  their  own  believing  become  one; 
but  in  His  prayer  He  said,  "That  the  world 
may  believe,"  just  as  in  His  prayer  He  also 
said,  "That  they  all  may  be  one;"  and  still 
further  in  the  same  prayer,  "  That  they  also 
may  be  one  in  us."  For  the  words,  "they 
all  may  be  one, "are  equivalent  to  "the  world 
may  believe,*'  since  it  is  by  believing  that 
they  become  one,  perfectly  one;  that  is,  those 
who,  although  one  by  nature,  had  ceased  to 
be  so  by  their  mutual  dissensions.  In  fine, 
if  the  verb  which  He  uses,  "  I  pray,''  be  un 
derstood  in  the  third  clause,  or  rather,  to 


make  the  whole  fuller,  be  everywhere  supplied, 
,'lanation  of  this  sentence  will  be  all 
the  clearer:  I  pray  "  tint  they  all  may  be 
one  ;  as  Thou,  Father,  in  me,  and  1  in  Thee  ;" 
1  pray  "  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us  ;"  I 
pray  "  that  the  world  may  believe  that  Thou 
hast  sent  me."  And,  mark,  He  added  the 
words  "  in  us  "  in  order  that  we  may  know  that 
j  our  being  made  one  in  that  love  of  unchang 
ing  faithfulness  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  grace 
of  God,  and  not  to  ourselves  :  just  as  the 
apostle,  after  saying,  "  For  ye  were  at  one 
time  darkness,  but  now  are  ye  light,"  that 
none  might  attribute  the  doing  of  this  to  them 
selves,  added,  "in  the  Lord."5 

3.  Furthermore,  our  Saviour  in  thus  pray 
ing  to  the  Father  showed  Himself  to  be  man; 
while  He  now  also  shows  that  He  Himself, 
as  being  God  along  with  the  Father,  doeth 
that  which  He  prayeth  for,  when  He  says, 
"And  the  glory  which  Thou  gavest  me,  I 
have  given  them.'1  And  what  was  that  glory 
i  but  immortality,  which  human  nature  was 
henceforth  to  receive  in  Him  ?  For  not  even 
He  Himself  had  as  yet  received  it,  but  in 
His  own  customary  way,  on  account  of  the 
absolute  fixedness  of  predestination.  He  in 
timates  what  is  future  in  verbs  of  the  past 
tense,  because  being  now  on  the  point  of  being 
glorified,  or  in  other  words,  raised  up  again 
by  the  Father,  He  Himself  is  going  to  raise 
us  up  to  the  same  glory  in  the  end.  What 
we  have  here  is  similar  to  what  He  says  else 
where,  "  As  the  Father  raiseth  up  the  dead, 
and  quickeneth  them,  even  so  the  Son  quick- 
eneth  whom  He  will."  And  "whom,"  but  just 
the  same  as  the  Father?  "  F"or  what  things 
soever  the  Father  doeth,"  not  other  things, 
|  but  "  these  also  doeth  the  Son,"  not  in  a  dif 
ferent  way,  but  "in  like  manner."6  And  in 
this  way  He  also  raised  up  even  His  own  self. 
For  to  this  effect  he  said,  "  Destroy  this  tem 
ple,  and  in  three  days  I  will  raise  it  up  again."7 
Accordingly  the  glory  of  immortality,  which 
He  says  had  been  given  Him  by  the  Father, 
He  must  be  also  understood  as  having  be 
stowed  upon  Himself,  although  He  does  not 
say  it.  For  on  this  very  account  He  more 
frequently  says  that  the  Father  alone  doeth, 
|  what  He  Himself  also  doeth  along  with  the 
I  Father,  that  everything  whatever  He  may  at 
tribute  to  Him  of  whom  He  is.  But  some- 
j  times  also  He  is  silent  about  the  Father,  and 
says  that  He  Himself  doeth  what  He  only 
doeth  along  with  the  Father:  that  we  may 
thereby  understand  that  the  Son  is  not  to  be 
separated  from  the  working  of  the  Father, 
when  He  is  silent  about  Himself,  and  ascribes 


.     . 

iChap.  iii 


»  i  Cor.  xi.  32. 
•«  -•  Ci.r.  v.  i,;. 


5  F.ph.  v.  8. 


'Chap, 


410 


Tin-;  WORKS  OK  ST.  .uv.rsTix. 


[TEACTAT1     r 


some  work  or  other  to  the  Father;  as,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  Father  is  not  separated  from 
the  working  of  the  Son,  when  the  Son  is  said, 
without  any  mention  being  made  of  [the 
Father]  Himself,  to  be  doing  some  work  in 
which  nevertheless  both  are  equally  engaged. 
When,  therefore,  in  some  work  of  the  Father, 
the  Son  says  nothing  of  His  own  working, 
He  commends  humility,  that  He  may  become 
the  source  of  sounder  health  to  us;  but  when, 
in  turn,  in  the  case  of  some  work  of  His  own, 
He  says  nothing  of  the  working  of  the  Father, 
He  commends  His  own  equality,  that  we  may 
not  suppose  Him  to  be  inferior.  In  this  way, 
then,  and  in  this  passage,  He  neither  estranges 
Himself  from  the  Father's  working,  although 
He  has  said,  "  The  glory  which  Thou  gavest 
me  ;"  for  He  also  gave  it  to  Himself:  nor 
does  He  estrange  the  Father  from  His  own 
working,  although  saying,  "  I  have  given  to 
them  ;"  for  the  Father  also  gave  it  to  them. 
For  the  works  not  only  of  the  Father  and  the 
Son,  but  also  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  are  insepa 
rable.  But  just  as,  because  of  His  praying 
the  Father  in  behalf  of  all  His  people,  it  was 
His  own  pleasure  that  this  should  be  done, 
"  that  they  all  maybe  one;"  so  also  on  the 
ground  of  His  own  beneficence,  as  expressed 
in  the  words,  "  The  glory  which  Thou  gavest 
me,  I  have  given  them,"  the  doing  of  that 
was  none  the  less  His  pleasure;  for  He  imme 
diately  added,  '*  That  they  may  be  one,  as 
we  also  are  one." 

4.  And  then  He  added:  "I  in  them,  and 
Thou  in  me,  that  they  may  be  made  perfect 
in  one."  Here  He  briefly  intimated  Himself 
as  the  Mediator  between  God  and  men.  Nor 
was  this  said  in  any  such  way  as  if  the  Father 
were  not  in  us,  or  we  were  not  in  the  Father  ; 
since  He  had  also  said  in  another  place,  "  We 
will  come  unto  him,  and  make  our  abode 
with  him;"1  and  a  little  before  in  this  present 
passage  He  had  not  said,  "  I  in  them, and  Thou 
in  me,''  as  He  said  now;  or,  They  in  me, 
and  I  in  Thee;  but,  "  Thou  in  me,  and  I  in 
Thee,  and  they  in  us."  Accordingly,  when 
He  now  says,  "  I  in  them,  and  Thou  in  me," 
the  words  take  this  form  in  reference  to  the 
person  of  the  Mediator,  like  that  other  ex- 
pression  used  by  the  apostle,"  Ye  are  Christ's, 
and  Christ  is  God's."2  But  in  adding,  "  That 
they  may  be  made  perfect  in  one,"  He  showed 
that  the  reconciliation,  which  is  effected  by 
the  Mediator,  is  carried  to  the  very  length  of 
bringing  us  to  the  enjoyment  of  that  perfect 
blessedness,  which  is  thenceforth  incapable 
of  further  addition.  Hence  the  words  that 
follow,  "  That  the  world  may  know  that  Thou 

*  i  Cor.  iii.  23. 


hast  sent  me,"  are  not,  I  think,  to  be  taken  as 
if  He  had  again  said,  "  That  the  world  may  be 
lieve;"  for  sometimes,  to  know,  is  also  used  in 
the  same  sense  as  to  believe,  as  it  is  in  the 
words  He  uttered  some  time  before:  "  And 
they  have  known  truly  that  I  came  out  from 
Thee,  and  they  have  believed  that  Thou  didst 
send  me."  He  expressed  the  same  thing  by 
the  later  words,  "  they  have  believed,"  as  He 
had  done  by  the  earlier,  "they  have  known." 
But  inasmuch  as  He  here  speaks  of  the  con 
summation,  the  knowledge  must  be  taken  for 
such,  as  it  shall  then  be  by  sight,  and  not,  as 
it  now  is,  by  faith.  For  an  order  seems  to 
have  been  preserved  in  reference  to  what  He 
said  a  little  before,  "that  the  world  may  be 
lieve;"  while  here  it  is,  "that  the  world  may 
know.  "  For  although  He  said  there,  "  that 
they  all  may  be  one, "and  "may  be  one  in  us," 
yet  He  did  not  say,  "they  may  be  made 
perfect  in  one, ".and  so  subjoined  'the  words, 
"  that  the  world  may  believe  that  Thou  hast 
sent  me  ;"  but  here  He  said,  "  That  they  may 
be  made  perfect  in  one,"  and  then  added, 
not,  "  that  the  world  may  believe,"  but.  "  that 
the  world  may  know  that  Thou  hast  sent  me." 
For  so  long  as  we  believe  what  we  do  not  see, 
we  are  not  yet  made  perfect,  as  we  shall  be 
when  we  have  merited  the  sight  of  that  which 
we  believe.  Most  correctly,  therefore,  did 
He  say  in  that  previous  place,  "  That  the 
world  may  believe,"  and  here  "  That  the 
world  iray  know;"  yet  both  there  and  here, 
"  that  Thou  hast  sent  me  ;"  that  we  may 
know,  so  far  as  belongs  to  the  inseparable 
love  of  the  Father  and  the  Son,  that  at  present 
we  only  believe  what  we  are  on  the  way,  by 
believing,  to  know.  And  had  ?Ie  said,  That 
they  may  know«that  Thou  hast  sent  me,  it 
would  be  just  of  the  same  force  as  what  He 
actually  does  say,  "  that  the  world  may  know. ' ' 
For  they  are  the  world  that  abideth  not  in 
enmity,  as  doth  the  world  that  is  foreordained 
to  damnation;  but  one  that  out  of  an  enemy 
j  has  been  transformed  into  a  friend,  and  on 
j  whose  account  "  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling 
the  world  unto  Himself."  Therefore  said 
He,  "  I  in  them,  and  Thou  in  me  ;''  as  if  He 
had  said,  I  in  those  to  whom  Thou  hast  sent 
me;  and  Thou  in  me,  reconciling  the  world 
unto  Thyself  through  me. 

5.  In  close  relation  to  these  come  also  His 
further  words:  "And  Thou  hast  loved  them  as 
thou  hast  loved  me."  That  is  to  say.  in  the  Son 
the  Father  loveth  us,  because  in  Him  He  hath 
chosen  us  before  the  foundation  of  the  world.3 
For  He  who  loveth  the  ( )nly-begotten, certainly 
loveth  also  His  members  which, through  His  in- 

3  Eph.  i.  4. 


Tk  kCTATI     CX.] 


o.\    i  in.  <;<  tSPEL  OK  ST.  JOHN. 


411 


>tru  mentality,  He  engrafted  into  Him  by  adop-  j 
tion.  Hut  we  are  not  on  this  account  equal 
to  the  only-begotten  Son,  by  whom  we  have 
been  created  and  re-Cfeated,  that  it  is  said, 
"  Thou  hast  loved  them  as  [Thou  hast]  also 
[loved]  me."  For  one  does  not  always  in 
timate  equality  when  he  says,  As  this,  so  also 
that  other;  but  sometimes  only,  Because  this 
is,  so  also  is  the  other  ;  or,  That  the  one  is, 
in  order  that  the  other  may  be  also.  For 
who  could  say  that  the  apostles  were  sent  by- 
Christ  into  the  world  in  exactly  the  same  way 
as  He  Himself  was  sent  by  the  Father?  For. 
to  say  nothing  of  other  differences,  which  it 
would  be  tedious  to  mention,  they  at  all 
events  were  sent  when  they  were  already 
men  ;  but  He  was  sent  in  order  that  He  might 
be  man  ;  and  yet  He  said  above,  "  As  Thou 
hast  sent  me  into  the  world,  even  so  have  1 ! 
sent  them  into  the  world  ;"  as  if  He  had  said,  I 
Because  Thou  hast  sent  me,  I  have  sent  them,  j 
So  also  in  the  passage  before  us  He  says,  j 
"Thou  hast  loved  them,  as  Thou  hast  loved  j 
me  ;"  which  is  nothing  else  than  this,  Thou 
hast  loved  them  because  that  Thou  hast  also 
loved  me.  For  He  could  not  but  love  the 
members  of  the  Son,  seeing  that  He  loveth 
the  Son  Himself;  nor  is  there  any  other  reason 
for  loving  His  members,  save  that  He  loveth 
Himself.  But  He  loveth  the  Son  as  regards 
His  Godhead,  because  He  begat  Him  equal 
with  Himself;  He  loveth  Him  also  in  regard 
to  what  He  is  as  man,  because  the  only-be 
gotten  Word  was  Himself  made  flesh,  and  on 
account  of  the  Word  is  the  flesh  of  the  Word 
dear  to  Him;  but  He  loveth  us,  inasmuch  as 
we  are  the  members  of  Him  whom  He  loveth; 
and  in  order  that  we  might  be  so,  He  loved 
us  on  this  account  before  we  existed. 

6.  The  love, therefore, wherewith  God  loveth, 
is  incomprehensible  and  immutable.  For  it 
was  not  from  the  time  that  we  were  reconciled 
unto  Him  by  the  blood  of  His  Son  that  He 
began  to  love  us;  but  He  did  so  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world,  that  we  also  might 
be  His  sons  along  with  His  Only-begotten, 
before  as  yet  we  had  any  existence  of  our 
own.  Let  not  the  fact,  then,  of  our  having 
been  reconciled  unto  God  through  the  death 
of  His  Son  be  so  listened  to  or  so  understood, 
as  if  the  Son  reconciled  us  to  Him  in  this 
respect,  that  He  now  began  to  love  those 
whom  He  formerly  hated,  in  the  same  way 
as  enemy  is  reconciled  to  enemy,  so  that 
thereafter  they  become  friends,  and  mutual 
love  takes  the  place  of  their  mutual  hatred  ; 
but  we  were  reconciled  unto  Him  who  already 
loved  us,  but  with  whom  we  were  at  enmity 
because  of  our  sin.  Whether  I  say  the  truth 
on  this,  let  the  apostle  testify,  when  he  says  : 


"God  commendeth  His  love  toward  us,  m 
that,  while  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died 
for  us."1  He,  therefore,  had  love  toward 
us  even  when  we  were  practising  enmity 
against  Him  and  working  iniquity;  and  yet 
to  Him  it  is  said  with  perfect  truth,  "Thou 
hatest,  O  Lord,  all  workers  of  iniquity."* 
Accordingly,  in  a  wonderful  and  divine  man 
ner,  even  when  He  hated  us,  He  loved  us  ; 
for  He  hated  us,  in  so  far  as  we  were  not  what 
He  Himself  had  made  ;  and  because  our  own 
iniquity  had  not  in  every  part  consumed  His 
work,  He  knew  at  once  both  how,  in  each 
of  us,  to  hate  what  we  had  done,  and  to  love 
what  He  had  done.  And  this,  indeed,  may 
be  understood  in  the  case  of  all  regarding 
Him  to  whom  it  is  truly  said,  "Thou  hatest 
nothing  that  Thou  hast  made."3  For  He  would 
never  have  wished  anything  that  He  hated  to 
exist,  nor  would  aught  that  the  Omnipotent 
had  not  wished  exist  at  all,  were  it  not  that 
in  what  He  hated  there  was  also  something 
that  He  loved.  For  He  justly  hateth  and 
reprobateth  vice  as  utterly  repugnant  to  the 
principle  of  His  procedure,  yet  He  loveth 
even  in  the  persons  of  the  vitiated  what  is 
susceptible  either  of  His  own  beneficence 
through  healing,  or  of  His  judgment  by  con 
demnation.  In  this  way  God  at  the  same  time 
hateth  nothing  of  what  He  has  made;  for  as 
the  Creator  of  natures,  and  not  of  vices,  it 
was  not  He  who  made  the  evil  that  He  hateth  ; 
and  of  these  same  evils,  all  is  good  that  He 
really  doeth,  either  by  mercifully  healing 
them,  or  by  judicially  regulating  them.  See 
ing,  then,  that  He  hateth  nothing  that  He  hath 
made,  who  can  worthily  describe  how  much 
He  loveth  the  members  of  His  Only-begotten, 
and  how  much  more  the  Only-begotten  Him 
self,  in  whom  are  hid  all  things  visible  and 
invisible,  which  were  ordained  in  their  various 
classes,  and  which  He  loves  in  fullest  harmony 
with  such  ordination  ?  For  the  members  of 
His  Only-begotten  He  is  leading  on  by  the 
liberality  of  His  grace  to  an  equality  with  the 
holy  angels;  while  the  Only-begotten  Him 
self,  being  Lord  of  all,  is  doubtless  Lord  of 
angels,  being  by  nature,  as  God,  the  equal 
not  of  angels,  but  rather  of  the  Father  Him 
self;  while  through  grace,  in  respect  of  which 
He  is  man,  how  can  He  otherwise  than  sur 
pass  all  angelic  excellence,  seeing  that  in  Him 
human  flesh  and  the  Word  constitute  but  one 
personality  ? 

7.  Nevertheless  there  are  not  wanting  some 
who  place  us  likewise  before  the  angels;  be 
cause,  they  say,  Christ  died  for  us  and  not 
for  angels.  But  what  else  is  such  a  notion 


412 


\\OKKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


L'i'RAci.vn.  <'\/. 


than  the  desire  to  glory  over  our  very  impiety? 
For  "Christ,"  as  the  apostle  says,  "in  due 
time  died  for  the  ungodly."'  Where  it  is 
not  any  desert  of  ours,  but  the  mercy  of  God, 
that  is  commended.  For  what  can  be  the 
character  of  the  man  who  wishes  himself 
to  be  lauded,  because  he  has  become  so 
abominably  diseased  through  his  own  wicked 
ness,  that  he  can  only  be  healed  by  the  death 
of  his  physician  ?  That  surely  is  not  the  glory 
of  our  deserts,  but  the  medicine  of  our 
diseases.  Or  do  we  prefer  ourselves  to  the 
angels  on  this  account,  that,  while  there  are 
angels  also  who  have  sinned,  there  has  been 
no  such  labor  expended  on  their  healing  ?  As 
if  something  that  was  at  least  small  in  amount 
had  been  undertaken  for  them,  and  what  was 
greater  for  us.  But  had  even  such  been  the 
case,  it  might  still  be  a  subject  of  inquiry 
whether  it  was  so  because  we  had  once  stood 
in  a  position  of  superior  excellence,  or  because 
we  were  now  lying  in  a  more  desperate  con 
dition.  But  knowing  as  we  do  that  the 
Creator  of  all  good  has  imparted  no  grace  for 


the  reparation  of  angelic  evils,  why  do  \VL- 
not  rather  draw  the  inference  that  their  fault 
was  judged  all  the  more  damnable,  that  the 
nature  of  those  who  committed  it  was  of  a 
loftier  sublimity  ?  For  to  the  same  extent  as 
they  less  than  we  ought  to  have  fallen  into 
sin,  were  they  superior  in  nature  to  us.  But 
now  in  offending  against  the  Creator  they  be 
came  all  the  more  detestably  ungrateful  for 
His  beneficence,  that  they  were  created  capa 
ble  of  exercising  the  greater  beneficence;  nor 
was  it  enough  for  them  to  become  deserters 
from  Him,  but  they  must  also  become  our  de 
ceivers.  This,  therefore,  is  the  great  goodness 
of  which  we  are  to  be  made  the  subjects  by 
Him,  who  hath  loved  us  even  as  He  hath 
loved  Christ,  that,  for  His  sake,  whose  mem 
bers  He  wished  us  to  be,  we  may  be  equal 
to  the  holy  angels,-'  to  whom  we  were  created 
with  an  inferiority  of  nature,  and  have  by  our 
sin  fallen  into  such  greater  depths  of  un- 
worthiness,  as  to  make  it  incumbent  that  we 
should  l)e  in  some  sort  their  associates. 


TRACTATE    CXI. 


CHAPTER  XVII.  24-26. 


i.  THE  Lord  Jesus  raises  up  His  people  to 
a  great  hope,  than  which  there  could  not 
possibly  be  a  greater.  Listen  and  rejoice  in 
hope,  that,  since  the  present  is  not  a  life  to 
be  loved,  but  to  be  tolerated,  you  may  have 
the  power  of  patient  endurance  amid  all  its 
tribulation.1  Listen,  I  say,  and  weigh  well  to 
what  it  is  that  our  hopes  are  exalted.  Christ 
Jesus  saith,  The  Son  of  God,  the  Only-be 
gotten,  who  is  co-eternal  and  equal  with  the 
Father,  saith  :  He,  who  for  our  sakes  became 
man,  but  became  not,  like  every  man  besides, 
a  liar,*  saith:  the  Way,  the  Life,  the  Truth 
saith  :3  He  who  overcame  the  world,  saith  of 
those  for  whom  He  overcame  it:  listen,  be 
lieve,  hope,  desire  what  He  saith  :  "  Father," 
He  says,  "  I  will  that  they  also  whom  Thou 
hast  given  me  be  with  me  where  I  am."  Who 
are  these  who  He  says  were  given  Him  by 
the  Father?  Are  they  not  those  of  whom  He 
says  in  another  place,  "  No  man  cometh  unto 
me,  unless  the  Father,  who  hath  sent  me, 
draw  him"?4  We  already  know  if  we  have 


'  Rom.  xii.  12. 
3  Chap.  xiv.  6. 


'  Ps.  cxvi.  ii. 
l  Chap.  vi.  44. 


1  made  any  beneficial  progress  in  this  Gospel, 

how  it  is  that  the  things  which  He  says  the 

Father   doeth,    He    Himself    doeth    likewise 

along   with    the    Father.     They   are    those, 

therefore,  whom  He  has  received  from  the 

Father,  whom  He  Himself  has  also  chosen 

'  out  of  the  world,  and  chosen  that  they  may 

be  no  more  of  the  world,  even  as  He  also  is 

!  not  of  the  world;  and  yet  that  they  also  may 

i  be  a  world  that  believeth  and  knoweth  that 

I  Christ  has  been  sent  by  God  the  Father  that 

;  the  world  might  be  delivered  from  the  world, 

|  and  so,  as  a  world  that  was  to  be  reconciled 

unto  God,  might  not  be  condemned  with  the 

i  world  that  lieth  in  enmity.      For  so  He  says 

in  the  beginning  of  this  prayer:   "  Thou  hast 

1  given  Him  power  over  all  flesh,"  that  is,  over 

every  man,  "that  He  should  give  eternal  life 

to  as  many  as  Thou  hast  given  Him."     Here 

He  makes  it  clear  that  He  has  indeed  received 

power  over  all  men,  that,  as  the  future  Judge 

of  quick   and   dead,   He  may   deliver  whom 

He  pleases,  and  condemn  whom  He  pleases; 

but  that  these  were  given  Him  that  to  ;ill  of 

i  them  He  should  give  eternal  life.     For  so  He 


. .   I  \  I  I 


« >\    I  ill.  GOSPEL  oi-  ST.  JOHN. 


4 '  :> 


-ays:  "  'I  li.it  lie  should  give  eternal  life  to  as 
many  as  Thou  hast  given  Him."  Accord 
ingly  they  were  not  given  Him  that  from 
th  -m  Hi-  should  \vitiihold  eternal  life;  although 
over  them  also  the  power  has  been  given  Him. 
inasmuch  as  He  has  received  it  over  all  Mesh, 
in  other  words,  over  every  man.  In  this  way 
the  world  that  has  been  reconciled  will  be  de 
livered  from  the  hostile  world,  when  He  put- 
teth  into  exercise  His  power  over  it,  to  send  it 
away  into  death  eternal;  but  the  other  He 
maketh  His  own  that  He  may  give  it  everlast 
ing  life.  Accordingly,  to  every  one,  without 
fail,  of  His  own  sheep  the  Good  Shepherd,  as 
to  every  one  of  His  members  the  great  Head, 
hath  promised  this  reward,  that  where  He  is, 
there  also  we  shall  lie  with  Him;  nor  can  that 
be  otherwise  which  the  omnipotent  Son  de 
clared  to  be  His  will  to  the  omnipotent 
F?ther.  For  there  also  is  the  Holy  Spirit, 
equally  eternal,  equally  God,  the  one  Spirit  of 
the  two,  the  substance,  of  the  will  of  both. 
For  the  words  that  we  read  of  Him  as  uttering 
on  the  eve  of  His  passion,  "  Yet  not,  Father, 
as  I  will,  but  as  Thou  wilt,"  '  as  if  the  Father 
has  or  had  one  will,  and  the  Son  another,  are 
the  echo  of  our  infirmity,  however  faith-per 
vaded,  which  our  Head  transfigured  in  His 
own  person,  when  He  likewise  bare  our  in 
iquities.  But  that  the  will  of  the  Father  and 
the  Son  is  one,  of  both  of  whom  also  there  is 
but  one  Spirit,  by  including  whom  we  come  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  Trinity,  let  piety  believe, 
even  though  our  infirmity  meanwhile  permit- 
teth  us  not  to  understand. 

2.  But  as  we  have  already,  in  a  way  pro 
portionate  to  the  brevity  of  our  discourse, 
spoken  of  the  objects  of  the  promise,  and  of 
its  own  stability;  let  us  now  look  at  this  one 
point,  as  far  as  we  are  able,  what  it  is  that  He 
was  pleased  to  promise  when  He  said,  "  I 
will  that  they  also  whom  Thou  hast  given  me 
be  with  me  where  I  am."  As  far  as  pertains 
to  the  creaturehood  wherein  He  was  made  of 
the  seed  of  David  according  to  the  flesh,2  not 
even  He  Himself  was  yet.  where  He  would 
afterwards  be:  but  He  could  say  in  this  way,  | 
"where  I  am,"  to  let  us  understand  that  He 
was  soon  to  ascend  into  heaven,  so  that  He  j 
spake  of  Himself  as  being  already  there,  I 
where  He  was  presently  to  be.  He  could  do 
so  also  in  the  same  way  as  He  had  said  on  a 
former  occasion,  when  speaking  to  Nico- 
demus,  "  No  man  ascendeth  into  heaven, 
save  He  that  came  down  from  heaven,  even 
the  Son  of  man  who  is  in  heaven."3  For 
there  also  He  did  not  say,  Will  be,  but  "is," 
because  of  the  oneness  of  person,  wherein 
God  is  at  once  man,  and  man  God.  He 


>  Matt.  xxvi.  39. 


1  Rom.  i.  3.  3  Chap.  iii.  i  (. 


promised,    therefore,    that    we    should    be    in 
heaven:    for  thither  the   servant-form,   which 
He  received  of  the  Virgin,  has  been  elevated, 
and  set  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father. 
!  cause  of  the  same  blessed   hope  the  apostle 
iys:   "  But  God,  who  is  rich  in  men  y, 
i  for  His  great   love  wherewith   He   loved   us, 
i  even  when  we  were  dead  in  sins,  hath  quick- 
'  ened  us  together  with  Christ;  by  whose  grace 
,  we  are  saved;  and  hath  raised  us  up  together, 
and  made  us  sit   together  in  heavenly   places 
I  in  Christ  Jesus."4     And  so  accordingly  we 
I  may  understand  the  Lord  to  have  said,  "  That 
I  where  I  am,  there  they  may  be  also."     He, 
indeed,  said   of   Himself  that  He   was  there 
already;  but  of  us  He  merely  declared  that 
He  wished  us  to  be  there  with   Him,  without 
I  any  indication  that  we  were   there  already. 
;  But  what  the  Lord  said  that  He  wished  to  be 
j  done,  the  apostle  spake  of  as  already  accom- 
'  plished.     For  he  said  not,  He  will  yet  raise 
I  us  up,  and  make  us  sit  in  heavenly  places; 
but,  "  hath  raised  us  up,  and  made  us  sit  in 
[heavenly  places:1'  for  it  is  not  without  good 
grounds,  but  in  believing  assurance,  that  he 
I  reckons  as  already  done  what  he  is  certain 
will  yet  be  done.     But  if  it  is  in  respect  of  the 
form  of  God,   wherein   He   is  equal   to   the 
Father,  that  we  would  be  inclined  to  under 
stand  His  words,  "  I  will  that  they  also  be  with 
me,  where   I  am,"  let  our  mind   get  quit  of 
every  thought  of  material  images:  whatever 
the  soul  has  had  presented  to  it,  that  is  en 
dowed  with  length,  or  breadth,  or  thickness, 
tinted  by  the  light  with  any  sort  of  bodily  hue, 
or  diffused  through  local  space  of  any  kind, 
whether  finite  or  infinite,  let  it,  as  far  as  pos 
sible,  turn  away   from   all   such   notions  the 
glance   of   its   contemplation    on   the    inward 
|  bent  of  its  thoughts.     And  let  us  not  be  mak 
ing  inquiries  as  to  where  the  Son,  the  Father's 
co-equal,  is,  since  no  one  has  yet  found  out 
where  He  is  not.     But  if  any  one  would  in 
quire,  let  him  inquire  rather  how  he  may  be 
with    Him;    not    everywhere   as    He    is,    but 
wherever  He  may  be.     For  when  He  said  to 
the  man  that  was  expiating  his  crimes  on  the 
tree,  and  making  confession  unto  salvation, 
"  To-day  shall  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise, >>s 
in  respect  to  His  human  nature  His  own  soul 
was  on  that  very  day  to  be  in  hell,6  His   flesh 
in  the  sepulchre;  but  as  respected  His  God 
head  He  was  certainly  also  in  paradise.      And 
therefore  the  soul  of  the  thief,  absolved  from 
his  by-gone  crimes,  and  already  in  the  blessed 
enjoyment  of  His  grace,  although  it  could  not 
be  everywhere  as  He  was,  yet  could  on  that 
very  day  be  also  with   Him  in   paradise,  from 
which  He,  who  is  always  everywhere,  had  not 

4  Kph.  if.  4-0.  5  Luke  xxiii.  43.  '  In  infrrno. 


414 


THK   WORKS  OF  ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


I  M      CXI. 


withdrawn.  On  tliis  account,  doubtless,  it 
was  not  enough  for  Him  to  say,  "  I  will  that 
they  also  be  where  I  am;"  but  He  added, 
"  with  me."  For  to  be  with  Him  is  the  chief 
good.  For  even  the  miserable  can  be  where 
He  is,  since  wheresoever  any  are,  there  is  He 
also;  but  the  blessed  only  are  with  Him,  be 
cause  it  is  only  of  Him  that  they  can  be 
blessed.  Was  it  not  truly  said  to  God,  "  Tf  I 
ascend  into  heaven,  Thou  art  there;  and  if  I 
go  down  into  hell,  Thou  art  present?"1  or  is 
not  Christ  after  all  that  Wisdom  of  God  which 
"  penetrateth  everywhere  because  of  its 
purity  "?2  But  the  light  shineth  in  darkness; 
and  the  darkness  comprehendeth  it  not.3 
And  similarly,  to  take  a  kind  of  illustration 
from  what  is  visible,  although  greatly  unlike, 
as  the  blind  man,  even  though  he  be  where 
the  light  is,  is  yet  not  himself  with  the  light, 
but  is  really  absent  from  that  which  is  present; 
so  the  unbeliever  and  profane,  or  even  the 
believer  and  pious,  because  not  yet  competent 
to  gaze  on  the  light  of  wisdom,  although  he 
cannot  be  anywhere  that  Christ  is  not  there 
likewise,  yet  is  not  himself  with  Christ,  I 
mean  in  actual  sight.  For  we  cannot  doubt 
that  the  true  believer  is  with  Christ  by  faith; 
because  in  reference  to  this  He  saith,  "  He 
that  is  not  with  me  is  against  me."4  But 
when  He  said  to  God  the  Father,  "  I  will 
that  they  also  whom  Thou  hast  given  me  be 
with  me  where  I  am,''  He  spake  exclusively  of 
that  sight  wherein  we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is.5 
3.  Let  no  one  disturb  the  clearness  of  the 
meaning  by  any  cloudy  contradiction;  but  let 
what  follows  furnish  its  testimony  to  the  words 
that  precede.  For  after  saying,  "  I  will  that 
they  also  be  with  me  where  I  am,''  He  went 
on  immediately  to  add,  "  That  they  may  be 
hold  my  glory,  which  Thou  gavest  me:  for 
Thou  lovedst  me  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world."  "  That  they  may  behold,"  He  said; 
not,  that  they  may  believe.  This  is  faith's 
wages,6  not  faith  itself.  For  if  faith  has  been 
correctly  defined  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
as  "  the  assurance  [conviction]  of  things  that 
are  not  seen,"7  why  may  not  the  wages  of 
faith  be  defined,  the  beholding  of  things  which 
were  hoped  for  in  faith  ?  For  when  we  shall 
see  the  glory  which  the  Father  hath  given 
the  Son,  even  though  we  may  understand 
what  is  spoken  of  in  this  passage,  not  as  that 
[glory]  which  the  Father  gave  His  co-equal 
Son  in  begetting  Him,  but  as  that  which  He 
gave  Him,  when  become  the  Son  of  man, 
after  the  death  of  the  cross; — when,  I  say,  we 
shall  see  that  glory  of  the  Son,  then  of  a  cer- 


i  Ps.  cxxxix.  8. 
•«  Matt.  xii.  30. 
7  Heb.  xi.  i. 


*  Wisd.  vii. 
5  i  John  iii. 


3  Chap.  i.  5. 

<•  .1/,-r.vj. 


taiaty  shall  take  place  the  judgment  of  the 
quick  and  the  dead,  and  then  shall  the  wicked 
be  taken  away  that  he  may  not  behold  the 
glory  of  the  Lord;"  and  what  [glory],  save 
that  of  His  Godhead?  For  blessed  are  the 

'  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God:9  and 
because  the  wicked  are  not  pure  in  heart, 
therefore  they  shall  not  see  Then  shall  they 

jgo  away  into  everlasting  punishment;  for  so 

!  shall  the  wicked  be  taken  away,  that  he  may 
not  behold  the  glory  of  the  Lord:  but  the 
righteous  shall  go  into  life  eternal.10  And 

I  what  is  life  eternal  ?  "  That  they  may  know 
Thee,  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ, 

,  whom  Thou  hast  sent  "  (ver.  3):  not,  indeed, 
as  those  knew  Him,  who  although  impure  in 
heart,  yet  were  able  to  see  Him  as  He  sat  in 
judgment  in  His  glorified  servant-form;  but 
as  He  is  yet  to  be  known  by  the  pure  in  heart, 
as  the  only  true  God,  the  Son  along  with  the 
Father  and  Holy  Spirit,  because  the  Trinity 
itself  is  the  only  true  God.  If,  then,  it  is  in 

|  reference  to  His  Godfiead  as  the  Son  of  God, 
equal  and  co -eternal  with  the  Father,  that  we 
take  the  words,  "  I  will  that  they  also  be  with 
me  where  I  am/'  we  shall  be  with  Christ  in 

I  the  Father;  but  He  in  His  own  way,  we  in 
ours,  wherever  we  may  be  in  body.  For  if 
localities  are  to  be  understood,  and  such  as 
contain  incorporeal  beings,  and  everything  has 
a  place  where  it  is,  the  eternal  place  of  Christ 
where  He  always  is,  is  the  Father  Himself, 
and  the  place  of  the  Father  is  the  Son;  for 

i  "  I,"  He  said,  "am  in  the  Father,  and  the 

;  Father   in   me;"11  and    in    this    prayer,  "As 

'Thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  Thee:" 
and  they  are  our  place,  because  there  follows, 
"  That  they  also  may  be  one  in  us:  "  and  we 
are  God's  place,  inasmuch  as  we  are  His  tem 
ple;  even  as  He,  who  died  for  us  and  liveth 
for  us,  also  prayeth  for  us,  that  we  may  be 
one  in  them;  because  "  His  [dwelling]  place 
was  made  in  peace,12  and  His  habitation  in 
Zion,"  "  which  we  are.  But  who  is  qualified 
to  think  on  such  places  or  what  is  in  them, 

J  apart  from  the  idea  of  space-defined  capacities 
and  material  masses  ?  Yet  no  little  progress 
is  made,  if  at  least,  when  any  such  idea  pre 
sents  itself  to  the  eye  of  the  mind,  it  is  de 
nied,  rejected,  and  reprobated:  and  a  certain 
kind  of  light  is,  as  far  as  possible,  thought  of, 
in  which  such  things  are  perceived  as  deserv 
ing  only  to  be  denied,  rejected,  and  reprobat 
ed;  and  the  certainty  of  that  light  is  known 

i  and  loved,  so  that  from  thence  an  upward 
movement  is  begun  in  us,  and  an  effort  made 

8  Isa.  xxvi.  10.  9  M.<it.  v.  8. 

'     Matt.  xxv.  46.  .  "  l'h:ip.  xiv.  10. 

"  Ps.  Ixxvi.  2  :  in  pact,  C"^2  '<  rather  as  in   Knglish  version, 

"  in  Salem  "  (Jerusalem). -Tn. 


1 


ON    I  III.  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


4'5 


tn  reach  into  places  farther  within:  and  when 
the  innui  through  its  own  infirmity  and  still 
inferior  purity  has  failed  to  penetrate  them, 
it  is  driven  back  again,  not  without  the  sigh- 
ings  of  love  and  the  tears  of  ardent  longing, 
and  continues  to  bear  in  patience  until  it  is 
purified  by  faith,  and  prepared  by  the  holi- 
•  t  the  inward  life  to  be  able  to  take  up 
its  abode  therein. 

4.  How,  then,  shall  we  not  be  with  Christ 
where  He  is,  when  we  shall  be  with  Him  in 
the  Father  in  whom  He  is?     On  this,  also, 
the  a|K)stle  is  not  without  something  to  say  to 
us,  although  we  are  not  yet  in  possession  of 
the    reality,  but   only   cherishing   the   hope. 
For  he  says,  "  If  ye  be  risen  with  Christ,  seek 
those  things  which  are  above,   where  Christ 
sitteth  on  the  right  hand    of  God:  set   your 
affections  on  things  above,  not  on  things  on 
the  earth.     For  ye  have  died,"  he  adds,  "  and 
your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God."     Here, 
you  see,  our  life  is  meanwhile  in  faith  and 
hope  with  Christ,  where  He  is;  because  it  is 
with  Christ  in  God.     That,  you  see,  is  as  if 
already  accomplished  for  which  He  prayed, 
when  He  said,  "  I  will  that  they  also  be  with 
me   where  lam;1'  but    now   only   by    faith. 
And  when  will  it  be  accomplished  by  actual 
sight?     "  When  Christ,''   he  says,  "[who  is] 
your  life,  shall  appear,  then  shall  ye  also  ap 
pear  with   Him  in  glory.'"     Then  shall  we 
appear  as  that  which  we  then  shall  be;  for  it 
shall  then  be  apparent  that  it  was  not  without 
good  grounds  that  we  believed  and  hoped  we 
should    become    so,    before   it  actually  took 
place.      He  will  do  this,  to  whom  the  Son, 
after   saying,    "That   they   may   behold  my 
glory,  which  Thou  gavest  me,"  immediately 
added,    "  For  Thou  loved st   me  before    the 
foundation  of  the  world."     For  in  Him  He 
loved   us   also  before  the   foundation  of  the 
world,  and  then  foreordained  what  He  was  to 
do  in  the  end  of  the  world. 

5.  "O  righteous  Father,"  He  saith,  "the 
world  hath  not  known  Thee."     Just  because 
Thou  art  righteous  it  hath  not  known  Thee. 
It   is   as  that  world  which  has  been  predes 
tined   to  condemnation  really  deserved,  that 
it  hath  not  known  Him;  while  the  world  which 
He    hath    reconciled    unto    Himself   through 
Christ  hath  known  Him  not  of  merit,  but  by 
grace.     For  what  else  is  the  knowing  of  Him, 
but  eternal  life  ?  which,  while  He  undoubtedly 
withheld  it  from  the  condemned    world,   He 
bestowed  on  the  reconciled.      On  that  very 
account,  therefore,  the  world  hath  not  known 
Thee,  because  Thou  art  righteous,  and  hast 
rendered  unto  it  according  to  its  deserts,  that 
it  should  not  know  Thee:  while  on  the  same 


account    the  i    world    hath     known 

Thee,  because  Thou  art  merciful,  and,  not 
for  any  merit  of  its  own,  but  by  grace,  hast 
supplied  it  with  the  needed  help  to  know 
Thee.  And  then  there  follows,  "  Hut  I  have 
known  Thee."  He  is  the  Fountain  of  . 
who  is  by  nature  God,  nnd,  by  grace  ineffable, 
man  also  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  Virgin: 
and  then  on  His  own  behalf,  because  the 
grace  of  God  is  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord,  He  adds,  "And  these  have  known  that 
Thou  hast  sent  me."  Such  is  the  reconciled 
world.  But  it  is  because  Thou  hast  sent  me 
that  they  have  known:  by  grace,  therefore, 
have  they  known. 

6.  "And  I  have  made  known  to  them,"  He 
says,  "  Thy  name,  and  will  make  it  known." 
I  have  made  it  known  by  faith,  I  will  make 
it  known  by  sight  :  I  have  made  it  known 
to  those  whose  present  sojourn  in  a  strange 
land  has  its  appointed  end,  I  will  make  it 
known  to  those  whose  reign  as  kings  shall 
be  endless.  "  That  the  love,"  He  adds, 
"  wherewith  [literally,  which]  Thou  hast  loved 
me,z  may  be  in  them,  and  I  in  them.  (The 
form  of  speech  is  unusual,  "the  love,  which 
Thou  hast  loved  me,  may  be  in  them,  and  I  in 
them;"  for  the  common  way  of  speaking  is, 
the  love  wherewith  thou  hast  loved  me. 
Here,  of  course,  it  is  a  translation  from  the 
Greek:  but  there  are  similar  forms  also  in 
Latin;  as  we  say.  He  served  a  faithful  service, 
He  served  as  a  soldier  a  strenuous  soldier, 
service;  when  apparently  we  ought  to  have 
said,  He  served  with  a  faithful  service,  he 
served  as  a  soldier  with  a  strenuous  soldier- 
service.  But  such  as  the  form  of  expression 
is,  "the  love  which  Thou  hast  loved  me;" 
one  similar  to  it  is  also  used  by  the  apostle, 
"  I  have  fought  a  good  fight;  "  3  he  does  not 
say,  ///  a  good  fight,  which  would  be  the  more 
usual  and  perhaps  correcter  form  of  expres 
sion.)  But  how  else  is  the  love  wherewith  the 
Father  loved  the  Son  in  us  also,  but  because 
we  are  His  members  and  are  loved  in  Him, 
since  He  is  loved  in  the  totality  of  His  person, 
as  both  Head  and  members?  Therefore  He 
added,  "and  I  in  them;"  as  if  saying,  Since 
I  am  also  in  them.  For  in  one  sense  He  is 
in  us  as  in  His  temple;  but  in  another,  be 
cause  we  are  also  Himself,  seeing  that,  in 
accordance  with  His  becoming  man,  that  He 
might  be  our  Head,  we  are  His  body.  The 
Saviour's  prayer  is  finished,  His  passion  be 
gins;  let  us,  therefore,  also  finish  the  present 
discourse,  that  we  may  treat  of  His  passion, 
as  He  granteth  us  grace,  in  others  to  follow. 


»  Quam  dilexiiii  me.     The  part  which  follows,  which  we  have 
enclosed  within  parentheses,  may  !><•  omitted  by  the  English  reader, 

as  it  unlv  deals  with  the  1-atin  idiom.— Ti:. 

iv.  :. 


416 


1  Hi:    WORKS   01     ST.    .UV.USTIX. 


[TRACTATE    CXI  I. 


TRACTATE    CXII. 

CHAPTKR    XVIII.    1-12. 


i.  WHEN  the  grand  and  lengthened  dis 
course  was  concluded  which  the  Lord  deliver 
ed  after  supper,  and  on  the  eve  of  shedding , 
His  blood  for  us,  to  the  disciples  who  were  i 
then  with  Him,  and  had  added  the  prayer  J 
addressed  to  His  Father,  the  evangelist  John 
began  thereafter  the  narrative  of  His  passion  j 
in  these  words:  "  When  Jesus  had  so  spoken,  ' 
He  went  forth  with  His  disciples  over  the 
brook  Cedron,  where  was  a  garden,  into  the 
which  He  entered,  and  His  disciples.  And 
Judas  also,  who  betrayed  Him,  knew  the 
place;  for  Jesus  oft-times  resorted  thither 
with  His  disciples."  What  he  here  relates 
of  the  Lord  entering  the  garden  with  His  dis 
ciples  did  not  take  place  immediately  after 
He  had  brought  the  prayer  to  a  close,  of 
which  he  says,  "  When  Jesus  had  spoken  these 
words:  "  but  certain  other  incidents  were  in 
terposed,  which  are  passed  over  by  the  pres 
ent  evangelist  and  found  in  the  others;  just  as 
in  this  one  are  found  many  things  on  which 
the  others  are  similarly  silent  in  their  own 
narratives.  But  any  one  who  desires  to  know 
how  they  all  agree  together,  and  the  truth 
which  is  advanced  by  one  is  never  contradict 
ed  by  another,  may  seek  for  what  he  wants, 
not  in  these  present  discourses,  but  in  other 
elaborate  treatises;1  but  he  will  master  the  j 
subject  not  by  standing  and  listening,  but  | 
rather  by  sitting  down  and  reading,  or  by  giv 
ing  his  closest  attention  and  thought  to  one 
who  does  so.  Yet  let  him  believe  before  he 
know,  whether  he  be  able  also  to  come  to 
such  a  knowledge  in  this  life,  or  find  it  im 
possible  through  some  existing  entangle 
ments,  that  there  is  nothing  written  by  any 
one  evangelist,  as  far  as  regards  those  who 
have  been  received  by  the  Church  into  ca 
nonical  authority,  that  can  be  contrary  to  his 
own  or  another's  equally  veracious  narrative. 
At  present,  therefore,  let  us  look  at  the  nar 
rative  of  the  blessed  John,  which  we  have  un 
dertaken  to  expound,  without  any  comparison 
with  the  others,  and  without  lingering  over 
anything  in  it  that  is  already  sufficiently  clear; 
so  that  where  it  is  needful  to  do  so,  we  may 
the  better  answer  the  demand.  Let  us, 
therefore,  not  take  His  words,  "When  Jesus 


•Augustin  refers  to  his  books  "  On  the  Harmony  of  the  Evan 
gelist-." 


had  spoken  these  words,  He  went  forth  with 
His  disciples  over  the  brook  Cedron,  where 
was  a  garden,  into  the  which  He  entered,  and 
His  disciples/'  as  if  it  were  immediately  after 
the  utterance  of  these  words  that  He  entered 
the  garden;  but  let  the  clause,  "  When  Jesus 
had  spoken  these  words,"  bear  this  meaning, 
that  we  are  not  to  suppose  Him  entering  the 
garden  before  He  had  brought  these  words  to 
a  close. 

2.  "  Judas  also,"  he  says,  "who  betrayed 
Him,   knew  the   place;2  for  Jesus  oft-times 
resorted  thither  with  His  disciples."     There, 
accordingly,  the  wolf,  clad  in  a  sheep's  skin, 
and  tolerated  among  the  sheep  by  the  pro 
found  counsel  of  the   Father  of  the  family, 
learned  where  he  might  opportunely  scatter 
the  slender  flock,  and  lay  his  coveted  snares 
for  the  Shepherd.     "Judas  then,"  he  adds, 
"  having  received  a  cohort,  and  officers  from 
the   chief    men   and   the    Pharisees,    cometh 
thither     with    lanterns,     and     torches,     and 
weapons."     It  was  a  cohort,  not  of  Jews,  but 
of  soldiers.     We  are  therefore  to  understand 
it  as  having  been  received  from  the  governor, 
as  if  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  person 
of  a  criminal,  and  by  preserving  the  forms  of 
legal  power,  to  deter  any  from  venturing  to 
resist  his  captors:  although  at  the  same  time 
so  great  a  band  had  been  assembled,  and  came 
armed  in  such  a  way  as  either  to  terrify  or 
even  attack  any  one  who  should  dare  to  make 
a  stand  in  Christ's  defense.     For  only  in  so 
far  was  His  power  concealed  and  prominence 
given  to  His  weakness,  that  these  very  meas 
ures  were  deemed  necessary  by  His  enemies 
to   be    taken    against    Him,   for   whose    hurt 
nothing   would   have   sufficed    but  what   was 
pleasing  to   Himself;  in   His  own  goodness 
making  a  good  use  of  the  wicked,  and  doing 
what  was  good  in  regard  to  the  wicked,  that 
He  might  transform  the  evil  into  the  good, 
and  distinguish  between  the  good  and  the  evil. 

3.  "  Jesus,    therefore/'  as    the    evangelist 
proceeds    to    say,    "knowing  all  tilings  that 
should  come  upon  Him,  went  forth  and  saith 
unto  them,  Whom  seek  ye  ?     They  answered 


»  The  text  runs  thus:  .SV/V/W,  inqiiit,  ft  Jui/,is,  </»:'  I 
tuiii,  locum.     Ordo  vrrhorum   i-st,  SfMMj  t^cinn.  i/nt  tr,i,M-<it 
rum  •  which  could   not    be   intelligibly  translated    into    English. 
-TK. 


Ti:  tCTATl    <    XII.  j 


ON     i  HI,   &  »PLI.   ol-    ST,    JOHN. 


417 


Him,  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  Jesus  saitli  unto 
them,  I  ;un  [He].  And  Jtldai  also,  who  be 
trayed  Him,  stood  with  them.  As  soon  then 
as  He  had  said  unto  them,  I  am  He,  they 
urn:  backward,  and  fell  to  the  -round." 
Where  now  were  the  military  cohort,  and  the 
servants  of  the  chief  men  and  the  Pharisees  ? 
where  the  terror  and  protection  of  weapons  ? 
His  own  single  voice  uttering  the  words,  "I 
am  [Hi-],"  without  any  weapon,  smote,  re 
pelled,  prostrated  that  great  crowd,  with  all 
the  ferocity  of  their  hatred  and  terror  of  their 
arms.  For  God  lay  hid  in  that  human  flesh; 
and  eternal  day  was  so  obscured  in  those 
human  limbs,  that  with  lanterns  and  torches 
He  was  sought  for  to  be  slain  by  the  dark 
ness.  "  I  am  [He],"  He  says;  and  He 
casteth  the  wicked  to  the  ground.  What  will 
He  do  when  He  cometh  as  judge,  who  did 
this  when  giving  Himself  up  to  be  judged  ? 
What  will  be  His  power  when  He  cometh  to 
reign,  who  had  this  power  when  He  came  to 
die  ?  And  now  everywhere  through  the  gospel 
Christ  is  still  saying,  "  I  am  [He];  "  and  the 
Jews  are  looking  for  antichrist,  that  they  may 
go  backward  and  fall  to  the  ground,  as  those 
who  have  abandoned  what  is  heavenly,  and 
are  hankering  after  the  earthly.  It  was  for 
the  very  purpose  of  apprehending  Jesus  that 
His  persecutors  accompanied  the  traitor:  they 
found  the  One  they  were  seeking,  for  they 
heard,  "I  am  [He]."  Why,  then,  did  they 
not  seize  Him,  but  went  backward  and  fell, 
but  just  because  so  He  pleased,  who  could 
do  whatever  He  pleased  ?  But  had  He  never 
permitted  them  to  apprehend  Him,  they  would 
certainly  not  have  done  what  they  came  to 
do,  but  no  more  would  He  be  doing  what  He 
came  to  do.  They,  verily,  in  their  mad  rage, 
sought  for  Him  to  put  Him  to  death;  but  He, 
too,  in  giving  Himself  to  death,  was  seeking 
for  us.  Accordingly,  having  thus  shown  His 
power  to  those  who  had  the  will,  but  not  the 
power,  to  hold  Him;  let  them  now  hold  Him 
that  He  may  work  His  own  will  with  those 
who  know  it  not. 

4.   "  Then   asked   He  them   again,  Whom 
seek  ye  ?     And  they  said,  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
Jesus  answered,  I  have  told  you  that  I  am 
[He].     If  therefore  ye  seek  me,  let  these  go 
their  way:  that  the  saying  might  be  fulfilled 
which  He  spake,  That  of  those  whom  Thou  ! 
hast  given    me    I  have  lost  none."     "  If  ye  ' 
seek  me,"  He  says,  "  let  these  go  their  way." 
He  sees  His  enemies,1  and  they  do  what  He 
bids  them:  they  let  those  go  their  way.  whom 
He  would   not  have  perish.      But  were  they; 
not  afterwards   l.o  die?      How  then,   if  they 


1  Thomas  Aquinas  in  the  Casfna  reads  here,  He 
enemies,  and  not  altogether  unsuitably.      M  i<  .M  . 


died  now,  should  He  l«»sc  them,  were  it  not 
that  as  yet  they  did  not  believe  in  Him,  as  all 
believe  who  perish  not? 

5.  "  Then    Simon    Peter,  having   a   sword, 
drew  it,  and  smote  the  high  priest's  servant, 
and  cut  off  his  right  ear.     And  the  servant's 
name  was  Malchus."     This  is  the  only  evan 
gelist  who  has  given  us  the  very  name  of  this 
servant,  as  Luke  is  the  only  one  who  tells  us 
that  the  Lord  touched    his   ear   and    healed 
him.'      The  interpretation  of  Malchus  is,  one 
who   is   destined    to   reign.     What,    then,  is 
signified  by  the  ear  that  was  cut  off  in  the 
Lord's  behalf,  and  healed  by  the  Lord,  but 
the  renewed  hearing  that  has  been  pruned  of 
its  oldness,  that  it  may  henceforth  be  in  the 
newness  of  the  spirit,  and  not  in  the  oldness 
of  the  letter  ?3     Who  can  doubt  that  he,  who 
had  such  a  thing  done  for  him  by  Christ,  was 
yet  destined  to  reign  with  Christ  ?     And  his 
being  found  as  a  servant,  pertains  also  to  that 
oldness  that  gendereth  to  bondage,  which  is 
Agar.4      But  when  healing  came,  liberty  also 
was  shadowed  forth.     Peter's  deed,  however, 
was  disapproved  of  by  the  Lord,  and  He  pre 
vented  Him  from  proceeding  further  by  the 
words:  "Put  up  thy  sword  into  the  sheath: 
the  cup  which  my  Father  hath  given  me,  shall 
I  not  drink  it?"     For  in  such  a  deed  that 
disciple  only  sought  to  defend   his   Master, 
without  any  thought  of  what  it  was  intended 
to  signify.     And  he  had  therefore  to  be  ex 
horted  to  the  exercise  of  patience,  and   the 
event  itself  to  be  recorded  as  an  exercise  of 
understanding.     But  when  He  says  that  the 
cup  of  suffering  was  given  Him  by  the  Father, 
we  have  precisely  the  same  truth  as  that  which 
was  uttered  by  the  apostle:  "  If  God  be  for  us, 
who  can  be  against  us?     He  that  spared  not 
His  own  Son,  but  gave  Him  up  for  us  all."* 
But  the  originator  of  this  cup  is  also  one  with 
Him  who  drank  it;  and  hence  the  same  apos 
tle  likewise  says,  "  Christ  loved   us,  and  gave 
Himself  for  us  an  offering  and  a  sacrifice  to 
God  of  a  sweet-smelling  savor."' 

6.  "  Then  the  cohort,  and  the  tribune,  and 
the   officers   of   the    Jews,    took   Jesus,   and 
bound  Him."     They  took  Him  to  whom  they 
had.  never  found  access:  for  He  continued 
the  clay,  while  they    remained   as   darkness; 
neither   had  they  given  heed  to   the  words, 
"Come    unto    Him,  and    be   enlightened."7 
For  had  they  so  approached  Him,  they  would 
have  taken  Him,  not  with  their  hands  for  the 
purpose  of  murder,  but  with  their  hearts  for 
the  purpose  of  a  welcome  reception.     Now, 
however,  when  they   laid  hold  of  Him   in  this 
way,  their  distance  from  Him  was  vastly  in- 


2  Luke  xxii.  51. 
5  K.iin.  viii.  31,  32. 


f  K.nn.  vii.  i 
6  Eph.  v.  2. 


I  Cial.  iv.  24. 
1's.  xxxiv.  5. 


4i8 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  CXIil. 


creased:  and  they  bound  Him  by  whom  they 
themselves  ought  rather  to  have  been  loosed. 
And  perhaps  there  were  those  among  them 
who  then  fastened  their  fetters  on  Christ,  and 
yet  were  afterwards  delivered  by  Him,  and 


could  say,  "Thou  hast  loosed  my  bonds."  ' 
Let  this  be  enough  for  to-day;  we  shall  deal, 
God  willing,  with  what  follows  in  another  dis 


course. 


TRACTATE    CXIIL 

CHAPTER  XVIII.    13-27. 


1.  AFTKR  that  His  persecutors  had,  through 
the  treason  of  Judas,  taken  and  bound    the 
Lord,  who  loved   us,  and  gave   Himself  for 
us,1    and  whom  the  Father  spared   not,  but 
gave  Him  up  for  us  all:2  that  we  may  under 
stand  that  there  was  no  praise  due  to  Judas 
for  the  usefulness  of  his  treachery,  but  dam 
nation  for  the  willfulness  of  his  wickedness: 
"  They  led  Him,"  as  John  the  evangelist  tells 
us,  "to  Annas  first."     Nor  does  he  withhold 
the  reason  for  so  doing:  "  For  he  was  father- 
in-law  to  Caiaphas,  who  was  the  high  priest 
that  same  year.     Now  Caiaphas  was  he,"  he 
says,  "  who  gave  counsel  to  the  Jews,  that  it 
was  expedient  that  one  man  should  die  for  the 
people."      And    properly   enough    Matthew, 
when  wishing  to  say  the  same  in  fewer  words, 
tells  us  that  He  was  led  to  Caiaphas; 3  for  He 
was  also  taken  in  the  first  place  to  Annas, 
simply  because  he  was  his  father-in-law;  and 
where  we  have  only  to  understand  that  such 
was  the  very  thing  that  Caiaphas  wished  to  be 
done. 

2.  "But   Jesus    was    followed,"    he   says, 
"by    Simon   Peter,    and    another    disciple." 
Who  that  other  disciple  is,  we  cannot  affirm 
with  confidence,  because  it  is  left  unnoticed 
here.     But  it  is  in  this  way  that  John  usually 
refers  to  himself,  with  the  addition,  "whom 
Jesus  loved."4     Perhaps,  therefore,  it  is  he 
also  in  the  present  case;  but  whoever  it  is,  let 
us   look  at  what  follows.       "And  that  dis- 
cipl.e,"  he  says,  "was  known  unto  the  -high 
nriest,  and  went  in  with  Jesus  into  the  palace 
of  the  high  priest;  but  Peter  stood  at  the  door 
without.     Then  went  out  that  other  disciple, 
who  was  known  unto  the  high  priest,  and  spake 
unto  her  that  kept  the  door,  and  brought  in 
Peter.     Then  saith  the  damsel  that  kept  the 
door  unto  Peter,  Art  thou  also  one  of  this 
man's  disciples?     He  saith,  I  am  not."    'Lo, 
the  pillar  of  greatest  strength  has  at  a  single 


breath  of  air  trembled  to  its  foundations. 
Where  is  now  all  that  boldness  of  the  prom- 
iser,  and  his  overweening  confidence  in  him 
self  beforehand  ?  What  now  of  those  words, 
when  he  said,  "Why  cannot  I  follow  Thee 
new  ?  I  will  lay  down  my  life  for  Thy  sake."5 
Is  this  the  way  to  follow  the  Master,  to  deny 
his  own  discipleship?  is  it  thus  that  one's  life 
is  laid  down  for  the  Lord,  when  one  is  fright 
ened  at  a  maid-servant's  voice,  lest  it  should 
compel  us  to  the  sacrifice  ?  But  what  wonder, 
if  God  foretold  what  was  true,  and  man  pre 
sumptuously  imagined  what  was  false  ?  As 
suredly  in  this  denial  of  the  Apostle  Peter, 
which  had  now  entered  on  its  first  stage,  we 
ought  to  take  notice  that  not  only  is  Christ 
denied  by  one  who  says  that  He  is  not  Christ, 
but  by  him  also  who,  while  really  a  Christian, 
himself  denies  that  he  is  so.  For  the  Lord 
said  not  to  Peter,  Thou  shalt  deny  that  thou 
art  my  disciple;  but,  "  Thou  shalt  deny  me."6 
Him,  therefore,  he  denied,  when  he  denied 
that  he  was  His  disciple.  And  what  else  did 
such  a  form  of  denial  imply,  but  that  of  his 
own  Christianity  ?  For  although  the  disciples 
of  Christ  were  not  yet  called  by  such  a  name, 
— because  it  was  after  His  ascension,  in 
Antioch,  first  that  the  disciples  began  to  be 
called  Christians,7 — yet  the  thing  itself,  that 
afterwards  assumed  such  a  name,  already  ex 
isted,  those  who  were  afterwards  called 
Christians  were  already  disciples;  and  this 
common  name,  like  the  common  faith,  they 
transmitted  to  their  posterity.  He,  therefore, 
who  denied  that  he  was  Christ's  disciple,  de 
nied  the  reality  of  the  thing,  of  which  the 
being  called  a  Christian  was  only  the  name. 
How  many  afterwards,  not  to  speak  of  old 
men  and  women,  whose  satiated  feelings  as 
regards  the  present  life  might  more  easily 
enable  them  to  brave  death  for  the  confes 
sion  of  Christ;  and  not  merely  the  youth  of 


I  Eph.  V.  2. 

3  Matt.  xxvi.  57. 


4  C  hap.  .xiii.  23,  and  xix.  26. 


5  Chap.  xiii.  37. 


Matt. 


TRACTS  n    CXI  II.] 


ON  THI:  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  JOHN, 


419 


both  sexei,  wiicn  (.fan  age  at  which  t 

en  isr  of  fortitude  serins  t<>  In-  fairly  required; 
luit  even  boys  and  girls  could  do — even  as  an 
innumerable  company  of  holy  martyrs  with 
brave  hearN  and  by  a  violent  death  entered 
the  kingdom  of  heaven — what  at  that  moment 
he  was  unable  to  do,  who  received  the  keys 
of  that  kingdom.'  It  is  here  we  see  why  it 
was  said,  "  Let  these  go  their  way,"  when 
He,  who  hath  redeemed  us  by  His  own  blood, 
gave  Himself  for  us;  that  the  saying  which 
He  spake  might  be  fulfilled,  "  Of  those  whom 
Thou  hast  given  me  I  have  lost  none.'1  For 
assuredly,  had  Peter  gone  hence  after  deny 
ing  the  Christ,  what  else  would  have  awaited 
him  but  destruction  ? 

3.  "And  the  servants  and  officers  stood  be 
side  the  fire  of  burnmg  coals,  for  it  was  cold, 
and  warmed  themselves."  Though  it  was  not 
winter,  it  was  cold:  which  is  sometimes  wont 
to  be  the  case  even  at  the  vernal  equinox. 
"And  Peter  was  standing  with  them,  and 
warming  himself.  The  high  priest  then  asked 
Jesus  of  His  disciples,  and  of  His  doctrine. 
Jesus  answered  him,  I  spake  openly  to  the 
world;  I  always  taught  in  the  synagogue,  and 
in  the  temple,  whither  all  the  Jews  resort,  and 
in  secret  have  I  said  nothing.  Why  askest 
thou  me  ?  ask  those  who  heard  me,  what  I 
have  said  unto  them:  behold,  they  know 
what  I  said."  A  question  occurs  that  ought 
not  to  be  passed  over,  how  it  is  that  the  Lord 
Jesus  said,  "I  spake  openly  to  the  world;" 
and  in  particular  that  which  He  afterwards 
added,  "  In  secret  have  I  said  nothing."  Did 
He  not,  even  in  that  latest  discourse  which 
He  delivered  to  the  disciples  after  supper,  say 
to  them,  "  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto 
you  in  proverbs;  but  the  hour  cometh,  when 
I  shall  no  more  speak  unto  you  in  proverbs, 
but  I  shall  show  you  plainly  of  my  Father  ?  "  * 
If,  then,  He  spake  not  openly  even  to  the 
more  intimate  company  of  His  disciples,  but 
gave  the  promise  of  a  time  when  He  would 
speak  openly,  how  was  it  that  He  spake  openly 
to  the  world  ?  And  still  further,. as  is  also 
testified  on  the  authority  of  the  other  evan 
gelists,  to  those  who  were  truly  His  own,  in 
comparison  with  others  who  were  not  His  dis 
ci  pies,  He  certainly  spake  with  much  greater 
plainness  when  He  was  alone  with  them  at  a 
distance  from  the  multitudes;  for  then  He 
unfolded  to  them  the  parables,  which  He  had 
uttered  in  obscure  terms  to  others.  What 
then  is  the  meaning  of  the  words,  "  In  secret 
have  I  said  nothing"  ?  It  is  in  this  way  \ve 
are  to  understand  His  saying,  "  I  spake  openly 
to  the  world;  "  as  if  He  had  said,  There  were 

«  Matt.  xvi.  ig.  'Chap.  xvi.  2,. 


many  that  heard  me.  And  that  word  ' 
ly  "  was  in  a  certain  sense  openly,  and  in  an 
other  sense  not  openly.  It  was  openly, 
because  many  heard  Him;  and  again  it  was 
not  openly,  because  they  did  not  understand 
Him.  And  even  what  He  spake  to  His  dis 
ciples  apart,  He  certainly  spake  not  in  secret. 
For  who  speaketh  in  secret,  that  speaketh 
before  so  many  persons;  as  it  is  written,  "At 
the  mouth  of  two  or  three  witnesses  shall 
every  word  be  established:"3  especially  if 
that  be  spoken  to  a  few  which  he  wisheth  to 
become  known  to  many  through  them;  as  the 
Lord  Himself  said 'to  the  few  whom  He  had 
as  yet,  "  What  I  tell  you  in  darkness,  that 
speak  ye  in  light;  and  what  ye  hear  in  the  ear, 
that  preach  ye  upon  the  house-tops  "?«  And 
accordingly  the  very  thing  that  seemed  to  be 
spoken  by  Himself  in  secret,  was  in  a  certain 
sense  not  spoken  in  secret;  for  it  was  not  so 
spoken  to  remain  unuttered  by  those  to 
whom  it  was  spoken;  but  rather  so  in  order 
to  be  preached  in  every  possible  direction.  A 
thing  therefore  may  be  uttered  at  once  openly, 
and  not  openly;  or  at  the  same  time  in  secret, 
and  yet  not  in  secret,  as  it  is  said,  "  That 
seeing,  they  may  see,  and  not  see."  5  For 
how  "  may  they  see,"  save  only  because  it  is 
openly,  and  not  in  secret;  and  again,  how  is 
it  that  the  same  parties  "  may  not  see,"  save 
that  it  is  not  openly,  but  in  secret  ?  Howbeit 
the  very  things  which  they  had  heard  without 
understanding,  were  such  as  could  not  with 
justice  or  truth  be  turned  into  a  criminal 
charge  against  Him:  and  as  often  -is  they  tried 
by  their  questions  to  find  something  whereof 
to  accuse  Him,  He  gave  them  such  replies  as 
utterly  discomfited  all  their  plots,  anJ  left  no 
ground  for  the  calumnies  they  devised. 
Therefore  He  said,  "  Why  askest  thou  me  ? 
ask  those  who  heard  me,  what  I  have  said 
unto  them:  behold,  they  know  what  I  said." 
4.  "And  when  He  had  thus  spoken,  one  of 
the  officers  who  stood  by  gave  Jesus  a  blow 
with  his  open  hand,  saying,  Answerest  thou 
the  high  priest  so?  Jesus  answered  him,  If 
I  have  spoken  evil,  bear  witness  of  the  evil; 
but  if  well,  why  smitest  thou  me?"  What 
could  be  truer,  meeker,  juster,  than  such  an 
answer  ?  For  it  is  His  [reply],  from  whom 
the  prophetic  voice  had  issued  before,  "  Make 
for  thy  goal  (literally,  take  aim),  and  advance 
prosperously  and  reign,  because  of  truth,  and 
meekness,  and  righteousness."6  If  we  con- 


i  Heut.  xix.  15.  4  Matt.  x.  27.  5  Mark.  iv.  12. 

»  Ps.  xlv.  4.     In   the  Hebrew  text,  at  the  close  of  verse  4  and 

In  onnitik:  .•!  \rr^.-  =,  iKiin.  Ver.  verses  3  and  4),  there  is  a  repeti- 
ti, ,11  ,,|  tin-  w,.nl  - — ;rj*.  which  in  l»th  cases  is  rendered  in  our 
Kn«lish  Version,  "  anil  [in]  Thy  majesty."  Ky  the  Septu.i^int. 
.mil  the  Vulgate,  and  here  by  Aujtustin,  the  burr  of 
the  two  has  been  differently  read  as  a  verb,  as  if  pointed  ----'. 


420 


THK  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  LXI. 


sider  who  it  was  that  received  the  blow,  might 
we  not  well  feel  the  wish  that  he  who  struck 
it  were  either  consumed  by  fire  from  heaven, 
or  swallowed  up  by  the  gaping  earth,  or  seized 
and  carried  off  by  devils,  or  visited  with  some 
other  or  still  heavier  punishment  of  this  kind  ? 
For  what  one  of  all  these  could  not  He,  who 
made  the  world,  have  commanded  by  His 
power,  had  He  not  wished  rather  to  teach  us 
the  patience  that  overcometh  the  world  ? 
Some  one  will  say  here,  Why  did  He  not  do 
what  He  Himself  commanded?1  for  to  one 
that  smote  Him,  He  ought  not  to  have  an 
swered  thus,  but  to  have  turned  to  him  the 
other  cheek.  Nay,  more  than'  this,  did  He 
not  answer  truthfully,  and  meekly,  and  right 
eously,  and  at  the  same  time  not  only  prepare 
His  other  cheek  to  him  who  was  yet  again  to 
smite  it,  but  His  whole  body  to  be  nailed  to 
the  tree  ?  And  hereby  He  rather  showed, 
what  needed  to  be  shown,  namely,  that  those 
great  precepts  of  His  are  to  be  fulfilled  not  by 
bodily  ostentation,  but  by  the  preparation  of 
the  heart.  For  it  is  possible  that  even  an 
angry  man  may  visibly  hold  out  his  other 
cheek.  How  much  better,  then,  is  it  for  one 
who  is  inwardly  pacified  to  make  a  truthful 
answer,  and  with  tranquil  mind  hold  himself 
ready  for  the  endurance  of  heavier  sufferings 
to  come  ?  Happy  is  he  who,  in  all  that  he 
suffers  unjustly  for  righteousness'  sake,  can 
say  with  truth,  "  My  heart  is  ready,  O  God, 
my  heart  is  ready;''  for  this  it  is  that  gives 
cause  for  that  which  follows:  "  I  will  sing  and 
give  praise;"2  which  Paul  and  Barnabas3 
could  do  even  in  the  cruellest  of  bonds. 

5.  But  let  us  return  to  what  follows  in  the 
Gospel  narrative.  "And  Annas  sent  Him 
bound  unto  Caiaphas  the  high  priest."  To 
him,  according  to  Matthew's  account,  He 
was  led  at  the  outset,  because  he  was  the  high 
priest  that  year.  For  both  the  pontiffs  are 
to  be  understood  as  in  the  habit  of  acting 
year  by  year  alternately,  that  is,  as  chief 
priests;  and  these  were  at  that  time  Annas 

in  the  sense  of  "  Bend  thy  bow,"  "  Take  aim,"  with  the  ace.  omit 
ted.  Our  English  Version  combines  the  next  two  verbs  ^"]  ("P5J, 

"  ride  prosperously,''  while  in  the  above  the  distinction  is  preserved, 
"advance  prosperously,  ride  (as  a  king,  reign). " — Tu. 

»  Matt.  v.  39.  2  Ps.  Ivii.  7. 

3  Here  probably  we  should  read  Silas,  according  to  Acts  xvi. 

ZS.-MlGNK. 


and  Caiaphas,  as  recorded  by  the  evangelist 
Luke,  when  telling  of  the  time  when  John, 
the  Lord's  forerunner,  began  to  preach  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  and  to  gather  disciples. 
For  he  speaks  thus:  "  Under  the  high  priests 
Annas  and  Caiaphas,  the  word  of  the  Lord 
came  upon  John,  the  son  of  Zacharias,  in  the 
wilderness,"4  etc.  Accordingly  these  two 
pontiffs  fulfilled  their  years  in  turn:  and  it 
was  the  year  of  Caiaphas  when  Christ  suffered. 
And  so,  according  to  Matthew,  when  He  was 
apprehended,  He  was  taken  to  him;  but  first, 
according  to  John,  they  came  with  Him  to 
Annas;  not  because  he  was  his  colleague,  but 
his  father-in-law.  And  we  must  suppose  that 
it  was  by  Caiaphas'  wish  that  it  was  so  done; 
or  that  their  houses  were  so  situated,  that 
Annas  could  not  properly  be  overlooked  by 
them  as  they  passed  on  their  way. 

6.  But  the  evangelist,  after  saying  that 
Annas  sent  Him  bound  unto  Caiaphas,  re 
turns  to  the  place  of  his  narrative,  where  he 
had  left  Peter,  in  order  to  explain  what  had 
taken  place  in  Annas'  house  in  regard  to  his 
threefold  denial.  "  But  Peter  was  standing," 
he  says,  "and  warming  himself."  He  thus 
repeats  what  he  had  already  stated  before; 
and  then  adds  what  follows.  "  They  said 
therefore  unto  him,  Art  thou  also  one  of  his 
disciples?  He  denied,  and  said,  I  am  not." 
He  had  already  denied  once;  this  is  the  second 
time.  And  then,  that  the  third  denial  might 
also  be  fulfilled,  "one  of  the  servants  of  the 
high  priest,  being  his  kinsman  whose  ear 
Peter  cut  off,  saith,  Did  I  not  see  thee  in  the 
garden  with  him  ?  Peter  then  denied  again, 
and  immediately  the  cock  crew."  Behold, 
the  prediction  of  the  Physician  is  fulfilled,  the 
presumption  of  the  sick  man  is  brought  to 
the  light.  For  there  is  no  performance  of 
what  the  latter  had  asserted,  "  I  will  lay 
down  my  life  for  Thy  sake;"  but  a  perform 
ance  of  what  the  former  had  predicted,  "  Thou 
shalt  thrice  deny  me."5  But  with  the  com 
pletion  of  Peter's  threefold  denial,  let  the 
present  discourse  be  also  now  completed, 
that  hereafter  we  may  make  a  fresh  start  with 
the  consideration  of  what  was  done  respecting 
the  Lord  before  Pontius  Pilate  the  governor. 


S  Chap,  xii 


IACTATK    «    \ I \ . 1 


ON    i  in    GOSPEL  <'i    ST.   JOHN. 


TRACTATE    CXIV 


XVIII.    28-32. 


i.  LET  us  now  consider,  so  far  as  indicated 
by  the  evangelist  John,  what  was  done  with, 
or  in  regard  to,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  when 
brought  before  Pontius  Pilate  the  governor. 
For  he  returns  to  the  place  of  his  narrative, 
where  he  had  left  it,  to  explain  the  denial  of 
Peter.  He  had  already,  you  know,  said, 
"And  Annas  sent  Him  bound  unto  Caiaphas 
the  high  priest:  "  and  having  returned  from 
where  he  had  dismissed  Peter  as  he  was  warm 
ing  himself  at  the  fire  in  the  hall,  after  com 
pleting  the  whole  of  his  denial,  which  was 
thrice  repeated,  he  soys,  "  Then  they  bring 
Jesus  unto  Caiaphas1  into  the  hall  of  judg 
ment  (pretorium);  "  for  he  had  said  that  He 
was  sent  to  Caiaphas  by  his  colleague  and 
father-in-law  Annas.  But  if  to  Caiaphas, 
why  into  the  hall  of  judgment  ?  Nothing  else 
is  thereby  meant  to  be  understood  than  the 
place  where  Pilate  the  governor  dwelt.  And 
therefore,  either  for  some  urgent  reason 
Caiaphas  had  proceeded  from  the  house  of 
Annas,  where  both  had  met  to  give  Jesus  a 
hearing,  to  the  governor's  pretorium,  and  had 
left  the  hearing  of  Jesus  to  his  father-in-law; 
or  Pilate  had  made  his  pretorium  in  the  house 
of  Caiaphas,  which  was  so  large  as  to  contain 
separate  apartments  for  its  own  master,  and 
the  like  for  the  judge. 

2.  "And  it  was  morning;  and  they  them 
selves,"  that  is,  those  who  brought  Jesus, 
"  went  not  into  the  judgment  hall,"  to  wit, 
into  that  part  of  the  house  which  Pilate  occu 
pied,  supposing  it  to  be  Caiaphas'  house. 
And  then  in  explanation  of  the  reason  why 
they  went  not  into  the  judgment  hall,  lie  says, 
**  lest  they  should  be  defiled;  but  that  they 
might  eat  the  passover. "  For  it  was  the 
commencement  of  the  days  of  unleavened 
bread:  on  which  they  accounted  it  defilement 
to  enter  the  abode  of  one  of  another  nation. 
Impious  blindness  !  Would  they,  forsooth, 
be  defiled  by  a  stranger's  abode,  and  not  be 
defiled  by  their  own  \\  k  kedness  ?  They  were 
afraid  of  being  defiled  by  the  pretorium  of  a 
foreign  judge,  and  had  no  fear  of  defilement 
from  the  blood  of  an  innocent  brother:  not  to 
say  more  than  this  meanwhile,  which  was 
enough  to  fix  guilt  on  the  conscience  of  the 
wicked.  For  the  additional  fact,  that  it  was 


the  Lord^vho  was  led  to-  death  by  their  im 
piety,  and  the  giver  of  life  that  was  on  the 
way  to  be  slain,  may  be  charged,  not  to  their 
conscience,  but  to  their  ignorance. 

3.  "  Pilate  then  went  out  unto  them,  and 
said,  What    accusation  bring  ye  against  this 
man?     They  answered  and  said  unto  him,  If 
he  were  not  a  malefactor,  we  would  not  have 
delivered  him  up  unto  thee."     Let  the  ques 
tion  be  put  to,  and   the  answer  come   from, 
those  who  had  been  delivered  from  foul  spirits, 
from  the    sickly  who    had    been    healed,  the 
lepers  who  had  been  cleansed,  the  deaf  who 
were  hearing,  the  dumb  who  were  speaking, 
the  blind  who  were  seeing,  the  dead  who  were 
raised  to  life,  and,  above  all,  the  foolish  who 
were   become   wise,    whether   Jesus    were   a 
malefactor.     But  these  things  were   said   by 
those  of  whom  He  Himself  had  already  fore 
told    by   the    prophet,  "  They    rewarded    me 
evil  for  good."3 

4.  "Then  said  Pilate  unto  them,  Take  ye 
him,  and  judge  him  according  to  your  law. 
The  Jews  therefore  said  unto  him.      It  is  not 
lawful    for   us   to    put   any    man    to   death." 
What  is  this  that  their  insane  cruelty  saith  ? 
Did  not  they  put  Him  to  death,  whom  they 
were  here  presenting  for  the  very  purpose  ? 
Or   does   the   cross,    forsooth,    fail    to    kill  ? 
Such  is  the  folly  of  those  who  do  not  pursue, 
but  persecute  wisdom.     What  then  mean  the 
words,  "  It  is  not  lawful  for  us  to  put  any  man 
to  death  "?     If  He  is  a  malefactor,  why  is  it 
not  lawful  ?     Did  not  the  law  command  them 
not  to  spare  malefactors,  especially  (as  they 
accounted  Him  to  be)  those  who  seduced  them 
from  their  God?*     We  are,  however,  to  un 
derstand  that  they  said  that  it  was  not  lawful 
for  them  to  put  any  man  to  death,  on  account 
of  the  sanctity  of  the  festal  day,  which  they 
had  just  begun  to  celebrate,  and  on  account 
of  which   they  were  afraid  of  being  defiled 
even  by  entering  the  pretorium.     Had  you 
become  so  hardened,  false  Israelites  ?     Were 
you  by  your  excessive  malice  so  lost  to  all 

»  Ps.  xxxy.  12. 

'  I>rut.  xiii.  s-  Augustin  evidently  attaches  a  wrong  meaning 
to  the  words,  .\'<>/-is  m>n  lit  ft  inter tuere  quenquam:  as  if  these 
Jews  thereby  insinuated  that  they  did  not  themselves  wish  I'hrist's 
death  :  unaware.  seemingly.  '>f  the  (act,  that,  on  their  subjugation 
by  the  Romans,  their  own  rulrrs  were  still  allowed  to  try  minor 
nlfrnsrx.  Inn  were  deprived  of  the  power  of  inflicting  capital  pun 
ishment;  anil  that,  i  on-rqiifiitly,  it  was  IK-C.IIIM-  they  were  actually 


isnment;  and  tnat,  consequently,  it  was  because  tbey  were  actnallY 

«  This  reading  of  the  text  is  also  found  in  "  The  Harmony  of  bent  on  putting  Him  to  death,  and  no  less  penalty  would  satisfy 
the  Kvungrhsts."  Hook  iii.  chap.  7  ;  but  the  true  biblical  reading  is  them,  that  they  thus  brought  Him  before  the  Roman  governor. — 
now  ascertained  to  be,  aworov  Kaia^a.  "  !  MIC.NK.  TK. 


422 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATK  e  XIV. 


sense,  as  to  imagine  that  you  were  unpolluted 
by  the  blood  of  the  innocent,  because  you 
gave  it  up  to  be  shed  by  another  ?  Was  even 
1'ilate  himself  going  to  slay  Him  with  his  own 
hands,  when  made  over  by  you  into  his  power 
for  the  very  purpose?  If  you  did  not  wish 
Him  to  be  slain;  if  you  did  not  lay  snares  for 
Him;  if  you  did  not  get  Him  to  be^etrayed 
to  you  for  money;  if  you  did  not  lay  hands 
upon  Him,  and  bind  Him,  and  bring  Him 


another  to  be  crucified:  I  do  not  see  how  such 
can  be  understood  as  a  consequence,  seeing 
that  this  was  their  answer  to  the  words  that 
Pilate  had  just  addressed  to  them,  "  Take  ye 
him,  and  judge  him  according  to  your  law." 
If  it  were  so,  could  they  not  then  have  taken 
Him,  and  crucified  Him  themselves,  had  they 
desired  by  any  such  form  of  punishment  to 
avoid  the  putting  of  Him  to  death  ?  But  who 
is  there  that  may  not  see  the  absurdity  of 


there;  if  you  did  not  with  your  own  hands  allowing  those  to  crucify  any  one,  who  were 
present  Him,  and  with  your  voices  demand  not  allowed  to  put  any  one  to  death  ?  Nay 
Him  to  be  slain, — then  boast  that  He  was  not  more,  did  not  the  Lord  Himself  call  that 
put  to  death  by  you.  But  if  in  addition  to  |  same  death  of  His,  that  is,  the  death  of  the 
all  these  former  deeds  of  yours,  you  also  cross,  a  putting  to  death,  as  we  read  in  Mark, 
cried  out,  "  Crucify,  crucify  [him]; '' '  then  where  he  says,  "  Behold,  we  go  up  to  Jerusa- 


hear  what  it  is  against  you  that  the  prophet 
proclaims:  "The  sons  of  men,  whose  teeth 
are  spears  and  arrows,  and  their  tongue  a 
sharp  sword."2  These,  look  you,  are  the 
spears,  the  arrows,  the  sword,  wherewith  you 
slew  the  righteous,  when  you  said  that  it  was 
not  lawful  for  you  to  put  any  man  to  death. 
Hence  it  is  also  that  when  for  the  purpose  of 
apprehending  Jesus  the  chief  priests  did  not 
themselves  come,  but  sent;  yet  the  evangelist 
Luke  says  in  the  same  passage  of  his  narra 
tive,  "  Then  said  Jesus  unto  those  who  were 
come  to  him,  [namely]  the  chief  priests,  and 
captains  of  the  temple,  and  elders,  Be  ye 
come  out,  as  against  a  thief,"  etc?3  As 
therefore  the  chief  priests  went  not  in  their 
own  persons,  but  by  those  whom  they  had 


lem;  and  the  Son  of  man  shall  be  delivered 
unto  the  chief  priests,  and  unto  the  scribes; 
and  they  shall  condemn  Him  to  death,  and 
shall  deliver  Him  to  the  Gentiles:  and  they 
shall  mock  Him,  and  shall  spit  upon  Him, 
and  shall  scourge  Him,  and  shall  put  Him  to 
death,  and  the  third  day  He  shall  rise 
again  "  ?4  There  is  no  doubt,  therefore,  that 
in  so  speaking  the  Lord  signified  what  death 
He  should  die:  not  that  He  here  meant  the 
death  of  the  cross  to  be  understood,  but  that 
the  Jews  were  to  deliver  Him  up  to  the  Gen 
tiles,  or,  in  other  words,  to  the  Romans.  For 
Pilate  was  a  Roman,  and  had  been  sent  by  the 
Romans  into  Judea  as  governor.  That,  then, 
this  saying  of  Jesus  might  be  fulfilled,  namely, 
that,  being  delivered  up  to  them,  He  should 


sent,  to  apprehend  Jesus,  what  else  was  that  I  be  put  to  death  by  the  Gentiles,  as  Jesus  had 
but  coming  themselves   in  the  authority   of   foretold  would  happen;  therefore  when  Pilate, 


their  own  order  ?  and  so  all,  who  cried  out 
with  impious  voices  for  the  crucifixion  of 
Christ,  slew  Him,  not,  indeed,  directly  with 
their  own  hands,  but  personally  through  him 
who  was  impelled  to  such  a  crime  by  their 


clamor. 
5.   But 


when   the    evangelist   John    adds, 


"  That  the  saying  of  Jesus  might  be  fulfilled, 
which  He  spake,  signifying  what  death  He 
should  die:  "  if  we  would  understand  such 
words  as  referring  to  the  death  of  the  cross, 
as  if  the  Jews  had  said,  "  It  is  not  lawful  for 
us  to  put  any  man  to  death,"  for  this  reason 
that  it  was  one  thing  to  be  put  to  death,  and 


who  was  the  Roman  judge,  wished  to  hand 
Him  back  to  the  Jews,  that  they  might  judge 
Him  according  to  their  law,  they  refused  to 
receive  Him,  saying,  "It  is  not  lawful  for  us 
to  put  any  man  to  death."  And  so  the  say 
ing  of  Jesus  was  fulfilled,  which  He  foretold 
concerning  His  death,  that,  being  delivered 
up  by  the  Jews,  He  should  be  put  to  death 
by  the  Gentiles:  whose  crime  was  less  than 
that  of  the  Jews,  who  sought  by  this  method 
to  make  themselves  appear  averse  to  His  be 
ing  put  to  death,  to  the  end  that,  not  their 
innocence,  but  their  madness  might  be  made 
manifest. 


Chap.  xix.  6. 


Ps.  Ivii.  4- 


3  Luke  xxii.  52. 


4  Mark  x.  33,  34. 


ON    nil,  GOSPEL  <  -I    ST.  JOHN. 


423 


TRACTATE    CXV. 

CHAI-TIK  XVIII.   33-40. 


i.   WHAT  Pilate  said  to  Christ,  or  what  He 
replied  to    Pilate,   has  to  lie  considered  and 
handled  in  the  present  discourse.     For  after 
the  words  had   been  addressed  to  the  Jews,! 
"  Take  ye  him,  and  judge  him  according  to 
your  law,"  and  the  Jews  had  replied,  "  It  is 
not  lawful  for  us  to  put  any  man  to  death,  , 
Pilate  entered  again  into  the  judgment  hall, 
and    called    Jesus,  and  said    unio    Him,  Art  I 
thou  the  King  of  the  Jews  ?     And  Jesus  an-  j 
swered,  Sayest  thou  this  thing  of  thyself,  or 
did  others  tell  it  thee  of  me  ? "     The  Lord  in 
deed  knew  both  what  He  Himself  asked,  and  ' 
what  reply  the  other  was  to  give;  but  yet  He 
wished  it  to  be  spoken,  not  for  the  sake  of 
information   to   Himself,   but  that  what   He 
wished    us   to   know   might   be    recorded    in ! 
Scripture.     "Pilate  answered,  Am  la  Jew?' 
Thine  own  nation,  and  the  chief  priests,  have 
delivered  thee  unto  me:  what  hast  thou  done  ?  | 
Jesus  answered,  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  j 
world.     If  my  kingdom  were  of  this  world, 
then  would  my  servants  fight,  that  I  should 
not  be  delivered  to  the  Jews:  but  now  is  my  I 
kingdom  not  from  hence."     This  is  what  the  ' 
good    Master   wished   us  to   know;  but  first  | 
there  had  to  be  shown  us  the  vain  notion  that 
men  had    regarding    His    kingdom,  whether 
Gentiles   or   Jews,   from    whom    Pilate    had 
heard  it;  as  if  He  ought  to  have  been  pun 
ished  with  death  on  the  ground  of  aspiring  to 
an  unlawful  kingdom;  or  as  those  in  the  pos 
session  of  royal  power  usually  manifest  their  j 
ill-will  to  such  as  are  yet  to  attain  it,  as  if, 
for  example,  precautions  were  to  be  used  lest 
His  kingdom  should  prove  adverse  either  to 
the  Romans  or  to  the  Jews.     But  the  Lord 
was  able  to  reply  to  the  first  question  of  the 
governor,  when  he  asked  Him,  "Art  thou  the 
King  of  the  Jews?"    with  the  words,  "My 
kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,"  etc.;  but  by 
questioning  him  in  turn,  whether  he  said  this 
thing  of  himself,  or  heard  it  from  others,  He 
wished  by  his  answer  to  show  that  He  had 
been  charged  with  this  as  a  crime  before  him 
by  the  Jews:  laying  open  to  us  the  thoughts 
of  men,  which  were  all   known  to   Himself, 
that   they   are    but   vain;1    and     now,    after 
Pilate's  answer,  giving  them,  both  Jews  and 
Gentiles,  all  the  more  reasonable  and  fitting  a 
reply,  "My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world." 


Hut  had  He  made  an  immediate  answer  to 
1'i kite's  question,  His  reply  would  have  ap 
peared  to  refer  to  the  Gentiles  only,  without 
including  the  Jews,  as  entertaining  such  an 
opinion  regarding  Him.  But  now  when  Pilate 
replied,  "Am  I  a  Jew  ?  Thine  own  nation, 
and  the  chief  priests,  have  delivered  thee  to 
me;*'  he  removed  from  himself  the 'suspicion 
of  being  possibly  supposed  to  have  spoken  of 
his  own  accord,  in  saying  that  Jesus  was  the 
king  of  the  Jews,  by  showing  that  such  a 
statement  had  been  communicated  to  him  by 
the  Jews.  And  then  by  saying,  "  What  hast 
thou  done?'1  he  made  it  sufficiently  clear 
that  this  was  charged  against  Him  as  a  crime: 
as  if  he  had  said,  If  thou  deniest  such  kingly 
claims,  what  hast  thou  done  to  cause  thy  being 
delivered  unto  me?  As  if  there  would  be  no 
ground  for  wonder  that  one  should  be  de 
livered  up  to  a  judge  for  punishment,  who 
proclaimed  himself  a  king;  but  if  no  such 
assertion  were  made,  it  became  needful  to  in 
quire  of  Him,  what  else,  if  anything,  He  had 
done,  that  He  should  thus  deserve  to  be  de 
livered  unto  the  judge. 

2.   Hear  then,  ye  Jews  and  Gentiles;  hear, 

0  circumcision;     hear,    O    uncircumcision; 
hear,  all  ye  kingdoms  of  the  earth:  I  inter 
fere  not  with  your  government  in  this  world, 
"  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world."     Cherish 
ye    not    the    utterly   vain   terror   that   threw 
Herod  the  elder  into  consternation  when  the 
birth  of  Christ  was  announced,  and  led  him 
to  the  murder  of  so  many  infants  in  the  hope 
of   including   Christ    in   the    fatal    number,  * 
made   more   cruel   by   his  fear   than   by    his 
anger:   "  My  kingdom,"  He  said,  "  is  not  of 
this  world."     What  would  you  more?     Come 
to  the   kingdom   that   is   not   of  this   world; 
come,  believing,  and   fall  not  into  the  mad 
ness  of  anger  through  fear.     He  says,  indeed, 
prophetically  of  God  the  Father,  '*  Yet  have 

1  been  appointed  king  by  Him  upon  His  holy 
hill  of  Zion;"3  but  that  hill  of  Zion  is  not  of 
this  world.     For  what  is  His  kingdom,  save 
those  who  believe  in  Him,  to  whom  He  says, 
"  Ye  are  not  of  the  world,  even  as  I  am  not 
of  the  world  "  ?     And  yet  He  wished  them  to 
be  in  the  world:  on  that  very  account  saying 
of  them  to  the  Father,  "  I  pray  not  that  Thou 
shouldest  take  them  out  of  the  world,  but  that 


Matt.  ii.  3,  16. 


3  Ps.  ii.  6. 


424 


Till'.   WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[T*Ai  I-ATE  CXV. 


Thou  shouldest  keep  them  from  the  evil."1 
Hence  also  He  says  not  here,  "  My  kingdom 


here  referred  to  His  own  temporal  nativity, 
when  by  becoming  incarnate  He  came  into 


is  not"  in   this   world;  but,    "is  not   of  this 'the  world,  and  not  to  that  which  had  no  be- 
world."     And  when  He  proved  this  by  say-  ginning,  whereby  He  was  God  through  whom 
i  were  of  this  world,  then   the  Fathi 


ing,  "  If  my  kingdom 
would  my  servants  fight,  that  I  should  not  be 
delivered  to  the  Jews,"  He  saith  not,  "  But 
now  is  ir.y  kingdom  not"  here,  but,  "is  not 
from  hence."  For  His  kingdom  is  here  until 
the  end  of  the  world,  having  tares  intermin 
gled  therewith  until  the  harvest;  for  the  har 
vest  is  the  end  of  the  world,  when  the  reapers, 
that  is  to  say,  the  angels, shall  come  and  gather 
out  of  His  kingdom  everything  that  offendeth;2 
which  certainly  would  not  be  done,  were  it 
not  that  His  kingdom  is  here.  But  still  it  is 
not  from  hence;  for  it  only  sojourns  as  a 
stranger  in  the  world:  because  He  says  to 
His  kingdom,  "  Ye  are  not  of  the  world,  but 
I  have  chosen  you  out  of  the  world."3  They 
were  therefore  of  the  world,  so  long  as  they 
were  not  His  kingdom,  but  belonged  to  the 
prince  of  this  world.  Of  the  world  therefore 
are  all  mankind,  created  indeed  by  the  true 
God,  but  generated  from  Adam  as  a  vitiated 
and  condemned  stock;  and  there  are  made 
into  a  kingdom  no  longer  of  the  world,  all 
from  thence  that  have  been  regenerated  in 
Christ.  For  so  did  God  rescue  us  from  the 
power  of  darkness,  and  translate  us  into  the 
kingdom  of  the  Son  of  His  love:4  and  of  this 
kingdom  it  is  that  He  saith,  "  My  kingdom  is 
not  of  this  world;  "  or,  "  My  kingdom  is  not 
from  hence." 

3.  "  Pilate  therefore  said   unto  Him,  Art 
thou  a   king   then  ?     Jesus   answered,    Thou 
sayest  that  I  am  a  king."     Not  that  He  was 
afraid  to  confess  Himself  a  king,  but  "  Thou 
sayest  "  has  been  so  balanced  that  He  neither 
denies  Himself  to  be  a  king  (for  He  is  a  king 
whose  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world),  nor  does 
He  confess   that  He   is  such  a  king   as   to 
warrant  the  supposition  that  His  kingdom  is 
of  this  world.     For  as  this  was  the  very  idea 
in  Pilate's  mind  when  he  said,  '"Art  thou  a 
king   then  ? "    so   the    answer   he    got   was, 
"  Thou  sayest  that  I  am  a  king."     For  it  was 
said,  "  Thou  sayest,"  as  if  it  had  been  said, 
Carnal  thyself,  thou  sayest  it  carnally. 

4.  Thereafter  He  adds,  "To  this  end  was 
I  born,  and  for  this  cause  came   I   into  the 
world,  that  I   should  bear  witness   unto  the 
truth."**5      Whence  it  is  evident  that  He 


«  Chap.  xvii.  16,  15.  *  Matt. 

1  Chap.  xv.  19.  4  Col.  i.  13. 

5  The  verse  quoted  reads  in  I.<»tin,  Ego  in  hoc  natus  sutn,  et 
•  •»f,"  etc.;  and  in  reference  to  the  words,  in  hoc,  Augus- 
tin  goe*  on  to  say,  in  the  passage  marked  *  *  .  "  We  are  not  to 
lengthen  the  syllable  [vowel]  of  this  pronoun  when  He  says.  In 
hoc  natus  sum.  as  if  He  meant  to  say,  In  this  thing  was  1  born  : 
but  to  shorten  it,  as  if  He  had  said,  Ad  hanc  rein  natus  sum,  vtl 
ad  liOi  n.it us  sm:i  (for  this  thing  was  I  born),  just  as  He  says,  Ad 


Father  created  the  world.  For  this,  then, 
that  is,  on  this  account,  He  declared  that  He 
was  born,  and  to  this  end  He  came  into  the 
world,  to  wit,  by  being  born  of  the  Virgin, 
that  He  might  bear  witness  unto  the  truth. 
But  because  all  men  have  not  faith/  He  still 
further  said,  "  Every  one  that  is  of  the  truth 
heareth  my  voice."  He  heareth,  that  is  to 
say,  with  the  ears  of  the  inward  man,  or,  in 
other  words.  He  obeyeth  my  voice,  which  is 
equivalent  to  saying,  He  believeth  me. 
When  Christ,  therefore,  beareth  witness  unto 
the  truth,  He  beareth  witness,  of  course,  unto 
Himself;  for  from  His  own  lips  are  the  words, 
"I  am  the  truth;"7  as  He  said  also  in  an 
other  place,  "I  bear  witness  of  myself."8 
But  when  He  said,  "  Every  one  that  is  of  the 
truth  heareth  my  voice,"  He  commendeth  the 
grace  whereby  He  calleth  according  to  His 
own  purpose.  Of  which  purpose  the  apostle 
says,  "  We  know  that  all  things  work  together 
for  good  to  them  that  love  God,  to  those  who 
are  called  accord  ing  to  the  purpose  of  God,"' 
to  wit,  the  purpose  of  Him  that  calleth,  not 
of  those  who  are  called;  which  is  put  still 
more  clearly  in  another  place  in  this  way, 
"Labor  together  in  the  gospel  according  to 
the  power  of  God,  who  saveth  us  and  calleth 
us  with  His  holy  calling,  not  according  to  our 
works,  but  according  to  His  own  purpose  and 
grace."10  For  if  our  thoughts  turn  to  the 
nature  wherein  we  have  been  created,  inas 
much  as  we  were  all  created  by  the  Truth, 
who  is  there  that  is  not  of  the  truth  ?  But  it 
is  not  all  to  whom  it  is  given  of  the  truth  to 
hear,  that  is,  to  obey  the  truth,  and  to  believe 
in  the  truth;  while  in  no  case  certainly  is 
there  any  preceding  of  merit,  lest  grace  should 
cease  to  be  grace.  For  had  He  said,  Every 
one  that  heareth  my  voice  is  of  the  truth, 
then  it  would  be  supposed  that  he  was  de 
clared  to  be  of  the  truth  because  he  conforms 
to  the  truth;  it  is  not  this,  however,  that  He 
says,  but,  "  Every  one  that  is  of  the  truth 
heareth  my  voice."  And  in  this  way  he  is 
not  of  the  truth  simply  because  he  heareth 
His  voice;  but  only  on  this  account  he  hear 
eth,  because  he  is  of  the  truth,  that  is,  be 
cause  this  is  a  gift  bestowed  on  him  of  the 
truth.  And  what  else  is  this,  but  that  by 


/i,«-  7',-nf  in  tnundum  (for  this  came  I  into  the  world).  For  in  the 
(irock  (iospel  there  is  no  ambiguity  in  this  expression,"  the  Greek 
having  «i?  ToDro.  This  passage  is  interesting  only  to  I .atin  scholars, 
as  showing  that  in  ordinary  /,!>•/,« net  they  marked,  in  Augustin's 
time,  the  distinction  between  hoc  of  the  abl.  and  hen  of  the  nora. 
or  ace.—  TR. 

»  2  Thess.  iii.  2.  7  Chap.  xiv.  6.  «  Chap.  viii.  18. 

9  Koin.  viii.  28.  I0  2  Tim.  i.  8,  9. 


Ml       <     \YI.1 


ON    I'll  I.  <;<  ISI'KI,  •)!•    ST,   JOHN. 


425 


Christ's   gracious  bestowal   he   I 


that  Jesus  was  the  King  of  the  Jew^,  Imt  was 


Christ?  fixed   there,  as  in   the   superscription,  by  the 

5.  "  Pilate  said  unto  I  lini,  U'n.it  is  truth  ?  "  truth  itself,  whereof  he  had  just  inquired 
Nor  did  he  wait  to  hear  the  answer;  but  what  it  was.  "  Hut  on  hearing  this,  they  all 
"when  he  had  said  thi*,  he  went  out  again  cried  again,  saying,  Not  this  man,  hut  Barab- 
unto  the  Jews,  and  said  unto  them,  1  find  in  has.  Now  Barabbas  was  a  robber."  We 
him  no  tan  It.  Hut  ye  have  a  custom  that  I  blame  you  not,  O  jews,  for  liberating  the 
should  release  unto  you  one  at  the  passover:  guilty  during  the  passover,  but  for  slaying  the 
will  ye  therefore  that  I  release  unto  you  the  I  innocent;  and  yet  unless  that  were  done,  the 
King  of  the  Jews?1'  I  believe  when  Pilate  true  passover  would  not  take  place.  But  a 
said,  "  What  is  truth?"  there  immediately  shado.v  of  the  truth  was  retained  by  the  erring 
occurred  to  his  mind  the  custom  of  the  Jews,  |  Jews,  and  by  a  marvellous  dispensation  of 

divine  wisdom  the  truth  of  that  same  shadow 
was  fulfilled  by  deluded  men;  because  in  order 
that  the  true  passover  might  be  kept,  Christ 
was  led  as  a  sheep  to  the  sacrificial  slaughter. 
Hence  there  follows  the  account  of  the  in 
jurious  treatment  received  by  Christ  at  the 

a  thing  which  it  is  clear  he  greatly  desired.  :  hands  of  Pilate  and  his  cohort;  but  this  must 
It  could  not,  however,  be  torn  from  his  heart  |  be  taken  up  in  another  discourse. 


according  to  which  he  was  wont  to  release 
unto  them  one  at  the  passover;  and  therefore 
he  did  not  wait  to  hear  Jesus'  answer  to  his 
question,  What  is  truth  ?  to  avoid  delay  on 
recollecting  the  custom  whereby  He  might  be 
released  unto  them  during  the  passover — 


TRACTATE    CXVI. 

CHAPTER   XIX.   1-16. 


i.  ON  the  Jews  crying  out  that  they  did 
not  wish  Jesus  to  be  released  unto  them  at 
the  passover,  but  Barabbas  the  robber;  not 
the  Saviour,  but  the  murderer;  not  the  Giver 
of  life,  but  the  destroyer, — "  then  Pilate  took 
Jesus  and  scourged  Him."  We  must  believe 
that  Pilate  acted  thus  for  no  other  reason 
than  that  the  Jews,  glutted  with  the  injuries 
done  to  Him,  might  consider  themselves  sat 
isfied,  and  desist  from  madly  pursuing  Him 
even  unto  death.  With  a  similar  intention 
was  it  that,  as  governor,  he  also  permitted  his 
cohort  to  do  what  follows,  or  even  perhaps 
ordered  them,  although  the  evangelist  is 
silent  on  the  subject.  For  he  tells  us  what 
the  soldiers  did  thereafter,  but  not  that  Pilate 
ordered  it.  "And  the  soldiers,-'  he  says, 
"  platted  a  crown  of  thorns,  and  put  it  on  His 
head,  and  they  clothed  Him  with  a  purple 
robe.  And  they  came  to  Him  and  said, 
Hail,  King  of  the  Jews  !  And  they  smote 
Him  with  their  hands."  Thus  were  fulfilled 
the  very  things  which  Christ  had  foretold  of 
Himself;  thus  were  the  martyrs  moulded  for 
the  endurance  of  all  that  their  persecutors 
should  be  pleased  to  inflict;  thus,  by  conceal- 
ing  for  a  time  the  terror  of  His  power,  He 
commended  to  us  the  prior  imitation  of  His 
patience;  thus  the  kingdom  which  was  not  of 
this  world  overcame  that  proud  world,  not  by 
the  ferocity  of  fighting,  but  by  the  humility 


of  suffering;  and  thus  the  grain  of  corn  that 
was  yet  to  be  multiplied  was  sown  amid  the 
horrors    of   shame,    that   it    might    come    to 
I  fruition  amid  the  wonders  of  glory. 

2.  "  Pilate  went  fortlf  again,  and  saith  unto 
them,  Behold,  I  bring  him  forth,  that  ye  may 
know  that  I  find  no  fault  in  him.     Then  came 
Jesus  forth,  wearing  the  crown  of  thorns  and 
the  purple  robe.      And  he  saith  unto  them, 
Behold  the  man  ! ''     Hence  it  is  apparent  that 
these  things   were  done  by  the  soldiers  not 
without    Pilate's    knowledge,  whether  it  was 
that  he  ordered  them  or  only  permitted  them, 
namely,  for  the  reason  we  have  stated  above, 
that  His  enemies  might  all  the  more  willingly 
drink  in  the  sight  of  such  derisive  treatment, 
and  cease  to  thirst    further  for   His    blood. 
Jesus  goes  forth  to  them  wearing  the  crown 
of  thorns  and  the  purple  robe,  not  resplendent 
in  kingly  power,  but  laden  with  reproach;  and 
the  words  are  addressed  to  them,  Behold  the 
man  !     If  you  hate  your  king,  spare  him  now 
when  you  see  him  sunk  so  low;  he  has  been 
scourged,  crowned  with  thorns,  clothed  with 
the  garments  of  derision,  jeered  at  with  the 
bitterest  insults,  struck  with  the  open  hand; 
his  ignominy  is  at  the  boiling  point,  let  your 
ill-will  sink  to  zero.      But  there  is  no   such 
cooling  on  the  part  of  the  latter,  but  rather  a 
further  increase  of  heat  and  vehemence. 

3.  "  When  the  chief  priests,  therefore,  and 


426 


'I  Hi;   WORKS  OF  ST.    AIMUSTIN. 


[TRACTAII,  '  XVI. 


attendants  saw  Him,  they  cried  out.  saying, 
Crucify,  crucify  him.  Pilate  saith  unto  tuem, 
Take  ye  him  and  crucify  him;  for  I  find  no 
fault  in  him.  The  Jews  answered  him,  We 
have  a  law,  and  by  the  law  he  ought  to  die, 
because  he  made  himself  the  Son  of  God.*' 
Behold  another  and  still  greater  ground  of 
hatred.  The  former,  indeed,  seemed  but  a 
small  matter,  as  that  shown  towards  the  usur 
pation,  by  an  unlawful  act  of  daring,  of  the 
royal  power;  and  yet  of  neither  did  Jesus 
falsely  claim  possession,  but  each  of  them  is 
truly  His  as  both  the  only-begotten  Son  of 
God,  and  by  Him  appointed  King  upon  His 
holy  hill  of  Zion;  and  botlvmight  He  now  have 
shown  to  be  His,  were  it  not  that  in  propor 
tion  to  the  greatness  of  His  power,  He  pre 
ferred  to  manifest  the  corresponding  great 
ness  of  His  patience. 

4.  "When    Pilate,    therefore,    heard    that 
saying,  he  was  the  more  afraid;  and  entered 
again  into  the  judgment  hall,  and  saith  unto 
Jesus,   Whence  art  thou  ?      But  Jesus  gave 
him  no  answer."     It  is  found,  in  comparing 
the  narratives  of  all  the  evangelists,  that  this 
silence  on  the  part  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
took  place  more  than  once,  both  before  the 
chief  priests  and  before  Herod,  to  whom,  as 
Luke   intimates,   Pilate  had  sent  Him  for  a 
hearing,  and  before  Pilate  himself; '  so  that 
it  was  not  in  vain  that  the  prophecy  regard 
ing  Him  had  preceded,  "As  the  lamb  before 
its  shearer  was  dumb,  so  He  opened  not  His 
mouth,'' 2  especially  on  those  occasions  when 
He  answered  not  His  questioners.     For  al 
though   He   frequently   replied   to  questions 
addressed    to  Him,  yet  because  of  those  in 
regard  to  which  He  declined  making  any  re 
ply,  the  metaphor  of  the  lamb  is  supplied,  in 
order  that  in   His   silence   He  might  be  ac 
counted  not  as  guilty,  but  innocent.     When, 
therefore,  He  was  passing  through  the  pro 
cess  of  judgment,  wherever  He  opened  not 
His  mouth  it  was  in  the  character  of  a  lamb 
that  He  did  so;  that  is,  not  as  one  with  an 
evil  conscience  who  was  convicted  of  his  sins, 
but  as  one  who  in   His  meekness  was  sacri 
ficed  for  the  sins  of  others. 

5.  "  Then  saith  Pilate  unto  Him,  Speakest 
thou   not  unto  me  ?    knowest  thou   not  that 
I  have  power  to  crucify  thee,  and  have  power 
to   release    thee?      Jesus    answered:    Thou 
wouldest  have  no  power  against  me,  except  it 
were   given  thee   from    above:  therefore   he 
that  delivered  me  unto  thee  hath  the  greater 
sin."     Here,  you  see,  He   replied;  and   yet 
wherever  He  replied  not,  it  is  not  as  one  who 


Matt.  xxvi.  63,  xxvii.  14;  Mark  xiv.  61,  xv.  5;  I.uke  xxiii.  7-9; 


is  criminal  or  cunning,  but  as  a  lamb;  that 
is,  in  simplicity  and  innocence  He  opened 
not  His  mouth.  Accordingly,  where  He 
made  no  answer,  He  was  silent  as  a  sheep; 
where  He  answered,  He  taught  as  the  Shep 
herd.  Let  us  therefore  set  ourselves  to  learn 
what  He  said,  what  He  taught  also  by  the 
apostle,  that  "  there  is  no  power  but  of  God;  "* 
and  that  he  is  a  greater  sinner  who  malici 
ously  delivereth  up  to  the  power  the  innocent 
to  be  slain,  than  the  power  itself,  if  it  slay 
him  through  fear  of  another  power  that  is 
greater  still.  Of  such  a  sort,  indeed,  was  the 
power  which  God  had  given  to  Pilate,  that  he 
should  also  be  under  the  power  of  Caesar. 
Wherefore  "thou  wouldest  have,"  He  says, 
"no  power  against  me,"  that  is,  even  the 
little  measure  thou  really  hast,  "  except  "  this 
very  measure,  whatever  its  amount,  "  were 
given  thee  from  above."  But  knowing  as  I 
do  its  amount,  for  it  is  not  so  great  as  to  ren 
der  thee  altogether  independent,  "therefore 
he  that  delivered  me  unto  thee  hath  the 
greater  sin.''  He,  indeed,  delivered  me  to 
thy  power  at  the  bidding  of  envy,  whilst  thou 
art  to  exercise  thy  power  upon  me  through 
the  impulse  of  fear.  And  yet  not  even 
through  the  impulse  of  fear  ought  one  man  to 
slay  another,  especially  the  innocent;  never 
theless  to  do  so  by  an  officious  zeal  is  a  much 
greater  evil  than  under  the  constraint  of  fear. 
And  therefore  the  truth-speaking  Teacher 
saith  not,  "  He  that  delivered  me  to  thee,"  he 
only  hath  sin,  as  if. the  other  had  none;  but 
He  saith,  "hath  the  greater  sin,"  letting  him 
understand  that  he  himself  was  not  exempt 
from  blame.  For  that  of  the  latter  is  not 
reduced  to  nothing  because  the  other  is 
greater. 

6.  "  Hence  Pilate  sought  to  release  Him." 
What  is  to  be  understood  by  the  word  here 
used,  "  hence,'1 4  as  if  he  had  not  been  seeking 
to  do  so  before  ?     Read  what  precedes,  and 
thou  wilt  find  that  he  had  already  for  some 
time  been  seeking  to  release  Jesus.     By  the 
original  word,4  therefore,  we  are  to  under 
stand,  on  this  account,  that  \s,for  t/iis  reason, 
that  he  might  not  contract  sin  by  slaying  an 
innocent  man  who  had  been  delivered   into 
his  hands,  even  though  his  sin  would  be  less 
than  that  of  the  Jews,  who  delivered   Him  to 
him  to  be  put  to  death.      "From  thence,"4 
therefore,   that  is,   for  this   reason,  that   he 
might  not  commit  such  a  sin,  "he  sought" 
not  now  for  the  first  time,  but  from  the   be 
ginning,  "to  release  Him." 

7.  "But    the    Jews    cried    out,    saying,    It" 
thou  let  this  man  go,  thou  art  not   Co-s;ir's 


Rom.  xiii.  i. 

Eximic:  Greek,  ««CTOVTC 


i-rully,  "  therefrom.  '     Tr. 


TH.V  IAII    «  XVI.] 


ON  Tin:  <;<  ISPBL  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


427 


friend:    wh<>s<>c\vr   maketh     himself   a    king, 
speaketh  against  C;usar."      They  thought  to 


they  had  no  king  but  C;esar,  he  were  wishing 

to  impose  on  them  anotlier  kin^  by   releasing 


inspire  Pilate  with  greater  fear  by  terrifying  without  punishment  one  whom  for  these  very 
him  about  C;csar,  in  order  that  he  might  put  attempts  they  had  delivered  unto  him  to  be 
Christ  to  death,  than  formerly  when  they  put  to  death.  "  Therefore  he  delivered  Him 
said,  "  \Ve  have  the  law,  and  by  the  law  he  unto  them  to  be  crucified."  But  was  it,  then, 
ought  to  die,  because  he  made  himself  the  anything  different  that  he  had  previously  de- 
Son  of  (iod."  It  was  not  their  law,  indeed,  •  sired  when  he  said,  "Take  ye  him,  and 
that  impelled  him  through  fear  to  the  deed  of  ]  crucify  him;"  or  even  earlier  still,  "  Take  ye 
murder,  but  rather  it  was  his  fear  of  the  Son  |  him,  and  judge  him  according  to  your  law?" 


ot "C..)d  that  held  him  back  from  the  crime. 
But  now  he  could  not  set  Caesar,  who  was  the 
author  of  his  own  power,  at  nought,  in  the 
same  way  as  the  law  of  another  nation. 

8.   As  yet,  however,  the  evangelist  proceeds 


And  why  did  they  show  so  great  reluctance, 
when  they  said,  "It  is  not  lawful  for  us  to 
put  any  man  to  death,"5  and  were  in  every 
way  urgent  to  have  Him  slain  not  by  them 
selves,  but  by  the  governor,  and  therefore 


to  say:  "But  when  Pilate  heard  these  say- '  refused  to  receive  Him  for  the  purpose  of 
ings,  he  brought  Jesus  forth,  and  sat  down  putting  Him  to  death,  if  now  for  the  same 
before  the  tribunal,  in  a  place  that  is  called  I  purpose  they  actually  do  receive  Him?  Or 


the  Pavement,1  but  in  the  Hebrew,  Gab- 
batha.  And  it  was  the  preparation 3  of  the 
passover,  and  about  the  sixth  hour."  The 


such  be  not  the  case,  why   was    it 
"  Then    delivered    lie    Him    therefore 


said, 
unto 

them  to  be  crucified?"     Or  is  it  of  any  im- 

question,  at  what  hour  the  Lord  was  crucified,  [  portance  ?  Plainly  it  is.  For  it  was  not  said, 
because  of  the  testimony  supplied  by  another  |  "  Then  delivered  he  Him  therefore  unto 
evangelist,  who  says,  "And  it  was  the  third  j  them  "  that  they  might  crucify  Him,  but 
hour,  and  they  crucified  Him,"3  we  shall  "  that  He  might  be  crucified,"  that  is,  that 
consider  as  we  can,  if  the  Lord  please,  when  [  He  might  be  crucified  by  the  judicial  sen- 
we  are  come  to  the  passage  itself  where  His  j  tence  and  power  of  the  governor.  But  it  is 
crucifixion  is  recorded.4  When  Pilate,  there- 1  for  this  reason  that  the  evangelist  has  said 
fore,  had  sat  down  before  the  tribunal,  "  he  |  that  He  was  delivered  to  them,  that  he  might 
saith  unto  the  Jews,  Behold  your  king  !  But 
they  cried  out,  Away  with  him,  away  with 
him,  crucify  him.  Pilate  said  unto  them, 


Shall  I  crucify  your  king?"  As  yet  he  tries 
to  overcome  the  terror  with  which  they  had 
inspired  him  about  Caesar,  by  seeking  to 


show  that  they  were  implicated  in  the  crime 
from  which  they  tried  to  hold  themselves 
aloof;  for  Pilate  would  have  done  no  such 
thing,  save  to  implement  what  he  perceived 
to  be  their  fixed  desire.  The  words,  how 
ever,  that  follow,  "And  they  took  Jesus,  and 


break  them  from  their  purpose  on  the  ground  j  led  Him  away,"  may  now  refer  to  the  soldiers, 
of  the  ignominy  it  brought  on  themselves,  j  the  attendants  of  the  governor.  For  it  is 
with  the  words,  "Shall  I  crucify  your  king?"  |  more  clearly  stated  afterwards,  "When  the 
when  he  failed  to  soften  them  on  the  ground  soldiers  therefore  had  crucified  Him,"6  al- 


of  the  ignominy  done  to  Christ;  but  by  and 
by  he  is  overcome  by  fear. 

9.  For  "  the  chief  priests  answered,  We 
have  no  king  but  Caesar.  Then  delivered  he 
Him  therefore  unto  them  to  be  crucified." 
For  he  would  have  every  appearance  of  act 
ing  against  Caesar  if,  on  their  declaration  that 


though  the  evangelist  properly  does  so  even 
when  he  attributes  the  whole  to  the  Jews, 
for  they  it  was  that  received  what  they  had 
with  the  utmost  greediness  demanded,  and 
they  it  was  that  did  all  that  they  compelled  to 
be  done.  But  the  events  that  follow  must 
be  made  the  subject  of  consideration  in  an 
other  discourse. 


*  Litkottrotos. 
3  Mark  xv.  25. 


i  In-rk.  irap<i<ric<vij.  . 

See  below,  Tract.  CXV1I.  sees.  i.  a. 


5  Chap.  x\ 


«  Chap. 


428 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACT ATK  CXVII. 


TRACTATE    CXVII. 

CHAPTER  XIX.    17-22. 


i.  ON  Pilate's  judgment  and  condemna 
tion  before  the  tribunal,  they  took  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  about  the  sixth  hour,  and  led 
Him  away.  "And  He,  bearing  His  cross, 
went  forth  into  the  place  that  is  called  Cal 
vary,  but  in  Hebrew,  Golgotha;  where  they 
crucified  Him."  What  else,  then,  is  the 
meaning  of  the  evangelist  Mark  saying,  "And 
it  was  the  third  hour,  and  they  crucified 
Him,"1  but  this,  that  the  Lord  was  crucified 
at  the  third  hour  by  the  tongues  of  the  Jews, 
at  the  sixth  hour  by  the  hands  of  the  soldiers? 
That  we  may  understand  that  the  fifth  hour 
was  now  completed,  and  there  was  some  be 
ginning  made  of  the  sixth,  when  Pilate  took 
his  seat  before  the  tribunal,  which  is  expressed 
by  John  as  "about2  the  sixth  hour;"  and 
when  He  was  led  forth,  and  nailed  to  the  tree 
with  the  two  robbers,  and  the  events  recorded 
were  enacted  beside  His  cross,  the  completion 
of  the  sixth  hour  was  fully  reached,  being  the 
hour  from  which,  on  to  the  ninth,  the  sun  was 
obscured,  and  the  darkness  took  place,  we 
have  it  jointly  attested  on  the  authority  of  the 
three  evangelists,  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke.3 
But  as  the  Jews  attempted  to  transfer  the 
crime  of  slaying  Christ  from  themselves  to 
the  Romans,  that  is  to  say,  to  Pilate  and  his 
soldiers,  therefore  Mark  suppresses  the  hour 
at  which  Christ  was  crucified  by  the  soldiers, 
and  which  then  began  to  enter  upon  the  sixth, 
and  remembers  rather  to  give  an  express 
place  to  the  third  hour,  at  which  they  are 
understood  to  have  cried  out  before  Pilate, 
"Crucify,  crucify  him"  (verse  6),  that  it  not 
only  may  be  seen  that  the  former  crucified 
Jesus,  namely,  the  soldiers  who  hung  Him  on 


therefore   the    preparation  of  the  passover. 


But 

says, 


"our  passover,  Christ,"  as  the   apostle 
"has    been    sacrificed; " «    and    if  we 


reckon  the  preparation  of  this  passover  from 
the  ninth  hour  of  the  night  (for  then  the  chief 
priests  seem  to  have  given  their  verdict  for 
the  sacrifice  of  the  Lord,  when  they  said, 
"  He  is  guilty  of.  death,"  5  and  when  the  hear 
ing  of  His  case  was  still  proceeding  in  the 
high  priest's  house:  whence  there  is  a  kind 
of  harmony  in  understanding  that  therewith 
began  the  preparation  of  the  true  passover, 
whose  shadow  was  the  passover  of  the  Jews, 
that  is,  of  the  sacrificing  of  Christ,  when  the 
priests  gave  their  sentence  that  He  was  to  be 
sacrificed),  certainly  from  that  hour  of  the 
night,  which  is  conjectured  to  have  been  then 
the  ninth,  on  to  the  third  hour  of  the  day, 
when  the  evangelist  Mark  testifies  that  Christ 
was  crucified,  there  are  six  hours,  three  of  the 
night,  and  three  of  the  day.  Hence  in  the 
case  of  this  parasceve  of  the  passover,  that  is, 
the  preparation  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  which 
began  with  the  ninth  hour  of  the  night,  it  was 
about  the  sixth  hour;  that  is  to  say,  the  fifth 
hour  was  completed,  and  the  sixth  had  already 
begun  to  run,  when  Pilate  ascended  the  tri 
bunal:  for  that  same  preparation,  which  had 
begun  with  the  ninth  hour  of  the  night,  still 
continued  till  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  which 
was  the  event  in  course  of  preparation,  was 
completed,  which  took  place  at  the  third  hour, 
according  to  Mark,  not  of  the  preparation, 
but  of  the  day;  while  it  was  also  the  sixth 
hour,  not  of  the  day,  but  of  the  preparation, 
by  reckoning,  of  course,  six  hours  from  the 
ninth  hour  of  the  night  to  the  third  of  the 


the  tree  at  the  sixth  hour,  but  the  Jews  also,  j  day.  Of  these  two  solutions  of  this  diffi- 
who  at  the  third  hour  cried  out  to  have  Him  j  cult  question  let  each  choose  the  one  that 
crucified.  I  pleases  him.  But  one  will  judge  better  what 

2.  There  is  also   another  solution  of  this  to  choose  who  reads  the  very  elaborate  dis- 


question,  that  we  should  not  here  understand 
the  sixth  hour  of  the  day,  because  John  says 
not,  And  it  was  about  the  sixth  hour  of  the 
day,  or  about  the  sixth  hour,  but  says,  "And 
it  was  the  parasceve  of  the  passover,  about 
the  sixth  hour"  (ver.  14).  And  parasceve  is 
in  Latin  prceparatio  (preparation);  but  the 


Jews  are  fonder  of  using  the  Greek  words  in  j  evangelist  John. 


cussions  on  "The  Harmony  of  the  Evan 
gelists."6  And  if  other  solutions  of  it  can 
also  be  found,  the  stability  of  gospel  truth 
will  have  a  more  cumulative  defense  against 
the  calumnies  of  unbelieving  and  profane 
vanity.  And  now,  after  these  brief  discus 
sions,  let  us  return  to  the  narrative  of  the 


observances  of  this  sort,  even  those  of  them 
who  speak  Latin  rather  than  Greek.     It  was 


Mark  xv.  25. 

Matt,  xxvii.  45;  Mark  xv.  33;  and  Luke 


=  Quasi. 
xiil.  44- 


3.   "And  they  took  Jesus,"  he  says,  "and 


4  ,  Cor  v   7  5  Matt.  xxvi.  66. 

«  "  On  the  Harmony  of  the  Evangelists,"  Book  iii.  chap.  xiii. 
sees.  40-50. 


TEACI  \n  <  xvii.] 


ox  THE  GOSPEL  <>F  ST.  JOHN. 


429 


led    II  iin   away;   ami    He.    bearing    His  cross, 
went  forth  unto  the  place  that  is  called   C.d- 
vary,    in  the   Hebrew,   Golgotha;  where   they 
e-rurilied    Him."      Jesus,    therefore,    went  to 
the  place  where  He  was  to  be  crucified,  bear- 
in-  His  cross.     A  grand  spectacle!  but  if  it 
be  impiety  that  is  the  onlooker,  a  grand  laugh 
ing-stock;  if  piety,  a  grand  mystery:  if  im 
piety  be  the  onlooker,  a  grand  demonstration 
of  ignominy;  if   piety,   a  grand    bulwark  of 
faith:  if  it  is  impiety  that  looketh  on,  it  laughs 
at  the  King  bearing,  in  place  of  His  kingly  j 
rod,    the    tree  of  His    punishment;    if   it    is 
piety,  it  sees  the  King  bearing  the  tree  for 
His  own  crucifixion,  which  He  was  yet  to  affix 
even  on  the  foreheads  of  kings,  exposed  to 
the  contemptuous  glances  of  the  impious  in 
connection    with  that  wherein    the  hearts  of 
saints  were  thereafter  to  glory.      For  to  Paul,  | 
who  was  yet  to  say,  "  But  God  forbid  that  I j 
should  glory,  save  iri  the  cross  of  our  Lord 
Jesus   Christ,"1  He   was   commending   that 
same  cross  of  His  by  carrying  it  on  His  own  , 
shoulders,  and  bearing  the    candelabrum  of ' 
that  light  that  was  yet  to  burn,  and  not  to  be 
placed  under  a  bushel.2      "Bearing,"  there-  ] 
fore,  "  His  cross,  He  went  forth  into  the  place 
that  is  called   Calvary,  in   the   Hebrew,  Gol 
gotha;  where   they  crucified    Him,   and    two 
others    with    Him    on   either   side    one,  and  j 
Jesus  in  the  midst."     These  two,  as  we  have 
learned  in  the  narrative  of  the  other  evangel 
ists,  were  thieves  with  whom  He  was  crucifi 
ed,  and  between  whom  He  was  fixed,'  whereof 
the  prophecy  sent  before  had  declared,  "And  i 
He  was  numbered  among  the  transgressors."  4 1 

4.  "And  Pilate  wrote  a  title  also,  and  put 
it  on  the  cross,  and  the  writing  was,  Jesus  of  j 
Nazareth,  the  King  of  the  Jews.     This  title  I 
then  read  many  of  the  Jews:  for  the   place 
where  Jesus  was   crucified    was   nigh  to  the 
city:  and   it  was  written  in   Hebrew,  Greek, 
and   Latin,   The   King  of  the   Jews."      For 
these   three   languages   were    conspicuous  in 
that  place  beyond  all  others:  the  Hebrew  on 
account  of  the  Jews,  who  gloried  in  the  law 
of  God;  the  Greek,  because  of  the  wise  men 
among   the  Gentiles;  and  the  Latin,  on  ac 
count  of  the  Romans,  who  at  that  very  time 
were  exercising  sovereign   oower  over  many 
and  almost  all  countries. 

5.  "  Then  said  the  chiet  priests  ot  tne  Jews 
unto  Pilate   Write  not,  The  King  of  the  Jews; 
but  that   he   said,  I   am    King  of   the   Jews. 
Pilate  answered,  What   I  have  written   I  have 
written."       Oh    the    ineffable    power   of   the 
working  of  God,  even   in   the   hearts  of  the 


ignorant  !  Was  there  not  some  hiddei. 
that  sounded  through  Pilate's  inner  man  with 
a  kind,  if  one  may  so  say,  of  loud- 
silence,  the  words  that  had  been  prop 
so  long  before  in  the  very  letter  of  the 
Psalms,  "Corrupt  not  the  inscription  of  the 
title"?5  Here,  then,  you  see,  he  corrupted 
it  not;  what  he  has  written  he  has  written. 
But  the  high  priests,  who  wished  it  to  be  cor 
rupted,  what  did  they  say  ?  "  Write  not,  The 
King  of  the  Jews;  but  that  he  said,  I  am 
King  of  the  Jews."  What  is  it,  madmen, 
that  you  say  ?  Why  do  you  oppose  the  doing 
of  that  which  you  are  utterly  unable  to  alter? 
Will  it  by  any  such  means  become  the  less 
true  that  Jesus  said,  "  I  am  King  of  the 
Jews"?  If  that  cannot  be  tampered  with 
which  Pilate  has  written,  can  that  be  tampered 
with  which  the  truth  has  uttered  ?  But  is 
Christ  king  only  of  the  Jews,  or  of  the  Gen 
tiles  also?  Yes,  of  the  Gentiles  also.  For 
when  He  said  in  prophecy,  "  I  am  set  king 
by  Him  upon  His  holy  hill  of  Zion,  declaring 
the  decree  of  the  Lord,"  that  no  one  might 
say,  because  of  the  hill  of  Zion,  that  He  was 
set  king  over  the  Jews  alone,  He  immediately 
added,  "The  Lord  said  unto  me,  Thou  art 
my  Son ;  this  day  have  I  begotten  Thee.  Ask 
of  me,  and  I  will  give  Thee  the  Gentiles  for 
Thine  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of 
the  earth  for  Thy  possession."  6  Whence  He 
Himself,  speaking  now  with  His  own  lips 
among  the  Jews,  said,  "Other  sheep  I  have 
which  are  not  of  this  fold;  them  also  I  must 
bring,  and  they  shall  hear  my  voice,  and  there 
shall  be  one  flock  and  one  Shepherd." 7  Why 
then  would  we  have  some  great  mystery8  to 
be  understood  in  this  superscription,  wherein 
it  was  written,  "  King  of  the  Jews,"  if  Christ 
is  king  also  of  the  Gentiles  ?  For  this  reason, 
because  it  was  the  wild  olive  tree  that  was 
made  partaker  of  the  fatness  of  the  olive  tree, 
and  not  the  olive  tree  that  was  made  partaker 
of  the  bitterness  of  the  wild  olive  tree. 9  For 
inasmuch  as  the  title,  "King  of  the  Jews," 
was  truthfully  written  regarding  Christ,  who 
are  they  that  are  to  be  understood  as  the, 
Jews  but  the  seed  of  Abraham,  the  children 
of  the  promise,  who  are  also  the  children  of 
God?  For  "they,"  saith  the  apostle,  "who 
are  the  children  of  the  flesh,  these  are  not 
the  children  of  God;  but  the  children  of  the 
promise  are  counted  for  the  seed.""  And 
the  Gentiles  were  those  to  whom  he  said, 
"  But  if  ye  be  Christ's,  then  are  ye  Abra 
ham's  seed,  and  heirs  according  to  the 
promise."  "  Christ  therefore  is  king  of  the 


'  Gal.  vi 

14. 

r.  is. 

:  .Iviii. 

«  Ps.  ii.  6-8. 

7  Chap.  x.  16. 

i  M.,tt. 

I 

: 

M 

•rfc  \ 

v.  27;  and  I.ukr  .\  > 

»t,-nturn. 

9  Rom.  xi.  17. 

•o  Rom 

ix.  7,  8. 

4  Isa.  1 

"  (lal.  iii.  29. 

430 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRArr.VTK  CXVITT. 


Jews,  but  of  those  who  are  Jews  by  the  cir 
cumcision  of  the  heart,  in  the  spirit,  and  not 
in  the  letter;  whose  praise  is  not  of  men,  but 
of  God;'  who  belong  to  the  Jerusalem  that 
is  free,  our  eternal  mother  in  heaven,  the 


spiritual  Sarah,  who  casteth  out  the  bond 
maid  and  her  children  from  the  house  of 
liberty.2  And  therefore  what  Pilate  wrote 
he  wrote,  because  what  the  Lord  said  He 
said. 


'  Gal.  iv.  22-31. 


TRACTATE    CXVIII. 

CHAPTER  XIX.  23,  24. 


1.  THE  things  that  were  done  beside  the 
Lord's  cross,  when   at    length    He   was    now 
crucified,  we  would  take  up,  in  dependence  on 
His  help,  in  the  present  discourse.     "Then 
the  soldiers,  when  they  had  crucified  Him, 
took  His  garments,  and  made  four  parts,  to 
every  soldier  a  part;  and  also  His  coat:  now 
the  coat  was  without  seam,  woven  from  the 
top  throughout.     They  said  therefore  among 
themselves,  Let  us  not  rend  it,  but  cast  lots 
for  it,  whose   it  shall  be:  that  the  scripture 
might  be  fulfilled,  which  saith,  They  parted 
my  raiment  among  them,  and  for  my  vesture 
they  did  cast  lots."     It  was  done  as  the  Jews 
wished;  not  that  it  was  they  themselves,  but 
the  soldiers  who  obeyed  Pilate,  who  himself 
acted  as  judge,  that  crucified  Jesus:  and  yet 
if  we  reflect  on  their  wills,  their  plots,  their 
endeavors,   their  delivering  up,  and,  lastly, 
on  their  extorting  clamors,   it  was  the  Jews 
certainly,  more  than  any  else,  who  crucified 
Jesus. 

2.  But  we  must  not  speak  in  a  mere  cursory 
way  of  the  partition  and  dividing  by  lot  of 
His  garments.      For  although  all   the   four 
evangelists    make  mention  thereof,   yet   the 
others  do  so  more  briefly   than    John:  and 
their  notice  of  it  is  obscure,  while  his  is  in 
the  plainest  manner  possible.     For  Matthew 
says,   "And  after  they  crucified   Him,  they 

•  parted  His  garments,  casting  lots."1  Mark: 
"And  they  crucified  Him,  and  parted  His 
garments,  casting  lots  upon  them,  what  every 
man  should  take."  3  Luke:  "And  they  part 
ed  His  raiment,  and  cast  lots."3  But  John 
has  told  us  also  how  many  parts  they  made 
of  His  garments,  namely,  four,  that  they 
might  take  one  part  apiece.  From  which  it 
is  apparent  that  there  were  four  soldiers,  who 
obeyed  the  governor's  orders  in  crucifying 
Him.  For  he  plainly  says:  "Then  the 
soldiers,  when  they  had  crucified  Him,  took 

1  Matt,  xxvii.  35.  Mark  xv.  24.  i  Luke  xxiii.  34. 


His  garments,  and  made  four  parts,  to  every 
soldier  a  part;  and  likewise  the  coat,"  where 
there  is  understood,  they  took:  so  that  the 
meaning  is,  they  took  His  garments,  and 
made  four  parts,  to  every  soldier  a  part;  and 
they  took  also  His  coat.  And  he  so  spake, 
that  we  might  see  that  there  was  no  lot  cast 
on  His  other  garments;  but  His  coat,  which 
they  took  along  with  the  others,  they  did  not 
similarly  divide.  For  in  regard  to  it  he  pro 
ceeds  to  explain,  "  Now  the  coat  was  without 
seam,  woven  from  the  top  throughout."  And 
then  telling  us  why  they  cast  lots  on  it,  he 
says,  "They  said  therefore  among  them 
selves,  Let  us  not  rend  it,  but  cast  lots  for  it, 
whose  it  shall  be."  Hence  it  is  clear  that  in 
the  case  of  the  other  garments  they  had 
equal  parts,  so  that  there  was  no  need  to  cast 
lots:  but  that  as  regards  this  one,  they  could 
not  have  had  n  part  each  without  rending  it, 
and  thereby  possessing  themselves  only  of 
useless  fragments  of  it:  to  prevent  which, 
they  preferred  letting  it  come  to  one  of  them 
by  lot.  The  account  given  by  this  evangelist 
is  also  in  harmony  with  the  testimony  of 
prophecy,  which  he  likewise  immediately 
subjoins,  saying,  "  That  the  scripture  might 
be  fulfilled  which  saith,  They  parted  my 
raiment  among  them,  and  for  my  vesture 
they  did  cast  lots."  For  He  says  not,  they 
cast  lots,  but  "they  parted:"  nor  does  He 
say,  casting  lots  they  parted;  but  while  mak 
ing  no  mention  whatever  of  the  lot  in  regard 
to  the  rest  of  the  garments,  He  afterwards 
said,  "  and  for  my  vesture  they  did  cast  lots,*1 
in  reference  solely  to  the  coat  that  remained. 
On  which  I  shall  speak  as  He  Himself  enables 
me,  after  I  have  first  refuted  the  calumny, 
which  may  possibly  arise,  as  if  the  evangelists 
disagreed  with  one  another,  by  showing  that 
the  words  of  none  of  the  others  are  inconsist 
ent  with  the  narrative  of  John. 

3.   For  Matthew,  in  saying,  "They  parted 
His  garments,  casting  lots,"  wished  it  to  be 


T*ACTAT1     •    \\ill.  | 


«»\    I  ill,  GOSPEL  OF  ST    JOHN. 


anderatood,  that  in  the  whole  affair  of  parting  over  the  whole  world,  which  consists  of  four 

tin-  garments,  the-  c«>at  was  also   included,  on  quarters,  and  equally,  that    is   to   say,  hnrmo- 

which  they  cast  lots;   for  in  course  of  parting  niously,  distributed   over  all    these    quarters, 

all    the   garments,  Of  Which    it   also   was   one,  On  which    account    He   elsewhere    says,    that 

on  it  alone  they  cast  lots.      To  the  same  pur-  He  will  send  His  angels  to  gather   His  elr<  t 

pose  also  are  the   words  of  Luke:   "  Parting  I  from  the  four  winds:3  and  what  is  that,  but 

His   garments,    they  cast   lots;'*    for   in   the  from   the   four    quarters    of  the    world,  east, 


process  of  parting  they   came   to   the   coat, 
whereon  the  lot  was  cast,  that  the  entire  part- 


west,  north,  and  south  ?      Kut  the  coat,  on 
which  lots  were  cast,  signifies  the  unity  of  all 


ing  of  His  garments  among  them  might  be  |  the  parts,  which  is  contained  in  the  bond  of 


completed.  And  what  difference  is  there 
whether  it  is  said,  "  Parting  they  cast  lots," 
according  to  Luke;  or,  "They  parted,  cast 
ing  the  lot,"  according  to  Matthew:  unless 
it  be  that  Luke,  in  saying  "lots,"  used  the 
plural  for  the  singular  number, — a  form  of 


charity.  And  when  the  apostle  is  about  to 
speak  of  charity,  he  says,  "  I  show  you  a 
more  excellent  way  ;"3  and  in  another  place, 
"  To  know  also  the  love  of  Christ,  which  far 
excelleth  knowledge  ;"4  and  still  further  else 
where,  "And  above  all  these  things  charity, 


speech  that  is  not  unusual  in  the  Holy  Scrip- !  which  is  the  bond  of  perfectness."5     If,  then, 
tures,    although    some    copies   are    found    to  j  charity  both  has  a  more  excellent  way,  and 


have  "  lot,'' '  and  not  "  lots  "  ?  Mark,  there 
fore,  is  the  only  one  who  seems  to  have  in 
troduced  any  kind  of  difficulty;  for  in  saying, 
"  Casting  the  lot  upon  them,  what  every  man 


far  excelleth  knowledge,  and  is  enjoined 
above  all  things,  it  is  with  great  propriety  that 
the  garment,  by  which  it  is  signified,  is  rep 
resented  as  woven  from  the  top.6  And  it  was 


should  take,"  his  words  seem  to  imply,  as  if  j  without  seam,  that  its  sewing  might  never  be 
the  lot  was  cast  on  all  the  garments,  and  not  separated;  and  came  into  the  possession  of 
on  the  coat  alone.  But  here  also  brevity  is  one  man,  because  He  gathereth  all  into  one. 
the  cause  of  the  obscurity;  for  the  words,  !  Just  as  in  the  case  of  the  apostles,  who  formed 
''Casting  the  lot  upon  them,"  are  as  if  it  the  exact  number  of  twelve,  in  other  words, 
were  said,  Casting  the  lot  when  they  were  in  were  divisible  into  four  parts  of  three  each, 
the  process  of  division;  which  was  also  the :  when  the  question  was  put  to  all  of  them, 
case.  For  the  partition  of  all  His  garments  Peter  was  the  only  one  that  answered,  "  Thou 
would  not  have  been  complete,  had  it  not  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God;'' 
been  declared  by  lot  which  of  them  also  should  and  to  whom  it  was  said,  "  I  will  give  unto 
get  possession  of  the  coat,  so  as  thereby  to  thee  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,"  7  as 
bring  any  contention  on  the  part  of  the  if  he  alone  received  the  power  of  binding  and 
dividers  to  an  end>  or  rather  prevent  any  such  loosing:  seeing,  then,  that  one  so  spake  in 
t arising.  In  saying,  therefore,  "  What '  behalf  of  all,  and  received  the  latter  along 


from 


every  man  should  take,"  so  far  as  that  has 


with  all,  as  if  personifying  the  unity  itself; 


to  do  with  the  lot,  we  must  not  take  it  as  re-  therefore  one  stands  for  all,  because  there  is 
ferring  to  all  the  garments  that  were  divided;  i  unity  in  all.  Whence,  also,  after  here  saying, 
for  the  lot  was  cast,  who  should  take  the  coat:  '*  woven  from  the  top,"  he  added,  **  through- 
whereof  having  omitted  to  describe  the  par-  out."8  And  this  also,  if  referred  to  its  meaning, 
ticular  form,  and  how,  in  the  equal  division  implies  that  no  one  is  excluded  from  a  share 
that  was  made  of  the  parts,  it  remained  by  j  thereof,  who  is  discovered  to  belong  to  the 


itself,  in  order,  without  being  rent,  to  be 
awarded  by  lot,  he  therefore  made  use  of  the 
expression,  "what  every  man  should  take," 
in  other  words,  who  it  was  that  should  take  it: 


whole:  from  which  whole,  as  the  Greek  lan 
guage  indicates,  the  Church  derives  her  name 
of  Catholic.  And  by  the  casting  of  lots,  what 
else  is  commended  but  the  grace  of  God  ? 


as  if  the  whole  were  thus  expressed,  They  !  For  in  this  way  in  the  person  of  one  it  reached 


parted  His  garments,  casting  the  lot  upon 
them,  who  should  take  the  coat,  which  had 
remained  over  in  addition  to  their  equal  shares 
of  the  rest. 

4.  Some  one,  perhaps,  may  inquire  what  is 
signified  by  the  division  that  was  made  of  His 
garments  into  so  many  parts,  and  of  the  cast- 


to  all,  since  the  lot  satisfied  them  all,  because 
the  grace  of  God  also  in  its  unity  reacheth 
unto  all;  and  when  the  lot  is  cast,  the  award 
is  decided, not  by  the  merits  of  each  individual, 
but  by  the  secret  judgment  of  God. 

5.  And  yet  let  no  one  say  that  such  things 
had  no  good  signification  because  they  were 


ing  of  lots  for  the  coat.    .The  raiment  of  the  I  done  by  the  bad,  that  is  to  say,  not  by  those 


Lord  Jesus  Christ  parted  into  four,  symboliz 
ed  His  quadripartite  Church,  as  spread  abroad 


As  it  now  is  in  the  Greek  [  Textus  rfcfftus],x\^pov.  —  MI..M. 


who  followed  Christ,  but  by  those  who  perse- 


'  Matt.  xxiv.  31 
5  Col.  iii.  14. 
7  Matt.  xvi. 


*5,  '6,  19. 


3  i  Cor.  xii.  31. 
6  DesMper. 
»  Per  totum. 


4  Eph.  iii.  19. 


432 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSI  IN. 


[TRACTATE  CXIX. 


cuted  Him.  For  what  could  we  have  to  say 
of  the  cross  itself,  which  every  one  knows  was 
in  like  manner  made  and  fastened  to  Christ 
by  enemies  and  sinners  ?  And  yet  it  is  to  it 
we  may  rightly  understand  the  words  of  the 
apostle  to  be  applicable,  "  what  is  the  breadth, 
and  the  length, and  the  height, and  the  depth."1 
For  its  breadth  lies  in  the  transverse  beam, 
on  which  the  hands  of  the  Crucified  are  ex 
tended;  and  signifies  good  works  in  all  the 
breadth  of  love:  its  length  extends  from  the 
transverse  beam  to  the  ground,  and  is  that 
whereto  the  back  and  feet  are  affixed;  and 
signifies  perseverance  through  the  whole 
length  of  time  to  the  end:  its  height  is  in  the 
summit, which  rises  upwards  above  the  trans 
verse  beam;  and  signifies  the  supernal  goal, 
to  which  all  works  have  reference,  since  all 
things  that  are  done  well  and  perseveringly, 
in  respect  of  their  breadth  and  length,  are  to 
be  done  also  with  due  regard  to  the  exalted 
character  of  the  divine  rewards:  its  depth  is 
found  in  the  part  that  is  fixed  into  the  ground; 
for  there  it  is  both  concealed  and  invisible, 
and  yet  from  thence  spring  up  all  those  parts 
that  are  outstanding  and  evident  to  the  senses; 
just  as  all  that  is  good  in  us  proceeds  from 


the  depths  of  the  grace  of  God,  which  is  be 
yond  the  reach  of  human  comprehension  and 
judgment.  But  even  though  the  cross  of 
Christ  signified  no  more  than  what  was  said 
by  the  apostle,  "And  they  who  are  Jesus 
Christ's  have  crucified  the  flesh  with  the  pas 
sions  and  lusts,"2  how  great  a  good  it  is! 
And  yet  it  does  not  this,  unless  the  good 
spirit  be  lusting  against  the  flesh,  seeing  that 
it  was  the  opposing,  or,  in  other  words,  the 
evil  spirit  that  constructed  the  cross  of  Christ. 
And  lastly,  as  every  one  knows,  what  else  is 
the  sign  of  Christ  but  the  cross  of  Christ  ? 
For  unless  that  sign  be  applied,  whether  it  be 
to  the  foreheads  of  believers,  or  to  the  very 
water  out  of  which  they  are  regenerated, 
or  to  the  oil  with  which  they  receive  the 
anointing  chrism,  or  to  the  sacrifice  that 
nourishes  them,  none  of  them  is  properly 
administered.  How  then  can  it  be  that  no 
good  is  signified  by  that  which  is  done  by 
the  wicked,  when  by  the  cross  of  Christ, 
which  the  wicked  made,  every  good  thing 
is  sealed  to  us  in  the  celebration  of  His  sacra 
ments  ?  But  here  we  stop;  and  what  follows  we 
shall  consider  at  another  time  in  the  course  of 
dissertation,  as  God  shall  grant  us  assistance. 


Eph.  iii.  18. 


Gal.  v.  24. 


TRACTATE   CXIX. 

CHAPTER  XIX.   24-30. 


i.  THE  Lord  being  now  crucified,  and  the 
parting  of  His  garments  having  also  been 
completed  by  the  casting  of  the  lot,  let  us 
look  at  what  the  evangelist  John  thereafter 
relates.  "And  these  things,"  he  says,  "the 
soldiers  did.  Now  there  stood  by  the  cross 
of  Jesus  His  mother,  and  His  mother's  sister, 
Mary  [the  wife]  of  Cleophas,  and  Mary 
Magdalene.  When  Jesus  therefore  saw  His 
mother,  and  the  disciple  standing  by  whom 
He  loved,  He  saith  unto  His  mother,  Woman, 
behold  thy  son  !  Then  saith  He  to  the  dis 
ciple,  Behold  thy  mother !  And  from  that 
hour  the  disciple  took  her  unto  his  own 
home."  This,  without  a  doubt,  was  the  hour 
whereof  Jesus,  when  about  to  turn  the  water 
into  wine,  had  said  to  His  mother,  "  Woman, 
what  have  I  to  do  with  thee  ?  mine  hour  is 
not  yet  come."1  This  hour,  therefore,  He 
had  foretold,  which  at  that  time  had  not  yet 


'  Chap.  ii.  4. 


arrived,  when  it  should  be  His  to  acknowledge 
her  at  the  point  of  death,  and  with  reference 
to  which  He  had  been  born  as  a  mortal  man. 
At  that  time,  therefore,  when  about  to  engage 
in  divine  acts,  He  repelled,  as  one  unknown, 
her  who  was  the  mother,  not  of  His  divinity, 
but  of  His  [human]  infirmity;  but  now,  when 
in  the  midst  of  human  sufferings,  He  com 
mended  with  human  affection  [the  mother]  by 
whom  He  had  become  man.  For  then,  He 
who  had  created  Mary  became  known  in  His 
power;  but  now,  that  which  Mary  had  brought 
forth  was  hanging  on  the  cross.2 

2.  A  passage,  therefore,  of  a  moral  char 
acter  is  here  inserted.  The  good  Teacher 
does  what  He  thereby  reminds  us  ought  to 
be  done,  and  by  His  own  example  instructed 
His  disciples  that  care  for  their  parents  ought 
to  be  a  matter  of  concern  to  pious  children: 
as  if  that  tree  to  which  the  members  of  the 


'See  Tract.  VI II. 


\n     (AIX.J 


ON  'I  ill-  GOSPEL  <>l    ST.  JOHN. 


433 


dying  <  )iu-  were  affixed  were  the  very  chair 
ol  ottKe  1'roiu  whicli  the  Master  was  imparting 
instruction,  From  this  wholesome  doi  trine 
it  was  that  the  Apostle  Paul  hail  learned  what 
he  taught  in  turn,  when  he  said,  "  15ut  if  any 
provide  not  for  his  own,  and  especinlly  for 
those  of  his  own  house,  he  hath  denied  the 
f-iith,  and  is  worse  than  an  infidel.'"  And 
what  are  so  much  home  concerns  to  any  one, 
as  parents  to  children,  or  children  to  parents? 
Of  this  most  wholesome  precept,  therefore, 
the  very  Master  of  the  saints  set  the  example 
from  Himself,  when,  not  as  God  for  the  hand 
maid  whom  He  had  created  and  governed,  but 
as  a  man  for  the  mother,  of  whom  He  had  been 
created,  and  whom  He  was  now  leaving  be 
hind,  He  provided  in  some  measure  another 
son  in  place  of  Himself.  And  why  He  did  so, 
He  indicates  in  the  words  that  follow:  for  the 
evangelist  says,  "And  from  that  hour  the 
disciple  took  her  unto  his  own,"  speaking  of 
himself.  In  this  way,  indeed,  he  usually 
refers  to  himself  as  the  disciple  whom  Jesus 
loved:  who  certainly  loved  them  all,  but  him 
beyond  the  others,  and  with  a  closer  fami 
liarity,  so  that  He  even  made  him  lean  upon 
His  bosom  at  supper;2  in  order,  I  believe,  in 
this  way  to  commend  the  more  highly  the 
divine  excellence  of  this  very  gospel,  which 
He  was  thereafter  to  preach  through  his  in 
strumentality. 

3.  But  what  was  this  "  his  own,"  unto 
which  John  took  the  mother  of  the  Lord  ? 
For  he  was  not  outside  the  circle  of  those 
who  said  unto  Him,  "  Lo,  we  have  left  all, 
and  followed  Thee."  No,  but  on  that  same 
occasion  he  had  also  heard  the  words,  Every 
one  that  hath  forsaken  these  things  for  my 
sake,  shall  receive  an  hundred  times  as  much 
in  this  world.3  That  disciple,  therefore,  had 
an  hundredfold  more  than  he  had  cast  away, 
whereunto  to  receive  the  mother  of  Him  who 
had  graciously  bestowed  it  all.  But  it  was  in 
that  society  that  the  blessed  John  had  re 
ceived  an  hundredfold,  where  no  one  called 
anything  his  own,  but  they  had  all  things  in 
common;  even  as  it  is  recorded  in  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles.  For  the  apostles  were  as  if 
having  nothing,  and  yet  possessing  all  things.4 
How  was  it,  then,  that  the  disciple  and  serv 
ant  received  unto  his  own  the  mother  of  his 
Lord  and  Master,  where  no  one  called  any 
thing  his  own  ?  Or,  seeing  we  read  a  little 
further  on  in  the  same  book,  "  For  as  many 
as  were  possessors  of  lands  or  houses  sold 
them,  and  brought  the  prices  of  them,  and 
laid  them  down  at  the  apostles'  feet:  and  dis 
tribution  was  made  unto  every  man  according 


.Mult.': 


'  Chap.  xiii.  23. 
I  i  Cor.  vi.  10. 


as  he  had  need,"  5  are  we  not  to  understand 
that  such  distribution  was  made  to  this  dis 
ciple  of  what  was  needful,  that  there  was  also 
•dded  to  it  the  |>ortion  of  the  blessed  Mary, 
as  if  she  were  his  mother;  and  ought  we  not 
the  rather  so  to  take  the  words,  "  From  that 
hour  the  disciple  took  her  unto  his  own," 
that  everything  necessary  for  her  was  entrust 
ed  to  his  care  ?  He  received  her,  therefore, 
not  unto  his  own  lands,  for  he  had  none  of  his 
own;  but  to  his  own  dutiful  services,  the  dis 
charge  of  which,  by  a  special  dispensation, 
was  entrusted  to  himself. 

4.  He  then  adds:  "After  this,  Jesus  know- 
ing  that  all  things  were  now  accomplished, 
that  the  scripture  might  be  fulfilled,  saith,  I 
thirst.  Now  there  was  set  a  vessel  full  of 
vinegar:  and  they  filled  a  sponge  with  vine 
gar,  and  fixed  it  upon  hyssop,  and  put  it  to 
His  mouth.  When  Jesus  therefore  had  re 
ceived  the  vinegar,  He  said,  It  is  finished: 
and  He  bowed  His  head,  and  gave  up  the 
ghost."  Who  has  the  power  of  so  adjusting 
what  he  does,  as  this  Man  had  of  arranging 
all  that  He  suffered  ?  But  this  Man  was  the 
Mediator  between  God  and  men;  the  Man  of 
whom  we  read  in  prophecy,  He  is  man  also, 
and  who  shall  acknowledge  Him  ?  for  the 
men  who  did  such  things  acknowledged  not 
this  Man  as  God.  For  He  who  was  manifest 
as  man,  was  hid  as  God:  He  who  was  mani 
fest  suffered  all  these  things,  and  He  Himself 
also,  who  was  hid,  arranged  them  all.  He 
saw,  therefore,  that  all  was  accomplished  that 
required  to  be  done  before  He  received  the 
vinegar,  and  gave  up  the  ghost;  and  that  this 
also  might  be  accomplished  which  the  scrip 
ture  had  foretold,  "And  in  my  thirst  they 
gave  me  vinegar  to  drink."6  He  said,  "I 
thirst: "  as  if  it  were,  One  thing  still  you  have 
failed  to  do,  give  me  what  you  are.  For  the 
Jews  were  themselves  the  vinegar,  degenerat 
ed  as  they  were  from  the  wine  of  the  patri 
archs  and  prophets;  and  filled  like  a  full  vessel 
with  the  wickedness  of  this  world,  with  hearts 
like  a  sponge,  deceitful  in  the  formation  of 
its  cavernous  and  tortuous  recesses.  But  the 
hyssop,  whereon  they  placed  the  sponge 
filled  with  vinegar,  being  a  lowly  herb,  and 
purging  the  heart,  we  fitly  take  for  the  hu 
mility  of  Christ  Himself;  which  they  thus 
enclosed,  and  imagined  they  had  completely 
ensnared.  Hence  we  have  it  said  in  the 
psalm,  ''Thou  shall  purge  me  with  hyssop, 
and  I  shall  be  cleansed."7  For  it  is  by 
Christ's  humility  that  we  are  cleansed;  be 
cause,  had  He  not  humbled  Himself,  and 
became  obedient  unto  the  death  of  the  cross,8 


''•'•  32-35- 
'  3 


6  PS.   Ixix.   21 

8  Phil,  ii  8. 


434 


THK  WORKS  OF  ST.   AlV-l  STIN. 


[Ti:  \fl  \ll    CXX. 


His  blood  certainly  would  not  have  been 
shed  for  the  remission  of  sins,  or,  in  other 
words,  for  our  cleansing. 

5.  Nor  need  we  be  disturbed  with  the  ques 
tion,  how  the  sponge  could  be  applied  to  His 
mouth  when  He  was  lifted  up  from  the  earth 
on  the  cross.  For  as  we  read  in  the  other 
evangelists,  what  is  omitted  by  this  one,  it 
was  fixed  on  a  reed,'  so  that  such  drink  as 
was  contained  in  the  sponge  might  be  raised 
to  the  highest  part  of  the  cross.  By  the  reed, 
however,  the  scripture  was  signified,  which 
was  fulfilled  by  this  very  act.  For  as  a  tongue 
is  called  either  Greek  or  Latin,  or  any  other, 
significant  of  the  sound,  which  is  uttered  by 
the  tongue;  so  the  reed  may  give  its  name  to 
the  letter  which  is  written  with  a  reed.  We 
most  usually,  however,  call  those  tongues 
that  express  the  sounds  of  the  human  voice: 
while  in  calling  scripture  a  reed,  the  very 
rareness  of  the  thing  only  enhances  the  mys 
tical  nature  of  that  which  it  symbolizes.  A 
wicked  people  did  such  things,  a  compas 
sionate  Christ  suffered  them.  They  who  did 


Matt. 


i.  48,  and  Mark  xv.  36. 


them,  knew  not  what  they  did;  but  He  who 
suffered,  not  only  knew  what  was  done,  and 
why  it  was  so,  but  also  wrought  what  was 
good  through  those  who  were  doing  what  was 
evil. 

6.  "  When  Jesus  therefore  had  received 
the  vinegar,  He  said,  It  is  finished."  What, 
but  all  that  prophecy  had  foretold  so  long 
before  ?  And  then,  because  nothing  now  re 
mained  that  still  required  to  be  done  before 
He  died,  as  if  He,  who.  had  power  to  lay 
down  His  life  and  to  take  it  up  again,'  had  at 
length  completed  all  for  whose  completion  He 
was  waiting,  "  He  bowed  His  head,  and  gave 
up  the  ghost."  Who  can  thus  sleep  when  he 
pleases,  as  Jesus  died  when  He  pleased  ? 
Who  is  there  that  thus  puts  off  his  garment 
when  he  pleases,  as  He  put  off  His  flesh  at 
His  pleasure  ?  Who  is  there  that  thus  de 
parts  3  when  he  pleases,  as  He  departed  this 
life 3  at  His  pleasure  ?  How  great  the  power, 
to  be  hoped  for  or  dreaded,  that  must  be  His 
as  judge,  if  such  was  the  power  He  exhibited 
as  a  dying  man  ! 


>  Chap.  x.  18. 


3  A  bit  .  .  .  obiit. 


TRACTATE    CXX. 

CHAPTER  XIX.  31-42,  and  XX.    1-9. 


1.  AFTER  that  the  Lord  Jesus  had  accom 
plished  all  that  He  foreknew  required  accom 
plishment  before  His  death,  and  had,  when 
it  pleased  Himself,  given  up  the  ghost,  what 
followed  thereafter,  as  related  by  the  evangel 
ist,  let  us  now  consider.     "The  Jews  there 
fore,"  he  says,  "because  it  was  the  prepara 
tion  (parasceve),  that  the  bodies   should   not 
remain   upon  the  cross  on  the  Sabbath-day 
(for   that    Sabbath-day   was   an    high    day), 
besought    Pilate   that   their   legs    might   be 
broken,  and  that  they  might  be  taken  away." 
Not  that  their  legs  might  be  taken  away,  but 
the  persons  themselves  whose  legs  were  broken 
for  the  purpose  of  effecting  their  death,  and 
permitting  them  to  be  detached  from  the  tree, 
lest  their  continuing  to  hang  on  the  crosses 
should  defile  the  great  festal  day  by  -the  hor 
rible  spectacle  of  their  day-long  torments. 

2.  "  Then  came  the  soldiers,  and  brake  the 
legs  of  the  first,  and  of  the  other  who  was 
crucified  with  Him.     But  when  they  came  to 
Jesus,  and   saw  that   He  was   dead  already, 
they   brake    not    His    legs:  but   one   of   the 


soldiers  with  a  spear  laid  open  '  His  side,  and 
forthwith  came  thereout  blood  and  water." 
A  suggestive 2  word  was  made  use  of  by  the 
evangelist,  in  not  saying  pierced,  or  wounded 
His  side,  or  anything  else,  but  "opened;"1 
that  thereby,  in  a  sense,  the  gate  of  life  might 
be  thrown  open,  from  whence  have  flowed 
forth  the  sacraments  of  the  Church,  without 
which  there  is  no  entrance  to  the  life  which 
is  the  true  life.  That  blood  was  shed  for  the 
remission  of  sins;  that  water  it  is  that  makes 
up  the  health-giving  cup,  and  supplies  at  once 
the  laver  of  baptism  and  water  for  drinking. 
This  was  announced  beforehand,  when  Noah 
was  commanded  to  make  a  door  in  the  side 
of  the  ark,3  whereby  the  animals  might  enter 
which  were  not  destined  to  perish  in  the  flood, 
and  by  which  the  Church  was  prefigured. 
Because  of  this,  the  first  woman  was  formed 
from  the  side  of  the  man  when  asleep,4  and 
was  called  Life,  and  the  mother  of  all  living.5 
Truly  it  pointed  to  a  great  good,  prior  to  the 


•  Afifruit. 
4  Gen.  ii.  22. 


-  I'igilans. 
5  Gen.  iii.  20 


3  Gen.  vi.  16. 


<>\  THE  G<  >SP1  !    OF  ST.    fOHN. 


:l     <  '\X.| 

great  evil  of  the  transgression  (in  the  guise  of  Jesus  by  night,  as  recorded   by   this 
one  thus  lying  asleep).'       This  second  Adam    John  in   the  earlier  portions  of   his  Gospel.4 
bowed  His  head  and   It'll  aslrc-p  on   the  CfOBS,     My  the  statement  given  us  here,  therefo: 
that  a  spouse  might  be  lornied  tor  Hun  from    are  to    understand    that    Nicodemns   came   to 
that  which  flowed  from  the  sleeper's  side.      ()    Jesus,   not  then   only,   but  then   for  the   first 
deata.  whereby  the  dead  are  raised  anew  to    time;  and  that  he  was  a  regular  comer  after 
life  !     What  can  be  purer  than  such  blood  ?' wards,  in  order  by  hearing  to  become  a  dis- 
Wnat  more  health-giving  than  such  a  wound  ?   ciple;  which  is  certified,   nowadays  at  least, 
3.   "And  he  that  saw  it,"  he  says,  "  bare  ',  to  almost  all  nations  in  the  revelation  of  the 
record,  and  his  record  is  true;  and  he  knoweth  j  body  of  the  most  blessed  Stephen.5     "  Then 


that  lie  saith  true,  that  ye  also  might  believe." 
He  said  not.  That  ye  also  might  know,  but 
"  that  ye  might  believe;  "  for  he  knoweth  who 
hath  seen,  that  he  who  hath  not  seen  might 
believe  his  testimony.  And  believing  belongs 
more  to  the  nature  of  faith  than  seeing.  For 
what  else  is  meant  by  believing  than  giving 


took  they  the  body  of  Jesus,  and  wound  it 
in  linen  clothes  with  the  spices,  as  the  man 
ner  of  the  Jews  is  to  bury."  The  evangelist, 
I  think,  was  not  without  a  purpose  in  so  fram 
ing  his  words,  "  as  the  manner  of  the  Jews  is 
to  bury;"  for  in  this  way,  unless  I  am  mis 
taken,  he  has  admonished  us  that,  in  duties 


to  faith  a  suitable  reception?  "For  these  '  of  this  kind,  which  are  observed  to  the  dead, 
things  were  done,"  he  adds,  "  that  the  scrip- !  the  customs  of  every  nation  ought  to  be  pre- 
ture  should  be  fulfilled,  A  bone  of  Him  ye :  served. 

shall  not  break.  And  again,  another  scrip-)  5.  "  Now  in  the  place  where  He  was  cruci- 
ture  saith,  They  shall  look  on  Him  whom  j  fied  there  was  a  garden;  and  in  the  garden  a 
they  pierced."  He  has  furnished  two  testi- 1  new  sepulchre,  wherein  was  never  man  yet 
monies  from  the  Scriptures  for  each  of  .the  I  laid."  As  in  the  womb  ol  the  Virgin  Mary 
things  which  he  has  recorded  as  having  been  J  no  one  was  conceived  before  Him,  and  no 
done.  For  to  the  words,  "  But  when  they  '  one  after  Him,  so  in  this  sepulchre  there  was 
came  to  Jesus,  and  saw  that  He  was  dead  ,  no  one  buried  before  Him,  and  no  one  after 
already,  they  brake  not  His  legs,"  belongeth  Him.  "  There  laid  they  Jesus  therefore, 
the  testimony,  "A  bone  of  Him  ye  shall  not  j  because  of  the  Jews'  preparation;  for  the 
break:''  an  injunction  which  was  laid  upon  j  sepulchre  was  nigh  at  hand."  He  would  have 
those  who  were  commanded  to  celebrate  the  us  to  understand  that  the  burial  was  hurried, 


passover  by  the  sacrifice  of  a  sheep  in  the  old 
law,  which  went  before  as  a  shadow  of  the 
passion  of  Christ.  WJience  "our  passover 
has  been  offered,  even  Christ,"1'  of  whom  the 
prophet  Isaiah  also  had  predicted,  "  He  shall 
be  led  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter."  3  In  like 
manner  to  the  words  which  he  subjoined, 
"  But  one  of  the  soldiers  laid  open  His  side 
with  a  spear,"  belongeth  the  other  testimony, 
"  They  shall  look  on  Him  whom  they  pierc 
ed;"  where  Christ  is  promised  in  the  very 
flesh  wherein  He  was  afterwards  to  come  to 
be  crucified. 

4.  "And  after  this,  Joseph  of  Arimathea 
(being  a  disciple  of  Jesus,  but  secrerly  for 
fear  of  the  Jews)  besought  Pilate  that  he 


lest  the  evening  should  overtake  them;  when 
it  was  no  longer  permitted  to  do  any  such 
thing,  because  of  the  preparation,  which  the 
Jews  among  us  are  more  in  the  habit  of  call 
ing  in  Latin,  cwna  pura  (the  pure  meal). 

6.  "And  on  the  first  of  the  week  came 
Mary  Magdalene  early,  when  it  was  yet  dark, 
unto  the  sepulchre,  and  saw  the  stone  taken 
away  from  the  sepulchre."  The  first  of  the 
week 6  is  what  Christian  practice  now  calls  the 
Lord's  day,  because  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
Lord.7  "  She  ran,  therefore,  and  came  to 
Simon  Peter  and  to  the  other  disciple  whom 
Jesus  loved,  and  saith  unto  them,  They  have 
taken  the  Lord  out  of  the  sepulchre,  and  we 
know  not  where  they  have  laid  Him."  Some 
of  the  Greek  codices  have,  "  They  have  taken 


might    take    away    the    body   of    Jesus:    and 

Pilate  gave  him  leave.  He  came  therefore,  my  Lord,"  which  may  likely  enough  have 
and  took  the  body  of  Jesus.  And  there  ca*ne  |  been  said  by  the  stronger  than  ordinary  affec- 
also  Micodemus,  who  came  to  Jesus  by  night  \  tion  of  love  and  handmaid  relationship;  but 
at  first,  bringing  a  mixture  of  myrrh  and 


aloes,  about  an  hundred  pound  weight."  \\Y 
are  not  to  explain  the  meaning  by  saying, 
*'  first  bringing  a  mixture  of  myrrh,"  but  by 
attaching  the  word  "first"  to  the  preceding 
clause.  For  Nicodemus  had  at  first  come  to 


we  have  not  found  it  in  the  several  codices  to 
which  we  have  had  access. 


This  last  da, 
i  Cor.  v.  7. 


is  ,'ound  only   in  thrre  ..f  the  Auguslinian 
3  Isa.  liii.  7. 


4  Chap.  iii.   |,a. 

5  This  revelation,  whereby  the  body  of  Nicodemus  w.i- 

ered.  is  referred  to  the  close  of  the  year  415,  by  those  who  trust  in 
the  authority  of  the  Presbyter  I.ucian,  in  a  small  book  written  on 
the  inbiect.-  MI..SI-. 

:lhh,lt  i. 

7  August  in  here  adds,  if  H  fin  Mattlnfiit  s<>!ns  in  H.r.tnfffittis 
firimam  S.ihhati  ntoitin.i- -if  ( Matt,  xxviii.  i),  contrasting/*  imam 
with  una 


436 


TMK  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  CX.Xl. 


7.  *'  Peter  therefore  went  forth,  and  that 
other  disciple,   and  came  to  the   sepulchre. 
So  they  ran  both  together:  and  that  other  dis 
ciple  did  outrun  Peter,  and  came  first  to  the 
sepulchre."     The  repetition  here  is  worthy  of 
notice  and  of  commendation  for  the  way  in 
which  a  return  is  made  to  what  had   previ 
ously  been  omitted,  and  yet  is  added  just  as 
if  it  followed  in  due  order.     For  after  having 
already  said,  "  they  came  to  the  sepulchre," 
he  goes  back  to  tell  us  how  they  came,  and 
says,    "  so    they    ran    both    together,"    etc. 
Where  he  shows  that,  by  outrunning  his  com 
panion,  there  came  first  to  the  sepulchre  that 
other  disciple,  by  whom  he  means  himself, 
while  he  relates  all '  as  if  speaking  of  another. 

8.  "And    he     stooping    down,"    he    says, 
*'  saw  the  linen  clothes  lying;  yet  went  he  not 
in.     Then  cometh  Simon  Peter  following  him, 
and  went  into  the  sepulchre,  and  saw  the  linen 
clothes  lying,  and  the  napkin,  which  had  been 
about    His    head,   not   lying   with   the   linen 
clothes,  but  folded  up  in  one  place  by  itself." 
Do  we  suppose  these  things  have  no  meaning  ? 
I  can  suppose  no  such  thing.     But  we  hasten 
on  to  other  points,  on  which  we  are  compelled 
to  linger  by  the  need  there  is  for  investiga 
tion,  or  some  other  kind  of  obscurity.     For 
in  such  things  as  are  self-manifest,  the  in- 


1  Some  editions  here  insert  into  the  text,  More  sanctct  Scr!p- 
titrte,  "after  the  manner  of  Holy  Scripture."  Others  enclose  it 
within  brackets. — MICNE. 


quiry  into  the  meaning  even  of  individual 
details  is,  indeed,  a  subject  of  holy  delight, 
but  only  for  those  who  have  leisure,  which  is 
not  the  case  with  us. 

9.  "  Then  went  in  also  that  other  disciple- 
who  had  come  first  to  the  sepulchre."  He 
came  first,  and  entered  last.  This  also  of  a 
certainty  is  not  without  a  meaning,  but  I  am 
without  the  leisure  needful  for  its  explana 
tion.  "And  he  saw,  and  believed."  Here 
some,  by  not  giving  due-  attention,  suppose 
that  John  believed  that  Jesus  had  risen  again; 
but  there  is  no  indication  of  this  from  the 
words  that  follow.  For  what  does  he  mean 
by  immediately  adding,  "  For  as  yet  they 
knew  not  the  scripture,  that  He  must  rise 
again  from  the  dead  "  ?  He  could  not  then 
have  believed  that  He  had  risen  again,  when 
he  did  not  know  that  it  behoved  Him  to  rise 
again.  What  then  did  he  see  ?  what  was  it 
that  he  believed  ?  What  but  this,  that  he  saw 
the  sepulchre  empty,  and  believed  what  the 
woman  had  said,  that  He  had  been  taken 
away  from  the  tomb  ?  ' '  For  as  yet  they  knew 
not  the  scripture,  that  He  must  rise  again 
from  the  dead."  Thus  also  when  they  heard 
of  it  from  the  Lord  Himself,  although  it  was 
uttered  in  the  plainest  terms,  yet  from  their 
custom  of  hearing  Him  speaking  by  parables, 
they  did  not  understand,  and  believed  that 
something  else  was  H  is  meaning.  But  we  shall 
put  off  what  follows  till  another  discourse. 


TRACTATE    CXXI. 

CHAPTER  XX.   10-29. 


i.  MARY  MAGDALENE  had  brought  the 
news  to  His  disciples,  Peter  and  John,  that 
the  Lord  was  taken  away  from  the  sepulchre; 
and  they,  when  they  came  thither,  found  only 
the  linen  clothes  wherewith  the  body  had  been 
shrouded;  and  what  else  could  they  believe 
but  what  she  had  told  them,  and  what  she 
had  herself  also  believed  ?  "  Then  the  dis 
ciples  went  away  again  unto  their  own" 
(home);  that  is  to  say,  where  they  were  dwell 
ing,  and  from  which  they  had  run  to  the  sep 
ulchre.  "  But  Mary  stood  without  at  the 
sepulchre  weeping."  For  while  the  men  re 
turned,  the  weaker  sex  was  fastened  to  the 
place  by  a  stronger  affection.  And  the  eyes, 
which  had  sought  the  Lord  and  had  not  found 
Him,  had  now  nothing  else  to  do  but  weep, 
deeper  in  their  sorrow  that  He  had  been 


taken  away  from  the  sepulchre  than  that  He 
had  been  slain  on  the  tree;  seeing  that  in  the 
case  even  of  such  a  Master,  when  His  living 
presence  was  withdrawn  from  their  eyes,  His 
remembrance  also  had  ceased  to  remain. 
Such  grief,  therefore,  now  kept  the  woman  at 
the  sepulchre.  "And  as  she  wept,  she 
stopped  down,  and  looked  into  the  sepulchre." 
Why  she  did  so  I  know  not.  For  she  was 
not  ignorant  that  He  whom  she  sought  was 
no  longer  there,  since  she  had  herself  also 
carried  word  to  the  disciples  that  He  had  been 
taken  from  thence;  while  they,  too,  had  come 
to  the  sepulchre,  and  had  sought  the  Lord's 
body,  not  merely  by  looking,  but  also  by 
entering,  and  had  not  found  it.  What  then 
does  it  mean,  that,  as  she  wept,  she  stooped 
down,  and  looked  again  into  the  sepulchre  ? 


TRAC-T  \  i  K  <  \  \  I .  ] 


ON  THE  GOSPEL  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


437 


,ive  that  she 

hardly  thought  she  roukl  believe  either  tlieir 
eyes  or  her  own  ?  Or  was  it  rather  by  some 
d'iviiit-  impulse  that  her  iniml  kd  her  to  look 
within?  For  look  she  did,  "and  saw  two 
angels  in  white,  sitting,  the  one  at  the  head, 
and  the  other  at  the  feet,  where  the  body  of 
Jesus  had  lain."  Why  is  it  that  one  was  sit 
ting  at  the  head,  and  the  other  at  the  feet? 
Was  it,  since  those  who  in  (ireek  are  called 
angels  are  in  Latin  nuntii  [in  English,  news- 
bearers],  that  in  this  way  they  signified  that 
the  gospel  of  Christ  was  to  be  preached  from 
head  to  foot,  from  the  beginning  even  to  the 
end  ?  "  They  say  to  her,  Woman,  why 
weepest  thou  ?  She  saith  unto  them,  Because 
they  have  taken  away  my  Lord,  and  I  know 
not  where  they  have  laid  Him."  The  angels 
forbade  her  tears:  for  by  such  a  position 
what  else  did  they  announce,  but  that  which 
in  some  way  or  other  was  a  future  joy  ?  For 
they  put  the  question,  "  Why  weepest  thou  ?" 
as  if  they  had  said,  Weep  not.  But  she.  sup 
posing  they  had  put  the  question  from  igno 
rance,  unfolded  the  cause  of  her  tears. 
"  Because,"  she  said,  "  they  have  taken  away 
my  Lord  :"  calling  her  Lord's  inanimate  body 
her  Ix>rd,  meaning  a  part  for  the  whole;  just 
as  all  of  us  acknowledge  that  Jesus  Christ, 
the  only  Son  of  God,  our  Lord,  who  of  course 
is  at  once  both  the  Word  and  soul  and  flesh, 
was  nevertheless  crucified  and  buried,  while  it 
was  only  His  flesh  that  was  laid  in  the  sepul 
chre.  "And  I  know  not,"  she  added,  "  where 
they  have  laid  Him."  This  was  the  greater 
cause  of  sorrow,  because  she  knew  not  where 
to  go  to  mitigate  her  grief.  But  the  hour 
had  now  come  when  the  joy,  in  some  measure 
announced  by  the  angels,  who  forbade  her 
tears,  was  to  succeed  the  weeping. 

2.  Lastly,  "when  she  had  thus  said,  she 
turned  herself  back,  and  saw  Jesus  standing, 
and  knew  not  that  it  was  Jesus.  Jesus  saith 
unto  her,  Woman,  why  weepest  thou  ?  whom 
seekest  thou  ?  She,  supposing  Him  to  be  the 
gardener,  saith  unto  Him,  Sir,  If  thou  hast 
borne  Him  hence,  tell  me  where  thou  hast 
laid  Him,  and  I  will  take  Him  away.  Jesus 
saith  unto  her,  Mary.  She  turned  herself, 
and  saith  unto  Him,  Rabboni,  which  is  to  say, 
Master."  Let  no  one  speak  ill  of  the  woman 
because  she  called  the  gardener,  Sir  (ilominf}, 
and  Jesus,  Master.  For  there  she  was  asking, 
here  she  was  recognizing;  there  she  was 
showing  respect  to  a  person  of  whom  she  was 
asking  a  favor,  here  she  was  recalling  the 
Teacher  of  whom  she  was  learning  to  discern 
things  human  and  divine.  She  called  one 
lord  (sir),  whose  handmaid  she  was  not,  in 
order  by  him  to  get  at  the  Lord  to  whom  she 


belonged.  In  one  sense,  therefore,  she  used 
the  word  I.nrd  when  she  said,  "They  have 
taken  away  my  Lord;  and  in  another,  when 
she  said,  Sir  (lord),  if  thou  hast  borne  H  m 
hence."  For  tiie  prophet  also  called  tl.o^e 
lords  who  were  mere  men,  but  in  a  different 
sense  from  Him  of  whom  it  is  written,  "The 
Lord  is  His  name."1  But  how  was  it  that 
this  woman,  who  had  already  turned  herself 
back  to  see  Jesus,  when  she  supposed  Him  to 
be  the  gardener,  and  was  actually  talking 
with  Him,  is  said  to  have  again  turned  her 
self,  in  order  to  say  unto  Him  "  Rabboni," 
but  just  because,  when  she  then  turned  her 
self  in  body,  she  supposed  Him  to  be  what 
He  was  not,  while  now,  when  turned  in  heart, 
she  recognized  Him  to  be  what  He  was. 

3.  "  Jesus  saith  unto  her,  Touch  me  not: 
for  I  am  not  yet  ascended  to  my  Father:  but 
go  to  my  brethren,  and  say  unto  them,  I  as 
cend  unto  my  Father,  and  your  Father;  to 
my  God,  and  your  God."  There  are  points 
in  these  words  which  we  must  examine  with 
brevity  indeed,  but  with  somewhat  more  than 
ordinary  attention.  For  Jesus  was  giving  a 
lesson  in  faith  to  the  woman,  who  had  recog 
nized  Him  as  her  Master,  and  called  Him  so 
in  her  reply;  and  this  gardener  was  sowing 
in  her  heart,  as  in  His  own  garden,  the  grain 
of  mustard  seed.  What  then  is  meant  by 
"  Touch  me  not  "  ?  And  just  as  if  the  reason 
of  such  a  prohibition  would  be  sought,  He 
added,  "for  I  am  not  yet  ascended  to  my 
Father. '*  What  does  this  mean?  If,  while 
standing  on  earth,  He  is  not  to  be  touched, 
how  could  He  be  touched  by  men  when  sit 
ting  in  heaven  ?  For  certainly,  before  He 
ascended,  He  presented  Himself  to  the  touch 
of  the  disciples,  when  He  said,  as  testified  by 
the  evangelist  Luke,  "  Handle  me,  and  see; 
for  a  spirit  hath  not  flesh  and  bones,  as  ye 
see  me  have;"  2  or  when  He  said  to  Thomas 
the  disciple,  "  Reach  hither  thy  finger,  and 
behold  my  hands;  and  put  forth  thy  hand, 
and  thrust  it  into  my  side."  And  who  could 
be  so  absurd  as  to  affirm  that  He  was  willing 
indeed  to  be  touched  by  the  disciples  before 
He  ascended  to  the  Father,  but  refused  it  in 
the  case  of  women  till  after  His  ascension  ? 
But  no  one,  even  had  any  the  will,  was  to 
be  allowed  to  run  into  such  folly.  For  we 
read  that  women  also,  after  His  resurrection 
and  before  His  ascension  to  the  Father, 
touched  Jesus,  among  whom  was  Mary  Mag 
dalene  herself;  for  it  is  related  by  Matthew 
that  Jesus  met  them,  and  said,  "All  hail. 
And  they  approached,  and  held  Him  by  the 
feet,  and  worshipped  Him."3  This  was 


3  Matt,  xzviii.   ,. 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


LTRAfTATK     CXXI. 


But  the  shutting  of  doors  presented  no  obsta 
cle  to  the  matter  of  His  body,  wherein  C.od- 
head  resided.  He  indeed  could  enter  with 
out  their  being  opened,  by  whose  birth  the 
\'ir_L,rinity  of  His  mother  remained  inviolate. 
"  Then  were  the  disciples  glad  when  they  saw 
the  Lord.  Then  said  He  unto  them  again, 
Peace  be  unto  you."  Reiteration  is  con 
firmation;  for  He  Himself  gives  by  the  pro 
phet  a  promised  peace  upon  peace.1  "As  the 
Father  hath  sent  me,"  He  adds,  "even  so 
send  I  you."  We  know  the  Son  to  be  equal 
to  the  Father;  but  here  we  recognize  the 
words  of  the  Mediator.  For  He  exhibits 
Himself  as  occupying  a  middle  position  when 
He  says,  He  me,  and  I  you.  "And  when 
He  had  said  this,  He  breathed  on  them,  and 
said  unto  them,  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost." 
By  breathing  on  them  He  signified  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  was  the  Spirit,  not  of  the  Father 


alone,  but  likewise  His  own. 
ever  sins,"  He  continues,   "ye 


Whose  so- 
remit,   they 


passed  over  by  John,  but  declared  as  the 
truth  by  Mattnew.  It  remains,  therefore, 
that  some  sacred  mystery  must  lie  concealed 
in  these  words;  and  whether  we  discover  it  or 
utterly  fail  to  do  50,  yet  we  ought  to  be  in  no 
doubt  as  to  its  actual  existence.  Accord 
ingly,  either  the  words,  "  Touch  me  not,  for 
I  am  not  yet  ascended  to  my  Father,"  had 
this  meaning,  that  by  this  woman  the  Church 
of  the  Gentiles  was  symbolized,  which  did 
not  believe  on  Christ  till  He  had  actually 
ascended  to  the  Father,  or  that  in  this  way 
Christ  wished  Himself  to  be  believed  on;  in 
other  words,  to  be  touched  spiritually,  that 
He  and  the  Father  are  one.  For  He  has 
in  a  manner  ascended  to  the  Father,  to  the 
inward  perception  of  him  who  has  made  such 
progress  in  the  knowledge  of  Cnrist  that  he 
acknowledges  Him  as  equal  with  the  Father: 
in  any  other  way  He  is  not  rightly  touched, 
that  is  to  say,  in  any  other  way  He  is  not 
rightly  believed  on.  But  Mary  might  have 
still  so  believed  as  to  account  Him  unequal 
with  the  Father,  and  this  certainly  is  forbid 
den  her  by  the  words,  "  Touch  me  not; "  that 
is,  Believe  not  thus  on  me  according  to  thy 
present  notions;  let  not  your  thoughts 
stretch  outwards  to  what  I  have  been  made  in 
thy  behalf,  without  passing  beyond  to  that 
whereby  thou  hast  thyself  been  made.  For 
how  could  it  be  otherwise  than  carnally  that 
she  still  believed  on  Him  whom  she  was 
weeping  over  as  a  man  ?  "  For  I  am  not  yet 
ascended,"  He  says,  "  to  my  Father:  "  there 
shalt  thou  touch  me,  when  thou  believest  me 
to  be  God,  in  no  wise  unequal  with  the 
Father.  "  But  go  to  my  brethren,  and  say 
unto  them,  I  ascend  unto  my  Father,  and 
your  Father."  He  saith  not,  Our  Father:  in 
one  sense,  therefore,  is  He  mine,  in  another 
sense,  yours;  by  nature  mine,  by  grace  yours. 
"And  my  God,  and  your  God."  Nor  did 
He  say  here,  Our  God:  here,  therefore,  also 
is  He  in  one  sense  mine,  in  another  sense 
yours:  my  God,  under  whom  I  also  am  as 
man;  your  God,  between  whom  and  you  I 
am  mediator. 

4.  "  Mary  Magdalene  came  and  told  the 
disciples,  I  have  seen  the  Lord,  and  He  hath 
spoken  these  things  unto  me.  Then  the  same 
day  at  evening,  being  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  when  the  doors  were  shut  where  the  and  touched,  he  now  put  far  away  from  him 
disciples  were  assembled  for  fear  of  the  Jews,  every  doubt,  and  believed  the  other.  "  Jesus 
came  Jesus,  and  stood  in  the  midst,  and  saith  saith  unto  him,  Because  thou  hast  seen  me, 
unto  them,  Peace  be  unto  you.  And  when  thou  hast  believed."  He  saith  not,  Thou 
He  had  so  said,  He  showed  unto  them  His  hast  touched  me,  but,  "Thou  hast  seen  me," 


are  remitted  unto  them;  and  whose  soever  ye 
retain,  they  are  retained."  The  Church's 
love,  which  is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  discharges  the  sins  of  all  who 
are  partakers  with  itself,  but  retains  the  sins 
of  those  who  have  no  participation  therein. 
Therefore  it  is,  that  after  saying  "  Receive  ye 
the  Holy  Ghost,''*  He  straightway  added  this 
regarding  the  remission  and  retention  of  sins. 
5.  "  But  Thomas,  one  of  the  twelve,  who 
is  called  Didymus,  was  not  with  them  when 
Jesus  came.  The  other  disciples  therefore 
said  unto  him,  We  have  seen  the  Lord.  But 
he  said  unto  them,  Except  I  shall  see  in  His 
hands  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  put  my  fin 
ger  into  the  place  of  the  nails,  and  put  my 
hand  into  His  side,  I  will  not  believe.  And 
after  eight  days,  again  His  disciples  were 
within,  and  Thomas  with  them.  Then  came 
Jesus,  the  doors  being  shut,  and  stood  in  the 
midst,  and  said,  Peace  be  unto  you.  Then 
saith  He  to  Thomas,  Reach  hither  thy  finger, 
and  behold  my  hands;  and  reach  hither  thy 
hand,  and  put  it  into  my  side:  and  be  not 
faithless,  but  believing.  Thomas  answered 
and  said  unto  Him,  My  Lord  and  my  God." 
He  saw  and  touched  the  man,  and  acknowl 
edged  the  God  whom  he  neither  saw  nor 
touched;  but  by  the  means  of  what  he  saw 


hands  and  His  side."  For  nails  had  pierced 
His  hands,  a  spear  had  laid  open  His  side: 
and  there  the  marks  of  the  wounds  are  pre 
served  for  healing  the  hearts  of  the  doubting. 


because   sight    is    a   kind    of   general   sense. 
For  sight  is  also  habitually  named  in  connec- 


VTl    i   \  \  1 1. 1 


oN  Till-,  GOSPEL  <  >1    BT,  JOHN. 


439 


tion  with  the  other  four  senses:  as  when  we 
s.ty.  l.^ten,  and  see  how  well  it  sounds;  smell 
it.  and  sec  h<>\\-  well  it  smells;  taste  it,  and 
see  ho\v  well  it  savors;  touch  i',  and  s< 
hot  it  is.  Kverywhcre  lias  the  word,  .V,v, 
made  itself  heard,  although  sight,  properly 
speaking,  is  allowed  to  belong  only  to  the 
OjfCS.  Hence  here  also  the  Lord  Himself 
says,  "  Reach  hither  thy  finger,  and  behold 
my  hands:  "  and  what  else  does  He  mean 
but,  Touch  and  see?  And  yet  he  had  no 
eyes  in  his  finger.  Whether  therefore  it  was 
by  looking,  or  also  by  touching,  "  Because 
thou  hast  seen  me,"  He  says,  "  thou  hast  be 
lieved."  Although  it  may  be  affirmed  that 


the  disciple  dared  not  so  to  touch,  when  He 
oiiered  Himself  for  the  purpose;  for  it  is  not 
written,  And  Thomas  touched  Him.  But 
whether  it  was  by  gaxing  only,  or  also  by 
touching  that  he  saw  and  believed,  what  fol 
lows  rather  proclaims  and  commends  the  faith 
of  the  Gentiles:  "  Blessed  are  they  that  have 
not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed."  He  made 
use  of  words  in  the  past  tense,  as  One  who, 
in  His  predestinating  purpose,  knew  what  was 
future,  as  if  it  had  already  taken  place.  But 
the  present  discourse  must  be  kept  from  the 
charge  of  prolixity:  the  Lord  will  give  us 
the  opportunity  to  discourse  at  another  time 
on  the  topics  that  remain. 


TRACTATE     CXXII. 


CHAPTKK    XX.   30,  31,  and   XXI.    i— n. 


i.  AFTER  telling  us  of  the  incident  in  con-  ] 
nection  with  which  the  disciple  Thomas  had  j 
offered  to  his  touch  the  places  of  the  wounds 
in  Christ's  body,  and  saw  what  he  would  not  j 
believe,  and  believed,  the  evangelist  John  j 
interposes  these  words,  and  says:  "And  many  i 
other  signs  truly  did  Jesus  in  the  presence  of 
His  disciples,  which  are  not  written  in  this 
book:  but  these  are  written  that  ye  may  believe 
that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God;  and 
that  believing  ye  may  have  life  through  His 
name."  This  paragraph  indicates,  as  it  were, 
the  end  of  the  book;  but  there  is  afterwards 
related  how  the  Lord  manifested  Himself  at ! 
the  sea  of  Tiberias,  and  in  the  draught  of 
fishes  made  special  reference  to  the  mystery 
of  the  Church,  as  regards  its  future  character, 
in  the  final  resurrection  of  the  dead.  I  think, 
therefore,  it  is  fitted  to  give  special  promi 
nence  thereto,  that  there  has  been  thus  inter- ' 
posed,  as  it  were,  an  end  of  the  book,  and  | 
that  there  should  be  also  a  kind  of  preface  to 
the  narrative  that  was  to  follow,  in  order  in 
some  measure  to  give  it  a  position  of  greater 
eminence.  The  narrative  itself  begins  in  this 
way:  "After  these  things  Jesus  showed  Him 
self  again  to  the  disciples  at  the  sea  of  Tibe 
rias;  and  on  this  wise  showed  He  (Himself). 
There  were  together  Simon  Peter,  and 
Thomas  called  Didymus,  and  Nathanael  of 
('ana  in  Galilee,  and  the  sons  of  Zebedee, 
and  two  other  of  His  disciples.  Simon  1'cter 
'saith  unto  them,  I  go  a  fishing.  They  say 
unto  him,  We  also  go  with  thee." 


2.  The  inquiry  is  usually  made  in  connec 
tion  with  this  fishing  of  the  disciples,  why 
Peter  and  the  sons  of  Zebedee  returned  to 
what  they  were  before  being  called  by  the 
Lord;  for  they  were  fishers  when  He  said  to 
them,  "Come  after  me,  and  I  will  make 
you  fishers  of  men."  '  And  they  put  such 
reality  into  their  following  of  Him  then,  that 
they  left  all  in  order  to  cleave  to  Him  as 
their  Master:  so  much  so,  that  when  the  rich 
man  went  away  from  Him  in  sorrow,  because 
of  His  saying  to  him,  "Go  sell  that  thou 
hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shall 
have  treasure  in  heaven,  and  come  follow 
me,"  Peter  said  unto  Him,  "  Lo,  we  have 
forsaken  all,  and  followed  Thee."a  Why  is 
it  then  that  now,  by  the  abandonment  as  it 
were  of  their  apostleship,  they  become  what 
they  were,  and  seek  again  what  they  had  for 
saken,  as  if  forgetful  of  the  words  they  had 
once  listened  to,  "  No  man,  putting  his  hand 
to  the  plough,  and  looking  back,  is  fit  for  the 
kingdom  of  heaven"?3  Had  they  done  so 
when  Jesus  was  lying  in  the  grave,  before  He 
rose  from  the  dead, — which  of  course  they 
could  not  have  done,  as  the  day  whereon  He 
was  crucified  kept  them  all  in  closest  attention 
till  His  burial,  which  took  place  before  even 
ing;  while  the  next  day  was  the  Sabbath, 
when  it  was  unlawful  for  those  who  observed 
the  ancestral  custom  to  work  at  all;  and  on 
the  third  day  the  Lord  rose  again,  and  re- 


»  Matt.  iv.  19. 


Matt.  xix.  21,  22,  37. 


440 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  CXXII. 


called  them  to  the  hope  which  they  had  not 
yet  begun  to  entertain  regarding  Him; — yet 
had  they  then  done  so,  we  might  suppose  it 
had  been  done  under  the  influence  of  that 
despair  which  had  taken  possession  of  their 
minds.  But  now,  after  His  restoration  to 
them  alive  from  the  tomb,  after  the  most  evi- 1 
dent  truth  of  His  revivified  flesh  offered  to 
their  eyes  and  hands,  not  only  to  be  seen,  but 
also  to  be  touched  and  handled;  after  in 
specting  the  very  marks  of  the  wounds,  even 
to  the  confession  of  the  Apostle  Thomas,  who 
had  previously  declared  that  he  would  not 
otherwise  believe;  after  the  reception  by  His 
breathing  on  them  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
after  the  words  poured  from  His  lips  intoj 
their  ears,  '"As  the  Father  hath  sent  me, 
even  so  send  I  you:  whose  soever  sins  ye 
remit,  they  are  remitted  unto  them;  and 
whose  soever  ye  retain,  they  are  retained:" 
they  suddenly  become  again  what  they  had 
been,  fishers,  not  of  men,  but  of  fishes. 

3.  We  have  therefore  to  give  those  who  are 
disturbed  by  this  the  answer,  that  they  were 
not  prohibited  from  seeking  necessary  suste 
nance  by  their  manual  craft,  when  lawful  in 
itself,  and  warranted  so  long  as  they  preserved 
their  apostleship  intact,  if  at  any  time  they 
had  no  other  means  of  gaining  a  livelihood. 
Unless  any  one  have  the  boldness  to  imagine 
or  to  affirm,  that  the  Apostle  Paul  attained 
not  to  the  perfection  of  those  who  left  all  and 
followed  Christ,  seeing  that,  in  order  not  to 
become  a  burden  to  any  of  those  to  whom  he 
preached  the  gospel,  he  worked  with  his  own 
hands  for  his  support: '  wherein  we  find  rather 
the  fulfillment  of  his  own  words,  "  I  labored 
more  abundantly  than  they  all;"  and  to 
which  he  added,  "  yet  not  I,  but  the  grace  of 
God  that  was  with  me:  "  2  to  make  it  manifest 
that  this  also  was  to  be  imputed  to  the  grace 
of  God,  that  both  with  mind  and  body  he  was 
able  to  labor  so  much  more  abundantly  than 
they  all,  that  he  neither  ceased  from  preach 
ing  the  gospel,  nor  drew,  like  them,  his  pres 
ent  support  out  of  the  gospel;  while  he  was 
sowing  it  much  more  widely  and  fruitfully 
through  multitudes  of  nations  where  the  name 
of  Christ  had  never  previously  been  pro 
claimed.  Whereby  he  showed  that  living, 
that  is,  deriving  their  subsistence,  by  the  gos 
pel,  was  not  imposed  on  the  apostles  as  a 
necessity,  but  conferred  on  them  as  a  power. 
And  of  this  power  the  same  apostle  makes 
mention  when  he  says:  "If  we  have  sown  to 
you  spiritual  things,  is  it  a  great  thing  if  we 
reap  your  carnal  things?  If  others  are  par 
takers  of  this  power  among  you,  are  not  we 


rather?  But,"  he  adds,  "we  have  not  used 
this  power."  And  a  little  afterwards  he  says: 
"  They  who  serve  the  altar  are  partakers  with 
the  altar:  even  so  hath  the  Lord  ordained, 
that  they  who  preach  the  gospel  should  live 
of  the  gospel;  but  I  have  used  none  of  these 
things."  It  is  clear  enough,  therefore,  that 
it  was  not  enjoined  on  the  apostles,  but  put 
in  their  power,  not  to  find  their  living  other 
wise  than  by  the  gospel,  and  of  those  to 
whom  by  preaching  the  gospel  they  sowed 
spiritual  things,  to  reap  their  carnal  things; 
that  is,  to  take  their  bodily  support,  and,  as 
the  soldiers  of  Christ,  to  receive  the  wages 
due  to  them,  as  from  the  inhabitants  of  prov 
inces  subject  to  Christ.3  Hence  that  same 
illustrious  soldier  had  said  a  little  before,  in 
reference  to  this  matter,  "  Who  goeth  a  war 
fare  any  time  at  his  own  charges  ?"  *  Which 
he  nevertheless  did  himself;  for  he  labored 
more  abundantly  than  they  all.  If,  then,  the 
blessed  Paul — that  he  might  not  use  with 
them  the  power  which  he  certainly  possessed 
along  with  the  other  preachers  of  the  gospel, 
but  went  a  warfare  at  his  own  charges,  that 
the  Gentiles,  who  were  utterly  averse  to  the 
name  of  Christ,  might  not  take  offense  at  his 
teaching,  as  something  offered  them  for  a 
money  equivalent, — in  a  way  very  different 
from  that  in  which  he  had  been  educated, 
learned  an  altogether  new  art,  that  while  the 
teacher  supports  himself  with  his  own  hands, 
none  of  his  hearers  might  be  burdened;  how 
much  rather  did  the  blessed  Peter,  who  had 
beforetimes  been  a  fisherman,  do  what  he 
was  already  acquainted  with,  if  at  that  pres 
ent  time  he  found  no  other  means  of  gaining 
a  livelihood  ? 

4.  But  some  one  will  reply,  And  why  did 
he  not  find  them,  when  the  Lord  had  prom 
ised,  saying,  "  Seek    first   the   kingdom   and 
righteousness  of  God,  and   all  these   things 
shall  be  added  unto  you"?5     Precisely  also 
in  this  very  way  did  the  Lord  fulfill  His  prom 
ise.     For  who  else  placed  there  the  fishes  that 
were   to   be   caught,    but    He,   who,   we   are 
bound  to  believe,  threw  them  into  the  penury 
that  compelled  them  to  go  a  fishing,  for  no 
other  reason  than  that   He  wished   to  show 
them  the  miracle  He  had  prepared,  that  so 
He  might  both   feed   the   preachers  of    His 
gospel,   and  at  the  same  time  enhance  that 
gospel  itself,  by  the  great  mystery  which  He 
was  about  to  impress  on  their  minds  by  the 
number  of  the  fishes?     And  on  this  subject 
we  also  ought  now  to  be  telling  you  what  He 
Himself  has  set  before  us. 

5.  "  Simon  Peter,"  therefore,  "  saith,  I  go 


(or.  ix.  11-15,  7. 


m    <  \  \  1 1  1 


ON   THK  C.OSPKL  <)F  ST.    JOHN. 


441 


a  fishing."  Those  wlio  were  with  him  "say 
unto  him,  We  also  ^o  with  thee.  And  they 
went  forth,  and  entered  into  a  ship;  and  that 
night  they  caught  nothing.  Hut  when  the 
morning  was  now  come,  |esus  stood  on  tin- 
shore ;  but  tlie  disciples  knew  not  that  it  was 
Jesus.  Then  Jesus  saith  unto  them,  Chil 
dren,  have  ye  any  meat?  They  answered 
Him,  No.  He  saith  unto  them,  Cast  the  net 
on  the  right  side  of  the  ship,  and  ye  shall 
find.  They  cast  therefore,  and  now  they 
were  not  able  to  draw  it  for  the  multitude  of 
fishes.  Therefore  that  disciple  whom  Jesus 
loved  saith  unto  Peter,  It  is  the  Lord.  When 
Simon  Peter  heard  that  it  was  the  Lord,  he 
girt  his  coat  unto  him,  for  he  was  naked,  and 
did  cast  himself  into  the  sea.  And  the  other 
disciples  came  in  a  little  ship  (for  they  were 
not  far  from  the  land,  hut  as  it  were  two  hun 
dred  cubits),  dragging  the  net  with  fishes.  As 
soon  then  as  they  were  come  to  land,  they 
saw  a  fire  of  coals  laid,  and  a  fish  laid  there 
on,  and  bread.  Jesus  saith  unto  them,  Bring 
of  the  fish  which  ye  have  now  caught.  Simon 
Peter  went  up,  and  drew  the  net  to  land  full 
of  great  fishes,  an  hundred  and  fifty  and 
three:  and  for  all  there  were  so  many,  yet 
was  not  the  net  broken." 

6.  This   is  a  great  mystery  in   the   great 
Gospel  of  John;  and  to  commend  it  the  more 
forcibly  to  our  attention,  the  last  chapter  has 
been  made  its  place  of  record.     Accordingly, 
inasmuch  as  there  were  seven  disciples  taking 
part  in  that  fishing,  Peter,  and  Thomas,  and 
Nathaneal,  apd  the  two  sons  of  Zebedee,  and 
two  others  whose  names  are  withheld,  they 
point,  by  their  septenary  number,  to  the  end 
of  time.     For  there  is  a  revolution  of  all  time 
in    seven   days.     To   this   also    pertains   the 
statement,  that  when  the  morning  was  come, 
Jesus  stood  on  the  shore;  for  the  shore  like 
wise    is  the   limit  of   the  sea,   and   signifies 
therefore  the  end  of  the  world.     The  same 
end  of  the  world  is  shown  also  by  the  act  of 
Peter,  in  drawing  the  net  to  land,  that  is,  to 
the    shore.     Which    the    Lord    has    Himself 
elucidated,  when  in  a  certain  other  place  He 
drew  His    similitude   from  a  fishing  net    let 
down  into  the  sea:  "And  they  drew  it,"  He 
said,  "to  the  shore."     And   in  explanation 
of  what  that  shore  was,  He  added,  "So  will 
it  be  in  the  end  of  the  world."  ' 

7.  That,  however,  is  a  parable  in  word,  not 
one  embodied  in  outward  action;  and  just  as 
in  the  passage  before  us  the  Lord  indicated  [ 
by  an  outward  action  the  kind  of  character 
the  Church   would   have   in   the   end   of  the 
world,  so  in  the  same  way,  by  that  other  fish 


ing,  He  indicated  its  present  character.  In 
doing  the  one  at  the  commencement  • 
preaching  and  this  latter  after  Hi-,  n-surrec- 
tion,  He  showed  thereby  in  the  former  case 
that  the  capture  of  fishes  signified  ti.« 
and  bad  presently  existing  in  the  Church; 
but  in  the  latter,  the  good  only,  whom  it  will 
contain  everlastingly,  when  the  resurrection 
;  of  the  dead  shall  have  been  completed  in  the 
end  of  this  world.  Furthermore,  on  that 
previous  occasion  Jesus  stood  not,  as  here, 
on  the  shore,  when  He  gave  orders  for  the 
taking  of  the  fish,  but  "entered  into  one  of 
the  ships,  which  was  Simon's,  and  prayed  him 
that  he  would  thrust  out  a  little  from  the 
land;  and  He  sat  down  therein,  and  taught 
the  crowds.  And  when  He  had  left  speak 
ing,  He  said  unto  Simon,  Launch  out  into 
the  deep,  and  let  down  your  nets  for  a 
draught."  There  also  they  put  the  fishes 
that  were  caught  into  the  ship,  and  did  not, 
as  here,  draw  the  net  to  the  shore.  By  these 
signs,  and  any  others  that  may  be  found,  on 
the  former  occasion  the  Church  was  prefig 
ured  as  it  exists  in  this  world,  and  on  the 
other,  as  it  shall  be  in  the  end  of  the  world: 
the  one  accordingly  took  place  before,  and 
the  other  subsequently  to  the  resurrection  of 
the  Lord;  because  there  we  were  signified  by 
Christ  as  called,  and  here  as  raised  from  the 
dead.  On  that  occasion  the  nets  are  not  let 
down  on  the  right  side,  that  the  good  alone 
might  not  be  signified,  nor  on  the  left,  lest 
the  application  should  be  limited  to  the  bad; 
but  without  any  reference  to  either  side,  He 
says,  "  Let  down  your  nets  for  a  draught," 
that  we  may  understand  the  good  and  bad  as 
mingled  together:  while  on  this  He  says, 
"  Cast  the  net  on  the  right  side  of  the  ship," 
to  signify  those  who  stood  on  the  right  hand, 
the  good  alone.  There  the  net  was  broken 
on  account  of  the  schisms  that  were  meant  to 
be  signified;  but  here,  as  then  there  will  be 
no  more  scnisrns  in  that  supreme  peace  of  the 
saints,  the  evangelist  was  entitled  to  say, 
"And  for  all  they  were  so  great,"  that  is,  so 
large,  ''yet  was  not  the  net  broken;*'  as  if 
with  reference  to  the  previous  time  when  it 
was  broken,  and  a  commendation  of  the  good 
that  was  here  in  comparison  with  the  evil  that 
preceded.  There-  the  multitude  of  fishes 
caught  was  so  great,  that  the  two  vessels  were 
filled  and  began  to  sink,3  that  is,  were  weighed 
down  to  the  point  of  sinking;  for  they  did  not 
actually  sink,  but  were  in  extreme  jeopardy. 
For  whence  exist  in  the  Church  the  great 
evils  under  which  we  groan,  save  from  the 
impossibility  of  withstanding  the  enormous 


Matt.  xiii.  48,  49. 


I.ukc  v.  3-7. 


442 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUS  I  IN. 


[TKACTAIK  ('XX II. 


multitude  that,  almost  to  the  entire  subver 
sion  of  discipline,  gain  an  entrance,  with  their 
morals  so  utterly  at  variance  with  the  pathway 
of  the  saints  ?  Here,  however,  they  cast  the 
net  on  the  right  side,  "  and  now  they  were 
not  able  to  draw  it  for  the  multitude  of 
fishes."  What  is  meant  by  the  words,  "  Now 
they  were  not  able  to  draw  it,"  but  this,  that 
those  who  belong  to  the  resurrection  of  life, 
that  is  to  say,  to  the  right  hand,  and  depart 
this  life  within  the  nets  of  the  Christian  name, 
will  be  made  manifest  only  on  the  shore,  in 
other  words,  when  they  shall  rise  from  the 
dead  at  the  end  of  the  world  ?  Accordingly, 
they  were  not  able  to  draw  the  nets  so  as  to 
discharge  into  the  vessel  the  fishes  they  had 
caught,  as  was  done  with  all  of  those  where 
with  the  net  was  broken,  and  the  boats  laden 
to  sinking.  But  the  Church  possesses  those 
right-hand  ones  after  the  close  of  this  life  in 
the  sleep  of  peace,  lying  hid  as  it  were  in  the 
deep,  till  the  net  reach  the  shore  whither  it 
is  being  drawn,  as  it  were  two  hundred  cubits. 
And  as  on  that  first  occasion  it  was  done  by 
two  vessels,  with  reference  to  the  circumcis 
ion  and  the  uncircumcision;  so  in  this  place, 
by  the  two  hundred  cubits,  I  am  of  opinion 
that  there  is  symbolized,  with  reference  to  the 
elect  of  both  classes,  the  circumcision  and 
the  uncircumcision,  as  it  were  two  separate 
hundreds;  because  the  number  that  passes  to 
the  right  hand  is  represented  summarily  by 
hundreds.  And  last  of  all,  in  that  former 
fishing  the  number  of  fishes  is  not  expressed, 
as  if  the  words  were  there  acted  on  that  were 
uttered  by  the  prophet,  "  I  have  declared  and 
spoken;  they  are  multiplied  beyond  num 
ber  :  "  *  while  here  there  are  none  beyond  cal 
culation,  but  the  definite  number  of  a  hundred 
and  fifty  and  three;  and  of  the  reason  of  this 
number  we  must  now,  with  the  Lord's  help, 
give  some  account. 

8.  For  if  we  determine  on  the  number  that 
should  indicate  the  law,  what  else  can  it  be 
but  ten  ?  For  we  have  absolute  certainty  that 
the  Decalogue  of  the  law,  that  is,  those  ten 
well-known  precepts,  were  first  written  by  the 
finger  of  God  on  two  tables  of  stone.*  But 
the  law,  when  it  is  not  aided  by  grace,  maketh 
transgressors,  and  is  only  in  the  letter,  on  ac 
count  of  which  the  apostle  specially  declared, 
' '  The  letter  killeth,  but  the  spirit  giveth  life."3 
Let  the  spirit  then  be  added  to  the  letter,  lest 
the  letter  kill  him  whom  the  spirit  maketh 
not  alive,  and  let  us  work  out  the  precepts  of 
the  law,  not  in  our  own  strength,  but  by  the 
grace  of  the  Saviour.  But  when  grace  is 
added  to  the  law,  that  is,  the  spirit  to  the  let 


ter,  there  is,  in  a  kind  of  way,  added  to  ten 
the  number  of  seven.  For  this  number, 
namely  seven,  is  testified  by  the  documents 
of  holy  writ  given  us  for  perusal,  to  signify 
the  Holy  Spirit.  For  example,  sanctity  or 

(  sanctification  properly  pertains  to  the  Holy 
Spirit,  whence,  as  the  Father  is  a  spirit,  and 

j  the  Son  a  spirit,  because  God  is  a  spirit,4  so 
the  Father  is  holy  and  the  Son  holy,  yet  the 
Spirit  of  both  is  called  peculiarly  by  the  name 

j  of  the  Holy  Spirit.      Where,  then,  was  there 

j  the  first  distinct  mention  of  sanctification  in 
the  law  but  on  the  seventh  day  ?  For  God 
sanctified  not  the  first  day,  when  He  made  the 
light;  nor  the  second,  when  He  made  the 
firmament;  nor  the  third,  when  He  separated 
the  sea  from  the  land,  and  the  land  brought 
forth  grass  and  timber;  nor  the  fourth,  where 
in  the  stars  were  created;  nor  the  fifth,  where 
in  were  created  the  animals  that  live  in  the 
waters  or  fly  in  the  air;  nor  the  sixth,  when 
the  terrestrial  living  soul  and  man  himself 
were  created;  but  He  sanctified  the  seventh 
day.  wherein  He  rested  from  all  His  works.5 
The  Holy  Spirit,  therefore,  is  aptly  repre 
sented  by  the  septenary  number.  The  pro 
phet  Isaiah  likewise  says,  "  The  Spirit  of  God 
shall  rest  on  Him;"  and  thereafter  calls  our 
attention  to  that  Spirit  in  His  septenary  work 
or  grace,  by  saying,  "The  spirit  of  wisdom 
and  understanding,  the  spirit  of  counsel  and 

s  might,  the  spirit  of  knowledge  and  piety; 
and  He  shall  be  filled  with  the  spirit  of  the 
fear  of  God." 6  And  what  of  the  Revelation  ? 
Are  they  not  there  called  the  seven  Spirits  of 
God,7  while  there  is  only  one  and  the  same 
Spirit  dividing  to  every  one  severally  as  He 
will?8  But  the  septenary  operation  of  the 
one  Spirit  was  so  called  by  the  Spirit  Himself, 
whose  own  presence  in  the  writer  led  to  their 
being  spoken  of  as  the  seven  Spirits.  Accord 
ingly,  when  to  the  number  of  ten,  represent 
ing  the  law,  we  add  the  Holy  Spirit  as  repre 
sented  by  seven,  we  have  seventeen;  and 
when  this  number  is  used  for  the  adding  to 
gether  of  every  several  number  it  contains, 
from  i  up  to  itself,  the  sum  amounts  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty-three.  For  if  you  add  2 
to  i,  you  have  3  of  course;  if  to  these  you 
add  3  and  4,  the  whole  makes  10;  and  then 

i  if  you  add  all  the  numbers  that  follow  up  to 
17,  the  whole  amounts  to  the  foresaid  num- 

I  ber;  that  is,  if  to  10,  which  you  had  reached 

|  by  adding  all  together  from  i  to  4,  you  add 
5,  you  have  15;  to  these  add  6,  and  the  result 
is  21 ;  then  add  7,  and  you  have  28;  to  this 
add  8,  and  9,  and  10,  and  you  get  55;  to  this 
add  1 1,  and  12,  and  13,  and  you  have  91 ;  and 


Ps.  xl.  5. 


i  2  Cor.  ill.  6. 


4  Chap.  iv. 


i.,  ii.  3. 
8  i  Cor.  xii.  ii. 


TKACTATI  CXXII.] 


ON  THK  C.osi'KI.  ol    ST.   JoHN. 


445 


to  tilts  again  add  14,  15, and  1 6,  and  it  comes  n> 
i  }f>;  .uid  tuen  add  to  tins  the  remaining  1111111- 
IKT  o!  which  we  have  been  speaking,  namely, 
17,  and  it  will  make  up  the  number  of  fishes. 
Hut  it  is  not  on  that  account  merely  a  hun 
dred  and  fifty-three  saints  that  are  meant  as 
nereafter  to  rise  from  the  dead  unto  life  eter 
nal,  but  thousands  of  saints  who  have  shared 
in  the  grace  of  the  Spirit,  by  which  grace  har 
mony  is  established  with  tne  law  of  God,  as 
with  an  adversary;  so  that  through  the  life- 
giving  Spirit  the  letter  no  longer  kills,  but 
what  is  commanded  by  the  letter  is  fulfilled 
by  the  help  of  the  Spirit,  and  if  there  is  any 
deficiency  it  is  pardoned.  All  therefore  who 
are  sharers  in  such  grace  are  symbolized  by 
this  number,  that  is,  are  symbolically  repre 
sented.  This  number  has,  besides,  three 
times  over,  the  number  of  fifty,  and  three  in 
addition,  with  reference  to  the  mystery  of  the 
Trinity;  while,  again,  the  number  of  fifty  is 
made  up  by  multiplying  7  by  7,  with  the  ad 
dition  of  i.  for  7  times  7  make  49.  And  the 
i  is  added  to  show  that  there  is  one  who  is 
expressed  by  seven  on  account  of  His  seven 
fold  operation;  and  we  know  that  it  was  on 
the  fiftieth  day  after  our  Lord's  ascension 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  was  sent,  for  whom  the 
disciples  were  commanded  to  wait  according 
to  the  promise.1 

9.  It  was  not,  then,  without  a  purpose  that 
these  fishes  were  described  as  so  many  in 
number,  and  so  large  in  size,  that  is,  as  both 
an  hundred  and  fifty-three,  and  large.  For 
so  it  is  written,  "And  He  drew  the  net  to  land 
full  of  great  fishes,  an  hundred  and  fifty  and 
three."  For  when  the  Lord  said,  "I  am  not 
come  to  destroy  the  law,  but  to  fulfill,"  be 
cause  about  to  give  the  Spirit,  through  whom 
the  law  might  be  fulfilled,  and  to  add  thereby, 
as  it  were,  seven  to  ten;  after  interposing  a 
few  other  words  He  proceeded,  "  Whosoever 
therefore  shall  break  one  of  these  least  com 
mandments,  and  shall  teach  men  so,  he  shall 
be  called  the  least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven: 
but  whosoever  shall  do  and  teach  them,  the 
same  shall  be  called  great  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven."  The  latter,  therefore,  may  possibly 
belong  to  the  number  of  great  fishes.  Rut 
he  that  is  the  least,  who  undoes  in  deed  what 
he  teaches  in  word,  may  be  in  such  a  church 
as  is  signified  by  that  first  capture  of  fishes, 
which  contains  both  good  and  bad,  for  it  also 


is  called  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  a^  H< 
"  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  net 
that  was  cast  into  the  sea,  and  gathered  of 
ever  kind;"-1  where  He  wishes  the  good  as 
well  as  the  bad  to  be  understood,  and  of 
whom  He  declares  that  they  are  yet  to  be 
separated  on  the  shore,  to  wit,  at  the  end  of 
j  the  world.  And  lastly,  to  show  that  those 
i  least  ones  are  reprobates  who  teach  by  word 
of  mouth  the  good  which  they  undo  by  their 
evil  lives,  and  that  they  will  not  be  even  the 
least,  as  it  were,  in  the  life  that  is  eternal, 
but  will  have  no  place  there  at  all;  after  say- 
I  ing,  "  He  shall  be  called  the  least  in  the  king 
dom  of  heaven,"  He  immediately  added, 
"  For  I  say  unto  you,  That  except  your  right 
eousness  shall  exceed  [the  righteousness]  of 
the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall  not  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  }  Such,  doubt- 
i  less — these  scribes  and  Pharisees — are  those 
j  who  sit  in  Moses'  seat,  and  of  whom  He  says, 
i  "  Do  ye  what  they  say,  but  do  not  what  they 
do;  for  they  say,  and  do  not."  4  They  teach 
in  sermons  what  they  undo  by  their  morals. 
It  therefore  follows  that  he  who  is  least  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  as  the  Church  now  exists, 
shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven, 
as  the  Church  shall  be  hereafter;  for  by 
teaching  what  he  himself  is  in  the  habit  of 
I  breaking,  he  can  have  no  place  in  the  com 
pany  of  those  who  do  what  they  teach,  and 
therefore  will  not  be  in  the  number  of  great 
fishes,  seeing  it  is  he  "  who  shall  do  and 
teach  that  shall  be  called  great  in  the  king 
dom  of  heaven."  And  because  lie  will  be 
great  here,  therefore  shall  he  be  there,  where 
he  that  is  least  shall  not  be.  Yea,  so  great 
will  they  certainly  be  there,  that  he  who  is 
less  there  is  greater  than  the  greatest  here.5 
And  yet  those  who  are  great  here,  that  is, 
who  do  the  good  that  they  teach  in  that  king 
dom  of  heaven  into  which  the  net  gathereth 
good  and  bad,  shall  be  greater  still  in  that 
eternal  state  of  the  heavenly  kingdom, — 
1  those,  I  mean,  who  are  indicated  by  the  fishes 
here  as  belonging  to  the  right  hand  and  to  the 
resurrection  of  life.  We  have  still  to  dis 
course,  as  God  shall  grant  us  ability,  on  the 
meal  that  the  Lord  took  with  those  seven  dis 
ciples,  and  on  the  words  He  spake  after  the 
meal,  as  well  as  on  the  close  of  the  Gospel 
itself;  but  these  are  topics  that  cannot  be  in 
cluded  in  the  present  lecture. 


Actsi.  4  ;  ii.  2-4. 


Matt.  xiii.  47. 
Malt,   xxiii  .a,  3. 


i  Matt.  v.  17-20. 
M.  II. 


444 


THK  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TKACTATK  CXXI1I. 


TRACTATE    CXXIIL 

CHAPTER  XXI.    12-19. 


T.  WITH  this  third  manifestation  of  Him 
self  by  the  Lord  to  His  disciples  after  His 
resurrection,  the  Gospel  of  the  blessed  Apos 
tle  John  is  brought  to  a  close,  of  which  we 
have  already  lectured  through  the  earlier  part 
as  we  were  able,  on  to  the  place  where  it  is 
related  that  an  hundred  and  fifty-three  fishes 
were  taken  by  the  disciples  to  whom  He 
showed  Himself,  and  for  all  they  were  so 
large,  yet  were  not  the  nets  broken.  What 
follows  we  have  now  to  take  into  considera 
tion,  and  to  discuss  as  the  Lord  enables  us, 
and  as  the  various  points  may  appear  to 
demand.  When  the  fishing  was  over,  "  Jesus 
saith  unto  them,  Come  [and]  dine.  And 
none  of  those  who  sat  down  dared  to  ask 
Him,  Who  art  Thou?  knowing  that  it  was 
the  Lord."  If,  then,  they  knew,  what  need 
was  there  to  ask?  and  if  there  was  no  need, 
wherefore  is  it  said,  "they  dared  not,"  as  if 
there  were  need,  but,  from  some  fear  or 
other,  they  dared  not?  The  meaning  here, 
therefore,  is:  so  great  was  the  evidence  of  the 
truth  that  Jesus  Himself  had  appeared  to 
these  disciples,  that  not  one  of  them  dared 
not  merely  to  deny,  but  even  to  doubt  it;  for 
had  any  of  them  doubted  it,  he  ought  cer 
tainly  to  have  asked.  In  this  sense,  there 
fore,  it  was  said,  "  No  one  dared  to  ask  Him, 
Who  art  Thou  ? "  as  if  it  were,  No  one  dared 
to  doubt  that  it  was  He  Himself. 

2.  "And  Jesus  cometh,  and  taketh  bread, 
and  giveth  them,  and  fish  likewise."  We  are 
likewise  told  here,  you  see,  on  what  they 
dined;  and  of  this  dinner  we  also  will  say 
something  that  is  sweet  and  salutary,  if  we, 
too,  are  made  by  Him  to  partake  of  the  food. 
It  is  related  above  that  these  disciples,  when  | 
they  came  to  the  land,  "  saw  a  fire  of  coals 
laid,  and  a  fish  laid  thereon,  and  bread." 
Here  we  are  not  to  understand  that  the  bread 
also  was  laid  upon  the  coals,  but  only  to  sup 
ply,  They  saw.  And  if  we  repeat  this  verb 
in  the  place  where  it  ought  to  be  supplied, 
the  whole  may  read  thus:  They  saw  coals  laid, 
and  fish  laid  thereon,  and  they  saw  bread. 
Or  rather  in  this  way:  They  saw  coals  laid, 
and  fish  laid  thereon;  they  saw  also  bread. 
At  the  Lord's  command  they  likewise  brought 
of  the  fishes  which  they  themselves  had 
caught;  and  although  their  doing  so  might 
not  be  actually  stated  by  the  historian,  yet 
there  has  been  no  silence  in  regard  to  the 


Lord's  command.  For  He  says,  "  Bring  of 
the  fishes  which  ye  have  now  caught."  And 
when  we  have  such  certainty  that  He  gave 
the  order,  will  any  suppose  that  they  failed  to 
obey  it?  Of  this,  therefore,  the  Lord  pre 
pared  the  dinner  for  these  His  seven  disciples, 
namely,  of  the  fish  which  they  had  seen  laid 
upon  the  coals,  with  an  addition  thereto  from 
those  which  they  had  caught,  and  of  the  bread 
which  we  are  told  with  equal  distinctness  that 
they  had  seen.  The  fish  roasted  is  Christ 
having  suffered;  He  Himself  also  is  the  bread 
that  cometh  down  from  heaven.1  With  Him 
is  incorporated  the  Church,  in  order  to  the 
participation  in  everlasting  blessedness.  For 
this  reason  is  it  said,  "  Bring  of  the  fish  which 
ye  have  now  caught,"  that  all  of  us  who 
cherish  this  hope  may  know  that  we  ourselves, 
through  that  septenary  number  of  disciples 
whereby  our  universal  community  may  in  this 
passage  be  understood  as  symbolized,  par 
take  in  this  great  sacrament,  and  are  asso 
ciated  in  the  same  blessedness.  This  is  the 
Lord's  dinner  with  His  own  disciples,  and 
herewith  John,  although  having  much  besides 
that  he  might  say  of  Christ,  brings  his  Gos 
pel,  with  profound  thought  and  an  eye  to 
important  lessons,  to  a  close.  For  here  the 
Church,  such  as  it  will  be  hereafter  among 
the  good  alone,  is  signified  by  the  draught  of 
an  hundred  and  fifty-three  fishes;  and  to 
those  who  so  believe,  and  hope,  and  love, 
there  is  demonstrated  by  this  dinner  their 
participation  in  such  super-eminent  blessed 
ness. 

3.  "This  was  now,"  he  says,  "the  third 
time  that  Jesus  showed  Himself  to  His  disci 
ples  after  that  He  was  risen  from  the  dead." 
And  this  we  are  to  refer  not  to  the  manifes 
tations  themselves,  but  to  the  days  (that  is  to 
say,  taking  the  first  day  when  He  rose  agiin, 
and  the  [second]  eight  days  after,  when  the 
disciple  Thomas  saw  and  believed,  anil  [the 
third]  on  this  day  when  He  so  acted  in  con 
nection  with  the  fishes,  although  how  many 
days  afterwards  it  was  that  He  did  so  we  are 
not  told);  for  on  that  first  day  He  was  seen 
more  than  once,  as  is  shown  by  the  collated 
testimonies  of  all  the  evangelists:  but,  as  we 
have  said,  it  is  in  accordance  with  the  days 
that  His  manifestations  are  to  be  calculated, 


Chap.  vi.  41 


1 1  I  \\III.) 


o\    i  HI:  GOSP1  i    Ol    BT,  JOHN. 


445 


making  this  the  third;  lor  t.iat  [mamtcMta-  is  no  need  that  we  should  any  more  fear  the 
lion]  iv,  to  IK-  reckoned  the  first,  and  all  one  passage  out  of  the  present  life,  because  in  the 
and  the  same,  as  included  in  one  day,  how-  Lord's  resurrection  we  have  a  foregoing  illus- 
cvcr  often  and  to  however  many  He  showed  tration  of  the  life  to  come.  Now  thou  hast 
Himself  on  tiie  day  of  His  resurrection;  the  !  cause,  Peter,  to  be  no  longer  afraid  of  death, 
second  eight  days  afterwards,  and  this  the  '  because  He  liveth  whom  thou  didst  mourn 
third,  and  thereafter  as  often  as  He  pleased  when  deatl,  and  whom  in  thy  carnal  love  thou 
on  to  the  fortieth  day,  when  He  ascended  into  didst  try  to  hinder  from  dying  in  our  behalf.3 
heaven,  although  all  of  them  have  not  been  !  Thou  didst  dare  to  step  in  before  the  Leader, 
recorded  in  Scripture.  and  thou  didst  tremble  before  His  persecutor; 

4.  "  So  when  they  had  dined,  He  saith  to  j  now  that  the  price  has  been  paid  for  thee,  it 
Simon  1'eter,  Simon,  [son]  of  John,  lovest  j  is  thy  duty  to  follow  the  Buyer,  and  follow 
thou  me  more  than  these?  He  saith  unto ;  Him  even  to  the  death  of  the  cross.  Thou 
Him,  Yea,  Lord;  Thou  knowest  that  I  love  j  hast  heard  the  words  of  Him  whom  thou  hast 
Thee.  He  saith  unto  him,  Feed  my  lambs,  [already  proved  to  be  truthful;  He  Himself 
He  saith  to  him  again,  Simon,  [son]  of  John,  hath  foretold  thy  suffering,  who  formerly 
lovest  thou  me?  He  saith  unto  Him,  Yea,  !  foretold  thy  denial. 

Lord;  Thou  knowest  that  I  love  Thee.  He,  5.  But  first  the  Lord  asks  what  He  knew, 
saith  unto  Him,  Feed  my  lambs.  He  saith  !  and  that  not  once,  but. a  second  and  a  third 
unto  him  the  third  time,  Simon,  [son]  of  time,  whether  Peter  loved  Him;  and  just  as 
John,  lovest  thou  me  ?  Peter  was  grieved  be- !  often  He  has  the  same  answer,  that  He  is 
cause  He  said  unto  him  the  third  time,  Lov- 1  loved,  while  just  as  often  He  gives  Peter  the 
est  thou  me  ?  And  he  said  unto  Him,  Lord,  same  charge  to  feed  His  sheep.  To  the 
Thou  knowest  all  things;  Thou  knowest  that  threefold  denial  there  is  now  appended  a 
I  love  Thee.  He  saith  unto  him,  Feed  my  threefold  confession,  that  his  tongue  may  not 
sheep.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  When  yield  a  feebler  service  to  love  than  to  fear, 
thou  wast  young  thou  girdedst  thyself,  and  and  imminent  death  may  not  appear  to  have 
walkedst  whither  thou  wouldest:  but  when  elicited  more  from  the  lips  than  present  life, 
thou  shalt  be  old,  thou  shalt  stretch  forth  thy  !  Let  it  be  the  office  of  love  to  feed  the  Lord's 
hands,  and  another  shall  gird  thee,  and  carry  flock,  if  it  was  the  signal  of  fear  to  deny  the 
thee  whither  thou  wilt  not.  And  this  spake  Shepherd.  Those  who  have  this  purpose  in 
He,  signifying  by  what  death  he  should  feeding  the  flock  of  Christ,  that  they  may 
glorify  God."  Such  was  the  end  reached  by  have  them  as  their  own,  and  not  as  Christ's, 
that  denier  and  lover;  elated  by  his  presump-  are  convicted  of  loving  themselves,  and  not 
tion,  prostrated  by  his  denial,  cleansed  by  his  Christ,  from  the  desire  either  of  boasting,  or 
weeping,  approved  by  his  confession,  crowned  wielding  power,  or  acquiring  gain,  and  not 
by  his  suffering,  this  was  the  end  he  reached,  from  the  love  of  obeying,  serving,  and  pleas- 
to  die  with  a  perfected  love  for  the  name  of  j  ing  God.  Against  such,  therefore,  there 
Him  with  whom,  by  a  perverted  forwardness,  stands  as  a  wakeful  sentinel  this  thrice  incul- 
he  had  promised  to  die.  He  would  do,  when  cated  utterance  of  Christ,  of  whom  the  apos- 
strengthened  by  His  resurrection,  what  in  his  j  tie  complains  that  they  seek  their  own,  not 
weakness  he  promised  prematurely.  For  the  the  things  that  are  Jesus  Christ's.3  For  what 
needful  order  was  that  Christ  should  first  die  >  else  mean  the  words,  "Lovest  thou  me? 
for  Peter's  salvation,  and  then  that  Peter  Feed  my  sheep,"  than  if  it  were  said,  If  thou 
should  die  for  the  preaching  of  Christ.  Thej  lovest  me,  think  not  of  feeding  thyself,  but 
boldness  thus  begun  by  human  temerity  was  •  feed  my  sheep  as  mine,  and  not  as  thine 
an  titter  inversion  of  the  order  that  had  been  [own;  seek  my  glory  in  them,  and  not  thine 
instituted  by  the  Truth.  Peter  thought  to  own;  my  dominion,  and  not  thine;  my  gain, 
lay  down  his  life  for  Christ,1  the  one  to  be  and  not  thine;  lest  thou  be  found  in  the  fel- 
delivered  in  behalf  of  the  Deliverer,  seeing  lowship  of  those  who  belong  to  the  perilous 
that  Christ  had  come  to  lay  down  His  life  for  ,  times,  lovers  of  their  own  selves,  and  all  else 
all  His  own,  including  Peter  also,  which,  you  that  is  joined  on  to  this  beginning  of  evils? 
see,  was  now  done.  Now  and  henceforth  a  For  the  apostle,  after  saying,  "  For  men  shall 
true,  because  graciously  bestowed,  strength  be  lovers  of  their  own  selves,"  proceeded  to 
ot  heart  may  be  assumed  for  incurring  death  add.  "Lovers  of  money,  boastful,  proud, 
itself  for  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  not  a  blasphemers,  disobedient  to  parents,  unthank- 
false  one  presumptuously  usurped  through  an  ful,  wicked,  irreligious,  without  affection, 
erroneous  estimate  of  ourselves.  Now  there  false  accusers,  incontinent,  implacable,  with- 


446 


THK  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  CXXIII. 


out  kindness,  traitors,  heady,  blinded;'  lov 
ers  of  pleasures  more  than  of  God;  having  a 
form  of  godliness,  hut  denying  the  power 
thereof."2  All  these  evils  flow  from  that  as 
their  fountain  which  he  stated  first,  "  lovers 
of  their  own  selves."  With  great  propriety, 
therefore,  is  Peter  addressed,  "  Lovest  thou 
me?"  and  found  replying,  "I  love  Thee:" 
and  the  command  applied  to  him,  "  Feed  my 
lambs,1'  and  this  a  second  and  a  third  time. 
We  have  it  also  demonstrated  here  that  love 
and  liking  are  one  and  the  same  thing;  for 
the  Lord  also  in  the  last  question  said  not, 
Diligis  me?  but,  Amas  me?  Let  us,  then, 
love  not  ourselves,  but  Him;  and  in  feeding 
His  sheep,  let  us  be  seeking  the  things  which 
are  His,  not  the  things  which  are  our  own. 
For  in  some  inexplicable  way,  I  know  not 
what,  every  one  that  loveth  himself,  and  not 
God,  loveth  not  himself;  and  whoever  loveth 
God,  and  not  himself,  he  it  is  that  loveth  him 
self.  For  he  that  cannot  live  by  himself  will 
certainly  die  by  loving  himself;  he  therefore 
loveth  not  himself  who  loves  himself  to  his 
own  loss  of  life.  But  when  He  is  loved  by 
whom  life  is  preserved,  a  man  by  not  loving 
himself  only  loveth  the  more,  when  it  is  for 
this  reason  that  he  loveth  not  •  himself, 
[namely]  that  he  may  love  Him  by  whom  he 
lives.  Let  not  those,  then,  who  feed  Christ's 
sheep  be  "lovers  of  their  own  selves,"  lest 
they  feed  them  as  if  they  were  their  own,  and 
not  His,  and  wish  to  make  their  own  gain  of 
them,  as  "  lovers  of  money;  "  or  to  domineer 
over  them,  as  "  boastful;  *'  or  to  glory  in  the 
honors  which  they  receive  at  their  hands,  as 
"  proud;  "  or  to  go  the  length  even  of  origin 
ating  heresies,  as  "  blasphemers; "  and  not  to 
give  place  to  the  holy  fathers,  as  those  who 
are  "disobedient  to  parents;"  and  to  render 
evil  for  good  to  those  who  wish  to  correct 
them,  because  unwilling  to  let  them  perish, 
as  "unthankful;"  to  slay  their  own  souls 
and  those  of  others,  as  "  wicked;  "  to  outrage 
the  motherly  bowels  of  the  Church,  as  "  irre 
ligious;  "  to  have  no  sympathy  with  the 
weak,  as  those  who  are  "  without  affection;" 
to  attempt  to  traduce  the  character  of  the 
saints,  as  "false  accusers;"  to  give  loose 
reins  to  the  basest  lusts,  as  "  incontinent;  " 
to  make  lawsuits  their  practice,  as  "  implaca 
ble;"  to  know  nothing  of  loving  service,  as 
those  who  are  "  without  kindness;  "  to  make 
known  to  the  enemies  of  the  godly  what  they 
are  well  aware  ought  to  be  kept  secret,  as 
"  traitors; "  to  disturb  human  modesty  by 
shameless  discussions,  as  "heady;"  to  un 
derstand  neither  what  they  say  nor  whereof 

'  Ctriati.  *:  Tim.  iii.  1-5. 


they  affirm,1  as  "blinded;"  and  to  prefer 
carnal  delights  to  spiritual  joys,  as  those  who 
are  "  lovers  of  pleasures  more  than  lovers  of 
God."  Fortheseand  such  like  vices,  whether 
all  of  them  meet  in  a  single  individual,  or 
whether  some  dominate  in  one  and  others  in 
another,  spring  up  in  some  form  or  another 
from  this  one  root,  when  men  are  "  lovers  of 
their  own  selves."  A  vice  which  is  specially 
to  be  guarded  against  by  those  who  feed 
Christ's  sheep,  lest  they  be  seeking  their  own, 
not  the  things  that  are  Jesus  Christ's,  and  In- 
turning  those  to  the  use  of  their  own  lusts  for 
whom  the  blood  of  Christ  was  shed.  Whose 
love  ought,  in  one  who  feedeth  His  sheep,  to 
grow  up  unto  so  great  a  spiritual  fervor  as  to 
overcome  even  the  natural  fear  of  death,  that 
makes  us  unwilling  to  die  even  when  we  wish 
to  live  with  Christ.  For  the  Apostle  Paul 
also  says  that  he  had  a  desire  to  be  dissolved, 
and  to  be  with  Christ,4  and  yet  he  groans,  be 
ing  burdened,  and  wishes  not  to  be  unclothed, 
but  clothed  upon,  that  mortality  may  be 
swallowed  up  of  life.5  And  so  to  His  pres 
ent  lover  the  Lord  said,  "When  thou  shalt 
be  old,  thou  shalt  stretch  forth  thy  hands, 
and  another  shall  gird  thee,  and  carry  thee 
whither  thou  wouldest  not.  For  this  He  said 
to  him,  signifying  by  what  death  he  should 
glorify  God."  "  Thou  shalt  stretch  forth 
thy  hands,"  He  said;  in  other  words,  thou 
shalt  be  crucified.  But  that  thou  mayest 
come  to  this,  "another  shall  gird  thee,  and 
carry  thee,"  not  whither  thou  wouldest,  but 
"whither  thou  wouldest  not."  He  told  him 
first  what  would  happen,  and  then  how  it 
should  come  to  pass.  For  it  was  not  after 
being  crucified,  but  when  actually  about  to  be 
crucified,  that  he  was  carried  whither  he  would 
not;  for  after  being  crucified  he  went  his  way, 
not  whither  he  would  not,  but  rather  whither 
he  would.  And  though  when  set  free  from 
the  body  he  wished  to  be  with  Christ,  yet, 
were  it  only  possible,  he  had  a  desire  for  eter 
nal  life  apart  from  the  grievousness  of  death, 
to  which  grievous  experience  he  was  unwill 
ingly  carried,  but  from  it  [when  all  was  over] 
he  was  willingly  carried  away;  unwillingly  he 
came  to  it,  but  willingly  he  conquered  it,  and 
left  this  feeling  of  infirmity  behind  that  makes 
every  one  unwilling  to  die, — a  feeling  so  per 
manently  natural,  that  even  old  age  itself 
was  unable  to  set  the  blessed  Peter  free  from 
its  influence,  even  as  it  was  said  unto  him, 
"  When  thou  shalt  be  old,"  thou  shalt  be  led 
"  whither  thou  wouldest  not."  For  our  con 
solation  the  Saviour  Himself  transfigured  also 
the  same  feeling  in  His  own  person  when  He 


3  i  Tim.  i.  7. 


Phil.  i.  23. 


S  i  Cor.  v.  4. 


TK\<  i  \:i    CXXIV." 


ON  TMK  C.nSPKI.  ()!•   ST.   JOHN, 


447 


said,  "  Father,  if  it  In-  possible,  let  tins  cnp 
[Kiss  In. in  me;"1  and  He  certainly  had  coim- 
to  die  without  having  any  necessity,  but  only 
tlu-  willingness  to  die,  with  power  to  lay  down 
Mis  life,  and  with  power  to  take  it  again. 
Hut  however  great  be  the  grtevousness  of 
deatli.  it  ought  to  be  overcome  by  the  power 
of  that  love  winch  is  felt  to  Him  who,  being 
our  life,  was  willing  to  endure  even  death  in 
our  behalf.  For  if  there  were  no  grievous- 
ness,  even  of  the  smallest  kind,  in  death,  the 
glory  of  the  martyrs  would  not  be  so  great. 
Hut 'if  the  good  Shepherd,  who  laid  down  His 
own  life  for  His  sheep,2  has  raised  up  so 
many  martyrs  for  Himself  out  of  the  very 

'  Matt.  xxvi.  39.  a  Chap.  x.  18,  ix. 


sheep,  how  much  more  ought  those  to  con 
tend  to  death  for  the  truth,  and  even  to  blood 
against  sin,  who  are  entrusted  by  Mini  with 
the  feeding,  that  is,  with  the  teaching  and 
governing  of  these  very  sheep  ?  And  on  this 
account,  along  with  the  preceding  example  of 
Mis  own  passion,  who  can  fail  to  see  that  the 
shepherds  ought  all  the  more  to  set  them 
selves  closely  to  imitate  the  Shepherd,  if  He 
was  so  imitated  even  by  many  of  the  sheep 
under  whom,  as  the  one  Shepherd  and  in  the 
one  flock,  the  shepherds  themselves  are  like 
wise  sheep?  For  He  made  all  those  His 
sheep  for  [all  of]  whom  He  died,  because 
He  Himself  also  became  a  sheep  that  He 
might  suffer  for  all. 


TRACTATE    CXXIV. 

CHAPTER  XXI.   19-25. 


i.  IT  is  no  unimportant  question  why  the] 
Lord,  when  He  manifested  Himself  for  the 
third  time  to  the  disciples,  said  unto  the  | 
Apostle  Peter,  "  Follow  me; "  but  of  the 
Apostle  John,  "  Thus  I  wish  him  to  remain1 
till  I  come,  what  is  that  to  thee  ? "  To  the 
discussion  or  solution  of  this  question,  ac 
cording  as  the  Lord  shall  grant  us  ability, 
we  devote  the  last  discourse  of  this  work. 
When  the  Lord,  then,  had  announced  before 
hand  to  Peter  by  what  death  he  was  to  glorify 
God,  "  He  saith  unto  him,  Follow  me.  Then 
Peter,  turning  about,  seeth  the  disciple  whom 
Jesus  loved  following;  who  also  leaned  on 
His  breast  at  supper,  and  said,  Lord,  which 
is  he  that  shall  betray  Thee  ?  Peter,  there 
fore,  seeing  him,  saith  to  Jesus,  Lord,  and 
what  [of]  this  man?  Jesus  saith  unto  him, 
Thus  do  I  wish  him  to  remain  till  I  come, 
what  is  that  to  thee  ?  Follow  thou  me.  Then 
went  this  saying  abroad  among  the  brethren, 
that  that  disciple  dieth  not:  yet  Jesus  said 
not  unto  him,  He  dieth  not;  but,  Thus  do  I 
wish  him  to  remain  till  I  come,  what  is  that 
to  thee  ? "  You  see  the  great  extent  in  this 
(lospel  of  a  question  which,  by  its  depth, 
must  exercise  in  no  ordinary  way  the  mind  of 
the  inquirer.  For  why  is  it  said  to  Peter, 
"  Follow  me,"  and  not  to  the  others  who  were 
likewise  present?  Surely  the  disciples  fol 
lowed  Him  also  as  their  Master.  But  if  it  is 
to  be  understood  only  in  reference  to  his  suf- 


1  Sic  turn  -'i'/a  inuna-e  tionri:  reitiam. 


fering,  was  Peter  the  only  one  that  suffered 
for  the  truth  of  Christianity  ?  Was  there  not 
present  there  amongst  those  seven,  another 
son  of  Zebedee,  the  brother  of  John,  who, 
after  His  ascension,  is  plainly  recorded  to 
have  been  slain  by  Herod?2  But  some  one 
may  say  that,  as  James  was  not  crucified,  it  was 
properly  enough  said  to  Peter,  "  Follow  me," 
inasmuch  as  he  underwent  not  only  death, 
but,  like  Christ,  even  the  death  of  the  cross. 
Be  it  so,  if  no  other  explanation  can  be  found 
that  is  more  satisfactory.  Why,  then,  was  it 
said  of  John,  "  Thus  do  I  wish  him  to  remain 
till  I  come,  what  is  that  to  thee?"  and  the 
words  repeated,  "  Follow  thou  me,"  as  if  that 
other,  therefore,  were  not  to  follow,  seeing 
He  wished  him  to  remain  till  He  comes. 
Who  can  readily  believe  that  anything  else 
was  meant  than  what  the  brethren  who  lived 
at  the  time  believed,  namely,  that  that  disci 
ple  was  not  t6  die,  but  to  abide  in  this  life 
till  Jesus  came  ?  But  John  himself  removed 
such  an  idea,  by  giving  a  flat  contradiction  to 
the  report  that  the  Lord  had  said  so.  For 
why  should  he  add,  "  Jesus  saith  not,  He 
dieth  not,"  save  to  prevent  what  was  false 
from  taking  hold  of  the  hearts  of  men  ? 

2.  But  let  any  one  who  so  listeth  still  re 
fuse  his  assent,  and  declare  that  what  John 
asserts  is  true  enough,  that  the  Lord  said  not 
that  that  disciple  dieth  not,  and  yet  that  this 
is  the  meaning  of  such  words  as  He  is  here 


448 


THK  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACT.YIK   TXXIV. 


recorded  to  have  used;  and  further  assert 
that  the  Apostle  John  is  still  living,  and 
maintain  that  he  is  sleeping  rather  than  lying 
dead  in  his  tomb  at  Ephesus.  Let  him 
employ  as  an  argument  the  current  report 
that  there  the  earth  is  in  sensible  commotion, 
and  presents  a  kind  of  heaving  appearance, 
and  assert  whether  it  be  steadfastly  or  obsti 
nately  that  this  is  occasioned  by  his  breathing. 
For  we  cannot  fail  to  have  some  who  so  be 
lieve,  if  there  is  no  want  of  those  also  who 
affirm  that  Moses  is  alive;  because  it  is  writ 
ten  that  his  sepulchre  could  not  be  found,1 
and  that  he  appeared  with  the  Lord  on  the 
mountain  along  with  Elias,2  of  whom  we  read 
that  he  did  not  die,  but  was  translated.3  As 
if  Moses'  body  could  not  have  been  hid  some 
where  in  such  a  way  as  that  its  position  should 
altogether  escape  discovery  by  men,  and  be 
raised  up  therefrom  by  divine  power  at  the 
time  when  Elias  and  he  were  seen  with  Christ; 
just  as  at  the  time  of  Christ's  passion  many 
bodies  of  the  saints  arose,  and  after  His  res 
urrection  appeared,  according  to  Scripture,  to 
many  in  the  holy  city.4  But  still,  as  I  began 
to  say,  if  some  deny  the  death  of  Moses, 
whom  Scripture  itself,  in  the  very  passage 
where  we  read  that  his  sepulchre  could  no 
where  be  found,  explicitly  declares  to  have 
died;  how  much  more  may  occasion  be  taken 
from  these  words  where  the  Lord  says,  "  Thus 
do  I  wish  him  to  stay  till  I  come,"  to  believe 
that  John  is  sleeping,  but  still  alive,  beneath 
the  ground  ?  Of  whom  we  have  also  the  tra 
dition  (which  is  found  in  certain  apocryphal 
scriptures),  that  he  was  present,  in  good 
health,  when  he  ordered  a  sepulchre  to  be 
made  for  him;  and  that,  when  it  was  dug  and 
prepared  with  all  possible  care,  he  laid  him 
self  down  there  as  in  a  bed,  and  became  im 
mediately  defunct:  yet  as  those  think  who  so 
understand  these  words  of  the  Lord,  not 
really  defunct,  but  only  lying  like  one  in  such 
a  condition;  and,  while  accounted  dead,  was 
actually  buried  when  asleep,  and  that  he  will 
so  remain  till  the  coming  of  Christ,  making 
known  meanwhile  the  fact  of  his  life  by  the 
bubbling  up  of  the  dust,  which  is  believed  to 
be  forced  by  the  breath  of  the  sleeper  to  as 
cend  from  the  depths  to  the  surface  of  the 
grave.  I  think  it  quite  superfluous  to  con 
tend  with  such  an  opinion.  For  those  may 
see  for  themselves  who  know  the  locality 
whether  the  ground  there  does  or  suffers 
what  is  said  regarding  it,  because,  in  truth, 
we  too  have  heard  of  it  from  those  who  are 
not  altogether  unreliable  witnesses. 

3.   Meanwhile  let  us  yield  to  the  opinion, 


'  Deut.  xxxiv.  6. 
3  2  Kings  ii.  n. 


=  Matt.  xvii.  3. 

4  Matt,  xxvii.  52,  53. 


which  we  are  unable  to  refute  by  any  certain 
evidence,  lest  we  stir  up  still  another  ques 
tion  that  may  be  put  to  us,  Why  the  very 
ground  should  seem  in  a  kind  of  way  to  live 
and  breathe  upon  the  interred  corpse  ?  But 
can  so  great  a  question  as  the  one  before  us 
be  settled  on  such  grounds  as  these,  if  by  a 
great  miracle,  such  as  can  be  wrought  by  the 
Almighty,  the  living  body  lies  so  long  asleep 
beneath  the  ground,  till  the  coming  of  the 
end  of  the  world  ?  Nay,  rather,  does  there 
not  arise  a  wider  and  more  difficult  one,  why 
Jesus  bestowed  on  the  disciple,  whom  He 
loved  beyond  the  others  to  such  an  extent  that 
he  was  counted  worthy  to  recline  on  His 
breast,  the  gift  of  a  protracted  sleep  in  the 
body,  when  He  delivered  the  blessed  Peter, 
by  the  eminent  glory  of  martyrdom,  from  the 
burden  of  the  body  itself,  and  vouchsafed  to 
him  what  the  Apostle  Paul  said  that  he  de 
sired,  and  committed  to  writing,  namely, 
"to  be  let  loose,  and  to  be  with  Christ"?5 
But  if,  what  is  rather  to  be  believed,  Saint 
John  declared  that  the  Lord  said  not,  "  He 
dieth  not."  for  the  very  purpose  that  no  such 
meaning  might  be  attached  to  the  words  which 
He  used;  and  his  body  lieth  in  its  sepulchre 
lifeless  like  those  of  others  deceased;  it  re 
mains,  if  that  really  takes  place  which  report 
has  spread  abroad  regarding  the  soil,  which 
grows  up  anew,  though  continually  carried 
away,  that  it  is  either  so  done  for  the  purpose 
of  commending  the  preciousness  of  his  death, 
seeing  it  wants  the  commendation  of  martyr 
dom  (for  he  suffered  not  death  at  a  persecu 
tor's  hand  for  the  faith  of  Christ),  or  on  some 
other  account  that  is  concealed  from  our 
knowledge.  Still  there  remains  the  question, 
why  the  Lord  said  of  one  who  was  destined  to 
die,  "  Thus  I  wish  him  to  remain  till  I 
come." 

4.  And  who,  besides,  would  not  be  dis 
posed,  in  the  case  of  these  two  apostles, 
Peter  and  John,  to  make  this  further  inquiry, 
why  the  Lord  loved  John  better,  when  He 
Himself  was  better  loved  by  Peter?  For 
wherever  John  has  something  to  say  of  him 
self,  in  order  that  the  reference  may  be  un 
derstood  without  any  mention  of  his  name, 
he  adds  this,  that  Jesus  loved  him,  as  if  he 
were  the  only  one  so  loved,  that  he  might  be 
distinguished  by  this  mark  from  the  others, 
who  were  all  of  them  certainly  loved  by 
Christ:  and  what  else,  when  he  so  spake,  did 
he  wish  to  be  understood  but  that  he  himself 
was  more  abundantly  loved  ?  and  far  be  it 
that  he  should  utter  a  falsehood.  And  what 
greater  proof  could  Jesus  have  given  of  His 


5  Phil.  i.  23. 


TRACT  m  <  \\iv.| 


ON  THK  f.OSI'l.I.  ci    ST,   JOHN. 


449 


own  greater  love  to  him  than  that  this  man, 
who  was  only  a  partner  with  the  rest  of  his 
fellow-disciples  in  the  j;reat  salvation,  should 
he  the  onlv  one  that  leaned  on  the  breast  oi 
the  Saviour  Himself?  And  further,  that  the 
Apostle  Peter  loved  Christ  more  than  the 
others,  may  he  adduced  from  many  docu 
mentary  evidences;  but  to  go  no  further  alter 
others,  it  is  plainly  enough  apparent  in  the 
lesson  almost  immediately  preceding  tne 
present,  in  connection  with  that  third  mani 
festation  of  the  Lord,  when  He  put  to  him 
the  question,  "  Lovest  thou  me  more  than 
these?"  He  knew  it,  of  course,  and  yet 
asked,  in  order  that  we  also,  who  read  the 
Gospel,  might  know  Peter's  love  to  Christ, 
both  from  the  questions  of  the  One  and  the 
answers  of  the  other.  But  when  Peter  only 
replied,  "  I  love  Thee,"  without  adding, 
"more  than  these,"  his  answer  contained  all 
that  he  knew  of  himself.  For  he  could  not 
know  how  much  He  was  loved  by  any  other, 
not  being  able  to  look  into  that  other's  heart. 
But  by  saying  in  the  earliest  of  his  answers, 
"  Yea,  Lord,  Thou  knowest,"  he  stated  in 
clear  enough  terms,  that  it  was  with  perfect 
knowledge  of  all  that  the  Lord  asked  what 
He  asked.  The  Lord  therefore  knew,  not 
only  that  Peter  loved  Him,  but  also  that  he 
loved  Him  more  than  the  others.  And  yet  if 
we  propose  to  ourselves,  in  the  way  of  inquiry, 
which  of  the  two  is  the  better,  he  that  loveth 
Christ  more  or  he  that  loveth  Him  less,  who 
will  hesitate  to  answer,  he  is  the  better  that 
loveth  Him  more?  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
we  propose  this  question,  which  of  the  two  is 
the  better,  he  that  is  loved  less  or  he  that  is 
loved  more  by  Christ,  without  any  doubt  we 
shall  reply  that  he  is  the  better  who  is  loved 
the  more  by  Christ.  In  the  comparison  there 
fore  which  I  drew  first,  Peter  is  superior  to 
John;  but  in  the  latter,  John  is  preferred  to 
Peter.  Accordingly,  we  have  a  third  to  pro 
pose  in  this  form:  Which  of  the  two  disciples 
is  the  better,  he  that  loveth  Christ  less  than 
his  fellow-disciple  [does],  and  is  loved  more 
than  his  fellow-disciple  by  Christ?  or  he  who 
is  loved  less  than  his  fellow-disciple  by  Christ, 
while  he,  more  than  his  fellow-disciple,  loveth 
Christ?  Here  it  is  that  the  answer  plainly 
halts,  and  the  question  grows  in  magnitude. 
As  far,  however,  as  my  own  wisdom  goes,  I 
might  easily  reply,  that  he  is  the  better  who 
loveth  Christ  the  more,  but  he  the  happier 
who  is  loved  the  more  by  Christ;  if  only  I 
could  thoroughly  see  how  to  defend  the  jus 
tice  of  our  Deliverer  in  loving  him  the  less 
by  whom  He  is  loved  the  more,  and  him  the 
more  by  whom  He  is  loved  the  less. 

5.   I    shall    therefore,    in   the    manifested 


mercy  of  Him  whose  justice  is  hiddr 
about  the  discussion,  in  order  to  the  solution 
ot  a  question  of  such  importance,  in  accord- 
am  e  with  the  strength  which  He  may  gra 
ciously  bestow:  for  hitherto  it  has  only  been 
proposed,  not  expounded.  Let  this,  then, 
be  the  commencement  of  its  exposition, 
namely,  that  we  bear  in  mind  that  in  this 
corruptible  body,  which  burdens  the  soul,'  we 
live  a  miserable  life.  But  we  who  are  now 
redeemed  by  the  Mediator,  and  have  received 
the  earnest  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  have  ?.  blessed 
life  in  prospect,  although  we  possess  it  not 
as  yet  in  reality.  But  a  hope  that  is  seen  is 
not  hope;  for  what  a  man  seeth,  why  doth  he 
yet  hope  for  ?  But  if  we  hope  for  that  we  see 
not,  then  do  we  with  patience  wait  for  it.* 
And  it  is  in  the  evils  that  every  one  suffers, 
not  in  the  good  things  that  he  enjoys,  that  he 
has  need  of  patience.  The  present  life, 
therefore,  whereof  it  is  written,  "  Is  not  the 
life  of  man  a  term  of  trial  upon  earth?"3  in 
which  we  are  daily  crying  to  the  Lord, 
"  Deliver  us  from  evil,"  4  a  man  is  compelled 
to  endure,  even  when  his  sins  are  forgiven 
him,  although  it  was  the  first  sin  that  caused 
his  falling  into  such  misery.  For  the  penalty 
is  more  protracted  than  the  fault;  lest  the 
fault  should  be  accounted  small,  were  the 
penalty  to  end  with  itself.  On  this  account 
it  is  also,  either  for  the  demonstration  of  our 
debt  of  misery,  or  for  the  amendment  of  our 
passing  life,  or  for  the  exercise  of  the  neces 
sary  patience,  that  man  is  kept  through  time 
in  the  penalty,  even  when  he  is  no  longer 
held  by  his  sin  as  liable  to  everlasting  dam 
nation.  This  is  the  truly  lamentable  but 
unblameable  condition  of  the  present  evil 
days  we  pass  in  this  mortal  state,  even  while 
in  it  we  look  with  loving  eyes  to  the  days  that 
are  good.  For  it  comes  from  the  righteous 
anger  of  God,  whereof  the  Scriptures  say, 
"  Man,  that  is  born  of  woman,  is  of  few  days 
and  full  of  anger:  "  s  for  the  anger  of  God  is 
not  like  that  of  man,  the  disturbance  of  an 
excited  man,  but  the  calm  fixing  of  righteous 
punishment.  In  this  anger  of  His,  God  re- 
straineth  not,  as  it  is  written,  His  tender 
mercies;6  but,  besides  other  consolations  to 
the  miserable,  which  He  ceaseth  not  to  bestow 
on  mankind,  in  the  fullness  of  time,  when  He 
knew  that  such  had  to  be  done,  He  sent  His 
only-begotten  Son,7  by  whom  He  created  all 
things,  that  He  might  become  man  while  re 
maining  God,  and  so  be  the  Mediator  between 
('iod  and  men,  the  man  Christ  Jesus:8  that 
those  who  believe  in  Him,  being  absolved  by 


«  Wisd.  ix.  15. 
4  Matt.  vi.  13. 
7  Gal.  iv.  4. 


s  Rom.  viii.  24,  25. 
5  [obxiv.  i. 
«  i  Tim.  ii.  5. 


3  Job  vii.  i 
'   IV  Ixxvii 


vii.  9. 


450 


THK   WORKS  OK  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[TRACTATE  CXXIV. 


the  laver  of  regeneration  from  the  guilt  of  all 
their  sins, — to  wit,  both  of  the  original  sin 
they  have  inherited  by  generation,  and  to 
meet  which,  in  particular,  regeneration  was 
instituted,  and  of  all  others  contracted  by  evil 
conduct, — might  be  delivered  from  perpetual 
condemnation,  and  live  in  faith  and  hope  and 
love  while  sojourning  in  this  world,  and  be 
walking  onward  to  His  visible  presence  amid 
its  toilsome  and  perilous  temptations  on  the 
one  hand,  but  the  consolations  of  God,  both 
bodily  and  spiritual,  on  the  other,  ever  keep 
ing  to  the  way  which  Christ  has  become  to 
them.  And  because,  even  while  walking  in 
Him,  they  are  not  exempt  from  sins,  which 
creep  in  through  the  infirmities  of  this  life, 
He  has  given  them  the  salutary  remedies  of 
alms  whereby  their  prayers  might  be  aided, 
when  He  taught  them  to  say,  "  Forgive  us 
our  debts,  as  we  also  forgive  our  debtors."1 
So  does  the  Church  act  in  blessed  hope 
through  this  troublous  life;  and  this  Church, 
symbolized  in  its  generality,  was  personified 
in  the  Apostle  Peter,  on  account  of  the  pri 
macy  of  his  apostleship.  For,  as  regards 
his  proper  personality,  he  was  by  nature  one 
man,  by  grace  one  Christian,  by  still  more 
abounding  grace  one,  and  yet  also,  the  first 
apostle;  but  when  it  was  said  to  him,  "  I  will 
give  unto  thee  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  on 
earth,  shall  be  bound  in  heaven;  and  what 
soever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth,  shall  be 
loosed  in  heaven,"  he  represented  the  univer 
sal  Church,  which  in  this  world  is  shaken  by 
divers  temptations,  that  come  upon  it  like  tor 
rents  of  rain,  floods  and  tempests,  and  falleth 
not,  because  it  is  founded  upon  a  rock  (petra), 
from  which  Peter  received  his  name.  For 
petra  (rock)  is  not  derived  from  Peter,  but 
Peter  from  petra;  just  as  Christ  is  not  called 
so  from  the  Christian,  but  the  Christian  from 
Christ.  For  on  this  very  account  the  Lord 
said,  "  On  this  rock  will  I  build  my  Church," 
because  Peter  had  said,  "  Thou  art  the  Christ, 
the  Son  of  the  living  God."a  On  this  rock, 
therefore,  He  said,  which  thou  hast  confessed. 
I  will  build  my  Church.  For  the  Rock 
(Petra)  was  Christ  ;3  and  on  this  foundation 
was  Peter  himself  also  built.  For  other 
foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid, 
which  is  Christ  Jesus.4  The  Church,  there 
fore,  which  is  founded  in  Christ  received  from 
Him  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  in 
the  person  of  Peter,  that  is  to  say,  the  power 
of  binding  and  loosing  sins.  For  what  the 
Church  is  essentially  in  Christ,  such  represen 
tatively  is  Peter  in  the  rock  (petra};  and  in 


•  Matt.  vi.  n. 
3  i  Cor.  x.  4. 


Matt.  xvi. 

i  Cor.  iii.  i 


•6-19. 


this  representation  Christ  is  to  be  understood 
as  the  Rock,  Peter  as  the  Church.  This 
Church,  accordingly,  which  Peter  represented, 
so  long  as  it  lives  amidst  evil,  by  loving  and 
following  Christ  is  delivered  from  evil.  But 
its  following  is  the  closer  in  those  who  con 
tend  even  unto  death  for  the  truth.  But  to  the 
universality5  [of  the  Church]  is  it  said,  "  Fol 
low  me,"  even  as  it  was  for  the  same  univer 
sality  that  Christ  suffered:  of  whom  this  same 
Peter  saith,  "  Christ  suffered  for  us,  leaving 
us  an  example,  that  we  should  follow  His 
footsteps."6  This,  then,  you  see  is  why  it 
was  said  to  him,  "  Follow  me."  But  there 
is  another,  an  immortal  life,  that  is  not 
passed  in  the  midst  of  evil:  there  we  shall 
see  face  to  face  what  is  seen  here  through  a 
glass  and  in  a  riddle,7  even  when  much  prog 
ress  is  made  in  the  beholding  of  the  truth. 
There  are  two  states  of  life,  therefore, 
preached  and  commended  to  herself  from 
heaven,  that  are  known  to  the  Church,  where 
of  the  one  is  in  faith,  the  other  in  sight;  one 
in  the  temporal  sojourn  in  a  foreign  land,  the 
other  in  the  eternity  of  the  [heavenly]  abode; 
one  in  labor,  the  other  in  repose;  one  on  the 
way,  the  other  in  the  fatherland;  one  in  active 
work,  the  other  in  the  wages  of  contempla 
tion;  one  declines  from  evil  and  makes  for 
good,  the  other  has  no  evil  to  decline  from, 
and  has  great  good  to  enjoy;  the  one  fights 
with  a  foe,  the  other  reigns  without  a  foe; 
the  one  is  brave  in  the  midst  of  .adversities, 
the  other  has  no  experience  of  adversity;  the 
one  is  bridling  its  carnal  lusts,  the  other  has 
full  scope  for  spiritual  delights;  the  one  is 
anxious  with  the  care  of  conquering,  the 
other  secure  in  the  peace  of  victory;  the  one 
is  helped  in  temptations,  the  other,  free  from 
all  temptations,  rejoices  in  the  Helper  Him 
self;  the  one  is  occupied  in  relieving  the  in 
digent,  the  other  is  there,  where  no  indigence 
is  found;  the  one  pardons  the  sins  of  others, 
that  its  own  may  be  pardoned  to  itself,  the 
other  neither  has  anything  to  pardon  nor  does 
aught  for  which  pardon  has  to  be  asked:  the 
one  is  scourged  with  evils  that  it  may  not  be 
elated  with  good  things,  the  other  is  free  from 
all  evil  by  such  a  fullness  of  grace  thnt,  with 
out  any  temptation  to  pride,  it  may  cleave  to 
that  which  is  supremely  good;  the  one  dis- 
cerneth  both  good  and  evil,  the  other  has  only 
that  which  is  good  presented  to  view:  there 
fore  the  one  is  good,  but  miserable  as  yet; 
the  other,  better  and  blessed.  This  one  was 
signified  by  the  Apostle  Peter,  that  other  by 
John.  The  whole  of  the  one  is  passed  here 
to  the  end  of  this  world,  and  there  finds  its 


-  U*ivtrtit*ti. 


CXXIV.] 


ON  THE  GOSPI.I.  OF  ST.   JOHN. 


45' 


termination,  the  other  is  deferred  for  its 
completion  till  after  tlu>  end  of  this  world,  but 
has  no  end  in  the  world  t<>  OMIK-.  Hence  it 
is  saul  to  tne  latter,  "Follow  me;"  but  of 
the  former,  "'runs  I  will  that  he  tarry  till  1 
come,  what  is  that  to  thee  ?  follow  thou  me." 
For  what  nu-ans  this  last  ?  So  far  as  my  wis 
dom  goes,  so  far  as  I  comprehend,  what  is  it 
but  this,  Follow  thou  me  by  imitating  me  in 
the  endurance  of  temporal  evils;  let  him  re 
main  till  I  come  to  restore  everlasting  good  ? 
And  this  may  be  expressed  more  clearly  in 
this  way:  Let  perfected  action,  informed  by 
the  example  of  my  passion,  follow  me;  but 
let  contemplation  only  begun  remain  [so]  till 
I  come,  to  be  perfected  when  I  come.  For 
the  godly  plenitude  of  patience,  reaching 
forward  even  unto  death,  followeth  Christ; 
but  the  fullness  of  knowledge  tarrieth  till 
Christ  come,  to  be  manifested  then.  For 
here  the  evils  of  this  world  are  endured  in  the 
land  of  the  dying,  while  there  shall  be  seen 
the  good  things  of  the  Lord  in  the  land  of  the 
living.  For  in  saying,  "  I  wish  him  to  tarry 
till  I  come,'1  we  are  not  to  understand  Him  as 
meaning  to  remain  on,  or  abide  permanently, 
but  to  wait;  seeing  that  what  is  signified  by 
him  shall  certainly  not  be  fulfilled  now,  but 
when  Christ  is  come.  But  what  is  signified 
by  him  to  whom  it  was  said,  "  Follow  thou 
me,"  unless  it  be  done  now,  will  never  attain 
to  the  expected  end.  And  in  this  life  of 
activity,  the  more  we  love  Christ  the  more 
easily  are  we  delivered  from  evil.  But  He 
loveth  us  less  as  we  now  are,  and  therefore 
delivers  from  it,  that  we  may  not  be  always 
such  as  we  are.  There,  however,  He  loveth 
us  more;  for  we  shall  not  have  aught  about 
us  to  displease  Him,  or  aught  that  He  will 
have  to  separate  us  from:  nor  is  it  for  aught 
else  that  He  loveth  us  here  but  that  He  may 
heal  and  translate  us  from  everything  He 
loveth  not.  Here,  therefore,  [He  loveth  us] 
less,  where  He  would  not  have  us  remain; 
there  in  larger  measure,  whither  He  would 
have  us  to  be  passing,  and  out  of  that  where 
in  He  would  not  that  we  should  perish.  Let 
Peter  therefore  love  Him,  that  we  may  obtain 
deliverance  from  our  present  mortality;  let 
John  be  loved  by  Him,  that  we  may  be  pre 
served  in  the  immortality  to  come. 

6.  But  by  this  line  of  argument  we  have 
shown  why  Christ  loved  John  more  than 
Peter,  not  why  Peter  loved  Christ  more  than 
John.  For  if  Christ  loveth  us  more  in  the 
world  to  come,  where  we  shall  live  unendingly 
with  Him,  than  in  the  present,  from  which 
we  are  in  the  course  of  being  rescued,  that 
we  may  be  always  in  the  other,  it  does  not 
follow  on  that  account  that  we  shall  love  Him 


less  when  better  ourselves;  since  we  can  in 
no  possible  way  be  better  ourselves,  save  by 
loving  Him  more.  Why  was  it,  tnen,  that 
John  loved  Him  less  than  Peter,  if  he  signi 
fied  that  life,  wherein  He  must  be  more 
abundantly  loved,  but  because  on  that  very 
account  it  was  said,  "  I  will  that  he  tarry," 
that  is  wait,  "  till  I  come;  "  for  we  have  not 
yet  the  love  itself,  which  will  then  be  greater 
far,  but  are  expecting  that  future,  that  we 
may  have  it  when  He  shall  come?  Just  as 
in  his  own  epistle  the  same  apostle  declares, 
"  It  has  not  yet  appeared  what  we  shall  be: 
but  we  know  that,  when  He  shall  appear,  we 
shall  be  like  Him;  for  we  shall  see  Him  as 
He  is."  '  Then  accordingly  shall  we  love  the 
more  that  which  we  shall  see.  But  the  Lord 
Himself,  in  His  predestinating  knowledge, 
loveth  more  that  future  life  of  ours  that  is  yet 
to  come,  such  as  He  knows  it  will  be  here 
after  in  us,  in  order  that  by  so  loving  us  He 
may  draw  us  onward  to  its  possession. 
Wherefore,  as  all  the  ways  of  the  Lord  are 
mercy  and  truth,3  we  know  our  present 
misery,  because  we  feel  it;  and  therefore  we 
love  more  the  mercy  of  the  Lord,  which  we 
wish  to  be  exhibited  in  our  deliverance  from 
misery,  and  we  ask  and  experience  it  daily, 
especially  in  the  remission  of  sins:  this  it  is 
j  that  was  signified  by  Peter,  as  loving  more, 
but  less  beloved;  because  Christ  loveth  us 
j  less  in  our  misery  than  in  our  blessedness. 
I  But  the  contemplation  of  the  truth,  such  as  it 
I  then  shall  be,  we  love  less,  because  as  yet 
!  we  neither  know  nor  possess  it:  this  was  sig 
nified  by  John  as  loving  less,  and  therefore 
waiting  both  for  that  state  itself,  and  for  the 
I  perfecting  in  us  of  that  love  to  Him,  to  which 
j  He  is  entitled,  till  the  Lord  come;  but  loved 
the  more,  because  that  it  is,  which  is  symbol- 
!  ized  by  him,  that  maketh  him  blessed. 

7.  Let  no  one,  however,  separate  these  dis 
tinguished  aposjles.  In  that  which  was  sig- 
!  nified  by  Peter,  they  were  both  alike;  and  in 
that  which  was  signified  by  John,  they  will  both 
be  alike  hereafter.  In  their  representative 
character,  the  one  was  following,  the  other 
tarrying;  but  in  their  personal  faith  they 
were  both  of  them  enduring  the  present  evils 
of  the  misery  here,  both  of  them  expecting 
the  future  good  things  of  the  blessedness  to 
come.  And  such  is  the  case,  not  with  them 
alone,  but  with  the  holy  universal  Church, 
the  spouse  of  Christ,  who  has  still  to  be  res 
cued  from  the  present  trials,  and  to  be  pre 
served  in  the  future  happiness.  And  these 
two  states  of  life  were  symbolized  by  Peter 
and  John,  the  one  by  the  one,  the  other  by 


452 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGl'STIN. 


[TRACTATE  CXXIV. 


the  other;  but  in  this  life  they  both  of  them 
walked  for  a  time  by  faith,  and  the  other 
they  shall  both  of  them  enjoy  eternally  by 
sight.  For  the  whole  body  of  the  saints, 
therefore,  inseparably  belonging  to  the  body 
of  Christ,  and  for  their  safe  pilotage  through 
the  present  tempestuous  life,  did  Peter,  the 
first  of  the  apostles,  receive  the  keys  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  for  the  binding  and  loos 
ing  of  sins;  and  for  the  same  congregation  of 
saints,  in  reference  to  the  perfect  repose  in 
the  bosom  of  that  mysterious  life  to  come, 
did  the  evangelist  John  recline  on  the  breast 
of  Christ.  For  it  is  not  the  former  alone, 
but  the  whole  Church,  that  bindeth  and  loos- 
eth  sins;  nor  did  the  latter  alone  drink  at  the 
fountain  of  the  Lord's  brsast,  to  emit  again 
in  preaching,  of  the  Word  in  the  beginning, 
God  with  God,  and  those  other  sublime  truths 
regarding  the  divinity  of  Christ,  and  the 
Trinity  and  Unity  of  the  whole  Godhead, 
which  are  to  be  yet  beheld  in  that  kingdom 
face  to  face,  but  meanwhile  till  the  Lord's 
coming  are  only  to  be  seen  in  a  mirror  and 
in  a  riddle;  but  the  Lord  has  Himself  diffused 
this  very  gospel  through  the  whole  world, 
that  every  one  of  His  own  may  drink  thereat 
according  to  his  own  individual  capacity. 
There  are  some  who  have  entertained  the 
idea — and  those,  too,  who  are  no  contempti 
ble  handlers  of  sacred  eloquence — that  the 
Apostle  John  was  more  loved  by  Christ  on  the 
ground  that  he  never  married  a  wife,  and 
lived  in  perfect  chastity  from  early  boyhood.1 
There  is,  indeed,  no  distinct  evidence  of  this 
in  the  canonical  Scriptures:  nevertheless  it  is 
an  idea  that  contributes  not  a  little  to  the 
suitableness  of  the  opinion  expressed  above, 
namely,  that  that  life  was  signified  by  him, 
where  there  will  be  no  marriage. 

8.  "  This  is  the  disciple  who  testifieth  of 
these  things,  and  wrote  these  things;  and  we 
know  that  his  testimony  is  tfue.  And  there 


are  also,"  he  adds,  "  many  other  things  which 
Jesus  did,  the  which,  if  they  should  be  writ 
ten  every  one,  I  suppose  that  even  the  world 
itself  could  not  contain  the  books  that  should 
be  written."  We  are  not  to  suppose  that  in 
regard  to  local  space  the  world  would  be  un 
able  to  contain  them;  for  how  could  they  be 
written  in  it  if  it  could  not  bear  them  when 
written  ?  but  perhaps  it  is  that  they  could  not 
be  comprehended  by  the  capacity  of  the 
readers:  although,  while  our  faith  in  certain 
things  themselves  remains  unharmed,  the 
words  we  use  about  them  may  not  unfre- 
quently  appear  to  exceed  belief.  This  will 
not  take  place  when  anything  that  was  ob 
scure  or  dubious  is  in  course  of  exposition  by 
the  setting  forth  of  its  ground  and  reason, 
but  only  when  that  which  is  clear  of  itself  is 
either  magnified  or  extenuated,  without  any 
real  departure  from  the  pathway  of  the  truth 
to  be  intimated;  for  the  words  may  outrun 
the  thing  itself  that  is  indicated  only  in  such 
a  way,  that  the  will  of  him  that  speaketh,  but 
without  any  intention  to  deceive,  may  be  ap 
parent,  so  that,  knowing  how  far  he  will  be 
believed,  he,  orally,  either  diminishes  or 
magnifies  his  subject  beyond  the  limit  to 
which  credit  will  be  given.  This  mode  of 
speaking  is  called  by  the  Greek  name  hyper 
bole,  by  the  masters  not  only  of  Greek,  but 
also  of  Latin  literature.  And  this  mode  is 
found  not  only  here,  but  in  several  other 
parts  also  of  the  divine  literature:  as,  "  They 
set  their  mouths  against  the  heavens;  "  2  and, 
"  The  top  of  the  hair  of  such  as  go  on  in  their 
'trespasses;"3  and  many  others  of  the  same 
kind,  which  are  no  more  wanting  in  the  sacred 
Scriptures  than  other  tropes  or  modes  of 
speaking.  Of  these  I  might  give  a  more 
elaborate  discussion,  were  it  not  that,  as  the 
evangelist  here  terminates  his  Gospel,  I  am 
also  compelled  to  bring  my  discourse  to  a 
close. 


1  Jer 

ome,  Book  I. 

Agai 

nst  Jovinian. 

*  Ps.  Ixxiii. 

9- 

3  Ps.  Ixv 

ii.  2i. 

ST.   AUGUSTIN: 
TEN     HOMILIES 

ON 

THE    FIRST  EPISTLE  OF  JOHN 


TRANSLATED    BY 

REV.  H.    BROWNE,    M.A., 

CANON    OF    WALTHAM    AND    PRINCIPAL    OF    THE     CHICHESTER    DIOCESAN    COLLEGE. 


REVISED,  WITH  ADDITIONAL  NOTES, 


REV.  JOSEPH  H.   MYERS,  D.D. 


INTRODUCTION. 

THIS  first  Epistle  of  John,  probably  written  at  Ephesus  near  the  close  of  the  first  cen 
tury,  the  last  utterance  of  the  Spirit  of  inspiration,  breathes  the  calmness  of  an  assured  hope, 
and  that  fullness  of  joy  of  which  the  Apostle  would  have  his  readers  to  be  made  partakers. 
While  strongly  refuting  error,  it  is  not  so  much  an  argument  as  an  intuition,  an  open  vision 
of  the  divine  truths  announced. 

It  was  evidently  written  in  a  time  of  external  quiet  for  the  Church,  but  of  special  expos 
ure  to  errors  and  perils  from  within.  The  nature  of  the  principal  error  is  plain, — the 
denial  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  (i  John  ii:  22).  Precisely  this  heresy  was  taught  at  Ephesus 
by  Cerinthus  in  the  old  age  of  the  Apostle;  he  alleged  that  Jesus  was  a  man  eminent  for 
wisdom  and  holiness;  that  after  his  baptism  Christ  descended  into  him,  and  before  the 
crucifixion  left  Jesus  and  returned  to  heaven.  Over  against  this  cardinal  error,  the  Apostle 
announces  the  manifestation  of  the  Son  of  God  in  the  flesh, — the  Incarnation  of  that  Eternal 
Life  which  was  with  God  from  the  beginning.  This  divine  fact  is  shown  in  its  own  self- 
evidencing  light,  and  is  so  presented  as  to  render  the  epistle  a  "  possession  forever,"  of 
incalculable  value  to  the  Church.  In  our  day,  also,  by  separating  Jesus  the  Son  of  Man  from 
Christ  the  Son  of  God,  the  one  Divine-Human  Lord  and  Saviour  of  man  is  denied  and 
rejected.  The  great  words,  fellowship,  light,  life,  love,  so  often  recurring  in  the  Epistle, 
are  filled  with  new  meanings  as  vehicles  of  the  message  of  God,  as  conveying  the  thoughts 
of  God. 

As  regards  the  plan  of  the  Epistle,  it  has  been  often  asserted  till  lately  that  it  was  sup 
posed  to  be  but  fragmentary,  a  series  of  aphorisms.  Augustin,  however,  without  formally  an 
nouncing  a  plan  as  discovered  by  him  in  the  Epistle,  not  only  frequently  affirms  in  his  exposi 
tion  that  charity  or  love  is  the  Apostle's  main  theme,  but  so  conducts  the  discussion,  gather 
ing  his  arguments  and  illustrations  around  this  central  thought,  as  to  render  it  evident  that  in 
his  view  the  purpose  and  plan  of  the  Apostle  is  to  set  forth  love  in  its  essence  and  its  scope, 
and  that  he  intends  to  make  this  thought  dominant  in  every  part.  Westcott.  in  his  admira 
ble  commentary  (2nd  edition,  1886),  does  not  draw  out  a  plan,  but  gives  striking  and  com 
prehensive  views  of  the  object  and  scope  of  the  Epistle. 

Braune,  in  Lange's  commentary,  makes  two  main  divisions,  besides  the  introduction 
and  conclusion:  chief  topic  for  the  first  division:  i.  5~ii.  28,  God  is  Light;  for  the  second 
part:  \\'lwsoerer  is  born  <>f  God  doeth  righteousness. 

Huther  (4th  edition,  1880)  suggests  a  three-fold  division,  first:  i.  5~ii.  12-28,  against 
indifference  to  truth  and  lore  of  the  world;  second:  ii.  29-iii.  22,  a  life  of  brotherly  hn-e  alone 
is  in  agrennent  witli  (lie  nature  of  (tie  eliilJ  of  God;  third:  iii.  2J-V.  17,  pointing  to  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ,  the  .SV'//  of  (/'<>,/,  as  (Jie  foundation  of  t/ie  Cliristian  Life.  As  thus  distributed  (by 
Huther)  "the  conclusion  of  each  part  points  to  the  joy  of  which  the  Christian  partakes  in 
fellowship  with  God.'' 

Objections  have  been   urged  to  any  division  proposed,  as  being  inadequate;   but  the 


456  INTRODUCTION. 


great  divine  facts  Qi  fellowship  with  God,  fullness  of  jo\  in  Him,  and  an  I'.tcrnul  Life  <>//<>;•<• 
through  the  Son  of  GW,  are  leading  topics.  This  is  obvious;  they  are  often  recurred  to,  are 
frequently  conjoined,  and  in  their  grandeur  surpass  our  range  and  reach  of  thought,  while 
satisfying  the  aspirations  of  the  soul. 

In  these  discourses  of  Augustin,  on  the  first  Epistle  of  John,  we  have  a  nearly  complete 
text  of  the  Epistle, — the  exposition  of  the  last  18  verses  not  being  extant.  He  followed  the  old 
Itala,  one  of  the  most  ancient  (Latin)  versions  of  the  New  Testament.  Variations  between 
the  text  on  which  he  comments  and  the  best  Greek  text  (as  given  by  Westcott  and  Hort), 
when  of  importance,  are  indicated  in  this  revised  edition  of  the  translation  of  his  homilies. 
In  comparing  the  Oxford  translation,  word  by  word,  with  the  original, — Benedictine  (Migne's) 
edition, — several  omissions,  twelve  at  least,  have  been  discovered;  and  though  brief,  some 
of  them  are  of  considerable  importance:  these  are  supplied  in  the  present  edition. 

The  translator  copied,  only  too  faithfully,  the  very  form  of  the  Latin  sentences:  to 
change  them  throughout  and  to  remove  all  the  archaisms  in  his  English,  might  have  seemed 
an  undue  reflection  on  a  work  executed  for  the  most  part  with  extraordinary  fidelity. 

After  many  alterations  in  phraseology,  probably  enough  still  remains  in  the  translation 
of  the  original  antique  flavor  to  satisfy  the  taste  of  those  who  are  ever  disposed  to  say: 
"  the  old  is  better." 

As  regards  any  allegorizing  tendency  here  and  there  manifested  in  the  exposition,  it 
may  suffice  to  say  that  it  is  small  in  Augustin,  as  compared  with  very  many  of  great  fame. 

If  now  and  then  he  seems  to  mistake  in  interpretation  (as  in  Homily  VII.),  not  considering 
that  in  the  Greek  such  propositions  aS  "  God  is  love,"  are  not  convertible,  the  subject 
<•'  0£«s-  being  marked  by  the  article,  and  the  predicate  indicated  by  not  having  the  article, 
let  it  be  remembered  that  some  exegetical  canons  of  the  kind  were  unknown  in  his  time. 

These  expository  discourses  by  the  most  illustrious  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Western 
Church,  while  often  exhibiting  great  critical  acumen,  were  not  intended  to  be  models  in 
exegesis.  They  are  familiar,  homiletical  talks,  racy  and  vivid  in  style,  couched  in  the 
plainest  and  most  pointed  language,  and  all  aglow  with  the  most  fervent  love. 

Whatever  St.  John  was  in  this  respect.  Augustin  was  clearly  a  polemic;  but  where  can 
be  found  a  more  ardent  lover  of  the  brethren,  nay  of  all  men,  even  the  worst  ?  Not  the 
least  striking  and  touching  of  his  utterances  are  those  in  which  he  discloses  the  breadth  and 
depth  of  his  charity  toward  enemies,  and  affirms  such  principles  and  such  conduct  to  be  nec 
essarily  and  invariably  found  in  all  those  who  are  Christians  indeed. — J.  H.  M. 


CONTENTS  OF  HOMILIES. 


PAGK. 

45') 

HoMII  Y  I 

460 

HOMII  v  II                       .                 •        .        . 

4^S 

HOMII  v  III                                      . 

47  5 

HOMILY  IV.            
HOMII  Y  V                       ..... 

"       n.  27.  -in.  8  

;- 
487 

493 

HOMII  Y  VII           ... 

-    • 

HOMILY  VIII  
HOMII  Y  IX                                                  .        . 

"         IV.    I2-I6,           

506 

513 

"       v.  1-3,             

520 

TEN    HOMILIES 
ON    THE    EPISTLE    OF   JOHN 

TO  THE  PARTHIANS. 


THE   PROLOGUE. 

YE  remember,  holy  brethren,  that  the  Gospel  according  to  John,  read  in  orderly  course 
of  lessons,  is  the  subject  on  which  we  usually  discourse:  but  because  of  the  now  intervening 
solemnity  of  the  holy  days,  on  which  there  must  be  certain  lessons  recited  in  the  Church, 
which  so  come  every  year  that  they  cannot  be  other  than  they  are:2  the  order  which  we  had 
undertaken  is  of  necessity  for  a  little  while  intermitted,  not  wholly  omitted.  But  when  I 
was  thinking  what  matter  of  discourse  upon  Jhe  Scriptures,  agreeably  with  the  cheerfulness 
of  these  days,  I  might  undertake  with  you,  as  the  Lord  shall  vouchsafe  to  grant,  during  the 
present  week,  being  such  an  one  as  might  be  finished  in  these  seven  or  eight  days;  the 
Epistle  of  blessed  John  occurred  to  me:  that  whereas  we  have  for  a  while  intermitted 
the  reading  of  his  Gospel,  we  may  in  discoursing  upon  his  Epistle  not  go  from  his  side:  the 
rather,  as  in  this  same  Epistle,  which  is  very  sweet  to  all  who  have  a  healthy  taste  of  the 
heart  to  relish  the  Bread  of  God,  and  very  meet  to  be  had  in  remembrance  in  God's  Holy 
Church,  charity  is  above  all  commended  He  has  spoken  many  words,  and  nearly  all  are 
about  charity.3  He  that  hath  in  himself  that  which  he  is  to  hear,  must  needs  rejoice  at 
that  which  he  heareth.  For  so  shall  this  reading  be  to  that  man,  as  oil  upon  flame;  if  that 
be  there  which  may  be  nourished,  it  is  nourished  and  groweth  and  abideth.  Again,  to 
some  it  ought  to  be  as  flame  to  fuel;  that  if  he  did  not  burn,  by  added  discourse  he  may  be 


'  In  this  designation  of  St.  John's  first  Epistle,  the  manuscript 
copies  of  St.  AugiiKtin  all  agree.  Kith   here  and    in  the  incidental 

mention,  Qutrst.  Kvang.  ii.  39,  of  'St.  John's  Efistola  ad  Par-  cVSoforarov  irnxrTdAou  *ni  fvay-y*Ai<TToO  irap«e.-ov  qyaiMj^oi 
tkos  ;  and  that  there  is  no  error  of  transcription  is  further  proved  iniar-ij0iov  'lumi-rou  deoAd-yov :  "  1'he  Apocalypse  of  the  holy,  inos 
by  the  fact,  that  the  present  work  appears  in  the  Indiciilus  of  Fos-  glorious  Apostle  and  Evangelist,  'the  Virgin,1  the  lielov.d,  wh. 

sidius  under  the  title.  In  Kfistvlam  Joa        

tusdecrm.     And  yet  St.  Augustin  neit 


mi  r,irtlios  Tracta- 

yet  St.  Au^ustin  neither  in  these  Tractates  nor 
in  any  other  of  his  extant  works  explains  or  comments  upon  this 
peculiar  address.  In  the  I-atin  Church,  sin,  <•  A^ustm,  it  fre- 


favor  of  this  explanation   it  may  be   remarked,  that   Griesbach's 

Codex,  30,  has  for  the  superscription  of  the  Apocalypse, 

tYJoforarov 

«rri<7TT)Sio 

glorious  Apostle  and  Evangelist,  'the  Virgin,'  the  Beloved,  who 

lay  in  the  bosom  (of  the  Lord),  John  the  '1  heolojjus." 

[Most  recent  critics  and  comim-ntators  adopt  the  plausible  con 
jecture   of    (lieseler  that    the   title  originated    in  the  mistake  of  a 
r  for  TOII  iraprf«rov.    Other  conjecture™  :  A (i Sf>a rtits.  Ad 


quently  occurs  in  authors  and  in  Mss.  of  the  VuIKate.      According  i  /'attimios,  -•/</  S/xirsos,  are  not  worth  considering.     See  th 

to  Venerable  Hcde,  "  Many  ecclesiastical  authors,  and  among  them  j  mcntaries  of    Htither,  Haupt,  Hraunc,  Westcott,  and  Hummer.— 

St.  . \than.is. us,   I'.ishon  of    the  I  nun  h  of  Alexandria,  u  itness  that  P.  SJ      ' 

thr  firs'.  Epistle  of  St.  John  was  written  <;,/  /',i  »///,>..  "   n  1  mm  S.  Auc.  Sfrm.  ccxxxii.  i,  and  ccxxxix.  i.  it  appears  to 

Lit.  I.  614).      Hut  there  is  no  indication  elsewhere  that  St.  Athan-  have  Ix-en  the  custom,  that  during  seven  or  eii;ht  days  aft. 

asius  was  acquainted  with  this  superscription,  and  with  the  exccp-  Sunday,  the  history  of  the  Resurrection  from  all   fi 

tion   of   a  few  very  modern    MSS.  which    have  ir<x>«  irnpflo.'?  in  the  should  furnish  th.-  < 

ptionto  the  second    EpuUe.il  teems  to  be  unknown  to  the  <ler.  St.  Lake  being  sometimes  read  before  St.  Mark.     And  in  fact 

••iir,  h.  Tbe  tradition  sccordmg  to  which  St.  John  praacfaad  tlv  Ii  one  of  the  oli 

•the    C.ospel    in    1'arthia    rests  iso    far   as   appears)    on    no    ancient  to  1  .isi.r    \l.. inlay,  appears   from    the  opening  of    it  to    have  been 

authority,  and  perhaps  has  no  other  foundation  than  the  super-  preached  on  the  day  which  had  for  its  Lesson   the  n.-. rr.it 
•cnption  itself:   which  may  have  originated  either,  as  some  ,  r  •  -ninj;  the  two  disci;,!cs  to  wh..m  (  hrist  appeared  on  the 

have  supposed,  in  an  abbreviated  form  ol  irpoc  irapff.i-orc.  "    I.,  the  way  to  1-  ,,n     , 

Virgins.  -!«.  in  T..P  wnpH. .  g  ,„  the  title  of  these  Homilies  the  add.tion, 

tion    of   St.  John  himself,  "   I  he  1-  pi-tie  of   John  the  Virgin  ;"   U 
epithet  wliich   has  KO"<-  with   his  name  from  \ erv  e.irl>   times.      In 


460 


THK   WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[H'.Mll.v     I. 


set  on  fire.  For  in  some  that  which  is  there,  is  nourished:  in  some  it  is  kindled,  if  it  be 
not  there:  that  we  all  may  rejoice  in  one  charity.  But  where  charity,  there  peace;  and 
where  humility,  there  charity.  Now  let  us  hear  himself:  and  at  his  words,  what  the  Lord 
suggests,  that  let  us  speak  also  to  you,  that  ye  may  well  understand. 


HOMILY  I. 

i  JOHN  I.  i. — II.  n. 

"  That  which  was  from  the  beginning,  which  we  have  heard,  and  which  we  have  seen 
with  our  eyes,  and  our  hands  have  handled,  of  the  Word  of  life:  and  the  life  was  manifested, 
and  we  have  seen,  and  bear  witness,  and  show  unto  you  that  eternal  life,  which  was  with  the 
Father,  and  was  manifested  unto  us:  the  things  which  we  have  seen  and  heard  declare 
we  unto  you,  that  ye  also  may  have  fellowship  with  us:  and  that  our  fellowship  maybe1 
with  the  Father,  and  with  His  Son  Jesus  Christ.  And  these  things  write  we  unto  you, 
that  your  joy  may  be  full.  This  then  is  the  message  which  we  have  heard  of  Him,  and 
declare  unto  you,  that  God  is  light,  and  in  Him  is  no  darkness  at  all.  If  we  say  that  we 
have  fellowship  with  Him,  and  walk  in  darkness,  we  lie,  and  do  not  the  truth:  if  we  walk 
in  the  light,  as  He  is  in  the  light,  we  have  fellowship  one  with  another,  and  the  blood  of 
Jesus  Christ  His  Son  shall  cleanse2  us  from  all  sin  If  we  say  that  we  have  no  sin,  we 
deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us.  W  we  confess  our  sins,  He  is  faithful  and  just 
to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness.  If  we  say  that  we  have 
not  sinned,  we  make  Him  a  liar,  and  His  word  is  not  in  us.  My  little  children,  these  things 
write  I  unto  you,  that  ye  sin  not.  And  if  any  man  sin,  we  have  an  Advocate  with  the  Father, 
Jesus  Christ  the  righteous:  and  He  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins:  not  for  our's  only,  but 
also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world.  And  in  this  we  do  know  Him,  if  we  keep  His  com 
mandments.  He  that  saith  he  knoweth  Him,  and  keepeth  not  His  commandments,  is  a  liar, 
and  the  truth  is  not  in  him.  But  whoso  keepeth  His  word,  in  him  verily  is  the  love  of  God 
perfected.  In  this  we  know  that  we  are  in  Him,  if  in  Him  we  be  perfect.  He  that  saith 
he  abideth  in  Him  ought  himself  also  so  to  walk,  even  as  He  walked.  Beloved,  I  write 
no  new  commandment  unto  you,  but  an  old  commandment  which  ye  had  from  the  begin 
ning.  The  old  commandment  is  the  word  which  ye  have  heard.  Again,  a  new  com 
mandment  I  write  unto  you,  which  thing  is  true  in  Him  and  in  you:  because  the  darkness 
is  past,  and  the  true  light  now  shineth.  He  that  saith  he  is  in  the  light,  and  h'ateth  his 
brother,  is  in  darkness  even  until  now.  He  that  loveth  his  brother  abideth  in  the  light, 
and  there  is  none  occasion  of  stumbling  in  him.  For  he  that  hateth  his  brother  is  ui 
darkness,  and  walketh  in  darkness,  and  knoweth  not  whither  he  goeth,  because  the  dark 
ness  hath  blinded  his  eyes." 


i.  "  THAT  which  was  from  the  beginning, 
which  we  have  heard,  which  we  have  seen 
with  our  eyes,3  and  our  hands  have  handled, 
of  the  word  of  life."  Who  is  he  that  with 
hands  doth  handle  the  Word,  except  because 


'  ["  Our  fellowship  is."— J.  H.  M.l 
*  [Gr.  ««»ap.-£«i,  cfeansrs.  |  H.M.] 
3'O  «0fac7<i>ie9a.  "  Which  we  have 


quod  pcr 


Aug. 


looked   upon."      Vulg. 


"  The  Word  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  in 
us"?  Now  this  Word  which  was  made  flesh 
that  it  might  be  handled,  began  to  be  flesh, 
of  the  Virgin  Mary:  but  not  then  began  the. 
Word,  for  the  Apostle  saith,  "  That  which 
was  from  the  beginning.*'  See  whether  his 
epistle  does  not  be;ir  witness  to  his  gospel, 
where  ye  lately  heard,  "  In  the  beginning  was 


1I..MH.Y     I.] 


THE   EPISTLE  OF  ST,   JOHN. 


461 


tin-  Word,  mid  the  Word  was  with  ('.oil.1  iVt 
chance,  "  ('<>IH •criiin^  the-  word  of  life"  one 
may  take  as  a  sort  of  expression  concerning 
Christ,  not  tin-  very  body  of  Christ  which  was 
handled  with  hands.  Sec  what  fo.llows:  "And 
the  Life  was  manifested."  Christ  therefore 
is  "the  word  of  life."  And  whereby  mani 
fested  ?  For  it  was  "from  the  beginning," 
only  not  manifested  to  men:  but  it  was  mani 
fested  to  angels,  who  saw  it  and  fed  on  it  as 
their  bread.  But  what  saith  the  Scripture? 
"  Man  did  eat  angels'  bread."3  Well  then, 
"the  Life  was  manifested  "  in  the  flesh;  be 
cause  it  exhibited  in  manifestation,  that  that 
which  can  be  seen  by  the  heart  only,  should 
be  seen  by  the  eyes  also,  that  it  might  heal 
the  hearts.  For  only  by  the  heart  is  the 
Word  seen!  but  the  flesh  is  seen  by  the  bodily 
eyes  also.  We  had  wherewith  to  see  the 
flesh,  but  had  not  wherewith  to  see  the  Word: 
"  the  Word  was  made  flesh,"  which  we  might 
see,  that  so  that  in  us  might  be  healed  where 
with  we  might  see  the  Word. 

2.  "And  we  have  seen  and  are  witnesses."3 
Perhaps  some  of  the  brethren  who  are  not 
acquainted  with  the  Greek  do  not  know  what 
the  word  "witnesses"  is  in  Greek;  and  yet 
it  is  a  term  much  used  by  all,  and  had  in 
religious  reverence;  for  what  in  our  tongue 
we  call  "  witnesses,"  in  Greek  are  "  martyrs." 
Now  where  is  the  man  that  has  not  heard  of 
martyrs,  or  where  the  Christian  in  whose 
mouth  the  name  of  martyrs  dwelleth  not  every 
,day?  and  would  that  it  so  dwelt  in  the  heart 

Ialso,  that  we  should  imitate  the  sufferings  of 
the  martyrs,  not  persecute  them  with  our 
cups!4  Well  then,  "We  have  seen  and  are 
witnesses,"  is  as  much  as  to  say,  We  have 
seen  and  are  martyrs.  For  it  was  for  bearing 
witness  of  that  which  they  had  seen,  and  bear 
ing  witness  of  that  which  they  had  heard  from 
them  who  had  seen,  that,  while  their  testi 
mony  itself  displeased  the  men  against  whom 
it  was  delivered,  the  martyrs  suffered  all  that 
they  did  suffer.  The  martyrs  are  God's  wit 
nesses.  It  pleased  God  to  have  men  for  His 
witnesses,  that  men  also  may  have  God  to  be 
their  witness.  "We  have  seen,"  saith  he, 
"  and  are  witnesses.'*  Where  have  they  seen  ? 
In  the  manifestation.  What  meaneth,  in  the 


«  John  i.  i.  "  Ps.  Ixxviii.  25.  1  i    John  i.  a. 

4V:dd.  \cn  calcibus  /.  rseqnaniur  :  "not  virtually  trample 
upon,  or  kick  at  them,  persecuting  the  martyrs  afresh  by  turning 
their  festivals  into  luxurious  orgies;"  or  "  not  merely  walk  after 
them."  Morel.  Klein.  Cr/f.  j>.  jog.  cited  by  Kd.  Par,  proposes 
calicikus  pers,-yn,i»iiir  :  Complaining  of  tbett CXCCMes.  S.  AUK. 
says,  Knarr.  in  f'sa.  69,  sec.  -j  :  Adkuc  illi  ini»ii<i  martyrum 
•  •  ft  ftrnt  ni'ti  fpssnnt,  fas  sun  luxiiria  perttquuntur. 
Atgue  utinnm  /'afaH,<s  tantun,  ,iclere»tus  .'  .  .  .  I'iiiemus  etiam 
fflrtantes  in  J 'route  signuin  K/us,  sitnul  in  i/>s,t  /rente  fiorta re 
imfui/ftifiitiii  In  \uriaruin,  jifhtif^Hf  ft  si^lemnitalihui  mar. 
tyrum  HUH  r.ru/tare,  sett  insultarr.  On  Ps.  59  (al.  60)  H 
has,  nii'iffi  fi'f  ebriosi  mlicihut  f>rrsrquuntnr,  and  one  Oxford 
MS.  reads  so  here.  Compare  /*/>.»,  Horn.  iv.  4. 


manifestation  ?  In  the  sun,  that  is,  in  this 
light  of  day.  And  how  should  He  be  seen  in 
the  sun  who  madr  the  sun,  except  as  "in  the 
sun  He  hath  set  His  tabernacle;  -ind  Himself 
as  a  bridegroom  going  forth  out  of  his  cham 
ber,  exulted  as  a  giant  to  run  His  course?"5 
>re  the  sun,6  who  made  the  sun,  He 
before  the  day-star,  before  all  the  stars,  before 
all  angels,  the  true  Creator,  ("  for  all  things 
were  made  by  Him,  and  without  Him  was 
nothing  made,")  that  He  might  be  seen  by 
eyes  of  flesh  which  see  the  sun,  set  His  very 
tabernacle  in  the  sun,  that  is,  showed  His 
flesh  in  manifestation  of  this  light  of  day:  and 
that  Bridegroom's  chamber  was  the  Virgin's 
womb,  because  in  that  virginal  womb  were 
joined  the  two,  the  Bridegroom  and  the  bride, 
the  Bridegroom  the  Word,  and  the  bride  the 
flesh;  because  it  is  written,  "And  they  twain  \\ 
shall  be  one  flesh;"7  and  the  Lord  saith  in 
the  Gospel,  "  Therefore  they  are  no  more 
twain  but  one  flesh.8  And  Esaias  remembers 
right  well  that  they  are  two:  for  speaking  in 
the  person  of  Christ  he  saith,  "  He  hath  set 
a  mitre  upon  me  as  upon  a  bridegroom,  and 
adorned  me  with  an  ornament  as  a  bride."9 
One  seems  to  speak,  yet  makes  Himself  at 
once  Bridegroom  and  Bride;  because  "  not 
two,  but  one  flesh:  "  because  "  the  Word  was 
made  flesh,  and  dwelt  in  us."  To  that  flesh 
the  Church  is  joined,  and  so  there  is  made 
the  whole  Christ,  Head  and  body. 

3.  "And  we  are  witnesses,  and  show  unto 
you  that  eternal  life,  which  was  with  the 
Father,  and  was  manifested  unto  us:"  i.e., 
manifested  among  us:  which  might  be  more 
plainly  expressed,  manifested  to  us.  "The 
things,"  therefore,  "which  we  have  seen  and 
heard,  declare  we  unto  you."10  Those  saw 
the  Lord  Himself  present  in  the  flesh,  and 
heard  words  from  the  mouth  of  the  Lord,  and 
told  them  to  us.  Consequently  we  also  have 
heard,  but  have  not  seen.  Are  we  then  less 
happy  than  those  who  saw  and  heard  ?  And 
how  does  he  add,  "  That  ye  also  may  have 
fellowship  with  us"?  Those  saw,  we  have 
not  seen,  and  yet  we  are  fellows;  because  we 
hold  the  faith  in  common.  For  there  was 
one  who  did  not  believe  even  upon  seeing, 
and  would  needs  handle,  and  so  beiieve,  and 
said,  "  I  will  not  believe  except  I  thrust  my 
fingers  into  the  place  of  the  nails,  and  touch 
His  scars."11  And  He  did  give  Himself  for 
a  time  to  be  handled  by  the  hands  of  men, 
who  always  giveth  Himself  to  be  seen  by  the 
sight  of  the  angels;  and  that  disciple  did 
handle,  and  exclaimed,  "  My  Lord,  and  my 


5  Ps.  xix.  4,  5. 

;  Oca.  ii.74. 
9  Isa    Ixi.  10.     £tiar 
«°  i  John  i.  3. 


6. Ante  lucifrrut, 

xix.' 6. 
".  in  Pi.  <  i 

"  J"hn  xx.  25-29. 


P§.  ex.  3. 


462 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[HOMII.Y    I. 


('.ml!"  Because  he  touched  the  Man,  he 
confessed  the  Clod.  And  the  Lord,  to  con 
sole  us  who,  now  that  He  sitteth  in  heaven, 
cannot  touch  Him  with  the  hand,  but  only 
reach  Him  with  faitii,  said  to  him,  "  Because 
thou  hast  seen,  thou  hast  believed;  blessed 
are  they  that  have  not  seen,  and  yet  believe. 
We  are  here  described,  we  designated.  Then 
let  the  blessedness  take  place  in  us,  of  which 
the  Lord  predicted  that  it  should  take  place; 
let  us  firmly  hold  that  which  we  see  not;  be 
cause  those  tell  us  who  have  seen.  "That 
ye  also,"  saith  he,  "  may  have  fellowship  with 
us."  And  what  great  matter  is  it  to  have 
fellowship  with  men  ?  Do  not  despise  it;  see 
what  he  adds:  "and  our  fellowship  may  be1 
with  God  the  Father,  and  Jesus  Christ  His 
Son.  And  these  things,"saith  he,  "we  write 
unto  you,  that  your  joy  may  be  full."  2  Full 
joy  he  means  in  that  fellowship,  in  that  char 
ity,  in  that  unity. 

4.  "And  this  is  the  message  which  we  have 
heard  of  Him,  and  declare  unto  you."  3  What 
is  this  ?  Those  same  have  seen,  have  handled 
with  their  hands,  the  Word  of  life:  He  "  was 
from  the  beginning,"  and  for  a  time  was  made 
visible  and  palpable,  the  Only-begotten  Son 
of  God.  For  what  thing  did  He  come,  or 
what  new  thing  did  He  tell  us  ?  What  was  it 
His  will  to  teach  ?  Wherefore  did  He  this 
which  He  did,  that  the  Word  should  be  made 
flesh,  that  "God  over  all  things"4  should 
suffer  indignities  from  men,  that  He  should 
endure  to  be  smitten  upon  the  face  by  the 
hands  which  Himself  had  made  ?  What  would 
He  teach?  What  would  He  show?  What 
would  He  declare?  Let  us  hear:  for  without 
the  fruit  of  the  precept  the  hearing  of  the 
story,  how  Christ  was  born,  and  how  Christ 
suffered,  is  a  mere  pastime  of  the  mind,  not  a 
strengthening  of  it.  What  great  thing  hear- 
est  thou  ?  With  what  fruit  thou  hearest,  see 
to  that.  What  would  He  teach  ?  What  de 
clare?  Hear.  That  "God  is  light,"  saith 
he,  "  and  there  is  no  darkness  in  Him  at  all.''5 


'  Et  societa 
TOW  irarpds. 
2  i  John  i.  4. 
4  Rom.   ix.   5.      De 


it.     So  Vulg.     Mill  cites  one  MS.  $  M«ra 

3  i  John  i.  5. 

.       .     .  super  omnia  :    so  de   Trin.   ii.   23,   c. 

Faust,  iii.  3,  6,  Propos.  ex  Ef>.  ad  Rom.  Exp.  59,  super  flumes 
/>eus.  S.  Aug.  constantly  refers  this  clause  to  Christ.  So  S. 
Iren.  iii.  18  (D.  super  onines),  Tertull.  adv.  Prax.  13,  15;  Origen 
tfua..)Com,n.inEp.ad  Rom.  vii.  13;  St.  Cypr.  adv.Jud.  ii.  6;  St. 
Hilar.  </,•  Trin.  viii.  37;  St.  Ambros  de  Sp.  Sa.  i.  3,  sec.  39  ;  in  all 

,'-•  super  omnia  or  super  omnia  Deus. 

5  i  John  i.  5.  [>></  is  Light  :  Cod  is  Lore.~'T\\e  Aoostle 
gives  in  theM  tWO  great  words  indications  of  the  Divine  essence, 
so  far  .is  it  can  !><•  conveyed  or  suggested  in  human  language.  He 
had  before  said  (  lohn  IV.  94),  narrating  th.-  words  of  the  lord 
',,'d  is  spirit"  (not,  a  spirit).  In  this  epistle  he  declares 
to  us  that  (,W  is  lifht,  and  O'er/  is  lore. 

('„>,{  is  ?it;/it,  not  "  a  Ikht  "  (Luther)  or  even  "  the  light,  but 
"  lijjht"  in  the  most  absolute  sense.  In  the  text,  Augustin  forcibly 
employs  this  language  in  reference  to  sins;  they,  he  says,  arc-  "  our 
darkness."  In  the  phrase  of  the  apostle  we  may  recognize  a  dedara- 


Hitherto,  he  hath  named  indeed  the  light, 
but  the  words  are  dark:  good  is  it  for  us  that 
the  very  light  which  he  hath  named  should 
enlighten  our  hearts,  and  we  should  see  what 
lie  hath  saicj.  This  it  is  that  we  declare,  that 
"  God  is  light,  and  there  is  no  darkness  in 
Him  at  all."  Who  would  dare  to  say  that 
there  is  darkness  in  God  ?  Or  what  is  the 
light  ?  Or  what  darkness  ?  Lest  haply  he 
speaks  of  such  things  ns  pertain  to  these  eyes 
of  ours.  "  God  is  light."  Saith  some  man, 
"  The  sun  also  is  light,  and  the  moon  also  is 
light,  and  a  candle  is  light."  It  ought  to  be 
something  far  greater  than  these,  far  more 
excellent,  and  far  more  surpassing.  How 
much  God  is  distant  from  the  creature,  how 
much  the  Maker  from  the  making,  how  much 
Wisdom  from  that  which  is  made  by  Wisdom, 
far  beyond  all  things  must  this  light  needs 
be.  And  haply  we  shall  be  near  to  it,  if  we 
get  to  know  what  this  light  is,  and  apply  our 
selves  unto  it,  that  by  it  we  may  be  enlight 
ened;  because  in  ourselves  we  are  darkness, 
and  only  when  enlightened  by  it  can  we  be 
come  light,  and  not  be  put  to  confusion  by  it, 
being  put  to  confusion  by  ourselves.  Who  is 
he  that  is  put  to  confusion  by  himself?  He 
that  knows  himself  to  be  a  sinner..  Who  is 
he  that  by  it  is  not  put  to  confusion  ?  He 
who  by  it  is  enlightened.  What  is  it  to  be 
enlightened  by  it  ?  He  that  now  sees  himself 
to  be  darkened  by  sins,  and  desires  to  be  en 
lightened  by  it,  draws  near  to  it:  whence  the 
Psalm  saith,  "  Draw  near  unto  Him,  and  be 
ye  enlightened;  and  your  faces  shall  not  be 
ashamed."6  But  thou  shalt  not  be  shamed 
by  it,  if,  when  it  shall  show  thee  to  thyself 
that  thou  art  foul,  thine  own  foulness  shnll 
displease  thee,  that  thou  mayest  perceive  its 
beauty.  This  it  is  that  He  would  teach. 

5.  And  may  it  be  that  we  say  this  over- 
hastily  ?  Let  the  apostle  himself  make  this 
plain  in  what  follows.  Remember  what  was 
said  at  the  outset  of  our  discourse,  that  the 
present  epistle  commendeth  charity:  "God 
is  light,"  saith  he,  "and  in  Him  is  no  dark- 


!  .ind  absolute  with  respect  to  the  essence  I 
of  Clod.     Surely,  He  cannot  be   fully  or  adequately  apprehended  I 


by  man.  Yet,  He  communicates  Himself.  He  is  revealed  in 
His  works;  in  them  "the  invisible  things"  of  Him  are  clearly 
seen.  His  pure  and  glorious  light  shines;  darkness  confines;  light 
is  diffusive,  without  limit:  by  the  light  emanating  from  Him, 
alone,  is  God  seen  ( I'hilo). 

But  God,  adds  the  apostle,  is  levt.  Love  has  its  source  in 
God.  It  belongs  to  His  essence,  to  His  very  nature.  Like  light 
it  is  diffusive  ;  in  it» self-communication  it  begetl  love.  Love  dis 
closes  to  us  the  personality  of  God.  His  love  meets  with  returns 
from  personal  beings  to  u  horn  it  comes  and  whom  it  enters;  he 
that  loveth  is  born  of  God  and  knoweth  God.  Apart  from  creation 
God  is  love,  and  before  creation  He  had  in  Himself  the  perfect 
>bject  of  love  ;  in  the  unity  of  the  ( )nr  ( lod,  in  the  communion  of 
he  Father  and  the  Son,  and  the  perfect  response  of  love  in  and  by 
he  Holy  Spirit  (the  activity  of  love  is  affirmed  in  Scripture  of  each 
person  of  the  Holy  Trinity),  uniting  both  in  the  society  and  fel 
lowship  of  love. 

Such  love,  manifested   in  the  Gospel,  encourages  us  to  draw 
h  in  confidence  to  Him  who  is  Love,  and  who  roay  be    loved. 
-j    II.  M.I 

\\-iv.  5. 


II'iMIl.Y     I.] 


TIII-;  KI-ISTI.K  or  ST.  JOHN. 


463 


t  nil.*'  And  what  said  he  above? 
"That  ye  may  have  fellowship  with  us,  and 
our  fellowship  may  be  with  Hod  t!ir  Father, 
and  with  His  Son.  Jesus  Christ. "  I'-ut  more 
over,  if  "God  be  light,  and  in  Him  is  no  j 
darkness  at  all,  and  we  must  have  fellowship 
with  Him,"  then  from  us  also  must  the  dark 
ness  be  driven  away,  that  there  may  be  light 
created  in  us,  for  darkness  cannot  have  fellow 
ship  with  light.  To  this  end,  see  what  fol 
lows:  "  If  we  say  that  we  have  fellowship  with 
Him,  and  walk  in  darkness,  we  lie."1  Thou 
hast  also  the  Apostle  Paul  saying,  "  Or  what 
fellowship  hath  light  with  darkness  ? "  *  Thou 
sayest  thou  hast  fellowship  with  God,  and 
thou  walkest  in  darkness;  "and  God  is  light, 
and  in  Him  is  no  darkness  at  all:  "  then  how 
should  there  be  fellowship  between  light  and 
darkness  ?  At  this  point  therefore  a  man 
may  say  to  himself.  What  shall  I  do?  how 
shall  I  be  light  ?  I  live  in  sins  and  iniquities. 
There  steals  upon  him,  as  it  were,  a  despera 
tion  and  sadness.  There  is  no  salvation  save 
in  the  fellowship  of  God.  "God  is  light, 
and  in  Him  is  no  darkness  at  all."  But  sins 
are  darkness,  as  the  Apostle  saith  of  the  devil 
and  his  angels,  that  they  are  "  rulers  of  this 
darkness."3  He  would  not  call  them  rulers 
of  darkness,  save  as  rulers  of  sins,  having 
lordship  over  the  wicked.  Then  what  are  we 
to  do,  my  brethren?  Fellowship4  with  God 
must  be  had,  other  hope  of  life  eternal  is 
none;  now  "God  is  Light,  and  in  Him  is  no 
darkness  at  all:  "  now  iniquities  are  darkness; 
by  iniquities  we  are  pressed  down,  that  we 
cannot  have  fellowship  with  God:  what  hope 
have  we  then  ?  Did  I  not  promise  to  speak 
something  during  these  days,  that  shall  cause 
gladness?  Which  if  I  make  not  good,  this  is 
sadness.  "God  is  Light,  and  in  Him  is  no 
darkness  at  all;"  sins  are  darkness:  what 
shall  become  of  us?  Let  us  hear,  whether 
peradventure  He  will  console,  lift  up,  give 


'  i  John  i.  6.  'i  Cor.  vi.  14.  3  Eph.  vi.  12. 

4  \_Fellmuship.— The  primary  object  of  the  apostle  s  communi 
cation  in  this  epistle  (i  John  i.  O,  is  that  his  readers  may  have 
fellowship  with  the  apostolic  body,  and,  in  connection  with  them, 
fellowship  with  the  Father  and  with  His  Son,  Jesus  Christ. 

St.  John's  message  contemplates  both  a  human  and  a  l>ivine 
fellowship.  The  union  among  believers  is  described  and  empha 
sized,  and  he  points  also  to  the  manifold  blessings  that  flow  from 
thr  Divine  fellowship.  The  fruits  of  this  revelation— of  the  dis 
closures  of  the  love  of  (iod,— the  apostle  intimates  are  not  for 
that  axe  only,  but  for  all  who  should  afterwards  believe  ;  a  thought 
whirh  Augustin  brings  out  in  the  text  by  adducing  the  history  of 
Thomas  i  |ohn  xx.  24-20),  and  the  consolation  administered  to  him 
by  thr  Lord,  with  the  Wider  comfort  for  all  liisdi^ipl,- 
are  they  that  have  not  sr,-n,  and  yet  believe." 

'1  he  lile,  "  even  the  life  eternal,"  is  manifest^!  in  this  joyous 
fellowship,  win,  !.  is  set  forth  by  St.  John  in  different  f,  •• 

;.ro.  al.      "  il<  re  by  we  know  lh.it  we  abide  in  Hun 

and  He  in  us"  1 1  John  i.  •  -theabid- 

1:   "  Hy  this  we  know  that  we  are  in  Him"(ii.  si. 

"  We  know  that  the  Son  o(  God  hath  come,  ami  u,   .ue  in    Hjm  is 

true"(v.  20).  Again,  the  twofold  fellowship  (human  and  I>ivine>, 
is  represented  as  the  abiding  of  ( lod  (or  Christ)  in  man.  "  If  we 
love  one  .,  \moiiK' the  results 

of  this  Divine-human   fellowship,  the  a;  nfidtnce, 

growing />ur,tv  and  /,.:r  (ii.  -j£  ;  iii.  3,  10).  -  J.  H.  M.] 


hope,  that  we  faint  not  by  the  way.  For  we 
are  running,  and  running  to  our  own  country; 
and  it  we  despair  of  attaining,  by  that  very 
despair  we  fail.  Hut  He  whose  will  it  is  that 
we  attain,  that  He  may  keep  us  safe  in  our 
own  land,  feedetli  us  in  the  way.  Hear  we 
then:  "  If  we  say  that  we  have  fellowship  with 
Him  and  walk  in  darkness,  we  lie,  and  do  not 
the  truth."  Let  us  not  say  that  we  have  fel 
lowship  with  Him,  if  we  walk  in  darkness. 
"  If  we  walk  in  the  light,  as  He  is  in  the  light, 
we  have  fellowship  one  with  another."5  Let 
us  walk  in  the  light,  as  He  is  in  the  light, 
that  we  may  be  able  to  have  fellowship  with 
Him.  And  what  are  we  to  do  about  our  sins  ? 
Hear  what  follows,  "And  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  His  Son  shall  purge6  us  from  all  sin."7 
Great  assurance  hath  God  given  !  Well  may 
we  celebrate  the  Passover,  wherein  was  shed 
the  blood  of  the  Lord,  by  which  we  are 
cleansed  "  from  all  sin  ! ''  Let  us  be  assured: 
the  "handwriting  which  was  against  us,"8 
the  bond  of  our  slavery,  the  devil  held,  but 
by  the  blood  of  Christ  it  is  blotted  out. 
"The  blood,"  saith  he,  "of  His  Son  shall 
purge  us  from  all  sin."  What  meaneth, 
"  from  all  sin  "  ?  Mark:  lo  even  now,  in  the 
name  of  Christ  whom  these9  here  have  now 
confessed,  who  are  called  infants,10  have  all 
their  sins  been  cleansed.  They  came  in  old, 
they  went  out  new.  How,  came  in  old,  went 
out  new?  Old  men  they  came  in,  infants 
they  went  out.  For  the  old  life  is  old  age 
with  all  its  dotage,  but  the  new  life  is  the  in 
fancy  of  regeneration.  But  what  are  we  to 
do  ?  The  past  sins  are  pardoned,  not  onlyto 
these  but  to  us;  and  after  the  pardon  and 
abolition  of  all  sins,  by  living  in  this  world  in 
the  midst  of  temptations,  some  haply  have 
been  contracted.  Therefore  what  he  can,  let 
man  do;  let  him  confess  himself  to  be  what 
he  is,  that  he  may  be  cured  by  Him  who 
always  is  what  He  is:  for  He  always  was  and 
is;  we  were  not  and  are. 

6.  For  see  what  He  saith;  "  If  we  say  that 
we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the 
truth  is  not  in  us."11  Consequently,  if  thou 
hast  confessed  thyself  a  sinner,  the  truth  is 
in  thee:  for  the  Truth  itself  is  light.  Thy 
life  hath  not  yet  shone  in  perfect  brightness, 
because  there  are  sins  in  thee;  but  yet  thou 
hast  already  begun  to  be  enlightened,  because 
there  is  in  thee  the  confession  of  sins.  For 
see  what  follows:  "  If  we  confess  our  sins," 
He  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins, 
and  to  purge  us  from  all  iniquity."13  Not 


S  i  John  i.  7.        *  [Gr.  present,  Ko0apt(<i,  cleanseth.] 

...  14. 

9  The  newly  baptized.         '"  Neophytes. 
"  i  Johni.  8.  :.'./.  'i  i  John  i.  9. 


464 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[HOMILY  I. 


only  the  past,  but  haply  if  we  have  contracted 
any  from  this  life;  because  a  man,  so  long  as 
he  bears  the  flesh,  cannot  but  have  some  at 
any  rate  light  sins.  But  these  which  we  call 
light,  do  not  thou  make  light  of.  If  thou 
make  light  of  them  when  thou  weighest  them, 
be  afraid  when  thou  countest  them.  Many 
light  make  one  huge  sin:  many  drops  fill  the 
river;  many  grains  make  the  lump.  And 
what  hope  is  there?  Before  all,  confession: 
lest  any  think  himself  righteous,  and,  before 
the  eyes  of  God  who  seeth  that  which  is, 
man,  that  was  not  and  is,  lift  up  the  neck. 
Before  all,  then,  confession;  then,  love:  for 
of  charity  what  is  said  ?  "  Charity  covereth 
a  multitude  of  sins."  '  Now  let  us  see  whether 
he  commendeth  charity  in  regard  of  the  sins 
which  subsequently  overtake  us:  because 
charity  alone  extinguisheth  sins.  Pride  extin- 
guisheth  charity:  therefore  humility  strength- 
eneth  charity;  charity  extinguisheth  sins. 
Humility  goes  along  with  confession,  the 
humility  by  which  we  confess  ourselves  sin 
ners:  this  is  humility,  not  to  say  it  with  the 
tongue,  as  if  only  to  avoid  arrogancy,  lest  we 
should  displease  men  if  we  should  say  that 
we  are  righteous.  This  do  the  ungodly  and 
insane:  "  I  know  indeed  that  I  am  righteous, 
but  what  shall  I  say  before  men?  If  I  shall 
call  myself  righteous,  who  will  bear  it,  who 
tolerate  ?  let  my  righteousness  be  known  unto 
God:  I  however  will  say  that  I  am  a  sinner, 
but  only  that  I  may  not  be  found  odious  for 
arrogancy."  Tell  men  what  thou  art,  te',1 
God  what  thou  art.  Because  if  thou  tell  not 
God  what  thou  art,  God  condemneth  what  He 
shall  find  in  thee.  Wouklest  thou  not  that 
He  condemn  thee  ?  Condemn  thou.  Would- 
est  thou  that  He  forgive  ?  do  thou  acknowl 
edge,  that  thou  mayest  be  able  to  say  unto 
God,  "  Turn  Thy  face  from  my  sins."2  Say 
also  to  Him  those  words  in  the  same  Psalm, 
"  F"or  I  acknowledge  mine  iniquity."  "If  we 
confess  our  sins,  He  is  faithful  and  just  to 
forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  purge  us  from  all 
iniquity.  If  we  say  that  we  have  not  sinned, 
we  make  Him  a  liar,  and  His  word  is  not  in 
us."3  If  thou  shalt  say,  I  have  not  sinned, 
thou  makest  Him  a  liar,  while  thou  wishest  to 
make  thyself  true.  How  is  it  possible  that 
God  should  be  a  liar,  and  man  true,  when  the 
Scripture  saith  the  contrary,  "  Every  man  a 
liar,  God  alone  true  "  ?4  Consequently.  God 
true  through  Himself,  thou  true  through  God; 
because  through  thyself,  a  liar. 

7.  And  lest  haply  he  should  seem  to  have 
given  impunity  for  sins,  in  that  he  said,  "  He 
is  faithful  and  just  to  cleanse  us  from  all 


iniquity;  "  and  men  henceforth  should  say  to 
themselves,  Let  us  sin,  let  us  do  securely 
what  we  will,  Christ  purgeth  us,  is  faithful 
and  just,  purgeth  us  from  all  iniquity:  He 
taketh  from  thee  an  evil  security,  and  putteth 
in  an  useful  fear.  To  thine  own  hurt  thou 
wouldest  be  secure;  thou  must  be  solicitous. 
For  "  He  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us 
our  sins,"  provided  thou  always  displease 
thyself,  and  be  changing  until  thou  be  per 
fected.  Accordingly,  what  follows?  "My 
little  children,  these  things  I  write  unto  you, 
that  ye  sin  not."5  But  perchance  sin  over 
takes  us  from  our  mortal  life:  what  shall  be 
done  then  ?  What  ?  shall  there  be  now  de 
spair?  Hear:  "And  if  any  man  sin,  we  have 
an  advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ 
the  righteous:  and  He  is  the  propitiator  for 
our  sins."6  He  then  is  the  advocate;  do 
thou  thine  endeavor  not  to  sin:  if  from  the 
infirmity  of  this  life  sin  shall  overtake  thee, 
see  to  it  straightway,  straightway  be  dis 
pleased,  straightway  condemn  it;  and  when 
thou  hast  condemned,  thou  shalt  come  as 
sured  unto  the  Judge.  There  hast  thou  the 
advocate:  fear  not  to  lose  thy  cause  in  thy 
confession.  For  if  oft-times  in  this  life  .1 
man  commits  his  cause  to  an  eloquent  tongue, 
and  is  not  lost;  thou  committest  thyself  to  the 
Word,  and  shalt  thou  be  lost?  Cry,  "We 
have  an  advocate  with  the  Father." 

8.  See  John  himself  observing  humility. 
Assuredly  he  was  a  righteous  and  a  great 
man,  who  from  the  Lord's  bosom  drank  in 
the  secrets  of  His  mysteries;  he,  the  man 
who  by  drinking  from  the  Lord's  bosom  in 
dited7  of  His  Godhead,  "In  the  beginning 
was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God:  " 
he,  being  such  a  man  as  this,  saith  not.  Ye 
have  an  advocate  with  the  Father;  but,  "If 
any  man  sin,  an  advocate,"  saith  he,  "have 
|  we."  He  saith  not,  ye  have;  nor  saith,  ye 
j  have  me;  nor  saith,  ye  have  Christ  Himself: 
but  he  puts  Christ,  not  himself,  and  saithr 
also,  "We  have,"  not,  ye  have.  He  chose 
rather  to  put  himself  in  the  number  of  sinners 
that  he  might  have  Christ  for  his  advocate, 
than  to  put  himself  in  Christ's  stead  as  ad 
vocate,  and  to  be  found  among  the  proud 
that  shall  be  condemned.  Brethren,  Jesus 
Christ  the  righteous,  even  Him  have  we  for 
our  advocate  with  the  Father;  "  He,"  even 
He,  "  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins/'  This 
whoso  hath  held  fast,  hath  made  no  heresy; 
this  whoso  hath  held  fast,  hath  made  no 
schism.  For  whence  came  schisms  ?  When 
men  say,  "we"  are  righteous,  when  men 
say,  "we"  sanctify  the  unclean,  "we" 


i  Pet.  iv.  8. 
1 1  John  i.  9,  10. 


»  Ps.  li.  o.  3. 
4  Rom.  iii.  4. 


II.'MH.Y    I.] 


•mi-;  i.i-isTi.K  or  ST.  JOHN. 


465 


justify  the  ungodly;  "  \\c"  uk,  "  we"  obtain. 
But  what  saith  John?  "And  it  any  man  sin, 
we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father,  |rsns 
C'hrist  the  n^iitcous."  Hut  some  man  will 
sav:  tiien  do  tin-  saints  not  ask  for  us?  Then 
do  bishops  and  rulers  not  ask  for  the  people? 
\  ea,  but  mark  the  Scriptures,  and  see  that 
rulers  also  commend  themselves  to  the  prayers 
of  the  people.  Thus  the  apostle  saith  to  the 
congregation,  "  Praying  withal  for  us  also."' 
The  apostle  prayeth  for  the  people,  the 
people  prayeth  for  the  apostle.  We  pray  for 
you,  brethren:  but  do  ye  also  pray  for  us. 
Let  all  the  members  pray  one  for  another; 
let  the  Head  intercede  for  all.  Therefore  it 
is  no  marvel  that  he  here  goes  on  and  shuts 
the  mouths  of  them  that  divide  the  Church 
of  God.  For  he  that  has  said,  "  We  have 
Jesus  Christ  the  righteous,  and  He  is  the 
propitiation  for  our  sins:  "  having  an  eye  to 
those  who  would  divide  themselves,  and 
would  say,  "Lo,  here  is  Christ,  lo,  there;"2  and 
would  show  Him  in  a  part  who  bought  the 
whole  and  possesses  the  whole,  he  forthwith 
goes  on  to  say,  '*  Not  our  sins  only,  but  also 
the  sins  of  the  whole  world.''  What  is  this, 
brethren?  Certainly  *'we  have  found  it  in 
the  fields  of  the  woods,"  3  we  have  found  the 
Church  in  all  nations.  Behold,  Christ  "  is 
the  propitiation  for  our  sins;  not  ours  only, 
but  also  the  sins  of  the  whole  world."  Be 
hold,  thoti  hast  the  Church  throughout  the 
whole  world;  do  not  follow  false  justifiers 
who  in  truth  are  cutters  off.  Be  thou  in  that 
mountain  which  hath  filled  the  whole  earth: 
because  "  Christ  is  the  propitiation  for  our 
sins;  not  only  ours,  but  also  the  sins  of  the 
whole  world,"  which  He  hath  bought  with 
His  blood. 

9.  "And  in  this,"  saith  he,  "  we  do  know 
Him,4  if  we  keep  His  commandments."5 
What  commandments?  "He  that  saith,  I 
know  Him,  and  keepeth  not  His  command 
ments,  is  a  liar,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  him." 
But  still  thou  askest,  What  commandments  ? 
"  But  whoso,"  saith  he,  "  keepeth  His  word, 
in  him  verily  is  the  love  of  God  perfected."  6 
Let  us  see  whether  this  same  commandment 
be  not  called  love,  l-'or  we  were  asking, 
what  commandments?  and  he  saith,  "But 
whoso  keepeth  His  word,  in  him  verily  is  the 
love  of  God  perfected."  Mark  the  Go^n-1, 
whether  this  be  not  tiie  commandment:  "A 
new  commandment,"  saith  the  Lord. 
I  unto  you,  that  ye  love  one  another.7— In 


know  that  we  are  in  Him,  it    in    Him 
\\e    be    perfected."1       1'erfected    in    love,   he 
i  calls  them:    what  is  pertcctioii   of  love-       I    > 
love    even    enemies,    and    love   them    for   this 
end.  that  they  may  be  brethren.     For  not  a 
carnal  love  ought  ours  to  be.      To  wish  a  man 
temporal  weal,  is  good;    but  though  that  fail, 
i  let  the  soul  be  safe.     Dost  thou  wish  life  to 
|  any  that   is   thy   friend  ?     Thou  doest  well. 
I  Dost  thou  rejoice  at  the  death  of  thine  enemy  ? 
I  Thou  doest  ill.     But  haply  both  to  thy  friend 
the  life  thou  wishest  him  is  not  for  his  good, 
•  and  to  thine  enemy  the  death  thou  rejoicest 
at  hath  been  for  his  good.     It   is  uncertain 
I  whether  this  present  life  be  profitable  to  any 
man  or  unprofitable:  but  the  life  which  is  with 
God    without   doubt   is   profitable.      So   love 
thine  enemies  as  to  wish  them  to  become  thy 
brethren;   so  love  thine  enemies  as  that  they 
j  may  be  called  into  thy  fellowship.     For  so 
!  loved   He  who,  hanging  on  the  cross,  said, 
"  Father,    forgive   them,  for  they  know  not 
what  they  do."9      For  lie  did  not  say,  Father 
let  them  live  long,  me  indeed   they  kill,  but 
let   them    live.      He    was    casting    out  from 
them  the  death  which  is  for  ever  and  ever,  by 
His  most  merciful  prayer,  and  by  His  most 
surpassing  might.      Many  of  them  believed, 
,  and  the  shedding  of  the  blood  of  Christ  was 
:  forgiven  them.     At  first  they  shed   it   while 
j  they  raged;   now  they  drank  it  while  they  be 
lieved.     "  In  this  we   know  that  we  are   in 
j  Him,    if    in    Him    we    he    made    perfect." 
Touching  the  very  perfection  of  love  of  ene- 
]  mies,  the  Lord  admonishing,  saith,  "  Be  ye 
!  therefore  perfect,  as  your  Heavenly  Father 
!  is  perfect.10     He,"  therefore,  "  that  saith  he 
abideth    in   Him,   ought    himself   also  so  to 
walk,  even  as  He  walked."  "     How,  brethren  ? 
what  doth  he  advise  us  ?     "  He  that  saith  he 
abideth    in    Him,"    i.e.,    in    Christ,    "ought 
himself  also  so  to  walk  even  as  He  walked." 
Haply  the  advice  is  this,  that  we  should  walk 
on  the  sea  ?     That  be  far  from  us  !     It  is  this 
then,  that  we  walk  in  the  way  of  righteous- 
j  ness.     In  what  way  ?     I  have  already  men 
tioned  it.     He  was  fixed  upon  the  cross,  and 
i  yet  was  He  walking  in  this  very  way:    this 
!  way  is  the  way  of  charity,  "  Father,  forgive 
them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do."     If, 
therefore,  thou  have  learned  to  pray  for  thine 
enemy,  thou  walkest  in  the  way  of  the   Lord. 
10.    "  Dearly  beloved.  I  write   unto  you  no 
new  commandment,   but   the   old   command 
ment   which  ye   had    from   the   beginning."15 
What  commandment  calls  he  "  old  ?     Which 


4/«    ,'„• 

TOUT<|>  ytru><rKo/A<f  on  tyviaxc 
quoniaii 

5  i  John  ii.  .;..,. 


\xii.fi.  ilohnii.  5.     Si  in  //jt,>  /Vr/,-, -//  /«,  >i,,n,s.     AunuMm  and 

lint    all  t!>  n   M-V:  .ID  .ulilitiun  unknown  to  ihc  Greek  and 

9v,  iav.     \'U\K.  />;  ^  of  the  Latin. 

9  Luke  .xxiii.   ;4.  »°  Matt.  v.  48. 

i.  5.  •  John  xiii.  34.  "  i  John  ii.  6.  «  i  John  ii.  7. 


466 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUS  I  IN. 


[HOMILY  I- 


ye  had,"  saith  he,  "  from  the  beginning. 
Old  "  then,  in  this  regard,  that  ye  have  al 
ready  heard  it:  otherwise  he  will  contradict 
the  Lord,  where  He  saith,  "A  new  command 
ment  give  I  unto  you,  that  ye  love  one  an 
other."  '  But  why  an  "  old  "  commandment  ? 
Not  as  pertaining  to  the  old  man.  But  why  ? 
"Which  ye  had  from  the  beginning.  The 
old  commandment  is  the  word  which  ye  have 
heard."  Old  then,  in  this  regard,  that  ye 
have  already  heard  it.  And  the  selfsame  he 
showeth  to  be  new,  saying,  "Again,  a  new 
commandment  write  I  unto  you."  2  Not  an 
other,  but  the  selfsame  which  he  hath  called 
old,  the  same  is  also  new.  Why?  "Which 
thing  is  true  in  Him  and  in  you."  Why  old, 
ye  have  already  heard:  i.e.,  because  ye  knew 
it  already.  But  why  new?  "Because  the 
darkness  is  past,  and  the  true  light  now  shin- 
eth."  Lo,  whence  it  is  new:  because  the 
darkness  pertains  to  the  old  man,  but  the 
light  to  the  new  man.  What  saith  the  Apos 
tle  Paul?  "  Put  ye  off  the  old  man,  and  put 
ye  on  the  new."3  And  again  what  saith  he? 
"  Ye  were  sometime  darkness,  but  now  light 
in  the  Lord."  4 

ii.  "  He  that  saith  he  is  in  the  light" — 
now  he  is  making  all  clear  that  he  has  been 
saying — "  he  that  saith  he  is  in  the  light,  and 
hateth  his  brother,  is  in  darkness  even  until 
now."  5  What !  my  brethren,  how  long  shall 
we  say  to  you,  "  Love  your  enemies  "  ? 6  See 
whether,  what  is  worse,  ye  do  not  hate  your 
brethren.  If  ye  loved  only  your  brethren, 
ye  would  be  not  yet  perfect:  but  if  ye  hate7 
your  brethren,  what  are  ye,  where  are  ye  ? 
Let  each  look  to  his  own  heart:  let  him  not 
keep  hatred  against  his  brother  for  any  hard 
word;  on  account  of  earthly  contention  let 
him  not  become  earth.  For  whoso  hates  his 
brother,  let  him  not  say  that  he  walks  in  the 
light.  "  He  that  saith  he  is  in  the  light,  and 
hateth  his  brother,  is  in  darkness  even  until 
now."  Thus,  some  man  who  was  a  pagan 
has  become  a  Christian;  mark  well:  behold 
he  was  in  darkness,  while  he  was  a  pagan: 
now  is  he  made  henceforth  a  Christian; 
thanks  be  to  God,  say  all  joyfully;  the  apos 
tle  is  read,  where  he  saith  joyfully,  "  For  ye 
were  sometime  darkness,  but  now  light  in 
the  Lord."8  Once  he  worshipped  idols,  now 
he  worships  God;  once  he  worshipped  the 
things  he  made,  now  he  worships  Him  that 
made  him.  He  is  changed:  thanks  be  to 
God,  say  all  Christians  with  joyful  greeting. 


'  John  xiii.  34.  *i  Johnii.  8.  ui.  9,  10. 

4  V.ph.  v.  8.  5  i   John  ii.  9.  '   M.itt.  v.  44. 

7  .S';  ;iutf»t  pditis.     So  ed.  Krasm.  and  four  MSS.  cited  in  ed. 
Louvain,  which  however  has  in  the  text  odrritis.     One  M*.  cited 
ibid,  has,  .S7  union  o,iistis.     Kdd.  I.ugd.  and  Ven.  have  si  autcm 
auditis,  "  if  ye  are  called  brethren."     Four  Oxf.  MSS.  oditis. 

8  Eph.  v.  8. 


\Vhy  ?  Because  henceforth  he  is  one  that 
adores  the  Father  and  the  Son  and  the  Holy 
Ghost;  one  that  detests  demons  and  idols. 
Yet  still  is  John  solicitous  about  our  convert: 
while  many  greet  him  with  joy,  by  him  he  is 
still  looked  upon  with  apprehension.  Breth 
ren,  let  us  gladly  welcome  a  mother's  solici 
tude.  Not  without  cause  is  the  mother  solici 
tous  about  us  when  others  rejoice:  by  the 
mother,  I  mean  charity:  for  she  dwelt  in  the 
heart  of  John,  when  he  spake  these  words. 
Wherefore,  but  because  there  is  something  he 
fears  in  us,  even  when  men  now  hail  us  with 
joy  ?  What  is  it  that  he  fears  ?  "  He  that 
saith  he  is  in  the  light" — What  is  this?  He 
that  saith  now  he  is  a  Christian, — "  and  hateth 
his  brother,  is  in  darkness  even  until  now." 
Which  there  is  no  need  to  expound:  but  to 
be  glad  of  it,  if  it  be  not  so,  or  to  bewail  it,  if 
it  be. 

12.  "He  that  loveth  his  brother  abideth 
(waiicf)  in  the  light,  and  there  is  none  occa 
sion  of  stumbling  in  him."9 — I  beseech  you 
by  Christ:  God  is  feeding  us,  we  are  about 
to  refresh  our  bodies  in  the  name  of  Christ; 
they  both  are  in  some  good  measure  refreshed, 
and  are  to  be  refreshed:  let  the  mind  be  fed. 
Not  that  I  am  going  to  speak  for  a  long  time, 
do  I  say  this;  for  behold,  the  lesson  is  now 
coming  to  an  end:  but  lest  haply  of  weariness 
we  should  hear  less  attentively  than  we  ought 
that  which  is  most  necessary. — "  He  that 
loveth  his  brother  abideth  in  the  light,  and 
there  is  no  scandal,"  or  "  none  occasion  of 
stumbling,  in  him."  Who  are  they  that  take 
scandal  or  make  scandal  ?  They  that  are  of 
fended  in  Christ,  and  in  the  Church.  They 
that  are  offended  in  Christ,  are  as  if  burnt  by 
the  sun,  those  in  the  Church  as  by  the  moon. 
But  the  Psalm  saith,  "  The  sun  shall  not  burn 
thee  by  day,  neither  the  moon  by  night: I0  i.e., 
if  thou  hold  fast  charity,  neither  in  Christ  ^ 
shalt  thou  have  occasion  of  falling,  nor  in  the  , 
Church;  neither  Christ  shalt  thou  forsake, 
nor  the  Church.  For  he  that  forsakes  the 
Church,  how  is  he  in  Christ  who  is  not  in  the 
members  of  Christ  ?  How  is  he  in  Christ  who 
is  not  in  the  body  of  Christ  ?  Those  therefore 
take  scandal,  or,  occasion  of  falling,  who  for 
sake  Christ  or  the  Church.  Whence  do  we 
understand  that  the  Psalm  in  saying,  "  By 
day  shall  the  sun  not  burn  thee,  nor  the  moon 
by  night,"  saith  it  of  this,  that  the  burning 
means  scandal,  or  occasion  of  stumbling  ? 
In  the  first  place  mark  the  similitude  itself. 
Just  as  the  person  whom  something  is  burn 
ing  saith,  I  cannot  bear  it,  I  cannot  away 
with  it,  and  draws  back;  so  those  persons 


John  ii.  10. 


lluMM.V      I.  | 


TIIK   EPISTLE  ()!••  ST.   J<>H\. 


467 


who  cannot   bear  some  tilings  in  the  Ciiurcii. 
and    withdraw    thems.  :     from    the 

name  oT  Christ  or  from  the  Church,  are  tak 
ing  scandal.  For  see  lio\v  those  took  scandal 
Bl  from  the  sun,  those  carua!  ones  to  whom 
•  preached  ot  His  llesli.  saying,  "He 
that  eatcth  not  the  flesh  of  tin-  Sou  of  Man 
and  drinketh  His  blood,  shall  have  no  life  in 
him."'  Some  seventy  persons3  said,  "This 
is  an  hard  saying,"  and  went  back  from  Him, 
and  there  remained  the  twelve.  All  those 
the  sun  burnt,  and  they  went  back,  not  being 
able  to  bear  the  force  of  the  Word.  There 
remained  therefore  the  twelve.  And  lest 
haply  men  should  imagine  that  they  confer  a 
benefit  upon  Christ  by  believing  on  Christ, 
and  not  that  the  benefit  is  conferred  by  Him 
upon  them;  when  the  twelve  were  left,  the 
Lord  said  to  them,  "Will  ye  also  go?" 
That  ye  may  know  that  I  am  necessary  to 
you,  not  ye  to  me.  But  those  whom  the  sun 
had  not  burnt,  answered  by  the  voice  of 
Peter:  "  Lord,  Thou  hast  the  word  3  of  eter 
nal  life;  whither  shall  we  go  ?"  But  who  are 
they  that  the  Church  as  the  moon  burneth 
by  night  ?  They  that  have  made  schisms. 
Hear  the  very  word  used  in  the  apostle: 
"Who  is  offended,  and  I  burn  not?"4  In 
what  sense  then  is  it,  that  there  is  no  scandal 
or  occasion  of  stumbling  in  him  that  loveth 
his  brother?  Because  he  that  loveth  his 
brother,  beareth  all  things  for  unity's  sake; 
because  it  is  in  the  unity  of  charity  that 
brotherly  love  exists.  Some  one,  I  know  not 
who,  offendeth  thee:  whether  it  be  a  bad 
man,  or  as  thou  supposest  a  bad  man,  or  as 
thou  pretendest  a  bad  man:  and  dost  thou 
desert  so  many  good  men  ?  What  sort  of 
brotherly  love  is  that  which  hath  appeared 
in  these5  persons?  While  they  accuse  the 
Africans,  they  have  deserted  the  whole  world  ! 
What,  were  there  no  saints  in  the  whole 
world  ?  Or  was  it  possible  they  should  be 
condemned  by  you  unheard  ?  But  oh  !  if  ye 
loved  your  brethren,  there  would  be  none 
occasion  of  stumbling  in  you.  Hear  thou  the 
Psalm,  what  it  saith:  "  Great  peace  have  they 


«  John  vi.  54-69. 


Kpist.  173,  sec.  30,  Augustin  writes,  Attendis  eitim  et 
strf  rr/'ftis,  sicut  audio,  quod  in  F.Tiingflio  script  nut  t'st  rtctt- 

tisse  a  Dentine  srf<tu<\ginta  dist  i/>ut,-i i-trtfrisifuf  <t'u<></,-- 

fim  I/HI  >-,->n,ins,-r,mt  fuissr  res/vnsutn,  A'uinyuii/  ft  -'<>s  Tiiltis 
abire  .'     Thr  notion  entertained  by  some  of  the  Ancients  and,  as 
it  seems,  l>y  St.  Auvrustin,  that  tin-  i!Uci|ilrs  WIM  t.»ik 
our    Lord'-  di-»-ourse   in   thr   synai:<>v:ue  of    Capernaum   wen-  th<- 
Seventy,   may  have   been   denrad   from   the    Hypotyp   - 
Cl.-ni.    V  •  r  one  of  the  Clementines. 

(Thus  S.  l-'.piphaniu*  Htrr.  ji,  p.  186,  188.  relates  from  some  such 
authority,  that  tin-  Kv.nmrliMs  Mark  ami  I.uk<-  wi-n-  of  the  num 
ber  of  the  Seventy,  anil  of  tho-(-  who  w.-rr  ..tfrtid'-'l  ;  and  that 
they  were  reclaimed  to  the  faith,  the  one  by  St.  Peter,  the  other 
l>v  St.  1'aul.)  I'.ut  th<-  notion,  from  whatever  quarter  it  ram.-. 

seems  to  have  no  foundation  In  Scripture,  dnc«  it  !•  sufBdeatljr 
evident  that  the  mission  of  the  Seventy,  I. tiki-  x.  i,  was  subsequent 
to  the  first  miracle  of  feeding.  John  vi.;  I.uke  i 

3  1'trtniH.  4  a  Cor.  xi.  39.  aists. 


that  love  Tny  law,  and   there  is  to  them  none 

00    of    stumblin. 

saitii  there  is  tor  them  that  love  the  i;i\v  of 
C.od,  and  that  is  why  there  is  to  them  none 
occasion  of  stumbling.  Those  then  who  take 
scandal,  or,  occasion  of  stumbling,  destroy 
And  of  whom  saith  he  that  they  take 
not  and  make  not  occasion  of  stumbling? 
They  that  love  God's  law.  Consequently 
they  are  in  charity.  But  some  man  will  say, 
"  He  said  it  of  them  that  love  God's  law,  not 
of  the  brethren."  Hear  thou  what  the  Lord 
saith:  "A  new  commandment  give  I  unto 
you,  that  ye  love  one  another."7  What  is 
the  Law  but  commandment  ?  Moreover, 
how  is  it  they  do  not  take  occasion  of  stum 
bling,  but  because  they  forbear  one  another? 
As  Paul  saith,'"  Forbearing  one  another  in 
love,  studying  to  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit 
in  the  bond  of  peace."8  And  to  show  that 
this  is  the  law  of  Christ,  hear  the  same 
apostle  commending  this  very  law.  "  Bear 
ye  one  another's  burdens,"  saith  he,  "and 
so  shall  ye  fulfill  the  law  of  Christ."  9 

12.  "  For  he  that  hateth  his  brother  is  in 
darkness,  and  walketh  in  darkness,  and 
knoweth  not  whither  he  goeth."  I0  A  great 
thing,  my  brethren:  mark  it,  we  beseech 
you.  "  He  that  hateth  his  brother  walketh 
in  darkness,  and  knoweth  not  whither  he  go 
eth,  because  the  darkness  hath  blinded  his 
eyes."  What  so  blind  as  these  who  hate 
their  brethren  ?  For  that  ye  may  know  that 
they  are  blind,  .they  have  stumbled  at  a 
Mountain.  I  say  the  same  things  often,  that 
they  may  not  slip  out  of  your  memory.  The 
Stone  which  was  "  cut  out  of  the  Mountain 
without  hands,"  is  it  not  Christ,  who  came  of 
the  kingdom  of  the  Jews,  without  the  work 
of  man  ? "  Has  not  that  Stone  broken  in 
pieces  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth,  that  is. 
all  the  dominations  of  idols  and  demons? 
Has  not  that  Stone  grown,  and  become  a 
great  mountain,  and  filled  the  whole  earth  ? 
Do  we  point  with  the  finger  to  this  Mountain 
in  like  manner  as  the  moon  on  its  third  day  " 
is  pointed  out  to  men  ?  For  example,  when 
they  wish  people  to  see  the  new  moon,  they 
say,  Lo,  the  moon  !  lo,  where  it  is  !  and  if 
there  he  some  there  who  are  not  sharp- 
sighted,  and  say,  Where  ?  then  the  finger  is 
put  forth  that  they  may  see  it.  Sometimes 
when  they  are  ashamed  to  be  thought  blind, 


MX.    165. 

•'  Lai.  vi.  ... 


Kph.  iv.  ,,  3. 


-  John  jciii.  34. 
'  '  i    John  ii.  ii. 
"  .%«/>„,  Horn,  in  Ev.  iv."4  ;   Dan.  ii    14.  35. 

'-'  I.una  t,Tti,i  :  i.e.  the  moon  at    its  tir-t   appearance:   for  the 
usually  took    pl.t.r,,n   the  third 

d.iy  atti-r  conjunction.     See  the  passages  cited    from    ('.eminus   in 

.    in   Mr. 

-   nisstrtattons  on  the  Harmony  of  the  Gosftli,  vol.  i. 
p.  323,  note. 


468 


THK   WORKS  <>!•    ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[H..MII.Y    II. 


they  say  they  have  seen  what  they  have  not 
seen.  Do  we  in  this  way  point  out  the 
Church,  my  brethren  ?  Is  it  not  open  ?  Is 
it  not  manifest  ?  Has  it  not  possessed  all 
nations  ?  Is  not  that  fulfilled  which  so  many 
years  before  was  promised  to  Abraham,  that 
in  his  seed  should  .ill  nations  be  blessed  ? '  It 
was  promised  to  one  believer,  and  the  world 
is  filled  with  thousands  of  believers.  Behold 
here  the  mountain  filling  the  whole  face  of 
the  earth  !  Behold  the  city  of  which  it  is 
said,  "  A  city  set  upon  a  mountain  cannot  be 
hid  !  "  *  But  those  stumble  at  the  mountain, 
and  when  it  is  said  to  them,  Go  up;  "  There 
is  no  mountain,"  say  they,  and  dash  their 
heads  against  it  sooner  than  seek  a  habita 
tion  there.  Esaias  was  read  yesterday;  who 
soever  of  you  was  awake  not  with  his  eyes 
only  but  with  his  ear,  and  not  the  ear  of  the 
body  but  the  ear  of  the  heart,  noted  this; 
"  In  the  last  days  shall  the  mountain  of  the 
house  of  the  Lord  be  manifest,  prepared 
upon  the  top  of  the  mountains.''3  What  so 
manifest  as  a  mountain  ?  But  there  are  even 
mountains  unknown,  because  they  are  situ 
ated  in  one  part  of  the  earth.  Which  of  you 


;  Gen.  xxii.  it 


3  Is. 


knows  Mount  Olympus?  Just  as  the  people 
who  dwell  there  do  not  know  our  Giddaba. 
These  mountains  are  in  different  parts  of  the 
earth.  But  not  so  that  Mountain,  for  it  hath 
filled  the  whole  face  of  the  earth,  and  of  it  is 
said,  "  Prepared  upon  the  top  of  the  moun 
tains."  It  is  a  Mountain  above  the  tops  of 
all  mountains.  "And,"  saith  he,  ''to  it 
shall  be  gathered  all  nations."  Who  can  fail 
to  be  aware  of  this  Mountain?  Who  breaks 
his  head  by  stumbling  against  it  ?  Who  is 
ignorant  of  the  city  set  upon  a  mountain  ? 
But  marvel  not  that  it  is  unknown  by  these 
who  hate  the  brethren,  because  they  walk  in 
darkness  and  know  not  whither  they  go,  be 
cause  the  darkness  hath  blinded  their  eyes. 
They  do  not  see  the  Mountain;  I  would  not 
have  thee  marvel;  they  have  no  eyes.  How 
is  it  they  have  no  eyes  ?  Because  the  dark 
ness  hath  blinded  them.  How  do  we  prove 
this  ?  Because  they  hate  the  brethren,  in 
that,  while  they  are  offended  at  Africans, 
they  separate  themselves  from  the  whole 
earth:  in  that  they  do  not  tolerate  for  the 
peace  of  Christ  those  whom  they  defame, 
and  do  tolerate  for  the  sake  of  Donatus4 
those  whom  they  condemn. 


'  See  on  Ps.  xxxvii.  Ser.  2 


HOMILY   II. 

i   JOHN  II.  12-17. 

"  I  write  unto  you,  little  children,  because  your  sins  are  forgiven  through  His  name.  I 
write  unto  you,  fathers,  because  ye  have  known  Him  that  is  from  the  beginning.  I 
write  unto  you,  young  men,  because  ye  have  overcome  the  wicked  one.  I  write  unto  you, 
children,  because  ye  have  known  the  Father.  I  write1  unto  you,  fathers,  because  ye  have 
known  Him  that  is  from  the  beginning.  I  write  unto  you,  young  men,  because  ye  are 
strong,  and  the  word  of  God  abideth  in  you,  and  ye  have  overcome  the  wicked  one.  Love 
not  the  world,  neither  the  things  that  are  in  the  world.  If  any  man  love  the  world,  the 
love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him.  For  all  that  is  in  the  world,  is  the  lust  of  the  flesh, 
and  the  lust  of  the  eyes,  and  the  pride  of  life,  which  is  not  of  the  Father,  but  is  of  the 
world.  And  the  world  passeth  away,  and  the  lust  thereof:  but  he  that  doeth  the  will 
of  God  abideth  for  ever  (even  as  God  also  abideth  for  ever). 


i.  ALL  things  that  are  read  from  the  Holy 
Scriptures  in  order  to  our  instruction  and  sal 
vation,  it  behoves  us  to  hear  with  earnest 
heed.  Yet  most  of  all  must  those  things  be 
commended  to  our  memory,  which  are  of 
most  force  against  heretics;  whose  insidious 


designs  cease  not  to  circumvent  all  that  are 
weaker  and  more  negligent.  Remember  that 
our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  both  died 
for  us.  and  rose  again;  died,  to  wit,  for  our 
offenses,  rose  again  for  our  justification.2 
Kven  as  ye  have  just  heard  concerning  the 


[Have  written,  A.  V.] 


II. .MM  V     II. 


I  HI.   EPIS  ill.'  'I-   BT,  JOHN. 


469 


two  disciples  whom.  He  met  with   in  tin-  way, 
how  "  their  eyes  were  holden  that  they  should 


it  l>rho\vd  Christ  to  suffer,  and  that  all  things 
sliould  be  fulfilled  which  were  written  of  Hun 


••  He  opened  to  them  the  Scriptures,  begin 
ning  at  Moses,"  and  going  through  all  the 
prophets,  showing  them  that  all  He  had  suf- 
lercd  had  been  foretold,  lest  they  should  be 
more  staggered  if  the  Lord  should  rise  again, 
and  the  more  fail  to  believe  Him,  if  these 
things  had  not  been  told  before  concerning 
Him.  For  the  firmness  of  faith  is  in  this, 
that  all  things  which  came  to  pass  in  Christ 


not  know  Hun:"'  and  He  found  them  de- '  in  the  Law  of  Moses,  and  the  Prophets,  and 
•pairing  Of  the  redemption  that  WM  in  Christ,  the  Psalms.  II.-  embraced  in  His  discourse 
and  deeming  that  now  He  had  suffered  and  the  whole  ancient  text  of  the  Scriptures.  All 
was  dead  as  a  man,  not  accounting  that  as  that  there  is  of  those  former  Scriptures  tells 
Son  o!  ilod  He  ever  hveth;  and  deeming  too  of  Christ;  but  only  if  it  find  ears.  He  also 
that  He  was  so  dead  in  the  flesh  as  not  to  "  opened  their  understanding  that  they  might 
come  to  life  again,  but  just  as  one  of  the  J  understand  the  Scriptures. "  Whence  we  also 
prophets:  as  those  of  you  who  were  attentive!  must  pray  for  this,  that  He  would  open  our 
have  just  now  heard  their  own  words.  Then  understanding. 

2.  But  what  did  the  Lord  show  written  of 
Him  in  the  Law  of  Moses,  and  the  Prophets, 
and  the  Psalms?  What  did  He  show  ?  Let 
Himself  say.  The  evangelist  has  put  this 
briefly,  that  we  might  know  what  in  all  that 
great  compass  of  the  Scriptures  we  ought  to 
believe  and  to  understand.  Certainly  there 
are  many  pages,  and  many  books;  the  con 
tents  of  them  all  is  this  which  the  Lord  briefly 
spake  to  His  disciples.  What  is  this?  That 
"  it  behoved  Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise  again 
the  third  day."  Thou  hast  it  now  concerning 
the  Bridegroom,  that  "  it  behoved  Christ  to 
suffer,  and  to  rise  again:  "  the  Bridegroom 
has  been  set  forth  to  us.  Concerning  the 
Bride,  let  us  see  what  He  saith;  that  thou, 
when  thou  knowest  the  Bridegroom  and  the 
Bride,  mayest  not  without  reason  come  to  the 
marriage.  For  every  celebration  is  a  celebra 
tion  of  marriage:  the  Church's  nuptials  are 
celebrated.  The  King's  Son  is  about  to 
marry  a  wife,  and  that  King's  Son  is  Him 
self  a  King:  and  the  guests  frequenting  the 
marriage  are  themselves  the  Bride.  Not,  as 
in  a  carnal  marriage,  some  are  guests,  and 
another  is  she  that  is  married;  in  the  Church 
they  that  come  as  guests,  if  they  come  to 
good  purpose,  become  the  Bride.  For  all  the 


The   disciples,    then,    knew 
in  the  breaking  of  bread." 


were    foretold. 
Him  not,  save 

And  truly  he  that  eateth  and  drinketh  not 
judgment  to  himself  in  the  breaking  of  bread 
doth  know  Christ.1  Afterward  also  those 
eleven  "thought  they  saw  a  spirit."  He 
gave  Himself  to  be  handled  by  them,  who 
also  gave  Himself  to  be  crucified;  to  be  cru 
cified  by  enemies,  to  be  handled  by  friends: 
yet  the  Physician  of  all,  both  of  the  ungodli 
ness  of  those,  and  of  the  unbelief  of  these. 
For  ye  heard  when  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
were  read,  how  many  thousands  of  Christ's 
slayers  believed.3  If  those  believed  afterwards 
who  had  killed,  should  not  those  believe  who 
for  a  little  while  doubted  ?  And  yet  even  in 
regard  of  them,  (a  thing  which  ye  ougnt  es 
pecially  to  observe,  and  to  commit  to  your 
memory,  because  that  which  shall  make  us 


strong  against  insidious  errors,  God  has  been  Church  is  Christ's  Bride,  of  which  the  begin- 
pleased  to  put  in  the  Scriptures,  against  which  '  ning  and  first  fruits  is  the  flesh  of  Christ: 
no  man  dares  to  speak,  who  in  any  sort  wishes  j  there  was  the  Bride  joined  to  the  Bridegroom 
to  seem  a  Christian),  when  He  had  given  I  in  the  flesh.  With  good  reason  when  He 
Himself  to  be  handled  by  them,  that  did  not  j  would  betoken  that  same  flesh,  He  brake 
suffice  Him,  but  He  would  also  confirm  by  bread,  and  with  good  reason  "  in  the  break- 
means  of  the  Scriptures  the  heart  of  them  ing  of  bread,"  the  eyes  "of  the  disciples 
that  believe:  for  He  looked  forward  to  us  j  were  opened,  and  they  knew  Him."  Well 
who  should  be  afterwards;  seeing  that  in  Him  then,  what  did  tlie  Lord  say  was  written  of 
we  have-  nothing  that  we  can  handle,  but  have-  Him  in  the  Law  and  Prophets  and  Psalms? 
that  which  we  may  read.  For  if  those  be-  i  That  "it  behoved  Christ  to  suffer."  Had 
lieved  only  because  they  held  and  handled,  I  He  not  added,  "and  to  rise  again,"  well 
what  shall  we  do  ?  Now,  Christ  is  ascended  might  those  mourn  whose  eyes  were  holden; 
into  heaven;  He  is  not  to  come  save  at  the  but  "to  rise  again"  is  also  foretold.  And 
end,  to  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead,  wherefore  this?  Why  did  it  behove  Christ 
Whereby  shall  we  believe,  but  by  that  where- j  to  suffer  and  to  rise  again?  Because  of  that 
by  it  was  His  will  that  even  those  who  handled  Psalm  which  we  especially  commended  to 
Him  Should  be  confirmed?  For  He  opened  vour  attention  on  the  fourth  day,  the  first 
to  them  the  Scriptures  and  showed  them  that  station,  of  last  week.4  Why  did  it  behove 


1  Luke  xxiv.  13-28. 


1  i  Cor.  xi.  29.  3  Acts  ii.  41. 


l  Tcrttill.  1/f/r-jun.,  sec.  14  ;  i/«-  i  '• 


4/o 


Mil;  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[H..MH.V  II. 


Christ  to  suffer  and  to  rise  again  ?  For  this 
reason:  "All  the  ends  of  the  earth  shall  be 
reminded  and  converted  unto  the  Lord,  and 
all  the  kindreds  of  the  nations  shall  worship 
before  Him."  '  For  that  ye  may  know  that 
it  behoved  Christ  to  suffer  and  to  rise  again; 
in  this  place  also  what  hath  He  added,  that 
after  setting  forth  the  Bridegroom  He  might 
also  set  forth  the  Bride?  "And  that  there 
be  preached,"  saith  He,  "  in  His  name,  re 
pentance  and  remission  of  sins  throughout  all 
nations,  beginning  at  Jerusalem."  Ye  have 
heard,  brethren;  hold  it  fast.  Let  no  man 
doubt  concerning  the  Church,  that  it  is 
"  throughout  all  nations:"  let  no  man  doubt 
that  it  began  at  Jerusalem,  and  hath  filled  all 
nations.  We  know  the  field  where  the  Vine 
is  planted:  but  when  it  is  grown  we  know  it 
not,  because  it  has  taken  up  the  whole. 
Whence  did  it  begin?  "At  Jerusalem." 
Whither  has  it  come  ?  To  "  all  nations."  A 
few  remain:  it  shall  possess  all.  In  the  mean 
time,  while  it  is  taking  possession  of  all,  it 
has  seemed  good  to  the  Husbandman  to  cut 
off  some  unprofitable  branches,  and  they  have 
made  heresies  and  schisms.  Let  not  the 
branches  that  are  cut  off  induce  you  to  be  cut 
off:  rather  exhort  ye  them  that  are  cut  off 
that  they  be  graffed  in  again.  It  is  manifest 
that  Christ  hath  suffered,  is  risen  again,  and 
is  ascended  into  heaven:  made  manifest  also 
is  the  Church,  because  there  is  "  preached  in 
His  name  repentance  and  remission  of  sins 
throughout  all  nations."  Whence  did  it 
begin?  "Beginning  at  Jerusalem."  The 
man  hears  this;  foolish  and  vain,  and  (how 
shall  I  express  it  ?)  worse  than  blind  !  so  great 
a  mountain,  and  he  does  not  see  it;  a  candle 
set  upon  a  candlestick,  and  he  shuts  his  eyes 
against  it ! 

3.  When  we  say  to  them,  If  ye  be  Catholic 
Christians,  communicate  with  that  Church 
from  which  the  Gospel  is  spread  abroad  over 
the  whole  earth:  communicate  with  that 
Jerusalem:2  when  this  we  say  to  them,  they 
make  answer  to  us,  we  do  not  communicate 
with  that  city  where  our  King  was  slain, 
where  our  Lord  was  slain*  as  though  they 
hate  the  city  where  our  Lord  was  slain.  The 
Jews  slew  Him  whom  they  found  on  earth, 
these  scorn 3  Him  that  sitteth  in  heaven  ! 
Which  are  the  worse;  those  who  despised 
Him  because  they  thought  Him  man,  or  those 
who  scorn  the  sacraments  of  Him  whom  now 
they  confess  to  be  God  ?  But  they  hate,  for 
sooth,  the  city  in  which  their  Lord  was  slain  ! 
Pious  men,  and  merciful  !  they  much  grieve 
that  Christ  was  slain,  and  in  men  they  slay 

'  Ps.  xxii.  27.        2  S.  Aug.  Ef>.  c.  Donat.  de  Unit.  Eccl.  sec.  26. 
3  Sufr,i,  Horn,  in  Ev.  xi.  sec.  13. 


Christ !  But  He  loved  ^int  city,  and  pitied 
it:  from  it  He  bade  the  preacning  of  Him 
begin,  "beginning  at  Jerusalem."  He  m.idc 
there  the  beginning  of  the  preaching  of  His 
name:  and  thou  shrinkest  back  with  horror 
from  having  communion  with  that  city  !4  No 
marvel  that  being  cut  off  thou  hatest  the  root. 
What  said  He  to  His  disciples  ?  "  Sit  ye  still 
in  the  city,  because  I  send  my  promise5  upon 
you."  Behold  what  the  city  is  that  they 
hate  !  Haply  they  would  love  it,  if  Christ's 
murderers  dwelt  in  it.  For  it  is  manifest  that 
all  Christ's  murderers,  i.e.,  the  Jews,  are  ex 
pelled  from  that  city.6  That  which  had  in  it 
them  that  were  fierce  against  Christ,  hath  now 
them  that  adore  Christ.  Therefore  do  these 
men  hate  it,  because  Christians  are  in  it. 
There  was  it  His  will  that  His  disciples  should 
tarry,  and  there  that  He  should  send  to  them 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Where  had  the  Church  its 
commencement,  but  where  the  Holy  Ghost 
came  from  heaven,  and  filled  the  hundred  and 
twenty  sitting  in  one  place?  That  number 
twelve  was  made  tenfold.  They  sat,  an  hun 
dred  and  twenty  persons,  and  the  Holy  Ghost 
came,  "and  filled  the  whole  place,  and  there 
came  a  sound,  as  it  were  the  rushing  of  a 
mighty  wind,  and  there  were  cloven  tongues 
like  as  of  fire."  Ye  have  heard  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles:  this  was  the  lesson  read  to 
day:7  "  They  began  to  speak  with  tongues  as 
the  Spirit  gave  them  utterance."  And  all  who 
were  on  the  spot.  Jews  who  were  come  from 
divers  nations,  recognised  each  his  own 
tongue,  and  marvelled  that  those  unlearned 
and  ignorant  men  had  on  the  sudden  learned 
not  one  or  two  tongues,  but  the  tongues  of 
all  nations  whatsoever.  There,  then,  where 
all  tongues  sounded,  there  was  it  betokened 
that  all  tongues  should  believe.  But  these 
men,  who  much  love  Christ,  and  therefore 
refuse  to  communicate  with  the  city  which 
killed  Christ,  so  honor  Christ  as  to  affirm  that 
He  is  left  to  two  tongues,  the  Latin  and  the 
Punic,  i.e.  African.  Christ  possess  only  two- 
tongues  !  F^or  there  are  but  these  two  tongues 
on  the  side  of  Donatus,  more  they  have  not. 
Let  us  awake,  my  bretnren,  let  us  rattier  see 
the  gift  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  let  us  be 
lieve  the  things  spoken  before  concerning 
Him,  and  let  us  see  fulfilled  the  things  spoken 
before  in  the  Psalm:  "There  are  neither 
speeches  nor  discourses,8  but  their  voices  are 
heard  among  them.9  And  lest  haply  the  case 


4  [The  words.  "  Jerusalem,  the  city,"  the  preacher  appears,  in 
:•!>•  ami  sometimes  confusedly  for 

the  (  hun  !i     .-..<•.,  "all  Christ's  murderers  arc  expelled    from  that 
city."  meaning  that  such  are  not  in  the  Chun  h.      I.  H.  M.] 

Vtsj.  15;  ii.  i-iz.        '•  Knarr.  in  1's.  Ixii.  sec.  18;  Ixiv.  sec.  i. 

7  The  Acts  of    the  Ap.stlrs  u,  i.-  i«-ail  in  the  seven  weeks  from 
Easter  to  Pentecost.      Snfr,i,  Horn,  in  Kv.  vi.  sec.  18. 

8  Laguela  nee  sermontf. 


H.-MII.V   II. | 


THK    EPISTLE   OF   ST.    JOHN". 


471 


be  so  that  the  tongues  themselves  came  to ' 
one  place,  and  not  rather  that  tin:  gift  <>t 
Cnrist  came  to  all  tongues,  hear  what  follows: 
"  Into  all  the  earth  is  their  sound  gone  out, 
and  unto  the  ends  of  the  world  their  words." 
fore  this?  !'.<•<•. mse  "in  tin-  sun  hath 

His  tabernacle, "  f.*.,  in  the  open  light. 

His  tabernacle.  His  tlesii:  His  tabernacle, 
11  ("'uirch:  "  in  the  sun"  it  is  set;  not  in 
the  night,  hut  in  tiie  day.  But  why  do  those 
not  acknowledge  it  ?  Return  to  the  lesson 
at  the  place  '.vnere  it  ended  yesterday,  and 
see  why  they  do  not  acknowledge  it:  "  He 
that  hateth  his  brother,  walketh  in  darkness, 
and  knoweth  not  whither  he  goeth,  because 
the  darkness  hath  blinded  his  eyes.''  For  us 
then,  let  us  see  what  follows,  and  not  be  in 
darkness.  How  shall  we  not  be  in  darkness  ? 
If  we  love  the  brethren.  How  is  it  proved 
that  we  love  the  brotherhood  ?  By  this,  that 
we  do  not  rend  unity,  that  we  hold  fast  charity. 
4.  "  I  write  unto  you,  little  children,  be 
cause  your  sins  are  forgiven  you  through  His 
name."1  Tnerefore,  "little  children,"8  be 
cause  in  forgiveness  of  sins  ye  have  your 
birth.  But  through  whose  name  are  sins  for 
given  ?  Through  Augustin's  ?  No,  therefore 
neither  through  the  name  of  Donatus.  Be  it 
thy  concern  to  see  who  is  Augustin,  or  who 
Donatus:  no,  not  through  the  name  of  Paul, 
not  through  the  name  of  Peter.  For  to  them 
that  divided  unto  themselves  the  Church,  and 
out  of  unity  essayed  to  make  parties,  the 
mother  charity  in  the  apostle  travailing  in 
birth  with  her  little  ones,  exposeth  her  own 
bowels,  with  words  doth  as  it  were  rend  her 
breasts,  bewaileth  her  children  whom  she 
seeth  borne  out  dead,  recalleth  unto  the  one 
Name  them  that  would  needs  make  them 
many  names,  repel leth  them  from  the  love  of 
her  that  Christ  may  be  loved,  and  saith, 
"  Was  Paul  crucified  for  you  ?  Or  were  ye 
baptized  in  the  name  of  Paul?"3  What 
saith  he  ?  "  I  would  not  that  ye  be  mine,  that 
so  ye  may  be  with  me:  be  ye  with  me;  all  we 
are  His  who  died  for  us,  who  was  crucified 
for  us":  whence  here  also  it  is  said,  "Your 
sins  are  forgiven  you  through  His  name," 
not  through  the  name  of  any  man. 

5.  "I  write  unto  you,  fathers."4  Why 
first  sons  ?  "  Because  your  sins  are  forgiven 
you  through  His  name,"  and  ye  are  regen 
erated  into  a  new  life,  therefore  sons.  Why 
fathers  ?  "  Because  ye  have  known  Him  that 
is  from  the  beginning:  "  for  the  beginning 
hath  relation  unto  fatherhood.  Christ  new 
in  flesh,  but  ancient  in  (iodhead.  How  an 
cient  think  we  ?  how  many  years  old  ?  Think 


ire,  ->f  greater  .igc5  than  His  mother'     \  - 

suredly  of  greater  age  t.i.m  H ; -,  inotncr,  for 
"all  tilings  were  made  by  Him.""  If  all 
tilings,  then  did  the  Ancient  make  tin- 
mother  of  whom  the  New  should  be  born. 
Was  He,  think  we,  before  His  mother  only  ? 
Ye. i.  ;nul  before  His  mother's  ancestors  is 
His  antiquity.  The  ancestor  ot  His  n. 
was  Abranam;  and  the  Lord  saith,  "  Before 
Abraham  I  am."'  Before  Abraham,  say 
we  ?  The  heaven  and  earth,  ere  man  was, 
were  made.  Before  these  was  the  Lord,  nay 
rather  also  is.  For  right  well  He  saith,  not, 
Before  Abraham  I  was,  but,  "Before  Abra 
ham  I  AM."  For  that  of  which  one  says, 
'was,"  is  not;  and  that  of  which  one  says, 
'  will  be,"  is  not  yet:  He  knoweth  not  other 
than  to  be.  As  God,  He  knoweth  "to 
:>e:"  "was,"  and  "will  be,"  He  knoweth 
lot.  It  is  one  day  there,  but  a  day  that  is 
for  ever  and  ever.  That  day  yesterday  and 
to-morrow  do  not  set  in  the  midst  between 
them:  for  when  the  '  yesterday'  is  ended,  the 
'  to-day '  begins,  to  be  finished  by  the  com- 
'ng 'to-morrow.'  That  one  day  there  is  a 
lay  without  darkness,  without  night,  without 
spaces,  without  measure,  without  hours. 
Call  it  what  thou  wilt:  if  thou  wilt,  it  is  a 
day;  if  thou  wilt,  a  year;  if  thou  wilt,  years. 
For  it  is  said  of-  this  same,  "And  thy  years 
shall  not  fail."8  But  when  is  it  called  a  day? 
When  it  is  said  to  the  Lord,  "  To-day  have  I 
begotten  Thee."9  From  the  eternal  Father 
begotten,  from  eternity  begotten,  in  eternity 
begotten:  with  no  beginning,  no  bound,  no 
space  of  breadth;  because  He  is  what  is, 
because  Himself  is  "  He  that  Is."  This  His 
name  He  told  to  Moses:  "Thou  shall  say 
unto  them,  HE  THAT  Is  hath  sent  me  unto 
you."10  Why  speak  then  of  "before  Abra 
ham  "  ?  why,  before  Noe  ?  why,  before  Adam  ? 
Hear  the  Scripture:  "Before  the  day-star 
have  I  begotten  Thee."11  In  fine,  before 
heaven  and  earth.  Wherefore?  Because 
"all  things  were  made  by  Him,  and  without 
Him  was  nothing  made."  "  By  this  know  ye 
the  "fathers:"  for  they  become  fathers  by 
acknowledging  "That  which  is  from  the  be 
ginning." 

6.  "  I  write  unto  you,  young  men."  There 
are  sons,  are  fathers,  are  young  men:  sons, 
because  begotten;  fathers,  because  they  ac 
knowledge  the  Beginning;  why  young  men  ? 
"  Because  ye  have  overcome  the  wicked  one." 
In  the  sons,  birth:  in  the  fathers,  antiquity: 
in  the  young  men,  strength.  If  the  wicked 
one  is  "overcome"  by  the  young  men,  he 


«  i  John  ii.  12. 
3  i  Cor.  i.  13. 


4  i  John  ii.  13. 


8  Ps.  CII.  37. 

»«  Ps.  ex.  3.      '-  John  i.  3. 


6  John  i.  3. 

"  Ps.  n.  7. 


7  fohn  vhi.  58. 
"°  fix.  iii.  14. 


47-1 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN 


fights  with  us.  Fights,  but  not  conquers.1 
Wherefore?  Because  we  are  strong,  or  be 
cause  He  is  strong  in  us  who  in  ttie  hands  of 
the  persecutors  was  found  weak  ?  He  hath 
made  us  strong,  who  resisted  not  His  perse 
cutors.  "  For  He  was  crucified  of  weakness, 
but  He  liveth  by  the  power  of  God."  2 

7.  "I     write3     unto     you,4     children.*'5 
Whence  children  ?    "  Because  ye  have  known 
the  Father.     I  write  unto  you  fathers:  "    he 
enforceth  this,  and  repeateth,6  "  Because  ye 
have  known  Him  that  is  from  the  beginning." 
Remember  that  ye  are  fathers:    if  ye  forget 
"Him  that  is  from  the  beginning,"  ye  have 
lost  your  fatherhood.     "  I   write   unto   you, 
young  men."     Again  and  again  consider  that 
ye  are  young  men:    fight,  that  ye  may  over 
come:    overcome,  that  ye  may  be  crowned: 
be  lowly,  that  ye  fall  not  in  the  fight.     "  I 
write  unto  you,  young  men,  because  ye  are 
strong,  and  the  word  of  God  abideth  in  you, 
and  ye  have  overcome  the  wicked  one." 

8.  All   these  things,   my  brethren, — "be 
cause  we  have  known  That  which  is  from  the 
beginning,    because  we   are    strong,   because 
we   have  known  the  Father," — do  all  these, 
while  they  in  a  manner  commend 7  knowledge, 
not  commend  charity?     If  we  have  known, 
let  us   love:    for  knowledge  without  charity 
saveth  not.    "  Knowledge8  puffeth  up,  charity 
edifieth."  9    If  ye  have  a  mind  to  confess  and 
not  love,  ye  begin  to  be  like  the  demons. 
The  demons  confessed  the  Son  of  God,  and 
said,  "What  have  we  to  do  with  Thee  ?"  I0 
and  were  repulsed.     Confess  and   embrace. 
For  those  feared    for   their  iniquities;    love 
ye  Him  that  forgiveth  your  iniquities.     But 
how  can  we  love  God,  if  we   love  the  world  ? 
He  prepareth  us  therefore  to  be  inhabited  by 
charity."     There  are  two  loves:  of  the  world, 
and  of  God:    if  the  love  of  the  world  inhabit, 
there  is  no  way  for  the  love  of  God  to  enter 
in:  let  the  love  of   the  world  make  way,  and 
the  love  of  God  inhabit;    let  the  better  have 


i  Puenat,  nan  cxpugnat.  2  2  Cor.  xiii.  4. 

3  Vulg.  scrifia  throughout,  but  some  copies  scripsi,  represent 
ing  the   true   reading  in   the  Greek,  eypai/«z,  in  the  last  clause  of 
v.  13,  and  in  both  clauses  of  v    14. 

4  Pueri,  ircu&a.  5  i  John        13. 

6  The   Benedictine  editors  remark  that   the  Vulgate  does  not 
repeat  this  clause,  Scribo  vobis,  patres—a  principio  fst,  and  that 

nt  from  the  Greek.  This  remark  applies  to  the  Complu- 
teiiM.m  Greek  text,  and  the  edited  Latin  Vulgate.  Of  extant  dr. 
MSS..  only  Mill's  Cod.  Basil,  3  <\\  -he  isth  century, 

omits  the  clause:  and  this,  as  \\Ytstein  reports,  not  in  v.  14,  but  in 
the  preceding  verse,  \pa4>u>  itfi.lv,  iraTfp*s—  ap*»js. 

7  Cognitiontm.  >:tia. 

9  i  Cor.  viii.  i.  '    Matt.  viii.  20. 

"  .V(-</  ijuotiwiio  poterimus  amare    7V«w,   si   aniamus  in  tin- 

The  rd.  of  Krasiniis  has.  s,-p,irtit  not  ,i  ckaritatf  Dei:  "  —if  we 
love  the  world  ?  It  >< -par.it. -s  us  from  the  charity  of  God."  And 
so  3  Oxf.  MSS.  Kd.  Lugdun.,  si  amamus  mundtun  S  Si  amamus 


place.     Thou  lovedst  the  world:    love  not  the 

world:  when  thou  hast  emptied  thine  heart  of 

earthly  love,  thou  shalt  drink  in  love  Divine: 

and  thenceforth  beginneth  charity  to  inhabit 

thee,  from  which  can  nothing  of  evil  proceed. 

!  Hear  ye  therefore  his  words,  how  he  goes  to 

work  in  the  manner  of  one  that  makes  a  clear- 

[  ance.     He  comes  upon  the  hearts  of  men  as 

a  field  that   he  would  occupy:    but  in   what 

(  state  does  he  find  it?     If  he  finds  a  wood,  he 

;  roots  it  up;    if  he  finds  the  field  cleared,  he 

plants    it.      He   would   plant    a    tree    there, 

charity.      And   what  is  the  wood   he  would 

j  root  up  ?    Love  of  the  world.     Hear  him,  the 

'rooter    up   of    the   wood!      "Love    not   the 

•world,"  (for  this  comes  next,)  "  neither  the 

!  things  that  are  in  the  world;   if  any  man  love 

the  world,  the  "  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in 

him."  '3 

9.  Ye  have  heard  that  "if  any  man  love 
the  world,  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in 
him."  Let  not  any  say  in  his  heart  that  this 
is  false,  brethren:  God  saith  it;  by  the  Apos 
tle  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  spoken;  nothing 
more  true:  "If  any  man  love  the  world,  the 
i  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him.''  Wouldest 
!  thou  have  the  Father's  love,  that  thou  mayest 
I  be  joint-heir  with  the  Son  ?  Love  not  the 
j  world.  Shut  out  the  evil  love  of  the  world, 
that  thou  mayest  be  filled  with  I4  the  love  of 
God.  Thou  art  a  vessel;  but  as  yet  thou  art 
full.  Pour  out  what  thou  hast,  that  thou 
mayest  receive  what  thou  hast  not.  Cer- 
|  tainly,'5  our  brethren  are  now  born  again  of 
I  water  and  of  the  Spirit:  we  also  some  years 
ago  were  born  again  of  water  and  of  the 
Spirit.  Good  is  it  for  us  that  we  love  not  the 
world,  lest  the  sacraments  remain  in  us  unto 
damnation,  not  as  means  of  strengthening16 
unto  salvation.  That  which  strengthens  unto 
salvation  is,  to  have  the  root  of  charity,  to 
have  the  "power  of  godliness,"  not  "the 
form "  only.17  Good  is  the  form,  holy  the 
form:  but  what  avails  the  form,  if  it  hold  not 
the  root?  The  branch  that  is  cut  off,  is  it 
not  cast  into  the  fire  ?  Have  the  form,  but 
in  the  root.  But  in  what  way  are  ye  rooted 
so  that  ye  be  not  rooted  up?  By  holding 
charity,  as  saith  the  Apostle  Paul,  "  rooted 
and  grounded  in  charity."18  How  shall  charity 
be  rooted  there,  amid  the  overgrown  wilder 
ness  of  the  love  of  the  world?  Make  clear 
riddance  of  the  woods.  A  mighty  seed  ye 
are  about  to  put  in:  let  there  not  be  that  in 
j  the  field  which  shall  choke  the  seed.  These 
are  the  uprooting  words  which  he  hath  said: 
"  Love  not  the  world,  neither  the  things  that 


tart  charitatetn  :  "—if  we  love  the  world  ?      If  we  love  the  world, 
•••s,  &c.     He  srepares  us  therefore  to  inhabit  charity." — 


«3  i  John  ii.  15. 
«5The  newly  ba[- 
'7  2  Tim.  iii.  5. 


14  ..;,//, 


Tin;  EPISTLE  Of  ST,  JOHN. 


473 


art-  in  the  world.      If  any  man  love  tin;  world, 
the  1<>\<  '.    ither  is  not  in  him."  ' 

10.  "  For  all  that  is  in  the  world,  is  '  the  lust 
of  the  llesh.  and  the  hist  <>i  tin-  eyes,  and  the 


the  sea:  the  sun,  the  moon,  the  stars,  all   the 
garniture  ot"  tiie  heavens.      What  is  the  garni 
ture  of   tiie  sea  >    all   creeping  th:: 
ot  the  earth  ?    animals,  trees,  flying  creatures. 


pride1  of  life,"4  three  things  he  Hath  said,  These  are  'in  the  world,'  God  made  them, 
which'  are  not  of  the  Father,  hut  are  of  the  Why  then  am  I  not  to  love  what  C.od  hath 
world.  And  the  world  passeth  away,  and  the  made?"  Let  the  Spirit  of  C.od  he  in  thee, 


lust  thereof:  but  he  that  cloeth  the  will  of 
(iod  ahideth  for  ever,  even  as  He  abideth  for 
ever."  Why  am  I  not  to  love  what  (iod 
made  5  What  wilt  thou  ?  Whether  wilt  thou 
love  the  things  of  time,  and  pass  away  with 
time;  or  not  love  the  world,  and  live  to  eter 
nity  with  God  ?  The  river  of  temporal  things 
hurries  one  along:  but  like  a  tree  sprung  up 
beside  the  river  is  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.6 
He  assumed  flesh,  died,  rose  again,  ascended 
into  heaven.  It  was  His  will  to  plant  Him 
self,  in  a  manner,  beside  the  river  of  the 
things  of  time.  Art  thou  rushing  down  the 
stream  to  the  headlong  deep?  Hold  fast 
the  tree.  Is  love  of  the  world  whirling  tnee 
on  ?  Hold  fast  Christ.  For  thee  He  became 
temporal,  that  thou  mightest  become  eternal; 
because  He  also  in  such  sort  became  temporal, 
that  He  remained  still  eternal.  Something 
was  added  to  Him  from  time,  not  anything 
went  from  His  eternity.  But  thou  wast  born 


that  thou  mayest  see  that  all  these  things  are 
good:  but  woe  to  thee  if  thou  love  the  things 
made,  and  forsake  the  Maker  of  them  !  Fair 
are  they  to  thee:  but  how  much  fairer  He 
that  formed  them  !  Mark  well,  beloved.  For 
by  similitudes  ye  may  be  instructed:  lest 
Satan  steal  upon  you,  saying  what  he  is  wont 
to  say,  Take  your  enjoyment  in  the  creature 
of  God;  wherefore  made  He  those  things  but 
for  your  enjoyment  ?  Antl  men  drink  them 
selves  drunken,  and  perish,  and  forget  their 
own  Creator:  while  not  temperately  but  lust 
fully  they  use  the  things  created,  the  Creator 
is  despised.  Of  such  saith  the  apostle: 
"  Tney  worshipped  and  served  the  creature 
rather  than  the  Creator,  Who  is  blessed  for 
ever."7  God  doth  not  forbid  thee  to  love8 
these  things,  howbeit,  not  to9  set  thine  affec 
tions  upon  them  for  blessedness,  but  to  ap 
prove  and  praise  them  to  this  end,  that  thou 
mayest  love  thy  Creator.  In  the  same  man- 


temporal,  and  by  sin  wast  made  temporal:  ner,  my  brethren,  as  if  a  bridegroom  should 
thou  wast  made  temporal  by  sin,  He  was  |  make  a  ring  for  his  bride,  and  she  having  re 
made  temporal  by  mercy  in  remitting  sins.  Iceived  the  ring,  should  love  it  more  than  she 
How  great  the  difference,  when  two  are  in  a  loves  the  bridegroom  who  made  the  ring  for 
prison,  between  the  criminal  and  him  that!  her:  would  not  her  soul  be  found  guilty  of 
visits  him  !  For  upon  a  time  a  person  comes  i  adultery  in  the  very  gift  of  the  bridegroom, 
to  his  friend  and  enters  in  to  visit  him,  and  albeit  she  did  but  love  what  the  bridegroom 
both  seem  to  be  in  prison;  but  they  differ  by  gave  her?  By  all  means  let  her  love  what  the 
a  wide  distinction.  The  one,  his  cause  presses  t  bridegroom  gave:  yet  should  she  say,  "This 
down:  the  other,  humanity  has  brought  ring  is  enough  for  me,  I  do  not  wish  to  see 


thither.  So  in  this  our  mortal  state,  we  were 
held  fast  by  our  guiltiness,  He  in  mercy  came 
down:  He  entered  in  unto  the  captive,  a 
Redeemer  not  an  oppressor.  The  Lord  for 
us  shed  His  blood,  redeemed  us,  changed  our 
hope.  As  yet  we  bear  the  mortality  of  the 
flesh,  and  take  the  future  immortality  upon 
trust:  and  on  the  sea  we  are  tossed  by  the 
waves,  but  we  have  the  anchor  of  hope 
already  fixed  upon  the  land. 

1 1.  But  let  us  "  not  love  the  world,  neither 
the  things  that  are  in  the  world.  For  the 
things  that  are  in  the  world,  are  the  lust  of 
the  tlesli,  and  the  lust  of  the  eyes,  and  the 
pride  of  life."  These  three  are  they:  lest 
haply  any  man  say,  "The  things  that  are  in 
the  world.  God  made:  i.e.  heaven  and  earth, 


•  i   |..hn  ii.  15. 

tier  ..milted;  also  "  which."] 

/•///(>  sifcuti.  4  i  John  ii.  16,  17 

5  Tin-  v>-  inanft  in  ~,rtfriiiiin,\*.  |>e-ruli.ir 

t..   llu-    I  ..tin    authorities.  S.  Cvpri.m  .,,/  (>:>.•>.    ;,  n.  :/„,:„„;/,,  ,!, 

••v  the  Vulgate. 
..  j. 


his  face  now:"  what  sort  of  woman  would  she 
be  ?  Who  would  not  detest  such  folly  ?  who 
not  pronounce  her  guilty  of  an  adulterous 
mind  ?  Thou  lovest  gold  in  place  of  the  man, 
lovest  a  ring  in  place  of  the  bridegroom:  if 
this  be  in  thee,  that  thou  lovest  a  ring  in 
place  of  thy  bridegroom,  and  hast  no  wish  to 
see  thy  bridegroom;  that  he  has  given  thee  an 
earnest,  serves  not  to  pledge  thee  to  him,  but 
to  turn  away  thy  heart  from  him  !  For  this 
the  bridegroom  gives  earnest,  that  in  his 
earnest  he  may  himself  be  loved.  Well  then, 
God  gave  thee  all  these  things:  love  Him 
that  made  them.  There  is  more  that  He 
would  fain  give  thee.  that  is,  His  very  Self 
that  made  these  tilings.  But  if  thou  love 
what  though  God  made  them  —  and 
neglect  the  Creator  and  love  the  world;  shall 
not  thy  love  be  accounted  adulterous?10 


*  A  mart.  9  Diligrre. 

•',:,,! Jam  ;  tiannf  .tuus  amcr  aJulterinut  ae~ 
futabitur  f— MS.S.  ct  ama-'cris  /«««,/«///,  Jtliitquit  ("and  love 


474 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[HOMILY  II. 


12.  For  "the  world"  is  the  appellation 
given  not  only  to  this  fabric  which  God  made, 
heaven  and  earth,  the  sea,  things  visible  and 
invisible:  but  the  inhabitants  of  the  world 
are  called  the  world,  just  as  we  call  a 
"  house  "  both  the  walls  and  them  that  in- 
habit  therein.  And  sometimes  we  praise  a 
house,  and  find  fault  with  the  inhabitants. 
For  we  say,  A  good  house;  because  it  is  mar 
bled  and  beautifully1  ceiled:  and  in  another 
sense  we  say,  A  good  house:  no  man  there 
suffers  wrong,  no  acts  of  plunder,  no  acts  of 
oppression,  are  done  there.  Now  we  praise 
not  the  building,  but  those  who  dwell  within 
the  building:  yet  we  call  it  "  house,"  both 
this  and  that.  For  all  lovers  of  the  world, 
because  by  love  they  inhabit  the  world,  just 
as  those  inhabit  heaven,  whose  heart  is  on 
high  while  in  the  flesh  they  walk  on  earth: 
I  say  then,  all  lovers  of  the  world  are  called 
the  world.  The  sam.e  have  only  these  three 
things,  "lust  of  the  flesh,  lust  of  the  eyes, 
vain  glory  of  life."  For  they  lust  to  eat, 
drink,  cohabit:  to  use  these  pleasures.  Not 
surely,  that  there  is  no  allowed  measure  in 
these  things?  or  that  when  it  is  said,  Love 
not  these  things,  it  means  that  ye  are  not  to 
eat,  or  not  to  drink,  or  not  to  beget  children  ? 
This  is  not  the  thing  said.  Only,  let  there 
be  measure,  because  of  the  Creator,  that 
these  things  may  not  bind  you  by  your  loving 
of  them:  lest  ye  love  that  for  enjoyment, 
which  ye  ought  to  have  for  use.  But  ye  are 
not  put  to  the  proof  except  when  two  things 
are  propounded  to  you,  this  or  that:  Wilt 
thou  righteousness  or  gains  ?  I  have  not 
wherewithal  to  live,  have  not  wherewithal  to 
eat,  have  not  wherewithal  to  drink.  But  what 
if  thou  canst  not  have  these  but  by  iniquity? 
Is  it  not  better  to  love  that  which  thou  losest 
not,  than  to  lose  thyself  by  iniquity  ?  Thou 
seest  the  gain  of  gold,  the  loss  of  faith  thou 
seest  not.  This  then,  saith  he  to  us,  is  "  the 
lust  of  the  flesh,"  i.e.  the  lusting  after  those 
things  which  pertain  to  the  flesh,  such  as 
food,  and  carnal  cohabitation,  and  all  other 
such  like. 

13  ."And  the  lust  of  the  eyes:  "  by  "  the 
lust  of  the  eyes,"  he  means  all  curiosity. 
Now  how  wide  is  the  scope  of  curiosity  ! 
This  it  is  that  works  in  spectacles,  in  theatres, 
in  sacraments  of  the  devil,  in  magical  arts,  in 
dealings 2  with  darkness:  none  other  than  curi 
osity.  Sometimes  it  tempts  even  tlie  servants 
of  God,  so  that  they  wish  as  it  were  to  work 
a  miracle,  to  tempt  God  whether  He  will  hear 


the  world,  thou  art  delinquent'"),  (and  so  four  in  the  Rodl.  Libra 
ry).  Edd.  Am.  }!ad.  Kr.  ft  .iiit,ir,->-is  inunJum.  uinittis  Crca- 
torem  qui  fecit  inuiiiinin  ("  and  love  the  world,  thou  lettest  go  the 
Creator  who  made  the  wor'd  "I.-  U  i  :- . 

'  Luyueata.  -  Mnleficiis. 


;  their  prayers  in  working  of  miracles;  it  is 
i  curiosity:  this  is  "  lust  of  the  eyes;"  it  "is 
!  not  of  the  Father."  If  God  hath  given  the 
power,  do  the  miracle,  for  He  hath  put  it  in 
thy  way  to  do  it:  for  think  not  that  those  who 
have  not  done  miracles  shall  not  pertain  to 
the  kingdom  of  God.  When  the  apostles 
were  rejoicing  that  the  demons  were  subject 
to  them,  what  said  the  Lord  to  them  ?  "  Re 
joice  not  in  this,  but  rejoice  because  your 
names  are  written  in  heaven."3  In  that 
would  He  have  the  apostles  to  rejoice, 
wherein  thou  also  rejoicest.  Woe  to  thee  truly 
if  thy  name  be  not  written  in  heaven  !  Is  it 
woe  to  thee  if  thou  raise  not  the  dead  ?  is  it 
woe  to  thee  if  thou  walk  not  on  the  sea  ?  is  it 
woe  to  thee  if  thou  cast  not  out  demons  ?  If 
thou  hast  received  power  to  do  them,  use  it 
humbly,  not  proudly.  For  even  of  certain 
false  prophets  the  Lord  hath  said  that  "they 
shall  do  signs  and  prodigies."4  Therefore 
let  there  be  no  "ambition  of  the  world:" 
Ambitio  sffcu/i,  is  Pride.  The  man  wishes  to 
make  much  of  himself  in  his  honors:  he 
thinks  himself  great,  whether  because  of 
riches,  or  because  of  some  power. 

14.  These  three  there  are,  and  thou  canst 
find  nothing  whereby  human  cupidity  can  be 
tempted,  but  either  by  the  lust  of  the  flesh, 
or  the  lust  of  the  eyes,  or  the  pride  of  life. 
By  these  three  was"  the  Lord  tempted  of  the 
devil.5  By  the  lust  of  the  flesh  He  was 
tempted  when  it  was  said  to  Him,  "  If  thou 
be  the  Son  of  God,  speak  to  these  stones  that 
they  become  bread,"  when  He  hungered  after 
His  fast.  But  in  what  way  repelled  He  the 
tempter,  and  taught  his  soldier  how  to  fight? 
Mark  what  He  said  to  him:  "  Not  by  bread 
alone  doth  man  live,  but  by  every  word  of 
God.'"  He  was  tempted  also  by  the  lust  of 
the  eyes  concerning  a  miracle,  when  he  said 
to  Him,  "  Cast  thyself  down:  for  it  is  written, 
He  shall  give  his  angels  charge  concerning 
thee:  and  in  their  hands  they  shall  bear  thee 
up,  lest  at  any  time  thou  dash  thy  foot  against 
a  stone."  He  resisted  the  tempter,  for  to  do 
the  miracle,  would  only  have  been  to  seem 
either  to  have  yielded,  or  to  have  done  it  from 
curiosity;  for  He  wrought  when  He  would,  as 
God,  howbeit  as  healing  the  weak.  For  if 
He  had  clone  it  then,  He  might  have  been 
thought  to  wish  only  to  do  a  miracle.  But 
lest  men  should  think  this,  mark  what  He  an- 
s\vered;  and  when  the  like  temptation  shall 
happen  to  thee,  say  thou  also  the  same: 
"Gel  thee  behind  me,  Satan;  for  it  is  writ 
ten,  Thou  shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy  God:  " 
that  is,  if  I  do  this  I  shall  tempt  God.  He 


5  Matt.  iv.  i-io. 


HOMILY  in.]                             Till-    EPIS  I  LE  MI    ST.   JoHN.  475 

said  what  He  would  have  thee  to  say.     \V:u-n  concupiscence  of  the  world,  neither  shall  the 

the  enemy  su-->                     <•,  "What  sort  of  lust  of  the  flesh,  nor  the  lust  of  the  eyes,  nor 

man,   what  sort  of  Christian,  art  thou  ?     As  the  pride  of  life,  subjugate  you:  and  ye  shall 

yet    uast   thou   done   one   miracle?  or   by  thy  make  place  for  Charity  when  She  cometh.  that 

'prayers    have   the   dead   been    raised,   or  hast  ye   may   love   (lod.      Merause   if    love   of    the 

thou  healed  the  fevered  ?     if  thou  wert  truly  world  be  there,  love  of  God  will  not  be  there, 

o!   any  moment,  thou  wouldest  do  some  mir-  Hold  fast  rather  the  love  of  God,  that  as  (lod 

acle:  "  answer  and  say:  "  It  is  written,  Thou  is  for  ever  and  ever,  so  ye  also  may  remain  for 

shall  not  lempt  the  Lord  thy  (lod:  "  therefore  ever  and  ever:  because  such  is  each  one  as  is 

I  will  not  tempt  (lod,  as  if  I  should  belong  to  his  love.     Lovest  thou  earth  ?  thou  shall  be 

God  if  I  do  a  miracle,  and  nol  belong  if  I  do  earth.     Lovesl  thou  God  ?  what  shall  I  say  ? 

none:  and  what  becomes  then  of  His  words,  thou  shall  be  a  god?     I  dare  not  say  it  of 

"  Rejoice,  because  your  names  are  writlen  in  myself,  let  us  hear  Ihe  Scriplures:   "  I  have 

heaven  "  ?     By  "  pride  of  life  "  how  was  the  said,  Ye  are  gods,  and  all  of  you  sons  of  Ihe 

Lord   lempled  ?     When   he  carried   Him    up  Mosl  High."1     If  then  ye  would  be  gods  and 

lo  an  high  place,  and  said  lo  Him,  "All  ihese  sons  of  Ihe  Mosl  High,  "  Love  nol  Ihe  world, 

will  I  give  ihee,  if  ihou  will  fall  down  and  neither    the    things  that   are   in    the  world, 

worship  me."     By  the  loftiness  of  an  earthly  If  any  man  love  the  world,  Ihe  love  of  the 

kingdom  he  wished  to  tempi  Ihe  King  of  all  Father  is   not  in    him.     For   all    the   things 

worlds:      but    the    Lord    who    made    heaven  thai  are  in  Ihe  world,  is  Ihe  lusi  of  the  flesh, 

and  earth  irod  Ihe  devil  under  fool.     What  and  the  lust  of  the  eyes,  and  the  pride  of  life, 

great  mailer  for  the  devil  to  be  conquered  by  which  is   not  of   the    Father,   but    is  of   the 
Ihe  Lord  ?     Then  what  did  He  in  the  answer  world:"2   i.e.  of  men,   lovers  of  ihe  world. 

He  made  lo  ihe  devil  but  teach  ihee  Ihe  an-  ]  "And  the  world  passeth  away,  and  Ihe  lusts 

swer  He  would  have  thee  to  make?     "  It  is  thereof:    but  he  thai  doelh  ihe  will  of  God 

written,   Thou    shall  worship  Ihe    Lord    thy  j  abideth  for  ever,  even  as  God  also  abideth 

God,    and    Him     only    shall    thou    serve. "  \  for  ever. " 

Holding  Ihese  ihings  fasl,  ye  shall  nol  have  - 

Ihe  concupiscence  of  Ihe  world:  by  nol  having  I      >  ps.  ixxxii.  6.  »ijohnii.  15-17. 


HOMILY    III. 

i  JOHN  II.   18-27. 

"  Children,  it  is  the  last  hour:  and  as  ye  have  heard  that  antichrisl  shall  come,  even 
now  are  ihere  many  antichrists;  whereby  we  know  thai  ii  is  Ihe  last  hour.  They  went  out 
from  us,  but  ihey  were  nol  of  us:  if  Ihey  had  been  of  us,  ihey  would  no  doubt  have  con 
tinued  with  us:  bul  they  went  out,  thai  ihey  might  be  made  manifest  thai  ihey  were  nol  all 
of  us.  But  ye  have  an  unction  from  ihe  Holy  One,  and  know  all  Ihings.1  I  wrile  unlo 
you,  nol  because  ye  know  not  the  truth,  but  because  ye  know  it,  and  that  no  lie  is  of  the 
truth.  Who  is  a  liar  but  he  thai  denielh  that  Jesus  is  the  Chrisl  ?  [He  is  antichrist,  that 
denieth  Ihe  Father  and  the  Son.]1  Whosoever  denielh  Ihe  Son,  Ihe  same  hath  neither  the 
Faiher  nor  ihe  Son:  and  he  that  acknowledged  ihe  Son  hath  both  the  Father  and  Ihe  Son. 
Lei  that  therefore  abide  in  you,  which  ye  have  heard  from  the  beginning.  If  lhal  which  ye 
have  heard  from  the  beginning  shall  remain  in  you,  ye  also  shall  continue  in  ihe  Son,  and 
in  Ihe  Father.  And  this  is  the  promise  that  He  hath  promised  us,  even  eternal  life.  These 
things  have  I  written  unto  you  concerning  them  thai  seduce  you;  that  ye  may  know  that 
ye  have  an  unction,  and  thai  Ihe  unction  which  ye  have  received  of  him  may  abide  in  you. 
And  ye  need  not  that  any  man  teach  you;  because  His  unction  teacheth  you  of  all  ihings." 

»  See  sec.  5,  note.  :tt-d  in  the  Exposition. 


476 


1H1-;  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[HMMII.Y    III. 


1.  "CHILDREN,'  it  is  the  Mast  hour."     In 
this   lesson   he   addresses  the   children    that 
they  may  make  haste  to  grow,  because  "it 
is  the   last  hour."     Age  or  stature3  of  the 
body  is  not  at  one's  own  will.     A  man  does 
not  grow  in  respect  of  the  flesh  when  he  will, 
any  more  than  he  is  born  when  he  will:   but 
where  the  being  born  rests  with  the  will,  the 
growth  also  rests  with  the  will.     No  man  is 
''  born  of  water  and  the  Spirit,4  except  he  be 
willing.     Consequently  if  he  will,   he  grows  j 
or  makes  increase:    if  he  will,  he  decreases. 
What  is  it  to  grow  ?     To  go  onward  5  by  pro 
ficiency.     What  is  it   to  decrease  ?      To    go 
backward 6  by  deficiency.     Whoso  knows  that 
he  is  born,  let  him  hear  that  he  is  an  infant; 
let  him  eagerly  cling  to  the  breasts  of  his 
mother,    and     he    grows    apace.      Now    his 
mother  is  the  Church;   and  her   breasts  are 
the  two  Testaments  of  the  Divine  Scriptures. 
Hence  let  him  suck  the  milk  of  all  the  things 
that  as  signs  of  spiritual  truths  were  done  in 
time   for  our   eternal   salvation,7  that   being 
nourished  and  strengthened,  he  may  attain  to 
the  eating  of  solid  meat,  which  is,  "  In  the 

^  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was 
with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God."  8  Our  milk 
is  Christ  in  His  humility;  our  meat,  the  self 
same  Christ  equal  with  the  Father.  With 
milk  He  nourisheth  thee,  that  He  may  feed 
!  thee  with  bread:  for  with  the  heart  spiritually 
to  touch  Christ  is  to  know  that  He  is  equal 
with  the  Father. 

2.  Therefore  it  was  that  He  forbade  Mary 


i 

' 
v 


fore  to  men  was  also  life  announced  by  a 
woman.  Then  why  was  He  unwilling  to  be 
touched,  but  because  He  would  have  it  to  be 
understood  of  that  spiritual  touch  ?  The 
spiritual  touch  takes  place  from  a  pure  heart. 
That  person  does  of  a  pure  heart  reach  Christ 
with  his  touch  who  understands  Him  coequal 
with  the  Father.  But  whoso  does  not  yet  un 
derstand  Christ's  Godhead,  that  person 
reaches  but  unto  the  flesh,  reaches  not  unto 
the  Godhead.  Now  what  great  matter  is  it, 
to  reach  only  unto  that  which  the  persecutors 
reached  unto,  who  crucified  Him?  But  that 
is  the  great  thing,  to  understand  the  Word 
God  with  God,  in  the  beginning,  by  whom 
all  things  were  made:  such  as  He  would  have 
Himself  to  be  known  when  He  said  to  Philip, 
"Am  I  so  long  time  with  you,  and  have  ye 
not  known  me,  Philip?  He  that  seeth  me, 
seeth  also  the  Father."11 

3.  But  lest  any  be  sluggish  to  go  forward, 
let  him  hear:  "  Children,  it  is  the  last  hour.'' 
Go  forward,  run,  grow;  "  it  is  the  last  hour." 
This  same  last  hour  is  long;  yet  it  is  the  last. 
For  he  has  put  "  hour"  for  "  the  last  time;  " 
because  it  is  in  the  last  times  that  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  is  to  come.12  But  some  will  say, 
How  the  last  times  ?  how  the  last  hour  ?  Cer 
tainly  antichrist  will  first  come,  and  then  will 
come  the  day  of  judgment.  John  perceived 
these  thoughts:  lest  people  should  in  a  man 
ner  become  secure,  and  think  it  was  not  the 
last  hour  because  antichrist  was  to  come,  he 
said  to  them,  "And  as  ye  have  heard  that 


to  touch  Him,  and  said  to  her,  "Touch  me   antichrist   is   to  come,  now  are  there  come 


not;    for   I 

Father."9 

to  be  handled  by  the  disciples,  and  d:d  He 

shun    Mary's   touch  ?     Is    not  He  the    same 

that  said  to  the   doubting   disciple,   "  Reach 

hither   thy    fingers,    and    feel    the   scars"?10 

Was  He  at  that  time  ascended  to  the  Father? 

Then  why  doth  He  forbid  Mary,  and  saith, 

"  Touch  me  not; 

to  the  Father?  " 

feared     not    to 

feared    to    be 


am    not   yet   ascended    unto  the 
What  is  this  ?     He  gave  Himself 


for  I  am  not  yet  ascended 
Or  are  we  to  say,  that  He 
be    touched    by    men,    and 
touched    by    women  ?      The 


many  antichrists."     Could  it  have  many  anti 
christs,  except  it  were  "  the  last  hour  "  ? 

4.  Whom  has  he  called  antichrists?  He 
goes  on  and  expounds.  "  Whereby  we  know 
that  it  is  the  last  hour."  By  what  ?  Because 
"many  antichrists  are  come.  They  went 
out  from  us;"  seethe  antichrists!  "They 
went  out  from  us:"  therefore  we  bewail  the 


loss.     Hear    the 
were  not  of  us.'' 


consolation.      "  But     they 
All  heretics,  all  schismatics 


touch  of  Him  cleanseth  all  flesh. 
He   willed   first   to  be   manifested. 


went  out  from  us,  that  is,  they  go  out  from 
the  Church;    but  they  would  not  go  out, 


feared  He  to  be  handled  ?  Was  not  His  res 
urrection  announced  by  women  to  the  men, 
that  so  the  serpent  should  by  a  sort  of  coun 
terplot  be  overcome  ?  For  because  he  first 
by  the  woman  announced  death  to  man,  there  - 


To  whom  i  they    were    of    us.     Therefore,    before    they 
by  them  j  went  out  they  were  not  of  us.     If  before  they 


4 

/';/«•»•/, 
Jnhnii 
'On,  ni,< 

iroiSia. 

-  5- 

'  [Or  " 

'  Wcstcott.—  J 
e. 

H.M.I      '*  A  etas. 
6  Dr/icerr. 

t>,<  ,/•/,•;  11,1   salute  , 

-  .'   i. 

in  their  inward  anil  -.jurin 
«  John  i.  i.  <j  ,s«/ 

*°  John  xx.  17,  27. 


went  out  they  were  not  of  us.  many  are  with 
in,  are  not  gone  out,  but  yet  are  antichrists. 
We  dare  to  say  this:  and  why,  but  that  each 
one  while  he  is  within  may  not  be  an  anti 
christ  ?  For  he  is  about  to  describe  and  mark 
the  antichrists,  and  we  shall  see  them  now. 
And  each  person  ought  to  question  his  own 
conscience,  whether  he  be  an  antichrist.  For 
£  antichrist  in  our  tongue  means,  contrary  to 


to  Christ, 
vi. 


John 


Epist.  199,  tie  fine  Str. 


II..MIIV     III    1 


'I  III:  EPISTLE  OF  ST.  jolIN. 


477 


(.'iinst.1  Nut.  as  sonic  t;ike  it,  that  antichrist  body  is  relieved:  so  too  when  bad  men  go 
is  to  In-  s.i  (  .lilrd  bcr.-mse  ho  is  to  come  ,inf<-  out,  then  tue  Cimrch  is  relieved.  And  one 
C/tristnut.  In- lore  ( 'nrist,  />.  Curist  to  come  says,  when  the  body  vomits  and  c;ists  them  out, 


alter  him:  it  does  not  me:m  this,  ncititer  is  it 
thus  written,  but  Anticlu istns,  /.<•.  contrnrv 
to  Christ.  Now  who  is  contrary  to  Christ  ye 
already  perceive  from  the  apostle's  own  ex 
position,  and  understand  that  none  can  go 


I'nese  humors  went  out  of  ni'-.  but  they  were 
not  of  me.  How  \\ere  not  ot  me  ''  \Vere  not 
cut  out  of  my  flesh,  but  oppressed  my  breast 
while  they  were  in  me. 

5.   "They  went  out  from  us;  hut,"  he  not 


out  but  antichrists;  whereas  those  who  are  sad,  "they  were  not  of  us."  Ho\v  provest 
not  contrary  to  Christ,  can  in  no  wise  go  out.  thou  this?  If  they  had  been  of  us,  they 
For  he  that  is  not  contrary  to  Christ  holds  would  doubtless  have  continued  with  us. 
fast  in  His  body,  and  is  counted  therewith  as  Hence  therefore  ye  may  see,  that  many 
a  member.  The  members  are  never  contrary !  who  are  not  of  us,  receive  with  us  the 
one  to  another.  The  entire  body  consists  of  Sacraments,  receive  with  us  baptism,  re- 
all  tne  members.  And  what  saith  the  apostle  ceive  with  us  what  the  faithful  know 
concerning  the  agreement  of  the  members  ?  they  receive,  Benediction,  the  Eucharist,3 
"  If  one  member  suffer,  all  the  members  suf-  and  whatever  there  is  in  Holy  Sacraments: 
fer  with  it;  and  if  one  member  be  glorified,  the  communion  of  the  very  altar  they  re- 
all  the  members  rejoice  with  it.''2  If  then  in  >  ceive  with  us,  and  are  not  of  us.  Temptation 
the  glorifying  of  a  member  the  other  members  i  proves  that  they  are  not  of  us.  When  tempt- 
rejoice  with  it,  and  in  its  suffering  all  the  |  ation  comes  to  them  as  if  blown  by  a  wind 
members  suffer,  the  agreement  of  the  mem-  j  they  fly  abroad:  because  they  were  not  grain, 
bers  hatu  no  antichrist.  And  there  are  those  '  But  all  of  them  will  fly  abroad,  as  we  must 
who  inwardly  are  in  such  sort  in  the  body  of 'often  tell  you,  when  once  the  fanning  of  the 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ — seeing  His-  body  is  '  Lord's  threshing-floor  shall  begin  in  the  day 
yet  under  cure,  and  the  soundness  will  not  be  of  judgment.  "  They  went  out  from  us,  but 
perfect  save  in  the  resurrection  of  the  dead —  I  they  were  not  of  us;  if  they  had  been  of  us, 
are  in  such  wise  in  the  body  of  Christ,  as  bad  :  they  would  no  doubt  have  continued  with  us." 


humors.     When    these  are  vomited    up,  the 


HtoG.     "  In  ail  thing 


For  would  ye  know,  beloved,  how  most  cer 
tain  this  saying  is,  that  they  who  haply  have 
gone  out  and  return,  are  not  antichrists,  are 
not  contrary  to  Christ  ?  Whoso  are  not  anti 
christs,  it  cannot  be  that  they  should  continue 
without.  But  of  his  own  will  is  each  either 
an  antichrist  or  in  Christ.  Either  we  are 
among  the  members,  or  among  the  bad 
humors.  He  that  changeth  himself  for  the 
vT/e-'r/' ",'lv/!"/' •'',«,/'  ^etter>  is  m  tne  body,  a  member:  but  he 
I-TO  €'foMocou«r«oi  3iwA(Tai  o  irAai/ot  TW  viuTor- 1  that  continues  in  his  badness,  is  a  bad 

humor;  and  when  lie  is  gone  out,  then  they 
who  were  oppressed  will  be  relieved.  *'  They 
went  out  from  us,  but  they  were  not  of  us; 
for  if  they  had  been  of  us,  they  would  no 
doubt  have  continued  with  us:  but  (they  went 
out),  that  they  might  be  made  manifest  that 
they  were  not  all  of  us."  That  he  has  added, 
"that  they  might  be  made  manifest,"  is,  be- 


'  So  arriKct><ro«  2  Thess.  2,  3,  and  so  the  word  seems  to  he  In 
terpreted  by  Tertull.  tie  I'rtescr.  liter.  4,  A  ntichristi—  Christi  rc- 
betles.  And  this  is  alleged  by  Thcophylact  as  the  traditionalinter- 
pretation  of  the  Greek  Church:  navTux;  6  *«I)<TTT)«  ivavrio^  <ai>  rn 
aAijSfio  ;JTOI  T<pXp«rT<i  ai-Ti^pio-rov  eart.  "Certainly  '  Antichrist 
is  the  Liar  opposed  to  theTruth,  i.e.  to  Christ."  So  < Kcumenius. 
But  by  earlier  authorities  it  is  taken  in  the  sense  of  "  false-Christ," 
or, one  that  gives  himself  out  for  Christ  with  denial  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Thusinthe.-UYrt  Martyrum:  Vietl  autemA/wtotiii:  ,\/ .\atanus, 
&c.  L'ndett  Antickristus  Quasi-Christus.  "  The  Apostlesaith  : 
If  Satan  be  transfigured  as  an  angel  of  light,  it  is  no  great  mtter 


decei 
.  U 


•  will   needs  make   himself'  likt 
ell's  Exposition  of  the  i'arabU-s, 


the  Son  of  dod.' 

i.  p.  372.  ff. 

\_.lnti\firist.~ Huther  confirms  (Meyer,  Com.  on  7>f.  T..  j4th 
part,  ^th  Herman  edition)  Augustin's  definition.  "That  OI-TI 
not  Mil.stituiion  but  antagonism  is  now  general 
ly  and  justly  acknowledged:'1  but  he  adds,  "'o  at  Ti'xpiorof 
does  not  mean  the  enemy  of  Christ,  in  general,  but  the  one  op 
posed  to  (  hrist,  or  the  '  (•//,!.( -ition  Christ?  i.e.  the  enemy  of 
Christ,  who,  under  the  lying  pretense  of  being  the  tnie  Christ,  en- 

rori  of  Christ."    "  One  who  assuming  the 

I  \\Vst.ott.t 
\\  h.n    Hutlur  remarks  in   rrferen,  e  to  the  -,  iew  held  by  Nean- 

der  .111.1  othi  is,  who  distinguish,  in  the  apostle's  representation  of 
Antichrist,/*™  ««,/  i,/..,.  rix.:    that  evil  will  . 


Antuhnst,  ./,„  ,„„,„/  „/,„.  vi/.:      that  evil  will  tndnaUy  Increase  al>C   W.ithin    tllCy    afG   nOt 

more  in  itscontest  against  Christ,  until  ii  has  reached  its     of  US;     \'Ct  tllCy  3TC  IlOt  manifest,  bllt   1)V  gOlUg 
summit,  when  it  will  he  completely  vanquished  by  the  i  ,  -e  44  «      j  u 

'  out  are  made  manifest.     "And   ye  have  an 

unction  from  the  Holy  One,  that  ye  may  be 
manifest  to  your  own  selves.*  The  spiritual 
unction  is  the  Holy  Spirit  Himself,  of  which 


nen  u  win  oe  completely  vanquished  by  the  power  <>i 
id,  as  regards  fi"  in.  that  this  highest  energy  o|  e\  il  wiK 

appear  in  ,>«,•/,-»•.„•./  .•  "of  this  distinetion  S,  ripture  gi.. 

gestion  :  ,,i  intimation  of  distinct  and  sue- 


Antichrists  (i  John 


i.  and    the    Ant 


chiist    of  whom  :  ,:,|,"  had   no-    yet 


•is  interpretation  of  ii.  18,  seems  not  1111- 
le:   "  Antichrist   may  l>e  the  personification  of  the  princi- 

ple  shown  in  different  Antichrists;  or.theperaoo 

i.  d  liy  these  p.irtieul.ir  turms  of  evil." 

Whatever  may   be  thought   ,,f    Augustin's  application  of  the 
description    to  s,  [,,,-.. i;sts  in  his  day.  that   there    have 
in*    Antiehrists,   ist  ,(T.d    ;nd     [ohn  ti-ach   very   plainly: 
and   most    imp...:  ;,\   des,  nption   of    the    "master 

!."  the  "ilenial  of  true  manhead  and  true  ( ;(xihead  in 
C  luist,  which  involves  the  dental  ol  the  essential  relations  of  Fath 
erhood  and  Sonship  in  the  Divine  Nature.— J.  H.  M.I 


1  Two  MSS.  AVw, -if:, /i:'f,-in  F.Hcharistitr,  "  the  I'.enediction  of 
the  K.uch..- 
rection.J 

4  L't  //.<•/  ri'fiis  in,in;f,-sti  sitis.      As  there  is  no  trace  of  this 
reading  in  either  the  <  Ireek  or   I  Jitin  authorities, 
me. nit  !..  stand  as  part  of  the  text,  though  represented  as  such  by 
: ..tines.     In  the  following  clause  Aug.  seems  to  recog- 
:  eading  oi6arc   wdvrts,  dicit  omnes  cognoscerc  bones  et 
malos. 


4/8 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


IMHMU.Y  III. 


the  Sacrament  is  in  the  visil)le  unction.1 
Of  this  unction  of  Christ  he  saith,  that  all 
who  have  it  know  the  bad  and  the  good;  and 
they  need  not  to  he  taught,  because  the  unc 
tion  itself  teacheth  them. 

6.   "  I  write  unto  you  not  because  ye  know 
not  the  truth,  but  because  ye  know  it,  and 


7.  For  hear  and  see.  Certainly  all  who  go 
out  from  the  Church,  and  are  cut  off  from 
the  unity  of  the  Church,  are  antichrists;  let 
no  man  doubt  it:  for  the  apostle  himself 
hath  marked  them,  "  They  went  out  from  us, 
but  they  were  not  of  us;  for  if  they  had  been 
of  us,  they  would  no  doubt  have  continued 
with  us."  Therefore,  whoso  continue  not 
with  us,  but  go  out  from  us,  it  is  manifest 
that  they  are  antichrists.  And  how  are  they 
proved  to  be  antichrists?  By  lying.  "And 
who  is  a  liar,  but  he  that  denieth  that  Jesus 
is  the  Christ?"7  Let  us  ask  the  heretics: 
where  do  you  find  a  heretic  that  denies  that 
Jesus  is  the  Christ?  See  now,  my  beloved,  a 
great  mystery.8  Mark  what  the  Lord  C.od 
deceive  yourselves,  do  not  cheat  yourselves:  |  may  have  inspired  us  withal,  and  what  I 


that  no  lie  is  of  the  truth." 
admonished    how   we    may 


Behold,  we  are 
know   antichrist. 


What  is  Christ  ?  Truth.  Himself  hath  said 
*' I  am  the  Truth.''3  But  "no  lie  is  of  the 
truth."  Consequently,  all  who  lie  are  not 
yet  of  Christ.  He  hath  not  said  that  some  lie 
is  of  the  truth,  and  some  lie  not  of  the 
truth.  Mark  the  sentence.  Do  not  fondle 
yourselves,  do  not  flatter  yourselves,  do  not 


"  No  lie  is  of  the  truth."  Let  us  see  then 
how  antichrists  lie,  because  there  is  more 
than  one  kind  of  lying.  "  Who  is  a  liar,  but 
he  that  denieth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ?" 
One  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  "Jesus," 
another  the  meaning  of  the  word  "Christ:" 


would  fain  work  into  your  minds.  Behold, 
they  went  out  from  us,  and  turned  Donatists: 
we  ask  them  whether  Jesus  be  the  Christ; 
they  instantly  confess  that  Jesus  is  the 
Christ.  If  then  that  person  is  an  antichrist, 
who  denies  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  neither 


though  it  be  one  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour,  can  they  call  us  antichrists,  nor  we  them; 
yet  "Jesus"  is  His  proper  name.  Just  as  j  therefore,  neither  they  went  out  from  us,  nor 
Moses  was  so  called  by  his  proper  name,  as; we  from  them.  If  then  we  have  not  gone 
Elias,  as  Abraham:  so  as  His  proper  name  out  one  from  another,  we  are  in  unity:  if  we 
our  Lord  hath  the  name  "Jesus:"  but '  be  in  unity,  what  means  it  that  there  are  two 
"  Christ "  is  the  name  of  His 4  sacred  charac- '  altars,  in  this  city  ?  what,  that  there  are  divided 
ter.  As  when  we  say,  Prophet,  as  when  we  I  houses,  divided  marriages  ?  that  there  is  a 
say,  Priest;  so  by  the  name  Christ  we  are  |  common  bed,  and  a  divided  Christ?  He 


given  to  understand  the  Anointed,  in  whom 
should  be  the  redemption  of  the  whole  people. 
The  coming  of  this  Christ  was  hoped  for  by 
the  people  of  the  Jews:  and  because  He  came 
in  lowliness,  He  was  not  acknowledged;  be 
cause  the  stone  was  small,  they  stumbled  at 


it  and  were   broken.     But  "the  stone  grew, 
and  became  a  great  mountain;''5  and  what 


admonishes  us,  he  would  have  us  confess 
what  is  the  truth:— either  they  went  out  from 
us,  or  we  from  them.  But  let  it  not  be 
imagined  that  we  have  gone  out  from  them. 
For  we  have  the  testament  of  the  Lord's  in 
heritance,  we  recite  it,  and  there  we  find,  "  I 


will    give   Thee 
heritance,     and 


the 
for 


nations   for    Thine    in- 
Thy     possessions    tht 

saith  the  Scripture?  "Whosoever  shall  ends  of  the  earth."9  We  hold  fast  Christ's 
stumble  at  this  stone  shall  be  broken;6  and  inheritance;  they  hold  it  not,  for  they  do 
on  whomsoever  this  stone  shall  come,  it  will  not  communcate  with  the  whole  earth,  do 


not 


communicate  with  the  I0  universal    body 

We 
the 


grind  him  to  powder."     We  must  mark  the 

difference  of  the  words:  it  saith,  he  that  I  redeemed  by  the  blood  of  the  Lord, 
stumbleth  shall  be  broken;  but  he  on  whom  j  have  the  Lord  Himself  rising  from 
it  shall  come,  shall  be  ground  to  powder.  At 'dead,  who  presented  Himself  to  be  felt 
the  first,  because  He  came  lowly,  men  stum- j  by  the  hands  of  the  doubting  disciples: 
bled  at  Him:  because  He  shall  come  lofty  to  and  while  they  yet  doubted,  He  said  to  them, 
judgment,  on  whomsoever  He  shall  come,  He  "It  behoved  Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise  from 
will  grind  him  to  powder.  But  not  that  man  the  dead  the  third  day:  and  that  repentance 
will  He  grind  to  powder  at  His  future  com-  and  remission  of  sins  should  be  preached  in 
ing,  whom  He  broke  not  when  He  came.  His  name"11 — Where?  which  way?  to  what 
He  that  stumbled  not  at  the  lowly,  shall  not  persons  ?— "  through  all  nations,  beginning  at 
dread  the  lofty.  Briefly  ye  have  heard  it,  Jerusalem."  Our  minds  are  set  at  rest  con- 
brethren:  he  that  stumbled  not  at  the  lowly,  cerning  the  unity  of  the  inheritance  !  Whoso 
shall  not  dread  the  lofty.  For  to  all  bad  does  not  communicate  with  this  inheritance, 
men  is  Christ  a  stone  of  stumbling;  whatever  is  gone  out. 
Christ  saith  is  bitter  to  them.  8.  But  let  us  not  be  made  sad:  "  They 


1  In/ra,  sec.  12.  »  i  John  ii.  -n 

4Saira>it,-nti.  5  Dan.  ii.  35. 


;  .John  xiv.  6. 
6  Conqtitissabiti 


7  i  John  ii.  22 
9  Ps.  ii.  8 


.  1 5,  note  3. 
l.ukc  xxiv.  46,  47. 


1  UK    I.I'ISTI.K   <)!••   ST.    JOHN. 


479 


went  out  from  us,  but  they  were  not  of  us; 
for  it"  tncy  had  I.ITM  <>!  us,  t:u-y  would  no 
doubt  have  continued  with  us."1  It  then 
they  went  out  Iroin  us,  they  are  anti 
christs;  it  they  are  antirhnsts.  they  are  liars; 
if  they  are  liars,  tn«.-y  deny  that  JCMIS  is  the 
Ciinst.  Once  more  we  come  back  to  the 
difficulty  of  the  question.  Ask  them  one  by 
one;  tliev  confess  that  Jesus  is  the  Cnrist. 
The  difficulty  that  hampers  us  comes  of  our 
taking  what  is  said  in  the  Kpistle  in  too  nar 
row  a  sense.  At  any  rate  ye  see  the  ques 
tion;  this  question  puts  both  us  and  them  to 
a  stand,  if  it  be  not  understood.  Either  we 
are  antichrists,  or  they  are  antichrists;  they 
call  us  antichrists,  and  say  that  we  went  out 
from  them;  we  say  the  like  of  them.  But 
now  this  epistle  has  marked  out  the  anti 
christs  by  this  cognizance:  "  Whosoever 
denies  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,"  that  same 
44  is  an  antichrist."  Now  therefore  let  us 
enquire  who  denies;  and  let  us  mark  not  the 
tongue,  but  the  deeds.  For  if  all  be  asked, 
all  with  one  mouth  confess  that  Jesus  is  the 
Christ.  Let  the  tongue  keep  still  for  a  little 
while,  ask  the  life.  If  we  shall  find  this,  if 
the  Scripture  itself  shall  tell  us  that  denial  is 
a  thing  done  not  only  with  the  tongue,  but 
also  with  the  deeds,  then  assuredly  we  find 
many  antichrists,  who  with  the  mouth  pro 
fess  Christ,  and  in  their  manners  dissent  from 
Christ.  Where  find  we  this  in  Scripture  ? 
Hear  Paul  the  Apostle;  speaking  of  such, 
he  saith,  "  For  they  confess  that  they  know- 
God,  but  in  their  deeds  deny  Him."2  We 
find  these  also  to  be  antichrists:  whosoever 
in  his  deeds  denies  Christ,  is  an  antichrist.  I 
listen  not  to  what  he  says,  but  I  look  what 
life  he  leads.  Works  speak,  and  do  we  re 
quire  words  ?  For  where  is  the  bad  man  that 
does  not  wish  to  talk  well  ?  But  what  saith 
the  Lord  to  such  ?  "Ye  hypocrites,  how 
can  ye  speak  good  things,  while  ye  are  evil  ?  "3 
Your  voices  ye  bring  into  mine  ears:  I  look 
into  your  thoughts.  I  see  an  evil  will  there, 
and  ye  make  a  show  of  false  fruits.  I  know 
what  I  must  gather,  and  whence;  I  do  not 
4 'gather  figs  of  thistles,"  I  do  not  gather 
"  grapes  of  thorns;  "  for  "  every  tree  is  known 
by  its  fruit."4  A  more  lying  antichrist  is  he 
who  with  his  mouth  professes  that  Jesus  is 
the  Christ,  and  with  his  deeds  denies  Him. 
A  liar  in  this,  that  he  speaks  one  thing,  and 
does  another. 

9.  Now  therefore,  brethren,  if  deeds  are 
to  be  questioned,  not  only  do  we  find  many 
antichrists  gone  out;  but  many  not  yet  mani 
fest,  who  have  not  gone  out  at  all. 


«  i  John  ii.  19. 
3  tf.it.  x  ' 


xii.  34. 


-Tit.  i.  ,',' 

4  Matt.  xii.  7,  16. 


many  as  the  Cnurch  hath  within  it  that  arc- 
perjured,  defrauders,5  addicted  to  black 
>:isulters  of  fortune-tellers,  adulterers, 
drunkards,  usurers,  boy-stealers/'  and  all  the 
other  vices  that  we  are  notable  to  enumerate; 
tlioe  things  are  contrary  to  the  doctrine  of 
Cnrist,  are  contrary  to  the  word  of  (iod. 
Now  the  Word  of  God  is  Christ:  whatever  is 
contrary  to  the  Word  of  God  is  in  Antichrist. 
For  Antichrist  means,  "  contrary  to  Cnrist." 
And  would  ye  know  how  openly  these  resist 
Christ?  Sometimes  it  happens  that  they  do 
some  evil,  and  one  begins  to  reprove  them; 
because  they  dare  not  blaspheme  Christ,  they 
blaspheme  His  ministers  by  whom  they  are 
reproved:  but  if  thou  show  them  that  thou 
speakest  Cnrist's  words,  not  thine  own,  they 
endeavor  all  they  can  to  convict  thee  of 
speaking  thine  own  words,  not  Christ's:  if 
however  it  is  manifest  that  thou  speakest 
Christ's  words,  they  go  even  against  Christ, 
they  begin  to  find  fault  with  Christ:  "  How," 
say  they,  "  and  why  did  He  make  us  such  as 
we  are  ? "  Do  not  persons  say  this  every  day, 
when  they  are  convicted  of  their  deeds  ?  Per 
verted  by  a  depraved  will,  they  accuse  their 
Maker.  Their  Maker  cries  to  them  from 
heaven,  (for  the  same  made  us,  who  new- 
made  us:)  What  made  I  thee  ?  I  made  man, 
not  avarice;  I  made  man,  not  robbery;  I 
made  man,  not  adultery.  Thou  hast  heard 
that  my  works  praise  me.  Out  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Three  Cnildren,  it  was  the  hymn  itself 
that  kept  them  from  the  fires."  7  The  works 
of  the  Lord  praise  the  Lord,  the  heaven, 
the  earth,  the  sea,  praise  Him;  praise  Him  all 
things  that  are  in  the  heaven,  praise  Him 
angels,  praise  Him  stars,  praise  Him  lights, 
praise  Him  whatever  swims,  whatever  flies, 
whatever  walks,  whatever  creeps;  all  these 
praise  the  Lord.  Hast  thou  heard  there  that 
avarice  praises  the  Lord  ?  Hast,  thou  heard 
that  drunkenness  praises  the  Lord  ?  That 
luxury  praises,  that  frivolity  praises  Him  ? 
Whatever  thou  nearest  not  in  that  hymn  give 
praise  to  the  Lord,  the  Lord  made  not  that 
thing.  Correct  what  thou  hast  made,  that 
what  God  made  in  thee  may  be  saved.  Bui 
if  thou  wilt  not,  and  lovest  and  embraces! 
thy  sins,  thou  art  contrary  to  Christ.  Be 
thou  within,  be  thou  without,  thou  art  an 
antichrist;  be  thou  within,  be  thou  without, 
thou  art  chaff.  But  why  art  thou  not  with 
out  ?  Because  thou  hast  not  fallen  in  with  a 
wind  to  carry  thee  away. 

10.   These   things   are    now   manifest,   my 
brethren.      Let  no  man  say,  I  do  not  worship 


5  ,}falffiivs.  6  Mil ' 

7  Roogof  the  Three  Holy  Children.     F..r  i>re  trium  fuerorum 
ipst  hynmus  erat  gut  a/>  igitibxs  <ief,-ndebnt. 


480 


THE   WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[H..M11.Y     III. 


Christ,  but  I  worship  God  His  Father. 
"  livery  one  that  denieth  the  Son,  hath 
neither  the  Son  nor  the  Father;  and  he  that 
confesseth  the  Son,  hath  both  the  Son  and 
the  Father/' '  He  speaks  to  you  that  are 
grain:  and  let  those  who  were  chaff,  hear,  and 
become  grain.  Let  each  one,  looking  well  to 
his  own  conscience,  if  he  be  a  lover  of  the 
world,  be  changed;  let  him  become  a  lover 
of  Christ,  that  he  be  not  an  antichrist.  If  one 
shall  tell  him  that  he  is  an  antichrist,  he  is 
wroth,  he  thinks  it  a  wrong  done  to  him;  per 
chance,  if  he  is  told  by  him  that  strives  with 
him2  that  he  is  an  antichrist,  he  threatens  an 
action  at  law.3  Christ  saith  to  him,  Be 
patient;  if  thou  hast  been  falsely  spoken  of, 
rejoice  with  me,  because  I  also  am  falsely 
spoken  of  by  the  antichrists:  but  if  thou  art 
truly  spoken  of,  come  to  an  understanding 
with  thine  own  conscience;  and  if  thou  fear  to 
be  called  this,  fear  more  to  be  it. 

ii.  "  Let  that  therefore  abide  in  you,  which 
ye  have  heard  from  the  beginning.  If  that 
which  ye  have  heard  from  the  beginning  shall 
abide  in  you,  ye  also  shall  abide  in  the  Son, 
and  in  the  Father.  And  this  is  the  promise 
that  He  hath  promised  us."4  For  haply 
thou  mightest  ask  about  the  wages,  and  say, 
Behold,  "that  which  I  have  heard  from  the 
beginning  I  keep  safe  in  me,  I  comply  there 
with;  perils,  labors,  temptations,  for  the  sake 
of  this  continuance,  I  bear  up  against  them 
all:  with  what  fruit?  what  wages?  what  will 
He  hereafter  give  me,  since  in  this  world 
I  see  that  I  labor  among  temptations  ?  I  see 
not  here  that  there  is  any  rest:  mere  mortality 
weigheth  down  the  soul,  and  the  corruptible 
body  presseth  it  down  to  lower  things:  but  I 
bear  all  things,  that  "  that  which  I  have  heard 
from  the  beginning  "  5  may  "  remain  "  in  me; 
and  that  I  may  say  to  my  God,  "  Because  of 
the  words  of  Thy  lips  have  I  kept  hard 
ways."6  Unto  what  wages  then?  Hear,  and 
faint  not.  If  thou  wast  fainting  in  the 
labors,  upon  the  promised  wages  be  strong. 
Where  is  the  man  that  shall  work  in  a  vine 
yard,  and  shall  let  slip  out  of  his  heart  the 
reward  he  is  to  receive  ?  Suppose  him  to 
have  forgotten,  his  hands  fail.  The  remem 
brance  of  the  promised  wages  makes  him  per- 


»  i  John  ii.  23.  Omnis  qui  negat  Filiunt,  nee  Filium  nee 
Fatrcin  /;,(/•.-.'  .  ,-t  iftii  c<ni/ltftur  /-'ilium,  /•'ilium  ft  I'titrftn 
habet.  St.  Cyprian,  Tettimon.  <ni~'.  />«/.  ii.  27.  Qui  ncfat  /-'ili 
um,  neque  I'atrein  habet  :  qui  crntitetur  /-'ilium,  et  /-ilium  ft 
ratrem  hat'ct :  and  just  so  St.  Hilar.  de  Trin.  vi.  42.  For  the 
Greek,  the  clause  6  6/noAoyoii'  -rov  vibv  KO.I  rbv  na-repa.  f\ci  is 
at.uncl.mtly  authenticated  by  numerous  MSS  ,  \Vrs.  Syr.  and  Aeth., 
.  II.  in  Joann.  ix.  sec.  40:  and  the  mission  by  some  MSS. 
and  (Eettm**.  Thrcpkyl.\*  sufficiently  exph.in.-d  l.y' the  similar 
ending  of  this  and  the  former  clause.  The  addition  ft  I- ilium  in 
the  latt>  t  .  be  peculiar  to  the  Latin,  and  nee /-ilium 

in  the  former  to  Augustin's  copies. 

2  I.itieante.  3  Inscri/itionem.  *i   John  ii.  24,  25. 

5  Wisd.  ix.  15.         6  Ps.  xvii.  4,  LXX.  and  Viilg. 


severing  in  the  work:  and  yet  he  that  prom 
ised  it  is  a  man  who  can  deceive  thine 
expectation.  How  much  more  strong  oughtest 
thou  to  be  in  God's  field,  when  He  that 
promised  is  the  Truth,  Who  can  neither  have 
any  successor,  nor  die,  nor  deceive  him  to 
whom  the  promise  was  made  !  And  what  is 
the  promise  ?  Let  us  see  what  He  hath 
promised.  Is  it  gold  which  men  here  love 
much,  or  silver?  Or  possessions,  for  which 
men  lavish  gold,  however  much  they  love 
gold  ?  Or  pleasant  lands,  spacious  houses, 
many  slaves,  numerous  beasts  ?  Not  these 
are  the  wages,  so  to  say,  for  which  he  ex 
horts  us  to  endure  in  labor.  What  are  these 
wages  called?  "eternal  life."  Ye  have 
heard,  and  in  your  joy  ye  have  cried  out: 
love  that  which  ye  have  heard,  and  ye  are 
delivered  from  your  labors  into  the  rest  of 
eternal  life.  Lo,  this  is  what  God  promises; 
' '  eternal  life. ' ' 7  Lo,  this  what  God  threatens ; 
eternal  fire.  What  to  those  set  on  the  right 
hand?  "Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father, 
receive  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from 
the  beginning  of  the  world."8  To  those  on 
the  left,  what?  "Go  into  eternal  fire,  pre 
pared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels."  Thou 
dost  not  yet  love  that:  at  least  fear  this. 

12.  Remember  then,  my  brethren,  that 
Christ  hath  promised  us  eternal  life:  "This," 
saith  he,  "is  the  promise  which  He  hath 
promised  us,  even  eternal  life.  These  things 
have  I  written  to  you  concerning  them  which 
seduce  you."9  Let  none  seduce  you  unto 
death:  desire  the  promise  of  eternal  life. 
What  can  the  world  promise  ?  Let  it  promise 
what  you  will,  it  makes  the  promise  per 
chance  to  one  that  to-morrow  shall  die.  And 
with  what  face  wilt  thou  go  hence  to  Him 
that  abideth  for  ever?  "  But  a  powerful  man 
threatens  me,  so  that  I  must  do  some  evil." 
What  does  he  threaten  ?  Prisons,  chains, 
fires,  torments,  wild  beasts:  aye,  but  not  eter 
nal  fire?  Dread  that  which  One  Almighty 
threatens;  love  that  which  One  Almighty 
promises;  and  all  the  world  becomes  vile  in 
our  regard,  whether  it  promise  or  terrify. 
"These  things  have  I  written  unto  you  con 
cerning  them  which  seduce  you:  that  ye  may 
know  that  ye  have  an  unction,  and  the  unc 
tion  which  we  have  received  from  Him  may 
abide  in  you."  I0  In  the  unction  we  have  the 
sacramental  sign  [of  a  thing  unseen],  the  vir 
tue  itself  is  invisible;11  the  invisible  unction 


Matt.  act.   H.  *  Matt.  xxv.  41.  9  i   John  ii.  25,  26. 

»°  i  John  ii.  26,  27.  f'f  sciatis  quia  nnctifncm  h.ibftis,  ft 
tinctio  qinun  accff>imnsab  eo /•••rmaneat  in  nobis.  This  read 
ing,  whirh  is  not  found  in  the  (Ireck  copies,  may  have  originated 
in  the  attempt  to  explain  a  difficult  construction.  The  Vulgate 
keeps  close  to  the  llreek  :  l:t  fcs  unitionein  quain  a,  fffistis  at> 
to  matt fiit  in  vobis. 

"  Unctionissacranifntum  esf,  virtus  i/sa  inrisibilis  :  i.e.  the 


H..MIIV    IV.] 


THE  EPIS1  I.I.  OF  S  r.  JOHN. 


is  the  Holy  Ghost;  the  invisible  unction  is 
that  charity,  which,  in  whomsoever  it  be, 
shall  be  as  a  root  to  him:  however  burning 
the  sun,  he  cannot  wither.  All  that  is  rooted 
is  nourished  by  the  sun's  warmth,  not  with 
ered. 

13.  "  And  ye  have  no  need  that  any  man 
teach  you,  because  His1  unction  teacheth  you 
concerning  all  things."3  Then  to  what  pur 
pose  is  it  that  "  we,"  my  brethren,  teach  you  ? 
If  "  His  unction  teacheth  you  concerning  all 
things,"  it  seems  we  labor  without  a  cause. 
And  what  mean  we,  to  cry  out  as  we  do? 
Let  us  leave  you  to  His  unction,  and  let  His 
unction  teach  you.  But  this  is  putting  the 
question  only  to  myself:  I  put  it  also  to  that 
same  apostle:  let  him  deign  to  hear  a  babe 
that  asks  of  him:  to  John  himself  I  say,  Had 
those  the  unction  to  whom  thou  wast  speak 
ing?  Thou  hast  said,  **  His  unction  teacheth 
you  concerning  all  things.'*  To  what  pur 
pose  hast  thou  written  an  Epistle  like  this  ? 
what  teaching  didst  "  thou  "  give  them  ?  what 
instruction  ?  what  edification  ?  See  here  now, 
brethren,  see  a  mighty  mystery.3  The  sound 
of  our  words  strikes  the  ears,  the  Master  is 
within.  Do  not  suppose  that  any  man  learns 
ought  from  man.  We  can  admonish  by  the 
sound  of  our  voice;  if  there  be  not  One  with 
in  that  shall  teach,  vain  is  the  noise  we  make. 
Aye,  brethren,  have  ye  a  mind  to  know  it? 
Have  ye  not  all  heard  this  present  discourse  ? 
and  yet  how  many  will  go  from  this  place  un 
taught  !  I,  for  my  part,  have  spoken  to  all; 
but  they  to  whom  that  Unction  within  speaketh 
not,  they  whom  the  Holy  Giiost  within  teacheth 


unction  <>r  chrism  which  we  receive  is  a  sacrament u»t,  a  thing  in 
which,  as  Aug.  defines  the  term,  "aliud  fidetur,  aliud  intelli- 
••-••  thing  is  seen,  another  understood."     •'  Aliud  est  sat- 
tiimfntuin,  ,1 1 '/  in /  rif  t  us  sacrament i,"  supra  Horn.  xxvi.  it. 

| .  f/us,  representing  the  reading  TO  UUTOU 

\pi<Tna  :  but  the  truer  reading,  TO  avrb  \picr^u,  seems  to  be  recog- 
ni/rd  in  the  opening  of  Horn,  iv.,  I/JTO  unctio  docet  vos  de  om 
nibus. 

2  i  John  K.  27. 

^Jiim  /i/\    -:'i,l,-t<-  iiin^iiiitti  sa,T,iHtfntMtit  :  as  above,  sec.  7  ; 
n  i,,,ili  ].l.ii  .•-.  that  wlu-re;is  tin- .ip..>ilf's  word*  seem  at 
tir-t  sight  t.i  he  cuntradic-ted  by  farts,  his  true  meaning  lies  deeper, 
and  involves  a  spiritual  truth  of  great  importance. 


not,  those  go  back  untaught.  1 
of  the  master  from  without  are  a  sort  of  aids 
and  admonitions.  lie  that  teacheth  the 
hearts,  hath  His  chair  in  heaven.  Therefore 
saith  He  also  Himself  in  the  Gospel:  "  Call 
no  man  your  master  upon  earth;  One  is  your 
Master,  even  Christ."4  Let  Him  therefore 
Himself  speak  to  you  within,  when  not  one 
of  mankind  is  there:  for  though  there  be 
some  one  at  thy  side,  there  is  none  in  thine 
heart.  Yet  let  there  not  be  none  in  thine 
heart:'  let  Christ  be  in  thine  heart:  let  His 
unction  be  in  the  heart,  lest  it  be  a  heart 
thirsting  in  the  wilderness,  and  having  no 
fountains  to  be  watered  withal.  There  is 
then,  I  say,  a  Master  within  that  teacheth: 
Christ  teacheth;  His  inspiration  teacheth. 
Where  His  inspiration  and  His  unction  is 

|  not,  in  vain  do  words  make  a  noise  from  with 
out.  So  are  the  words,  brethren,  which  we 

!  speak  from  without,  as  is  the  husbandman  to 
the  tree:  from  without  he  worketh,  applieth 
water  and  diligence  of  culture;  let  him  from 
without  apply  what  he  will,  does  he  form  the 
apples  ?  does  he  clothe  the  nakedness  of  the 
wood  with  a  shady  covering  of  leaves?  does 
he  do  any  thing  like  this  from  within  ?  But 
whose  doing  is  this  ?  Hear  the  husbandman, 
the  apostle:  both  see  what  we  are,  and  hear 
the  Master  within:  "I  have  planted,  Apollos 
hath  watered;  but  God  gave  the  increase: 
neither  he  that  planteth  is  any  thing,  neither 
he  that  watereth,  but  He  that  giveth  the  in 
crease,  even  God."6  This  then  we  say  to 

jyou:  whether  we  plant,  or  whether  we  water, 
by  speaking  we  are  not  any  thing;  but  He 
that  giveth  the  increase,  even  God:  that  is, 
"  His  unction  which  teacheth  you  concern 
ing  all  things." 

4  Afatt.  xxiii.  8,  q. 

5  fit  non  sit  nullus  in  corde  iuo.     Three  MSS.  ft  non  sit  ullus 
in  corde  tuo  ["  and  let  there  not   be  any  in  thine  heart,  (only)   let 
Christ  be   in   thine  heart"].     One  MS.:  et  nullus  in  earth-  tuo; 
another:  ft  nullus  sit  in  corde  to*  {with  the  same  meaning].    BBN. 
Bodl.  MSS.  vary,  no  two  reading  alike.      One,  "  et  ne  sit  uttus." 
The  reading  most   like  St.  Aug.   would  be,   "  et  ne  lit  nuiius," 
"  and  lest  there  be  none." 

6  i  Cor.  iii.  6,  7. 


HOMILY     IV. 

i  JOHN  II.  27;  III.  8. 


"  And  it  is  true,  and  lieth  not.  Even  as  it  hath  taught  you,  abide  in  it.  And  now, 
little  children,  abide  in  Him;  that,  when  He  shall  appear,  we  may  have  confidence,  and 
not  be  put  to  shame  by  Him  at  His  coming.  If  ye  know  that  He  is  righteous,  know  ye  that 
every  one  that  doeth  righteousness  is  born  of  Him.  Behold,  what  manner  of  love  the 
Father  hath  bestowed  upon  us,  that  we  should  be  called  and  should  be  the  sons  of  God: 

31 


482 


THK   WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[HOMILY  IV. 


therefore  the  world  knoweth  us  not,  because  it  knew  not  Him,  us  also  the  world  knoweth 
not.  Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God,  and  it  is  not  yet  manifested  what  we  shall  be. 
We  know  that,  when  He  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  Him;  for  we  shall  see  Him  as 
He  is.  And  every  man  that  hath  this  hope  in  Him  purifieth  himself,  even  as  He  is  pure. 
Whosoever  committeth  sin  committeth  also  iniquity.  Sin  is  iniquity.  And  ye  know  that 
He  was  manifested  to  take  away  sin;  and  in  Him  is  no  sin.  Whosoever  abideth  in  Him 
sinneth  not:  whosoever  sinneth  hath  not  seen  Him,  neither  known  Him.  Little  children, 
let  no  man  seduce  you.  He  that  doeth  righteousness  is  righteous,  even  as  He  is  right 
eous.  He  that  committeth  sin  is  of  the  devil;  for  the  devil  sinneth  from  the  beginning.  For 
this  purpose  the  Son  of  God  was  manifested;  that  He  might  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil." 


1.  YE  remember,  brethren,  that  yesterday's 
lesson  was  brought  to  a  close  at  this  point, 
that  "ye  have  no  need  that  any  man  teach 
you,  but  the  unction  itself  teacheth  you  con 
cerning  all  things."    Now  this,  as  I  am  sure  ye 
remember,  we  so  expounded  to  you,  that  we 
who  from  without  speak  to  your  ears,  are  as 
workmen  applying  culture  from  without  to  a 
tree,  but  we  cannot   give  the  increase   nor 
form  the  fruits:  but  .only  He  that  created  and 
redeemed  and  called  you,  He,   dwelling  in 
you  by  faith  and  the  Spirit,  must  speak  to 
you  within,  else  vain  is  all  our  noise  of  words. 
Whence  does  this  appear?     From  this:    that 
while  many  hear,  not  all   are  persuaded  of 
that  which   is  said,  but  only  they  to  whom 
God  speaks  within.     Now  they  to  whom  He 
speaks  within,  are  those  who  give  place  to 
Him:  and  those  give  place  to  God,  who  "  give 
not  place  to   the'    devil."1     For  the   devil 
wishes  to  inhabit  the    hearts  of   men,   and 
speak    there   the   things  which   are   able   to 
seduce.     But  what    saith   the   Lord   Jesus  ? 
"The    prince   of   this  world  is  cast  out."2 
Whence  cast  ?  out  of  heaven  and  earth  ?  out 
of  the  fabric  of  the  world  ?     Nay,  but  out  of 
the   hearts   of   the   believing.     The    invader 
being  cast  out,  let  the  Redeemer  dwell  with 
in:  because  the  same  redeemed,  who  created. 
And  the  devil  now  assaults  from  without,  not 
conquers  Him  that  hath    possession  within. 
And  he  assaults  from  without,  by  casting  in 
various  temptations:  but  that  person  consents 
not  thereto,  to  whom  God  speaks  within,  and 
the  unction  of  which  ye  have  heard. 

2.  "And   it   is  true,"  namely,   this   same 
unction;    /.  e.  the   very   Spirit   of   the   Lord 
which  teacheth  men,  cannot  lie:  "and  is  not 
false.3     Even  as  it    hath   taught  you,  abide 
ye   in  the  same.     And  now,   little  children, 
abide  ye  in  Him,  that  when  He  shall  be  man 
ifested,  we  may  have  boldness  in  His  sight, 
that  we  be  not  put  to  shame  by  Him  at  His 


1  Eph.  v.  27.  »  John  xii.  31. 

i  Mrndax.  Or.  ^«0«ot.  Vulg.  Mrtidaciu,,,.  In  the  follow-in* 
clause  et  om.  as  icai  in  Cod.  Alex.  In  i/s,i,  Or.  iv  aiiriZ,  taken  as 
referred  to  \piaita,  "  in  the  unction"  (I^it.  two  MM,  in  if>so.) 
Vulg.  /«<-o,  "in  Christ." 


coming/' 4  Ye  see,  brethren:  we  believe  on 
Jesus  whom  we  have  not  seen:  they  an 
nounced  Him,  that  saw,  that  handled,  that 
heard  the  word  out  of  His  own  mouth;  and 
that  they  might  persuade  all  mankind  of  the 
truth  thereof,  they  were  sent  by  Him,  not 
dared  to  go  of  themselves.  And  whither 
were  they  sent  ?  Ye  heard  while  the  Gospel 
was  read,  "Go,  preach  the  Gospel  to  the 
whole  creation  which  is  under  heaven."5 
Consequently,  the  disciples  were  sent  "  every 
where:  "  with  signs  and  wonders  to  attest  that 
what  they  spake,  they  had  seen.  And  we 
believe  on  Him  whom  we  have  not  seen,  and 
we  look  for  Him  to  come.  Whoso  look  for 
Him  by  faith,  shall  rejoice  when  He  cometh: 
those  who  are  without  faith,  when  that  which 
now  they  see  not  is  come,  shall  be  ashamed. 
And  that  confusion  of  face  shall  not  be  for 
a  single  day  and  so  pass  away,  in  such  sort 
as  those  are  wont  to  be  confounded,  who  are 
found  out  in  some  fault,  and  are  scoffed  at 
by  their  fellow-men.  That  confusion  shall 
carry  them  that  are  confounded  to  the  left 
hand,  that  to  them  it  may  be  said,  "  Go  into 
everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and 
his  angels."  6  Let  us  abide  then  in  His  words, 
that  we  be  not  confounded  when  He  cometh. 
For  Himself  saith  in  the  Gospel  to  them  that 
had  believed  on  Him:  "If  ye  shall  abide  in 
my  word,  then  are  ye  verily  my  disciples."7 
And,  as  if  they  had  asked,  With  what  fruit? 
"And,"  saith  He,  "ye  shall  know  the  truth, 
and  the  truth  shall  make  you  free."  For  as 
yet  our  salvation  is  in  hope,  not  in  deed:  for 
we  do  not  already  possess  that  which  is  prom 
ised,  but  we  hope  for  it  to  come.  And 
"  faithful  is  He  that  promised;  "  *  He  deceiv- 
eth  not  thee:  only  do  tliou  not  faint,  but  wait 
for  the  promise.  For  He,  the  Truth,  cannot 
deceive.  Be  not  thou  a  liar,  to  profess  one 
thing  and  do  another;  keep  thou  the  faith, 
and  He  keeps  His  promise.  But  if  thou  keep 
not  the  faith,  thine  own  self,  not  He  that 
promised,  hath  defrauded  thee. 


4  i  li.hn  iii.  27,  28.  5  Mark  xvi.  15.     i 

o  Nfa'.t.  xxv.  31.  7  John  viii.  31,  32.  8  Heb.  x.  23. 


ll.'MU  V     IV.  | 


Tin:  EPIS1  i.i.  • >!•   ST.  JOHN. 


•  If  ye  know  tint  !!<•  i>  righteous,  know 
t   doeth   righteousness 

is  born  of  Him."  -'  The  righteousness  which 
at  present  is  ours  is  of  faith.  Perfect  right 
eousness  is  not,  save  only  in  the  angels:  and 
in  angels,  if  they  be  compared  with 
C.od:  yet  if  there  be  any  perfect  righteousness 
<>f  souls  and  spirits  which  God  hath  created,  it 
is  in  the  angels,  holy,  just,  good,  by  no  lapse 
turned  aside,  by  no  pride  falling,  but  re 
maining  ever  in  the  contemplation  of  the 
Word  of  C.od,  and  having  nothing  else  sweet 
unto  them  save  Him  by  whom  they  were 
created;  in  them  is  perfect  righteousness: 
but  in  us  it  has  begun  to  be,  of  faith,  by  the 
Spirit.  Ye  heard  when  the  Psalm  was  read, 
"Begin3  ye  to  the  Lord  in  confession."4 
"  Begin,"  saith  it;  the  beginning  of  our  right 
eousness  is  the  confession  of  sins.  Thou 
hast  begun  not  to  defend  thy  sin;  now  hast 
thou  made  a  beginning  of  righteousness:  but 
it  shall  be  perfected  in  thee  when  to  do  noth 
ing  else  shall  delight  thee,  when  "  death,  shall 
be  swallowed  up  in  victory," 5  when  there 
shall  be  no  itching  of  lust,  when  there  shall 
be  no  struggling  with  flesh  and  blood,  when 
there  shall  be  the  palm  of  victory,  the  tri 
umph  over  the  enemy;  then  shall  there  be 
perfect  righteousness.  At  present  we  are 
still  fighting:  if  we  fight  we  are  in  the  lists;6 
we  smite  and  are  smitten;  but  who  shall  con 
quer,  remains  to  be  seen.  And  that  man  con 
quers,  who  even  when  he  smites  presumes 
not  on  his  own  strength,  but  relies  upon  God 
that  cheers  him  on.  The  devil  is  alone  when 
he  fights  against  us.  If  we  are  with  God,  we 
overcome  the  devil:  for  if  thou  fight  alone 
with  the  devil,  thou  wilt  be  overcome.  He  is 
a  skillful  enemy:  how  may  'palms  has  he 
won  !  Consider  to  what  he  has  cast  us  down  ! 
That  we  are  born  mortal,  comes  of  this,  that 
he  in  the  first  place  cast  down  from  Paradise 
our  very  original.  What  then  is  to  be  done, 
seeing  he  is  so  well  practised  ?  Let  the 
Almighty  be  invoked  to  thine  aid  against  the 
devices  of  the  devil.  Let  Him  dwell  in  thee, 
who  canno*  be  overcome,  and  thou  shall 
securely  overcome  him  who  is  wont  to  over 
come.  But  to  overcome  whom  ?  Those  in 
whom  God  dwelleth  not.  For,  that  ye  may 
know  it,  brethren;  Adam  being  in  Paradise 
despised  the  commandment  of  God.  and  lifted 
up  the  nerk,  as  if  he  desired  to  be  his  own 
master,  and  were  loath  to  be  subject  to  the 
will  of  God:  so  he  fell  from  that  immortality, 


.    • 

it  indicative,    "to  know  tlmt   He  is 
know  tli.it,  A<  ."  probably  oJiore  would  have  been 
repeated  as  in  5,  15,  av  oi&ajitv  —  <u$a/i*f. 


•  .v  Vuljf.  Gr.ytnivm*  as  imperative,  ••h<n<<-  i.-.mi  >•• 
1,.  know  that.  £c."      Were 


''  t  John  iii.  20. 

3  Incipite,  LXX.  efopfaT*.     Vuljf.  pr<rci 

4  Ps.  cxlvii.  7.  5  i  Cor.  xv.  24. 


from  that  blessedness.  But  there  was  a 
certain  man,  a  man  now  well  skilled,  though 
a  mortal  born,  who  even  as  he  sat  on  the 
dunghill,  putrifying  with  worms,  overcame 
the  devil:  yea,  Adam  himself  then  overcame: 
even  he,  in  Job;  because  Job  was  of  his  race. 
So  then,  Adam,  overcome  in  Paradise,  over 
came  on  the  dunghill.  Being  in  Paradise, 
he  gave  ear  to  the  persuasion  of  the  woman 
which  the  devil  had  put  into  her:  but  being 
on  the  dunghill  he  said  to  Eve,  "  Thou  hast 
spoken  as  one  of  the  foolish  women."' 
There  he  lent  an  ear,  here  he  gave  an  answer: 
when  he  was  glad,  he  listened,  when  he  was 
scourged,  he  overcame.  Therefore,  see  what 
follows,  my  brethren,  in  the  Epistle:  because 
this  is  what  it  would  have  us  lay  to  heart, 
that  we  may  overcome  the  devil  indeed,  but 
not  of  ourselves.  "  If  ye  know  that  He  is 
righteous,"  saith  it,  "know ye  that  everyone 
that  doeth  righteousness  is  born  of  Him:  " 
of  God,  of  Christ.  And  in  that  he  hath  said, 
"  Is  born  of  Him,"  he  cheers  us  on.  Al 
ready  therefore,  in  that  we  are  born  of  Him, 
we  are  perfect. 

4.  Hear.  "Behold  what  manner  of  love 
the  Father  hath  given  us,  that  we  should  be 
called  sons  of  God,  and  be  "(such).9  For 
whoso  are  called  sons,  and  are  not  sons,  what 
profiteth  them  the  name  where  the  thing  is 
not  ?  How  many  are  called  physicians,  who 
know  not  how  to  heal  !  how  many  are  called 
watchers,  who  sleep  all  night  long  !  So,  many 
are  called  Christians,  and  yet  in  deeds  are 
not  found  such;  because  they  are  not  this 
which  they  are  called,  that  is,  in  life,  in 
manners,  in  faith,  in  hope,  in  charity.  But 
what  have  ye  heard  here,  brethren  ?  "  Be 
hold,  what  manner  of  love  the  Father  hath 
bestowed  upon  us,  that  we  should  be  called, 
and  should  be,  the  sons  of  God:  therefore 
the  world  knoweth  us  not,  because  it  hath  not 
known  Him,  us  also  the  world  knoweth 
not.""  There  is  a  whole  world  Christian, 
and  a  whole  world  ungodly;  because  through 
out  the  whole  world  there  are  ungodly,  and 
throughout  the  whole  world  there  are  godly: 
those  know  not  these.  In  what  sense,  think 
we,  do  they  not  know  them  ?  They  deride 
them  that  live  good  lives.  Mark  well  and 


7  Job  ii.  10.  i  John   iii.    I. 

9  I'oi-fmitr  ftsintut.    Vuljf.  nontinftttur  tt  si'mus.    Cod.  Alex, 
and    other    authorities,  K  \rflw  ^ei-  xai  «<rw»i-    (received    !  . 
m;mn>.     Mill  in  I.  cites  as  from  Auuustin,  but   without  specifying 
the  place  :   (>«/  r;; \infnr  ft  n,'n  sunt,  quid /oddest  HHs  name*  t 
.(    this  pa.vsatfe.1      /  ',-runi  flic  /tx/Hitur  de  ttom- 
inf  i/und  ,i  /Vo  tt  ibaittir  :   kic  n,>n  fit  Jis^rinien  inter  Jici  et 
tuch   l(H,ks  r.itlu-r  lik.-  an  rxpr.--.Mon  ..I"  dissent,  by  Mill 
-  ~'>riir  other.] 

|"  «m  «'<TM«'J."  Westcntt  and  Hort,  "  and  such  we  are,"  Rev.V. 
Uol  ch.  iii.  i,  wanting  in  Autli.  V     -J.H.M.] 
which  there  .ire 
"  there- 

A.II!.!   knoweth   us  not. 
.  !>ecaus<:  the  world  knew  not  Him,  it  knows  not  us." 


434 


THE  WORKS  ol    ST.   .U'GUSTiX. 


[IIoMH.v     IV. 


see:  for  haply  there  are  such  also  among  you. 
Each  one  of  you  who  now  lives  godly,  who 
despises  worldly  things,  who  does  not  choose 
to  go  to  spectacles,  who  does  not  choose  to 
make  himself  drunken  as  it  were  by  solemn 
custom,  yea,  what  is  worse,  under  counte 
nance  of  holy  days  to  make  himself  unclean;; 
the  man  who  does  not  choose  to  do  these  i 
things,  how  is  he  derided  by  those  who  do  | 
them!1  Would  he  be  scoffed  at  if  he  were  ! 
known?  But  why  is  he  not  known?  "The 
world  knoweth  Him  not."  Who  is  "the 
world"?  Those  inhabiters  of  the  world. 
Just  as  we  say,  "a  house;"  meaning, 
its  inhabitants.  These  things  have  been 
said  to  you  again  and  again,  and  we  for 
bear  to  repeat  them  to  your  disgust.  By  this 
time,  when  ye  hear  the  word  "world,"  in  a 
bad  signification,  ye  know  that  ye  must  un 
derstand  it  to  mean  only  lovers  of  the  world; 
because  through  love  they  inhabit,  and  by 
inhabiting  have  become  entitled  to  the  name. 
Therefore  the  world  hath  not  known  us,  be 
cause  it  hath  not  known  Him.  He  walked 
here  Himself,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  the 
flesh;  He  was  God,  He  was  latent  in  weak 
ness.2  And  wherefore  was  He  not  known  ? 
Because  He  reproved  all  sins  in  men.  They, 
through  loving  the  delights  of  sins,  did  not  j 
acknowledge  the  God:  through  loving  that 
which  the  fever  prompted,  they  did  wrong  to 
the  Physician. 

5.  For  us  then,  what  are  we  ?  Already  we 
are  begotten  of  Him;  but  because  we  are  such 
in  hope,  he  saith,  "  Beloved,  now  are  we  sons 
of  God."  Now  already?  Then  what  is  it 
we  look  for,  if  already  we  are  sons  of  God  ? 
"And  not  yet,"  saith  he,  "is  it  manifested 
what3  we  shall  be."  But  what  else  shall  we 
be  than  sons  of  God?  Hear  what  follows: 
"We  know  that,  when  He  shall  appear,  we 
shall  be  like  Him,  because  we  shall  see  Him 
as  He  is.''  Understand,  my  beloved.  It  is 
a  great  matter:  "  We  know  that,  when  He 
shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  Him;  for  we 
shall  see  Him  as  He  is."  In  the  first  place 
mark,  what  is  called  "  Is."  Ye  know  what  it 
is  that  is  so  called.  That  which  is  called 
"  Is,"  and  not  only  is  called  but  is  so,  is  un 
changeable:  It  ever  remaineth,  It  cannot  be 
changed,  It  is  in  no  part  corruptible:  It 
hath  neither  proficiency,  for  It  is  perfect;  nor 
hath  deficiency,  for  It  is  eternal.  And  what 


1  Supra  :  add  F.p.  29,  ad  Alypium. 

3  Ed.  Hen.  plact-s  the  colon  before  in  carne  :  "  in  the  flesh  He 
was  God,  &c.  Hut  [Aux.  several  times  uses  ninhulare,  without 
an  object.— J.  H.  M.]  i:ml>ulahat  srrm«  to  require  an  object  to 
complete  the  sense,  and  the  antithesis  ln-tw.-en  ,-i-at  and  latebat 
is  more  emphatic  when  in  carne  is  given  to  the  former  clause. 
So  Hodl.  150,  I-aud.  116. 

3  (Jin'd  eriiiiiis.  \u\K.-rila6ncBoL.  F.narr.\n  Psa.  xxxvii.  a, 
8  8,  quod  erimus.  6  TI  .•  so  St.  Jerome  in  Epist.  Epiphan.  "  the 
thing  which  we  shall  be  is  not  yet  made  manifest." 


is  this?  "In  the  beginning  was  the  Word, 
and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word 
was  God."4  And  what  is  this  ?  "Who  being 
in  the  form  of  God,  thought  it  not  robbery 
to  be  equal  with  God."5  To  see  Christ  in 
this  sort,  Christ  in  the  form  of  God,  Word  of 
God,  Only-Begotten  of  the  Fatner,  equal 
with  the  Father,  is  to  the  bad  impossible. 
But  in  regard  that  the  Word  was  made  flesh, 
the  bad  also  shall  have  power  to  see  Him: 
because  in  the  day  of  judgment  the  bad  also 
will  see  Him;  for  He  shall  so  come  to  judge, 
as  He  came  to  be  judged.  In  the  selfsame 
form,  a  man,  but  yet  God:  for  "cursed  is 
every  one  that  putteth  his  trust  in  man."6 
A  man,  He  came  to  be  judged,  a  man,  He 
will  come  to  judge.  And  if  He  shall  not  be 
seen,  what  is  this  that  is  written,  "  They  shall 
look  on  Him  whom  they  pierced  ?  "  7  For  of 
the  ungodly  it  is  said,  that  they  shall  see  and 
be  confounded.  How  shall  the  ungodly  not 
see,  when  He  shall  set  some  on  the  right 
hand,  others  on  the  left  ?  To  those  on  the 
right  hand  He  will  say,  "  Come,  ye  blessed  of 
my  Father,  receive  the  kingdom:  "  8  to  those 
on  the  left  He  will  say,  *'  Go  into  everlasting 
fire. ' '  They  will  see  but  the  form  of  a  servant, 
the  form  of  God  they  will  not  see.  Why  ?" 
because  they  were  ungodly;  and  the  Lord 
Himself  saith,  "  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart, 
for  they  shall  see  God."9  Therefore,  we  are 
to  see  a  certain  vision,  my  brethren,  "  which 
neither  eye  hath  seen,  nor  ear  hath  heard, 
nor  hath  entered  into  the  heart  of  man:  "  I0  a 
certain  vision,  a  vision  surpassing  all  earthly 
beautifulness,  of  gold,  of  silver,  of  groves  and 
fields;  the  beautifulness  of  sea  and  air,  the 
beautifulness  of  sun  and  moon,  the  beautiful- 
ness  of  the  stars,  the  beautifulness  of  angels: 
surpassing  all  things:  because  from  it  are  all 
things  beautiful. 

6.  What  then  shall  "we"  be,  when  we 
shall  see  this  ?  What  is  promised  to  us  ? 
"  We  shall  be  like  Him,  for  we  shall  see  Him 
as  He  is."  The  tongue  hath  done  what  it 
could,  hath  sounded  the  words:  let  the  rest 
be  thought  by  the  heart.  For  what  hath  even 
John  himself  said  in  comparison  of  That 
which  Is,  or  what  can  be  said  by  us  men,  who 
are  so  far  from  being  equal  to  his  merits  ? 
Return  we  therefore  to  that  unction  of  Him, 
return  we  to  that  unction  which  inwardly 
teaclieth  that  which  we  cannot  speak:  and 
because  ye  cannot  at  present  see,  let  your 
part  and  duty  be  in  desire.  The  whole  life 
of  a  good  Christian  is  an  holy  desire."  Now 


4  John  i.  i.  5  Phil.  li.  6.  6  ler.  xvii.  5. 

7  John  xix.  37.          8  Matt.  xxv.  41.  9  Matt.  v.  8. 

»°  i  Cor.  ii.  9. 

"  ["  Ixjnjring."  The  word  of  that  other  Church  father,— before 
Aii<ustin's  day,— who  thanked  God  that  from  his  youth  up  he  had 
been  a  "  man  of  longings,"  ?•/>  desidiorum.—).  H.  M-l 


H..MII.V    IV.] 


•iiii',  EPIS1  11.  •  'i   ST.  JOHN. 


485 


what  thou  longest  for,  thou  dost  not  yet  see: 
howbcit   by   longing,  thou   art   made  capable, 


agreeth  with  his  fellow-apostle,  "  By  hope  we 
arc    saved.      Hut    hope    that    is    seen,    is    not 


M>  tii.it  wuen  t:i:it  i»  come  which  thou  mayest  hope:  for  what  a  man  seeth,  why  doth  he 
ion  shall  be  tilled.  For  just  as,  if  thou  j  hope  for  ?  For  if  what  we  see  not,  we  hope 
wouldest  fill  a  lug,1  and  knowest  how  great  |  for,  by  patience  we  wait  for  it."6  This  very 
the  tiling  is  that  shall  be  given,  thou  stretch- :  patience  exerciseth  desire.  Continue  thou, 
cst  the  opening  of  the  sack  or  the  skin,  or  lor  He  continueth:  and  persevere  thou  in 


whatever  else  it  be;  thou  knowest  how  much 
thou  wouldest  put  in,  and  seest  that  the  bag 
is  narrow;  by  stretching  thou  makest  it  capa 
ble  of  holding  more:  so  God  by  deferring  our 
hope,  stretches  our  desire;  by  the  desiring, 


stretches  the  mind;    by  stretching,  makes  it   that    he 
more  capacious.     Let  us  desire  therefore,  my   purifieth 
brethren,   for  we  shall   be  filled.     See   Paul 
widening,  as  it  were,2  his  bosom,  that  it  may 
be  able   to  receive  that  which   is  to  come. 
He  saith,  namely,  "  Not  that  I  have  already 
received,   or  am  already   perfect:    brethren, 
I  deem  not  myself  to  have  apprehended."3 
Then  what  art  thou  doing  in  this  life,  if  thou 
have  not  yet  apprehended  ?     "  But  this  one 


walking,  that  thou  mayest  reach  the  goal:  for 
that  to  which  thou  tendest  will  not  remove. 
See:  "And  every  one  that  hath  this  hope  in 
Him,  purifieth7  himself  even  as  He  is  pure."8 
See  how  he  has  not  taken  away  free-will,  in 


thing  [I  do];  forgetting  the  things  that  are 
behind,  reaching  forth  to  the  things  that  are 
before,  4upon  the  strain  I  follow  on  unto  the 
prize  of  the  high  calling."  He  says  he 
reaches  forth,  or  stretches  himself,  and  says 
that  he  follows  "upon  the  strain."  He  felt 
himself  too  little  to  take  in  that  "  which  eye 
hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neitner  hath 
entered  into  the  heart  of  man."  5  This  is  our 
life,  that  by  longing  we  should  be  exercised. 
But  holy  longing  exercises  us  just  so  much 
as  we  prune  off  our  longings  from  the  love 
of  the  world.  We  have  already  said,  "  Empty 
out  that  which  is  to  be  filled."  With  good 
thou  art  to  be  filled:  pour  out  the  bad.  Sup 
pose  that  God  would  fill  thee  with  honey:  if 
thou  art  full  of  vinegar,  where  wilt  thou  put 
the  honey  ?  That  which  the  vessel  bore  in 
it  must  be  poured  out:  the  vessel  itself  must 
be  cleansed;  must  be  cleansed,  albeit  with 
labor,  albeit  with  hard  rubbing,  that  it  may 
become  fit  for  that  thing,  whatever  it  be. 
Let  us  say  honey,  say  gold,  say  wine;  what 
ever  we  say  it  is,  being  that  which  cannot  be 
said,  whatever  we  would  fain  say,  It  is 
called — God.  And  when  we  say  "  God,"  what 
have  we  said  ?  Is  that  one  syllable  the  whole 
of  that  we  look  for?  So  then,  whatever  we 
have  had  power  to  say  is  beneath  Him:  let  us 
stretch  ourselves  unto  Him,  that  when  He 
shall  come,  He  may  fill  us.  For  "  we  shall 
be  like  Him;  because  we  shall  see  Him  as 
He  is." 

7.   "  And  every  one  that  hath  this  hope  in 
Him."     Ye  see  how  he  hath  set  us  our  place, 


in    "  hope. 

Ye  see 

how  the  Apostle  Paul 

'  Si  num. 
,  nju  in 

*  Sinum. 
intentionent.     G 

3  Phil.  iii.  i   . 
r.  «aTa  truottov.          5  i  Cor.  ii.  9. 

saith,    "purifieth    himself."     Who 
us    but  God?     Yea,  but  God    doth 


not  purify  thee  if  thou  be  unwilling.  There 
fore,  in  that  thou  joinest  thy  will  to  God,  in 
that  thou  purifiest  thyself.  Thou'  purifiest 
thyself,  not  by  thyself,  but  by  Him  who 
cometh  to  inhabit  thee.  Still,  because  thou 
doest  somewhat  therein  by  the  will,  therefore 
is  somewhat  attributed  to  thee.  But  it  is  at 
tributed  to  thee  only  to  the  end  thou  should- 
est  say,  as  in  the  Psalm,  "  Be  thou  my 
helper,  forsake  me  not."9  If  thou  sayest, 
"  Be  thou  my  helper,"  thou  doest  somewhat: 
for  if  thou  be  doing  nothing,  how  should  He 
be  said  to  "  help  "  thee  ? 

8.   "  Every  one  that  doeth  sin,  doeth  also 


iniquity. 


Let  no  man  say,  Sin  is  one  thing, 


iniquity  another:  let  no  man  say,  I  am  a  sin 
ful  man,  but  not  "a  doer  of  iniquity.  For, 
"  Every  one  that  doeth  sin,  doeth  also  iniq 
uity.  Sin  is  iniquity."  Well  then,  what 
are  we  to  do  concerning  sins  and  iniquities  ? 
Hear  what  He  saith:  "And  ye  know  that  He 
was  manifested  to  take  away  sin;  and  sin  in 
Him  is  not."  "  He,  in  Whom  sin  is  not,  the 
same  is  come  to  take  away  sin.  For  were 
there  sin  in  Him,  it  must  be  taken  away  from 


Him,  not  He  take  it  away  Himself. 


Who 


soever  abideth  in  Him,  sinneth  not."13  In 
so  far  as  he  abideth  in  Him,  in  so  far  sinneth 
not.  "  Whosoever  sinneth  hath  not  seen 
Him,  neither  known  Him."  A  great  ques 
tion  this:  "  Whosoever  sinneth  hath  not  seen 
Him,  neither  known  Him/'  No  marvel. 
We  have  not  seen  Him,  but  are  to  see;  have 
not  known  Him,  but  are  to  know:  we  be 
lieve  on  One  we  have  not  known.  Or 
by  faith  we  have  known,  and  by 


actual  beholding14  have  not  yet  known  ?  But 
then  in  faith  we  have  both  seen  and 
known.  For  if  faith  doth  not  yet  see,  why 
are  we  said  to  have  been  enlightened  ?  There 
is  an  enlightening  by  faith,  and  an  enlight 
ening  by  sight.  At  present,  while  we  are  on 
pilgrimage,  "  we  walk  by  faith,  not  by  sight,"'5 


Rom.  viii.  24,  25. 

•  vii.  ii. 


tut. 

:i  iii.  4.     Law!- 

i-  i  "|o!ni  in    ;.  «.<  i  Joha  iii.  6. 

r     v.    ;. 


486 


THE   \VOKKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[HoMII.Y     IV. 


or,  actually  beholding.  Therefore  also  our 
righteousness  is  "by  faith,  not  by  sight." 
Our  righteousness  shall  be  perfect,  wuen  we 
shall  see  by  actual  beholding.1  Only,  in  the 
meanwhile,  let  us  not  leave  that  righteousness 
which  is  of  faith,  since  "  the  just  doth  live  by 
faith,"2  as  saith  the  apostle.  "Whosoever 
abideth  in  Him,  sinneth  not."  For,  "who 
soever  sinneth,  hath  not  seen  Him,  neither 
known  Him."  That  man  who  sins,  believes 
not:  but  if  a  man  believes,  so  far  as  pertains 
to  his  faith,  he  sinneth  not. 

9.  "  Little  children,  let  no  man  seduce 
you.  He  that  doeth  righteousness  is  right 
eous,  as  He  is  righteous."  3  What?  on  hear 
ing  that  we  are  "  righteous  as  He  is  right 
eous,"  are  we  to  think  ourselves  equal  with 
God  ?  Ye  must  know  what  means  that  "as  :  " 
thus  he  said  a  while  ago,  "  Purifieth  himself 
even  as  He  is  pure."  Then  is  our  purity  like 
and  equal  to  the  purity  of  God,  and  our 
righteousness  to  God's  righteousness  ?  Who 
can  say  this?  But  the  word  "as,"  is  not 
always  wont  to  be  used  in  the  sense  of  equal 
ity.  As,  for  example,  if,  having  seen  this 
large  church,4  a  person  should  wish  to  build 
a  smaller  church,  but  with  the  same  relative 
dimensions:  as,  for  example,  if  this  be  one 
measure  in  width  and  two  measures  in  length, 
he  too  should  build  his  church  one  measure 
in  width  and  two  measures  in  length:  in  that 
case  one  sees  that  he  has  built  it  "as"  this 
is  built.  But  this  church  has,  say,  a  hundred 
cubits  in  length,  the  other  thirty:  it  is  at  once 
"  as  "  this,  and  yet  unequal.  Ye  see  that  this 
"as"  is  not  always  referred  to  parity  and 
equality.  For  example,  see  what  a  differ 
ence  there  is  between  the  face  of  a  man  and 
its  image  from  a  -mirror:  there  is  a  face  in 
the  image,  a  face  in  the  body:  the  image 
exists  in  imitation,  the  body  in  reality.  And 
what  do  we  say  ?  Why,  "  as  "  there  are  eyes 
here,  so  also  there;  "as''  ears  here,  so  ears 
also  there.  The  thing  is  different,  but  the 
"  as  "  is  said  of  the  resemblance.  Well  then, 
we  also  have  in  us  the  image  of  God;  but  not 
that  which  the  Son  equal  with  the  Father 
hath:  yet  except  we  also,  according  to  our 
measure,  were  "as"  He,  we  should  in  no  re 
spect  be  said  to  be  like  Him.  "  He  purifieth 
us,"  then,  "even  as  He  is  pure:"  but  He  is 
pure  from  eternity,  we  pure  by  faith.  \\'e 
are  "  righteous  even  as  He  is  righteous;  "  but 
He  is  so  in  His  immutable  perpetuity,  \ve 
righteous  by  believing  on  One  we  do  not  see, 
that  so  we  may  one  day  see  Him.  Kvrn 
when  our  righteousness  shall  be  perfect,  when 
we  shall  be  equal  to  the  angels,  not  even  then 


1  Per  sptL 
3  i  John, 


shall  it  be  equalled  with  Him.  How  far  then 
is  it  from  Him  now,  when  not  even  then  it 
shall  be  equal  ! 

10.  "He  that  doeth  sin,  is  of   the  devil, 
because  the  devil   sinneth    from    the    begin 
ning."5     "  Is  of  the  devil:  "  ye  know  what  he 
means:  by  imitating  the  devil.     For  the  devil 
made   no   man,  begat   no   man,   created    no 
man:  but  whoso  imitates  the  devil,  that  per 
son,  as  if  begotten  of  him,  becomes  a  child 
of  the  devil;  by  imitating  him,  not  literally 
by  being  begotten  of  him.     In  what  sense  art 
thou  a  child  of  Abraham  ?  not  that  Abraham 
begat  thee  ?     In  the  same  sense  as  the  Jews, 
the  children  of  Abraham,  not  imitating  the 
faith  of  Abraham,  are  become  children  of  the 
devil:  of  the  flesh  of  Abraham  they  were  be 
gotten,  and  the  faith  of  Abraham  they  have 
not  imitated.     If  then  those  who  were  thence 
begotten  were  put  out  of  the  inheritance,  be 
cause  they  did  not  imitate,  thou,  who  art  not 
begotten  of  him,  art  made  a  child,  and  in  this 
way  shall  be  a  child  of  him  by  imitating  him. 
And  if  thou  imitate  the  devil,  in  such  wise  as 
he  became  proud  and  impious  against  God, 
thou  wilt  be  a  child  of  the  devil:  by  imitating, 
not  that  he  created  thee  or  begat  thee. 

11.  "Unto  this  end  was  the  Son  of  God 
manifested."     Now    then,    brethren,    mark  ! 
All  sinners  are  begotten  of  the  devil,  as  sin 
ners.     Adam  was    made  by  God:    but  when 
he  consented  to  the  devil,  he  was  begotten  of 
the  devil;    and  he  begat  all  men  such  as  he 
was  himself.     With  lust  itself  we  were  born; 
even  before  we  add  our  sins,  from  that  con 
demnation  we  have  our  birth.     For  if  we  are 
born  without  any  sin,  wherefore  this  running 
with  infants  to  baptism  that  they  may  be  re 
leased  ?     Then  mark  well,  brethren,  the  two 
birth-stocks,6   Adam    and    Christ:    two   men 
are;    but  one  of  them,  a  man  that  is  man; 
the   other,    a   Man    that    is    God.     By   the 
man  that  is  man  we  are  sinners;  by  the  Man 
that  is  God  we  are  justified.     That  birth  hath 
cast  down  unto  death;    this  birth  hath  raised 
up  unto  life:    that  birth  brings  with  it  sin; 
this  birth  setteth  free  from  sin.     For  to  this 
end  came  Christ  as  Man,  to  undo7  the  sins  of 
men.     "  Unto  this  end  was  the  Son  of  God 
manifested,  that  He  may  undo  the  works  of 
the  devil." 

12.  The  rest  I  commend  to  your  thoughts, 
my  beloved,    that    I   may   not   burden    you. 
For  the  question  we  labor  to  solve  is  even  this 
— that  we  call  ourselves  sinners:    for  if  any 
man   shall  say  that  he   is  without  sin,  he  is  a 
liar.     And  in  the  Epistle  of  this  same  John 
we  have  found  it  written,  "  If  we  say  that  we 

Sijohniii.  8.  <>  \ath-itatet.  1  S,<. 


H..MIIV   V.| 


•nil'.    K.I'ISTI.K   OK  ST.    JOHN. 


4*7 


. 

.•ml   remember  \viiat   went  before:   "  If 
,   that  we   have  no  sin,  we  de<  eive  onr- 
,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us."      And  yet, 
on  the  other  hand,  in   what   follows  thon   art 
told,  "  He  that  is  begotten  of  ('.od  sinneth 
not:    he  that  doeth   sin    hath  not   seen    Him, 
neither  known    Him.  —  Every  one   that  doetn 
sin  is  of  the  devil:"    sin  is  not  of  God:    this 
affrights  us  again.      In  wuat   sense  are  we  be 
gotten  of  God,  and  in  what  sense  do  we  con- 

«  I  John  i.  !>. 


,:  selves  sini  !  we  say,  1  •< 

:en  of  God  ?  And  what  do 
these  Sacraments  in  regard  to  infants  ?  U'hat 
hath  John  said  ?  "  He  that  is  begotten  of 
God,  sinnetli  not."  And  yet  a^a:n  the  same 
John  hath  said,  "  If  we  say  that  we  have  no 
sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not 
in  us  !"  A  great  question  it  is,  and  an  em 
barrassing  one;  and  may  I  have  made  you  in 
tent  upon  having  it  solved,  my  beloved.  To 
morrow,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  what  He 
will  give,  we  will  discourse  thereof. 


HOMILY    V. 

i  JOHN  III.  9-18. 


"  Whosoever  is  born  of  God  doth  not  commit  sin;  for  his  seed  remaineth  in  him:  and 
he  cannot  sin,  because  he  is  born  of  God.  In  this  the  children  of  God  are  manifest,  and 
the  children  of  the  devil:  whosoever  is  not  righteous  is  not  of  God,  neither  he  that  loveth 
not  his  brother.  For  this  is  the  message  that  ye  heard  from  the  beginning,  that  we  should 
love  one  another.  Not  as  Cain,  who  was  of  the  wicked  one,  and  slew  his  brother.  And 
wherefore  slew  he  him  ?  Because  his  own  works  were  evil,  and  his  brother's  righteous. 
Marvel  not,  my  brethren,  if  the  world  hate  us.  We  know  that  we  have  passed  from 
death  unto  life,  because  we  love  the  brethren.  He  that  loveth  not  abideth  in  death.  Who 
soever  hateth  his  brother  is  a  murderer:  and  ye  know  that  no  murderer  hath  eternal  life 
abiding  in  him.  In  this  we  know  love,  that  He  laid  clown  His  life  for  us:  and  we  ought 
to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren.  But  whoso  hath  this  world's  good,  and  seeth  his 
brother  have  need,  and  shutteth  up  his  bowels  of  compassion  from  him,  how  can  the  love  of 
God  dwell  in  him?  My  little  children,  let  us  not  love  only  in  word  and  in  tongue;  but  in 
deed  and  in  truth." 


i.  HEAR  intently,  I  do  beseech  you,  be 
cause  it  is  no  small  matter  that  we  have  to 
cope  withal:  and  I  doubt  not,  because  ye 
were  intent  upon  it  yesterday,  that  ye  have 
with  even  greater  inte'ntness  of  purpose  come 
together  to-day.  For  it  is  no  slight  question, 
how  he  saith  in  this  Epistle,  "  Whosoever  is 
born  of  God,  sinneth  not,"  '  and  how  in  the 
same  Epistle  he  hath  said  above,  "  If  we  say 
that  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves, 
ami  the  truth  is  not  in  us."J  What  shall  the 
man  do,  who  is  pressed  by  both  sayings  out 


he  is  just  and  that  he  hath  no  sin,  he  receives 
on  the  other  side  a  blow  from  the  same  Epis 
tle,  "If  we  say  that  we  have  no  sin,  we  de 
ceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us." 
Placed  then  as  he  is  in  the  midst,  what  he 
can  say  and  what  confess,  or  what  profess, 
he  cannot  find.  To  profess  himself  to  be 
without  sin,  is  full  of  peril;  and  not  only  full 
of  peril,  but  also  full  of  error:  "  We  deceive 
ourselves,"  saith  he,  "and  the  truth  is  not 
in  us,  if  we  say  that  we  have  no  sin."  But 
oh  that  thou  hadst  none,  and  saidst  this  ! 


of   the    same    Epistle?     If    he  shall    confess    for   then    wouldest   thou    say    truly,    and    in 
himself  a  sinner,  he  fears  lest  it  be  said   to    uttering  the  truth  wouldest  have  not  so  much 


him,  Then  art  thou  not  born  of  God;  be 
cause  it  is  written,  "Whosoever  is  born  of 
God,  sinneth  not."  But  if  he  shall  say  that 


John 


John  i.  8. 


as  a  vestige  of  wrong  to  be  afraid  of.  But, 
that  thou  doest  ill  if  thou  say  so,  is  because 
it  is  a  lie  that  thou  sayest.  "The  truth," 
saith  he,  "  is  not  in  us,  if  we  say  that  we  have 
no  sin."  He  saith  not,  "Have  not  had;" 


488 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


lest  Imply  it  should  seem  to  be  spoken  of  the 
past  life.  For  the  man  here  hath  had  sins; 
but  from  the  time  that  he  was  born  of  God, 
he  has  begun  not  to  have  sins.  If  it  were  so, 
there  would  be  no  question  to  embarrass  us. 
For  we  should  say,  We  have  been  sinners, 
but  now  we  are  justified:  we  have  had  sin,  but 
now  we  have  none.  He  saith  not  this:  but 
what  saith  he  ?  "  If  we  say  that  we  have  no 
sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not 
in  us."  And  then  after  a  while  he  says  on 
the  other  hand,  "  Whosoever  is  born  of  God 
sinneth  not."  Was  John  himself  not  born  of 
God  ?  If  John  was  not  born  of  God,  John,'  of 
whom  ye  have  heard  tnat  he  lay  in  the  Lord's 
bosom;  does  any  man  dare  engage  for  himself 
that  in  him  has  taken  place  that  regeneration 
which  it  was  not  granted  to  that  man  to  have, 
to  whom  it  was  granted  to  lie  in  the  bosom  of 
the  Lord  ?  The  man  whom  the  Lord  loved 
more  than  the  rest,1  him  alone  had  He  not 
begotten  of  the  Spirit  ? 

2.  Mark  now  these  words.  As  yet,  I  am 
urging  it  upon  you,  what  straits  we  are  put  to, 
that  by  putting  your  minds  on  the  stretch, 
that  is,  by  your  praying  for  us  and  for  your 
selves,  God  may  make  enlargement,  and  give 
us  an  outlet:  lest  some  man  find  in  His  word 
an  occasion  of  his  own  perdition,  that  word 
which  was  preached  and  put  in  writing  only 
for  healing  and  salvation.  "Every  man." 
saith  he,  "that  doeth  sin,  doeth  also  iniq 
uity."  Lest  haply  thou  make  a  distinction, 
"  Sin  is  iniquity."  Lest  thou  say,  A  sinner 
I  am,  but  not  a  doer  of  iniquity,  "Sin  is  iniq 
uity.  And  ye  know  that  to  this  end  was 
He  manifested,  that  He  should  take  away 
sin;  and  there  is  no  sin  in  Him."  And  what 
doth  it  profit  us,  that  He  came  without  sin  ? 
"  Every  one  that  sinneth  not,  abideth  in 
Him:  and  every  one  that  sinneth,  hath  not 
seen  Him,  neither  known  Him.  Little 
children,  let  no  man  seduce  you.  He  that 
doeth  righteousness  is  righteous,  even  as  He 
is  righteous."  This  we  have  already  said, 
that  the  word  "  as  "  is  wont  to  be  used  of  a 
certain  resemblance,  not  of  equality.  "  He 
that  doeth  sin  is  of  the  devil,  because  the 
devil  sinneth  from  the  beginning."  This  too 
we  have  already  said,  that  the  devil  created 
no  man,  nor  begat  any,  but  his  imitators  are, 
as  it  were,  born  of  him.  "  To  this  end  was 
the  Son  of  God  manifested,  that  He  should 
undo2  the  works  of  the  devil."  Conse 
quently,  to  undo  (or  loose)  sins,  He  that 
hath  no  sin.  And  then  follows:  "  Every  one 
that  is  born  of  God  doth  not  commit  sin;  for 


'  John  xiii.  23. 

'Sotvat.     [Gr.    Awn-Wro/,   meaning  destroy 
atin;  so  here  in  Auth.  V.  and  in  Kev.V.-J.  II.  M.J 


in   classical 


his  seed  remaineth  in  him:  and  he  cannot 
sin,  because  he  is  born  of  God:"3  he  has 
drawn  the  cord  tight  l^Belike,  it  is  in  regard 
of  M»me  one  sin  that  he  hath  said,  "  Doth  not 
sin,"  not  in  regard  of  all  sin:  that  in  this 
that  he  saith,  "  Whoso  is  born  of  God,  doth  not 
sin,"  thou  mayest  understand  some  one  par 
ticular  sin,  which  that  man  who  is  born  of 
God  cannot  commit:4  and  such  is  that  sin 
that,  if  one  commit  it,  it  confirms  the  rest. 
What  is  this  sin  ?  To  do  contrary  to  the 
commandment.  What  is  the  commandment  ? 
"A  new  commandment  give  I  unto  you,  that 
ye  love  one  another."5  Mark  well  !  This 
commandment  of  Christ  is  called,  "love." 
By  this  love  sins  are  loosed.  If  this  love  be 
not  kept,  the  not  holding  it  is  at  once  a  griev 
ous  sin,  and  the  root  of  all  sins. 

3.  Mark  well,  brethren;  we  have  brought 
forward  somewhat  in  which,  to  them  that  have 
good  understanding,  the  question  is  solved. 
But  do  we  only  walk  in  the  way  with  them 
that  run  more  swiftly  ?  Those  that  walk  more 
slowly  must  not  be  left  behind.  Let  us  turn 
the  matter  every  way,  in  such  words  as  we 
can,  in  order  that  it  may  be  brought  within 
reach  of  all.  For  I  suppose,  brethren,  that 
every  man  is  concerned  for  his  own  soul,  who 
does  not  come  to  Church  without  cause,  who 
does  not  seek  temporal  things  in  the  Church, 
who  does  not  come  here  to  transact  secular 
business;  but  comes  here  in  order  that  he 
may  lay  hold  upon  some  eternal  thing,  prom 
ised  unto  him,  whereunto  he  may  attain:  he 
must  needs  consider  how  he  shall  walk  in  the 
way,  lest  he  be  left  behind,  lest  he  go  back, 
lest  he  go  astray,  lest  by  halting  he  do  not 
attain.  Whoever  therefore  is  in  earnest,  let 
him  be  slow,  let  him  be  swift,  yet  let  him  not 
leave  the  way.  This  then  I  have  said,  that 


3  i  John  iii.  9. 

4  ["  Cannot   sin,"  &c.— Augustin  maintains  that  the  one  sin 
which  the  Christian  cannot  commit  is  violation  of  charity  ;  he  can 
not  do  otherwise  than  love,  and  do  acts  that  flow  from  love,  if  he 
be  a  Christian.     No  doubt  this  indicates  a  great  truth,  for  love 
expresses  the  inner  essence  of   the  believer's  life  and  character. 
Hut  the  strong  language  of  the  apostle  is  not  met  by  this  partial 
statement. 

Better  acknowledge  the  apparent  contradiction  between 
"  does  not  commit  sin,  '  "  cannot  sin,"  and  "  if  we  say,  we  have  no 
sin,  we  deceive  ourselves."  The  apostle  docs  not  solve  the  prob 
lem.  Meyer,  who  discards  many  explanations  of  the  first  two 
phrases,— as,  sinning  knowingly  and  wilfully,  committing  mortal 
sins  and  many  others  specified  by  him,  thinks  that  the  solution  lies 
in  the  fact  simply  that  the  apostle  desires  to  emphasize  the  con 
trast  between  born  of  God  and  a  sinner.  He  does  not  show  how 
emphasizing  a  contrast  explains  a  contradiction  (which  he  discov 
ers  in  the  passage).  Jonathan  Edwards  and  Kzek.  Hopkins, 
following  many  others  with  whom  Westcott  coincides,  judge  that 
the  alleged  impossibility  of  sinning  relates  to  total  char 
prevailing  habit  ;  the  Christian  may  be  surprised,  overtaken,  be 
guiled  by  sin,  but  fights  against  sin.  does  not  consent  to  sin  with 
his  whole  heart  ;  "  he  does  not  wish  sin."  It  has  been  added  that 
as  to  his  nature — renewed  ;  as  to  the  new  life — life  from  the  Spirit 
of  God, — his  divine  sonship  ami  -  lable  contraries. 

In  part,  these  siii^e-t i..iis  and  definitions  may  meet  the  difficulty 
which  the  apostle,  doubtless  wishing  to  present  a  high  ideal  of 
the  life  of  i. n.-  born  from  above,  leaves  for  practical  solution  by 
th"~e  whi-  h.ive  passed  from  death  unto  life.  — J.  H.  M.J 

5  John  xiii.  34. 


THE  EPISTLE  <  )F  ST.  JOHN. 


in  saying,  "  Whosm-vcr  is  bom  of  C,od  sin- 
nelh  not,"  it  is  probable  he  meant  it  ot  some 
particular  sin:  for  clsr  il  will  be  contrary  to 


him  the  cup  of  salvation,  but   He  to 

be  wisucd  to  offer  in  return?     Now  to  receive 

the  cup  of  salvation,  and  call  tijxm  the  name 


that  place:  "  If  we  say  that  we  have  no  sin,  of  the  Lord,  is  to  be  filled  with  charity;  and 
we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  so  filled,  that  not  only  thou  shall  not  hate  thy 
us."  In  this  way  then  the  question  may  be  brother,  but  shall  be  prepared  to  die  for  thy 


solved.  There  is  a  certain  sin,  which  he  that 
is  born  of  God  cannot  commit;  a  sin,  which 
not  being  committed,  other  sins  are  loosed, 
and  being  committed,  oiher  sins  are  con- 
tirmed.  What  is  this  sin  ?  To  do  conlrary 
to  Ihe  commandment  of  Christ,  contrary  to 
the  New  Testament.1  What  is  the  new  com 
mandment  ?  "A  new  commandmenl  give  I 
unlo  you,  lhalye  love  oneanoiher."1  Whoso 
doeih  contrary  to  charily  and  conlrary  lo 
brotherly  love,  let  him  not  dare  to  glory  and 
say  thai  he  is  born  of  God:  but  whoso  is  in 


brother.  Tnis  is  perfecl  charily,  that  thou 
be  prepared  to  die  for  thy  brother.  This  Ihe 
Lord  exhibiled  in  Himself,  who  died  for  all, 
praying  for  ihem  by  whom  He  was  crucified, 
and  saying,  "  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they 
know  nol  whal  they  do.''6  But  if  He  alone 
hath  done  this,  He  was  not  a  Master,  if  He 
had  no  disciples.  Disciples  who  came  after 
Him  have  done  this.7  Men  were  stoning 
Slephen,  and  he  knell  down  and  said,  "  Lord, 
lay  not  this  sin  to  their  charge."1*  He  loved 
them  that  were  killing  him;  since  for  them 


brotherly  love,  there  are  certain  sins  which  he   also  he  was  dying.     Hear  also  the  Apostle 
cannot  commit,  and   this  above  all,   thai  he   Paul:    "And  I  myself,"  sailh  he,  "will    be 


should  hale  his  brother.  And  how  fares  it 
with  him  concerning  his  other  sins,  of  which 
it  is  said,  "If  we  say  thai  we  have  no  sin,  we 
deceive  ourselves,  and  ihe  truth  is  not  in 
us  ? "  Let  him  hear  that  which  shall  set  his 
mind  at  rest  from  another  place  of  Scripture; 
"  Charity  coverelh  a  mullilude  of  sins."  3 

4.  Charily  iherefore  we  commend;  charily 
this  Epistle  commendeth.  The  Lord,  after 
His  resurreclion,  whal  queslion  pul  He  lo 
Peler,  but,  "  Lovest  thou  me?"4  And  it 
was  not  enough  to  ask  it  once;  a  second  time 
also  He  put  none  other  question,  a  third  lime 
also  none  olher.  Allhough  when  il  came  lo 
the  third  time,  Peter,  as  one  who  knew  nol 
what  was  the  drifl  of  Ihis,  was  grieved  be 
cause  il  seemed  as  if  the  Lord  did  not  believe 
him;  nevertheless  both  a  firsl  lime  and  a 
second,  and  a  Ihird  He  put  this  question. 
Thrice  fear  denied,  thrice  love  confessed. 
Behold  Peter  loveth  ihe  Lord.  What  is  he  to 
do  for  the  Lord  ?  For  think  not  thai  he  in 
Ihe  Psalm  did  nol  feel  himself  at  a  loss  what 
to  do:  "What  shall  I  render  unto  the  Lord 
for  all  ihe  benefiis  He  haih  done  unlo  me  ?"  5 
He  lhal  said  Ihis  in  Ihe  Psalm,  marked  whal 
greal  things  had  been  done  for  him  by  God; 
and  sought  what  he  should  render  to  God, 
and  could  find  nothing.  For  whatever  Ihou 
wouldesl  render,  from  Him  didsl  Ihou  receive 
il  lo  render.  And  what  did  he  find  lo  offer 
in  relurn  ?  Thai  which,  as  we  said,  my 
brethren,  he  had  received  from  Him,  thai 

will  re- 


spent  for  your  souls 


For  he  was  among 


Ihose  for  whom  Stephen,  when  by  iheir  hands 
he  was  dying,  besought  forgiveness.  This 
ihen  is  perfect  charity.  If  any  man  shall 
have  so  great  charity  that  he  is  prepared  even 
to  die  for  his  brethren,  in  thai  man  is  perfect 
charity.  But  as  soon  as  it  is  born,  is  it  al 
ready  quile  perfecl  ?  Thai  it  may  be  made 
perfect,  it  is  born;  when  born,  it  is  nourished; 
when  nourished,  it  is  strenglhened;  when 
strengthened,  il  is  perfecied;  when  il  has 
come  to  perfeclion,  what  saith  it?  "To  me 
to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain.  I 
wished  to  be  dissolved,  and  to  be  with  Christ; 
which  is  far  beller:  nevertheless  to  abide  in 
the  flesh  is  needful  for  you." to  For  iheir 
sakes  he  was  willing  lo  live,  for  whose  sakes 
he  was  prepared  lo  die. 

5.  And  that  ye  may  know  that  it  is  this 
perfect  charity  which  thai  man  violales  nol, 
and  againsl  which  lhal  man  sins  not,  who  is 
born  of  God;  this  is  what  ihe  Lord  sailh  lo 
Peler;  "Peler  lovesl  thou  me?"  And  he 
answers,  "I  love."  He  saith  not,  If  Ihou 
love  me,  shew  kindness  to  me.  For  when 
the  Lord  was  in  mortal  flesh,  He  hungered, 
He  thirsted:  at  that  lime  when  He  hungered 
and  ihirsled,  He  was  laken  in  as  a  guest; 
Ihose  who  had  ihe  means,  minisiered  unlo 
Him  of  their  substance,  as  we  read  in  the 
Gospel.  Zacchaeus  entertained  Him  as  his 
guesl:  he  was  saved  from  his  disease  by  en 
tertaining  Ihe  Physician.  From  whal  dis 
ease  ?  The  disease  of  avarice.  For  he  was 


only  found  he  lo  offer  in  relurn. 
ceive  ihe  cup  of  salvalion,  and  will  call  upon   very   rich,   and   ihe   chief   of   the   publicans, 
the  name  of  the  Lord."      For  who  had  given    Mark  the  man  made  whole  from  the  disease 

of  avarice:  "  The  half  of  my  goods  I  give  tp 
ts  "new"  in   tne  Poor'i  am'  'f  I  have  taken  any  thing  from 


'[Translator  here  follows  Eras.;    li.-nnl.   i 
atrmryto  tin-   New  Testament,"  and 
II.  M.] 

3  i  Pet.  iv.  8. 
4  John  xxi.  15-17.  5  1's.  cxvi.  12, 


6  Luke  xxiii.  34. 
9  a  Cor.  xii.  15. 


7  Serin,  cl 
10  1'hil.  i.  21 


8  Acts  vii.  59. 


490 


THK  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUS1  IN. 


[  HOMILY  V. 


any  man,  I  will  restore  him  fourfold."  '  That 
he  kept  the  other  half,  was  not  to  enjoy  it, 
but  to  pay  his  debts.  Well,  he  at  that  time 
entertained  the  Physician  as  his  guest,  be 
cause  there  was  infirmity  of  the  flesh  in  the 
Lord,  to  which  men  might  show  this  kind 
ness;  and  this,  because  it  was  His  will  to 
grant  this  very  thing  to  them  that  did  Him 
kind  service;  for  the  benefit  was  to  them  that 
did  the  service,  not  to  Him.  For,  could  He 
to  whom  angels  ministered  require  these 
men's  kindness?  Not  even  His  servant 
Elias,  to  whom  He  sent  bread  and  flesh  by 
the  ravens  upon  a  certain  occasion,2  had  need 
of  this;  and  yet  that  a  religious  widow  might 
be  blessed,  the  servant  of  God  is  sent,  and 
he  whom  God  in  secret  did  feed,  is  fed  by 
the  widow.  But  still,  although  by  the  means 
of  these  servants  of  God,  those  who  consider 
their  need  get  good  to  themselves,  in  respect 
of  that  reward  most  manifestly  set  forth  by 
the  Lord  in  the  Gospel:  "  He  that  receiveth 
a  righteous  man  in  the  name  of  a  righteous 
man  shall  receive  a  righteous  man's  reward: 
and  he  that  receiveth  a  prophet  in  the  name 
of  a  prophet  shall  receive  a  prophet's  reward: 
and  whosoever  shall  give  to  drink  unto  one  of 
these  little  ones  a  cup  of  cold  water  only  in 
the  name  of  a  disciple,  verily  I  say  unto  you, 
He  shall  in  no  wise  lose  his  reward:"3  al 
though,  then,  they  that  do  this,  do  it  to  their 
own  good:  yet  neither  could  this  kind  office 
be  done  to  Him  when  about  to  ascend4  into 
Heaven.  What  could  Peter,  who  loved  Him, 
render- unto  Him  ?  Hear  what.  "Feed  my 
sheep:  "  i.e.  do  for  the  brethren,  that  which 
I  have  done  for  thee.  I  redeemed  all  with 
my  blood:  hesitate  not  to  die  for  confession 
of  the  truth,  that  the  rest  may  imitate  you. 

6.  But  this,  as  we  have  said,  brethren,  is 
perfect  charity.  He  that  is  born  of  God  hath 
it.  Mark,  my  beloved,  see  what  I  say.  Be 
hold,  a  man  has  received  the  Sacrament  of 
that  birth,  being  baptized;  he  hath  the  Sac 
rament,  and  a  great  Sacrament,  divine,  holy, 
ineffable.  Consider  what  a  Sacrament !  To 
make  him  a  new  man  by  remission  of  all  sins  ! 
Nevertheless,  let  him  look  well  to  the  heart, 
whether  that  be  thoroughly  done  there,  which 
is  done  in  the  body;  let  him  see  whether  he 
have  charity,  and  then  say,  I  am  born  of 
God.  If  however  he  have  it  not,  he  has  in 
deed  the  soldier's  mark  upon  him,  but  he 
roams  as  a  deserter.  Let  him  have  charity; 
otherwise  let  him  not  say  that  he  is  born  of 
God.  But  he  says,  I  have  the  Sacrament. 
Hear  the  Apostle:  "If  I  know  all  myste 
ries,5  and  have  all  faith,  so  that  I  can  remove 


mountains,  and  have  not  charity,  I  am  noth 
ing."6 

7.  This,  if  ye  remember,  we  gave  you  to 
understand  in  beginning  to  read  this  Epistle, 
that  nothing  in  it  Is  so  commended  as  charity. 
Even  if  it  seems  to  speak  of  various  other 
things,  to  this  it  makes  its  way  back,  and 
whatever  it  says,  it  will  needs  bring  all  to 
bear  upon  charity.  Let  us  see  whether  it 
does  so  here.  Mark:  "Whosoever  is  born 
of  God  doth  not  commit  sin."  We  ask, 
what  sin  ?  because  if  thou  understand  all  sin, 
it  will  be  contrary  to  that  place,  "  If  we  say 
that  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves, 
and  the  truth  is  not  in  us."  Then  let  him 
say  what  sin;  let  him  teach  us;  lest  haply  I 
may  have  rashly  said  that  the  sin  here  is  the 
violation  of  charity,  because  he  said  above, 
"  He  that  hateth  hisbrotheris  in  darkness,  and 
walketh  in  darkness,  and  knoweth  not  whither 
he  goeth,  because  the  darkness  hath  blinded 
his  eyes."7  But  perhaps  he  has  said  some 
thing  in  what  comes  afterwards,  and  has  men 
tioned  charity  by  name  ?  See  that  this  cir 
cuit  of  words  hath  this  end,  hath  this  issue. 
"  Whosoever  is  born  of  God,  sinneth  not,  be 
cause  His  seed  remaineth  in  him.*' 8  The 
"seed"  of  God,  i.e.  the  word  of  God: 
whence  the  apostle  saith,  "I  have  begotten 
you  through  the  Gospel.  And  he  cannot 
sin,  because  he  is  born  of  God.5'9  Let  him 
tell  us  this,  let  us  see  in  what  we  cannot  sin. 
"  In  this  are  manifested  the  children  of  God 
and  the  children  of  the  devil.  Whosoever 
is  not  righteous  is  not  of  God,  neither  he 
that  loveth  not  his  brother."10  Aye,  now  in 
deed  it  is  manifest  of  what  he  speaks: 
"Neither  he  that  loveth  not  his  brother." 
Therefore,  love  alone  puts  the  difference  be 
tween  the  children  of  God  and  the  children 
of  the  devil.  Let  them  all  sign  themselves 
with  the  sign  of  the  cross  of  Christ;  let  them 
all  respond,  Amen;  let  all  sing  Alleluia;  let 
all  be  baptized,  let  all  come  to  church,  let  all 
build  the  walls  of  churches:  there  is  no  dis 
cerning  of  the  children  of  God  from  the  chil 
dren  of  the  devil,  but  only  by  charity.  They 
that  have  charity  are  born  of  God:  they  that 
have  it  not,  are  not  born  of  God.  A  mighty 
token,  a  mighty  distinction  !  Have  what 
thou  wilt;  if  this  alone  thou  have  not,  it  pro- 
fiteth  thee  nothing:  other  things  if  thou  have 
not,  have  this,  and  thou  hast  fulfilled  the  law. 
"  For  he  that  loveth  another  hath  fulfilled  the 
law,"  saith  the  apostle:  and,  "  Charity  is  the 
fulfilling  of  the  law."  "  I  take  this  to  be  the 
pearl  which  the  merchant  man  in  the  Gospel 
is  described  to  have  been  seeking,  who 


'  Luke  xix.  8. 

4  Ascensuro.— BEN. 


Kings  xvii. 


3  Matt.  x.  41,42. 


Cor.  xiii.  2. 
Cor.hr.  ,5. 


Tohni 
lohni 


8 i John 

»'  Rom.  xiii.  8,  10. 


II..MH.V     V.) 


1 111.  KTIS TI.K  oi-  si\  JOHN. 


"  found  one  pearl,  and   sold  all   that  he  had, 
and  bought  it."  '     This  is  the  pearl  uf  price, 


Charity,   without  which  whatever  thou    may-    eous    one.      Hence  then  are   men  discerned, 


est  have,  profiteth  thee  nothing:  which  if  alone 
thou  have,  it  sufficeth  thee.  Now,  with  faitii 
thou  scest,  then  with  actual  beholding'  thou 
shall  see.  For  if  we  love  when  we  see  not, 
how  snail  we  embrace  it  when  we  see  !  But 
waerein  must  we  exercise  ourselves?  In 
brotherly  love.  Thou  mayest  say  to  me,  I 
not  seen  God:  canst  thou  say  to  me,  I 
Inve  not  seen  man  ?  Love  thy  brother.  For 
if  thou  love  thy  brother  whom  thou  seest,  at 
the  s-ime  time  thou  shall  see  God  also;  be 
cause  thou  shall  see  Charity  itself,  and  with 
in  dwelleth  God. 

8.  "  Whosoever  is  not  righteous  is  not  of 
God,  neither  he  that  loveth  nol  his  brother."3 
"  For  Ihis  is  the  message:  "  mark  how  he  con 
firms  it:  "  For  this  is  the  message  which  we 
heard  from  the  beginning,  lhal  we  should 
love  one  another."  He  has  made  it  manifest 
to  us  that  it  is  of  this  he  speaks;  whoso  acts 
against  this  commandment,  is  in  that  accursed 
sin,  into  which  those  fall  who  are  not  born  of 
God.  "  Not  as  Cain,  who  was  of  that  wicked 


appeared  that  he  was  a  child  of  the  devil,  and 
iien<  e  also  that    the  other  was  God's    right- 


my  brethren.  Let  no  man  mark  the  tongue, 
but  the  deeds  and  the  heart.  If  any  do  not 
good  for  his  brethren,  he  shews  what  he  has 
in  him.  By  temptations  are  men  proved. 

9.  "  Marvel  not,  brethren,  if  the  world  hate 
us."6  Must  one  ofien  be  telling  you  what 
"the  world"  means?  Not  the  heaven,  not 
the  earlh,  nor  Ihese  visible  »vorks  which  God 
made;  bul  lovers  of  Ihe  world.  By  oflen 
saying  Ihese  things,  to  some  I  am  burden 
some:  bul  I  am  so  far  from  saying  it  without 
a  cause,  thai  some  may  be  questioned  whether 
I  said  it,  and  Ihey  cannot  answer.  Let  then, 
even  by  ihrusling  it  upon  them,  somelhing 
stick  fast  in  the  hearts  of  them  lhal  hear. 
What  is  "  the  world  "  ?  The  world,  when  put 
in  a  bad  sense,  is,  lovers  of  the  world:  the 
world,  when  the  word  is  used  in  praise,  is 
heaven  and  earth,  and  the  works  of  God  lhal 
are  in  Ihem;  whence  it  is  said,  "And  Ihe 
world  was  made  by  Him/'7  Also,  the  world 
is  the  fullness  of  the  earlh,  as  John  himself 
halh  said,  "  Nol  only  for  our  sins  is  He  the 
propitiator,  but  (for  the  sins)  of  the  whole 


one,    and    slew    his    brother.     And    where 
fore  slew  he  him?     Because  his  own  works   world:"8    he  means,   "of  the  world,"  of  all 
were    evil,    and     his    brother's    righteous."  < !  the  faithful  scattered  throughout  the  whole 


Therefore,  where  envy  is,  brotherly  love  can 
not  be.  Mark,  my  beloved.  He  lhal  envi- 
elh,  lovelh  nol.  The  sin  of  Ihe  devil  js  in 
that  man;  because  the  devil  ihrough  envy 
casl  man  down.  For  he  fell,  and  envied  him 
lhal  stood.  He  did  nol  wish  lo  casl  man 
down  lhal  he  himself  might  sland,  bul  only 
lhal  he  mighl  nol  fall  alone.  Hold  fasl  in 
your  mind  from  Ihis  lhal  he  has  subjoined, 
lhal  envy  cannol  exisl  in  charily.  Thou  hasl 
il  openly,  when  charily  was  praised,  "  Charily 
envieth  not."5  There  was  no  charily  in 
Cain;  and  had  there  been  no  charily  in  Abel, 
God  would  nol  have  accepted  his  sacrifice. 
For  when  they  had  both  offered,  the  one  of 
Ihe  fruits  of  Ihe  earlh,  Ihe  olher  of  Ihe  off 
spring  of  Ihe  flock;  what  think  ye,  brethren, 
that  God  slighted  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  and 
loved  Ihe  offspring  of  Ihe  flock  ?  God  had 
nol  regard  to  the  hands,  but  saw  in  the  heart: 
and  whom  He  saw  offer  with  charity,  to  his 
sacrifice  He  had  respect;  whom  He  saw  offer 
with  envy,  from  his  sacrifice  He  turned  away 
His  eyes.  By  the  good  works,  then,  of  Abel, 
he  means  only  charity:  by  the  evil  works  of 
Cain  he  means  only  his  hatred  of  his  brother. 
It  was  not  enough  that  he  hated  his  brother 
and  envied  his  good  works;  because  he  would 
nol  imilate,  he  would  kill.  And  hence  it 


earth.  But  the  world  in  a  bad  sense,  is,  lov 
ers  of  the  world.  They  thai  love  the  world, 
cannot  love  their  brother. 

10.  "If  the  world  hate  us:  we  know  "- 
What  do  we  know? — "thai  we  have  passed 
from  dealh  unlo  life  " — How  do  we  know  ? 
"  Because  we  love  Ihe  brelhren."  9  Lei  none 
ask  man:  lei  each  relurn  lo  his  own  heart:  if  he 
find  there  brotherly  love,  let  him  set  his  mind 
al  resl,  because  he  is  "  passed  from  dealh 
unlo  life."  Already  he  is  on  Ihe  righl  hand: 
lei  him  nol  regard  that  at  presenl  his  glory 
is  hidden:  when  Ihe  Lord  shall  come,  then 
shall  he  appear  in  glory.  For  he  has  life  in 
him,  but  as  yet  in  winter;  the  rool  is  alive, 
bul  Ihe  branches,  so  lo  say,  are  dry:  within 
is  the  subslance  lhal  has  Ihe  life  in  il,  within 
are  the  leaves  of  trees,  within  are  the  fruits: 
but  Ihey  wail  for  Ihe  summer.  Well  ihen, 
"we  know  lhal  we  have  passed  from  dealh 
unlo  life,  because  we  love  Ihe  brethren. 
He  lhal  loveth  nol,  abidelh  in  dealh." 
Lest  ye  should  think  it  a  light  matter,  breth 
ren,  to  hate,  or,  not  to  love,  hear  what  fol 
lows:  "  Every  one  that  hatelh  his  brother,  is 
a  murderer.""  How  now?  if  any  made  lighl 
of  hating  his  brother,  will  he  also  in  his  heart 
make  light  of  murder?  He  does  not  stir  his 
hands  to  kill  a  man;  yet  he  is  already  held 


i  Matt.  xiii. 
i  John  iii.  i 


»  Cum  specie.  3  t  John  iii.  10,  n.  6  i  John  iii.  13.     Or.  i'»ia*,  Vu'.,  7  Tnhn 

.ii.  4.  8  ,  J0hn  ii.  2.  9  i  John  iii.  14.  .  l.niit.  15. 


492 


Till-:   WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[H 


by  God  a  murderer;  the  other  lives,  and  yet  the  dying  for  thy  brother,  be  thou  even  now 
this   man   is   already   judged   as   his    slayer !  i  equal    to   the   giving   of   thy   means    to    thy 


"  Everyone  that  hateth  his  brother  is  a  mur 
derer:   and  ye  know  that  no  murderer  hath 


eternal  life  abiding  in  him." 
ii.   "In  this  know  we  love:  " 


he  means, 


perfection  of  love,  that  perfection  which  we 
have  bidden  you  lay  to  heart:  "  In  this  know 
we  love,  that  He  laid  down  His  life  for  us: 
and  we  ought  to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the 
brethren."  Lo  here,  whence  that  came: 
"  Peter,  lovest  thou  me?  Feed  My  sheep."2 


brother.  Even  now  let  charity  smite  thy 
bowels,  that  not  of  vainglory  thou  shouldest 
do  it,  but  of  the  innermost  7marro\v  of  mercy; 
that  thou  consider  him,  now  in  want.  For  it 
thy  superfluities  thou  canst  not  give  to  thy 
brother,  canst  thou  lay  down  thy  life  for  thy 
brother?  There  lies  thy  money  in  thy 
bosom,  which  thieves  may  take  from  thee; 
and  though  thieves  do  not  take  it,  by  dying 
thou  wilt  leave  it,  even  if  it  leave  not  thee 


For,  that  ye  may  know  that  He  would  j  while  living:  what  wilt  thou  do  with  it  ? 
have  His  sheep  to  be  so  fed  by  him,  j  Thy  brother  hungers,  he  is  in  necessity:  be- 
as  that  he  should  lay  down  his  life  for  the  like  he  is  in  suspense,  is  distressed  by  his 


sheep,  straightway  said  He  this  to  him: 
"  When  thou  wast  young,  thou  girdedst  thy 
self,  and  walkedst  whither  thou  wouldest:  but 
when  thou  shalt  be  old,  thou  shalt  stretch 
forth  thy  hands,  and  another  shall  gird  thee, 
and  carry  thee  whither  thou  wouldest  not. 
This  spake  He,"  saith  the  evangelist, 
*'  signifying  by  what  death  he  should  glorify 
God;  "  so  that  to  whom  He  had  said,  "  Feed 
my  sheep,"  the  same  He  might  teach  to  lay 
down  his  life  for  His  sheep. 

12.   Whence  beginneth    charity,  brethren? 


creditor:  he  is  thy  brother,  alike  ye  are 
bought,  one  is  the  price  paid  for  you,  ye  are 
both  redeemed  by  the  blood  of  Christ:  see 
whether  thou  have  mercy,  if  thou  have  this 
world's  means.  Perchance  thou  sayest, 
"What  concerns  it  me?  Am  I  to  give  my 
money,  that  he  may  not  suffer  trouble  ?"  If 
this  be  the  answer  thy  heart  makes  to  thee, 
the  love  of  the  Father  abideth  not  in  thee. 
If  the  love  of  the  Father  abide  not  in  thee, 
thou  art  not  born  of  God.  How  boastest 
thou  to  be  a  Christian  ?  Thou  hast  the  name, 

Attend  a  little:  to  what  it  is  perfected,  ye  have  and  hast  not  the  deeds.  But  if  the  work  shall 
heard;  the  very  end  of  it,  and  the  very  meas- j  follow  the  name,  let  any  call  thee  pagan, 
ure  of  it  is  what  the  Lord  hath  put  before  us  j  show  thou  by  deeds  that  thou  art  a  Christian, 
in  the  Gospel:  "Greater  love  hath  no  man,"  !  For  if  by  deeds  thou  dost  not  show  thyself  a 
saith  He,  "than  that  one  lay  down  his  life  j  Christian,  all  men  may  call  thee  a  Christian 
for  his  friends."3  Its  perfection,  therefore, !  yet;  what  doth  the  name  profit  thee  where 
e  us  in  the  Gospel,  and  the  thing  is  not  forthcoming?  "But  whoso 


He   hath  put  before 

here  also  it  is  its  perfection  that  is  put  before 
us:  but  ye  ask  yourselves,  and  say  to  your 
selves,  When  shall  it  be  possible  for  us  to 
have  "  this  "  charity  ?  Do  not  too  soon  de 
spair  of  thyself.  Haply,  it  is  born  and  is  not 
yet  perfect;  nourish  it,  that  it  be  not  choked. 
But  thou  wilt  say  to  me,  And  by  what  am  I 
to  know  it  ?  For  to  what  it  is  perfected,  we 
have  heard;  whence  it  begins,  let  us  hear. 
He  goes  on  to  say:  "  But  whoso  hath  this 
world's  good,  and  seeth  his  brother  have 
hunger,4  and  shutteth  up  his  bowels  of  com 
passion  from  him,  how  can  the  love  of  God 


hath  this  world's  good,  and  seeth  his  brother 
have  need,8  and  shutteth  up  his  bowels  of 
compassion  from  him,  how  can  the  love  of 
God  dwell  in  him?"  And  then  he  goes  on: 
"  My  little  children,  let  us  not  love  in  word, 
neither  in  tongue  but  in  deed  and  in  truth."9 
13.  I  suppose  the  thing  is  now  made  mani 
fest  to  you.  my  brethren:  this  great  and  most 
concerning  secret  and  mystery.10  What  is  the 
force  of  charity,  all  Scripture  doth  set  forth; 
but  I  know  not  whether  any  where  it  be  more 
largely  set  forth  than  in  this  Epistle.  We 
pray  you  and  beseech  you  in  the  Lord,  that 


dwell    in    him?"5     Lo,  whence    charity  be-   both  what   ye   have  heard    ye  will   keep   in 
gins  withal!6     If  thou  art  not  yet  equal  to 


1  i  John  iii.  16.  »  John  xxi.  15-19.  3  John  xv.  13 

4  EiuricHtem.  5  i  John  iii.  17. 

6  [Loj>e  ;  beneficence. — Augustin  throughout  these  homilies 
amply  vindicates  his  own  declaration  that  the  epistle  on  which  he 
is  commenting  relates  largely  to  charity;  and  his  glowing  words 
not  only  exhibit  love  as  one  star  in  the  constellation  of  Christian 
graces,  but  as  a  deep  and  joyous  principle  and  centre  of  life,  "a 
well  of  water"  within,  from  which  refreshing  streams  of  benefi 
cence  will  spontaneously  gush  forth. 

He  controverts  those  in  his  day  who  taught  that  it  w.i- 
to  have  the  truth,  to  possess  right  opinions,  and  that  such  need 
nr,t  hr  forward   in  sacrificing  aught  for  the  truth's  sake,  or  to  help 
their  lin-thren.      And   in    kindly   reproof  of  Mich    indolent  and  ig- 

•  '.:  seeking,  hr  points  the  earnest    lx -licver  to  \\  :.• 
the  lofty  utterance  of  the  apostle,    lay  down   life,  if  need   be.  for 
thy  brother,  and  who  shrinks  from  such  a  test,  to  a  lower  evidence 


of  the  Christ-like  mind,  within  the  reach  of  all,  and  from  which 
all  may  go  up  higher— "  help  thy  brother  in  his  necessity,' relieve 
his  wants  ;  if  not  ready  to  do  this  for  the  brother  before  your  eyes, 
how  can  you  pretend  love  to  the  unseen. Father  and  Friend?" 

As  the  apostle's  reprehension  of  errorists  in  his  day  is  applica 
ble  in  refutation  of  many  false  opinions  rife  in  our  time-. 
and  Augustin's  fervent  commendation  of  the  surpassing  excellence 
of  love,  and  the  absolute  need,  for  the  believer,  of  uniformly  and 
constantly  manifesting  it  in  act  and  life,  can  never  be  superflu 
ous,  can  never  grow  old. 

Indifferentism  as  to  doctrine,  and  careless  coldness  with  respect 
to  the  sufferings  of  Others,  against  both  of  which  St.  John   lifts  tip 
his  voice,  if  not  peculiar  to  our  clay  and  nation,  are  yet  deplorable 
e'.ik  among  us,  demamln.. 
those  who  love  the  truth  and  Love  man.-!.    H.  M.I 

;,l,///v.  '.•/.-«/. 

>  i    |o!in  iii.    18. 


H»MM.Y 


I  ill.   EPISTLE  <  >l    ST.  JOHN. 


493 


memory,  and  to  that  which  is  yet  to  IK-  said,  are  sowing  in  you  be  not  choked,  but  rather 
until  the  epistle  be  finished,  will  come  with  that  the  harvest  may  grow,  and  that  the 
earnestness,  and  with  earnestness  hear  the  Husbandman  may  rejoice  and  make  ready 
:>,iine.  15 ut  open  ye  your  heart  for  the  good  the  barn  for  you  as  for  grain,  not  the  fire  as 
seed:  roof  out  the  thorns,  that  that  which  we  |  for  the  chaff 


HOMILY  VI. 

i  JOHN  III.   19. — IV.  3. 

"And  herein  we  know  that  we  are  of  the  truth,  and  assure  our  hearts  before  Him.  For 
if  our  heart  think  ill  of  us,  God  is  greater  than  our  heart,  and  knoweth  all  things.  Beloved, 
if  our  htart  think  not  ill  of  us,  then  have  we  confidence  toward  God.  And  whatsoever  we 
ask,  we  shall  receive  of  Him,  because  we  keep  His  commandments,  and  do  in  His  sight 
those  things  that  please  Him.  And  this  is  His  commandment,  That  we  should  believe  on 
the  name  of  His  Son  Jesus  Christ,  and  love  one  another,  as  He  gave  us  commandment. 
And  he  that  keepeth  His  commandments  shall  dwell  in  Him,  and  He  in  him.  And  herein 
we  know  that  He  abideth  in  us,  by  the  Holy  Spirit  which  He  hath  given  us.  Dearly 
beloved,  believe  not  every  spirit,  but  try  the  spirits  whether  they  are  of  God:  because 
many  false  prophets  are  gone  out  into  this  world.  In  this  is  known  the  Spirit  of  God: 
every  spirit  that  confesseth  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh  is  of  God:  and  every 
spirit  that  confesseth  not  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh  is  not  of  God:  and  this  is  the 
antichrist,  of  whom  ye  have  heard  that  he  should  come;  and  even  now  already  is  he  in  this 
world." 


i.  IK  ye  remember,  brethren,  yesterday  we  ' 
closed  our  sermon  at  this  sentence,1  which 
without  doubt  behooved  and  does  behoove  to  i 
abide  in  your  heart,  seeing  it  was  the  last  ye 
heard.  "  My  little  children,  let  us  not  love 
only  in  word  and  in  tongue;  but  in  deed  and 
in  truth."  Then  he  goes  on:  "And  herein 
we  know  that  we  are  of  the  truth,  and  assure 
our  hearts  before  Him."  -  "  For  if  our  heart 3 
think  ill  of  us,  God  is  greater  than  our  heart, 
and  knoweth  all  things."  He  had  said,"  Let 
us  not  love  only  in  word  and  in  tongue,  but  in 
work  and  in  truth:"  we  are  asked,  In  what 
work,  or  in  what  truth,  is  he  known  that  lov- 
eth  God,  or  loveth  his  brother  ?  Above  he 
had  said  up  to  what  point  charity  is  perfected: 
what  the  Lord  saith  in  the  Gospel,  "Greater 
love  than  this  hath  no  man,  that  one  lay  down 
his  life  for  his  friends,"  4  this  same  had  the 
apostle  also  said:  "As  He  laid  down  His  life 
for  us,  we  ought  also  to  lay  down  our  lives  for 
the  brethren." 5  This  is  the  perfection  of 
charity,  and  greater  can  not  at  all  be  found. 
But  because  it  is  not  perfect  in  all,  and  that 


•    I    Jnhr 

'  (Bctte 
3  Male  i 


i.  18-20. 

"  judge  ill,"  i.e.,  condemn.-!.  H.  M.I 

ie,  it.  4  John  xv.  .3.  5  i  John  iii.  16. 


man  ought  not  to  despair  in  whom  it  is  not 
perfect,  if  that  be  already  born  which  may 
be  perfected:  and  of  course  if  born,  it  must 
be  nourished,  and  by  certain  nourishments  of 
its  own  must  be  brought  unto  its  proper  per 
fection:  therefore,  we  have  asked  concerning 
the  commencement  of  charity,  where  it  be 
gins,  and  there  have  straightway  found:  "  But 
whoso  hath  this  world's  goods,  and  seeth  his 
brother  have  need,  and  shutteth  up  his  bowels 
of  compassion  from  him,  how  dwelleth  the 
love  of  the  Father  in  him?"6  Here  then 
hath  this  charity,  my  brethren,  its  beginning: 
to  give  of  one's  superfluities  to  him  that  hath 
need  to  him  that  is  in  any  distress;  of  one's 
temporal  abundance  to  deliver  his  brother 
from  temporal  tribulation.  Here  is  the  first 
rise  of  charity.  This,  being  thus  begun,  if 
thou  shalt  nourislrwith  the  word  of  God  and 
hope  of  the  life  to  come,  thou  wilt  come  at 
last  unto  that  perfection,  that  thou  shalt  be 
ready  to  lay  down  thy  life  for  thy  brethren. 

2.  But,  because  many  such  things  are  done 
by  men  who  seek  other  objects,  and  who  love 
not  the  brethren;  let  us  come  back  to  the  tes- 


i  John  iii.  17. 


494 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[HoM.iv  VI. 


timony  of  conscience.  How  do  we  prove  that 
many  such  things  are  done  by  men  who  love 
not  the  brethren  ?  How  many  in  heresies 
and  schisms  call  themselves  martyrs  !  They 
seem  to  themselves  to  lay  down  their  lives  for 
their  brethren.  If  for  the  brethren  they  laid 
down  their  lives,  they  would  not  separate 
themselves  from  the  whole  brotherhood. 
Again,  how  many  there  are  who  for  the  sake 
of  vainglory  bestow  much,  give  much,  and 
seek  therein  but  the  praise  of  men  and  popu 
lar  glory,  which  is  full  of  windiness,  and  pos 
sesses  no  stability  !  Seeing,  then,  there  are 
such,  where  shall  be  the  proof  of  brotherly 
charity?  Seeing  he  wished  it  to  be  proved, 
and  hath  said  by  way  of  admonition,  "  My  lit 
tle  children,  let  us  not  love  only  in  word  and 
in  tongue;  but  in  deed  and  in  truth;"  we 
ask,  in  what  work,  in  what  truth  ?  Can  there 
be  a  more  manifest  work  than  to  give  to  the 
poor  ?  Many  do  this  of  vainglory,  not  of 
love.  Can  there  be  a  greater  work  than  to 
die  for  the  brethren  ?  This  also,  many  would 
fain  be  thought  to  do,  who  do  it  of  vainglory 
to  get  a  name,  not  from  bowels  of  love.  It 
remains,  that  that  man  loves  his  brother,  who 
before  God,  where  God  alone  seeth,  assures 
his  own  heart,  and  questions  his  heart 
whether  he  does  this  indeed  for  love  of  the 
brethren;  and  his  witness  is  that  eye  which 
penetrates  the  heart,  where  man  cannot  look. 
Therefore  Paul  the  Apostle,  because  he  was 
ready  to  die  for  the  brethren,  and  said,  "  I 
will  myself  be  spent  for  your  souls,"1  yet, 
because  God  only  saw  this  in  his  heart,  not 
the  mortal  men  to  whom  he  spake,  he  saith  to 
them,  "  But  to  me  it  is  a  very  small  thing 
that  I  should  be  judged  of  you  or  at  man's 
bar."2  And  the  same  apostle  shows  also  in 
a  certain  place,  that  these  things  are  oft  done 
of  empty  vainglory,  not  upon  the  solid  ground 
of  love:  for  speaking  of  the  praises  of  charity 
he  saith,  "  If  I  distribute  all  my  goods  to  the 
poor,  and  if  I  deliver  up  my  body  to  be 
burned,  but  have  not  charity,  it  profiteth  me 
nothing. "3  Is  it  possible  for  a  man  to  do 
this  without  charity  ?  It  is.  For  they  that 
have  divided  unity,  are  persons  that  have  not 
charity.  Seek  there,  and  ye  shall  see  many 
giving  much  to  the  poor;  shall"  see  others 
prepared  to  welcome  death,  insomuch  that 
where  there  is  no  persecutor  they  cast  them 
selves  headlong:  these  doubtless  without 
charity  do  this.  Let  us  come  back  then  to 
conscience,  of  which  the  apostle  saith:  "  For 
our  glorying  is  this,  the  testimony  of  our  con 
science."  4  Let  us  come  back  to  conscience, 


»  a  Cor.  xii.  15. 
3  i  Cor    xiii.  3. 


a  i  Cor.  iv.  3. 
4  2  Cor.  i.  12. 


of  which  the  same  saith,  "But  let  each  prove 
his  own  work,  and  then  he  shall  have  glorying 
in  himself  and  not  in  another."  5  Therefore, 
let  each  one  of  us  "prove  his  own  work," 
whether  it  flow  forth  from  the  vein  of  charity, 
whether  it  be  from  charity  as  the  root  that 
his  good  works  sprout  forth  as  branches. 
"  But  let  each  prove  his  own  work,  and  then 
he  shall  have  glorying  in  himself  and  not  in 
another,"  not  when  another's  tongue  bears 
witness  to  him,  but  when  his  own  conscience 
bears  it. 

3.  This  it  is  then  that  he  enforces  here. 
"  In  this  we  know  that  we  are  of  the  truth, 
when  in  deed  and  in  truth"  we  love,  "not 
only  in  words  and  in  tongue:  and  'assure  our 
heart  before  Him."7  What  meaneth,  "be 
fore  Him  ?  "  Where  He  seeth.  Whence  the 
Lord  Himself  in  the  Gospel  saith:  "Take 
heed  that  ye  do  not  your  righteousness  before 
men,  to  be  seen  of  them:  otherwise  ye  have 
no  reward  with  your  Father  which  is  in 
heaven."8  And  what  meaneth,  "Let  not 
thy  left  hand  know  what  thy  right  hand 
doeth:"  except  that  the  right  hand  means  a 
pure  conscience,  the  left  hand  the  lust  of  the 
world  ?9  Many  through  lust  of  the  world  do 
many  wonderful  things:  the  left  hand  work- 
eth,  not  the  right.  The  right  hand  ought 
to  work,  and  without  knowledge  of  the  left 
hand,  so  that  lust  of  the  world  may  not  even 
mix  itself  therewith  when  by  love  we  work 
aught  that  is  good.  And  where  do  we  get  to 
know  this  ?  Thou  art  before  God:  question 
thine  heart,  see  what  thou  hast  done,  and 
what  therein  was  thine  aim;  thy  salvation,  or 
the  windy  praise  of  men.  Look  within,  for 
man  cannot  judge  whom  he  cannot  see.  If 
"we  assure  our  heart,"  let  it  be"  before 
Him."  Because  "  if  our  heart  think  ill  of 
us,"  i.e.  accuse  us  within,  that  we  do  not  the 
thing  with  that  mind  it  ought  to  be  done 
withal,  "greater  is  God  than  our  heart,  and 
knoweth  all  things."  Thou  hidest  thine  heart 
from  man:  hide  it  from  God  if  thou  canst ! 
How  shalt  thou  hide  it  from  Him,  to  whom 
it  is  said  by  a  sinner,  fearing  and  confessing, 
"  Whither  shall  I  go  from  Thy  Spirit?  and 
from  Thy  face  whither  shall  I  flee?"10  He 
sought  a  way  to  flee,  to  escape  the  judgment 
of  God,  and  found  none.  For  where  is  God 
not?  "If  I  shall  ascend,"  saith  he,  "into 
heaven,  Thou  art  there:  if  I  shall  descend 


5  Gal.  vi.  4.  6  Ptrnuulfmiu,  7  i  John  iii.  10. 

8  Matt.  vi.  i-v     />//•»•<«,  Horn,  viii.  IQ,  Serm.'cxlix.  10-13. 

9  Comp.  ,/,•  Serin,  ll.oii.  in   .!/,.«/,•,  ii.  6-g,  where  havinx  dis 
cussed  ;mcl  rt-j. -(led  si-vrr.il  <itln-r  explanation*,  M.  AnfUStin  rests 
in  the  interpretation,  that  "  the  left  hand  "  denotes  the  carnal  will 

•ulc-  In  earthly  rewards  and  the  praise  of  men:  "the 
rinht  hand,"  the  sinxleness  of  heart  which  looks  straight  forward 
to  the  will  and  commandment  of  God.  Serm.  cxlix.  15  ;  Enarr.  in 
Psa.  6s,  sec.  2. 

10  Ps.  cxxxix.  7,  8. 


HilMII  V    VI.  | 


•I  !ir:  F.PISTLF.  Ol    ST,  JOHN. 


into  hell,  Tumi  art  there."  Whither  \v;i; 
thou  go  ?  whither  wilt  thoti  flee?  Wilt  thou 
hear  counsel?  If  thou  \v:>ul(lest  lice  from 
Him,  tlcc  to  Him.  Fke  to  Him  by  confess 
ing,  not  from  Him  liy  hiding:  hide  thou 
canst  not.  hut  confess  thou  canst.  Say  unto 
Him,  "Thou  art  my  place  to  flee  unto;"1 
and  let  love  be  nourished  in  thee,  which  alone 
leadeth  unto  life.  Let  thy  conscience  bear 
,  itness  that  thy  love  is  of  God.  If  it  be 
of  i  iod,  do  not  wish  to  display  it  before  men; 
because  neither  men's  praises  lift  thee  unto 
heaven,  nor  their  censures  put  thee  down 
from  thence.  Let  Him  see,  who  crowneth 
thee:  be  He  thy  witness,  by  whom  as  judge 
thou  art  crowned.  "  Greater  is  God  than  our 
heart,  and  knoweth  all  things." 

4.  "  Beloved,  if  our  heart  think  not  ill  of  us, 
we  have  confidence  towards  God:"' — What 
meaneth,  "  If  our  heart  think  not  ill  "  ?     If  it 
make  true  answer  to  us,  that  we  love  and  that 
there  is3  genuine  love  in  us:  not  feigned  but 
sincere;    seeking   a   brother's    salvation,  $x- 
pecting  no  emolument   from  a  brother,  but 
only    his    salvation — "we    have    confidence 
toward  God:  and  whatsoever  we  ask,  we  shall 
receive  of  Him,  because  we  keep  His  com 
mandments."4 — Therefore,  not  in   the  sight 
of  men,  but  where  God  Himself  seeth,  in  the 
heart — "  we  have  confidence,"  then,  "  towards 
God:  and  whatsoever  we  ask,  we  shall  receive 
of   Him: "    howbeit,    because   we   keep    His 
commandments.     What  are  "  His  command 
ments  ''  ?     Must   we    be   always    repeating  ? 
"A  new  commandment  give  I  unto  you,  that 
ye  love  one  another."5     It  is  charity  itself 
that  he  speaks  of,  it  is  this  that  he  enforces. 
Whoso  then  shall  have  brotherly  charity,  and 
have  it  before  God,  where  God  seeth,  and  his 
heart  being  interrogated  under  righteous  ex 
amination  make  him  none  other  answer  than 
that  the  genuine  root  of  charity  is  there  for 
good  fruits  to  come  from;  that  man  hath  con 
fidence  with  God,  and  whatsoever  he   shall 
ask,   he    shall    receive   of    Him,  because   he 
keepeth  His  commandments. 

5.  Here  a  question  meets  us:  for  it  is  not 
this  or  that  man,  or  thou  or  I  that  come  in 
question, — for  if  I  have  asked  any  thing  of  God 
and  receive  it  not,  any  person  may  easily  say 
of  me,  "  He  hath  not  charity:  "  and  of  any  man 
soever  of  this  present  time,  this  may  easily 
be  said;  and  let  any  think  what  he  will,  a  man 
of  man: — not  we,  but  those  come   more  in 
question,  those  men   of   whom   it   is  on   all 
hands  known  that  they  were  saints  when  they 
wrote,    and    that    they   are    now   with    God. 
Where  is  the  man  that  hath  charity,  if  Paul 


Ps.  xxxii.  7. 
i  i  John  iii.  ax,  aa. 


2  I  John  iii.  21. 
S  John  xiii.  34. 


had  it  not,  who  said,  "Our  mouth  is  open 
unto  you,  O  ye  Corinthians,  our  heart  is 
enlarged;  yean-  not  straitened  in  us:"''  who 
said,"  I  will  myself  be  spent  for  your  souls:  " 
and  so  great  grace  was  in  him,  that  it  was 
manifested  that  he  had  charity.  And  yet  we 
find  that  he  asked  and  did  not  receive. 
What  say  we,  brethren  ?  It  is  a  question:  look 
attentively  to  God:  it  is  a  great  question,  this 
also.  Just  as,  where  it  was  said  of  sin,  *'  He 
that  is  born  of  God  sinneth  not:"  we  found 
this  sin  to  be  the  violating  of  charity,  and  that 
this  was  the  thing  strictly  intended  in  that 
place:  so  too  we  ask  now  wiiat  it  is  that  he 
would  say.  For  if  thou  look  but  to  the 
words,  it  seems  plain:  if  thou  take  the  exam 
ples  into  the  account,  it  is  obscure.  Than 
the  words  here  nothing  can  be  plainer. 
"And  whatsoever  we  ask,  we  shall  receive  of 
Him,  because  we  keep  His  commandments, 
and  do  those  things  that  are  pleasing  in  His 
sight."  "Whatsoever  we  ask,"  saith  he, 
"  we  shall  receive  of  Him."  He  hath  put  us 
sorely  to  straits.  In  the  other  place  also  he 
would  put  us  to  straits,  if  he  meant  all  sin: 
but  then  we  found  room  to  expound  it  in  this, 
that  he  meant  it  of  a  certain  sin,  not  of  all 
sin;  howbeit  of  a  sin  which  "whosoever  is 
born  of  God  committeth  not:  "  and  we  found 
that  this  same  sin  is  none  other  than  the  vio 
lation  of  charity.  We  have  also  a  manifest 
example  from  the  Gospel,  when  the  Lord 
saith,  "  If  I  had  not  come,  they  had  not  had 
sin."7  How?  Were  the  Jews  innocent  when 
He  came  to  them,  because  He  so  speaks  ? 
Then  if  He  had  not  come,  would  they  have 
had  no  sin  ?  Then  did  the  Physician's  pres 
ence  make  one  sick,  not  take  away  the  fever  ? 
What  madman  even  would  say  this  ?  He 
came  not  but  to  cure  and  heal  the  sick. 
Therefore  when  He  said,  "  If  I  had  not 
come,  they  had  not  had  sin,"  what  would  He 
have  to  be  understood,  but  a  certain  sin  in  par 
ticular  ?  For  there  was  a  sin  which  the  Jews 
would  not  have  had.  What  sin  ?  That  they  be 
lieved  not  on  Him,  that  when  he  had  come  they 
despised  Him.  As  then  He  there  said  "sin," 
and  it  does  not  follow  that  we  are  to  under 
stand  all  sin,  but  a  certain  sin:  so  here  also 
not  all  sin,  lest  it  be  contrary  to  that  place 
where  he  saith,  "If  we  say  that  we  have  no 
sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is 
not  in  us:''8  but  a  certain  sin  in  particular, 
that  is,  the  violation  of  charity.  But  in  this 
place  he  hath  bound  us  more  tightly:  "If  we 
shall  ask,"  he  hath  said,  "  if  our  heart  accuse 
us  not,  and  tell  us  in  answer,  in  the  sight  of 
God,  that  true  love  is  in  us;"  "Whatsoever 
we  ask,  we  shall  receive  of  Him." 


6  3  Cor.  vi.  ii,  12  ;  /</.  xii.   15.        7  John  xv.  32.       8  ,  John  i.  8. 


49<5 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[II..MII.Y    VI. 


6.  Well  now:  I  have  already  told  you,  my  their  will,  not  heard  for  salvation  ?  Do  we 
beloved  brethren,  let  no  man  turn  toward  us.  find,  think  we,  some  wicked,  some  impious 
For  what  are  we  ?  or  what  are  ye  ?  What,  j  man,  heard  of  God  for  his  will,  not  heard  for 


but  the  Church  of  God  which  is  known  to  all  ? 
And,  if  it  please  Him,  in  that  Church  are  we; 
and  those  of  us  who  by  love  abide  in  it,  there 


salvation  ?  If  I  put  to  you  the  instance  of 
some  man,  perchance  tliou  wilt  say  to  me, 
"  It  is  thou  that  callest  him  wicked,  for  lie  was 

let  us  persevere,  if  we  would  show  the  love  we  j  righteous;    had    he    not  been   righteous,   his 

have.     But  then  the  apostle  Paul,  what  evil  j  prayer  would  not  have  been  heard  by  God." 

are  we  to  think  of  him  ?     He  not  love  the ' 

brethren  !     He  not  have  within  himself  the 

testimony  of  his  conscienqe   in  the  sight  of 


God  !  Paul  not  have  within  him  that  root  of 
charity  whence  all  good  fruits  proceeded  ! 
What  madman  would  say  this?  Well  then: 
where  find  we  that  the  apostle  asked  and  did 
not  receive  ?  He  saith  himself:  "  Lest  I 


1  The  instance  I  am  about  to  allege  is  of  one, 
of  whose  iniquity  and  impiety  none  can 
doubt.  The  devil  himself:  he  asked  for 
Job,  and  received.3  Have  ye  not  here  also 
heard  concerning  the  devil,  that  "  he  that 
committeth  sin  is  of  the  devil"  ?*  Not  that 
the  devil  created,  but  that  the  sinner  imitates. 
Is  it  not  said  of  him,  *'  He  stood  not  in  the 


should  be  exalted  above  measure  through  the   truth  "  ?s     Is  not  even  he  "  that  old  serpent," 
abundance  of  the  revelations,  there  was  given   who,  through   the  woman    pledged  the   first 


to  me  a  thorn  in  the  flesh,  an  angel  of  Satan 
to  buffet  me.  For  which  thing  I  besought 
the  Lord  thrice,  that  He  would  take  it  from 
me.  And  He  said  unto  me,  My  grace  is 
sufficient  for  thee:  for  strength  is  made  per 
fect  in  weakness."  '  Lo,  he  was  not  heard  in 
his  prayer  that  the  "angel  of  Satan"  should 
be  taken  from  him.  But  wherefore  ?  Be 
cause  it  was  not  good  for  him.  He  was 
heard,  then,  for  salvation,  when  he  was  not 
heard  according  to  his  wish.  Know,  my  be 
loved,  a  great2  mystery:  which  we  urge  upon 
your  consideration  on  purpose  that  it  may 
not  slip  from  you  in  your  temptations.  The 
saints  are  in  all  things  heard  unto  salvation: 
they  are  always  heard  in  that  which  respects 
their  eternal  salvation;  it  is  this  that  they 
desire:  because  in  regard  of  this,  their  pray 
ers  are  always  heard. 

7.  But  let  us  distinguish  God's  different 
ways  of  hearing  prayer.  For  we  find  some 
not  heard  for  their  wish,  heard  for  salvation: 
and  again  some  we  find  heard  for  their  wish, 
not  heard  for  salvation.  Mark  this  differ 
ence,  hold  fast  this  example  of  a  man  not 
heard  for  his  wish  but  heard  for  salvation. 
Hear  the  apostle  Paul;  for  what  is  the  hear 
ing  of  prayer  unto  salvation,  God  Himself 
showed  him:  "Sufficient  for  thee,"  saith  He, 
"is  my  grace;  for  strength  is  perfected  in 
weakness."  Thou  hast  besought,  hast  cried, 
hast  thrice  cried:  the  very  cry  thou  didst 
raise  once  for  all  I  heard,  I  turned  not  away 
mine  ears  from  thee;  I  know  what  I  should 
do:  thou  wouldest  have  it  taken  away,  the 
healing  thing  by  which  thou  art  burned;  I 
know  the  infirmity  by  which  thou  art  bur 
dened.  Well  then:  here  is  a  man  who  was 
heard  for  salvation,  while  as  to  his  will  he  was 
not  heard.  Where  find  we  persons  heard  for 


1  2  Cor.  xii.  7-9. 


3  Sacratnentunt. 


man  in  the  drink  of  poison?6  Who  even  in 
the  case  of  Job,  kept  for  him  his  wife,  that 
by  her  the  husband  might  be,  not  comforted, 
but  tempted  ?  The  devil  asked  for  a  holy 
rn^n,  to  tempt  him;  and  he  received:  the 
apostle  asked  that  the  thorn  in  the  flesh 
might  be  taken  from  him,  and  he  received  not. 
But  the  apostle  was  more  heard  than  the 
devil.  For  the  apostle  was  heard  for  salva 
tion,  though  not  for  his  wish:  the  devil  was 
heard  for  his  wish,  but  for  damnation.  For 
that  Job  was  yielded  up  to  him  to  be  tempted, 
was  in  order  that  by  his  standing  the  proof 
the  devil  should  be  tormented.  But  this,  my 
brethren,  we  find  not  only  in  the  Old  Testa 
ment  books,  but  also  in  the  Gospel.  The 
demons  besought  the  Lord,  when  He  expelled 
them  from  the  man,  that  they  might  be  per 
mitted  to  go  into  the  swine.  Should  the  Lord 
not  have  power  to  tell  them  not  to  approach 
even  those  creatures  ?  For,  had  it  not  been 
His  will  to  permit  this,  they  were  not  about 
to  rebel  against  the  King  of  heaven  and 
earth.  But  with  a  view  to  a  certain  mystery, 
with  a  certain7  ulterior  meaning,  He  let  the 
demons  go  into  the  swine:  to  show  that  the 
devil  hath  dominion  in  them  that  lead  the  life 


of  swine.! 


Demons  then  were  heard  in  their 
the   apostle    not    heard  ?      Or 


request;  was 
rather  (what  is  truer)  shall  we  say,  The  apos 
tle  was  heard,  the  demons  not  heard  ?  Their 
will  was  effected;  his  weal  was  perfected. 

8.  Agreeably  with  this,  we  ought  to  under 
stand  that  God,  though  He  give  not  to  our 
will,  doth  give  for  our  salvation.  For  sup- 


T..K  i. 


8  Luk 


f>er 


John  iii.  3,  8. 


5  John  viii.  44. 

7  Certa  if  is/if  nsaiianf. 

isif.  not  nn'sit:  so,  E.vfiulsa  ft  in  forces 
'ssa  dirmonia.  :  "  the  demons  cast  out  from  the  man  and 
fil  in  K"  into  the  swine."  ('«<«/.  AV.i //.<,• 


swine."  (>«<«/.  AV.iwc-  "•  M.  ('"'"/  ''" 
'.•/,•.. •/;•,•  /•fi-miss  i  •..-,.-•.  A.  .  •'  I  lint  they 
wcrralliiwi-d  to  no  into  tin-  swine  feeding  upon  the  mountains,  b.-- 
token*  Unclean  anil  i>roud  men  over  whom  through  the  worship 
of  idols  the  demons  have  dominion." 


II..MII  V    VI.) 


THE  EPISTLE  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


497 


pose   i  '  ,011    'have   asked   be  to  thine 

hurt,  and  tiie  Physician  knows  that  it  is  to 
thine  hurt;  what  then  ?  It  is  not  to  be  said 
that  the  physician  does  not  give  ear  : 

.  perhaps,  thou  askest  for  cold  water, 
and  it  it  is  good  for  Mec,  lie  gives  it  imme 
diately,  it  not  good,  he  gives  it  not.  Had 
h-j  no  ears  for  thy  request,  or  rather,  did  he 
give  ear  for  thy  weal,  even  when  he  gainsaid 
tny  will  ?  Then  let  there  be  in  you  charity, 
my  brethren;  let  it  be  in  you,  and  then  set 
your  minds  at  rest:  even  when  the  thing  ye 
ask  for  is  not  given  you,  your  prayer  is 
granted,  only,  ye  know  it  not.  Many  have 
been  given  intb  their  own  hands,  to  their  own 
hurt:  of  whom  the  apostle  saith,  "  God  gave 
them  up  to  their  own  hearts'  lusts."  '  Some 
man  hath  asked  for  a  great  sum  of  money; 
he  hath  received,  to  his  hurt.  When  he  had 
it  not,  he  had  little  to  fear;  no  sooner  did  he 
come  to  have  it,  than  he  became  a  prey  to 
the  more  powerful.  Was  not  that  man's  re 
quest  granted  to  his  own  hurt,  who  would 
needs  have  that  for  which  he  should  be 
sought  after  by  the  robber,  whereas,  being 
poor,  none  sought  after  him  ?  Learn  to 
beseech  God  that  ye  may  commit  it  to  the 
Physician  to  do  what  He  knows  best.  Do 
thou  confess  the  disease,  let  Him  apply  the 
means  of  healing.  Do  thou  only  hold  fast 
charity.  For  He  will  needs  cut,  will  needs 
burn;  what  if  thou  criest  out,  and  art  not 
spared  for  thy  crying  under  the  cutting,  un 
der  the  burning  and  the  tribulation,  yet  He 
knows  how  far  the  rottenness  reaches.2 
Thou  wouldest  have  Him  even  now  take  off 
His  hands,  and  He  considers  only  the  deep 
ness  of  the  sore;  He  knows  how  far  to  go. 
He  does  not  attend  to  thee,  for  thy  will,  but 
he  does  attend  to  thee  for  thy  healing.  Be 
ye  sure,  then,  my  brethren,  that  what  the 
apostle  saith  is  true:  "  For  we  know  not  what 
we  should  pray  for  as  we  ought:  but  the 
Spirit  itself  maketh  intercession  for  us  with 
groanings  which  cannot  be  uttered:  for  He 
maketh  intercession  for  the  saints."3  How  is 
it  said,  "  The  Spirit  itself  intercedeth  for  the 
saints,"  but  as  meaning  the  charity  which  is 
wrought  in  thee  by  the  Spirit  ?  For  therefore 
saith  the  same  apostle:  "  The  charity  of  God 
is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  which  is  given  unto  us."4  It  is  char 
ity  that  groans,  it  is  charity  that  prays: 
against  it  He  who  gave  it  cannot  shut  His 
ears.  Set  your  minds  at  rest:  let  charity 
ask,  and  the  ears  of  God  are  there.  Not  that 
which  thou  wishest  is  done,  but  that  is  done 
which  is  advantageous.  Therefore.  "  w'.iat- 

1  Rom.  i.  .-4.  -   i.narr.  ::     : 

3  Rom.  viii.  26,  27.  4  kum.  v.  5. 

H 


ever  we  Btk,"  vutii   he,  "we  shall    re« 
Hun."      1   have  already   said.  If  thou    under 
stand  it  to  mean,  "  for  salvation,"  there  is  no 
question:   if  not  for  salvation,  tiu  : 
lion,  and  a  great  one,  a  question   that  makes 
thee     an     accuser    of     the     apostle      Paul. 
"  Whatever  we  ask,  we  receive  of  Him,  be 
cause  we  keep  His  commandments,  and  do 
these  things  that  are  pleasing  in  His  sight:  " 
within,  where  He  seeth. 

9.  And  what   are    those    commandments  ? 
"This,"  saith   he,  "is   His  commandment, 
That  we  should  believe  on  the  name  of  His 
Son  Jesus  Christ,   and  love  one  another."5 
Ye  see  that  this  is  the  commandment:  ye  see 
that  whoso   doeth   aught   against   this   com 
mandment,  doeth  the  sin  from  which  "  every 
one  that  is  born  of  God  "  is  free.       "As   He 
gave  us  commandment:  "  that  we  love  one  an 
other.     "And  he  that  keepeth  His  command 
ment"6 — ye  see  that  none  other  thing  is  bid 
den  us  than  that  we  love  one  another — "And 
he   that    keepeth    His    commandment    shall 
abide  7  in  Him,  and  He  in  him.      "And  in  this 
we  know  that  He  abideth  in  us,  by  the  Spirit 
which  He  hath  given  us.     Is  it  not  manifest 
that  this  is  what  the   Holy  Ghost  works  in 
man,  that  there  should  be  in  him  love  and 
charity  ?     Is  it  not  manifest,  as  the  Apostle 
Paul  saith,  that  "the  love  of  God   is   shed 
abroad    in    our    hearts    by   the    Holy   Ghost 
which  is  given  us  "  ?8      For  [our  apostle]  was 
speaking  of  charity,  and  was  saying  that  we 
ought  in  the  sight  of  God  to  interrogate  our 
own  heart.     "  But  if  our  heart  think  not  ill  of 
us:"  i.e.  if  it  confess  that  from  the  love  of 
our  brother  is  done  in  us  whatever  is  done  in 
any  good  work.     And  then  besides,  in  speak 
ing   of    the    commandment,    he    says    this: 
"  This  is  His  commandment,  That  we  should 
believe  on  the  name  of  His  Son  Jesus  Christ, 
and  love  one  another,  as  He  gave  us  command 
ment. "     "And  he  that  doeth  His  command 
ment   abideth9    in    Him,    and    He    in    him. 
In  this  we  know  that  He  abideth  in  us.  by 
the  Spirit  which  He  hath  given  us."10     If  in 
truth  thou  find  that  thou  hast  charity,  thou 
hast  the  Spirit  of  God  in  order  to  understand: 
for  a  very  necessary  thing  it  is. 

10.  In  the  earliest  times,  "the  Holy  Ghost 
fell  upon  them  that  believed:  and  they  spake 
with  tongues,"  which  they  had  not  learned, 
"  as  the  Spirit  gave  them  utterance."  "  T!ie-e 
were  signs  adapted   to  the  time.      For  there 
behooved  to  be  that  betokening  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  all  tongues,  to  shew  that  the  Gospel 
of  God  was  to  run  through  all  tongues  over 


5  i   John  iii.  2^. 
7  .I/,.//,-/.//. 

ill.  R.  V.-I.H.  M.I 
»°  [He  gave  us.  R.  V.-I.  H.  M.] 


n  iii.  24. 
»  Rum.  v.  5. 


Till:  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[H.-Mll.Y    VI. 


the  whole  earth.  That  thing  was  done  for  a 
betokening,  and  it  passed  away.  In  the  lay 
ing  on  of  hands  now,  that  persons  may  re 
ceive  the.  Holy  Ghost,  do  we  look  that  they 
should  speak  with  tongues  ?  Or  when  we  laid 
the  hand  on  these  infants,'  did  each  one  of 
you  look  to  see  whether  they  would  speak 
with  tongues,  and,  when  he  saw  that  they  did 
not  speak  with  tongues,  was  any  of  you  so 
wrong-minded  as  to  say,  These  have  not  re 
ceived  the  Holy  Ghost;  for,  had  they  re 
ceived,  they  would  speak  with  tongues  as  was 
the  case  in  those  times  ?  If  then  the  witness 
of  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Ghost  be  not  now 
given  through  these  miracles,  by  what  is  it 
given,  by  what  does  one  get  to  know  that  he 
has  received  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  Let  him  ques 
tion  his  own  heart.  If  he  love  his  brother, 
the  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  him.  Let  him 
see,  let  him  prove  himself  before  the  eyes  of 
God,  let  him  see  whether  there  be  in  him  the 
love  of  peace  and  unity,  the  love  of  the 
Church  that  is  spread  over  the  whole  earth. 
Let  him  not  rest  only  in  his  loving  the  brother 
whom  he  has  before  his  eyes,  for  we  have 
many  brethren  whom  we  do  not  see,  and  in 
the  unity  of  the  Spirit  we  are  joined  to  them. 
What  marvel  that  they  are  not  with  us  ?  We 
are  in  one  body,  we  have  one  Head,  in 
heaven.  Brethren,  our  two  eyes  do  not  see 
each  other;  as  one  may  say,  they  do  not  know 
each  other.  But  in  the  charity  of  the  bodily 
frame  do  they  not  know  each  other  ?  For, 
to  shew  you  that  in  the' charity  which  knits 
them  together  they  do  know  each  other;  when 
both  eyes  are.  open,  the  right  may  not  rest  on 
some  object,  on  which  the  left  shall  not  rest 
likewise.  Direct  the  glance  of  the  right  eye 
without  the  other,  if  thou  canst.  Together  they 
meet  in  one  object,  together  they  are  directed 
to  one  object:  their  aim  is  one,  their  places 
diverse.  If  then  all  who  with  thee  love  God 
have  one  aim  with  thee,  heed  not  that  in  the 
body  thou  are  separated  in  place;  the  eye 
sight  of  the  heart  ye  have  alike  fixed  on  the 
light  of  truth.  Then  if  thou  wouldest  know 
that  thou  hast  received  the  Spirit,  question 
thine  heart:  lest  haply  thou  have  the  sacra 
ment,  and  have  not  the  virtue  of  the  sacra 
ment.  Question  thine  heart.  If  love  of  thy 
brethren  be  there,  set  thy  mind  at  rest. 
There  cannot  be  love  without  the  Spirit  of 
God:  since  Paul  cries,  "The  love  of  God  is 
shed  abroad  in  your  hearts  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
which  is  given  unto  us."8 

n.  "  Beloved,  believe  not  every  spirit."3 
Because  he  had  said,  "  In  this  we  know  that 
He  abideth  in  us,  by  the  Spirit  which  He 


hath  given  us."  But  how  this  same  Spirit  is 
known,  mark  this:  "Beloved,  believe  not 
every  spirit,  but  prove  the  spirits  whether 
they  be  trom  God."  And  who  is  he  that 
proves  the  spirits?  A  hard  matter  has  he 
put  to  us,  my  brethren  !  It  is  well  for  us  that 
he  should  tell  us  himself  how  we  are  to  dis 
cern  them.  He  is  about  to  tell  us:  fear  not: 
but  first  see;  mark:  see  that  hereby  is  ex- 
pressed  the  very  thing  that  vain  heretics 4 
taunt  us  withal.  Mark,  see  what  he  says, 
"  Beloved,  believe  not  every  spirit,  but  prove 
the  spirits  whether  they  be  from  God."  The 
Holy  Spirit  is  spoken  of  in  the  Gospel  by  the 
name  of  water;  where  the  Lord  "  cried  and 
said,  If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto 
me,  and  drink.  He  that  believeth  on  me, 
out  of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  living 
water."5  But  the  evangelist  has  expounded 
of  what  He  said  this:  for  he  goes  on  to  say, 
"  But  this  spake  He  of  the  Spirit,  which  they 
that  believed  on  Him  should  receive." 
Wherefore  did  not  the  Lord  baptize  many  ? 
But  what  saith  he  ?  "  For  the  Holy  Ghost 
was  not  yet  given;  because  that  Jesus  was  not 
yet  glorified."  Then  seeing  those  had  bap 
tism,  and  had  not  yet  received  the  Holy 
Ghost,  whom  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  the 
Lord  sent  from  heaven,  the  glorifying  of  the 
Lord  was  first  waited  for,  so  that  the  Spirit 
might  be  given.  Even  before  He  was  glori 
fied,  and  before  He  sent  the  Spirit,  He  yet 
invited  men  to  prepare  themselves  for  the 
receiving  of  the  water  of  which  He  said, 
"  Whoso  thirsteth,  let  him  come  and  drink;  " 
and,  "He  that  believeth  on  me,  out  of  his 
belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water."  What 
meaneth,  "Rivers  of  living  water"?  What 
is  that  water  ?  Let  no  man  ask  me;  ask  the 
Gospel.  "  But  this,"  saith  it,  "He  said  of  the 
Spirit,  which  they  should  receive  that  should 
believe  on  Him."  Consequently,  the  water 
of  the  sacrament  is  one  thing:  another,  the 
water  which  betokens  the  Spirit  of  God.  The 
water  of  the  sacrament  is  visible:  the  water 
of  the  Spirit  invisible.  That  washes  the 
body,  and  betokens  that  which  is  done  in  the 
soul.  By  this  Spirit  the  soul  itself  is 
cleansed  and  fed.  This  is  the  Spirit  of  God, 
which  heretics  and  all  that  cut  themselves  off 
from  the  Church,  cannot  have.  And  whoso 
ever  do  not  openly  cut  themselves  off,  but  by 
iniquity  are  cut  off,  and  being  within,  whirl 
about  as  chaff  and  are  not  grain;  these  have 
not  this  Spirit.  This  Spirit  is  denoted  by 
the  Lord  under  the  name  of  water:  and  we 
have  heard  from  this  epistle,  "  Believe  not 
every  spirit;"  and  those  words  of  Solomon 


The  neophytes. 


2  Rom.  v.  5. 


3  i  John : 


5  John  vii.  37-39. 


II     Mi:  V   VI. 1 


Tin:  EPISTLE  01    8T,  JOHN. 


499 


bear  witness,  "  From  strange  w;r 
tar."'  What  meaneth,  "  water  "  ?  Spirit. 
I).  M-,  water  always  signify  spirit?  Not 
always:  but  in  some  places  it  signifies  the 
Spirit,  in  .some  places  it  signifies  baptism,  in 
some  places  signifies  peoples,-  in  some  places 
.signifies  counsel:  thus  thou  fmdest  it  said  in 
a  certain  place,  "'Counsel  is  a  fountain  of  life 


to  them  that  possess  it." 
places  of  the  Scriptures, 


So  then,  in  divers 
the  term  "  water 


signifies  divers  things.  Now  however  by  the 
term  water  ye  have  heard  the  Holy  Spirit 
spoken  of,  not  by  an  interpretation  of  ours, 
but  by  witness  of  the  Gospel,  where  it  saith, 
"  But' this  said  He  of  the  Spirit,  which  they 
should  receive  that  should  believe  on  Him." 
If  then  by  the  name  of  water  is  signified  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  this  epistle  saith  to  us, 
*'  Believe  not  every  spirit,  but  prove  the 
spirits,  whether  they  be  of  God;"  let  us  un 
derstand  that  of  this  it  is  said,  v'  From  strange 
water  keep  thee  far,  and  from  a  strange  foun 


tain    drink    thou     not.' 


What    meaneth, 


"  From  a  strange  fountain  drink  thou  not"? 
A  strange  spirit  believe  thou  not. 

12.  There  remains  then  the  test  by  which 
it  is  to  be  proved  to  be  the  Spirit  of  God. 
He  has  indeed  set  down  a  sign,  and  this,  be- 


flesh'1  ?  Aye,  here  perchance  they  lift  them 
selves  up  against  us,  and  say:  Ye  have  not 
tut-  Spirit  trom  ('.oil;  but  we  confess  "that 
Christ  came  in  the  rlesh:  "  but  the 
apostle  here  hath  said  that  those  have  not 
the  Spirit  of  God,  who  confess  not  "that 
Jesus  Christ  came  in  the  flesh."  Ask  the 
Arians:  they  confess  "  that  Jesus  Christ  came 
in  the  flesh:  "  ask  the  Eunomians;  they  confess 
"that  Jesus  Christ  came  in  the  flesh:"  ask 
the  Macedonians;  they  confess  "that  Jesus 
Christ  came  in  the  flesh:"  put  the  question 
to  the  Cataphryges;  they  confess  "  that  Jesus 
Christ  came  in  the  flesh:  "  put  it  to  the  Nova- 
tians;  they  confess  "that  Jesus  Christ  came 
in  the  flesh."  Then  have  all  these  heresies 
the  Spirit  of  God?  Are  they  then  no  false 
prophets  ?  Is  there  then  no  deception  there, 
no  seduction  there  ?  Assuredly  they  are  an 
tichrists;  for  "  they  went  out  from  us,  but 
were  not  of  us." 

13.  What  are  we  to  do  then  ?  By  what  to 
discern  them  ?  lie  very  attentive;  let  us  go 
together  in  heart,  and  knock.  Charity  her 
self  keeps  watch;  for  it  is  none  other  than 
she  that  shall  knock,  she  also  that  shall  open: 
anon  ye  shall  understand  in  the  name  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Already  ye  have  heard 
like,  difficult:  let  us  see,  however.  We  are  j  that  it  was  said  above,  "Whoso  denieth  that 


to  recur  to  that  charity;  it  is  that  which 
teacheth  us,  because  it  is  the  unction. 
However,  what  saith  he  here?  "Prove  the 
spirits,  whether  they  be  from  God:  because 
many  false  prophets  have  gone  out  into  this 
world."  Now  there  are  all  heretics  and  all 
schismatics.  How  then  am  I  to  prove  the 
spirit  ?  He  goes  on:  '*  In  this  is  known4  the 
Spirit  of  God."  Wake  up  the  ears  of  your 
heart.  We  were  at  a  loss;  we  were  saying, 


Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh,  the  same  is 
an  antichrist."  There  also  we  asked,  Who 
denies  ?  because  neither  do  we  deny,  nor  do 
those  deny.  And  we  found  that  some  do  in 
their  deeds  deny;6  and  we  brought  testimony 
from  the  apostle,  who  saith,  "  For  they  con 
fess  that  they  know  God,  but  in  their  deeds 
deny  Him."7  Thus  then  let  us  now  also 
make  the  enquiry  in  the  deeds  not  in  the 


Who  knows  ?   who  discerns  ?     Behold,  he  is    _ 
about  to  tell  the  sign.     "Hereby  is  known   Christ 


Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh  is  not  of 
God:    and  this  is  the  antichrist,  of  whom  ye 


tongue.     What  is  the  spirit  that  is  not  from 
God?      That    "which    denieth    that    Jesus 
is   come    in   the    flesh."     And    what 

the  Spirit  of  God:  every  spirit  that  confesseth  j  is  the  spirit  that  is  from  God?  That 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh  is  of  "which  confesseth  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come 
God:  and  every  spirit  that  confesseth  not  that  in  the  flesh."  Who  is  he  that  confesseth  that 

Jesus  Christ    is  come    in  the  flesh?     Now, 
brethren,   to  the  mark  !    let  us   look  to  the 

have  heard  that  lie  should  come;  and  even  works,  not  stop  at  the  noise  of  the  tongue. 
now  already  is  he  in  this  world."  s  Our  ears,  Let  us  ask  why  Christ  came  in  the  flesh, 
so  to  say,  are  on  the  alert  for  discerning  of  so  we  get  at  the  persons  who  deny  that  He  is 
the  spirits;  and  we  have  been  told  something,  come  in  the  flesh.  If  thou  stop  at  tongues, 
such  that  thereby  \ve  discern  not  a  whit  the  why,  thou  shall  hear  many  a  heresy  confess- 
more.  For  what  saith  he?  "-.Every  spirit  ing  that  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh:  but  the 
that  confesseth  that  Jesus  Christ  came  in  the  truth  convicteth  those  men.  Wherefore  came 
flesh,  is  of  God."  Then  is  the  spirit  that  is  Christ  in  the  flesh  ?  Was  He  not  God  ?  Is  it 


among    the    heretics,    of    God,    seeing    they 
that    Jesus    Christ   came     in 


Prov.  i.x.  ,        I  \\ 
Krv.  *\ 


vu  ititr,  s<>  Ynli;.  rrprrscntinvi  the  reading  of  some  MSS. 
yiyu«j-it«Toi.      Hut  thr  brst  authorities  have  yivutaxt-rt. 
5  i  John  iv.  a,  3. 


not  written  of  Him,  "  In   the   beginning  was 
the  |  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and 
the  Word  was  God?"-     Was  it  not  He  that 
did  feed  angels,  is  it  not  He  that  doth  feed 


I,  M..m    iii.  7-9. 


8  John  i.  i. 


500 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[HMMMY  VI. 


angels  ?      Did    He   not   in    such    sort    come 
hither,  that  He  departed   not  thence?     Did 


in  deeds  is  meant. 
"  That  denieth:" 


^  What  has  he  shown  thee  ? 
in   tliat  he  saith,    "  doeth 


He  not  in  such  sort  ascend,  that  He  forsook  away  "  (or,  "unmaketh").  He  came  to 
not  us?  Wherefore  then  came  He  in  the  \  gather  in  one,  thou  comest  to  unmake.  Thou 
flesh?  Because  it  behooved  us  to  have  the  j  wouldest  pull  Christ's  members  asunder, 
hope  of  resurrection  shown  unto  us.  God  He  How  can  it  be  said  that  thou  deniest  not  that 
was,  and  in  flesh  He  came;  for  God  could  I  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh,  who  rendest  asun- 


not  die,  flesh  could  die;  He  came  then  in  the 
flesh,  that  He  might  die  for  us.  But  how 
died  He  for  us?  "Greater  charity  than  this 
hath  no  man,  that  a  man  lay  down  his  life  for 
his  friends."1  Charity  therefore  brought 
Him  to  the  flesh.  Whoever  therefore  has  not 
charity  denies  that  Christ  is  come  in  the 
flesh.  Here  then  do  thou  now  question  all 
heretics.  Did  Christ  come  in  the  flesh  ?  "  He 
did  come;  this  I  believe,  this  I  confess." 
Nay,  this  thou  deniest.  "How  do  1  deny? 
Thou  hearest  that  I  say  it !"  Nay,  I  convict 
thee  of  denying  it.  Thou  sayest  with  the 
voice,  deniest  with  the  heart;  sayest  in  words, 


deniest  in  deeds. 
I  deny  in  deeds 


"  How,"  sayest  thou,  "  do 
Because  the  end  for  which 


Christ  came  in  the  flesh,  was,  that  He  might 


der  the  Church  of  God  which  He  hath  gath 
ered  together  ?  Therefore  thou  goest  against 
Christ;  thou  art  an  antichrist.  Be  thou 
within,  or  be  thou  without,  thou  art  an  anti 
christ:  only,  when  thou  art  wittiin,  thou  art 
hidden;  when  thou  art  without,  thou  art  made 
manifest.  Thou  unmakest  Jesus  and  deniest 
that  He  came  in  the  flesh;  thou  art  not  of 
God.  Therefore  He  saith  in  the  Gospel: 
"  Whoso  shall  break3  one  of  these  least  com 
mandments,  and  shall  teach  so,  shall  be 
called  least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven/'4 
What  is  this  breaking?  What  this  teaching? 
A  breaking  in  the  deeds  and  a  teaching  as  it 


were  in  words.5 
should  not  steal. 


"Thou  that  preachest  men 
dost  thou  steal  ?  " 6     There 


fore  he  that  steals  breaks  or  undoes-  the  corn- 


die  for  us.     He  died  for  us,  because  therein  !  mandment  in  his  deed,  and  as  it  were  teaches 
He  taught  much  charity.     "  Greater  charity  j  so:  "  he  shall  be  called  least  in  the  kingdom 
than  this  hath  no  man,  that  a  man  lay  down  {  of  heaven,"  i.e.  in  the  Church  of  this  present 
his  life  for  his  friends."     Thou  hast  not  char- !  - 
ity,  seeing  thou  for  thine  own  honor  dividest 
unity.     Therefore  by  this  understand  ye  the 


spirit  that  is  from  God.  Give  the 
vessels  a  tap,  put  them  to  the  proof,  whether 
haply  they  be  cracked  and  give  a  dull  sound: 
see  whether  they  ring  full  and  clear,  see 
whether  charity  be  there.  Thou  takest  thy 
self  away  from  the  unity  of  the  whole  earth, 


printed  Vulg.  has,  Omnis  sfirittts  qui  solvit  Christum  ex  Dtp 
non  est.  In  Serin.  182  and  183,  preached  some  time  later  on  this 
text,  AUK-  reads  it,  Omnis  sf>.  qui  nan  confitetur(&n&,qui  negat) 
earthen  Jesum  Christum  in  carne  venisse.  R.  Cypr.  Test.  adv.Jud.  li. 
18,  qui  autem  ncgat  in  carne  venisse,  tie  Deo  non  est.  S.  Iren. 
iii.  18,  in  the  ancie'nt  Latin  version,  Et  omnis  sf>.  qui  solvit  Jfsum 
Christum,  non  est  ex  Deo.  Tertull.  adv.  Marcion.  v.  16,  prtr- 


.     Dejejun.  adv.  Psych. 

i,  non  ....  nee  quod  Jesum  Chris 

tum  solvant.     De  carne  Chriiti,  24.       Qui  negat  Christum   in 


isse  et  solventes  Jesum,  sc.  in  Deo  crea 
quod  aliuin  Deum  pnrdiceni 


t 


ere  he  says,  the  apostle 

marking  one  Christ,  shakes    those  who  argue   for  a 
Form,  making  Christ  one,  Jesus  another,  A.    "      I  M 


thou  dividest  the  Church   by  schisms,  thou   chr 

rpnrlpcr  trip   Rnrlv  r>f   (Christ          HP  rimp   in   thp  '  ^-P-  *•  *>,ad  1'larian,  seems  to  have  read  in  the  Gr.  SiaipoGi'.    Other 

rendest  tne  tfoay  ot  purist.  e  ,  gj^  j}uthorities  for  the  readinK l/ui  .lW.,//are  cited  by  Min. 

flesh,   tO    gather    in  One,    thOU    makest  an    OUt-  ]  Ioc.     Socrates  H.  E.  vii.  32.  affirms,  that  in  the  old  MSS.  the  read- 


This  then  is  the  Spirit 


cry  to  scatter  abroad 

of  God,  which  saith 

flesh,  which  saith,  not  in  tongue  but  in  deeds, 


Of  God,    Which   Saith  that    JeSUS   is  COme   in  the     those  who  would  fain  separate  the  Godhead  from  the  Man  of  the 
J  Incarnation,  01  vwpi^iv  airo  TOV  Tys  OIKOVOHIOLS  av6(*uirov  Pov\ont- 


which  saith,  not  by  making  a  noise  but  by 
loving.  And  that  spirit  is  not  of  God,  which 
denies  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh; 
denies,  here  also,  not  in  tongue  but  m  life; 
not  in  words  but  in  deeds.  It  is  manifest 
therefore  by  what  we  may  know  the  brethren. 
Many  within  are  in  a  sort  within;  but  none 
without  except  he  be  indeed  without. 

14.  Nay,  and  that  ye  may  know  that  he 
has  referred  the  matter  to  deeds,  he  saith, 
''And  every  spirit,  qui  solvit  Christum, 
which  does  away  with  Christ  that  He  came 
in  the  flesh,3  is  not  of  God."  A  doing  away 


'  John  xv.  13. 

*  Q*i  tttvit  Ckritt* 

and  //•w.omit   ///  i<i>'n 


i  in  carne  venisse.     Edd.  Erasm.  f.  ug,/. 
venisse,   but  the   Lnuvain  editors  .itt.-vt 

that  they  are  found  in  the  MSS.  of  Augustin.  ED.  I'AK.  (Hodl. 
MSS.  ext.  I,aud.  116,  a  late  one,  have  them).  Infra,  Horn.  vii.  2. 
Omnis  qui  tolvit  J.C.,  et  negat  turn  in  carne  venisse.  The 


voi  rr)v  0eor>)Ta.  (Valesius  in  lac.  suggests  that  Socrates  may  have 
read  in  his  MSS.  o  Auei  rov  'IijcroOi-OTrb  TOU  *»tov,  «  TOU  9«oO  ouic 
tart.  :  Matthai,  that  he  wrote,  o  firj  6/joAoyei,  rovrfcrnv,  o  Aiiei.) 
But  no  extant  MSS.  acknowledge  the  reading  :  and  the  Greek  !•  Wi 
thers  headed  by  S.  Polycarp  adPkilifp.  sec.  7  (irosot  av  ,u>)  oAioAoyjj 
'I.X.  iv  vapid  4XfAvMreu.)  bear  witness  to  the  received  text  :  only 
Cyril,  de  recta  fide  ad  Keginas  being  cited  by  Mill  for  the  read 
ing  Auei.  This  reading  may  (as  Mill  has  suggested,  comp.  Grot. 
in  Ioc.)  have  originated  in  a  marginal  gloss,  directed  against  the 
(  taMtkB.  Thus  in  a  scholion  edited  by  Matthai  it  is  said  :  ••  For 
the  precursors  of  Antichrist  were  the  heresies,  whose  ch..: 
tic  mark  it  is  by  the  means  of  false  prophets  and  spirits  kvtiv  TOV 
'Irjaovv,  to  unmake  Jesus,  by  not  confessing  that  He  is  come  in 
the  flesh." 

3  Solverit.  *  Matt.  v.    19. 

S  S.  Aug.  de  Serm.  Dom.  in  Monte,  i.  21.     Qui  ergo  solverit  ft 
,i,'cnerit  kontin,-*  .  .  .  i.e.,  sccundum  id  quod  spirit,  non  secun- 
dum  idquod  in-',-nit  et  legit.  .  .  Qui  autrm  fecerit  et 
tic  (ovTta<;  for  OVTO?)  h.  e.  s,\undum  id  quod  twn  nlvit.      Mere  he 


•  •it  sic  in  th 


commandment* : 


of  teaching  men  by  and  agreeably 
leacher,  which   is  that  of  breaking  the 
-riall  break  one  of  these  li 


xii.  9.  he 
they  say  and  do 


mandmentsand  in  that  way  shall  teach  men,"  solverit , 
suaui  solutionem  d,«  ucrit.  Kut  supra,  Horn,  in  Ev 
seems  to  make  it  parallel  with  Matt,  xxiii.  3, 

not:"     qui  decent  bonn  loq-.tenda  quir   so/runt    male    vivttuta. 
Comp.   Serni.  cxlii.   3.     His   full  meaning  appears  to  be.  that   to 
gether  with  the  good  teaching  in  words,  there  goes  a  sort 
ing  (i/rtus!  ,/i'ii-f)  not  in  words  but  in  the  deeds. 
6Kom.  iL  II. 


H..MIM      \   II.  | 


I  III     EPISTLE  <  >!    ST.  JOHN. 


50' 


time.1  Of  him  it  is  said,  "  What  they  say  do 
ye;  hut  what  they  do,  that  do  not  ye.? 
But  he  that  shall  do,  and  shall  teach  so, 
shall  !>«•  called  great  in  the  kingdom  <>! 
heaven."  From  this,  that  He  has  here 
said,  fecerit,  "shall  do,"  while  in  opposition 
to  this  He  has  there  said  Wrr///,  meaning 
non  facrit,  "  shall  not  do,  and  shall  teach 
so" — to  break,  then,  is,  not  to  do — what  doth 


'  S<>  iii  Si-nn.  <-rlii.  3  :  d<  Civ.  D.  xz.  9  ;  but  otherwise  explained 

\.\ii.  y. 
'  Matt,  xxiii.  3. 


He  teach  us,  but  that  we  should  interrogate 
men's  deeds,  not  take  their  words  upon  trust  i* 
The  obtcurity  of  the  tilings  compels  us  to 
speak  much  at  length,  chiefly  that  that  which 
tin-  Lord  deigns  to  reveal  may  be  brought 
within  reach  even  of  the  brethren  of  slower 
understanding,  because  all  were  bought  by 
the  blood  of  Christ.  And  I  am  afraid  the 
epistle  itself  will  not  be  finished  during  these 
days  as  I  promised:  but  as  the  Lord  will,  it 
is  better  to  reserve  the  remainder,  than  to 
overload  your  hearts  with  too  much  food. 


'  HOMILY    VII. 

i   JOHN  IV.   4-12. 

"  Now  are  ye  of  God,  little  children,  and  have  overcome  him:  because  greater  is  He  that 
is  in  you,  than  he  that  is  in  this  world.  They  are  of  the  world:  therefore  speak  they  of  the 
world,  and  the  world  heareth  them.  We  are  of  God:  he  that  knoweth  God  heareth  us;  he 
that  is  not  of  God  heareth  not  us.  From  this  know  we  the  spirit  of  truth,  and  [the  spirit] 
of  error.  Dearly  beloved,  let  us  love  one  another:  for  love  is  of  God;  and  every  one  that 
loveth  is  born  of  God,  and  knoweth  God.  He  that  loveth  not  knoweth  not  God;  for  God  is 
love.  In  this  was  manifested  the  love  of  God  in  us,  that  God  sent  His  only-begotten  Son 
into  this  world,  that  we  may  live  through  Him.  Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved,  but  that 
He  loved  us,  and  sent  His  Son  to  be  the  Atoner1  for  our  sins.  Dearly  beloved,  if  God  so 
loved  us,  we  ought  also  to  love  one  another.  No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time." 


i.  So  is  this  world  to  all  the  faithful  seek-! 
ing  their  own  country,  as  was  the  desert  to 
the  people  Israel.  They  wandered  indeed 
as  yet,  and  were  seeking  their  own  country: 
but  with  God  for  their  guide  they  could  not 
wander  astray.  Their  way  was  God's  bid 
ding.2  For  where  they  went  about  during 
forty  years,  the  journey  itself  is  made  up  of 
a  very  few  stations,  and  is  known  to  all. 
They  were  retarded  because  they  were  in 
training,  not  because  they  were  forsaken. 
That  therefore  which  God  promiseth  us  is  in 
effable  sweetness  and  a  good,3  as  the  Scripture 
saith,  and  as  ye  have  often  heard  by  us  re 
hearsed,  which  "  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear 
heard,  neither  hath  entered  into  the  heart  of 
man."  4  lUit  by  temporal  labors  we  are  exer 
cised,  and  by  temptations  of  this  present  life 
are  trained.  Howbeit,  if  ye  would  not  die  of 
thirst  in  this  wilderness,  drink  charity.  It  is 
the  fountain  which  God  has  been  pleased  to 


*  Russia   Dei:  so  the   MSS.  but   the   printrd   copies,  vi 
:  -.-*,,  and  Laud,   ig  !    .ill.  813, 

*'JHssi<>"  over  the  line  ;  the  rest  mjusu\'.") 


isio  Dei. 
so  with 


i  Cor.  ii.  9. 


place  here  that  we  faint  not  in  the  way:  and 
we  shall  more  abundantly  drink  thereof,  when 
we  are  come  to  our  own  land.  The  Gospel 
has  just  been  read;  now  to  speak  of  the  very 
words  with  which  the  lesson  ended,  what 
other  thing  heard  ye  but  concerning  charity? 
For  we  have  made  an  agreement  with  our 
God  in  prayer,  that  if  we  would  that  He 
should  forgive  us  our  sins,  we  also  should 
forgive  the  sins  which  may  have  been  com 
mitted  against  us.5  Now  that  which  forgiveth 
is  none  other  than  charity.  Take  away  char 
ity  from  the  heart;  hatred  possesseth  it,  it 
knows  not  how  to  forgive.  Let  charity  be 
there,  and  she  fearlessly  forgiveth,  not  being 
straitened.  And  this  whole  epistle  which  we 
have  undertaken  to  expound  to  you,  see 
whether  it  commendeth  aught  else  than  this 
one  thing,  charity.  Nor  need  we  fear  lest  by 
much  speaking  thereof  it  come  to  be  hateful. 
For  what  is  there  to  love,  if  charity  come  to 
be  hateful  ?  It  is  by  charity  that  other  things 
come  to  be  rightly  loved;  then  how  must 


502 


THE   WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[HOMILY    VII. 


itself  be  loved  !  Let  not  that  then  which 
ought  never  to  depart  from  the  heart,  depart 
from  the  tongue. 

2.  ''  Now,"  saith  he,  "  are  ye  of  God  little 
children,  and  have  overcome  him:"1    whom 
but    Antichrist  ?      For   above    he   had    said, 
"Whosoever    unmaketh2   Jesus   Christ    and 
denieth  that  He  is  come  in  the  flesh  is  not  of 
God."     Now  we  expounded,  if  ye  remember, 
that  all  those  who  violate  charity  deny  Jesus 
Christ  to  have  come  in  the  flesh.     For  Jesus 
had  no  need  to  come  but  because  of  charity: 
as    indeed   the  charity  we    are   commending 
is  that  which  the  Lord  Himself  commendeth 
in  the  Gospel,  "  Greater  love  than  this  can  no 
man  have,  that  a  man  lay  down  his  life  for 
his  friends."3     How  was  it  possible  for  the 
Son  of  God  to  lay  down  His  life  for  us  with 
out  putting  on  flesh  in  which  He  might  die  ? 
Whosoever  therefore  violates  charity,  let  him 
say  what   he  will  with  his  tongue,   his    life 
denies  that  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh;  and 
this  is  an  antichrist,   wherever   he  may  be, 
whithersoever  he  have  come  in.     But  what 
saith  the  apostle  to  them  who  are  citizens  of 
that  country  for  which  we  sigh  ?     "  Ye  have 
overcome    him."     And   whereby   have    they 
overcome?     "Because  greater  is  He  that  is 
in  you,  than  he  that  is  in  this  world."     Lest 
they  should  attribute  the  victory  to  their  own 
strength,  and  by  arrogance  of  pride  should 
be    overcome,    (for    whomsoever    the    devil 
makes  proud,  he  overcomes,)  wishing  them  to 
keep  humility,  what  saith  he?      "Ye   have 
overcome  him.'1     Every  man  now,  at  hearing 
this  saying,  "  Ye   have  overcome,"  lifts  up 
the  head,  lifts  up  the  neck,  wishes  himself  to 
be  praised.     Do  not  extol  thyself;  see  who 
it  is  that  in  thee  hath  overcome.     Why  hast 
thou  overcome  ?    "  Because  greater  is  He  that 
is  in  you,  than  he  that  is  in  the  world."     Be 
humble,  bear  thy  Lord;    be  thou  the  beast 
for  Him  to  sit  on.     Good  is  it  for  thee  that 
He  should  rule,  and  He  guide.     For  if  thou 
have  not  Him  to  sit  on  thee,  thou  mayest 
lift  up  the  neck,  mayest  strike  out  the  heels: 
but  woe  to    thee   without  a  ruler,   for   this 
liberty  sendeth   thee  among  the  wild  beasts 
to  be  devoured  ! 

3.  "These   are   of   the  world."4     Who? 
The  antichrists.     Ye  have  already  heard  who 
they  be.     And  if  ye  be  not  such,  ye  know 
them,    but   whosoever   is    such,    knows    not. 
"These  are  of  the  world:    therefore   speak 
they  of   the  world,   and    the  world    heareth 
them."     Who  are  they  that  "  speak  of  the 
world"?     Mark    who    are    against    charity. 
Behold,    ye    have    heard    the    Lord    saying, 


«  i  John  iv.  4. 
3  John  xv.  13. 


'  Solvit. 

«  i  John  iv.  5. 


"  If  ye  forgive  men  their  trespasses,  your 
heavenly  Father  will  forgive  you  also  your 
trespasses.  But  if  ye  forgive  not  men  their 
trespasses,  neither  will  your  Father  forgive 
your  trespasses."5  It  is  the  sentence  of 
Truth:  or  if  it  be  not  Truth  that  speaks, 
gainsay  it.  If  thou  art  a  Christian  and  be- 
lievest  Christ,  He  hath  said,  "  I  am  the 
truth."  This  sentence  is  true,  is  firm. 
Now  hear  men  that  "speak  of  the  world." 
"And  wilt  thou  not  avenge  thyself?  And 
wilt  thou  let  him  say  that  he  has  done  this  to 
thee?  Nay:  let  him  feel  that  he  has  to  do 
with  a  man."  Every  day  are  such  things  said. 
They  that  say  such  things,  "of  the  world 
speak  they,  and  the  world  heareth  them." 
None  say  such  things  but  those  that  love  the 
world,  and  by  none  are  such  things  heard  but 
by  those  who  love  the  world.  And  ye  have 
heard  that  to  love  the  world  and  neglect  char 
ity  is  to  deny  that  Jesus  came  in  the  flesh. 
Or  say  if  the  Lord  Himself  in  the  flesh  did 
that?'  if,  being  buffeted,  He  willed  to  be 
avenged  ?  if,  hanging  on  the  cross,  He  did 
not  say,  "  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they 
know  not  what  they  do  "  ?6  But  if  He  threat 
ened  not,  who  had  power;  why  dost  thou 
threaten,  why  art  thou  inflated  with  anger, 
who  art  under  power  of  another?  He  died 
because  it  was  His  will  to  die,  yet  He  threat 
ened  not;  thou  knowest  not  when  thou  shall 
die,  and  dost  thou  threaten  ? 

4.  "  \Ve  are  of  God."7  Let  us  see  why; 
see  whether  it  be  for  any  other  thing  than 
charity.  "  We  are  of  God:  he  that  knoweth 
God  heareth  us;  he  that  is  not  of  God  heareth 
not  us.  Hereby  know  we  the  spirit  of  truth, 
and  of  error:  "  namely  by  this,  that  he  that 
heareth  us  hath  the  spirit  of  truth;  he  that 
heareth  not  us,  hath  the  spirit  of  error.  Let 
us  see  what  he  adviseth,  and  let  us  choose 
rather  to  hear  him  advising  in  the  spirit  of 
truth,  and  not  antichrists,  not  lovers  of  the 
world,  not  the  world.  If  we  are  born  of  God, 
"beloved,"8  he  goes  on  —  see  above  from 
what:  "  We  are  of  God:  he  that  knoweth  God 
heareth  us;  he  that  is  not  of  God  heareth  not 
us.  Hereby  know  we  the  spirit  of  truth,  and 
of  error:  "  aye,  now,  he  makes  us  eagerly  at 
tentive:  to  be  told  that  he  who  knows  God, 
hears;  but  he  who  knows  not,  hears  not;  and 
that  this  is  the  discerning  between  the  spirit 
of  truth  and  the  spirit  of  error:  well  then,  let 
us  see  what  he  is  about  to  advise;  in  what  we 
must  hear  him  — "  Beloved,  let  us  love  one 
another."8  Why?  because  a  man  adviseth  ? 
"Because  love  is  of  God."  Much  hath  he 
commended  love,  in  that  he  hath  said,  "  Is  of 


5  Matt.  vi.  14,  15. 
7  i  John  iv.  6. 


'  Luke  xxiii.  34. 
8  i  John  iv.  7. 


\  II  I 


T1IK   Kl'ISTI.K  OK  ST.   JOHN. 


503 


Ciod:"  but  he  is  going  to  say  more;  let  us  •  us:  "  '  let  Of  understand  that  He  who  subsist- 
rly  hear.  At  pn-M-nt  lie  hath  said,  etb  in  lf>ve  is  the  Holy  Ghost.  For  it  is 
11  l.oveisot  (iod;  and  every  one  that  loveth  is  even  this  Holy  Spirit,  whom  tiie  bad  cannot 
born  of  Ciod,  and  knoweth  (iod.  He  that  receive,  even  He  is  that  Fountain  of  which 
loveth  not  knoweth  not  (iod."1  Why?  "  For  the  Scripture  saith,  "  Let  the  fountain  of  thy 
(iod  is  love  "{  Love  is  God].-'  What  more  water  be  thine  own,  and  let  no  stranger  par- 
could  be  said,  brethren?  If  nothing  were  take  with  thee."  4  For  all  who  love  not  ( iod, 
said  in  praise  of  love  throughout  the  pages  of  are  strangers,  are  antichrists.  And  though 


this  epistle,  if  nothing  whatever  throughout 
the  other  pages  of  the  Scriptures,  and  this 
one  only  tiling  were  all  we  were  told  by  the 
voice  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  "  For  Love  is 
God;  "  nothing  more  ought  we  to  require. 
5.  Now  see  that  to  act  against  love  is  to 


they  come  to  the  churches,  they  cannot  be 
numbered  among  the  children  of  God;  not 
to  them  belongeth  that  Fountain  of  life.  To 
have  baptism  is  possible  even  for  a  bad  man; 
to  have  prophecy  is  possible  even  for  a  bad 
man.  We  find  that  king  Saul  had  prophecy: 


act  against  God.  Let  no  man  say,  "  I  sin  j  he  was  persecuting  holy  David,  yet  was  he 
against  man  when  I  do  not  love  my  brother,  !  filled  with  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  and  began 
(mark  it  !)  and  sin  against  man  is  a  thing  to  |  to  prophesy.5  To  receive  the  sacrament  of 
be  taken  easily;  only  let  me  not  sin  against  the  body  and  blood  of  the  Lord  is  possible 
God.  How  sinnest  thou  not  against  God,  j  even  fora  bad  man:  for  of  such  it  'is  said, 
when  thou  sinnest  against  love?  "Love  is  j  "  He  that  eateth  and  drinketh  unworthily, 
God."  Do  "we"  say  this?  If  we  said,  i  eateth  and  drinketh  judgment  to  himself."6 
"  Love  is  God,"  haply  some  one  of  you  might  i  To  have  the  name  of  Christ  is  possible  even 
be  offended  and  say,  What  hath  he  said  ?  j  for  a  bad  man;  i.e.  even  a  bad  man  can  be 
What  meant  he  to  say,  that  "  Love  is  God  *'  ?  j  called  a  Christian:  as  they  of  whom  it  is  said, 
God  "gave"  love,  as  a  gift  God  bestowed  "  They  polluted  the  name  of  their  God."  7  I 


love. 


Love    is   of   God:    Love    IS   God." 


Look,  here  have  ye,  brethren,  the  Scriptures 


say,  to  have  all  these  sacraments  is  possible 
even  for  a  bad  man;  but  to  have  charity,  and 


of  God:  this  epistle  is  canonical;  throughout  j  to  be  a  bad  man,  is  not  possible.  Tins  then 
all  nations  it  is  recited,  it  is  held  by  the  au-  1  is  the  peculiar  gift,  this  the  "  Fountain  "  that 
thority  of  the  whole  earth,  it  hath  edified  the  is  singly  one's  "  own."  To  drink  of  this  the 


whole  earth.     Thou  art  here  told  by  the  Spirit 
of  God,  "  Love  is  God."     Now  if  thou  dare, 


go    against   God,    and    refuse   to    love   thy 
brother  ! 


Spirit    of   God    exhorteth 


to   drink   of 


Himself  the  Spirit  of  God  exhorteth  you. 


y.    "In  this  was  manifested  the  love  of  God 
in  us."J     Behold,  in  order  that  we  may  love 
6.   In  what  sense  then  was  it  said  a  while  God,  we  have   exhortation.     Could  we  love 
ago,  "  Love  is  of  God;  "  and  now,  "  Love  IS  i  Him,  unless  He  first  loved  us  ?     If  we  were 
God  ? "    For  God  is  Father  and  Son  and  Holy   slow  to  love,  let  us  not  be  slow  to  love  in  re- 
Ghost:  the  Son,  God  of  God,  the  Holy  Ghost, 


God  of  God;    and  these  three,  one  God,  not 


turn.     He  first  loved  us;    not  even  so  do  we 
love.     He  loved  the  unrighteous,  but  He  did 

three  Gods.  If  the  Son  be  God,  and  the  j  away  the  unrighteousness:  He  loved  the  un- 
Holy  Ghost  God.  and  that  person  loveth  in  I  righteous,  but  not  unto  unrighteousness  did 
whom  dwelleth  the  Holy  Ghost:  therefore  He  gather  them  together:  He  loved  the  sick, 
"Love  is  God;"  but  "IS  God,"  because  but  He  visited  them  to  make  them  whole. 
"Of  God."  For  thou  hast  both  in  the  epis-  "  Love,"  then,  "is  God."  "In  this  was 
tie;  both,  "Love  is  of  God,"  and,  "Love  is  j  manifested  the  love  of  God  in  us,  because 
(iod."  Of  the  Father  alone  the  Scripture  i  that  God  sent  His  only-begotten  Son  into  the 
hath  it  not  to  say,  that  He  is  "  of  God:  "  but '  world,  that  we  may  live  through  Him."  As 
when  thou  nearest  that  expression,  "  Of  j  the  Lord  Himself  saith:  "Greater  love  than 
God,"  either  the  Son  is  meant,  or  the  Holy  j  this  can  no  man  have,  that  a  man  lay  down 
Ghost.  Because  while  the  apostle  saith,  his  life  for  his  friends:  "  9  and  there  was  proved 
"  The  love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in  our  the  love  of  Christ  towards  us,  in  that  He 
hearts  by  the  Holy  Spirit  which  is  given  unto  .  died  for  us:  how  is  the  love  of  the  Father 

towards  us  proved?     In  that  He  "sent  His 

Iljohniv     8  only  Son  "  to  die  for  us:  so  also  the  a|x>stle 

?  /vw/rfivv.7/'/, ' «/ .    Ai.Ktistin  here  expounds  it,  ••  i,,v,-  is    Paul   saith:    "  He  that  spared   not    His  own 


C.,,,1  ;"    it    is"of   <..,<!"  and  "is  <;,,<!,  "  (as   "the    Word 

;  Hom  viii.i4,"Kor 

He  has  not  tu-Mt..u-<l  t>.  -.iv.  .''.  .  i    -:•/./.-:.  ,  ..-.  t  harit] 

In-  takes  it   in  the 
••  <",ni|   K  Spirit  ").      In  the  Crrrk 


In  the  :  h 

the  proposition  is  not  <  OOVWtlble,  ayarrr)  hriii's'  marked  as  the  pred- 
ihe  absence  of  the  article  while  0«o«  has  it  :   6  0c<K  oyairij 


Son,  but  delivered    Him    up   for  us  all,  how 
hath  He  not  with  Him  also  freely  given  us  all 


'  Kom.  v.  s. 
9  John  i 


<  Pr..v.  v.   16,  17. 

XKX\i.    20. 


n.  xi 
»  i  John  i 


504 


THK   WORKS  OF  ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


IH-IMII.Y  vii. 


things?"1  Behold  the  Father  delivered  up 
Christ;  Judas  delivered  Him  up;  does  it  not 
seem  as  if  the  thing  done  were  of  the  same 
sort?  Judas  is  "  traditor,"  one  that  de 
livered  up,  [or,  a  traitor]:  is  God  the  Father 
that  ?  God  forbid  !  sayest  thou.  I  do  not  say 
it,  hut  the  apostle  saith,  "  He  that  spared  not 
His  own  Son,  but  "  tradidit  FMIH  "  delivered 
Him  up  for  us  all."  Both  the  Father  de 
livered  Him  up,  and  He  delivered  up  Him 
self.  The  same  apostle  saith:  "  Who  loved 
me,  and  delivered  Himself  up  for  me."2  If 
the  Father  delivered  up  the  Son,  and  the  Son 
delivered  up  Himself,  what  has  Judas  done? 
There  was  a  ."  traditio ''  (delivering  up)  by 
the  Father;  there  was  a  "  tradifio"  by  the 
Son;  there  was  a  "  traditio"  by  Judas:  the 
thing  done  is  the  same,  but  what  is  it  that 
distinguishes  the  Father  delivering  up  the 
Son,  the  Son  delivering  up  Himself,  and 
Judas  the  disciple  delivering  up  his  Master? 
This:  that  the  Father  and  the  Son  did  it  in 
love,  but  Judas  did  this3  in  treacherous  be 
trayal.  Ye  see  that  not  what  the  man  does  is 
the  thing  to  be  considered;  but  with  what 
mind  and  will  he  does  it.  We  find  God  the 
Father  in  the  same  deed  in  which  we  find 
Judas;  the  Father  we  bless,  Judas  we  detest. 
Why  do  we  bless  the  Father,  and  detest 
Judas?  We  bless  charity,  detest  iniquity. 
How  great  a  good  was  conferred  upon  man 
kind  by  the  delivering  up  of  Christ !  Had 
Judas  this  in  his  thoughts,  that  therefore  he 
delivered  Him  up  ?  God  had  in  His  thoughts 
our  salvation  by  which  we  were  redeemed; 
Judas  had  in  his  thoughts  the  price  for  which 
he  sold  the  Lord.  The  Son  Himself  had  in 
His  thoughts  the  price  He  gave  for  us,  Judas 
in  his  the  price  he  received  to  sell  Him.  The 
diverse  intention  therefore  makes  the  things 
done  diverse.  Though  the  thing  be  one,  yet 
if  we  measure  it  by  the  diverse  intentions,  we 
find  the  one  a  thing  to  be  loved,  the  other  to 
be  condemned;  the  one  we  find  a  thing  to  be 
glorified,  the  other  to  be  detested.  Such  is  the 
force  of  charity.  See  that  it  alone  discrimi 
nates,  it  alone  distinguishes  the  doings  of  men. 
8.  This  we  have  said  in  the  case  where  the 
things  done  are  similar.  In  the  case  where 
they  are  diverse,  we  find  a  man  by  charity 
made  fierce;4  and  by  iniquity  made  win- 
ningly  gentle.  A  father  beats  a  boy,  and  a 
boy-stealer  caresses.  If  thou  name  the  two 
things,  blows  and  caresses,  who  would  not 
choose  the  caresses,  and  decline  the  blows  ? 
If  thou  mark  the  persons,  it  is  charity  that 
beats,  iniquity  that  caresses.  See  what  we 
are  insisting  upon;  that  the  deeds  of  men  are 


only  discerned  by  the  root  of  charity.  For 
many  things  may  be  done  that  have  a  good 
appearance,  and  yet  proceed  not  from  the  root 
of  charity.  For  thorns  also  have  flowers: 
some  actions  truly  seem  rough,  seem  savage; 
howbeit  they  are  done  for  discipline  at  the 
bidding  of  charity.  Once  for  all,  then,  a 
short  precept  is  given  thee:  Love,  and  do 
what  thou  wilt:  whether  thou  hold  thy  peace, 
through  love  hold  thy  peace;  whether  thou 
cry  out,  through  love  cry  out;  whether  thou 
correct,  through  love  correct;  whether  thou 
spare,  through  love  do  thou  spare:  let  the 
root  of  love  be  within,  of  this  root  can  noth 
ing  spring  but  what  is  good. 

9.  "  In  this  is  love — in  this  was  manifested 
the  love  of  God  toward  us,  because  that  God 
sent  his  only-begotten  Son   into  this  world, 
that  we  may  live  through   Him. — In  this  is 
love,   not  that  we  loved   God,  but  that   He 
loved  us:  "  5  we  did  not  love  Him  first:   for  to 
this  end  loved  He  us,  that  we  may  love  Him: 
"And  sent  His  Son  to  be  the  Atoner  for  our 
sins:     "  litatoremf    i.e.    one    that    sacrifices. 
He  sacrificed   for  our  sins.     Where  did  He 
find  the  sacrifice?     Where  did  He  find  the 
victim  which  he  would  offer  pure  ?     Other  He 
found  none;  His  own  self  He  offered.     "  Be 
loved,  if  God  so  loved  us  we  ought  also  to 
love  one  another.6    Peter,"  saith  He,  "  lovest 
thou  me?"     And  he  said,  "  I  love."    "Feed 
my  sheep." 

10.  "No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time:  "  7 
He  is  a  thing  invisible;  not  with  the  eye  but 
with  the  heart  must  He  be  sought.     But  just 
as. if  we  wished  to  see  the  sun,  we  should 
purge  the  eye  of  the  body;    wishing  to  see 
God,  let  us  purge  the  eye  by  which  God  can 
be  seen.     Where  is  this  eye  ?     Hear  the  Gos 
pel:  "  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they 
shall  see  God."8     But   let  no  man  imagine 
God  to  himself  according  to  the  lust  of  his 
eyes.      For  so  he  makes  unto  himself  either  a 
huge  form,  or  a  certain  incalculable  magni 
tude  which,  like  the  light  which  he  sees  with 
the  bodily  eyes,  he  makes  extend  through  all 
directions;   field  after  field  of  space  he  gives 
it  all  the  bigness  he  can;  or,  he  represents  to 
himself  like  as  it  were  an  old  man  of  venera 
ble    form.     None   of   these   things   do    thou 
imagine.     There  is  something  thou   mayest 
imagine,  if  thou  wouldest  see  God;  "God  is 
love."     What  sort  of  face   hath  love?   what 
form  hath  it?  what  stature?  what  feet?  what 
hands  hath  it?  no  man  can  say.      And  yet  it. 
hath  feet,  for  these  carry  men  to  church:    it 
hath  hands;  for  these  reach  forth  to  the  Door: 
it   hath  eyes;    for  thereby  we    consider   the 


'  Rom.  viii.  -52. 
1  In  firoditilme. 


S  i    John 

7  i  John  iv.  u. 


'-•  i   J..hn  iv.  i 
-  M'.ut.  v.  s. 


11. -MM  V     Vil.| 


i  in.  EPIS  i  ii.  <»!   si'.  JOHN. 


505 


needy:  "Blessed  is  the  man,"  it  is  said, 
"who  considered!  the  needy  and  the  j 
It  hath  ears,  of  which  the 'Lord  smth.  "  He 
that  hatli  ears  to  hear  let  him  hear."  '  Tliese 
are  not  members  distinct  by  place,  but  with 
the  understanding  he  th.it  liat'n  charity  sees 
the  v/hole  at  once.  Inhabit,  and  thou  slialt 
be  inhabited;  dwell,  anil  thou  shah  be  dwelt 
in.  For  how  say  you,  my  brethren  ?  who 
loves  what  he  does  not  see  ?  Now  why,  when 
charity  is  praised,  do  ye  lift  up  your  hands, 
make  acclaim,  praise  ?  What  have  I  shown 
you  ?  What  I  produced,  was  it  a  gleam  of 
colors  ?  What  I  propounded,  was  it  gold 
and  silver?  Have  I  dug  out  jewels  from  hid 
treasures  ?  What  of  this  sort  have  I  shown  to 
your  eyes  ?  Is  my  face  changed  while  I 
speak?'  I  am  in  the  flesh;  I  am  in  the  same 
form  in  which  I  came  forth  to  you;  ye  are  in 
the  same  form  in  which  ye  came  hither: 
charity  is  praised,  and  ye  shout  applause. 
Certainly  ye  sea  nothing.  But  as  it  pleases 
you  when  ye  praise,  so  let  it  please  you  that  ye 
may  keep  it  in  your  heart.  For  mark  well 
what  I  say,  brethren;  I  exhort  you  all,  as  God 
enables  me,  unto  a  great  treasure.  If  there 
were  shown  you  a  beautiful  little  vase,  em 
bossed,3  inlaid  with  gold,  curiously  wrought, 
and  it  charmed  your  eyes,  and  drew  towards 
it  the  eager  desire  of  your  heart,  and  you  were 
pleased  with  the  hand  of  the  artificer,  and 
the  weight  of  the  silver,  and  the  splendor  of 
the  metal;  would  not  each  one  of  you  say, 
*'  O,  if  I  had  that  vase  !  "  And  to  no  pur 
pose  ye  would  say  it,  for  it  would  not  rest 
with  you  to  have  it.  Or  if  one  should  wish 
to  have  it,  he  might  think  of  stealing  it  from 
another's  house.  Charity  is  praised  to  you; 
if  it  please  you,  have  it,  possess  it:  no  need 
that  ye  should  rob  any  man,  no  need  that  ye 
should  think  of  buying  it;  it  is  to  be  had 
freely,  without  cost.  Take  it,  clasp  it;  there 
is  nothing  sweeter.  If  such  it  be  when  it  is 
but  spoken  of,  what  must  it  be  when  one  has  it? 
ii.  If  any  of  you  perchance  wish  to  keep 
charity,  brethren,  above  all  things  do  not 
imagine  it  to  be  an  abject  and  sluggish 
thing;  nor  that  charity  is  to  be  preserved 
by  a  sort  of  gentleness,  nay  not  gentleness, 
but  tameness  and  listlessness.4  Not  so  is  it 
preserved.  Do  not  imagine  that  thou  then 
lovest  thy  servant  when  thou  dost  not  beat 
him,  or  that  thou  then  lovest  thy  son  when 
thou  givest  him  not  discipline,  or  that  thou 
then  lovest  thy  neighbor  when  thou  dost  not 
rebuke  him:  this  is  not  charity,  but  mere 
feebleness.  Let  charity  be  fervent  to  cor- 
.rect,  to  amend:  but  if  there  be  good  manners, 


let  them  delight  thee;  if  bad,  let  them  be 
amended,  let  them  be  corrected.  Love  not 
in  the  man  his  error,  but  the  man:  for  the 
man  God  made,  the-  error  the  man  himself 
made.  Love  that  which  God  made,  love  not 
that  which  the  man  himself  made.  When 
thou  lovest  that,  thou  takest  away  this:  when 
thou  esteemest  that,  thou  amendest  this. 
But  even  if  thou  be  severe5  at  any  time,  let  it 
be  because  of  love,  for  correction.  For  this 
cause  was  charity  betokened  by  the  Dove 
which  descended  upon  the  Lord.6  That  like 
ness  of  a  dove,  the  likeness  in  which  came 
the  Holy  Ghost,  by  whom  charity  should  be 
shed  forth  into  us:  wherefore  was  this?  The 
dove  hath  no  gall:  yet  with  beak  and  wings 
she  fights  for  her  young;  hers  is  a  fierceness 
without  bitterness.  And  so  does  also  a 
father;  when  he  chastises  his  son,  for  disci 
pline  he  chastises  him.  As  I  said,  the  kid 
napper,  in  order  that  he  may  sell,  inveigles 
the  child  with  bitter  endearments;  a  father, 
that  he  may  correct,  does  without  gall  chastise. 
Such  be  ye  to  all  men.  See  here,  brethren, 
I  a  great  lesson,  a  great  rule:  each  one  of  you 
has  children,  or  wishes  to  have;  or  if  'he  has 
altogether  determined  to  have  no  children 
|  after  the  flesh,  at  least  spiritually  he  desires 
j  to  have  children:  —  what  father  does  not  cor 
rect  his  son  ?  what  son  does  not  his  father 
discipline?  And  yet  he  seems  to  be  fierce7 
with  him.  It  is  the  fierceness  of  love,  the 
[  fierceness  of  charity:  a  sort  of  fierceness 
without  gall  after  the  manner  of  the  dove, 
|  not  of  the  raven.  Whence  it  came  into 
[  my  mind,  my  brethren,  to  tell  you,  that 
those  violaters  of  charity  are  they  that  have 
made  the  schism:  as  they  hate  charity  itself, 
so  they  hate  also  the  dove.  But  the  dove 
convicts  them:  it  comes  forth  from  heaven, 
the  heavens  open,  and  it  abideth  on  the  head 
of  the  Lord.  Wherefore  this  ?  That  John 
may  hear,  '*  This  is  He  that  baptizeth."8 
Away,  ye  robbers;  away,  ye  invaders  of  the 
possession  of  Christ  !  On  your  own  posses 
sions,  where  ye  will  needs  be  lords,  ye  have 
dared  to  fix  the  titles  of  the  great  Owner. 
He  recognizes  His  own  titles;.  He  vindicates 
j  to  Himself  His  own  possession.  He  does  not 
j  cancel  the  titles,  but  enters  in  and  takes  pos 
session.  So  in  one  that  comes  to  the  Catho 
lic  Church,  his  baptism  is  not  cancelled,  that 
the  title  of  the  commander9  be  not  cancelled: 
but  what  is  done  in  the  Catholic  Church? 
The  title  is  acknowledged;  the  Owner  enters 
in  under  His  own  titles,  where  the  robber  was 
entering  in  under  titles  not  his  own. 


«  Ps.  xli.  i.  '  Luke  viii.  8. 

4  I  p.  iliii.  17,  c.  lilt.;  I'ciil.  ii.  67:  Serm.  clxxi.  5. 


s  S.rrh. 
7  Sin-irt. 
'[••Captain 
J.  II    M.] 


.  i  ;  Matt.  iii.  16. 

8  Johi. 

..f     their    salvati.m."       H.-l.    ii.    1 


506 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[IIOMII.Y    VIII. 


HOMILY    VIII. 

i   JOHN  IV.    12-16. 

"  If  we  love  one  another,  God  abideth '  in  us,  and  His  love  will  be  perfected  in  us.  In 
this  know  we  that  we  abide  in  Him,  and  He  in  us,  because  He  hath  given  us  of  His  Spirit. 
And  we  have  seen  and  are  witnesses  that  the  Father  sent  the  Son  to  be  the  Saviour  of  the 
world.  Whosoever  shall  confess  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God,  God  abideth  in  him,  and  he 
in  God.  And  we  have  known  and  believed  the  love  that  God  hath  to  us.  God  is  love;  and 
he  that  abideth  in  love  abideth  in  God,  and  God  abideth  in  him." 


i.  LOVE  is  a  sweet  word,  but  sweeter  the 
deed.  To  be  always  speaking  of  it,  is  not  in 
our  power:  for  we  have  many  things  to  do, 
and  divers  businesses  draw  us  different  ways, 
so  that  our  tongue  has  not  leisure  to  be  always 
speaking  of  love:  as  indeed  our  tongue  could 
have  nothing  better  to  do.  But  though  we 
may  not  always  be  speaking  of  it,  we  may 
always  keep  it.  Just  as  it  is  with  the  Alleluia 
which  we  sing  at  this  present  time,1  are  we 
always  doing  this  ?  Not  one  hour,  I  do  not 
say  for  the  whole  space  of  it,  do  we  sing  Alle 
luia,  but  barely  during  a  few  moments  of  one 
hour,  and  then  give  ourselves  to  something 
else.  Now  Alleluia,  as  ye  already  know, 
means,  Praise  ye  the  Lord.  He  that  praises 
God  with  his  tongue,  cannot  be  always  doing 
this:  he  that  by  his  life  and  conduct  praises 
God,  can  be  doing  it  always.  Works  of 
mercy,  affections  of  charity,  sanctity  of  piety, 
incorruptness  of  chastity,  modesty  of  sobriety, 
these  things  are  always  to  be  practiced: 
whether  we  are  in  public,  or  at  home; 
whether  before  men,  or  in  our  chamber; 
whether  speaking,  or  holding  our  peace; 
whether  occupied  upon  something,  or  free 
from  occupation:  these  are  always  to  be  kept, 
because  all  these  virtues  which  I  have  named 
are  within.  But  who  is  sufficient  to  name 
them  all  ?  There  is  as  it  were  the  army  of  an 
emperor  seated  within  in  thy  mind.  For  as 
an  emperor  by  his  army  does  what  he  win,  so 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  once  beginning  to 
dwell  in  our  inner  man,  (i.e.  in  the  mind 


1  In  AuRustin's  time  and  later,  it  was  the  tisaee  of  the  I.atin 
Churches  (derived,  as  St.  Gregory  relates,  lib.  ix.  Fp.  12,  from  the 
Church  of  Jerusalem)  to  sing  the  "  Alleluia  "  on  Faster  Sunday, 
and  durinR  the  whole  Oumquairesima,  or  seven  weeks  from  Faster 
to  Whit-sunday.  But  it  was  not  everywhere  restricted  to  that  time: 
AUK.  Kpist.  (adjamiar.}  55,  32.  I 't  A llelu ia /»-r  sofas  dies  quin- 
quaginta  rantftur  in  RecUlia,  non  tisqiiequaque  observtitur  : 
namet  aliisdiefrus  varie  cantatur  alibi  at,;  ite  a  lil-i :  if  si's  an- 
tent  difbtis  unique.  Comp.  ibid.  28.  Enarr.  in  Psa.  cvi.  sec.  i, 
where  this  usage  is  said  to  rest  upon  an  ancient  tradition  :  in  Psa. 
cxlviii.  sec.  i,  and  xxi.  sec.  24,  that  it  is  observed  throughout  the 
whole  world:  Serm.  ccx.  8;cclii.9.  S.  Hieronym.  Prtrf.  in  Psa.  1. 
and  c.  Vigilant,  i  (exarttis  tst  subito  \'iKilantius  qui  dnat 
nunquam  nisi  in  /'nscka  . Ml.'lu ia  cantantium:  i.e.,\  i>{.  wished 
it  to  be  sung  only  on  Easter  day). 


through  faith),  uses  these  virtues  as  His  min 
isters.  And  by  these  virtues  which  cannot 
be  seen  with  eyes,  and  'yet  when  they  are 
named  are  praised — and  they  would  not  be 
praised  except  they  were  loved,  not  loved 
except  they  were  seen;  and  if  not  loved  ex 
cept  seen,  they  are  seen  with  another  eye, 
that  is,  with  the  inward  beholding  of  the  heart 
— by  these  invisible  virtues,  the  members  are 
visibly  put  in  motion:  the  feet  to  walk,  but 
whither  ?  whither  they  are  moved  by  the  good 
will  which  as  a  soldier  serves  the  good 
emperor:  the  hands  to  work;  but  what?  that 
which  is  bidden  by  charity  which  is  inspired 
within  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  members 
then  are  seen  when  they  are  put  in  motion; 
He  that  orders  them  within  is  not  seen:  and 
who  He  is  that  orders  them  within  is  jknown 
almost  alone  to  Him  that  orders,  and  to  him 
who  within  is  ordered. 

2.  For,  brethren,  ye  heard  just  now  when 
the  Gospel  was  read,  at  least  if  ye  had  for  it 
the  ear  not  only  of  the  body  but  also  of  the 
heart.  What  said  it?  "  Take  heed  that  ye 
do  not  your  righteousness  before  men,  to  be 
seen  of  them."*  Did  He  mean  to  say  this, 
that  whatever  good  things  we  do,  we  should 
hide  them  from  the  eyes  of  men,3  and  fear 
to  be  seen  ?  If  thou  fearest  spectators  thou 
wilt  not  have  imitators:  thou  oughtest  there 
fore  to  be  seen.  But  thou  must  not  do  it  to 
the  end  thou  mayest  be  seen.  Not  there 
should  be  the  end  of  thy  joy,  not  there  the 
goal  of  thy  rejoicing,  that  thou  shouldest  ac 
count  thyself  to  have  gotten  the  whole  fruit 
of  thy  good  work,  when  thou  art  seen  and 
praised.  This  is  nothing.  Despise  thyself 
when  thou  art  praised,  let  Him  be  praised  in 
thee  who  worketh  by  thee.  Therefore  do  not 
for  thine  own  praise  work  the  good  thou 
doest:  but  to  the  praise  of  Him  from  whom 
thou  hast  the  power  to  do  good.  From  thy- 


I  M..tt.  v 
<  /','   S,-r 


Monff.  ii.  i,  ff.,  Serm.  cxlix.   10-13; 
.  in  Ps.  Ixv.  sec  2. 


H..MI!\       VIII.  | 


'I  111.    EPIS  111'  '1    S  I     JOHN. 


507 


self  thou  hast  the  ill  cluing,  from  C.od  thou 
hast  the  well  doing.  On  the  other  ham!,  *<•(.- 
perverse  men,  'now  preposterous  they  are. 
What  they  do  well,  they  will  needs  ascribe 


after  a  little  while.6     Hear  that  he  was  made 
little:     "  For  I  am  the  least  of  the  ap<> 
and,  To  me  the  least  of  all   saints,"  he  saith 
in    another    place.      So    was    he    among     the 


to  themselves;  if  they  do  ill,  they  will   needs   apostles  as  the  hem  of  the  garment:  hut  the 
RCCUtt  i',od.      Reverse  this  distorted  and  pre-   Church  of  the  Gentiles  touched  it,«ns  did  the 

woman  which   had  the   flux,   and  was    made 
whole.8 

3.  Then,  brethren,  this  I  would  say,  this  I 
do  say,  this  if  I  might  I  would  not  leave  un 
said:  Let  there  be  in  you  now  these  works, 
now  those,  according  to  the  time,  according 
to  the  hours,  according  to  the  days.  Are 
you  always  to  be  speaking?  always  to  keep 


posterous  proceeding,  which  puts  the  thing, 
as  one  may  say,  head  downwards,  whicii 
makes  that  undermost  which  is  uppermost,1 
and  that  upwards  which  is  downwards.  Dost 
thou  want  to  make  Ciod  undermost  and  thy 
self  uppermost?  Thou  goest  headlong,  not 
elevatest  thyself;  for  He  is  always  above. 
What  then  ?  thou  well,  and  God 


nay 

rattier,  say  this,  if  thou  wonkiest  speak  more  j  silence  ?   always  to  be   refreshing  the  body? 
truly,  I  ill,  He  well;  and  what  I  do  well  from  |  always  to  be   fasting?    always  to  be  giving 


Him  is  the  well-doing:  for  from  myself  what 
ever  I  do  is  ill.  This  confession  strengthens 
the  heart,  and  makes  a  firm  foundation  of 
love.  For  if  we  ought  to  hide  our  good 
works  lest  they  be  seen  of  men,  what  becomes 
of  that  sentence  of  the  Lord  in  the  sermon 
which  He  delivered  on  the  mount  ?  Where 
He  said  this,  there  He  also  said  a  little  be 
fore, 
men. 
there  make  an  end,  but  added,  "And  glorify;  to  the  time. 


bread  to  the  needy  ?  always  to  be  clothing  the 
naked  ?  always  to  be  visiting  the  sick  ?  always 
to  be  bringing  into  agreement  them  that  dis 
agree  ?  always  to  be  burying  the  dead  ?  No: 
but  now  this,  now  that.  These  things  are 
taken  in  hand,  and  they  stop:  but  that  which 
as  emperor  commands  all  the  forces  within 
neither  hath  beginning  nor  ought  to  stop. 


Let   your   good   works   shine   before  j  Let  charity  within  have  no  intermission:  let 
And  He  did  not  stop  there,  did  not   the  offices  of  charity  be  exhibited  according 

Let  "  brotherly  love  "  then,  as 

your  Father  which  is  in  Heaven."  And  what it  is  written,  let  "  brotherly  love  continue."9 
saith  the  apostle?  ''And  I  was  unknown  by!  4.  But  perchance  it  will  have  struck  some 
face  unto  the  Churches  of  Judea  which  were  j  of  you  all  along,  while  we  have  been  expound- 
in  Christ:  but  they  heard  only,  That  he  which  \  ing  to  you  this  epistle  of  blessed  John,  why 
persecuted  us  in  times  past,  now  preacheth  it  is  only  "  brotherly "  love  that  he  so  em- 
the  faith  which  once  he  destroyed.  And  in  [  phatically  commends.  "  He  that  loveth  his 
me  they  glorified  God."3  See  how  he  also,  brother/'  saith  he:  and,  "  a  commandment  is 
in  regard  that  he  became  so  widely  known,  'given  us  that  we  love  one  another."10  Again 
did  not  set  the  good  in  his  own  praise,  but  and  again  it  is  of  brotherly  love  that  he 
in  the  praise  of  God.  And  as  for  him,  in  his  speaks:  but  the  love  of  God,  i.e.  the  love  with 
own  person,  that  he  was  one  who  laid  waste  which  we  ought  to  love  God,  he  has  not  so 
the  Church,  a  persecutor,  envious,  malignant, !  constantly  named;  howbeit,  he  has  not  alto- 
it  is  himself  that  confesses  .this,  not  we  that  I  gether  left  it  unspoken.  But  concerning 
reproach  him  therewith.  Paul  loves  to  have  I  love  of  an  enemy,  almost  throughout  the 


his  sins  spoken  of  by  us,  that  He  may  be 
glorified  who  healed  such  a  disease.  For  it 
was  the  hand  of  the  Physician  that  cut  and 
healed  the  greatness  of  the  sore.  That  voice 
from  heaven  prostrated  the  persecutor,  and 
raised  up  the  preacher;  killed  Saul,  and 
quickened  Paul.*  For  Saul  was  the  persecutor 
of  a  holy  man;  thence  had  this  man  his 
name,  when  he  persecuted  the  Christians:5 
afterward  of  Saul  he  became  Paul.  What 
does  the  name  Paulas  mean  ?  Little.  There 
fore  when  he  was  Saul,  lie  was  proud,  lifted 
up;  when  he  was  Paul,  he  was  lowly,  little. 
Thus  we  say,  I  will  see  thee  "/><///7<>  /><>sf,"  i.e. 


Jusum 


fi-isttm/atii-ntjusuiH.    </U<K/,:,  ^iirsutn. 

/>.«>«,  ft  tf  s:isnm  >     Infra,  x.  6,Jusutn   me 
,  susum  me  cut,  .iforsunt 

for  stisum  JUSIIIH.  —  RKN.     I  .mid.  116  and  136,  and  also  I'.odl.  813, 
as  first  written,  have  SI<*H>H,JHSU>H. 

3  Matt  3  Gal.  i.  22-24. 

4  Serm.  clxviii.  6.  S  i  Sam.  xix. 


epistle,  he  has  said  nothing.  Although  he 
vehemently  preaches  up  and  commends  char 
ity  to  us,  he  does  not  tell  us  to  love  our 
enemies,  but  tells  us  to  love  our  brethren. 
But  just  now,  when  the  Gospel  was  read,  we 
heard,  "  For  if  ye  love  them  that  love  you, 
what  reward  shall  ye  have  ?  Do  not  even  the 
publicans  this  ? ''"  How  is  it  then  that  John 


6  So  Serm.ci.  i;  clxviii    -  xv.  7;  /.//•.  ,ir  >  - 

vii.  sec.  12.     Hut   Confess,  viii.   4,  sec.  9.  it  is  remarked,  without 
reference  to  the  etymology,  that  the  change  of  name  fr. 


ion  of   v 


'  'riiien    /'r,rf.  in  /•.'/.  ,],/  A'i'nt.    "Some 

have  thought  that  the  Apostle    took  the  name  of  Paulas,  the  Pro 
consul,  whom  at   1'yprus  he  had  subjected  to  the  faith  of  t'hrist : 
.  title  from  the  nations  they  have 

conquered,  as  Parthu  us  and  t  lothicus  from  Parthian*  and  Goths, 
so  the  A  post  Ir  took  the  appellation  Pauhis  from  tin-  Paulu*  whom 
he  had  i  -  ;.-h  we  do  not  think 


•-.-.  ///  /•:/>., i ,f  rfi a, 


:HO  took 


• 

the  name  Paulus  bv  way  of  trop: 

7  i  Cor.  xv.  9;  fcph.'iii.  8. 

9Heb.  xiii.  i.  '"  i  John  ii.  10;  iii.  23.          '<  Matt.  v.  46. 


'I  1 11.  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[HoMll.Y     VIII. 


the  apostle,  as  the  thing  of  great  concern  to 
us  in  order  to  a  certain  perfection,  commends 
brotherly  love;  whereas  the  Lord  saith  it  is 
not  enough  that  we  love  our  brethren,  but 
that  we  ought  to  extend  that  love  so  that  we 
may  reach«even  to  enemies  ?  He  that  reaches 
even  unto  enemies  does  not  overleap  the 
brethren.  It  must  needs,  like  fire,  tirst  seize 
upon  what  is  nearest,  and  so  extend  to  what 
is  further  off.  A  brother  is  nearer  to  thee 
than  any  chance  person.  Again,  that  person 
has  more  hold  upon  thee  whom  thou  knowest 
not,  who  yet  is  not  against  thee,  than  an 
enemy  who  is  also  against  thee.  Extend  thy 
love  to  them  that  are  nearest,  yet  do  not  call 
this  an  extending:  for  it  is  almost  loving  thy 
self,  to  love  them  that  are  close  to  thee. 
Extend  it  to  the  unknown,  who  have  done 
thee  no  ill.  Pass  even  them:  reach  on  to 
love  thine  enemies.  This  at  least  the  Lord 
commands.  Why  has  the  apostle  here  said 
nothing  about  loving  an  enemy. 

5.  All  love,1  whether  that  which  is  called 
carnal,  which  is  wont  to  be  called  not  "  dilee- 
tio"  but  "  amor: ''  (for  the  word  "  dilectio  "  is 
wont  to  be  used  of  better  objects,  and  to  be 
understood  of  becter  objects:)  yet  all  love, 
dear  brethren,  hath  in  it  a  wishing  well  to 
those  who  are  loved.  For  we  ought  not  so 
to  love,  nor  are  we  able  so  to  love,  (whether 
"  diligere  "  or  "  amare:  "  for  this  latter  word 
the  Lord  used  when  He  said,  "  Petra,  amas 
me?  "  "  Peter,  lovest  thou  me  ?")  we  ought 
not  so  to  love2  men,  as  we  hear  gluttons  say, 
I  love  thrushes.  Thou  askest  why  he  loves 
them?  That  he  may  kill,  that  he  may  con 
sume.  He  says  he  loves,  and  to  this  end 
loves  he  them,  that  they  may  cease  to  be;  to 
this  end  loves  he  them,  that  he  may  make 
away  with  them.  And  whatever  we  love  in 
the  way  of  food,  to  this  end  love  we  it,  that 
it  may  be  consumed  and  we  recruited.  Are 
men  to  be  so  loved  as  to  be  consumed  ?  But 
there  is  a  certain  friendliness  of  well  wishing, 
by  which  we  desire  at  some  time  or  other  to 
do  good  to  those  whom  we  love.  How  if 
there  be  no  good  that  we  can  do  ?  The 
benevolence,  the  wishing  well,  of  itself  suffic- 
eth  him  that  loves.  For  we  ought  not  to 
wish  men  to  be  wretched,  that  we  may  be  en 
abled  to  practise  works  of  mercy.  Thou 
givest  bread  to  the  hungry:  but  better  it  were 
that  none  hungered,  and  thou  hadst  none  to 
give  to.  Thou  clothest  the  naked:  oh  that 
all  were  clothed,  and  this  need  existed  not  ! 
Thou  buriest  the  dead:  oh  that  it  were  come 
at  last,  that  life  where  none  shall  die  !  Thou 
reconcilest  the  quarrelling:  oh  that  it  were 

«  Dilectio.  *  A  ,.. 


here  at  last,  that  eteinal  peace  of  Jerusalem, 
where  none  shall  disagree  !  tor  all  these  are 
offices  done  to  necessities.  Take  away  the 
wretched;  there  will  be  an  end  to  works  of 
mercy.  The  works  of  mercy  will  be  at  an 
end:  shall  the  ardor  of  charity  be  quenched  ? 
With  a  truer  touch  of  love  thou  lovest  the 
happy  man,  to  whom  there  is  no  good  office 
thou  canst  do;  purer  will  that  love  be,  and 
far  more  unalloyed.  For  if  thou  have  done 
a  kindness  to  the  wretched,  perchance  thou 
desirest  to  lift  up  thyself  over  against  him, 

\  and  wishest  him  to  be  subject  to  thee,  who 
hast  done  the  kindness  to  him.  He  was  in 
need,  thou  didst  bestow;  thou  seemest  to 
thyself  greater  because  thou  didst  bestow, 
than  he  upon  whom  it  was  bestowed.  Wish 
him  thine  equal,  that  ye  both  may  be  under 
the  One  Lord,  on  whom  nothing  can  be 
bestowed. 

6.  For  in  this  the  proud  soul  has  passed 
bounds,  and,  in  a  manner,  become  avari 
cious.  For,  "  The  root  of  all  evils  is  ava 
rice;  " 3  and  again  it  is  said,  "  The  beginning 
of  all  sin  is  pride."4  And  we  ask,  it  may  be, 
how  these  two  sentences  agree:  "  The  root  of 
all  evils  is  avarice;"  and,  "The  beginning 
of  all  sin  is  pride."  If  pride  is  the  beginning 
of  all  sin,  then  is  pride  the  root  of  all  evils. 
Now  certainly,  "the  root  of  all  evils  is  ava 
rice."  We  find  that  in  pride  there  is  also 
avarice,  (or  grasping;)  for  man  has  passed 

j  bounds:  and  what  is  it  to  be  avaricious  ?  to  go 
beyond  that  which  sufficeth.  Adam  fell  by 

[pride:  "the  beginning  of  all  sin  is  pride," 
saith  it:  did  he  fall  by  grasping?  What  more 
grasping,  than  he  whom  God  could  not  suf 
fice  ?  In  fact,  my  brethren,  we  read  how 
man  was  made  after  the  image  and  likeness 
of  God:  and  what  said  God  of  him?  "And 
let  him  have  power  over  the  fishes  of  the  sea, 
and  over  the  fowl  of  the  heaven,  and  over  all 
cattle  which  move  upon  the  earth."5  Said 
He,  Have  power  over  men  ?  "  Have  power," 
saith  He:  He  hath  given  him  natural  power: 
"have  power  *'  over  what  ?  "over  the  fishes 
of  the  sea,  the  fowl  of  the  heaven,  and  all 
moving  things  which  move  upon  the  earth.*' 
Why  is  this  power  over  these  things  a  natural 
power?  Because  man  hath  the  power  from 
this;  that  he  was  made  after  the  image  of 
God.  And  in  what  was  he  made  after  God's 
image  ?  In  the  intellect,  in  the  mind,  in  the 

\  inner  man:  in  that  he  understands  truth,  dis 
tinguishes  between  right  and  wrong,  knows  by 
whom  he  was  made,  is  able  to  understand  his 

j  Creator,  to  praise  his  Creator:  he  hath  this 
intelligence,  who  hath  prudence.  Therefore 


H..MIIY    VIII.  | 


THE   i  PISTLE  01   ST,  jnn\. 


509- 


when  many  by  evil  lusts  wore  out  in  them- 
the  mi.u;e  «ii  i  MX],  ami  by  perversity  o! 
their  manners  extinguished  tin-  very  llame, 
so  to  say,  of  intelligence  i  the  Scripture  cried 
aloud  to  them,  "  Ik-come  not  ye  ab  the  horse 
and  mule  which  have  no  understanding."1 
That  is  to  say,  I  have  set  thee  above  the 
horse  and  mule;  thee,  I  made  after  mine 
mi. i-e,  I  have  given  thee  power  over  these. 
\Vliy  '  Ilerause  they  have  not  the  rational 
mind:  hut  thou  by  the  rational  mind  art  cap 
able  of  truth,  understandest  what  is  above 
thee:  be  subject  to  Him  that  is  above  thee, 
and  beneath  thee  shall  those  things  be  over 
which  thou  was  set.  But  because  by  sin 
man  deserted  Him  whom  he  ought  to  be 
under,  he  is  made  subject  to  the  things  which 
he  ought  to  be  above. 

7.  Mark  what  I  say:  God,  man,  beasts:  to 
wit,  above  thee,  God;  beneath  thee,  the 
beasts.  Acknowledge  Him  that  is  above 
thee,  that  those  that  are  beneath  thee  may 
acknowledge  thee."  Thus,  because  Daniel 
acknowledged  God  above  him,  the  lions  ac 
knowledged  him  above  them.  But  if  thou 
acknowledge  not  Him  that  is  above  thee, 
thou  despisest  thy  superior,  thou  becomest 
subject  to  thine  inferior.  Accordingly,  how 
was  the  pride  of  the  Egyptians  quelled  ?  By 
the  means  of  frogs  and  flies.3  God  might 
have  sent  lions:  but  a  great  man  may  be 
scared  by  a  lion.  The  prouder  they  were, 
the  more  by  the  means  of  things  contemptible 
and  feeble  was  their  wicked  neck  broken. 
But  Daniel,  lions  acknowledge,  because  he 
was  subject  to  God.  What  ?  the  martyrs  who 
were  cast  to  the  wild  beasts  to  fight  with  them, 
and  were  torn  by  the  teeth  of  savage  crea 
tures,  were  they  not  under  God  ?  or  were 
those  three  men  servants  of  God,  and  the 
Maccabees  not  servants  of  God  ?  The  fire 
acknowledged  as  God's  servants  the  three 
men,  whom  it  burned  not,  neither  hurt  their 
garments;4  and  did  it  not  acknowledge  the 
Maccabees?5  It  acknowledged  the  Macca 
bees;  it  did,  my  brethren,  acknowledge  them 
also.  But  there  was  need  of  a  scourge,  by 
the  Lord's  permission:  He  hath  said  in 
Scripture,  "He  'scourgeth  every  son  whom 
He  receiveth."6  For  think  ye,  my  brethren, 
the  iron  would  have  pierced  into  the  vitals7 
of  the  Lord  unless  He  had  permitted  it,  or 
that  He  would  have  hung  fastened  to  the 
tree,  unless  it  had  been  His  will  ?  Did  not 
His  own  creature  acknowledge  Him  ?  Or  did 
He  set  an  ensample  of  patience  to  His  faith 
ful  ones  ?  Ye  see  then,  God  delivered  some 
visibly,  some  He  delivered  not  visibly:  yet 


all  He  spiritually  delivered,  spiritually  de 
serted  none.  Visibly  He  seemed  to  have  de 
serted  some,  soiii'-  III-  ^i-i-ined  to  have  res 
cued.  The-  <1  He  some,  that  thou 
mayest  not  think  that  He  had  not  power  to 
rescue.  He  has  given  proof  that  He  has  the 
power,  to  the  end  that  where  he  doth  it  not, 
thou  mayest  understand  a  more  secret  will, 

I  not  surmise  difficulty  of  doing.  But  what, 
brethren  ?  When  we  shall  have  come  out  of 

j  all  these  snares  of  mortality,  when  the  times 
of  temptation  shall  have  passed  away,  when 
the  river  of  this  world  shall  have  fleeted  by, 
and  we  shall  have  received  again  that  "  first 
robe,"  8  that  immortality  which  by  sinning  we 
have  lost,  "when  this  corruptible  shall  have 
put  on  incorruption,"  that  is,  this  flesh  shall 
have  put  on  incorruption,  "  and  this  mortal 
shall  have  put  on  immortality;"9  the  now 
perfected  sons  of  God,  in  whom  is  no  more 
need  to  be  tempted,  neither  to  be  scourged, 

1  shall  all  creatures  acknowledge:  subjected  to 

!  us  shall  all  things  be,  if  we  here  be  subjected 

I  to  God. 

8.  So  then  ought  the  Christian  to  be,  that 
he  glory  not  over  other  "  men."  For  God 
hath  given  it  thee  to  be  over  the  beasts,  i.e. 
to  be  better  than  the  beasts.  This  hast  thou 
by  nature;  thou  shalt  always  be  better  than 
a  beast.  If  thou  wish  to  be  better  than  an 
other  man,  thou  wilt  begrudge  him  when  thou 
shalt  see  him  to  be  thine  equal.  Thou 
oughtest  to  wish  all  men  to  be  thine  equals; 

land  if  by  wisdom  thou  surpass  any,  thou 
oughtest  to  wish  that  he  also  may  be  wise. 

;  As  long  as  he  is  slow,  he  learns  from  thee;  as 

!  long  as  he  is  untaught,  he  hath  need  of  thee; 
and  thou  art  seen  to  be  the  teacher,  he  the 
learner;  therefore  thou  seemest  to  be  the 
superior,  because  thou  art  the  teacher;  he  the 

I  inferior,  because  the  learner.      Except  thou 

j  wish  him  thine  equal,  thou  wishest  to  have 

I  him  always  a  learner.  But  if  thou  wish  to 
have  him  always  a  learner,  thou  wilt  be  an 
envious  teacher.  If  an  envious  teacher,  how 

'  wilt  thou  be  a  teacher  ?  I  pray  thee,  do  not 
teach  him  thine  enviousness.  Hear  the 

|  apostle  speaking  of  the  bowels  of  charity: 
"  I  would  that  all  were  even  as  I."  I0  In  what 
sense  did  he  wish  all  to  be  his  equals  ?  In 
this  was  he  superior  to  all,  that  by  charity  he 
wished  all  to  be  his  equals.  I  say  then,  man 


Ps.  xxxii.  o. 
I'an.  iii.  50. 


»  Dan.  vi.  22. 


1  Kx.  viii. 
«Heb.  xii.6. 


*  I. like   xv.  22,  stolam  frim.im.     S.   Auc.  </<•  Gftt.  ad  lift.  vi. 
"  That  '  first  rot*- '  is  either  the  righteousness  from  which  man 


ell;  or.  if  it  signify  the  clothing  of  bodily  immortality, 

I    sin  he-  could   not  attain  then  ; 

••  Why  is  '  the  first  robe  '  brought  forth  to  him,  but  as  lie 
receives  again  the  immortality  whii-h  Adam  lost  ?"  Trrtullian  : 
resttnt  freitintint,/>ri,*rfni  :  "  the  former  robe,  which  he  Mad  of 
old  .  .  .  the  clothing  of  the  Holy  Spirit."  Theophyl.trt.  TI)»- 
ffToArji'  rijr  ap^aiav  ...  TO  ivti-na  riff  a^tfafxria?,  "  the  original 
robe,  the  clothing  of  nuorruption." 

»°  i  Cor.  vii.  7. 


THK   WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[HOMILT  VIII. 


has  past  hounds;  he  would  needs  he  greedy 
of  more  than  his  due,  would  he  ahove  men, 
he  that  was  made  above  the  beasts:  and  this 
is  pride. 

9.  And  see  what  great  works  pride  does 
Lay  it  up  in  your  hearts,  how  much  alike, 
how  much  as  it  were  upon  a  par,  are  the 
works  it  doeth,  and  the  works  of  charity. 
Charity  feeds  the  hungry,  and  so  does  pride: 
charity,  that  God  may  be  praised;  pride, 
that  itself  may  be  praised.  Charity  clothes 
the  naked,  so  does  pride:  charity  fasts,  so 
does  pride:  charity  buries  the  dead,  so  does 
pride.  All  good  works  which  charity  wishes 
to  do,  and  does;  pride,  on  the  other  hand, 
drives  at  the  same,  and,  so  to  say,  keeps  her 
horses  up  to  the  mark.  But  charity  is  be 
tween  her  and  it,  and  leaves  not  place  for  ill- 
driven  pride;  not  ill-driving,  but  ill-driven. 
Woe  to  the  man  whose  charioteer  is  pride, 
for  he  must  needs  go  headlong  !  But  that,  in 
the  good  that  is  done,  it  may  not  be  pride 
that  sets  us  on,  who  knows  ?  who  sees  it  ?  where 
is  it  ?  the  works  we  see:  mercy  feeds,  pride 
also  feeds;  mercy  takes  in  the  stranger,  pride 
also  takes  in  the  stranger;  mercy  intercedes 
for  the  poor,  pride  also  intercedes.  How  is 
this?  In  the  works  we  see  no  difference.  I 
dare  to  say  somewhat,  but  not  I;  Paul  hath 
said  it:  charity  dies,  that  is,  a  man  having 
charity  confesses  the  name  of  Christ,  sujfers 
martyrdom:  pride  also  confesses,  suffers  also 
martyrdom.  The  one  hath  charity,  the  other 
hath  not  charity.  But  let  him  that  hath  not 
charity  hear  from  the  apostle:  "  If  I  distri 
bute  all  my  goods  to  the  poor,  and  if  I  give 
my  body  to  be  burned,  and  have  not  charity, 
it  profiteth  me  nothing.1  So  then  the  divine 
Scripture  calls  us  off  from  the  display  of  the 
face  outwardly  to  that  which  is  within;  from 
this  surface  which  is  vaunted  before  men, 
it  calls  us  off  to  that  which  is  within.  Re 
turn  to  thy  own  conscience,  question  it.  Do 
not  consider  what  blossoms  outwardly,  hut 
what  root  there  is  in  the  ground.  Is  lust 
rooted  there  ?  A  show  there  may  be  of  good 
deeds,  truly  good  works  there  cannot  be.  Is 
charity  rooted  there  ?  Have  no  fear:  nothing 
evil  can  come  of  that.  The  proud  caresses, 
love2  is  severe.  The  one  clothes,  the  other 
smites.  For  the  one  clothes  in  order  to 
please  men,  the  other  smites  in  order  to  cor 
rect  by  discipline.  More  accepted  is  the 
blow  of  cli:irity  than  the  alms  of  pride. 
Come  then  within,  brethren;  and  in  all  tilings, 
whatsoever  ye  do,  look  unto  God  your  wit 
ness.  See,  if  He  seeth,  with  what  mind  ye 
do  it.  If  your  heart  accuse  you  not  that  ye 

1  i  Cor.  xiii.  3.  2  Strvit. 


do  it  for  the  sake  of  display,  it  is  well:  fear 
ye  not.  But  when  ye  do  good,  fear  not  lest 
another  see  you.  Fear  thou  lest  thou  do  it 
to  the  end  that  thou  mayest  he  praised:  let 
the  other  see  it,  that  God  may  be  praised. 
For  if  thou  hidest  it  from  the  eyes  of  man, 
thou  hidest  it  from  the  imitation  of  man,  thou 
withdrawest  from  God  His  praise.  Two  are 
there  to  whom  thou  doest  the  alms:  two  hun 
ger;  one  for  bread,  the  other  for  righteous 
ness.  Between  these  two  famishing  souls: 
— as  it  is  written,  "  Blessed  are  they  that 
hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness,  for  they 
shall  be  filled:  "  3 — between  these  two  famish 
ing  persons  thou  the  doer  of  the  good  work 
art  set;  if  charity  does  the  work  by  occasion 
of  the  one,  therein  it  hath  pity  on  both,  it 
would  succor  both.  For  the  one  craves  what 
he  may  eat,  the  other  craves  what  he  may 
imitate.  Thou  feedest  the  one,  give  thyself 
as  a  pattern  to  the  other;  so  hnst  thou  given 
alms  to  both:  the  one  thou  hast  caused  to 
thank  thee  for  killing  his  hunger,  the  other 
thou  hast  made  to  imitate  thee  by  setting 
him  an  example. 

10.  Shew  mercy  then,  as  men  of  merciful 
hearts;  because  in  loving  enemies  also,  ye 
love  brethren.  Think  not  that  John  has 
given  no  precept  concerning  love  of  our 
enemy,  because  he  has  not  ceased  to 
speak  of  brotherly  love.  Ye  love  brethren. 
"How,"  sayest  thou,  "do  we  love  breth 
ren  ? "  I  ask  wherefore  thou  lovest  *an 
enemy.  Wherefore  dost  thou  love  him  ? 
That  he  may  be  whole  in  this  life  ?  what  if  it 
be  not  expedient  for  him  ?  That  he  may  be 
rich  ?  what  if  by  his  very  riches  he  shall  be 
Blinded  ?  That  he  may  marry  a  wife  ?  what 
f  he  shall  have  a  bitter  life  of  it  ?  That  he 
may  have  children  ?  what  if  they  shall  be 
?  Uncertain  therefore  are  these  things 
which  thou  seemest  to  wish  for  thine  enemy, 
n  that  thou  lovest  him;  they  are  uncertain. 
Wish  for  him  that  he  may  have  with  thee 
eternal  life;  wish  for  him  that  he  may  be  thy 
brother:  when  thou  lovest  him,  thou  lovest  a 
brother.  For  thou  lovest  in  him  not  what  he 
s,  but  what  thou  wishest  that  he  may  be.  I 
once  said  to  you,  my  beloved,  if  I  mistake 
not:  There  is  a  log  of  timber  lying  in  sight; 
i  good  workman  has  seen  the  log,  not  yet 
Dlaned,  just  as  it  was  hewn  from  the  forest, 
.ie  has  taken  a  liking  to  it,  he  would  make 
something  out  of  it.  For  indeed  he  did  not 
ve  it  to  this  end  that  it  should  always  re 
main  thus.  In  his  art  he  has  seen  what  it 
shall  he,  not  in  his  liking  what  it  is;  and  his 
iking  is  for  the  thing  he  will  make  of  it,  not 


11.. Mil. N      MM. | 


THK   EPISTLE  01   BT,  JOHN. 


for  the  thin-  it  IN.  So  God  loved  ti.s  sinners, 
v  that  God  loved  sinners:  for  He  saith, 
"  They  that  are  whole  need  not  the  1'hysicum, 
but  they  that  are  sick."  '  hid  He  love  us  sin 
ners  to  the  end  \ve  should  still  remain  sinners  5 
As  timber  from  the  wood  our  Carpenter  saw 
us,  ami  had  in  HJ£  thoughts  the  building  He 
would  make  thereof,  not  the  unwrought  tim 
ber  that  it  was.  So  too  t'nou  seest  thine  ene 
my  striving  against  thee,  raging,  biting  with 
words,  exasperating  with  contumelies,  harass 
ing  with  hatred:  thou  hast  regard  to  this  in 
him,  that  he  is  a  man.  Thou  seest  all  these 
that  are  against  thee,  that  they  were 
done  by  man;  and  thou  seest  in  him  that  he 
wa.s  made  by  God.  Now  that  he  was  made 
man,  was  God's  doing:  but  that  be  hates 
tuee,  is  his  doing;  that  he  has  ill-will  at  thee, 
is  his  doing.  And  what  sayest  thou  in  thy 
mind  ?  Lord,  be  merciful  to  him,  forgive 
him  his  sins,  strike  terror  into  him,  change 
him.  Thou  lovest  not  in  him  what  he  is,  but 
what  thou  wishest  him  to  be.  Consequently, 
when  thou  lovest  an  enemy,  thou  lovest  a 
brother.  Wherefore,  perfect  love  is  the  lov 
ing  an  enemy:  which  perfect  love  is  in 
brotherly  love.  And  let  no  man  say  that 
John  the  apostle  has  admonished  us  some 
what  less,  and  the  Lord  Christ  somewhat 
more.  John  has  admonished  us  to  love  the 
brethren;  Christ  has  admonished  us  to  love 
even  enemies.  Mark  to  what  end  Christ  hath 
bidden  thee  to  love  thine  enemies.  That  they 
may  remain  always  enemies  ?  If  He  bade  it 
for  this  end,  that  they  should  remain  ene 
mies,  thou  hatest, J  not  lovest.  Mark  how  He 
Himself  loved,  i.e.  because  He  would  not  that 
they  should  be  still  the  persecutors  they  were, 
He  said,  "  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they 
know  not  what  they  do."3  Whom  He  willed 
to  be  forgiven,  them  He  willed  to  be  changed : 
whom  He  willed  to  be  changed,  of  enemies 
He  deigned  to  make  brethren,  and  did  in 
truth  make  them  so.  He  was  killed,  was 
buried,  rose  again,  ascended  into  heaven: 
sent  the  Holy  Ghost  to  His  disciples:  they 
began  with  boldness  to  preach  His  name,  they 
did  miracles  in  the  name  of  Him  that  was 
crucified  and  slain:  those  slayers  of  the  Lord 
saw  them;  and  they  who  in  rage  had  shed 
His  blood,  by  believing  drank  it. 

1 1.  These  things  have  I  said,  brethren,  ami 
somewhat  at  length:  yet  because  charity  was 
to  be  more  earnestly  commended  to  you,  be 
loved,  in  this  way  was  it  to  be  commended. 
For  if  there  be  no  charity  in  you,  we  have 
said  nothing.  But  if  it  be  in  you,  we  have 
as  it  were  cast  oil  upon  the  flames.  And  in 


whom  it  was  not,  pen. nance  by  words  it  hath 
been  kindled.  In  one,  that  which  was  there 
hath  grown;  in  another,  that  hath  begun  to 
be,  which  was  not.  To  this  end  therefore 
have  wr  said  these  things,  that  ye  be  not 
slow  to  love  your  enemies.  I)oes  any  man 
rage  against  thee?  he  rages,  pray  thou;  he 
hates,  pity  thou.  It  is  the  fever  of  his  soul 
that  hates  thee:  he  will  be  whole,  and  will 
thank  thee.  How  do  physicians  love  them 
that  are  sick  ?  Is  it  the  sick  that  they  love  ? 
If  they  love  them  as  sick,  they  wish  them 
to  be  always  sick.  To  this  end  love  they  the 
sick;  not  that  they  should  still  be  sick,  but 
that  from  being  sick  they  should  be  made 
whole.  And  how  much  have  they  very  often 
to  suffer  from  the  frenzied  !  What  contume 
lious  language  !  Very  often  they  are  even 
struck  by  them.  He  attacks  the  fever,  for 
gives  the  man.  And  what  shall  I  say,  breth 
ren  ?  does  he  love  his  enemy  ?  Nay,  he  hates 
his  enemy,  the  disease;  for  it  is  this  that  he 
hates,  and  loves  the  man  by  whom  he  is 
struck:  he  hates  the  fever.  For  by  whom  or 
by  what  is  he  struck  ?  by  the  disease,  by  the 
sickness,  by  the  fever.  He  takes  away  that 
which  strives  against  him,  that  there  may  re 
main  that  from  which  he  shall  have  thanks. 
So  do  thou.  If  thine  enemy  hate  thee,  and 
unjustly  hate  thee;  know  that  the  lust  of  the 
world  reigns  in  him,  therefore  he  hates  thee. 
If  thou  also  hate  him,  thou  on  the  other  hand 
renderest  evil  for  evil.  What  does  it,  to  ren 
der  evil  for  evil  ?  I  wept  for  one  sick  man 
who  hated  thee;  now  bewail  I  thee,  if  thou 
also  hatest.  But  he  attacks  thy  property; 
he  takes  from  thee  I  know  not  what  things 
which  thou  hast  on  earth:  therefore  hatest 
thou  him,  because  he  puts  thee  to  straits  on 
earth.  Be  not  thou  straitened,  remove  thee 
to  heaven  above;  there  shalt  thou  have  thine 
heart  where  there  is  wide  room,  so  that  thou 
mayest  not  be  straitened  in  the  hope  of  life 
eternal.  Consider  what  the  things  are  that 
he  takes  from  thee:  not  even  them  would  he 
take  from  thee,  but  by  permission  of  Him 
who  "  scourgeth  every  son  whom  He  receiv- 
eth."3  He,  this  same  enemy  of  thine,  is  in 
a  manner  the  instrument 4  in  the  hands  of 
God,  by  which  thou  mayest  be  healed.  If 
God  knows  it  to  be  good  for  thee  that  he 
should  despoil  thee,  He  permits  him;  if  He 
j  knows  it  to  be  good  for  thee  that  thou  sliould- 
est  receive  blows,  He  permits  him  to  smite 
thee:  by  the  means  of  Him  He  careth  for 
thee:  wish  thou  that  he  may  be  made  whole. 

12.    *'  No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time." 
See,  beloved:   "  If  we  love  one  anothe  . 


3  Luke  xxiii.  34. 


THK  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[IIOMM.Y    VIII. 


will  dwell  in  us,  and  His  love  will  be  per 
fected  in  us."1  Begin  to  love;  thou  shalt 
be  perfected.  Hast  thou  begun  to  love? 
God  has  l)c;^un  to  dwell  in  thee:  love  Him 
that  has  begun  to  dwell  in  thee,  that  by  more 
perfect  indwelling  He  may  make  thee  perfect. 
"  In  this  we  kno.v  that  we  dwell  in  Him  and 
He  in  us,  because  He  hath  given  us  of  His 
Spirit."  2  It  is  well:  thanks  be  to  God  !  We 
come  to  know  that  He  dwelleth  in  us.  And 
whence  come  we  to  know  this  very  thing,  to 
wit,  that  we  do  know  that  He  dwelleth  in  us? 
Because  John  himself  has  said  this:  "  Because 
He  hath  given  us  of  His  Spirit."  Whence 
know  we  that  He  hath  given  us  of  His  Spirit  ? 
This  very  thing,  that  He  hath  given  thee  of 
His  Spirit,  whence  comest  thou  to  know  it? 
Ask  thine  own  bowels:  if  they  are  full  of 
charity,  thou  hast  the  Spirit  of  God.  Whence 
know  we  that  by  this  thou  knowest  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  thee  ?  "  Because 
the  love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  which  is  given  unto  us."3 

13.  "And  we  have  seen,  and  are  witnesses, 
that  God  hath  sent  His  Son  to  be  the  Saviour 
of  the  world."4     Set  your  minds  at  rest,  ye 
that  are  sick:  such  a  Physician  is  come,  and 
do  ye  despair?     Great  were  the  diseases,  in 
curable  were  the  wounds,  desperate  was  the 
sickness.     Dost  thou  note  the   greatness   of 
thine  ill,  and  not  note  the  omnipotence  of  the 
Physician  ?     Thou  art  desperate,  but  He  is 
omnipotent;  Whose  witnesses  are  these  that 
first  were  healed,  and  that  announce  the  Phy 
sician:  yet  even  they  are  made  whole  in  hope 
rather  than  in  the  reality.     For  so  saith  the 
apostle:    "  For  by  hope  we  are  saved." s    We 
have  begun  therefore    to  be  made  whole   in 
faith:    but  our  wholeness  shall  be  perfected 
"when  this  corruptible  shall  have  put  on  in- 
corruption,  and  this  mortal  shall  have  put  on 
immortality."6     This  is  hope,  not  the  reality. 
But  he  that  rejoiceth  in  hope  shall  hold  the 
reality  also:    whereas   he  that  hath  not  the 
hope,   shall   not  be  able  to  attain  unto  the 
reality. 

14.  "Whosoever  shall  confess  that  Jesus 
is  the  Son  of  God,  God  dwelleth  in  him  and 
he   in  God.''7     Now  we  may  say  it  in   not 
many   words;    "Whosoever  shall    confess;" 


not  in  word  but  in  deed,  not  with  tongue  but 
ith  the  life.  For  many  confess  in  words, 
but  in  deeds  deny.  "And  we  have  known 
and  believed  the  love  which  God  hath  in 
us."8  And  again,  by  what  hast  thou  come 
to  know  this?  "Love  is  God."  He  hath 
already  said  it  above,  behold  he  saith  it 
again.  Love  could  not  be  more  exceedingly 
commended  to  thee  than  that  it  should  be 
called  GOD.  Haply  thou  wast  ready  to  de 
spise  a  gift  of  God.  And  dost  thou  despise 
God?  "Love  is  God:  and  he  that  dwelleth 
in  love  dwelleth  in  God,  and  God  dwelleth  in 
him."  Each  mutually  inhabiteth  the  other; 
He  that  holdeth,  and  he  that  is  holden. 
Thou  dwellest  in  God,  but  that  thou  mayest 
be  holden:  God  inhabiteth  thee,  but  that  He 
may  hold  thee,  iest  thou  fall.  Lest  haply 
thou  imagine  that  thou  becomest  an  house  of 
God  in  such  sort  as  thine  house  supports  thy 
flesh:  if  the  house  in  which  thou  art  withdraw 
itself  from  under  thee,  thou  fallest;  but  if 
thou  withdraw  thyself,  God  falleth  not. 
When  thou  forsakest  Him,  He  is  none  the 
less;  when  thou  hast  returned  unto  Him,  He 
is  none  the  greater.9  Thou  art  healed,  on 
Him  thou  wilt  bestow  nothing;  thou  art  made 
clean,  thou  art  new-made,  thou  art  set  right: 
He  is  a  medicine  to  the  unhealthy,  is  a  rule 
for  the  crooked,  is  light  for  the  bedarkened, 
is  an  habitation  for  the  deserted.  All  there 
fore  is  conferred  on  thee:  see  thou  imagine 
not  that  ought  is  conferred  upon  God  by  thy 
coming  unto  Him:  no,  not  so  much  as  a 
slave.  Shall  God,  forsooth,  not  have  servants 
if  thou  like  not,  if  all  like  not?  God  needs 
not  the  servants,  but  the  servants  need  God: 
therefore  saith  the  Psalm,  "  I  have  said  unto 
the  Lord,  thou  art  my  God."10  He  is  the 
true  Lord.  And  what  saith  it  ?  "  For  of  my 
goods  Thou  hast  no  need/'  Thou  needest 
the  good  thou  hast  by  thy  servant.  Thy  ser 
vant  needeth  the  good  he  hath  by  thee,  that 
thou  mayest  feed  him;  thou  also  needest  the 
good  thou  hast  by  thy  servant,  that  he  may 


i  John  iv.  13. 
5  i  John  viii.  24. 


3  Rom.  v.  5. 


1  i  John  iv.  12. 

4  i   John  iv.  14.  5  i  John  vni.  24.  °  i  Cor.  xv.  53. 

7  i  John  iv.  15.  [Life:  "  tlie  Life  eternal.  '—The  Kpistle 
begins  and  ends  with  Life,  announced  and  promised  (tin-  word  oc 
curs  thirteen  limes  in  the  one  hundred  and  ten  verses!.  Tin  inter 
mediate  presentation  of  Love,  as  the  grand  efflux  from  the  inner, 
spiritual  life,  gives  the  main  theme  of  St.  John,  and  it  is  of  this 
that  Auguslin  delights  to  speak  in  these  discourses. 

The  life  of  un  intelligent  being  is  in  conscious  dependence  on 
God.  In  the  fullest  sense.  "  in  Him  we  live." 

Death  and  life  are  among  the  striking  contrasts  n.imed  in  the 
epistle:  "the  death,"  "  the  life,"— "  the  death  that  is  truly  death, 
the  life  that  is  truly  life." 

This  life  is  in  Christ.  He  not  only  brings  it  and  imparts  it,  but 
He  it  "  our  Life."  The  living  and  life-giving  Christ  is  manifested 


in  this  epistle,  and  also  the  death  that 


i  where  there  is  no 


union,  by  love,  to  Him. 

The  Life,  eternal  (to  distinguish  it  from  the  life  that  now  is, 
the  life  bounded  by  sense  and  time),  is  not  mere  prolongation  of 
existence.  We  must  use  sensuous  images  in  order  to  apprehend 
the  idea,  hut  we.  are  to  remember  that  they  are  not  realities  in  the 
spiritual  order. 

The  life  which  Christ  gives,  enabling  men  to  have  life  in  Him, 
cannot  exist  apart  from  Himself  ;  His  seal  remains  in  them,  and 
He  abides  in  them. 

The  "life  eternal,"  while  future  as  to  its  full  realization,  is 
present,  is  begun  here  and  now.  "  He  that  believeth  on  the  S.m 
hath  eternal  life  ;"  and  its  possession  is  matter  of  actual  knowledge 
to  those  who  have  this  life  ;  "  we  kncnv  that  we  abide  in  Him  and 
He  in  us  "  1 1  John  v.  13). 

It  is  a  life  which  unites  heaven  and  earth,  bringing  into  this 
stage  of  being  "  the  powers  of  the  world  to  i-ome.' 

that  satisfies,  while  it  enkindles  desire  and  aspiration  :  it 
gives  strength  to  bear  present  ills  in  the  joyous  and  assured  hope 
Of  "«  lit-  beyond  life.'^-J.  H.  M. 

8  .  John  iv.  16.  9  Horn,  in  Ev.  xi.  5. 

>°  Ps.  xvi.  2. 


M..MII  v    l\    1 


THK   EPISTLE  ( >l    si.  JolIN. 


513 


help  thee.  Thou  canst  not  draw  \vatcr  l'»r 
thyself,  canst  not  cook  for  thyself,  canst  not 
run  before  thy  horse,  canst  not  tend  thy 
beast.  Thou  seest  that  thou  needest  the  good 
thoti  hast  by  thy  servant,  thou  needest  his 
attendance.  Therefore  thou  art  not  a  true 
lord,  while  thou  hast  need  of  an  inferior.  He 
is  the  true  Lord,  who  seeks  nothing  from  us; 
and  woe  to  us  if  we  seek  not  Him  !  He  seeks 
nothing  from  us:  yet  He  sought  us,  when  we 
sought  not  Him.  One  sheep  had  strayed; 
He  found  it,  He  brought  it  back  on  His 
shoulders  rejoicing.1  And  was  the  sheep 


Luke  xv.  4,  5. 


necessary  for  the  Shepherd,  and  not  rather 
the  Shepherd  necessary  for  the  sheep? — The 
more  1  love  to  speak  of  charity,  the  less  will 
ing  am  I  tuat  this  epistle  should  be  finished. 
None  is  more  ardent  in  the  commending  of 
charity.  Nothing  more  sweet  is  preached  to 
you,  nothing  more  wholesome  drunk  by  you: 
but  only  thus  if  by  godly  living  ye  confirm  in 
you  the  gift  of  God.  Be  not  ungrateful  for 
His  so  great  grace,  who,  though  He  had  one 
Only  Son,  would  not  that  He  should  be  alone 
a  Son;  but,  that  He  might  have  brethren, 
adopted  unto  Him  those  who  should  with  Him 
possess  life  eternal. 


HOMILY    IX. 

i   JOHN  IV.    17-21. 

"  Herein  is  love  made  perfect  in  us,  that  we  may  have  boldness  in  the  day  of  judgment: 
because  as  He  is,  so  are  we  in  this  world.  There  is  no  fear  in  love;  but  perfect  love  casteth 
out  fear:  because  fear  hath  torment.  He  that  feareth  is  not  made  perfect  in  love.  Let  us 
love  Him,  because  He  first  loved  us.  If  a  man  say,  I  love  God,  and  hateth  his  brother,  he 
is  a  liar:  for  he  that  loveth  not  his  brother  whom  he  seeth,  how  can  he  love  God  whom  he 
seeth  not?  And  this  commandment  have  we  from  Him,  That  he  who  loveth  God  love  his 
brother  also." 


i.  YE  remember,  beloved,  that  of  the  epis 
tles  of  John  the  apostle  the  last  past  remains 
to  be  handled  by  us  and  expounded  to  you, 
as  the  Lord  vouchsafes.  Of  this  debt  then 
we  are  mindful:  and  ye  ought  to  be  mindful 
of  your  claim.  For  indeed  chis  same  charity, 
which  in  this  epistle  is  chiefly  and  almost 
alone  commended,  at  once  maketh  us  most 
faithful  in  paying  our  debts,  and  you  most 
sweet  in  exacting  your  rights.  I  have  said, 
most  sweet  in  exacting,  because  where  charity 
is  not,  he  that  exacts  is  bitter:  but  where 
charity  is,  both  he  that  exacts  is  sweet,  and 
he  of  whom  it  is  exacted,  although  he  under 
takes  some  labor,  yet  charity  makes  the  very 
labor  to  be  almost  no  labor,  and  light.  Do 
we  not  see  how,  even  in  dumb  and  irrational 
animals,  where  the  love  is  not  spiritual  but 
carnal  and  natural,  with  great  affection  the 
mother  yields  herself  to  her  young  ones  when 
they  will  nave  the  milk  which  is  their  right: 
and  however  impetuously  the  suckling  rushes 
at  the  teats,  yet  that  is  better  for  the  mother 
than  that  it  should  not  suck  nor  exact  that 
which  of  love  is  due  ?  Often  we  see  great 
calves  driving  their  heads  at  the  ccw's  udders 


Iwith  a  force  that  almost  lifts  up  the  mother's 
body,  yet  does  she  not  kick  them  off;   nay, 
i  if  the  young  one  be  not  there  to  suck,  the 
j  lowing  of  the  dam  calls  for  it  to  come  to  the 
teats.     If  then  there  be  in  us  that  spiritual 
charity  of  which  the  apostle  saith,  "  I  became 
small   in  the  midst  of  you  even  as  a  nurse 
'cherishing  her  young  ones;"1    we  love  you 
I  the  more  when  ye  are  exacting.     \Ve  like  not 
!  the  sluggish,  because  for  the  languid  ones  we 
!  are  afraid.     We  have  been  obliged,  however, 
I  to  intermit  the  continuous  reading   of   this 
epistle,   because    of    certain    stated    lessons 
coming  between,  which  must  needs  be  read 
on  their  holy  days,  and  the  same  preached 
upon.     Let  us  now  come  back  to  the  order 
which   was    interrupted;    and    what    remains, 
holy  brethren,  receive  ye  with  all  attention. 
I   know  not  whether  charity  could   be   more 
;  magnificently  commended  to  us,  than  that  it 
[should  be  said,  "Charity  is  God."1     Brief 
praise,  yet  mighty  praise:  brief  in  utterance, 
mighty  in  meaning  !     How  soon  is  it  said, 
"  Love  is  God  !  "     This  also  is  short:  if  thou 


Thrs«.  ii.  f. 


rm;  WORKS  OK  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[HOMILY    IX. 


count  it,  it  is  one:  if  thou  weigh  it,  how  great 
is  it  !  "  Love  is  God,  and  he  that  dwelleth," 
saith  lie,  "  in  love,  dwHU-th  in  God,  and  God 
dwelleth  in  him."  Let  God  be  thy  house, 
and  he  thou  an  house  of  God;  dwell  in  God, 
and  let  God  dwell  in  thee.  God  dwelleth  in 
thee,  that  He  may  hold  thee:  thou  dwellest 
in  God,  that  thou  mayest  not  fall;  for  thus 
saith  the  apostle  of  this  same  charity, 
"Charity  never  falleth."1  How  should  He 
fall  whom  God  holdeth  ? 

2.  "  Herein  is  our  love  made  perfect  in  us, 
that  we  may  have  boldness  in  the  day  of 
judgment:  because  as  He  is,  so  are  we  in  this 
world."  3  He  tells  how  each  may  prove  him 
self,  what  progress  charity  has  made  in  him; 
or  rather  what  progress  he  has  made  in  char 
ity.  For  if  charity  is  God,  God  is  capable 
neither  of  proficiency  nor  of  deficiency:  that 
charity  is  said  to  be  making  proficiency  in 
thee,  means  only  that  thou  makest  proficiency 
in  it.  Ask  therefore  what  proficiency  thou 
hast  made  in  charity,  and  what  thine  heart 
will  answer  thee,  that  thou  mayest  know  the 
measure  of  thy  profiting.  For  he  has  prom 
ised  to  show  us  in  what  we  may  know  Him, 
and  hath  said,  "  In  this  is  love  made  perfect 
in  us."  Ask,  in  what?  "  That  we  have  bold 
ness  in  the  day  of  judgment."  Whoso,  hath 
boldness  in  the  day  of  judgment,  in  that  man 
is  charity  made  perfect.  What  is  it  to  have 
boldness  in  the  day  of  judgment  ?  Not  to 
fear  lest  the  day  of  judgment  should  come. 
There  are  men  who  do  not  believe  in  a  day  of 
judgment;  these  cannot  have  boldness  in  a 
day  which  they  do  not  believe  will  come. 
Let  us  pass  these:  may  God  awaken  them, 
that  they  may  live;  why  speak  we  of  the 
dead  ?  They  do  not  believe  that  there  will 
be  a  day  of  judgment;  they  neither  fear  nor 
desire  what  they  do  not  believe.  Some  man 
has  begun  to  believe  in  a  day  of  judgment: 
if  he  has  begun  to  believe,  he  has  also  begun 
to  fear.  But  because  he  fears  as  yet,  because 
he  hath  not  yet  boldness  in  the  day  of  judg 
ment,  not  yet  is  charity  in  that  man  made 
perfect.  But  for  all  that,  is  one  to  despair  ? 
In  whom  thou  seest  the  beginning,  why  de- 
spairest  thou  of  the  end  ?  What  beginning 
do  I  see?  (sayest  thou.)  That  very  fear. 
Hear  the  Scripture:  "The  fear  of  the  Lord 
is  the  beginning  of  wisdom."3  Well  then,  he 
has  begun  to  fear  the  day  of  judgment:  by 
fearing  let  him  correct  himself,  let  him  watch 
against  his  enemies,  i.e.  his  sins;  let  him  be 
gin  to  come  to  life  again  inwardly,  and  to 
mortify  his  members  which  are  upon  the 
earth,  as  the  apostle  saith,  "  Mortify  your 


«  i  ('<>r.  xiii.  8.      Lit.  irtirrci. 
3  Pruv.  i.  7 


members  which  are  upon  the  earth.''  *  By 
the  members  upon  eartli  he  means  spiritual 
wickedness:5  for  he  goes  on  to  expound  it, 
"  Covetousness,  uncleanness,"6  and  the  rest 
which  he  there  follows  out.  Now  in  propor 
tion  ns  this  man  who  has  begun  to  fear  the  day 
of  judgment,  mortifies  his  members  which  are 
upon  the  eartli,  in  that  proportion  the  heavenly 
members  rise  up  and  are  strengthened.  But 
the  heavenly  members  are  all  good  works. 
As  the  heavenly  members  rise  up,  he  begins 
to  desire  that  which  once  he  feared.  Once 
he  feared  lest  Christ  should  come  and  find  in 
him  the  impious  whom  He  must  condemn; 
now  he  longs  for  Him  to  come,  because  He 
shall  find  the  pious  man  whom  He  may  crown. 
Having  now  begun  to  desire  Christ's  coming, 
the  chaste  soul  which  desires  the  embrace  of 
the  Bridegroom  renounces  the  adulterer,  be 
comes  a  virgin  within  by  faith,  hope,  and 
charity.  Now  hath  the  man  boldness  in  the 
day  of  judgment:  he  fights  not  against  him 
self  when  he  prays,  "  Thy  kingdom  come."7 
For  he  that  fears  lest  the  kingdom  of  God 
should  come,  fears  lest  his  prayer  be  heard. 
How  can  he  be  said  to  pray,  who  fears  lest 
his  prayer  be  heard  ?  But  he  that  prays  with 
boldness  of  charity,  wishes  now  that  He  may 
come.  Of  this  same  desire  said  one  in  the 
Psalm,  "And  thou,  Lord,  how  long?  Turn, 
Lord,  and  deliver  my  soul."8  He  groaned 
at  being  so  put  off.  For  there  are  men  who 
with  patience  submit  to  die;  but  there  are 
some  perfect  who  with  patience  endure  to 
live.  What  do  I  mean  ?  When  a  person  still 
desires  this  life,  that  person,  when  the  day  of 
death  comes,  patiently  endures  death:  he 
struggles  against  himself  that  he  may  follow 
the  will  of  God,  and  in  his  mind  desires  that 
hich  God  chooseth,  not  what  man's  will 
chooseth:  from  desire  of  the  present  life 
there  comes  a  reluctance  against  death,  but 
yet  he  takes  to  him  patience  and  fortitude, 
that  he  may  with  an  even  mind  meet  death; 
lie  dies  patiently.  But  when  a  man  desires, 
as  the  apostle  saith,  "to  be  dissolved  and  to 
ic  with  Christ,"9  that  person,  not  patiently 
:lies,  hut  patiently  lives,  delightedly  dies. 
See  the  apostle  patiently  living,  /.<•.  how  with 
patience  he  here,  not  loves  life,  but  endures 
t.  "To  be  dissolved,"  saith  be,  "and  to 
be  with  Christ,  is  far  better:  but  to  continue 
n  the  flesh  is  necessary  for  your  sakes." 
Therefore,  brethren,  do  your  endeavor,  settle 
t  inwardly  with  yourselves  to  make  this  your 
concern,  that  ye  may  desire  the  day  of  judg 
ment.  No  otherwise  is  charity  proved  to  be 


4  Col.  iii.  5. 

f  Kph.  vi.  n. 

t  \\     vi.   4.    5 


5  Sfiiritualio.  nequititr. 

M.itt.  vi.  10. 

-I'hil.i.    2,,    24. 


II'.MII  V     IX.  | 


nil.  EPIS  ill    "i    ST,  JOHN. 


515 


pcrlri  t,  lnit    only  when  one  has   begun  to  de-  pass    away,    and    (iod\    kingdom   conn, 

sire   t;ia!   d.iy.      lint    that  man  desires  it,  \vlio  tlien,  "there   is   no  fear  inrnarity."      J!ut  in 

hatn  lio.dness  in  it,  whose  conscience  feels  no  what  charity?      Not  in  charity  begun:   in  what 

alarm  in  perfect  and  sincere  charity.  then?    "But    perfect    chanty,"    saith    he, 

3.   "In  this  is  His  love  perfected    in  us,  "  casteth  out  fear."     Then  let  fear  make  the 

that    we    may   have    boldness   in    the    day  ot  beginning,    because    "the    fear    of    the  Lord 

judgment."      Why  shall  we   have    boldness?  is   the   beginning   of  wisdom."'     Fear,   so  to 

"  Because  as  He  is  are  we  also  in  this  world."  say,  prepares  a  place  for  charity.     But  when 

Thou  hast  heard  the  ground  of  thy  boldness:  once  charity  has  begun  to  inhabit,  the   fear 

*•  Because aa  He  is,"  saith  the  apostle,  "are  which  prepared  the  place  for  it  is  cast  out. 

we  also  in  this  world."  Does  he  not  seem  to  For  in  proportion  as  this  increases,  that  de 
creases:  and  the  more  this  comes  to  be  with 
in,  is  the  fear  cast  out.  Greater  charity,  less 


have  said  something  impossible  ?  For  is  it 
possible  for  man  to  be  as  God  ?  I  have 
already  expounded  to  you  that  "as"  is  not 
always  said  of  equality,  but  is  said  of  a  cer 
tain  resemblance.  For  how  sayest  thou,  As  I 
have  ears,  so  has  my  image  ?  Is  it  quite  so? 
and  yet  thou  sayest  "'so,  as."  If  then  we 
were  made  after  God's  image,  why  are  we  not 
so  as  God  ?  Not  unto  equality,  but  relatively 
to  our  measure.  Whence  then  are  we  given 
boldness  in  the  day  of  judgment  ?  "  Because 


as   He 


are  we  also  in  this  work 


We 


must  refer  this  to  the  same  charity,  and  un 
derstand  what  is  meant.  The  Lord  in  the 
Gospel  saith,  "  If  ye  love  them  that  love  you, 
what  reward  shall  ye  have  ?  do  not  the  pub 
licans  this  ?"  '  Then  what  would  He  have  us 
do?  "  But  I  say  unto  you,  Love  your  ene 
mies,  and  pray  for  them  that  persecute  you." 
If  then  He  bids  us  love  our  enemies,  whence 


fear;  less  charity,  greater  fear.  But  if  no 
fear,  there  is  no  way  for  charity  to  come  in. 
As  we  see  in  sewing,  the  thread  is  introduced 
by  means  of  the  bristle;3  the  bristle  first 
enters,  but  except  it  come  out  the  thread 
does  not  come  into  its  place:  so  fear  first  oc 
cupies  the  mind,  but  the  fear  does  not  re 
main  there,  because  it  enters  only  in  order  to 
introduce  charity.  When  once  there  is  the 
sense  of  security  in  the  mind,  what  joy  have 
we  both  in  this  world  and  in  the  world  to 
come  !  Even  in  this  world,  who  shall  hurt 
us,  being  full  of  charity  ?  See  how  the  apos 
tle  exults  concerning  this  very  charity:  "  Who 
shall  separate  us  from  the  charity  of  Christ  ? 
shall  tribulation,  or  distress,  or  persecution, 
or  famine,  or  nakedness,  or  peril,  or 


sword  ? 


And  Peter  saith:  "And  who  is  he 


brings    He    an    example   to   set    before    us  ?  that  will  harm  you,  if  ye  be  followers5  of  that 
From  God   Himself:  for  He  saith,  "  That  ye   which  is  good  ? — There  is  no  fear  in  love;  but 


may  be  the  children  of  your  Father  which  is 
in  heaven."  How  doth  God  this?  He  lov- 
eth  His  enemies,  "Who  maketh  His  sun  to 
rise  upon  the  good  and  the  bad,  and  raineth 
upon  the  just  and  the  unjust."  If  this  then 
be  the  perfection  unto  which  God  inviteth 
us,  that  we  love  our  enemies  as  He  loved 
His;  this  is  our  boldness  in  the  day  of  judg 
ment,  that  "  as  He  is,  so  are  we  also  in  this 
world:"  because,  as  He  loveth  His  enemies 
in  making  His  sun  to  rise  upon  good  and 
bad,  and  in  sending  rain  upon  the  just  and 
unjust,  so  we,  since  we  cannot  bestow  upon 
them  sun  and  rain,  bestow  upon  them  our 
tears  when  we  pray  for  them. 

4.  Now  therefore  concerning  this  same  bold 
ness,  let  us  see  what  he  says.  Whence  -lo  we 
understand  that  charity  is  perfect?  "There 
is  no  fear  in  charity."2  Then  what  say  we  of 
him  that  has  begun  to  fear  the  day  of  judg 
ment?  If  charity  in  him  were  perfect,  he 
would  not  fear.  For  perfect  charity  would 
make  perfect  righteousness,  and  he  would 
have  nothing  to  fear:  nay  rather  he  would 
;  avr  something  to  desire;  that  iniquity  may 


Matt.  v.  44-46. 


'  i  Johr 


perfect  love  casteth  out  fear:  because  fear 
hath  torment."6  The  consciousness  of  sins 
torments  the  heart:  justification  has  not  yet 
taken  place.  There  is  that  in  it  which 
itches,  which  pricks.  Accordingly  in  the 
Psalm  what  saith  he  concerning  this  same 


perfection   of   righteousness  ? 


Thou    hast 


turned  for  me  my  mourning  into  joy:  Thou 
hast  put  off  my  sackcloth,  and  girded  me 
with  gladness;  to  the  end  that  my  glory  may 
sing  to  thee,  and  that  I  be  not  pricked."7 
What  is  this,  "That  I  be  not  pricked?" 
That  there  be  not  that  which  shall  goad  my 


conscience.  Fear  doth 
thou:  charity  enters  in 
wound  that  fear  inflicts. 


goad:  but  fear  not 
and  she  heals  the 
The  fear  of  God  so 


wounds  as  doth  the  leech's  knife;8  it  takes 
away  the  rottenness,  and  seems  to  make  the 
wound  greater.  Behold,  when  the  rottenness 
was  in  the  body,  the  wound  was  less,  but  peril 
ous:  then  comes 
smarted  less  than 
leech  is  cutting  it.  It  smarts  more  while  he 
is  operating  upon  it  than  it  would  if  it  were 


the    knife;     the    wound 
it  smarts   now  while  the 


•i.tm. 

5  I    (,,!.:. 

x.    II.    I. 


.Kniulatcres. 

HtpH  H 


4  Rom.  viii.  15. 


mi:  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[II..M1I.V     IX. 


not  operated  upon;  it  smarts  more  under  the 
healing  operation,  but  only  that  it  may  never 
smart  when  the  healing  is  effected.  Then  let 
fear  occupy  thine  heart,  t  Kit  it  may  bring  in 
charity;  let  the  cicatrice  succeed  to  the 
leech's  knife.  He  is  such  an  Healer,  that 
the  cicatrices  do  not  even  appear:  only  do 
thou  put  thyself  under  His  hand.  For  if  thou 
be  without  fear,  thou  canst  not  be  justified. 
It  is  a  sentence  pronounced  by  the  Scriptures; 
"  For  he  that  is  without  fear,  cannot  be  justi 
fied."1  Needs  then  must  fear  first  enter  in, 
that  by  it  charity  may  come.  Fear  is  the 
healing  operation:  charity,  the  sound  condi 
tion.  '*  But  he  that  feareth  is  not  made  per 
fect  in  love.'3  Why?  "Because  fear  hath 
torment;"  just  as  the  cutting  of  the  surgeon's 
knife  hath  torment. 

5.  But  there  is  another  sentence,  which 
seems  contrary  to  this  if  it  have  not  one  that 
understands.2  Namely,  it  is  said  in  a  certain 
place  of  the  Psalms,  "  The  fear  of  the  Lord 
is  chaste,  enduring  forever."3  He  shows  us 
an  eternal  fear,  but  a  chaste.  But  if  he  there 
shows  us  an  eternal  fear,  does  this  epistle 
perchance  contradict  him,  when  it  saith, 
"There  is  no  fear  in  love,  but  perfect  love 
casteth  out  fear  ? ''  Let  us  interrogate  both 
utterances  of  God.  One  is  the  Spirit,  though 


are  men  who  fear  God,  lest  they  be  cast  into 
hell,  lest  haply  they  burn  with  the  devil  in 
everlasting  fire.  This  is  the  fear  which  in 
troduces  charity:  but  it  comes  that  it  may  de 
part.  For  if  thou  as  yet  fearest  God  because 
of  punishments,  not  yet  dost  thou  love  Him 
whom  thou  in  sucii  sort  fearest.  Thou  dost 
not  desire  the  good  things,  but  art  afraid  of 
the  evil  things.  Yet  because  thou  art  afraid 
of  the  evil  things,  thou  correctest  thyself  and 
beginnest  to  desire  the  good  things.  When 
once  thou  hast  begun  to  desire  the  good, 
there  shall  be  in  thee  the  chaste  fear.  What 
is  the  chaste  fear  ?  The  fear  lest  thou  lose 
the  good  things  themselves.  Mark  !  It  is 
one  thing  to  fear  God  lest  He  cast  thee  into 
hell  with  the  devil,  and  another  thing  to  fear 
God  lest  He  forsake  thee.  The  fear  by  which 
thou  fearest  lest  thou  be  cast  into  hell  with 
the  devil,  is  not  yet  chaste;  for  it  comes  not 
from  the  love  of  God,  but  from  the  fear  of 
punishment:  but  when  thou  fearest  God  lest 
His  presence  forsake  thee,  thou  embracest 
Him,  thou  longest  to  enjoy  God  Himself. 

6.  One  cannot  better  explain  the  difference 
between  these  two  fears,  the  one  which  char 
ity  casteth  out,  the  other  chaste,  which  en- 
dureth  for  ever,  than  by  putting  the  case  of 
two  married  women,  one  of  whom,  you  may 
suppose,  is  willing  to  commit  adultery,  de- 
lignts  in  wickedness,  only  fears  lest  she  be 


the  books  two,  though  the  mouths  two, 
though  the  tongues  two.  For  this  is  said  by  _ 
the  mouth  of  John,  that  by  the  mouth  of  condemned  by  her  husband.  She  fears  her 
David:  but  think  not  that  the  Spirit  is  more  husband:  but  because  she  yet  loves  wicked- 
than  one.  If  one  breath  fills  two  pipes  [of  ness,  that  is  the  reason  why  she  fears  her 
Spirit  fill  two  husband.  To  this  woman,  the  presence  of 


the  double-flute],  cannot  one 
hearts,  move  two  tongues?  But  if  two  pipes 
filled  by  one  breathing  sound  in  unison,  can 
two  tongues  filled  with  the  Spirit  or  Breathing 
of  God  make  a  dissonance?  There  is  then 
an  unison  there,  there  is  a  harmony,  only  it 
requires  one  that  can  hear.  Behold,  this 
Spirit  of  God  hath  breathed  into  and  filled 
two  hearts,  hath  moved  two  tongues:  and 
we  have  heard  from  the  one  tongue,  "  There 
is  no  fear  in  love;  but  perfect  love  casteth 
out  fear;  "  we  have  heard  from  the  other, 
"  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  chaste,  enduring 
for  ever."  How  is  this  ?  The  notes  seem  to 
jar.  Not  so:  rouse  thine  ears:  mark  the 
melody.  It  is  not  without  cause  that  in  the 
one  place  there  is  added  that  word,  chaste, 


her  husband  is  not  grateful  but  burdensome; 
and  if  it  chance  she  live  wickedly,  she  fears 
her  husband,  lest  he  should  come.  Such  are 
they  that  fear  the  coming  of  the  day  of  judg 
ment.  Put  the  case  that  the  other  loves  her 
husband,  that  she  feels  that  she  owes  him 
chaste  embraces,  that  she  stains  herself  with 
no  uncleanness  of  adultery;  she  wishes  for  the 
presence  of  her  husband.  And  how  are  these 
two  fears  distinguished  ?  The  one  woman 
fears,  the  other  also  fears.  Question  them: 
they  seem  to  make  one  answer:  question  the 
one,  Dost  thou  fear  thine  husband  ?  she  an 
swers,  1  do.  Question  the  other,  whether 
she  fears  her  husband;  she  answers,  I  do  fear 
him.  The  voice  is  one,  the  mind  diverse. 


in  the  other  it  is  not  added:  but  because  there  !  Now  then  let  them  be  questioned,  Why  ?  The 
is  one  fear  which  is  called  chaste,  and  there  one  saith,  I  fear  my  husband,  lest  he  should 
is  another  fear  which  is  not  called  chaste,  j  come:  the  other  saith,  I  fear  my  husband, 
Let  us  mark  the  difference  between  these  two  lest  he  depart  from  me.  The  one  saith,  I 


fears,  and  so  understand  the  harmony  of  the 
flutes.  How  are  we  to  understand,  or  how 
to  distinguish  ?  Mark,  my  beloved.  There 


fear  to  be  condemned:  the  other,  I  fear  to 
be  forsaken.  Let  the  like  have  place  in  the 
mind  of  Christians,  and  thou  findest  a  fe;ir 
which  love  casteth  out,  and  another  fenr, 


i  .s.,/r,,,  n(),n.  xiiii.  3  ps.  xix.  9. 1  chaste,  enduring  for  ever 


l  ill-    EPIS  IN    "I    ST.   joIIN. 


517 


7.    I. (i  HI  ipeak  turn  first  to  these  who  tear  as  yet  the   fear  which   endurelh  not  for  ever, 

C.od.  inst  in  tiie   manner  of  that  woman   who  l.ut  which  love   shuts  out  and   crisis  forth:   let 

delights  in  wickedness;   namely,  she  tears  her  us  address  taat   also  w.iich  hath   now  t!i 

husliaiid    lot  lie  condemn  her;   to  such  let  us  which  is  chaste,  enduring  for  ever.      Shall  we 

first   spea-k.      ()   soul,  which    fearest    ( iod    lest  I'ind  that  soul,  think  you,  that  we  may  address 

He  c..ndi-inn   tliee,  just  as  the  woman   fears  it?  think  yon,  is  it  here  in  this  congregation  ? 


who  delights  in  wickedness;  fears  her  hus 
band,  lest  she  be  condemned  by  her  husband: 
as  thou  art  displeased  at  this  woman,  so  be 
displeased  at  thyself.  If  perchance  thou  hast 
a  wile,  wouldest  thou  have  thy  wife  fear  thee 
thus,  that  she  be  not  condemned  by  thee? 
that  delighting  in  wickedness,  she  should  be 
repressed  only  by  the  weight  of  the  fear  of 


is  it,  think  you,  here  in  this  chancel?5  think 
you,  is  it  here  on  earth?  It  cannot  but  be, 
only  it  is  hidden.  Now  is  the  winter:  within 
is  the  greenness  in  the  root.  Haply  we  may 
get  at  the  ears  of  that  soul.  But  wherever 
that  soul  is,  oh  that  I  could  find  it,  and  in 
stead  of  its  giving  ear  to  me,  might  myself 
give  ear  to  it !  It  should  teach  me  some- 


thee,  not  by  the  condemnation  of  her  iniq-  thing,  rather  than  learn  of  me  !  An  holy  soul, 
uity  ?  Thou  wouldest  have  her  chaste,  that  a  soul  of  fire,  and  longing  for  the  kingdom  of 
she  may  love  thee,  not  that  she  may  fear  I  God  :  that  soul,  not  I  address,  but  God  Him - 
thee.  Show  thyself  such  to  God,  as  thou  self  doth  address,  and  thus  consoleth  while 
wouldest  have  thy  wife  be  to  thee.  And  if  patiently  it  endures  to  live  here  on  earth  : 


thou  hast  not  yet  a  wife,  and  wishest  to  have 
one,  thou  wouldest  have  her  such.  And  yet 
what  are  we  saying,  brethren  ?  That  woman, 
whose  fear  of  her  husband  is,  to  be  con- 


"  Thou  wouldest  that  I  should  even  now  come, 
and  I  know  that  thou  wishest  I  should  even 
now  come  :  I  know  what  thou  art,  such  that 
without  fear  thou  mayest  wait  for  mine  ad- 


deinned  by  her  husband,   perhaps  does  not  J  vent ;  I  know  that  is  a  trouble  to  thee  :  but 


commit  adultery,  lest  by  some  means  or  other 
it  come  to  her  husband's  knowledge,  and  he 
deprive  her  of  this  temporal  light  of  life:  now 


do  thou  even  longer  wait,  endure  ;  I  come, 
and  come  quickly."  But  to  the  loving  soul 
the  time  moves  slowly.  Hear  her  singing, 


the  husband  can  be  deceived  and  kept  in  j  like  a  lily  as  she  is  from  amid  the  thorns;  hear 
ignorance;  for  he  is  but  human,  as  she  is  who  i  her  sighing  and  saying,  *' I  will  sing,  and 
can  deceive  him.  She  fears  him,  from  whose  will  understand  in  a  faultless6  way:  when  will 
eyes  she  can  be  hid:  and  dost  thou  not  fear  thou  come  unto  me?"7  But  in  a  faultless 
the  face  ever  upon  thee  of  thine  Husband  ?  way  well  may  she  not  fear;  because  "perfect 
44  The  countenance  of  the  Lord  is  against  love  casteth  out  fear."  And  when  He  is 
them  that  do  evil."  '  She  catches  at  her  hus-  j  come  to  her  embrace,  still  she  fears,  but8  in 
band's  absence,  and  haply  is  incited  by  the  j  the  manner  of  one  that  feels  secure.  What 
delight  of  adultery;  and  yet  she  saith  to  does  she  fear?  She  will  beware  and  take 

heed  to  herself  against  her  own  iniquity,  that 
she  sin  not  again  :  not  lest  she  be  cast  into 
the  fire,  but  lest  she  be  forsaken  by  Him. 
And  there  shall  be  in  in  her — what?  the 
"chaste  fear,  enduring  forever."  We  have 
heard  the  two  flutes  sounding  in  unison. 
That  speaks  of  fear,  and  this  speaks  of  fear  : 
but  that,  of  the  fear  with  which  the  soul  fears 
lest  she  be  condemned  ;  this,  of  the  fear  with 
which  the  soul  fears  lest  she  be  forsaken.' 
That  is  the  fear  which  charity  casteth  out  : 
this,  the  fear  that  endureth  for  ever. 

9.  "  Let  us  love,10  because  He  first  loved 
us."  "  For  how  should  we  love,  except  He 
had  first  loved  us  ?  By  loving  we  became 


herself,  I  will  not  do  it:  he  indeed  is  absent, 
but  it  is  hard  to  keep  it  from  coming  in  some 
way  to  his  knowledge.  She  restrains  herself, 
lest  it  come  to  the  knowledge  of  a  mortal 
man,  one  who,  it  is  also  possible,  may  never 
know  it,  who,  it  is  also  possible,  may  be  de 
ceived,  so  that  he  shall  esteem  a  bad  woman 
to  be  good,  esteem  her  to  be  chaste  who  is  an 
adulteress:  and  dost  thou  not  fear  the  eyes 
of  Him  whom  no  man  can  deceive?  thou 
not  fear  the  presence  of  Him  who  cannot 
be  turned  away  from  thee?  Pray  God  to 
look  upon  thee,  and  to  turn  His  face  away 
from  thy  sins;  "Turn  away  Thy  face  from 
my  sins."-'  But  whereby  dost  thou  merit 
that  He  should  turn  away  His  face  from  thy 
sins,  if  thou  turn  not  away  thine  own  face 
from  thy  sins:*  For  the  same  voice  saith  in 
the  Psalm:  "  For  I  acknowledge  mine  iniq 
uity,  and  my  sin  is  ever  before  me."3  Ac 
knowledge  thou,  and  He  forgives.4 

8.   We  have  addressed  that  soul  which  hath 

i  Ps.  xxxiv.  *  !'-.  li.  9.  i.  ,. 

•4  Agnosce  tu,  et  ille  ignouit. 


5  F.xftira.     In  Eusr.bius,  this  term  denotes  certain  outer  build 
ings  of  the  Church,  such  as  th< 

viii.   3, 

sri-.  i.      I'.ut    in    St.  Augiislin    it  evidently   im  .ins  that  part  of  the 
church   in  which   thr    liishop  h.i<! 

M!  with  this  agr 
I-'orcellini  i.  r.  (<.;///    ,i,-  fir.  Pri.  xxii.  8.  and   Epist.  (,i</  .-l/r>.) 

xxix.  8.    Her*  the  meaning  is,  !•  i  nt  in  this  church? 

aiming  the  laity'  aiming  the  i    •  I 

«•  //«»wn. -n/iita.  »  Securittr. 

^c.  3. 

"  i  John  iv.  i  ,. 


THE  WUKKS  OF  ST. 


[HOMIIY     IX. 


friends  :  but  He  loved  us  as  enemies,  that  we 
might  be  made  friends.  He  first  loved  us, 
and  gave  us  the  gift  of  loving  Him.  We  did 
not  yet  love  Him  :  by  loving  we  are  made 
beautiful.  If  a  man  deformed  and  ill-fea 
tured  love  a  beautiful  woman,  what  shall  he 
do  ?  Or  what  shall  a  woman  do,  if,  being  de 
formed  and  ill-featured  and  black-complex 
ioned,  she  love  a  beautiful  man?  By  loving 
can  she  become  beautiful?  Can  he  by  loving 
become  handsome  ?  He  loves  a  beautiful 
woman,  and  when  he  sees  himself  in  a  mir 
ror,  he  is  ashamed  to  lift  up  his  face  to  her 
his  lovely  one  of  whom  he  is  enamored. 
What  shall  he  do  that  he  may  be  beautiful  ? 
Does  he  wait  for  good  looks  to  come  ?  Nay 
rather,  by  waiting  old  age  is  added  to  him, 
and  makes  him  uglier.  There  is  nothing  then 
to  do,  there  is  no  way  to  advise  him,  but  only 
that  he  should  restrain  himself,  and  not  pre 
sume  to  love  unequally:  or  if  perchance  he 
does  love  her,  and  wishes  to  take  her  to  wife, 
in  her  let  him  love  chastity,  not  the  face  of 
flesh.  But  our  soul,  my  brethren,  is  unlovely 
by  reason  of  iniquity:  by  loving  God  it  be 
comes  lovely.  What  a  love  must  that  be  that 
makes  the  lover  beautiful  !  But  God  is  always 
lovely,  never  unlovely,  never  changeable. 
Who  is  always  lovely  first  loved  us;  and  what 
were  we  when  He  loved  us  but  foul  and  un 
lovely  ?  But  not  to  leave  us  foul;  no,  but  to 
change  us,  and  of  unlovely  make  us  lovely. 
How  shall  we  become  lovely  ?  By  loving 
Him  who  is  always  lovely.  As  the  love  in 
creases  in  thee,  so  the  loveliness  increases: 
for  love  is  itself  the  beauty  of  the  soul. 
"Let  us  love,  because  He  first  loved  us." 
Hear  the  apostle  Paul:  "But  God  showed 
His  love  in  us,  in  that  while  we  were  yet  sin 
ners,  Christ  died  for  us:"1  the  just  for  the 
unjust,  the  beautiful  for  the  foul.  How  find 
we  Jesus  beautiful  ?  "  Thou  art  beauteous  in 
loveliness  surpassing  the  sons  of  men;  grace 
is  poured  upon  thy  lips.'* 2  Why  so  ?  Again 
see  why  it  is  that  He  is  fair;  "  Beauteous  in 
loveliness  surpassing  the  sons  of  men:  "  be 
cause  "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and 
the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was 
God.**3  But  in  that  He  took  flesh.  He  took 
upon  Him,  as  It  were,  thy  foulness,  i.e.  thy 
mortality,  that  He  might  adapt  Himself  to 
thee,  and  become  suited  to  thee,  and  stir 
thee  up  to  the  love  of  the  beauteousness 
within.  Where  then  in  Scripture  do  we  find 
Jesus  uncomely  and  deformed,  as  we  have 
found  Him  comely  and  "  beauteous  in  loveli 
ness  surpassing  the  sons  of  men  ?  "  where 
find  we  Him  also  deformed  ?  Ask  Esaias: 


8,9. 


;  J..hn 


"And  we  saw  Him,  and  He  had  no  form  nor 
comeliness."4  There  now  are  two  flutes 
which  seem  to  make  discordant  sounds:  lunv- 
beit  one  Spirit  breathes  into  both.  By  this  it 
is  said,  "  Beauteous  in  loveliness  surpassing 
the  sons  of  men:  "  by  that  it  is  said  in  Esaias, 
"  We  saw  Him,  and  He  had  no  form  nor 
comeliness."  By  one  Spirit  are  both  flutes 
filled,  they  make  no  dissonance.  Turn  not 
away  thine  ears,  apply  the  understanding. 
Let  us  ask  the  apostle  Paul,  and  let  him 
expound  to  us  the  unison  of  the  two  flutes. 
Let  him  sound  to  us  the  note,  "  Beauteous  in 
loveliness  surpassing  the  sons  of  men. — Who, 
being  in  the  form  of  God,  thought  it  not  rob 
bery  to  be  equal  with  God."  s  Let  him  sound 
to  us  also  the  note,  "We  saw  Him,  and  He 
had  no  form  nor  comeliness. — He  made 
Himself  of  no  reputation,  taking  upon  Him 
the  form  of  a  servant,  made  in  the  likeness  of 
men,  and  in  fashion  found  as  man.  He  had 
no  form  nor  comeliness,"  that  He  might  give 
thee  form  and  comeliness.  What  form  ?  what 
comeliness?  The  love  which  is  in  charity:6 
that  loving,  thou  mayest  run;7  running,  may- 
est  love.  Thou  art  fair  now:  but  stay  not 
thy  regard  upon  thyself,  lest  thou  lose  what 
thou  hast  received;  let  thy  regards  terminate 
in  Him  by  whom  thou  wast  made  fair.  Be 
thou  fair  only  to  the  end  He  may  love  thee. 
But  do  thou  direct  thy  whole  aim  to  Him,  run 
thou  to  Him,  seek  His  embraces,  fear  to  de 
part  from  Him;  that  there  may  be  in  thee  the 
chaste  fear,  which  endureth  for  ever.  '•'  Let 
us  love,  because  He  first  loved  us." 

10.  "  If  any  man  say,  I  love  God."  8  What 
God?9  wherefore  love  we?  "Because  He 
first  loved  us,"  and  gave  us  to  love.  He  loved 
us  ungodly,  to  make  us  godly;  loved  us  un 
righteous,  to  make  us  righteous;  loved  us 
sick,  to  make  us  whole.  Ask  eacli  several 
man;  let  him  tell  thee  if  he  love  God.  He 
cries  out,  he  confesses:  f  far,  God  knoweth. 
There  is  another  question  to  be  asked.  "  If 
any  man  say,  I  love  God,  and  hateth  his 
brother,  he  is  a  liar."  By  what  provest  thou 
that  he  is  a  liar?  Hear.  "  For  he  that  lov- 
eth  not  his  brother  whom  he  seeth,  how  can 
he  love  God  whom  he  seeth  not?"  What 
then  ?  does  he  that  loves  a  brother,  love  God 
also  ?  He  must  of  necessity  love  God,  must 
of  necessity  love  Him  that  is  Love  itself. 
Can  one  love  his  brother,  and  not  love  Love  ? 
Of  necessity  he  must  love  Love.  What  then  ? 
because  he  loves  Love,  does  it  follow  that  he 
loves  God?  Certainly  it  does  follow.  In 


4  Is.  liii.  2.         5  Phil.  ii.  6,  7.  <>  Dilcctioncn,  charitati*. 

7  Cant.  i.  4.  8  i  John  iv.  20. 

•  r\-uni?     Urn.    Kd.  I  ouvain.'rr.ul-  it .  <>:„•/«/'  Drum. 
lint  thru  thr  prrrrciiiiK  />,'inn  would  be  better  omitted.     " 

\\  lui:ii  •    </<></." 


II. .Mil  S     IX.  | 


THE   EPISTLE  <>!•   ST.  JOHN. 


ii.  "For  he  that  loveth  not  his  ! 
whom  he  seeth,  how  can  he  love  (.ml  whom 
he  seetli  not?  And  this  commandment  liave 
we  from  Him,  that  he-  who  loveth  God  love 
his  brother  also."  '  Marvellous  fine  talk  it 
was,  that  thou  didst  say,  "I  love  (lod,"  and 
iiatest  thy  brother  !  O  murderer,  how  lovest 
tliou  (.od?  Hast  thou  not  heard  above  in 
this  very  epistle,  "  He  that  hateth  his  brother 
is  a  murderer"  ?4  Yea,  but  I  do  verily  love 
God,  however  I  hate  my  brother.  Thou  dost 
verily  not  love  God,  if  thou  hate  thy  brother. 
And  now  I  make  it  good  by  another  proof. 
This  same  apostle  hath  said,  "  He  gave  us 
commandment  that  we  should  love  one  an- 


lovin-  Love,  lie  loves  ( incl.  Or  hast  thou 
"rii  un.it  thou  s.iidst  a  little  while  a-o. 
God  "  ?'  It  "  l.ove  is  God," 
whoso  loveth  Love,  loveth  God.  Lo\  • 
thy  brother,  and  feel  thyself  assured.  Tiiou 
canst  not  say,  "  1  love  my  brother,  but  J  do 
not  love  God."  As  thou  liest,  if  thou  sayest  "  I 
love  God,"  when  thou  lovest  not  thy  brother, 
so  thou  art  deceived  when  thou  sayest,  I  love 
my  brother,  if  thou  think  that  thou  lovest  not 
God.  (  M  necessity  must  thou  who  lovest  thy 
brother,  love  l.ove  itself:  but  "  Love  is  God:  " 
therefore  of  necessity  must  he  love  God, 
whoso  loveth  his  brother.  But  if  thou  love 
not  the  brother  whom  thou  seest,  how  canst 
thou  love  God  whom  thou  seest  not  ?  Why 
does  he  not  see  God  ?  Because  he  has  not 
Love  itself.  That  he  does  not  see  God,  is, 
because  he  has  not  love:  that  he  has  not  love, 
is,  because  he  loves  not  his  brother.  The 
reason  then  why  he  does  not  see  God,  is,  that 
he  has  not  Love.  For  if  he  have  Love,  he 
sees  God,  for  "  Love  is  God:"  and  that  eye 
is  becoming  more  and  more  purged  by  love, 
to  see  that  Unchangeable  Substance,  in  the 

presence  of  which  he  snail  always  rejoice,  thy  brother.  But  if  thou  love  not  thy 
which  he  shall  enjoy  to  everlasting,  when  he  |  brother,  how  canst  thou  be  said  to  love  Him 
is  joined  with  the  angels.  Only,  let  him  run  whose  commandment  thou  despisest  ?  — 
now,  that  he  may  at  last  have  gladness  in  his  Brethren,  I  am  never  satiated  in  speaking  of 
own  country.  Let  him  not  love  his  pilgrim- '  charity  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  In  what 


other.' 
whose 


How  canst  thou  be  said  to  love  Him 
commandment    thou     hatest  ?      Who 


shall  say,  I  love  the  emperor,  but  I  hate  his 
laws?  In  this  the  emperor  understands 
whether  thou  love  him,  that  his  laws  be  ob 
served  throughout  the  provinces.  Our 
Emperor's  law,  what  is  it?  "A  new  com 
mandment  give  I  unto  you,  that  ye  love  one 
another.1'5  Thou  sayest  then,  that  thou  lov 
est  Christ:  keep  His  commandment,  and  love 


age,  not  love  the  way:  let  all  be  bitter  save 
Him  that  calleth  us,  until  we  hold  Him  fast, 
and  say  what  is  said  in  the  Psalm:  "  Thou 
hast  'destroyed  all  that  go  a-whoring  from 


proportion  ye  have  an  insatiable  desire  of  this 
thing,  in  that  proportion  we  hope  the  thing 
itself  is  growing  in  you,  and  casting  out  fear, 
that  so  there  may  remain  that  chaste  fear 


Thee"2 — and  who  are  they  that  go  a-whoring  ?  j  which  is  for  ever  permanent.     Let  us  endure 
they  that  go  away  and  love  the  world:    but   the   world,   endure   tribulations,    endure   the 

stumbling-blocks    of    temptations.       Let    us 


what  slialt  thou  do  ?   he  goes  on  and  says: — 


"but  for  me  it  is  good  to  cleave  to  God." 
All  my  good  is,  to  cling  unto  God,  freely. 
For  if  thou  question  him  and  say,  For  what 
dost  thou  cling  to  Him?  and  he  should  say, 


not  depart  from  the  way;  let  us  hold  the  unity 
of  the  Church,  hold  Christ,  hold  charity. 
Let  us  not  be  plucked  away  from  the  mem 
bers  of  His  Spouse,  not  be  plucked  away 


That  He  may  give  me — Give  thee  what  ?     It   from  faith,  that  we  may  glory  in  His  coming: 


is  He  that  made  the  heaven,  He  that  made 
the  earth:  what  shall  He  give  thee  ?  Already 
thou  are  cleaving  to  Him:  find  something  bet 
ter,  and  He  shall  give  it  thee. 


and  we  shall  securely  abide  in  Him,  now  by 
faith,  then   by  sight,   of   whom  we  have    so 

treat   earnest,    even  the  gift    of    the    Holy 
pirit. 


'  i  John  iv.  8, 

16. 

>  Ps.  Izxiii 

A 

3  i  John  iv. 

30,  21. 

4  i  John  ii 

i.  15. 

5  John  xiii 

34- 

520 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


[11., Mil. Y    X. 


HOMILY    X. 

i   JOHN  V.    1-3. 

"  Whosoever  believoth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  is  born  of  God:  and  every  one  that  loveth 
Him  that  begat  Him,  loveth  Him  also  that  is  begotten  of  Him.  By  this  we  know  that  we 
love  the  children  of  God,  because  we  love  God,  and  do  His  commandments.  For  this  is 
tiie  love  of  God  that  we  keep  His  commandments." 


i.  I  SUPPOSE  ye  remember,  those  of  you 
who  were  present  yesterday,  to  what  place  in 
the  course  of  this  epistle  our  exposition  has 
reached:  namely,  "  He  that  loveth  not  his 
brother  whom  he  seeth,  how  can  he  love  God 
whom  he  seeth  not?  And  this  command 
ment  have  we  from  Him,  That  he  who  loveth 
God,  love  his  brother  also."'  Thus  far  we 
discoursed.  Let  us  see  then  what  comes  next 
in  order.  "  Whosoever  believeth  that  Jesus 
is  the  Christ  is  born  of  God."  3  Who  is  he 
that  believeth  not  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  ? 
He  that  does  not  so  live  as  Christ  commanded. 
For  many  say,  "  I  believe:  "  but  faith  without 
works  saveth  not.  Now  the  work  of  faith  is 
Love,  as  Paul  the  apostle  saith,  "And  faith 
which  worketh  by  love."3  Thy  past  works 
indeed,  before  thou  didst  believe,  were  either 
none,  or  if  they  seemed  good,  were  nothing 
worth.  For  if  they  were  none,  thou  wast  as 
a  man  without  feet,  or  with  sore  feet  unable 
to  walk:  but  if  they  seemed  good,  before 
thou  didst  believe,  thou  didst  run  indeed,  but 
by  running  aside  from  the  way  thou  wentest 
astray  instead  of  coming  to  the  goal.  It  is 
for  us,  then,  both  to  run,  and  to  run  in  the 
way.  He  that  runs  aside  from  the  way,  runs 
to  no  purpose,  or  rather  runs  but  to  toil. 
He  goes  the  more  astray,  the  more  he  runs 
aside  from  the  way.  What  is  the  way  by 
which  we  run  ?  Christ  hath  told  us,  "I  am  the 
Way.''4  What  the  home  to  which  we  run? 
"  I  am  the  Truth."  By  Him  thou  runnest,  to 
Him  thou  runnest,  in  Him  thou  restest. 
But,  that  we  might  run  by  Him,  He  reached 
even  unto  us:  for  we  were  afar  off,  foreigners 
in  a  far  country.  Not  enough  that  we  were 
in  a  far  country,  we  were  feeble  also  that  we 
could  not  stir.  A  Physician,  He  came  to  the 
sick:  a  Way,  He  extended  Himself  to  them 
that  were  in  a  far  country.  Let  us  be  saved 
by  Him,  let  us  walk  in  Him.  This  it  is  to 
"believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,"  as  Chris 
tians  believe,  who  are  not  Christians  only  in 
name,  but  in  deeds  and  in  life,  not  as  the 


devils  believe.  For  "  the  devils  also  believe 
and  tremble," 5  as  the  Scripture  tells  us. 
What  more  could  the  devils  believe,  than  that 
they  should  say,  "  We  know  who  thou  art, 
the  Son  of  God?"6  What  the  devils  said, 
the  same  said  Peter  also.  When  the  Lord 
asked  them  who  He  was.  and  whom  did  men 
say  that  He  was,  the  disciples  macte  answer 
to  Him,  "Some  say  that  thou  art  John  the 
Baptist;  some,  Elias;  and  others,  Jeremias, 
or  one  of  the  prophets.  He  saith  unto  them, 
But  whom  say  ye  that  I  am  ?  And  Peter  an 
swered  and  said,  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the 
;  Son  of  the  Living  God."7  And  this  he  heard 
from  the  Lord:  "  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon 
Bar-jona;  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  re 
[  vealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father  which  is 
i  in  heaven."  See  what  praises  follow  this 

I  faith.      "  Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock 

I 1  will  build  my  Church."     What  meaneth, 

I  "  Upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church  "  ' 

i  Upon    this   faith;    upon  this   that   has  been 

'said,  "Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the 

Living   God.     Upon    this    rock,"   saith    He, 

"  I  will  build  my  Church."     Mighty  praise  ! 

|  So  then,  Peter  saith,  "  Thou  art  the  Christ, 

i  the  Son  of  the  Living  God:''  the  devils  also 

say,    "  We    know  who  thou  art,  the  Son  of 

God,  the  Holy  One  of    God."     This   Peter 

said,  this  also  the  devils:  the  words  the  same, 

the  mind  not  the  same.     And  how  is  it  clear 

|  that  Peter  said  this  with   love  ?     Because  a 

Christian's  faith  is  with  love,   but  a  devil's 

without  love.      How  without  love  ?     Peter  said 

this,  that  he  might  embrace  Christ;  the  devils 

said  it,  that  Christ  might  depart  from  them. 

For  before  they  said,  "  We  know  who  thou 

art,  the  Son  of  God,  they  said,  "What  have 

we  to  do  with  thee  ?     Why  art  thou  come  to 

destroy  us  before  the  time  ?  "     It  is  one  thing 

then  to  confess  Christ  that  thou  mayest  hold 

Christ,  another  thin^  to   confess   Christ  that 

thou  mayest  drive  Christ  from  thee.     So  then 

ye  see,  that  in  the  sense   in  which   he  here 

saith,   "Whoso   believeth,"   it   is  a   faith   of 


'  i  John  iv.  20,  21 
»G*L  v.  6. 


i  John  v.  i. 
John  xiv.  <i. 


5  James  ii. 
7  Watt,  xvi 


".Matt.  viii.  29;  Marki.  24. 


i  111.  I.TIM  ii.  01  - 1.  JOHN. 


one's  own,  not  as  one  has  a  faith  in  common 
with  many.  Then-fort-,  brethren,  let  none  of 
the  heretic*  say  to  you,  "We  also  believe." 
For  to  tins  end  have  1  -iven  you  an  instance 
from  the  case  of  devils,  that  ye  may  not  rc- 
joire  in  the  words  <>t  believing,  but  search  well 
the  deeds  of  the  life. 

2.  Let  us  see  then  what,  it  is  to  believe  in 
Christ;  what  to  believe  thai   JCMIS,  He   is  the 
Christ.      He  proceeds:  "  \\.iosoever  believeth 
tiiat    Ions   i.s    the   Cnrist,    is   born   of  God." 
But  what  is  it  to  believe  that?     "'  And   every  j 
one  that  loveth  Him  that  begat  Him,  lovetn  , 
Him  also  that  is  begotten  of  Him."     To  faith  i 
he  hath  straightway  joined'love,  because  faith 
without  love  is  nothing  worth.     With    love, 
the  faith  of  a  Christian;  without  love,  the  faith 
of  a  devil:    but  those  who  believe  not,  are 
worse  than  devils,  more  stupid   than   devils. 
Some  man  will  not  believe  in  Christ:  so  far, 
he  is   not  even    upon   a  par  with  devils.      A  , 
person  does  now  believe  in  Christ,  but  hates  ' 
Cririst:  he  hath  the  confession  of  faith  in  the  I 
fear  of  punishment,  not  in  love  of  the  crown: 
thus  the  devils  also  feared  to  be  punished. 
Add  to  this  faith  love,  that  it  may  become  a  i 
faith  such  as  the  Apostle  Paul   speaks  of,  a 
"faith  which  worketh  by  love:"1  thou  hast 
found   a  Christian,  found  a  citizen  of  Jeru 
salem,  found  a  fellow-citizen  of  the  angels, 
found  a  pilgrim  sighing  in  the  way:  join  thy 
self  to  him,  he  is  thy  fellow-traveller,  run  with 
him,  if  indeed  thou  also  art  this.     "  Every 
one  that  loveth  Him  that  begat  Him,  loveth 
Him  also  that  is  begotten  of   Him."     Who  j 
41  begat "  ?  The  Father.   Who  "  is  begotten  "  ? 
The  Son.     What  saith  he  then  I    "  Every  one  j 
that  loveth  the  Father,  loveth  the  Son." 

3.  "In  this  we  know  that  we  love  the  sons  j 
of  God."*     What    is    this,  brethren  ?      Just 
now  he  was  speaking  of  the  Son  of  God,  not 
of  sons  of  God:  lo,  here  one  Christ  was  set 
before  us  to  contemplate,  and  we  were  told, 
"  Whosoever  believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ 
is  born  of  God:    and  every  one  that   loveth 
Him   that  begat,"  i.  e,  the  Father,   "  loveth 
Him  also  that  is  begotten  of  Him,"  /.  e.  the 
Son,  our  Lord  Jesus-  Christ.     And   he  goes 
on:   "In  this  we  know  that  we  love  the  sons 
of  God;"   as   if   he    had    been    about  to  say, 
'•'  In  this  we   know  that  we  love  the  Son  of 
God."       He   has    said,  "the   sons   of  God," 
whereas  he  was  speaking   just   before  of  the 
Son  of  God — because  the  sons  of  God  are  the 
Kody  of  the  Only  Son  of  God,  and  when  He 
is  the  Head,  we  the  members,  it  is  one  Son 
of  God.     Therefore,  he  that   loves  the  sons 
of  God,  loves  the  Son   of  God,  and   he  that 


•i  of  God,  loves  the  Father;  nor 
can  any  love  the  Father  evept  he  1<  . 
Son,  and  he  that  loves  the  sons,  loves  also 
the  Son  of  God.  What  sons  of  God?  The 
members  of  the  Son  of  God.  And  by  loving 
he  becomes  himself  a  member,  and 
through  love  to  be  in  the  frame  of  the  body 
of  Christ,  so  there  shall  be  ore  Christ,  loving 
Himself.  For  when  the  members  love  one 
another,  the  body  loves  itself.  "  And  whether 
one  member  suffer,  all  the  members  suffer 
with  it;  or  one  member  be  honored,  all  the 
members  rejoice  with  it."3  And  then  he 
goes  on  to  say,  "  Now  ye  are  the  body  of 
Christ,  and  members."  John  was  speaking 
just  before  of  brotherly  love,  and  said,  "  He 
that  loveth  not  his  brother  whom  he  seeth, 
how  can  he  love  God  whom  he  seeth  not?"4 
But  if  thou  lovest  thy  brother,  haply  thou 
lovest  thy  brother  and  lovest  not  Christ  ? 
How  should  that  be,  when  thou  lovest  mem 
bers  of  Christ  ?  When  therefore  thou  lovest 
members  of  Christ,  thou  lovest  Christ;  when 
thou  lovest  Christ,  thou  lovest  the  Son  of 
God;  when  thou  lovest  the  Son  of  God,  thou 
lovest  also  the  Father.  The  love  therefore 
cannot  be  separated  into  parts.  Choose  what 
thou  wilt  love;  the  rest  follow  thee.  Suppose 
thou  say,  I  love  God  alone,  God  the  Father. 
Thou  liest:  if  thou  lovest,  thou  lovest  Him 
not  alone;  but  if  thou  lovest  the  Father,  thou 
lovest  also  the  Son.  Behold,  sayest  thou, 
I  love  the  Father,  and  I  love  the  Son:  but 
this  only,  the  Father  God  and  the  Son  God, 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  ascended  into 
heaven,  and  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
Father,  that  Word  by  which  all  things  were 
made,  and  "  the  Word  was  made  flesh,  and 
dwelt  in  us:  "  this  alone  I  love.  Thou  liest; 
for  if  thou  lovest  the  Head,  thou  lovest  also 
the  members;  but  if  thou  lovest  not  the 
members,  neither  lovest  thou  the  Head. 
Dost  thou  not  quake  at  the  voice  uttered  by 
the  Head  from  Heaven  on  behalf  of  His 
members,  "  Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou 
ME?"5  The  persecutor  of  His  members 
He  called  His  persecutor:  His  lover,  the 
lover  of  His  members.  Now  what  are  His 
members,  ye  know,  brethren:  none  other  than 
the  Church  of  God.  "  In  this  we  know  that 
we  love  the  sons  of  God,  in  that  we  love 
God."  And  how?  Are  not  the  sons  of  God 
one  thing.  God  1  limself  another  ?  But  he  that 
loves  God,  loves  His  precepts.  And  what 
are  the  precepts  of  God  ?  "  A  new  command 
ment  give  I  unto  you,  that  ye  love  one 
another.'"6  Let  none  excuse  himself  by 
another  love,  for  another  love;  so  and  so 


Gal. 


John  i 


<  i  C.,r.  xii. 

- 


*  i   M .-. 

•jaw 


522 


TI1K   WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSIIN. 


[HOMILY    X. 


only  is  it  with  this  love:  as  the  love  itself  is 
compacted  in  one,  so  all  that  hang  by  it  cloth 
it  make  one,  and  as  fire  melts  them  down 
into  one.  It  is  gold:  the  lump  is  molten  and 
becomes  some  one  thing.  But  unless  the 
fervor  of  charity  be  applied,  of  many  there 
can  be  no  melting  down  into  one.  "  That  we 
love  God,"  by  this  "  know  we  that  we  love 
the  sons  of  God." 

4.  And  by  what  do  we  know  that  we  love 
the  sons  of  God?     By  this,   "that  we  love 
God,  and  do  His  commandments."     We  sigh 
here,  by  reason  of  the  hardness  of  doing  the 
commandments  of  God.     Hear  what  follows. 
O  man,  at  what  toilest  thou  in  loving?     In 
loving  avarice.     With  toil  is  that  loved  which 
thou  lovest:    there  is  no  toil  in  loving  God. 
Avarice  will  enjoin  thee   labors,   perils,  sore 
hardships  and  tribulations;  and  thou  wilt  do 
its    bidding.      To    what    end  ?      That    thou 
mayest  have  that  with  which  thou  shalt  fill 
thy  chest,  and  lose  thy  peace  of  mind.     Thou 
didst  feel   thyself  haply  more  secure  before 
thou  hadst  it,  than  since  thou  didst  begin  to 
have.     See  what  avarice  has  enjoined  thee. 
Thou  hast  filled  thine  house,  and  art  in  dread 
of  robbers;  hast  gotten  gold,  lost  thy  sleep. 
See  what  avarice  has  enjoined  thee.    Do,  and 
thou    didst.     What    does    God   enjoin  thee! 
Love  me.     Thou  lovest  gold,  thou  wilt  seek 
gold,  and  perchance  not  find  it:   whoso  seeks 
me,  I  am  with  him.     Thou  wilt  love  honor, 
and  perchance  not  attain  unto  it:    who  ever 
loved  me,  and  did  not  attain  ?     God  saith  to 
thee,  thou  wouldest  make  thee  a  patron,  or 
a  powerful  friend:  thou  seekest  a  way  to  his 
favor  by  means  of  another  inferior.      Love 
me,  saith  God  to  thee:    favor  with  me  is  not 
had  by  making  interest  with  some  other:  thy 
love  itself  makes  me  present  to  thee.     What 
sweeter  than  this  love,  brethren  ?    It  is   not 
without  reason  that  ye  heard  just  now  in  the 
Psalm,    "  The   unrighteous  told    me   of   de 
lights,1  but  not  as    is  Thy  law,  O  Lord."2 
What  is  the  Law  of  God  ?    The  commandment 
of  God.     What  is  the  commandment  of  God  ? 
That  "  new  commandment,"  which  is  called 
new  because  it  maketh  new:    "  A  new  com 
mandment  give  I  unto  you,  that  ye  love  one 
another."3     Hear  because  this  is  the  law  of 
God.      The    apostle    saith.    "  Bear    ye    one 
another's  burdens,  and  so  shall  ye  fulfill  the 
law  of  Christ."4     This,  even  this,  is  the  con 
summation  of  all  our  works;   Love.     In  it  is 
the  end:  for  this  we  run:  to  it  we  run;  when 
we  are  come  to  it,  we  shall  rest. 

5.  Ye  have   heard   in   the  Psalm,  "I  have 


seen  the  end  of  all  perfection.5  He  hath 
said,  I  have  seen  the  end  of  all  perfection: 
what  had  he  seen  ?  Think  we,  had  he  as 
cended  to  the  peak  of  some  very  high  and 
pointed  mountain,  and  looked  out  thence  and 
seen  the  compass  of  the  earth,  and  the  circles 
of  the  round  world,  and  therefore  said,  "  I 
have  seen  the  end  of  all  perfection  "  ?  If  this 
be  a  thing  to  be  praised,  let  us  ask  of  the 
Lord  eyes  of  the  flesh  so  sharp-sighted,  that 
we  shall  but  require  some  exceeding  high 
mountain  on  earth,  that  from  its  summit  we 
may  see  the  end  of  all  perfection.  Go  not 
far:  lo,  I  say  to  thee,  it  is  here;  ascend  the 
mountain,  and  see  the  end.  Christ  is  the 
Mountain;  come  to  Christ:  thou  seest  thence 
the  end  of  all  perfection.  What  is  this  end  ? 
Ask  Paul:  "  But  the  end  of  the  command 
ment  is  charity,  from  a  pure  heart,  and  a 
good  conscience,  and  faith  unfeigned:"6  and 
in  another  place,  "  Charity  is  the  fullness,  " 
or  fulfillment,  "of  the  law."  What  so 
finished  and  terminated  as  "fullness"?  For, 
brethren,  the  apostle  here  uses  end  in  a  way 
of  praise.  Think  not  of  consumption,  but  of 
consummation.  For  it  is  in  one  sense  that 
one  says,  I  have  finished  my  bread,  in  an 
other,  I  have  finished  my  coat.  I  have 
finished  the  bread,  by  eating  it:  the  coat,  by 
making  it.  In  both  places  the  word  is  "  end," 
"finish:"  but  the  bread  is  finished  by  its 
being  consumed,  the  coat  is  finished  by  being 
made:  the  bread,  so  as  to  be  no  more;  the 
coat,  so  as  to  be  complete.  Therefore  in  this 
sense  take  ye  also  this  word,  end,  when  the 
Psalm  is  read  and  ye  hear  it  said,  "  On  the 
end,  a  Psalm  of  David."  7  Ye  are  for  ever 
hearing  this  in  the  Psalms,  and  ye  should 
know  what  ye  hear.  What  meaneth,  "On 
the  end  "  ? — "  For  Christ  is  the  end  of  the  law 
unto  every  one  that  believeth."8  And  what 
meaneth,  "  Christ  is  the  end  "  ?  Because 
Christ  is  God,  and  "  the  end  of  the  com 
mandment  is  charity,  "and  "  Charity  is  God:" 
because  Father  and  Son  and  Holy  Ghost  are 
One.  There  is  He  the  End  to  thee;  else 
where  He  is  the  Way.  Do  not  stick  fast  in 
the  way,  and  so  never:  come  to  the  end. 
Whatever  else  thou  come  to,  pass  beyond  it, 
until  thou  come  to  the  end.  What  is  the 
end  ?  It  is  good  for  me  to  "  hold  me  fast  in 
God."9  Hast  thou  laid  fast  hold  on  God  ? 
thou  hast  finished  the  way  :  thou  shalt  abide 
in  thine  own  country.  Mark  well  !  Some 
man  seeks  money  :  let  not  it  be  the  end  to 
thee:  pass  on,  as  a  traveller  in  a  strange 
land.  But  if  thou  love  it,  thou  art  entangled 


i  Delectationes,  LXX.  a«oA«<rxia*.     \v.\g./atulatio 
IV.  xix.  85.  3  John  xiii.  34. 


5  Constnnntaiionis.     Ps.  cxix.  96. 

t  ,  '1  nn.  i.  5.  7  I-.narr.  in  Ps.  iv.  i, 

«  Rom.  xiii.  10.  -  Pi.  ixxiii.  28. 


II  i. Mil  V     V  j 


Till.    RPISTLE   OF  ST.    JOHN. 


l»y  rtv.iruc;  :iv.inci-  will  he  shackles  to  thy 
feet:  thou  canst  make  no  mwre  pr< 
I'.iss  t:irrvt"ore  tin's  also:  seek  the  end.  Thou 
seekest  health  of  the  body:  still  do  not  stop 
there.  For  what  is  it,  this  health  of  the 
body,  which  death  makes  an  end  of,  which 


and  as  though  it  were  said  to  him,  What  is 
the  end  thou  hast  seen?  "Thy  command 
ment,  exceeding  broad."  This  is  the  end: 
the  breadth  ot  the  commandment.  The 
breadth  of  the  commandment  is  charity,  be 
cause  where  charity  is,  there  are  no  straits. 


sickness  debilitates,  a  feeble,  mortal,  fleeting ,  In    this    breadth,    this    wide    room,    was    the 

apostle  when  he  said,  "  Our  mouth  is  open 
to  you,  O  ye  Corinthians,  our  heart  is 
enlarged:  ye  are  not  straitened  inns."8  In 
this,  then,  is  "  Thy  commandment  exceeding 
broad."  What  is  the  broad  commandment? 
"A  new  commmandment  give  I  unto  you, 
that  ye  love  one  another."  Charity,  then,  is 
not  straitened.  Wouldest  thou  not  be  strait 
ened  here  on  earth  ?  Dwell  in  the  broad 
room.  For  whatever  man  may  do  to  thee, 
he  shall  not  straiten  thee;  because  thou  lov 
est  that  which  man  cannot  hurt:  lovest  God, 
lovest  the  brotherhood,  lovest  the  law  of 
God,  lovest  the  Church  of  God:  it  shall  be 
for  ever.  Thou  laborest  here  on  earth,  but 
thou  shalt  come  to  the  promised  enjoyment. 
Who  can  take  from  thee  that  which  thou  lov 
est  ?  If  no  man  can  take  from  thee  that 
which  thou  lovest,  secure  thou  sleepest:  or 


Seek  that,  indeed,  lest  haply  ill-health 
hinder  thy  good  works:  but  for  that  very 
reason,  the  end  is  not  there,  for  it  is  sought 
in  order  to  something  else.  Whatever  is 
sought  in  order  to  something  else,  the  end  is 
not  there:  whatever  is  loved  for  its  own  sake, 
and  freely,  the  end  is  there.  Thou  seekest 
honors;  perchance  seekest  them  in  order  to 
do  something,  that  thou  mayest  accomplish 
something,  and  so  please  God:  love  not  the 
honor  itself,  lest  thou  stop  there.  Seekest 
thou  praise?  If  thou  seek  God's,  thou  doest 
well;  if  thou  seek  thine  own,  thou  doest  ill; 
thou  stoppest  short  in  the  way.  But  behold, 
thou  art  loved,  art  praised:  think  it  not  joy 
when  in  thyself  thou  art  praised;  be  thou 
praised  in  the  Lord,  that  thou  mayest  sing, 
"In  the  Lord  shall  my  soul  be  praised."1 
Thou  deliverest  some  good  discourse,  and 


thy  discourse  is  praised.     Let  it  not  be  praised  I  rather  secure  thou  watchest,  lest  by  sleeping 
as  thine,  the  end  is  not  there.     If  thou  set  |  thou  lose  that  which  thou  lovest.     For  not 


the  end  there,  there  is  an  end  of  thee:    but 
an  end,  not  that  thou  be  perfected,  but  that 


without  reason  is  it  said,   "  Enlighten  mine 
eyes,   lest  at  anytime   I   sleep  in  death." 


thou  be  consumed.  Then  let  not  thy  discourse  They  that  shut  their  eyes  against  charity,  fall 
be  praised  as  coming  from  thee,  as  being  asleep  in  the  lusts  of  carnal  delights.  Be 
thine.  But  how  praised  ?  As  the  Psalm  wakeful,  therefore.  For  then  are  the  delights, 


saith,  "  In  God  will  I  praise  the  discourse,  in 
God  will  I  praise  the  word."2  Hereby  shall 
that  which  there  follows  come  to  pass  in  thee: 
"  In  God  have  I  hoped,  I  will  not  fear  what 
man  can  do  unto  me.''3  For  when  all  things 
that  are  thine  are  praised  in  God,  no  fear  lest 
thy  praise  be  lost,  since  God  faileth  not. 
1'ass  therefore  this  also. 

6.  See,  brethren,  how  many  things  we  pass, 
in  which  is  not  the  end.  These  we  use  as  by 
the  way;  we  take  as  it  were  our  refreshment 
at  the  halting  places  on  our  journey,  and  pass 
on.4  Where  then  is  the  end?  "Beloved, 
we  are  sons  of  God,  and  it  hath  not  yet  ap 
peared  what  we  shall  be;"5  here  is, this  said, 
in  this  epistle.  As  yet  then,  we  are  on  the 
way;  as  yet,  wherever  we  come,  we  must  pass 
on,  until  we  attain  unto  some  end.  •"  We 
know  that  when  He  shall  appear,  we  shall  be 
like  Him,  for  we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is. 
That  is  the  end;  there  perpetual  praising, 
there  Alleluia6  always  without  fail.  This 
then  is  the  end  he  has  spoken  of  in  the  I'salm: 
"I  have  seen  the  end  of  all  perfection:"7 


«  Ps.  xxxiv.  2. 

..  II. 

6  Sufra. 


.n  v.  4,  sec.  7.) 

<  .s  «/,-,i.  5  -  'ohn  lii.  2. 

7  Ps.  cxix.  96. 


to  eat,  to  drink,  to  wanton  in  luxury,  to  play, 
to  hunt;  these  vain  pomps  all  evils  follow. 
Are  we  ignorant  that  they  are  delights  ?  who 
can  deny  that  they  delight  ?  But  more  be 
loved  is  the  law  of  God.  Cry  against  such 
persuaders:  "  The  unrighteous  have  told  me 
of  delights:  but  not  so  as  is  thy  law,  O 
Lord."10  This  delight  remaineth.  Not  only 
remaineth  as  the  goal  to  which  thou  mayest 
come,  but  also  calleth  thee  back  when  thou 
fleest. 


7- 
keep 


'  For  this  is  the  love  of  God,  that  we 
His   commandments."11     Already   ye 


have  heard,  "On  these  two  commandments 
hang  all  the  law  and  the  prophets."  See 
how  He  would  not  have  thee  divide  thyself 
over  a  multitude  of  pages:  "On  these  two 
commandments  hang  all  the  law  and  the 
prophets."  On  what  two  commandments? 
"  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all 
thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all 
thy  mind.  And,  thou  shalt  love  thy  neigh 
bor  as  thyself.  On  these  two  commandments 
hang  all  the  law  and  the  prophets.""  See 
here  of  what  commandments  this  whole  epis- 


8  3  Cor.  vi.  ii,  12. 
«  i  John  iv.  3. 


9  Ps.  xiii.  v 
'-  Matt.  x.\i 


P*.  cxix.  85. 


524 


TIN;  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[H..MM.Y    X. 


tie  talks.  Therefore  hold  fast  love,  and  set 
your  minds  at  rest.  Wny  fearest  tiiou  lest 
thou  do  evil  to  some  man  ?  Who  does  evil  to 
the  man  he  loves?  Love1  thou:  it  is  impos 
sible  to  do  this  without  doing  good.  But  it 
may  be,  thou  rebukest  ?  Kindness a  does  it, 
not  fierceness.  But  it  may  be  thou  beatest  ? 
For  discipline'  thou  dost  this;  because  thy 
kindness  of  love3  will  not  let  thee  leave  him 
undisciplined.  And  indeed  there  come  some 
how  these  different  and  contrary  results,  that 
sometimes  hatred  uses  winning  ways,  and 
charity  shows  itself  fierce.  A  person  hates 
his  enemy,  and  feigns  friendship  for  him:  he 
sees  him  doing  some  evil,  he  praises  him:  he 
wishes  him  to  go  headlong,  wishes  him  to  go 
blind  over  the  precipice  of  his  lusts,  haply 
never  to  return;  lie  praises  him,  "  For  the 
sinner  is  praised  in  the  desires  of  his  soul;  "  4 
he  applies  to  him  the  unction  of  adulation;  be 
hold,  he  hates,  and  praises.  Another  sees 
his  friend  doing  something  of  the  same  sort; 
he  calls  him  back;  if  he  will  not  hear,  he  uses 
words  even  of  castigation,  he  scolds,  he  quar 
rels:5  there  are  times  when  it  comes  to  this, 
that  one  must  even  quarrel  !  Behold,  hatred 
shows  itself  winningly  gentle,  and  charity 
quarrels  !  Stay  not  thy  regard  upon  the 
words  of  seeming  kindness,  or  the  seeming 
cruelty  of  the  rebuke;  look  into  the  vein6  they 
come  from;  seek  the  root  whence  they  pro 
ceed.  The  one  is  gentle  and  bland  that  he 
may  deceive,  the  other  quarrels  that  he  may 
correct.  Well  then,  it  is  not  for  us,  brethren, 
to  enlarge  your  heart:  obtain  from  God  the 
gift  to  love  one  another.  Love  all  men,  even 
your  enemies,  not  because  they  are  your 
brethren,  but  that  they  may  be  your  brethren; 
that  ye  may  be  at  all  times  on  fire  with 
brotherly  love,  whether  toward  him  that  is 
become  thy  brother,  or  towards  thine  enemy, 
so  that,  by  being  beloved,  he  may  become  thy 
brother.  Wheresoever  ye  love  a  brother,  ye 
love  a  friend.  Now  is  he  with  thee,  now  is 
he  knit  to  thee  in  unity,  yea  catholic  unity. 
If  thou  art  living  aright,  thou  lovest  a  brother 
made  out  of  an  enemy.  But  thou  lovest 
some  man  who  has  not  yet  believed  Christ,  or, 
if  he  have  believed,  believes  as  do  the  devils: 
thou  rebukest  his  vanity.  Do  thou  love, 
and  that  with  a  brotherly  love:  he  is  not  yet 
a  brother,  but  thou  lovest  to  the  end  he  may 
be  a  brother.  Well  then,  all  our  love  is  a 
brotherly  love,  towards  Christians,  towards 
all  His  members.  The  discipline  of  charity, 
my  brethren,  its  strength,  flowers,  fruit, 
beauty,  pleasantness,  food,  drink,  meat,  em 
bracing,  hath  in  it  no  satiety.  If  it  so  delight 


us  while  in   a  strangr    land,  in   our  own  coun 
try  how  shall  Ve  rejoice  ! 

8.  Let  us  run  then,  my  brethren,  let  us 
run,  and  love  Christ.  What  Christ?  Jesus 
Christ.  Who  is  He?  The  Word  of  God. 
And  how  came  He  to  the  sick  ?  •'  The  Word 
was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  in  us."7  It  is 
complete  then,  which  the  Scripture  foretold, 
"  Christ  must  suffer,  and  rise  again  the  third 
day  from  the  dead."  8  His  body,  where  is  it  ? 
His  members,  where  toil  they  ?  Where  must 
thou  be,  that  thou  mayest  be  under  thine 
Head  ?  "And  that  repentance  and  remission 
of  sins  be  preached  in  His  name  through  all 
nations,  beginning  at  Jerusalem."9  There  let 
thy  charity  be  spread  abroad.  Christ  saith, 
and  the  Psalm,  i.e.  the  Spirit  of  God,  "  Thy 
commandment  is  exceeding  broad:"  and  for 
sooth  some  man  will  have  charity  to  be  con-' 
fined  to  Africa  !  Extend  thy  charity  over  the 
whole  earth  if  thou  wilt  love  Christ,  for 
Christ's  members  are  over  all  the  earth.  If 
thou  lovest  but  a  part,  thou  art  divided:  if 
thou  art  divided,  thou  art  not  in  the  body;  if 
thou  art  not  in  the  body,  thou  art  not  under 
the  Head.  What  profiteth  it  thee  that  thou 
believest10  and  blasphemest?  Thou  adorest 
Him  in  the  Head,  blasphemest  Him  in  the 
Body.  He  loves  His  Body.  If  thou  hast  cut 
thyself  off  from  His  Body,  the  Head  hath 
not  cut  itself  off  from  its  Body.  To  no  pur 
pose  dost  thou  honor  me,  cries  thine  Head 
to  thee  from  on  high,  to  no  purpose  dost 
I  thou  honor  me.  It  is  all  one  as  if  a  man 
would  kiss  thine  head  and  tread  upon  thy 
feet:  perchance  with  nailed  boots  he  would 
crush  thy  feet,  while  he  will  clasp  thy  head 
and  kiss  it:  wouldest  thou  not  cry  out  in  the 
midst  of  the  words  with  which  he  honors  thee, 
and  say,  What  art  thou  doing,  man  ?  thou 
treadest  on  me.  Thou  wouldest  not  mean, 
Thou  treadest  on  my  head;  for  the  head  he 
honored;  but  more  would  the  head  cry  out 
for  the  members  trodden  upon,  than  for  itself 
because  it  was  honored.  Does  not  the  head 
itself  cry  out,  I  will  none  of  thine  honor;  do 
not  tread  on  me  ?  Now  say  if  thou  canst, 
How  have-I  trodden  upon  thee?  say  that  to 
the  head:  I  wanted  to  kiss  thee,  I  wanted  to 
embrace  thee.  But  seest  thou  not,  O  fool, 
that  \vhat  thou  wouldest  embrace  does  in  vir 
tue  of  a  certain  unity,  which  knits  the  whole 
frame  together,  reach  to  that  which  thou 
treadest  upon  ?  Above  "  thou  honorest  me, 
beneath12  thou  trendest  upon  me.  That  on 
which  thou  treadest  pains  more  than  that 
which  thou  honorest  rejoiceth.  In  what  sort 
does  the  tongue  cry  out?  "It  hurts  me." 


*  A  mar. 
5  Litigat. 


o  /  •'",'„',. 


ifisius  dilectionis. 


-    Iniin   , 


8  Luke  xxiv.  46.  9  I-nkr  x> 


ll.iMIIN      X.] 


•i  111.  EPIS  i  11.  <»i-  ST.  JOHN. 


It  snitli  not,  "  It  hurts  my  foot,"  but,  "  It 
hurts  me,"  saith  it.  <>  tongue,  wlio  has 
touched  tiicc-  \vho  has  struck?  who  has 
goaded?  who  lias  pricked?  No  man,  but  I 
am  ki:it  to-e?:ier  with  the  parts  that  arc  trod 
den  upon.  How  wouldest  thou  have  me  not 
be  pained,  when  I  am  not  separate? 

i,.    Om    I  •.  ;-d    Jesus  Christ,  then,  ascending 
into   heaven  on   the   fortieth  day.  did   for  this 


which  he  greatly  loves,  and  it  comes  into  his 
mind,  calls  his  heirs,  and  says  to  them,  I  pray 
you,  do  this.  He,  ai  it  WCTC,  detains  his 
soul  by  a  violent  eliort,  that  it  may  not  depart 
ere  those  words  be  made  sure.  Wnen  he  has 
dictated  those  last  words,  he  breathes  out  his 
soul,  he  is  borne  a  corpse  to  the  sepulchre. 
His  heirs,  how  do  they  remember  til- 
words  of  the  dying  man  ?  How,  if  one  should 


where   it  j  stand   up  and   say  to  them,  Do  it  not:    what 
e   saw  that   would  they  say  ?     "What?  shall  I  not  do  that 


which  my  father,  in  the  act  of  breathing  out 
his  soul,  commanded  me  with  his  last  breath, 
the  last  word  of  his  that  sounded  in  my  ears 
when  my  father  was  departing  this  life? 
Whatever  other  words  of  his  I  may  not  re- 


reason    commend    to    us    His    Bodi 
would   continue    to    lie,  because    H< 
many  would  honor  Him  for  that  He  is  as 
cended  into  heaven:  and  saw  that  their  honor- 
in  -  Him  is  useless  if  they  trample  upon  His 
members  here  on  earth.     And  lest  any  one 
should  err.  and,  while  he  adored  the  Head  in 

heaven  should  trample  upon  the  feet  on  earth,  gard,  his  last  have  a  stronger  hold  upon  me: 
He  told  us  where  would  be  His  members,  since  which  I  never  saw  him  more,  never  more 
For  being  about  to  ascend,  He  spake  His  last  heard  speech  of  his.  Brethren,  think  with 
words  on  earth:  after  those  same  words  He  ,  Christian  hearts;  if  to  the  heirs  of  a  man,  his 
spake  no  more  on  earth.  The  Head  about ;  words  spoken  when  about  to  go  to  the  tomb 
to  ascend  into  heaven  commended  to  us  His  j  are  so  sweet,  so  grateful,  so  weighty,  what 
members  on  earth  and  departed.  Thence- 1  must  we  account  of  the  last  words  of  Christ, 
forth  thou  findest  not  Christ  speaking  on  |  spoken  not  when  about  to  go  back  to  the 
earth;  thou  findest  Him  speaking,  but  from  j  tomb,  but  to  ascend  into  heaven  !  As  for  the 
heaven.  And  even  from  heaven,  why?  Be-  man  who  lived  and  is  dead,  his  soul  is  hur- 
cause  His  members  on  earth  were  trodden  j  ried  off  to  other  places,  his  body  is  laid  in  the 
upon.  For  to  the  persecutor  Saul  He  said  |  earth,  and  whether  these  words  of  his  be  done 
from  on  high,  "Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutes!  or  not.  makes  no  difference  to  him:  he  has 


thou  me  ? 


am  ascended  into  heaven,  but   now  something  else  to  do,  or  something  else 


still  I  lie  on  earth:  here  I  sit  at  the  right  hand  ,  to  suffer:   either  in  Abraham's  bosom  he  re- 


of  the  Father,  but  there  I  yet  hunger,  thirst, 
and  am  ^  stranger.  In  what  manner  then  did 
He  commend  to  us  His  Body,  when  about  to 
ascend  into  heaven  ?  When  the  disciples 
asked  Him.  saying,  *'  Lord,  wilt  thou  at  this 
time  present3  thyself,  and  when  shall  be  the 


joices,  or  in  eternal  fire  he  longs  for  a  drop 
of  water,  while  his  corpse  lies  there  senseless 
in  the  sepulchre;  and  yet  the  last  words  of 
the  dying  man  are  kept.  What  have  those  to 
look  for,  who  keep  not  the  last  words  of  Him 
that  sitteth  in  heaven,  who  seeth  from  on 


kingdom  of  Israel  ?"  3  He  made  answer,  now  high  whether  they  be  despised  or  not  de- 
at  the  point  to  depart,  "It  is  not  for  you  to  j  spised  ?  The  words  of  Him, -who  said, 
know  the  time  which  the  Father  hath  put  in  i"  Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou  ME?'' 
His  own  power:  but  ye  shall  receive  strength  who  keeps  account,  unto  the  judgment,  of 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  coming  upon  you,  and  ye  all  that  He  seeth  His  members  suffer? 


shall  be   witnesses  to  me."     See  where   His 
Body  is  spread  abroad,  see  where  He  will  not 


10.   And    what   have   we   done,  say   they? 
We  are  the  persecuted,  not  the  persecutors. 


be  trodden  upon:  "  Ye  shall  be  witnesses  to  Ye  are  the  persecutors,  O  wretched  men.  la 
me,  unto  Jerusalem,  and  unto  Judea,  and  j  the  first  place,  in  that  ye  have  divided  the 
even  unto  all  the  earth."  Lo,  where  I  lie  |  Church.  Mightier  the  sword  of  the  tongue 
that  am  ascending!  For  I  ascend,  because  I  j  than  the  sword  of  steel.  Agar,  Sarah's  maid, 
am  the  Head:  my  Body  lies  yet  beneath,  i  was  proud,  and  she  was  afflicted  by  her  mis- 
Where  lies?  Throughout  the  whole  earth.  ]  tress  for  her  pride.  That  was  discipline,  not 
Beware  thou  strike  not,  beware  thou  hurt  not,  punishment.4  Accordingly,  when  she  had 
beware  thou  trample  not:  these  be  the  last  gone  away  from  her  mistress,  what  said  the 
words  of  Christ  about  to  go  into  heaven,  angel  to  her?  "Return  to  thy  mistress."5 
Look  at  a  sick  man  languishing  on  his  bed,  Then,  O  carnal  soul,  like  a  proud  bond- 
lying  in  his  house,  and  worn  out  with  sick-  woman,  suppose  thou  have  suffered  any  trou- 
it  death's  door,  his  soul  as  it  were  even  ble  for  discipline'  sake,  why  ravest  thou? 
now  between  his  teeth:  who.  anxious,  it  may  "  Return  to  thy  mistress,"  hold  fast  the  peace 
be,  about  something  that  is  dear  to  him,  of  the  Church.6  Lo,  the  gospels  are  pro- 


1  Art-,  ix    4. 
3  Acts  i.  6-8. 


<  Prcrsentabtris,  Supra. 


I  Suf>ra. 


3  Gen.  xv'i.  4-9. 


. 


526 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.    AUGUSTIN. 


[HoMIl.Y     X. 


duced,  we  read  where  the  Church  is  spread 
abroad:  men  dispute  against  us,  and  say  to  us, 
"  Betrayers  !  "  '  Betrayers  of  what  ?  Christ 
commendeth  to  us  His  Church,  and  ttiou  be- 


saith,  "There  are  three  witnesses:  the  Spirit, 
and  the  water,  and  the  blood:  and  the  three 
are  one."  Lest  haply  thou  say  that  the  Spirit 
and  the  water  and  the  blood  are  diverse  sub- 


lievest  not:    shall   I  believe  thee,  when  thou    stances,   and  yet  it  is  said,    "  the   three  are 


re-vilest  my  parents?     Wouldest  thou  that  I 
should  believe  thee  about  the  "betrayers"? 


Do  thou  first  believe  Christ, 
believing?      Christ    is   God, 


What  is  worth 
thou   art   man: 


which  ought  to  be  believed  first  ?  Christ  has 
spread  His  Church  abroad  over  all  the  earth: 
I  say  it — despise  me:  the  gospel  speaks  — 
beware.  What  saith  the  gospel?  "It  be 
hoved  Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise  again  from 
the  dead  on  the  third  day,  and  that  repent 
ance  and  remission  of  sins  should  be  preached 


one:  "  for  this  cause  I  have  admonished  thee, 
that  thou  mistake  not  the  matter.  For  these 
are  mystical  expressions,^  in  which  the  point 
always  to  be  considered  is,  not  what  the  actual 


things  are,   but 


they  denote   as  signs: 


His  name. 


Where   remission  of  sins, 


there  the  Church  is.  How  the  Church  ? 
Why,  to  her  it  was  said,  "  To  thee  I  will  give 
the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  what 
soever  thou  shall  loose  on  earth  shall  be 
loosed  in  heaven,  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt 
bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven."  4 
Where  is  this  remission  of  sins  spread  abroad  ? 
''Through  all  nations,  beginning  at  Jerusa- 


since  they  are  signs  of  things,  and  what  they 
are  in  their  essence  is  one  tiling,  what  they 
are  in  their  signification  another.  If  then  we 
understand  the  things  signified,  we  do  find 
these  things  to  be  of  one  substance.  Thus, 
if  we  should  say,  the  rock  and  the  water  are 
one,  meaning  by  the  Rock,  Christ;  by  the 
water,  the  Holy  Ghost:  who  doubts  that  rock 
and  water  are  two  different  substances  ?  yet 
because  Christ  and  the  Holy  Spirit  are  of  one 
and  the  same  nature,  therefore  when  one 
says,  the  rock  and  the  water  are  one,  this 
can  be  rightly  taken  in  this  behalf,  that  these 
two  things  of  which  the  nature  is  diverse,  are 
signs  of  other  things  of  which  the  nature  is 


lem.  "  Lo,  believe  Christ !  But,  because  one.  Three  things  then  we  know  to  have  is- 
thou  art  well  aware  that  if  thou  shalt  believe  sued  from  the  Body  of  the  Lord  when  He 
Christ,  thou  wilt  not  have  anything  to  say  |  hung  upon  the  tree:  first,  the  spirit:  of  which 
about  "  betrayers,"  thou  wilt  needs  have  me  it  is  written,  "And  He  bowed  the  head  and 


to  believe  thee  when  thou  speakest  evil 
against  my  parents,  rather  than  thyself  be 
lieve  what  Christ  foretold  ! 


[The  remainder  of  the  Homily  is  wanting 
in  all  the  manuscripts.  It  seems  also  that 
St.  Augustin  was  hindered  from  completing 
the  exposition  of  the  entire  epistle,  as  he 
had  undertaken  to  do:  at  least  Possidius 
specifies  this  work  under  the  title,  "  In  Epist. 
Joannis  ad  Parthos  Tractatus  decem,"  and  it 
is  scarcely  likely  that  the  whole  of  the  fifth 
chapter  was  expounded  in  this  tenth  Homily. 
— Of  the  "  Sermons,"  there  are  none  upon 
the  remaining  part  of  this  epistle:  the  follow 
ing  extracts  from  other  works  of  St.  Augus 
tin  will  supply  what  will  be  most  desiderated: 
namely,  his  exposition  of  the  text  on  "the 
Three  Witnesses,"  of  "  the  sin  unto  death," 
and  of  the  twentieth  verse]. 

Contra  Maximinum,  lib.  ii.  c.  22  §.  3. 
i.   Joann.  v.  7.  8.  Tres  sunt  f cafes ;  spirit  us, 
et  aqua,  et  sanguis ;  et  (res  uttittn  sunf.* 

I  would  not  have  thee  mistake  that  place  in 


gave  up  the  spirit:"6  then,  as  His  side  was 
pierced  by  the  spear,  "blood  and  water." 
Which  three  things  if  we  look  at  as  they  are 
in  themselves,  they  are  in  substance  several 
and  distinct,  and  therefore  they  are  not  one. 
But  if  we  will  inquire  into  the  things  signified 
by  these,  there  not  unreasonably  comes  into 
our  thoughts  the  Trinity  itself,  which  is  the 
One,  Only,  True,  Supreme  God,  Father  and 
Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  of  whom  it  could  most 
truly  be  said,  "  There  are  Three  Witnesses, 
and  the  Three  are  One:  "  so  that  by  the  term 
Spirit  we  should  understand  God  the  Father 
to  be  signified;  as  indeed  it  was  concerning 
the  worshipping  of  Him  that  the  Lord  was 
speaking,  vvhen  He  said,  "God  is  a  Spirit:  "7 
by  the  term,  blood,  the  Son;  because  "the 
Word  was  made  flesh:"8  and  by  the  term 
wafer,  the  Holy  Ghost;  as,  when  Jesus  spake 
of  the  water  which  He  would  give  to  them 
that  thirst,  the  evangelist  saith,  "  But  this 
said  He  of  the  Spirit  which  they  that  believed 
on  Him  were  to  receive."9  Moreover,  that 
the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  are  "  Wit 
nesses,"  who  that  believes  the  Gospel  can 
doubt,  when  the  Son  saith,  "I  am  one  that 


the  epistle  of   John    the    apostle   where    he  |  bear  ;itnesg  of  myse,fj  nn'd  the'Father  that 


Tr,i,{iti>rfs. 


Luke  xxiv.  47 


M. 


Th<-  rlaiisc  of  "  the  Three  Heavenly  Witiie-M-s."  r.  7,  appears 


o  !><•  wholly  unknown  to  St.  Atiynstin  •  a  < •irnnn-.t.-iin-r 

hat    i  opirs   whii  h   hail    ih-- 
val  beti 


plained   l.y    Mill,   who  u 
"abounded  in    Africa"  in  the  inte 
the  close  of  the  fifth  century. 


7,  appi 
lett    III 


tween  St.  Cyprian  and 


sent    me,    He    beareth    witness    of   me.' 
Where,  though  the  Holy  Ghost  is  not  men- 


5  Sacramenta. 
8  John  i.  14. 


6  John 
9  John 


•J»hniv.24. 
•Juhnviii.  ,f 


M..MIIY   X.] 


'IIII.    KIMSTLK   01     ST.    JOHN. 


527 


tioiK-.!.  I  not  to  be  thought  separated 

from  them.  Howbeit  neither  concerning  the 
Spirit  hatli  He  kept  silence  elsewhere,  and 
that  He  too  is  a  witness  hath  been  sufficiently 
and  openly  shown.  For  in  promising  Him 
He  said,  "He  shall  bear  witness  of  me."1 
Tiiese  are  the  "Three  Witnesses,  and  the 
Tnree  are  One,  because  of  one  substance, 
lint  whereas,  the  signs  by  which  they  were 
signified  (ime  forth  from  the  Body  of  the 
Lord,  herein  they  figured  the  Church  preach- 
Trinity,  that  it  hath  one  and  the  same  j 
nature:  since  these  Three  in  threefold  man 
ner  signified  are  One,  and  the  Church  that 
preacheth  them  is  the  Body  of  Christ.  In 
this  manner  then  the  three  tilings  by  which 
they  are  signified  came  out  from  the  Body 
of  the  Lord:  like  as  from  the  Body  of  the  | 
Lord  sounded  forth  the  command  to  "  baptize 
the  nations  in  the  Name  of  the  Father  and  of ; 
the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."2  "  In  the 
name:  "  not,  In  the  names:  for  "  these  Three  | 
are  One,"  and  One  God  is  these  Three.  And 
if  in  any  other  way  this  depth  of  mystery 
which  we  read  in  John's  epistle  can  be  ex 
pounded  and  understood  agreeably  with  the 
Catholic  faith,  which  neither  confounds  nor 
divides  the  Trinity,  neither  believes  the  sub 
stances  diverse  nor  denies  that  the  persons 
are  three,  it  is  on  no  account  to  be  rejected. 
For  whenever  in  Holy  Scriptures  in  order  to 
exercise  the  minds  of  the  faithful  any  thing  is 
put  darkly,  it  is  to  be  joyfully  welcomed  if  it 
can  be  in  many  ,vays  but  not  unwisely  ex 
pounded. 

De  Sermons  Domini  in  Monte,  lib,  i.  22,  §  73. 

i  Joann.  v.  \  6.  Si  quis  scit  peccare  fratrem 
sniim  pt'cciitum  twn  ad  mortem,  postulabit,  et 
Jiil'it  illi  Dominus  vitam  qui  peccat  nan  ad  mor- 
ti-in ;  csf  antem  peccatum  ad  mortem;  non  pro 
illo  Jico  ut  rogef. 

But  what  presses  harder  upon  the  present 
question  [in  the  Lord's  command  of  praying 
for  enemies  and  persecutors]  is  that  saying 
of  the  apostle  John,  "  If  any  man  know  that 
his  brother  sinnetha'sin  not  unto  death,  he 
shall  ask,  and  the  Lord  will  give  life  to  that 
man  who  sinneth  not  unto  death:  but  there  is 
a  sin  unto  death:  not  for  that  do  I  say  that 
he  should  ask."  For  it  manifestly  shows  that 
there  are  some  "brethren'1  whom  we  are  not 
commanded  to  pray  for,  whereas  the  Lord 
bids  ufc  pray  even  for  our  persecutors.  Nor 
can  this  question  be  solved  except  we  acknowl 
edge,  that  there  are  some  sins  in  brethren 
that  are  worse  than  the  sin  of  enemies  in  per 
secuting.  That  "brethren"  mean  Chris- 


Johc 


Matt,  xxviii.  19. 


ti.ms,  may  be  proved  by  many  text-,  "t  Il-.ly 
Writ;  the  plainest,  however,  is  that  of  the 
apostle  which  he  puts  thus:  "  For  the  unbe 
lieving  husband  is  sanctified  in  the  wife,  and 
the  unbelieving  wife  is  sanctified  in  the 
brother. "'  For  he  has  not  added  our;  but 
thought  it  plain  enough,  when  by  the  term 
brother  he  spake  of  the  Christian  that  should 
have  an  unbelieving  wife.  And  accordingly 
he  says  just  afterwards,  "  But  if  the  unbeliev 
ing  depart,  let  her  depart:  but  a  brother  or 
sister  is  not  put  under  servitude  in  a  matter 
of  this  sort."  The  "sin,"  therefore,  of  a 
brother,  "unto  death,  "  I  suppose  to  be 
when,  after  the  acknowledging  of  God  through 
the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  one  fights 
against  the  brotherhood,  and  is  set  on  by  the 
fire-brands  of  hatred  4  against  the  very  grace 
through  which  he  was  reconciled  to  God.5 
But  "  a  sin  not  unto  death  "  is  when  a  person, 
not  having  alienated  his  love  from  his  brother, 
yet  through  some  infirmity  of  mind  may 
have  failed  to  exhibit  the  due  offices  of 
brotherhood.  Wherefore,  on  the  one  hand, 
the  Lord  on  the  cross  said,  "  Father,  forgive 
them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do,"6 
since  they  had  not  yet,  by  being  made  par 
takers  of  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  en 
tered  into  the  fellowship  of  holy  brotherhood; 
and  blessed  Stephen  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apos 
tles  prays  for  them  who  are  stoning  him;7 
because  they  had  not  yet  believed  Christ,  and 
were  not  fighting  against  that  grace  of  com 
munion.  On  the  other  hand,  the  apostle  Paul 
does  not  pray  for  Alexander,  and  the  reason 
I  suppose,  is,  that  this  man  was  a  brother, 
and  had  sinned  "unto  death,''  i.e.  by  oppos 
ing  the  brotherhood  in  a  spirit  of  hatred.8 
Whereas  for  such  as  had  not  broken  off  the 
bonds  of  love,  but  had  given  way  through 
fear,  he  prays  that  they  may  be  forgiven. 
For  so  he  says:  "Alexander  the  coppersmith 
did  me  much  evil:  the  Lord  reward  him  ac 
cording  to  his  works:  of  whom  be  thou  ware 
also;  for  he  hath  greatly  withstood  our 
words."9  Then  he  subjoins  for  whom  he 
prays,  saying,  "At  my  first  answer  no  man 


despai 


y   for  that  man  of  whom  w<-  do  not 
-•i. 

-  •  ii. 


3  i  Cor.  vii.  14,  15.  4  Infiilentitr. 

5  In  the  Kftractations,  i.  7,  he  remarks  on  this  pass 
have  not  positively  affirmed  it  to  be  so.  for  I  ha\<-  -..ml.  •  I  sup 
pose  :'  still  it  should  have  been  added,  '  if  in  this  so  wicked  perver 
sity  of  mind  he  departs  this  lite  :'  .since  \v<-  h.ive  >  .-Mainly  no  ri^ht 
to  il.-sp.ur  of  any  cvrr  so  wicked  man  so  lou^  as  hi-  is  in  this  life, 
and  it  cannot  be  unwise 

ir."     l 
o  I. uke  xxiii.   ;.,.  n.  59. 

traditional  interpretation  "f  t!  ::neniu.s. 

"This  'alone'    is  'the    sin    unto    death,'    r/c.   sin    which    has   no 

thought  of  repentance  :   which  sin   Judas  twiin;  disease. 1  withal,  was 

brought  to  eternal  death  *  of  an  un- 

fortfivinx  spirit,  inipenitently    persisted  in  :    "  Kor  th.-  ways  ot   the 

.    Solomon  I  Prov.  vii.  . 

if  .lAi.'M.i:'.  p    u'.  •*>:  "  '  The 

sin  unto  death  '  is.  when  a  person  having  sinned  is  callous  in  im 
penitence  "     I'omp.  S.  Hilar.   7V.  in  ft.  cxl.  sec.  8. 
9  2  Tim.  iv.  14-16. 


5*8 


Till;  WORKS  ()!•   ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[HOMII.Y     X. 


stood  with  me,  but  all  men  forsook  me:  I 
pray  God  that  it  may  not  be  laid  to  their 
charge."  This  difference  of  sins  it  is  that 
distinguishes  Judas  with  his  treason  from 
Peter  with  his  denial.  Not  that  to  him  who 
repenteth  there  is  to  be  no  forgiveness:  lest 
we  go  against  that  sentence  of  the  Lord,  in 
which  He  commands  always  to  forgive  the 
brother  who  asks  his  brother's  forgiveness:1 
but  that  the  mischief  of  that  sin  is,  that  the 
man  cannot  submit  to  the  humiliation  of  beg 
ging  for  pardon,  even  when  he  is  forced  by 
his  evil  conscience  both  to  acknowledge  and 
to  publish  his  sin.  For  when  Judas  had  said, 
"I  have  sinned,  in  that  I  have  betrayed  the 
innocent  blood,"2  he  went  and  hanged  him 
self  in  desperation,  rather  than  pray  for  for 
giveness  in  humiliation.  Wherefore  it  makes 
a  great  difference,  what  sort  of  repentance 
God  forgives.  For  many  are  much  quicker 
than  others  to  confess  that  they  have  sinned, 
and  are  angry  with  themselves  in  such  sort 
that  they  vehemently  wish  they  had  not 
sinned,  while  yet  they  cannot  lay  down  their 
pride,  and  submit  to  have  the  heart  humbled 
and  broken  so  as  to  implore  pardon:  a  state 
of  mind  which  one  may  well  believe  to  be, 
for  the  greatness  of  their  sin,  a  part  of  their 
already  begun  damnation. 

And  this,  perhaps,  it  is  "  to  sin  against  the 
Holy  Ghost:  "3  i.e.  through  malice  and  envy 
to  fight  against  brotherly  charity  after  re 
ceiving  the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit:  that 
sin  which  the  Lord  saith  hath  no  forgiveness, 

either  here  or  in  the  world  to  come 

For  the  Lord  in  saying  to  the  Pharisees, 
"  Whosoever  shall  speak  an  evil  word  against 
the  Son  of  Man,"4  &c.,  may  have  meant  to 
warn  them  to  come  to  the  grace  of  God,  and 
having  received  it,  not  to  sin  as  they  have 
now  sinned.  For  now  they  have  spoken  an 
evil  word  against  the  Son  of  Man,  and  it  may 
be  forgiven  them,  if  they  be  converted  and 
believe  and  receive  the  Holy  Spirit:  which 
when  they  have  received,  if  they  will  then 
have  ill-will  against  the  brotherhood  and  op 
pose  the  grace  they  have  received,  there  is  no 
forgiveness  for  them,  either  in  this  world  or 
in  the  world  to  come. 

Liber  de  Corrcptione  et  Gratia,  §35. 

By  this  grace  such  is  the  liberty  they  re 
ceive,  that  although  as  long  as  they  live  here 
they  have  to  fight  against  the  lusts  of  sins,  and 
are  overtaken  by  some  sins  for  which  they 


'  Luke  xvii.  3.  Matt,  xxvii.  4,  5. 

K'omp.  Serm.  Ixxi.  Scholl.  a/>  Mnttlmi,  p.  2y.>.  "  By  'the 
sin  unto  death,'  he  means  the  blasphemy  against  the  Holy  Ghost, 
•.st  the  Godhead,''  p.  147.  "SoOM  say  that  it  is  the  blas 
phemy  against  the  Holy  Ghost.the  sin  of  misbelief  («oueo»ri<rTtos)." 

4  Matt.  xii.  24-33. 


must  daily  pray,  "  Forgive  us  our  debts,"  yet 
they  no  longer  serve  the  sin  which  is  unto 
death,  of  which  the  apostle  John  saith, 
"  There  is  a  sin  unto  death,  I  do  not  say  that 
he  shall  ask  for  that."  Concerning  which 
sin  (since  it  is  not  expressed)  many  different 
opinions  maybe  formed:  but  I  affirm  that  sin 
to  be  the  forsaking  until  death5  the  "faith 
which  worketh  by  love. 

Contra  Maximinuni,  lib.  ii.  c.  14,  §  2,  3. 

I  Joann.  v.  20.  "  Ut  si  inns  in  rrro  J-ilio  ejus 
Jesu  Christ o  j  ipse  tst  verus  Deus  et  vita 
ccterna. ' '  ( 

When  ye  read,  **  That  we  may  be  in  His 
true  Son  Jesus  Christ/'  think  of  the  "true 
Son"  of  God.  But  this  Son  ye  in  no  wise 
think  to  be  the  true  Son  of  God,  if  ye  deny 
Him  to  be  begotten  of  the  substance  of  the 
Father.  For  was  He  already  Son  of  Man  and 
by  gift  of  God  became  Son  of  God,  begotten 
indeed  of  God,  but  by  grace,  not  by  nature  ? 
Or,  though  not  Son  of  Man,  yet  was  He  some 
sort  of  creature  which,  by  God's  changing  it, 
was  converted  into  Son  of  God  ?  If  you  mean 
nothing  of  this  sort,  then  was  He  either  be 
gotten  of  nothing,  or  of  some  substance. 
But  thou  hast  relieved  us  from  all  fear  of 
having  to  suppose  tbat  you  affirm  the  Son  of 
God  to  be  of  nothing,  for  thou  hast  declared 
that  this  is  not  your  meaning.  Therefore, 
He  is  of  some  substance.  If  not  of  the  sub 
stance  of  the  Father,  then  of  what  ?  Tell  me. 
But  ye  cannot  find  any  other  .  .  .  Conse 
quently,  the  Father  and  the  Son  are  of  one 
and  the  same  substance.  This  is  the  Jloinii- 
usioti  ....  In  the  Scriptures  both  you  and 


5  So  in  the  Retractatio 


upra,  note  b.     Sf  in  hac  ta 


5  o    n  te      etractatons,  su 

erata  mentis  perversitate  finicrit  fianc  vitani  :  "unto  death," 
in  the  sense,  "  until  death. 

6  St.  Hilary  de  Trin.  vi.o,  c'tes  the  passage  with  additions,  of 
which  there  are  no  traces  in  the  MSS.  and  other  authorities;   {>HI',I 
scinius  quod  h'ilius    Dei  venit  et  concarnatns  cst  profiler  >i,>s,  et 
passus  est,  et  resurgens  de  mortuis  assutnpsit  nos,  et  dedit  nobis 
intellectual    optimum,  ut  intclligamus  rerum,  et  simus  in  vero 
filio  ejus  Jesu    Christo  :  hie  est  verus  [Deus   <>»/.],  et  rita  eeter- 
na,  et  resurrect  io  nostra  :  and   it  is  remarkable  that  his  contem 
porary  Faustinus  (the  Luciferiani  in  his  work  de  'I'rinitate,  gives 
the  passage   totidem   verfiis,  except  that  it  is  doubtful  whether  he 
read  ;-crns  Deus,  and   that  after  resurrectio  tn'slra  he  adds  in 
ipio.—  Vulg.  et  simus  in  vero  Fijio  ejus.     Hit   est  Terns  Deus,  et 
vita  crterna.     In  the  Greek,  the  second  li-  TW  is  omitted  by  St. 
Cyril,  Alex.  St.  Hasil,  adr.  Eunnm.  and  others;'  and  this  is  the  re 
ceived  reading  of  the  Latins.—  There  is  nocertain  evidence  to  show 

Athana-ms  Oral.  ,.  A>uin.  in.  24,  si-c.  4;  25,  sec.  16;  iv.  9,  init. 
and  St.  Basil  ,;,/7'.  1-lunpttt.  iv.  p.  ^04,  unhesitatingly  refer  the  OVTOS 
to  the  nearest  antecedent:  "And  we  are  in  Him  the  True," 
(even)  "fa  His  Son  Jew*  Christ:  this"  (Jesus  Chri.su  "is  the 
True  God  and  eternal  Life:"  and  the  I,atin  Fathers  from  St. 
Hilary  and  St.  Ambrose  downward  allege  the  text  as  an  explicit 

u  of  the  true  Godhead  of  the  Son.—  St.  Kpiphanius  .(>;- 
carat,  c.  4,  seems  to  have  read  in  Ins  copy,  ofro?  ivriv  o  aATjOii-o? 
<eoi  £COT)  aiuii'ios,  omitting  0fbs  (as  Hilary):  for  he  says:  "And 
though  the  epithet  '  Very  (  ',<«\  '  iflto?  aAijffivbf)  is  not  added."  /.  e. 
though  this  oCros,  meaning  Jesus  Christ,  is  not  expressly  called 
the  true  God  (as  in  v.  20,  where  he  seems  to  have  had  in  his  copy 
the  reading  iiKiflivov  &tov\,  "we  do  but  accumulate  madne-s  if  we 
d.in-  1.  1  blaspheme  and  to  say  that  the  Son  is  not  Very  God.  r<>r 

Ji  that  111  the  One  |  who  is  so  ial!rdlwe  take  in  the 
whole  I  rimty.and  from  the  Father  [as  Very  God]  understand  the 
Son  also  to  be  Very  GoU." 


HOMII.Y     X.| 


THE   EPIST1  I-  OF  ST.  JOHN. 


529 


we  read,  "That  we  maybe  in  His  true  Son 
Jesus  Christ;  He  is  the  true  God  and  Kternal 
Life."  Let  both  parties  yield  to  such 
•y  evidence.  Tell  us  then,  whether 
this  "true  Son"  of  (!od,  discriminated  as  lie 
i-;  by  the  property  of  this  name  from  those 
who  are  sons  by  grace,1  be  of  no  substance  or 
of  some  substance.  Thou  sayest,  "  I  do  not 
say  that  He  is  of  no  substance,  lest  I  should 
say  that  He  is  of  nothing."  He  is  therefore 
of  some  substance:  I  ask,  of  what?  If  not 
of  the  substance  of  the  Father,  seek  another. 
If  thou  findest  not  another,  as  indeed  thou 
canst  find  none  at  all,  then  acknowledge  it  to 
be  the  Father's,  and  confess  the  Son  Homo- 
usios,  "of  one  substance  with  the  Father." 
Flesh  is  begotten  of  flesh,  the  Son  of  flesh  is 
begotten  of  the  substance  of  the  flesh.  Set 
aside  corruption,  reject  from  the  eye  of  the 
mind  all  carnal  passions,  and  behold  "  the 
invisible  things  of  God  understood  by  the 
means  of  the  things  that  are  made.''2  Be 
lieve  that  the  Creator  who  hath  given  flesh 
power  to  beget  flesh,  who  hath  given  parents 
power  of  the  substance  of  the  flesh  to  gener 
ate  "true  sons"  of  flesh,  much  more  had 
power  to  beget  a  "  true  Son  "  of  His  own  sub 
stance,  and  to  have  one  substance  with  the 
true  Son,  the  spiritual  incorruption  remaining 
and  carnal  corruption  being  altogether  alien 
therefrom.3 

Collatio  cum  Maximino,  §  14. 

If  He  is  begotten,  He  is  Son:  if  He  is 
Son,  He  is  the  "true  Son,"  because  Only- 
Begotten.  For  we  also  are  called  sons:  He 
Son  by  nature,  we  sons  by  grace  .  .  .  To  say 
that  because  He  is  begotten,  He  is  of  another 
nature,  is  to  deny  that  He  is  the  "  true  Son.'' 
Now  we  have  the  Scripture:  "  That  we  may 
be  in  His  true  Son  Jesus  Christ;  He  is  the 
true  God  and  Eternal  Life."4  Why  "true 
God  "?  because  "  true  Son  "  of  God.  For 
if  He  has  given  to  animals  this  property,  that 


'  Si-rin.  cxl.  3.  "Seek  in  the  Kpistle  of  this  same  John  what 
he  hath  said  of  Christ.  '  Relieve  '  lert&umu)  saith  he,  '  on  His 
true  Son  |,-sus  Christ,  He  is  the  True  God  and  Kternal  I.ifr!' 
What  meaneth.  '  True  God  and  Eternal  Life  >'  The  '  I 
of  God  is -the  True  God  and  Ktrrnal  I.ifr.'  Why  has  he  said, 
'On  Mis  I  ru,  S..n  ?'  Hecause  God  hath  many  sons,  thrrctor.-  Hr 

distinguished   by  adding  that  He  was  the  '   I 

Not  just  l>y  s.iyiiik;  that  H<-  is  tin- Son,  1ml  liy  adding,  .is  I  s.n,i. 
that  Hi-  is  tin-  '  True  Son'  :  H<-  was  t<>  !>••  .IiM  m^iiishi-d  because  of 
the  many  sons  wh.  mi  God  hath  1-oru  i.  r,  He  by 

We,  made  Mch    by  th<-  Kalhrr  through    Him;    Hr,  what 
the  Father  is,  Ilinis,  I;  i-,  also:    wlial  God  is,  an-  • 

1  Rom.  i.  TO.  3  Serm.  cxxxix.  3,  4. 

4  C.  Sertn.  Ariart,  »cc.  i. 
34 


what  they  beget  shall  be  none  other  than  what 
they  themselves  are:  man  begets  man,  dog 
begets  dog,  and  should  God  not  beget  (iod  3 
If  then  He  is  of  the  same  substance,  why 
callest  thou  Him  less  ?  Is  it  because  when  a 
human  father  begets  a  son,  though  human 
beget  human,  yet  greater  begets  less  ?  If  so, 
then  let  us  wait  for  Christ  to  grow  as  human 
beings  grow  whom  human  beings  beget!5 
But  if  Christ,  ever  since  He  was  begotten  (and 
this  was  not  in  time  but  from  eternity),  is 
what  He  is,  and  yet  is  less  than  the  Father, 
at  that  rate  the  human  condition  is  the  better 
of  the  two:  for  a  human  being  at  any  rate 
can  grow,  and  has  the  property  of  sooner  or 
later  attaining  to  the  age,  to  the  strength  of 
the  father;  but  He  never,  then  how  is  He  a 
"  true  Son"  ? 

De  Trinitate,  lib.  i.  6,  §  9. 

And  if  the  Son  be  not  of  the  same  sub 
stance  as  the  Father,  then  is  He  a  made  sub 
stance:  if  a  made  substance,  then  not  "all 
things  were  made  by  Him:  "  but,  "  all  tilings 
were  made  by  Him;"6  therefore,  He  is  of 
one  and  the  same  substance  with  the  Father. 
And  therefore,  not  only  God,  but  True  (or, 
Very)  God.  Which  the  same  John  doth  most 
openly  affirm  in  his  epistle:  Scimus  quod 
Fill  us  Dei  venerit  et  dederit  nobis  intellcctum  ut 
cognoscamus  verum  Dcum,  ct  simus  in  vcro 
Filio  ejus  Jesu  Christo.  Hie  est  verus  Deus 
et  vita  ffterna."  4<  We  know  that  the  Son  of 
God  is  come;  and  hath  given  us  an  under 
standing  that  we  may  (learn  to)  know  the 
True  God,7  and  may  be  in  His  true  Son  Jesus 
Christ.  This  is  the  True  God  and  Eternal 
Life." 

10.  Hence  also  by  consequence  we  under 
stand,  that  what  the  apostle  Paul  saith, 
"  Who  only  hath  immortality,"  8  he  saith  not 
merely  of  the  Father,  but  of  the  One  and 
Only  God,  which  the  Trinity  itself  is.  For 
neither  is  the."  Eternal  Life  "  itself  mortal  in 
respect  of  any  mutability:  and  consequently, 
since  the  Son  of  God  "  is  Eternal  Life,"  He 
also  is  to  be  understood  together  with  the 
Father,  where  it  is  said,  "  Who  only  hath 
immortality. 


5  C.  Maximin.  i.  5. 

7  So  rov  a\r,8ivov  e«6v.      St. 


6  John  i.  i. 

Basil.  St.  CVril.  Af.  1'trt.  Arab. 
Aeth.  Ceif.  Al.  (AAH0EINONHN,  which  abbreviated  manner  of 
writing  may  explain  the  omission)  and  several  other  MSS.  Heda, 
vtrum  Drum.  Fiicundut  :  quod  tit  verum  (TO  aAq0t»'br). 


ST.  AUGUSTIN: 
TWO    BOOKS 

OF 

SOLI  LOQUIES. 


TRANSLATED    BY 


REV.  CHARLES  C.  STARBUCK,  A.M.. 

ANDOVER,    MASS. 


PREFACE   TO    SOLILOQUIES. 


THE  two  books  of  the  Soliloquia  were,  by  the  statement  of  the  author  himself  (Lib.  I.  17),  written  in 
his  thirty-third  year.  They  were  therefore  written  immediately  after  his  baptism,  evidently  in  the  rural  retreat 
of  Cassiacum,  in  Upper  Italy,  belonging  to  his  friend  Verecundus,  to  which  we  know  that  he  retreated  for 
awhile  after  he  had  been  received  into  the  Church.  It  is  therefore  his  earliest  Christian  work.  And  as  it  is 
early,  so  it  is  raw.  His  new-found  faith  struggles  to  justify  itself  through  an  intricate  course  of  reasoning,  in 
which  he  confuses  helplessly  the  forms  of  logic  with  the  substance  of  truth.  However,  though  crude,  his  essen 
tial  characteristics  appear  distinctly  in  it  ;  his  power  of  reasoning,  his  wide  observation  of  fundamental  facts, 
and  of  mental  processes  and  experiences,  his  love  of  his  friends,  and  above  all  of  Alypius,  his  ardent  aspirations 
after  supernal  light,  his  deep  devotion,  which,  however,  has  not  availed  to  subdue  the  artificialities  of  rhetoric 
into  childlike  simplicity. 

He  expresses  in  the  work  a  longing  for  continued  support  to  his  tender  faith  from  Ambrose,  who,  how 
ever,  is  described  as  having  temporarily  withdrawn  into  some  Trans-alpine  seclusion,  where  Augustin  complains 
that  he  hardly  knows  how  to  reach  him  even  by  a  letter. 

He  appears  in  the  work  as  yet  undetermined  as  to  the  form  and  course  of  his  future  life.  The  vast  serv 
ices  he  was  to  render  the  Church  do  not  appear  even  to  glimmer  on  his  mind.  Indeed,  the  life  of  leisure,  de 
voted  only,  with  some  chosen  friends,  to  the  abstract  contemplation  .of  God,  which  forms  his  ideal,  shows  how 
very  faintly  penetrated  he  yet  was  by  the  Christian  idea  of  serviceableness.  as,  in  fact,  there  is  in  the  Soliloqttiit 
very  little  that  is  distinctively  Christian,  either  in  doctrine  or  experience.  But  all  the  greatness  of  his  following 
life  lies  shut  up  in  his  pliancy  to  the  will  of  God,  here  expressed,  and  in  his  conviction  that  the  God  whom 
Christ  reveals  is  the  one  true  God. 

In  his  Retractationes  he  recalls  a  few  sentences  of  this  work,  one,  which  he  seems  to  regard  as  inadver 
tently  so  expressed  as  to  be  capable  of  a  Sabellian  turn  ;  another,  which  he  regards  as  savoring  too  much  of  a 
Gnostic  or  Neo-I'laionic  abhorrence  of  matter  ;  and  another,  in  which  he  treats  the  effects  of  mental  discipline 
as  Plato  does,  supposing  it  to  bring  out  into  distinctness  knowledge  already  possessed  and  forgotten.  In  the 
Rttractationes  he  gives  the  true  explanation,  namely,  thatjthe  mind  is  so  constituted,  that  by  the  light  of  the  Eter 
nal  Reason  present  in  it,  it  is  capable  according  to  its  measure  of  apprehending  truths  of  which  it  had  never  be 
fore  laid  hold. 

I  have  endeavored,  in  the  rendering,  to  avail  myself,  wherever  requisite,  of  the  elder  idioms  of  our  tongue, 
which  appear  more  germane,  both  to  the  matter  and  manner  of  St.  Augustin,  than  the  unmellowed  English  of 
the  nineteenth  century. 


CONTENTS  OF  THE  SOLILOQUIES. 


BOOK  FIRST. 

CHAPTER    I. 
Exordium:  Beginning  of  discourse  between  Augustin  and  Reason. 

CHAPTERS   II— V. 
Prayer  of  ascription  and  of  supplication  for  the  revelation  of  God 


CHAPTERS  XII— XV. 
Conditions  of  coming  to  the  vision  of  God       ...... 

CHAPTERS     XVI— XXVI. 
Searching  self-examination  as  to  the  presence  of  these  conditions     .         . 


CHAPTERS    XXVII.    XXVIII. 
Considerations  concerning  Truth  and  her  Seat         .         .         ... 


PAGE 

537 


537-538 


CHAPTERS   VI— XI. 

Comparison  of  the  knowledge  of  God  with  the  knowledge  of  Man,  and  of  Geometry         .         .         .         539~54^ 


541-542 


542-546 


540-547 


BOOK    SECOND. 

CHAPTERS    I— XXXVI. 

Various  and  discursive  reasonings  concerning  Truth,  Falsity,  Similitude,  Dissimilitude,  the  Soul  as  the  only,  and 
therefore  indefectible,  subject  of  eternal  Truth,  and  therefore  as  being  immortal,  reasonings  hardly  capable 
of  In-ill^  st:iti'il  in  any  distinct  and  successive  order.  Illustrated  by  various  facts  of  nature,  personal  expe- 
rifiurs.  iiu-taphysical  and  logical  considerations,  and  by  various  principles  of  Dialectics,  and  reinforced  by  a 
brief,  but  deeply  reverent  reference  to  the  authority  of  Ambrose,  as  greater  than  all  the  author's  musings. 

547—560 


TWO    BOOKS   OF   SOLILOQUIES. 


BOOK    I. 


As  I  had  been  long  revolving  with  myself 
matters  many  and  various,  and  had  been  for 
many  days  sedulously  inquiring  both  concern 
ing  myself  and  my  chief  good,  or  what  of  evil 
there  was  to  be  avoided  by  me:  suddenly 
some  one  addresses  me,  whether  I  myself,  or 
some  other  one,  within  me  or  without,  I  know 
not.  For  this  very  thing  is  what  I  chiefly  toil 
to  know.  There  says  then  to  me,  let  us  call 
it  REASON, — Behold,  assuming  that  you  had 
discovered  somewhat,  to  whose  charge  would 
you  commit  it,  that  you  might  go  on  with 
other  things  ?  A.  To  the  memory,  no  doubt. 
R.  But  is  the  force  of  memory  so  great  as  to 
keep  safely  everything  that  may  have  been 
wrought  out  in  thought  ?  A.  It  hardly  could, 
nay  indeed  it  certainly  could  not.  R. 
Therefore  you  must  write.  But  what  are  you 
to  do,  seeing  that  your  health  recoils  from 
the  labor  of  writing?  nor  will  these  things 
bear  to  be  dictated,  seeing  they  consent  not 
but  with  utter  solitude.  A.  True.  There 
fore  I  am  wholly  at  a  loss  what  to  say.  R. 
Entreat  of  God  health  and  help,  that  you  may 
the  better  compass  your  desires,  and  commit 
to  writing  this  very  petition,  that  you  may  be 
the  more  courageous  in  the  offspring  of  your 
brain.  Then,  what  you  discover  sum  up  in  a 
few  brief  conclusions.  Nor  care  just  now  to 
invite  a  crowd  of  readers;  it  will  suffice  if 
these  things  find  audience  among  the  few  of 
thine  own  city. 

2.  ( )  r,o(l,  Kramer  of  the  universe,  grant  me 
first  rightly  to  invoke  Thee;  then  to  show  my 
self  worthy  to  be  heard  by  Thee;  lastly,  dci-n 
to  set  me  free.  God,  through  whom  all  things. 
which  of  themselves  were  not,  tend  to  be. 
God,  who  withholdest  from  perishing  even 
that  which  seems  to  be  mutually  destructive. 


God,  who,  out  of  nothing,  hast  created  this 
world,  which  the  eyes  of  all  perceive  to  be 
most  beautiful.  God,  who  dost  not  cause 
evil,  but  causest  that  it  be  not  most  evil. 
God,  who  to  the  few  that  flee  for  refuge  to 
that  which  truly  is,  showest  evil  to  be  noth 
ing.  God,  through  whom  the  universe,  even 
taking  in  its  sinister  side,  is  perfect.  God, 
from  whom  things  most  widely  at  variance 
with  Thee  effect  no  dissonance,  since  worser 
things  are  included  in  one  plan  with  better. 
God,  who  art  loved,  wittingly  or  unwittingly, 
by  everything  that  is  capable  of  loving.  God, 
in  whom  are  all  things,  to  whom  nevertheless 
neither  the  vileness  of  any  creature  is  vile, 
nor  its  wickedness  harmful,  nor  its  error  er 
roneous.  God,  who  hast  not  willed  that  any 
but  the  pure  should  know  the  truth.  God. 
the  Father  of  truth,  the  Father  of  wisdom, 
the  Father  of  the  true  and  crowning  life,  the 
Father  of  blessedness,  the  Father  of  that 
which  is  good  and  fair,  the  Father  of  intelli 
gible  light,  the  Father  of  our  awakening  and 
illumination,  the  Father  of  the  pledge  by 
which  we  are  admonished  to  return  to  Thee. 

3.  Thee  I  invoke,  O  God,  the  Truth,  in 
whom  and  from  whom  and  through  whom  all 
things  are  true  which  anywhere  are  true, 
(iod,  the  Wisdom,  in  whom  and  from  whom 
and  through  whom  all  things  are  wise  which 
anywhere  are  wise.  God,  the  true  and  crown 
ing  Life,  in  whom  and  from  whom  and 
through  whom  all  things  live,  which  truly  and 
supremely  live.  God,  the  Blessedness,  in 
whom  and  from  whom  and  through  whom  all 
things  are  blessed,  which  anywhere  are 
blessed.  God,  the  Good  and  Fair,  in  \\*hom 
and  from  whom  and  through  whom  all  things 
are  good  and  fair,  which  anywhere  are  good 


538 


Tin:  WORKS  OF  ST.  A.UGUSTIN. 


and  fair.  God,  the  intelligible  Light,  in 
whom  and  from  whom  and  through  whom  all 
things  intelligibly  shine,  which  anywhere  in 
telligibly  shine.  God,  whose  kingdom  is  that 
whole  world  of  which  sense  has  no  ken.  God, 
from  whose  kingdom  a  law  is  even  derived 
down  upon  these  lower  realms.  God,  from 
whom  to  be  turned  away,  is  to  fall:  to  whom 
to  be  turned  back,  is  to  rise  again:  in  whom 
to  abide,  is  to  stand  firm.  God,  from  whom 
to  go  forth,  is  to  die:  to  whom  to  return,  is  to 
revive:  in  whom  to  have  our  dwelling,  is 
to  live.  God,  whom  no  one  loses,  unless  de 
ceived:  whom  no  one  seeks,  unless  stirred  up: 
whom  no  one  finds,  unless  made  pure.  God, 
whom  to  forsake,  is  one  thing  with  perishing; 
towards  whom  to  tend,  is  one  thing  with  liv 
ing:  whom  to  see  is  one  thing  with  having. 
God,  towards  whom  faith  rouses  us,  hope  lifts 
us  up,  with  whom  love  joins  us.  God, 
through  whom  we  overcome  the  enemy,  Thee 
I  entreat.  God,  through  whose  gift  it  is, 
that  we  do  not  perish  utterly.  God,  by 
whom  we  are  warned  to  watch.  God,  by 
whom  we  distinguish  good  from  ill.  God,  by 
whom  we  flee  evil,  and  follow  good.  God, 
through  whom  we  yield  not  to  calamities. 
God,  through  whom  we  faithfully  serve  and 
benignantly  govern.  God,  through  whom  we 
learn  those  things  to  be  another's  which  afore 
time  we  accounted  ours,  and  those  things  to 
be  ours  which  we  used  to  account  as  belong 
ing  to  another.  God,  through  whom  the  baits 
and  enticements  of  evil  things  have  no  power 
to  hold  us.  God,  through  whom  it  is  that 
diminished  possessions  leave  ourselves  com 
plete.  God,  through  whom  our  better  good 
is  not  subject  to  a  worse.  God,  through 
whom  death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory.  God, 
who  dost  turn  us  to  Thyself.  God,  who  dost 
strip  us  of  that  which  is  not,  and  arrayest  us 
in  that  which  is.  God,  who  dost  make  us 
worthy  to  be  heard.  God,  who  dost  fortify 
us.  God,  who  leadest  us  into  all  truth.  God, 
who  speakest  to  us  only  good,  who  neither 
terrifiest  into  madness  nor  sufferest  another 
so  to  do.  God,  who  callest  us  back  into  the 
way.  God,  who  leadest  us  to  the  door  of  life. 
God,  who  causest  it  to  be  opened  to  them  that 
knock.  God,  who  givest  us  the  bread  of  life. 
God,  through  whom  we  thirst  for  the  draught, 
which  being  drunk  we  never  thirst.  God. 
who  dost  convince  the  world  of  sin,  of  right 
eousness,  and  of  judgment.  God,  through 
whom  it  is  that  we  are  not  commoved  by 
those  who  refuse  to  believe.  God,  through 
whom  we  disapprove  the  error  of  those,  who 
think  that  there  are  no  merits  of  souls  before 
Thee.  God,  through  whom  it  comes  that  we 
are  not  in  bondage  to  the  weak  and  beggarly 


elements.  God,  who  cleansest  us,  and  pre- 
parest  us  for  Divine  rewards,  to  me  propitious 
come  Thou. 

4.  Whatever  has  been  said  by  me,  Thou 
the  only  God,  do  Thou  come  to  my  help,  the 
one  true  and  eternal  substance,  where  is  no 
discord,   no  confusion,  no  shifting,   no  indi 
gence,  no  death.     Where  is  supreme  concord, 
supreme    evidence,    supreme    steadfastness, 
supreme  fullness,  and   life  supreme.     Where 
nothing     is     lacking,      nothing     redundant. 
Where  Begetter  and  Begotten  are  one.    God, 
whom  all  things  serve,  that  serve,  to  whom  is 
compliant  every  virtuous  soul.   By  whose  laws 
the  poles  revolve,  the  stars  fulfill  their  courses, 
the  sun  vivifies  the  day,  the  moon  tempers 
the  night:  and   all  the  framework  of  things, 
day  after  day  by  vicissitude  of  light  and  gloom, 
month  after  month  by  waxings  and  wanings  of 
the  moon,  year  after  year  by  orderly  succes 
sions  of  spring  and  summer  and  fall  and  win 
ter,  cycle  after  cycle  by  accomplished  concur 
rences  of  the   solar  course,  and   through  the 
mighty  orbs  of  time,   folding  and  refolding 
upon  themselves,  as  the  stars  still  recur  to 
their  first  conjunctions,  maintains,  so  far  as 
this  merely  visible  matter  allows,  the  mighty 
constancy  of   things.     God,  by  whose   ever- 
during  laws  the  stable  motion  of  shifting  things 
is  suffered  to  feel  no  perturbation,  the  throng 
ing  course  of  circling  ages   is  ever  recalled 
anew  to  the  image   of  immovable  quiet:  by 
whose  laws  the  choice  of  the  soul  is  free,  and 
to  the  good  rewards  and  to  the  evil  pains  are 
distributed  by  necessities  settled   throughout 
the  nature  of  everything.     God,  from  whom 
distil  even  to  us  all  benefits,  by  whom  all  evils 
are  withheld  from  us.     God,  above  whom  is 
nothing,   beyond   whom   is   nothing,   without 
whom  is  nothing.     God,  under  whom  is  the 
whole,  in  whom  is  the  whole,  with  whom  is  the 
whole.     Who  hast  made  man  after  Thine  im 
age  and  likeness,  which  he  discovers,  who  has 
come  to  know  himself.     Hear  me,  hear  me, 
graciously  hear  me,  my  God,   my  Lord,   my 
King,  my  Father,  my  Cause,  my  Hope,  my 
Wealth,  my  Honor,  my  House,  my  Country, 
my  Health,  my  Light,  my  Life.     Hear,  hear, 
hear  me  graciously,   in  that  way,  all  Thine 
own,  which  though   known  to  few  is  to  those 
few  known  so  well. 

5.  Henceforth  Thee  alone  do  I  love,  Thee 
alone  I  follow,  Thee  alone  I  seek,  Thee  alone 
am  I  prepared  to  serve,  for  Thou  alone  art 
Lord   by  a  just  title,  of  Thy  dominion  do  I 
desire  to  be.     Direct,  I  pray,  and  command 
whatever  Thou  wilt,   but  heal  and  open  my 
ears,  that  I  may  hear  Thine  utterances.    Heal 
and  open  my  eyes,  that   I  may  behold  Thy 
significations  of   command.      Drive  delusion 


1J.M.K      I.j 


SOLILOQUIES, 


from  me,  th.it  I  may  recognize  i 
me  whither  I  must  tend,  to  behold  Thee, 
and  1  hope  that  I  shall  do  all  things  Thou 
maycst  enjoin.  ()  Lord,  most  merciful  Father, 
,  I  pray.  Thy  fugitive;  enough  already, 
surely,  have!  been  punished,  Ion-  enough 
have  I  served  Thine  enemies,  whom  Thou 
hast  under  Thy  feet,  long  enough  have  I  been 
a  sport  of  fallacies.  Receive  me  fleeing  from 
these,  Thy  house-born  servant,  for  did  not 
these  receive  me,  though  another  Master's, 
when  I  was  fleeing  from  Thee  ?  To  Thee  I 
feel  I  must  return:  I  knock;  may  Thy  door 
be  opened  to  me;  teach  me  the  way  to  Thee. 
Nothing  else  have  I  than  the  will:  nothing 
else  do  I  know  than  that  fleeting  and  falling 
things  are  to  be  spurned,  fixed  and  everlasting 
things  to  be  sought.  This  I  do,  Father,  be 
cause  this  alone  I  know,  but  from  what  quar 
ter  to  approach  Thee  I  do  not  know.  Do 
Thou  instruct  me,  show  me,  give  me  my 
provision  for  the  way.  If  it  is  by  faith  that 
those  find  Thee,  who  take  refuge  with  Thee, 
then  grant  faith:  if  by  virtue,  virtue:  if  by 
knowledge,  knowledge.  Augment  in  me, 
faith,  hope,  and  charity.  O  goodness  of  Thine, 
singular  and  most  to  be  admired  ! 

7.  A.  Behold  I  have  prayed  to  God.  A'. 
What  then  wouldst  thou  know?  A.  All  these 
things  which  I  have  prayed  for.  A'.  Sum 
them  up  in  brief.  A.  God  and  the  soul,  that 
is  what  I  desire  to  know.  ft.  Nothing  more? 
A.  Nothing  whatever.  ft.  Therefore  begin 
to  inquire.  But  first  explain  how,  if  God 
should  be  set  forth  to  thee,  thou  wouldst  be 
able  to  say,  It  is  enough.  A.  I  know  not  how 
He  is  to  be  so  set  forth  to  me  as  that  I  shall 
say,  It  is  enough:  for  I  believe  not  that  I 
know  anything  in  such  wise  as  I  desire  to 
know  God.  ft.  What  then  are  we  to  do? 
Dost  thou  not  judge  that  first  thou  oughtest 
to  know,  what  it  is  to  know  God  sufficiently, 
so  that  arriving  at  that  point,  thou  mayst  seek 
no  farther?  A.  So  I  judge,  indeed:  but  how 
that  is  to  be  brought  about,  I  see  not.  For 
what  have  I  ever  understood  like  to  God,  so 
that  I  could  say,  As  I  understand  this,  so 
would  I  fain  understand  God  ?  A.  Not  hav 
ing  yet  made  acquaintance  with  God,  whence 
hast  thou  come  to  know  that  thou  knowest 
nothing  like  to  God?  A.  Because  if  I  knew 
anything  like  God,  I  should  doubtless  love  it: 
but  now  I  love  nothing  else  than  God  and  the 
soul,  neither  of  which  I  know.  A'.  Do  you 
then  not  love  your  friends  ?  ./.  Loving  them, 
how  can  I  otherwise  than  love  the  soul  ?  A'. 
Do  youthen  love  gnats  and  bugs  similarly  ? 
.-/.  The  animating  soul  I  said  I  loved,  not 
animils.  ft.  Men  are  then  either  not  your 
friends,  or  you  do  not  love  them.  For  every 


man  is  an  animal,  and  you  say  that  you  do 
not  love  animals.  ./.  Men  are  my  I: 
and  I  love  them,  not  in  that  they  are  animals, 
but  in  that  they  are  men,  that  is,  in  that  they 
are  animated  by  rational  souls,  which  I  love 
even  in  highwaymen.  For  I  may  with  -<»><\ 


right  in  any  man  love  reason,  even  though  I 
rightly  hate  him,  who  uses  ill  that  which  I 
love.  Therefore  I  love  my  friends  the  more, 
the  more  worthily  they  use  their  rational  soul, 
or  certainly  the  more  earnestly  they  desire  to 
use  it  worthily. 

8.  ft.  I  allow  so  much:  but  yet  if  any  one 
should  say  to  thee,  I  will  give  thee  to  know 
God  as  well  as  thou  dost  know  Alypius, wouldst 
thou  not  give  thanks,  and  say,  It  is  enough  * 
A.  I  should  give  thanks  indeed:  but  I  should 
not  say,  It  is  enough,  ft.  Why,  I  pray  ?  A. 
Because  I  do  not  even  know  God  so  well  as  I 
know  Alypius,  and  yet  I  do  not  know  Alypius 
well  enough,  ft.  Beware  then  lest  shame 
lessly  thou  wouldest  fain  be  satisfied  in  the 
knowledge  of  God,  who  hast  not  even  such 
a  knowledge  of  Alypius  as  satisfies.  A.  Non 
sequitur.  For,  comparing  it  with  the  stars, 
what  is  of  lower  accountthan  my  supper?  and 
yet  what  I  shall  sup  on  to-morrow  I  know 
not:  but  in  what  sign  the  moon  will  be,  I  need 
take  no  shame  to  profess  that  I  know.  ft. 
Is  it  then  enough  for  thee  to  know  God  as  well 
as  thou  dost  know  in  what  sign  the  moon  will 
hold  her  course  to-morrow?  A.  It  is  not 
enough,  for  this  I  test  by  the  senses.  But  I 
do  not  know  whether  or  not  either  God,  or 
some  hidden  cause  of  nature  may  suddenly 
change  the  moon's  ordinary  course,  which  if 
it  came  to  pass,  would  render  false  all  that  I 
had  presumed,  ft.  And  believest  thou  that 
this  may  happen  ?  A.  I  do  not  believe.  But 
1  at  least  am  seeking  what  I  may  know,  not 
what  I  may  believe.  Now  everything  that 
we  know,  we  may  with  reason  perhaps  be  said 
to  believe,  but  not  to  know  everything  which 
we  believe,  ft.  In  this  matter  therefore  you 
reject  all  testimony  of  the  senses  ?  A.  I 
utterly  reject  it.  ft.  That  friend  of  yours 
then,  whom  you  say  you  do  not  yet  know,  is 
it  by  sense  that  you  wish  to  know  him  or  by 
intellectual  perception  ?  A.  Whatever  in  him 
I  know  by  sense,  if  indeed  anything  is  known 
by  sense,  is  both  mean  and  sufficiently  known. 
But  that  part  which  bears  affection  tome,  that 
is,  the  mind  itself,  I  desire  to  know  intellec 
tually.  A'.  Can  it,  indeed,  be  known  other 
wise  ?  . /.  llv  no  means.  A'.  Do  you  ven 
ture  then  to  call  your  friend,  your  inmost 
friend,  unknown  to  you?  A.  Why  not  ven 
ture  ?  For  I  account  most  equitable  that  law 
of  friendship,  by  which  it  is  prescribed,  that 
as  one  is  to  bear  no  less,  so  lie  is  to  bear  no 


540 


THE   WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[IJiH.K       I. 


more  affection  to  his  friend  than  to  himself. 
Since  then  I  know  not  myself,  what  injury 
does  he  suffer,  whom  I  declare  to  be  unknown 
to  me,  above  all  since  (as  I  believe)  he  does 
not  even  know  himself?  A'.  If  then  these 
things  which  thou  wouldst  fain  know,  are  of 
such  a  sort  as  are  to  be  intellectually  attained, 
when  I  said  it  was  shameless  in  thee  to  crave 
to  know  God,  when  thou  knowest  not  even 
Alypius,  thou  oughtest  not  to  have  urged  to 
me  the  similitude  of  thy  supper  and  the  moon, 
if  these  things,  as  thou  hast  said,  appertain 
to  sense. 

9.  But  let  that  go,  and  now  answer  to  this: 
if  those  things  which  Plato  and  Plot-inus  have 
said  concerning  God  are  true,  is  it  enough  lor 
thee  to  know  God  as  they  knew  him  ?  A- 
Even  allowing  that  those  things  which  they 
have  said  are  true,  does  it  follow  at  once  that 
they  knew  them  ?  For  many  copiously  utter 
what  they  do  not  know,  as  I  myself  have  said 
that  I  desired  to  know  all  those  things  for 
which  I  prayed,  which  I  should  not  desire  if 
I  knew  them  already:  yet  I  was  none  the  less 
able  to  enumerate  them  all.  For  I  have 
enumerated  not  what  I  intellectually  com 
prehended,  but  things  which  I  have  gathered 
from  all  sides  and  entrusted  to  my  memory, 
and  to  which  I  yield  as  ample  a  faith  as  I  am 
able:  but  to  know  is  another  thing.  R.  Tell 
me,  I  pray,  do  you  at  least  know  in  geometry 
what  a  line  is  ?  A.  So  much  I  certainly  know. 
jR.  Nor  in  professing  so  do  you  stand  in  awe 
of  the  Academicians  *  A.  In  no  wise.  For 
they,  as  wise  men,  would  not  run  the  risk  of 
erring:  but  I  am  not  wise.  Therefore  as  yet 
I  do  not  shrink  from  professing  the  knowledge 
of  those  things  which  I  have  come  to  know. 
But  if,  as  I  desire,  I  should  ever  have 
attained  to  wisdom,  I  will  do  what  I  may  find 
her  to  suggest.  R.  I  except  not  thereto:  but, 
I  had  begun  to  inquire,  as  you  know  a  line, 
do  you  also  know  a  ball,  or,  as  they  say,  a 
sphere?  A.  I  do.  R.  Both  alike,  or  one 
more,  one  less?  A.  Just  alike.  I  am  alto 
gether  certain  of  both.  R.  Have  you 
grasped  these  by  the  senses  or  the  intellect  ? 
A.  Nay,  I  have  essayed  the  senses  in  this 
matter  as  a  ship.  For  after  they  had  carried 
me  to  the  place  I  was  aiming  for,  and  I  had 
dismissed  them,  and  was  now,  as  it  were,  left 
on  dry  ground,  where  I  began  to  turn  these 
things  over  in  thought,  the  oscillations  of  the 
senses  long  continued  to  swim  in  my  brain. 
Wherefore  it  seems  to  me  that  it  would  be 
easier  to  sail  on  dry  land,  than  to  learn  ge 
ometry  by  the  senses,  although  young  begin 
ners  seem  to  derive  some  help  from  them. 
R.  Then  you  do  not  hesitate  to  call  what 
ever  acquaintance  you  have  with  such  things, 


Knowledge?  A.  Not  if  the  Stoics  permit, 
who  attribute  knowledge  only  to  the  Wise 
Man.  Certainly  I  maintain  myself  to  have 
the  perception  of  these  things,  which  they 
concede  even  to  folly:  but  neither  am  I  at 
all  in  any  great  fear  of  the  stoics:  unquestion 
ably  I  hold  those  things  which  thou  hast 
questioned  me  of  in  knowledge:  proceed  now 
[  till  I  see  to  what  end  thou  questionest  me  of 
;  them.  R.  Be  not  too  eager,  we  are  not 
i  pressed  for  time.  But  give  strict  heed,  lest 
you  should  make  some  rash  concession.  I 
would  fain  give  thee  the  joy  of  things  wherein 
thou  fearest  not  to  slip,  and  dost  thou  enjoin 
haste,  as  in  a  matter  of  no  moment?  A.  God 
grant  the  event  as  thou  forecastest  it.  There 
fore  question  at  thy  will,  and  rebuke  me 
more  sharply  if  I  err  so  again. 

10.  R.  It  is  then  plain  to  you  that  a  line 
cannot    possibly    be     longitudinally   divided 
into    two?      A.    Plainly    so.      R.    What    of 
a  cross-section  ?    A.  This,  of  course,  is  possi 
ble  to  infinity.     R.  But  is  it  equally  apparent 
that  if,  beginning  with  the  centre,  you  make 
any  sections  you  please  of  a  sphere,  no  two 
resulting  circles  will  be  equal  ?   A.  Itis  equally 
apparent.     R.  What  are  a  line  and  a  sphere  ? 
Do  they  seem  to  you  to  be  identical,  or  some 
what  different?   A.  Who  does  not  see  that  they 
differ  very  much  ?     R.   If  then  you  know  this 
and  that  equally  well,  while  yet,  as  you  ac 
knowledge,  they  differ  widely  from  each  other, 
there   must   be   an  indifferent  knowledge  of 
different  things.     A.  Who  ever  disputed  it? 
R.  You,    a   little   while   ago.     For    when    I 
asked  thee  what  way  of  knowing  God  was  in 
thy  desire,  such  that  thou  couldst  say,  It  is 
enough,  thou  didst  answer  that  thou  couldst 
not  explain  this,  because  thou  hadst  no  per 
ception  held  in  such  a  way  as  that  in  which 
thou    didst   desire  to  perceive  God,  for  that 
thou   didst   know   nothing    like    God.     What 
then?     Are   a   line    and    sphere   alike?     A. 
Absurd.     R.  But  I  had  asked,  not  what  you 
knew  such  as  God,  but  what  you  knew  so  as 
you  desire  to  know  God.     For  you    know  a 
line  in  such  wise  as  you  know  a  sphere,  al 
though  the  properties  of  a  line  are  not  those 
of  a   sphere.     Wherefore   answer  whether  it 
would  suffice  you  to  know  God  in  such  wise 
as  you  know  that  geometrical  ball;  that  is,  to 
be  equally  without  doubt  concerning  God  as 
concerning  that. 

11.  A.   Pardon    me,    however   vehemently 
thou  ur^e  and  argue,  yet  I  dare  not  say  that  I 
wisli   so  to  know  God  as  I  know  these  things. 
For  not  only  the  objects  of  the  knowledge, 
but  the  knowledge  itself  appears  to  be  unlike. 
First,  because  the  line  and  the  ball  are  not  so 
unlike,  but  that  one  science  includes  the  knowl- 


BOLILOQ 


54' 


edge  of  them  l)0th:  luit  no  geometrician  has  case  stands  as  I  say,  and  that,  if  she  is  • 
ever  prok-ssed  to  teaeli  God.  'I'iien,  it  the  at  all,  she  can  only  see  on  these  terms,  but 
knowledge  of  God  and  of  these  things  were  despairs  of  being ;  healed;  does  she  not  utterly 
f(jinvalent,  I  should  rejoice  as  mncii  to  know  contemn  herself  and  cast  herself  away,  refus- 
tueni  as  I  am  persuaded  that  I  should  rejoice  ing  to  comply  with  the  prescriptions  of  the 
if  God  were  known  by  me.  But  now  I  hold  physician?  A.  Beyond  doubt,  above  all  be- 
these  things  in  the  deepest  disdain  in  com-  cause  by  sickness  remedies  must  needs  be 
parison  wit u  Him,  so  that  sometimes  it  seems  felt  as  severe.  R.  Then  Hope  must  be 
to  me  that  if  I  understood  Him,  and  that  in  added  to  Faith:  A.  So  I  believe.  R. 
that  manner  in  which  He  can  be  seen,  all  these  ,  Moreover,  if  she  both  believes  that  the  case 
things  would  perish  out  of  my  knowledge:  '  stands  so,  and  hopes  that  she  could  be  healed, 
since  even  now  by  reason  of  the  love  of  Him  j  yet  loves  not,  desires  not  the  promised  light 


they  scarce  come  into  my  mind.     K. 
that   thou   wouldst    rejoice   more   and 


Allow 
much 


more  in  knowing  God  than  in  knowing  these 
things,  yet  not  by  a  different  perception  of 
the  things;  unless  we  are  to  say  that  thou  be- 
holdest  with  a  different  vision  the  earth  and 
the  serenity  of  the  skies,  although  the  aspect 
of  this  latter  soothes  and  delights  thee  far 
more  than  of  the  former.  But  unless  your 
eyes  are  deceived,  I  believe  that,  if  asked 


itself,  and  thinks  that  she  ought  meanwhile 
to  be  content  with  her  darkness,  which  now, 
by  use,  has  become  pleasant  to  her;  does  she 
not  none  the  less  reject  the  physician  ?  A. 
Beyond  doubt.  R.  Therefore  Charity  must 
needs  make  a  third.  A.  Nothing  so  needful. 
R.  Without  these  three  things  therefore  no 
mind  is  healed,  so  that  it  can  see,  that  is,  un 
derstand  its  God. 

13.  When  therefore  the  mind  has  come  to 


whether  you  are  as  well  assured  that  you  see  ]  have  sound  eyes,  what  next?  A.  That  she 
earth  as  neaven,  you  ought  to  answer  yes,  al- !  look.  R.  The  mind's  act  of  looking  is  Rea- 
though  you  are  not  as  much  delighted  by  the  J  son;  but  because  it  does  not  follow  that 
earth  and  her  beauty  as  by  the  beauty  and  j  every  one  who  looks  sees,  a  right  and  perfect 
magnificence  of  heaven.  A.  I  am  moved,  j  act  of  looking,  that  is,  one  followed  by  vis- 
I  confess,  by  this  similitude,  and  am  brought  ion,  is  called  Virtue;  for  Virtue  is  either 
to  allow  that  by  how  much  earth  differs  in  j  right  or  perfect  Reason.  But  even  the  power 
her  kind  from  heaven,  so  much  do  those  dem- 1  of  vision,  though  the  eyes  be  now  healed, 


onstrations  of  the  sciences,  true  and  certain 
as  they  are,  differ  from  the  intelligible  maj 


esty  of  God. 

12.  R.  Thou 
For  the   Reason  which  is  talking  with  thee 
promises  so  to  demonstrate  God  to  thy  mind, 


art   moved  to   good    effect. 


has  not  force  to  turn  them  to  the  light,  unless 
these  three  things  abide.  Faith,  whereby  the 
soul  believes  that  thing,  to  which  she  is  asked 
to  turn  her  gaze,  is  of  such  sort,  that  being  seen 
it  will  give  blessedness;  Hope,  whereby  the 
mind  judges  that  if  she  looks  attentively,  she 


as  the  sun  demonstrates  himself  to  the  eyes,  will  see;  Charity,  whereby  she  desires  to  see 
For  the  senses  of  the  soul  are  as  it  were  the  I  and  to  be  filled  with  the  enjoyment  of  the 
eyes  of  the  mind;  but  all  the  certainties  of;  sight.  The  attentive  view  is  now  followed 
the  sciences  are  like  those  things  which  are  i  by  the  very  vision  of  God,  which  is  the  end 
brought  to  light  by  the  sun,  that  they  may  j  of  looking;  not  because  the  power  of  behold- 


be  seen,  the  earth,  for  instance,  and  the 
things  upon  it:  while  God  is  Himself  the  Il 
luminator.  Now  I,  Reason,  am  that  in  the 
mind,  which  the  act  of  looking  is  in  the  eyes. 
For  to  have  eyes  is  not  the  same  as  to  look; 
nor  again  to  look  the  same  as  to  see.  There 
fore  the  soul  has  need  of  three  distinct 
things:  to  have  eyes,  such  as  it  can  use  to 
good  advantage,  to  look,  and  to  see.  Sound 
eyes,  that  means  the  mind  pure  from  all  stain 
of  the  body,  that  is,  now  remote  and  purged 
from  the  lusts  of  mortal  things:  which,  in  the 
first  condition,  nothing  else  accomplishes  for 
her  than  Faith.  For  what  cannot  yet  be 


ng  ceases,  but  because  it  has  nothing  further 
to  which  it  can  turn  itself:  and  this  is  the 
truly  perfect  virtue,  Virtue  arriving  at  its  end, 
which  is  followed  by  the  life  of  blessedness. 
Now  this  vision  itself  is  that  apprehension 
which  is  in  the  soul,  compounded  of  the  ap 
prehending  subject  and  of  that  which  is  ap 
prehended:  as  in  like  manner  seeing  with  the 
eyes  results  from  the  conjunction  of  the  sense 
and  the  object  of  sense,  either  of  which  be 
ing  withdrawn,  seeing  becomes  impossible. 

14.  Therefore  when  the  soul  has  obtained 
to  see,  that  is,  to  apprehend  God,  let  us  see 
whether  those  three  things  are  still  necessary 


shown  forth  to  her  stained  and  languishing  to  her.  Why  should  Faith  be  necessary  to 
with  sins,  because,  unless  sound,  she  cannot  the  soul,  when  she  now  sees?  Or  Hope,  when 
see,  if  she  does  not  believe  that  otherwise  she  already  grasps  ?  But  from  Charity  not 
she  will  not  see,  she  gives  no  heed  to  her  only  is  nothing  diminished,  but  rather  it  re- 
health.  But  what  if  she  believes  that  the  ceives  large  increase.  For  when  the  soul  has 


542 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[BOOK  I. 


once  seen  that  unique  and  unfalsified  Beauty, 
she  will  love  it  the  more,  and  unless  she  shall 
with  great  love  have  fastened  her  gaze  there 
on,  nor  any  way  declined  from  the  view,  she 
will  not  be  able  to  abide  in  that  most  blessed 
vision.  But  while  the  soul  is  in  this  body, 
even  though  she  most  fully  sees,  that  is,  ap 
prehends  God;  yet,  because  the  bodily  senses 
still  have  their  proper  effect,  if  they  have  no 
prevalency  to  mislead,  yet  they  are  not  with 
out  a  certain  power  to  call  in  doubt,  therefore 
that  may  be  called  Faith  whereby  these  dis 
positions  are  resisted,  and  the  opposing  truth 
affirmed.  Moreover,  in  this  life,  although 
the  soul  is  already  blessed  in  the  apprehen 
sion  of  God;  yet,  because  she  endures  many 
irksome  pains  of  the  body,  she  has  occasion 
of  hope  that  after  death  all  these  incommodi- 
ties  will  have  ceased  to  be.  Therefore 
neither  does  Hope,  so  long  as  she  is  in  this 
life,  desert  the  soul.  But  when  after  this  life 
she  shall  have  wholly  collected  herself  in 
God,  Charity  remains  whereby  she  is  retained 
there.  For  neither  can  she  be  said  to  have 
Faith  that  those  things  are  true,  when  she 
is  solicited  by  no  interruption  of  falsities;  nor 
does  anything  remain  for  her  to  hope,  whereas 
she  securely  possesses  the  whole.  Three 
things  therefore  pertain  to  the  soul,  that  she 
be  sane,  that  she  behold,  that  she  see.  And 
other  three,  Faith,  Hope,  Charity,  for  the 
first  and  second  of  those  three  conditions  are 
always  necessary:  for  the  third  in  this  life 
all;  after  this  life,  Charity  alone. 

15.  Now  listen,  so  far  as  the  present  time 
requires,  while  from  that  similitude  of  sensi 
ble  things  I  now  teach  also  something  con 
cerning  God.  Namely,  God  is  intelligible, 
not  sensible,  intelligible  also  are  those  de 
monstrations  of  the  schools;  nevertheless  they 
differ  very  widely.  For  as  the  earth  is  visi 
ble,  so  is  light;  but  the  earth,  unless  illumined 
by  light,  cannot  be  seen.  Therefore  those 
things  also  which  are  taught  in  the  schools, 
which  no  one  who  understands  them  doubts 
in  the  least  to  be  absolutely  true,  we  must  be 
lieve  to  be  incapable  of  being  understood,  un 
less  they  are  illuminated  by  somewhat  else, 
as  it  were  a  sun  of  their  own.  Therefore  as 
in  this  visible  sun  we  may  observe  three 
things:  that  he  is,  that  he  shines^  that  he  il 
luminates:  so  in  that  God  most  far  withdrawn 
whom  thou  wouldst  fain  apprehend,  there  are 
these  three  things:  that  He  is,  that  He  is  ap 
prehended,  and  that  He  makes  other  things 
to  be  apprehended.  These  two,  God  and 
thyself,  I  dare  promise  that  I  can  teach  thee 
to  understand.  But  give  answer  how  thou 
receivest  these  things,  as  probable,  or  as  true  ? 
.  /.  As  probable  certainly;  and,  as  I  must  own, 


I  have  been  hoping  more:  for  excepting  those 
two  illustrations  of  the  line  and  the  globe, 
nothing  has  been  said  by  thee  which  I  should 
dare  to  say  that  I  know.  R.  It  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at:  for  nothing  has  been  yet  so  set 
forth,  as  that  it  exacts  of  thee  perception. 

16.  But  why  do  we  delay  ?     Let  us  set  out: 
but   first    let    us    see    (for   this   comes    first) 
whether   we  are    in    a   sound    state.     A.   Do 
thou  see  to  it,  if  either  in  thyself  or  in  me 
thit  hast  any  discernment  of  what  is  to  be 
found;    I  will  answer,  being  inquired  of,  to 
my  best  knowledge.     R.   Do  you    love  any 
thing  besides  the  knowledge  of  God  and  your 
self  ?     A.   I  might  answer,  that  I  love  noth 
ing   besides,   having   regard    to   my  present 
feelings;  but  I  should  be  safer  to  say  that  I 
do  not  know.     For  it  hath  often  chanced  to 
me,  that  when  I  believed  I  was  open  to  noth 
ing  else,  something  nevertheless  would  come 
into  the  mind  which  stung  me  otherwise  than 
I  had  presumed.     So  often,  when  something, 
conceived  in  thought,  disturbed  me  little,  yet 
when  it  came  in  fact  it  disquieted  me  more 
than  I  supposed:  but  now  I  do  not  see  myself 
sensible    to    perturbation    except    by    three 
things;    by  the  fear  of  losing  those  whom  I 
love,   by  the    fear   of  pain,   by  the   fear   of 
death.     R.    You  love,  therefore,  both  a  life 
associated   with   those   dearest   to   you,   and 
your  own  good  health,  and  your  bodily  life 
itself:    or   you   would    not   fear   the    loss   of 
these.     A.  It  is  so,  I  acknowledge.     R.  Now 
therefore,  the    fact  that  all  your  friends  are 
not  with  you,  and  that  your  health  is  not  very 
firm,    occasions    you     some    uneasiness    of 
mind.     For  that  I   see  to   be   implied.     A. 
Thou  seest  rightly;    I  am  not  able  to  deny  it. 
R.   How  if  you  should  suddenly  feel  and  find 
yourself  sound  in  health,  and  should  see  all 
whom  you  love  and  who  love  each  other,  en 
joying  in  your  company  liberal  ease  ?    would 
you  not  think  it  right  to  give  way  in  reason 
able  measure  even  to  transports  of  joy?     A. 
In  a  measure,   undoubtedly.      Nay,   if  these 
things,  as    thou   sayest,  bechanced    me   sud 
denly,  how  could  I  contain  myself?  how  could 
I  possibly  even  dissemble  joy  of  such  a  sort  ? 
R.  As  yet,   therefore,  you  are  tossed  about 
by  all  the  diseases  and  perturbations  of  the 
mind.     What  shamelessness,  then,  that  with 
such  eyes  you  should  wish  to  see  such  a  Sun  ! 
A.   Thy  conclusion  then  is,  that  I  am  utterly 
ignorant  how  far  I  am  advanced  in   health, 
how  far  disease  has  receded,  or   how  far   it 
remains.     Suppose  me  to  grant  this. 

17.  R.   Do  you  not  see  that  these  eyes  of 
the  body,  even    when    sound,  are   often    so 
smitten  by  the  light  of  this  visible  sun,   as 
to  be    compelled  to  turn   away  and  to  take 


BOOK  i.] 


SOLILOQ1  IBS, 


543 


refu-e  ID  their  own  obscurity  ?  Now  you  are  |  pleasant  viands  ?  How  much  do  you  care  for 
proposing  to  yoiirsell  what  you  are  moved  to  them  ?  .-/.  Those  things  which  I  have  deter- 
•eck,  but  are  not  proposing  to  yourself  wliat  mined  not  to  eat,  tempt  me  not.  As  to  those 
you  desire  to  see:  and  yet  I  would  discuss  which  I  have  not  cut  off,  I  allow  that  I  take 
this  very  thing  with  you,  what  advance  you  pleasure  in  their  present  use,  yet  so  that  with- 


think  we  h.ive  made.  Are  you  without  desire  of 
riches?  A.  Tins  at  least  no  longer  chiefly. 
For,  being  now  three  and  thirty  years  of  age, 
(Or  almost  these  fourteen  years  last  past  I  have 
ceased  to  desire  them,  nor  have  I  sought  any 
thing  from  them,  if  by  chance  they  should  be 
offered,  beyond  the  necessities  of  life  and  such 
a  use  of  them  as  agrees  with  the  state  of  a 
freeman.  A  single  book  of  Cicero  has 
thoroughly  persuaded  me,  that  riches  are 
in  no  wise  to  be  craved,  but  that  if  they  come 
in  our  way,  they  are  to  be  with  the  utmost 


wisdom  and  caution  administered.     R. 
of   honors  ?     A.    I    confess    that   it    is 


What 
only 


lately,  and  as  it  were  yesterday,  that  I  have 


ceased  to  desire  these.     R.   What  of 


wife 


Are  you  not  sometimes  charmed  by  the  image 
of  a  beautiful,  modest,  complying  maiden, 
well  lettered,  or  of  parts  that  can  easily  be 
trained  by  you,  bringing  you  too  (being  a 
despiser  of  riches)  just  so  large  a  dowry  as 
will  relieve  your  leisure  of  all  burden  on  her 
account  ?  It  is  implied,  moreover,  that  you 
have  good  hope  of  coming  to  no  grief  through 
her.  A.  However  much  thou  please  to  por 
tray  her  and  adorn  her  with  all  manner  of 
gifts,  I  have  determined  that  nothing  is  so 
much  to  be  avoided  by  me  as  such  a  bed- 
fellow:  I  perceive  that  nothing  more  saps 
the  citadel  of  manly  strength,  whether  of 
mind  or  body,  than  female  blandishments  and 
familiarities.  Therefore,  if  (which  I  have 
not  yet  discovered)  it  appertains  to  the  office 
of  a  wise  man  to  desire  offspring,  whoever 
for  this  reason  only  comes  into  this  connec 
tion,  may  appear  to  me  worthy  of  admira 
tion,  but  in  no  wise  a  model  for  imitation:  for 
there  is  more  peril  in  the  essay,  than  felicity 
in  the  accomplishment.  Wherefore,  I  believe, 
I  am  contradicting  neither  justice  nor  utility 
in  providing  for  the  liberty  of  my  mind  by 
neither  desiring,  nor  seeking,  nor  taking  a 
wife.  ft.  I  inquire  not  now  what  thou  hast 
determined,  but  whether  thou  dost  yet  strug 
gle,  or  hast  indeed  already  overcome  desire 
itself.  For  we  are  considering  the  soundness 
of  thine  eyes.  A.  Nothing  of  the  kind  do 
I  any  way  seek,  nothing  do  I  desire;  it  is  even 
with  horror  and  loathing  that  I  recall  such 
things  to  mind.  What  more  wouldst  thou  ? 
And  day  by  day  does  this  benefit  grow  upon 


out  any  disturbance  of  mind,  either  the  sight 
or  the  taste  of  them  may  be  withdrawn.  And 
when  they  are  entirely  absent,  no  craving  of 
them  dares  intrude  itself  to  the  disturbance 
of  my  thoughts.  But  no  need  to  inquire 
concerning  food  or  drink,  or  baths:  so  much 
of  these  do  I  seek  to  have,  as  is  profitable  for 
the  confirmation  of  health. 

1 8.  K.    Thou  hast    made    great  progress: 
yet  those  things    which   remain   in  order   to 
the  seeing  of  that  light,  very  greatly  impede. 
But  I  am  aiming  at  something  which  appears 
to  me  very  easy  to  be    shown;    that  either 
nothing  remains  to  us  to  be  subdued,  or  that 
we   have  made  no  advance  at    all,  and  that 
the  taint  of  all  those  things  which  we  believed 
cut  away  remains.     For  I  ask  of  thee,  if  thou 
wert  persuaded  that  thou  couldst  live  with  the 
throng  of  those  dearest  to  thee  in  the  study 
and  pursuit  of    wisdom  on  no  other    terms 
than  as  possessed  of  an  estate  ample  enough 
to  meet  all  your  joint  necessities;    would  you 
not  desire  and  seek  for  wealth  ?     A.  I  should. 
R.   How,  if  it  should  also  be  clear,  that  you 
would  be  to  many  a  master  of  wisdom,  if  your 
authority  in  teaching  were  supported  by  civil 
honor,  and    that  even    these  your   familiars 
would  not  be  able  to  put  a  bridle  on  their 
cravings  except  as  they  too  were   in  honor, 
and    that    this    could    only  accrue  to   them 
through  your  honors  and  dignity  ?   would  not 
honor  then  be  a  worthy  object  of  desire,  and 
of  strenuous  pursuit  ?   A.  It  is  as  thou  sayest. 
R.  I  do  not  consider  the  question  of  a  wife; 
for  perhaps  no  such  necessity  could  arise  of 
marrying  one:  although  if  it  were  certain  that 
by  her  ample  patrimony  all  those  could  be 
sustained  whom  thou  wouldst  fain  have  live 
at  ease  with  thee  in  one  place,  and  that  more 
over  with   her  cordial  consent,   especially   if 
she  were  of  a  family  of  such  nobility  as  that 
through  her  those  honors  which  you  have  just 
granted,  in  our  hypothesis,  to  be  necessary, 
could  easily  be  attained,  I  do  not  know  that 
it  would  be  any  part  of  your  duty  to  contemn 
these    advantages,  thus    obtained.      A.    But 
how  could  I  hope  for  such  things  ? 

19.  R.   You  speak  as  if  I  were  now  inquir 
ing  what  you  hope.      I  am  not  inquiring  what, 
denied,   delights  not,   but  what  delights,  ob 
tained.     For  an   extinguished   plague   is  one 


me:  for  the  more  I  grosv  in  the  hope  of  be-  thing,  a  dormant  plague  another.  And,  as 
holding  that  supernal  Beauty  with  the  desire  some  wise  men  say,  all  pools  are  so  unsound, 
of  which  I  glow,  the  more  my  love  and  delight  I  that  they  always  smell  of  every  foul  thing, 
is  wholly  converted  thereto.  R.  What  of  I  although  you  do  not  always  perceive  this,  bt:t 


544 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[HOOK    I. 


only  when  you  stir  them  up.  And  there  is 
a  wide  difference  whether  a  craving  is  sup 
pressed  by  hopelessness  of  compassing  it,  or 
is  expelled  by  saneness  of  soul.  A.  Although 
I  am  not  able  to  answer  thee,  never  wilt  thou, 
for  all  this,  persuade  me  that  in  this  affection 
of  mind  in  which  I  now  perceive  myself  to 
be,  I  have  advantaged  nothing.  R.  This, 
doubtless,  appears  so  to  thee,  because  al 
though  thou  mightest  desire  these  things,  yet 
they  would  not  seem  to  thee  objects  of  desire 
on  their  own  account,  but  for  ulterior  ends. 
A.  That  is  what  1  was  endeavoring  to  say: 
for  when  I  desired  riches,  I  desired  them  for 
this  reason,  that  I  might  be  rich.  And  those 
honors,  the  lust  of  which  I  have  declared  my 
self  to  have  but  even  now  thoroughly  over 
come,  I  craved  by  a  mere  delight  in  some 
intrinsic  splendor  I  imputed  to  them;  and 
nothing  else  did  I  expect  in  a  wife,  when  I 
expected,  than  the  reputable  enjoyment  of 
voluptuousness.  Then  there  was  in  me  a 
veritable  craving  for  those  things;  now  I 
utterly  contemn  them  all:  but  if  I  cannot 
except  through  these  find  a  passage  to  those 
things  which  in  effect  I  desire,  I  do  not  pursue 
them  as  things  to  be  embraced,  but  accept 
them  as  things  to  be  allowed.  R.  A  thor 
oughly  excellent  distinction:  for  neither  do 
I  impute  unworthiness  to  the  desire  of  any 
lower  things  that  are  sought  on  account  of 
something  else. 

20.  But  I  ask  of  thee,  why  thou  dost  desire, 
either  that  the  persons  whom  thou  affectest 
should  live,  or  that  they  should  live  with  thee. 
A.  That  together  and  concordantly  we 
might  inquire  out  God  and  our  souls.  For 
so,  whichever  first  discovers  aught,  easily 
introduces  his  companions  into  it.  R.  What 
if  these  will  not  inquire  ?  A.  I  would  persuade 
them  into  the  love  of  it.  R.  What  if  you 
could  not,  be  it  that  they  suppose  themselves 
to  have  already  found,  or  think  that  such 
things  are  beyond  discovery,  or  that  they  are 
entangled  in  cares  and  cravings  of  other 
things  ?  A.  We  will  use  our  best  endeavors, 
I  with  them,  and  they  with  me.  R.  What 


that  either  in  this  body  or  after  leaving  it 
thou  couldst  equally  well  attain  unto  wisdom, 
wouldst  thou  care  whether  it  was  in  this  or 
another  life  that  thou  didst  enjoy  that  which 
thou  supremely  affectest  ?  A.  If  I  ascertained 
that  I  was  to  experience  nothing  worse,  which 
would  lead  me  back  from  the  point  to  which 
I  had  made  progress,  I  should  not  care.  R. 
Then  thy  present  dread  of  death  rests  on  the 
fear  of  being  involved  in  some  worse  evil, 
whereby  the  Divine  cognition  may  be  borne 
away  from  thee.  A.  Not  solely  such  a  possi 
ble  loss  do  I  dread,  if  I  have  any  right  under 
standing  of  the  fact,  but  also  lest  access  should 
be  barred  me  into  those  things  which  I  am 
now  eager  to  explore;  although  what  I  already 
possess,  I  believe  will  remain  with  me.  R. 
Therefore  not  for  the  sake  of  this  life  in  itself, 
but  for  the  sake  of  wisdom  thou  dost  desire 
the  continuance  of  this  life.  A.  It  is  the 
truth. 

21.  R.  We  have  pain  of  body  left,  which 
perhaps  moves  thee  of  its  proper  force.  A. 
Nor  indeed  do  I  grievously  dread  even  that 
for  any  other  reason  than  that  it  impedes  me 
in  my  research.  For  although  of  late  I  have 
been  grievously  tormented  with  attacks  of 
toothache,  so  that  I  was  not  suffered  to 
revolve  aught  in  my  mind  except  such  things 
as  I  have  been  engaged  in  learning;  while,  as 
the  whole  intensity  of  my  mind  was  requisite 
for  new  advances,!  was  entirely  restrained 
from  making  these:  yet  it  seemed  to  me,  that 
if  the  essential  refulgence  of  Truth  would  dis 
close  itself  to  me,  I  should  either  not  have 
felt  that  pain,  or  certainly  would  have  made 
no  account  of  it.  But  although  I  have  never 
had  anything  severer  to  bear,  yet,  often  re 
flecting  how  much  severer  the  pains  are  which 
I  might  have  to  bear,  I  am  sometimes  forced 
to  agree  with  Cornelius  Celsus,  who  says  that 
the  supreme  good  is  wisdom,  and  the  supreme 
evil  bodily  pain.  For  since,  says  he,  we  are 
composed  of  two  parts,  namely,  mind  and 
body,  of  which  the  former  part,  the  mind,  is 
the  better,  the  body  the  worse;  the  highest 
good  is  the  best  of  the  better  part,  and  the 


if  even  their  presence  impedes  you  in  your  chiefest  evil  the  worst  of  the  inferior;  now 
inquiries?  would  you  not  choose  and  endea- j  the  best  thing  in  the  mind  is  wisdom,  and  the 
vor  that  they  should  not  be  with  you,  rather  j  worst  thing  in  the  body  is  pain.  It  is  con- 
than  be  with  you  on  such  terms  J  A.  I  own  eluded,  therefore,  and  as  I  fancy,  most  justly, 
it  is  as  thou  sayest.  R.  It  is  not  therefore  that  the  chief  good  of  man  is  to  be  wise,  and 
on  its  own  account  that  you  crave  either  their  his  chief  evil,  to  suffer  pain.  R.  We  will 


life  or  presence,  but  as  an   auxiliary  in  the 


consider  this  later.     For  perchance  Wisdom 


discovery  of  wisdom  ?  A.  I  thoroughly  agree  herself,  towards  which  we  strive,  will  bring 
to  that.  R.  Further:  if  you  were  certain  that  us  to  be  of  another  mind.  But  if  she  should 
your  own  life  were  an  impediment  to  your  I  show  this  to  be  true,  we  will  then  not  hesitate 
comprehension  of  wisdom,  should  you  desire  j  to  adhere  to  this  your  present  judgment  con- 
its  continuance?  A.  I  should  utterly  eschew  I  cerning  the  highest  good  and  the  deepest  ill. 
it.  R.  Furthermore:  if  thou  wert  taught,  I  22.  Now  let  us  inquire  concerning  this, 


15....K     I.J 


SOLILOQUIES. 


545 


what  sort  of  lover  of  \\isdotn  thon  art,  whom 
thoti  desirest  to  behold  \vit.i  most  cha ••• 
and  embrace,  and  to  grasp  her '  unveiled 
charms  in  such  wise  as  she  affords  herself 
to  no  one,  except  t<>  her  few  and  choicest 
votaries.  For  assuredly  a  beautiful  woman, 
who  had  kindled  t'.ux1  to  ardent  love,  would 
never  surrender  herself  to  tiiee.  if  she  had 
discovered  that  thou  hadst  in  thy  heart  an 
other  object  of  affection;  and  shall  that  most 
chaste  beauty  of  Wisdom  exhibit  itself  to 
unless  thou  art  kindled  for  it  alone? 
A.  Why  then  am  I  still  made  to  hang  in 
wretchedness,  and  put  off  with  miserable  pin 
ing?  Assuredly  I  have  already  made  it  plain 
that  I  love  nothing  else,  since  what  is  not 
loved  for  itself  is  not  loved.  Now  I  at  least 
love  Wisdom  for  herself  alone,  while  as  to 
other  tilings,  it  is  for  her  sake  that  I  desire 
their  presence  or  absence,  such  as  life,  ease, 
friends.  But  what  measure  can  the  love  of 
that  beauty  have  in  which  I  not  only  do  not 
envy  others,  but  even  long  for  as  many  as 
possible  to  seek  it,  gaze  upon  it,  grasp  it  and 
enjoy  it  with  me;  knowing  that  our  friendship 
will  be  the  closer,  the  more  thoroughly  con 
joined  we  are  in  the  object  of  our  love  ? 

23.  R.  Such  lovers  assuredly  it  is,  whom 
Wisdom  ought  to  have.  Such  lovers  does 
she  seek,  the  love  of  whom  has  in  it  nothing 
but  what  is  pure.  But  there  are  various  ways 
of  approach  to  her.  For  it  is  according  to  our 
soundness  and  strength  that  each  one  com 
prehends  that  unique  and  truest  good.  It  is 
a  certain  ineffable  and  incomprehensible  light 
of  minds.  Let  this  light  of  the  common  day 
teach  us,  as  well  as  it  can,  concerning  the 
higher  light.  For  there  are  eyes  so  sound 
and  keen,  that,  as  soon  as  they  are  first 
opened,  they  turn  themselves  unshrinkingly 
upon  the  sun  himself.  To  these,  as  it  were, 
the  light  itself  is  health,  nor  do  they  need  a 
teacher,  but  only,  perchance,  a  warning.  For 
these  to  believe,  to  hope,  to  love  is  enough. 
But  others  are  smitten  by  that  very  effulgence 
which  they  vehemently  desire  to  see,  and 
when  the  sight  of  it  is  withdrawn  often  return 
into  darkness  with  delight.  To  whom,  al 
though  such  as  that  they  may  reasonably  be 
called  sound,  it  is  nevertheless  dangerous  to 
insist  on  showing  what  as  yet  they  have  not 
the  power  to  behold.  These  therefore  should 
be  first  put  in  training,  and  their  love  for 
their  good  is  to  be  nourished  by  delay.  For 
first  certain  things  are  to  be  shown  to  them 
which  are  not  luminous  of  themselves,  but 
may  be  sec-n  by  the  light,  such  as  a  garment, 
a  wall,  or  the  like.  Then  something  which, 
though  still  not  shining  of  itself,  yet  in  the 
light  flames  out  more  gloriously,  such  as  gold  ! 


or  silver,  yet  not  so  brilliantly  as  to  injure  the 
eyes.  Then  perchance  this  familiar  fire  of 
earth  is  to  be  cautiously  shown,  then  the 
stars,  then  the  moon,  then  the  brightening 
dawn,  and  the  brilliance  of  the  luminous  sky. 
Among  which  tilings,  whether  sooner  or  later, 
whether  through  the  whole  succession,  or  with 
some  steps  passed  over,  each  one  accustom 
ing  himself  according  to  his  strength,  will  at 
last  without  shrinking  and  with  great  delight 
behold  the  sun.  In  some  such  way  do  the 
best  masters  deal  with  those  who  are  heartily 
devoted  to  Wisdom,  and  who,  though  seeing 
but  dimly,  yet  have  already  eyes  that  see. 
For  it  is  the  office  of  a  wise  training  to  bring 
one  near  to  her  in  a  certain  graduated  ap 
proach,  but  to  arrive  in  her  presence  without 
these  intermediary  steps  is  a  scarcely  credible 
felicity.  But  to-day,  I  think  we  have  written 
enough;  regard  must  be  had  to  health. 

24.  And,   another   day   having   come,  A. 
Give  now,  I  pray,  if  thou  canst,  that  order. 
Lend  by  what  way  thou  wilt,  through  what 
things  thou  wilt,  how  thou  wilt.      Lay  on  me 
things  ever  so  hard,  ever  so  strenuous,  and, 
if  only  they  are  within  my  power,  I  doubt  not 
that    I    shall    perform   them    if   only   I   may 
thereby   arrive   whither   I    long   to    be.     R. 
There  is  only  one  thing  which  I  can  teach 
thee;  I  know  nothing  more.     These  things  of 
sense  are  to  be   utterly  eschewed,   and   the 
utmost  caution  is  to  be  used,  lest  while  we 
bear  about  this  body,  our  pinions  should  be 
impeded  by  the  viscous  distilments  of  earth, 
seeing  we  need  them  whole  and  perfect,  if  we 
would  fly  from  this  darkness  into  that  super 
nal  Light:  which  deigns  not  even  to  show  it 
self  to  those  shut  up  in  this  cage  of  the  body, 
unless  they  have  been  such  that  whether  it 
were  broken  down  or  worn  out  it  would  be 
their   native   airs    into   which   they  escaped. 
Therefore,  whenever  thou  shalt  have  become 
such  that  nothing  at  all  of  earthly  thii;. 
lights  thee,  at  that  very  moment,  believe  me, 
at  that  very  point  of  time  thou  wilt  see  what 
thou    desirest.     A.    When    shall    that   be,    I 
entreat  thee  ?     For  I  think  not  that  I  am  able 
to  attain  to  this  supreme  contempt,  unless  I 
shall  have  seen  that  in  comparison  with  which 
these  things  are  worthless. 

25.  R.     In    this    way    too    the    bodily    eye 
might  say:  I  shall  not  love  the  darkness,  when 
I    shall    have    seen    the    sun.     For    this    too 
seems,  as    it   were,   to    pertain   to   the    right 
order     though     t    is    far   otherwise.     For   it 
loves  darkness,  for  the  reason  that  it  is  not 
sound;    but   the  sun,  unless   sound,   it   is   not 
able  to  see.     And  in. this  the  mind  is  often  at 
fault,   that   it   thinks   itself   and    boasts    itself 
sound;  and  complains,  as  if  with  good     ight, 


546 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


[BOOK  I. 


because  it  does  not  yet  see.  But  that  super 
nal  Beauty  knows  when  she  should  show  her 
self.  For  she  herself  discharges  the  office  of 
physician,  and  better  understands  who  are 
sound  than  the  very  ones  who  are  rendered 
sound.  But  we,  as  far  as  we  have  emerged, 
seem  to  ourselves  to  see;  but  how  far  we  were 
plunged  in  darkness,  or  how  far  we  had  made 
progress,  we  are  not  permitted  either  to  think 
or  feel,  and  in  comparison  with  the  deeper 
malady  we  believe  ourselves  to  be  in  health. 
See  you  not  how  securely  yesterday  we  had 
pronounced,  that  we  were  no  longer  detained 
by  any  evil  thing,  and  loved  nothing  except 
Wisdom;  and  sought  or  wished  other  things 
only  for  her  sake  ?  To  thee  how  low,  how 
foul,  how  execrable  those  female  embraces 
seemed,  when  we  discoursed  concerning  the 
desire  of  a  wife  !  Certainly  in  the  watches 
of  this  very  night,  when  we  had  again  been 
discoursing  together  of  the  same  things,  thou 
didst  feel  how  differently  from  what  thou 
hadst  presumed  those  imaginary  blandish 
ments  and  that  bitter  sweetness  tickled  thee; 
far,  far  less  indeed,  than  is  the  wont,  but  also 
far  otherwise  than  thou  hadst  thought:  so  that 
that  most  confidential  physician  of  thine  set 
forth  to  thee  each  thing,  both  how  far  thou 
hast  come  on  under  his  care,  and  what  re 
mains  to  be  cured. 

26.  A.  Peace,  I  pray  thee,  peace.  Why 
tormentest  thou  me  ?  Why  diggest  thou  so 
remorselessly  and  descendest  so  deep  ?  Now 
I  weep  intolerably,  henceforth  I  promise 
nothing,  I  presume  nothing;  question  me  not 
concerning  these  things.  Most  true  is  what 
thou  sayest,  that  He  whom  I  burn  to  see 
Himself  knows  when  I  am  in  health;  let  Him 
do  what  pleaseth  Him:  when  it  pleaseth  Him 
let  Him  show  Himself;  I  now  commit  myself 
wholly  to  His  clemency  and  care.  Once  for 
all  do  I  believe  that  those  so  affected  towards 
Him  He  faileth  not  to  lift  up.  I  will  pro 
nounce  nothing  concerning  my  health,  except 
when  I  shall  have  seen  that  Beauty.  R.  Do 
nothing  else,  indeed.  But  now  refrain  from 
tears,  and  gird  up  thy  mind.  Thou  hast  wept 
most  sore,  and  to  the  great  aggravation  of 
that  trouble  of  thy  breast.  A,  Wouldest 
thou  set  a  measure  to  my  tears,  when  I  see 
no  measure  of  my  misery  ?  or  dost  thou  bid 
me  consider  the  disease  of  my  body,  when  I 
in  my  inmost  self  am  wasted  away  with  pining 
consumption  ?  But,  I  pray  thee,  if  thou 
availest  aught  over  me,  essay  to  lead  me 
through  some  shorter  ways,  so  that,  at  least 
by  some  neighbor  nearness  of  that  Light,  such 
as,  if  I  have  made  any  advance  whatever,  I 
shall  be  able  to  endure,  I  may  be  made 
ashamed  of  withdrawing  mv  eyes  into  that 


darkness  which  I  have  left;  if  indeed  I  can  be 
said  to  have  left  a  darkness  which  yet  dares 
to  dally  with  my  blindness. 

27.  R.   Let    us   conclude,  if  you  will,  this 
first  volume,  that  in  a  second  we  may  attempt 
some  such  way  as  may  commodiously  offer  it 
self.     For  this  disposition  of  yours  must  not 
fail  to  be  cherished  by  reasonable  exercise.    A. 
I  will  in   no  wise  suffer  this  volume  to   be 
ended,    unless  thou  open  to   me   at   least  a 
gleam  from  the  nearness  of  that  Light  whither 
I    am    bound.      R.     Thy    Divine    Physician 
yields  so  far  to  thy  wish.     For  a  certain  radi 
ance  seizes  me,  inviting  me  to  conduct  thee 
to  it.      Therefore  be  intent  to  receive  it.     A. 
Lead,   I  entreat  thee,  and  snatch  me   away 
whither  thou  wilt.     R.    Thou  art  sure  that 
thou  art  minded  to  know  the  soul,  and  God? 
A.  That  is  all  my  desire.     R.  Notliing  more  ? 
A.    Nothing  at  all.     R.    What,  do  you  not 
wish   to   comprehend    Truth?      A.    As    if   I 
could  know  these  things  except  through  her. 
R.    Therefore    she    first   is    to    be    known, 
through  whom  these  things  can  be  known. 
A.    I  refuse  not.     R.  First  then  let  us  see 
this,  whether,  as  Truth   and  True  are  two 
words,  you  hold  that  by  these  two  words  two 
things  are  signified,  or  one  thing.     A.  Two 
things,  I  hold.     For,  as  Chastity  is  one  thing, 
and  that  which  is  chaste,  another,  and  many 
things  in  this  manner;  so  I  believe  that  Truth 
is  one  thing,  and  that  which,  being  declared, 
is  true,  is  another.     R.  Which  of  these  two 
do  you  esteem  most  excellent?    A.  Truth, 
as  I  believe.     For  it  is  not  from  that  which  is 
chaste  that  Chastity  arises,  but  that  which  is 
chaste  from  Chastity.     So  also,  if  anything  is 
true,  it  is  assuredly  from  Truth  that  it  is  true. 

28.  R.  What?     When  a  chaste  person  dies, 
do  you  judge  that  Chastity  dies   also  ?     A. 
By  no  means.     R.  Then,  when  anything  per 
ishes  that  is  true,   Truth  perishes  not.     A. 
But  how  should  anything  true  perish  ?     For 
I   see  not.     A'.   I  marvel  that  you  ask  that 
question:    do  we  not  see  thousands  of  things 
perish  before  our  eyes  ?     Unless    perchance 
you  think  this  tree,  either  to  be  a  tree,  but 
not  a  true  one,  or  if  so  to  be  unable  to  perish. 
For  even  if  you  believe  not  your  senses,  and 
are  capable  of  answering,  that  you  are  wholly 
ignorant  whether  it  is  a  tree;   yet  this,  I  be 
lieve,  you  will  not  deny,  that  it  is  a  true  tree, 
if  it  is  a  tree:  for  this  judgment  is  not  of  the 
senses,  but  of  the  intelligence.     For  if  it  is 
a  false  tree,  it  is  not  a  tree;  but  if  it  is  a  tree, 
it  cannot  but  be  a  true  one.     A.   This  I  al 
low.     R.  Then  as  to  the  other  proposition  ; 
do  you  not  concede  that  a  tree  is  of  such  a 
sort  of  things,  as  that  it  originates  and  per 
ishes  ?  A.   I  cannot  deny  it.       R.   It  is  con- 


IS.H.K     11.] 


SOLILOQUIES. 


547 


eluded  therefore,  that  something  which  is  true 
perishes.  A.  I  do  not  dispute  it.  R.  What 
follows  ?  Does  it  not  seem  to  thee  that  when 
true  things  perish  Truth  does  not  perish,  as 
Chastity  dies  not  when  a  chaste  person  dies? 
./.  1  now  grant  tins  too,  and  eagerly  wait  to 
see  what  thou  art  laboring  to  show.  R. 
Therefore  attend.  A.  I  am  all  attention. 

29.  R.  Does  this  proposition  seem  to  you 
to  be  true:  Whatever  is,  is  compelled  to  be 
somewhere  ?  A.  Nothing  so  entirely  wins 
my  consent.  R.  And  you  confess  that  Truth 
is  ?  .-/.  I  confess  it.  R.  Then  we  must 
needs  inquire  where  it  is;  for  it  is  not  in  a 
place,  unless  perchance  you  think  there  is 
something  else  in  a  place  than  a  body,  or  think 
that  Truth  is  a  body.  A.  I  think  neither  of 
these  things.  R.  Where  then  do  you  believe 
her  to  be  ?  For  she  is  not  nowhere,  whom 
we  have  granted  to  be.  A.  If  I  knew  where 
she  was,  perchance  I  should  seek  nothing 
more.  R.  At  least  you  are  able  to  know 
where  she  is  not  ?  A.  If  thou  pass  in  review 
the  places,  perchance  I  shall  be.  R.  It  is 
not,  assuredly,  in  mortal  things.  For  what 
ever  is,  cannot  abide  in  anything,  if  that  does 
not  abide  in  which  it  is:  and  that  Truth 
abides,  even  though  true  things  perish,  has 
just  been  conceded.  Truth,  therefore,  is  not 
in  mortal  things.  But  Truth  is,  and  is  not 
nowhere.  There  are  therefore  things  immor 
tal.  And  nothing  is  true  in  which  Truth  is 
not.  It  results  therefore  that  nothing  is  true, 
except  those  things  which  are  immortal.  And 


every  false  tree  is  not  a  tree,  and  false  wood 
is  not  wood,  and  false  silver  is  not  silver,  and 
everything  whatever  which  is  false,  is  not. 
Now  everything  which  is  not  true,  is  false. 
Nothing  therefore  is  rightly  said  to  be,  except 
things  immortal.  Do  you  diligently  consider 
this  little  argument,  lest  there  should  be  in 
it  any  point  which  you  think  impossible  to 
concede.  For  if  it  is  sou  nil,  we  have  almost 
accomplished  our  whole  business,  which  in 
the  other  book  will  perchance  appear  more 
plainly. 

30.  A.  I  thank  thee  much,  and  will  dili 
gently  and  cautiously  review  these  things  in 
my  own  mind,  and  moreover  with  thee,  when 
we  are  in  quiet,  if  no  darkness  interfere,  and, 
which  I  vehemently  dread,  inspire  in  me  de 
light  in  itself.  R.  Steadfastly  believe  in  God, 
and  commit  thyself  wholly  to  Him  as  much 
as  thou  canst.  Be  not  willing  to  be  as  it  were 
thine  own  and  in  thine  own  control;  but  pro 
fess  thyself  to  be  the  bondman  of  that  most 
clement  and  most  profitable  Lord.  For  so 
will  He  not  desist  from  lifting  thee  to  Him 
self,  and  will  suffer  nothing  to  occur  to  thee, 
except  what  shall  profit  thee,  even  though 
thou  know  it  not.  A.  I  hear,  I  believe,  and 
as  much  as  I  can  I  yield  compliance;  and 
most  intently  do  I  offer  a  prayer  for  this  very 
thing,  that  I  may  have  the  utmost  power, 
unless  perchance  thou  desirest  something 
more  of  me.  R.  It  is  well  meanwhile,  thou 
wilt  do  afterwards  what  He  Himself,  being 
now  seen,  shall  require  of  thee. 


BOOK    II. 


i.  A.  Long  enough  has  our  work  been  in 
termitted,  and  impatient  is  Love,  nor  have 
tears  a  measure,  unless  to  Love  is  given  what 
is  loved:  wherefore,  let  us  enter  upon  the 
Second  Book.  R.  Let  us  enter  upon  it.  A. 
Let  us  believe  that  God  will  be  present.  R. 
Let  us  believe  indeed,  if  even  this  is  in  our 
power.  A.  Our  power  He  Himself  is.  R. 
Therefore  pray  most  briefly  and  perfectly,  as 
much  as  thou  canst.  A.  God,  always  the 
same,  let  me  know  myself,  let  me  know  Thee. 
I  have  prayed.  R.  Thou  who  wilt  know  thy 
self,  knowest  thou  that  thou  art  ?  A,  I  know. 
R.  Whence  knowest  thou  ?  A.  I  know  not. 
R.  Feelest  thou  thyself  to  be  simple,  or  man 
ifold  ?  A.  I  know  not.  R.  Knowest  thou 
thyself  to  be  moved?  A.  I  know  not.  A'. 
Knowest  thou  thyself  to  think  ?  A.  I  know. 


R.  Therefore  it  is  true  that  thou  thinkest. 
A.  True.  R,  Knowest  thou  thyself  to  be 
immortal  ?  A.  I  know  not.  R.  Of  all  these 
things  which  thou  hast  said  that  thou  knowest 
not.  which  dost  thou  most  desire  to  know  ? 
A.  Whether  I  am  immortal.  R.  Therefore 
thou  lovest  to  live?  A.  I  confess  it.  R. 
How  will  the  matter  stand  when  thou  shalt 
have  learned  thyself  to  be  immortal  ?  Will  it 
be  enough  ?  A.  That  will  indeed  be  a  great 
thing,  but  that  to  me  will  be  but  slight.  R. 
Yet  in  this  which  is  but  slight  how  much  wilt 
thou  rejoice  ?  A,  Very  greatly.  R.  For 
nothing  then  wilt  thou  weep?  A.  For  noth 
ing  at  all.  A'.  What  if  this  very  life  should  be 
found  such,  that  in  it  it  is  permitted  thee  to 
know  nothing  more  than  thou  knowest  ?  Wilt 
thou  refrain  from  tears?  A.  Nay  verily,  I 


548 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGl'STIN. 


[BOOK   II. 


will  weep  so  much  that  life  should  cense  to 
be.  R.  Thou  dost  not  then  love  to  live  for 
the  mere  sake  of  living,  but  for  the  sake  of 
knowing.  A.  I  grant  the  inference.  R. 
What  if  this  very  knowledge  of  things  should 
itself  make  thee  wretched  ?  A.  I  do  not  be 
lieve  that  that  is  in  any  way  possible  But  if 
it  is  so,  no  one  can  be  blessed;  for  I  am  not 
now  wretched  from  any  other  source  than 
from  ignorance  of  things.  And  therefore  if 
the  knowledge  of  things  is  wretchedness, 
wretchedness  is  everlasting.  R.  Now  I  see 
all  whicn  you  desire.  For  since  you  believe 
no  one  to  be  wretched  by  knowledge,  from 
which  it  is  probable  that  intelligence  renders 
blessed;  but  no  one  is  blessed  unless  living, 
and  no  one  lives  who  is  not:  thou  wishest  to 
be,  to  live  and  to  have  intelligence;  but  to  be 
that  thou  mayest  live,  to  live  that  thou  may- 
est  have  intelligence.  Therefore  thou  know- 
est  that  thou  art,  thou  knowest  that  thou 
livest.  thou  knowest  that  thou  dost  exercise 
intelligence.  But  whether  these  things  are 
to  be  always,  or  none  of  these  things  is  to  be, 
or  something  abides  always,  and  something 
falls  away,  or  whether  these  things  can  be 
diminished  and  increased,  all  things  abiding, 
thou  desirest  to  know.  A.  So  it  is.  R.  If 
therefore  we  shall  have  proved  that  we  are 
always  to  live,  it  will  follow  also  that  we  are 
always  to  be.  A.  It  will  follow.  R.  It  will 
then  remain  to  inquire  concerning  intellection. 
2.  A.  I  see  a  very  plain  and  compendious 
order.  R.  Let  this  then  be  the  order,  that 
you  answer  my  questions  cautiously  and 
firmly.  A.  I  attend.  R.  If  this  world  shall 
always  abide,  it  is  true  that  this  world  is 
always  to  abide  ?  A.  VVho  doubts  that  ?  R. 
What  if  it  shall  not  abide  ?  is  it  not  then  true 
that  the  world  is  not  to  abide  ?  A.  I  dispute 
it  not.  R.  How,  when  it  shall  have  perished, 
if  it  is  to  perish  ?  will  it  not  then  be  true,  that 
the  world  has  perished  I  For  as  long  as  it  is 
not  true  that  the  world  has  come  to  an  end, 
it  has  not  come  to  an  end:  it  is  therefore  self- 
contradictory,  that  the  world  is  ended  and 
that  it  is  not  true  that  the  world  is  ended. 
A.  This  too  I  grant.  R.  Furthermore,  does 
it  seem  to  you  that  anything  can  be  true,  and 
not  be  Truth  ?  A.  In  no  wise.  R.  There  will 
therefore  be  Truth,  even  though  the  frame  of 
things  should  pass  away.  A.  I  cannot  deny 
it.  R.  What  if  Truth  herself  should  perish  ? 
will  it  not  be  true  that  Truth  has  perished  ?  | 
A.  And  even  that  who  can  deny?  R.  But; 
that  which  is  true  cannot  be,  if  Truth  is  not. 
A.  I  have  just  conceded  this.  R.  In  no  wise 
therefore  can  Truth  fail.  A.  Proceed  as 
thou  hast  begun,  for  than  this  deduction 
nothing  is  truer. 


3.  R.   Now  I  will  have  you  answer  me,  does 
the  soul  seem  to  you  to  feel  and  perceive, 
or  the  body?     A.   The  soul.     R.   And  does 
tne  intellect  appear  to  you  to  appertain  to  tiie 
soul?     A.   Assuredly.     R.   To  the  soul  alone, 
or  to  something  else  ?     A.  I  see  nothing  else 
besides  the  soul,  except  God,  in  which  I  be 
lieve  intellect  to  exist.     R.   Let  us  now  con 
sider  that.     If  any  one  should  tell  you  that 
wall  was  not  a  wall,  but  a  tree,  what  would 
you    think  ?     A.    Either   that    his    senses   or 
mine  were  astray,  or  that  he  called  a  wall  by 
the  name  of  a  tree.     R.   What  if  he  received 
in  sense  the  image  of  a  tree,  and  thou  of  a 
wall  ?    may    not   both   be   true  ?     A.    By.  no 
means;  because  one  and  the  same  thing  can 
not  be  both  a  tree  and  a  wall.     For  however 
individual  things  might  appear  different  to  us 
as  individuals,  it  could  not  be  but  that  one  of 
us  suffered  a  false  imagination.     R.   What  if 
it  is  neither  tree  nor  wall,  and  you  are  both  in 
error?     A.     That,    indeed,  is    possible.     R. 
This    one  thing  therefore  you   had   past   by 
above.    A.   I    confess    it.     R.    What   if  you 
should  acknowledge  that  anything  seemed  to 
you  other  than  it  is,  are  you  then  in  error  ? 
A.    No.     R.    Therefore   that   may   be    false 
which  seems,  and  he  not  be  in  error  to  whom 
it  seems.     A.   It  may  be  so.     R.   It  is  to  be 
allowed  then  that  he  is  not  in  error  who  sees 
falsities,  but  he  who  assents  to  falsities.     A. 
It  is  assuredly  to  be  allowed.     R,   And  this 
falsity,  wherefore  is  it  false  ?     A.    Because  it 
is  otherwise  than  it  seems.     R.  If  therefore 
there  are  none  to  whom  it  may  seem,  nothing 
is    false.     A.    The    inference    is    sound.     R. 
Therefore  the  falsity  is  not  in  the  things,  but 
in  the  sense;  but  he  is  not  beguiled  who  as 
sents  not  to  false  things.     It  results  that  we 
are  one  thing,  the  sense  another;  since,  when 
it  is  misled,  we  are  able  not  to   be   misled. 
A.   I  have  nothing  to  oppose  to  this.     R.   But 
when  the  soul  is  misled,  do  you  venture  to 
say  that  you  are  not  false?     A.   How  should 
I  venture  ?     R.   But  there  is  no  sense  without 
soul,  no  falsity  without  sense.     Either  there 
fore  the  soul  operates,  or  co-operates  with  the 
falsity.     A.   Our  preceding  reasonings  imply 
assent  to  this. 

4.  R.   Give  answer  now  to  this,  whether  it 
appears  to    you   possible  that  at  some   time  • 
hereafter  falsity  should  not  be.     A.   How  can 
that  seem  possible  to  me,  when  the  difficulty 
of   discovering   truth    is   so   great    that  it   is 
abstirder  to  say  that  falsity  than  that  Truth 
cannot  be.      R.    Do   you   then   think  that   he 
who  does  not  live,  can  perceive  and  feel?     A. 
It  cannot   be.      R.   It  results  then,  that  the 
soul  lives  ever.     A.   Thou  urgest  me  too  fast 
into  joys:    more  slowly,  I   pray.      A'.    But,  if 


U....K     11     , 


S«  H  Il.nnUIES. 


549 


former  inference-,  arc  just,  I  sec  no  -round  of 
doubt  concerning  this  tiling.  ./.  Too  fast,  I 
s;iy.  Then-fore  I  am  easier  to  persuade  that 
I  have  made  some  rasii  concession,  than  to 
become  already  secure  concerning  the  immor 
tality  of  the  soul.  Nevertheless  evolve  this 
•conclusion,  and  show  how  it  has  resulted. 
A'.  You  have  said  that  falsity  cannot  be  with 
out  sense,  and  that  falsity  cannot  but  be: 
therefore  there  is  always  sense.  But  no  sense 
without  soul:  therefore  the  soul  is  everlast 
ing.  N'or  has  it  power  to  exercise  sense,  un 
less  it  lives.  Therefore  the  soul  always  lives. 
5.  A.  O  leaden  dagger  !  For  tliou  might- 
est  conclude  that  man  is  immortal  if  I  had 
granted  thee  that  this  universe  can  never  be 
without  man,  and  that  this  universe  is  eternal. 
A'.  You  keep  a  keen  look-out.  But  yet  it  is 
no  small  tiling  which  we  have  established, 
namely,  that  the  frame  of  things  cannot  be 
without  the  soul,  unless  perchance  in  the 
frame  of  things  at  some  time  hereafter  there 
shall  be  no  falsity.  A.  This  consequence  in 
deed  1  allow  to  be  involved.  But  now  I  am 
of  opinion  that  we  ought  to  consider  farther, 
whether  former  inferences  do  not  bend  under 
pressure.  For  I  see  no  small  step  to  have 
been  made  towards  the  immortality  of  the 
soul.  A*.  Have  you  sufficiently  considered 
whether  you  may  not  have  conceded  some 
thing  rashly?  A.  Sufficiently  indeed,  but  I 
see  no  point  at  which  I  can  accuse  myself  of 
rashness.  R.  It  is  therefore  concluded  that 
the  frame  of  things  cannot  be  without  a  living 
soul.  A.  So  far  as  this,  that  in  turn  some 
souls  may  be  born,  and  others  die.  1?.  What 
if  from  the  frame  of  things  falsity  be  taken 
away?  will  it  not  come  to  pass  that  all  things 
are  true?  A.  I  admit  the  inference.  R. 
Tell  me  whence  this  wall  seems  to  thee  to  be 
true.  A.  Because  I  am  not  misled  by  its  as 
pect.  R.  That  is,  because  it  is  as  it  seems. 
/.  Yes.  A'.  If  therefore  anything  is  there 
by  false  because  it  seems  otherwise  than  it  is, 
and  thereby  true  because  it  is  as  it  seems; 
take  away  him  to  whom  it  seems,  and  there 
is  neither  anything  false,  nor  true.  But  if 
there  is  no  falsity  in  the  frame  of  things,  all 
things  are  true.  Nor  can  anything  seem  ex 
cept  to  a  living  soul.  There  remains  there 
fore  soul  in  the  frame  of  tilings,  if  falsity 
cannot  be  taken  away;  there  remains,  if  it 
can.  A.  I  see  our  former  conclusions  some 
what  strengthened,  indeed:  but  we  have  made 
no  progress  by  this  amplification.  For  none 
the  less  does  that  fact  remain  which  chiefly 
shakes  me  that  souls  are  born  and  pass  away, 
and  that  it  comes  about  that  they  are  not 
lacking  to  the  world,  not  through  their  im 
mortality,  but  by  their  succession. 


6.  A'.    Do   any   corporeal,    that    is,   sensible 
things,  appear  to  you  to   be  (apable  o; 
prehension    in    the    intellect  ?     .-/.    They    do 
not.      A'.   What  then  ?  does  Hod  appear  to  use 
sen.ses  lor  the  cognition  of  things  ?     .•/.    I  dare 
affirm    nothing    unadvisedly    concerning    this 
matter;   but  as  far  as  there  is  room  for  con 
jecture,  (iod  in  no  wise  makes  use  of  s> 

A'.  We  conclude  therefore  that  the  only  pos 
sible  subject  of  sense  is  the  soul.  A.  Con 
clude  provisionally  as  far  as  probability  per 
mits.  A*.  Well  then;  do  you  allow  that  this 
wall,  if  it  is  not  a  true  wall,  is  not  a  wall  ?  A. 
I  could  grant  nothing  more  willingly.  R. 
And  that  nothing,  if  it  be  not  a  true  body,  is 
a  body?  A.  This  likewise.  R.  Therefore 
if  nothing  is  true,  unless  it  be  so  as  it  seems; 
and  if  nothing  corporeal  can  appear,  except 
to  the  senses;  and  if  the  only  subject  of  sense 
is  the  soul;  and  if  no  body  can  be,  unless  it 
be  a  true  body:  it  follows  that  there  cannot 
be  a  body,  unless  there  has  first  been  a  soul. 
A.  Thou  dost  urge  me  too  strongly,  and 
means  of  resistance  fail  me. 

7.  R.    Give    now   still    greater   heed.     ./. 
Behold   me   ready.     R.    Certainly  this    is   a 
stone;  and  it  is  true  on  this  condition,  if  it  is 
not  otherwise  than  it  seems;  and  it  is  not  a 
stone,  if  it  is  not  true;   and  it  cannot  seem 
except  to  the  senses.     A.    Yes.     R.   There 
are  not  therefore  stones  in  the  most  secluded 
bosom  of  the  earth,  nor  anywhere  at  all  where 
there  are   not  those  who  have  the  sense  of 
them;    nor  would  this  be  a  stone,  unless  we 
saw  it;    nor  will  it  be  a  stone  when  we  shall 
have  departed,  and  no  one  else  shall  be  pres 
ent  to  see  it.      Nor,  if  you   lock  your  coffers 
well,  however  much  you  may  have  shut  up  in 
them,  will  they  have  anything.     Nor  indeed 
is  wood  itself  wood  interiorly.     For  that  es 
capes  all  perceptions  of  sense  which  is  in  the 
deptli  of  an  absolutely  opaque  body,  and  so 
is  in  no  wise  compelled  to  be.     For  if  it  were, 
it  would  be  true;  nor  is  anything  true,  unless 
because  it  is  so  as  it  appears:   but  that  docs 
not  appear;    it  is  not  therefore  true:    unless 
you  have  something  to  object  to  this.     A.   I 
see  that  this  results  from  my  previous  com  es- 
sions;  but  it  is  so  absurd,  that  I  would  more 
readily  deny  any  one  of  these,  than  concede 
that  this  is  true.      A'.   As  you  please.     Con 
sider  then  which  you  prefer  to  say:  that  cor 
poreal  things  can  appear  Otherwise  thanto  the 
senses,  or  that  there  can  be  another  subject  of 
sense  than  the  soul,  or  that  there  is  a  stone 
or  something  else  but  that  it  is  not  true,  or 
that  Truth  itself  is  to  be  otherwise  defined. 

us,    I    pray    thee,    consider    this    last 
position. 

8.  A'.    Define  therefore  the  True.      .-/.That 


550 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


is  true  which  is  so  as  it  appears  to  the  knower, 
if  he  will  and  can  know.  R.  That  therefore 
will  not  be  true  which  no  one  can  know  ? 
Then,  if  that  is  false  which  seems  otherwise 
than  it  is;  how  if  to  one  this  stone  should 
seem  a  stone,  to  another  wood  ?  will  the  same 
thin:;  be  both  false  and  true  ?  A.  That 
former  position  disturbs  me  more,  how,  if 
anything  cannot  be  known,  it  results  from  that 
that  it  is  not  true.  For  as  to  this,  that  one 
thing  is  both  true  and  false,  I  do  not  much 
care.  For  I  see  one  thing,  compared  with 
diverse  things,  to  be  both  greater  and  smaller. 
From  which  it  results,  that  nothing  is  more 
or  less  of  itself.  For  these  are  terms  of  com 
parison.  R.  But  if  you  say  that  nothing  is 
true  of  itself,  do  you  not  fear  the  inference, 
that  nothing  is  of  itself?  For  whereby  this 
is  wood,  thereby  is  it  also  true  wood.  Nor 
can  it  be,  that  of  itself,  that  is,  without  a 
knower,  it  should  be  wood,  and  should  not 
be  true  wood.  A.  Therefore  thus  I  say  and 
so  I  define,  nor  do  I  fear  lest  my  definition  be 
disapproved  on  the  ground  of  excessive  brev 
ity:  for  to  me  that  seems  to  be  true  which  is. 
R.  Nothing  then  will  be  false,  because  what 
ever  is,  is  true.  A.  Thou  hast  driven  me  into 
close  straits,  and  I  am  wholly  unprovided  of 
an  answer.  So  it  comes  to  pass  that  whereas 
I  am  unwilling  to  be  taught  except  by  these 
questionings,  I  fear  now  to  be  questioned. 

9.  R.  God,  to  whom  we  have  commended 
ourselves,  without  doubt  will  render  help,  and 
set  us  free  from  these  straits,  if  only  we  believe, 
and  entreat  Him  most  devoutly.  A.  Nothing, 
assuredly,  would  I  do  more  gladly  in  this  place; 
for  never  have  I  been  involved  in  so  great  a 
darkness.     God,  Our  Father,  who  exhortest 
us  to  pray,  who  also  bringest  this  about,  that 
supplication  is  made  to  Thee;  since  when  we 
make  supplication   to  Thee,  we  live   better, 
and   are   better:    hear  me   groping  in   these 
glooms,  and  stretch  forth  Thy  right  hand  to 
me.     Shed    over   me  Thy  light,  revoke    me 
from  my  wanderings;   bring  Thyself  into  me 
that  I  may  likewise  return  into  Thee.     Amen. 
R.  Be  with  me  now,  as  far  as  thou  mayest, 
in  most  diligent  attention.     A.   Utter,  I  pray, 
whatever  has  been  suggested  to  thee,  that  we 
perish    not.     R.    Give    heed.     A-  Behold,  I 
have  neither  eyes  nor  ears  but  for  thee. 

10.  R.   First    let  us  again  and    yet  again 
ventilate  this  question,  What  is  falsity?     A. 
I  wonder  if  there  will  turn  out  to  be  anything, 
except  what  is  not  so  as  it  seems.     R.  Give 
heed    rather,   and    let   us   first   question   the 
senses  themselves.     For  certainly  what  the 
eyes  see,  is  not  called  false,   unless  it  have 
some  similitude  of  the  true.     For  instance, 
a  man  whom  we  see  in  sleep,  is  not  indeed  a 


true  man,  but  false,  by  this  very  fact  that  he 
has  the  similitude  of  a  true  one.  For  who, 
seeing  a  dog,  would  have  a  right  to  say  that 
he  had  dreamed  of  a  man  ?  Therefore  too 
that  is  thereby  a  false  dog,  that  it  is  like  a 
true  one.  A.  It  is  as  thou  sayest.  R.  And 
moreover,  if  any  one  waking  should  see  a 
horse  and  think  he  saw  a  man,  is  he  not  here 
by  misled,  that  there  appears  to  him  some 
similitude  of  a  man  ?  For  if  nothing  should 
appear  to  him  except  the  form  of  a  horse,  he 
cannot  think  that  he  sees  a  man.  A.  I  fully 
concede  this.  R.  We  call  that  also  a  false 
tree  which  we  see  in  a  picture,  and  a  false 
face  which  is  reflected  from  a  mirror,  and  a 
false  motion  of  buildings  to  men  that  are  sail 
ing  from  them,  and  a  false  break  in  the  oar 
when  dipped,  for  no  other  reason  than  the 
verisimilitude  in  all  these  things.  A.  True. 
R.  So  we  make  mistakes  between  twins,  so 
between  eggs,  so  between  seals  stamped  by 
one  ring,  and  other  such  things.  A.  I  follow 
and  agree  to  all.  R.  Therefore  that  simili 
tude  of  things  which  pertains  to  the  eyes,  is 
the  mother  of  falsity.  A.  I  cannot  deny  it. 

ii.  R.  But  all  this  forest  of  facts,  unless  I 
am  mistaken,  may  be  divided  into  two  kinds. 
For  it  lies  partly  in  equal,  partly  in  inferior 
things.  They  are  equal,  when  we  say  that 
this  is  as  like  to  that  as  that  to  this,  as  is  said 
of  twins,  or  impressions  of  a  ring.  Inferior, 
when  we  say  that  the  worse  is  like  the  better. 
For  who,  looking  in  a  mirror,  would  dream  of 
saying  that  he  is  like  that  image,  and  not 
rather  that  like  him  ?  And  this  class  consists 
partly  in  what  the  soul  undergoes,  and  partly 
in  those  things  which  are  seen.  And  that 
again  which  the  soul  undergoes,  it  either  un 
dergoes  in  the  sense,  as  the  unreal  motion  of 
a  building;  or  in  itself  from  that  which  it  has 
received  from  the  senses,  such  as  are  the 
dreams  of  dreamers,  and  perhaps  also  of 
madmen.  Furthermore,  those  things  which 
appear  in  the  things  themselves  which  we  see, 
are  some  of  them  from  nature,  and  some  ex 
pressed  and  framed  by  living  creatures. 
Nature  either  by  procreation  or  reflection 
effects  inferior  similitudes.  By  procreation, 
when  to  parents  children  like  them  are  born; 
j  by  reflection,  as  from  mirrors  of  various 
kinds.  For  although  it  is  men  that  make  the 
most  of  the  mirrors,  yet  it  is  not  they  that  frame 
the  images  given  back.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  works  of  living  creatures  are  seen  in  pic 
tures,  and  creations  of  the  like  kind:  in  which 
may  also  be  included  (conceding  their  occur 
rence)  those  things  which  demons  produce. 
'  But  the  shadows  of  bodies,  because  with  but 
;  a  slight  stretch  of  language  they  may  be  de- 
i  scribed  as  like  their  bodies  and  a  sort  of  false 


SOLILOQUIES, 


551 


bodies,  imr   can  l>c   disputed    to  be   submitted 
ludgment  of  the  eyes,  may  reasonably 
be    placed    in   that   class,   which  arc    brought 
about     by    inture     through     reflection.      For 
every  body  exposed  to  tin-  light  reflects,  and 
i  shadow  in  the  opposite  direction.     Or 
do  you    see   any  objection    to   be   made 
None.      I    am    only    awaiting    anxiously    the 
issue  of  these  illustrations. 

12.  R.   We  must,  however,  wait  patiently, 
until  the  remaining  senses  also  make  report 
to  us  that  falsity  dwells  in  the  similitude  of 
the  true.      For  in  the  sense  of  hearing  like 
wise  there  are  almost  as  many  sorts  of  simili 
tudes:  as  when,  hearing  the  voice  of  a  speaker, 
whom  we  do  not  see,  we  think  it  some  one 
else,  whom  in  voice  he  resembles;  and  in  in 
ferior  similitudes  Echo  is  a  witness,  or  that 
well-known   roaring  of   the  ears  themselves, 
or  in  timepieces  a  certain  imitation  of  thrush 
or  crow,    or  such  things  as  dreamers  or  luna 
tics  imagine  themselves  to  hear.     And  it  is 
incredible  how  much  false  tones,  as  they  are 
called  by  musicians,  bear  witness  to  the  truth, 
which  will   appear  hereinafter:    yet  they  too 
(which  will  suffice  just  now)  are  not  remote 
from  a  resemblance  to  those  which  men  call 
true.     Do   you    follow   this  ?     A.  And    most 
delightedly.     For  here  I  have  no  trouble  to 
understand.     R.  Then,  to  press  on,  do  you 
think  it  is  easy,  by  the  smell,  to  distinguish 
lily  from    lily,  or   by  the   taste    honey  from 
honey,  gathered    alike    from   thyme,  though 
brought  from  different  hives,  or  by  the  touch 
to  note  the  difference  between  the  softness  of 
the  plumage  of  the  goose  and  of  the  swan  ? 
A.  It  does  not  seem  easy.     R.  And  how  is 
it  when  we   dream   that   we  either   smell   or 
taste,  or  touch  such  things  ?     Are  we  not  then 
deceived  by  a  similitude  of  effects  and  images, 
inferior  in  proportion  to  its  emptiness  ?     A. 
Thou    speakest   truly.     R.  Therefore   it  ap 
pears  that  we,  in  all  our  senses,  whether  by 
equality  or  inferiority  of  likeness,  are  either 
misled  by  cozening  similitude,  or  even  if  we 
are  not  misled,  as  suspending  our   consent, 
or   discovering   the   difference,   yet   that   we 
name  those  things  false  which  we  apprehend 
as  like  the  true.     A.   I  cannot  doubt  it. 

13.  R.  Now  give  heed,  while  we  run  over 
the  same  things  once  more,  that  what  we  are 
endeavoring  to  show  may  come  more  plainly 
to  view.     ./.    Lo,  here  I  am,  speak  what  thou 
wilt.     For  I  have  once  for  all  resolved  to  en 
dure   this   circuitous   course,   nor   will    I    be 
wearied  out  in  it,  hoping  so  ardently  to  arrive 
at  length  whither  I  perceive  that  we  are  tend 
ing.    A'.  You  d<>  well.     But  take  note  whether 
it  seems  to  yon,  when  we  see  a  resemblance 
in  eggs,  that  we  can  justly  say  that  any  one 


of  them  is  false.  A.  Far  from  it.  For  if  all 
are  eggs,  they  are  true  eggs.  R.  And  when 
we  see  an  image  reflected  from  a  mirror,  by 
what  signs  do  we  apprehend  it  to  be  false? 
A.  By  the  fact  that  it  cannot  be  grasped, 
gives  forth  no  sound,  does  not  move  inde 
pendently,  does  not  live,  and  by  innumerable 
other  properties,  which  it  were  tedious  to 
detail.  R.  I  see  you  are  averse  to  delay,  and 
regard  must  be  borne  to  your  haste.  Then, 
not  to  recall  every  particular,  if  those  men 
also  whom  we  see  in  dreams,  were  able  to 
live,  speak,  be  grasped  by  waking  men,  and 
there  were  no  difference  between  them  and 
those  whom  when  awake  and  sane  we  address 
and  see,  should  we  then  have  any  reason  to 
call  them  false  ?  A.  What  possible  right 
could  we  have  to  do  so  ?  R.  Therefore  if  they 
were  true,  in  exact  proportion  as  they  were 
likest  the  truth,  and  as  no  difference  existed 
between  them  and  the  true  and  false  so  far 
as  they  were,  by  those  or  other  differences, 
convicted  of  being  dissimilar;  must  it  not  be 
confessed  that  similitude  is  the  mother  of 
truth,  and  dissimilitude  of  falsehood  ?  A. 
I  have  no  answer  to  make,  and  I  am  ashamed 
of  my  former  so  hasty  assent. 

14.  R.  It  is  ridiculous  if  you  are  ashamed, 
as  if  it  were  not  for  this  very  reason  that  we 
have  chosen  this  mode  of  discourse:   which, 
since  we  are  talking  with  ourselves  alone,  I 
wish  to  be  called  and  inscribed  Soliloquies;  a 
new  name,  it  is  true,  and  perhaps  a  grating 
one,  but  not  ill  suited  for  setting  forth  the 
fact.     For   since    Truth   can   not   be    better 
sought  than   by   asking  and   answering,  and 
scarcely  any  one  can  be  found  who  does  not 
take  shame  to  be  worsted  in  debate,  and  so  it 
almost  always  happens  that  when  a  matter  is 
well  brought  into  shape  for  discussion,  it  is 
exploded  by  some  unreasonable   clamor  and 
petulance,  and  angry  feeling,  commonly  dis 
sembled,  indeed,  but  sometimes  plainly  ex 
pressed;  it  has  been,  as  I  think*  most  advan 
tageous,  and  most  answerable  to  peace,  that 
the  resolution  was  made  by  thee  to  seek  truth 
in  the  way  of  question  by  me  and  answer  by 
thee:    wherefore  there  is  no  reason  why  you 
should  fear,  if  at  any' point  you  have  unad 
visedly  tied  yourself  up,  to  return  and  undo 
the  knots;    for  otherwise  there  is  no  escape 
from  hence. 

15.  A.  Thou   speakest  rightly;  but  what  I 
have  granted  amiss  I  altogether  fail  to  see:  un 
less  perchance  that  that  is  rightly  called  false 
which  has  some  similitude  of  the  true,  since 
assuredly  nothing  else  occurs  to  me  worthy 
of   the    name   of    false;    anil    yet   again   1   am 
compelled  to  confess  that  those  things  which 
are  called  false  are  so  called  by  the  fact  that 


552 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[Honk     IF. 


they  differ  from  the  true.  From  which  it  re 
sults  that  that  very  dissimilitude  is  the  cause 
of  the  falsity.  Therefore  I  am  disquieted; 
for  I  cannot  easily  call  to  mind  anything  that 
is  engendered  by  contrary  causes.  R.  What 
if  this  is  the  one  and  only  kind  in  the  universe 
of  tilings  which  is  so  ?  Or  are  you  ignorant, 
that  in  running  over  the  innumerable  species 
of  animals,  the  crocodile  alone  is  found  to 
move  its  upper  jaw  in  eating;  especially  as 
scarcely  anything  can  be  discovered  so  like 
to  another  thing,  that  it  is  not  also  in  some 
point  unlike  it?  A.  I  see  that  indeed;  but 
when  I  consider  that  that  which  we  call  false 
has  both  something  like  and  something  un 
like  the  true,  I  am  not  able  to  make  out  on 
which  side  it  chiefly  merits  the  name  of  false. 
For  if  I  say:  on  the  side  on  which  it  is  un 
like;  there  will  be  nothing  which  cannot  be 
called  false:  for  there  is  nothing  which  is  not 
dissimilar  to  some  thing,  which  we  concede  to 
be  true.  And  again,  if  I  shall  say,  that  it  is 
to  be  called  false  on  that  side  on  which  it  is 
similar;  not  only  will  those  eggs  cry  out 
against  us  which  are  true  on  the  very  ground 
of  their  excessive  similarity,  but  even  so  I 
shall  not  escape  from  his  grasp  who  may 
compel  me  to  confess  that  all  things  are  false, 
because  I  cannot  deny  that  all  things  are  on 
some  side  or  other  similar  to  each  other. 
But  suppose  me  not  afraid  to  give  this  an 
swer,  that  likeness  and  unlikeness  alike  give 
a  right  to  call  anything  false;  what  way  of 


escape  wilt  thou  give  me  ?     For  none  the  less 


to  remain,  which  could  rightly  be  called  false, 
except  what  either  feigns  itself  to  be  what  it 
is  not,  or,  to  include  all,  tends  to  be  and  is 
not.  But  that  former  kind  of  falsity  is  either 
fallacious  or  mendacious.  For  that  is  rightly 
called  fallacious  which  has  a  certain  appetite 
of  deceiving;  which  cannot  be  understood  as 
without  a  soul:  but  this  results  in  part  from 
reason,  in  part  from  nature;  from  reason,  in 
rational  creatures,  as'  in  men;  from  nature, 
in  beasts,  as  in  the  fox.  But  what  I  call 
mendacious,  proceeds  from  those  who  utter 
falsehood.  Who  in  this  point  differ  from  the 
fallacious,  that  all  the  fallacious  seek  to  mis 
lead;  but  not  every  one  who  utters  falsehood, 
wishes  to  mislead;  for  both  mimes  and  come 
dies  and  many  poems  are  full  of  falsehoods, 
rather  with  the  purpose  of  delighting  than  of 
misleading,  and  almost  all  those  who  jest 
utter  falsehood.  But  he  is  rightly  called  falla 
cious,  whose  purpose  is,  that  somebody 
should  be  deceived.  But  those  who  do  not 
aim  to  deceive,  but  nevertheless  feign  some 
what,  are  mendacious  only,  or  if  not  even  this, 
no  one  at  least  doubts  that  they  are  to  be 
called  pleasant  falsifiers:  unless  you  have 
something  to  object. 

17.  A.  Proceed,  I  pray;  for  now  perchance 
thou  hast  begun  to  teach  concerning  falsities 
not  falsely:  but  now  I  am  considering  of  what 
sort  that  class  of  falsities  may  be,  of  which 
thou  hast  said,  It  tends  to  be,  and  is  not. 

They 


R. 

Why   should    you    not   consider?     They    are 
the     same    things,    which    already   we     have 

will  the  fatal  necessity  hang  over  me  of  [largely  passed  in  review.  Does  not  thy 
proclaiming  all  things  false;  since,  as  has  been  image  in  the  mirror  appear  to  will  to  be  thou 
said  above,  all  things  are  found  to  be  both  " 


similar,  on  some  side,  and  dissimilar,  on 
some  side,  to  each  other.  My  only  remain 
ing  resource  would  be  to  declare  nothing  else 
false,  except  what  was  other  than  it  seemed, 
unless  1  shrank  from  again  encountering  all 
those  monsters,  which  I  flattered  myself  that 
I  had  long  since  sailed  away  from.  For  a 
whirlpool  again  seizes  me  at  unawares,  and 
brings  me  round  to  own  that  to  be  true  which 
is  as  it  seems.  From  which  it  results  that 
without  a  knower  nothing  can  be  true:  where 


thyself,  but  to  be  therefore  false,  because  it 


is   not?     A.  This  does,  in  very  deed,  seem 
And    as   to    pictures,    and    all    such 


so.     R. 


expressed  resemblances,  every  such  thing 
wrought  by  the  artist  ?  Do  they  not  press  to 
be  that,  after  whose  similitude  they  have  been 
made  ?  A.  f  must  certainly  own  this  to  be 
true.  R.  And  you  will  allow,  I  believe,  that 
the  deceits  under  which  dreamers,  or  mad 
men  suffer,  are  to  be  included  in  this  kind. 
A.  None  more:  for  none  tend  more  to  be 
such  things  as  the  waking  and  the  sane  dis- 


I  have  to  fear  a  shipwreck  on  deepty  hidden  j  cern;    and  yet  they  are  hereby  false,  because 


rocks,  which  are  true,  although  unknown. 
Or,  if  I  shall  say  that  that  is  true  which  is,  it 
follows,  let  who  will  oppose,  that  there  is 
nothing  false  anywhere.  And  so  I  see  the 
same  breakers  before  me  again,  and  see  that 
all  my  patience  of  thy  delays  has  helped  me 
forward  nothing  at  all. 


that  which  they  tend  to  be  they  cannot  be. 
R.  Why  need  I  now  say  more  concerning 
the  gliding  towers,  or  the  dipped  oar,  or  the 
shadows  of  bodies?  It  is  plain,  as  I  think. 
that  they  are  to  be  measured  by  this  rule. 
A.  Most  evidently  they  are.  R,  I  say  noth 
ing  concerning  the  remaining  senses:  for  no 


16.  R.  Attend  rattier;  for  never  can  I  be  one  by  consideration  will  friil  to  find  this,  that 
persuaded,  that  we  have  implored  the  Divine  in  the  various  things  which  are  subject  to  our 
aid  in  vain.  For  I  see  that,  having  tried  all  {  sense,  that  is  called  false  which  tends  to  be 
things  as  far  as  we  could,  we  found  nothing  ;  anything  and  is  not. 


H....k    11. 1 


SOLILOQ1  U.S. 


553 


1 8.  A.  Thou  speaker  rightly;  but  I  won 
der  why  thou  wotildst  separate  troin  t.n 
those  poems  .-mil  jests,  ami  other  imitative 
tulles.  A'.  Because  forsooth  it  is  one  thing 
to  will  to  be  false,  and  another  not  to  be  able 
to  be  true.  Therefore  these  works  of  men 
themselves,  such  as  comedies  or  tragedies, 
or  mimes,  and  other  such  things,  we  may  in 
clude  with  the  works  of  painters  and  sculp 
tors.  For  a  painted  man  cannot  be  so  true, 
however  much  he  may  tend  into  the  form  of 
man,  as  those  things  which  are  written  in 
the  books  of  the  comic  poets.  For  neither 
do  they  will  to  be  false,  nor  are  they  false  by 
any  appetite  of  their  own;  but  by  a  certain 
necessity,  so  far  as  they  have  been  able  to 
follow  the  mind  of  the  author.  But  on  the 
stage  Roscius  in  will  was  a  false  Hecuba,  in 
nature  a  true  man;  but  by  that  will  also  a 
true  tragedian,  in  that  he  was  fulfilling  the 
thing  proposed:  but  a  false  Priam,  in  that  he 
made  himself  like  Priam,  but  was  not  he. 
From  which  now  arises  a  certain  marvellous 
thing,  which  nevertheless  no  one  doubts  to 
be  so.  A.  What,  pray,  is  it?  R.  What  think 
you.  unless  that  all  these  things  are  in  certain 
aspects  true,  by  this  very  thing  that  they  are 
in  certain  aspects  false,  and  that  for  their 
quality  of  truth  this  alone  avails  them,  that 
they  are  false  in  another  regard  ?  Whence  to 
that  which  they  either  will  or  ought  to  be, 
they  in  no  wise  attain,  if  they  avoid  being 
false.  For  how  could  he  whom  I  have  men 
tioned  have  been  a  true  tragedian,  had  he 
been  unwilling  to  be  a  false  Hector,  a  false 
Andromache,  a  false  Hercules,  and  innumera 
ble  other  things?  or  how  would  a  picture,  for 
instance,  be  a  true  picture,  unless  it  were  a 
false  horse  ?  or  how  could  there  be  in  a 
mirror  a  true  image  of  a  man,  if  it  were  not 
a  false  man  ?  Wherefore,  if  it  avails  some 
things  that  they  be  somewhat  false  in  order 
that  they  may  be  somewhat  true;  why  do  we 
so  greatly  dread  falsity,  and  seek  truth  as  the 
greatest  good  ?  A.  I  know  not,  and  I  greatly 
marvel,  unless  because  in  these  examples  I 
see  nothing  worthy  of  imitation.  For  not  as 
actors,  or  specular  reflections,  or  Myron's 
brazen  cows,  ought  we,  in  order  thnt  we  may 
be  true  in  some  character  of  our  own,  to  be 
outlined  and  accommodated  to  the  personation 
of  another;  but  to  seek  that  truth,  which  is 
not,  as  if  laid  out  on  a  bifronted  and  self-re 
pugnant  plan,  false  on  one  side  that  it  may 
be  true  on  the  other.  R.  High  and  Divine 
are  the  things  which  thou  requirest.  Yet  if 
we  shall  have  found  them,  shall  we  not  con 
fess  that  of  these  things  is  Truth  itself  made 
up,  and  as  it  were  brought  into  being  from 
their  fusion — Truth,  from  which  every  thing 


derives  its  name  which  in  any  way  is  called 
true  ?  A.  I  yield  no  unwilling  assent. 

19.  R.     What    then    think    you?     Is    the 
science  of  debate  true,  or  false  ?     A. 
beyond  controversy.     But   Grammar    too    is 
true.      A'.    In  the  same  sense  as  the  former? 
./.    I  do  not  see  what  is  truer  than  the  true. 
R.     That   assuredly   which    has    nothing   of 
false:   in  view  of  which  a  little  while  ago  thou 
didst  take  umbrage  at  those  things  which,  be 
it  in  this  way  or  that,  unless  they  were  false, 
could   not  be  true.     Or  do  you   not   know, 
that  all  those  fabulous  and  openly  false  things 
appertain  to  Grammar?     A.  I  am  not  igno 
rant  of  that  indeed;  but,  as  I  judge,  it  is  not 
through   Grammar   that   they  are    false,  but 
through  it,  that  whatever  they  may  be,  they 
are   interpreted.     Since  a  drama  is  a  false 
hood   composed   for  utility  or  delight.     But 

|  Grammar  is  a  science  which  is  the  guardian 
and  moderatrix  of  articulate  speech:  whose 
profession  involves  the  necessity  of  collecting 
even  all  the  figments  of  the  human  tongue, 
which  have  been  committed  to  memory  and 
letters,  not  making  them  false,  but  teaching 
and  enforcing  concerning  these  certain  princi 
ples  of  true  interpretation.  R.  Very  just:  I 
care  not  now,  whether  or  not  these  things  have 
been  well  defined  and  distinguished  by  thee; 

I  but  this  I  ask,  whether  it  is  Grammar  itself, 
or  that  science  of  debate  which  shows  this  to 
be  so.  A.  I  do  not  deny  that  the  force  and 
skill  of  definition,  whereby  I  have  now  en 
deavored  to  separate  these  things,  is  to  be  at 
tributed  to  the  art  of  disputation. 

20.  R.   How  as  to  Grammar  itself?  if  it  is 
true,  is  it  not  so  far  true  as  it  is  a  discipline  ? 
For  the  name  of  Discipline  signifies  some 
thing  to  be  learnt:  but  no  one  who  has  learned 
and  who  retains  what  he  learns,  can  be  said 
not   to    know;    and   no  one    knows    falsities. 
Therefore  every  discipline  and  science  is  true. 
A    I  see  not  what  rashness  there  can  be  in 
assenting  to  this  brief  course  of  reasoning. 
But  I  am  disturbed  lest  it  should  bring  any 
one  to  suppose  those  dramas  to  be  true;  for 
these  also  we  learn  and  retain.     R.  Was  then 
our  master  unwilling  that  we  should  believe 
what  he  taught,  and  know  it?     .-/.   Nay,  he 
was   thoroughly  in    earnest   that  we    should 
know  it.      A'.    Anil  did  he,  pray,  ever  set  out 
to   have   us  believe  that  Daedalus   flew'     ./. 
Thnt,  indeed,  never.      But  assuredly  unless  we 
remembered    the  poem,  he  took  such  order 
that  we  were  scarcely  able  to  hold  anything  in 
our  hands.      A'.    Do  you  then  deny  it  to  be 
true  that  there  is  such  a  poem,  and  that  such 
a  tradition  is  spread  abroad  concerning  D.eda- 
his?     .-/.    1  do  not  deny  this  to  be  true.      R. 
You  do  not  then  deny  that  you  learned  the 


554 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[BOOK  II. 


truth,  when  you  learned  these  things.  For  if 
it  is  true  that  Daedalus  flew,  and  boys  should 
receive  and  recite  this  as  a  feigning  fable, 
they  would  be  laying  up  falsities  in  mind  by 
the  very  fact  that  the  things  were  true  which 
they  recited.  For  from  this  results  what  we 
were  admiring  above,  that  there  could  not  be 
a  true  fiction  turning  on  the  flight  of  Daeda 
lus,  unless  it  were  false  that  Daedalus  flew. 
A.  I  now  grasp  that;  but  what  good  is  to 
come  of  it,  I  do  not  yet  see.  R.  What,  un 
less  that  that  course  of  reasoning  is  not  false, 
whereby  we  gather  that  a  science,  unless  it  is 
true,  cannot  be  a  science?  A.  And  what 
does  this  signify?  R.  Because  I  wish  to 
have  you  tell  me  on  what  the  science  of  Gram 
mar  rests:  for  the  truth  of  the  science  rests 
on  that  very  principle  which  makes  it  a 
science.  A.  I  know  not  what  to  answer  thee. 
R.  Does  it  not  seem  to  you,  that  if  nothing 
in  it  had  been  defined,  and  nothing  distrib 
uted  and  distinguished  into  classes  and 
parts,  it  could  not  in  any  wise  be  a  true 
science  ?  A.  Now  I  grasp  thy  meaning:  nor 
does  the  remembrance  of  any  science  what 
ever  occur  to  me,  in  which  definitions  and 
divisions  and  processes  of  reasoning  do  not, 
inasmuch  as  it  is  declared  what  each  thing  is, 
as  without  confusion  of  parts  its  proper  attri 
butes  are  ascribed  to  each  class,  nothing 
peculiar  to  it  being  neglected,  nothing  alien 
to  it  admitted,  perform  that  whole  range  of 
functions  from  which  it  has  the  name  of 
Science.  R.  That  whole  range  of  functions 
therefore  from  which  it  has  the  name  of  true. 
A.  I  see  this  to  be  implied. 

21.  R.  Tell  me  now  what  science  contains 
the  principles  of  definitions,  divisions  and 
partitions.  A.  It  has  been  said  above  that 
these  are  contained  in  the  rules  of  disputa 
tion.  R.  Grammar  therefore,  both  as  a 
science,  and  as  a  true  science,  has  been 
created  by  the  same  art  which  has  above  been 
defended  from  the  charge  of  falsity.  Which 
conclusion  I  am  not  required  to  confine  to 
Grammar  alone,  but  am  permitted  to  extend 
to  all  sciences  whatever.  For  you  have  said, 
and  truly  said,  that  no  science  occurs  to  you, 
in  which  the  law  of  defining  and  distributing 
does  not  lie  at  the  very  foundation  of  its 
character  as  a  science.  But  if  they  are  true 
on  that  ground  on  which  they  are  sciences, 
will  any  one  deny  that  very  thing  to  be  truth 
through  which  all  the  sciences  are  true  ?  A. 
Assuredly  I  find  it  hard  to  withhold  assent: 
but  this  gives  me  pause,  that  we  reckon 
among  the  sciences  even  that  theory  of  dis 
putation.  Wherefore  I  judge  that  rather  to 
be  truth,  whereby  this  theory  itself  is  true. 
R.  Your  watchful  accuracy  is  indeed  most 


highly  to  be  commended:  but  you  do  not 
deny,  I  suppose,  that  it  is  true  on  the  same 
ground  on  which  it  is  a  theory  and  science. 
A.  Nay,  that  is  my  very  ground  of  perplex, 
ity.  For  I  have  noted  that  it  also  is  a 
science,  and  is  on  this  account  called  true. 
R.  What  then  ?  Do  you  think  this  could  be 
a  science  on  any  other  ground  than  that  all 
things  in  it  were  defined  and  distributed  ?  A. 
I  have  nothing  else  to  say.  R.  But  if  this 
function  appertains  to  it,  it  is  in  and  of  itself 
a  true  science.  Why  then  should  any  one 
find  it  wonderful,  if  that  truth  whereby  all 
things  are  true,  should  be  through  itself  and 
in  itself  true  ?  A.  Nothing  stands  now  in  the 
way  of  my  giving  an  unreserved  assent  to 
that  opinion. 

22.  R.  Attend  therefore  to  the  few  things 
that  remain.     A.    Bring  forth  whatever  thou 
hast,  if  only  it  be  such  as  I  can  understand, 
and  I  will  willingly  agree.     R.    We  do    not 
forget,  that  to  say  that  anything  is  in  any 
thing,  is  capable  of  a  double  sense.     It  may 
mean  that  it  is  so  in  such  a  sense  as  that  it 
can  also  be   disjoined  and  be  elsewhere,  as 
this  wood  in  this  place,  or  the  sun    in  the 
East.     Or  it  may  mean  anything  is  so  in  a 
subject,  that  it  cannot  be  separated  from  it, 
as  in  this  wood  the  shape  and  visible  appear 
ance,  as  in  the  sun  the  light,  as  in  fire  heat, 
as  in  the  mind  discipline,  and  such  like.     Or 
seems  it  otherwise  to  thee  ?     A.  These  dis 
tinctions  are  indeed  most  thoroughly  familiar 
to  us,  and  from  early  youth  most  studiously 
made  an  element  of  thought;  wherefore,    if 
asked  about  these,  I  must  needs  grant  the 
position  at  once.     R.  But  do  you  not  concede 
that  if  the  subject  do  not  abide,  that  which 
is  in  the  subject  cannot  inseparably  abide  ? 
A.  This  also  I  see  necessary:  for,  the  subject 
remaining,  that  which  is  in  the  subject  may 
possibly  not  remain,  as  any  one  with  a  little 
thought  can  perceive.     Since  the  color  of  this 
body  of  mine  may,  by  reason  of  health  or 
age,  suffer  change,  though  the  body  has  not 
yet  perished.     And  this  is  not  equally  true 
of  all  things,  but  of  those  whose  coexistence 
with  the  subject  is  not  necessary  to  the  exist 
ence  of  the  subject.     For  it  is  not  necessary 
that  this  wall,  in  order  to  be  a  wall,  should 
be  of  this  color,  which  we  see  in  it;  for  even 
if,  by  some  chance,  it  should  become  black 
or  white,    or    should    undergo    some   other 
change  of  color,  it  would  nevertheless  remain 
a  wall    and  be   so  called.     But   if   fire   were 
without  heat,  it  will  not  even  be  fire;  nor  can 
we  talk  of  snow  except  as  being  white. 

23.  But   as    to   thy   question,    who   would 
grant,  or  to  whom  could  it  appear  possible, 
that  that  which  is  in  the  subject  should  remain, 


K.M.K       II. J 


SOLI  1.<>V  t  [ES. 


555 


while  the  subject  perished  ?  For  it  is  mon 
strous  and  most  utterly  foreign  to  the  truth, 
that  »vhat  would  not  be  unless  it  were  in  the 
subject,  could  be  even  when  the  subject  itself 
was  no  mure.  R.  Then  that  which  we  were 
seeking  is  found.  A.  What  dost  thou  mean? 
A'.  What  you  hear.  A.  And  is  it  then  now 
clearly  made  out  that  the  mind  is  immortal  ? 
R.  If  these  things  which  you  have  granted  are 
true,  with  most  indisputable  clearness:  un 
less  perchance  you  would  say  that  the  mind, 
even  though  it  die,  is  still  the  mind.  A.  I, 
at  least,  will  never  say  that;  but  by  this  very 
fact  that  it  perishes  it  then  comes  about  that 
it  is  not  the  mind,  is  what  I  do  say.  Nor  am 
I  shaken  in  this  opinion  because  it  has  been 
said  by  great  philosophers  that  that  thing 
which,  wherever  it  comes,  affords  life,  cannot 
admit  death  into  itself.  For  although  the 
light  wheresoever  it  has  been  able  to  gain 
entrance,  makes  that  place  luminous,  and, 
by  virtue  of  that  memorable  force  of  contrarie 
ties,  cannot  admit  darkness  into  itself;  yet  it 
is  extinguished,  and  that  place  is  by  its  ex 
tinction  made  dark.  So  that  which  resisted 
the  darkness,  neither  in  any  way  admitted  the 
darkness  into  it,  and  yet  made  place  for  it  by 
perishing,  as  it  could  have  made  place  for  it 
by  departing.  Therefore  I  fear  lest  death 
should  befall  the  body  in  such  wise  as  dark 
ness  a  place,  the  mind,  like  light,  sometimes 
departing,  but  sometimes  being  extinguished 
on  the  spot;  so  that  now  not  concerning  every 
death  of  the  body  is  there  security,  but  a  par 
ticular  kind  of  death  is  to  be  chosen,  by 
which  the  soul  may  be  conducted  out  of  the 
body  unharmed,  and  guided  to  a  place,  if 
there  is  any  such  place,  where  it  cannot  be 
extinguished.  Or,  if  not  even  this  may  be, 
and  the  mind,  as  it  were  a  light,  is  kindled  in 
the  body  itself,  nor  has  capacity  to  endure 
elsewhere,  and  every  death  is  a  sort  of  extinc 
tion  of  the  soul  in  the  body,  or  of  the  life; 
some  sort  is  to  be  chosen  by  which,  so  far  as 
man  is  allowed,  life,  while  it  is  lived,  may  be 
lived  in  security  and  tranquillity,  although  I 
know  not  how  that  can  come  to  pass  if  the 
soul  dies.  O  greatly  blessed  they,  who, 
whether  from  themselves,  or  from  whom  you 
will,  have  gained  ttie  persuasion,  that  death 
is  not  to  be  feared,  even  if  the  soul  should 
perish  !  Hut,  wretched  me,  no  reasonings,  no 
books,  have  hitherto  been  able  to  persuade  of 
this. 

24.  It.  Groan  not,  the  human  mind  is  immor 
tal.  A.  How  dost  thou  prove  it  ?  R.  From 
those  things  which  you  have  granted  above, 
with  great  caution.  A.  I  do  not  indeed  re 
call  to  mind  any  want  of  vigilance  in  my  ad 
missions  when  questioned  by  thee:  but  now 


gather  all  into  one  sum.  I  pray  thee;  let  us 
see  at  what  point  we  have  arrived  after  so 
many  circuits,  nor  would  I  have  thee  in  doing 
so  question  me.  For  if  thou  art  about  to 
enumerate  concisely  those  things  which  I 
have  granted,  why  is  my  response  again  de 
sired  ?  Or  is  it  that  thou  wouldst  wantonly 
torture  me  by  delays  of  joy,  if  we  have  in 
fact  achieved  any  solid  result?  R.  I  will  do 
that  which  I  see  that  thou  dost  wish,  but 
attend  most  diligently.  A.  Speak  now,  here 
lam;  why  slayest  thou  me?  R.  If  every 
thing  which  is  in  the  subject  always  abides,  it 
follows  of  necessity  that  the  subject  itself 
always  abides.  And  every  discipline  is  in  the 
subject  mind.  It  is  necessary  therefore  that 
the  mind  should  continue  forever,  if  the 
science  continues  forever.  Now  Science  is 
Truth,  and  always,  as  in  the  beginning  of  this 
book  Reason  hath  convinced  thee,  does  Truth 
abide.  Therefore  the  mind  lasts  forever,  nor 
dead,  could  it  be  called  the  mind.  He  there 
fore  alone  can  escape  absurdity  in  denying 
the  mind  to  be  immortal,  who  can  prove  that 
any  of  the  foregoing  concessions  have  been 
made  without  reason. 

25.  A.  And  now  I  am  ready  to  plunge -into 
the  expected  joys,  but  yet  I  am  held  hesitat 
ing  by  two  thoughts.     For,  first,  it  makes  me 
uneasy  that  we  have  used  so  long  a  circuit, 
following  out  I  know  not  what  chain  of  rea 
sonings,  when  the  whole  matter  of  discourse 
admitted  of  so  brief  a  demonstration,  as  has 
now  been  shown.     Wherefore,  it  renders  me 
anxious  that  the  discourse  has  so  long  held 
so  wary  a  step,  as   if  with   some  design  of 
setting  an  ambush.     Next,  I  do  not  see  how 
a  science  is  always  in  the  mind,    when,  on 
the  one  hand,  so  few  are  familiar  with  it,  and, 
on  the  other,  whoever  does  know  it,  was  dur 
ing  so  long  a  time  of  early  childhood   unac 
quainted  with  it.     For  we   can    neither   say 
that  the  minds  of  the  untaught  are  not  minds, 
nor  that  that  science  is  in  their  mind  of  which 
they   are    ignorant.     And    if   this    is    utterly 
absurd,  it  results  that  either  the  science  is  not 
always  in  the  mind,  or  that  that   science  is 
not  Truth. 

26.  R.  T!:ou  mayest  note  that  it  is  not  for 
naught  that  our  reasoning  has  taken  so  wide 
a   round.     For  we   were    inquiring   what    is 
Truth,  which  not  even  now,  in  this  very  for 
est   of   thoughts    and    things,   beguiling   our 
steps  into  an  infinity  of  paths,  have  we,  as  I 
see,  been  able  to  track  out  to  the  end.     But 
what  are  we  to  do  ?     Shall  we  desist  from  our 
undertaking,    and    wait    in     hope    that   some 
book  or  other  may  fall  into  our  hands,  which 
may    satisfy   this   question  ?       For    many.    I 
think,  have  written  before  our  age,  whom  we 


556 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[HOOK   II. 


have  not  read:  and  now,  to  give  no  guess  at  [  us  less  secure  of  the  final  conclusion  of  the 
what  we  do  not  kaow,  we  tee  plainly  that  there  whole  matter.  Or  shall  we  rather  inquire 
is  much  writing  upon  this  theme,  both  in  this,  how  a  science  can  be  in  an  untrained 
verse  and  prose;  and  that  by  men  whose  writ-  mind,  which  yet  we  cannot  deny  to  be  a  mind  ? 
ings  cannot  be  unknown  to  us,  and  whose  For  this  seemed  to  give  you  uneasiness,  so 
genius  \ve  know  to  be  such,  that  we  cannot  •  as  to  involve  you  again  in  doubt  as  to  your 
despair  of  finding  in  their  works  what  we  re-  previous  concessions.  A.  Nay,  let  us  first 
quire:  especially  when  here  before  our  eyes  |  discuss  the  two  former  propositions,  and  then 


main.     ft.  So    be    it,    but 
utmost  heed  and  caution. 


is  he  in  whom  we  have  recognized  that  elo 
quence  for  which  we  mourned  as  dead,  to 
have  revived  in  vigorous  life.  Will  he  suf 
fer  us,  after  having  in  his  writings  taught  us 
the  true  manner  of  living,  to  remain  ignorant 
of  the  true  nature  of  living?  A.  I  indeed  do 
not  tiiink  so,  and  hope  much  from  thence, 
but  one  matter  of  grief  I  have,  that  we  have 
not  opportunity  of  opening  to  him  our  zealous 
affection  either  towards  him  or  towards  Wis 
dom.  For  assuredly  he  would  pity  our  thirst, 
and  would  overtlow  much  more  quickly  than 
now.  For  he  is  secure,  because  he  has  now 
won  a  full  conviction  of  the  immortality  of 
the  soul,  and  perhaps  knows  not  that  there 
are  any,  who  have  only  too  well  experienced 

the  misery  of  this  ignorance,  and  whom  it  is   that  not  only  if  the  whole  world  should  perish, 

but  even  if  Truth  itself  should,  it  will  still  be 


we  will  consider  the  nature  of  ttiis  latter  fact. 
For  so,  as  I  judge,  no  controversy  will  re- 
attend  with  the 
For  I  know  what 
happens  to  you  as  you  listen,  namely,  that 
while  you  are  too  intent  upon  the  conclusion, 
and  expecting  that  now,  or  now,  it  will  be 
drawn,  you  grant  the  points  implied  in  my 
questions  without  a  sufficiently  diligent  scru 
tiny.  A.  Perchance  thou  speakest  the  truth; 
but  I  shall  strive  against  this  kind  of  disease 


as  much  as  1 


only  begin  thou  now  to  in 


quire  of  me,  that  we  linger  not  over  things 
superfluous. 

28.   ft.   From  this  truth,   as   I   remember, 
that  Truth  cannot  perish,  we  have  concluded, 


cruel  not  to  aid,  especially  when  they  entreat 
it.  Cut  that  other  knows  indeed  from  old 
familiarity  our  ardor  of  longing;  but  he  is  so 
far  removed,  and  we  are  so  circumstanced, 


true'  that  both  the  world  and  Truth  have  per 
ished.  Now  there  is  nothing  true  without 
truth:  in  nowise  therefore  does  Truth  perish. 


that  we  have  scarcely  the  opportunity  of  so  \  A.   I  acknowledge  all  this,  and  shall  be  greatly 


much  as  sending  a  letter  to  him.  Whom  I 
believe  to  have  lately  in  Transalpine  retire 
ment  composed  a  spell,  under  whose  ban  the 


surprised  if  it  turns  out  false.  R.  Let  us 
then  consider  that  other  point.  A.  Suffer 
me,  I  pray  thee,  to  reflect  a  little,  lest  I  should 


fear  of  death  is  compelled  to  flee,  and  the  j  soon   come   back    in   confusion.     R.  Will    it 
cold  stupor  of  the  soul,  indurate  with  lasting  j  therefore  not  be  true  that  Truth  has  peris.ied  ? 

not  be  true,  then  Truth  does  not 


ice,  is  expelled.  But  in  the  meantime,  while 
these  helps  are  leisurely  making  their  way 
hither,  a  benefit  which  it  is  not  in  our  power 
to  command,  is  it  not  most  unworthy  that  our 
leisure  should  be  wasting,  and  our  very  mind 
hang  wholly  dependent  on  the  uncertain  de 
cision  of  another's  will  ? 

27.  What  shall  we  say  to  this,  that  we  have 
entreated  God  and  do  entreat,  that  He  will 
show  us  a  way,  not  to  riches,  not  to  bodily 
pleasures,  not  to  popular  honors  and  seats  of 
state,  but  to  the  knowledge  of  our  own  soul, 
and  that  He  will  likewise  disclose  Himself  to 
them  that  seek  Him  ? 
sake  us,  or  shall  He 


Will  He,  indeed,  for- 
be    forsaken   by    us  ? 

R.   Most  utterly  foreign  to  Him  is  it  indeed, 
that  He  should  desert  them  who  desire  such 


If  it  will 

perish.  If  it  were  true,  where,  after  the  fall 
of  Truth,  will  be  the  true,  when  now  there  is 
no  truth  ?  A.  I  have  no  further  occasion  for 
thought  and  consideration;  proceed  to  some 
thing  else.  Assuredly  we  will  take  order,  so 
far  as  we  may,  that  learned  and  wise  men 
may  read  these  musings,  and  may  correct 
our  unadvisedness,  if  they  shall  find  any:  for 
as  to  myself,  I  do  not  believe  that  either 
now  or  hereafter  I  shall  be  able  to  discover 
what  can  be  said  against  this. 

29.  R.  Is  Truth  then  so  called  for  any 
other  reason  than  as  being  that  by  which 
even-tiling  is  true  which  is  true?  A.  For  no 
other  reason.  R.  Is  it  rightly  called  true  for 
any  ground  than  that  it  is  not  false?  A.  To 


doubt  this  were  madness.  R.  Is  that  not 
false  which  is  accommodated  to  the  simili 
tude  of  anything,  yet  is  not  that  the  likeness 


things:  whence  also  it  ought  to  be  strange  to 
our  thoughts  that  we  should  desert  so  great  a 
Guide.  Wherefore,  if  you  will,  let  us  briefly 

go  over  the  considerations  from  which  either  of  which  it  appears  ?  A.  Nothing  indeed  do 
proposition  results,  either  that  Truth  always  1  see  which  1  would  more  willingly  call  false, 
abides,  or  that  Truth  is  the  theory  of  argu-  Hut  yet  that  is  commonly  called  false,  which 
mentation.  For  you  have  said  that  these  is  far  removed  from  the  similitude  of  the 
points  wavered  in  your  mind,  so  as  to  make  ,  true.  A'.  Who  denies  it?  But  yet  because 


H....K    II. I 


SOLI1.0MI    IBS, 


557 


it  implies  some  imitation  of  the  true.  A. 
How'  For  when  it  is  said,  that  Medea  flew 
away  with  winged  snakes  harnessed  to  lie-rear, 
that  thing  on  n«>  side  imitates  truth;  inas 
much  as  the  tiling  is  naught,  nor  can  that 
thing  imitate  aught,  when  itself  is  absolutely 
nothing.  A'.  You  say  right;  but  you  do  not 
note  that  that  thing  which  is  absolutely  noth 
ing,  cannot  even  be  called  false.  For  if  it  is 
false,  it  is:  if  it  is  not,  it  is  not  false.  A. 
Shall  we  not  then  say  that  monstrous  story  of 
Medea  is  false?  R.  Assuredly  not;  for  if  it 
is  false,  how  is  it  a  monstrous  story  ?  A. 
Admirable  !  Then  when  I  say 

"The  mighty  winged  snakes  I  fasten  to  my  car," 

do  I  not  say  false?  R.  You  do,  assuredly: 
for  that  is  which  you  say  to  be  false.  A. 
What,  I  pray?  R.  That  sentence,  forsooth, 
which  is  contained  in  the  verse  itself.  A. 
And  pray  what  imitation  of  truth  has  that  ? 
R.  Because  it  would  bear  the  same  tenor, 
even  if  Medea  had  truly  done  that  thing. 
Therefore  in  its  very  terms  a  false  sentence 
imitates  true  sentences.  Which,  if  it  is  not 
believed,  in  this  alone  does  it  imitate  true 
ones,  that  it  is  expressed  as  they,  and  it  is 
only  false,  it  is  not  also  misleading.  But  if  it 
obtains  faith,  it  imitates  also  those  sentences 
which,  being  true,  are  believed  true.  A. 
Now  I  perceive  that  there  is  a  great  difference 
between  those  things  which  we  say  and  those 
things  concerning  which  we  say  aught;  where 
fore  I  now  assent:  for  this  proposition  alone 
held  me  back,  that  whatever  we  call  false  is 
not  rightly  so  called,  unless  it  have  an  imita 
tion  of  something  true.  For  who,  calling  a 
stone  false  silver,  would  not  be  justly  de 
rided  ?  Yet  if  any  one  should  declare  a  stone 
to  be  silver,  we  say  that  he  speaks  falsely,  that 
is,  that  he  utters  a  false  sentence.  But  it  is 
not,  I  think,  unreasonable  that  we  should  call 
tin  or  lead  false  silver,  because  the  thing  it 
self,  as  it  were,  imitates  that:  nor  is  our  sen 
tence  declaring  this  therefore  false,  but  that 
very  thing  concerning  which  it  is  pronounced. 
30.  R.  You  apprehend  the  matter  well. 
But  consider  this,  whether  we  can  also  with 
propriety  call  silver  by  the  name  of  false  lead. 
A.  Not  in  my  opinion.  R.  Why  so'  A.  I 
know  not;  except  that  I  see  that  it  would  be 
altogether  against  my  will  to  have  it  so  called. 
A'.  Is  it  percnance  for  the  reason  that  silver 
is  the  better,  and  such  a  name  would  i  - 
temptuous  of  it;  but  it  confers  a  certain  hon 
or,  as  it  were,  on  lead,  if  it  should  be  called 
false  silver?  .-/.  Thou  hast  expressed  ex 
actly  what  I  had  in  mind.  And  therefore 
I  believe  that  it  is  with  good  right  that  those 
are  held  infamous  and  incapable  of  bearing 


witness,  who   flaunt  themselves   in   female  at 
tire,  whom  I  know  not  wuetiier  I  should  more 
reasonably    call    false    women,  or    false    men. 
True    actors,    however,    and    truly    infamous, 
without  doubt  we  can  call   them;  or,  if  they 
lurk  unseen,  and  it  infamy  implies  an  evil  re 
pute,  we  may  call  them  not  without  truth,  true 
sj)ei -inn  ns  of  worthlessness.    A'.  We  snail  have 
[another     opportunity     of     discussing     these 
things:    for  many  things  are  done,  which  in 
the  mere   guise  of   them  appear   base,   yet, 
done  for  some  praiseworthy  end,  are  shown 
to  be  honorable.     And  it  is  a  great  question 
whether  one,   for  the  sake  of  liberating   ins 
country,  ought  to  put  on  a  woman's  garment 
I  to  deceive  the  enemy,  being,  perhaps,  by  the 
[very  fact  that  he  is  a  false  woman,  apt  to  be 
shown   the  truer  man:    and   whether  a  wise 
|  man  who   in    some  way  may  have   certainly 
1  ascertained  that  his  life  will  be  necessary  to 
I  the    interests  of    mankind,  ought    to  choose 
rather  to  die  of  cold,  than  to  indue  himself  in 
female  vestments,  if  he  can   find   no  other. 
But  concerning  this,  as  has  been  said,  we  will 
consider  hereafter.      For  unquestionably  thou 
discernest   how  careful   an   inquisition   it   re 
quires,  how  far  such  things  can  be  carried, 
't  without  falling  into  various  inexcusable  base 
nesses.      But  now — which  suffices  for  the  pre 
sent  question — I  think  it  is  now  evident,  and 
beyond  doubt,  that  there  is  not  anything  false 
except  by  some  imitation  of  the  true. 

31.   A.   Go  on  to  what  remains;  for  of  this 
I  am  well  convinced.     A\   Then  I  ask  this, 
j  whether,  besides  the  sciences  in  which  we  are 
instructed,  and  in  which  it  is  fitting  that  the 
study  of  wisdom  itself  should  be  included,  we 
can  find  anything  so  true,  that  it  is  not,  like 
.  that  Achilles  of  the  stage,  false  on  one  side, 
that  it  may  be  true  on  another?     A.  To  me, 
indeed,  many  such  things  appear  capable  of 
being  found.     For  no  sciences  contain   this 
stone,  nor  yet,  that  it  may  be  a  true  stone, 
i  does  it  imitate  anything  according  to  which  it 
j  would  be  called  false.      Which  one  thing  being 
mentioned,  thou  seest  there  is  opportunity  to 
dwell  upon  things  innumerable,  which  of  them 
selves  occur  to  the  thought.     R.   I  see,  I  see. 
But  do  they  not  seem  to  thee  to  be  included 
in  the  one  name  of  Body  ?     A.  They  might 
so  seem,  if  either  I  had  ascertained  the  inane 
to  be  nothing,  or  thought  that  the  mind  itself 
ought  to  be  numbered  among  bodies,  or  be- 
[lieved  that  God  also  is  a  body.      If  all  these 
[things  are,  I  see   them   not  to  be   false  and 
true  in  imitation  of  anything.      R.    You  send 
us  a  long  journey,  but  I  will  use  all  compen 
dious  speed.      For  certainly  what  you  call  the 
Inane    is    one    thing,    what     you    call    Truth 
another.     .-/.    Widely   diverse,    indeed.      For 


THE   WORKS  OF  ST.  AUGUSTIN. 


I  HOOK  II. 


what  more  inane  than  I,  if  I  think  Truth 
anything  inane,  or  so  greatly  seek  after  aught 
inane  ?  For  what  else  than  Truth  do  I  desire 
to  find  ?  X.  Therefore  perchance  you  grant 
this  too,  that  nothing  is  true  which  does  not 
by  Truth  come  to  be  true.  A.  This  became 
manifest  at  an  early  stage.  R.  Do  you  doubt 
that  nothing  is  inane  except  the  Inane  itself, 
or  certainly  that  a  body  is  not  inane  ?  A.  I 
do  not  doubt  it  at  all.  R.  I  suppose  there 
fore,  you  believe  that  Truth  is  some  sort  of 
body.  A.  In  no  wise.  R.  What  is  a  body  ? 
A.  I  know  not;  no  matter:  for  I  think  thou 
knowest  that  even  that  inane,  if  it  is  inane,  is 
more  completely  so  where  there  is  no  body. 
R.  This  assuredly  is  plain.  A.  Why  then  do 
we  delay  ?  R.  Does  it  then  seem  to  thee 
either  that  Truth  made  the  inane,  or  that 
there  is  anything  true  where  Truth  is  not  ? 
A.  Neither  seems  true.  R.  The  inane  there 
fore  is  not  true,  because  neither  could  it  be 
come  inane  by  that  which  is  not  inane:  and 
it  is  manifest  that  what  is  void  of  truth  is  not 
true;  and,  in  fine,  that  very  thing  which  is 
called  inane,  is  so  called  because  it  is  nothing. 
How  therefore  can  that  be  true  which  is  not  ? 
or  how  can  that  be  which  is  absolutely  noth 
ing?  A.  Well  then,  let  us  desert  the  inane 
as  being  inane. 

32.  R,  What  sayest  thou  concerning  the 
rest?  A.  What?  R.  Because  you  see  how 
much  stands  on  my  side.  For  we  have  re 
maining  the  Soul  and  God.  And  if  these  two 
are  true  for  the  reason  that  Truth  is  in  them, 
of  the  immortality  of  God  no  one  doubts. 
But  the  mind  is  believed  immortal,  if  Truth, 
which  cannot  perish,  is  proved  to  be  in  it. 
Wherefore  let  us  consider  this  last  point, 
whether  the  body  be  not  truly  true,  that  is, 
whether  there  be  in  it,  not  Truth,  but  a  cer 
tain  image  of  Truth.  For  if  even  in  the 
body,  which  we  know  to  be  perishable,  we  find 
such  an  element  of  truth,  as  there  is  in  the 
sciences,  it  does  not  then  so  certainly  follow, 
that  the  art  of  discussion  is  Truth,  whereby 
all  sciences  are  true.  For  true  is  even  the 
body,  which  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
formed  by  the  force  of  argument.  But  if 
even  the  body  is  true  by  a  certain  imitation, 
and  is  on  this  account,  not  absolutely  and 
purely  true,  there  will  then,  perchance,  be 
nothing  to  hinder  the  theory  of  argument 
from  being  taught  to  be  Truth  itself.  A 
Meanwhile  let  us  inquire  concerning  the 
body;  for  not  even  when  this  shall  have  been 
settled,  do  I  see  a  prospect  of  ending  this 
controversy.  R.  Whence  knowest  thou  what 
God  purposes?  Therefore  attend:  for  I  at 
least  think  the  body  to  be  contained  in  a  cer 
tain  form  and  guise,  which  if  it  had  not,  it 


would  not  be  the  body;  if  it  had  it  in  truth, 
it  would  be  the  mind.  Or  does  the  fact  stand 
otherwise  ?  A.  I  assent  in  part,  of  the  rest  I 
doubt;  for,  unless  some  figure  is  maintained, 
I  grant  that  it  is  not  a  body.  But  how,  if  it 
had  it  in  truth,  it  would  be  the  mind,  I  do  not 
well  understand.  R.  Do  you  then  remem 
ber  nothing  concerning  the  exordium  of  this 
book,  and  that  Geometry  of  yours?  A. 
Thou  hast  mentioned  it  to  purpose;  I  do  in 
deed  remember,  and  am  most  willing  to  do 
so.  R.  Are  such  figures  found  in  bodies,  as 
that  science  demonstrates?  A.  Nay,  it  is  in 
credible  how  greatly  inferior  they  are  con 
victed  of  being.  R.  Which  of  them,  there 
fore,  do  you  think  true  ?  A.  Do  not,  I  beg, 
think  it  necessary  even  to  put  that  question 
to  me.  For  who  is  so  dull,  as  not  to  see  that 
those  figures  which  are  taught  in  Geometry, 
dwell  in  Truth  itself,  or  even  Truth  in  these; 
but. that  those  embodied  figures,  inasmuch  as, 
they  seem,  so  to  speak,  to  tend  towards  these, 
have  I  know  not  what  imitation  of  trut"h, 
and  are  therefore  false  ?  For  now  that  whole 
matter  which  thou  wert  laboring  to  show,  I 
understand. 

33.  R.  What  need  is  there  any  longer  than 
that  we  should  inquire  concerning  the  science 
of  disputation?  For  whether  the  figures  of 
Geometry  are  in  the  Truth,  or  the  Truth  is 
in  them,  that  they  are  contained  in  our  soul, 
that,  is?  in  our  intelligence,  no  one  calls  in 
question,  and  through  this  fact  Truth  also  is 
compelled  to  be  in  our  mind.  But  if  every 
science  whatever  is  so  in  the  mind,  as  in  the 
subject  inseparably,  and  if  Truth  is  not  able 
to  perish;  why,  I  ask,  do  we  doubt  concern 
ing  the  perpetual  life  of  the  mind  through  I 
know  not  what  familiarity  with  death?  Or 
have  that  line  or  squareness  or  roundness 
other  things  which  they  imitate  that  they  may 
be  true?  A.  In  no  way  can  I  believe  that, 
unless  perchance  a  line  be  something  else 
than  length  without  breadth,  and  a  circle 
something  else  than  a  circumscribed  line 
everywhere  verging  equally  to  the  centre.  R. 
Why  then  do  we  hesitate  ?  Or  is  not  Truth 
where  these  things  are  ?  A.  God  avert  such 
madness.  R.  Or  is  not  the  science  in  the 
mind  ?  A.  Who  would  say  that  ?  R.  But  is 
it  possible,  the  subject  perishing,  that  that 
which  is  in  the  subject  should  perdure  ?  A. 
When  could  I  imagine  such  a  thing?  R.  It 
remains  to  suppose  that  Truth  may  fail.  A. 
Whence  could  this  be  brought  to  pass  ?  R. 
Therefore  the  soul  is  immortal:  now  at  last 
yield  to  thine  own  arguments,  believe  the 
Truth;  she  cries  out  that  she  dwelleth  in  thee, 
and  is  immortal,  and  that  her  seat  cannot  be 
withdrawn  from  her  by  any  possible  death  of 


H.M.K       II. 


SOI. II  (  I(H    IKS. 


559 


the    body.     Turn     away    from    thy    shadow, 
return  into  thyself;  of   no  meaning    is  the  de- 


This    oblivion    therefore    differs    exceedingly 
from  that,  but  that  stands  midway,      For  there 


struction  thou  fcarcst,  except  that  thou  hast  j  is  another  nearer  and  more  dourly  neighbor* 
forgotten  that  thou  canst  not  be  destroyed.  I  ing  to  the  recollection  and  rekindled  vision  of 
A.  I  hear,  I  come  to  a  better  mind,  I  begin  |  truth:  the  like  of  which  is  when  we  see  some- 
to  recollect  myself.  But  I  beg  thou  wouldst  thing,  and  recognize  for  certain  that  we  have 
expedite  those  things  which  remain;  how,  in  seen  it  at  some  time,  and  affirm  that  we  know 
an  undisciplined  mind,  for  a  mortal  one  we  it;  but  where,  or  when,  or  how,  or  with 
cannot  call  it,  Science  and  Truth  are  to  be  |  whom  it  came  into  our  knowledge,  we  have 


understood  to  be. 
another   volume, 


R.   That  question  requires 
if    thou    wouldst    have    it 


enough  to  do  to  search  our  memory  for  an 
answer.  As  if  this  happens  in  regard  to  a 
man,  we  also  inquire  where  we  have  known 
him:  which  when  he  has  brought  to  mind,  sud- 

after  our  best  power,  have  been  already  ex- !  denly  the  whole  thing  flashes  upon  the  mem- 
amined;   because  if  no  one  of  those  things   ory  like  a  light,  and  we  have  no  more  trouble 


treated  thoroughly:    moreover  also  I  see  oc 
casion  for  thee  to  review  those  tilings,  which, 


to  recollect.  Is  this  sort  of  forgetfulness  un 
known  to  thee,  or  obscure  ?  A.  What  plainer 
than  this  ?  or  what  is  happening  to  me  more 
frequently  ? 

35.  R.  Such  are  those  who  are  well  instructed 
in  the  liberal  arts;  since  they  by  learning  dis 
inter  them,  buried  in  oblivion,  doubtless, 
within  themselves,  and,  in  a  manner,  dig  them 
out  afresh:  nor  yet  are  they  content,  nor  re 
frain  themselves  until  the  whole  aspect  of 
Truth,  of  which,  in  those  arts,  a  certain  efful- 

frames  to  "itself,  which   in  Greek   is  termed  |  gence  already  gleams  forth  upon  them,  is  by 
either   Phantasia   or   Phantasma.     R.    Thou   them  most  widely  and  most   clearly  beheld. 


which  have  been  admitted  is  doubtful,  I  think 
that  we  have  accomplished  much,  and  with 
no  small  security  may  proceed  to  push  our 
inquiries  farther. 

34.  A.  It  is  as  thou  sayest,  and  I  willingly 
yield  compliance  with  thine  injunctions.  But 
this  at  least  I  would  entreat,  before  thou  de- 
creest  a  term  to  the  volume,  that  thou  wouldst 
summarily  explain  what  the  distinction  is  be 
tween  the  true  figure,  which  is  contained  in 
the  intelligence,  and  that  which  thought 


seekest  that  which  no  one  except  one  of  pur 
est  sight  is  able  to  see,  and  to  the  vision  of 
which  thing  thou  art  but  poorly  trained;  nor 
have  we  now  in  these  wide  circuits  anything 
else  in  view  than  to  exercise  thee,  that  thou 
mayest  be  competent  to  see:  yet  how  it  is 
possible  to  be  taught  that  the  difference  is 
very  great,  perhaps  I  can,  with  a  little  pains, 
make  clear.  For  suppose  thou  hadst  forgot 
ten  something,  and  that  others  were  wishing 
that  thou  shouldst  recall  it  to  memory.  They 
therefore  say:  Is  it  this,  or  that?  bringing 
forward  things  diverse  from  it  as  if  similar  to 
it.  But  thou  neither  seest  that  which  thou 
desirest  to  recollect,  and  yet  seest  that  it  is 
not  this  which  is  suggested.  Seems  this  to 
thee,  when  it  happens,  by  any  means  equiva 
lent  to  total  forgetfulness  ?  For  this  very 
power  of  distinguishing,  whereby  the  false 
suggestions  made  to  thee  are  repelled,  is  a 
certain  part  of  recollection.  A.  So  it  seems. 
R.  Such  therefore  do  not  yet  see  the  truth; 
yet  they  cannot  be  misled  and  deceived;  and 
what  they  seek,  they  sufficiently  know.  But 
if  any  one  should  say  that  thou  didst  laugh  a 
few  days  after  thou  wast  born,  thou  wouldst 
not  venture  to  say  it  was  false:  and  if  he  were 
an  authority  worthy  of  credit,  thou  art  ready, 
not,  indeed,  to  remember,  but  to  believe;  for 
to  thee  that  whole  time  is  buried  in  most 
authentic  oblivion.  Or  thinkest  thou  other 
wise?  A.  I  thoroughly  agree  with  this.  R. 


But  from  this  certain  false  colors  and  forms 
pour  themselves  as  it  were  upon  the  mirror  of 
thought,  and  mislead  inquirers  often,  and  de 
ceive  those  who  think  that  to  be  the  whole 
which  they  know  or  which  they  inquire. 
Those  imaginations  themselves  are  to  be 
avoided  with  great  carefulness;  which  are  de 
tected  as  fallacious,  by  their  varying  with  the 
varied  mirror  of  thought,  whereas  that  face  of 
Truth  abides  one  and  immutable.  For  then 
thought  portrays  to  itself,  for  instance,  a 
square  of  this  or  that  or  the  other  magnitude, 
and,  as  it  were,  brings  it  before  the  eyes;  but 
the  inner  mind  which  wishes  to  see  the  truth, 
applies  itself  rather  to  that  general  concep 
tion,  if  it  can,  according  to  which  it  judges 
all  these  to  be  squares.  A.  What  if  some 
one  should  say  to  us  that  the  mind  judges  ac 
cording  to  what  it  is  accustomed  to  see  with 
the  eyes?  R.  Why  then  does  it  judge,  that 
is,  if  it  is  well  trained,  that  a  true  sphere  of 
any  conceivable  size  is  touched  by  a  true 
plane  at  a  point  ?  How  has  eye  ever  seen,  or 
how  can  eye  ever  see  such  a  thing,  when  any 
thing  of  this  kind  cannot  be  bodied  forth  in 
the  pure  imagination  of  thought?  Or  do  we 
not  prove  this,  when  we  describe  even  the 
smallest  imaginary  circle  in  our  mind,  and 
from  it  draw  lines  to  the  centre  ?  For  when 
we  have  drawn  two,  between  which  there  is 
scarce  room  for  a  needle's  point,  we  are  no 
longer  able,  even  in  imagination,  to  draw 


56o 


THE  WORKS  OF  ST.   AUGUSTIN. 


[BOOK  II. 


others  between,  so  that  they  shall  arrive  at 
the  centre  without  any  commixture;  whereas 
reason  exclaims  that  innumerable  lines  can  be 
drawn,  without  being  able  to  touch  each  other 
except  in  the  centre,  so  that  in  every  interval 
between  them  even  a  circle  could  be  de 
scribed.  Since  that  Phantasy  cannot  accom 
plish  this,  and  is  more  deficient  than  the  eyes 
themselves,  since  it  is  through  them  that  it  is 
inflicted  on  the  mind,  it  is  manifest  that  it 
differs  much  from  Truth,  and  that  that,  when 
this  is  seen,  is  not  seen. 

36.  These  points  will  be  treated  with  more 
pains  and  greater  subtilty,  wnen  we  shall 
have  begun  to  discuss  the  faculty  of  intelli 
gence,  which  part  of  our  theme  is  proposed 
by  us,  as  something  which  is  to  be  developed 
and  discussed  by  us,  when  anything  gives 


anxiety  concerning  the  life  of  the  soul.  For 
I  believe  thee  to  stand  in  no  slight  fear  lest 
the  death  of  man,  even  if  it  do  not  slay  the 
soul,  should  nevertheless  induce  oblivion  of 
all  things,  and  of  Truth  itself,  if  any  shall 
have  been  discovered.  A.  It  cannot  be  ex 
pressed  how  much  this  evil  is  to  be  feared. 
For  of  what  sort  will  be  that  eternal  life,  or 
what  death  is  not  to  be  preferred  to  it,  if  the 
soul  so  lives,  as  we  see  it  live  in  a  child  just 
born  ?  to  say  nothing  of  that  life  which  is 
lived  in  the  womb;  for  I  do  not  think  it  to  be 
none.  tf.  Be  of  good  courage;  God  will  be 
present,  as  we  now  feel,  to  us  who  seek,  who 
promises  a  certain  most  blessed  body  after 
this,  and  an  utter  plenitude  of  Truth  without 
any  falsehood.  A.  May  it  be  as  we  hope. 


INDEXES. 


ON  THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  ST.  JOHN, 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS 


ABRAHAM,  his  sacrifice  a  type  of 
Christ,  67;  how  he  saw  Christ's 
day,  244  ;  his  seed,  Christ  and 
His  mystical  Body,  405. 

Absolution,  binding  and  loosing  im-  j 
parted  with  the  Holy  Ghost, 
when  Christ  breathed  on  the 
apostles,  438  ;  Ministerial, 
Christ's  command,  "  Loose 
him,  and  let  him  go,"  277. 

Acknowledgment  of  sin,  the  way  to 
forgiveness,  85  sq. 

Acts  of  the  Apostles,  read  between 
Easter  and  Pentecost,  45. 

Adam,  the  first  and  the  Second 
Adam,  22,  73,  381  ;  a  type  of 
Christ,  67,  101  ;  mystery  of  his 
name,  67,  73  ;  would  be  God  by 
usurpation,  343. 

Ages,  six,  of  the  world,  65,  101. 

All,  different  senses  of  the  word,  290. 

Alms-deeds,  an  anointing  of  the 
Lord's  feet,  280;  because  the 
regenerate  are  not  without  sin, 
which  overtakes  them  unawares, 
God  hath  given  them,  as  salu 
tary  remedies  for  the  aiding  of 
their  prayers,  449  sq. 

Altar  of  God,  the  Christian,  to  us 
that  is  Christ  placed  thereon, 
as  to  Israel  in  the  wilderness, 
the  rock  was  Christ,  252. 

Ambrose,  St.  allusion  to  his  exposi 
tion  concerning  Peter,  320. 

Amen,  Amen,  left  untranslated,  230 

Amulets  and  incantations,  devices 
of  the  devil,  50,  52. 

Angel  of  the  Lord,  a  created  angel 
foreshadowing  Christ,  23. 

Angels,  ascending  and  descending 
upon  the  Son  of  Man,  good 
preachers  of  Christ,  56  ;  not  to 
be  worshipped,  87  ;  their  food, 
Christ,  Kternal  Light,  88,  120; 
life  of,  contrasted.  120;  are 
part  of  the  universal  Church, 
402  ;  the  Church  shall  be  made 
equal  to  the,  411  sq. ;  no  grace 
provided  for  reparation  of  an 


gelic  evils,  412  ;  news-bearers 
at  the  Sepulchre,  437. 

Antichrist,  foretold  by  our  Lord  in 
John,  vii.  18  and  v.  43,  185  ; 
the  "  Liar"  opposed  to  the 
"Truth,"  238  sq. 

Apocalypse  of  Paul,  crammed  with 
fables,  and  rejected  by  the 
Church,  380. 

Apollinarians,  denied  the  existence 
of  the  rational  soul  in  Christ, 
153  ;  as  distinguished  from  the 
mind  which  is  common  to  man 
with  the  brutes,  263. 

Apostles,  i.e.  sent,  405;  not  as  Christ, 
that  we  should  believe  on  them, 
296  ;  they  are  the  means  of  our 
faith,  297  ;  the  unlearned  chosen 
toconfound  the  world, 54;  are  the 
twelve  hours  of  the  Day,  273  ; 
were  babes,  and  were  taught 
as  such,  392 ;  their  weakness 
before,  and  fortitude  after,  His 
resurrection,  393  ;  did  not  ex 
pect  the  Lord's  resurrection, 
436  ;  why  they  resumed  their 
fishing  after  the  resurrection, 
439  ;  it  was  not  wrong  to  sup 
port  themselves  by  their 
craft,  440 ;  empowered  to  ob 
tain  maintenance  for  their  serv 
ices,  but  not  constrained,  440. 

Arians,  243,  341 ;  affirm  that  the  Word 
was  made,  10;  affirm  the  Father 
invisible,  the  Son  visible,  295  ; 
their  argument  against  the 
Lijual  Godhead,  uS  ;  the  text 
"receiveth  Me"  rescued  from 
the  Arian  cavil,  308  ;  affirm  the 
Srn  less  than  the  Father,  the 
lL>lv  Ghost  less  than  the  N,n, 
386  ;  this  heresy  morbidly  ac 
tive  in  Augustin  s  time:  brought 
into  Africa  by  foreigners,  227  ; 
and  Sabdlians,  250  ;  each  wit 
ness  to  the  Truth  against  the 
other,  211  sq..  215  sqq.,  263, 
328;  and  Eunomians,  341;  Pho- 
tinians,  and  Manich.vans,  386; 


blinder  than  were  the  unbeliev 
ing  Jews,  116,  268;  their  dog 
matic  gradations,  308. 

Ark  of  Noah,  type  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  67  ;  baptized  in  the 
flood,  46;  door  in  the  side  of,  a 
type,  434. 

Astrologers,  doctrine  of  sidereal  ne 
cessity:  their  books  burned,  60 
sqq. ;  consulters  of,  reproved,  70. 

Augustin,  refers  to  his  treatise  on  the 
Harmony  of  the  Gospels,  416. 

BAD  men,  put  all  the  works  of  God 
to  bad  use  :  God  puts  their  bad 
works  to  good  use,  177. 

Baptism,  the  water  and  the  word  es 
sential  to,  344 ;  the  water  is 
consecrated  by  "  the  word  of 
faith,"  345;  those  believing  in 
the  Tine  are  loosed  in  the  laver 
of  regeneration  from  guilt,  450  ; 
the  cleansing  ascribed  not  to 
fluid  unstable  element,  by  the 
Ttwu/must  be  added,  345  ;  this 
"word  of  faith"  cleansest  the 
merest  babe,  345  ;  the  baptized 
are  "clean  ever)-  whit,"  yet 
need  a  daily  confession  of  sins  : 
Christ  daily  washes  the  feet  of 
these,  302  ;  necessity  of,  245  ; 
danger  lest  catechumens  of  high 
gifts  should  disdain  Ixaptism, 
29,  89  ;  high  gifts  and  grace 
may  precede,  but  cannot  super 
sede,  30  ;  Christ  alone  b ..pti/es 
with  the  Holy  Ghost,  32  sqq. ; 
not  of  Peter  or  of  Paul,  33  ; 
whoever  ministers,  it  is  Christ's, 
34;  valid  when  administered  by 
the  worst  of  men,  38;  not  weak 
ened  if  administered  by  a  mur- 
derer.^S;  the  authorityof.resides 
with  Christ,  39,  41  :  its  virtue 
not  dependent  on  the  minister, 
42.  43;  this  illustrated  by  a  type 
from  the  history  of  the  patri 
archs,  77;  Catholics  admit  Ikin- 
atist,  these  annul  that  of  Catho- 


564    ON  THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  To  ST.  JOHN:  1NDKX  OF  SUBJECTS. 


lies,  43  sq. ;  out  of  unity  valid, 
but  unto  condemnation,  44  sq. ; 
typified  in  the  Ark  and  trees 
both  bapti/ed  in  the  Flood,  46; 
evil  men  in,  come  to  dud  with 
a  double  heart,  77  ;  the  virtue 
of,  89  ;  cannot  be  iterated,  77; 
unbapti/ed  are  yet  in  their  sins, 
89;  infant  baptism,  219  ;  of 
John,  why  temporary,  ceasing 
as  soon  as  our  Lord  was  bap 
tized,  29  sq.;  why  John  bap 
tized  others,  30,  32  sq. ;  his 
baptism  received  from  Christ, 
32  ;  recipients  of,  yet  needed 
Christ's  baptism,  39;  baptism 
of  Christ  not  as  John's,  88. 
Be,  Being.  See  God,  "  Ksse;  "  true 
being  is  only  in  God,  220;  all 
well-being  of  angel,  man  and 
beast  is  of  the  Lord,  201;  God's 
"  Esse  "  has  no  tenses,  383; 
instanced  in  "the  Rock  was 
Christ,"  "the  good  seed  are 
the  children  of  the  kingdom," 

315. 

Beauty,  outward  and  inward,  25. 

"  Believe,"  and  "  believe  on,"  differ 
ent,  296  sq. 

Belief,  object  of,  is  that  which  we 
do  not  understand,  211 

Benevolence,  the  living  water  which 
flows  from  the  heart,  194 

Bethesda,  pool  of,  signified  the  peo 
ple  of  the  Jews,  in. 

Birth,  New.     See  Regeneration. 

Blindness,  mental  :  cure  of,  slow 
and  painful,  121;  judicial,  292 
sq. ;  some  suffer,  for  a  time  for 
their  good,  294. 

Blood  of  Christ,  the  Saviour's  mur 
derers  despaired  until  they 
drank  His,  191;  is  drunk  by  the 
believing,  219,  225;  was  so  shed 
for  redemption  of  all  sins,  that 
it  had  power  to  blot  out  the 
very  sin  by  which  it  was  shed, 

363. 

Bodily  actions,  when  honest,  pro 
mote  the  growth  of  the  inward 
affections,  306;  bodily  health, 
gift  of  Christ  to  man  and  beast, 
1 86  sq.,  196;  is  from  the  Lord, 
through  whomsoever  given, 
1 86. 

Body  of  Christ.     See  Church. 

Bread  of  Life,  165,  172;  to  believe 
is  to  eat,  164,  168. 

Bread,  angels',  Christ,  Eternal 
Light,  88;  fullness  in  the  Holy 
Spirit,  120. 

Brethren,  Christ's,  69;  not  sons  of 
Mary,  179. 

CAKNAI.  conceptions  of  God,  when 
they  occur  to  spiritual  men,  are 
repelled  like  troublesome  in 
sects,  391. 

Catechumens,  73,  74,  75,  82,  245  n. ; 
some  highly  gifted,  not  to  de 
spise  baptism,  89;  received  a 
chrism  before  baptism,  245;  use 
the  sign  of  Christ,  282;  the  sac 


raments  reverently  concealed 
from,  that  they  may  be  more 
ardently  desired  372;  form  of 
doctrine  delivered  to.  in  the 
Creed  and  the  Lord's  Prayer, 
378. 

Catholics,  broader  than  Donatists 
regarding  baptism,  43  sq. 

Charity.     See  Love. 

Cherubim,  the  four  living  Creatures 
denote  the  four  Evangelists,  210. 

Chrism,  the  unction  we  receive  for 
our  wrestling  with  the  devil,  197; 
applied  to  beginners  in  faith, 
245- 

CHRIST,      anointed,    52;      signifies 

King,  Jesus  Saviour,  332. 
THK  ONLY  BEGOTTEN  SON  OF 
GOD.  with  the  Father,  Con-sub 
stantial  and  Coequal,  184,  296, 
338;  to  know,  is  to  know  the  Fa 
ther,  214,  327;  is  the  Way,  but 
also  He  and  the  Father  are  in 
separably  One,  327;  Father  and 
Son  have  one  Will  as  one  Spirit, 
413;  mutual  indwelling  of  Fa 
ther  and  Son  as  Coequal,  269; 
has  Life  in  Himself,  148;  gift 
of  Eternal  Generation,  267, 
298  ;  in  the  relation  of  Fa 
ther  to  Son  no  notion  of  time 
appears,  402;  whatever  the 
Father  gave  to  the  Son,  He  gave 
by  begetting,  402;  never  says 
"Our  Father,"  138;  what  dis 
tinction  in  "My  Father  and 
your  Father,  My  God  and  your 
God,"  438;  because  Son,  there 
fore  Equal ;  not  by  robbery  or 
usurpation,  116;  how  the  Father 
"showeth,"  and  the  Son 
"seeth,"  138,  153;  sonship, 
seeing,  power,  substance,  insep- 
arate.  135;  the  Father's  com 
mandment  to,  is  His  begetting 
the  Son  Coequal,  297  sq. ;  the 
Father's  teaching — begat  Him 
Omniscient,  226 ;  the  Father 
begat  Him  to  be  Holy,  269. 
BEGOTTEN,  NOT  MADE:  VERY  God 
OF  VERY  GOD:  OF  ONE  SUB 
STANCE  WITH  THE  FATHER,  the 
Father  has  given  to  the  Son  all 
that  Himself  is.  Paternity  alone 
excepted,  384 ;  hence,  equally 
with  the  Father,istheBeginning, 
221,222;  asGod,  by  absolute  fore 
knowledge  and  predestination, 
322  sq. ;  speaks  of  things  future 
as  already  come:  always  and 
everywhere  present,  206,  227; 
let  it  not  be  asked  where  lie  is. 
413;  His  '  where  '  is  the  Father: 
and  the  '  where  '  of  the  Father 
is  the  Son,  414;  God  of  God, 
296,  297;  hath  life  not  of  Him 
self,  but  of  the  Father.  i2(<; 
Very  Life  by  gift  of  the  Father, 
127;  as  Word,  is  of  God:  as 
Son,  of  the  Father,  338;  One 
with  the  Father,  Equal  in  all 
things.  i>;;  I.i-ht  nf  Light. 
328;  His  loettTiiity  ilhii-ii-.tted 


by  light  coeval  with  the  flame 
generating  it.  135;  Eternal 
Light,  angel's  food,  88;  the 
Light,  and  the  Light  from  Light, 
One  Light,  1*4;  Light  of  the 
world,  and  in  it  from  beginning: 
not  locally  but  as  Creator,  16; 
iVnotof  Himself,  297,  328,  329; 
His  Pre-existence,  175;  and 
Eternity,  21;  the  /  Am,  219 
sqq.,  225,  244:  Maker  and  1  >is- 
poser  of  times,  190;  in  Him  "to 
have"  (attribute)  and  "  to  be  " 
(essence)  is  identical,  139,  268, 
383;  "to  be  ''  and  "  to  know" 
identical,  12 1,  227;  because 
Almighty,  also  All-possessing, 
133,  401;  His  coequal  owner 
ship  of  all  holy  creatures,  402; 
cognizant  of  all  thoughts,  392; 
to  believe  on  is  necessarily  to 
believe  Him  Coequal.  296;  not 
by  usurpation  but  by  birth.  341, 
343;  to  believe  the  Son  is  to  be 
lieve  the  Father,  and  to  dispar 
age  the  Son  is  to  disparage  the 
Father,  124;  the  Son,  the  Fa 
ther's  self,  98;  God  and  King 
of  all  the  earth,  87;  against  the 
Arian  heretics  the  Fathers  estab 
lished  that  new  term  flomousios, 
what  we  call  "  I  and  My  Fa 
ther  are  One, "  376. 

ETERNAL  WORD  OF  GOD,  does  not 
sound  and  pass  away  like  our 
words,  9;  Word  or  Speech  of 
God  not  a  succession  of  indivi 
dual  sounds,  which  are  conveyed 
into  the  mind,  184,  381;  God 
speaks,  is  the  Word:  a  human 
father  speaks  to  his  son,  but  the 
word  he  speaks  is  neither  him 
self  nor  his  son,  96,  153  sqq., 
214.  226;  the  Word,  the  design 
of  God:  how  great  is  the  Fabri 
cator,  10;  the  Word  of  God 
made  all  things:  the  universe 
created  by  Him,  n;  life  of  all 
created  things  in  the  Word,  12; 
is  the  Light  of  rational  man,  13; 
not  transient  syllables,  but  an 
abiding  Power.  184;  Coeternal 
with  no  interval  of  time,  184; 
from  eternity  with  the  Father, 
267;  God's  speaking  is  the  Son, 
96;  God  speaks  as  light  ema 
nates,  138;  meaning  of  '  My 
doctrine  is  not  Mine,"  etc.,  183 
sq.,  296;  the  Word,  implanting 
the  image  of  God  in  man,  20; 
how  the  Light  was  in  the  world 
from  the  beginning,  20;  how 
being  Son,  He  hears  of  God, 
96;  Man  visible:  God  hidden, 
213,  226;  the  Word,  always  with 
God,  came  to  us,  237;  if  men 
are  called  gods  because  of  the 
Word  of  God,  the  Word  surely 
is  God,  2(«);  the  spoken  and 
written  word  the  medium  <  .1  1 1  is 
being  made  known  in  time.  71, 
1 86.  210.406  sq. 

P.y    WHOM    AM.    THIM;S    \VK.KK 


«  .\  Till.  (,(  >SPEL    \<  VOKDINCr  TO  ST.  JOHN:    INDEX  <>! 


M\HK.     Hand    of    the     Fa'hcr. 

'  Ann  ..f   tbl 

ttOC  of  all  things.  57;  .mil 
Kulrr,  I  K>;  Author  <>f  all  wcll- 
In-ing,  i MI  si).;  Acts  of  the 
Sim  and  Father  inseparable, 
132,  321),  4i";  the  Son  does 
the  same  works  as  the  Father. 
120;  all  things  made  by  the 
Son  as  seeing,  the  Father  as 
showing,  i-  ;.  i :  '*:  all  His 
works  pre-existed  in  Him  by 
His  might,  io,  210. 
\V\s  MAHK  M  \N.  Christ  unutter 
able,  23,  fn>malx>ve.  how,  218; 
Christ  came:  how,  being  Omni 
scient,  15;  coming  ot  the  Word 
is  without  diminution,  237;  the 
Father's  st-ni/in^  is  the  Incarna 
tion,  211,  227;  the  Son  not,  be 
cause  sent,  unequal  to  the  Sen 
der,  144;  Fijual  to  the  Father 
God,  inferior  as  Man,  117. 
173,  341;  how  emptied  Himself 
by  taking  the  form  of  a  servant, 
84;  Nativity,  on  both  sides, 
marvellous,  197;  Incarnation 
the  greatest  miracle,  in;  two 
fold  Substance  of,  341;  the  Two 
is  (  >ne  Christ,  else  we  make  God 
quaternity,  175,  341;  sometimes 
He  speaks  as  "  I  and  the  Fa 
ther  are  one: "  or  sometimes, 
"  because  the  Father  is  greater 
than  I,"  381,  267  note;  "  Strong 
Man  "  of  twofold  Substance, 
308;  our  Maker  and  our  Brother, 
140;  as  God  was  still  in  heaven, 
while  as  Man  on  earth,  175,  191 
sq.;at  once  God  is  Man,  and 
Man  is  God:  therefore  "  the  Son 
of  Man  which  is in  heaven, "413; 
came  from  the  Father,  and  yet 
never  left  Him:  went  from  the 
world,  yet  has  not  left  it,  391; 
Incarnate,  is  Bread  of  heaven  to 
man,  103;  faith  in  Jesus  must 
not  terminate  in  His  Manhood, 
but  must  rest  in  His  Godhead, 
437  sq. ;  to  disown  Christ  as 
Man,  is  to  lose  the  Mediator, 
320;  1'ersoi)  of,  the  Catholic 
Rule  of  faith,  208;  word,  soul, 
;md  flesh,  one  Christ:  Son  of 
<iod  and  Son  of  Man,  Immanuel, 
I?5»  -7u:  word,  rational  mind, 
and  flesh,  153;  as  the  rational 
soul  and  body  form  but  one  man, 
•so  God  and  Man  is  one  Christ. 
341 ;  as  man  is  rational  soul  hav 
ing  a  body,  so  Jesus  is  the  Word 
having  Man,  I2c):  Word,  Soul, 
and  Flesh:  one  Person  and  each 
ot  these  severally  is  called 
Christ,  264  sq.,  276;  ami  Son 
of  God,  341;  complete  human 
ity  in,  263;  as  Man,  empowered 
by  the  whole  Trinity,  403;  He 
surpasses  all  angelic  excellence, 
411;  Gitdheadand  Manhood  in 
teracting,  dj;  ci  inceived  without 
sin,  343;  alone  without  the  heri 
tage  of  sin,  22,  73,  232;  took 


flesh  from  Adam  only,  28; 
II.  alone  has  no  sins.  350;  free 
among  the' dead.  232;  human 
nature  in  Christ  has  nothing  that 
it  did  not  receive,  396. 

Fi>K  Is  MI  N  AM)  FOR  ofR  SAI-- 
\  A  I  ION,  the  taking  of  humanity 
into  God,  the  greatest  of  all 
grace,  348;  Mediator  as  Man, 
by  grace,  347;  as  Man,  Media 
tor  and  Head  of  the  Church, 
sanctified  by  Himself  as  God, 
405;  Fountain  of  ( Irace.  ( lod  by 
Nature,  Man  of  the  I  lolv  ( .host 
and  the  Virgin  by  ineffable 
grace,  415;  His  bride  the 
Church,  58;  born  into  the  world 
to  bear  witness  of  the  Truth, 
424;  took  our  smallness  to  en 
courage  our  aspiring,  144; 
through  the  Manhood  we  come 
to  know  the  Godhead,  99;  the 
Only  Son  would  not  be  alone  a 
Son:  came  to  make  many  sons 
by  adoption,  18;  being  equal 
with  the  Father,  He  called  us 
into  existence:  as  He  is  like 
unto  us,  He  redeemed  us,  284; 
born  of  God  to  create:  born  of 
woman  to  re-create,  18;  made 
mortal  to  slay  death,  85;  reason 
of  His  coming,  our  resurrection 
of  soul  and  body,  153;  God  hid 
den  to  make  men  gods,  137; 
came  to  loose  the  sins  which 
hindered  us  from  being  adopted, 
17;  abiding  with  the  .Father  He 
is  Truth  and  Life:  putting  on 
flesh,  the  Way,  203;  Physician, 
20;  Flesh  of,  the  eye-salve  for 
beholding  His  majesty,  18;  His 
humility  the  remedy  for  the  ill 
which  flesh  had  caused,  18,  21. 
IN  THE  DAYS  OF  HlS  FI.ESH,  Son 
of  Man,  how:  sealed  above  his 
fellows,  164;  as  Man  how  differ 
enced  from  us,  242;  seeking 
not  His  own  will,  131;  suffered 
weariness,  100;  His  weakness 
in  our  flesh,  "creating  thee 
anew,"  100  sq.;  His  gentleness, 
combined  with  Truth  and  Jus 
tice,  197  sq.;  example  of  patient 
and  gentle  Omnipotence,  245; 
perfect  sympathy  of,  287;  the 
Artificer  knew  his  own  work 
man,  75;  of  David  through  the 
Virgin  Mary,  266;  exercised 
miraculous  powars,  288;  His 
Mother,  mystically  the  syna 
gogue.  66;  His  own  country,  the 
Jews:  His  new  country  the 
Gentiles,  no;  why  called  a  Gal 
ilean.  1 1»7;  His  loftiness,  our 
lowliiu  ^--  "  He  must  increase, 
but  1  must  decrease,"  95;  sub 
mitted  to  be  tempted  as  an  ex 
ample  for  us,  288;  received  bap 
tism  to  establish  His  sacrament, 
89;  the  disciples  supplied  the 
ministry,  He  afforded  His 
majesty,  in  baptism,  i<x>;  alone 
baptizes  with  the  Holy  Ghost, 


32;  His  deeds  are  also  signs  of 
spiritual  truth,  270;  His  mira 
cles,  subjects  of  rejoicing  more 
than  of  wonder,  270;  raised 
three  corpses  tn  life:  these  de 
note  three  degrees  of  spiritual 
death,  271;  asleep  in  the  ship, 
forgetfulness  of  faith  in  Je 
sus,  276;  transfiguration:  why 
between  Moses  and  Elias, 
112;  wept,  to  teach  us  to  weep: 
groaned,  that  our  penitence 
might  displace  our  sinning.  276; 
all  creatures  acknowledged  Him 
as  ( iod,  20;  why  He  chose  and 
tolerated  Judas  Iscariot,  281,  sq. 

HlS  SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH,   was 

troubled,  because  He  willed, 
276;  His  soul  was  troubled  that 
we  might  endure  the  will  of  God 
divinely,  288;  loved  His  disci 
ples  unto  the  end:  He  is  our 
end,  299;  laying  aside  His  gar 
ments,  etc.,  an  acted  parable, 
expounded  300  sq.;  Humility 
of,  in  washing  the  feet  of  His 
disciples:  daily  washes  our  feet, 
302;  troubled  in  spirit  when  Ju 
das  was  about  to  go  out,  311; 
"troubled  in  spirit,  '  because  of 
the  atrocious  villainy  of  Judas, 
309;  with  our  nature  took  its 
liability  to  perturbations,  310; 
His  perfect  sympathy,  309;  His 
perturbation  tranquilizes,  His 
infirmity  confirms  us,  310;  took 
upon  Him  with  our  nature  our 
natural  repugnance  against 
death,  447;  Judas  is  gone  out, 
Jesus  is  glorified:  a  type  of  His 
glory  with  the  elect  in  the  end, 
315;  in  His  Passion,  set  an  ex 
ample  to  His  martyrs,  396; 
sometimes  held  His  peace  be 
fore  His  judges,  sometimes 
made  answer,  426;  bearing  His 
cross,  a  grand  bulwark  of  faith, 
429;  His  garments,  the  dividing 
of:  agreement  of  the  gospels 
concerning,  430  sq. ;  spiritual 
meaning  of  the  four  parts:  and 
of  the  coat  without  seam,  431; 
the  seamless  coat;  charity  and 
unity,  92;  acknowledged  His 
mother  when  His  hour  was 
come,  432;  from  His  cross,  as 
the  chair,  the  Teacher  taught  the 
lesson  of  filial  piety,  433;  His 
very  cross  a  judgment-seat, 
193;  His  hour,  61,  62;  not  under 
fate:  of  His  own  will,  216;  not 
of  fate  or  sidereal  necessity,  but 
fixed  by  Himself  in  the  Divine 
counsels,  31)4;  bitterness  of  the 
death  of  the  Cross,  209;  hour  of 
the  crucifixion,  Mark  and  John 
reconciled,  427.  42*;  His  prayer 
on  the  Cross  for  the  fltct  among 
His  murderers,  191,  219,  225; 
and  was  effectual,  294;  died 
when  He  would,  ii>i,  434;  died 
uncompeiled,  75;  had  power  to 
lay  down  and  take  again  His 


566  ON  T.IIK  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  T<>  ST.  JOHN:  INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS. 


life,  362;  death  of,  more  active 

the  world,"  280;  "  Me  ye  will  not 

glorified    by    the    Holy    Spirit, 

than  passive,  232;  how  Hi-  l.iiil 

have  always,"  was  said  to  Judas, 

385;    His  true  glory  is  only  in 

down  His  flesh  to  take  it  again. 

and  in  him  to  all  the  bad  in  the 

the  Catholic  church,  385;     the 

263  sq.  ;  the  Flesh  laid  down  tin- 

Church,   or,   in    respect  of    His 

Father  has  given  all  things  into 

life  by  the  power  of  the  Word, 

bodily   presence,    however,  not 

His  hands:   the  evil  for  present 

265. 

of  His  majesty  and  providence, 

use,  the  good  for  the  final  issue, 

EFFICACY   OK    His   DEATH,   paid 

282  sq.  ;  ascended  into  heaven, 

300;  the  Father  has  given  Him 

the   death  we   owed,    343;    the 

and  also  is  here,  282;  His  Body 

power  over  every  soul  to  deliver 

water   and    the    blood    flowing 

occupies    only    one   place,    His 

and   condemn   whom    He  will, 

from   His  side  are  signs  of  the 

truth  is  everywhere,  186;    goes 

396;  is  silent  now  not  in  giving1 

two  sacraments,  434;  the  spirit 

away  by  being  unseen,  comes  by 

warning    but     in    taking    ven 

ual    Eve,   the   Church,    formed 

becoming  visible,  abides  by  rul 

geance,  26;   "Glorify  Thou  Me 

from  out  of  the  side  of  the  Sec 

ing,  324,  391  ;  as  Man  went  away, 

with  Thine  own  self,  with  the 

ond  Adam,   101,   434;    the  bag 

as  God  abided  with  us,  340;  His 

glory   which    I    had,''   i.e.  ,    the 

was  rent,  that  the  price  of  our  re 
demption   might  run   out,    179; 

going  to  the  Father  was  this  —  to 
transform  and  exalt  our  human 

predestination  of   the  glory  of 
Christ's  humanity  to  immortality 

by  death  slew  death,  84;  by  dy 

ity,  342;  in  bodily  presence  He 

with  the  Father,  397  sq. 

ing  has  raised  us  above  the  fear 

•was  and  will  be  with  the  saints: 

SAVIOUR  OF  THE  WORLD,  "  Propi- 

of  death,   243;    bought  all  the 

in  spiritual  presence  He  is  with 

tiation  for  the  sins  of  the  whole 

earth  not  a  part  (as  Africa),  92; 

them,  399;  no  more  in  the  world 

world,"  being  lifted  up  "  draws 

the  redeemed  are  Christ's  disci 

by  bodily  Presence  after  His  as 

all  men  after  Him,"  expounded, 

ples,  servants,    brethren,  mem 

cension,    403;      the    Way,    the 

200;  prays  not   for   those   who 

bers,  yea  Christ  Himself,  192; 

Truth,  and  the  Life,  324;  He  is 

live  after  the  lust  of  the  world, 

the   saints  are    now   redeemed 

the  Way,  for   Himself  and  for 

402,  prayed  for  all  whom  he  re 

through  the  Mediator,  and  have 

us,  to  the  Truth  and  Life  which 

deemed  during  or  after  His  com 

received  the  earnest  of  the  Holy 

is   Himself,   325;    by  the  flesh 

ing,   408;    made  all    those  His 

Ghost,  449;    Christ  prayed  not 

He  returned  to   His  own   truth 

sheep,  for  all  of  whom  He  suf 

for  the   non-elect,   402;    prayed 

and    life,    325;     His   departure 

fered,    477;    knows    His    own, 

for  all  the   redeemed,   whether 

necessary,  that  there  may  be  in 

176;  faith  unites  to,  176;  to  be 

alive  or  to  be  born,  408;  "ye 

His     followers    room    for    the 

ivilh  Him  is  the  chief  good:  for 

are  not  of  My  sheep,'1  those  pre 

Spirit,  368;  and    that   the   just 

to  be  -where  He  is  is  common  to 

destined     to     destruction,    not 

might  live  by  faith,  370;  went 

all,   413   sq.;  none  are   Christ's 

saved  by  His  Ulood,  267;  each 

hence  to  prepare  a  place  for  us, 

without   His  Spirit,   175;    only 

for  whom  He  suffered,  He  hath 

i.e.  ,  to  prepare  us:  for  we  are 

they  who  keep  His  commands 

made  His  sheep,  447;    the  re 

prepared  by  faith  in  an  unseen 

can    shamelessly    demand    His 

deemed  delivered  from  the  devil 

Christ,  323;  His  ascension,  our 

promises,  202;    trusts    Himself 

by  faith,  through  Jesus,  289. 

exaltation,  wherein  "human  na 

only  to  the  regenerate,   75,  81; 

BUKIKl),  DESCENDED  INTO  HADES, 

ture  is  worthy  of  congratulation, 

the  sure  Deliverer,  231  ;  none  cast 

Christ  kept  sabbath  in  the  tomb, 

in  being;  so  assumed  by  the  Only- 

out  that  come  to  Him,  165;  Way 

116;  as  Man,  His  soul  was  that 

begotten  Word  as  to  be  consti 

and  End,  204;  End  of  the  Law 

day  in  hades,  His  flesh  was  in 

tuted  immortal  in  heaven,  and, 

unto  perfection,  299;  our  sweet 

the  grave:  as  God,  He  was  also 

earthy,    to    be    so    sublimated, 

Retreat,   165;    hath  and  is  the 

in  paradise,  413. 

"that,  as  incorruptible  dust,  it 

Life:  we  have  life  in  Him,  326; 

ROSE  AGAIN  FROM  THE  DEAD,  the 

might  take  its  seat  at  the  right 

Fountain  of  life  and  light,  201; 

Father  glorified  in  Himself,  the 

hand  of  the  Father,"  342;  '  as 

what  benefit  in  living  well,  un 

Son  in   His  resurrection,  when 

cends    to    the    Father'    before 

less   the  eternal  Life   is  given, 

the   Humanity  was  gifted  with 

those  who  touch   Him   spiritu 

250;  abounding  grace  in  raising 

eternal   immortality,    315;  after 

ally,  as    Coequal    with    Father, 

the  spiritually  dead,  277;  Bread 

the  resurrection  appeared    only 

169,  438;  ascended  on  high,  He 

of  life,   165,  172;  to  believe,  is 

to  His  own,  335;  His  manifesta 

sees  His  followers  toiling:  and 

to  eat  the  bread  of   Life,  164, 

tions  of  Himself  after  His  resur 

comes  to  them,  walking  on  the 

168;  the  Day,  246;  Light  of  the 

rection,  444  sq.  ;  why  He  forbade 

waves:   and  is  glorified  by  the 

understanding,   104;  the  Truth, 

Mary  Magdalene  to  touch  Him, 

humble,  162;  members  of,  shall 

59,    229   sq.,    404;   a    Prophet, 

169,    437  sq.  ;    His  risen  Body 

doubtless  follow  their  Head  who 

248;  our  Master,  Defender,  In 

could  enter  in  by  closed  doors, 

was  "  passing  "  before,  299. 

tercessor,   137;  Teacher  of  hu 

438;  ate  and  drank  with  the  dis 

His  INTERCESSION,  137,  130;  must 

mility,     167;     Lowly,    to    cure 

ciples  after  His  resurrection  to 

be  conceived  of  in  the  Unity  of 

man's  pride,  166;  our  Teacher: 

evidence  the  reality  of  His  flesh, 

the   Gochead:    not  Father  and 

not  only  in   His   discourses   to 

316;  breathed  on  the  disciples 

Son   each    occupying  a  distinct 

His  disciples,  but  in  praying  for 

195;  why  He  gave  not  the  Spirit 

space  in  magnitude,  and  words 

them    to  the  Father,  394;    the 

until  after  His  resurrection,  196; 

passing  between,  391;  our  Ad 

end  of   His  teaching,   peace  in 

His  resurrection  the  guarantee 

vocate  by  whom  we  petition,  51. 

Him,  393;   Teacher  of  patience, 

of  ours,  336;  the  mystical  mean 

THE  GLORIFYING   OK   THE    MAN 

420,    nature  of    His    Paternity, 

ing  of  the  forty  days  after  His 

|Ksr>  I;M;AN  AT  II  is  RESURREC 

335;   His  peace  in   His  Church 

resurrection,  114. 

TION,  395;  kingdom  of,  here  and 

now,  His  0-i.w  peace  in  the  end, 

A-'  i  NHK.D,  "  that  great  fish  from 

hereafter,  idi;  Christ's  kingdom 

339;   we  are  to  imitate  Him,  but 

the  sea  "'  first  ascended,  115;  tin- 

not  of  the  world,  yet  in  it,  423 

must   not  presume  to   compare 

servant  -  form     which     He    re 

sq.  ;  King  of  eternity,  by  conde 

ourselves  with  Him,  351     to  fol 

ceived  of  the  Virgin  was   lifted 

scension  king  of  Israel,  284;  to 

low  Jesus  is  to   imitate    Him, 

up,  and  placed  at  the  right  hand 

Israel  1  Ie  both  sent  and  came:  to 

286;  hearing  the  Gospel  is  like 

of  the  Father,4i3;   "  He  is  away 

the  Gentiles  He  did  not  proceed 

listening  to  Jesus.  ix,;   forgiv 

and  He  is  here:  but  His  majesty 

Himself,  262;  King  of  the  Jews, 

ing  sin.  He  does  not  favor  sins. 

He  has   never  withdrawn  from 

-•i:.,  of  the  true  Israel.  .)  - 

199;    difficult  to   be    seen   in   a 

ON  THI.  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  To  ST.  JOHN:  INDI.X  OF  SI  BJRCTS.  567 


uowd,  solitude  essential  to  faith 
towards,  115;  His  answer  in 
meekness  aii.1  example  in  forti 
tude.  420;  all  sighings  tn  breathe 
after  Him.  74;  to  lea\e  Christ 
is  to  follow  Satan.  I?''. 

RKrKK.sr.NTK.i>  HV  VAKIOKS  SIMM  i 
1 1  m-s,  I. ami)  and  I. ion,  25(1  sq., 
262,344;  the  I  >ay-spring,  S.;;  tin- 
spiritual  day  and  the  apostles  its 
twelve  hours,  273;  the  Vine,  as 
11.  .1  !  of  tin-  Church,  343;  as 
God,  He  is  also  the  Husband 
man,  344;  as  the  Vine,  Man, 
but  grace  is  supplied  by  Him  as 
God,  346;  He  was  the  grain  of 
wheat  that  must  die.  etc.,  to  be 
multiplied,  2S5;  the  Shepherd 
sought  the  lost  sheep,  55;  the 
Good  Samaritan,  235;  i.e., 
Keeper,  240;  the  Gardener,  sows 
the  grain  of  mustard  seed,  437. 

ADVENT  TO  Ji  IX;MENT,  judgeth 
not  any  now,  for  He  came  to 
suffer,  209;  why  He  judges  not 
now,  297;  first  and  second  Ad 
vents  contrasted,  26,  209;  in  the 
Judgment  will  appear  as  Son 
of  Man,  142,  149,  212  sq.;  will 
judge  as  Son  of  Man,  but  not  in 
His  original  humility,  380  sq. ; 
will  return  in  the  visible  form  of 
flesh,  129,  143;  will  be  seen  as 
Man  by  the  ungodly:  as  the 
Trinity  by  the  sons,  143,  414; 
never  seen  or  to  be  seen  by  the 
ungodly  but  in  the  form  of  man, 
337;  in  that  form  is  to  be  seen 
for  the  last  time  in  the  day  of 
Judgment,  337,  414;  Judge  and 
Witness  because  Omniscient, 
212;  Himself  is  the  Word,  the 
Gate,  the  Judge,  297;  the  form 
of  a  servant,  and  Intercession, 
will  pass  away  after  the  win 
nowing,  130. 

1'KKAi  MM)      IN     THE      Ol.D      Tp.S- 

IAMIM.  His  manifold  wit 
nesses,  151;  witnessed  by  the 
prophets,  204  sq. ,  206  ;  as 
God,  a  witness  to  Himself,  206; 
His  coming  prepared  by  a  long 
train  of  prophecy,  190;  seen  by 
Old  Testament  saints,  as  Isaiah, 
not  as  He  is,  but  symbolically, 
295  ;  never  seen  before  Incar 
nation,  23  sqq. ;  manifestations 
of  in  Old  Testament  by  created 
angels,  2 ;,  :  was  signified  to  the 
Old  Testament  saints  as  He  is 
to  us,  but  by  different  signs, 
252;  the  divinity  of  His  majes 
ty  predicted  as  unsearchable,  189 
sq. ;  the  true  Circumcision,  187; 
Isaac  bearing  the  wood,  type 
of,  67;  the  Lamb  of  God,  29, 
49;  the  Paschal  Lamb.  279;  the 
true  Passover,  425;  His  sign  on 
the  forehead  drives  from  us  the 
destroyer,  if  He  is  an  inmate  of 
our  hearts.  279;  the  great  High 
Priest  within  the  veil,  i  ! 
the  Prophet  like  unto 


105,  l(x>  ;    greater   than 

•\pilie.l  |.\   lira/en  serpent, 

.    the  Stone  CUt  OUt  of  the 

mountain  without  hands,  has  be 
come  a  Mountain,  and  filled  the 
whole  earth,  26,  68. 

Christians,  in  virtue  of  name,  belong 
to  Jesus,  19;  in  a  sense,  are 
Christ,  140  sq.;  members  of  the 
Hotly  in  unity  and  charity,  93; 
must  be  zealous  for  the  house  of 
God,  and  not  supinely  tolerate 
sin  in  their  fellows,  72;  must 
look  to  be  reviled  by  the  chaff, 
182  sq. ;  how  and  when  they 
must  hate  their  own  life,  285; 
are  qualified  for  teaching  Christ, 
380. 

Church,  the  Bride  of  Christ,  90  : 
cleansed  by  the  Word  of  Christ, 
344;  Christ  suffers  in,  learns  in, 
is  honored  or  slighted  in.  His 
members,  140;  fullness  of:  Head 
and  members,  140 sq.;  His  body 
lives  l»y  the  I  loly  Spirit,  172;  no 
life  out  of  the,  176;  spread  of 
the,  26  sq.,  183;  her  fears  of 
defiling  her  feet  on  the  way  from 
the  laver  of  regeneration, 
through  this  evil  world,  to  Her 
Master  in  heaven,  303-305;  its 
universality  foretold  by  prophe 
cy:  proved  by  the  apostolic  com 
mission  to  baptize  all  nations,  42 ; 
and  the  descent  of  the  Holy 
Spirit — one  dove,  many  tongues, 
44;  in  travail,  and  the  fruit  of 
her  travail  is  the  vision  of  Christ, 
388  ;  self-love  the  root  of  all 
evil  in  the,  446 ;  the  saints 
Abraham's  seed,  i.  e.  Christ  : 
the  saints  partakers  in  the  suf 
ferings  of  Christ,  405;  all  true 
believers,  morally  one  with 
Christ,  not  consubstantially  one, 
408;  the  saints  as  His  Body  are 
Christ,  415;  composed  of  the 
elect  of  Isiael,  and  elect  of  the 
Gentiles  (the  two  sons  in  the 
parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son). 
402;  of  the  elect  will  contain 
only  the  great,  443;  founded 
not  upon  the  person  of  Peter, 
but  on  the  Rock,  our  gracious 
Lord,  450;  good  and  bad  in 
the,  how  represented  in  history 
of  the  patriarchs,  77;  her  voyage 
through  the  darkness  of  the 
world,  162;  militant,  prefigured 
in  the  feast  of  Tabernacles,  182; 
in  this  present  life,  mixed  as 
upon  the  threshing-floor  :  there 
fore  evil  men  are  present  until 
the  end,  who  blaspheme  rather 
in  deed  than  with  the  tongue 
178;  many  sinners  enter  the, 
232  ;  should  l>ear  with  the 
wicked  and  refrain  from  divid 
ing,  as  with  Judas.  281;  univer 
sality  of,  In-tokened  by  the  gift 
of  tongues  :  none  given  the 
Holy  Ghost  out  of  the,  n>5; 
the  whole  Hody  has  its  gifts  for 


each,  and  each  for  the  whole, 
n/>;  its  universality  denoted  by 
the  four-parted  garment  of 
Christ,  its  unity  by  the  seamless 
coat,  431  ;  of  theGcoti  es,  pre 
figured  by  the  woman  with  the 
bloody  flux,  192;  the  good  in 
the,  have  Christ  here  by  faith, 
by  the  sign,  by  the  sacraments 
and  hereafter  :  the  bad  only  in 
these  outward  signs,  282;  some 
in  the,  given  to  study  and  con 
templation  :  some  called  to  en 
terprise,  304;  troubled  in  the  go 
ing  out  of  false  brethren,  310; 

Church  funds,  the  precedent  given  by 
Christ,  282;  robbery  of  the 
Church  the  most  heinousof  rob 
beries,  281. 

Churches  profaned  by  drunken  ex 
cesses,  70,  72. 

Circumcision,  a  seal  of  salvation, 
187;  the  true,  is  by  the  resurrec 
tion  of  Christ :  meaning  of  the 
knife  of  stone,  187. 

'  Clarificare,'  and  '  glorificare,'  both 
represent  the  same  word 
<5<Tf<iC«v,  to  glorify,  385,  395, 
396,  399- 

4  Coena  pura,'  so  the  Latins  call  the 
Parasceve,  435. 

"  Could  not,"  of  trust  by  man, 
means  "  would  not,"  294. 

Communion,  Holy,  the  baptized  only 
know  what  it  means  to  eat  the 
flesh  of  Christ,  75,  76;  Christ 
invisibly  nourishing  the  true 
believer  in,  165;  to  be  eaten 
spiritually,  approached  inno 
cently,  171;  Christ  eaten  in  the 
sacrament  with  the  heart,  not 
the  teeth,  172;  the  sacrament  in 
some  places  celebrated  daily, 
173;  the  sacrament  is  death  to 
some,  the  virtue  is  life,  171,  173; 
His  Hody  not  present  in  the 
eucharist,  to  the  wicked,  173; 
eternal  life  by  eating  Christ, 
174  ;  His  Flesh  not  to  be  un 
derstood  carnally,  174;  not 
necessarily  does  grace  follow  the 
sacrament,  177  sq. ;  to  believers 
that  is  Christ  which  is  placed  on 
the  altar  of  God,  252;  to  discern 
the  Lord's  Body  is  to  see  its  dif 
ference  from  other  meats,  312; 
41  laying  down  our  lives  for  the 
brethren,"  a  temper  preparatory 
to  and  congruous  with  the,  349 
sq. ;  celebrating  the  memory  of 
the  martyrs  in  the  eucharist,  350. 

Concord,  and  consort,  340. 

Concupiscence,  being  bridled,  shall 
be  lessened  daily,  234. 

Condescension  to  babes,  56. 

( 'onfession  of  minute  transgressions, 
necessary,  86. 

Conflict  between  flesh  and  spirit  in 
the  saints,  233. 

Conscience,  no  man  can  see  another 
man's  :  hence  mistaken  judg 
ments  even  of  good  men,  360,' 
misery  of  an  evil  man's,  231. 


568  ON  THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  ST.  JOHN:  INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS. 


Creation,  Clod  makes  the  world,  per 
vading  it  everywhere  without 
interval  of  space  betwixt  Him 
and  it,  16  sq. ;  all  existed  as  idea 
in  the  Word  before  made.  -i'>. 

Cross,  bitterness  of  the  death  of  the, 
209  ;  the  providence  of  Clod 
shown  in  the  title  of  the,  429; 
of  Christ,  a  tree  for  crossing  the 
sea  of  this  world,  14;  a  trophy 
of  our  Redeemer,  209  ;  signed 
on  our  foreheads;  denoting  His 
humiliation,  19  ;  as  the  seat  of 
shame,  that  faith  may  not  blush 
at  His  cause,  295;  affixed 
on  the  brows  of  kings,  429; 
gloried  in  by  the  hearts  of  the 
saints,  429;  use  of  in  sacraments 
and  sacred  ceremonies,  432; 
used  by  catechumens  before 
baptism,  75,  282. 

'  Cruciatus,'  209. 

Crucifixion,  the  hour  of,  discrepancy 
between  Mark  and  John,  how 
reconciled,  427,  428;  the  Ro 
mans  no  longer  use,  as  a  pun 
ishment,  209. 

Cyprian,  St.,  a  great  orator,  54; 
erred  in  the  question  of  baptism, 
before  this  was  properly  treated 
in  the  Catholic  Church,  37. 

DEAD,  good  and  bad,  both  under 
custody  until  the  Judgement,  but 
it  fares  differently  with  them, 
273;  every  unbeliever  goes  into 
darkness,  where  no  work  can  be 
done,  247. 

Death,  is  a  sleep  to  all,  but  the 
dreams  and  the  awaking  are  dif 
ferent  to  the  good  and  the 
wicked  in  mortal  flesh,  273;  life 
is  not  easier  than  death,  317;  is 
repugnant  to  all  by  nature,  446; 
but  this  affection  ought  to  suc 
cumb  to  faithful  service  for 
Christ,  447;  Christ  was  troubled 
by  approach  of,  to  encourage 
the  weak.  310;  all  fear  the  death 
of  the  body,  but  the  death  of  the 
soul,  though  more  dreadful,  few 
fear,  270  sq. ;  three  degrees  of 
spiritual,  denoted  in  the  three 
persons  whom  Christ  raised  to 
life,  271;  of  the  elect,  "ye  died, 
and  your  life  is  hid:"  hence  lore 
is  strong  as  death,  318  ;  of  the 
body,  and  the  second  or  eternal 
death,  242. 

Decalogue,  the  same  to  us  as  to  the 
Jews,  but  with  better  promises, 
24  sq. 

'  Denarius/  112. 

Despair  and  presumption,  both  peril 
ous,  199,  271. 

Devil.      See  Satan. 

Devils,  expected  the  coming  of 
Christ,  49;  counterfeit  honor  to 
deceive  followers  of  Jesus,  50. 

'  1  Hupsalma,'  146. 

I  »is])i  nsation  of  Clod  in  the  flesh,  126. 

Divorce  is  from  Satan,  63;  lawful  in 
case  of  fornication,  63. 


Doctrine,  the  rudiments  and  the  per 
fection,  or  milk  and  solid  meat, 
377  sqq. ;  Christ  the  food  of 
mankind:  His  Godhead  to  be 
known  to  the  babes  and  His 
manhood  to  the  perfect,  379; 
learners  go  on  to  fuller  knowl 
edge  :  the  superstructure  is 
added,  and  the  foundation  not 
abandoned,  379  ;  it  is  presump 
tuous  to  define  the  statement  "  I 
have  many  things  to  say  unto 
you,"  371  sq. ;  heretics  (as  Mani- 
chees)  blasphemously  assert  that 
their  impious  and  filthy  doc 
trines  are  these  truths,  left  un 
spoken  by  Christ,  revealed  to 
them  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  373, 
375  ;  their  esoteric  doctrines 
and  mysteries,  profane  novelties, 
375  sq. ;  impute  to  Christ  and 
the  apostles  that  they  accommo 
dated  themselves  to  weakness, 
by  speaking  falsehoods,  379;  the 
church  has  no  esoteric  doctrine, 
377;  the  spiritual  in  conference 
with  the  carnal  suppress  no  part 
of  Catholic  truth,  but  forbear  to 
overload  incapable  minds,  376 
sq. ;  what  Paul  means  by  speak 
ing  wisdom  among  the  perfect, 
378. 

Donatists,  have  not  the  wedding 
garment,  67 ;  their  blindness 
such  that  they  cannot  see  the 
Mountain  which  has  filled  the 
earth,  26  sq. ;  deny  the  univer 
sality  of  Christ's  presence,  87; 
of  His  purchase,  92;  their  pre 
tentiousness,  28  sq. ;  allow  the 
baptism  of  wicked  men  of  their 
own  sect,  43  ;  reproved  by  hu 
mility  of  John  the  Baptist,  28; 
annul  the  baptism  of  Catholics: 
but  their  baptism  is  admitted  by 
the  Catholic  Church,  43  sq.;  ob 
stinately  cling  to  the  error  of  St. 
Cyprian,  37;  guilty  of  voluptu 
ousness,  37  sq.,  43;  sell  the 
Holy  Ghost,  71 ;  many  parties 
bitterly  contending  together,  71 ; 
would  seduce  Christ's  Bride  to 
adultery,  90;  complained  of  per 
secution,  35,  79  ;  their,  worst 
persecution  against  the  soul: 
they  robbed  Christians  of  their 
Christianity,  35  sq. ;  they  per 
secute,  as  Ishmael,  by  deluding, 
79;  like  Hagar,  are  afflicted 
that  they  may  return  to  their 
mistress,  79  sq. ;  their  boasted 
martyrs,  80;  suffer  for  Donat 
ists,  not  for  Christ,  46;  vain- 
gloriously  affect  martyrdom,  and 
invite  persecution,  47;  suicides, 
47,  80,  285  ;  many,  restored  to 
the  unity  of  the  Church,  40,  47. 

Dove,  the,  abiding  in  Christ,  denotes 
charity  in  unity,  44;  type  of  the 
church's  unity,  41  ;  what  John 
learnt  by  the,  31  sqq.;  its  char 
acter  and  habits  described,  40, 
43;  its  plaintive  note  aptly  sig 


nifies  the  spiritual  mourning  of 
the  saints,  39. 

Drawing  to  Christ,  not  compulsion, 
168  ;  the  Father  draws,  by  re 
vealing  the  Son,  169,  170. 

Dualism,  Manichaean,  doctrine  of 
two  principles  in  man,  Good  and 
Evil,  237,  239. 

EASTER,  season  for  baptism,  73,  74. 

Elect,  the,  given  to  the  Son  as  man, 
400  sq.;  "  I  have  chosen  you," 
expounded,  401,  404;  were  all 
once  under  the  rulers  of  this 
darkness,  343 ;  lying  in  sins, 
typified  by  Nathanael  under  the 
fig-tree,  55  sq.;  objects  of  God's 
love  before  they  were  reconciled, 
411 ;  Christ's  joy  over  our  salva 
tion  began  in  us  when  He  called 
us,  348;  given  to  Christ  that  He 
may  give  them  eternal  life,  412 
sq. ;  Christ  prayed  for  the  elect 
among  His  murderers.  191. 

Election,  the  ineffable  grace  of,  353; 
the  elect  were  chosen  not  because 
God  foreknew  that  they  should 
be  good,  353;  is  unto  faith  and 
love,  not  because  of,  354 ;  a 
4  world  '  chosen  out  of  the  world 
that  is  hostile,  condemned,  de 
filed,  to  be  reconciled  to  God  by 
Christ  and  freely  forgiven  all  its 
sins,  355;  the  saints  chosen  out 
of  the  world,  not  by  nature, 
which  through  free-will  was  to 
tally  corrupted  at  the  root,  but 
by  gratuitous,  actual  grace,  355. 

Elias,  the  Jews  expected  his  coming, 
26;  is  yet  to  come  before  Christ  s 
second  advent,  27. 

'  Enccenia,"  266. 

End,  the  consummating,  not  the 
consuming,  299;  the  all-suffic 
ing,  the  future  vision  of  our 
Lord  :  all  action  subservient  to 
this,  388. 

Envy,  malignant,  38. 

Enlightenment,  gradual,  95. 

'Esse'  and  'habere,'  4  nosse,' 
'posse,'  in  God,  identical,  121, 
133,  227,  383. 

Eternal  generation,  the  Father's  gift 
to  Christ,  267,  298. 

Eternity,  an  everlasting  '  to-day,' 
190. 

Evangelists,  the  Four,  denoted  by 
the  four  living  creatures  of  Eze- 
kiel  and  Apocalyse,  210. 

Eve,  type  of  the  Church,  formed  from 
the  opened  side  of  the  second 
Adam,  67,  101. 

Evil,  not  as  a  substance  to  be  locally 
separated  from  us,  but  to  be 
healed  within  us,  379;  by  heretics 
represented  as  a  substance  un 
created  by  God,  378. 

Evil  ministers,  to  be  tolerated,  as 
Christ  tolerated  Judas,  282. 

FAITH,  a  going  into  Christ,  171,  296; 
is  by  grace,  not  of  merit,  2 1 ;  ob 
tains  more  grace,  22;  is  the  gift 


ON  THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  9T.  JOHN:  IND1  BJR    PS.     569 


of  God,    1711.   i 

knowledge,  (..i.   177  ;    to  believe 
truly,  is    to    believe    lirtnly    and 
boldly,  and    this  is   to  know  tru 
ly,    401,   bci. ue    understanding, 
|.,  21  I.  2s  I  ;    to  be  followed 
i  letstandmg,   14=;;    lirst  be 
lieve    tin-    Gospel,  then    seek    to 
understand,    on;    is    the    wa\     to 
:,      necessarily 

implies  an  object  unseen:  but  is 
helped  by  things  seen,  342;  un 
believers  cry,  how  can  we  be 
lieve  what  \ve  do  not  see,  370; 
the  very  praise  of,  is  that  its  ob 
ject  is  not  seen,  370;  walk  here 
by,  hereafter  by  sight,  202;  in 
Christ,  His  gracious  bestowal, 
425;  an  act  of  the  will,  not  by 
force,  i6S;  touches  Christ  spirit 
ually,  not  by  bodily  contact. 
•  passing  from  death  to 
life,  145,  147;  is  the  life  of  the 
natural  soul,  275;  the  means 
whereby  we  eat  the  heavenly 
Bread.  '11.4;  humility  of,  228; 
ami  works.  104;  without  loving, 
is  the  faith  of  devils.  46;  a  par 
tial  and  imperfect,  74  sq. ;  all, 
in  Christ  is  through  the  word  of 
the  apostles,  i.e.,  by  whomso 
ever  preached,  called  their  word 
because  primarily  and  princi 
pally  proclaimed  by  them,  406, 
407;  a  knowledge  by,  and  a 
knowledge  by  sight,  410;  those 
cannot  believe,  who  so  exalt 
free-will  as  to  dispense  with  the 
necessity  of  Divine  aid,  294; 
the  eye-salve  for  spiritual  blind 
ness,  203;  overcomes  love  of 
human  glory,  295;  sight,  the 
wages  of.  414;  necessity  of  con 
tending  for  the,  against  heretics, 

210,    215. 

Fasting,  in  general,  is  abstaining 
from  iniquities  and  worldly 
pleasures,  112. 

Fate,  'fando,'  216. 

FAI  in  K,  THK,  See  God;  Trinity. 
Father  and  Son  names  correlate, 
222  sqq. ;  thinking  of  Him  as 
C.od.  we  think  of  the  Creator,  Al 
mighty,  a  Spirit  supreme,  eter 
nal,  unchangeable,  invisible: 
as  Father,  we  must  at  the  same 
time  thi:-.k  of  a  Son.  124;  not 
iucarn.ite.  212  greater  than  the 
N.n  in  the  form  < it  a  servant, 
2(17  n,.;e,  341 ;  Ftcru.d. 
ting  Son  eternal,  how.  I  ;  \; 
how  he  speaks  to  the  Son.  154, 
:  Hind  of  infinite  love  uniting 
the  Father  anil  the  Son. 
thers  and  masters  uf  families  c\- 
.!  office  in  their 
households,  2Mi  sq. 

Fear,  two  kinds  of.  352;  of  punish 
ment  and  of  losing  righteous 
ness,  2  (I. 

typify  sins,  55; 

Nathanael  under  |jie,    the  elect 
lying  in  sins,  55  sq\ 


Filial  piety,  the  .Saviour  on  t: 
an  example  of,  4  ;_•  s.|. 

Flesh,  the  law  of  sin  in  the 
members,  202  sij.;  "All  llesh  " 
means  "every  man,"  3</>;  put 
for  "woman,"  as  sometimes 
"spirit  "  for  "  husband,"  18. 

Flesh  "I  t'hrist,  a  means  of  healing 
sinlnl  llesh,  21  ;  eating  of.  only 
Christians  know  what  it  means, 
75,  76;  not  to  be  carnally  un 
derstood,  174;  profited! only  by 
the  Spirit,  175. 

Foreknowled-e.  1  >ivinc,  of  elect  and 
unbelievers.  1)7;  it  the  sins  fore 
known  are  not  the  sinner's,  His 
foreknowledge  is  fallible,  292; 

Forgiveness,  for  them  who  accuse 
themselves  and  confess, 86;  none 
to  despair  of,  considering  Christ 
pardoned  His  murderers,  191; 
mutual,  a  washing  of  one  an 
other's  feet,  307. 

Fornication,  spiritual,  236. 

Freedom  from  sin,  none  enjoy  per 
fect  in  this  life,  233;  freedom 
from  sinful  conduct  the  begin 
ning  of,  233. 

Free-will,  and  grace,  293;  freedom 
of  the  will  not  to  be  maintained 
as  sufficient,  nor  to  be  denied 
so  as  to  excuse  sin,  294,  345. 

Friend  of  the  Hridegnxjm,  jealous 
for  Christ,  91. 

Friendship,  in,  we  love  the  soul, 
not  the  body,  193. 

GKNTII.KS,  Church  of  the,  how 
Christ  went  to,  192;  united  in 
Christ  the  Corner-stone, 68;  elect 
of,  denoted  by  the  ass'  colt,  284; 
their  faith  prophetically  com 
mended,  438;  more  blessed  than 
the  Jews  who  saw  Jesus,  109. 

Gloria,  385,  396;  three  kinds  of 
false,  385;  to  be  righteous  un 
der  (iod  is  true  glory,  386. 

Gon,  what  He  is  not,  154:  no 
form  or  bodily  parts  in.  291; 
His  incorporeal  Nature  incon 
ceivable  by  the  natural  man, 
390,  every  thought  of  material 
images  must  be  removed  from 
the  notion  of,  413;  effort  of  thi 
spiritual  mind  to  attain  to  the 
true  conception  of,  414  sq.;  is 
concealed,  to  be  sou-lit  after: 
and  being  found,  He  is  infinite, 
which  demands  more  search, 
314;  understood  carnally — idols 
of  the  heart,  122;  whole  every 
where.  2oj;  incorporeal,  un 
limited,  not  outspread,  every 
where  perfect  and  infinite,  color 
less,  lormiess,  unarticu'ated. 
God,  not  to  b  •  imagine. 
with  bodily  form,  but  t 
as  incarnate  ill  iv  and  ought 
to  be  .  22t>:  some 

similitude  to  the  b 
in     the     mind.     15;  ;      Divine 
revelations      how    to     be      con 
ceived,     136,     154;    not     to    be 


estimated  by  human  relations, 
144,  153  sq.;  when  Scripture 

Uses  sensible   images     to    • 
Divine     Relation-,     thesr     must 
.ily,  118  sqq.; 

alone  truly  1~-.  14;  i.o  tenses  in 
His  "  I  o  Be,"  3^3;  alone  has 
true  being,  unchangeable,  220, 
224;  Was  and  Will  He  non 
existent  with,  221  ;  in  the 
divine  Nature  intelligen 
simply  though  described  by 
terms  derived  from  bodily 
senses;  uniformly,  identically, 
with  the  knowing,  and  eternally, 
382;  what  It  has,  It  is,  382; 
I  •  nee  and  Attribute  identical, 
227;  perception  and  being  in, 
are  one,  121;  with  Him  'cannot' 
is  'will  not,'  294;  Omnipresent, 
191;  Essential  Goodness,  224; 
the  Trinity,  how  They  come  to 
us,  338;  dwells  in  the  saints  as 
in  a  temple,  338;  the  sender, 
and  the  sent,  97;  My  /•'at/if r 
manifested  by  Jesus,  400;  the 
race  acknowledge  as  Author  of 
the  world,  except  a  few  in  whom 
nature  is  outrageously  depraved, 
400;  image  of,  in  man,  121;  the 
Father  glorified  by  the  preach 
ing  of  the  Lord,  for  so  He  was 
made  known  for  endless  praise 
to  His  children,  396;  how  He 
made  the  things  that  are  future. 
322;  the  Trinity  in  us  as  God 
in  His  Temple;  we  in  Them  as 
the  creature  in  its  Creator,  408; 
Saviour  of  angel  and  man  and 
beast,  200 sq.;  needs  not  us  but 
we  need  Him,  76;  God,  the  or 
nament  of  the  mind,  194;  an  in 
ward  manifestation  of.  unknown 
to  the  ungodly,  337;  is  said  to 
sff,  when  He  pities,  277;  why 
He  was  pleased  to  be  called  the 
God  of  Abraham,  Isaac  and 
Jacob,  77,  81;  if  thou  fall  not 
off  from  Him,  He  will  never 
fall  away  from  thee,  202;  possi 
ble  to  hate  Him  unknown,  358; 
tempts,  in  order  to  know,  i.f., 
to  make  to  know,  241;  in  no 
wise  the  Author  of  sin,  239: 
"hath  blinded  their  eyes,  and 
hardened  their  heart."  explained: 
hardens  the  reprobate  by  not 
helping,  293;  makes  wicked 

,  men,  as  Judas,  His  instruments 
for  good.  177;  His  anger  not  as 
man's,  a  disturbance,  but  the 
calm  fixing  of  righteous  punish 
ment,  449. 

Good,  all  that  is  severally  and  par 
tially  good  in  the  creature,  is 
whole  and  entire  in  God,  88; 
none  good  but  they  who  have 
chosen  Him,  and  they  were  not 
cho-  I  '  their  good 

ness,  3;-,;  to  the  e\il  good  be 
comes  e\il.  as  the  sop  to  Judas, 
and  to  the  good,  good  comes 
..ut  of  evil. 


570     ON  THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  ST.  JOHN:  INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS. 


Cioodness,  none  out  of  Christ,  250. 

Good  works,  nom-  without  the  grace 
of  Christ,  345;  their  source, 
faith  which  worketh  by  love, 
347- 

Gospels,  the  perfect  harmony  of, 
-hown  by  Augustin,  416,  and 
note;  the  first  three,  chiefly  con 
versant  with  Christ's  Manhood: 
the  fourth,  with  His  Divinity, 
2IO. 

Grace,  God  Incarnate,  the  very  foun 
tain  of,  415,  442;  free,  to  be 
answered  by  loving  freely,  225; 
for  grace,  21;  crowned  with  life 
eternal,  22. 

HAGAR,  afflicted  by  Sarah,  as  heret 
ics  punished  by  the  Church,  that 
she  may  return  to  her  mistress, 
79  sq. 

Harvest,  the  gathering  in  from  Israel 
and  the  nations  at  the  end  of 
this  world,  107. 

Health,  See  Bodily  Health,  107. 

Heathen,  how  they  fell  from  God, 
94  sq. ;  a  heathen  festival  at  Hip- 
po,  57- 

Heirs  of  God,  joint-heirs  with  Je 
sus;  do  not  impair  His  inheri 
tance;  He  theirs  as  salvation, 
as  light,  17. 

Hen  gathering  her  chickens,  aptness 
of  the  similitude,  101. 

Heresies,  obliged  spiritual  men  to  be 
manly  and  upright,  210;  con 
cerning  the  Person  of  Christ, 
some  deny  the  Divinity,  others 
the  Manhood,  208.  210  sq. 

Heretics,  handle  the  Word  of  God 
with  partiality,  59  sq. ;  some 
say,  Christ  is  not  truly  man, 
bodies  of  animals  and  men  not 
created  by  God,  Old  Testament 
not  given  by  God,  379. 

High-priest,  office  of,  not  held  ac 
cording  to  the  original  institu 
tion  in  the  Roman  times,  278; 
Annas  and  Caiaphas.  420. 

Homousios,  376. 

'  Hosanna,'  an  interjection,  denoting 
an  affection,  283  and  note. 

Hour.  Christ's,  190;  the  last — from 
Christ's  coming  to  end  of  world, 

147- 

House  of  the  Father,  the  many  man 
sions,  being  foreordained,  exist 
already;  but  in  fact  the  Lord  is 
elaborating  them,  323;  to  dwell 
in,  is  to  be  in  the  people  of  God, 

324. 

House  of  God,  not  to  be  profaned,  70 
Humility,    "itself  makes  us   to   be 

born  of  the  Spirit,"  83. 
Husbandry,  spiritual,  19. 
Hyperbole,  instances  of,  452. 
Hyssop,  emblem  of  humility,  433. 

IGNORANCE,  voluntary  and  involun 
tary,  251. 

Image  of  God,  in  the  mind,  in  the 
intellect,  20;  in  the  mind,  a  hint 
of  the  Trinity,  155. 


Incarnation,  the,  that  men  might  be 
born  of  God,  God  was  born  of 
men:  our  assurance  of  His  mer 
cifulness,  1 8. 

Infant-baptism,  2i<j  ;  efficacy  of, 
through  faith  in  the  Church, 
345- 

Infants,  dying  unbaptized,  "blessed 
innocents  who  cannot  enter  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,"  321. 

Inner  man,  better  than  the  outer, 
193- 

Isaac  bearing  the  wood,  a  type  of 
Christ,  67. 

Ishmael,  how  his  playing  with  Isaac 
was  a  persecution,  79,  82. 

Israel,  a  type  of  the  Church,  77;  the 
perpetual  type  of  good  things  to 
come,  184  sqq. ;  passing  through 
the  Red  Sea  and  wilderness  a 
type,  76. 

Israelite  single-hearted,  yet  needing 
cure,  54. 

JACOB'S  vision  of  the  ladder,  56. 

January,  calends  of,  heathenish  ob 
servance  of,  38. 

Jealousy,  godly,  for  Christ,  91. 

Jerusalem,  a  shadow  of  the  heavenly, 
77- 

Jews,  pre-eminently  Christ's  "own," 
17 ;  understood  the  promises 
carnally,  188 ;  keepers  of  the 
prophecies  against  themselves, 
206  sq.;  blindness  to  the  pro 
phecies  relating  to  Christ, 
189  sq.;  through  pride,  despis 
ing  the  humility  of  God,  they 
crucified  their  Saviour,  and  made 
Him  their  Condemner,  25  ; 
thought  Christ  would  be  merely 
man,  266;  hated  Christ  because 
they  hated  that  which  condemn 
ed  them,  360  ;  they  hated  the 
Truth,  as  much  as  they  hated 
their  punishment,  360;  Christ's 
true  crucifiers  :  vainly  seek  to 
exonerate  themselves,  427,  430; 
the  participation  in  His  dying, 
421  sq. ;  in  giving  Christ  vine 
gar  to  drink  are  an  acted  parable 
of  wickedness,  433;  their  unbe 
lief  made  Him  a  stone  of  stum 
bling  ;  yet  His  death  was  the 
multiplying  seed,  291^;  they 
wasted  their  eternal  good  afraid 
of  losing  their  temporal  good, 
278;  how  they  sought  Christ  af 
ter  His  resurrection,  191  ;  cut 
off,  Gentiles  graffed  in,  log  sq.. 
236;  often  in  bondage,  237;  re 
quire  a  sign,  yet  are  slow  to  be 
lieve  when  it  is  given:  Gentiles 
require  none,  ioq  ;  boasted  of 
descent  from  Abraham,  235; 
children  of  Satan,  by  imitation, 
237;  ignorant  and  self-righteous 
zeal  made  them  persecute 
Christ's  followers,  364  sq.;  to 
know  that  the  Jews  would  "  even 
kill  them,"  etc.,  was  a  comfort 
to  the  disciples,  as  a  proof  of 
their  success,  365,  366 ;  their 


dispersion  a  testimony  to  the 
truth  of  the  prophecies  concern 
ing  Jesus,  296;  are  looking  for 
Antichrist  that  they  may  go 
backward  and  fall  to  the  ground, 
as  forsaking  heavenly  things, 
and  desire  earthly,  417;  impious 
blindness  of  Christ's  persecutors, 
421. 

Job,  232. 

John,  the  Baptist,  how  more  honored 
than  all  the  prophets,  21;  friend 
of  the  Bridegroom.  90;  a  lamp 
prepared  for  Christ,  37  ;  his 
greatness  betokens  Christ's  sur 
passing  majesty,  87  ;  the  great 
loftiness  of,  15;  a  light,  to  wit 
ness  of  the  Light,  15;  his  testi 
mony  to  Christ,  204  sq.;  the 
Elias  of  the  First  Advent  :  not 
Elias  himself,  but  figuratively, 
27  ;  he  is  "  I  am  the  prophecy 
itself,"  28;  his  humility,  28,  80; 
wrought  no  miracles,  269;  knew 
Christ  before  the  heavenly  sign, 
30;  the  knowledge  imparted  to 
John  by  the  heavenly  sign,  not 
"this  is  the  Christ,"  but  "this 
is  He  which  baptizeth  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,"  31  sq. 

John,  the  Evangelist,  the  eagle,  99, 
208,  210;  sublimity  of  his  Gos 
pel,  137,  208,  268  ;  lay  in  the 
Lord's  bosom  to  drink  in  deeper 
truths,  9,  117,  131  ;  a  token  of 
the  divine  excellency  of  his 
teaching,  433 ;  his  modesty  in 
mentioning  himself,  311  ;  how 
he  received  the  blessed  Virgin 
"  unto  his  own,"  i.e.,  dutiful 
services,  433  ;  is  said  never  to 
have  married,  and  from  early 
boyhood  had  lived  in  perfect 
chastity,  452;  some  errone 
ously  supposed  he  did  not 
die:  his  grave  at  Ephesus, 
448;  lacks  the  commendation 
of  martyrdom,  448  ;  he  is  the 
type  of  the  life  which  is  by 
vision  of  Christ,  as  Peter  of  the 
life  by  faith,  450. 

Judas  Iscariot,  son  of  perdition,  fore 
ordained  to  perdition,  404;  fol 
lowed  the  Lord  with  the  body, 
not  with  the  heart :  could  not 
contaminate  his  fellow  apostles, 
281;  was  "chosen  "  unto  some 
thing  for  which  he  was  neces 
sary,  but  not  unto  the  blessed 
ness  of  sons,  307  sq. ;  the  repre 
sentative  of  evil  men  in  the 
Church  as  Peter  of  the  good, 
282  ;  was  deceived  about  Him 
whom  He  wished  to  deceive: 
and  already  scanned  was  know 
ingly  used,  300  ;  a  lesson  that 
we  should  bear  with  the  wicked 
and  not  divide  the  Church:  par 
took  of  the  holy  communion 
unto  death,  2M;  the  bread  they 
ate  was  the  Lord,  he  ate  the 
Lord's  b|L-ad  in  enmity:  they  ate 
life,  he  punishment,  308  ;  was 


<  »\   I  III-:  GOSPEL  \<v<  tRDING   I  < »  8T,  joilN:  INDEX  OF  SI  BJECT8.  57' 


in:nle  over  to  the  devil  by  the 
bread  of  Christ,  312;  the  sop 
given  to  him  was  meant  to  show 
what  grace  he  had  treated  with 
ingratitude,  313;  after  the  sop, 
S.it.m  i-ii!i-n-d  iiito  him  bya  ful 
ler  possession.  \\\\  had  nartak- 
cn  of  the  sacrament  before  he 
received  the  sop  :  what  was 
meant  by  the  dipping  of  the  sop, 
313  ;  baptism  administered  by, 
would  be  valid,  and  Christ's 
baptism,  |8, 

Judgment,  two  si-uses  of  the  word. 
punishment  or  discrimination 
between  good  and  bad,  146, 
242,  288  sq  ;  how  true  believers 
come  not  into  judgment,  147; 
how  the  Father  judgeth  not  any, 
124,  142. 

Judgement,  dav  of,  in  the,  good 
and  bad  will  see  Christ  as  Man: 
the  good,  as  God,  129  sq. ;  of 
this  world,  expulsion  of  Satan 
from  Christ's  redeemed,  289. 

Judging,  our  proneness  to  judge  men 
according  to  their  persons  :  he 
that  does  not,  loves  equally,  188. 

Judgments,  erroneous,  of  persons: 
how  venial:  one  sad  consequence 
of,  360. 

Justification,  to  create  righteous  be 
ings  and  to  make  righteous  the 
ungodly  are  works  equal  in  pow 
er,  but  the  latter  is  greater  in 
mercy,  330  sq. ;  accuse  thyself, 
and  thou  art  united  unto  God, 
85  sq. 

KINGDOM  of  God,  already  is,  but 
does  not  yet  reign,  323. 

Kingdom  of  Christ,  here  in  prepar 
ing,  to  be  manifested  hereafter, 
161. 

Knowledge,  grows  by  love,  137  sq  ; 
grow  in  holiness  to  grow  in,  120. 

LAURENCE,  ST.,  his  martyrdom, 
177  sqq. 

Law  of  Moses,  prepared  the  sick  for 
the  Physician,  19. 

Law,  Christ  gave  the  Law  by  a  ser 
vant;  grace,  by  Himself:  he  who 
fulfills  the  Law,  is  with  it:  Law 
shows  sin,  not  takes  away: 
men  endeavoring  to  fulfill  the 
Law  of  themselves  became  guil 
ty  under  the  Law,  19;  why  giv 
en,  19,  40;  a  perpetual  type  of 
Gospel  truths,  181;  the  perdition 
of  those  "  without  I^aw,"  con 
sidered  with  theirs  "  who  shall 
be  judged  by  Law, "358;  without 
Christ  ..ii  perish,  whether  Jews 
or  heathen,  358  sq.;  but  there 
is  diversity  of  punishments  as 
diversity  of  sin,  358. 

Law  in  the  members,  233. 

I  .  .f  1  let haiiv ,  his  resurrection 
a  type,  147. 

Lazarus  in  the  parable,  type  of  be 
lieving  <  .entiles,  I  K>. 

Learning,  let  us  always  In-   seeking, 


and  our  reward  in  finding  put 
no  end  to  our  searching,  314. 

Left  hand,  how  not  to  know  what 
the  right  hand  doeth,  286. 

Lie,  or  Falsehood,  the  devil's  pro 
geny,  238. 

Life, animal,  human  and  angelic,  120. 

Life,  mortal,  the  promise  for  its 
needs  to  all  that  "  seek  first  the 
kingdom  of  God,"  etc.,  440; 
full  of  strife  without  and  with 
in,  203  sq. ;  a  life  of  suffering 
even  in  the  saints,  449;  is  but  a 
wayside  inn,  229. 

Life,  how  and  when,  Christians  must 
hate  their  own:  "  he  that  loveth 
his  life  shall  lose  it,"  etc.,  ex 
plained,  285. 

Life,  Christian,  a  perpetual  season 
of  abstinence,  112;  two  lives, 
preached  of  God,  unto  the 
Church,  one  in  faith,  the  other 
in  vision,  450. 

Life  Eternal,  Christ's  promise  of, 
a  revealing,  196;  the  only  true 
life  is  this,  145;  the  future,  per 
fection  of  knowledge  in,  314; 
the  vision  of  Christ  as  God,  143; 
common  to  all  the  saved,  all 
alike  have  that  "  penny,"  but 
there  are  different  degrees  of 
glory  and  merit,  321. 

Light,  unconsumed  by  eyes  which 
take  it  in:  so  Christ,  88. 

\6yof,  expressed  in  some  copies  by 
'  Sermo '  (speech),  in  others  by 
'  Verbum  '  (wordi,  405. 

Love,  of  God.  incomprehensible  and 
immutable,  411;  loving  the 
elect,  yet  unreconciled,  and  at 
enmity;  indeed  in  all  His  crea 
tures  He  loves  His  handiwork, 
411;  the  Father  loves  the  Son 
as  Equal:  as  Man,  for  the  flesh 
of  the  Word  is  dear  to  Him: 
loves  us  as  members  of  Jesus, 
411;  our,  of  God  comes  from 
His  first  loving  us,  391;  gift  of 
God,  337;  Christ's  peculiar  gift 
to  the  saints:  and  distinguish 
ing  badge  of  the  Church,  318 
sq. ;  distinguishes  saints  from 
the  world,  337;  of  God,  not  for 
selfish  ends,  25;  precedes  obe 
dience  as  its  cause:  is  proved 
§'  obedience  as  its  effect,  347; 
hrist's,  of  us,  the  source  of 
both,  347;  the,  of  God  and  the 
brotherhood  are  inseparable, 
318;  the  new  commandment, 
317,  348;  is  Christ's  command 
ment,  as  if  no  other  were  so: 
for  it  includes  all,  349;  distin 
guished  from  all  other  love  by 
its  character,  "as  I  have  loved 
you:  "  it  is  for  God's  sake,  that 
He  may  be  all  in  all  to  believers, 
341);  jHrrfect,  in  the  resurrection: 
therefore  Christ  gave  the  Spirit, 
the  Author  of  love,  after  His 
resurrection,  !<><>;  of  the  Church, 
rests  on  our  standing  linn  in  its 
.'.y  and  unity,  !<>'>;  to  love 


is  to  dwell  in  heart.  17;  '  chari- 
tas.'  meaning  of  the  word,  65; 
surpassing  excellence  of,  196; 
uniting  power  of:  is  the  bond  of 
the  Trinity,  223;  ground  of  all 
virtues:  tiist/ojr,  thenycr,  peace, 
nfl~fring,  etc.,  354;  to  love 
lirist  loved,  belongs  to  the 
new  man,  this  renews  us  as  heirs 
of  the  New  Testament:  it  re 
newed  the  saints  of  old  before 
Christ's  coming,  and  now  re 
news  the  nations  of  the  world; 
318;  love  of  man,  the  way  to 
the  love  of  God,  114;  no  weak 
softness  in,  40,  72;  and  .iking, 
almost  synonymous,  446. 

MAI.CHUS,  one  that  shall  reign,  mys 
tery  of  the  wounding  and  heal 
ing  of,  417. 

Man,  human  life  intermediate  be- 
'  tween  the  animal  and  the  an 
gelic,  1 20;  is  '  of  God  '  by  cre 
ation:  by  sin  '  not  of  God; '  '  of 
God '  by  regeneration,  239  sq. ; 
made  in  the  image  of  God,  af 
fords  a  hint  by  which  Divine 
Relations  may  be  apprehended, 
326;  inferior  in  many  things  to 
irrational  creatures;  superior  in 
the  image  of  God,  20;  worn 
coin  of  God's  mint,  228;  God 
seeks  His  image  on,  230;  dis 
tinguished  from  irrational  crea 
ture  as  object  of  a  peculiar 
mercy,  201;  proud,  had  perished 
eternally  had  not  a  lowly  God 
found  him,  301;  good  only  by 
participation  of  God,  who  is  es 
sential  Goodness,  224;  human 
nature  hath  nothing  that  it  did 
not  receive  even  in  Jesus,  396: 
has  nothing  of  his  own  but  sin, 
273;  and  falsehood,  31;  all,  by 
nature  children  of  wrath,  245; 
in  mortal  flesh,  it  is  at  no  time 
easier  to  live  than  to  die,  317; 
born  with  death,  for  he  inherits 
sin  from  Adam,  274;  the  natu 
ral  or  animal  man,  incomplete, 
377;  the  natural  or  carnal,  can 
not  conceive  of  God  but  as  of  a 
body,  390;  men  and  sons  of, 
how  they  differ,  187;  the  inner 
man  better  than  the  outer, 
103- 

Manich;vans.  doctrine  of  the,  of  two 
Principles,      23q;    give    evil    a 
substantive  essence,  237;  affirm 
a  life  and  soul  in  things  inani 
mate,  12;  an  ensnaring  argument 
for  noxious  creatures,   1 1  ;  deny 
(with    Marcimiites)    the   • 
the    Old    Testament,  2_; 
that   the  devil  has  a  fati 
and  note  ;    affirm  Christ   to  be 
only  God  without   true  humani 
ty  'antithesis  to  the  1'hotinians), 
ieny  His  birth  of  the  Vir 
gin   Mary,  59;  say  that  the  sun 
is  Christ!  200. 

Manna,  type  of,  76. 


572  ON  THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  To  ST.  JOHN:   INDKX  OF  SUBJBC  is 


Mark,  the  Evangelist,  his  emblem, 
the  Man,  210. 

Marriage,  Christ's  presence  at,  58; 
His  mysterious  institution  <>(' 
66;  honored  by  and  sustained  by 
His  participation,  63. 

Martyrs,  178;  innumerable,  of  all 
ages,  ranks,'  conditions,  287, 
371,  419;  tlu-y  lay  down  their 
lives  for  the  brethren  as  Christ 
His,  but  not  for  the  remission 
of  sins,  350;  commemoration  of, 
25;  at  the  table  of  the  Lord  we 
commemorate  them,  not,  like 
others  who  rest  in  peace,  by- 
praying  for  them,  but  so  that 
they  pray  for  us,  350. 

Martyrdom,  to  lay  down  one's  life 
for  the  brethren  is  to  lay  it  down 
for  Christ,  286 ;  without  love 
unprofitable,  47. 

Marv  Magdalene,  at  the  sepulchre, 
271  note,  436;  why  forbid 
den  to  touch  Christ,  169,  437  sq. 

Mary,  Virgin,  she  bore  only  one 
Son,  69;  why  blessed,  70;  con 
ceived  and  bore  Jesus  by  faith, 
28;  reproved  at  Cana,  acknowl 
edged  on  the  cross,  61. 

Matthew,  the  Evangelist,  his  emblem 
the  Lion,  210. 

Maximian.  71. 

Merits,  none  before  the  gift  of 
Christ,  424. 

Messias,  in  Punic  '  Messe,'  anoint, 
106. 

Mind,  see  Image  of  God;  energy  of 
the,  136,  150;  the  eye  of  the 
soul,  205;  all  that  relates  to,  is 
more  valued  than  body,  193. 

Ministers,  what  it  is  to  minister  unto 
Christ,  286  ;  all  Christians  are, 
and  not  bishops  and  clergy  only, 
286  sq. ;  have  a  right  to  be 
maintained  by  the  Church,  but 
(as  Paul)  may  forego  that  right, 
440  ;  evil,  convey  grace  by 
Christ's  authority,  themselves 
not  benefitted,  37;  the  voice  of 
Christ  speaks  by  such,  258  ; 
preaching  Christ  of  envy  and 
strife,  38;  serving  and  preaching 
with  selfish  ends,  445;  may  yet 
do  good,  38  ;  show  themselves 
hirelings  when  afraid  to  report 
and  punish  sin,  259. 

Ministry,  fear  of  undertaking  the, 
bi-cause  of  the  greater  tempta 
tions  attending,  304;  some  are 
given  to  sweet  and  wholesome 
studies,  but  soon  the  call  to  ac 
tivity  for  all,  304  ;  renders  us 
troubled  when  blameworthy,  in 
flated  if  commended,  yet  Christ 
washes  the  feet,  305. 

Miracles,  not  more  wonderful  than 
the  order  of  nature,  57;  intended 
to  rouse  men  from  their  forget- 
fulnessof  God,  57,  63;  the,  of  the 
Incarnation  takes  away  all  won 
der  from  the  works  of  Christ;  i  n  ; 
the  real  health  of  the  body  in  the 
resurrection,  our  Lord's  design, 


159;  are  signs  of  creative  power, 
158;  acts  of  teaching,  158;  acted 
parables,  as  the  miracle  of  the 
live  loaves,  159;  their  propheti 
cal  import,  ILK);  should  raise  de 
light  rather  than  wonder,  270; 
the  miraculous  draught  of  fishes 
after  the  Resurrection,  com 
pared  with  the  like  miracle  in 
the  earlier  ministry  of  our  Lord, 
441;  how  Christ's  disciples  do 
greater  miracles  than  Jesus  did, 
329-331;  what  they  did,  He  did 
in  them,  330;  all  believers  do 
those  greater  works,  i.e.,  He  in 
them,  for  the  working  out  of 
salvation  ajid  justification  is 
greater  than  all  visible  things, 
330  sq. ;  none  greater  than  rais 
ing  of  the  dead,  361;  this  was 
wrought  by  Elijah  and  Elisha, 
even  by  the  dead  body  of  the 
latter,  361;  yet  it  is-  true  that 
Christ  did  works  "which  none 
other  man  did;"  e.g.,  the  feed 
ing  of  the  multitudes,  walking 
on  the  waters,  giving  sight  to 
one  born  blind,  361 ;  of  mercy, 
which  aggravate  the  wickedness 
of  the  Jews  who  hated  Him, 
362;  may  be  wrought  by  repro 
bates,  93;  not  proofs  of  holiness, 

3"- 

Modesty  of  Sacred  writers  in  not 
mentioning  themselves:  Moses, 
John,  Matthew,  Paul,  311. 

Money,  love  of,  an  enchaining  sin, 
229;  how  to  be  used,  229. 

Moses,  some  mistakenly  infer  that 
he  did  not  die,  448. 

'  Mulier,'  use  of  this  word  in  Script 
ure,  70. 

'  Mundus,'  218  sq. 

Mysteries  to  be  approached  with  awe, 
rule  in  considering  them,  117; 
trouble  the  perverse,  exercise 
the  upright.  131;  holy,  are  food 
while  we  labor,  112  sq. 

NATHANAEI.,  singular  commenda 
tion  of,  53;  was  learned  in  the 
Law,  therefore  not  chosen  to  be 
an  apostle,  54. 

Nature,  all,  is  originally  good  (against 
Manichseans):  man's  nature  vi 
tiated  by  an  evil  will,  237. 

Nicodemus,  75  sqq.;  not  unbeliev 
ing,  but  timid,  197;  his  progress 
of  faith,  435. 

Noah,  a  type  of  Christ,  67. 

Noxious  creatures  and  vermin,  or 
dained  for  punishment  of  man's 
pride,  12. 

Numbers,  Two,  generally  has  refer 
ence  to  the  twofold  precept  of 
love,  113  ;  Ten,  the  number  of 
the  Law,  51,  442;  Seven,  of  the 
Spirit,  grace,  sanctitication,  442; 
Seventeen,  of  grace  supervening 
upon  the  Law.  442;  an  Hundred 
and  Fifty-three,  how  formed, 
and  its  symbolical  meaning, 
442  sq.;  Fifty,  443;  Twelve,  177; 


Twenty-five,  162  ;  T  hirty,  102  ; 
Thirty-eight,  man  under  the 
Law,  short  of  perfection  (40), 
112;  Forty,  connected  with  fast 
ing,  112,  denotes  perfection, 
113;  Forty-six,  73. 

ODOR,  the  good,  of  Christ,  is  a 
good  character,  280 ;  is  life  to 
the  good,  death  to  the  wicked 
by  exciting  their  hatred,  281. 

Old  Testament  Scriptures,  consist  of 
the  Law,  Prophets  and  Psalms, 
but  sometimes  the  whole  is 
called  the  Law,  268  sq. 

Old  Testament,  the  purifications  of, 
shadows  of  the  purifications  in 
the  Truth  among  the  heirs  of 
the  New  Testament,  405.  Old 
and  New,  lovers  of  the  world, and 
lovers  of  eternal  life,  77;  saints 
of,  examples  of  holy  longing, 
24  sq.;  none  saved,  except  as  by 
revelation  of  the  Spirit  they  be 
lieved  in  the  Mediator  about  to 
come  in  the  flesh,  407;  believed 
on  Christ  to  come,  just  as  we 
believe  on  Him  come:  the  times 
vary,  there  is  but  one  doorway 
of  faith,  the  signs  different,  252; 
the  faith  the  same:  to  the  Israel 
ites  the  rock  was  Christ,  to  us 
that  is  Christ  which  is  placed  on 
the  altar  of  Cod,  252;  the  Holy 
Ghost  was  in  them,  but  not  in 
the  same  measure  as  in  the 
saints  under  the  Gospel,  195, 
289;  they  heard  Christ's  voice 
in  His  preachers,  195;  by  revel 
ation  of  the  Spirit  undoubtingly 
believed  that  Christ  would  rise 
again:  their  faith  stronger  than 
that  of  the  apostles  before  His 
resurrection,  407. 

Olivet  Mt.  mystical  interpretation, 
197. 

Original  Sin,  22,  219,  245,  274; 
or,  the  depravity  of  man's  na 
ture  came  by  voluntarily  believ 
ing  the  persuasion  of  the  I>evil, 

239- 
Oxen,  prophets  and  apostles,  71. 

PAOANS,  some  extol  Christ,  but  as 
a  magician,  386;  festivities  of, 
4>;  festival  in  celebration  of 
the  blood  of  a  certain  woman, 

49.  53- 

Palm-branches,  emblems  signifying 
victory,  283;  7ravn«/><J7u/>,  liter 
ally  all-possessing.  401. 

Paraclete,  both  Comforter  and  Advo 
cate,  367. 

Paradise,  in  contrast  with  hades,  413. 

Parasceve,  428,  435. 

Pascha,  a  Hebrew  word  meaning 
'  transitus,'  not  as  some  suppose 
derived  from  T<i<r«/r.  299. 

Passover,  so  named  from  Israel's 
passing  over  the  Red  Sea,  299 
and  note;  unbelievers  have  no 
part  in  Christ's  '  transitus',  are 
passing  to  the  enemy,  299;  a 


<>\    PHE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  ST.  JOHN:  INDEX  Ol    31  i:ll 


proplu-cv   <•(    Christ,     -.•- 

435;    passing  away    of    shadow 

and  sign,  279. 

Patnp.issians,  211. 

Patriarchs,  mystery  of,  in  reference 
to  "the  sheep,"  77. 

I'aul,  why  he  chose  to  labor  for  his 
subsistence  than  to  claim  his 
right  of  m.unu  n.im  i-.^4u;  buried 
at  Rome,  265. 

Peace  in  C'hrist,  the  end  of  His 
teaching  and  of  our  whole  life 
of  action  and  endurance  with 
Him.  394. 

Peculation,  281. 

Pi-Lilians,  293  sqf,  345;  (see  Grace.) 
their  notion  that  Christ's  ex 
ample  was  tacitly  refuted  in 
the  case  of  Peter,  364;  their 
notion  that  it  is  possible  to  be  in 
the  flesh  without  sin,  tacitly 
reproved,  350;  that  their  good 
works  are  their  own,  352;  their 
setting  Clod's  foreknowledge 
against  His  grace,  353. 

Penitent,  their  groans  of  misery  be 
cause  of  their  sins  are  the  voice 
of  Christ,  through  faith,  within 
them,  276. 

Perish,  as  regards  God,  is  to  be  pe 
nally  separated  from  the  blessed 
ness  which  He  gives  to  the 
saints,  358. 

Perdition,  degrees  of,  according  to 
diversity  of  sin.  358. 

Persecution,  comes  by  our  necessity 
to  live  among  evil  men-blas 
phemers  by  their  acts,  178;  the 
world  persecutes  the  saints  be 
cause  of  righteousness'  sake, 
356;  just  and  unjust  persecu 
tion,  357;  allowable  to  flee  from, 
262  ;  Christ's  example,  100 ; 
Donatists'  complaint  of,  against 
the  Catholic  Church,  35  ;  here 
tics  and  schismatics  the  worst 
of  persecutors,  who  slay  souls, 
35  sq-.  79  sq- 

Perseverance,  the  mark  of  the  pre- 
destinate,  97,  254. 

Persons,  respect  of  in  judgment,  188; 
personal  knowledge,  not  merely 
t>v  sight,  may  be  also  by  history 
or  common  report,  359;  history, 
and  ol  tener  ordinary  report  are 
false,  3^9;  we  must  take  care  to 
have  aright  judgment  in  princi 
ples,  and  forbear  from  peremp 
tory  judgments  of  persons, 

35')  S(i- 

Perturbations  of  mind, even  Christian 
minds  may  feel  :  philosophers 
scout  them,  309  sq.;  the  four: 
fear  and  sorrow,  love  and  glad- 
.  3«Kj  ;  Christians  may  ex 
perience  many  altruistically  and 
devoutly,  309. 

Peter,  the  chief  of  the  apostles,  301; 
preached  His  Lord  even  to 
death.  304;  compared  with  John 
— a  type  of  the  life  by  repose,  he 
is  a  t  vpeof  the  life  by  lalxir,  4?"; 
"blessed  art  thou "  and  "get 


thce  behind  Me.  Xit.m,"  272 
sq. ;  His  sin  in  denying  Christ 
not  to  l>e  extenuated,  320.  411): 
allusion,  to  St.  Ambrose,  320 
note;  by  his  tears  he  shames  his 
defenders:  a  warning  against 
self-confidence,  320;  his  denial 
of  Jesus  contrasted  with  the  con 
stancy  of  the  martyrs,  41*  sq  ; 
he  denied  Christ,  not  to  be  ex 
plained  away:  denying  and  con 
fessing,  363  ;  strengthened  by 
the  Holy  Ghost  to  bear  witness 
of  C'hrist,  363  ;  shows  that 
Christ's  teaching  sufficed  not 
without  the  Spirit's  aid,  364;  his 
fall,  recovery  and  end,  445;  re 
quired  to  prove  his  love  by  feed 
ing  Christ's  flock,  445  sq. ;  the 
trine  denial  effaced  by  trine  con 
fession,  260,  445;  his  testimony 
concerning  Christ  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  363  ;  so  called  from 
petra,  represents  the  Church, 
531  grounded  on  the  rock  of 
faith,  55;  by  reason  of  his  pri 
macy,  he  represents  generally 
the  Church,  which  is  founded 
super  fetrarn,  450;  because  he 
had  said  "  Thou  art  the  Christ, 
the  Son  of  the  living  God,"  Je 
sus  saith,  "on  this  rock  I  will 
build  my  Church;"  for  the  Rock 
was  Christ,  450;  Christ  said,  "  I 
will  give  thee  the  keys,"  etc.,  to 
him,  as  spiritually  denoting  the 
Church,  282 ;  as  personifying 
unity  made  confession  for  all, 
and  received  the  promise  of  the 
keys  for  all,  431  ;  the  Church 
founded  on  Christ  did  in  the 
person  of  Peter  receive  the  pow 
er  of  binding  and  loosing  sins, 
450;  received  for  all  saints:  for 
not  Peter  alone,  but  the  whole 
Church  daily  obtains  deliver 
ance,  451  ;  did  Peter,  receiving 
the  keys,  represent  the  Church, 
282. 

Philosophy,  heathen,  had  distant 
glimpses  of  divine  truths,  15. 

Philosophers  deny  that  the  wise  man 
is  liable  to  perturbation  of  the 
mind,  309;  "  esteem  truth  to  be 
vanity,  insensibility  as  sound 
ness,"  310. 

Photinians  affirm  Christ  to  be  desti 
tute  of  God,  the  antithesis  to  the 
Manich.eans,  263. 

Physician,  similitude  of,  166. 

Pilate  anxiously  sought  to  release 
is,  425;  aimed  to  divert  the 
e\\s,  ,\2z,\  sinned,  but  less 
musiy  than  the  lews.  4J'>; 
feared  when  he  heard  of  the 
Son  of  God,  but  feared 
more,  427. 

Pilleatus,  an  unknown  object  of  wor 
ship. 

Poor,  the  Church  never  without  such. 

Prayer,  («);  the  boon  withheld  often 
better  than  granted,  52;  the 


promise  is, not  whatsoever  we  ask 
indiscriminately,  but  whatsoever 
in  His  Name,  ;.,-.,  ...  1  i 
vionrand  Master.  331-337;  <  .'-d's 
mercy  refuses  what  would  be  to 
our  hurt,  331;  when  we  ask  for 
things  adverse  to  salvation  we 
do  not  ask  in  the  name  of  the 
Saviour,  332;  what  is  delayed  is 
not  denied,  332;  we  shall  re 
ceive  in  due  season,  if  we  per 
severe,  333;  in  asking  aright, 
we  ask  that  He  will  not  grant 
what  we  ask  amiss,  333;  two 
sorts  of  wishing  meet  in  our 
prayers:  abiding  in  the  Saviour 
can  one  desire  anything  incon 
sistent  with  salvation,  340;  the 
words  and  spirit  of  the  Lord's 
Prayer  should  be  our  rule,  and 
then  we  shall  obtain  our  re 
quests,  346;  that  thing  is  not 
asked  in  the  name  of  our  Sa 
viour,  which  contravenes  the 
method  of  salvation:  he  that  has 
true  ideas  of  Him,  and  asks,  re 
ceives  at  Christ's  time,  389; 
saints  are  heard  effectively  for 
themselves,  389;  the  grace  of 
God  implies  our  seeking  true 
joy,  389;  the  disciples  would 
truly  ask  in  Christ's  name,  when, 
being  taught  no  more  in  prov 
erbs  but  openly,  they  would 
spiritually  apprehend  His  inter 
cession,  389—391;  for  the  dead, 
350;  it  might  be  replied  that  He 
ought  not  to  pray  for  such  who, 
when  dead,  with  great  merits 
and  a  welcome  reception,  are  at 
rest,  407;  heathenish  customs 
in,  69. 

Preaching,  a  perilous  office:  scarcely 
possible  but  there  shall  be  some 
boasting,  304;  the  hearers  stood 
in  Augustin's  time,  145;  excla 
mations  of  assent,  applause, 
etc.,  by  the  hearers,  25,  254, 
373- 

Predestinate,  Christ's  sheep,  253  ; 
two  sets  of,  but  all  build  their 
hopes  on  the  Shepherd's  prom 
ises,  obeying  His  precepts,  253; 
given  to  Christ,  purchased  by 
Him,  known  by  Him,  infallibly 
saved  by  Him,  267. 

Predestination,  calling,  justification, 
glorification,  17;;  makes  the  fu 
ture  .  The  past,  396 
sq. ;  election  of  the  saints  coin 
cident  with  the  predestined  glor- 
itication  of  Christ  Jesus  then 
Head.  398. 

Presumption  and  despair,  both  fatal, 
.•71. 

;rce  of  all  sin,  166;  of  man, 
punished  by  noxious  creatures, 

12. 

Primiam 
1  Principiuin,'  Heginning,  t! 

Church  affirms    the  coc-q 

by  gift  of  the  Father  to  be  also 

Principium,  222. 


574 ON  THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  ST.  JOHN:  INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS. 


Prodigal  Son,  the  parable  of  the, 
Augustin's  interpretation  of, 
402. 

Prodigy, — '  porrodicium,' '  quod  por- 
rodicat,  log. 

Profession  of  Christianity,  an  insin 
cere,  from  motives  of  worldly 
interest ;  the  frequency  of,  163; 
(Comp.  'de  Catech.  Rudibus,' 
5,  §  9  and  25,  §  48,  pp.  288, 
311,  N.  &  P.  N.  Library). 

Promises  of  Christ,  are  for  those 
who  keep  His  commands,  202. 

Property  is  held  by  human  right,  48. 

Prophecy  from  the  earliest  times,  64; 
six  dispensations  of,  65;  from 
the  first,  though  delivered  to  the 
Jews,  looked  to  all  nations,  66; 
a  lamp  bearing  witness  to  the 
Light.  204;  serves  for  the  con 
viction  of  pagans,  206 ;  Jews 
keepers  of  the  prophecies 
against  themselves,  206  sq. ;  re 
futes  the  calumny  of  Christ's 
miracles  wrought  by  magic,  207. 

Prophets,  the,  sowed  the  field  where 
the  apostles  reaped,  107. 

Prosperity  of  the  wicked,  a  tempta 
tion  to  unbelief,  394. 

Punic  tongue  cognate  with  Syriac 
and  Hebrew,  106. 

Punishment,  future,  varies  in  degree 
as  the  sin  punished,  358;  pen 
alty  of  sin  protracted  beyond 
our  guiltiness,  449. 

'  QUADRIGESIMA/ Lent,   112. 

RACA,  said  to  be  an  interjection,  de 
noting  anger,  283. 

Raven  (Noah),  type  of  the  world 
ling,  39;  of  schismatics,  40. 

Reconciliation,  before  the  world, 
God  loved  us,  yet  our  sin  op 
posed  Him,  and  so  the  Lord 
came  to  deliver,  411  sq. 

Redemption,  see  Blood  of  Christ. 

Reed,  emblem  of  the  Scriptures,  434. 

Regeneration,  18  ;  of  the  Spirit,  77; 
cannot  be  iterated,  77,  81;  the 
Word  chose  "to  be  born,  that 
thou  mightest  be  born  of  God 
unto  salvation,"  18. 

Relations,  Divine,  expressed  in  terms 
of  human,  not  to  be  carnally 
understood,  225  sq. 

Repentance,  folly  of  delay,  199. 

Repiobate,  will  see  Christ  (in  form 
of  M  an)  for  the  last  time  in  the 
Judgement  day,  338;  receive 
not  Christ's  testimony,  97; 
"cannot"  believe,  i.e.,  "will 
not,"  294. 

Restoration,  among  heretics  and 
schismatics,  unto  inheritance 
with  the  brethren,  80. 

Resurrection,  two  kinds  of  distin 
guished  by  Christ,  130,  149;  a 
resurrection  of  minds  taught  by 
all  religions,  128;  of  the  body, 
denied  by  some  heretics,  128; 
the  spiritual,  wrought  by  Christ 
as  Son  of  God,  128  sq. ;  of  the 


soul  is  by  Christ,  that  it  may 
enjoy  the  Godhead,  156  sq. ; 
typified  by  resurrection  of  Laz 
arus,  147;  from  infidelity  to 
faith,  125,  128;  a  quickening  by 
the  Father  and  the  Son,  128;  of 
the  body,  by  the  Son  of  Man, 
129;  by  the  Second  Adam,  77; 
of  soul  and  body,  the  end  of  the 
whole  Gospel,  152  sq. ;  bodies 
of  the  saints  which  arose  at 
Christ's  Passion,  448. 

Righteous  (Pelagians  tacitly  reprov 
ed),  "The  man  is  righteous 
overmuch,  and  by  that  very  ex 
cess  unrighteous,  who  says  that 
he  has  no  sin,  or  imagines  he  is 
made  righteous,  not  by  the  grace 
of  God,  but  by  the  sufficiency  of 
his  own  will,"  369. 

Righteousness,  which  God  giveth, 
168. 

Robbery  of  the  Church,  implies  be 
ing  a  castaway,  like  Judas,  281. 

Rulers,  Christian;  "should  act  with 
severity  when  Christ  is  con 
temptuously  rejected,"  80. 

SABBATH,  what  it  is,  24;  how  God 
rested  on  the,  132;  fulfilled' in 
Christ,  115;  a  sacrament  fulfilled 
in  Christians,  132;  the  spiritual, 
is  to  be  free  from  sin,  247;  not 
for  cessation  from  work  of  sal 
vation,  187  ;  how  obscured  by 
the  Jews  in  Augustin's  time, 
24. 

Sabellians,  210  sq.,  225  ;  few  in 
Augustin's  time,  227  ;  affirm 
"  that  one  and  the  same  Person, 
according  to  the  difference  of 
causes,  is  called  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost,"  292;  that  the 
Son  is  personally  identical  with 
the  Father:  the  names  two,  the 
reality  one,  185;  and  Arians, 
205 ;  each  witness  to  the  Truth 
against  the  other,  211,  215,  328; 
err  on  opposite  sides,  wider 
apart  from  each  other  than  from 
the  forsaken  way,  328. 

Sabellius,  his  doctrine  of  the  self- 
extensions  and  self-contractions 
of  the  one  divine  Substance  and 
Person,  and  illustration  by  the 
arm  extended  and  drawn  back, 
291  sq. 

Sacraments  or  mysteries,  flowed  from 
Christ's  pierced  side,  67;  the 
word  (of  Christ)  is  added  to  the 
element,  and  there  results  a  sac 
rament,  itself  as  it  were  a  visi 
ble  word,  344;  nourish  our 
spirits,  113;  out  of  the  unity  are 
held  unto  condemnation,  14; 
Jewish,  signified  the  same  thing 
which  is  signified  by  the  sacra 
ments  of  the  Gospel,  17. 

Sacrilege,  281. 

Saints,  predestinated,  called,  justi 
fied,  and  (in  hope)  glorified, 
173;  are  angels,  8;  called  to  be 
gods,  8;  are  in  God,  and  God 


in  them  by  grace:  the  Son  in 
the  Father  and  the  Father  in 
Him  by  coequal  Godhead,  323; 
the  temple,  house  and  kingdom 
of  God.  323;  temple  of  the  Holy 
Trinity,  338;  working  out  their 
salvation,  surpass  the  heavens 
and  the  earth,  330  sq.;  are 
Christ's  friends  and  servants, 
351;  true  servants,  not  in  fear 
but  so»s  in  the  spirit  of  adop 
tion,  351  sq. ;  by  regeneration 
are  not  of  the  world,  404;  still 
need  sanctification,  404  sq. ;  al 
ready  redeemed  through  the 
Mediator,  and  having  for  ear 
nest  the  Holy  Ghost,  they  have 
a  blessed  life  in  prospect,  but  in 
the  body  a  life  of  misery,  449; 
for  the  penalty  of  sin  is  not 
taken  away  at  once  when  the 
guilt  is  forgiven,  449;  have 
peace  here  in  the  midst  of  con 
flict,  hereafter  Christ's  own 
peace,  339  sq. ;  in  the  night  of 
this  world  wait  for  the  Day,  202; 
communion  of,  172;  Christ's, 
One  Head,  One  Body,  by  One 
Spirit,  172;  are  taught  in  the 
Eucharist  to  be  ready  -to  die  for 
the  brethren  as  Christ  for  them, 
349  sq. ;  wash  one  another's 
feet,  sometimes  actually  in 
heart,  by  mutual  confession  and 
forgiveness,  306  sq. ;  the  greater 
enlightened  for  the  benefit  of 
the  smaller,  7;  shall  be  with 
Christ  where  He  is,  i.e.,  in 
heaven  with  the  glorified  Hu 
manity:  or  with  Him  as  God, 
by  vision  of  the  Blessed  Trinity, 
413,  414;  glorify  God  by  their 
constancy  unto  death,  178;  the 
blood  of,  precious  in  the  sight 
of  the  Lord,  260. 

Salvation,  from  first  to  last  is  by  free 
grace,  22;  the  saints  are  already 
saved  by  the  "washing  of  re 
generation,"  and  '  by  hope,' 
while  waiting  for  immortality 
of  the  flesh  and  salvation  of 
their  souls,  353;  in  what  sense 
Scripture  speaks  it  of  the 
"  world,"  of  "all  men,"  355. 

Samaritan,  i.e.,  keeper,  240. 

Samaritan  woman,  type  of  Gentiles, 
KOI. 

Samaritans,  foreigners,  101. 

Sanctification,  in  that  truth  the  heirs 
of  the  New  Testament  are 
sanctified,  which  was  adum 
brated  in  the  purifications  of  the 
Old  Testament,  404  sq. 

Sanctity,  beauty  of,  25. 

Satan,  dragon  and  lion,  69;  why  he 
tempted  man,  116  ;  'prince  of 
this  world,'  not  of  the  creation 
but  of  this  darkness,  343,  370; 
raises  persecution  against  the 
saints,  177  ;  begotten  of,  237; 
the  father  of  sinners  not  physi 
cally,  as  Manicha_'ans  say,  but 
because  they  imitate  him, 


« >\  THK  GOSPEL  ACCORDINC.  TO  ST.  JOHN:  IM>I.\  <  >!   SUBJECT  8,  575 


237;  had  possession  of  tlic  liu- 
ni.in  i. ni-  ;  |>ersnading  .nul 
clutching  the  children  of  men, 
289;  hosts  of  believers  delivered 
from,  t>y  faith  through  Jesus. 
the  world  along  with  its 
prince  reproved  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  371;  tempts  only  by  per 
mission,  50;  slew  tin-  lust  m. in; 
father  of  falsehood,  238  ;  some 
say  he  has  a  father — a  detestable 
error,  238  ;  the  pride  and  im 
piety  of  mortals  cannot  have 
nope  of  being  spared,  as  it  thinks 
with  terror  of  the  angels'  over 
throw,  371. 

Schism,  the  bareness  of,  92. 

Schismatics,  severed  branches,  92 
sq. ;  usurp  the  love  due  to 
Christ,  91. 

Scripture,  Holy,  exalts  by  descend 
ing  to  us,  404  ;  lamps  in  the 
darkness  no  longer  needed  when 
the  Day  is  come,  207;  weshould 
believe  that  He  meant  us  to  un 
derstand,  144  sq. ;  texts  which 
seem  contrary  may  often  be 
reconciled  by  distinguishing  two 
different  senses  ot  the  same 
word,  241. 

Seal,  to,  164. 

Seducers  to  evil,  murderers  as  the 
devil,  238. 

Self-love,  root  of  all  evils  in  the 
Church,  445  sq. 

Self-praise,  very  perilous  :  but  God 
cannot  be  known  by  man  except 
He  exposes  His  majesty,  and  in 
Him  is  no  elation,  306. 

Separation,  comes  of  envy,  195  sq. 

Serpent,  the  brazen,  type  of  Christ, 
85. 

Sheep  of  Christ,  described,  267. 

Sight,  inward,  of  Jesus  superior  to 
the  carnal:  so  He  infuses  Him 
self  into  the  hearts  of  believers, 
367. 

Signs,  persecutors  of  Christ  may  yet 
promote  human  welfare,  431  sq. 

Simon  Magus,  45,  71. 

Simplicity  must  be  coupled  with  fer 
vor,  40. 

Sin,  22;  the  death  of  the  soul, 
270;  slaves  of,  the  worst  bond 
age:  servants  of  lust  and  snared 
in  crimes,  231,  232  sq. ;  none 
in  the  flesh  without  sin,  350; 
Christ  only  excepted,  though 
some  may  be  blameless  before 
men,  231,  233;  four  stages  of: 
original,  against  natural  I^aw, 
against  spiritual  Law,  against 
the  Gospel,  274;  three  degrees 
of  this  spiritual  death:  sin  lat 
ent,  sin  overt  sin  habitual,  271; 
sin  added  to  sin,  70;  many  mi 
nute  sins,  fatal,  86,  displeasure 
at  sin  is  of  God  shining  into 
thee,  86;  after  "  the  laver  of  re 
generation,"  the  remedy  for, 
450;  the  punishment  of,  outlasts 
the  guilt,  450 ;  the  hearers  of 
Christ,  either  personally  or  by 


His  <'hurcli,  are  without  excuse 
for  their  unbelief,  3?S;  those  to 
whom  I  le  in  \  i-r  i  an 
some  excuse:  but  that  does  not 
avail  to  save  them  from  perish 
ing.  358;  decrees  of  perdition 
measured  by  diversity  of  sin, 
358. 

"  Sin."  /.<•.,  sacrifice  for  sin,  232. 

Sinners,  prepare  their  own  bonds,  71; 
praise  themselves,  accuse  God, 
l8o. 

Son,  implies  Father  as  its  necessary 
correlate,  124. 

Soul,  the  life  of  the  body,  127;  and 
immortal,  263  ;  God  the  life  of 
the,  127,  263;  its  true  life  from 
God,  152  ;  the  greatness  of  its 
effects  even  in  corruptible  flesh, 
58;  mutable,  for  better  or  worse, 
224;  false  unless  a  partaker  un 
der  God,  224;  the  understand 
ing  is  as  its  husband:  in  its  non 
age  it  is  ruled  by  the  five  senses, 
104;  if  unreasonable,  error  is  its 
paramour,  105. 

SPIRIT,  THE  HOLY,  of  the  Father 
and  of  the  Son,  65;  inseparable 
from  Them,  66,  410;  is  charity, 
65;  or  mutual  love  of  Father 
and  Son,  66.  97;  Consubstantial 
and  Coeternal  with  the  Father 
and  the  Son,  333  ;  inseparable 
from  the  Father  and  the  Son, 
as  being  the  essential  and  co- 
essential  love  of  Both,  396;  is  of 
the  Father  and  of  the  Son.  438; 
sanctification,  His  special  attri 
bute,  442;  where  the  Father  and 
the  Son,  there  the  Holy  Ghost; 
alike  eternal,  equally  God;  One 
Spirit  of  the  Two,  and  the  Sub 
stance  of  the  will  of  Both,  413; 
speaks  not  of  Himself,  but  in 
the  Father  and  the  Son,  from 
whom  He  proceedeth,  382  ;  to 
Him,  to  '  heap'  is  to  know,  but 
to  know  is  to  Be,  383;  Proces 
sion  is  from  the  Son  as  well  as 
the  Father,  for  He  is  the  Spirit, 
and  called  "a  Spirit,"  because 
in  Him  appears  what  is  common 
to  Both,  383;  we  should  believe 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  proceeds 
also  from  the  Son,  seeing  the 
Same  is  Spirit  of  the  Son  :  for 
did  He  not  so  proceed,  He 
could  not  have  breathed  upon 
11  is  disciples,  and  said,  "receive 
ye  the  Holy  Ghost,"  383  sq.; 
why  Christ  says,  "proceedeth 
from  the  Father,"  384;  proces 
sion  of,  from  the  Father  and 
the  Son,  mutually,  384;  He  is 
not  born,  but  "proceeds:"  His 
having  two  parents  utterly  ab 
surd,  384;  the  Holy  Ghost  pro 
ceedeth  not  from  the  Father  into 
the  Son,  and  then  from  the  Son 
proceedeth  to  the  creature's 
sanctification  :  but  proceeds  at 
the  same  time  from  Ik>th,  384; 
the  Spirit  assumed  no  creature- 


form,  381;  represented  bodily  in 
transient  substances,  381  ;  why 
manifested  in  the  form  of  a  clove, 
39;  denoting  simplicity  and  fer 
vency,  40;  is  greater  than  the 
Son  of  Man.  341 ;  His  aid  neces 
sary  after  (  lirist's  teaching  and 
example—  shown  I 
Peter,  364;  the  Teacher,  339; 
the  Paraclete  bore  such  mighty 
witness  to  Christ,  that  many 
who  had  hated  were  converted, 
363  ;  glorified  Jesus  after  His 
ascension  both  by  spiritualizing 
believers  and  emboldening  the 
disciples  to  spread  His  fame 
abroad,  385;  reproves  the  world, 
by  the  ministry  of  the  disciples 
in  whose  hearts  He  dwelt,  369; 
of  the  sin  of  unbelief :  of  the 
righteousness  of  faith:  of  judge 
ment,  by  apprising  it  of  the 
doom  of  its  prince,  the  Devil, 
369  sqq.;  betokened  by  the 
number  seven,  442;  described 
in  Revelation  as  the  "  Seven 
Spirits  of  God,'1  442;  what  the 
soul  is  to  the  body,  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  to  the  soul,  66;  Author 
of  life  and  unity,  175  sq. ;  none 
receive  the  Holy  Ghost  out  of 
the  Church,  195;  is  in  the  saints, 
not  instead  of,  but  with,  Christ: 
a  presence  of  the  Trinity,  368; 
source  of  all  love  and  obedience, 
333;  the  fuller  our  experience  of 
Him,  the  greater  our  ability, 
334;  the  earnest  of:  by  this  we 
know  now  God  in  part,  194  sq. ; 
was  given  to  the  saints  of  old, 
but  in  far  other  manner  after 
Christ's  resurrection,  195,  289; 
gift  of  tongues  not  now  the  sign 
of  His  presence,  195  ;  is  given 
by  measure  to  the  saints,  with 
out  measure  to  the  Son  of  Man, 
981  334;  '"  His  saints  as  God  in 
His  Temple,  338;  and  known  by 
them  as  we  know  our  own  con 
science,  335;  by  Him  the  saints 
know  what  God  has  given  them, 
352;  teaches  by  infusing  love, 
372  sq. ;  the  promised  leading 
into  truth  never  complete  here, 
but  will  oe  hereafter,  373. 

Spirit,  sometimes  put  for  "hus 
band,"  flesh  for  "  wife:"  in  the 
rightly-ordered  man,  the  spirit 
is  master,  the  flesh  serves,  i  i, 

Spirits,  spiritual  suggestions  enter 
through  the  thoughts,  not  by  the 
ear,  300  ;  blend  with  our 
thoughts  and  seem  to  be  our 
own,  300. 

Spiritual,  not    always   used    for    the 

gO<Hl,     30O. 

'Spiritus,'  twofold  meaning,  83. 

Stephen,  a  pattern  of  simplicity  and 
fervency,  40 ;  recent  discovery 
of  his  remains,  435  and  note. 

Suggestions,  diabolical,  see  Spirits. 

Suicide,  not  to  be  justified  by  our 
nir's  saying,  "he  that  hat- 


5/6  ON  TIIK  C.OSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  ST.  JOHN:  INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS. 


eth  his  life,"  etc.,  218,  285.   See 
Donatists. 

bun,  said  by  the  Manichees  to  be 
Christ,  200. 

TABERNACLES,  feast  of,  propheti 
cal  of  Christ's  members  sojourn 
ing  in  the  wilderness,  181  sq. 

Temptation,  two  sorts  of,  one  for 
deception  ;  one  for  probation. 
241. 

Temptation  common  to  man,  our 
liability  to  err  in  our  judgment 
of  our  fellows,  360. 

Thief,  the  penitent,  64,  193,  219; 
his  faith,  407  ;  how  with  Christ 
in  paradise,  413. 

Thomas,  "touched  the  Man,  and 
acknowledged  the  God  ;"  en 
courages  the  Gentiles,  438  sq. 

Thought,  marvellous  swiftness  of, 
136. 

Time,  what  seems  tedious  to  men  is 
short  to  God  :  the  "little 
while,"  and  "last  hour,"  all 
the  ages  from  first  to  second 
Advent,  337  *q. ;  the  whole  age 
of  the  world  is  a  "  little  while." 
the  "last  hour,"  388  sq. 

Tongues,  divided  through  sin,  unit 
ed  in  the  Dove,  42  ;  man's 
pride  divided,  Christ's  humility 
united,  42  ;  betokened  the  uni 
versality  of  the  Church  :  no 
longer  the  sign  of  unity  with 
the  Church,  195  sq. 

Tribulation,  the  portion  of  Christ's 
members  on  earth,  69. 

TRINITY,  THE  HOLY,  222 sqq.,  396; 
"God  thrice,  not  three  Gods, 
39  ;  Three  Persons,  One  God, 
in  infinite  charity,  223;  in  Uni 
ty,  is  by  infinite  love,  i.e.,  the 
Holy  Ghost,  97  sq. ;  Insepara 
ble  in  Substance  and  Works, 
137;  One  Majesty,  One  Power, 
One  Will,  150;  the  Substance 
indivisible,  the  Works  insepara 
ble,  the  Attributes  one  with  the 
Substance,  132  sqq.;  the  Acts 
of,  are  inseparable,  but  are  in 
troduced  individually,  339  ;  re 
proving  the  world,  though 
Christ  also  reproves,  369;  mani 
fested  in  the  Lord's  baptism, 


41  ;  the  Unity  shown  by  the 
command  to  baptize  in  the 
Name  (not  names)  of  the  Fath 
er,  etc.,  42  ;  a  kind  of  type  of 
the,  in  the  human  mind,  155; 
man  under  the  guardianship  of 
the,  403  sq. 

Truth,  Divine,  in  what  temper  to  be 
approached,  117;  the  apostles, 
and  all  who  are  in  the  body,  not 
able  to  bear  all  truth,  373. 

'  Turba,'  186,  191. 

UNBELIEF,  all  other  sins  bound  by, 
357  sq.,  361,  369;  is  the  con 
demnation,  85  ;  every  believer 
when  he  dies  goes  into  darkness, 
where  no  one  can  work,  246  sq. ; 
children  of  wrath,  99. 

Understanding,  the  husband  of  the 
soul,  103. 

Unity  of  the  Church,  stands  by  the 
one  baptism,  which  is  Christ's, 
41;  the,  of  all  saints,  172,  175. 

Upright  in  heart,  166,  i8osq. 

VIRGINITY,  in  body  and  in  mind,  91. 

Virgins,  63;  among  the  heretics,  91. 

Vision,  the  ineffable,  and  so  to  speak 
invisible,  of  God,  295  ;  the  be 
atific,  130;  of  Christ  "as  He 
is,''  is  not  for  this  life,  but 
eternal  :  this  is  the  fruit  of  the 
Church's  travail,  388. 

WATER,  mixed  with  wine  in  the  cup 

of  the  Eucharist,  434. 
Waters,  signify  peoples,  III. 
Wicked,  the,  God's  instruments  for 

good,  177;  prosperity  of  the,  25. 
Winter,  of  this  world,  182. 
Witness,  false,  177. 
WORD,  THE  ETERNAL,  see  Christ. 
Word  of  God,  as  a  hook  to  the  fish, 

takes  when  it    is  being   taken, 

235- 

Word,  the,  of  consecration  in  bap 
tism,  344  sq. 

Works,  Good,  the  beginning  of,  is  in 
self-condemnation,  85  sq. 

World,  not  [as  the  Donatists  said] 
always  in  a  bad  sense,  sometimes 
the  lovers  of  the  world,  some 
times  the  company  of  the  re 
deemed,  290  ;  full  of  believers 


and  the  dissolute,  370  ;  "  the 
whole,  is  the  Church,  yet  the 
whole  world  hates  the  Church," 
355  ;  a,  of  the  elect,  and  a,  of 
the  reprobate,  355  ;  that,  for 
which  Christ  prays  not,  409  ; 
another,  consisting  of  believers, 
for  which  He  prays,  409;  this, 
saved  by  Him  and  reconciled  to 
God  by  Him,  40),  410,  415  ; 
raises  II  is  ransomed  to  the  glory 
of  immortality,  409  ;  a,  deliv 
ered  out  of  the,  412;  the,  means 
mainly  those  who,  in  heart,  in 
habit  the  world,  and  these  dwel 
lers  defame  the  tenement,  14, 
20,  335;  these  are  Christ's  ene 
mies,  387;  all  begotten  of  Adam 
are  of  this  world,  424;  the  elect, 
being  sanctified,  cease  to  be  of 
the  world,  218;  the,  as  meaning 
sinners  and  lovers  of  such  a 
world,  is  subject  to  Satan  and 
his  angels  :  the  whole  world 
from  heaven  to  hell  is  subject  to 
the  Trinity,  343;  in  the,  happi 
ly  :  not  of  the  world,  concord- 
antly,  340;  saints  use  the  good 
things  of  it  as  an  inn  by  the 
way,  229;  knowledge  of  God  is 
by  just  judgment  withheld  from 
the  condemned  world,  by  grace 
given  to  the  elect  world,  415; 
how  the  world  "  loves  its  own," 
even  in  punishing  malefactors, 
357;  a  headlong  river,  71;  night 
of  this,  202  ;  in  its  calamities, 
Christ  is  seen  abasing  all  lofti 
ness,  162  ;  the  six  ages  of  the, 
65,  IOT. 

Worship,  "  what  avails  tongue-clat 
ter  when  the  heart  is  mute  : 
senseless  images,  equally  sense 
less  worshippers;  "  objects  in, 
for  religious  growth,  assem 
bling,  sacraments,  singing, 
preaching,  the  divine  Scrip 
tures,  228  sq. 

XYSTUS,  ST.,  his  martyrdom,  178. 

ZACH ARIAS,  father  of  John  the  Bap 
tist,  supposed  by  Augustin  to 
have  been  high  priest,  278. 

Zeal,  holy,  72. 


ON  THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  ST.  JOHN. 


INDEX  OF  TEXTS. 


PACE 

PACE 

PACE 

PAGE 

Gen  10, 

.1.12 

Ex.  xiii.  3  .... 

230     P«     >i     f 

-1-1Q 

Ps.  xxxv.  1  8 

inn 

.   i    !      65,  170.  244 

iv.2i-2g.     .     . 

361 

ii.  7,  8  .     . 

.    .     17 

xxxv.  20    . 

JV9 
.        69 

.  3     •     •     •     • 

246 

xiv.  21-31     .     . 

24 

ii.  8.     .     . 

•    •      42 

xxxv.  27    . 

71 

.  3.  b,  7-     •     • 

132 

xiv.  29.     .     .     . 

299 

iii.  3      .     . 

.  .  348 

xxxvi.  6     . 

288,  293 

4     ^ 

246 

xvi  .      •     . 

06  1 

iii.  5 

262 

xxxvi.  7 

iftl 

ii.  3    •    .     •     • 

442 

xvii.  6  .      .      .     . 

Ju  * 
361 

iii.  S      .     '. 

.       .       201 

xxxv  .  7-10 

!   187 

ii.  17  •    •     .     . 

I46 

xx.  3-17   .      .     . 

24 

iv.  6.     .     . 

.       .       228 

xxxv  .  8-12 

.   167 

ii.  22  .     .      .      . 

434 

xx.  8.        ... 

132 

v.  3  •     •     • 

.       .       202 

xxxv.  9     127 

169,  382 

ii.  23.     .      .     . 

18 

XX.    10.         ... 

18- 

v.  5  .     .     . 

.      .      411 

xxxv  .  9,  10 

•   103 

ii.  24  .     .     .     . 

66 

xx.  12-17       •     • 

274 

vi.  6.     .     . 

.       .       202 

xxxv  i.  4    . 

.   169 

ii  .    I  .     .     .      . 

238 

xx.  1  7  .     .     .     . 

234 

vii.  7     •     . 

.     .      161 

xxxv  ii.  9  . 

.       202 

iii.   5  .... 

116 

xxx.  7  .... 

278 

viii.  2    .     . 

.       .       406 

xl.  5      .     . 

•       442 

ii  .   6  .     .     .     . 

332 

xxxi.  18    .     .     . 

277 

ix.  6.     .     . 

xl.  14    ... 

217,   279 

ii  .  7  .     . 

55 

xxxii.  1-4. 

24 

x.  3 

-: 

xii.  ii 

ii.   9.     .     .     . 

277 

xxxiii.  ii,  13,  20. 

23 

x.  14     .     . 

•     •     335 

xiii.       .     . 

•       152 

ii  .  20  .     .     .     . 

434 

xxxiii.  13  .     .     . 

295 

xi.  i.      .      . 

.     .       29 

xiii.  4,  5     • 

.       136 

v.i6.     .     .     . 

434 

Lev.  xix.  1  8     .      .     . 

317 

xi.  5.     .     . 

•  349.  355 

xiii.  6   .     .     . 

.       326 

vii.  6-9.     .     . 

40 

xxiii.  8     ... 

247 

xii.  2     .     .' 

•     •       54 

xiii.  S   .     . 

366 

vii.S-u.     .     . 

:  . 

xxvi.  1-13    .      . 

24 

xvi.  2    . 

.     .       76 

xliii.i.  242,249,288,337 

x      1-9   ... 

;- 

Num.  xi.  32     ... 

331 

xvi.  5    .     . 

•     •       17 

xiv.  2    .     . 

;     1 

x     27      ... 

xii.  7      ... 

77 

xvii.  15. 

•     •     390 

xiv.  3,  4     .     . 

.       198 

x  ii.  8      .     .     . 

.... 

XX.    II      .       .       . 

182 

xvii.  44.     . 

.     .     192 

xiv.  4    .     . 

•       419 

x  v.   14    .      .      . 

69 

xxi.  6—9 

85 

xviii.  i  . 

•     •     329 

xiv.  7     ... 

164,   242 

xvi.  9      ... 

80 

Deut.  v.  6,  etc.      .     . 

230 

xviii.  28    . 

96,  127 

xlvi    10. 

•       304 

xvii.  10  ... 

187 

ix.  10     .     .     . 

442 

xix.  2       .     . 

•     -3M 

xlvii.  3-8  ..    . 

xix.  24    ... 

284 

xiii.  3    .... 

241 

xix.  4    .     . 

.     .     364 

xlix.  3  -     - 

26 

xxi.  g.  10    .      . 

82 

xiii.  5    ... 

421 

xix.  5    .     . 

.    58.  308 

1.  3  .   26,  180, 

lS2,  217 

xxi.  9-12     .      . 

79 

xviii.  18      .      . 

105 

xix.  6    . 

.     .     148 

Ii.  3-     -     . 

.       86 

xxi.  10.         .     . 

77 

xix.   15     .      212, 

419 

xix.  9    .    241 

.  352,  356 

Ii.  5  •     •     • 

23 

xxii.  1  8.       42.  66 

Si 

xxxiv.    6     .     . 

448 

xxii.  6  .     . 

.     .       ii 

Ii.  7-     •     • 

•      433 

xxiv.  2-4 

-44 

Josh.  i.  i     .     .     .     . 

361 

xxii.  16.     . 

•     •     352 

Ii.  S  .     .    167, 

xxv.  34.        .      . 

332 

iii  

361 

xxii.  16,  17 

•     •     397 

Iv.   22     .      . 

.      156 

xxviii.   2. 

179 

x.  12-14 

361 

xxii.  17-29 

.     .      _   • 

Ivii   . 

429 

xxviii.  5.      .      . 

69 

Jtui^.  xv.   i  g    .      .      . 

361 

xxii.  20.     . 

Ivii.  4    .     . 

xxviii.  1  2-1  8     . 

;' 

I   Kin<rs  xvii.  21,  22. 

xxiv    i 

47 

Ivii.  7    ... 

xxix.   12-15.      • 

69 

2  Kings  ii.  9    .     .     . 

334 

XXV.    I     .       . 

.     .      152 

Iviii.       '.     . 

.     429 

xxxvii.  28    .      . 

230 

ii.  II.      .  361, 

448 

xxv.  8    .     . 

.     .      199 

lix.  10  ... 

•     353 

Ex.  i.     14.       ... 

230 

iv.  35.     .     . 

361 

XXV.     10.         . 

.     .     451 

l.xv.  4     .      . 

.     103 

iii.    ft.        ... 

243 

xiii.  21     .     . 

361 

xxv.   18.     . 

•     •     277 

Ixviii.  4.      . 

•     437 

iii.  6,  15  •     .     -77 

,  81 

xxiv.  . 

230 

xxv  .  4  .      . 

.     .       25 

Ixviii.  (). 

• 

iii.   13-15-      •      • 

Job  i.  12     .     .      .      . 

233 

xxv  i.  4. 

Ixviii 

•     -4-: 

ii'.  14.    14,22^,225 

383 

vii.  I    ...  407, 

44') 

xxv  i.  12     . 

i  (  "  >• 

Ixviii.  21     . 

vi.   i     .      .      .      . 

311 

ix.  24  .      .      .      . 

179 

xxx  ii.  ') 

.     .     132 

Ixix.  4   -      - 

vii.  12  .      .      .      . 

93 

xiv.   1    .... 

44') 

Ixix.  21.  1  16, 

;  ;•     -•  i  •  . 

vii.-xii.     .      .      . 

361 

xiv.  4,  5  LXX.     . 

233 

xxx  v.  5 

•     •     417 

433 

viii  

12 

xxv.  6  .... 

1  1 

xxx  v.   18    . 

.    83,  106 

Ixix.  32       .     . 

- 

xii.  22,  23.     .     . 

279 

Ps.  ii.  6  

423 

12       . 

.     .     4:1 

Ixxii.  3  ... 

7 

xii.  23  .... 

299 

ii.  6-8  .     .     .     . 

4-; 

xx  w.   13     . 

.     .69.  70 

Ixxii.   1  8     .      . 

.     362 

578     ON  THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  ST.   JOHN:  INDEX  OF  TEXTS. 


PAC.R 

PAGE 

PAI;K 

1's.  Ixxiii.  1-3.      . 

.     181 

Prov.  xxiii.  i,  2  i.xx.     260 

Tobit  ii.  II      .     .     .     205 

Matt.  vi.  12,  13    .      .      290 

Ixxiii.   1,2.      . 

.      166 

xx    i.  I,  2    .      .      350 

iv  87 

vi.  13      .     .  294,  449 

Ixxiii.  9      .      . 

•     452 

xx  ii.  2  .     .  209,  305 

\Yisd.  i.   I    .      .      .      .      256 

vi.  33      .      .      .     44" 

Ixxiii.  28    .     . 

)8a 

xx  i.  26.     .     .       51 

i.   ii.      .      .      .      263 

vi.  34      ...     314 

Ixxiv.  4. 

396 

Kccles.       i.   2O,   l6      .       369 

ii.  I  .      .      .      .      312 

vii    7      .                  16 

Ixxiv.  6.     .     . 

.      106 

I       ...          12 

ii.  24     ...        84 

vii.  16     .      .      .      258 

Ixxiv.  21     .      . 

.       48 

Cant.      3    ...  169,  280 

vi.  16    .     .     .     357 

vii.  23     ...      277 

1XXV.    2  .        .        . 

.      1  80 

4  i.xx.     .     .     382 

vii.  24  ...     414 

vii.  24    ...     330 

Ixxvi.  I.     .     . 

396,  400 

.  6  .     .     .     .     382 

vii.  26.  137,138,  148 

vii.  24,  25    .      .      150 

Ixxvi.  2.     .     . 

•     4M 

v.  8  i.xx.  .     .     105 

viii.  i    ...     138 

vii.  24-27    .      .        53 

Ixxvii.  9 

449 

2    3                   303 

ix.  15    .      I37i    152. 

viii.  5—12     .     .     110 

Ixxviii.  24  .     . 

88 

.  3  •     •     •     •     302 

207,  325,  373! 

viii.  5-13     .     .     272 

Ixxx.  7  .     .     . 

•     294 

vi.  9  ...      35,  41 

449 

viii.  12    ...     278 

Ixxxii.  6     .   8, 

vii.  6.     ...     319 

xi.  21    .     .     .       ii 

viii.  17    .      .      .      361 

kxxii.  8     .     . 

.       67 

viii.  5     ...     318 

xi.  25    .     .     .     411 

viii.  21,  22  .      .      275 

Ixxxiii.  1  3  .     . 

.      no 

viii.  6     ...     318 

Ecclus.  ii.  12  ...        50 

viii.  22    .     .  147.  154 

Ixxxiv.  4    .     . 

.     322  i  Is.  i.  3   71 

iii.  22  .     .     .     293 

viii.  24-26  .      .      276 

Ixxxiv.  10  . 

.     353  i        ii.  i  J2 

v.  8,  9      .     .     200 

viii.  27    ...       20 

Ixxxv.  ii    .     . 

I75»  203, 

v.  4  344 

v.  13  •      •      •      133 

viii.  28    ...     263 

230 

v.  1  8  LXX.       .     .       70 

vi.  36,  37      .       51 

ix.  9  .     .     .     .     311 

Ixxxvi.  ii     . 

254,  373 

vi.  10     ....     293 

x.  14,  15  .     .      166 

ix.  11-13     •     •       55 

Ixxxvi.  15  .      . 

.     199 

vii.  9  LXX.     .  105,  176, 

xviii.  7     .     .     314               ix.  13      .     .  272.  277 

Ixxxviii.  4.  5  . 

.     232 

184,  251,  325 

xviii.  30  .     .     234               ix.  15      .     .     .     335 

Ixxxix.  15-17. 

•     365 

ix.  2       ....        55 

xxxviii.  24    .     304 

x.  16.     .     .     .       49 

xc.  4     .     .     . 

.     316 

ix.  6    LXX.       .     .      160 

Song   of    Three    Children. 

x.  17.     .     .     .     307 

xciv.  8,  9  . 

.       121 

x.  23      ....      113 

12-34       ....     212 

X.    20.       .       .383,385 

xciv.  ii 

309.  423 

xi.  2,  3  .     .     .     .     442 

63        .....     306 

X.   22.       .       .  230,   254 

xciv.  14      .     . 

.     i  So 

xiv.  12  ....        21 

2  Mace.  vii.      ...        80 

x.  23.     .     .     .     259 

xcvii.  3.     .     . 

.     182 

xiv.  14  .      .      .      .      116 

x.  26.     ...     293 

ci.  I. 

209,  297 

xxvi    3                        438 

X.  27  .       .       .  304.  4IQ 

cii.  13,  M  •     • 

50 

xxvi.  i;>      .      .      .     414 

NEW  TESTAMENT. 

x.  28  .      .      .  243,  265 

cii.  27  .     .     . 

.        221 

xxviii.  1  6    .      .      .        56 

x.  33.     .     .     .     401 

civ.  23  .     .     . 

•       255 

xxvii  .  22    .      .      .      113 

Matt.  i.  17  ....       65 

x.  40  .     .     .  296,  358 

cv.  4      ... 

•       314 

xxxv.  4  .      .     .      .      1  60 

ii.  2  .     .     .      19,  20 

xi.  7-9   ...       28 

ciii.  5    .     .     . 

390.  3lS 

xl.  i-S  .      .      .      .        48 

ii.  3,  16.     .     .     423 

xi.  ii.      38,  68,  204, 

ciii.  is  .     .     . 

•       346 

xl.  3      -     -     27,  33,  87 

ii.  6  .     .     .     .      189 

443 

civ.  24  ... 

12,  2l6 

xl.  6       ....      159 

ii.  23       ...      189 

xi.  14  (Vulg.)  .       27 

cviii.  5  .      .     . 

285,  386 

xlii.  14  ...  1  80,  199 

iii.  7-9   .     .     .     236 

xi.  14      ...       87 

ex.  i      ... 

61 

xiv.  n   .    322,  352,  371 

iii.  9.     ...       68 

xi.  27.     190.  261,  390 

ex.  3  (Vulg.)  . 

•       21                                              397 

iii.  io     .     .     .      182 

xi.  28      ...      103 

cxiii.  3,  I  .     . 

.     396          xlvi.  8    ....      121 

iii.  ii      ...       41 

xi.  28,  29    .     .     167 

cxv.  8   ... 

68  :         xlix.  S    ....      394 

iii.  14      .      .       32,  87 

xi.  29      ...     202 

cxvi.  6  . 

.      418 

Hi    3            .           .     231 

iii.  14,  15    .     .       30 

xi.  30     ...       83 

cxvi.  10     .     . 

.      252 

liii.  I      ....      268 

iii.  15      ...       34 

xii.  30     ...     414 

cxvi.  ii      .     . 

224,  412 

liii.  5-8       .      .      .      206 

iii.  16.  31,41,  71,  381 

xii.  39    ...      107 

cxvi.  12      .     . 

.     330          liii.  7      .     26.  1  80,  217, 

iv.  i-io.      .     .     288 

xii.  46-50    .     .       70 

cxvi.  15      .     . 

.     260                           256,  279,  299, 

iv.  7  .     .     .     .     285 

xiii.  3-23     .     .        19 

cxvi.  16      .     . 

•      203  |                                     426,  435 

iv.  19      .     .  235,  439 

xiii.  24,  3S-43  .     323 

cxviii.  15   .     . 

.     2^4  1        liii.  8     ....     189 

iv.  29     ...        51 

xiii.  38   ...     315 

cxviii.  22   .     . 

.       68 

liii.  12    ...  193,  429 

v.  6  .      168,  182,  255 

xiii.  38-41  .     .     424 

cxix.  73      .     . 

.     227 

Iviii.  7,  S    .     .     .     114 

v.  8    .9,  13,  24.  129, 

xiii.  43    •••     3!5 

cxix.  165    .      . 

•     364 

lix.  I,  2.      .      .      .      231 

136,  143,  173, 

xiii.  47    ...     443 

cxxi.  I,  2  . 

.  8,  29 

Ixiii.    16.      .      .      .      116 

295,   323,  414 

xiii.  48,  49  .     .      441 

cxxi.  4  ... 

.     240 

Ixiv.  4    ....      228 

v.  IO       .      .      .      356 

xiii.  57    ...     248 

cxxiii.  i      .     . 

•     325 

Jer.  ii.  21    .      .      .      .      344 

v.  14       ...       49 

xiv.   15-21    .      .      361 

cxxvi.  5      .     . 

.     107 

xxiii.  24    .      .211,  227 

v.  14-16      .  151,  297 

xiv.  25    .     .15,  134 

cxxvii.  i    . 

240,  290 

Ezek.  i.  i,  etc.     .     .     230 

v.  15       ....     429 

xiv.  25-29  .      .      361 

cxxix.  8      .     . 

•     414 

xv.  5      .      .      .      346 

v.  16       .     .255,  347 

xiv.  26    .      .      .        20 

CXXX.    I.        .       . 

101 

xvi.  3    •     •     •     237 

v.  17       ...        5i 

xiv.  36   ...     329 

cxxxii.  17  .     . 

56.  151 

xviii.  21     .     .     200 

v.  17-20.      .      .     443 

xv.  24.    192,  261,  278 

cxxxii.  17,  18. 

37,  204 

xxxiv.  4     .     .     253 

v.  2?       ...      254 

xv.  32-38     .      .      361 

cxxxii.  1  8  .     . 

16 

Dan.  ii.  34.      .     .      .       68 

v.  39       ...     420 

xvi.   13-16    .      .      164 

cxxxviii    6. 

.     106 

ii.  34-   35     ••       26 

v.  45       ...       68 

xvi.   15.  16,  19.     431 

cxxxix.  7,  8 

21  1 

iii.           .          .       80 

vi    3  .     .     .     .     286 

xvi.   K>-i<)    .  272,  4=,o 

cxiii.  4  .      .      . 

217,   279 

iii     r6-i8      .      .      2JT 

vi    5        .     .           257 

xvi.   id,   1  7  .      .      170 

cxlvi.  7,  S  .     . 

.     203  !•           iii.  23-27     .     .     361 

vi.  9  .    269,  322    346 

xvi.  i(>,  23  .      .     407 

cxlvii.  5     .     . 

.     223  j            vi.  22.     ...     361 

n.  '.-13-     •     •     333 

xvi.  19.  27  .v 

cxlviii.  5    .     . 

8     Ilab.  ii.  4    .  7-  21,  147.  37<> 

vi.    io      ...      323 

xvi.  21.  22  .     .     445 

Prov.  i.  26  .     .     . 

.      [99 

Zech.  xii.  10    .      .  143,  213 

vi.   II       .      .      .      362 

xvi.  23    .      .      .      176 

V.    22.       .       . 

•        71 

Mai.  i.   3      ....         78 

vi.   12      .      171,   302, 

xvi.  27    ...      247 

ix.  13-17    • 

•     375 

i.  io,  ii  .     .     .     207 

3<>3-  305,  307. 

xvii.  3     ...      44* 

xx.  8,  9  .     . 

.     232 

ii  .  i    .     .     .     .       98 

339-  450 

xvii.  20  .      .      .      2J^ 

ON  THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  To  ST.  joiiN:  INDI-X  OF    11  XTS,      579 


PACK 

PAG* 

Mail,  xviii.  10      .     .     373 

Matt,  xxviii.  19     .      . 

42 

Luke    vi.  15    .     . 

Mm  iii.  13.    175.  ' 

xviii.  18.     .     .     147 

xxviii.  2» 

2  2O, 

vi.  16    .     .     .      ."^              iii.  17.  249,  355,  370. 

xviii.  2<>.     .     .     212 

247,  280,  282, 

vi.  22-24  •     • 

.     .     .       63 

;'.-. 

vi.  24-2S  .     .      247 

iii.   18.      .     .      .      241 

xix.  12    .     .     .      132 

389, 

-•;,  28  .     .     300 

iii.  2<-    ;',      .     .     4"7 

xix.   17    .      .  145,  177 

xxviii.  48     .      . 

434 

vii    17  .     .     .      101 

iii.  29.     .     .  128,  304 

xix.  21,  22,  27.     439 

Mark  i.  10  .      .      .      . 

3' 

viii.  8    ...     214 

iii.  34-     •     •     .     334 

xix.  27,  a.,  .      .     43;, 

i.  24  .      .      .       4' 

ix.  10    294,  301,  358 

iv.  i,  2    .     .     .       38 

\i.\.  U   .     .      -      190 

i.  32-34  .     .     . 

361 

ix.  12    .     .     .       90 

iv.  24  ...  383,  443 

321 

iv.   12       ... 

419 

ix.  29-48   .     .     284 

iv.  34.     .     .     .     382 

xx.   10     .      .      .      i  u 

v.  41  -     .     .     . 

'25 

x.  2-8  .     .     .        16 

iv.  39.     .     .     .     406 

XX.   22      ...       ISO 

v.  41.  42      •      • 

271 

x.  18     .     .     .       26 

iv.  44.     .     .     .      160 

-       .       .       .       286 

vi.  36      ... 

361 

x.  36     125,  402,  412 

v.  17  .     .     .     .     132 

xx.  30-34    .     .     266 

x.  33.  34      •     • 

422 

x.  37,  38   .     .     275 

v.  18   .     .     .     .     133 

xx.  37-4"    .     .      i  i  ; 

xi.  i-n  .     .     . 

-"J 

xi.  12-17  .     .     366 

v.  21,  19.     .329,409 

xxi.  i-iO     .     .     284 

xii.  28-33    •     • 

16 

xi.  18    .     .     .     21)0 

v.  22   .     .     .  240.  297 

xxi.  i)      .      .      .     406 

xiii.  9-13     .     . 

306 

xii.  3,  4     .     .     313 

V.   22,  27.      ..       380 

xxi.  PI    ...       55 

xiii.  22,  23  .     . 

93 

xii.  19-21  .     .     313 

v.  26  .  265,  298,  326, 

xxi.  --3-27.16,36,  204 

xiii.  27    ... 

73 

xii.  32  .     .     .     294 

382 

xxi.  -5    .     .     .       34 

xiv.  61    .     .     . 

426 

xii.  33,  34  .     .       75 

v.  28,  29.     .  241,  270 

.xxii.   12  ...        67 

xv.  5.     .     .     . 

426 

xii.  51  ...     417 

v.  30  .     .     .     .     380 

xxii.  13  .     .    71,  247 

xv.  24     ... 

430 

xii.  52  ...     422 

v.  35  .16,  26,  37,  204 

xxii.  15-21  .     .     230 

xv.  25     .      .  427, 

)-- 

xii.  55-60.     .     320 

v.  35.  33  •     •     •     269 

xxii.  21  ...     228 

xv.  27     ... 

429 

xiii.  i    ...     212 

v.  43  •     •     •  185.  284 

xxii.  30  ...       84 

xv.  33     ... 

428 

xxiii.  7-9     .     .     426 

v.  44  •     •     •     •     365 

xxii.  31,  32.     .     243 

xv.  36     ... 

434 

xxiii.  33.     .     .     429 

v.  46  .     .     .  188,  248 

xxii.  32  ...     275- 

Luke  i.  8,  9     .     .     . 

278 

xxiii.  34.40,191,  210, 

vi.  29.     .     .     .      185 

xxii.  37-40.  235,  318 

i.  17  .     .      .     . 

27 

294,  430 

vi.  41  .     .     .     .     444 

xxii.  40  .     .  268,  354 

i.  34.  35  •     •     • 

384 

xxiii.  39-43.     .     219 

vi.  44.     .     .     .     412 

xxii.  42-45  .     .     266 

i.  35-79  .     .     . 

195 

xxiii.  42       .     .     407 

vi-  45      339.  373.  380 

xxii.  45  ...       61 

i.  41-45  •     •     • 

406 

xxiii.  43.     193,  255, 

vi.  51.     ...       76 

xxiii.  2,  3    .  37,  258, 

i.  41-45,  67-69. 

289 

264,  282,  413 

vi.  54  •     •     •     •       75 

443 

i.  67-79  .     .     . 

406 

xxiii.  44.     .     .     428 

vi.  63  ....       76 

xxiii.  3    ...        78 

ii.  25-38.     J95, 

289, 

Luke  xxiv.  13-21.     .      161 

vi.  70  .     .     .     .     307 

xxiii.  10.     ..     339 

406 

xiv.  21  ...     393 

vi.  71  .     .     .     .     309 

xxiii.  37.     .     .      101 

ii.  40       ... 

334 

xiv.  29.      ..     437 

vii.  16.     .     .     .     384 

xxiv.  9    ...     366 

ii.  51       ... 

341                  xiv.  39.      .      .      142 

vii.  18.     .     .     .     296 

xxiv.  12  .     .  162,  304 

i.  52       ... 

348 

xiv.  44.     .317,269 

vii.  20.     ...     276 

xxiv.  13.     .     .      178 

ii.  2  .     .     .     . 

420 

xiv.  49  .     .     .     384 

viii.  31     ...     406 

xxiv.  31  .      .     .     431 

ii.  21,  22     .      . 

31 

John  i.  i.     .  226,  244,  252, 

vii.  39      .     .  289,  315 

xxiv.  35  ...     330 

v.  18-21      .     . 

334 

257-  338 

viii.  4-6  ...       74 

xxv.  21  .     .  351,  356 

v.  24      ... 

105 

i.  i,  3  .          .     .     218 

viii.  15    142,  223,  249 

xxv.  23  .     .     .      165 

v.  30      ... 

74 

i.  i.  14.  262,  264,  341, 

viii.  1  8     .     .     .     424 

xxv.  25-30  .     .       72 

v.  3-7     ••• 

441 

348,  379,  405 

viii.  20     .     .     .     217 

xxv.  31-40  .     .      140 

vi.  13      ... 

323 

i.  3.     .     .     .    33,  246 

viii.  25.  24    .     .     222 

xxv.  34  .     .  161,  323 

vi.  19 

i  "    ! 

i     i    in                   .118 

viii.  28    229,  295,  253 

xxv.  34,  41  .  143,  247 

vi.  25      ... 

69             i.  5.  16,  205,  265,  414 

viii.  30     ...     406 

xxv.  40  .     .  260,  286 

vi.  27      ... 

i    8  151 

viii.  31     ...       60 

xxv.  41   .     .      .     369 

vi.  46      ... 

351 

i.  9.     .  9,  49,  76.  382 

viii.  34     .24,  62,  247, 

xxv.  46.131,  143,  414 

vii.  14     .      .  125, 

Mi 

i.  10    .    227,  343,  370 

viii.  35     .     .     .     352 

xxvi.  33,  34      .        75 

vii.  14.  15    •     • 

271 

i.  12    .    294,  296,  352 

viii.  44.   21,31,59,  94 

xxvi.  34.      .      .     41  S 

vii.  36-47    .      . 

55 

i.  14    .    48,  141,  152, 

viii.  58     ...       21 

xxvi    34,  69-74     320 

vii.  37-47    .     . 

271 

226,  245,  276, 

viii.  32-36    .     .     405 

xxvi.  38  ..      .      310 

viii.  8      ... 

121 

308 

viii.  35     .     .     .     356 

xxvi.  38,  39.      .      288 

viii.    45  ... 

I69 

i.  16    .     .     .     .         9 

ix.  7    .     .     .     .     361 

HEVi.  3')-      .413.447 

viii.  46    ... 

vN 

i.  18    .     .     .  261,  190 

ix.  35.     .     .     .     381 

jonri.  41  ...     326 

viii.  54    ... 

141 

i.  19-36    .     .     .     407 

ix.  39.     .     .     .      197 

.xxvi.  57.     .-     418 

ix    62      ... 

439 

i.  20,  27  ...       16 

ix.  3V-4L     •     •     2?" 

xxvi.  63  .      .      .     426 

x.   K>        ... 

358 

i.  23    ....      37 

x.   7      ....       134 

xxvi.  ()(>       .      .      428 

x.   17        ... 

93 

i.  26,  27  .     .13,  204 

xxvi.  69-74.  363,  401 

X.    20         ... 

255 

i.  26-34    ...      195 

x.    l  -    .      <  J.    --.,    216. 

xxvii.   10-13      .        27 

x.  30-35.     .     . 

235 

i.  2<)    .      .      .    36,  256 

'**),  350,  434 

xxvii.   14      .      .     426 

x.  30-37-     -     - 

240 

i.  30    ....         9 

x.  i-.  ii  .     .     .     447 

.xxvii.  34      .      .        43 

x.  40       ... 

i.  32    .     .     .     .     3'»S 

x.  28  .     .     .     .     290 

xx  ii.  35      .     .     430 

xi.   1-4    .      .      . 

5i 

i.  33    •     •     •      49.9° 

x.  30.   32,66,73,  132. 

xx   ii.  3.1      .      .     429 

xi.  27      .      . 

7° 

i   51     •     •     •     •     304 

i-:.  213,  JMJ.  276, 

xx   ii.  39,  40     .        19 

xii.  4.  5  • 

263 

ii.  4     •     •     •     •     432 

08,  p8,  141, 

xx   ii.  45       .      .      42S 

xiii.  21    ... 

68 

ii.  .»     .     .     .     .     361 

xx  ii.  51       .      .        20 

xiv.   1  i     .      .      . 

28 

ii.  in  .     .     .     .     40) 

x.  34   ....      29<) 

xx   ii.  52,  53     .     448 

xv.  4-10.      .      . 

56 

ii.  KJ,  21  .     .     .     2(>3 

xx   ii.  54      . 

xx   :.                    .      437 

xv.  31      . 

402 

IJ  = 

i.  23  .     .     .     .     406 
iii.   i.  2     .      .      .      435 

.      .      4'X> 

xi.  as  .    .    .    .    no 

5*0      ON    Till;  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  ST.   JOHN:   INDKX   OK  TKXTS.  ' 


I'AC.K 

PACE 

PAGE 

John  xi.  33       .     .  2-7.  310 

John  xviii.  31  .     .     .     427 

Rom.   i.  17  .7.  21,  147.  255, 

Rom.   x.4.  164,181,286,299 

xi.  41-44      •  •  •     Ml 

xix.  d.           .     .     422 

280,  323,  370 

x.  8,  9  .     .     .     407 

xi.  43      ...      125 

xix.  9.     ...     426 

i.  19-22.     .     .       94 

x.  10.  168,  209,  325, 

xi.  48,  «;o     .     .     366 

xix.  25,  27   ..        61 

i.    20-22.        .       .           14 

344 

xii.  2-6   ...     >86 

xix.   23     ...     427 

i.  21  .     .     .     .     379 

x.   14      ...      304 

xii.  19           ..     366 

xix.  26    ...     418 

ii.  4-6    ...     199 

x.    K.       ...      130 

xii.  21      ...      131 

xix.    28-30  .     .     264 

ii.  9  .     .     .     .       68 

xi.  2  .     .     .     .      106 

xii.  27     ...     309 

xix.  28-33    •     •      '91 

ii.  12      .     .  297,  358 

xi.  5.  <>  •     •  353.  355 

xii.  31      ...     370 

xix.  37     .     .  129,  213 

ii.  24     ...     280 

xi.  7.     .     .     .     293 

xii.  42,  43    .     .     365 

xix.  38    ...     406 

ii.  29      ...     430 

xi.  17     236,364,429 

xii.  47     ...     223 

xx.  17      ...      169 
xx.  19      ...         8 

iii.  3.     ...      165 
iii  4  .                .     325 

xi.  20     ...      352 

xiii.  8.     ...     348 

xx.  22      .     .  195,  334 

iii.  21     ...      112 

xi.  25,  17    .     .     366 

xiii.  10    .     .     .     344 

xx.  24      ...     383 

iii.  23     ...     277 

xi.  33     .     .  289,  293 

xiii.  16    .     .  329.  353 

xx.  27      ...      388 

iii.  28     ...     164 

xii.  2.     ...     373 

xiii.  1  8    10    ii  .      3^Q 

xx.  27,  28    .      .      320 

iv   2                        346 

xii    i              20.1    IT  i 

xiii.  23     .     .418,433 

xx.  29      .       109,  1  60, 

iv.  5  .     21,  126,  185, 

All.     J.           .           .     -    H.     JJ'l 

xii.  12     .      .  3.-).  412 

xiii.  27,  29  .      .      286 

342,  370 

294,  296,  330 

xiii.  i     .     .  396,  426 

xiii.  33    .     .191,218 

xx.  30      ...      270 

iv.  17     ...     398 

xiii.  4     ...       35 

xiii.  34    .     .  349i  376 

xxi.  15     ...      3^3 

iv.  25     .  58,  74,  313 

xiii.  8     ...     303 

xiii.  36     .     .  191,  367 

xxi.  15-19    .     .     260 

v.  5  .    66,  113,  1  68, 

xiii.  10.  113,  168,349 

xiii.  36-38   .     .     371 

xxi.  18,  19   .  285,288 

175.  196,  223, 

xiii.  12,  13.     .     207 

xiii.  37    264.  418,  445 

xxi.  20-24    .     .     311 

333.  363,  304, 

xiv.  20  ...     332 

xiii.  38     .     .  321,420 

Acts   .3  316 

367,  3^9,  373. 

xiv.  23  ...     353 

xiv.  I       ...      297 

39       ...     389 

391 

xv   8            .           192 

xiv.  8,  9  ...       98 

.3-11      .     .     .     142 

v.  6  .     .     .     .     412 

I  Cor.    .12.     .     .  377,  378 

xiv.  8,  10     .     .     388 

•  4  443 

v.  8,  9  .     .     .     411 

.  12,  13     .     .     261 

xiv.  6.     .31,  59,  147, 

.6  388 

v.  12      .     .  187,274 

•  13     •     •      33.  72 

224,  252,  405, 

.6-8.     .     .     .     161 

v.  14      .           .67 

•  16      .     .     .       34 

412,  424 

.7,8.     .     .     .     369 

v.  19      .     .  320,  381 

.  20      ...     309 

xiv.  9.    185,  215,  269 

.8  384 

V.    20        ...       277 

.  20-28     .     .       54 

xiv.  10    134,  144,  414 

.9-11     .     .     .     367 

vi.  9.  196,  255,  317, 

.  23,  24    .     .     377 

xiv.  12     .     .     .     246 

.11    .    213,  226,  337 

326,  388 

.  24      .24,  68,  138, 

xiv.  21     .      131,  143, 

.  15    .     .     .     .     406 

vi.  12,  13    .      .      234 

221 

228,  330,  388 

.  26    .    177,  273,  281 

vi.  14     ...        19 

i.  25      ...       61 

xiv.  23     .     .  368,  410 

i  45,  223 

vi.   2O,   22     .       .       233 

.  30      ...      168 

xiv.  25,  26    .     .     394 

i.-iv.  .     .     .  363,  366 

vii.  6      ...     417 

•  30,  31     •  3?6.  378 

•  xiv.  28     .      157,  344, 

vii.  12    .     .     .     358 

i.  31       95,  294,  306, 

381,  403 

ii.  1-6.     .     .     .     246 

vii.  13    .      .      .      312 

352 

xiv.  30    ...     370 

ii.  2     .     .     .     .     363 

vii.  13,  15  .     .     233 

ii.  2.     .     .     .     377 

Xiv.   30,  31    .      22,   232 

ii.  2-4.     ...     443 

vii.  18    .     .     .     234 

ii.  6.     .     .  378,  390 

xv.  4  .     .     .     .     324 

ii.  3     •     •     •     •     3Si 

vii.  22   ...     233 

ii.  6,  13,  14    .     376 

xv.  5  .  191,  247,  260, 

ii.  4     .     .     .  334,  406 

vii.  22,  23  .     .     340 

ii.  8.     .     .     .     112 

294,  330,  336. 

ii.  4-6.     ...     289 

vii.  23-25  .  204,  234 

ii.  9.8,  202,  228,  374 

354 

ii.  31  •     •     •     •     350 

viii.  3     .      232,  235, 

ii.  II     ...     194 

xv.  13      ...     300 

ii.  37,  41  ...     225 

370,  405 

ii.  12     .     .  334,  352 

xv.  15      .      356.  371, 

iii.  2-16  .     .     .      191 

viii.  6    .     .     .     174 

ii.  14     .-       7.  377 

397,  400 

iii.  6-8     ...     246 

viii.  7    .     .     .     335 

iii.  i      ...     390 

xv.  19      .      218,  401, 

iii.  i,  9,  10  .     .     282 

viii.  9    .     .65,  176 

iii.  i,  2.     .    56,  376 

404,  424 

iv.  4    .     .     .     .     225 

viii.  10  ...     336 

iii.  4      ...         8 

xv.  20      .     .  366,  364 

iv.  32.      97,  118,  223 

viii.  II,  9  .     .     383 

iii.  5-7.     .     .     344 

XV.   22,   19     .       .       369 

iv.  32-35  ...     433 

viii.  15  ...     352 

i   .  6      .     .     .     374 

xv.  26      .     .     .     384 

v.  15    .     .     .  246,  329 

viii.  23  ...     353 

i   .  6,  7.     37.  34,  :j 

xv.  27      ...     406 

vi.  1-4     ...     408 

viii.  24,  25  .  353,  449 

i   .  7      .93,  170,  292 

xvi.  10    .     .  325,  387 

vii.  37.     ...     160 

viii.  26  ...       39 

i   .  ii    .     .     .     450 

xvi.  12    293,  352,  397 

vii.  51-60     .     .       40 

viii.  28  ...     424 

i   .  17    .     .  106,  323 

xvi.  13     ...     257 

vii.  56.     ...     370 

viii.  28-30  .     .     398 

i   .  23   .     .     .     410 

xvi.  15     .     .     .     273 

vii.  59.     ...     388 

viii.  29-33  .     .     254 

i  .  5    207,  339,  360 

xvi.  23     ...     403 

viii.  5-23.     .     .       45 

viii.  29,  30.      .      267 

v.  7.  95,176,273,352 

xvi.  25     .     .  400,  419 

viii.  13     ...       78 

viii.  30  ...      323 

.  7.    299,  428,  435 

xvi.  31,  32    .      .     401 

ix  45 

viii.  31,  32.      .     417 

•  13     •     •     •       57 

xvi.  32     ...      144 

ii.  4       140,  179,  192, 

viii.  32  .     .  395,  418 

i.  3      .     .     .      180 

xvii.  3      .     .24,  131, 

303 

viii.  34  .       161,  302, 

i.  17    .      .     .       .,7 

143,  388 

x.  20  .     .     .     .     339 

303,  307 

ii.   40  .       .      .      214 

xi.  26  .     .     .  376,  418 

ix.  7,  8  .     .     .     429 

iii.   I    ...      175 

xvii.  5      ...     242 

xii.  2  ....     447 

ix.  13     ...       78 

iii.  4    ...        ii 

xvii.  10    ...      387 

xv.  9  ...  323,  344 

ix.  14     ...     293 

x.  9,  10    .      .        71 

xvii.  16,  15  .      .      424 

xvii.  31     ...     407 

ix.  21,  23    .     .     355 

x.  27    .      .      . 

xix.  3-5   ...       37 

X     2                              366 

x.  11-15,  7    •     44° 

xvii.  25    ...     369 

xix.  19      ...       60 

x.  2,  3  .     .  294,  365 

.  I.     .     .      .        76 

xviii.  4-6      .      .      262 

Rom.  i.  1-4     .     .     .     398 

x.  3  .  168,  294,  345. 

.   1-4.    .      i 

xviii.  6     179,  191.  216 

i.  3   .      61,  266,  413 

365 

X.    II       .       . 

ON  THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  ST.   JOHN:  INDIA  OF    II 


-  -1  1  14,  l- 

•  ,i 

I-'.pli.  vi.  12   .  .  300,  343 

t  Tim.  v.  2u  .   . 

|C()   11- 

•  xi  i 

1'hil   (> 

vi  i  7—1  o      i  i  £ 

*tD*-S  J1  5 

XI.   \    •    .    .      JO 

J    .        -       -        25<> 

.  is-iR.   .  38.  25ft 

*  *•  '  / 

. 

x.  17  .   .   .   172 

x  i.  J  .   .   .   311 

.  K».  IS  .   . 

2  Tim.  i.  H,  9  .  . 

xi  i       lo  i  it)  i 

v  i   2—  .1       - 

.   .   .   .   7^ 

ii  g 

*'•  J    •    •  H-M*  jU^ 

x  .  =7  •   •   .   313 

A  i.  -  -4 

rii.  6  .  .  . 

.  23  .  310,  446,  44.  S 

ii.  13  -. 

1  IJ.  1-1.  J-l. 

x  1,  7-9  .  .  3'2 

i.  23.  24  ...  304 

11.  i'..  17  •  .  375 

308 

rii  8  .  .  .  332 

i.  24  .   .  .  .  259 

ii.  17,  18  .  .   I2S 

x  .  3...  32.  .  M<> 

x  i.  S.  g  .   .    52 

.  i  i'  .  131,  U3 

ii.  18  .  .  .  14., 

x  .  32  .  .  .  409 

x  ii.  3.  262,358,369 

ii.  (,.  7.  301,321,341, 

ii.  19  .42,  7 

x  i.  3  •  •  •  333 

(  ial.  i.  I,  12  .   .   .   407 

38o 

251,  - 

x  i-  4  •  •  •  335 

i.  «)   ....  379 

ii.  6-8.  .  .  83,  265 

iii.  1-5.  .  .  44'. 

x  i.  7-9  .  .   195 

ii.  2,  9  .  .  .  407 

ii.  7  .  152,  185,  325 

iii.  7  •  •  •  3'4 

-  30  .  .   98 

ii.  20.  96,  148,  313,351 

ii.  7-1  1  .  .  .  395 

iii.  8  ...  345 

x  i.  1  1  .  .   .  442 

iii.  16.  .  .  .   42 

ii.  8.  73,  173,209,225, 

iv.  3,  4.  .  .  375 

x  i.  25,  20.   .   318 

iii.  16,  29.  84,236,405 

284,  380,  433 

iv.  6-8.  .  .   22 

x  i.  27  .  .   .   140 

iii.  21,  22.  .  in,  277 

ii.  12  .  .  .  .  330 

iv.  7  ...  415 

x  ii.  ii.  .  .  431 

iii.  28  .  .  .  .  409 

ii.  17  .  .  .  .  295 

Tit.  i.  6  .  .  .  .    233 

x  ii.  i  ...   92 

iii.  29.  ...  429 

i.  19-21.  .  .  257 

i-  16  334 

xiii.  1-3.49,65,319, 

iv.  4.  180,190,394,449 

ii.  21  .  40,  286,  445 

ii.  12,  13  ...   122 

337 

iv.  6  .  .  .  .  383 

ii.  13.  ...   64 

iii.  5   ....  353 

xiii.  2  ...   47 

iv.  9  .  .  .  .  377 

''.  15,  •••   37 

Heb.  iv.  15.  .  .  .  233 

xiii.  7  ...  367 

iv.  ii  .  .  .  .   122 

ii.  15,  16.  251,  293, 

v.  12-14.  .  .  37H 

xiii.  9,  12.  .  373 

iv.  45  .  .  .  .   19 

379 

vi.  i,  2  .  .  .  378 

xiii.  10,  12  .  353 

iv.  22-30.  .  .   77 

ii.  20.   .  .   17,  84 

xi.  i  .  342,  370.  414 

xiii*  12  20^  ^88 

iv  22—^1.         4^O 

i  i  2  1  . 

Tas   13           241 

390,  450 

iv.  24.  .  .  .  417 

Col.  .3  299 

.19  •  •  •  •  304 

xiii.  13.  .  .  349 

iv.  30  .  .  .  .   79 

-  13  •  •  •  •  4=4 

i.  19  .   46,  147,  349 

xiv.  34.  .  .   103 

v.  6  164,  185,  255, 

.  12.  13  .  .  .  343 

ii.  i,  2.  .  .  .  305 

xiv.  37,  38  .  377 

294,  347,  353,  363 

.16.  .  .  .  396 

v.  3   ..-.  331 

xv.  II  .  .  .  407 

v.  13  .  .  .  .  232 

.18.  .  .  .   161 

v.  4   ...  343.  387 

xv.  6  ...  406 

v.  17  .  .  .  203,  233 

.  24  .   .  .  .  405 

v.  6   ....  295 

xv.  8  .  .  .  370 

v.  22  .  .  .  .  354 

.  3  ....  293 

.  16  .  .  .  .  307 

xv.  10.  96,  151,  332, 

v.  24  .  .  .   .  432 

i.  5  .   .  .  259,  378 

i  Pe  .  i.  8,  9  .  .  .  353 

440 

vi.  2  .   .  .   .   114 

i.  9  •  •  •  •  334 

ii.  6  .  .  .  .   56 

XV.  21  ...   187 

vi.  3-  •  •  -71,39" 

i.  16,  17  ...   181 

ii.  6-3  ...  292 

y*'.  21,  22.  22,  320, 

vi.  9  .  .  .  .  333 

i.  20  .  .  .  .  154 

ii.  17   ...   47 

"336 

vi.  14  209,  242,  205. 

ii.  i.  2  .  .  187,  303 

ii.  21.  286,  350,  356, 

xv.  23,  24.  .  323 

377.  429 

ii.  1-4  ...  415 

397,  450 

xv.  24  .  .130,  161 

Eph.  i.  4  254,  323,  348, 

ii.  3  .  .  .  182,  318 

ii.  21-23.  .  .  142 

xv.  26,  53-55.  234 

353,  377,  398.  410 

ii.  3,  4  .  .  .  181 

ii  .  9  .  .  .  .  186 

xv.  28  .  .318,  349 

i.  8  ....  121 

ii  10.  .  35,  58,  65 

v.  S  .  .  50.  69,  72 

xv.  41.  42,  28  321 

ii.  3  .  .  .  99,  245 

ii.  1  1  ....   68 

2  Pet.  i.  17-19.  .  .  207 

xv.  53  .  .  .  204 

ii.  4-6  ...  413 

ii.  13.  •  .  •  307 

i.  19  .  .  .  .   151 

xv.  54  ...   58 

ii.  10.  .  .  .  347 

ii.  14.  .  .  .  43' 

ii  4  ....  371 

xv.  55  ...   85 

ii.  11-22.  .  106,  262 

i  Thess.  ii.  7  .  .  .   56 

i  John  .  6  .  .  .  233,  302 

xv.  57  •  •  •  393 

ii.  14.  ..  68,  339 

ii.  13.   .  .  408 

.  9  •  •  •  •  30» 

2  Cor.  i.  20  .  .  .   181 

ii.  14—20.  .  .   134 

iii.  io   .  .  378 

i.  i  .  .  .  .  335 

i;  22  .  .373,  374 

iii.  17  255,  270,  304 

iv.  15,  16  .  "125 

i.  i,  2  .  .  289,  355 

ii  14—  16  .  .  280 

iii   17—  in        ill 

iv.  13        273 

i  6       .  286 

ii.  15  .  .  .  283 

in.  i  /  *  ij   .   .   j  /  j 

iii.  1  8.  .  .  .  432 

IV.   1J     .     .     */J 

v.  8  .  .  75,  289 

i.  ii  .  .  .   162 

ii.  16  .  .  .  358 

iii.  19.  ...  43' 

2  Thess.  ii.  4  .  .  .  185 

i-  15  •  •  65,  355 

iii.  d  .   .  277,  442 

iv.  2  .  .  .  .  114 

iii.  2  .  .  290,  424 

i.  16  .  .  .  335 

iii.  14-16  .  .   64 

iv.  4-6  ...  383 

iii.  8  .  .  .  440 

i.  1  8  147.338,  388 

iii.  15  .  .1 

iv.  7  .  .  .  .   98 

i  Tim.  i.  5  .  .    .  354 

i.  19  .  .  - 

iv.  13  ...  252 

iv.  14.   ...   140 

i.  7  •  •  •  •  446 

iii.  2.  203,  j 

iv.  16  .  .  .  353 

iv.  23.  ...  373 

i.  9.  .  .  .  277 

295,  3 

v.  i.  .  .  .  321 

iv.  27.  ...   51 

i.  13  ...   22 

388,  390,  414. 

v.  4.   ...   446 

v.  2  .  3*2.  417.  4'-s 

ii.  5   .   no,  113, 

4?i 

•  •  •   39 

v.  6  ....   15 

231,  261,  320, 

iii.  15  .  . 

v.  6,  7  .   .  » 

v.  8  20,  75,  148,  207, 

334,  343.  347- 

iii.  i(>.  .-(I",  .'(14.  349 

v.  6-S  .  . 

343.  370,  409 

iv.  8  .  . 

v.  7-  -  -  -  336 

v.  12  .  .  .  .  373 

iii.  io  ...  233 

iv.  1  6  .  .  .   114 

v.  10  .  .  .   145 

v.  13  •  •  •  •  370 

iii.  15  ...   117 

hr.18,  -ML  -  . 

v.  15  ...  235 

v.  M  •  •   147,  154 

iii.  16  .  .     331 

356,  • 

v.  16  .  .  368,  370 

<r.  18.  .  .  .  275 

iv.  3  •••   63 

iv.  19  . 

V.  10  2<>o.  355,409 

v.  2?  .   .   .   .   3'3 

iv.  4  ... 

:v.  2<>  .   .   .   114 

V.  2(>,  21     .   2^2 

V   °  -                  1-H 

2<>} 

Rev  iii  i  .  .     .  442 

VI   2             1n_l 

*  •  -  r*»  -  •   •   •   .,-4? 

\   J  -  2  7  .   .   .   I  OO 

433 

iii.  H>.  ...  382 

vi*  m   .   .   .   .vM 

vi.  8  ...  183 

.  302 

. 

\i.  10  .  .  .  4'n 

.   .   18 

v.  j;  .   .   .   17^. 

xvii.  1?  .   .   .   ill 

x.  13  ...   68 

v.  31,  32.  ..   66 

v.  10  ...  314 

.x            .   87 

TEN    HOMILIES 


ON   THE 


EPISTLE   OF  JOHN   TO  THE   PARTHIAXS. 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS. 


ANTICHRISTS,  477. 

"  CANNOT  SIN,"  488,  489,  490 
Charity,  subject  of  the  Epistle,  459, 
489;  to  be  had  freely,  505;  its 
beginnings,  514;  how  to  be  pre 
served,  505;  perfection  of,  409; 
violation  of,  509. 

CHRIST,  Atoner  and  Sacrificer,  504; 
came  in  the  flesh,  why  ?  500. 

FAITH,  with  love,  520;  a  Christian's, 

520. 
Fear,  prepares  for  love,  510  ft  seq. 


Fellowship  with  God,  463. 

GOD   is   Light,    462   note,    463;    is 

Love,  503. 
Grace  and  freewill,  485. 

HOLY  desire  in  Christian  life,  483. 
Hour,  the  last,  475. 

IMAGE  of  God,  what,  508. 

LIFE  eternal,  512. 

Love,    to  the  brethren,  466;  to  all 

men,   524;  man,    not  his  error, 

505- 


Loving  enemies  is  loving  brethren, 
510. 

POSSIBILITIES  of  good  in  every  man, 

510,  511. 

Prayer,  how  answered.  497. 
Pride,  its  great  work,  510. 

RIGHT  intention,  504. 
Righteousness    of     believers,    486; 
never  perfect  in  this  life,  483. 

WHAT  avarice   enjoins:    what  God 
enjoins,  522. 


TEN  HOMILIES 

ON   THE 

EPISTLE   OF  JOHN   TO  THE   PARTHIANS. 


INDEX  OF  TEXTS. 


ol,  I)   TESTAMENT. 

PAGE 

Ps.  Ixxiii.  28    . 

1'Af.R 

^22 

Matt.  v.  8  .     .     . 

PACK                                                                          PACE 

484,  504    Luke  xxiii.  34.      465,  489, 

Gen.   i.  26  .     .     .     . 

Ixxviii.  25  . 

.       .       461 

v.  14-     •     • 

.     468                           502.  511,  527 

ii.  24  .... 

461 

ci.  i    2  . 

•     •     51? 

v.  16.     .     . 

.     507               xxiv.  13-28.     .     469 

496 

cii.  27    .     . 

.     .     471 

v.  19.     .     . 

.     500  [             xxiv.  46,  47.  478,  524 

xvi.  4-9  .     .     . 

"5 

ex.  3      .     . 

.     .     471 

v.  44.     .     . 

.     466  '             xxiv.  47.     .  524,  526 

xxii.  18  .     .     . 

.68 

cxvi.  12,  13 

.     .     489 

v.  44-46     • 

.     515    John  i.  i         476,  484,  499 

Ex.  iii.  14  .... 

471 

cxix,  85.     . 

.522,523 

v.  46. 

.     507               .2      .     .     .     .     529 

viii 

coo 

cxix.  96. 

C2^ 

v    .18 

465                 3      •••           47  ' 

i  Sam.  xix.       .     .  503, 

y*y 

507 

cxix.  165    . 

•        •        D*-J> 

.    •    467 

vi.  i  .     .     . 

.     506  '             .  10    ....     491 

i  Kings,  xvii.  4-9 

490  i         cxxi.  6  .     . 

.    .    466 

vi.  10     .     . 

.514               .  14    ...  524,  526 

Job.  i.  xi.  12    .     .     . 

496 

cxxxii.  6    . 

•    •    465 

vi.   12     .     . 

.501              •  33    •     •     •     •     505 

ii.  10  .     .     .     . 

P.I 

cxxxix.  7,  8 

•     •     494 

vi.  14,  15    • 

.     502 

ii.  5    •     •     •     •     4~(> 

Ps.  i.  3  

473 

cxlvii.   7     . 

.     .     483 

viii.  29     . 

472,  520 

v.  24  .      .      .      .      526 

ii.  7  

471 

Prov.    i.  7   .     . 

•     •      5M 

ix.  12     .     . 

•     5" 

vi.  54-69.     .     .     467 

ii.  8            ... 

478 

v.  16,  17 

503 

ix.  2O-22     . 

•     5O7 

vii.  37-39     .     .     498 

vi.  4,  5-     •     .     • 

5M 

ix.  18    . 

.     .     499 

xii.  7,  16     . 

•     479 

vii.  39.     ...     526 

x.  3  

524 

xv.  13    . 

xii.  24-33   • 

.     528 

viii.  18     .     .     .     526 

xiii.  3    .... 

~J  : 

xvi.   2i   . 

.     .     499 

xii.  34    .     . 

•     479 

viii.  24     ...     512 

xvi.  2    .... 

513 

Cant.  i.  4    .     . 

.     .     518 

xiii.  46  .     . 

•     491 

viii.  31,  32    .     .     482 

xvii.  4   .... 

Wisd.  ix.  "1  5     . 

.     .     480 

xvi.  13-18  . 

.     520 

viii.  44     ...     496 

xix.  3,  4     ... 

470 

Ecclus.  i.  28    . 

.     .     516 

xvi.  19  .     . 

.     526 

viii.  58     ...     471 

xix.  4.  5     ... 

461 

x.  15    . 

xix.  6     .     . 

.     461 

xii.  31      ...     482 

xix.  9    .      .      .      . 

516 

IS.   ii.   2  .       .       . 

!   '.  468 

xxii.   37-40. 

.     523           xiii.  23    .    .    .    4^8 

xxii.    27.     ... 

470 

liii.  2      .     . 

.   .   518 

xxiii.  3  •     • 

.      501  ;            xiii.  34.   46=. 

xxvii.  2.      ... 

485 

l.xi.  10    .     . 

.  .  461 

xxiii.  8,  9   . 

.      481                                 488,  4 

XXX.    II,      12        .         . 

515 

Ixiv.  4    .     . 

.  .   501 

xxiv.  23. 

•     465  ;                       5'9»  : 

xxxii.  7.     ... 

Jer.  xvii.  5  .     . 

.  .  484 

xxiv.  24.     . 

•     474 

xiv.  6    .     .     4-^,  5  jo 

xxxii.   9.      ... 

K/ck.  xxxvi.  20 

.   .   503 

xxv.  31  .      . 

.     482 

47(' 

xxxiv.  2       ,      .      . 

523 

Dan.  ii.  34,    35 

xxv.  34-41  . 

.     480 

xv.  13   492,  493,  s<«. 

xxxiv.    5     ... 

ii.  35  .     . 

•      •      47* 

xxv.  41    .      . 

•     484 

xxxiv.   16    .      .      . 

iii.  50.     . 

xxvii.  4,  5  . 

.     528 

-       ...      4'.'? 

xii.   I      .... 

505 

vi.  22.      . 

xxviii.   19    . 

•     527 

xv.  2(,.      ...      527 

Xlv.    2       .... 

vii.       . 

Mark  i.  24  .     .     . 

.520                                        .     526 

li.  3  

517 

xvi.  15    .      . 

xix.  37     -.-     4-M 

li-  9  

5'7 

Luke  viii.  8      .     . 

.     505             xx.  17,  27     .     .     47(> 

li.  9,3.     .     .     . 

4'  '4 

\r.\\ 

viii.  32    .     . 

.     496 

xx.  25-29     .     .     461 

Ivi.   10   .... 

523 

X.   20.       .       . 

•      474 

xxi.  15-17    .     .     4S9 

Ivi.  ii    .... 

523 

Matt.  iii.   i'>     . 

•     •     5°5 

xv.  4.  5  .     . 

xxi.  15-19    .     .     492 

Ixxvii.    6      ... 

475 

iv.   i-io. 

•      •      475 

xvii.  3     .     . 

Acts  i.  6-S.     .      .      . 

Ixxiii.  27,  28   .      . 

V.     »,      .          . 

.      .      510 

xix.  S.     .     . 

i.  15    •     •     •      •     470 

584 


HOMILIES  ON  THE  GOSPEL  OF  JOHN:  INDEX  OF  TEXTS. 


PACK 

PACE 

PACE 

PAGE 

Acts  ii.  1-12    . 

•     470 

i  Cor.   xiii.  4  .     . 

.        491 

i  Tim.  i.  16    . 

•        •        529 

I  John  iii.   I      .      . 

.  483 

ii.  4     •     • 

•      497 

i.  8  .     . 

•         5M 

vi.  10  . 

.    .     pi 

iii.  2     .     . 

.    523 

ii.  41    •     • 

.     469 

.  9    .     . 

•     5"7 

2  Tim.  iii.   5    . 

.    .    472 

iii.  8.     .     . 

.  496 

vii.  59.     . 

4*9,  527 

.  24  .     . 

.     483 

iv.  14-16 

•     •      567 

iii.  4-6      . 

.  485 

ix.  4.  .     . 

521,  525 

•  44-49  • 

•     509 

Tit.  i.  16     .     . 

479.  499 

iii.  7,  8     . 

.  486 

Rom.  i.  17 

486 

C  12 

Heb.  x.  23. 

482 

iii   o     487 

iftfl     Al\t) 

i.  20.     . 

•     529 

2  Cor.       12     '.     '. 

^  i  & 

•     494 

'  xii.  <>  .     ! 

.          .          4,0^ 

509,  5" 

in.  ij      4°/ 

iii.  10  .     . 

4OO<  *4v*' 

.   490 

i.  24  .     . 

•     497 

7.     .     . 

•     485 

xiii.  i 

•     •     507 

iii.  10-15  • 

•   491 

i.  25.     . 

•     473 

II,   12 

495,  523 

Jas.  ii.  19    .     . 

.     .     520 

iii.  15  • 

491,  519 

ii.  21 

.     500 

14    .      . 

.     463 

i  Pet.  iii.  13    . 

•     •     515 

iii.  16-18  . 

.   492 

iii.  4 

464 

2Q 

467 

iv.  8. 

j/u  .180 

iii.  16-20  . 

i  1  1 

iv.  25     . 

.     468 

^y  . 
•  7-9     • 

.       Hu/ 
.       496 

i  John  i.  i  .     . 

4  '4'   4     * 
.       .       46l 

iii.  19  .     . 

4ljj 
•      494 

v.  5    .     . 

497-  493, 

•  15    - 

489,  494 

i.  2  .     . 

461,  464 

iii.  21,  22  . 

•      495 

503,  512 

i.  4  .     . 

.     472 

i.  3-     - 

4^1,  471 

iii.  23,  24. 

•     497 

v.  8,  9   . 

.     518 

Gal.  i.  22.  24   .     . 

•     507 

i.  4.     • 

.       .       462 

iii.  23  .     . 

•      507 

viii.  24,  25 

•     485 

ii.  20  .     .     . 

•     504 

i.  5-     • 

.       .       462 

iii.  27,  28. 

.     482 

viii.  26,  27 

•     497 

v.  6.     .     . 

520,  521 

i.  6-9  . 

•       •       463 

iii.  29  .     . 

•     483 

viii.  32  . 

•     504 

V      2        .      . 

467,  522 

i.  8.     . 

437,  495 

iv.  i     .     . 

.     498 

viii.  35  . 

•     515 

v     4    .     .     . 

•      494 

i.  9,  10 

.     .     464 

iv.  2     .     . 

.     521 

ix.  5  .     . 

.     462 

Eph.  i  .  8  .     .     . 

507 

ii.  i.     . 

•     •     464 

iv.  2,  3 

499 

xiii.  8.  10 

.     490 

i  .  17-     .     . 

.     4/2 

ii.  1,2. 

•      •     464 

iv.  3     .     . 

•     523 

xiii.  10  . 

.     522 

i  .  2,  3    •     • 

.     467 

ii.  2.     . 

.     .     491 

iv.  4-7.     . 

.     502 

i  Cor.  i.  13.    . 

•     471 

v.  8    .     .     . 

.     466 

ii-  3-7  • 

•     •     465 

iv.  7-9.     . 

.      503 

ii.  9     484, 

485,  501 

v.  27  .     .     . 

.     482 

ii.  8-10 

.     .     466 

iv.  8,  16    . 

•     5>9 

iii.  6,  7 

.     481 

vi.  12  .     . 

463-  5M 

ii.  10    . 

.     .     507 

iv.  9-12     . 

•     504 

iv.  3     . 

.     494 

Phil.  i.  21-24  •     • 

•     489 

ii.  ii    . 

467,  490 

iv.  1  2-1  6  . 

.     512 

iv.  15   . 

•     490 

i.  23,  24.     . 

•     514 

ii.   12     . 

.     .     471 

iv.  16  .     . 

•     513 

vii.  7    . 

•     5"9 

ii.  6,  7     . 

484,  518 

ii.  13    - 

471-  472 

iv.  17   .     . 

•     514 

vii.  14,  15 

•      527 

iii.  13-  M    • 

•     485 

ii.  15    . 

472,  473 

iv.  18   .     . 

•     515 

viii.  i.  . 

•     472 

Col.  ii.  14    .     .     . 

•     463 

ii.  15-17 

•     •     475 

iv.  19    .     . 

•     5'7 

xi.  29  . 

469,  503 

iii.  5     •     •     • 

•      514 

ii.  16,  17 

.     •     473 

iv.  20  . 

5i8,  521 

xii.  26. 

•     477 

iii.  9,  10    .     . 

.     466 

ii.  19    . 

•     •     479 

iv.  20,  21 

5  '9-  520 

xii.  26,  27 

•     52i 

iv.  3     .     .     . 

•     465 

ii.  21,  22 

•     •     478 

v.  I.     .  :'rf 

.      520 

xiii.  2  . 

•     490 

I  Thess.  ii.  7  .     . 

•     513 

ii.  23-27 

.     .     480 

viii.  24.     . 

•      512 

xiii.  3  .     . 

494,  510 

i  Tim.  i.  5  .     .     . 

.     522 

ii.  27    . 

.     .     481 

Rev.  xvii.  15    .     . 

•     499 

SOLILOQUIES. 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS. 


ACADEMICIANS,  540. 

Achilles,  557. 

Actors,  truth  and  falsity,  how  related 
in  their  profession,  553. 

Age,  of  Augustin  when  writing  So 
liloquies,  543. 

Alypius,  St.  his  dearest  friend,  (af 
terwards  Bishop  of  Tagaste), 
539.  540. 

Ambros,-,  St.  referred  to  (though  not 
named)  as  in  some  Transalpine 
retreat,  556. 

Beauty,  supernal,  love  of,  543,  546. 
Belief,    if   inclusive   of    knowledge, 

yet  much  wider,  539. 
Body,   the,   how  far   the    subject  of 

Truth,  558. 

Charity,  541,  542. 

i  ii  iid.  hy  a  single  book  had  weaned 
Augustin  from  love  of  riches, 
543- 

Crocodile,  imagined  motion  of  its 
upper  jaw  used  to  prove  that  an 
otherwise  universal  law  may 
have  :i  solitary  exception.  552. 

Cuckoo-clocks,   551. 

DKATH,  dread  of.  542,  544. 

Dialectics,  or  Disputation,  how  re- 
l.ited  to  Truth,  ami  to  other 
Sciences.  553,  554.  556,  558. 

Discipline,  (commonly  translated 
Science),  553,  554,555-55^.558. 

Dreams,  as  examples  of  falsity.   550, 

55'- 

Kvn.,  in  itself  nothing,  537. 

1  Mill,    541.    542. 

Kalsity,    necessarily    implies   resem 


blance  to  truth,  550,  551,  552, 

553.  554.  557- 
Fiction,  how  far  false,  how  far  true, 

552,  553- 
Food  and  drink,  indifference  to,  and 

allowable  enjoyment  of,  543. 

GEOMETRY,  540,  558,  559,  560. 


God,  loved,  wittingly  or  unwittingly,  : 
by  all,  537;  the  Author  of  moral 
reversal,  538;  the  true  and  eter-  i 
nal    Substance,    538;     Begetter 
and     Begotten    in    One,    538;  j 
Author  of  the  steady  law  of  na 
ture,  and  revolutions  of  the  uni-  | 
verse,   538. 

Grammar,  553,   554. 

HECUBA,  553. 

Honors,  Augustin  had  been  but  late 
ly  cured  of  desiring,  543;  ad 
mits  possible  instrumental  value 
of,  543. 

Hope,  541,  542. 

KNOWLEDCE,  object  of,' God  and  the 
Soul,  539,  ft  passim;  may  come 
through  sense,  but  does  not  re 
side  in  sense,  539. 

I.II.HI,  heavenly  and  earthly  com 
pare,!,  s45.'?4<'. 

I.ove,  ilue  to  the  rational  nature, 
even  of  the  evil,  539;  love  of 
friends  instrumental,  not  final, 
542,  543.  544.  545- 

M.\KKI\I;E,  abhorrent    to  Augustin. 
except  as  a    possible    means    of 
acquiring  resources  for  the  en-  i 
joyment  of  liberal   leisure,  543,  j 
544- 


Medea,  557. 

Mirrors,  as  illustrating  falsity,  550, 

55i- 
Merits  of  souls  before   God  a  truth 

to  be  firmly  held,  538. 

PAIN,  bodily,  dreaded  by  Augustin 
as  perhaps  the  greatest  evil,  544. 

Plato,   540. 

I'lotinus,  540. 

1'hantasma.  or  I'hantasia,  559,  500. 

Prayers,  interspersed  in  the  Solilo 
quies,  537,  538,  539,  547,  550. 

Priam,  553. 

REASON,  not  the  power,  but  the  act 
of  intellection,  541. 

Reminiscence,  559. 

Retribution,  of  good  and  evil,  se 
cured  by  a  Divinely  ordered  ne 
cessity  of  things,  538. 

Riches,  love  of,  543,  544. 

Roscius,  553. 

SIMILITUDE  and  Dissimilitude,  how 
so  related  as  to  include  falsity, 
550,  551,  552.  553.  55<>.  557- 

Stoics,  540. 

TRUTH,  discussion  and  illustration 
of;  in  what  residing;  perma 
nence  of.  fassim. 

I'NDlM  tl'l.lNHi  minds,  evolution  of 
knowledge  in,  555,  556. 

Unseemliness,  when  and  how  far  al 
lowable,  557. 

VIKII  1  .  perfect    Reason.   ,41. 
WlMiuM.  love  ol,    544     54; 


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