Other Writings, Part 10

Again in John 5:2 , etc., on the five porches, where lay a great multitude of impotent folk, and of the pool of Siloa.

1. Subjects strange neither to your ears nor hearts are now repeated: yet do they revive the affections of the hearer, and by repetition in some sort renew us: nor is it wearisome to hear what is well known already, for the words of the Lord are always sweet. The exposition of the sacred Scriptures is as the sacred Scriptures themselves: though they be well known, yet are they read to impress the remembrance of them. And so the exposition of them, though it be well known, is nevertheless to be repeated, that they who have forgotten it may be reminded, or they who chanced not to hear it may hear; and that with those who do retain what they are used to hear, it may by the repetition be brought to pass that they shall not be able to forget it. For I remember that I have already spoken to you, Beloved, on this lesson of the Gospel. Yet to repeat the same explanation to you is not wearisome, even as it was not wearisome to repeat the same Lesson to you. The Apostle Paul says in a certain Epistle, To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not wearisome, but for you it is necessary. So too with myself to say the same things to you, to me is not wearisome, but for you it is safe.

2. The five porches in which the infirm folk lay signify the Law, which was first given to the Jews and to the people of Israel by Moses the servant of God. For this Moses the minister of the Law wrote five books. In relation therefore to the number of the books which he wrote, the five porches figured the Law. But because the Law was not given to heal the infirm, but to discover and to manifest them; for so says the Apostle, For if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the Law; But the Scripture has concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe; therefore in those porches the sick folk lay, but were not cured. For what says he? If there had been a law given which could have given life. Therefore those porches which figured the Law could not cure the sick. Some one will say to me, Why then was it given? The Apostle Paul has himself explained: Scripture, says he, has concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. For these folk who were sick, thought themselves to be whole. They received the Law, which they were not able to fulfil; they learned in what disease they were, and they implored the Physician's aid; they wished to be cured because they came to know they were in distress, which they would not have known if they had not been unable to fulfil the Law which had been given. For man thought himself innocent, and from this very pride of false innocence became more mad. To tame this pride then and to lay it bare, the Law was given; not to deliver the sick, but to convince the proud. Attend then, Beloved; to this end was the Law given, to discover diseases, not to take them away. And so then those sick folk who might have been sick in their own houses with greater privacy, if those five porches had not existed, were in those porches set forth to the eyes of all men, but were not by the porches cured. The Law therefore was useful to discover sins, because that man being made more abundantly guilty by the transgression of the Law, might, having tamed his pride, implore the help of Him That pities. Attend to the Apostle; The Law entered that sin might abound; but where sin abounded, grace has much more abounded. What is, The Law entered that sin might abound? As in another place he says, For where there is no law, there is no transgression. Man may be called a sinner before the Law, a transgressor he cannot. But when he has sinned, after that he has received the Law, he is found not only a sinner, but a transgressor. Forasmuch then as to sin is added transgression, therefore has sin abounded. And when sin abounds, human pride learns at length to submit itself, and to confess to God, and to say I am weak. To say to those words of the Psalm which none but the humbled soul says, I said, Lord, be merciful unto me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against you. Let the weak soul then say this that is at least convinced by transgression, and not cured, but manifested by the Law. Hear too Paul himself showing you, both that the Law is good, and yet that nothing but the grace of Christ delivers from sin. For the Law can prohibit and command; apply the medicine, that that which does not allow a man to fulfil the Law, may be cured, it cannot, but grace only does that. For the Apostle says, For I delight in the Law of God after the inner man. That is, I see now that what the Law blames is evil, and what the Law commands is good. For I delight in the Law of God after the inner man. I see another law in my members resisting the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity in the law of sin. This derived from the punishment of sin, from the propagation of death, from the condemnation of Adam, resists the law of the mind, and brings it into captivity in the law of sin which is in the members. He was convinced; he received the Law, that he might be convinced: see now what profit it was to him that he was convinced. Hear the following words, Wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

3. Give heed then. Those five porches were significative of the Law, bearing the sick, not healing them; discovering, not curing them. But who did cure the sick? He that descended into the pool. And when did the sick man descend into the pool? When the Angel gave the sign by the moving of the water. For thus was that pool sanctified, for that the Angel came down and moved the water. Men saw the water; and from the motion of the troubled water they understood the presence of the Angel. If any one then went down, he was cured. Why then was not that sick man cured? Let us consider his own words; I have no man, he says, when the water is moved, to put me into the pool, but while I am coming, another steps down. Could not you then step down afterwards, if another step down before you? Here it is shown us, that only one was cured at the moving of the water. Whosoever stepped down first, he alone was cured: but whoever stepped down afterwards, at that moving of the water was not cured, but waited till it was moved again. What then does this mystery mean? For it is not without a meaning. Attend, Beloved. Waters are put in the Apocalypse for a figure of peoples. For when in the Apocalypse John saw many waters, he asked what it meant, and it was told him that they were peoples. The water then of the pool signified the people of the Jews. For as that people was held in by the five books of Moses in the Law, so that water too was enclosed by five porches. When was the water troubled? When the people of the Jews was troubled. And when was the people of the Jews troubled, but when the Lord Jesus Christ came? The Lord's Passion was the troubling of the water. For the Jews were troubled when the Lord suffered. See, what was just now read had relation to this troubling. The Jews wished to kill Him, not only because He did these things on the sabbaths, but because He called Himself the Son of God, making Himself equal with God. For Christ called Himself the Son after one manner, in another was it said to men, I said, You are Gods, and you are all children of the Most High. For if He had made Himself the Son of God in such sort as any man whatever may be called the son of God (for by the grace of God men are called sons of God); the Jews would not have been enraged. But because they understand Him to call Himself the Son of God in another way, according to that, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; and according to what the Apostle says, Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; they saw a man, and they were enraged, because He made Himself equal with God. But He well knew that He was equal, but wherein they saw not. For that which they saw they wished to crucify; by That which they saw not, they were judged. What did the Jews see? What the Apostles also saw, when Philip said, Show us the Father, and it suffices us. But what did the Jews not see? What not even the Apostles saw, when the Lord answered, Have I been so long time with you, and yet have ye not known Me? He that sees Me, sees the Father also. Because then the Jews were not able to see This in Him, they held Him for a proud and ungodly man, making Himself equal with God. Here was a troubling, the water was troubled, the Angel had come. For the Lord is called also the Angel of the Great Counsel, in that He is the messenger of the Father's will. For Angel in Greek is in Latin messenger. So you have the Lord saying that He announces to us the kingdom of Heaven. He then had come, the Angel of the Great Counsel, but the Lord of all the Angels. Angel on this account, because He took Flesh; the Lord of Angels, in that by Him all things were made, and without Him was nothing made. For if all things, Angels too. And therefore Himself was not made, because by Him all things were made. Now what was made, was not made without the operation of the Word. But the flesh which became the mother of Christ, could not have been born, if it had not been created by the Word, which was afterwards born of it.

4. The Jews then were troubled. What is this? Why does He these things on the sabbath days? And especially at those words of the Lord, My Father works hitherto, and I work. Their carnal understanding of this, that God rested on the seventh day from all His works, troubled them. For this is written in Genesis, and most excellently written it is, and on the best reasons. But they thinking that God as it were rested from fatigue on the seventh day after all, and that He therefore blessed it, because on it He was refreshed from His weariness, did not in their foolishness understand, that He who made all things by the Word, could not be wearied. Let them read, and tell me how could God be wearied, who said, Let it be made, and it was made. Today if a man could so do, as God did, how would he be wearied? He said, Let there be light, and the light was made. Again, Let there be a firmament, and it was made: if indeed He said, and it was not done, He was wearied. In another place briefly, He spoke, and they were made; He commanded, and they were created. He then who works thus, how does He labour? But if He labour not, how does He rest? But in that sabbath, in which it is said that God rested from all His works, in the Rest of God our rest was signified; because the sabbath of this world shall be, when the six ages shall have passed away. The six days as it were of the world are passing away. One day has passed away, from Adam unto Noe; another from the deluge unto Abraham; the third from Abraham unto David; the fourth from David unto the carrying away into Babylon; the fifth from the carrying away into Babylon unto the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now the sixth day is in passing. We are in the sixth age, in the sixth day. Let us then be reformed after the image of God, because that on the sixth day man was made after the image of God. What formation did then, let reformation do in us, and what creation did there, let creating-anew do in us. After this day in which we now are, after this age, the rest which is promised to the saints and prefigured in those days, shall come. Because in very truth too, after all things which He made in the world, He has made nothing new in creation afterwards. The creatures themselves shall be transformed and changed. For since the creatures were fashioned, nothing more has been added. But nevertheless, if He who made did not rule the world, what is made would fall to ruin: He cannot but administer that which He has made. Because then nothing has been added to the creation, He is said to have rested from all His works; but because He does not cease to govern what He made, rightly did the Lord say, My Father works even hitherto. Attend, Beloved. He finished, He is said to have rested; for He finished His works, and has added no more. He governs what He has made; therefore He does not cease to work. But with the same facility that He made, with the same does He govern. For do not suppose, brethren, that when He created He did not labour, and that He labours in that He governs: as in a ship, they labour who build the ship, and they who manage it labour too; for they are men. For with the same facility wherewith He spoke and they were made, with the same facility and judgment does He govern all things by the Word.

5. Let us not, because human affairs seem to be in disorder, fancy that there is no governance of human affairs. For all men are ordered in their proper places; but to every man it seems as though they have no order. Look only to what you would wish to be; for as you shall wish to be, the Master knows where to place you. Look at a painter. Before him are placed various colors, and he knows where to set each color on. Questionless the sinner has chosen to be the black color; does not then the Artist know where to place him? How many parts does the painter finish off with the color of black? How many ornaments does he make of it? With it he makes the hair, the beard, the eye-brows; he makes the face of white only. Look then to that which you would wish to be; take no care where He may order you who cannot err, He knows where to place you. For so we see it happen by the common laws of the world. Some man, for instance, has chosen to be a house-breaker: the law of the judge knows that he has acted contrary to the law: the law of the judge knows where to place him; and orders him most properly. He indeed has lived evilly; but not evilly has the law ordered him. From a house-breaker he will be sentenced to the mines; from the labour of such how great works are constructed? That condemned man's punishment is the city's ornament. So then God knows where to place you. Do not think that you are disturbing the counsel of God, if you are minded to be disorderly. Does not He who knew how to create, know how to order you? Good were it for you to strive for this, to be set in a good place. What was said of Judas by the Apostle? He went unto his own place. By the operation of course of Divine Providence, because by an evil will he chose to be evil, but God did not by ordering evil make it. But because that evil man himself chose to be a sinner, he did what he would, and suffered what he would not. In that he did what he would, his sin is discovered; in that he suffered what he would not, the order of God is praised.

6. Wherefore have I said all this? That ye, brethren, may understand what was most excellently said by the Lord Jesus Christ, My Father works even hitherto. In that He does not abandon the creature which He made. And He said, As He works, so do I also work. In this He at once signified that He was equal with God. My Father, says He, works hitherto, and I work. Their carnal sense touching the rest was troubled. For they thought that the Lord being wearied rested, that He should work no more. They hear, My Father works even hitherto: they are troubled. And I work: He has made Himself equal with God: they are troubled. But be not alarmed. The water is troubled, now the sick man is to be cured. What means this? Therefore are they troubled, that the Lord may suffer. The Lord does suffer, the precious Blood is shed, the sinner is redeemed, grace is given to the sinner, to him that says, Wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The grace of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. But how is he cured? If he step down. For that pool was so made, that men should go down, and not come up to it. For there might be pools of such a kind, so constructed, that men must go up to them. But why was this made in such a way that men must go down to it? Because the Lord's Passion searches for the humble. Let the humble go down, let him not be proud, if he wishes to be cured. But why was it but one? Because the Church is only One throughout the world, unity is saved. When then one is made whole, unity is signified. By one understand unity. Depart not then from unity, if you would not be without a part in this saving cure.

7. What then does it mean that the man was in infirmity thirty-eight years? I know, brethren, that I have spoken of this already; but even those who read forget, how much more they who hear but seldom? Attend therefore for a little while, Beloved. In the number forty, the accomplishment of righteousness is figured. The accomplishment of righteousness, in that we live here in labour, in toil, in self-restraint, in fastings, in watchings, in tribulations; this is the exercise of righteousness, to bear this present time, and to fast as it were from this world; not from the food of the body, which we do but seldom; but from the love of the world, which we ought to do always. He then fulfils the law who abstains from this world. For he cannot love that which is eternal, unless he shall cease to love that which is temporal. Consider a man's love: think of it as, so to say, the hand of the soul. If it is holding anything, it cannot hold anything else. But that it may be able to hold what is given to it, it must leave go what it holds already. This I say, see how expressly I say it; Whoever loves the world cannot love God; he has his hand engaged. God says to him, Hold what I give. He will not leave go what he was holding; he cannot receive what is offered. Have I said a man should not possess ought? If he is able, if perfection require this of him, let him not possess. If hindered by any necessity he is not able, let him possess, not be possessed; let him hold, not be held; let him be the lord of his possessions, not the slave; as says the Apostle However, brethren, the time is short; it remains that both they that have wives, be as though they had not; and they who buy, as though they possessed not; and they who rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they who weep, as though they wept not; and they who use this world, as though they used it not; for the fashion of this world passes away. I would have you be without carefulness. What is, Do not love what you possess in this world? Let it not hold your hand fast, by which God must be held. Let not your love be engaged, whereby you can make your way to God, and cleave to Him who created you.

8. You will say and make answer to me, Yea, God knows that I possess innocently what I have. Temptation proves you. There is a troubling of your possessions, and you blaspheme. It is but lately we were in such a case. There is a troubling of your possessions, and you are not found what you were, and dost show that there is one thing in your mouth today, and another in your mouth yesterday. And I would that you would only defend your own even with vehemence; and not try to usurp with audacity another's; and what is worse, to escape reprehension, maintain that what is another's is your own. But why need I say more? This I advise, this I say, Brethren, and as a brother advise; God bids, and I admonish because I am admonished. He alarms me, who does not allow me to keep silence. He exacts of me what He has given. For He has given it to be laid out, not to be kept up. And if I should keep it and hide it, He says to me, Thou wicked and slothful servant, why did you give not My money to the exchangers, that at My coming I might require it with usury? And what will it profit me that I have lost nothing of that which I received? That is not enough for my Lord, He is covetous; but God's covetousness is our salvation. He is covetous, He looks for His own money, He gathers in His Own image. You should have given, says He, the money to the exchangers, that at My coming I might require it with usury. And if by any chance forgetfulness should make me fail of admonishing you, the temptations and tribulations at least which we are suffering, would be an admonition to you. You have heard at least the word of God. Blessed be the Lord and His glory. For you are here gathered together, and are hanging on the word of God's minister. Turn not your attention to our flesh, by which the word is given out to you; for hungry men regard not the meanness of the dish, but the preciousness of the food. God is proving you. You are gathered together, you praise the word of God; temptation will prove in what manner ye hear it: ye will have the active business of life whereby your true character will be shown. For so he who today is shouting with railings, was yesterday a ready listener. Therefore I forewarn; therefore I tell you, therefore I do not withhold it, my Brethren, that the time of questioning will come. For the Lord makes question of the righteous and of the ungodly. This you know you have sung, this have we sung together; The Lord makes question of the righteous and the ungodly. And what follows? But he that loves iniquity, hates his own soul. And in another place, Into the thoughts of the ungodly there shall be questioning made. God does not make question of you there, where I question you. I question your tongue, God questions your thoughts. For He knows how you hear, and He knows how to require, Who orders me to give. He has wished me to be a dispenser, the requiring He has reserved to Himself. To admonish, to teach, to rebuke, is ours; but to save, and to crown, or to condemn, and to cast into hell, is not ours; But the Judge shall deliver to the officer, and the officer to the prison. Verily I say unto you, you shall not go out thence, till you pay the last farthing.

9. Let us then return to our subject. The perfection of righteousness is shown by the number forty. What is it to fulfil the number forty? To restrain one's self from the love of this world. Restraint from temporal things, that they be not loved to our destruction, is, as it were, fasting from this world. Therefore the Lord fasted forty days, and Moses, and Elias. He then who gave His servants the power to fast forty days, could He not fast eighty or a hundred? Why then did He not will to fast more than He had given His servants to do, but because in this number forty is the mystery of fasting, the restraint from this world? What is this to say? What the Apostle says; The world is crucified to me, and I to the world. He then fulfils the number forty. And what does the Lord show? That because Moses did this, this Elias, this Christ, that this both the Law, and the Prophets, and the Gospel, teach; that you may not think that there is one thing in the Law, another in the Prophets, another in the Gospel. All Scripture teaches you nothing else, but restraint from the love of the world, that your love may speed on to God. As a figure that the Law teaches this, Moses fasted forty days. As a figure that the Prophets teach it, Elias fasted forty days. As a figure that the Gospel teaches it, the Lord fasted forty days. And therefore in the mount too these three appeared, the Lord in the middle, Moses and Elias at the sides. Wherefore? Because the Gospel itself receives testimony from the Law and the Prophets. But why in the number forty is the perfection of righteousness? In the Psalter it is said, O God, I will sing a new song unto You, upon a psaltery of ten strings will I sing praises unto You. Which signifies the ten precepts of the Law, which the Lord came not to destroy, but to fulfil. And the Law itself throughout the whole world, it is evident, has four quarters, the East, and West, South, and North, as the Scripture says. And hence the vessel which bare all the emblematic animals, which was exhibited to Peter, when he was told, Kill and eat, that it might be shown that the Gentiles should believe and enter into the body of the Church, just as what we eat enters into our body, and which was let down from heaven by four corners (these are the four quarters of the world), showed that the whole world should believe. Therefore in the number forty is restraint from the world. This is the fulfilling of the Law: now the fulfilling of the Law is charity. And therefore before the Pasch we fast forty days. For this time before the Pasch is the sign of this our toilsome life, wherein, in toils, and cares, and continence, we fulfil the Law. But afterwards we celebrate the Pasch, that is, the days of the Lord's resurrection signifying our own resurrection. Therefore fifty days are celebrated; because the reward of the denarius is added to the forty, and it becomes fifty. Why is the reward a denarius? Have ye not read, how that they who were hired into the vineyard, whether at the first, or sixth, or the last hour, could only receive the denarius? When to our righteousness shall be added its reward, we shall be in the number fifty. Yea, and then shall we have none other occupation, save to praise God. And therefore throughout those days we say, Hallelujah. For Halleluiah is the praise of God. In this frail estate of mortality, in this fortieth number here, as though before the resurrection, let us groan in prayers, that we may sing praises then. Now is the time of longing, then will be the time of embracing and enjoying. Let us not faint in the time of forty, that we may joy in the time of fifty.

10. Now who is he that fulfills the Law, but he that has charity? Ask the Apostle, Charity is the fulfilling of the Law. For all the Law is fulfilled in one word, in that which is written, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. But the commandment of charity is twofold; You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great commandment. The other is like it; You shall love your neighbour as yourself. They are the words of the Lord in the Gospel: On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. Without this twofold love the Law cannot be fulfilled. As long as the Law is not fulfilled, there is infirmity. Therefore he had two short, who was infirm thirty and eight years. What means, had two short? He did not fulfil these two commandments. What does it profit that the rest is fulfilled, if those are not fulfilled? Have you thirty-eight? If you have not those two, the rest will profit you nothing. You have two short, without which the rest avail not, if you have not the two commandments which conduct unto salvation. If I speak with the tongues of men and angels, and have not charity, I have become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And if I distribute all my substance, and if I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profits me nothing. They are the Apostle's words. All those things therefore which he mentioned are as it were the thirty-eight years; but because charity was not there, there was infirmity. From that infirmity who then shall make whole, but He who came to give charity? A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another. And because He came to give charity, and charity fulfills the Law, with good reason said He, I came not to destroy the Law, but to fulfil. He cured the sick man, and told him to carry his couch, and go unto his house. And so too He said to the sick of the palsy whom He cured. What is it to carry our couch? The pleasure of our flesh. Where we lie in infirmity, is as it were our bed. But they who are cured master and carry it, are not by this flesh mastered. So then, you whole one, master the frailness of your flesh, that in the sign of the forty days' fast from this world, you may fulfill the number forty, for that He has made that sick man whole, Who came not to destroy the Law, but to fulfil.

11. Having heard this, direct your heart to Godward. Do not deceive yourselves. Ask yourselves then when it is well with you in the world; then ask yourselves, whether ye love the world, or whether ye love it not; learn to let it go before you are let go yourselves. What is to let it go? Not heartily to love it. Whilst there is yet something with you which you must one day lose, and either in life or death let it go, it cannot be with you always; while I say it is yet with you, loosen your love; be prepared for the will of God, hang upon God. Hold you fast to Him, whom you can not lose against your will, that if it chance you to lose these temporal things, you may say, The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away, as it has pleased the Lord, so is it done, blessed be the Name of the Lord. But if it chance, and God so wills it, that the things you have be with you even to the last: for your detachment from this life you receive the denarius, the fifty, and the perfection of blessedness comes to pass in you, when you shall sing Hallelujah. Having these things which I have now brought forward in your memory, may they avail to overthrowing your love of the world. Evil is its friendship, deceitful, it makes a man the enemy of God. Soon, in one single temptation, a man offends God, and becomes His enemy. Nay not then becomes His enemy; but is then discovered to have been His enemy. For when he was loving and praising Him, he was an enemy; but he neither knew it himself, nor did others. Temptation came, the pulse is touched, and the fever discovered. So then brethren, the love of the world, and the friendship of the world, make men the enemies of God. And it does not make good what it promises, it is a liar, and deceives. Therefore men never cease hoping in this world, and who attains to all he hopes for? But whereunto soever he attains, what he has attained to is immediately disesteemed by him. Other things begin to be desired, other fond things are hoped for; and when they come, whatsoever it is that comes to you, is disesteemed. Hold you fast then to God, for He can never be of light esteem, for nothing is more beautiful than He. For for this cause are these things disesteemed, because they cannot stand, because they are not what He is. For nought, O soul, suffices you, save He who created you. Whatsoever else you apprehend is wretched; for He Alone can suffice you who made you after His Own likeness. Thus it was expressly said, Lord, show us the Father, and it suffices us. There only can there be security; and where security can be, there in a certain sort will be insatiable satiety. For you will neither be so satiated, as to wish to depart; nor will anything be wanting, as though you could suffer want.

On the words of the Gospel, John 5:19 , The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father doing.

1. The mysteries and secrets of the kingdom of God first seek for believing men, that they may make them understanding. For faith is understanding's step; and understanding faith's attainment. This the Prophet expressly says to all who prematurely and in undue order look for understanding, and neglect faith. For he says, Unless ye believe, you shall not understand. Faith itself then also has a certain light of its own in the Scriptures, in Prophecy, in the Gospel, in the Lessons of the Apostles. For all these things which are read to us in this present time, are lights in a dark place, that we may be nourished up unto the day. The Apostle Peter says, We have a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that you take heed, as unto a light in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts.

2. You see then, Brethren, how exceedingly unregulated and disordered in their haste are they who like immature conceptions seek an untimely birth before the birth; who say to us, Why do you bid me believe what I do not see? Let me see something that I may believe. Thou biddest me believe while yet I see not; I wish to see, and by seeing to believe, not by hearing. Let the Prophet speak. Unless ye believe, you shall not understand. You wish to ascend, and dost forget the steps. Surely, out of all order. O man, if I could show you already what you might see, I should not exhort you to believe.

3. Faith then, as it has been elsewhere defined, is the firm support of those who hope, the evidence of things which are not seen. If they are not seen, how are they evidenced to be? What! Whence are these things which you see, but from That which you see not? To be sure you see somewhat that you may believe somewhat, and from that you see, may believe what you see not. Be not ungrateful to Him who has made you see, whereby you may be able to believe what as yet you can not see. God has given you eyes in the body, reason in the heart; arouse the reason of the heart, wake up the interior inhabitant of your interior eyes, let it take to its windows, examine the creature of God. For there is one within who sees by the eyes. For when your thoughts within you are on any other subject, and the inhabitant within is turned away, the things which are before your eyes you see not. For to no purpose are the windows open, when he who looks through them is away. It is not then the eyes that see, but some one sees by the eyes; awake him, arouse him. For this has not been denied you; God has made you a rational animal, set you over the cattle, formed you after His Own image. Ought you to use them as the cattle do; only to see what to add to your belly, not to your soul? Stir up, I say, the eye of reason, use your eyes as a man should, consider the heaven and earth, the ornaments of the heaven, the fruitfulness of the earth, the flight of the birds, the swimming of the fish, the virtue of the seeds, the order of the seasons; consider the works, and seek for the Author; take a view of what you see, and seek Him whom you see not. Believe on Him whom you see not, because of these things which you see. And lest you think that it is with my own words that I have exhorted you; hear the Apostle saying, For the invisible things of God from the creation of the world are clearly seen by those things which are made.

4. These things you disregarded, nor looked upon them as a man, but as an irrational animal. The Prophet cried out to you, and cried in vain. Be not like to horse and mule, which have no understanding. These things I say you saw, and disregard. God's daily miracles were disesteemed, not for their easiness, but their constant repetition. For what is more difficult to understand than a man's birth, that one who was in existence should by dying depart into darkness, and that one who was not, by being born should come forth to light? What so marvellous, what so difficult to comprehend? But with God easy to be done. Marvel at these things, awake; at His unusual works, you can wonder, are they greater than those which you are accustomed to see? Men wondered that our Lord God Jesus Christ filled so many thousands with five loaves; and they do not wonder that through a few grains the whole earth is filled with crops. When the water was made wine, men saw it, and were amazed; what else takes place with the rain along the root of the vine? He did the one, He does the other; the one that you may be fed, the other that you may wonder. But both are wonderful, for both are the works of God. Man sees unusual things, and wonders; whence is the man himself who wonders? Where was he? Whence came he forth? Whence the fashion of his body? Whence the distinction of his limbs? Whence that beautiful form? From what beginnings? What contemptible beginnings? And he wonders at other things, when he the wonderer is himself a great wonder. Whence then are these things which you see but from Him whom you see not? But as I had begun to say, because these things were disesteemed by you, He came Himself to do unusual things, that in these usual ones too you might acknowledge your Creator. He came to Whom it is said, Renew signs. To Whom it is said, Show forth Your marvellous mercies. For dispensing them He ever was; He dispensed them, and no one marvelled. Therefore came He a Little one to the little, He came a Physician to the sick, who was able to come when He would, to return when He would, to do whatsoever He would, to judge as He would. And this, His will, is very righteousness; yea what He wills, I say, is very righteousness. For that is not unrighteous which He wills, nor can that be right which He wills not. He came to raise the dead, men marvelling that He restored a man to the light who was in light already, He who day by day brings forth to the light those who were not.

5. These things He did, yet was He despised by the many, who considered not so much what great things He did, as how small He was; as though they said within themselves, These are divine things, but He is a man. Two things then you see, divine works, and a man. If divine works cannot be wrought but by God, take heed lest in This Man God lie concealed. Attend, I say, to what you see; believe what you see not. He has not abandoned you, who has called you to believe; though He enjoin you to believe that which you can not see: yet has He not given you up to see nothing whereby you may be able to believe what you do not see. Is the creation itself a small sign, a small indication of the Creator? He also came, He did miracles. You could not see God, a man you could, so God was made Man, that in One you might have both what to see, and what to believe. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Thus you hear, and as yet see not. Lo, He comes, lo, He is born, lo, He comes forth of a woman, who made man and woman. He who made man and woman was not made by man and woman. For you would perhaps have been likely to despise Him for being born, the manner of His birth can you not despise; for He ever was before that He was born. Lo, I say, He took a Body, He was clothed in Flesh, He came forth from the womb. Do you now see? Do you see now, I say? I ask as to the Flesh, but I point out as to That Flesh; something you see, and something you see not. Lo, in this very Birth, there are at once two things, one which you may see, and another you may not see; but so that by this which you see, you may believe that which you see not. You had begun to despise, because you see Him who was born; believe what you do not see, that He was born of a virgin. How trifling a person, says one, is he who was born! But how great is He who was of a virgin born! And He who was born of a virgin brought you a temporal miracle; He was not born of a father, of any man, I mean, His father, yet was He born of the flesh. But let it not seem impossible to you, that He was born by His mother only, Who made man before father and mother.

6. He brought you then a temporal miracle, that you may seek and admire Him who is Eternal. For He who came forth as a Bridegroom out of His chamber, that is, out of the virgin's womb, where the holy nuptials were celebrated of the Word and the Flesh: He brought, I say, a temporal miracle; but He is Himself eternal, He is coeternal with the Father, He it is, who In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He did for you whereby you might be cured, that you might be able to see what you did not see. What you despise in Christ, is not yet the contemplation of him that is made whole, but the medicine of the sick. Do not hasten to the vision of the whole. The Angels see, the Angels rejoice, the Angels feed Thereon and live; Whereon they feed fails not, nor is their food minished. In the thrones of glory, in the regions of the heavens, in the parts which are above the heavens, the Word is seen by the Angels, and is their Joy; is their Food, and endures. But in order that man might eat Angel's Bread, the Lord of Angels became Man. This is our Salvation, the Medicine of the infirm, the Food of the whole.

7. And He spoke to men, and said what you have now heard, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do. Is there now any one, think we, that understands this? Is there any one, think we, in whom the eye-salve of the flesh has now its effect to the discerning in any fashion the brightness of the Divinity? He has spoken, let us speak too; He, because the Word; we, because of the Word. And why speak we, howsoever we do it, of the Word? Because we were made by the Word after the likeness of the Word. As far then as we are capable of, as far as we can be partakers of that ineffableness, let us also speak, and let us not be contradicted. For our faith has gone before, so that we may say, I believed, therefore have I spoken. I speak then that which I believe; whether or no I also see, or howsoever I see; He sees rather; ye cannot see it. But when I shall have spoken, whether he who sees what I speak of, believe that I see too what I have spoken of, or whether he believe it not, what is that to me? Let him only really see, and let him believe what he will of me.

8. The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do. Here rises up an error of the Arians; but it rises up that it may fall; because it is not humbled, that it may rise. What is it which has set you off? You would say that the Son is less than the Father. For you have heard, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do. From this you would have the Son called less; it is this I know, I know it is this has set you off; believe that He is not less, you can not as yet see it, believe, this is what I was saying a little while ago. But how, you will say, am I to believe against His own words? He says Himself, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do. Attend too to that which follows; For whatever things the Father does, the same also does the Son likewise; He did not say, such things, Beloved, consider a while, that you cause not confusion to yourselves. There is need of a tranquil heart, a godly and devout faith, a religious earnest attention; attend, not to me the poor vessel, but to Him who puts the bread in the vessel. Attend then a while. For in all that I have said above in exhorting you to faith, that the mind imbued with faith may be capable of understanding, all that has been said has had a pleasing, glad, and easy sound, has cheered your minds, you have followed it, you have understood what I said. But what I am now about to say I hope there are some who will understand; yet I fear that all will not understand. And seeing that God has by the lesson of the Gospel proposed to us a subject to speak upon, and we cannot avoid that which the Master has proposed; I fear lest haply they who will not understand, who perhaps will be the greater number, should think that I have spoken to them in vain; but yet because of those who will understand, I do not speak in vain. Let him who understands rejoice, let him who does not understand bear it patiently; what he does not understand, let him bear, and that he may understand, let him bear delay.

9. He does not say then, Whatever things the Father does, such does the Son: as if the Father does some things, and the Son others. For it did seem as though He had meant this when He said above, The Son does nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do. Mark; He did not there either say, But what He hears the Father enjoin; but, what He sees the Father do. If then we consult the carnal understanding, or sense rather, He has set before Him as it were two workmen, the Father and the Son, the Father working without seeing any, the Son working from seeing the Father. This is still a carnal view. Nevertheless, in order to understand those things which are higher, let us not decline these lower and mean things. First, let us set something before our eyes in this way; let us suppose there are two workmen, father and son. The father has made a chest, which the son could not make, unless he saw the father making it: he keeps his mind on the chest which the father has made, and makes another chest like it, not the same. I put off for a while the words which follow, and now I ask the Arian; Do you understand it in the sense of this supposition? Hath the Father done something, which when the Son saw Him do, He too has done something like it? For do the words by which you are perplexed seem to have this meaning? Now He does not say, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He hears the Father enjoin. But He says, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do. See, if you understand it thus; the Father has done something, and the Son attends that He may see what He Himself too has to do; and that, some other thing like that which the Father had done. This which the Father has done, by whom has He done it? If not by the Son, if not by the Word, you have incurred the charge of blasphemy against the Gospel. For all things were made by Him. So then what the Father had done, He had done by the Word; if by the Word He had done it, He had done it by the Son. Who then is that other who attends, that He may do some other thing which he sees the Father do? You have not been wont to say that the Father has two sons: there is One, One Only-Begotten of Him. But through His mercy, Alone as regards His Divinity and not Alone as regards the inheritance. The Father has made coheirs with His Only Son; not begotten them like Him of His Own Substance, but adopted them by Him out of His Own family. For we have been called, as Holy Scripture testifies, into the adoption of sons.

10. What then do you say? It is the Only Son Himself That speaks; the Only-Begotten Son speaks in the Gospel: the Word Himself has given us the words, we have heard Himself saying, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do. Now then the Father does that the Son may see what to do; and nevertheless the Father does nothing but by the Son. Assuredly you are confused, you heretic, assuredly you are confused; but your confusion is as from taking hellebore, that you may be cured. Even now you can not find your own self, you even yourself condemn your own judgment and your carnal view, I think. Put behind you the eyes of the flesh, raise up what eyes you have in your heart, behold things divine. They are men's words it is true you hear, and by a man, by the Evangelist, by the Gospel you hear men's words, as a man; but it is of the Word of God you hear, that you may hear what is human, come to know what is Divine. The Master has given trouble, that He might instruct; has sown a difficulty, that He might excite an earnest attention. The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do. It might follow that He should say, For whatever things the Father does, the like does the Son. This He does not say; but, Whatever things the Father does, the same does the Son likewise. The Father does not some things, the Son other things; because all things that the Father does, He does by the Son. The Son raised Lazarus; did not the Father raise him? The Son gave sight to the blind man; did not the Father give him sight? The Father by the Son in the Holy Ghost. It is the Trinity; but the Operation of the Trinity is One, the Majesty One, the Eternity One, the Coeternity One, and the Works the Same. The Father does not create some men, the Son others, the Holy Ghost others; the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost create one and the same man; and the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, One God, creates him.

11. You observe a Plurality of Persons, but acknowledge the Unity of the Divinity. For because of the Plurality of Persons it was said, Let Us make man after Our image and likeness. He did not say, I will make man, and do Thou attend when I am making him, that Thou too may be able to make another. Let Us make, He says; I hear the Plurality; after Our image; again I hear the Plurality. Where then is the Singularity of the Divinity? Read what follows, And God made man. It is said, Let Us make man; and it is not said, The Gods made man. The Unity is understood in that it was said, God made man.

12. Where then is that carnal view? Be it confounded, hidden, brought to nought; let the Word of God speak to us. Even now as godly men, as believing already, as already imbued with faith, and having gotten some attainment of understanding, turn we to the Word Himself, to the Fountain of light, and let us say together, O Lord, the Father does ever the same things as Thou; for that whatsoever the Father does, by You He does it. We have heard that You are the Word in the beginning; we have not seen, but believed. There too have we heard what follows, that 'all things were made by You.' All things then that the Father does, He does by You. Therefore You do the same things as the Father. Why then did You wish to say, 'The Son can do nothing of Himself'? For I see a certain equality in You with the Father, in that I hear, 'Whatever things the Father does, the same does the Son.' I recognise an equality, hereby I understand, and comprehend as far as I am able, 'I and My Father are One.' What means it, that You can do nothing, but what You see the Father do? What means this?

13. Peradventure He would say to me, yea say to us all: Now as to this that I have said, 'The Son can do nothing, but what He sees the Father do;' My 'Seeing' how do you understand? My 'Seeing,' what is it? Put aside for a while the form of the servant which He took for your sake. For in that servant's form our Lord had eyes and ears in the Flesh, and that human form was the same figure of a Body, such as we bear, the same outlines of members. That Flesh had come from Adam: but He was not as Adam. So then the Lord walking whether on the earth or in the sea, as it pleased Him, as He would, for whatever He would, He could; looked at what He would; He fixed His eyes, He saw; He turned away His eyes, and did not see; who followed was behind Him, whoever could be seen, before Him; with the eyes of His Body, He saw only what was before Him. But from His Divinity nothing was hid. Put aside, put aside, I say, for a while the form of the servant, look at the Form of God in which He was before the world was made; in which He was equal to the Father; hereby receive and understand what He says to you, 'Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.' There see Him if you can, that you may be able to see what His 'Seeing' is. In the beginning was the Word. How does the Word see? Hath the Word eyes, or are our eyes found in Him, the eyes not of the flesh, but the eyes of godly hearts? For, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

14. Christ you see Man and God; He does manifest to you the Man, God He reserves for you. Now see how He reserves God for you, who does manifest Himself to you as Man. Whoever loves Me, says He, keeps My commandments; whoever loves Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him. And as if it were asked, What will You give to him whom You love? And I will manifest Myself, says He, to him. What means this, Brethren? He whom they saw already, promised that He would manifest Himself to them. To whom? Those by whom He was seen, or those also by whom He was not seen? Thus speaking to a certain Apostle, who asked to see the Father, that it might suffice him, and said, Show us the Father, and it suffices us — Then He standing before this servant's eyes, in the form of a servant, reserving for his eyes when deified the Form of God, says to him, Have I been so long time with you, and have ye not known Me? He that sees Me, sees the Father also. Thou ask to see the Father; see Me, you see Me, and dost not see Me. You see what for you I have assumed, you do not see What I have reserved for you. Give ear to My commandments, purify your eyes. For whoever loves Me, keeps My commandments, and I will love him. To him as keeping My commandments, and by My commandments made whole will I manifest Myself.

15. If then, Brethren, we are not able to see what the Seeing of the Word is, whither are we going? What Vision it may be with too great haste are we requiring? Why are we wishing to have shown us what we are not able to see? These things accordingly are spoken of which we desire to see, not as what we are able already to comprehend. For if you see the Seeing of the Word, perhaps in that you see the Seeing of the Word, you will see the Word Himself; that the Word may not be one thing, the Seeing of the Word another, lest there be Therein anything joined, and coupled, and double, and compacted. For It is something Simple, of a Simplicity ineffable. Not as with a man, the man is one thing, the man's seeing another. For sometimes a man's seeing is extinguished, and the man remains. This it is of which I said that I was about to say something which all would not be able to understand; the Lord even grant that some may have understood. My Brethren, to this end does He exhort us, that we may see, that the Seeing of the Word is beyond our powers; for they are small; be they nourished, perfected. Whereby? By the commandments. What commandments? He that loves Me, keeps My commandments. What commandments? For already do we wish to increase, to be strengthened, perfected, that we may see the Seeing of the Word. Tell us, Lord, now what commandments? A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another. This charity then, Brethren, let us draw from the plentifulness of the Fountain, let us receive it; be nourished by it. Receive that whereby you may be able to receive. Let charity give you birth, let charity nourish you; charity bring you to perfection, charity strengthen you; that you may see this Seeing of the Word, that the Word is not one thing and His Seeing another, but that the Seeing of the Word is the Very Word Himself; and so perhaps you will soon understand that that which is said, The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do, is as if He had said, The Son would not be, if He had not been born of the Father. Let this suffice, Brethren; I know that I have said that which perhaps, if meditated upon, may develop itself to many, which oftentimes when expressed in words may chance to be obscured.

On the words of the Gospel, John 5:25 ,Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour comes, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the son of God; and they that hear shall live,etc.; and on the words of the apostle, things which eye saw not, etc., 1 Corinthians 2:9

1. Our hope, Brethren, is not of this present time, nor of this world, nor in that happiness whereby men are blinded that forget God. This ought we above all things to know, and in a Christian heart hold fast, that we were not made Christians for the good things of the present time, but for something else which God at once promises, and man does not yet comprehend. For of this good it is said, That eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared for them that love Him. Because then this good, so great, so excellent, so ineffable, fell not in with man's understanding, it required God's promise. For what has been promised him, man blind of heart does not now comprehend; nor can it be shown to him at present, what he will one day be to whom the promise is given. For so an infant child, if he could understand the words of one speaking, when himself could neither speak, nor walk, nor do anything, but feeble as we see he is, unable to stand, requiring the assistance of others, were able only to understand him who should speak to him and tell him, Lo, as you see me walking, working, speaking, after a few years you shall be as I am; as he considered himself and the other, though he would see what was promised; yet considering his own feebleness, would not believe, and yet he would see what was promised. But with us infants, as it were, lying in this flesh and feebleness, that which is promised is at once great and is not seen; and so faith is aroused whereby we believe that we do not see that we may attain to see what we believe. Whosoever derides this faith, so as to think that he is not to believe in that he does not see; when that shall come which he believed not, is put to shame: being confounded is separated, being separated, is condemned. But whoever shall have believed, is put aside at the right hand, and shall stand with great confidence and joy among those to whom it shall be said, Come, blessed of My Father, receive the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the beginning of the world. But the Lord made an end when He spoke these words, thus, These shall go into everlasting burning, but the righteous into life eternal. This is the life eternal which is promised us.

2. Because men love to live on this earth, life is promised them; and because they exceedingly fear to die, eternal life is promised them. What do you love? To live. This shall you have. What do you fear? To die. You shall not suffer it. This seemed to be enough for human infirmity, that it should be said, You shall have eternal life. This the mind of man can comprehend, by its present condition it can in some sort comprehend what is to be. But by the imperfection of its present condition how far can it comprehend it? Because he lives, and does not wish to die; he loves eternal life, he wishes to live always, never to die. But they who shall be tormented in punishments, have even a wish to die, and cannot. It is no great thing then to live long, or to live for ever; but to live blessedly is a great thing. Let us love eternal life, and hereby may we know how greatly we ought to labour for eternal life, when we see men who love the present life, which lasts but for a time and must be brought to an end, labour so for it, that when the fear of death comes, they will do whatever they can, not to put away, but to put off death. How does a man labour, when death threatens, by flight, by concealment, by giving all he has, and redeeming himself, by toil, by endurance of torments and uneasinesses, by calling in physicians, and whatever else a man can do? See, how that after exhausting all his labour and his means, he is but able to contrive to live a little longer; to live always, he is not able. If then men strive with so great labour, with so great efforts, so great a cost, such earnestness, such watchfulness, such carefulness, that they may live a little longer; how should they strive that they may live for ever? And if they are called wise, who by all means strive to put off death, and live a few days, that they lose not a few days: how foolish are they who so live as to lose the day eternal!

3. This then only can be promised us, that this gift of God may in whatever measure be sweet to us, from this which we have at present; seeing that it is of His gift we have it, that we live, that we are in health. When then eternal life is promised, let us set before our eyes a life of such a kind, as to remove from it everything unpleasant which we suffer here. For it is easier for us to find what is not there, than what is there. Lo, here we live; we shall live there also. Here we are in health when we are not sick, and there is no pain in the body; there we shall be in health also. And when it is well with us in this life, we suffer no scourge; we shall suffer none there also. Suppose then a man here below living, in sound health, suffering no scourge; if any one were to grant him that he should be for ever so, and that this good estate should never cease, how greatly would he rejoice? How greatly be transported? How would he not contain himself in joy without pain, without torment, without end of life? If God had promised us this only, which I have mentioned, which I have just now in such words as I was able, described and set forth; at what a price ought it to be purchased if it were to be sold, how great a sum ought to be given to buy it? Would all that you had suffice, even though you should possess the whole world? And yet it is to be sold; buy it if you will. And be not much disquieted for a thing so great, because of the largeness of the price. Its price is no more than what you have. Now to procure any great and precious thing, you would get ready gold, or silver, or money, or any increase of cattle, or fruits, which might be produced in your possessions, to buy this I know not what great and excellent thing, whereby to live in this earth happily. Buy this too, if you will. Do not look for what you have, but for what you are. The price of this thing is yourself. Its price is what you are yourself. Give your own self, and you shall have it. Why are you troubled? Why disquieted? What? Are you going to seek for your own self, or to buy yourself? Lo, give your own self as you are, such as you are to that thing, and you shall have it. But you will say, I am wicked, and perhaps it will not accept me. By giving yourself to it, you will be good. The giving yourself to this faith and promise, this is to be good. And when you shall be good, you will be the price of this thing; and shall have, not only what I have mentioned, health, safety, life, and life without end; you shall not only have this, I will take away other things yet. There shall there be no weariness, and sleeping; there shall there be no hunger, and thirst; there shall there be no growing, and growing old; because there shall be no birth either where the numbers remain entire. The number that is there is entire; nor is there any need for it to be increased, seeing there is no chance of diminution there. Lo, how many things have I taken away, and I have not yet said what shall be there. Lo, already there is life, and safety; no scourge, no hunger, no thirst, no failing, none of these; and yet I have not said, what eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has ascended into the heart of man. For if I have said it, it is false that is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it ascended into the heart of man. For whence should it ascend into my heart, that I should say that which has not ascended into the heart of man? It is believed, and not seen; not only not seen, but not even expressed. How then is it believed, if it is not expressed? Who believes what he does not hear? But if he hear it that he may believe, it is expressed; if expressed, it is thought of; if thought of and expressed, then it enters into the ears of men. And because it would not be expressed if it were not thought of, it has ascended also into the heart of man. Lo, already the mere proposing of so great a thing disturbs us, that we cannot put it forth clearly in words. Who then can explain the thing itself?

4. Let us attend to the Gospel; just now the Lord was speaking, and let us do what He said. He that believes in Me, says He, passes from death unto life, and comes not into judgment. Verily I say unto you, that the hour shall come, and now is, when the dead shall hear the Voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so has He given to the Son to have life in Himself. By begetting Him He gave it; in that He begot, He gave it. For the Son is of the Father, not the Father of the Son; but the Father is the Father of the Son, and the Son is the Son of the Father. I say the Son is begotten of the Father, not the Father of the Son; and the Son was always, always therefore begotten. Who can comprehend this always begotten? For when any man hears of one begotten, it occurs to him; Therefore there was a time, when he who was begotten was not. What say we then? Not so; there was no time before the Son, for that all things were made by Him. If all things were made by Him, times also were made by Him; how could times be before the Son, by whom times were made? Take away then all times, the Son was with the Father always. If the Son were with the Father always, and yet the Son, He was begotten always; if begotten always, He who was begotten was always with Him That begot Him.

5. You will say, This have I never seen, one begetting, and always with him whom he begot; but he that begot came first, and he that was begotten followed in time. You say well, I have never seen this; for this appertains to that which eye has not seen. Do you ask how it may be expressed? It cannot be expressed; For the ear has not heard, neither has it ascended unto the heart of man. Be it believed and adored, when we believe, we adore; when we adore, we grow; when we grow, we comprehend. For as yet while we are in this flesh, as long as we are absent from the Lord, we are, with respect to the Holy Angels who see these things, infants to be suckled by faith, hereafter to be fed by sight. For so says the Apostle, As long as we are in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We shall some day come to sight, which is thus promised us by John in his Epistle; Dearly beloved, we are the sons of God, and it has not yet appeared what we shall be. We are the sons of God now by grace, by faith, by the Sacrament, by the Blood of Christ, by the redemption of the Saviour; We are 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 as He is.

6. Lo, unto the comprehending of what are we being nourished up; lo, unto the embracing and the feeding on what are we being nourished up; yet so as that that which is fed on is not diminished, and he that feeds is supported. For now food supports us by eating it; but the food which is eaten, is diminished; but when we shall begin to feed on Righteousness, to feed on Wisdom, to feed on that Food Immortal, we are at once supported, and That Food is not diminished. For if the eye knows how to feed on light, and yet does not diminish the light; for the light will be no less because it is seen by more; it feeds the eyes of more, and yet is as great as it was before: both they are fed, and it is not diminished; if God has granted this to the light which He has made for the eyes of the flesh, what is He Himself, the Light for the eyes of the heart? If then any choice food were praised to you, on which you were to dine, you would prepare the stomach; God is praised to you, prepare the heart.

7. Behold what your Lord says to you: The hour shall come, says He, and now is. The hour shall come, yea, that very hour, now is, when — what? when the dead shall hear the Voice of the Son of God, and they that shall hear shall live. They then that shall not hear, shall not live. What is, They that shall hear? They that shall obey. What is, They that shall hear? They that shall believe and obey, they shall live. So then before they believed and obeyed, they lay dead; they walked, and were dead. What availed it to them, that they walked, being dead? And yet if any among them were to die a bodily death, they would run, get ready the grave, wrap him up, carry him out, bury him, the dead, the dead; of whom it is said, Let the dead bury their dead. Such dead as these are in such wise raised by the Word of God, as to live in faith. They who were dead in unbelief, are aroused by the Word. Of this hour said the Lord, The hour shall come, and now is. For with His Own Word did He raise them that were dead in unbelief; of whom the Apostle says, Arise you that sleep, and rise up from the dead, and Christ shall give you light. This is the resurrection of hearts, this is the resurrection of the inner man, this is the resurrection of the soul.

8. But this is not the only resurrection, there remains a resurrection of the body also. Whoever rises again in soul, rises again in body to his blessedness. For in soul all do not rise again; in body all are to rise again. In soul, I say, all do not rise again; but they that believe and, obey; for, They that shall hear shall live. But as the Apostle says, All men have not faith. If then all men have not faith, all men do not rise again in soul. When your hour of the resurrection of the body shall come, all shall rise again; be they good or bad, all shall rise again. But whoever first rises again in soul, to his blessedness rises again in body; whoever does not first rise again in soul, rises again in body to his curse. Whoever rises again in soul, rises again in body unto life; whoever rises not again in soul, rises again in body unto punishment. Seeing then that the Lord has impressed upon us this resurrection of souls, unto which we ought all to hasten, and to labour that we may live therein, and living persevere even unto the end, it remained for Him to impress upon us the resurrection of bodies also, which is to be at the end of the world. Now hear how He has impressed this too.

9. When He had said, Verily I say unto you, The hour shall come, and now is, when the dead, that is, the unbelievers, shall hear the Voice of the Son of God, that is, the Gospel, and they that shall hear, that is, that shall obey, shall live, that is, shall be justified, and shall be unbelievers no longer; when, I say, He had said this, forasmuch as He saw that we had need to be instructed as to the resurrection of the flesh also, and were not to be left thus, He went on and said, For as the Father has life in Himself, so has He given to the Son to have life in Himself. This refers to the resurrection of souls, to the quickening of souls. Then He added, And has given Him power to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. This Son of God, is Son of Man. For if the Son of God had continued the Son of God, and had not been made the Son of Man, He would not have delivered the sons of men. He who had made man, was Himself made that which He made, that what He made might not perish. But He was in such wise made the Son of Man, as to continue the Son of God. For He was made Man by assuming that which He was not, not by losing That which He was; continuing God, He was made Man. He took you, He was not consumed in you. As such then came He to us, the Son of God, and Son of Man, the Maker and the Made, the Creator and the Created; the Creator of His mother, Created of His mother; such came He to us. In respect of His being the Son of God, He says, The hour shall come, and now is, when the dead shall hear the Voice of the Son of God. He did not say, Of the Son of Man; for He was impressing the truth, wherein He is equal to the Father. And they that shall hear shall live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so has He given to the Son to have life in Himself; not by participation, but in our God. But He, the Father, has life in Himself; and He begot such a Son as should have life in Himself; not be made a partaker of life, but Himself be Life, of which life we should be partakers; that is, should have life in Himself, and Himself be Life. But that He should be made the Son of Man, He took from us. Son of God in Himself; that He should be the Son of Man, He took from us. Son of God of That which is His Own, Son of Man of ours. That which is the less, took He from us; That which is the more, gave He to us. For thus He died in that He is the Son of Man, not in that He is the Son of God. Yet the Son of God died; but He died in respect to the flesh, not in respect to the Word which was made flesh, and dwelt among us. So then in that He died, He died of that which was ours; in that we live, we live of That which is His. He could not die of That which was His own, nor could we live of that which is our own. As God then, as the Only-Begotten, as equal with Him who begot Him, did the Lord Jesus impress this upon us, that if we hear, we shall live.

10. But, says He, He has given Him power to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. So then that Form is to come to judgment. The Form of Man is to come to judgment; therefore He said, He has given Him power to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. The Judge here shall be the Son of Man; here shall That Form judge which was judged. Hear and understand: the Prophet had said this already, They shall look on Him whom they pierced. That Very Form shall they see which they smote with a spear. He shall sit as Judge, Who stood at the judge's seat. He shall condemn the real criminals, Who was made a criminal falsely. He shall come Himself, That Form shall come. This you find in the Gospel too; when before the eyes of His disciples He was going into heaven, they stood and looked on, and the Angelic voice spoke, You men of Galilee, why stand ye, etc. This Jesus shall come in like manner as you see Him going into heaven. What is, shall come in like manner? Shall come in this Very Form. For He has given Him power to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Now see on what principle this was behooveful and right, that they who were to be judged might see the Judge. For they who were to be judged were both good and bad. But blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. It remained that in the Judgment the Form of the servant should be manifested both to good and bad, the Form of God be reserved for the good alone.

11. For what is it that the good are to receive? Behold I am now expressing that which I did not express a little above; and yet in expressing I do not express it. For I said that there we shall be in sound health, shall be safe, shall be living, shall be without scourges, without hunger and thirst, without failing, without loss of our eyes. All this I said; but what we shall have more, I said not. We shall see God. Now this will be so great, yea so great a thing will it be, that in comparison of it, all the rest is nothing. I said that we shall be living, that we shall be safe and sound, that we shall suffer no hunger and thirst, that we shall not fall into weariness, that sleep will not oppress us. All this, what is it to that happiness, whereby we shall see God? Because then God cannot be now manifested as He is, whom nevertheless we shall see; therefore, what eye has not seen, nor ear heard, this the good shall see, this shall the godly see, this the merciful shall see, this shall the faithful see, this shall they see who shall have a good lot in the resurrection of the body, for that they have had a good obedience in the resurrection of the heart.

12. Shall then the wicked man see God too? Of whom Isaiah says, Let the ungodly be taken away, that he see not the Glory of God. Both the ungodly and the godly then shall see that Form; and when the sentence, Let the ungodly be taken away that he see not the Glory of God, shall have been pronounced; it remains that as to the godly and the good, that be fulfilled which the Lord Himself promised, when He was here in the flesh, and seen not by the good only, but by the evil also. He spoke among the good and evil, and was seen of all, as God, hidden, as Man, manifested; as God ruling men, as Man appearing among men: He spoke, I say, among them, and said, Whoever loves Me, keeps My commandments; and he that loves Me, shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him. And as if it were said to Him, And what will You give him? And I will, He says, manifest Myself to him. When did He say this? When He was seen by men. When did He say this? When He was seen even by them, by whom He was not loved. How then was He to manifest Himself to them that loved Him, save in Such a Form, as they who loved Him then saw not? Therefore, seeing that the Form of God was being reserved, the Form of man manifested; by the Form of man, speaking to men, conspicuous and visible, He manifested Himself to all, both good and bad, He reserved Himself for them that loved Him.

13. When is He to manifest Himself to them that love Him? After the resurrection of the body, when the ungodly shall be taken away that he see not the Glory of God. For then when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. This is life eternal. For all that we said before is nothing to that life. That we live, what is it? That we are in health, what is it? That we shall see God, is a great thing. This is life eternal; this Himself has said, But this is life eternal, that they may know You the Only True God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. This is life eternal, that they may know, see, comprehend, acquaint themselves with what they had believed, may perceive that which they were not yet able to comprehend. Then may the mind see what eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it ascended into the heart of man; this shall be said to them at the end, Come, you blessed of My Father, receive the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the beginning of the world. Those wicked ones then shall go into everlasting burning. But the righteous, whither? Into life eternal? What is life eternal? This is life eternal, that they may know You, the Only True God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.

14. Speaking then of the future resurrection of the body, and not leaving us thus, He says, He has given Him power to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Marvel not at this, for the hour shall come. He did not add in this place, and now is; because this hour shall be hereafter, because this hour shall be at the end of the world, because this shall be the last hour, shall be at the last trump. Marvel not at this, because I have said, He has given Him power to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Marvel not. For this reason have I said this, because it behooves Him as Man to be judged by men. And what men shall He judge? Those whom He finds alive? Not only those, but what? The hour shall come, when they that are in the graves. How did He express those that are dead in the flesh? They who are in the graves, whose corpses lie buried, whose ashes are covered up, whose bones are dispersed, whose flesh is flesh no more, and yet is entire to God. The hour shall come, when all that are in the graves shall hear His Voice, and shall come forth. Be they good or bad, they shall hear the Voice, and shall come forth. All the bands of the grave shall be burst asunder; all that was lost, yea rather was thought to be lost shall be restored. For if God made man who was not, can He not re-fashion that which was?

15. I suppose when it is said, God shall raise the dead again, no incredible thing is said for it is of God, not of man, that it is said. It is a great thing which shall be done, yea, an incredible thing that shall be done. But let it not be incredible, for see, who It is That does it. He it is said shall raise you, Who created you. You were not, and you are; and once made, shall you not be? God forbid you should think so! God did something more marvellous when He made that which was not; and nevertheless He did make that which was not; and shall it be disbelieved that He is able to re-fashion that which was, by those very persons whom He made what they were not? Is this the return we make to God, we who were not, and were made? Is this the return we make Him, that we will not believe that He is able to raise again what He has made? Is this the return which His creature renders Him? Have I therefore, God says to you, made you, O man, before you were, that you should not believe Me, that you shall be what you were, who hast been able to be what you were not? But you will say, Lo, what I see in the tomb, is dust, ashes, bones; and shall this receive life again, skin, substance, flesh, and rise again? What? These ashes, these bones, which I see in the tomb? Well. At least you see ashes, you see bones in the tomb; in your mother's womb there was nothing. This you see, ashes at least there are, and bones; before that you were, there was neither ashes, nor bones; and yet you were made, when you were not at all; and do you not believe that these bones (for in whatever state, of whatever kind they are, yet they are), shall receive the form again which they had, when you have received what you had not? Believe; for if you shall believe this, then shall your soul be raised up. And your soul shall be raised up now; The hour shall come, and now is; then to your blessing shall your flesh rise again, when the hour shall come, that all that are in the graves shall hear His Voice, and shall come forth. For you must not at once rejoice, because you hear and come forth; hear what follows, They that have done good unto the resurrection of life; but they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation. Turning to the Lord, etc.

On the words of the Gospel, John 5:31 ,If I bear witness of myself, etc.; and on the words of the apostle, Galatians 5:16 , Walk by the spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts, etc.

1. We have heard the words of the holy Gospel; and this that the Lord Jesus says, If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true, may perplex some. How then is not the witness of the Truth true? Is it not Himself who has said, I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life? Whom then are we to believe, if we must not believe the Truth? For of a surety he is minded to believe nothing but falsehood, who does not choose to believe the truth. So then this was spoken on their principles, that you should understand it thus, and gather this meaning from these words; If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true, that is, as you think. For He knew well that His Own witness of Himself was true; but for the sake of the weak, and hard of belief, and without understanding, the Sun looked out for lamps. For their weakness of sight could not bear the dazzling brightness of the Sun.

2. Therefore was John sought for to bear witness to the Truth; and you have heard what He said; You came unto John; he was a burning and a shining lamp, and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. This lamp was prepared for their confusion, for of this was it said so long time before in the Psalms, I have prepared a lamp for Mine Anointed. What! A lamp for the Sun! His enemies will I clothe with confusion: but upon Himself shall my sanctification flourish. And hence they were in a certain place confounded by means of this very John, when the Jews said to the Lord, By what authority do You do these things? Tell us. To whom He answered, Do ye tell Me too, The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? They heard, and held their peace. For they thought at once with themselves. If we shall say, Of men: the people will stone us; for they hold John as a prophet. If we shall say, From heaven; He will say to us, Why then have ye not believed him? For John bore witness to Christ. So straitened in their hearts by their own questions, and taken in their own snares, they answered, We do not know. What else could the voice of darkness be? It is right indeed for a man when he does not know, to say, I know not. But when he does know, and says, I know not; he is a witness against himself. Now they knew well John's excellency, and that his baptism was from heaven; but they were unwilling to acquiesce in Him to whom John bore witness. But when they said, We do not know; Jesus answered them. Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. And they were confounded; and so was fulfilled, I have prepared a lamp for Mine Anointed, His enemies will I clothe with confusion.

3. Are not Martyrs witnesses of Christ, and do they not bear witness to the truth? But if we think more carefully, when those Martyrs bear witness, He bears witness to Himself. For He dwells in the Martyrs, that they may bear witness to the truth. Hear one of the Martyrs, even the Apostle Paul; Would ye receive a proof of Christ, who speaks in Me? When John then bears witness, Christ, who dwells in John, bears witness to Himself. Let Peter bear witness, let Paul bear witness, let the rest of the Apostles bear witness, let Stephen bear witness, it is He who dwells in them all that bears witness to Himself. For He without them is God, they without Him, what are they?

4. Of Him it is said, He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, He gave gifts unto men. What is, He led captivity captive? He conquered death. What is, He led captivity captive? The devil was the author of death, and the devil was himself by the Death of Christ led captive. He ascended up on high. What do we know higher than heaven? Visibly and before the eyes of His disciples He ascended into heaven. This we know, this we believe, this we confess. He gave gifts unto men. What gifts? The Holy Spirit. He who gives such a Gift, what is He Himself? For great is God's mercy; He gives a Gift equal to Himself; for His Gift is the Holy Spirit, and the Whole Trinity, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, is One God. What has the Holy Spirit brought us? Hear the Apostle; The love of God, says he, has been shed abroad in our hearts. Whence, you beggar, has the love of God been shed abroad in your heart? How, or wherein has the love of God been shed abroad in the heart of man? We have, says he, this treasure in earthen vessels. Why in earthen vessels? That the excellency of the power may be of God? Finally, when he had said, The love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts; that no man might think that he has this love of God of himself, he added immediately, By the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Therefore, that you may love God, let God dwell in you, and love Himself in you, that is, to His love let Him move you, enkindle, enlighten, arouse you.

5. For in this body of ours there is a struggle; as long as we live, we are in combat; as long as we are in combat, we are in peril; but, in all these things we are conquerors through Him who loved us. Our combat ye heard of just now when the Apostle was being read. All the law, says he, is fulfilled in one word, even in this, You shall love your neighbour as yourself. This love is from the Holy Spirit. You shall love your neighbour as yourself. First see, if you know yet how to love yourself; and then will I commit to you the neighbour whom you are to love as yourself. But if you do not yet know how to love yourself; I fear lest you should deceive your neighbour as yourself. For if you love iniquity, you do not love yourself. The Psalm is witness; But whoever loves iniquity, hates his own soul. Now if you hate your own soul, what does it profit you that you love your flesh? If you hate your own soul and love your flesh, your flesh shall rise again; but only that your soul may be tormented. Therefore the soul must first be loved, which is to be subdued unto God, that this service may maintain its due order, the soul to God, the flesh to the soul. Would you that your flesh should serve your soul? Let your soul serve God. You ought to be ruled, that you may be able to rule. For so perilous is this struggle, that if your Ruler forsakes you, ruin must ensue.

6. What struggle? But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you be not consumed one of another. But I say, Walk in the Spirit. I am quoting the words of the Apostle, which have been just read out of his Epistle. But I say, Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. But I say, Walk in the Spirit, and the lusts of the flesh, he did not say, You shall not have; nor did he say, You shall not do; but, You shall not fulfil. Now what this is, with the Lord's assistance, I will declare as I shall be able; give attention, that you may understand, if you are walking in the Spirit. But I say, Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. Let him follow on; if haply anything, as this which is here obscure, may be understood more easily by the sequel of his words. For I said, that it was not without a meaning that the Apostle would not say, You shall not have the lusts of the flesh; nor again would even say, You shall not do the lusts of the flesh; but said, You shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. He has set forth this struggle before us. In this battle are we occupied, if we are in God's service. What then follows? For the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. For these are contrary the one to the other, so that you do not the things that you would. This, if it be not understood, is with exceeding peril heard. And therefore anxious as I am lest men by an evil interpretation should perish, I have undertaken with the Lord's assistance to explain these words to your affection. We have leisure enough, we have begun early in the morning, the hour of dinner does not press; on this day, the sabbath that is, they that hunger after the word of God are wont especially to meet together. Hear and attend, I will speak with what carefulness I can.

7. What then is that which I said, Is heard with peril if it be not understood? Many overcome by carnal and damnable lusts, commit all sorts of crimes and impurities, and wallow in such abominable uncleanness, as it is a shame even to mention; and say to themselves these words of the Apostle. See what the Apostle has said, So that we cannot do the things that you would. I would not do them, I am forced, I am compelled, I am overcome, I do the things that I would not, as the Apostle says. The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, so that you cannot do the things that you would. You see with what peril this is heard, if it be not understood. You see how it concerns the pastor's office, to open the closed fountains, and to minister to the thirsty sheep the pure, harmless water.

8. Be not willing then to be overcome when you fight. See what kind of war, what kind of battle, what kind of strife he has set forth, within, within your own self. The flesh lusts against the Spirit. If the Spirit lust not also against the flesh, commit adultery. But if the Spirit lust against the flesh, I see a struggle, I do not see a victory, it is a contest. The flesh lusts against the Spirit. Adultery has its pleasure. I confess that it has its pleasure. But, The Spirit lusts against the flesh: Chastity too has its pleasure. Therefore let the Spirit overcome the flesh; or by all means not be overcome by the flesh. Adultery seeks the darkness, chastity desires the light. As you would wish to appear to others, so live; as you would wish to appear to men, even when beyond the eyes of men so live; for He who made you, even in the darkness sees you. Why is chastity praised publicly by all? Why do not even adulterers praise adultery? Whoever then seeks the truth, comes to the light. But adultery has its pleasure. Be it contradicted, resisted, opposed. For it is not so that you have nothing wherewith to fight. Your God is in you, the good Spirit has been given to you. And notwithstanding this flesh of ours is permitted to lust against the spirit by evil suggestions and real delights. Be that secured which the Apostle says, Let not sin reign in your mortal body. He did not say, Let it not be there. It is there already. And this is called sin, because it has befallen us through the wages of sin. For in Paradise the flesh did not lust against the spirit, nor was there this struggle there, where was peace only; but after the transgression, after that man was loth to serve God and was given up to himself; yet not so given up to himself as that he could so much as possess himself; but possessed by him, by whom deceived; the flesh began to lust against the Spirit. Now it is in the good that it lusts against the Spirit; for in the bad it has nothing to lust against. For there does it lust against the Spirit, where the Spirit is.

9. For when he says, The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; do not suppose that so much has been attributed to the spirit of man. It is the Spirit of God who fights in you against yourself, against that which in you is against you. For you would not stand to Godward; you fell, wast broken; as a vessel when it falls from a man's hand to the ground, were you broken. And because you were broken, therefore are you turned against yourself; therefore are you contrary to your own self. Let there be nought in you contrary to yourself, and you shall stand in your integrity. For that you may know that this office appertains to the Holy Spirit; the Apostle says in another place, For if you live after the flesh, you shall die; but if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live. From these words man was at once uplifting himself, as though by his own spirit he were able to mortify the deeds of the flesh. If you live after the flesh, you shall die; but if through the Spirit ye do mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live. Explain to us, Apostle, through what spirit? For man also has a spirit appertaining to his proper nature, whereby he is man. For man consists of body and spirit. And of this spirit of man it is said, No man knows the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him. I see then that man himself has his own spirit appertaining to his proper nature, and I hear you saying, But if through the Spirit ye do mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live. I ask, through what spirit; my own, or God's? For I hear your words, and am still perplexed by this ambiguity. For when the word spirit is used, it is used sometimes of the spirit of a man, and of cattle, as it is written, that all flesh which had in itself the spirit of life, died by the flood. And so the word spirit is spoken of cattle, and spoken of man too. Sometimes even the wind is called spirit; as it is in the Psalm, Fire, hail, snow, frost, the spirit of the tempest. For as much then as the word spirit is used in many ways, by what spirit, O Apostle, have you said that the deeds of the flesh are to be mortified; by my own, or by the Spirit of God? Hear what follows, and understand. The difficulty is removed by the following words. For when he had said, But if through the Spirit ye mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live; he added immediately, For as many as are acted upon by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Thou dost act, if you are acted upon, and actest well, if you are acted upon by the Good. So then when he said to you, If through the Spirit ye mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live; and it was doubtful with you of what spirit he had spoken, in the words following understand the Master, acknowledge the Redeemer. For That Redeemer has given you the Spirit Whereby you may mortify the deeds of the flesh. For as many as are acted upon by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. They are not the sons of God if they are not acted upon by the Spirit of God. But if they are acted upon by the Spirit of God, they fight; because they have a mighty Helper. For God does not look on at our combattings as the people do at the gladiators. The people may favour the gladiator, help him they cannot when he is in peril.

10. So then here to; The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. And what means, So that you cannot do the things that you would? For here is the peril with one who understands it amiss. Be it now my office to explain it, howsoever incompetent. So that you cannot do the things that you would. Attend, you holy ones, whosoever you are that are fighting. To them that are battling do I speak. They who are fighting, understand; he that is not fighting, understands me not. Yea, he that is fighting, I will not say understands me, but anticipates me. What is the chaste man's wish? That no lust should rise up in his members at all opposed to chastity. He wishes for peace, but as yet he has it not. For when we shall have come to that state, where there shall rise up no lust at all to be opposed, there will be no enemy for us to struggle with; nor is victory a matter for expectation there, for that there is triumphing over the now vanquished foe. Hear of this victory, in the Apostle's own words; This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. Now when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality; then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. Hear the voices of them that triumph; O death, where is your contention? O death, where is your sting? You have smitten, you have wounded, you have thrown down; but He has been wounded for me who made me. O death, death, He who made me has been wounded for me, and by His Death has overcome you. And then in triumph shall they say, O death, where is your contention? O death, where is your sting?

11. But now, when the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, is the contention of death; we do not what we would. Why? Because we would that there should be no lusts, but we cannot hinder it. Whether we will or not, we have them; whether we will or not, they solicit, they allure, they sting, they disturb us, they will be rising. They are repressed, not yet extinguished. How long does the flesh lust against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh? Will it be so, even when the man is dead? God forbid! You put off the flesh, how then shall you draw the lusts of the flesh along with you? Nay, if you have fought well, you shall be received into rest. And from this rest, you pass to be crowned, not condemned; that you may after it be brought to the Kingdom. As long then as we live here, my brethren, so it is; so is it with us even who have grown old in this warfare, less mighty enemies it is true we have, but yet we have them. Our enemies are in a measure wearied out even now by age; but nevertheless, wearied though they be, they do not cease to harass by such excitements as they can the quiet of old age. Sharper is the fight of the young; we know it well, we have passed through it: The flesh then lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; so that you cannot do the things that you would. For what would ye, O holy men, and good warriors, and brave soldiers of Christ? What would ye? That there should be no evil lusts at all. But ye cannot help it. Sustain the war, hope for triumph. For now in the meanwhile ye must fight. The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; so that you cannot do the things that you would; that is, that there should be no lusts of the flesh at all.

12. But do what you are able; what the Apostle himself says in another place, which I had already begun to repeat; Let not sin reign in your mortal body, to obey the desires thereof. Lo, what I would not; evil desires arise; but obey them not. Arm yourself, assume the weapons of war. The precepts of God are your arms. If you listen to me as you should, you are armed even by that which I am speaking. 'Let not sin,' he says, 'reign in your mortal body.' For as long as you bear a mortal body, sin does fight against you; but let it not reign. What is, Let it not reign? That is, to obey the desires thereof. If you begin to obey, it reigns. And what is it to obey, but to yield your members as instruments of iniquity unto sin? Nothing more excellent than this teacher. What would you that I should yet explain to you? Do what you have heard. Yield not your members instruments of iniquity unto sin. God has given you power by His Spirit to restrain your members. Lust rises up, restrain your members; what can it do now that it has risen? Restrain your members; yield not your members instruments of iniquity unto sin; arm not your adversary against yourself. Restrain your feet, that they go not after unlawful things. Lust has risen up, restrain your members; restrain your hands from all wickedness; restrain the eyes, that they wander not astray; restrain the ears, that they hear not the words of lust with pleasure; restrain the whole body, restrain the sides, restrain its highest and lowest parts. What can lust do? How to rise up, it knows. How to conquer, it knows not. By rising up constantly without effect, it learns not even to rise.

13. Let us then return to the words, which I had set forth out of the Apostle as obscure, and we shall now see them to be plain. For this I had set forth, that the Apostle did not say, Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not have the lusts of the flesh; because we must necessarily have them. Why then did he not say, You shall not do the lusts of the flesh? Because we do them; for we do lust. The very lusting, is doing. But the Apostle says, Now it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me. What then have you to beware of? This doubtless, that you fulfil them not. A damnable lust has risen up, it has risen, made its suggestion; let it not be heard. It burns, and is not quieted, and you would that it should not burn. Where then is, So that you cannot do the things that you would? Do not give it your members. Let it burn without effect, and it will spend itself. In you then these lusts are done. It must be confessed, they are done. And therefore he said, You shall not fulfil. Let them not then be fulfilled. You have determined to do, you have fulfilled. For you have fulfilled it, if you determine upon committing adultery, and dost not commit it, because no place has been found, because no opportunity is given, because, it may be, she for whom you seem to be disturbed is chaste; lo, now she is chaste, and you are an adulterer. Why? Because you have fulfilled lusts. What is, have fulfilled? have determined in your mind upon committing adultery. If now, which God forbid, your members too have wrought, you have fallen down headlong into death.

14. Christ raised up the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue who was dead in the house. She was in the house, she had not yet been carried out. So is the man who has determined on some wickedness in his heart; he is dead, but he lies within. But if he has come as far as to the action of the members, he has been carried out of the house. But the Lord raised also the young man, the widow's son, when he was being carried out dead beyond the gate of the city. So then I venture to say, You have determined in your heart, if you call yourself back from your deed, you will be cured before you put it into action. For if you repent in your heart, that you have determined on some bad and wicked and abominable and damnable thing; there where you were lying dead, within, so within have you arisen. But if you have fulfilled, now have you been carried out; but you have One to say to you, Young man, I say unto you, Arise. Even though you have perpetrated it, repent you, return at once, come not to the sepulchre. But even here I find a third one dead, who was brought even to the sepulchre. He has now upon him the weight of habit, a mass of earth presses him down exceedingly. For he has been practised much in unclean deeds, and is weighed down exceedingly by his immoderate habit. Here too Christ cries, Lazarus, come forth. For a man of very evil habit now stinks. With good reason did Christ in that case cry out; and not cry out only, but with a loud Voice cried out. For at Christ's Cry even such as these, dead though they be, buried though they be, stinking though they be, yet even these shall rise again, they shall rise again. For of none that lies dead need we despair under such a Raiser up. Turn we to the Lord, etc.

On the words of the Gospel, John 5:39 , You search the Scriptures, because ye think that in them you have eternal life, etc. Against the Donatists.

1. Give heed, Beloved, to the lesson of the Gospel which has just sounded in our ears, while I speak a few words as God shall vouchsafe to me. The Lord Jesus was speaking to the Jews, and said to them, Search the Scriptures, in which you think you have eternal life, they testify of me. Then a little after He said, I have come in My Father's Name, and you have not received Me; if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive. Then a little after; How can you believe, who look for glory one from another, and seek not the glory which is of God only? At last He says, I do not accuse you to the Father; there is one that accuses you, Moses, in whom you trust. For had ye believed Moses, you would haply believe Me also, for he wrote of Me. But seeing ye believe not his words, how can you believe Me? At these sayings which have been set before us from divine inspiration, out of the reader's mouth, but by the Saviour's ministry, give ear to a few words, not to be estimated by their number, but to be duly weighed.

2. For all these things it is easy to understand as touching the Jews. But we must beware, lest, when we give too much attention to them, we withdraw our eyes from ourselves. For the Lord was speaking to His disciples; and assuredly what He spoke to them, He spoke to us too their posterity. Nor to them only does what He said, Lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world, apply, but even to all Christians that should be after them, and succeed them even unto the end of the world. Speaking then to them He said, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. They at that time thought that the Lord had said this, because they had brought no bread; they did not understand that Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees meant, beware of the doctrine of the Pharisees. What was the doctrine of the Pharisees, but that which you have now heard? Seeking glory one of another, looking for glory one from another, and not seeking the glory which is of God only. Of these the Apostle Paul thus speaks; I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. They have, he says, a zeal of God; I know it, I am sure of it; I was once among them, I was such as they. They have, he says, a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. What is this, O Apostle, not according to knowledge? Explain to us what the knowledge is you set forth, which you grieve is not in them, and would should be in us? He went on and subjoined and developed what he had set forth closed. What is, They have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge? For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and wishing to establish their own, have not submitted themselves into the righteousness of God. To be ignorant then of God's righteousness, and to wish to establish one's own, this is to look for glory one from another, and not to seek the glory which is of God only. This is the leaven of the Pharisees. Of this the Lord bids beware. If it is servants that He bids, and the Lord that bids, let us beware; lest we hear, Why say ye to Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

3. Let us then leave a while the Jews to whom the Lord was then speaking. They are without, they will not listen to us, they hate the Gospel itself, they procured false witness against the Lord, that they might condemn Him when alive; other witness they bought with money against Him when dead. When we say to them, Believe in Jesus, they answer us, Are we to believe in a dead man? But when we add, But He rose again; they answer, Not at all; His disciples stole Him away from the sepulchre. The Jewish buyers love falsehood and despise the truth of the Lord, the Redeemer. What you are saying, O Jew, your parents bought for money; and this which they bought has continued in you. Give heed rather to Him That bought you, not to him who bought a lie for you.

4. But as I have said, let us leave these, and attend rather to these our brethren, with whom we have to do. For Christ is the Head of the Body. The Head is in Heaven, the Body is on earth; the Head is the Lord, the Body His Church. But ye remember it is said, They shall be two in one flesh. This is a great mystery, says the Apostle, but I speak in Christ and in the Church. If then they are two in one flesh, they are two in one voice. Our Head the Lord Christ spoke to the Jews these things which we heard, when the Gospel was being read, The Head to His enemies; let the Body too, that is, the Church, speak to its enemies. You know to whom it should speak. What has it to say? It is not of myself that I have said, that the voice is one; because the flesh is one, the voice is one. Let us then say this to them; I am speaking with the voice of the Church. O Brethren, dispersed children, wandering sheep, branches cut off, why do ye calumniate me? Why do ye not acknowledge me? Search the Scriptures, in which you think you have eternal life, they testify of me; to the Jews our Head says, what the Body says to you; You shall seek me, and shall not find me. Why? Because ye do not search the Scriptures, which testify of me.

5. A testimony for the Head; To Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He says not, And to seeds, as of many, but as of one, And to your seed, which is Christ. A testimony for the body unto Abraham, which the Apostle has brought forward. To Abraham were the promises made. As I live, says the Lord, I swear by Myself, because you have obeyed My Voice, and hast not spared your own beloved son for Me, that in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand of the sea, and in your seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed. You have here a testimony for the Head, and one for the Body. Hear another, short, and almost in one sentence including a testimony for the Head and for the Body. The Psalm was speaking of the Resurrection of Christ; Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens. And immediately for the Body; And Your glory above all the earth. Hear a testimony for the Head; They dug My Hands and My Feet, they numbered all My Bones; and they looked and stared upon Me; they divided My garments among them, and cast lots upon My vesture. Hear immediately a testimony for the Body, a few words after, All the ends of the world shall remember themselves and be turned unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship in His sight; for the kingdom is the Lord's, and He shall have dominion over the nations. Hear for the Head; And He is as a bridegroom coming forth out of His bride-chamber. And in this same Psalm hear for the Body; Their sound went out into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.

6. These passages are for the Jews, and for these of our own brethren. Why so? Because these Scriptures of the Old Testament both the Jews receive, and these our brethren receive. But Christ Himself, whom the others do not receive, let us see if these last receive. Let Him speak Himself, speak both for Himself who is the Head, and for His Body which is the Church; for so in us the head speaks for the body. Hear for the Head; He was risen from the dead, He found the disciples hesitating, doubting, not believing for joy; He opened their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures, and said to them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead the third day. Thus for the Head; let Him speak for the Body too; And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name throughout all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Let the Church then speak to her enemies, let her speak. She does speak clearly, she is not silent: only let them give ear. Brethren, you have heard the testimonies, now acknowledge me. Search the Scriptures, in which you hope you have eternal life: they testify of me. What I have said is not of my own, but of my Lord's; and notwithstanding, you still turn away, still turn your backs. How can you believe me, who look for glory one from another, and seek not the glory which is of God only? For being ignorant of God's righteousness, you have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For being ignorant of God's righteousness, and wishing to establish your own, you have not submitted yourselves to the righteousness of God. What else is it to be ignorant of God's righteousness, and to wish to establish your own, but to say, It is I who sanctify, it is I who justify; what I may have given is holy? Leave to God what is God's; recognise, O man, what is man's. You are ignorant of God's righteousness, and wishest to establish your own. You wish to justify me; it is enough for you that you be justified with me.

7. It is said of Antichrist, and all understand of him what the Lord said, I have come in My Father's Name, and you have not received Me; if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive. But let us hear John too; You have heard that Antichrist comes, and even now are there many Antichrists. What is it in Antichrist that we are in horror of, but that he is to honour his own name, and to despise the Name of the Lord? What else does he that says, It is I that justify? We answer him, I came to Christ, not with my feet, but with my heart I came; where I heard the Gospel, there did I believe, there was I baptized; because I believed on Christ, I believed on God. Yet says he, You are not clean. Why? Because I was not there. Tell me why am not I cleansed, a man who was baptized in Jerusalem, who was baptized, for instance, among the Ephesians, to whom an Epistle you read was written, and whose peace you despise? Lo, to the Ephesians the Apostle wrote; a Church was founded, and remains even to this day; yea, remains in greater fruitfulness, remains in greater numbers, holds fast that which it received of the Apostle, 'If any man preach ought to you than that you have received, let him be accursed.' What now? What do you say to me? Am I not clean? There was I baptized, am I not clean? No, even you are not. Why? Because I was not there. But He who is everywhere was there. He who is everywhere was there, in whose Name I believed. Thou coming I know not whence, yea, rather not coming, but wishing that I should come to you, fixed in this place, sayest to me, 'You were not baptized duly, seeing I was not there.' Consider who was there. What was said to John? 'Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending like a dove, this is He which baptizes.' Him have you seeking for you; nay, for that you have grudged me who was baptized by Him, you have lost Him rather.

8. Understand then, my Brethren, our language and theirs, and look which you would choose. This is what we say; Be we holy, God knows it; be we unrighteous, this again He knows better; place not your hope in us, whatsoever we be. If we be good, do as is written, 'Be imitators of me, as I also am of Christ.' But if we be bad, not even thus are you abandoned, not even thus have ye remained without counsel: give ear to Him, saying, 'Do what they say; but do not what they do.' Whereas they on the contrary say, If we were not good, you were lost. Lo, here is another that shall come in his own name. Shall my life then depend on you, and my salvation be tied up in you? Have I so forgotten my foundation? Was not Christ the Rock? Is it not that he that builds upon the rock, neither the wind nor the floods overthrow him? Come then, if you will, with me upon the Rock, and do not wish to be to me for the rock.

9. Let the Church then say those last words also, If you had believed Moses, you would believe me also; for he wrote of me; for that I am His body of whom he wrote. And of the Church did Moses write. For I have quoted the words of Moses In your seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed. Moses wrote this in the first book. If you believed Moses, you would also believe Christ. Because ye despise Moses' words, it must needs be that you despise the words of Christ. They have there, says He, Moses and the Prophets, let them hear them. Nay, father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, him they will hear. And He said, If they hear not Moses and the Prophets, neither will they believe, if one rise again from the dead. This was said of the Jews: was it therefore not said of heretics? He had risen from the dead, who said, It behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead the third day. This I believe. I believe it, he says. Do you believe? Wherefore do you not believe what follows? In that you believe, It behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead the third day; this was spoken of the Head; believe also that which follows concerning the Church, That repentance and remission of sins should be preached throughout all nations. Wherefore do you believe as touching the Head, and believest not as touching the Body? What has the Church done to you, that you would so to say behead her? You would take away the Church's Head, and believe the Head, leave the Body as it were a lifeless trunk. It is all to no purpose that you caress the Head, like any devoted servant. He that would take off the head, does his best to kill both the head and the body. They are ashamed to deny Christ, yet are they not ashamed to deny Christ's words. Christ neither we nor you have seen with our eyes. The Jews saw, and slew Him. We have not seen Him, and believe; His words are with us. Compare yourselves with the Jews: they despised Him hanging upon the Tree, you despise Him sitting in heaven; at their suggestion Christ's title was set up, by your setting yourselves up, Christ's Baptism is effaced. But what remains, Brethren, but that we pray even for the proud, that we pray even for the puffed up, who so extol themselves? Let us say to God on their behalf, Let them know that the Lord is Your Name; and not that men, but Thou Only art the Most High over all the earth. Let us turn to the Lord, etc.

On the words of the Gospel, John 6:9 , where the miracle of the five loaves and the two fishes is related.

1. It was a great miracle that was wrought, dearly beloved, for five thousand men to be filled with five loaves and two fishes, and the remnants of the fragments to fill twelve baskets. A great miracle: but we shall not wonder much at what was done, if we give heed to Him That did it. He multiplied the five loaves in the hands of them that broke them, who multiplies the seeds that grow in the earth, so as that a few grains are sown, and whole barns are filled. But, because he does this every year, no one marvels. Not the inconsiderableness of what is done, but its constancy takes away admiration of it. But when the Lord did these things, He spoke to them that had understanding, not by words only, but even by the miracles themselves. The five loaves signified the five books of Moses' Law. The old Law is barley compared to the Gospel wheat. In those books are great mysteries concerning Christ contained. Whence He says Himself, If you had believed Moses, you would believe Me also; for he wrote of Me. But as in barley the marrow is hid under the chaff, so in the veil of the mysteries of the Law is Christ hidden. As those mysteries of the Law are developed and unfolded; so too those loaves increased when they were broken. And in this that I have explained to you, I have broken bread unto you. The five thousand men signify the people ordered under the five books of the Law. The twelve baskets are the twelve Apostles, who themselves too were filled with the fragments of the Law. The two fishes are either the two precepts of the love of God and our neighbour, or the two people of the circumcision and uncircumcision, or those two sacred personages of the king and the priest. As these things are explained, they are broken; when they are understood, they are eaten.

2. Let us turn to Him who did these things. He is Himself The Bread which came down from heaven; but Bread which refreshes the failing, and does not fail; Bread which can be tasted, cannot be wasted. This Bread did the manna also figure. Wherefore it is said, He gave them the Bread of heaven, man ate Angels' Bread. Who is the Bread of heaven, but Christ? But in order that man might eat Angels' Bread, the Lord of Angels was made Man. For if He had not been made Man, we should not have His Flesh; if we had not His Flesh, we should not eat the Bread of the Altar. Let us hasten to the inheritance, seeing we have hereby received a great earnest of it. My brethren, let us long for the life of Christ, seeing we hold as an earnest the Death of Christ. How shall He not give us His good things, who has suffered our evil things? In this our earth, in this evil world, what abounds, but to be born, to labour, and to die? Examine thoroughly man's estate, convict me if I lie: consider all men whether they are in this world for any other end than to be born, to labour, and to die? This is the merchandize of our country: these things here abound. To such merchandize did that Merchantman descend. And forasmuch as every merchant gives and receives; gives what he has, and receives what he has not; when he procures anything, he gives money, and receives what he buys: so Christ too in this His traffic gave and received. But what received He? That which abounds here, to be born, to labour, and to die. And what did He give? To be born again, to rise again, and to reign forever. O Good Merchant, buy us. Why should I say buy us, when we ought to give You thanks that You have bought us? Thou dost deal out our Price to us, we drink Your Blood; so do you deal out to us our Price. And we read the Gospel, our title deed. We are Your servants, we are Your creatures: You have made us, You have redeemed us. Any one can buy his servant, create him he cannot; but the Lord has both created and redeemed His servants; created them, that they might be; redeemed them, that they might not be captives ever. For we fell into the hands of the prince of this world, who seduced Adam, and made him his servant, and began to possess us as his slaves. But the Redeemer came, and the seducer was overcome. And what did our Redeemer to him who held us captive? For our ransom he held out His Cross as a trap; he placed in It as a bait His Blood. He indeed had power to shed His Blood, he did not attain to drink it. And in that he shed the Blood of Him who was no debtor, he was commanded to render up the debtors; he shed the Blood of the Innocent, he was commanded to withdraw from the guilty. He verily shed His Blood to this end, that He might wipe out our sins. That then whereby he held us fast was effaced by the Redeemer's Blood. For he only held us fast by the bonds of our own sins. They were the captive's chains. He came, He bound the strong one with the bonds of His Passion; He entered into his house into the hearts, that is, of those where he did dwell, and took away his vessels. We are his vessels. He had filled them with his own bitterness. This bitterness too he pledged to our Redeemer in the gall. He had filled us then as his vessels; but our Lord spoiling his vessels, and making them His Own, poured out the bitterness, filled them with sweetness.

3. Let us then love Him, for He is sweet. Taste and see that the Lord is sweet. He is to be feared, but to be loved still more. He is Man and God; the One Christ is Man and God; as one man is soul and body: but God and Man are not two Persons. In Christ indeed there are two substances, God and Man; but one Person, that the Trinity may remain, and that there be not a quaternity introduced by the addition of the human nature. How then can it be that God should not have mercy upon us, for whose sake God was made Man? Much is that which He has done already; more wonderful is that which He has done, than what He has promised; and by that which He has done, ought we to believe what He has promised. For that which He has done, we should scarcely believe, unless we also saw it. Where do we see it? In the peoples that believe, in the multitude that has been brought unto Him. For that has been fulfilled which was promised to Abraham; and from these things which we see, we believe what we do not see. Abraham was one single man, and to him was it said, In your seed shall all nations be blessed. If he had looked to himself, when would he have believed? He was one single man, and was now old; and he had a barren wife, and one who was so far advanced in age, that she could not conceive, even though she had not been barren. There was nothing at all from which any hope could be drawn. But he looked to Him That gave the promise, and believed what he did not see. Lo, what he believed, we see. Therefore from these things which we see, we ought to believe what we see not. He begot Isaac, we saw it not; and Isaac begot Jacob, and this we did not see; and Jacob begot twelve sons, and them we saw not; and his twelve sons begot the people of Israel; this great people we see. I have now begun to mention those things which we do see. Of the people of Israel was born the Virgin Mary, and she gave birth to Christ; and, lo, in Christ all nations are blessed. What more true? More certain? More plain? Together with me, long after the world to come, you who have been gathered together out of the nations. In this world has God fulfilled His promise concerning the seed of Abraham. How shall He not give us His eternal promises, whom He has made to be Abraham's seed? For this the Apostle says: But if you be Christ's (they are the Apostle's words), then are you Abraham's seed.

4. We have begun to be some great thing; let no man despise himself: we were once nothing; but we are something. We have said to the Lord, Remember that we are dust; but out of the dust He made man, and to dust He gave life, and in Christ our Lord has He already brought this same dust to the Kingdom of Heaven. For from this dust took He flesh, from this took earth, and has raised earth to heaven, He who made heaven and earth. If then these two new things, not yet done, were set before us, and it were asked of us, Which is the most wonderful, that He who is God should be made Man, or he who is man should be made a man of God? Which is the more wonderful? Which the more difficult? What has Christ promised us? That which as yet we see not; that is, that we should be His men, and reign with Him, and never die? This is so to say with difficulty believed, that a man once born should arrive at that life, where he shall never die. This is what we believe with a heart well cleansed, cleansed, I mean, of the world's dust; that this dust close not up our eye of faith. This it is that we are bid believe, that after we have been dead, we shall be even with our dead bodies in life, where we shall never die. Wonderful it is; but more wonderful is that which Christ has done. For which is the more incredible, that man should live for ever, or that God should ever die? That men should receive life from God is the more credible; that God should receive death from men I suppose is the more incredible. Yet this has been brought to pass already: let us then believe that which is to be. If that which is the more incredible has been brought to pass, shall He not give us that which is the more credible? For God has power to make of men Angels, who has made of earthy and filthy spawn, men. What shall we be? Angels. What have we been? I am ashamed to call it to mind; I am forced to consider it, yet I blush to tell it. What have we been? Whence did God make men? What were we before we were at all? We were nothing. When we were in our mother's wombs, what were we? It is enough that you remember. Withdraw your minds from the whence you were made, and think of what you are. You live; but so do herbs and trees live. You have sensation, and so have cattle sensation. You are men, you have got beyond the cattle, you are superior to the cattle; for that you understand how great things He has done for you. You have life, you have sensation, you have understanding, you are men. Now to this benefit what can be compared? You are Christians. For if we had not received this, what would it profit us, that we were men! So then we are Christians, we belong to Christ. For all the world's rage, it does not break us; because we belong to Christ. For all the world's caresses, it does not seduce us; we belong to Christ.

5. A great Patron have we found, Brethren. You know that men depend much upon their patrons. A dependent of a man in power will make answer to any one who threatens him. You can do nothing to me, as long as my lord's head is safe. How much more boldly and surely may we say, You can do nothing to us, while our Head is safe. Forasmuch as our Patron is our Head. Whosoever depend upon any man as patron, are his dependents; we are the members of our Patron. Let Him bear us in Himself, and let no man tear us away from Him. Since whatever labours we shall have endured in this world, all that passes away, is nothing. The good things shall come which shall not pass away; by labours we arrive at them. But when we have arrived, no one tears us away from them. The gates of Jerusalem are shut; they receive the bolts too, that to that city it may be said, Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem, praise your God, O Sion. For He has strengthened the bolts of your gates; He has blessed your children within you. Who has made your borders peace. When the gates are shut, and the bolts drawn, no friend goes out, no enemy enters in. There shall we have true and assured security, if here we shall not have abandoned the truth.

On the words of the Gospel, John 6:53 , Unless you eat the flesh, etc., and on the words of the apostles. And the Psalms. Against the Pelagians.

Delivered at the Table of the Martyr St. Cyprian, the 9th of the Calends of October —23 Sept., on the Lord's day.

1. We have heard the True Master, the Divine Redeemer, the human Saviour, commending to us our Ransom, His Blood. For He spoke to us of His Body and Blood; He called His Body Meat, His Blood Drink. The faithful recognise the Sacrament of the faithful. But the hearers what else do they but hear? When therefore commending such Meat and such Drink He said, Unless you shall eat My Flesh and drink My Blood, you shall have no life in you; (and this that He said concerning life, who else said it but the Life Itself? But that man shall have death, not life, who shall think that the Life is false), His disciples were offended, not all of them indeed, but very many, saying within themselves, This is an hard saying, who can hear it? But when the Lord knew this in Himself, and heard the murmurings of their thought, He answered them, thinking though uttering nothing, that they might understand that they were heard, and might cease to entertain such thoughts. What then did He answer? Does this offend you? What then if you shall see the Son of Man ascend up where He was before? What means this? Does this offend you? Do ye imagine that I am about to make divisions of this My Body which you see; and to cut up My Members, and give them to you? 'What then if you shall see the Son of Man ascend up where He was before?' Assuredly, He who could ascend Whole could not be consumed. So then He both gave us of His Body and Blood a healthful refreshment, and briefly solved so great a question as to His Own Entireness. Let them then who eat, eat on, and them that drink, drink; let them hunger and thirst; eat Life, drink Life. That eating, is to be refreshed; but you are in such wise refreshed, as that that whereby you are refreshed, fails not. That drinking, what is it but to live? Eat Life, drink Life; you shall have life, and the Life is Entire. But then this shall be, that is, the Body and the Blood of Christ shall be each man's Life; if what is taken in the Sacrament visibly is in the truth itself eaten spiritually, drunk spiritually. For we have heard the Lord Himself saying, It is the Spirit That quickens, but the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken unto you, are Spirit and Life. But there are some of you, says He, that believe not. Such were they who said, This is a hard saying, who can hear it? It is hard, but only to the hard; that is, it is incredible, but only to the incredulous.

2. But in order to teach us that this very believing is matter of gift, not of desert, He says, As I have said to you, no man comes unto Me, except it were given him of My Father. Now as to where the Lord said this, if we call to mind the foregoing words of the Gospel, we shall find that He had said, No man comes unto Me, except the Father which has sent Me draw him. He did not lead, but draw. This violence is done to the heart, not the body. Why then do you marvel? Believe, and you come; love, and you are drawn. Do not suppose here any rough and uneasy violence; it is gentle, it is sweet; it is the very sweetness that draws you. Is not a sheep drawn, when fresh grass is shown to it in its hunger? Yet I imagine that it is not bodily driven on, but fast bound by desire. In such wise do you come too to Christ; do not conceive of long journeyings; where you believe, there you come. For unto Him, who is everywhere we come by love, not by sailing. But forasmuch as even in this kind of voyage, waves and tempests of various temptations abound; believe in the Crucified; that your faith may be able to ascend the Wood. You shall not sink, but shall be borne upon the Wood. Thus, even thus, amid the waves of this world did he sail, who said, But God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

3. But wonderful it is, that when Christ Crucified is preached, two hear, one despises, the other ascends. Let him that despises, impute it to himself; let not him that ascends, arrogate it to himself. For he has heard from the True Master; No man comes unto Me, except it were given unto him of My Father. Let him joy, that it has been given; let him render thanks to Him who gives it, with a humble, not an arrogant heart; lest what he has attained through humility, he lose through pride. For even they who are already walking in this way of righteousness, if they attribute it to themselves, and to their own strength, perish out of it. And therefore Holy Scripture teaching us humility says by the Apostle, Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. And lest hereupon they should attribute ought to themselves, because he said, Work, he subjoined immediately, For it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. It is God who works in you; therefore with fear and trembling, make a valley, receive the rain. Low grounds are filled, high grounds are dried up. Grace is rain. Why do you marvel then, if God resist the proud, and gives grace unto the lowly? Therefore, with fear and trembling; that is, with humility. Be not high-minded, but fear. Fear that you may be filled; be not high-minded, lest you be dried up.

4. But you will say, I am walking in this way already; once there was need for me to learn, there was need for me to know by the teaching of the law what I had to do: now I have the free choice of the will; who shall withdraw me from this way? If you read carefully, you will find that a certain man began to uplift himself, on a certain abundance of his, which he had nevertheless received; but that the Lord in mercy, to teach him humility, took away what He had given; and he was on a sudden reduced to poverty, and confessing the mercy of God in his recollection, he said, In my abundance I said, I shall never be moved. In my abundance I said. But I said it, I who am a man said it; All men are liars, I said. Therefore, in my abundance I said; so great was the abundance, that I dared to say, I shall never be moved. What next? O Lord, in Your favour You gave strength to my beauty. But You turned away Your Face from me, and I was troubled. You have shown me, says he, that that wherein I did abound, was of You. You have shown me Whence I should seek, to Whom attribute what I had received, to Whom I ought to render thanks, to Whom I should run in my thirst, Whereby be filled, and with Whom keep that whereby I should be filled. 'For my strength will I keep to You;' whereby I am by Your bounty filled, through Your safe keeping I will not lose. 'My strength will I keep to You.' That You might show me this, 'You turned away Your Face from me, and I was troubled.' 'Troubled,' because dried up; dried up, because exalted. Say then you dry and parched one, that you may be filled again; 'My soul is as earth without water unto You.' Say, 'My soul is as earth without water unto You.' For You have said, not the Lord, 'I shall never be moved.' You have said it, presuming on your own strength; but it was not of yourself, and you thought as if it were.

5. What then does the Lord say? Serve ye the Lord in fear, and rejoice unto Him with trembling. So the Apostle too, Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you. Therefore rejoice with trembling: Lest at any time the Lord be angry. I see that you anticipate me by your crying out. For you know what I am about to say, you anticipate it by crying out. And whence have ye this, but that He taught you to whom you have by believing come? This then He says; hear what ye know already; I am not teaching, but in preaching am calling to your remembrance; nay, I am neither teaching, seeing that you know already, nor calling to remembrance, seeing that you remember, but let us say all together what together with us ye retain. Embrace discipline, and rejoice, but, with trembling, that, humble ye may ever hold fast that which you have received. Lest at any time the Lord be angry; with the proud of course, attributing to themselves what they have, not rendering thanks to Him, from whom they have. Lest at any time the Lord be angry, and you perish from the righteous way. Did he say, Lest at any time the Lord be angry, and you come not into the righteous way? Did he say, Lest the Lord be angry, and He bring you not to the righteous way? Or admit you not into the righteous way? You are walking in it already, be not proud, lest ye even perish from it. 'And ye perish,' says he, 'from the righteous way.' When His wrath shall be kindled in a short time against you. At no distant time. As soon as you are proud, you lose at once what you had received. As though man terrified by all this were to say, What shall I do then? It follows, Blessed are all they that trust in Him: not in themselves, but in Him. By grace are we saved, not of ourselves, but it is the gift of God.

6. Peradventure you are saying, What does he mean, that he is so often saying this? A second and a third time he says it; and scarcely ever speaks, but when he says it. Would that I may not say it in vain! For men there are unthankful to grace, attributing much to poor and disabled nature. True it is, when man was created he received great power of free-will; but he lost it by sin. He fell into death, became infirm, was left in the way by the robbers half dead; the Samaritan, which is by interpretation keeper, passing by lifted him up on his own beast; he is still being brought to the inn. Why is he lifted up? He is still in process of curing. But, he will say, it is enough for me that in baptism I received remission of all sins. Because iniquity was blotted out, was therefore infirmity brought to an end? I received, says he, remission of all sins. It is quite true. All sins were blotted out in the Sacrament of Baptism, all entirely, of words, deeds, thoughts, all were blotted out. But this is the oil and wine which was poured in by the way. You remember, beloved Brethren, that man who was wounded by the robbers, and half dead by the way, how he was strengthened, by receiving oil and wine for his wounds. His error indeed was already pardoned, and yet his weakness is in process of healing in the inn. The inn, if you recognise it, is the Church. In the time present, an inn, because in life we are passing by: it will be a home, whence we shall never remove, when we shall have got in perfect health unto the kingdom of heaven. Meanwhile receive we gladly our treatment in the inn, and weak as we still are, glory we not of sound health: lest through our pride we gain nothing else, but never for all our treatment to be cured.

7. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Say, yea say to your soul, You are still in this life, still bearest about a frail flesh, still does the corruptible body press down the soul; still after the entireness of remission have you received the remedy of prayer; for still, while your weaknesses are being healed, do you say, Forgive us our debts. Say then to your soul, you lowly valley, not an exalted hill; say to your soul, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits. What benefits? Tell them, enumerate them, render thanks. What benefits? Who forgives all your iniquities. This took place in baptism. What takes place now? Who heals all your weaknesses. This takes place now; I acknowledge. But as long as I am here, the corruptible body presses down the soul. Say then also that which comes next, Who redeems your life from corruption. After redemption from corruption, what remains? When this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your contention? There rightly, O death, where is your sting? You seek its place, and findest it not. What is the sting of death? What is, O death, where is your sting? Where is sin? You seek, and it is nowhere. For the sting of death is sin. They are the Apostle's words, not mine. Then shall it be said, O death, where is your sting? Sin shall nowhere be, neither to surprise you, nor to assault you, nor to inflame your conscience. Then it shall not be said, Forgive us our debts. But what shall be said? O Lord our God, give us peace: for You have rendered all things unto us.

8. Finally, after the redemption from all corruption, what remains but the crown of righteousness? This at least remains, but even in it, or under it, let not the head be swollen that it may receive the crown. Hear, mark well the Psalm, how that crown will not have a swollen head. After he had said, Who redeems your life from corruption; he says, Who crowns you. Here you were ready at once to say, 'Crowns you,' is an acknowledgment of my merits, my own excellence has done it; it is the payment of a debt, not a gift. Give ear rather to the Psalm. For it is you again that sayest this; and all men are liars. Hear what God says; Who crowns you with mercy and pity. Of His mercy He crowns you, of His pity He crowns you. For you had no worthiness that He should call you, and being called should justify you, being justified glorify you. The remnant is saved by the election of grace. But if by grace, then is it no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace. For to him that works, the reward shall not be reckoned according to grace, but according to debt. The Apostle says, Not according to grace, but according to debt. But you He crowns with pity and mercy; and if your own merits have gone before, God says to you, Examine well your merits, and you shall see that they are My gifts.

9. This then is the righteousness of God. As it is called, The Lord's salvation, not whereby the Lord is saved, but which He gives to them whom He saves; so too the grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord is called the righteousness of God, not as that whereby the Lord is righteous, but whereby He justifies those whom of ungodly He makes righteous. But some, as the Jews in former times, both wish to be called Christians, and still ignorant of God's righteousness, desire to establish their own, even in our own times, in the times of open grace, the times of the full revelation of grace which before was hidden; in the times of grace now manifested in the floor, which once lay hid in the fleece. I see that a few have understood me, that more have not understood, whom I will by no means defraud by keeping silence. Gideon, one of the righteous men of old, asked for a sign from the Lord, and said, I pray, Lord, that this fleece which I put in the floor be bedewed, and that the floor be dry. And it was so; the fleece was bedewed, the whole floor was dry. In the morning he wrung out the fleece in a basin; forasmuch as to the humble is grace given; and in a basin, you know what the Lord did to His disciples. Again, he asked for another sign; O Lord, I would, says he, that the fleece be dry, the floor bedewed. And it was so. Call to mind the time of the Old Testament, grace was hidden in a cloud, as the rain in the fleece. Mark now the time of the New Testament, consider well the nation of the Jews, you will find it as a dry fleece; whereas the whole world, like that floor, is full of grace, not hidden, but manifested. Wherefore we are forced exceedingly to bewail our brethren, who strive not against hidden, but against open and manifested grace. There is allowance for the Jews. What shall we say of Christians? Wherefore are you enemies to the grace of Christ? Why rely ye on yourselves? Why unthankful? For why did Christ come? Was not nature here before? Was not nature here, which you only deceive by your excessive praise? Was not the Law here? But the Apostle says, If righteousness come by the Law, then Christ is dead in vain. What the Apostle says of the Law, that say we of nature to these men. If righteousness come by nature, then Christ is dead in vain.

10. What then was said of the Jews, the same altogether do we see in these men now. They have a zeal of God: I hear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. What is, not according to knowledge? For being ignorant of God's righteousness, and wishing to establish their own, they have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. My Brethren, share with me in my sorrow. When ye find such as these, do not hide them; be there no such misdirected mercy in you; by all means, when you find such, hide them not. Convince the gainsayers, and those who resist, bring to us. For already have two councils on this question been sent to the Apostolic see; and rescripts also have come from thence. The question has been brought to an issue; would that their error may sometime be brought to an issue too! Therefore do we advise that they may take heed, we teach that they may be instructed, we pray that they may be changed. Let us turn to the Lord, etc.

On the words of the Gospel, John 6:55 ,For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eats my flesh, etc.

1. As we heard when the Holy Gospel was being read, the Lord Jesus Christ exhorted us by the promise of eternal life to eat His Flesh and drink His Blood. You that heard these words, have not all as yet understood them. For those of you who have been baptized and the faithful do know what He meant. But those among you who are yet called Catechumens, or Hearers, could be hearers, when it was being read, could they be understanders too? Accordingly our discourse is directed to both. Let them who already eat the Flesh of the Lord and drink His Blood, think What it is they eat and drink, lest, as the Apostle says, They eat and drink judgment to themselves. But they who do not yet eat and drink, let them hasten when invited to such a Banquet. Throughout these days the teachers feed you. Christ daily feeds you, That His Table is ever ordered before you. What is the reason. O Hearers, that you see the Table, and come not to the Banquet? And perhaps, just now when the Gospel was being read, you said in your hearts, We are thinking what it is that He says, 'My Flesh is meat indeed, and My Blood is drink indeed.' How is the Flesh of the Lord eaten, and the Blood of the Lord drunk? We are thinking what He says. Who has closed it against you, that you do not know this? There is a veil over it; but if you will, the veil shall be taken away. Come to the profession, and you have resolved the difficulty. For what the Lord Jesus said, the faithful know well already. But you are called a Catechumen, art called a Hearer, and art deaf. For the ears of the booty you have open, seeing that you hear the words which were spoken; but the ears of the heart you have still closed, seeing you understand not what was spoken. I plead, I do not discuss it. Lo, Easter is at hand, give in your name for baptism. If the festivity arouse you not, let the very curiosity induce you: that you may know the meaning of, Whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood dwells in Me, and I in him. That you may know with me what is meant, Knock, and it shall be opened unto you: and as I say to you, Knock, and it shall be opened unto you, so do I too knock, open to me. When I speak aloud to the ears, I knock at the breast.

2. But if the Catechumens, my Brethren, are to be exhorted not to delay to approach to this so great grace of regeneration; what great care ought we to have in building up the faithful, that their approaching may profit them, and that they eat and drink not such a Banquet unto their own judgment? Now that they may not eat and drink unto judgment, let them live well. Be exhorters, not by words, but by your conduct; that they who have not been baptized, may in such wise hasten to follow you, that they perish not by imitating you. You who are married, keep the fidelity of the marriage-bed with your wives. Render what you require. As a husband you require chastity from your wife; give her an example, not words. You are the head, look where you go. For you ought to go where it may not be dangerous for her to follow: yea, you ought to walk yourself where you would have her follow. You require strength from the weaker sex; the lust of the flesh you have both of you: let him that is the stronger, be the first to conquer. And yet, which is to be lamented, many men are conquered by the women. Women preserve chastity, which men will not preserve; and in that they preserve it not, would wish to appear men: as though he was in sex the stronger, only that the enemy might more easily subdue him. There is a struggle, a war, a combat. The man is stronger than the woman, the man is the head of the woman. The woman combats and overcomes; do you succumb to the enemy? The body stands firm, and does the head lie low? But those of you who have not yet wives, and who yet already approach to the Lord's Table, and eat the Flesh of Christ, and drink His Blood, if you are about to marry, keep yourselves for your wives. As ye would have them come to you, such ought they also to find you. What young man is there who would not wish to marry a chaste wife? And if he were to espouse a virgin who would not desire she should be unpolluted? You look for one unpolluted, be unpolluted yourself. You look for one pure, be not yourself impure. For it is not that she is able, and you are not able. If it were not possible, then could not she be so. But, seeing that she can, let this teach you, that it is possible. And that she may have this power, God is her ruler. But you will have greater glory if you shall do it. Why greater glory? The vigilance of parents is a check to her, the very modesty of the weaker sex is a bridle to her; lastly, she is in fear of the laws of which you are not afraid. Therefore it is then that you will have greater glory if you shall do it; because if you do it, you fear God. She has many things to fear besides God, you fear God alone. But He whom you fear is greater than all. He is to be feared in public, He in secret. You go out, you are seen; you go in, you are seen; the lamp is lighted, He sees you; the lamp is extinguished, He sees you; you enter into your closet, He sees you; in the retirement of your own heart, He sees you. Fear Him, Him whose care it is to see you; and even by this fear be chaste. Or if you will sin, seek for some place where He may not see you, and do what you would.

3. But ye who have taken the vow already, chasten your bodies more strictly, and suffer not yourselves to loosen the reins of concupiscence even after those things which are permitted; that you may not only turn away from an unlawful connection, but may despise even a lawful look. Remember, in whichever sex you are, whether men or women, that you are leading on earth the life of Angels: For the Angels are neither given in marriage, nor marry. This shall we be, when we shall have risen again. How much better are you, who before death begin to be what men will be after the resurrection! Keep your proper degrees, for God keeps for you your honours. The resurrection of the dead is compared to the stars that are set in heaven. For star differs from star in glory, as the Apostle says; so also is the resurrection of the dead. For after one manner virginity shall shine there, after another shall wedded chastity shine there, after another shall holy widowhood shine there. They shall shine diversely, but all shall be there. The brilliancy unequal, the heaven the same.

4. With your thoughts then on your degrees, and keeping your professions, approach ye to the Flesh of the Lord, approach to the Blood of the Lord. Whoever knows himself to be otherwise, let him not approach. Be moved to compunction rather by my words. For they who know that they are keeping for their wives, what from their wives they require, they who know that they are in every way keeping continence, if this they have vowed to God, feel joy at my words; but they who hear me say, Whosoever of you are not keeping chastity, approach not to that Bread, are saddened. And I should have no wish to say this; but what can I do? Shall I fear man, so as to suppress the truth? What, if those servants do not fear the Lord, shall I therefore too not fear? As if I do not know that it is said, 'You wicked and slothful servant,' you should dispense, and I require. Lo, I have dispensed, O Lord my God; lo, in Your Sight, and in the sight of Your Holy Angels, and of this Your people, I have laid out Your money; for I am afraid of Your judgment. I have dispensed, do Thou require. Though I should not say it, You would do it. Therefore I rather say, I have dispensed, do Thou convert, do Thou spare. Make them chaste who have been unchaste, that in Your Sight we may rejoice together when the judgment shall come, both he who has dispensed and he to whom it has been dispensed. Does this please you? May it do so! Whosoever of you are unchaste, amend yourselves, while you are alive. For I have power to speak the word of God, but to deliver the unchaste, who persevere in wickedness, from the judgment and condemnation of God, have I no power.

On the words of the Gospel of John 7:6 , etc., where Jesus said that He was not going up unto the feast, and notwithstanding went up.

1. I Purpose by the Lord's assistance to treat of this section of the Gospel which has just been read; nor is there a little difficulty here, lest the truth be endangered, and falsehood glory. Not that either the truth can perish, nor falsehood triumph. Now hearken for a while what difficulty this lesson has; and being made attentive by the propounding of the difficulty, pray that I may be sufficient for its solution. The Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand; these it seems are the days which they observe even to this day, when they build huts. For this solemnity of theirs is called from the building of tabernacles; since σκηνὴ means a tabernacle, σκηνοπηγία is the building of a tabernacle. These days were kept as feast days among the Jews; and it was called one feast day, not because it was over in one day, but because it was kept up by a continued festivity; just as the feast day of the Passover, and the feast day of unleavened bread, and notwithstanding, as is manifest, that feast is kept throughout many days. This anniversary then was at hand in Judæa, the Lord Jesus was in Galilee, where He had also been brought up, where too He had relations and kinsfolk, whom Scripture calls His brethren. His brethren, therefore, as we have heard it read, said to Him, Pass from hence, and go into Judæa; that Your disciples also may see Your works that You do. For no man does anything in secret, and himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, manifest Yourself to the world. Then the Evangelist subjoins, For neither did His brethren believe in Him. If then they did not believe in Him, the words they threw out were of envy. Jesus answered them, My time is not yet come; but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you; but Me it hates, because I testify of it that the works thereof are evil. Go up to this feast day. I go not up to this feast day, for My time is not yet accomplished. Then follows the Evangelist; When He had said these words, He Himself stayed in Galilee. But when His brethren had gone up, then went He also up to the feast day, not openly, but as it were in secret. Thus far is the extent of the difficulty, all the rest is clear.

2. What then is the difficulty? What makes the perplexity? What is in peril? Lest the Lord, yea, to speak more plainly, lest the Truth Itself should be thought to have lied. For if we would have it thought that He lied, the weak will receive an authority for lying. We have heard say that He lied. For those who think that He lied, speak thus, He said that He should not go up to the feast day, and He went up. In the first place then, let us, as far as in the press of time we can, see whether he does lie, who says a thing and does it not. For example, I have told a friend, I will see you tomorrow; some greater necessity occurs to hinder me; I have not on that account spoken falsely. For when I made the promise, I meant what I said. But when some greater matter occurred, which hindered the accomplishment of my promise, I had no design to lie, but I was not able to fulfil the promise. Lo, to my thinking I have used no labour to persuade you, but have merely suggested to your good sense, that he who promises something, and does it not, does not lie, if, that he do it not, something has occurred to hinder the fulfilment of his promise, not to be any proof of falsehood.

3. But some one who hears me will say, Can you then say this of Christ, that He either was not able to fulfil what He would, or that He did not know things to come? You do well, good is your suggestion, right your hint; but, O man, share with me my anxiety. Dare we to say that He lies, Who we do not dare to say is weak in power? I for my part, to the best of my thinking, as far as according to my infirmity I am able to judge, would choose that a man should be deceived in any matter rather than lie in any. For to be deceived is the portion of infirmity, to lie of iniquity. You hate, O Lord, says he, all them that work iniquity. And immediately after, You shall destroy all them that speak a lie. Either iniquity and a lie are upon a level; or, You shall destroy, is more than You hate. For he who is held in hatred, is not immediately punished by destruction. But let that question be, whether there be ever a necessity to lie; for I am not now discussing that; it is a dark question, and has many lappings; I have not time to cut them, and to come to the quick. Therefore let the treatment of it be deferred to some other time; for perhaps it will be cured by the Divine assistance without any words of mine. But attend and distinguish between what I have deferred, and what I wish to treat of today. Whether on any occasion one may lie, this difficult and most obscure question I defer. But whether Christ lied, whether the Truth spoke anything false, this, being reminded of it by the Gospel lesson, have I undertaken today.

4. Now what the difference is between being deceived, and lying, I will briefly state. He is deceived who thinks what he says to be true, and therefore says it, because he thinks it true. Now if this which he that is deceived says, were true, he would not be deceived; if it were not only true, but he also knew it to be true, he would not lie. He is deceived then, in that it is false, and he thinks it true; but he only says it because he thinks it true. The error lies in human infirmity, not in the soundness of the conscience. But whosoever thinks it to be false, and asserts it as true, he lies. See, my Brethren, draw the distinction, you who have been brought up in the Church, instructed in the Lord's Scriptures, not uninformed, nor simple, nor ignorant men. For there are among you men learned and erudite, and not indifferently instructed in all kinds of literature; and with those of you who have not learned that literature which is called liberal, it is more that you have been nourished up in the word of God. If I labour in explaining what I mean, do ye aid me both by the attention of your hearing, and the thoughtfulness of your meditations. Nor will you aid, unless you are aided. Wherefore pray we mutually for one another, and look equally for our common Succour. He is deceived, who whereas what he says is false, thinks it to be true; but he lies, who thinks a thing to be false, and gives it out as true, whether it be true or false. Observe what I have added, whether it be true or false; yet he who thinks it to be false, and asserts it as true, lies; he aims to deceive. For what good is it to him, that it is true? He all the while thinks it false, and says it as if it were true. What he says is true in itself, it is in itself true; with regard to him it is false, his conscience does not hold that which he is saying; he thinks in himself one thing to be true, he gives out another for truth. His is a double heart, not single; he does not bring out that which he has in it. The double heart has long since been condemned. With deceitful lips in a heart and a heart have they spoken evil things. Had it been enough to say, in the heart have they spoken evil things, where is the deceitful lips? What is deceit? When one thing is done, another pretended. Deceitful lips are not a single heart; and because not a single heart, therefore in a heart and a heart; therefore in a heart twice, because the heart is double.

5. How then think we of the Lord Jesus Christ, that He lied? If it is a less evil to be deceived than to lie, dare we to say that He lies who we dare not to say is deceived? But He is neither deceived, nor does He lie; but in very deed as it is written (for of Him is it understood, of Him ought it to be understood), Nothing false is said to the King, and nothing false shall proceed out of His mouth. If by King here he meant any man, let us prefer Christ the King, to a man-king. But if, which is the truer understanding of it, it is Christ of whom he spoke, if I say, as is the truer understanding of it, it is Christ of whom he spoke (for to Him indeed nothing false is said, in that He is not deceived; from His Mouth nothing false proceeds, in that He does not lie); let us look how we are to understand the section of the Gospel, and let us not make the pitfall of a lie, as it were, on heavenly authority. But it is most absurd to be seeking to explain the truth, and to prepare a place for a lie. What are you teaching me, I ask you, who art explaining this text to me, what would you teach me? I do not know whether you would dare to say, Falsehood. For if you should dare to say this, I turn away mine ears, and fasten them up with thorns, that if you should try to force your way, I might through their very pricking make away without the explanation of the Gospel. Tell me what you would wish to teach me, and you have resolved the difficulty. Tell me, I pray you; lo, here I am; mine ears are open, my heart is ready, teach me. But I ask, what? I will not travel through many things. What are you going to teach me? Whatsoever learning you are about to bring forward, whatsoever strength to show in disputation, tell me this one thing only, one of two things I ask; are you going to teach me truth or falsehood? What do we suppose he will answer lest one depart; lest while he is open-mouthed and making an effort to bring out his words, I immediately leave him: what will he promise but truth? I am listening, standing, expecting, most earnestly expecting. See here, he who promised that he will teach me truth, insinuates falsehood concerning Christ. How then shall he teach truth, who would say that Christ is false? If Christ is false, can I hope that you will tell me the truth?

6. Consider again. What does he say? Hath Christ spoken falsely? Where, I ask you? Where He says, 'I go not up to the feast day;' and went up. For my part, I should wish thoroughly to examine this place, if so be we may see that Christ did not speak falsely. Yea rather, seeing that I have no doubt that Christ did not speak falsely, I will either thoroughly examine this passage and understand it, or, not understanding it, I will defer it. Yet that Christ spoke falsely will I never say. Grant that I have not understood it; I will depart in my ignorance. For better is it with piety to be ignorant, than with madness to pronounce judgment. Notwithstanding we are trying to examine, if so be by His assistance, who is the Truth, we may find something, and be found something ourselves, and this something will not be in the Truth a lie. For if in searching I find a lie, I find not a something but a nothing. Let us then look where it is you say that Christ lied. He will say, In that He said, 'I go not up to this feast,' and went up. Whence do you know that He said so? What if I were to say, nay, not I, but any one, for God forbid that I should say it; what if another were to say, Christ did not say this; whereby do you refute him, whereby will you prove it? You would open the book, find the passage, point it out to the man, yea with great confidence force the book upon him if he resisted, Hold it, mark, read, it is the Gospel you have in your hands. But why, I ask you, why do you so rudely accost this feeble one? Do not be so eager; speak more composedly, more tranquilly. See, it is the Gospel I have in my hands; and what is there in it? He answers: The Gospel declares that Christ said what you deny. And will you believe that Christ said it, because the Gospel declares it? Decidedly for that reason, says he. I marvel exceedingly how you should say that Christ lies, and the Gospel does not lie. But lest haply when I speak of the Gospel, you should think of the book itself, and imagine the parchment and ink to be the Gospel, see what the Greek word means; Gospel is a good messenger, or a good message. The messenger then does not lie, and does He who sent him, lie? This messenger, the Evangelist to wit, to give his name also, this John who wrote this, did he lie concerning Christ, or say the truth? Choose which you will, I am ready to hear you on either side. If he spoke falsely, you have no means of proving that Christ spoke those words. If he said the truth, truth cannot flow from the fountain of falsehood. Who is the Fountain? Christ: let John be the stream. The stream comes to me, and you say to me, Drink securely; yea, whereas you alarm me as to the Fountain Himself, whereas you tell me there is falsehood in the Fountain, you say to me, Drink securely. What do I drink? What said John, that Christ spoke falsely? Whence came John? From Christ. Is he who came from Him, to tell me truth, when He from whom he came lied? I have read in the Gospel plainly, John lay on the Lord's Breast; but I conclude that he drank in truth. What saw he as he lay on the Lord's Breast? What drank he in? What, but that which he poured forth? 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 was life, and the Life was the Light of men; And the Light shines in darkness, and the darkness comprehended It not; nevertheless It shines, and though I chance to have some obscurity, and cannot thoroughly comprehend It, still It shines. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John; he came to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not the Light: who? John: who? John the Baptist. For of him says John the Evangelist, He was not the Light; of whom the Lord says, He was a burning, and a shining lamp. But a lamp can be lighted, and extinguished. What then? Whence do you draw the distinction? Of what place are you enquiring? He to whom the lamp bore witness, was the True Light. Where John added, the True, there are you looking out for a lie. But hear still the same Evangelist John pouring forth what he had drunk in; And we beheld, says he, His glory. What did he behold? What glory beheld he? The glory as of the Only-Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. See then, see, if we ought not haply to restrain weak or rash disputings, and to presume nothing false of the truth, to give to the Lord what is His due; let us give glory to the Fountain, that we may fill ourselves securely. Now God is true, but every man a liar. What is this? God is full; every man is empty; if he will be filled, let him come to Him That is full. Come unto Him, and be enlightened. Moreover, if man is empty, in that he is a liar, and he seeks to be filled, and with haste and eagerness runs to the fountain, he wishes to be filled, he is empty. But youK2say, Beware of the fountain, there is falsehood there. What else do you say, but there is poison there?

7. You have already, he says, said all, already have you checked, already chastened me. But tell me how He did not speak falsely who said, 'I go not up,' and went up? I will tell you, if I can; but think it no little matter, that if I have not established you in the truth, I have yet kept you back from rashness. I will nevertheless tell you, what I imagine you know even already, if you remember the words which I have set forth to you. The words themselves solve the difficulty. That feast was kept for many days. On this, that is this present feast day, says He, this day, that is when they hoped, He went not up; but when He Himself resolved to go. Now mark what follows, When He had said these words, He Himself stayed in Galilee. So then He did not go up on that feast day. For His brethren wished that He should go first; therefore had they said, Pass from hence into Judæa. They did not say, Let us pass, as though they would be His companions; or, Follow us into Judæa, as though they would go first; but as though they would send Him before them. He wished that they should go before; He avoided this snare, impressing His infirmity as Man, hiding the Divinity; this He avoided, as when He fled into Egypt. For this was no effect of want of power, but even of truth, that He might give an example of caution; that no servant of His might say, I do not fly, because it is disgraceful; when haply it might be expedient to fly. As He was going to say to His disciples, When they have persecuted you in this city, flee ye into another; He gave them Himself this example. For He was apprehended, when He willed; He was born, when He willed. That they might not anticipate Him then, and announce that He was coming, and plots be prepared; He said, I go not up to this feast day. He said, I go not up, that He might be hid; He added this, that He might not lie. Something He expressed, something He suppressed, something He repressed; yet said He nothing false, for nothing false proceeds out of His Mouth. Finally, after He had said these words, When His brethren had gone up; the Gospel declares it, attend, read what you have objected to me; see if the passage itself do not solve the difficulty, see if I have taken from anywhere else what to say. This then the Lord was waiting for, that they should go up first, that they might not announce beforehand that He was coming, When His brethren had gone up, then went He also up to the feast day, not openly, but as it were in secret. What is, as it were in secret? He acts there as if in secret. What is, as it were in secret? Because neither was this really in secret. For He did not really make an effort to be concealed, who had it in His Own power when He would be taken. But in that concealment, as I have said, He gave His weak disciples, who had not the power to prevent being taken when they would not, an example of being on their guard against the snares of enemies. For He went up afterwards even openly, and taught them in the temple; and some said, ' Lo, this is He; lo, He is teaching.' Certainly our rulers said that they wished to apprehend Him: 'Lo, He speaks openly, and no one lays hands on Him.'

8. But now if we turn our attention to ourselves, if we think of His Body, how that we are even He. For if we were not He, Forasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of Mine, you have done it unto Me, would not be true. If we were not He, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? would not be true. So then we are He, in that we are His members, in that we are His Body, in that He is our Head, in that Whole Christ is both Head and Body. Peradventure then He foresaw us that we were not to keep the feast days of the Jews, and this is, I go not up to this feast day. See neither Christ nor the Evangelist lied; of the which two if one must needs choose one, the Evangelist would pardon me, I would by no means put him that is true before the Truth Himself; I would not prefer him that was sent to Him by whom he was sent. But God be thanked, in my judgment what was obscure has been laid open. Your piety will aid me before God. Behold, I have, as I was best able, resolved the question, both concerning Christ and the Evangelist. Hold fast the truth with me as men who love it, embrace charity without contention.

On the words of the Gospel, John 8:31 , If you abide in my word, then are you truly my disciples, etc.

1. You know well, Beloved, that we all have One Master, and are fellow disciples under Him. Nor are we your masters, because we speak to you from this higher spot; but He is the Master of all, who dwells in us all. He just now spoke to us all in the Gospel, and said to us, what I also am saying to you; but He says it of us, as well of us as of you. If you shall continue in My word, not of course in my word who am now speaking to you; but in His who spoke just now out of the Gospel. If you shall continue in My word, says He, you are My disciples indeed. To be a disciple, it is not enough to come, but to continue. He does not therefore say, If you shall hear My word; or, If you shall come to My word; or, If you shall praise My word; but observe what He said, If you shall continue in My word, you are My disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall free you. What shall we say, Brethren? To continue in the word of God, is it toilsome, or is it not? If it be toilsome, look at the great reward; if it be not toilsome, you receive the reward for nought. Continue we then in Him who continues in us. We, if we continue not in Him, fall; but He if He continue not in us, has not on that account lost an habitation. For He skills to continue in Himself, who never leaves Himself. But for man, God forbid that he should continue in himself who has lost himself. So then we continue in Him through indigence; He continues in us through mercy.

2. Now then seeing it has been set forth what we ought to do, let us see what we are to receive. For He has appointed a work, and promised a reward. What is the work? If you shall continue in Me. A short work; short in description, great in execution. If you shall build on the Rock. O how great a thing is this, Brethren, to build on the Rock, how great is it! The floods came, the winds blew, the rain descended, and beat upon that house, and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock. What then is to continue in the word of God, but not to yield to any temptations? The reward, what is it? You shall know the truth, and the truth shall free you. Bear with me, for you perceive that my voice is feeble; assist me by your calm attention. Glorious reward! You shall know the truth. Here one may haply say, And what does it profit me to know the truth? And the truth shall free you. If the truth have no charms for you, let freedom have its charms. In the usage of the Latin tongue, the expression, to be free, is used in two senses; and chiefly we are accustomed to hear this word in this sense, that whosoever is free may be understood to escape some danger, to be rid of some embarrassment. But the proper signification of to be free, is to be made free; just as to be saved, is to be made safe; to be healed, is, to be made whole; so to be freed, is to be made free. Therefore I said, If the truth have no charms for you, let freedom have its charms. This is expressed more evidently in the Greek language, nor can it be there understood in any other sense. And that you may know that in no other sense can it be understood; when the Lord spoke, the Jews answered, We were never in bondage to any man; how do you say the Truth shall free you? That is, the Truth shall make you free, how do you say to us, who were never in bondage to any man? How, say they, do You promise them freedom, who as You see never bare the hard yoke of bondage?

3. They heard what they ought; but they did not what they ought. What did they hear? Because I said, The truth shall free you; ye turned your thoughts upon yourselves, that you are not in bondage to man, and you said, We were never in bondage to any man. Every one, Jew and Greek, rich and poor, the man in authority and private station, the emperor and the beggar, Every one that commits sin is the servant of sin. Every one, says He, that commits sin is the servant of sin. If men but acknowledge their bondage, they will see from whence they may obtain freedom. Some free-born man has been taken captive by the barbarians, from a free man is made a slave; another hears, and pities him, considers how that he has money, becomes his ransomer, goes to the barbarians, gives money, ransoms the man. And he has indeed restored freedom, if he have taken away iniquity. But what man has ever taken away iniquity from another man? He who was in bondage with the barbarians, has been redeemed by his ransomer; and great difference there is between the ransomer and the ransomed; yet haply are they fellow-slaves under the lordship of iniquity. I ask him that was ransomed, Have you sin? I have, he says. I ask the ransomer, Have you sin? I have, he says. So then neither do you boast yourself that you have been ransomed, nor you uplift yourself that you are his ransomer; but fly both of you to the True Deliverer. It is but a small part of it, that they who are under sin, are called servants; they are even called dead; what a man is afraid of captivity bringing upon him, iniquity has brought on him already. For what? Because they seem to be alive, was He then mistaken who said, Let the dead bury their dead? So then all under sin are dead, dead servants, dead in their service, servants in their death.

4. Who then frees from death and from bondage, save He, who is Free among the dead? Who is Free among the dead, save He who among sinners is without sin? Lo, the prince of the world comes, says our Redeemer Himself, our Deliverer, Lo, the prince of the world comes, and shall find nothing in Me. He holds fast those whom he has deceived, whom he has seduced, whom he has persuaded to sin and death; in Me shall he find nothing. Come, Lord, Redeemer come, come; let the captive acknowledge you, him that leads captive flee you; be my Deliverer. Lost as I was, He has found me in Whom the devil finds nothing that comes of the flesh. The prince of this world finds in Him Flesh, he finds it but what kind of Flesh? A mortal Flesh, which he can seize, which he can crucify, which he can kill. You are mistaken, O deceiver, the Redeemer is not deceived; you are mistaken. You see in the Lord a mortal Flesh, it is not flesh of sin, it is the likeness of flesh of sin. For God sent His Son in the likeness of flesh of sin. True Flesh, mortal Flesh; but not flesh of sin. For God sent His Son in the likeness of flesh of sin, that by sin He might condemn sin in the Flesh. For God sent His Son in the likeness of flesh of sin; in Flesh, but not in flesh of sin; but in the likeness of flesh of sin. For what purpose? That by sin, of which assuredly there was none in Him, He might condemn sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

5. If then it was the likeness of flesh of sin, not flesh of sin, how, That by sin He might condemn sin in the flesh? So a likeness is wont to receive the name of that thing of which it is a likeness. The word man is used for a real man; but if you show a man painted on the wall, and enquire what it is, it is answered, A man. So then Flesh having the likeness of flesh of sin, that it might be a sacrifice for sin, is called sin. The same Apostle says in another place, He made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin. Him who knew no sin: Who is He who knew no sin, but He That said, Behold the prince of the world comes, and shall find nothing in me? Him who knew no sin, made He sin for us; even Christ Himself, who knew no sin, God made sin for us. What does this mean, Brethren? If it were said, He made sin upon Him, or, He made Him to have sin; it would seem intolerable; how do we tolerate what is said, He made Him sin, that Christ Himself should be sin? They who are acquainted with the Scriptures of the Old Testament recognise what I am saying. For it is not an expression once used, but repeatedly, very constantly, sacrifices for sins are called sins. A goat, for instance, was offered for sin, a ram, anything; the victim itself which was offered for sin was called sin. A sacrifice for sin then was called sin; so that in one place the Law says, That the Priests are to lay their hands upon the sin. Him then, who knew no sin, He made sin for us; that is, He was made a sacrifice for sin. Sin was offered, and sin was cancelled. The Blood of the Redeemer was shed, and the debtor's bond was cancelled. This is the Blood, That was shed for many for the remission of sins.

6. What means this then your senseless exultation, O you that held me captive, for that my Deliverer had mortal Flesh? See, if He had sin; if you have found anything of yours in Him, hold Him fast. The Word was made Flesh. The Word is the Creator, the Flesh His creature. What is there here of yours, O enemy? And the Word is God, and His Human Soul is His creature, and His Human Flesh His creature, and the Mortal Flesh of God is His creature. Seek for sin here. But what are you seeking? The Truth says, The prince of this world shall come, and shall find nothing in Me. He did not therefore not find Flesh, but nothing of his own, that is, no sin. You deceived the innocent, you made them guilty. You slew the Innocent; you destroyed Him from whom you had nothing due, render back what you held fast. Why then did you exult for a short hour, because you found in Christ mortal Flesh? It was your trap: whereupon you rejoiced, thereby have you been taken. Wherein you exulted that you had found something, therein you sorrow now that you have lost what you possessed. Therefore, brethren, let us who believe in Christ, continue in His word. For if we shall continue in His word, we are His disciples indeed. For not those twelve only, but all we who continue in His word are His disciples indeed. And we shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall free us; that is, Christ the Son of God who has said, I am the Truth, shall make you free, that is, shall free you, not from barbarians, but from the devil; not from the captivity of the body, but from the iniquity of the soul. It is He Only who frees in such wise. Let no one call himself free, lest he remain a slave. Our soul shall not remain in bondage, for that day by day our debts are forgiven.

On the words of the Gospel, John 9:4 and 31 , We must work the works of him that sent me, etc. Against the Arians. And of that which the man who was born blind and received his sight said, We know that God hears not sinners.

1. The Lord Jesus, as we heard when the Holy Gospel was being read, opened the eyes of a man who was born blind. Brethren, if we consider our hereditary punishment, the whole world is blind. And therefore came Christ the Enlightener, because the devil had been the Blinder. He made all men to be born blind, who seduced the first man. Let them run to the Enlightener, let them run, believe, receive the clay made of the spittle. The Word is as it were the spittle, the Flesh is the earth. Let them wash the face in the pool of Siloa. Now it was the Evangelist's place to explain to us what Siloa means, and he said, which is by interpretation, Sent. Who is This That is Sent, but He who in this very Lesson said, I have come to do the works of Him That sent Me. Lo, Siloa, wash the face, be baptized, that you may be enlightened, and that you who before saw not, may see.

2. Lo, first open your eyes to that which is said; I have come, says He, to do the works of Him That sent Me. Now here at once stands forth the Arian, and says, Here you see that Christ did not His Own works, but the Father's who sent Him. Would he say this, if he saw, that is, if he had washed his face in Him who was sent, as it were in Siloa? What then do you say? Lo, says he, Himself said it. What said He? I have come to do the works of Him That sent Me. Are they not then His Own? No. What then is that which the Siloa Himself says, the Sent Himself, the Son Himself, the Only Son Himself, whom you complain of as degenerate? What is that He says, All things that the Father has are Mine. You say that He did the works of Another, in that He said, I must do the works of Him That sent Me. I say that the Father had the things of another: I am speaking according to your principles. Why would you object to me that Christ said, I have come to do His works as if, not My own but 'His That sent Me'?

3. I ask You, O Lord Christ, resolve the difficulty, put an end to the contention. All things, says He, that the Father has are Mine. Are they then not the Father's, if they are Yours? For He does not say, All things that the Father has He has given unto Me; although, if He had said even this, He would have shown His equality. But the difficulty is that He said, All things that the Father has are Mine. If you understand it aright, All things that the Father has, are the Son's; all things that the Son has, are the Father's. Hear Him in another place; All Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine. The question is finished, as to the things which the Father and the Son have: they have them with one consent, do not you introduce dissension. What He calls the works of the Father, are His Own works; for, Yours too are Mine, for He speaks of the works of That Father, to whom He said, All Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine. So then, My works are Yours, and Your works are Mine. For whatever things the Father does; Himself has said, the Lord has said, the Only-Begotten has said, the Son has said, the Truth has said. What has He said? Whatever things the Father does, these also does the Son in like manner. Signal expression! signal truth! signal equality. All things that the Father does, these does the Son also. Were it enough to say, All things that the Father does, these does the Son also? It is not enough; I add, in like manner. Why do I add, in like manner? Because they who do not understand, and who walk with eyes not yet open, are wont to say, The Father does them by way of command, the Son of obedience, therefore not in like manner. But if in like manner, as the One, so the Other; so what things the One, the same the Other.

4. But, says he, the Father commands, that the Son may execute. Carnal indeed is your conceit, but without prejudice to the truth, I grant it to you. Lo, the Father commands, the Son obeys; is the Son therefore not of the same Nature, because the One commands, and the Other obeys? Give me two men, father and son; they are two men: he that commands is a man; he that obeys is a man; he that commands and he that obeys have one and the same nature. Does not he that commands, beget a son of his own nature? Does he who obeys, by obeying lose his nature? Now take for the present, as you thus take two men, the Father commanding, the Son obeying, yet God and God. But the first two together are two men, the Latter together is but One God; this is a divine miracle. Meanwhile if you would that with you I acknowledge the obedience, do you first with me acknowledge the Nature. The Father begot That which Himself is. If the Father begot ought else than what Himself is, He did not beget a true Son. The Father says to the Son, From the womb before the day-star, I begot You. What is, before the day-star? By the day-star times are signified. So then before times, before all that is called before; before all that is not, or before all that is. For the Gospel does not say, In the beginning God made the Word; as it is said, In the beginning God made the Heaven and the earth; or, In the beginning was the Word born; or, In the beginning God begot the Word. But what says it? He was, He was, He was. You hear, He was; believe. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. So often do you hear, Was: seek not for time, for that He always was. He then who always was, and was always with the Son, for that God is able to beget without you; He said to the Son, From the womb before the day-star I begot You. What is from the womb? Had God a womb? Shall we imagine that God was fashioned with bodily members? God forbid! And why said He, From the womb, but that it might be understood that He begot Him of His Own Substance? So then from the womb came forth That which Himself was who begot. For if He who begot was one thing, and another came forth out of the womb; it were a monster, not a Son.

5. Therefore let the Son do the works of Him That sent Him, and the Father also do the works of the Son. At all events, you say, the Father wills, the Son executes. Lo, I show, that the Son wills, and the Father executes. Do you say, where do you show this? I show it at once. Father, I will. Now here if I had a mind to cavil, lo, the Son commands, and the Father executes. What will You? That where I am, they may be also with Me. We have escaped, there shall we be, where He is; there shall we be, we have escaped. Who can undo the I Will of the Almighty? You hear the will of His power, hear now the power of His will. As the Father says He raises up the dead and quickens them; even so the Son quickens whom He will. Whom He will. Say not, The Son quickens them, whom the Father commands Him to quicken. He quickens whom He will. So then whom the Father will, and whom Himself will: because where there is One Power, there is One Will. Let us then in a heart blind no more hold fast that the Nature of the Father and the Son is One and the Same; because the Father is very Father, the Son is very Son. What He is, That did He beget: because the Begotten was not degenerate.

6. There is a something in the words of that man who was blind, which may cause perplexity, and perhaps make many who understand them not aright despair. For he said among the rest of his words, the same man whose eyes were opened, We know that God hears not sinners. What shall we do, if God hears not sinners? Dare we pray to God if He hears not sinners? Give me one who may pray: lo, here is One to hear. Give me one who may pray, sift thoroughly the human race from the imperfect to the perfect. Mount up from the spring to the summer; for this we have just chanted. You have made summer and spring; that is, Those who are already spiritual, and those who are still carnal have You made; for so the Son Himself says, Your Eyes have seen My imperfect being. That which is imperfect in My Body, Your Eyes have seen. And what then? Have they who are imperfect hope? Undoubtedly they have. Hear what follows; And in Your Book shall all be written. But perhaps, Brethren, the spiritual pray and are heard, because they are not sinners? What then must the carnal do? What must they do? Shall they perish? Shall they not pray to God? God forbid! Give me that publican in the Gospel. Come, you publican, stand forth, show your hope, that the weak may not lose hope. For behold the publican went up with the Pharisee to pray, and with face cast down upon the ground, standing afar off, beating his breast, he said, Lord, be merciful to me a sinner. And he went down justified rather than the Pharisee. Said he true or false, who said, Be merciful to me a sinner? If he said true, he was a sinner; yet was he heard and justified. What then is that, that you whose eyes the Lord opened said, We know that God hears not sinners? Lo, God does hear sinners. But wash your inferior face, let that be done in your heart, which has been done in your face; and you will see that God does hear sinners. The imagination of your heart has deceived you. There is still something for Him to do to you. We see that this man was cast out of the synagogue; Jesus heard of it, came to him, and said to him, Do you believe in the Son of God? And He said, Who is He, Lord, that I should believe in Him? He saw, and did not see; he saw with the eyes, but as yet with the heart he saw not. The Lord said to him, You both see Him, that is, with the eyes; and He that talks with you is He. He then fell down, and worshipped Him. Then washed he the face of his heart.

7. Apply yourselves then earnestly to prayer, you sinners: confess your sins, pray that they may be blotted out, pray that they may be diminished, pray that as you increase, they may decrease: yet do not despair, and sinners though ye be, pray. For who has not sinned? Begin with the priests. To the priests it is said, First offer sacrifices for your own sins, and so for the people. The sacrifices convicted the priests that if any one should call himself righteous and without sin, it might be answered him, I look not at what you say, but at what you offer; your own victim convicts you. Wherefore do you offer for your own sins, if you have no sins? Do you in your sacrifice lie unto God? But perhaps the priests of the ancient people were sinners; of the new people are not sinners. Of a truth, Brethren, for that God has so willed, I am His priest; I am a sinner; with you do I beat the breast, with you I ask for pardon, with you I hope that God will be merciful. But perhaps the Holy Apostles, those first and highest leaders of the flock, shepherds, members of The Shepherd, these perhaps had no sin. Yes, indeed, even they had, they had indeed; they are not angry at this, for they confess it. I should not dare. First hear the Lord Himself saying to the Apostles, In this manner pray ye. As those other priests were convicted by the sacrifices, so these by prayer. And among the other things which He commanded them to pray for, He appointed this also, Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. What do the Apostles say? Every day they pray for their debts to be forgiven them. They come in debtors, they go out absolved, and return debtors to prayer. This life is not without sin, that as often as prayer is made, so often should sins be forgiven.

8. But what shall I say? Peradventure when they learned the prayer, they were still weak. Some one, perhaps, will say this. When the Lord Jesus taught them that prayer, they were yet babes, weak, carnal; they were not yet spiritual, who have no sin. What then, Brethren? When they became spiritual, did they cease to pray? Then Christ ought to have said, Pray in such wise now; and to have given them, when spiritual, another prayer. It is one and the same. He who gave it is One and the Same; use it then in prayer in the Church. But we will take away all controversy, when you say the Holy Apostles were spiritual, up to the time of the Lord's Passion they were carnal; this you must say. And indeed, the truth is, as He was hanging, they were in alarm, and the Apostles then despaired when the robber believed. Peter dared to follow, when the Lord was led to suffering, he dared to follow, who came to the house, and was wearied in the palace, and stood at the fire, and was cold; he stood at the fire, he was frozen with a chilling fear. Being questioned by the maid-servant, he denied Christ once; being questioned a second time, he denied Him; being questioned a third time, he denied Him. God be thanked, that the questioning ceased; if the questioning had not ceased, long would the denial have been repeated. So then after He rose again, then He confirmed them, then did they become spiritual. Had they at that time then no sin? The Apostles spiritual, wrote spiritual epistles, they sent them to the Churches; they had no sin. This you say. I do not believe you, I ask themselves. Tell us, O holy Apostles, after the Lord rose again, and confirmed you with the Holy Ghost sent from heaven; did ye cease to have sin? Tell us, I pray you. Let us hear, that sinners may not despair, that they may not leave off to pray to God, because they are not without sin. Tell us. One of them says. And who? He whom the Lord loved the most, and who lay on the Lord's Breast, and drank in the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven which he was to pour forth again. Him I ask; Have ye sin or not? He makes answer and says, If we shall say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Now it is the same John who said, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. See ye what heights he had passed, that he could reach to the Word! Such an one, and so great, who like an eagle soared above the clouds, who in the serene clearness of his mind saw, In the beginning was the Word; he has said, If we shall say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we shall confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Therefore pray ye.

On the same lesson of the Gospel, John 9 ., on the giving sight to the man that was born blind.

1. We have heard the lesson of the Holy Gospel which we are in the habit of hearing; but it is a good thing to be reminded: good to refresh the memory from the lethargy of forgetfulness. And in fact this very old lesson has given us as much pleasure as if it were new. Christ gave sight to one blind from his birth; why do we marvel? Christ is the Saviour; by an act of mercy He made up that which He had not given in the womb. Now when He gave that man no eyes, it was no mistake of His surely; but a delay with a view to a miracle. You are saying, it may be, Whence do you know this? From Himself I have heard it; He just now said it; we heard it all together. For when His disciples asked Him, and said, Lord, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? What answer He made, you heard, as did I. Neither has this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. Lo then wherefore it was that He delayed when He gave him no eyes. He did not give what He could give, He did not give what He knew He should give, when need was. Yet do not suppose, Brethren, that this man's parents had no sin, or that he himself had not, when he was born, contracted original sin, for the remission of which sin infants are baptized unto remission of sins. But that blindness was not because of his parents' sin, nor because of his own sin; but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. For we all when we were born contracted original sin: and yet we were not born blind. However enquire carefully, And we were born blind. For who was not born blind? Blind, that is, in heart. But the Lord Jesus, for that He had created both, cured both.

2. With the eyes of faith you have seen this man blind, you have seen him too of blind seeing; but you have heard him erring. Wherein this blind man erred, I will tell you; first, in that he thought Christ a prophet, and knew not that He was the Son of God. And then we have heard an answer of his entirely false; for he said, We know that God hears not sinners. If God hears not sinners, what hope have we? If God hears not sinners, why do we pray, and publish the record of our sin by the beating of the breast? Where again is that Publican, who went up with the Pharisee into the temple and while the Pharisee was boasting, parading his own merits, he standing afar off, and with his eyes fastened on the ground, and beating his breast, was confessing his sins? And this man, who confessed his sins, went down from the temple justified rather than the other Pharisee. Assuredly then God does hear sinners. But he who spoke these words had not yet washed the face of the heart in Siloa. The sacrament had gone before on his eyes; but in the heart had not been yet effected the blessing of the grace. When did this blind man wash the face of his heart? When the Lord admitted him into Himself after he had been cast out by the Jews. For He found him, and said to him as we have heard; Do you believe in the Son of God? And he, Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him? With the eyes, it is true, he saw already; did he see already in the heart? No, not yet. Wait; he will see presently. Jesus answered him, I that speak with you am He. Did he doubt? No, immediately he washed his face. For he was speaking with That Siloa, which is by interpretation, Sent. Who is the Sent, but Christ? Who often bore witness, saying, I do the will of My Father That sent Me. He then was Himself the Siloa. The man approached blind in heart, he heard, believed, adored; washed the face, saw.

3. But they who cast him out continued blind, forasmuch as they cavilled at the Lord, that it was the sabbath when He made clay of the spittle, and anointed the eyes of the blind man. For when the Lord cured with a word, the Jews openly cavilled. For He did no work on the sabbath day, when He spoke, and it was done. It was a manifest cavil; they cavilled at Him merely commanding, they cavilled at Him speaking; as if they did not themselves speak all the sabbath day. I might say that they do not speak not only on the sabbath, but on no day, forasmuch as they have kept back from the praises of the True God. Nevertheless, as I have said, brethren, it was a manifest cavil. The Lord said to a certain man, Stretch forth your hand; he was made whole, and they cavilled for that He healed on the sabbath day. What did He do? What work did He do? What burden did He bear? But in this instance, the spitting on the ground, the making clay, and anointing the man's eyes, is doing some work. Let no one doubt it, it was doing a work. The Lord did break the sabbath; but was not therefore guilty. What is that I have said, He broke the sabbath? He, the Light had come, He was removing the shadows. For the sabbath was enjoined by the Lord God, enjoined by Christ Himself, who was with the Father, when that Law was given; it was enjoined by Him, but in shadow of what was to come. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days, which are a shadow of things to come. He had now come whose coming these things announced. Why do the shadows delight us? Open your eyes, you Jews; the Sun is present. We know. What do ye know, you blind in heart? What know ye? That this man is not of God, because he thus breaks the sabbath day. The sabbath, unhappy men, this very sabbath did Christ ordain, who you say is not of God. You observe the sabbath in a carnal manner, you have not the spittle of Christ. In this earth of the sabbath look also for the spittle of Christ, and you will understand that by the sabbath Christ was prophesied. But you, because you have not the spittle of Christ in the earth upon your eyes, you have not come unto Siloa, and have not washed the face, and have continued blind, blind to the good of this blind man, yea now no longer blind either in body or heart. He received clay with the spittle, his eyes were anointed, he came to Siloa, he washed his face, he believed on Christ, he saw, he continued not in that exceedingly fearful judgment; For judgment I came into this world, that they which see not may see, and that they which see may be made blind.

4. Exceeding alarm! That they which see not may see: Good. It is a Saviour's office, a profession of healing power, That they which see not may see. But what, Lord, is that You have added, That they which see may be made blind? If we understand, it is most true, most righteous. Yet what is, They which see? They are the Jews. Do they then see? According to their own words, they see; according to the truth, they do not see. What then is, they see? They think they see, they believe they see. For they believed they did see, when they maintained the Law against Christ. We know; therefore they see. What is We know, but we see? What is, this Man is not of God, because He thus breaks the sabbath day? They see; they read what the Law said. For it was enjoined that whosoever should break the sabbath day, should be stoned. Therefore said they that He was not of God; but though seeing, they were blind to this, that for judgment He came into the world who is to be the Judge of quick and dead; why came He? That they which see not may see: that they who confess that they do not see, may be enlightened. And that they which see may be made blind; that is, that they who confess not their own blindness, may be the more hardened. And, in fact, That they which see may be made blind, has been fulfilled; the defenders of the Law, Doctors of the Law, the teachers of the Law, the understanders of the Law, crucified the Author of the Law. O blindness, this is that which in part has happened to Israel. That Christ might be crucified, and the fullness of the Gentiles might come in, blindness in part has happened to Israel. What is, that they which see not may see? That the fullness of the Gentiles might come in, blindness in part has happened to Israel. The whole world lay in blindness; but He came, that they which see not may see, and that they which see may be made blind. He was disowned by the Jews, He was crucified by the Jews; of His Blood He made an eye-salve for the blind. They who boasted that they saw the light, being more hardened, being made blind, crucified the Light. What great blindness? They killed the Light, but the Light Crucified enlightened the blind.

5. Hear one seeing, who once was blind. Behold, against what a cross they have miserably stumbled, who would not confess their blindness to the Physician! The Law had continued with them. What serves the Law without grace? Unhappy men, what can the Law do without grace? What does the earth without the spittle of Christ? What does the Law without grace, but make them more guilty? Why? Because hearers of the Law and not doers, and hereby sinners, transgressors. The son of the hostess of the man of God was dead, and his staff was sent by his servant, and laid upon his face, but he did not revive. What does the Law without grace? What says the Apostle, now seeing, now of blind, enlightened? For if there had been a Law given which could give life, verily righteousness should have been by the Law. Take heed; let us answer and say; what is this that he has said? If there had been a Law given which could give life, verily righteousness should have been by the Law. If it could not give life, why was it given? He went on and added, But the Scripture has concluded all under sin, that the promise by the faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. That the promise of illumination, the promise of love by the faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe, that Scripture, that is the Law, has concluded all under sin. What is, has concluded all under sin? I had not known concupiscence, except the Law had said, You shall not lust. What is, has concluded all under sin? Hath made the sinner a transgressor also. For it could not heal the sinner. It has concluded all under sin; but with what hope? The hope of grace, the hope of mercy. You have received the Law: you wished to keep it, you were not able; you have fallen from pride, hast seen your weakness. Run to the Physician, wash the face. Long for Christ, confess Christ, believe in Christ; the Spirit is added to the letter, and you will be saved. For if you take away the Spirit from the letter, the letter kills; if it kill, where is hope? But the Spirit gives life.

6. Let then Gehazi, Elisha's servant, receive the staff, as Moses the servant of God received the Law. Let him receive the staff, receive it, run, go before, anticipate him, lay the staff upon the face of the dead child. And so it was; he did receive it, he ran, he laid the staff upon the face of the dead child. But to what purpose? What serves the staff? If there had been a Law given which could give life, the boy might have been raised to life by the staff; but seeing that the Scripture has concluded all under sin, he still lies dead. But why has it concluded all under sin? That the promise by the faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. Let then Elisha come, who sent the staff by the servant to prove that he was dead; let him come himself, come in his own person, himself enter into the woman's house, go up to the child, find him dead, conform himself to the members of the dead child, himself not dead, but living. For this he did; he laid his face upon his face, his eyes upon his eyes, his hands upon his hands, his feet upon his feet, he straitened, he contracted himself, being great, he made himself little. He contracted himself; so to say, he lessened himself. For being in the Form of God, He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant. What is He conformed Himself, alive to the dead? Do you ask, what this is? Hear the Apostle; God sent His Son. What is, he conformed himself to the dead? Let him tell this, let him go on and declare it again; In the likeness of flesh of sin. This is to conform Himself Alive to the dead; to come to us in the likeness of flesh of sin, not in the flesh of sin. Man lay dead in a flesh of sin, the likeness of flesh of sin conformed Himself to him. For He died who had not wherefore to die. He died, Alone Free among the dead; forasmuch as the whole flesh of men was indeed a flesh of sin. And how should it rise again, had not He who had no sin, conforming Himself to the dead, come in the likeness of flesh of sin? O Lord Jesus, who hast suffered for us, not for Yourself, who had no guilt, and endured its punishment, that you might dissolve at once the guilt and punishment.

The tenth chapter of the Gospel of John . Of the shepherd, and the hireling, and the thief.

1. Your faith, dearly beloved, is not ignorant, and I know that you have so learned by the teaching of that Master from heaven, in whom you have placed your hope, that our Lord Jesus Christ, who has now suffered for us and risen again, is the Head of the Church, and the Church is His Body, and that in His Body the unity of the members and the bond of charity is, as it were, its sound health. But whosoever grows cold in charity, has become enfeebled in the Body of Christ. But He who has already exalted our Head, is able also to make even the feeble members whole; provided, that is, that they be not cut off by excessive impiety, but adhere to the Body until they be made whole. For whatsoever yet adheres to the body, is not beyond hope of healing; whereas that which has been cut off, can neither be in process of curing, nor be healed. Since then He is the Head of the Church, and the Church is His Body, Whole Christ is both the Head and the Body. He has already risen again. We have therefore the Head in heaven. Our Head intercedes for us. Our Head without sin and without death, now propitiates God for our sins; that we too at the end rising again, and changed into heavenly glory, may follow our Head. For where the Head is, there are the rest of the members also. But while we are here, we are members; let us not despair, for we shall follow our Head.

2. For consider, Brethren, the love of this our Head. He is now in heaven, yet does He suffer here, as long as His Church suffers here. Here Christ is hungered, here He is thirsty, is naked, is a stranger, is sick, is in prison. For whatsoever His Body suffers here, He has said that Himself suffers; and at the end, severing off this His Body to the right hand, and severing the rest by whom He is now trodden under foot to the left, He will say to those on the right hand, Come, you blessed of My Father, receive the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the beginning of the world. For what deservings? For I was an hungred, and you gave Me meat; and so He goes over the rest, as if He had Himself received; to such a degree that they, not understanding it, make answer and say, Lord, when saw we You an hungred, a stranger, and in prison? And He says to them, Forasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of Mine, you have done it unto Me. So also in our own body, the head is above, the feet are on the earth; yet in any crowding and throng of men, when any one treads on your foot, does not the head say, You are treading upon me? No one has trodden on your head, or on your tongue; it is above, in safety, no harm has happened unto it; and yet because by the bond of charity there is unity from the head even to the feet, the tongue does not separate itself therefrom, but says, You are treading upon me; when no one has touched it. As then the tongue, which no one has touched, says, You are treading upon me; so Christ, the Head, which no one treads on, said, I was an hungred, and you gave Me meat. And to them who did not so, He said, I was an hungred, and you gave Me no meat. And how did He finish? Thus; These shall go into everlasting burning, but the righteous into life eternal.

3. When our Lord then was speaking on this occasion, He said, that He is the Shepherd, He said also that He is the Door. You find them both in that place, both I am the Door and I am the Shepherd. In the Head He is the Door, the Shepherd in the Body. For He says to Peter, in whom singly He forms the Church; Peter, do you love Me? He answered, Lord, I do love You. Feed My sheep. And a third time, Peter, do you love Me? Peter was grieved because He asked him the third time; as though He who saw the conscience of the denier, saw not the confessor's faith. He had known him always, had known him even when Peter had not known himself. For he did not know himself at that time when he said, I will be with You even unto death; and how infirm he was he knew not. Just as it constantly happens in fact to invalids, that the sick man knows not what is going on within him, but the physician knows; when yet the former is suffering from the very sickness, and the physician is not. The physician can better tell what is going on in another, than he who is sick what is going on in himself. Peter then was at that time the invalid, and the Lord the Physician. The former declared that he had strength, when he had not; but the Lord touching the pulse of his heart, declared that he should deny Him thrice. And so it came to pass, as the Physician foretold, not as the sick presumed. Therefore, after His resurrection the Lord questioned him, not as being ignorant with what a heart he would confess the love of Christ, but that he might by a threefold confession of love, efface the threefold denial of fear.

4. Therefore does the Lord require this of Peter, Peter, do you love Me? As though, What will you give Me, what will you do for Me, seeing that you love Me? What was Peter to do for his Lord risen again, and going into heaven, and sitting on the right hand of the Father? As if He had said, This shall you give Me, this shall you do for Me, if you love Me, feed My sheep; enter in by the Door, not go up by another way. You heard when the Gospel was being read, He that enters in by Door, is the shepherd; but he that goes up another way, is a thief and a robber; and he seeks to disperse, and to scatter, and to spoil. Who is he that enters in by the Door? He that enters in by Christ. Who is he? He who imitates the Passion of Christ, who acknowledges the Humility of Christ; that whereas God was made Man for us, man may acknowledge himself to be, not God, but man. For whoever wishes to appear God, when he is man, does not imitate Him, who, being God, was made Man. But to you it is not said, Be anything less than you are; but acknowledge what you are. Acknowledge yourself feeble, acknowledge yourself man, acknowledge yourself a sinner; acknowledge that it is He That justifies, acknowledge that you are full of stains. Let the stain of your heart appear in your confession, and you shall belong to Christ's flock. For the confession of sins invites the physician's healing; as in sickness, he that says, I am well, seeks not the physician. Did not the Pharisee and the Publican go up to the temple? The one boasted of his sound estate, the other showed his wounds to the Physician. For the Pharisee said, I thank You, O God, that I am not as this publican. He gloried over the other. So then if that publican had been whole, the Pharisee would have grudged it him; for that he would not have had any one over whom to extol himself. In what state then had he come, who had this envious spirit? Surely he was not whole; and whereas he called himself whole, he went not down cured. But the other casting his eyes down to the ground, and not daring to lift them up unto heaven, smote his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. And what says the Lord? Verily I say unto you, that the publican went down from the temple justified rather than the Pharisee. For every one that exalts himself shall be abased, and he that humbles himself shall be exalted. They then who exalt themselves, would go up into the sheepfold by another way; but they who humble themselves, enter in by the Door into the sheepfold. Therefore said He of the one, he enters in; of the other, he goes up. He that goes up, you see, who seeks exaltation, does not enter in, but falls. Whereas he that abases himself, that he may enter in by the Door, falls not, but is the shepherd.

5. But the Lord mentioned three characters, and our duty is to search them out in the Gospel, that of the shepherd, the hireling, and the thief. I suppose you took notice when the lesson was being read, that He marked out the shepherd, the hireling, and the thief. The Shepherd, said He, lays down His life for the sheep, and enters in by the door. The thief and the robber, said He, go up by another way. The hireling, He said, if he sees a wolf or even a thief, flees; because he cares not for the sheep; for he is an hireling, not a shepherd. The one enters in by the door, because he is the shepherd; the second goes up another way, because he is a thief; the third seeing them who wish to spoil the sheep fears and flees, because he is an hireling, because he cares not for the sheep; for he is an hireling. If we shall find these three characters, you have found, holy brethren, both those whom you should love, and those whom you should tolerate, and those of whom you must beware. The Shepherd is to be loved, the hireling is to be tolerated, of the robber must we beware. There are men in the Church of whom the Apostle speaks, who preach the Gospel by occasion, seeking of men their own advantage, whether of money, or of honour, or human praise. They preach the Gospel, wishing to receive rewards in whatsoever way they can, and seek not so much his salvation to whom they preach, as their own advantage. But he who hears the word of salvation from him who has not salvation, if he believe Him whom he preaches, and put not his hope in him, by whom salvation is preached to him; he that preaches shall have loss; he to whom he preaches shall have gain.

6. You have the Lord saying of the Pharisees, They sit in Moses' seat. The Lord did not mean them only; as if He would send those who should believe in Christ to the school of the Jews, that they might learn there wherein is the way to the kingdom of heaven. Did not the Lord come for this end, that He might establish a Church, and separate those Jews who had a good faith, and a good hope, and a good love, as wheat from the chaff, and might make them one wall of the circumcision, to which should be joined another wall from the uncircumcision of the Gentiles, of which two walls coming from different directions, Himself should be the Corner-Stone? Did not the same Lord therefore say of these two people who were to be one, And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold? Now He was speaking to the Jews; Them also, said He, must I bring, that there may be one fold, and One Shepherd. Therefore there were two ships out of which He had called His disciples. They figured these two people, when they let down their nets, and took up so great a draught and so large a number of fishes, that the nets were almost broken. And they laded, it is said, both the ships. The two ships figured the One Church, but made out of two peoples, joined together in Christ, though coming from different parts. Of this too the two wives, who had one husband Jacob, Leah and Rachel, are a figure. Of these two, the two blind men also are a figure, who sat by the way side, to whom the Lord gave sight. And if you pay attention to the Scriptures, you will find the two Churches, which are not two but One, figured out in many places. For to this end the Corner-Stone serves, for to make of two One. To this end serves That Shepherd, for to make of two flocks One. So then the Lord who was to teach the Church, and to have a school of His Own beyond the Jews, as we see at present, would He be likely to send those who believe in Him unto the Jews, to learn? But under the name of the Scribes and Pharisees He intimated that there would be some in His Church who would say and not do; but, in the person of Moses He designated Himself. For Moses represented Him, and for this reason did he put a veil before him, when he was speaking to the people; because as long as they were in the law given up to carnal joys and pleasures, and looking for an earthly kingdom, a veil was put upon their face, that they should not see Christ in the Scriptures. For when the veil was taken away, after that the Lord had suffered, the secrets of the temple were discovered. Accordingly when He was hanging on the Cross, the veil of the temple was rent from the top even to the bottom; and the Apostle Paul says expressly, But when you shall turn to Christ, the veil shall be taken away. Whereas with him who turns not to Christ, though he read the law of Moses, the veil is laid upon his heart, as the Apostle says. When the Lord then would signify beforehand that there would be some such in His Church, what did He say? The Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. What they say, do; but do not what they do.

7. When wicked clerics hear this which is said against them, they would pervert it. For I have heard that some do wish to pervert this sentence. Would they not, if they might, efface it from the Gospel? But because they cannot efface it, they go about to pervert it. But the grace and mercy of the Lord is present, and allows them not to do so; for He has hedged round all His declarations with His truth, and in such wise balanced them; that if any one would wish to cut off anything from them, or to introduce anything by a bad reading or interpretation, any right hearted man may join to the Scripture what has been cut off from the Scripture, and read what went above or below, and he will find the sense which the other wished to interpret wrongly. What then, think ye, do they say of whom it is said, Do what they say? That it is (and in truth it is so) addressed to laymen. For what does the layman who wishes to live well say to himself, when he takes notice of a wicked cleric? The Lord said, 'What they say, do; what they do, do not.' Let me walk in the way of the Lord, not follow this man's conversation. Let me hear from him not his words, but God's. I will follow God, let him follow his own lust. For if I should wish to defend myself in such wise before God as to say, 'Lord, I saw that your cleric living evilly, and therefore I lived evilly;' would He not say to me, 'You wicked servant, had you not heard from Me, What they say, do, but what they do, do not?' But a wicked layman, an unbeliever, who belongs not to Christ's flock, who belongs not to Christ's wheat, who as chaff is only borne with in the floor, what does he say to himself when the word of God begins to reprove him? Away; why do you talk to me? The very Bishops and Clergy do not do it, and do you force me to do it? Thus he seeks for himself not a patron for his bad cause, but a companion for punishment. For will that wicked one whosoever he be that he has chosen to imitate, will he ever defend him in the day of judgment? For as with all whom the devil seduces, he seduces them not to be partakers of a kingdom, but of his damnation; so all who follow the wicked, seek companions for themselves to hell, not protection unto the kingdom of heaven.

8. How then do they pervert this declaration when it is said to them in their wicked lives, With good reason was it said by the Lord,'What they say, do; what they do, do not'? It was well said, say they. For it was said to you, that you should do what we say; but that you should not do what we do. For we offer sacrifice, you may not. See the cunning craftiness of these men; what shall I call them? Hirelings. For if they were shepherds, they would not say such things. Therefore the Lord, that He might shut their mouths, went on, and said, They sit in Moses' seat; what they say, do; but what they do, do not; for they say, and do not. What is it then, Brethren? If He had spoken of offering sacrifice; would He have said, For they say, and do not? For they do offer sacrifice, they do offer unto God. What is it that they say, and do not? Hear what follows; For they bind heavy burdens, and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders, and they themselves will not touch them with one of their fingers. So openly did He rebuke, describe, and point them out. But those men when they thus wish to pervert the passage, show plainly that they seek nothing in the Church but their own advantage; and that they have not read the Gospel; for had they known but this very page, and read the whole, they would never have dared to say this.

9. But attend to a more clear proof that the Church has such as these. Lest any one should say to us, He spoke entirely of the Pharisees, He spoke of the Scribes, He spoke of the Jews; for the Church has none such. Who then are they of whom the Lord says, Not every one that says unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven? And He added, Many shall say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your Name, and in Your Name done many mighty works, and in Your Name have eaten and drunken? What! Do the Jews do these things in Christ's name? Assuredly it is manifest, that He speaks of them who have the Name of Christ. But what follows? Then will I say to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, all you that work iniquity. Hear the Apostle sighing concerning such as these. He says that some preach the Gospel through charity, others by occasion; of whom he says, They do not preach the Gospel rightly. A right thing, but themselves not right. What they preach is right; but they who preach it are not right. Why is he not right? Because he seeks something else in the Church, seeks not God. If he sought God, he would be chaste; for the soul has in God her lawful husband. Whosoever seeks from God ought besides God, does not seek God chastely. Consider, Brethren; if a wife love her husband because he is rich, she is not chaste. For she loves not her husband, but her husband's gold. Whereas if she love her husband, she loves him both in nakedness and poverty. For if she love him because he is rich; what if (as human chances are) he be outlawed and all on a sudden be reduced to need? She gives him up, perhaps; because what she loved was not her husband, but his property. But if she love her husband indeed, she loves him even more when poor; for that she loves with pity too.

10. And yet, Brethren, our God never can be poor. He is rich, He made all things, heaven and earth, the sea and Angels. In the heaven, whatsoever we see, whatsoever we see not, He made it. But notwithstanding, we ought not to love these riches, but Him who made them. For He has promised you nothing but Himself. Find anything more precious, and He will give you this. Beauteous is the earth, the heaven, and the Angels; but more beauteous is He who made them. They then who preach God, as loving God; who preach God, for God's sake, feed the sheep, and are no hirelings. This chastity did our Lord Jesus Christ require of the soul, when He said to Peter, Peter, do you love Me? What is Do you love Me? Are you chaste? Is not your heart adulterous? Do you seek not your own things in the Church, but Mine? If then you be such an one, and lovest Me, feed My sheep. For you shall be no hireling, but you shall be a shepherd.

11. But they did not preach chastely, concerning whom the Apostle sighs. But what does he say? What then? Notwithstanding every way, whether by occasion or in truth, Christ is preached. He suffers then that hirelings there should be. The shepherd preaches Christ in truth, the hireling by occasion preaches Christ, seeking something else. Notwithstanding, both the one and the other preaches Christ. Hear the voice of the shepherd Paul; Whether by occasion or in truth, Christ is preached. Himself a shepherd, he was pleased to have the hireling. For they act where they are able, they are useful as far as they are able. But when the Apostle for other uses sought for those whose ways the weak ones might imitate; he says, I have sent unto you Timotheus, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways. And what does he say? I have sent unto you a shepherd, to bring you into remembrance of my ways; that is, who himself also walks as I walk. And in sending this shepherd, what does he say? For I have no one so likeminded, who with sincere affection is anxious for you. Were there not many with him? But what follows? For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's; that is, I have wished to send unto you a shepherd; for there are many hirelings; but it were not meet for an hireling to be sent. An hireling is sent for the transaction of other affairs and business; but for those which Paul then desired, a shepherd was necessary. And he scarcely found one shepherd among many hirelings; for the shepherds are few, the hirelings many. But what is said of the hirelings? Verily I say unto you, they have received their reward. Of the shepherd, what says the Apostle? But whosoever shall cleanse himself from such as these shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and useful to the Lord, prepared always unto every good work. Not unto certain things prepared, and unto certain not prepared, but unto every good work prepared. So much have I said, concerning the shepherds.

12. But we will now speak of the hirelings. The hireling when he sees the wolf lying in wait for the sheep, flees. This the Lord said. Why? Because he cares not for the sheep. So long then is the hireling of use, as he sees not the wolf coming, as he sees not the thief and the robber; but when he sees them, he flees. And who is there of the hirelings, who flees not from the Church, when he sees the wolf and the robber? And wolves and robbers abound. They are they who go up by another way. Who are these who go up? They who of Donatus' way wish to make havoc of Christ's sheep, they go up by another way. They do not enter in by Christ, because they are not humble. Because they are proud, they go up. What is, they go up? They are lifted up. Whereby do they go up? By another way: whence they wish to be named from their way. They who are not in unity are of another way, and by this way they go up, that is, are lifted up, and wish to spoil the sheep. Now mark how they go up. It is we, they say, who sanctify, we justify, we make righteous. See whither they have got up. But he that exalts himself, shall be abased. Our Lord God is able to abase them. Now the wolf is the devil, he lies in wait to deceive, and they that follow him; for it is said that they are clothed indeed with the skins of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. If the hireling observe anyone indulging in wicked talking, or in sentiments to the deadly hurt of his soul, or doing ought that is abominable and unclean, and notwithstanding that he seems to bear a character of some importance in the Church (from which if he hopes for advantage he is an hireling); says nothing, and when he sees the man perishing in his sin, sees the wolf following him, sees his throat dragged by his teeth to punishment; says not to him, You sin; does not chide him, lest he lose his own advantage. This I say is, When he sees the wolf, he flees; he does not say to him, You are doing wickedly. This is no flight of the body, but of the soul. He whom you see standing still in body flies in heart, when he sees a sinner, and does not say to him, You sin; yea when he even is in concert with him.

13. My Brethren, does ever either Presbyter or Bishop come up here, and say anything from this higher place, but that the property of others must not be plundered, that there must be no fraud committed, no wickedness done? They cannot say ought else who sit in Moses' seat, and it is it that speaks by them, not they themselves. What then is, Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? and, Every tree is known by his fruit? Can a Pharisee speak good things? A Pharisee is a thorn; how from a thorn do I gather grapes? Because You, Lord, have said, What they say, do; but what they do, do not. Do You bid me gather grapes of thorns when You say, Do men gather grapes of thorns? The Lord answers you, I have not bidden you gather grapes of thorns: but look, mark well, if haply, as is often the case, the vine when it trails all along upon the ground, be not entangled in thorns. For we sometimes find this, my Brethren, a vine planted over sedge, how it has there a thorny hedge, and throws out its branches, and entangles them in the thorny hedge, and the grape hangs among the thorns; and he that sees it plucks the grape, yet not from the thorns, but from the vine which is entangled in the thorns. In like manner then the Pharisees are thorny; but by sitting in Moses' seat, the vine wraps them round, and grapes, that is, good words, good precepts, hang from them. If you pick the grape, the thorn will not prick you, when you read, What they say, do; but what they do, do not. But the thorn will prick you, if you do what they do. So then that you may gather the grape, and not be caught in the thorns, What they say, do; but what they do, do not. Their deeds are the thorns, their words are the grapes, but from the vine, that is, from Moses' seat.

14. These then flee, when they see the wolf, when they see the robber. Now this it was that I had began to say, that from this higher place they can say nothing, but, Do well, do not forswear yourselves, defraud not, cheat not any. But sometimes men's lives are so bad, that counsel is asked of a Bishop on the taking away of another man's estate, and from him is such counsel sought. It has sometimes happened to ourselves, we speak from experience: for we should not have believed it. Many men require from us evil counsels, counsels of lying, of fraud; thinking that they please us thereby. But by the Name of Christ, if what we are saying is pleasing to the Lord, no such man has tempted us, and found what he wished in us. For with the good pleasure of Him who has called us, we are shepherds, not hirelings. But as says the Apostle, But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's day; yea, I judge not even my own self. For I am conscious of nothing by myself, but I am not hereby justified. But He That judges me is the Lord. My conscience is not therefore good, because you praise it. For how do you praise what you do not see? Let Him praise, who sees; yea let Him correct, if He sees ought there which offends His Eyes. For I too do not say that I am perfectly whole; but I beat my breast, and say to God, Be merciful, that I sin not. Yet I do think, for I speak in His Presence, that I seek nothing from you, but your salvation; and constantly do I groan over the sins of my brethren, and I suffer distress, and am tormented in mind, and often do I reprove them; yea, I never cease reproving them. All who remember what I say are witnesses, how often my brethren who sin have been reproved, and earnestly reproved, by me.

15. I am now treating of my counsel with you, holy Brethren. In Christ's Name you are the people of God, you are a Catholic people, you are members of Christ; you are not divided from unity. You are in communion with the members of the Apostles, you are in communion with the memories of the Holy Martyrs, who are spread over the whole world, and you belong to my cure, that I may render a good account of you. Now my whole account, what it is you know. Lord, You know that I have spoken, You know that I have not kept silence, You know in what spirit I have spoken, You know that I have wept before You, when I spoke, and was not heard. This I imagine is my whole account. For the Holy Spirit by the prophet Ezekiel has given me sure hope. You know this passage concerning the watchman; O son of man, says He, I have set you a watchman unto the house of Israel; if when I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, you shall die the death, you do not speak; that is (for I speak to you that you may speak), if you do not announce it, and the sword, that is, what I have threatened on the sinner, come, and take him away; that wicked man indeed shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. Why? Because he did not speak. But if the watchman see the sword coming, and blow the trumpet, that he may fly, and he took not to himself, that is, amend not himself, that it find him not in the punishment which God threatens, and the sword shall come and take any one away; that wicked man indeed shall die in his iniquity; but you, says He, hast delivered your own soul. And in that place of the Gospel, what else says He to the servant? When he said, Lord, I knew You to be a difficult or hard Man, in that Thou reapest where You have not sowed, and gatherest where You have not scattered; and I was afraid, and went and hid Your talent in the earth, lo, You have that is Yours. And He said, 'Thou wicked and slothful servant,' because you knew Me to be a difficult and hard Man, to reap where I have not sown, and to gather where I have not scattered, My very covetousness ought the more to teach you, that I look for profit from My money. 'You ought therefore to have given My money to the exchangers, and at My coming I should have required My own with usury.' Did He say, You ought to give, and require? It is we then, Brethren, who give, He will come to require. Pray ye, that He may find us prepared.

On the words of the Gospel, John 10:14 , I am the good shepherd, etc. Against the Donatists.

1. We have heard the Lord Jesus setting forth to us the office of a good shepherd. And herein He has doubtless given us to know, as we may understand it, that there are good shepherds. And yet that the multitude of shepherds might not be understood in a wrong sense; He says, I am the good Shepherd. And wherein He is the good Shepherd, He shows in the words following; The good Shepherd, says He, lays down His life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, sees the wolf coming, and flees; because he cares not for the sheep, for he is an hireling. Christ then is the good Shepherd. What was Peter? Was he not a good shepherd? Did not he too lay down his life for the sheep? What was Paul? What the rest of the Apostles? What the blessed Bishops, Martyrs, who followed close upon their times? What again our holy Cyprian? Were they not all good shepherds, not hirelings, of whom it is said, Verily I say unto you, they have received their reward? All these then were good shepherds, not simply for that they shed their blood, but that they shed it for the sheep. For not in pride, but in charity they shed it.

2. For even among the heretics, they who for their iniquities and errors have suffered any trouble, vaunt themselves in the name of martyrdom, that with this fair covering disguised they may plunder the more easily, for wolves they are. Now if you would know in what rank they are to be held, hear that good shepherd, the Apostle Paul, that not all who even give up their bodies in suffering to the flames, are to be accounted to have shed their blood for the sheep, but rather against the sheep. If, says he, I speak with the tongues of men, and angels, but have not charity, I have become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. If I should know all mysteries, and have all prophecy, and all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not charity, I am nothing. Now a great thing truly is this faith that removes mountains. They are indeed all great things; but if I have them without charity, says he, not they, but I am nothing. But up to this point he has not touched them, who glory in sufferings under the false name of martyrdom. Hear how he touches, yea rather pierces them through and through. If I should distribute, says he, all my goods to the poor, and deliver my body to be burned. Now here they are. But mark what follows; but have not charity, it profits me nothing. Lo, they have come to suffering, come even to the shedding of blood, yea come to the burning of the body; and yet it profits them nothing, because charity is lacking. Add charity, they all profit; take charity away, all the rest profit nothing.

3. What a good is this charity, Brethren! What more precious? What yields greater light? Or strength? Or profit? Or security? Many are the gifts of God, which even the wicked have, who shall say, Lord, we have prophesied in Your Name, in Your Name have cast out devils, in Your Name done many mighty works. And He will not answer, You have not done them. For in the Presence of so great a Judge, they will not dare to lie or boast of things they have not done. But for that they had not charity, He answers them all, I know you not. Now how can he have so much as the smallest charity, who when even convicted, loves not unity? It was then as impressing on good shepherds this unity, that our Lord was unwilling to mention many shepherds. For it is not, as I have said already, that Peter was not a good shepherd, and Paul, the rest of the Apostles, and the holy Bishops who were after them, and blessed Cyprian. All these were good shepherds; and notwithstanding to good shepherds, He commended not good shepherds, but a good Shepherd. I, says He, am the good Shepherd.

4. Let us question the Lord with such little understanding as we have, and in most humble discourse hold converse with so great a Master. What sayest Thou, O Lord, Thou good Shepherd? For You are the good Shepherd, who art also the good Lamb; at once Pastor and Pasturage, at once Lamb and Lion. What sayest Thou? Let us give ear and aid us, that we may understand. I, says He, am the good Shepherd. What is Peter? Is he either not a shepherd, or a bad one? Let us see, if he be not a shepherd. Do you love Me? You said to Him Lord, Do you love Me? And he answered, I do love You. And Thou to him, Feed My sheep. Thou, You, Lord, by Your Own questioning, by the strong assurance of Your Own words, made of the lover a shepherd. He is a shepherd then to whom You committed Your sheep to be fed. You Yourself entrusted them, he is a shepherd. Let us now see whether he be not a good one. This we find by the very question, and his answer. You asked, whether he loved You; he answered, I do love You. Thou saw his heart, that he answered truth. Is he not then good, who loves so great a Good? Whence that answer drawn from his inmost heart? Wherefore was this Peter, who had Your eyes in his heart for witnesses, sad because You asked him not once only, but a second and a third time, that by a threefold confession of love, he might efface the threefold sin of denial; wherefore, I say, being sad that he was asked repeatedly by Him who knew what He was asking, and had given what He heard; wherefore being sad, did he return such an answer, Lord, You know all things, You know that I love You? What! In making such a confession, such a profession rather, would he lie? In truth then, he made answer of his love to You, and from his inmost heart he gave utterance to a lover's words. Now You have said, A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things. So then he is both a shepherd, and a good shepherd; nothing it is true to the power and goodness of the Shepherd of shepherds; but nevertheless even he is both a shepherd, and a good one; and all other such are good shepherds.

5. What means it then, that to good shepherds Thou dost set forth One Only Shepherd, but that in One Shepherd Thou teachest unity? And the Lord Himself explains this more clearly by my ministry, putting you, beloved, in remembrance by this Gospel, and saying, Hear what I have set forth; I have said, 'I am the good Shepherd.' because all the rest, all the good shepherds, are My members. One Head, One Body, One Christ. So then both the Shepherd of shepherds, and the shepherds of the Shepherd, and the sheep with their shepherds under The Shepherd. What is all this, but what the Apostle says? For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. Therefore if Christ be even so, with good reason does Christ in Himself containing all good shepherds, set forth One, saying, 'I am the good Shepherd.' 'I am,' I Alone am, all the rest with Me are one in unity. Whoever feeds without Me, feeds against Me. 'He that gathers not with Me, scatters.' Hear then this unity more forcibly set forth; Other sheep, says He, I have which are not of this fold. For He was speaking to the first fold of the stock of the fleshly Israel. But there were others of the stock of the faith of this Israel, and they were yet without, were among the Gentiles, predestinated, not yet gathered in. These He knew who had predestinated them; He knew, who had come to redeem them with the shedding of His Own Blood. He saw them who did not yet see Him; He knew them who yet believed not on Him. Other sheep, says He, I have which are not of this fold; because they are not of the stock of the flesh of Israel. But nevertheless they shall not be outside of this fold, for them also I must bring, that there may be One Fold, and One Shepherd.

6. With good reason then to This Shepherd of shepherds, does His Beloved, His Spouse, His Fair One, but by Him made fair, before by sin deformed, beautiful afterward through pardon and grace, speak in her love and ardour after Him, and say to Him, Where feedest Thou? And observe how, by what transport this spiritual love is here animated. And far better are they by this transport delighted, who have tasted ought of the sweetness of this love. They hear this properly, who love Christ. For in them, and of them, does the Church sing this in the Song of Songs; who love Christ, as it seemed without beauty, yet the Only Beautiful One. For we saw Him, it is said, and He had neither beauty nor comeliness. Such He appeared on the Cross, such when crowned with thorns did He exhibit Himself, disfigured, and without comeliness, as if He had lost His power, as if not the Son of God. Such seemed He to the blind. For it is in the person of the Jews that Isaiah said this, We saw Him, and He had no beauty nor comeliness. When it was said, If He be the Son of God, let Him come down from the Cross. He saved others, Himself He cannot save. And smiting Him on the head with a reed, they said, Prophesy unto us, you Christ, who smote You? Because He had neither beauty nor comeliness. As such did you Jews see Him. For blindness has happened in part to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles enter in, until the other sheep come. Because then blindness has happened, therefore did you see the Comely One without comeliness. For had you known Him, you would never have crucified the Lord of Glory. But you did it, because you knew Him not. And yet He who as though without beauty bare with you, all Beauteous as He was, prayed for you; Father, says He, forgive them, for they know not what they do. For if He were without comeliness, how is it that she loves Him, who says, Tell me, O Thou whom my soul loves? How is it that she loves Him? How is it that she burns for Him? How is it that she fears so much to stray from Him? How is it that she has so great delight in Him, that her only punishment is to be without Him? What would there be for which He should be loved, if He were not beautiful? But how could she love Him so, if He appeared to her as He did to those blind men persecuting Him, and knowing not what they do? As what then did she love Him? As comely in form above the sons of men. Comely in form above the sons of men, grace is poured abroad in Your Lips. So then from these Your Lips, Tell me, O Thou whom my soul loves. Tell me, says she, O Thou whom, not my flesh, but, my soul loves. Tell me where You feed, where Thou liest down in the midday; lest haply I light, as one veiled, upon the flocks of Your companions.

7. It seems obscure, obscure it is; for it is a mystery of the sacred marriage bed. For she says, The King has brought me into His chamber. Of such a chamber is this a mystery. But you who are not as profane kept off from this chamber, hear what you are, and say with her, if with her you love (and you do love with her, if you are in her); say all, and yet let one say, for unity says; Tell me, O Thou whom my soul loves. For they had one soul to Godward, and one heart. Tell me where You feed, where Thou liest down in the midday? What does the midday signify? Great heat, and great brightness. So then, make known to me who are Your wise ones, fervent in spirit, and brilliant in doctrine. Make known to me Your Right Hand, and men learned in heart, in wisdom. To them may I cleave in Your Body, to them be united, with them enjoy You. Tell me then, tell me, where You feed, where Thou liest down in the midday; lest I fall upon them who say other things of You, entertain other sentiments of You; believe other things of You, preach other things of You; and have their own flocks, and are Your companions; for that they live of Your table, and handle the sacraments of Your table. For companions are so called, because they eat together, messmates as it were. Such are reproved in the Psalm; For if Mine enemy had spoken great things against Me, I would surely have hidden Myself from him; and if he that hated Me had spoken great things against Me, I would surely have hidden Myself from him; but you a man of one mind with Me, My guide, and My familiar, who took sweet meats together with Me, in the house of God we walked with consent. Why then now against the house of the Lord with dissent, but that they have gone out from us, but they were not of us? Therefore, O Thou whom my soul loves, that I may not fall upon such, Your companions, but companions such as Samson's were, who kept not faith with their friend, but wished to corrupt his wife. Therefore, that I may not fall upon such as these, that I may not light upon them, that is, fall upon them, as one that is veiled, as one that is concealed, that is, and obscure, not as established upon the mountain. Tell me then, O you whom my soul loves, where You feed, where Thou liest down in the midday; who are the wise and faithful in whom Thou dost specially rest, lest by chance as in blindness I fall upon the flocks, not Your flocks, but the flocks of Your companions. For you did not say to Peter, Feed your sheep, but, Feed My sheep.

8. Let then the good Shepherd, and, the Comely in form above the sons of men, make answer to this beloved one; make answer to her whom He has made beautiful from among the children of men. Hear what He answers, and understand, beware of that wherewith He alarms, love that which He advises. What then does He answer? How free from soft caresses, yea, to her caresses He returns severity! He is sharp that He may bind her closely, that He may keep her. If you know not yourself, says He, O you fair one among women: for however fair others may be by the gifts of your Spouse, they are heresies, fair in outward ornament, not within: fair are they without, and outwardly they shine, they disguise themselves by the name of righteousness; but all the beauty of the King's daughter is within. If then you know not yourself; that you are one, that you are throughout all nations, that you are chaste, that you ought not to corrupt yourself with the disordered converse of evil companions. If you know not yourself, that in uprightness, he has espoused you to Me, to present you a chaste Virgin to Christ; and that in uprightness you should present your own self to Me, lest by evil converse, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds too should be corrupted from my purity. If, I say, you know not yourself to be such, go your way; go your way. For to others I shall say, Enter into the joy of your Lord. To you I shall not say, Enter in; but, Go your way; that you may be among those, who went out from us. Go your way. That is, if you know not yourself, then, go your way. But if you know yourself, enter in. But, if you know not yourself, go your way by the footsteps of the flocks, and feed your kids in the tents of the shepherds. Go your way by the footsteps, not of the Flock, but, of the flocks, and feed, not as Peter, My sheep, but, your kids; in the tents, not of the Shepherd, but, of the shepherds; not of unity, but of dissension; not established there, where there is One flock and One Shepherd. The beloved one was confirmed, edified, made stronger, prepared to die for her Spouse and to live with her Spouse.

9. These words which I have quoted out of the Holy Song of Songs, of a kind of bridal song of the Bridegroom and the Bride (for it is a spiritual wedding, wherein we must live in great purity, for Christ has granted to the Church in spirit that which His Mother had in body, to be at once a Mother and a Virgin); these words, I say, the Donatists accommodate to their own perverted sense in a very different meaning. And how I will not conceal from you, and what you may answer them, I will, by the Lord's help, as well as I shall be able, briefly recommend. When then we begin to press them with the light of the Church's unity spread over the whole world, and demand of them to show us any testimony out of the Scriptures, where God has foretold that the Church should be in Africa, as if all the rest of the nations were lost; they are in the habit of taking this testimony in their mouths, and saying; Africa is under the midday sun; the Church then they say, asking the Lord where He feeds, where He lies down; He answers, 'Under the midday sun;' as if the voice of her who put the question, were, Tell me, O Thou whom my soul loves, where You feed, where Thou liest down; and the Voice of Him who answers, were, Under the midday sun; that is, in Africa. If then it be the Church which asks, and the Lord makes answer where he feeds, in Africa, because the Church was in Africa; then she who asks was not in Africa. Tell me, she says, O Thou whom my soul loves, where You feed, where Thou liest down; and He makes answer to some Church out of Africa, Under the midday sun, in Africa I lie down, in Africa I feed, as if it were, I do not feed in you. I repeat, if she who asks is the Church, which no one disputes, which not even themselves gainsay; and they hear something about Africa; then she who asks is out of Africa; and because it is the Church, the Church is out of Africa.

10. But see, I admit that Africa is under the midday sun; although Egypt is rather under the meridian, under the midday sun than Africa. Now after what fashion This Shepherd is there in Egypt, they who know, will acknowledge; and for them that know not, let them enquire how large a flock lie gathers there, how great a multitude He has of holy men and women who utterly despise the world. That flock has so increased, that it has expelled superstitions even thence. To pass over how it has in its increase banished thence the whole superstition of idols, which had been firmly fixed there; I admit what you say, O evil companions; I admit it altogether, I agree that Africa is in the South, and that Africa is signified in that which is said, Where do You feed, where do You lie down under the midday sun? But do you too equally observe how that up to this point these are the words of the Bride, and not yet of the Bridegroom. Hitherto it is the Bride that says, Tell me, O Thou whom my soul loves, where You feed, where Thou dost lie down in the midday, lest by chance I light, as one veiled. O you deaf, and blind one, if in the midday you see Africa, why in her that is veiled do you not see the Bride? Tell me, she said, O Thou whom my soul loves. Without doubt she addresses her Spouse, when she says, whom [in the masculine ] my soul loves. Just as if it were said, Tell me, O you whom [in the feminine ] my soul loves; we should understand that the Bridegroom spoke these words to His Bride; so when you hear, Tell me, O you whom (in the masculine) my soul loves, where You feed, where Thou liest down; add to this, to her words belongs also what follows, In the midday. I am asking, where You feed in the midday, lest by chance I light as one veiled upon the flocks of Your companions. I consent entirely, I admit what you understand of Africa; it is signified by the midday. But then as you understand it, the Church of Christ beyond the sea is addressing her Spouse, in fear of falling into the African error, O Thou whom my soul, loves, tell me, teach me. For I hear that in the midday, that is in Africa, there are two parties, yea rather many schisms. Tell me, then, where You feed, what sheep belong to You, what fold Thou biddest me love there, whereunto ought I to unite myself. Lest by chance I light as one veiled. For they mock me as if I were concealed, they mock me as destroyed, as though I existed nowhere else. Lest, then, as one veiled, as if concealed, I light upon the flocks, that is, upon the congregarious of the heretics, your companions; the Donatists, the Maximinianists, the Rogatists and all the other pests who gather without, and who therefore scatter; Tell me, I pray You, if I must seek my Shepherd there, that I fall not into the gulf of re-baptizing. I exhort you, I beseech you by the sanctity of such nuptials, love this Church, be in this holy Church, be this Church; love the good Shepherd, the Spouse so fair, who deceives no one, who desires no one to perish. Pray too for the scattered sheep; that they too may come, that they too may acknowledge Him, that they too may love Him; that there may be One Flock and One Shepherd. Let us turn to the Lord, etc.

On the words of the Gospel, John 10:30 , I and the Father are one.

1. You have heard what the Lord God, Jesus Christ, the Only Son of God, born of God the Father without any mother, and born of a Virgin mother without any human father, said, I and My Father are One. Receive this, believe it in such wise that you may attain to understand it. For faith ought to go before understanding, that understanding may be the reward of faith. For the Prophet has said most expressly, Unless you believe, you shall not understand. What then is simply preached is to be believed; what is with exactness discussed, is to be understood. At first then to imbue your minds with faith we preach to you Christ, the Only Son of God the Father. Why is added, The Only Son? Because He whose Only Son He is, has many sons by grace. All the rest then, all saints are sons of God by grace, He Alone by Nature. They who are sons of God by grace are not What the Father is. And no saint has ever dared to say, what that Only Son says, I and My Father are One. Is He not then our Father too? If He be not our Father, how say we when we pray, Our Father, which art in heaven? But we are sons whom He has made sons by His Own will, not begotten as sons of His Own Nature. And in truth He has begotten us too, but as it is said, as adopted ones, begotten by the favour of His adoption, not by Nature. And this too are we called, for that God has called us into the adoption of sons; we are though adopted, men. He is called the Only Son, the Only Begotten, in that, He is That which the Father is; but we are men, The Father is God. In then that He is That which the Father is; He said, and said truly, I and My Father are One. What is, are One? Are of one Nature. What is, are One? Are of one Substance.

2. Peradventure, you but imperfectly understand what of one Substance is. Take we pains that you may understand it; may God assist both me who speak, and you that hear; me, that I may speak such things as are true and fit for you; and you, that before and above all things you may believe; and then that you may understand as best you can. What then is of One Substance? Let me make use of similitudes to you, that what is imperfectly understood may be made clear by example. As, suppose, God is gold. His Son is gold also. If similitudes ought not to be given for heavenly things from things earthly, how is it written, Now the Rock was Christ? So then, Whatsoever the Father is, This is the Son also; as I have said, for example, The Father is gold, the Son is gold. For he who says, The Son is not of the Very Substance which the Father is; what else says he but, The Father is gold, the Son is silver? If the Father be gold, and the Son silver; the Only Son has degenerated from the Father. A man begets a man; of what substance the father is who begets, of the same substance is the Son who is begotten. What is, of the same substance? The one is a man, and the other is a man; the one has a soul; so has the other a soul; the one has a body, so has the other a body; what one is, that is the other.

3. But the Arian heresy makes answer, and says. What says it to me? Mark what you have said? What have I said? That the Son of a man may be compared to the Son of God. Certainly he may be compared; but not as you suppose, in strictness of expression; but for a similitude. But tell me now what you would make of this. Do you not see, says he, that the father who begets is greater in age, and the son who is begotten less? How then say ye? Tell me; how then say ye, that the Father and the Son, God and Christ, are equal; when you see that when a man begets a son, the son is less, and the father greater? Thou wise one, in eternity you are looking for times; where there are no times, you are looking for differences of age! When the father is greater in age, and the son less, both are in time; the one grows, for that the other grows old. For by nature, the man, the father, did not beget one less, by nature, as I said, but by age. Would you know, how that by nature he did not beget one less? Wait, let him grow, and he will be equal to his father. For a little boy even by growing attains to his father's full size. Whereas you assert that the Son of God is in such wise born less, as never to grow, and by growing even to attain to His Father's size. Now then a man's son born of a man, is born in a better condition than the Son of God. How? Because the former grows, and attains to his father's size. But Christ, if it is as you say, is in such wise born less, as that He must ever remain less, and no growth of years at least is to be looked for here. Thus then you say that there is a diversity in nature. But why say you so, but because you will not believe the Son to be of the Same Substance which the Father is? Finally, first acknowledge that He is of the Same Substance, and so call Him less. Consider the case of a man, he is a man. What is his substance? He is a man. What is he whom he begets? He is less, but he is a man. The age is unequal, the nature equal. Do you then say too, What the Father is, That is the Son, but the Son is less? Say so, make a step forward, say, of the Same Substance, only less; and you will get to His being equal. For it is not a little step you take, it is not a little approach you make to the truth, of acknowledging Him equal, if you shall acknowledge Him to be of the Same Substance, though less. But He is not of the Same Substance, this you say. So then in that you say this, here is gold and silver; what you say is as if a man were to beget a horse. For a man is of one substance, a horse of another. If then the Son is of another substance than the Father, the Father has begotten a monster. For when a creature, that is a woman, gives birth to anything that is not a man, it is called a monster. But that it be not a monster, he that is born is that which he is that begot him, that is, a man and a man, a horse and a horse, a dove and a dove, a sparrow and a sparrow.

4. To His creatures has He given to beget that which they are. To His creatures, to mortal, earthly creatures, has God given, has granted to beget that which they are; and do you think that He has not been able to reserve this for Himself, He who is before all ages? Should He who has no beginning of time, beget a son, different from That which Himself is, beget a degenerate son? Hear how great a blasphemy it is to say, that the Only Son of God is of another substance. Most certainly if He is so, He is degenerate. If you should say to any child of man, You are degenerate, how great an offense is it! And yet in what sense is any child of man said to be degenerate? As, for example, his father is brave, he is a poltroon and a coward. If any one sees him, and would rebuke him, as he thinks of his brave father, what does he say to him? Get you hence, you degenerate one! What is degenerate one? Your father was a brave man, and you tremble through fear. He to whom this is said, is degenerate by some fault, by nature he is equal. What is, by nature he is equal? He is a man, which his father also is. But the one brave, the other a coward; the one bold, the other timid; yet both men. By some fault then he is degenerate, not by nature. But when you say, that the Only Son, the One Son of the Father, is degenerate, you say nought else, but that He is not What the Father is; and you do not say, that having been already born, He has become degenerate; but He was begotten so. Who can endure this blasphemy? If they could in any sort whatever see this blasphemy, they would fly from it, and become Catholics.

5. But what shall I say, Brethren? Let us not be angry with them; but pray we for them, that God would give them understanding; for perhaps they were born so. What is, were born so? They receive what they hold from their parents. They prefer their birth to the truth. Let them become what they are not, that they may be able to keep what they are; that is, let them become Catholics, that they may keep their nature as men; that the creation of God in them perish not, let the grace of God be added to them. For they imagine that by their outrage of the Son they honour the Father. When you say to him, Thou blaspheme; he answers, Why do I blaspheme? In that you say that the Son is not what the Father is. And he answers me, Yea, it is you who blasphemes. Why? Because you would make the Son equal to the Father. I do wish to make the Son equal with the Father, but is this to make a stranger equal? The Father rejoices when I equal with Him His Only Son; He rejoices because He is not envious. And because God is not envious of His Only Son, therefore did He beget Him Such as He is Himself. You do wrong both to the Son, and to the Father Himself, for whose honour you would do outrage to the Son. For in truth for this reason do you say that the Son is not of the Same Substance, lest you should do wrong to His Father. I will soon show you, that you do wrong to both. How? says he. If I say to any man's son, You are degenerate, you are not like your father; degenerate, you are not what your father is. The son hears it, and is angry, and says, 'Was I then born degenerate?' The father hears it, and is more angry still. And in his anger what says he? 'Have I then begotten a degenerate son? If I then be one thing, and I have begotten another, I have begotten a monster.' What is it then, that whereas you wish to pay honour to the One by doing outrage to the Other, you do outrage to Both? Thou offendest the Son, but you will not propitiate the Father. When you honour the Father by outraging the Son, you offend both the Son and the Father. From whom will you fly? To whom will you fly? When the Father is angry with you, do you fly to the Son? What does He say to you? 'To whom do you fly, to Me, whom you have made degenerate?' When the Son is offended, do you run to the Father? He too says to you; 'To whom do you fly, to Me who, you have said, have begotten a degenerate Son.' Let this suffice for you; hold it fast, commit it to memory, inscribe it in your faith. But that you may understand it, pour out your prayers to God, the Father and the Son, who are One.

On the words of the Gospel, John 12:44 , He that believes in me, believes not on me, but on him that sent me. Against a certain expression of Maximinus, a bishop of the Arians, who spread his blasphemy in Africa where he was with the Count Segisvult.

1. What is it, Brethren, which we have heard the Lord saying, He that believes in Me, believes not on Me, but on Him that sent Me? It is good for us to believe in Christ, especially seeing that He has also Himself expressly said this which you have now heard, that is, that He had come a Light into the world, and whosoever believes in Him shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Good then it is to believe in Christ; and a great evil it is not to believe in Christ. But because Christ the Son is, Whatsoever He is, of the Father, but the Father is not of the Son, but is the Father of the Son; He recommends to us indeed faith in Himself, but refers the honour to His Original.

2. For hold this fast as a firm and settled truth, if you would continue Catholics, that God the Father begot God the Son without time, and made Him of a Virgin in time. The first nativity exceeds times; the second nativity enlightens times. Yet both nativities are marvellous; the one without a mother, the other without a father. When God begot the Son, He begot Him of Himself, not of a mother; when the Mother gave birth to her Son, she gave Him birth as a Virgin, not by man. He was born of the Father without a beginning; He was born of a mother, as today at an appointed beginning. Born of the Father He made us; born of a mother He re-made us. He was born of the Father, that we might be; He was born of a mother, that we might not be lost. But the Father begot Him equal to Himself, and All Whatsoever the Son is, He has of the Father. But What God the Father is, He has not of the Son. Accordingly we say that the Father is God, of none; the Son, God of God. Wherefore all that the Son does marvellously, all that He says truly, He attributes to Him of whom He is; yet can He not be ought else than He of whom He is. Adam was made a man; he had power to become something other than he was made. For he was made righteous, and he had power to become unrighteous. But the Only-Begotten Son of God, What He is, This cannot be changed; He cannot be changed into anything else, cannot be diminished, What He was He cannot but be, He cannot but be equal to the Father. But undoubtedly He who gave all things to the Son by His Birth, gave it to One not needing ought; without doubt this very equality too with the Father, the Father gave to the Son. How did the Father give It? Did He beget Him less, and add to Him to complete His Form, that He might make Him equal? If he had done this, He would have given it to one in need. But I have told you already what you ought most firmly to hold fast, that is, that All That the Son is, the Father gave Him, gave Him, that is, by His Birth, not as in need of ought. If He gave it to Him by His Birth, and not as in need, then doubtless He both gave Him equality, and in giving Him equality, begot Him equal. And although the One be One Person, and the Other Another; yet is not the One one thing, and the Other another; but What the One is, That the Other also. He who is the One, is not the Other; but What the One, That too the Other.

3. He Who sent Me, says He, you have heard it; He Who sent Me, says He, He gave Me a commandment what I should say, and what I should speak; and I know that His commandment is life everlasting. It is John's Gospel, hold it fast. He Who sent Me, He gave Me a commandment what I should say, and what I should speak; and I know that His commandment is life everlasting. O that He would grant me to say what I wish! For my poverty and His abundance straitens me. He, says He, gave Me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak; and I know that His commandment is life everlasting. Search in the Epistle of this John the Evangelist for what he has said of Christ. Let us believe, he says, His True Son Jesus Christ. This is the True God and Everlasting Life. What is, The True God, and Everlasting Life? The True Son of God is the the True God, and Everlasting Life. Why did He say, On His True Son? Because God has many sons, therefore was He to be distinguished, by adding that He was the True Son. Not by simply saying that He is the Son; but by adding, as I have said, that He is the True Son; therefore He was to be distinguished, because of the many sons which God has. For we are sons by grace, He by Nature. We made by the Father through Him; He Himself That Which the Father is; are we too That Which God is?

4. But some man coming across us, knowing not what he is saying, says, For this reason was it said, I and My Father are One; for that They have with One Another an agreement of will, not because the Nature of the Son is the Very Same as the Nature of the Father. For the Apostles too (now this is what he said, not I), for the Apostles too are one with the Father and the Son. Horrible blasphemy! And the Apostles, says he, are one with the Father and the Son, in that they obey the will of the Father and the Son. Has he dared to say this? Let Paul then say, I and God are one. Let Peter say it, let every one of the Prophets say, I and God are one. They do not say it; God forbid they should. They know that they are a different nature, a nature that needs to be saved; they know that they are a different nature, a nature that needs to be enlightened. No one says, I and God are one. Whatsoever progress he may make, howsoever he may surpass others in holiness, with how great eminence soever of virtue he may excel, he never says, I and God are one. for if he have excellence, and therefore says it; by saying it, he loses what he had.

5. Believe then that the Son is equal with the Father; but yet that the Son is of the Father; but the Father not of the Son. The Original is with the Father, equality with the Son. For if He be not equal, He is not a true Son. For what are we saying, Brethren? If He is not equal, He is less; if He is less, I ask the nature that needs to be saved, in its misbelief, how is He born less? Answer, Does He as being less grow or not? If He grows, then the Father grows old. But if He will ever be what He was born; if He was born less, He will continue less; with this His loss He will be perfect; born perfect with this loss of the Father's Form, He is never to attain to the Father's Form. Thus do you ungodly assail the Son; thus do you heretics blaspheme the Son. What then says the Catholic faith? The Son is God, of God the Father; God the Father, not God of the Son. But God the Son equal with the Father, Born equal; not Born less, not made equal, but Born equal. What the Father is, That is He also who was born. Was the Father ever without the Son? God forbid! Take away your ever, where there is no time. The Father always, the Son always. The Father without beginning of time, the Son without beginning of time; the Father never before the Son, the Father never without the Son. But yet because the Son is God of God the Father, and the Father God, but not of God the Son; let not the honouring of the Son in the Father displease us. For the honouring of the Son gives honour to the Father, it diminishes not His Own Divinity.

6. Because then I was speaking of what I had brought forward, And I knew, says He, that His commandment is everlasting life. Mark, Brethren, what I am saying; I know that His commandment is everlasting life. And we read in the same John concerning Christ, He is The True God and Everlasting Life. If the Father's commandment is everlasting Life, and Christ the Son Himself is everlasting Life; the Son is Himself the Father's Commandment. For how is not That the Father's Commandment, which is the Father's Word? Or if you take the commandment given to the Son by the Father in a carnal sense, as if the Father said to the Son, I command You this, I wish You to do that; in what words spoke He to the Only Word? When He gave commandment to the Word, did He look for words? That the Father's Commandment then is Life everlasting, and that the Son Himself is Life everlasting, believe and receive, believe and understand, for the Prophet says, Unless ye believe you shall not understand. Do you not comprehend? Be enlarged. Hear the Apostle: Be enlarged, bear not the yoke with unbelievers. They who will not believe this before they comprehend, are unbelievers. And because they have determined to be unbelievers, they will remain in their ignorance. Let them believe then that they may understand. Most certainly the Father's Commandment is everlasting Life. Therefore the Father's Commandment is the Very Son who was born this day; a Commandment not given in time but a Commandment Born. The Gospel of John exercises our minds, refines and uncarnalizes them, that of God we may think not after a carnal but a spiritual manner. Let so much then, Brethren, suffice you; lest in length of disputation, the sleep of forgetfulness steal over you.

On the words of the Gospel, John 14:6 , I am the way, and the truth, and the life.

1. Amongst other things, when the Holy Gospel was being read, you heard what the Lord Jesus said, I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. Truth and life does every man desire; but not every man does find the way. That God is a certain Life Eternal, Unchangeable, Intelligible, Intelligent, Wise, Making wise, some philosophers even of this world have seen. The fixed, settled, unwavering truth, wherein are all the principles of all things created, they saw indeed, but afar off; they saw, but amid the error in which they were placed; and therefore what way to attain to that so great, and ineffable, and beatific a possession they formed not. For that even they saw (as far as can be seen by man) the Creator by means of the creature, the Worker by His work, the Framer of the world by the world, the Apostle Paul is witness, whom Christians ought surely to believe. For he said when he was speaking of such; The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness. These are, as you recognise, the words of the Apostle Paul; The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness, and unrighteousness of men; who detain the truth in unrighteousness. Did he say that they do not detain truth? No: but, They detained the truth in unrighteousness. What they detain, is good; but wherein they detain it, is bad. They detain the truth in unrighteousness.

2. Now it occurred to him that it might be said to him, Whence do these ungodly men detain the truth? Hath God spoken to any one of them? Have they received the Law as the people of the Israelites by Moses? Whence then do they detain the truth, though it be even in this unrighteousness? Hear what follows, and he shows. Because that which can be known of God, he says, is manifest in them; for God has manifested it unto them. Manifested it unto them to whom He has not given the Law? Hear how He has manifested it. For the invisible things of Him are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. Ask the world, the beauty of the heaven, the brilliancy and ordering of the stars, the sun, that suffices for the day, the moon, the solace of the night; ask the earth fruitful in herbs, and trees, full of animals, adorned with men; ask the sea, with how great and what kind of fishes filled; ask the air, with how great birds stocked; ask all things, and see if they do not as if it were by a language of their own make answer to you, God made us. These things have illustrious philosophers sought out, and by the art have come to know the Artificer. What then? Why is the wrath of God revealed against this ungodliness? Because they detain the truth in unrighteousness? Let him come, let him show how. For how they came to know Him, he has said already. The invisible things of Him, that is God, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made; His eternal Power also and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. Because that when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. They are the Apostle's words, not mine: And their foolish heart was darkened; for professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. What by curious search they found, by pride they lost. Professing themselves to be wise, attributing, that is, the gift of God to themselves, they became fools. They are the Apostle's words, I say; Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.

3. Show, prove their foolishness. Show, O Apostle, and as you have shown us whereby they were able to attain to the knowledge of God, for that the invisible things of Him are clearly seen, being understood by those things that are made; so now show how, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. Hear; Because they changed, he says, the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the image of a corruptible man, and of birds, and of four-footed beasts, and of creeping things. For of figures of these animals, the Pagans made themselves gods. You have found out God, and you worship an idol. You have found out the truth, and this very truth do you detain in unrighteousness. And what by the works of God you have come to know, by the works of man you lose. You have considered the universe, hast collected the order of the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all the elements; you will not take heed to this, that the world is the work of God, an idol is the work of a carpenter. If the carpenter as he has given the figure, could also give a heart, the carpenter would be worshipped by his own idol. For, O man, as God is your Framer, so the idol's framer is a man. Who is your God? He That made you. Who is the carpenter's god? He That made him. Who is the idol's god? He that made it. If then the idol had a heart, would he not worship the carpenter who made it? See in what unrighteousness they detained the truth, and found not the way that leads to that possession which they saw.

4. But Christ, for that He is with the Father, the Truth, and Life, the Word of God, of whom it is said, The Life was the Light of men; for that I say He is with the Father, the Truth, and Life, and we had no way whereby to go to the Truth, the Son of God, who is ever in the Father the Truth and Life, by assuming man's nature became the Way. Walk by Him as Man, and you come to God. By Him you go, to Him you go. Look not out for any way whereby to come to Him, besides Himself. For if He had not vouchsafed to be the Way, we should have always gone astray. He then became the Way Whereby you should come; I do not say to you, seek the Way. The Way Itself has come to you, arise and walk. Walk, with the life, not with the feet. For many walk well with the feet, and with their lives walk ill. For sometimes even those who walk well, run outside the way. Thus you will find men living well, and not Christians. They run well; but they run not in the way. The more they run, the more they go astray; because they are out of the Way. But if such men as these come to the Way, and hold on the Way, O how great is their security, because they both walk well, and do not go astray! But if they do not hold on the Way, however well they walk, alas! How are they to be bewailed! For better is it to halt in the way, than to walk on stoutly outside the way. Let this suffice for you, Beloved. Turn we to the Lord, etc.

On the same words of the Gospel, John 14:6 , I am the way, etc.

1. The divine lessons raise us up, that we be not broken by despair; and terrify us again, that we be not tossed to and fro by pride. But to hold the middle, the true, the strait way, as it were between the left hand of despair, and the right hand of presumption, would be most difficult for us, had not Christ said, I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. As if He had said, By what way would you go? 'I am the Way'. Whither would you go? 'I am the Truth.' Where would you abide? 'I am the Life.' Let us then walk with all assurance in the Way; but let us fear snares by the way side. The enemy does not dare to lay his snares in the way; because Christ is the Way; but most certainly by the way side he ceases not to do so. Whence too it is said in the Psalm, They have laid stumblingblocks for me by the way side. And another Scripture says, Remember that you walk in the midst of snares. These snares among which we walk are not in the way; but yet they are by the way side. What do you fear, what are you alarmed at, so you walk in the Way? Fear then, if you forsake the Way. For for this reason is the enemy even permitted to lay snares by the way side, lest through the security of exultation the Way be forsaken, and you fall into the snares.

2. Christ Humbled is the Way; Christ the Truth and the Life, Christ Highly Exalted and God. If you walk in the Humbled, you shall attain to the Exalted. If infirm as you are, you despise not the Humbled, you shall abide exceeding strong in the Exalted. For what cause was there of Christ's Humiliation, save your infirmity? For solely and irremediably did your infirmity press you in, and this circumstance it was that made so great a Physician come to you. For if your sickness had been even such, that you could have gone to the Physician, this infirmity might have seemed endurable. But because you could not go to Him, He came to you. He came teaching humility, whereby we might return; for that pride allowed us not to return to life; yea had even made us depart from life. For the heart of man being lifted up against God, and neglecting in its sound state His saving precepts, the soul fell away into infirmity; let her in her infirmity learn to hear Him whom in her strength she despised. Let her hear Him that she may rise, whom she despised, that she might fall. Let her at length, taught by experience, give ear to what she had no mind, when taught by precept, to obtain. For her misery has taught her, how evil a thing it is to go a whoring from the Lord. For to fall away from that Simple and Singular Good, into this multitude of pleasures, into the love of the world, and earthly corruption, is to go a whoring from the Lord. And He has addressed her as in a sense a harlot, to warn her to return: very often by the Prophets does He reproach her as a harlot, but yet not despaired of, for that He who reproaches the harlot has in His Hands the cleansing of the harlot too.

3. For He does not so reproach as to insult her; but He would bring her to confusion of face to heal her. Vehement are the exclamations of Scripture, nor does it deal softly by flattery with those whom it would by healing recover. You adulterers, do you not know that the friend of this world is constituted the enemy of God? The love of the world makes the soul adulterous, the love of the Framer of the world makes the soul chaste; but unless she blush for her corruption, she has no desire to return to that chaste embrace. Be she confounded that she may return, who was vaunting herself that she should not return. It was pride then that hindered the soul's return. But whoever reproaches does not cause the sin, but shows the sin. What the soul was loth to see, is placed before her eyes; and what she desired to have behind her back, is brought before her face. See yourself in yourself. Why do you see the mote in your brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam in your own eye? The soul which went away from herself, is recalled to herself. As she had gone away from herself, so went she away from her Lord. For she had respect to herself, and pleased herself, and became enamoured of her own power. She withdrew from him, and abode not in herself; and from her own self she is repelled, and from herself shut out, and she falls away unto things without her. She loves the world, loves the things of time, loves earthly things; who if she but loved herself to the neglect of Him by whom she was made, would at once be less, at once fail by loving that which is less. For she is less than God; yea less by far, and by so much less as the thing made is less than the Maker. It was God then That ought to have been loved, yea in such wise ought God to be loved, that if it might be so, we should forget ourselves. What then is this change? The soul has forgotten herself but by loving the world; let her now forget herself but by loving the world's Maker. Driven away even from herself, I say, she has in a manner lost herself, and has not skilled to see her own actions, she justifies her iniquities; she is puffed up, and prides herself in insolence, in voluptuousness, in honours, in posts of authority, in riches, in the power of vanity. She is reproved, rebuked, is shown to herself, mislikes herself, confesses her deformity, longs for her first beauty, and she who went away in profusion returns in confusion.

4. Seems he to pray against her, or for her, who says, Fill their faces with shame? It seems to be an adversary, it seems an enemy. Hear what follows, and see whether a friend can offer this prayer. Fill, says he, their faces with shame, and they shall seek Your Name, O Lord. Did he hate them whose faces he desired to be filled with shame? See how he loves them whom he would have seek the Name of the Lord. Does he love only, or hate only? Or does he both hate, and love? Yea, he both hates, and loves. He hates what is yours, he loves you. What is, He hates what is yours, he loves you? He hates what you have made, he loves what God has made. For what are your own things but sins? And what are you but what God made you, a man after His Own image and likeness? Thou dost neglect what you were made, love what you have made. Thou dost love your own works without you, dost neglect the work of God within you. Deservedly do you go away, deservedly fall off, yea, deservedly even from your own self depart; deservedly hear the words, A spirit that goes and returns not. Hear rather Him That calls and says, Turn to Me, and I will turn to you. For God does not really turn away, and turn again; Abiding the Same He rebukes, Unchangeable He rebukes. He has turned away, in that you have turned yourself away. You have fallen from Him, He has not fallen away from you. Hear Him then saying to you, Turn to Me, and I will turn to you. For this is, I turn unto you, in that you turn unto Me. He follows on the back of him that flies, He enlightens the face of him that returns. For whither will you fly in flying from God? Whither will you fly in flying from Him who is contained in no place, and is nowhere absent? He That delivers him that turns to him, punishes him that turns away. You have a Judge by flying; have a Father by returning.

5. But he had been swollen up by pride, and by this swelling could not return by the strait way. He who became the Way, cries out, Enter in by the strait gate. He tries to enter in, the swelling impedes him; and his trying is so much the more hurtful, in proportion as the swelling is a greater impediment. For the straitness irritates his swelling; and being irritated he will swell the more; and swelling more, when will he enter in? So then let him bring down the swelling. And how? Let him take the medicine of humility; let him against the swelling drink the bitter but wholesome cup; drink the cup of humility. Why does he squeeze himself? The bulk, not for its size, but for its swelling, does not allow him. For size has solidity, swelling inflation. Let not him that is swollen fancy himself of great size; that he may be great, and substantial, and solid, let him bring down his swelling. Let him not long after these present things, let him not glory in this pomp of things failing and corruptible; let him hearken to Him who said, Enter in by the strait gate, saying also, I am the Way. For as if some swollen one had asked, How shall I enter in? He says, 'I am the Way.' Enter in by Me; Thou walkest only by Me, to enter in by the door. For as He said, I am the Way; so also, I am the Door. Why do you seek whereby to return, whither to return, whereby to enter in? Lest you should in any respect go astray, He became all for you. Therefore in brief He says, Be humble, be meek. Let us hear Him saying this most plainly, that you may see whereby is the way, what is the way, whither is the way. Whither would you come? But perhaps in covetousness you would possess all things. All things are delivered unto Me of My Father, says He. It may be you will say, They were delivered to Christ: but are they to me? Hear the Apostle speak; hear, as I said some time ago, lest you be broken by despair; hear how you were loved when you had nothing to be loved for, hear how you were loved when unsightly, deformed, before there was ought in you which was meet to be loved. You were first loved, that you might be made meet to be loved. For Christ, as the Apostle says, died for the ungodly. What! will you say that the ungodly deserved to be loved? I ask, what did the ungodly deserve? To be damned. Here you will answer, Yet, Christ died for the ungodly. Lo, what was done for you when ungodly; what is reserved for you now godly? Christ died for the ungodly. You desired to possess all things; desire it not through covetousness, seek it through piety, seek it through humility. For if you seek thus, you shall possess. For you shall have Him by whom all things were made, and with Him shall possess all things.

6. I do not say this as though the result of reasoning. Hear the Apostle himself saying, He that spared not His Own Son, but delivered Him up for us all; how has He also not with Him given us all things? Lo, covetous one, you have all things. All things that you love, despise, that you be not kept back from Christ, and hold to Him in whom you may possess all things. The Physician Himself then needing no such medicine, yet that He might encourage the sick, drank what He had no need of; addressing him as it were refusing it, and raising him up in his fear, He drank first. The Cup, says He, which I shall drink of; I who have nothing in Me to be cured by that Cup, am yet to drink it, that you who needest to drink it, may not disdain to drink. Now consider, Brethren, ought the human race to be any longer sick after having received such a medicine? God has been now Humbled, and is man still proud? Let him hear, let him learn. All things, says He, have been delivered unto Me of My Father. If you desire all things, you shall have them with Me; if you desire the Father, by Me and in Me you shall have Him. No man knows the Father but the Son. Do not despair; come to the Son. Hear what follows, And he to whom the Son will reveal Him. Thou said, I am not able. You call me through a strait way; I am not able to enter in by a strait way. Come, says He, unto Me, all you that labour and are heavy laden. Your burden is your swelling. Come unto Me, all you that labour and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me.

7. The Master of the Angels cries out, the Word of God, by whom all reasonable souls are without failing fed, the Food That refreshes, and abides Entire, cries out and says, Learn of Me. Let the people hear Him, saying, Learn of Me. Let them make answer, What do we learn of You? For we must be going to hear I know not what from the Great Artificer, when He says, Learn of Me. Who is it that says, Learn of Me? He who formed the earth, who divided the sea and the dry land, who created the fowls, who created the animals of the earth, who created all things that swim, who set the stars in the heaven, who distinguished the day and the night, who established the firmament, who separated the light from the darkness, He it is who says, Learn of Me. Is He haply about to tell us this, that we should do these things with Him? Who can do this? God Only does them. Fear not, He says, I am not laying any burden on you. 'Learn of Me,' this which for your sake I was made. 'Learn of Me,' says He, not to form the creature which by Me was made. Neither do I tell you indeed, to learn those things which I have granted to some, to whom I would, not to all, to raise the dead, to give sight to the blind, to open the ears of the deaf; nor to wish as for some great thing to learn these things of Me. The disciples returned with joy and exultation, saying, Lo, even the devils are subject unto us through Your Name. And the Lord said to them, In this rejoice not, that the devils are subject unto you; rejoice rather, because your names are written in heaven. To whom He would, He gave the power to cast out devils, to whom He would, He gave the power to raise the dead. Such miracles were done even before the Incarnation of the Lord; the dead were raised, lepers were cleansed; we read of these things. And who did them then, but He who in after time was the Man-Christ after David, but God-Christ before Abraham? He gave the power for all these things, He did them Himself by men; yet gave He not that power to all. Ought they to whom He gave it not to despair, and say that they have no part in Him because they have not been thought worthy to receive these gifts? In the body are various members: this member can do one thing, that another. God has compacted the body together, He has not given to the ear to see, nor to the eye to hear, nor to the forehead to smell, nor to the hand to taste; He has not given them these functions; but to all the members has He given soundness, has given union, has given unity, has by His Spirit quickened and united all alike. And so here He has not given to some to raise the dead, to others He has not given the power of disputation; yet to all what has He given? Learn of Me, that I am meek and lowly in heart. Forasmuch as we have heard Him say, I am meek and lowly in heart; here, my Brethren, is our whole remedy, Learn of Me, that I am meek and lowly in heart. What does it profit a man if he do miracles, and is proud, is not meek and lowly in heart? Will he not be reckoned in the number of those who shall come at the last day, and say, Have we not prophesied in Your Name, and in Your Name have done many mighty works? But what shall they hear? I know you not, Depart from Me, all you that work iniquity.

8. What then does it profit us to learn? That I am meek, says He, and lowly in heart. He engrafts charity, and that most genuine charity, without confusion, without inflation, without elation, without deceit; this does He engraft, who says, Learn of Me, that I am meek and lowly in heart. How can one proud and puffed up have any genuine charity? He must needs be envious. And perhaps one who is envious, loves, and we are mistaken? God forbid that any one should be so mistaken, as to say that an envious man has charity. And so what says the Apostle? Charity envies not. Why does it not envy? It is not puffed up; he immediately annexed the cause for which he took away envying from charity. Because it is not puffed up, it envies not. It is true, he said first, Charity envies not; but as though you asked, Why does it not envy? he added, It is not puffed up. If then it envies because it is puffed up; if it be not puffed up, it envies not. If charity is not puffed up, and therefore envies not; then does He engraft charity who says, Learn of Me, that I am meek and lowly in heart.

9. Let any man have then what he will, let him boast himself of what he will. If I speak with the tongues of men and of Angels, but, have not charity, I have become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. What is more sublime than the gift of various tongues? It is brass, it is a tinkling cymbal, if you take charity away. Hear other gifts; If I should know all mysteries. What more excellent? What more magnificent? Hear yet another; if I should have all prophecy, and all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not charity, I am nothing. He comes to still greater things, Brethren. What else has he said? If I should distribute all my goods to the poor. What more perfect thing can be done? When indeed the Lord commanded the rich man this for perfection's sake, saying, If you will be perfect, go, sell all that you have, and give to the poor. Was he then at once perfect, because he sold all his goods and gave them to the poor? No; and therefore He added, And come, follow Me. Sell all, says He, give to the poor, and come, follow Me. Why should I follow You? Now that I have sold all, and distributed to the poor, am I not perfect? What need is there that I should follow You? Follow Me, that you may learn that I am meek and lowly in heart. For what? Can any man sell all he has, and give to the poor, who is not yet meek, not yet lowly in heart? Assuredly he can. For if I should distribute all my goods to the poor. And hear still further. For some, who had left all they had and had already followed the Lord, but not yet followed Him perfectly (for to follow Him perfectly is to imitate Him), could not bear the trial of suffering. Peter, Brethren, was already one of those who had left all and followed the Lord. For as that rich man went away in sadness, when the disciples bring troubled, asked how then any one could be perfect, and the Lord consoled them, they said to the Lord, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed You; what shall we have therefore? And the Lord told them what He would give them here, what He would reserve for them hereafter. Now Peter was already of the number of those who had so done. But when it came to the crisis of suffering, at the voice of a maid-servant he denied Him thrice with whom he had promised that he was ready to die.

10. Take good heed then, Beloved: Go, says He, sell all that you have, give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven, and come, follow Me. Peter is perfect, now that the Lord sits in heaven at the right Hand of the Father, then did he attain perfection and maturity. For when he followed the Lord to His Passion, he was not perfect; but when there began to be no one on earth for him to follow, then was he perfected. But you truly have always One before you to follow; the Lord has set up an example on earth, when He left the Gospel with you, in the Gospel He is with you. For He did not speak falsely when He said, Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Therefore follow the Lord. What is, Follow the Lord? Imitate the Lord. What is, Imitate the Lord? Learn of Me, that I am meek and lowly in heart. Because if I should distribute all my goods to the poor, and give up my body to be burned, but not have charity, it profits me nothing. To this charity then I exhort your Charity; now I should not exhort to charity, but with some charity. I exhort then that what is commenced may be filled up; and pray that what is begun may be perfected. And I beg that you would offer this prayer for me, that what I advise may be perfected in me also. For we are all now imperfect, and there shall we be perfected, where all things are perfect. The Apostle Paul says, Brethren, I do not reckon myself to have apprehended. He says, Not that I have already attained, either am already perfect. And shall any man dare to vaunt himself on perfection? Yea rather let us acknowledge our imperfection, that we may attain perfection.

On the words of the Gospel, John 16:7 , I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away, etc.

1. The medicine for all the wounds of the soul, and the one propitiation for the offenses of men, is to believe in Christ; nor can any one be cleansed at all, whether from original sin which he derived from Adam, in whom all men have sinned, and become by nature children of wrath; or from the sins which they have themselves added, by not resisting the concupiscence of the flesh, but by following and serving it in unclean and injurious deeds: unless by faith they are united and compacted into His Body, who was conceived without any enticement of the flesh and deadly pleasure, and whom His Mother nourished in her womb without sin, and Who did no sin, neither was deceit found in His Mouth. They verily who believe in Him, become the children of God; because they are born of God by the grace of adoption, which is by the faith of Jesus Christ our Lord. Wherefore, dearly Beloved, it is with good reason that the same Lord and our Saviour mentions this one sin only, of which the Holy Ghost convinces the world, that it believes not on Him. I tell you the truth, He says, 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. And when He shall come, He will convince the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. Of sin, because they believe not on Me. Of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you shall see Me no more. Of judgment, because the prince of this world is already judged.

2. Of this one only sin then He would have the world to be convinced, that they believe not on Him; to wit, because by believing on Him all sins are loosed, He would have this one imputed by which the rest are bound. And because by believing they are born of God, and become children of God; For, says he, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, to them that believe in Him. Whoever then believes in the Son of God, in so far as he adheres to Him, and becomes himself also by adoption a son and heir of God, and a joint-heir with Christ, in so far he sins not. Whence John says, Whosoever is born of God sins not. And therefore the sin of which the world is convinced is this, that they believe not on Him. This is the sin of which He also says, If I had not come, they had not had sin. For what! Had they not innumerable other sins? But by His coming this one sin was added to them that believed not, by which the rest should be retained. Whereas in them that believe, because this one was wanting, it was brought to pass that all should be remitted to them that believe. Nor is it with any other view that the Apostle Paul says, All have sinned, and have need of the glory of God; that whosoever believes in Him, should not be confounded; as the Psalm also says Come to Him, and be enlightened, and your faces shall not be confounded. Whoever then glories in himself shall be confounded; for he shall not be found without sins. Accordingly he only shall not be confounded who glories in the Lord. For all have sinned, and have need of the glory of God. And so when he was speaking of the infidelity of the Jews, he did not say, For if some of them have sinned, shall their sin make the faith of God of none effect? For how should he say, If some of them have sinned; when he said himself, For all have sinned? But he said, If some of them believed not, shall their unbelief make the faith of God of none effect? That he might point out more expressly this sin, by which alone the door is closed against the rest that they by the grace of God should not be remitted. Of which one sin by the coming of the Holy Ghost, that is by the gift of His grace, which is granted to the faithful, the world is convinced, in the Lord's words, Of sin, because they believed not on Me.

3. Now there would be no great merit and glorious blessedness in believing, if the Lord had always appeared in His Risen Body to the eyes of men. The Holy Ghost then has brought this great gift to them that should believe, that Him whom they should not see with the eyes of flesh, they might with a mind sobered from carnal desires, and inebriated with spiritual longings, sigh after. Whence it was that when that disciple who had said that he would not believe, unless he touched with the hands His Scars, after he had handled the Lord's Body, cried out as though awaking from sleep, My Lord and my God; the Lord said to him, Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. This blessedness has the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, brought to us, that the form of a servant which He took from the Virgin's womb, being removed from the eyes of flesh, the purified eye of the mind might be directed to This Form of God, in which He continued equal with the Father, even when He vouchsafed to appear in the Flesh; so as that with the Same Spirit filled the Apostle might say, Though we have known Christ after the flesh; yet now we know Him so no longer. Because even the Flesh of Christ he knew not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, who, not by touching in curiosity, but in believing assured, acknowledges the power of His Resurrection; not saying in his heart, Who has ascended into heaven? That is, to bring Christ down; or, Who has descended into the deep? That is, to bring back Christ from the dead. But, says he, the word is near you, in your mouth, that Jesus is the Lord; and if you shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. These, Brethren, are the words of the Apostle, pouring them forth with the holy inebriation of the Holy Ghost Himself.

4. Forasmuch then as we could in no way have had this blessedness by which we see not and yet believe, unless we received it of the Holy Ghost; it is with good reason said, 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. By His Divinity indeed He is with us always; but unless He had in Body gone away from us, we had always seen His Body after the flesh. and never believed after a spiritual sort; by the which belief justified and blessed we might attain with cleansed hearts to contemplate the Very Word, God with God, by whom all things were made, and who was made Flesh, that He might dwell among us. And if not with the contact of the hand, but with the heart man believes unto righteousness; with good reason is the world, which will not believe save what it sees, convinced of our righteousness. Now that we might have that righteousness of faith of which the unbelieving world should be convinced, therefore said the Lord, Of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you shall see Me no more. As if He had said, This shall be your righteousness, that you believe in Me, the Mediator, of whom you shall be most fully assured that He is risen again and gone to the Father, though you see Him not after the Flesh; that by Him reconciled, you may be able to see God after the Spirit. Whence He says to the woman who represents the Church, when she fell at His Feet after His Resurrection, Touch Me not, for I am not yet ascended to the Father. Which expression is understood mystically, thus. Believe not in Me after a carnal manner by means of bodily contact; but you shall believe after a spiritual manner; that is, with a spiritual faith shall touch Me, when I shall have ascended to the Father. For, blessed are they who do not see, and believe. And this is the righteousness of faith, of which the world, which has it not, is convinced of us who are not without it; for the just lives by faith. Whether it be then that as rising again in Him, and in Him coming to the Father, we are invisibly and in justification perfected; or that as not seeing and yet believing we live by faith, for that the just lives by faith. with these meanings said He, Of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you shall see Me no more.

5. Nor let the world excuse itself by this, that it is hindered by the devil from believing on Christ. For to believers the prince of the world is cast out, that he work no more in the hearts of men whom Christ has begun to possess by faith; as he works in the children of unbelief; whom he is constantly stirring up to tempt and disturb the righteous. For because he is cast out, who once had dominion interiorly he wages war exteriorly. Although then by means of his persecutions, the Lord does direct the meek in judgment; nevertheless in this very fact of his being cast out, is he judged already. And of this, judgment is the world convinced; for in vain does he who will not believe in Christ complain of the devil whom, judged, that is, cast out, and for the exercising of us allowed to attack us from without, not only men, but even women, and boys, and girls, Martyrs have overcome. Now in whom have they overcome, but in Him on whom they have believed, and whom seeing not, they loved, and by whose dominion in their hearts they have got rid of a most oppressive lord. And all this by grace, by the gift, that is, of the Holy Ghost. Rightly then does the Same Spirit convince the world, both of sin, because it believes not on Christ; and of righteousness, because they who have had the will have believed, though Him on whom they believed they saw not; and by His Resurrection have hoped that themselves also should be in the resurrection perfected; and of judgment, because if they had had the will to believe, they could be hindered by none, for that the prince of this world has been judged already.

On the same words of the Gospel, John 16:8 , He will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement.

1. When our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was speaking at length of the coming of the Holy Ghost, He said among the rest, He shall convince the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. Nor when He had said this, did He pass on to another subject; but vouchsafed to convey a somewhat more explicit notice of this same truth. Of sin, said He, because they believed not on Me. Of righteousness, because I go to the Father. Of judgment, because the prince of this world has been judged already. There arises therefore within us a desire of understanding, why as if it were men's only sin, not to believe in Christ, He said it of this alone, that the Holy Ghost should convince the world; but if it is plain that besides this unbelief there are manifold other sins of men, why of this alone should the Holy Ghost convince the world? Is it because all sins are by unbelief retained, by faith remitted; that therefore God imputes this one above all the rest, by which it comes to pass that the rest are not loosed, so long as proud man believes not in an Humbled God? For so it is written; God resists the proud, but gives grace unto the humble. Now this grace of God is a gift of God. But the greatest gift is the Holy Ghost Himself; and therefore is it called grace. For forasmuch as all had sinned, and needed the glory of God; because by one man sin entered into the world, and death by his sin in whom all have sinned; therefore is it grace because given gratuitously. And therefore is it given gratuitously, because it is not rendered as a reward after a strict scrutiny of deserts, but given as a gift after the pardon of sins.

2. Therefore of sin are unbelievers, that is, the lovers of the world, convinced; for they are signified by the name of the world. For when it is said, He will convince the world of sin; it is of none other sin than that they have not believed on Christ. For if this sin exist not, no sins will remain, because when the just man lives by faith, all are loosed. Now the difference is great as to whether one believe that Jesus is Christ, or whether he believe in Christ. For that Jesus is Christ even the devils believed, and yet the devils believed not on Christ. For he believes in Christ, who both hopes in Christ and loves Christ. For if he have faith without hope and love, he believes that Christ is, but he does not believe in Christ. Whoever then believes in Christ, by believing on Christ, Christ comes unto him, and in a manner unites Himself to him, and he is made a member in His Body. Which cannot be, but by the accession of hope and love.

3. What mean again His words, Of righteousness, because I go to the Father? And first must we enquire, if the world is convinced of sin, why it is also of righteousness? For who can rightly be convinced of righteousness? Is it indeed that the world is convinced of its own sin, but of Christ's righteousness? I do not see what else can be understood; since He says, Of sin, because they believed not on Me. Of righteousness, because I go to the Father. They believed not, He goes to the Father. Their sin therefore, and His righteousness. But why would He name righteousness in this only, that He goes to the Father? Is it not righteousness also that He came hither from the Father? Or is that rather mercy, that He came from the Father to us, and righteousness, that He goes to the Father?

4. So, Brethren, I think it expedient, that in so profound a depth of Scripture, in words, wherein perhaps there lies some hidden truth which may in due season be laid open, we should as it were together enquire faithfully, that we may attain to find healthfully. Why then does He call this righteousness, in that He goes to the Father, and not also in that He came from the Father? Is it that in that it is mercy that He came, therefore it is righteousness that He goes? That so in our own case too we may learn that righteousness cannot be fulfilled in us, if we are slow to give a place first to mercy, not seeking our own things, but the things of others also. Which advice when the Apostle had given, he immediately joined to it the example of our Lord Himself; Doing nothing, says he, through strife or vain glory; but in lowliness of mind, each esteeming the other better than themselves. Not looking every man on his own things, but also on the things of others. Then he added immediately, Let this mind be in each of you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the Form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and found in fashion as a man; He humbled Himself, having become obedient even unto death, yea the death of the cross. This is the mercy whereby He came from the Father. What then is the righteousness whereby He goes to the Father? He goes on and says; Wherefore God also has exalted Him, and given Him a Name which is above every name; that at 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 righteousness whereby He goes to the Father.

5. But if He Alone goes to the Father, what does it profit us? Why is the world convinced by the Holy Ghost of this righteousness? And yet if He did not Alone go to the Father, He would not say in another place, No man has ascended up to heaven, but He That descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven. But the Apostle Paul also says, For our conversation is in heaven. And why is this? Because he also says, If you be risen with Christ, seek the things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Mind the things which are above, not those which are upon the earth. For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. How then is He Alone? Is He therefore Alone because Christ with all His members is One, as the Head with His Body? Now what is His Body, but the Church? As the same teacher says, Now you are the Body of Christ, and members in particular. Forasmuch then as we have fallen, and He descended for our sakes, what is, No man has ascended, but He That descended; but that no man has ascended, except as made one with Him, and as a member fastened into His Body who descended? And thus He says to His disciples, Without Me ye can do nothing. For in one way is He One with the Father, and in another one with us. He is One with the Father, in that the Substance of the Father and the Son is One; He is One with the Father, in that, Being in the Form of God, He thought it not robbery to be equal with God. But He was made One with us, in that He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant; He was made one with us, according to the seed of Abraham, in whom all nations shall be blessed. Which place when the Apostle had brought forward, he said, He says not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to your Seed, which is Christ. And for that we too belong to that which is Christ, by our incorporation together, and coherence to That Head, It is One Christ. And also for that he says to us too, Therefore are you Abraham's seed, heirs according to the promise. For if the seed of Abraham be One, and That One Seed of Abraham can only be understood of Christ; but this seed of Abraham we also are; therefore This Whole, that is, the Head and the Body, is One Christ.

6. And therefore we ought not to deem ourselves separated from that righteousness, which the Lord Himself makes mention of, saying, Of righteousness, because I go to the Father. For we too have risen with Christ, and we are with Christ our Head, now for a while by faith and hope; but our hope will be completed in the last resurrection of the dead. But when our hope shall be completed, then shall our justification be completed also. And the Lord who was to complete it showed us in His Own Flesh (that is, in our Head), Wherein He rose again and ascended to the Father, what we ought to hope for. For that thus it is written, He was delivered for our sins, and rose again for our justification. The world then is convinced of sin in those who believe not on Christ; and of righteousness, in those who rise again in the members of Christ. Whence it is said, That we may be the righteousness of God in him. For if not in Him, in no way righteousness. But if in Him, He goes with us Whole to the Father, and this perfect righteousness will be fulfilled in us. And therefore of judgment too is the world convinced, because the prince of this world has been judged already; that is, the devil, the prince of the unrighteous, who in heart inhabit only in this world which they love, and therefore are called the world; as our conversation is in heaven, if we have risen again with Christ. Therefore as Christ together with us, that is His Body, is One; so the devil with all the ungodly whose head he is, with as it were his own body, is one. Wherefore as we are not separated from the righteousness, of which the Lord said, Because I go to the Father; so the ungodly are not separated from that judgment, of which He said, Because the prince of this world has been judged already.

On the words of the Gospel, John 16:24 , Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name; and on the words of Luke 10:17 , Lord, even the demons are subject unto us in your name.

1. When the Holy Gospel was being read, we heard what in truth ought at once to put every earnest soul in motion to seek, not to faint. For whoever is not moved, is not changed. But there is a dangerous movement, of which it is written, Suffer not my feet to be moved. But there is another movement of him who seeks, knocks, asks. What then has been read we have all heard; but I suppose we have not all understood. It makes mention of that which together with me ye should seek, with me ask, for the receiving of which you should with me knock. For as I hope the grace of the Lord will be with us, that whereas I wish to minister to you, I too may be thought worthy to receive. What is it, I pray you, that we have just heard that the Lord said to His disciples? Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My Name. Is He not speaking to those disciples, who, after He had sent them, having given them power to preach the Gospel, and to do mighty works, returned with joy, and said to Him, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through Your Name? You recognise, you recollect this which I have quoted from the Gospel, which in every passage and every sentence speaks truth, nowhere false, nowhere deceives. How then is it true, Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My Name? And, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through Your name? Of a surety this puts the mind in motion to ascertain the secret of this difficulty. Therefore ask we, seek, knock. Be there in us faithful godliness, not a restlessness of the flesh, but a submission of the mind, that He who sees us knocking may open unto us.

2. What the Lord then may give to be ministered unto you, do ye with earnest attention, that is, with hunger, receive; and when I shall have spoken it, you will doubtless with sound taste approve what is placed before you out of the Lord's store. The Lord Jesus knew whereby the soul of man, that is, the rational mind, made after the image of God, could be satisfied: only, that is, by Himself. This He knew, and knew that it was as yet without that fullness. He knew that He was manifest, and He knew that He was hidden. He knew what in Him was exhibited, what concealed. He knew all this. How great, says the Psalm, is the multitude of Your sweetness, O Lord, which You have hidden to them that fear You; which You have wrought for them that hope in You! Your sweetness both great and manifold have You hidden to them that fear You. If you hide it to them that fear You, to whom dost Thou open it? You have wrought it for them that hope in You. A twofold question has arisen, but either is solved by the other. If any one inquires after the other, what is this, You have hidden it to them that fear You; wrought it for them that hope in You? Are they that fear, and they that hope, different? Do not the very same who fear God, hope in God? Who hopes on Him who does not fear Him? Who in a godly sort fears Him, and has not hope in Him? Let this then first be solved. Somewhat would I say concerning those who hope and those who fear.

3. The Law has fear, Grace hope. But what difference is there between the Law and Grace, since the Giver both of the Law and Grace is One? The Law alarms him who relies on himself, Grace assists him who trusts in God. The Law, I say, alarms; do not make light of this because it is brief; weigh it well, and it is considerable. Look well at what I have said, take what we minister, prove wherefrom we take it. The Law alarms him who relies on himself, Grace assists him who trusts in God. What says the Law? Many things: and who can enumerate them? I bring forward one small and short precept from it which the Apostle has brought forward, a very small one; let us see who is sufficient for it. You shall not lust. What is this, Brethren? We have heard the Law; if there be no grace, you have heard your punishment. Why do you boast to me whosoever you are that hearing this dost rely upon yourself, why do you boast to me of innocence? Why do you flatter yourself thereupon? You can say, I have not plundered the goods of others; I hear, I believe, perhaps I even see it, you do not plunder the goods of others. You have heard, You shall not lust. I do not go in to another man's wife; this again I hear, believe, see. You have heard, You shall not lust. Why do you inspect yourself all round without, and dost not inspect within? Look in, and you will see another law in your members. Look in, why do you pass over yourself? Descend into your own self. You will see another law in your members resisting the law of your mind, and bringing you into captivity in the law of sin which is in your members. With good reason then is the sweetness of God hidden to you. The law placed in your members, resisting the law of your mind, brings you into captivity. Of that sweetness which to you is hidden, the holy Angels drink; you can not drink and taste that sweetness, captive as you are. You had not known concupiscence, unless the Law had said, You shall not lust. You heard, feared, tried to fight, could not overcome. For sin taking occasion by the commandment wrought death. Surely ye recognise them, they are the Apostle's words. Sin taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. Why did you vaunt yourself in your pride? Lo, with your own arms has the enemy conquered you. Thou verily, looked for a commandment as a defense: and, lo, by the commandment the enemy has found an occasion of entering in. For sin taking occasion by the commandment, he says, deceived me, and by it slew me. What means what I said, With your own arms has the enemy conquered you? Hear the same Apostle going on, and saying; Wherefore the Law indeed is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Make answer now to the revilers of the Law: make answer on the Apostle's authority, The commandment is holy, the Law holy, the commandment just and good. Was then that which is good, made death unto me? God forbid! But sin that it might appear sin, by that which is good wrought death in me. Why is this but because on receiving the commandment you feared, not love? You feared punishment, you did not love righteousness. Whoever fears punishment, wishes, if it were possible, to do what pleases him, and not to have what he fears. God forbids adultery, you have coveted another's wife, you do not go in unto her, you do not do so, opportunity is given you, you have time, a favourable place is open, witnesses are absent, yet you do not do it, wherefore? Because you fear the punishment. But no one will know it. Will not God know it? So it is clear, because God knows what you are about to do, you do it not; but here you fear the threatenings of God, not lovest His commandments. Why do you not do it? Because if you do, you will be cast into hell fire. It is the fire you fear. O if you loved chastity, you would not do it, even though you might be altogether unpunished. If God were to say to you, Lo, do it, I will not condemn you, I will not condemn you to hell fire, but I will withhold My Face from you. If you did it not because of this threat, it would be from the love of God that you did not do it, not from the fear of judgment. But you would do it, perhaps I mean you would do so; for it is not my place to judge. If you do it not on this principle because you abhor the contamination of adultery, because you love His precepts, that you may obtain His promises, and not because you fear His condemnation, it is the grace which makes saints that aids you; it is all of grace, ascribe it not to your own self, attribute it not to your own strength. Thou actest from delight in it, well; you act in charity, well; I assent, I agree. Charity works by you, when you act with your will. At once do you taste sweetness, if you hope in the Lord.

4. But whence have you this charity, if yet you have it? For I am afraid lest even yet it is through fear you do it not, and lest you seem great in your own eyes. Now if it is through charity that you do it not, you are truly great. Have you charity? I have, you say. Whence? From myself. Far are you from sweetness, if you have it from your own self. You will love your own self, because you will love that from which you have it. But I will convict you that you have it not. For in that you think that you have so great a thing from your own self, by that very fact I do not believe you have it. For if you had, you would know from whence you had it. Have you charity from yourself, as if it were some light, some little thing? If you should speak with the tongues of men and Angels, but have not charity, you would be a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. If you should know all mysteries, and have all knowledge, and all prophecy, and all faith so that you could remove mountains, but not have charity, these things could not profit you. If you should distribute all your goods to the poor, and deliver up your body to be burned, but not have charity, you would be nothing. How great is this charity, which if it be wanting, all things profit nothing! Compare it not to your faith, not to your knowledge, not to your gift of tongues, to lesser things, to the eye of your body, the hand, the foot, the belly, to any one lowest member compare charity, are these least things to be in any way compared to charity? So then the eye and nose you have from God, and have you charity from your own self? If you have given yourself charity which surpasses all things, you have made God of light account with you. What more can God give you? Whatever He may have given, is less. Charity which you have given yourself, surpasses all things. But if you have it, you have not given it to yourself. For what have you which you have not received? Who gave to me, who gave to you? God. Acknowledge Him in His gifts, that you feel not His condemnation. By believing the Scriptures, God has given you charity, a great boon, charity, which surpasses all things. God gave it you, because the charity of God has been shed abroad in our hearts; by your own self, perhaps? God forbid; by the Holy Ghost, who has been given us.

5. Return with me to that captive, return with me to my proposition. The Law alarms him that relies on himself, grace assists him who trusts in God. For look at that captive. He sees another law in his members resisting the law of his mind, and leading him captive in the law of sin, which is in his members. Lo, he is bound, lo, he is dragged along, lo, he is led captive, lo, he is subjected. What has that profited him, You shall not lust? He has heard, You shall not lust; that he might know his enemy, not that he might overcome him. For he had not known concupiscence, that is, his enemy, unless the Law had said, You shall not lust. Now you have seen the enemy, fight, deliver yourself, make good your liberty, let the suggestions of pleasure be kept down, unlawful delight be utterly destroyed. Arm yourself, you have the Law, march on, conquer if you can. For what good is it that through the little portion of God's grace you have already, you delight in the Law of God after the inward man? But you see another law in your members resisting the law of your mind; not resisting yet powerless for anything, but leading you captive in the law of sin. Behold, whence to you who fearest that plentifulness of sweetness is hidden! to him that fears it is hidden, how is it wrought out for him that trusts? Cry out under your enemy, for that you have an assailant, you have an Helper too, who looks upon you as you fight, who helps you in difficulty; but only if He find you trusting; for the proud He hates. What then will you cry under this enemy? Wretched man that I am! You see it already, for you have cried out. Be this your cry, when haply you are distressed under the enemy, say ye, in your inmost heart say, in sound faith say, Wretched man that I am! Wretched that I am! Therefore wretched, because I. Wretched man that I am, both because I, and because man. For he is disquieted in vain. For though man walks in the Image; yet, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Will you yourself? Where is your strength, where is your confidence? Of a surety you both cry out, and are silent; silent, that is, from extolling yourself, not from calling upon God. Be silent, and cry out. For God Himself too is both silent, and cries aloud; He is silent from judgment, He is not silent from precept; so be too silent from elation, not from invocation; lest God say to you, I have been silent, shall I be silent always? Cry out therefore, O wretched man that I am! Acknowledge yourself conquered, put your own strength to shame, and say, Wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? What did I say above? The Law alarms him that relies upon himself. Behold, man relied upon himself, he attempted to fight, he could not get the better, he was conquered, prostrated, subjugated, led captive. He learned to rely upon God, and it remains that him whom the Law alarmed while he relied upon himself, grace should assist now that he trusts in God. In this confidence he says, Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The grace of God by Jesus Christ our Lord. Now see the sweetness, taste it, relish it; hear the Psalm, Taste and see that the Lord is sweet. He has become sweet to you, for that He has delivered you. You were bitter to your own self, when you relied upon yourself. Drink sweetness, receive the earnest of so great abundance.

6. The disciples then of the Lord Jesus Christ while yet under the Law had to be cleansed still, to be nourished still, to be corrected still, to be directed still. For they still had concupiscence; whereas the Law says, You shall not lust. Without offense to those holy rams, the leaders of the flock, without offense to them I would say it, for I say the truth: the Gospel relates, that they contended which of them should be the greatest, and while the Lord was yet on earth, they were agitated by a dissension about pre-eminence. Whence was this, but from the old leaven? Whence, but from the law in the members, resisting the law of the mind? They sought for eminence; yea, they desired it; they thought which should be the greatest; therefore is their pride put to shame by a little child. Jesus calls unto him the age of humility to tame the swelling desire. With good reason then when they returned too, and said, Lord, behold even the devils are subject unto us through Your Name. (It was for a nothing that they rejoiced; of what importance was it compared to that which God promised?) The Lord, the Good Master, quieting fear, and building up a firm support, said to them, In this rejoice not that the devils are subject unto you. Why so? Because many will come in My Name, saying, Behold, in Your Name we have cast out devils; and I will say to them, I know you not. In this rejoice not, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven. You cannot yet be there, yet notwithstanding you are already written there. Therefore rejoice. So that place again, Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My Name. For what you have asked, in comparison with that which I am willing to give, is nothing. For what have ye asked in My Name? That the devils should be subject unto you? In this rejoice not, that is, what you have asked is nothing; for if it were anything, He would bid them rejoice. So then it was not absolutely nothing, but that it was little in comparison of that greatness of God's rewards. For the Apostle Paul was not really not anything; and yet in comparison of God, Neither is he that plants anything, neither he that waters. And so I say to you, and I say to myself, both to myself and you I say, when we ask in Christ's Name for these temporal things. For you have asked undoubtedly. For who does not ask? One asks for health, if he is sick; another asks for deliverance, if he is in prison; another asks for the port, if he is tossed about at sea; another asks for victory, if he is in conflict with an enemy; and in the Name of Christ he asks all, and what he asks is nothing. What then must be asked for? Ask in My Name. And He said not what, but by the very words we understand what we ought to ask. Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full. Ask, and you shall receive, in My Name. But what? Not nothing; but what? That your joy may be full; that is, ask what may suffice you. For when you ask for temporal things, you ask for nothing. Whoever shall drink of this water, shall thirst again. He lets down the watering pot of desire into the well, he takes up whereof to drink, only that he may thirst again. Ask, that your joy may be full; that is, that you may be satisfied, not feel delight only for a time. Ask what may suffice you; speak Philip's language, Lord, show us the Father, and it suffices us. The Lord says to you, Have I been so long time with you, and have ye not known Me? Philip, he that sees Me, sees the Father also. Render then thanks to Christ, made weak for you that are weak, and make ready your desires for Christ's Divinity, to be satisfied therewith. Turn we to the Lord, etc.

On the words of the Gospel, John 21:16 , Simon, son of John, do you love me? etc.

1. You have observed, beloved, that in today's lesson it was said by the Lord to Peter in a question, Do you love Me? To whom he answered, You know, Lord, that I love you. This was done a second, and a third time; and at each several reply, the Lord said, Feed My lambs. To Peter did Christ commend His lambs to be fed, who fed even Peter himself. For what could Peter do for the Lord, especially now that He had an Immortal Body, and was about to ascend into heaven? As though He had said to him, 'Do you love Me?' Herein show that you love Me, 'Feed my sheep.' So then, Brethren, do ye with obedience hear that you are Christ's sheep; seeing that we on our part with fear hear, Feed My sheep? If we feed with fear, and fear for the sheep; these sheep how ought they to fear for themselves? Let then carefulness be our portion, obedience yours; pastoral watchfulness our portion, the humility of the flock yours. Although we too who seem to speak to you from a higher place, are with fear beneath your feet; forasmuch as we know how perilous an account must be rendered of this as it were exalted seat. Wherefore, dearly beloved, Catholic plants, Members of Christ, think What a Head you have! Children of God, think What a Father you have found. Christians, think What an Inheritance is promised you. Not such as on earth cannot be possessed by children, save when their parents are dead. For no one on earth possesses a father's inheritance, save when he is dead. But we while our Father lives shall possess what He shall give; for that our Father cannot die. I add more, I say more, and say the truth; our Father will Himself be our Inheritance.

2. Live consistently, especially ye candidates of Christ, recently baptized, just regenerated, as I have admonished you before, so say I now, and give expression to my solicitude; for the present lesson of the Gospel has forced upon me a greater fear: take heed to yourselves, do not imitate evil Christians. Say not I will do this, for many of the faithful do it. This is not to procure a defense for the soul; but to look out for companions unto hell. Grow ye in this floor of the Lord; herein you will find good men to please you, if you yourselves are good. For are you our private property? Heretics and schismatics have made their own private property out of what they have stolen from the Lord, and would feed, not Christ's flocks, but their own against Christ. It is true indeed, they place His title on these their spoils, that their robberies may be as it were maintained by the title of His Power. What does Christ when such as these are converted, who have received the title of His Baptism out of the Church? He casts out the spoiler, He does not efface the title, and takes possession of the house; because He has found His title there. What need is there that He should change His Own Name? Do they take heed to what the Lord said to Peter, Feed My lambs, feed My sheep? Did He say to him, Feed your lambs; or, Feed your sheep? But for them who are shut out, what said He in the Song of Songs, unto the Church? The Spouse speaking to the Bride, says, If you know not yourself, O you fair one among women, go forth. As though He said, I do not cast you out, 'go forth, if you know not yourself, O you fair one among women,' if you know not yourself in the mirror of divine Scripture, if you give not heed, O you fair woman, to the mirror which with no false lustre deceives you; if you know not that of you it is said, 'Your glory shall be above all earth;' that of you it is said, 'I will give you nations for your inheritance, and the limits of the earth for your possession.' and other innumerable testimonies which set forth the Catholic Church. If then you know not these, you have no part in Me, you can not make yourself My heir. 'Go forth then in the footsteps of the flocks' not in the fellowship of the flock; and feed your goats, not as it was said to Peter, 'My sheep.' To Peter it was said, My sheep; to schismatics it is said, your goats. In the one place sheep, in the other goats; in the one place Mine, in the other yours. Recollect the right Hand and the left of our Judge; recollect where the goats shall stand, and where the sheep; and it will be plain to you where is the right hand, where the left, the white and the black, the lightsome, and the darksome, the fair and the deformed, that which is about to receive the kingdom, and that which is to find everlasting punishment.

On the same words of the Gospel of John 21:15 , Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? etc.

1. You remember that the Apostle Peter, the first of all the Apostles, was disturbed at the Lord's Passion. Of his own self disturbed, but by Christ renewed. For he was first a bold presumer, and became afterwards a timid denier. He had promised that he would die for the Lord, when the Lord was first to die for him. When he said then, I will be with You even unto death, and I will lay down my life for You; the Lord answered him, Will you lay down your life for Me? Verily I say unto you, Before the cock crow, you shall deny Me thrice. They came to the hour; and because that Christ was God, and Peter a man, the Scripture was fulfilled, I said in my panic, Every man is a liar. And the Apostle says, For God is true, and every man a liar. Christ true, Peter a liar.

2. But what now? The Lord asks him as you heard when the Gospel was being read, and says to him, Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? He answered and said, Yea Lord You know that I love You. And again the Lord asked this question, and a third time He asked it. And when he asserted in reply his love, He commended to him the flock. For each several time the Lord Jesus said to Peter, as he said, I love you; Feed My lambs, feed My little sheep. In this one Peter was figured the unity of all pastors, of good pastors, that is, who know that they feed Christ's sheep for Christ, not for themselves. Was Peter at this time a liar, or did he answer untruly that he loved the Lord? He made this answer truly; for he made answer of that which he saw in his own heart. Whereas when he said, I will lay down my life for You, he would presume on future strength. Now every man knows it may be what sort of man he is at the time when he is speaking; what he shall be on the morrow, who knows? So then Peter turned back his eyes to his own heart, when he was asked by the Lord, and in confidence made answer of what he saw there: 'Yea, Lord, You know that I love You.' What I tell You, You know; what I see here in my heart, You see also. Nevertheless, he did not venture to say what the Lord had asked. For the Lord had not simply said, Lovest Thou me? but had added, Do you love Me more than these? that is, Do you love Me more than these here do? He was speaking of the other disciples; Peter could not say ought but, I love You; he did not venture to say, more than these. He would not be a liar a second time. It were enough for him to bear testimony to his own heart; it was no duty of his to be judge of the heart of others.

3. Peter then was true; or rather was Christ true in Peter? Now when the Lord Jesus Christ would, He abandoned Peter, and Peter was found a man; but when it so pleased the Lord Jesus Christ, He filled Peter, and Peter was found true. The Rock (Petra) made Peter true, for the Rock was Christ. And what did He announce to him, when he answered a third time that he loved Christ, and a third time the Lord commended His little sheep to Peter? He announced to him beforehand his suffering. When you were young, says He, you girded yourself, and went where you would, but when you shall be old, you shall stretch forth your hands, and another shall gird you, and carry you whither you would not. The Evangelist has explained to us Christ's meaning. This spoke He, says he, signifying by what death he should glorify God; that is that he was crucified for Christ; for this is, You shall stretch forth your hands. Where now is that denier? Then after this the Lord Christ said, Follow Me. Not in the same sense as before, when he called the disciples. For then too He said, Follow Me; but then to instruction, now to a crown. Was he not afraid to be put to death when he denied Christ? He was afraid to suffer that which Christ suffered. But now he must be afraid no more. For he saw Him now Alive in the Flesh, whom he had seen hanging on the Tree. By His Resurrection Christ took away the fear of death; and forasmuch as He had taken away the fear of death, with good reason did He enquire of Peter's love. Fear had thrice denied, love thrice confessed. The threefoldness of denial, the forsaking of the Truth; the threefoldness of confession, the testimony of love.

1. When I give heed to what we have just read from the apostolic lesson, that the natural man perceives not the things which are of the Spirit of God, [1 Corinthians 2:14] and consider that in the present assembly, my beloved, there must of necessity be among you many natural men, who know only according to the flesh, and cannot yet raise themselves to spiritual understanding, I am in great difficulty how, as the Lord shall grant, I may be able to express, or in my small measure to explain, what has been read from the Gospel, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; for this the natural man does not perceive. What then, brethren? Shall we be silent for this cause? Why then is it read, if we are to 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 hand, since I do not doubt that there are among your number some who can not only receive it when explained, but even understand it before it is explained, I shall not defraud those who are able to receive it, from fear of my words being wasted on the ears of those who are not able to receive it. Finally, there will be present with us the compassion of God, so that perchance there may be enough for all, and each receive what he is able, while he who speaks says what he is able. For to speak of the matter as it is, who is able? I venture to say, my brethren, perhaps not John himself spoke of the matter as it is, but even he only as he was able; for it was man that spoke of God, inspired indeed by God, but still man. Because he was inspired he said something; if he had not been inspired, he would have said nothing; but because a man inspired, he spoke not the whole, but what a man could he spoke.

2. For this John, dearly beloved brethren, was one of those mountains concerning which it is written: Let the mountains receive peace for your people, and the hills righteousness. The mountains are lofty souls, the hills little souls. But for this reason do the mountains receive peace, that the hills may be able to receive righteousness. What is the righteousness which the hills receive? Faith, for the just does live by faith. The smaller souls, however, would not receive faith unless the greater souls, which are called mountains, were illuminated by Wisdom herself, that they may be able to transmit to the little ones what the little ones can receive; and the hills live by faith, because the mountains receive peace. By the mountains themselves it was said to the Church, Peace be with you; and the mountains themselves in proclaiming peace to the Church did not divide themselves against Him from whom they received peace, [John 20:19] that truly, not feignedly, they might proclaim peace.

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 hidden 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 mountains, 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 your 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 has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has ascended into the heart of man. [1 Corinthians 2:9] 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 ascended 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 you not men? [1 Corinthians 3:4] 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, you are gods; and all of you are children of the Most High. 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 do not receive what we are not, but even lose what we are.

5. Accordingly, brethren, of these mountains was John also, who said, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This mountain had received peace; he was contemplating 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. Do you inquire concerning heaven and earth? They were made. Do you inquire concerning the things that are in heaven and earth? Surely much more were they made. Do you inquire 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. 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 was 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 concerning whom we sang a little while ago, I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from whence shall come my help. Therefore, my brethren, if you would understand, lift up your eyes to this mountain, that is, raise yourselves up to the evangelist, rise to his meaning. 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 my 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. Therefore let us lift our eyes to the mountains, from whence shall come our help; and yet it is not in the mountains themselves that our hope should be placed, for the mountains receive what they may minister to us; therefore, from whence the mountains also receive there should our hope be placed. When we lift our eyes to the Scriptures, since it was through men the Scriptures were ministered, we are lifting our eyes to the mountains, from whence shall come our help; but still, since they were men who wrote the Scriptures, they did not shine of themselves, but He was the true light, [John 1:9] who lights every man that comes into the world. A mountain also was that John the Baptist, who said, I am not the Christ, [John 1:30] lest any one, placing his hope in the mountain, should fall from Him who illuminates the mountain. He also confessed, saying, Since of His fullness have all we received. [John 1:16] So you ought to say, I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from whence shall come my help, so as not to ascribe to the mountains the help that comes to you; but continue and say, My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

7. Therefore, brethren, 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 these things; but you cannot yet understand what you have heard. Call for help from the Lord, who made heaven and earth; for the mountains were 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 Lord's breast, and from the Lord's breast drank in what he might give us to drink. But he gave us words to drink. You ought then to receive understanding from the source from which he drank who gave you to drink; so that you may lift up your eyes to the mountains from whence shall come your aid, so that from thence you may receive, as it were, the cup, that is, the word, given you to drink; and yet, since your help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth, you may fill your breast from the source from which he filled his; whence you said, My help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth: let him, then, fill who can. Brethren, this is what I have said: Let each one lift up his heart in the manner that seems fitting, and receive what is spoken. But perhaps you will say that I am more present to you than God. Far be such a thought from you! He is much more present to you; for I appear to your eyes, He presides over your consciences. Give me then your ears, Him your hearts, that you may fill both. Behold, your eyes, and those your bodily senses, you lift up to us; and yet not to us, for we are not of those mountains, but to the gospel itself, to the evangelist himself: your hearts, however, to the Lord to be filled. Moreover, let each one so lift up as to see what he lifts up, and whither. What do I mean by saying, what he lifts up, and whither? Let him see to it what sort of a heart he lifts up, because it is to the Lord he lifts it up, lest, encumbered by a load of fleshly pleasure, it fall ere ever it is raised. But does each one see that he bears a burden of flesh? Let him strive by continence to purify that which he may lift up to God. For Blessed are the pure in heart, because they shall see God. [Matthew 5:8]

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 that 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 both 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 despised, and seem nothing but words. But there is a word in the man himself which remains within; for the sound proceeds from the mouth. There is a word which is spoken in a truly spiritual manner, that which you understand from the sound, not the sound itself. Mark, I speak a word when I say God. How short the word which I have spoken — four letters and two syllables! Is this all that God is, four letters and two syllables? Or is that which is signified as costly as the word is paltry? What took place in your heart when you heard, God? What took place in my heart when I said God? A certain great and perfect substance was in our thoughts, transcending every changeable creature of flesh or of soul. And if I say to you, Is God changeable or unchangeable? you will answer immediately, Far be it from me either to believe or imagine that God is changeable: God is unchangeable. Your soul, though small, though perhaps still carnal, could not answer me otherwise than that God is unchangeable: but every creature is changeable; how then were you able to enter, by a glance of your spirit, into that which is above the creature, so as confidently to answer me, God is unchangeable? What, then, is that in your heart, when you think of a certain substance, living, eternal, all-powerful, infinite, everywhere present, everywhere whole, nowhere shut in? When you think of these qualities, this is the word concerning God in your 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 syllables. 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 your attention to that word. You can have a word in your heart, as it were a design born in your mind, so that your mind brings forth the design; and the design is, so to speak, the offspring of your mind, the child of your heart. For first your 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: you see what you will make; but another does not admire, until you have 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 astonished 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 you will 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 made: 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 you hear, the Word, nor suppose it to be words such as you hear them every day — 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 you hear, In the beginning was the Word, lest you should imagine something worthless, such as you have been accustomed to think of when you were wont to listen to human words, hearken to what you must think of: The Word was God.

11. 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 it made? But if you say that there is a Word of the Word, I say, that by which it was made is itself the only Son of God. But if you do 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 made by itself. Believe the evangelist then. For he might have said, In the beginning God made the Word: even as Moses said, In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth; and enumerates all things thus: God said, Let it be made, and it was made. [Genesis i] If said, who said? God. And what was made? Some creature. Between the speaking 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 you be not new-made by the Word, which makes all things new. For already have you been made by the Word, but it behooves you to be new-made by the Word. If, however, your belief about the Word be wrong, you will not be able to be new-made by the Word. And although creation by the Word has happened to you, so that you have been made by Him, you are unmade by yourself: if by yourself you are unmade, let Him who made you make you new: if by yourself you have been made worse, let Him who created you re-create you. But how can He re-create you by the Word, if you hold a wrong opinion about the Word? The evangelist says, In the beginning was the Word; and you say, In the beginning the Word was made. He says, All things were made by Him; and you say that the Word Himself was made. The evangelist might have said, In the beginning 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 beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; if you can not imagine what it is, wait till you are grown. That is strong meat: receive milk that you may 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 Corinthians 8:4] Therefore these things were not made by the Word; but whatever was made in the natural manner, whatever 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 whatsoever: 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, you might have found fault; if He had willed that angels should spring from decaying flesh, you might have found fault: and yet God almost does this, and He is not to be found fault with. For all men born of flesh, what are they but worms? And of these worms God makes angels. For if the Lord Himself says, But I am a worm and no man, who will hesitate to say what is written also in Job, How much more is man rottenness, and the son of man a worm? [Job 25:6] First he said, Man is rottenness; and afterwards, The son of man a worm: because a worm springs from rottenness, therefore man is rottenness, and the son of man a worm. Behold what for your 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 your sake become this? That you might suck, who were not able to chew. Wholly in this sense, then, brethren, understand All things were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made. For every 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, You have ordered all things in measure, and in number, and in weight. [Wisdom 11:21]

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 deceive hungry birds, so these have been deceived with flies by the devil. Some one or other was suffering annoyance from flies; a Manichæan found him in his trouble, and when he said that he could not bear flies, and hated them exceedingly, immediately the Manichæan 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 the Catholic, I believe the devil made them. And the other immediately said, If the devil made the fly, as I see you allow, because you understand the matter well, who made the bee, which is a little larger than the fly? The Catholic dared not say that God made the bee and not the fly, for the case was much the same. From the bee he led him to the locust; from the locust to the lizard; from the lizard to the bird; from the bird to the sheep; 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 troubled with the flies, became himself a fly, and the property of the devil. In fact, Beelzebub, they say, means Prince of flies; and of these it is written, Dying flies deprive the ointment of its sweetness. [Ecclesiastes 10:1]

15. What then, brethren? Why have I said these things? Shut the ears of your hearts against the wiles of the enemy. Understand that God made all things, and arranged them in their orders. Why, then, do we suffer 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 fear. For your punishment, accuse your 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 become proud and has boasted himself against God, and, though mortal, has oppressed mortals, and, though man, has not acknowledged his fellowman — since he has lifted himself up, he may be brought low by gnats. Why are you inflated with human pride? Some one has censured you, and you are swollen with rage. Drive off the gnats, that you may sleep: understand who you are. For, that you may know, brethren, it was for the taming of our pride these things were created to be troublesome to us, God could have humbled Pharaoh's proud people by bears, by lions, by serpents; He sent flies and frogs upon them, [Exodus viii] that their pride might be subdued by the meanest creatures.

16. All things, then, brethren, all things were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made. But how were all things made by Him? That, which was made, in Him is life. It can also be read thus: That, which was made in Him, is life; and if we so read it, everything is life. For what is there that was not made in Him? For He is the Wisdom of God, and it is said in the Psalm, In Wisdom have You made all things. If, then, Christ is the Wisdom of God, and the Psalm says, In Wisdom have You made all things: as all things were made by Him, so all things were made in Him. If, then, all things 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 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 Manichæans creep stealthily on us again, and say that a stone has life, that a wall has a soul, and a cord has a soul, and wool, and clothing. For so they are accustomed to talk in their raving; and when they have been driven back and refuted, they in some sort bring forward Scripture, saying, Why is it said, 'That, which was made in Him, is life'? For if all things were made in Him, all things are life. Be not carried away by them; read thus That which was made; here make a short pause, and then go on, in Him is life. What is the meaning 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 earth was made: this is life.

17. As far as I can, I shall explain my meaning to you, beloved. A carpenter makes a box. First he has the box in design; for if he had it not in design, how could he produce it by workmanship? But the box in theory is not the very box as it appears to the eyes. It exists invisibly in design, it will be visible in the work. Behold, it is made in the work; has it ceased to exist in design? The one is made in the work, and the other remains which exists in design; for that box may rot, and another be fashioned according to that which exists in design. Give heed, then, to the box as it is in design, and the box as it is in fact. The actual box is not life, the box in design is life; because the soul of the artificer, where all these things are before they are brought forth, is living. So, dearly beloved brethren, because the Wisdom of God, by which all things have been made, contains everything according to design before it is made, therefore those things which are made through this design itself are not immediately life, but whatever has been made is life in Him. You see the earth, there is an earth in design; you see the sky, there is a sky in design; you see the sun and the moon, these also exist in design: but externally they are bodies, in design they are life. Understand, 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 what 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. 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 flesh till he arrive at Christ born of the Father alone, the God-Word with God, through whom all things were made; for that 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 capable 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 lights every man that comes 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 comes after me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. [John 1:26-27] 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 perhaps the slow hearts of some of you cannot yet receive that light, because they are burdened by their sins, so that they cannot see. Let them not on that account think that the light is in any way absent, because they are not able to see it; for they themselves are darkness on account of their sins. And the light shines in darkness, 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. Wisdom 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. [Matthew 5:8]

It is fitting, brethren, that as far as possible we should treat of the text of Holy Scripture, 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 nourished. 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 shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. So far, I believe, had I advanced in the treatment of 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 deprives them of what succeeds — let those who were absent on the former occasion refrain from demanding repetition, but, together with 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 were said before, were said regarding the ineffable divinity of Christ, and almost ineffably. For who shall comprehend In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God? And do not allow the name word to appear mean to you, through the habit of daily words, for it is added, and the Word was God. This Word is He of whom yesterday we spoke much; and I trust that God was present, and that even from only thus much speaking something reached your hearts. In the beginning was the Word. 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 has sent me. [Exodus 3:14] 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 various volitions are distended 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? Who then can receive this? Or who, in whatever manner 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 native land at a distance, and the sea intervening; he sees whither he would go, but he 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 go, He has come from Him to whom we wished to go. And what has He done? He has appointed a tree by which we may cross the sea. For no one is able to cross the sea 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 manner, cling to Christ according to that which He became for us, that you may arrive at Him according to that which is, and according to that which was. He approached, that for us He might become this; because He became that for us, on which the weak may be borne, and cross the sea of this world and reach their native country; where there will be no need of a ship, for no sea is crossed. It is better then not to see with the mind that 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 were able to do this, and saw that which is. For John seeing said, In the beginning was the Word, 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 resurrection 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 philosophers 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 apostle plainly says, For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and glory; so they are without excuse. And it follows, Because that, when they knew God; he did not say, Because they did not know, but Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. How darkened? It follows, when he says more plainly: Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. [Romans 1:20-22] They saw whither they must come; but ungrateful 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 they might be blinded: when they were proud they said that they were wise. Those, therefore, concerning whom he said, Who, when they had known God, saw this which John says, that by the Word of God all things were made. For these things are also found in the books of the philosophers: and that God has an only-begotten Son, by whom are all things. They were able to see that which is, but they saw it from afar: they were unwilling to hold the lowliness of Christ, in which ship they might have arrived in safety at that which they were able to see from afar and the cross of Christ appeared vile to them. The sea has to be crossed, and do you despise the wood? Oh, proud wisdom! You laugh to scorn the crucified Christ; it is He whom you 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 needful to you. For you had become swollen with pride, and had been cast out far from that fatherland; and by the waves of this world has the way been intercepted, and there is no means of passing to the fatherland unless borne by the wood. Ungrateful one! You laugh Him to scorn who has come to you that you may return: He has become the way, and that through the sea: [Matthew 14:25] thence He walked in the sea to show that there is a way in the sea. But you who are not able in any way yourself to walk in the sea, be carried in a ship, be carried by the wood: believe in the crucified One, and you shall arrive there. On account of you He was crucified, to teach you humility; and because if He should come as God, He would not be recognized. For if He should come as God, He would not 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 everywhere 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 the God lay hid in Him, there was sent 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 concerning God? He was sent by God. What was he called? Whose name was John. Wherefore did he come? He came for a witness, that he might bear witness concerning the light, that all might believe through him. What sort of man was he who was to bear witness concerning the light? Something great was that John, vast merit, great grace, great loftiness! Admire, by all means, admire; but as it were a mountain. But a mountain is in darkness unless it be clothed with light. Therefore only admire John that you may hear what follows, He was not that light; lest if, when you think the mountain to be the light, you make shipwreck on the mountain, and find not consolation. But what ought you to admire? The mountain as a mountain. But lift yourself up to Him who illuminates the mountain, which for this end was elevated that it might be the first to receive the rays, and make them known to 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 light. Wherefore is it added true? Because an 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 goes forth, these lights are open in vain. Thus, therefore, John was a light, but not the true light; because, if not enlightened, he would have been darkness; but, by enlightenment, he became a light. For unless he had been enlightened he would have been darkness, as all those once impious men, to whom, as believers, the apostle said, You were sometimes darkness. But now, because they had believed, what?— but now are you light, he says, in the Lord. [Ephesians 5:8] Unless he had added in the Lord, we should not have understood. Light, he says, in the Lord: darkness you were not in the Lord. For you were sometimes darkness, where he did not add in the Lord. Therefore, darkness in you, light in the Lord. And thus he was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of the light.

7. But where is that light? He was the true light, which lights every man that comes into the world. If every man that comes, then also John. The true light, therefore, enlightened him by whom He desired Himself to be pointed out. Understand, beloved, for He came to infirm minds, to wounded hearts, to the gaze of dim-eyed souls. For this purpose had He come. And whence was the soul able to see that which perfectly is? Even as it commonly happens, that by means of some illuminated body, the sun, which we cannot see with the eyes, is known to have arisen. Because even those who have wounded eyes are able to see a wall illuminated and enlightened by the sun, or a mountain, or a tree, or anything of that sort; and, by means of another body illuminated, 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 see Him: upon John He shed the beams of His light; and by means of him confessing himself to have been irradiated and enlightened, 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 lights every man, he says, who comes 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 according 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 shines in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. [John 1:5] Behold, both here He is now, and here He was, and here He is always; and He never departs, departs no-whither. There is need that you have some means whereby you may see that which never departs from you; there is need that you depart not from Him who departs no-whither; there is need that you desert not, and you shall not be deserted. Do not fall, and His sun will not set to you. If you fall, His sun sets upon you; but if you stand, He is present with you. But you have not stood: remember how you have fallen, how he who fell before you cast you down. For he cast you down, not by violence, not by assault, but by your own will. For had you not consented unto evil, you would have stood, you would have remained enlightened. But now, because you have already fallen, and hast become wounded in heart — the organ by which that light can be seen — He came to you such as you might 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 man: so infirm are we. By a lamp we seek the day; because John himself was called a lamp, the Lord saying, He was a burning and a shining light; and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light: but I have greater witness than John. [John 5:35]

9. Therefore He showed that for the sake of men He desired to have Himself revealed by a lamp to the faith of those who believed, 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 do you do these things? I also, says He, will ask you one question; 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. 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 wickedness imposed a lie upon itself. For they said, We know not. And the Lord, because they shut the door against themselves, by professing ignorance of what they knew, did not open to them, because they did not knock. For it is said, Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. [Matthew 7:7] 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. And they were confounded by means of John; and in them were the words fulfilled, I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed. His enemies will I clothe with shame.

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 governing 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 near, he sits in another place, and is external to that which he fashions. But God, infused into the world, fashions it; being everywhere present He fashions, and withdraws not Himself elsewhere, nor does He, as it were, handle from without, the matter which He fashions. By the presence of His majesty He makes what He makes; His presence 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 means the world was made by Him? The heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things 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 inhabitants. 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. Therefore the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.

12. He came unto His own,— 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? Was 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 Him. What did He afford to them? Great benevolence! Great mercy! He was born the only Son of God, and was unwilling to remain alone. Many men, when they have not sons, in advanced age 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 says 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 has said to me, You are my Son, this day have I begotten You. Ask of me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance. 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. 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 in 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 sons of men are born of flesh and blood, and of the will of man, and of the embrace of wedlock. But in what manner are they born? Who not of bloods, as if of male and female. Bloods is not Latin; but because it is plural in Greek, the interpreter preferred so to express it, and to speak bad Latin according to the grammarian that he might make the matter 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 grammarians, so long as we reach the solid and certain truth. He who understands it and blames it, is thankless for his having understood. 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. [Genesis 2:23] And the apostle says, He that loves his wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh. [Ephesians 5:28-29] Flesh, then, is put for woman, in the same manner that spirit is sometimes put for husband. Wherefore? Because the one rules, the other is ruled; the one ought to command, the other to serve. For where 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 the woman obeys. In like manner that man is rightly ordered where the spirit commands and the flesh serves.

15. These, then, were born not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. But that men might be born of God, God was first born of them. For Christ is God, and Christ was born of men. It was only a mother, indeed, that He sought upon earth; because He had already a Father in heaven: He by whom we were to be created was born of God, and He by whom we were to be re-created was born of a woman. Marvel not, then, O man, that you are made a son by grace, that you are born of God according to His Word. The Word Himself first chose to be born of man, that you might be born of God unto salvation, and say to yourself, Not without reason did God wish to be born of man, but because He counted me of some importance, that He might make me immortal, and for me be born as a mortal man. When, therefore, he had 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 God, as if assuring you, he says, And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. Why, then, do you marvel that men are born of God? Consider God Himself born of men: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.

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 His flesh. Wherefore were we not able to see? Consider, then, dearly beloved, and see what I say. There had dashed into man's eye, as it were, dust, earth; it had wounded 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 healing. For all eye-salves and medicines are derived from the earth alone. By dust you were blinded, and by dust you are healed: flesh, then, had wounded you, flesh heals you. The soul had become carnal by consenting to the affections of the flesh; thus had the eye of the heart been blinded. The Word was made flesh: that Physician made for you an eye-salve. And as He thus came by flesh to extinguish the vices of the flesh, and by death to slay death; therefore did this take place in you, that, as the Word became flesh, you may be able to say, And we beheld His glory. What sort of glory? Such as He became as Son of man? That 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, full of grace and truth. Of grace and truth 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 you do not depart from the wood by which you may cross the sea.

We undertook, in the name of the Lord, and promised to you, beloved, to treat of that grace and truth of God, full of which the only-begotten Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, appeared to the saints, and to show how, as a matter belonging to the New Testament, it is to be distinguished from the Old Testament. Give, then, your attention 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 rain of daily exhortations and your own good thoughts, by which that is done in the heart which in the field is done by means of harrows, so that the clod is broken, and the seed covered and enabled to germinate: that you bear fruit at which the husbandman may be glad and rejoice. But if, in return for good seed and good rain, you bring forth not fruit but thorns, the seed will not be blamed, nor will the rain be in fault; but for thorns due fire is prepared. [Matthew 13:3-25]

2. I do not think that I need spend much time in endeavoring to persuade you that we are Christian men; and if Christians, by virtue of the name, belonging to Christ. Upon the forehead we bear His sign; and we do not blush because of it, if we also bear it in the heart. His sign is His humility. By a star the Magi knew Him; [Matthew 2:2] and this sign was given by the Lord, and it was heavenly and beautiful. He did not desire that a star 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 by Jesus Christ. We ask the apostle, and he says to us, since we are not under the law but under grace. [Romans 6:14] He sent therefore His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, that He might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. [Galatians 4:4-5] Behold, for this end Christ came, that He might redeem those who were under the law; that now we may not be under the law, but under grace. Who, then, gave the law? He gave the law who gave likewise grace; but the law He sent by a servant, with grace He Himself came down. And in what manner were men made under the law? By not fulfilling the law. For he who fulfills the law is not under the law, but with the law; but he who is under the law is not raised up, but pressed down by the law. All 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 shows pity in that which the law commands. Men, endeavoring by their own strength to fulfill that which the law commands, fell by their own rash and headstrong presumption; and not with the law, but under the law, became guilty: and since by their own strength they were unable to fulfill the law, and had become guilty under the law, they implored the aid of the Deliverer; and the guilt which the law brought caused sickness to the proud. The sickness of the proud became the confession of the humble. Now the sick confess that they are sick; let the physician come to heal the sick.

3. Who is the Physician? Our Lord Jesus Christ. Who is our Lord Jesus Christ? He who was seen even by those by whom He was crucified. He who was seized, buffeted, scourged, spit upon, crowned with thorns, suspended upon the cross, died, pierced by the spear, taken down from the cross, laid in 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, [Matthew 27:39-40] — He, and no other, is our complete Physician. Wherefore, then, did He not show to his deriders that He was the Son of God; so that if He allowed Himself to be lifted up upon the cross, at least when they said, If he be the Son of God, let him come down from the cross, He should then come down, and show to them that He was the very Son of God whom they had dared to deride? He would not. Wherefore would He not? Was it because He could not? Manifestly 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 as an example of patience. There He cured your wounds, where He long bore His own; there He healed you 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 perhaps 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 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? Because 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. Do you presume upon your strength? By the wild beasts you are surpassed. Upon your swiftness do you presume? By the flies you are surpassed. Upon your beauty do you presume? How great beauty is there in the feathers of a peacock! Wherein then are you better? In the image of God. Where is the image of God? In the mind, in the intellect. If then you are in this respect better than the cattle, that you have a mind by which you may 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 of minds is above minds and surpasses all minds. This was that life by which all things were made.

5. Where was it? Was it here? Was it with the Father, and was it not here? Or, what is more true, was it both with the Father and here also? If then it was here, wherefore was it not seen? Because the light shines in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. Oh men, be not darkness, be not unbelieving, unjust, unrighteous, rapacious, avaricious lovers of this world: for these are the darkness. The light is not absent, 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 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. [Ephesians 5:8] Because then the light of men was not seen, that is, the light of minds, there was a necessity that a man should give testimony regarding the light, who was not in darkness, 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 that comes into the 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 shines 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 the creature acknowledge its Creator? The heavens gave testimony by a star; [Matthew 2:2] the sea gave testimony, and bore its Lord when He walked upon it; [Matthew 14:26] the winds gave testimony, and were quiet at His bidding; [Matthew 23:27] the earth gave testimony, and trembled when He was crucified. [Matthew 27:51] If all these gave testimony, in what sense did the world not know Him, unless 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 Himself; and His own received Him not. What, then, is the hope, unless that as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God? If they become sons, they are born; if born, how are they born? Not of flesh, nor of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man; but of God are they born. Let them rejoice, therefore, that they are born of God; let them believe that they are born of God; let them receive the proof that they are born of God: 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 God? 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 medicine 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.

7. John bears witness of Him, and cries, saying, This was He of whom I spoke, He that comes after me is made before me. He came after me, and He preceded me. What is it, He is made before me? 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 you, when He came after you? Because He was before me. Before you, O John! What great thing to be before you! It is well that you bear witness to Him; let us, however, hear Himself saying, Even before Abraham, I am. [John 8:58] 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 You. He who was begotten before Lucifer Himself illuminates all. A certain one was named Lucifer, who fell; for he was an angel and became a devil; and concerning him the Scripture said, Lucifer, who did arise in the morning, fell. [Isaiah 14:27] And why was he Lucifer? Because, being enlightened, he gave forth light. But for what reason did he become dark! Because he abode not in the truth. [John 8:44] Therefore He was before Lucifer, before every one that is enlightened; since before every one that is enlightened, 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 Gospel, as we find by a comparison of the Greek copies. He does not say, And of His fullness have all we received grace for grace; but thus He says: And of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace,— that is, have we received; so that He would wish us to understand that we have received from His fullness something unexpressed, and something besides, grace for grace. For we received of His fullness grace in the first instance; and again we received grace, grace for grace. What grace did we, in the first instance, receive? Faith: walking in faith, we walk in grace. How have we merited this? By what previous merits of ours? Let not each one 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, you were worthy of punishment, and He came not to punish sins, but to forgive sins, grace was given to you, and not reward rendered. Wherefore is it called grace? Because it is bestowed gratuitously. For you did not, by previous merits, purchase that which you received. 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 inasmuch as we were not worthy to have our sins forgiven, and because we, who were unworthy, received so great a benefit, it is called 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 reply due, you were good; but if, as is true, you were evil, but believed in Him who justifies the ungodly [Romans 4:5] (What is, Who justifies the ungodly? Of the ungodly makes pious), consider what did by right hang over you by the law, and what you have obtained by grace. But having obtained that grace of faith, you shall be just by faith (for the just lives by faith); and you shall obtain favor of God by living by faith. And having obtained favor from God by living by faith, you shall receive immortality as a reward, and life eternal. And that is grace. For because of what merit do you 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 acknowledging grace, and afterwards desiring the payment of a debt. What acknowledgment of grace is there in Paul? Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious; but I obtained, says he, mercy. [1 Timothy 1:13] 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 had first received unmerited grace: For, says 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 Timothy 4:6-8] 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 you rightly consider, it was He who first gave you faith, whereby you obtained favor; for not of your own did you so obtain favor that anything should be due to you. Wherefore, then, in afterwards bestowing the reward of immortality, He crowns His own gifts, not your merits. Therefore, brethren, we all of His fullness have received; of the fullness of His mercy, of the abundance of His goodness have we received. 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 condition 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 says 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 without 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 wanting to fulfill, whence does he 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 concupiscence 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 says 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. [1 Corinthians 15:21-22] 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 damnation; 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 you should ask, they belong to Adam: in Him, if you should 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 punishment of sin. For the Lord had nothing on account of which He should justly die. He Himself says, Behold, the prince of this world comes, and finds 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. [John 14:30-31] He had not in Himself any reason why He should die, and He died: you have such a reason, and do you refuse to die? Do not refuse to bear with an equal mind your desert, when He did not refuse to suffer, to deliver you 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. You died in Adam, rise in Christ; for both are due to you. Now you have believed in Christ, render nevertheless that which you owe through Adam. But the chain of sin shall not hold you eternally; because the temporal death of your Lord slew your eternal death. The same is grace, my brethren, the same is truth, because promised and manifested.

14. This grace was not in the Old Testament, because the law threatened, did not bring aid; commanded, did not heal; made manifest, but did not take away our feebleness: but it prepared the way for that Physician 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 exclaims against the bandage. The Lord comes, cures with somewhat bitter and sharp medicines: for He says to the sick, Bear; He says, Endure; He says, Love not the world, have patience, let the fire of continence cure you, let your wounds endure the sword of persecutions. Were you greatly terrified although bound? He, free and unbound, drank what He gave to you; He first suffered that He might console you, saying, as it were, that which you fear to suffer for yourself, I first suffer for you. This is grace, and great grace. Who can praise it in a worthy manner?

15. I speak, my brethren, regarding the humility of Christ. Who can speak regarding the majesty of Christ, and the divinity of Christ? In explaining and speaking of the humility of Christ, to do so in any fashion we find ourselves 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, you say, may explain it to us, unless you declare it? Let Him declare it within. Better does He declare it who dwells within, than he who cries without. Let Himself show to you the grace of His humility, who has begun to dwell in your hearts. But now, if in explaining and setting forth His humility we are deficient, who can speak of His majesty? If the Word made flesh disturbs us, who shall explain In the beginning was the Word? Keep hold then, brethren, upon the entireness of Christ.

16. The law was given by Moses: grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. By a servant was the law given, and made men guilty: by an Emperor was pardon given, and delivered the guilty. The law was given by Moses. Let not the servant attribute to himself more than was done through him. Chosen to a great ministry as one faithful in his house, but yet a servant, he is able to act 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 has 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 servant, that He might Himself come with grace and truth. For no one has 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, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. What signifies in the 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. For no man has seen God at any time. He then came and narrated whatever He saw. What did Moses see? Moses saw a cloud, he saw an angel, he saw a fire. All that is the creature: it bore the type of its Lord, but did not manifest the presence of the Lord Himself. For you have it plainly stated in the law: And Moses spoke with the Lord face to face, as a friend with his friend. Following the same scripture, you find Moses saying: If I have found grace in Your sight, show me Yourself plainly, that I may see You. And it is little that he said this: he received the reply, You can not see my face. An angel then spoke with Moses, my brethren, bearing the type of the Lord; and all those things which were done by the angel promised that future grace and truth. Those who 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 you, beloved brethren, as far as the Lord may reveal to us.

18. 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 substance of God seen? Interrogate the Gospel: Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God. [Matthew 5:8] There have been men who, deceived 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 cannot be beheld by the eyes. Brethren, if Christ is the Wisdom of God and the Power of God; [1 Corinthians 1:24] 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 carnal thoughts, that you may be really under grace, that you may belong to the New Testament. Therefore is life eternal promised in the New Testament. Read the Old Testament, and see that the same things were enjoined upon a people yet carnal as upon us. For to worship one God is also enjoined upon us. You shall not take the name of the Lord your 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 employed in spinning wool than in dancing on that day in the balconies? God forbid, brethren, that we should call that an observance of the Sabbath. The Christian observes the Sabbath spiritually, abstaining from servile work. For what is it to abstain from servile work? From sin. And how do we prove it? Ask the Lord. Whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin. [John 8:34] Therefore is the spiritual observance of the Sabbath enjoined upon us. Now all those commandments are more enjoined on us, and are to be observed: You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and your mother. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. [Exodus 20:3-17] Are not all these things enjoined upon us also? But ask what is the reward, and you will find it there said: That your enemies may be driven forth before your face, and that you may receive the land which God promised to your fathers. [Leviticus 26:1-13] 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, forgetful of the great miracles which God performed before their eyes. The sea was divided; a way was made in the midst of the waves; their enemies following, were covered by the same waves through which they passed: [Exodus 14:21-31] 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 offered it adoration, and said, These be your gods, O Israel, which delivered you out of the land of Egypt. [Exodus 32:1-4] How soon forgetful of such manifest grace! By what means could such a people be held except by carnal promises?

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 eternal. And this is life eternal, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. [John 17:3] The knowledge 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 was concealed before He came. For a certain lover sighing, says in the Psalms: One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after. And do you ask what he seeks? For perhaps he seeks a land flowing with milk and honey carnally, although this is to be 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 does seek after? That I may dwell, says he, in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. And suppose that you dwell in the house of the Lord, from what source will your joy there be derived? That I may behold, says 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 you ask the eyes of the flesh? What more fair if you ask 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 you hear that he is a thief, your mind recoils from the man. You behold on the other hand a bent old man, leaning upon a staff, scarcely moving himself, ploughed all over with wrinkles. You hear that he is just: you love and embracest him. Such are the rewards promised to us, my brethren: love such, sigh after such a kingdom, desire such a country, if you wish to arrive at that with which our Lord came, that is, at grace and truth. But if you covet bodily rewards from God, you are still under the law, and therefore you shall not fulfill the law. For when you see those temporal things granted to those who offend God, your steps falter, and you say to yourself: Behold, I worship God, daily I run to church, my knees are worn with prayers, and yet I am constantly sick: there are men who commit murders, who are guilty of robberies, and yet they exult and have abundance; it is well with them. Was it such things that you sought from God? Surely you belonged to grace. If, therefore, God gave to you grace, because He gave freely, love freely. Do not for the sake of reward love God; let Him be the reward. Let your 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, that I may behold the beauty of the Lord. Do not fear that your enjoyment will fail through satiety: such will be that enjoyment of beauty that it will ever be present to you, and you shall never be satisfied; indeed you shall be always satisfied, and yet never satisfied. For if I shall say that you shall not be satisfied, it will mean famine; and if I shall say you shall 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.

You have very often heard, holy brethren, 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. Therefore, to the prophets who went before, 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, despising in their pride the humility of God, crucified their Saviour, and made Him their condemner.

2. But will not He who at first came con cealed, because humble, come again manifested, because exalted? You have just listened to the Psalm: God shall come manifestly, and our God shall not keep 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? Interrogate 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. [Isaiah 53:7] But He shall come manifestly, and shall not keep silence. In what manner manifestly? A fire shall go before Him, and round about Him a strong tempest. That tempest has to carry away all the chaff from the floor, which is now being 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 these Gospels? What the purpose of the voices of the apostles, what of the canticles of the Psalms, what of the declarations of the 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 believe in Him. But now, because when present He was concealed, it behooved 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 Himself a lamp by which He might be seen. That lamp was John, [John 5:35] concerning whom you lately heard many things: and the present passage of the evangelist contains the words of John; in the first place, and it is the chief point, his confession that he was not the Christ. But so great was the excellence of John, that men might have believed him to be the Christ: and in this he gave a proof of his humility, that he said he was not when he might have been believed to have been the Christ; therefore, This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you? But they would not have sent unless they had been moved by the excellence of his authority who ventured to baptize. And he confessed, and denied not. What did he confess? And he confessed, I am not the Christ.

4. And they asked him, What then? Are you 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 present, and stumbled at Him as on a low stone. For He was as yet a small stone, already indeed cut out of the mountain without hands; as says Daniel the prophet, that he saw a stone cut out of the mountain without hands. But what follows? And that stone, says he grew and became a great mountain and filled the whole face of the earth. [Daniel 2:34-35] Mark then, my beloved brethren, what I say: Christ, before the Jews, was already cut out from the mountain. The prophet wishes that by the mountain should be understood 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 cooperation 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 humble. 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 whomsoever that stone shall fall, it will grind them to powder. [Luke 20:18] At first they fell upon Him lowly: as the lofty One He shall come upon them; but that He may grind them to powder when He comes in His exaltation, He first broke them in His lowliness. They stumbled at Him, and were broken; they were not ground, but broken: He will come exalted and will grind them. But the Jews were to be pardoned because they stumbled at a stone which had not yet increased. What sort of persons are those who stumble at the mountain itself? Already you know who they are of whom I speak. Those who deny the Church diffused 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 mountain!

5. They saw Him then lowly, and did not know Him. He was pointed out to them by 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. It was said to him, Are you 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 listed; and, if you wish to know, John the Baptist is he. The Lord Jesus Christ said, Elias is already come, and John the Baptist 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 speaks he hears from the Judge. Wherefore then did he say, I am not Elias; and the Lord, He is Elias? Because the Lord 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, how 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 and power of Elias. [Luke 1:17] What signifies in the spirit and power of Elias? In the same Holy Spirit in the room of Elias. Wherefore in room of Elias? Because what Elias will be to the second, that John was to the first advent. Rightly therefore, speaking literally, did John reply. For the Lord spoke figuratively, Elias, the same is John: but he, as I have said, spoke literally when he said, I am not Elias. Neither did John speak falsely, nor did the Lord speak falsely; neither was the word of the herald nor of the Judge false, if only you understand. But who shall understand? He who shall have imitated the lowliness of the herald, and shall have acknowledged the loftiness of the Judge. For nothing was more lowly than the herald. My brethren, in nothing had John greater merit than in this humility, inasmuch as when he was able to deceive men, and to be thought Christ, and to have been received in the place of Christ (for so great were his grace and his excellency), nevertheless he openly confessed and said, I am not the Christ. Are you Elias? If he had said I am Elias, it would have been as if Christ were already coming in His second advent to judge, not in His first to be judged. As if saying, Elias is yet to come, I am not, said he, Elias. But give heed to the lowly One before whom John came, that you may not feel the lofty One 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? Are you Elias? And he said, No. And they said to him, Are you a prophet? And he answered, No! They said therefore unto him, Who are you? That we may give an answer to them that sent us. What do you say of yourself? He says, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. [Isaiah 40:3] That said Isaiah. This prophecy was fulfilled in John, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Crying what? Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God. Would it not have seemed to you that a herald would have cried, Go away, make room. Instead of the herald's cry Go 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 experience what He will be as the exalted Judge. I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah. He did not say, I am 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 itself.

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 to him, Why do you baptize then, if you 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 do you baptize? We ask whether you are the Christ; you say that you are not. We ask whether you perchance are His precursor, for we know that before the advent of Christ, Elias will come; you answer that you are not. We ask, if perchance you are some herald come long before, that is, a prophet, and hast received that power, and you say that you are 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; [Matthew 11:7-9] for the prophets prophesied of Christ a long time before, John pointed Him out as present.

9. Why do you baptize then, if you be not the Christ, nor Elias, nor a prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize with water; but there stands One among you whom you know not. For, very truly, He was not seen, being humble, and therefore was the lamp lighted. Observe how John gives place, who might have been accounted other than he was. He it is who comes 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 he humble himself! And therefore he was greatly lifted up; for he that humbles himself shall be exalted. [Luke 14:11] 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 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 says, Behold the Lamb of God; behold Him who takes away the sin of the world! Let no one so arrogate to himself as to say that he takes 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 innocent is to be a lamb, then John was a lamb, for was not he innocent? But who is innocent? 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. 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 conceived, 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 takes away our sin. Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

11. You know that certain men say sometimes, We take away sin from men, we who are holy; for if he be not holy who baptizes, how takes he away the sin of another, when he 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: Behold the Lamb of God; behold Him who takes 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; and if it lift its eyes to the mountains, from whence comes 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, Are you the Christ? He says, No. Are you Elias? He says, No. Are you a prophet? He says, No. Wherefore then do you baptize? Behold the Lamb of God; behold Him who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I spoke, After me comes a Man who was made before me; for He was before me. Comes 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 to me, Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and abiding upon Him, the same is He who baptizes 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 says 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 baptizing with water. John received the ministry of baptism, that by the water of repentance he might prepare the way for the Lord, not being himself the Lord; but where the Lord was known, it was superfluous to prepare for Him the way, for to those who knew Him He became Himself the way; therefore the baptism of John did not last long. But how was 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 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 be buried? If He undertook for us so great humiliation, might He not also receive baptism? And what profit was there that he received the baptism of a servant? That you might not disdain to receive the baptism of the Lord. Give heed, beloved brethren. Certain catechumens were to arise in the Church of higher grace. It sometimes comes to pass that you see a catechumen who practises continence, bids farewell to the world, renounces all his possessions, distributing them to the poor; and although but a catechumen, instructed 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, I am better than this faithful man, and this — having in his mind those among the faithful who are either married, or who are perhaps ignorant, or who keep possession of their property, while he has given his to the poor — and considering himself better 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 baptism, wherein all sins are remitted, he cannot, with all his excellence, enter into the kingdom of heaven. But the Lord, in order to invite such excellence to his baptism, that sins might be remitted, Himself came to the baptism of His servant; and although He had no sin to be remitted, nor was there anything in Him that needed to be washed, He received baptism from a servant; and by so doing, addressed Himself to the son carrying himself proudly, and exalting himself, and disdaining, perhaps, to receive along with the ignorant that from which salvation comes to him, and said to him: How do you extend yourself? How do you exalt yourself? How great is your excellence? How great is your grace? Can it be greater than mine? If I come to the servant, do you disdain to come to the Lord? If I have received the baptism of the servant, do you 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 by You. [Matthew 3:14-15] What did He reply to him? Suffer it to be so now: let all righteousness be fulfilled? What means this, let all righteousness be fulfilled? I came to die for men, have I not to be baptized for men? What means 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 baptized, if John for this end baptized, that by means of his baptism the Lord might manifest His humility, should no one else have been baptized with the baptism of John? But many were baptized with the baptism of John. When the Lord was baptized with the baptism of John, the baptism of John ceased. John was immediately cast into prison. Afterwards we do not find that any one is baptized with that baptism. If, then, John came baptizing 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 baptism 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 baptism 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 deserved 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, wherefore did He say, when Christ came to the river, I have need to be baptized by You? That is to say, I know who You are. 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. 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 by You; that is to say, before he knew Him to whom he said, Comest Thou to me? I have need to be baptized by You;— 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 you see the Spirit descending as a dove, and abiding upon Him, the same is He which baptizes with the Holy Ghost? It is not an insignificant 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 baptized, not yet baptized. Hear the voice of John, Comest Thou to me? I have need to be baptized by You. 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 by You? 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 to me, Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and abiding upon Him, as a dove, the same is He which baptizes with the Holy Ghost?

16. My brethren, this question if solved today would oppress you, I do not doubt, for already have I spoken many words. But know that the question is of such a character that alone it is able to extinguish the party of Donatus. I have said thus much, my beloved, 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 pleased to defer the question for today. But in the meantime, I say this briefly, until I give a fuller solution: Inquire peacefully, without quarreling, without contention, without altercations, without enmities; both seek by yourselves, and inquire of others, and say, This question our bishop proposed to us today, 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 importance; for it does seem of considerable importance. John says, I have need to be baptized by You, as if he knew Christ. For 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 by You. Therefore he knew Him. If he knew Him, what is the meaning of the saying, I knew Him not: but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said to me, Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and abiding upon Him, as a dove, the same is He which baptizes with the Holy Ghost? What shall we say? That we do not know when the dove came? Lest perchance they take refuge in this, let the other evangelists be 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 descending. If it was when He was already baptized that John knew Him, how says he to Him, coming to baptism, I have need to be baptized by You? 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 question, the allegation of the party of Donatus, if they have any sense of shame, will be silenced, and their mouths will be shut regarding the grace of baptism, a matter about which they raise mists to confuse the uninstructed, and spread nets for flying birds.