What when the man Lucins Titins hath
suddenly
be- generality run upon an hatred of this come a Christian.
Augustine - Exposition on the Psalms - v6
' Let those who know this, recall it ; those who knew it not, hear it.
Elect indeed of God are all the saints, and this we have in the Scriptures: but they have usurped this name to themselves, and applied it to themselves, so to speak, in a more familiar manner, as though they were now called in some special sense, ' elect.
' Who are these 'elect?
' Men, to whom if you say, 'Thou hast sinned,' immediately bring forward that defence of theirs, an impious one, worse and more blasphemous than all others, ' It is not I that have sinned, but the race of darkness.
' What is this race of darkness ?
That which waged war with God.
And doth it sin, when thou sinnest? It doth, saith he, because I am mixed with it. Well then, what did God, Who mixed thee with fear For they say, that that race of darkness rebelled against God, before the world was made and He, to guard against His dominions being laid waste by the invasion of an enemy, sent hither His members,
His substance, that which He Himself is; gold, He be gold; light, He be light whatever be, He sent and mixed with the vitals of the race of darkness, and whatever sins we are said to commit, that race committeth. They seem indeed to excuse themselves from sin, but they do not excuse
their God from the charge of fear, nor the very substauce of their God from the charge of being corruptible. For God incorruptible, incommutable, incapable of pollution or stain, impenetrable, what could that race have done to Him It might have made what onset would yet bow
The tenets of the Manichees al- explained in a note at the end of the luded to in this and the two following translation of St. Augustine's Con- sections will be found illustrated and fessions.
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blaspheme God. 247
could it frighten One Who was impenetrable, inviolable, Ver. incapable of pollution, or change, or corruption ? If God ------ then be such, He is cruel, for sending you hither without
cause, seeing that nothing could harm Him. Wherefore
sent He you ? Behold, the race of darkness could not harm Him ; but He hath grievously harmed you, aud He hath been more your enemy than though too could harm you. was possible for you to be oppressed, to be led captive, to be defiled, to be corrupted; so therefore could He. For fragment, so to speak, and portion ever so small of His Nature, convicteth the whole mass. Such as that
which He hath sent hither, such also That Which remained there. This they themselves say; themselves confess that they are two substances, one on this side, the other on that. This their books contain they deny they are read and convicted.
11. What then? To say no more on this one subject, will not mention worse things, things yet more wicked
in this one argument, wherein they make war, see how they are conquered, and when they say that the race of darkness wages war against God, how they are caught in the battle of their own words. For nought have they to say, nothing to which to betake themselves. But thou wishest, wicked one, false elect, to defend thy sin, that when thou hast done any evil, thou be not thought to have done thou seekest on whom to cast back thy sin, and thou flingest
back upon the race of darkness. But consider God, whether thou art not flinging back upon Him. For that race of darkness, which thou imaginest, could speak,
would say to thee, Why dost thou accuse me Had the power to do ought to thy God, or had not? If could,
am stronger than He; not, why did He fear me? He feared me not, why did He send thee hither to suffer so much, seeing thou art Member of Him, seeing thou art His own Substance? If He feared not, He envied: He did not through fear, He did through cruelty. How unjust then He, Who could receive no hurt, yet caused that His members should thus receive hurt here Or could He be hurt? Then He not incorruptible. When then thou wishest to defend thyself from thy sin, thou canst not
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248 Their heresy concerning the members of Christ.
Psai upraise God. Thou wouldest not fail in the praise of ? *l1, God, unless thou wert puffed up in thine own. Change, and blame thyself; thou shalt then praise God. Come
P9. 4 1,4. back to the words of the Psalms which ye curse; say, I said,
Lord, have mercy upon me; heal my soul, for I
have sinned against Thee. I said, I have sinned : not fortune, not fate, not the race of darkness. If then thou hast sinned, see how
enlarged is the praise of God, wherein thou wast straitened, while thou wouldest defend thyself. Better for thee to be straitened in thine own sins, and enlarged in His praise. Now then when thou hast confessed thy sin, see how God is praised thereby ; for He is both just, in punishing thee while thou didst persevere ; and merciful, in freeing thee now thou dost confess. Do not thou, therefore, he saith, turn aside my heart to wicked words, to making excuses in sins, so as to say that the race of darkness hath done what 1 have done.
12. With men that work wickedness. What wickedness? Let me mention some sinful wickedness of theirs. Let me tell you one open sinful wickedness, which they acknowledge. They say, it is better for a man to be an usurer than a husbandman. Thou askest the reason, and they assign one. See whether their reason ought not to be called madness : for they say, ' He that employs his money in usury, injureth not the cross of light :' (this many understand not, but I will explain :) ' but he that is an husbandman, much injureth the cross of light. ' Thou askest, 'What cross of light? ' Those members, he saith, of God, which were taken captive in
that battle, are mixed with the universe, and are in trees, in herbs, in apples, in fruits. He vexeth the members of Christ, who cleanseth the earth with a furrow : he vexeth the members of Christ, who pulleth grass from the earth : he vexeth the members of Christ, who plucketh an apple from a tree. To avoid committing their imaginary murders in the farm, he committeth real murders in usury. He dealeth no bread
to the needy. See whether there can be greater unrighteous-
ness than this righteousness'. He dealeth not bread to the consider hungry. Thou askest, wherefore ? Lest the beggar receive it. the life which is in the bread, which they call a member of
God, the substance of God, and bind it in flesh. What
Christ convicteth in Mercy. 249
then do ye? why do ye eat? Have ye not flesh? Yes; Van.
S" * ,
but we, they say, forasmuch as we are enlightened by faith in Manes, by our prayers and our Psalms, forasmuch as we are elect, we cleanse thereby that bread, and transmit it into the treasure-house of the heavens. Such are the elect, that they are not to be saved by God, but saviours of God. And this is Christ, they say, crucified in the whole universe. I received in the Gospel Christ a Saviour, but ye are in your books the saviours of Christ. Plainly ye are blas phemers of Christ, and therefore not to be saved by Christ. Therefore lest a crumb be given to the hungry, and in the crumb a member of Christ suffer, is the hungry to die of hunger? False mercy to a crumb causeth true murder of a man. But who are their elect? Turn not thou aside,
my heart, to wicked words, and elect.
13. The righteous One shall amend me in mercy, andver. B. convict me. Behold the sinner confessing. He desireth
to be amended in mercy, rather than praised deceitfully.
The righteous One shall amend me in mercy, and convict
me, if He is just, if He is merciful, when He seeth me sinning. This verily certain members of Christ say, of certain members of Christ they say in one body they say
it. The Lord deigneth to speak in the character of an amender, yet despiseth not the character of him that amended or to be amended. For all His members are in
Him, and He saith, the righteous One shall amend me. What righteous One shall amend thee The Head amend-
eth all the members. The righteous One shall amend me
in mercy, and shall convict me. Shall convict me, but in mercy shall convict, yet hateth not yea, shall all the
more convict, because He hateth not. And why doth he therefore give thanks? Because, rebuke a wise man, andProv. he will love thee. The righteous One shall amend me. 8' Because He persecuteth thee God forbid. He requireth rather amending himself, who amendeth in hate. Wherefore
then doth He amend In mercy. And shall convict me. Wherein In mercy. For the oil of a sinner shall not Ter- 6. enrich my head. My head shall not grow by flattery.
Undue praise is flattery undue praise of flatterer the
I will not unite with their
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250 God spares us in what degree we spare not ourselves.
Psalm oil of a sinner. Therefore men too, when they have c l * mocked any one with false praise, say, ' I have anointed his head. ' Love then to be convicted by the righteous One in mercy; love not to be praised by a sinner in mockery. Mat. 25, Have oil in yourselves, and ye shall not seek the oil of a sinner. For the wise virgins in the parable carried oil with them : the wise virgins carried oil with them, that is, their
conscience bore them witness. Oil is glory, it glittereth, it shineth on the surface : but the oil should be good and true, that there it may be within, in their vessels. Hear what
Gal. 6,4. in their vessels meaneth: but let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have glory in himself alone, and not in another. What is, in their vessels ? Hear the Apostle himself; For this is our glory, the testimony of our conscience.
14. Lastly, since thou art in the Body of Christ, and yet bearest a kind of mortality, be thou just to thyself, be thou just against thyself. Thou art a sinner: inflict punishment
16 17
upon thyself: return to thy conscience, crucify thyself; Ps. 51, for so dost thou offer a sacrifice to for Thou desirest
God: I not sacrifice, saith the sinner, else would
give it: thou delightest not in burnt-offerings. What then ? doth He accept no sacrifice ? The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit : a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise. Humble thy heart, bruise thy heart, crucify thy heart, so shalt thou amend thyself in mercy. Thou hatest not thyself, when thou art fierce against thyself. Thou wilt be, in that part of thee that amendeth, righteous, though in
that which is to be amended, thou art yet a sinner. For so far as thou displeasest thyself, thou art unrighteous ; but so far as that in thee displeaseth thee which is unrighteous, thou art righteous. Wilt thou see how righteous thou art? That in thee displeaseth thee, which also displeaseth God: now thou hast joined thyself to the will of God, and thou hatest in thyself not what He made, but what He hateth. Insomuch as thou hatest in thyself that which thou hast
made, which He too hateth Who made it not, and beginnest to be strict against thyself, He will be merciful : He will spare, because thou hast not spared. In proportion then as thine eyes agree with His, and thou delightest with Him in
His law, and accusest that in thyself which His law
How we are at once righteous and sinners. 251
accuseth, and because that in thee displeaseth thee, which Vrh. displeaseth also the Eye of God, see how righteous thou art. _--: In proportion as thou hast fallen, hast done those things which displease God, and by a certain frailty of human weakness art prone to these things, and as yet bearest about
the infirmity of the flesh, and groanest in consciousness of a struggle, so far thou art unrighteous, and a sinner.
15. How, thou wilt say, am I in one way righteous, in another a sinner? What is this thou sayest? We are at
fault : we seem to be speaking contraries, unless the autho
rity of an Apostle come to our aid. Hear it from the AIpostle, lest, understanding amiss, thou blame me: /or Rom. 7,
&c'
delight, saith he, in the law God according to the22- of
inner man. Behold a righteous man. Is he not just who delighteth in the law of God ? Whence then is he a sinner?
But I
law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity unto the law of sin. As yet 1 wage war against myself ; not yet am I entirely renewed after the image of my Maker :
be re-hewn, and so far as I am being re-fashioned, that
see another law in my members, warring against the
displeaseth me which is misshapen. So loIng then as I am
thus, what hope I
am, who shall
? Wretched man that
deliver me from the body of this death ? The grace of God,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. The grace of God, which hath already begun to re-hew thee ; the grace of God, which infuseth sweetness, so that now in the inner man thou delightest in the law of God. By the same will all the rest be healed whereby this too has been healed. Groan still, being wounded, scourge thyself, displease thyself.
16. So fight I, saith he, not as one that beateth the a<<V;icor. 9,
Ipunish my body, and bring it into slavery, lest haply26-
but
while preaching to others, I myself be found a castaway.
Ifa man
flesh, but loveth and cherisheth it, as the Lord the Church. 29" Verily thy flesh is in a sort thy wife, and no one hateth his
own flesh. Yet what saith he in another place? The flesh Gal. 5,
Doth he who punisheth his body, hate his body ?
punish his slave, doth he hate his slave ?
his son, doth he hate his son ? And, to mention somewhat
yet more closely connected, thy flesh is in a sort thy wife.
This the Apostle himself saith, No man ever hated his own Epb. 5,
I begin to
If a man scourge
252 The praise of men to be shunned.
Psalm lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. on. |t lustet}) against thee, as though thy wife did so: love, and
till by one reformation there be brought about one agreement. When will this be When now thou criest out, wretched man that am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Will then this body be severed from thee, and thou then be safe? What then meaneth,
We ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body It being renewed then from mortality to immortality, and then resisteth no longer, for no longer their mortality to resist. Wherefore punish thy body tame now, that then thou mayest receive
back now let fail, that then may suffice. For in this life cannot be renewed so long as weareth this mortality. Let not set thee aside, let not burst thee from it: bear
discipline punish it; in the end shall be renewed. And forasmuch as no one ever yet hated his own flesh, the flesh too shall rise again. But how Am then too to struggle
iCor. 15, This corruptible, saith he, must put on incorruplion, and 5J' this mortal must put on immortality.
7. When then said, He shall amend me and correct me, whether be brother, or connexion, or neighbour, or thine own self, in mercy oughtest thou to be convicted
ver. 6. and amended. But let not the oil of a sinner fatten my head. Thou sayest to me, What am doing am beset with flatterers they cease not to besiege me they praise in me what would not, that praise in me what hold in little esteem what hold dear they blame in me flatterers, treacherous, deceivers. For instance, Gaiuseinsb great man, great, learned, wise but why he a Christian For great his learning, great his reading, great his wisdom. ' If great his wisdom, approve of his being Christian great his learning, learnedly hath he chosen. In fine, what thou revilest, that pleaseth him whom thou praisest. But
This probably"taken from Ter- another, marvel that that wise tullian, Apol. c. 3.
What when the man Lucins Titins hath suddenly be- generality run upon an hatred of this come a Christian. ' No one reflected name with eyes so closed, that, in whether Caius be not therefore good bearing favourable testimony to any and Lucius wise, because a Christian, one, they mingle with the reproach or therefore Christian because wise of the name. good man Caius and good. "
Seins, only be Christian. ' So
punish
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The victory of the Gospel. 253
what? That praise sweeteneth not: it is the oil of a sinner. Ver.
Yet ceaseth he not to speak so. Let him not therewith ---L-- fatten thy head; that is, rejoice not in such things; agree
not to such things ; consent not to such things ; rejoice not
in such things ; and then, if he have applied to thee the oil of flattery, yet hath thy head remained as it was, it has not been puffed up, it hath not swollen. For if it hath been puffed up and swollen, it increaseth in weight, and hurleth thee headlong. But let not the oil of a sinner fatten my head.
18. For still shall My word be wellpleasing to them. Wait awhile: now they revile Me, saith Christ. In the early times of the Christians, the Christians were blamed on all sides. Wait as yet; and My word shall be wellpleasing to them. The time shall come when they shall conquer thousands of men, who shall beat their breasts, and say, Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Even now, how many remain who blush to beat their breasts ? Let them then blame us : let us bear it. Let them blame ; let them hate, accuse, detract; still shall My word be well pleasing to them ; the time shall come when My word shall please them. For they shall lift themselves up as though righteous in their own strength, they shall be conquered in the strife ; because they have lifted themselves up proudly,
they shall be dashed down, they shall be dragged by their sins, they shall see that they are unrighteous ; then shall be fulfilled what was spoken by the Prophets, judgment shall begin to be feared, the eye of the soul shall turn itself to consciousness of sins, and those words that please Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. wordy defence of iniquity Verily now whole nations say this, and the thunder of nations beating their breasts ceaseth not. Rightly do the
clouds thunder, wherein now God dwelleth. Where now that wordiness, where that boasting, am righteous nought of ill have done Verily, when thou hast con templated in Holy Scripture the law of righteousness, how far soever thou hast advanced, thou shalt find thyself sinner. Thou hast advanced now thou worshippest one God well now thou goest not whoring from Him to idols, to astrologers, fortune-tellers, diviners, augurs, evil
: it is
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254 Even the good overtaken by lesser sins.
Psalm doers; for that is committing fornication against the Lord ftiau's thy God; now art thou included in some number of the
22.
members of Christ. Now begin to see also the common sins of human society. Thou murderest none; thou committest not adultery with another's wife ; thou wrongest not thy wife by going to another ; thou pollutest not thyself by any grievous defilement ; thou hast kept thy hands from theft, thy tongue from perjury, thy heart from coveting thy neighbour's goods ; now thou art righteous. Consider what remains : be not yet proud. Dost thou never sin in thy tongue ? dost thou not fall into harsh words ? But what great matter is this ? What great matter ? Whosoever shall say to his brother, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell
Now trembleth all that pride. Supposing now that he committeth no great thing, which may seem by some im piety to blaspheme God ; that he hasteth not to injure any ; doth not to another what he would not should be done to him; what of the tongue? who tameth that? But suppos ing thou hast bridled even it; (though who is so good as entirely to achieve this? ) supposing thou hast bridled even
what doest thou with thy thoughts what doest thou with the tumult and crowd of rebellious desires? dost thou keep from giving thy members to them believe and see that thou dost: but still thy thoughts sometimes bend thee and carry thee away, often even when thy knees are fixed in prayer. Thou prostratest thy body, bowest down thy neck, confessest thy sins, worshippest God see where thy body
prostrate, ask whither thy mind flitteth. see thy members prostrate let us see whether conscience standeth still let us see whether fixed on Him Whom wor- shippeth whether be not often caught by thoughts, as by some tide of the sea, and borne by the storm to one thing and another. If thou wert now speaking with me, and suddenly wert to turn away to thy servant, and leave me, say not when thou wast asking somewhat of me, but even when thou wast conversing with me on equal terms, should
not think that wrong was done me That what thou doest daily to God. What sort of man am now speaking of, brethren speak of him who worshippeth God alone, who confesseth Christ, who knoweth the Father and the Son
fire.
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For which they must seek pardon in the Lord's Prayer. 255
and the Holy Ghost to be one God; who conimitteth not Ver. fornication against Him ; who worshippeth not devils ; who ----- seeketh him not aid from the devil; who holdeth the Catholic
Church ; whom no one complaineth of as cheating ; under
whose oppression no weak neighbour groaneth ; who assail-
eth not another's wife ; who is content with his own, or
even without his own, in such wise as is lawful, and as Apostolical discipline permitteth, with consent of both, or 1 Cor. 7, when she is not yet married. Even he who is such as this,8'
is yet overtaken in such things as I have mentioned.
19. So then the time has come which was spoken of. Yet shall My word be wellpleasing to them, whether it be
that which He taught, or that whereby He intercedeth for
us. For all these daily sins then what is our hope, save to say
with humble heart in the Lord's Prayer, while we defend not
our sins, but confess them, Forgive us our debts, as twMatt. 6,
forgive our debtors; and to have an Advocate with </"? {jonil2 Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, that He may be the l.
propitiation for our sins ? Now let the proud speak : they
are overpowered by numbers, by whole nations, by the whole world, from the rising to the setting of the sun, praising the Name of the Lord. What do a few maintain
ing the contrary ? They are the judges of the wicked. What is that to thee ? See what followelh : their judges ver. 7. have been swallowed up beside the Rock. What is, swallowed
up beside the Rock? That Rock was Christ, They have lCor. 10, been swallowed up beside the Rock. Beside, that com- 4' pared, as judges, as mighty, powerful, learned: they are
called their judyes, as judging about morals, and laying
down their opinions. This Aristotle said. Set him beside
the Rock, and he swallowed up. Who Aristotle let
him hear, Christ hath said,' and he trembleth among the
dead. This Pythagoras said, that Plato said. Set them
beside the Rock, compare their authority to the authority
of the Gospel, compare the proud to the Crucified. Say
we to them, Ye have written your words in the hearts of
the proud; He hath planted His Cross in the hearts1 of on the kings. Finally, He died, and rose again ye are dead, andn? er^jg,
will not ask how ye rise again. So their judges haveMm- been swallowed up beside that Rock. So long do their
I
;
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is
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is,
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256 Christ's servants fear not even death.
Psalm words seem somewhat, till they are compared with the Rock. -tlHi Therefore if any of them be found to have said what Christ too hath said, we congratulate him, but we follow him not.
But he came before Christ. If any man speak what is true, is he therefore before the Truth itself? Regard Christ, O man, not when He came to thee, but when He made thee. The sick man too might say, ' But I took to my bed before the physician came to me. ' Why, for that very reason has He come last, because thou first has sickened.
20. See then the language of the Psalm. Yet shall My Word be well pleasing to them. But there shall be many who speak against it. Their judges have been s wallowed up
beside the Rock. What then will happen ? They shall hear My Words, for they have prevailed. My Words have prevailed over their words. They have spoken clever things, I true things. To praise one who talketh well is one thing, to praise One who speaketh truth is another. They shall hear My Words, for they have prevailed. How have they
Who of them has been taken offering sacrifice, when such things were forbidden by the law, and has not denied it? Who of them has been taken worshipping an idol, and has not exclaimed, ' I did it not,' and feared lest he should be convicted ? Such servants hath the devil.
prevailed?
Mat. 10, BIut how have the Words of the Lord prevailed? Behold,
16. 2>>.
senrl y0u as sheep in the midst wolves. Fear not forth of
those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul; but fear Him, Who can cast both body and soul into hell fire. He gave them fear, He suggested hope, He kindled love.
fell, and yet stood. And what was the result of so many deaths of martyrs, save that those words prevailed, and the earth being, so to speak, watered by the blood of Christ's witnesses, the cross of the Church shot up every where?
They shall hear, saith He, My Words, for they have pre vailed. How have they prevailed ? We have said already, when they were preached by men who feared not. Feared not what? Neither banishment, nor losses, nor death, nor
' Fear not death,' He saith. Do ye fear death ?
Fear ye, lest a hair of your head perish ? I first rise again in the flesh uninjured. Rightly have ye heard His Words, for they have prevailed. They spake, and were slain; they
I die first.
The blood of Martyrs the seed of the Church. 257
crucifixion : for it was not death alone that they did not Ver. fear; but even crucifixion, a death than which none was------ thought more accursed. It the Lord endured, that His disciples might not only not fear death, but not even that
kind of death. When then these things are said by men that fear not, they have prevailed.
21. What then have all those deaths of the
accomplished? Listen: As the fatness of the earth wver. 7. spread over the earth, our bones have been scattered beside
the pit. Beside the pit have been scattered the bones of the martyrs, that is, the bodies of the witnesses of Christ. The martyrs were slain, and they who slew them seemed to prevail. They prevailed by persecution, that the words of
Christ might prevail by preaching. And what was the
result of the deaths of the saints ? As the fatness of the
earth is spread over the earth, our bones have been scattered
beside the pit. What meaneth, the fatness of the earth is
spread over the earth ? We know that every thing that is
refuse is the fatness of the earth. The things which are, as
it were, contemptible to men, enrich the earth. For it is
said also in a certain Psalm, that the dead bodies of the P? . 79, saints were cast out, and there was none to bury them.
But all these dead bodies became the fatness of the earth.
Just as the earth receives a sort of fatness from things con temptible and refuse, so from that which this world despised,
the earth received fatness, so that from it the crop of the Church should sprout more plentifully. Now ye know, brethren, that the contemptible things of this earth, where
with the soil is enriched, which I am unwilling to name, nor is
it fitting to speak of them, are a kind of nourishment of the
earth, and a sort of fatness : they are, as it were, vile, and are
thrown away. But what hath He done, to use now His own
words? He hath lifledup the needyfrom the earth , and raised^*- 113, the poor from the dunghill, to set him with the princes, the
princes of His people. For he was laid upon the earth, as
a sort of fatness of the earth, he was scattered over the
earth ; so lay Lazarus full of sores, yet was he raised by
angels into Abraham's bosom. Precious in the sight of the P>>- 1'6, Lord is the death of His saints. As it is contemptible to the
world, so is it precious to the husbandman. For he knoweth VOL. vi. s
martyrs
258 In their distress they appealed to God.
Psalm the use thereof, and its rich juice; he knoweth what he
CxlI" desireth, what he seeketh, whence the fertile crop ariseth;
1 Cor. 1, but this world despiseth it. Know ye not that God hath
27 28
ver. 8.
22. For unto Thee, Lord, are mine eyes ; in Thee hare I hoped, take not Thou away my life. For they were tortured in persecutions, and many failed. And because it was of the captivity of persecution that he said, As the fatness of the earth is spread over the earth, our bones have been scattered beside the pit, it occurreth to him that many have failed, many have been in hazard, and as it were in the midst of the tribulation of persecution is sent forth the voice of one praying; For unto Thee, Lord, are mine eyes: I care not what they threaten who stand around, unto Thee, Lord, are mine eyes. More do I fix mine eye on Thy promises than on their threats. I know what Thou hast suffered for me, what Thou hast prIomised me. To Thee,
ver. 9.
chosen the contemptible things of the world, and those which are not, like as those which are, that the things which are may be brought to nought ? From the dunghill was Peter lifted up, and Paul ; when they were put to death, they were despised : now, the earth having been enriched by them, and the cross of the Church springing up, behold, all that is noble and chief in the world, even the emperor himself, cometh to Rome, and whither does he hasten ? to the temple of the emperor, or the memorial of the fisherman ? For, as the fatness of the earth is spread over the earth, our bones have been scattered beside the pit.
Lord, are mine eyes : in Thee have
take not away 23. Keep me from the trap which they have laid for me.
'
my life.
If thou consentest, I
thee. ' In
What was the trap ?
the trap was set the bait of the present life ; if the bird love this bait, it falleth into the trap : but if the bird be able to
Jer. 17, say, ' The day of man have 1 not desired: Thou knowestS his
P<<. 25, eVes sJ'gM not oe withdrawn from God, and He shall pluck
15-
hisfeet out of the net. Keep me from the trap which they have laid for me, and from the stumbling-blocks of them which work iniquity. Two things he hath mentioned to be distinguished the one from the other: the trap he said was set by persecutors ; the stumbling-blocks came from those
hoped,
spare
Only obstinate sinners fall into the devil's nets. 259
who have consented and apostatised : and from both he Ver. desires to be guarded. On the one side they threaten and 9" l0' rage, on the other consent and fall : I fear lest the one be
such, that I fear him ; the other such, that I imitate him.
' This I do to thee, if thou consent not. ' Keep me from the trap which they have laid for me. ' Behold, thy brother hath already consented. ' And from the stumbling-blocks of them which work iniquity.
24. Sinners shall fall into his nets. What then, brethren, ver. 10. is, sinners shall fall into his vets f Not all sinners : certain sinners, who are so great sinners, as to love this life to such
a degree as to prefer it to everlasting life, shall fall into his
trap.
And doth it sin, when thou sinnest? It doth, saith he, because I am mixed with it. Well then, what did God, Who mixed thee with fear For they say, that that race of darkness rebelled against God, before the world was made and He, to guard against His dominions being laid waste by the invasion of an enemy, sent hither His members,
His substance, that which He Himself is; gold, He be gold; light, He be light whatever be, He sent and mixed with the vitals of the race of darkness, and whatever sins we are said to commit, that race committeth. They seem indeed to excuse themselves from sin, but they do not excuse
their God from the charge of fear, nor the very substauce of their God from the charge of being corruptible. For God incorruptible, incommutable, incapable of pollution or stain, impenetrable, what could that race have done to Him It might have made what onset would yet bow
The tenets of the Manichees al- explained in a note at the end of the luded to in this and the two following translation of St. Augustine's Con- sections will be found illustrated and fessions.
*
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is
if
:
it ;
it, if it
if
;
it
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blaspheme God. 247
could it frighten One Who was impenetrable, inviolable, Ver. incapable of pollution, or change, or corruption ? If God ------ then be such, He is cruel, for sending you hither without
cause, seeing that nothing could harm Him. Wherefore
sent He you ? Behold, the race of darkness could not harm Him ; but He hath grievously harmed you, aud He hath been more your enemy than though too could harm you. was possible for you to be oppressed, to be led captive, to be defiled, to be corrupted; so therefore could He. For fragment, so to speak, and portion ever so small of His Nature, convicteth the whole mass. Such as that
which He hath sent hither, such also That Which remained there. This they themselves say; themselves confess that they are two substances, one on this side, the other on that. This their books contain they deny they are read and convicted.
11. What then? To say no more on this one subject, will not mention worse things, things yet more wicked
in this one argument, wherein they make war, see how they are conquered, and when they say that the race of darkness wages war against God, how they are caught in the battle of their own words. For nought have they to say, nothing to which to betake themselves. But thou wishest, wicked one, false elect, to defend thy sin, that when thou hast done any evil, thou be not thought to have done thou seekest on whom to cast back thy sin, and thou flingest
back upon the race of darkness. But consider God, whether thou art not flinging back upon Him. For that race of darkness, which thou imaginest, could speak,
would say to thee, Why dost thou accuse me Had the power to do ought to thy God, or had not? If could,
am stronger than He; not, why did He fear me? He feared me not, why did He send thee hither to suffer so much, seeing thou art Member of Him, seeing thou art His own Substance? If He feared not, He envied: He did not through fear, He did through cruelty. How unjust then He, Who could receive no hurt, yet caused that His members should thus receive hurt here Or could He be hurt? Then He not incorruptible. When then thou wishest to defend thyself from thy sin, thou canst not
is
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248 Their heresy concerning the members of Christ.
Psai upraise God. Thou wouldest not fail in the praise of ? *l1, God, unless thou wert puffed up in thine own. Change, and blame thyself; thou shalt then praise God. Come
P9. 4 1,4. back to the words of the Psalms which ye curse; say, I said,
Lord, have mercy upon me; heal my soul, for I
have sinned against Thee. I said, I have sinned : not fortune, not fate, not the race of darkness. If then thou hast sinned, see how
enlarged is the praise of God, wherein thou wast straitened, while thou wouldest defend thyself. Better for thee to be straitened in thine own sins, and enlarged in His praise. Now then when thou hast confessed thy sin, see how God is praised thereby ; for He is both just, in punishing thee while thou didst persevere ; and merciful, in freeing thee now thou dost confess. Do not thou, therefore, he saith, turn aside my heart to wicked words, to making excuses in sins, so as to say that the race of darkness hath done what 1 have done.
12. With men that work wickedness. What wickedness? Let me mention some sinful wickedness of theirs. Let me tell you one open sinful wickedness, which they acknowledge. They say, it is better for a man to be an usurer than a husbandman. Thou askest the reason, and they assign one. See whether their reason ought not to be called madness : for they say, ' He that employs his money in usury, injureth not the cross of light :' (this many understand not, but I will explain :) ' but he that is an husbandman, much injureth the cross of light. ' Thou askest, 'What cross of light? ' Those members, he saith, of God, which were taken captive in
that battle, are mixed with the universe, and are in trees, in herbs, in apples, in fruits. He vexeth the members of Christ, who cleanseth the earth with a furrow : he vexeth the members of Christ, who pulleth grass from the earth : he vexeth the members of Christ, who plucketh an apple from a tree. To avoid committing their imaginary murders in the farm, he committeth real murders in usury. He dealeth no bread
to the needy. See whether there can be greater unrighteous-
ness than this righteousness'. He dealeth not bread to the consider hungry. Thou askest, wherefore ? Lest the beggar receive it. the life which is in the bread, which they call a member of
God, the substance of God, and bind it in flesh. What
Christ convicteth in Mercy. 249
then do ye? why do ye eat? Have ye not flesh? Yes; Van.
S" * ,
but we, they say, forasmuch as we are enlightened by faith in Manes, by our prayers and our Psalms, forasmuch as we are elect, we cleanse thereby that bread, and transmit it into the treasure-house of the heavens. Such are the elect, that they are not to be saved by God, but saviours of God. And this is Christ, they say, crucified in the whole universe. I received in the Gospel Christ a Saviour, but ye are in your books the saviours of Christ. Plainly ye are blas phemers of Christ, and therefore not to be saved by Christ. Therefore lest a crumb be given to the hungry, and in the crumb a member of Christ suffer, is the hungry to die of hunger? False mercy to a crumb causeth true murder of a man. But who are their elect? Turn not thou aside,
my heart, to wicked words, and elect.
13. The righteous One shall amend me in mercy, andver. B. convict me. Behold the sinner confessing. He desireth
to be amended in mercy, rather than praised deceitfully.
The righteous One shall amend me in mercy, and convict
me, if He is just, if He is merciful, when He seeth me sinning. This verily certain members of Christ say, of certain members of Christ they say in one body they say
it. The Lord deigneth to speak in the character of an amender, yet despiseth not the character of him that amended or to be amended. For all His members are in
Him, and He saith, the righteous One shall amend me. What righteous One shall amend thee The Head amend-
eth all the members. The righteous One shall amend me
in mercy, and shall convict me. Shall convict me, but in mercy shall convict, yet hateth not yea, shall all the
more convict, because He hateth not. And why doth he therefore give thanks? Because, rebuke a wise man, andProv. he will love thee. The righteous One shall amend me. 8' Because He persecuteth thee God forbid. He requireth rather amending himself, who amendeth in hate. Wherefore
then doth He amend In mercy. And shall convict me. Wherein In mercy. For the oil of a sinner shall not Ter- 6. enrich my head. My head shall not grow by flattery.
Undue praise is flattery undue praise of flatterer the
I will not unite with their
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9,
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250 God spares us in what degree we spare not ourselves.
Psalm oil of a sinner. Therefore men too, when they have c l * mocked any one with false praise, say, ' I have anointed his head. ' Love then to be convicted by the righteous One in mercy; love not to be praised by a sinner in mockery. Mat. 25, Have oil in yourselves, and ye shall not seek the oil of a sinner. For the wise virgins in the parable carried oil with them : the wise virgins carried oil with them, that is, their
conscience bore them witness. Oil is glory, it glittereth, it shineth on the surface : but the oil should be good and true, that there it may be within, in their vessels. Hear what
Gal. 6,4. in their vessels meaneth: but let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have glory in himself alone, and not in another. What is, in their vessels ? Hear the Apostle himself; For this is our glory, the testimony of our conscience.
14. Lastly, since thou art in the Body of Christ, and yet bearest a kind of mortality, be thou just to thyself, be thou just against thyself. Thou art a sinner: inflict punishment
16 17
upon thyself: return to thy conscience, crucify thyself; Ps. 51, for so dost thou offer a sacrifice to for Thou desirest
God: I not sacrifice, saith the sinner, else would
give it: thou delightest not in burnt-offerings. What then ? doth He accept no sacrifice ? The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit : a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise. Humble thy heart, bruise thy heart, crucify thy heart, so shalt thou amend thyself in mercy. Thou hatest not thyself, when thou art fierce against thyself. Thou wilt be, in that part of thee that amendeth, righteous, though in
that which is to be amended, thou art yet a sinner. For so far as thou displeasest thyself, thou art unrighteous ; but so far as that in thee displeaseth thee which is unrighteous, thou art righteous. Wilt thou see how righteous thou art? That in thee displeaseth thee, which also displeaseth God: now thou hast joined thyself to the will of God, and thou hatest in thyself not what He made, but what He hateth. Insomuch as thou hatest in thyself that which thou hast
made, which He too hateth Who made it not, and beginnest to be strict against thyself, He will be merciful : He will spare, because thou hast not spared. In proportion then as thine eyes agree with His, and thou delightest with Him in
His law, and accusest that in thyself which His law
How we are at once righteous and sinners. 251
accuseth, and because that in thee displeaseth thee, which Vrh. displeaseth also the Eye of God, see how righteous thou art. _--: In proportion as thou hast fallen, hast done those things which displease God, and by a certain frailty of human weakness art prone to these things, and as yet bearest about
the infirmity of the flesh, and groanest in consciousness of a struggle, so far thou art unrighteous, and a sinner.
15. How, thou wilt say, am I in one way righteous, in another a sinner? What is this thou sayest? We are at
fault : we seem to be speaking contraries, unless the autho
rity of an Apostle come to our aid. Hear it from the AIpostle, lest, understanding amiss, thou blame me: /or Rom. 7,
&c'
delight, saith he, in the law God according to the22- of
inner man. Behold a righteous man. Is he not just who delighteth in the law of God ? Whence then is he a sinner?
But I
law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity unto the law of sin. As yet 1 wage war against myself ; not yet am I entirely renewed after the image of my Maker :
be re-hewn, and so far as I am being re-fashioned, that
see another law in my members, warring against the
displeaseth me which is misshapen. So loIng then as I am
thus, what hope I
am, who shall
? Wretched man that
deliver me from the body of this death ? The grace of God,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. The grace of God, which hath already begun to re-hew thee ; the grace of God, which infuseth sweetness, so that now in the inner man thou delightest in the law of God. By the same will all the rest be healed whereby this too has been healed. Groan still, being wounded, scourge thyself, displease thyself.
16. So fight I, saith he, not as one that beateth the a<<V;icor. 9,
Ipunish my body, and bring it into slavery, lest haply26-
but
while preaching to others, I myself be found a castaway.
Ifa man
flesh, but loveth and cherisheth it, as the Lord the Church. 29" Verily thy flesh is in a sort thy wife, and no one hateth his
own flesh. Yet what saith he in another place? The flesh Gal. 5,
Doth he who punisheth his body, hate his body ?
punish his slave, doth he hate his slave ?
his son, doth he hate his son ? And, to mention somewhat
yet more closely connected, thy flesh is in a sort thy wife.
This the Apostle himself saith, No man ever hated his own Epb. 5,
I begin to
If a man scourge
252 The praise of men to be shunned.
Psalm lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. on. |t lustet}) against thee, as though thy wife did so: love, and
till by one reformation there be brought about one agreement. When will this be When now thou criest out, wretched man that am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Will then this body be severed from thee, and thou then be safe? What then meaneth,
We ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body It being renewed then from mortality to immortality, and then resisteth no longer, for no longer their mortality to resist. Wherefore punish thy body tame now, that then thou mayest receive
back now let fail, that then may suffice. For in this life cannot be renewed so long as weareth this mortality. Let not set thee aside, let not burst thee from it: bear
discipline punish it; in the end shall be renewed. And forasmuch as no one ever yet hated his own flesh, the flesh too shall rise again. But how Am then too to struggle
iCor. 15, This corruptible, saith he, must put on incorruplion, and 5J' this mortal must put on immortality.
7. When then said, He shall amend me and correct me, whether be brother, or connexion, or neighbour, or thine own self, in mercy oughtest thou to be convicted
ver. 6. and amended. But let not the oil of a sinner fatten my head. Thou sayest to me, What am doing am beset with flatterers they cease not to besiege me they praise in me what would not, that praise in me what hold in little esteem what hold dear they blame in me flatterers, treacherous, deceivers. For instance, Gaiuseinsb great man, great, learned, wise but why he a Christian For great his learning, great his reading, great his wisdom. ' If great his wisdom, approve of his being Christian great his learning, learnedly hath he chosen. In fine, what thou revilest, that pleaseth him whom thou praisest. But
This probably"taken from Ter- another, marvel that that wise tullian, Apol. c. 3.
What when the man Lucins Titins hath suddenly be- generality run upon an hatred of this come a Christian. ' No one reflected name with eyes so closed, that, in whether Caius be not therefore good bearing favourable testimony to any and Lucius wise, because a Christian, one, they mingle with the reproach or therefore Christian because wise of the name. good man Caius and good. "
Seins, only be Christian. ' So
punish
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The victory of the Gospel. 253
what? That praise sweeteneth not: it is the oil of a sinner. Ver.
Yet ceaseth he not to speak so. Let him not therewith ---L-- fatten thy head; that is, rejoice not in such things; agree
not to such things ; consent not to such things ; rejoice not
in such things ; and then, if he have applied to thee the oil of flattery, yet hath thy head remained as it was, it has not been puffed up, it hath not swollen. For if it hath been puffed up and swollen, it increaseth in weight, and hurleth thee headlong. But let not the oil of a sinner fatten my head.
18. For still shall My word be wellpleasing to them. Wait awhile: now they revile Me, saith Christ. In the early times of the Christians, the Christians were blamed on all sides. Wait as yet; and My word shall be wellpleasing to them. The time shall come when they shall conquer thousands of men, who shall beat their breasts, and say, Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Even now, how many remain who blush to beat their breasts ? Let them then blame us : let us bear it. Let them blame ; let them hate, accuse, detract; still shall My word be well pleasing to them ; the time shall come when My word shall please them. For they shall lift themselves up as though righteous in their own strength, they shall be conquered in the strife ; because they have lifted themselves up proudly,
they shall be dashed down, they shall be dragged by their sins, they shall see that they are unrighteous ; then shall be fulfilled what was spoken by the Prophets, judgment shall begin to be feared, the eye of the soul shall turn itself to consciousness of sins, and those words that please Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. wordy defence of iniquity Verily now whole nations say this, and the thunder of nations beating their breasts ceaseth not. Rightly do the
clouds thunder, wherein now God dwelleth. Where now that wordiness, where that boasting, am righteous nought of ill have done Verily, when thou hast con templated in Holy Scripture the law of righteousness, how far soever thou hast advanced, thou shalt find thyself sinner. Thou hast advanced now thou worshippest one God well now thou goest not whoring from Him to idols, to astrologers, fortune-tellers, diviners, augurs, evil
: it is
!
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254 Even the good overtaken by lesser sins.
Psalm doers; for that is committing fornication against the Lord ftiau's thy God; now art thou included in some number of the
22.
members of Christ. Now begin to see also the common sins of human society. Thou murderest none; thou committest not adultery with another's wife ; thou wrongest not thy wife by going to another ; thou pollutest not thyself by any grievous defilement ; thou hast kept thy hands from theft, thy tongue from perjury, thy heart from coveting thy neighbour's goods ; now thou art righteous. Consider what remains : be not yet proud. Dost thou never sin in thy tongue ? dost thou not fall into harsh words ? But what great matter is this ? What great matter ? Whosoever shall say to his brother, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell
Now trembleth all that pride. Supposing now that he committeth no great thing, which may seem by some im piety to blaspheme God ; that he hasteth not to injure any ; doth not to another what he would not should be done to him; what of the tongue? who tameth that? But suppos ing thou hast bridled even it; (though who is so good as entirely to achieve this? ) supposing thou hast bridled even
what doest thou with thy thoughts what doest thou with the tumult and crowd of rebellious desires? dost thou keep from giving thy members to them believe and see that thou dost: but still thy thoughts sometimes bend thee and carry thee away, often even when thy knees are fixed in prayer. Thou prostratest thy body, bowest down thy neck, confessest thy sins, worshippest God see where thy body
prostrate, ask whither thy mind flitteth. see thy members prostrate let us see whether conscience standeth still let us see whether fixed on Him Whom wor- shippeth whether be not often caught by thoughts, as by some tide of the sea, and borne by the storm to one thing and another. If thou wert now speaking with me, and suddenly wert to turn away to thy servant, and leave me, say not when thou wast asking somewhat of me, but even when thou wast conversing with me on equal terms, should
not think that wrong was done me That what thou doest daily to God. What sort of man am now speaking of, brethren speak of him who worshippeth God alone, who confesseth Christ, who knoweth the Father and the Son
fire.
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For which they must seek pardon in the Lord's Prayer. 255
and the Holy Ghost to be one God; who conimitteth not Ver. fornication against Him ; who worshippeth not devils ; who ----- seeketh him not aid from the devil; who holdeth the Catholic
Church ; whom no one complaineth of as cheating ; under
whose oppression no weak neighbour groaneth ; who assail-
eth not another's wife ; who is content with his own, or
even without his own, in such wise as is lawful, and as Apostolical discipline permitteth, with consent of both, or 1 Cor. 7, when she is not yet married. Even he who is such as this,8'
is yet overtaken in such things as I have mentioned.
19. So then the time has come which was spoken of. Yet shall My word be wellpleasing to them, whether it be
that which He taught, or that whereby He intercedeth for
us. For all these daily sins then what is our hope, save to say
with humble heart in the Lord's Prayer, while we defend not
our sins, but confess them, Forgive us our debts, as twMatt. 6,
forgive our debtors; and to have an Advocate with </"? {jonil2 Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, that He may be the l.
propitiation for our sins ? Now let the proud speak : they
are overpowered by numbers, by whole nations, by the whole world, from the rising to the setting of the sun, praising the Name of the Lord. What do a few maintain
ing the contrary ? They are the judges of the wicked. What is that to thee ? See what followelh : their judges ver. 7. have been swallowed up beside the Rock. What is, swallowed
up beside the Rock? That Rock was Christ, They have lCor. 10, been swallowed up beside the Rock. Beside, that com- 4' pared, as judges, as mighty, powerful, learned: they are
called their judyes, as judging about morals, and laying
down their opinions. This Aristotle said. Set him beside
the Rock, and he swallowed up. Who Aristotle let
him hear, Christ hath said,' and he trembleth among the
dead. This Pythagoras said, that Plato said. Set them
beside the Rock, compare their authority to the authority
of the Gospel, compare the proud to the Crucified. Say
we to them, Ye have written your words in the hearts of
the proud; He hath planted His Cross in the hearts1 of on the kings. Finally, He died, and rose again ye are dead, andn? er^jg,
will not ask how ye rise again. So their judges haveMm- been swallowed up beside that Rock. So long do their
I
;
1
'
'
is
is
is,
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256 Christ's servants fear not even death.
Psalm words seem somewhat, till they are compared with the Rock. -tlHi Therefore if any of them be found to have said what Christ too hath said, we congratulate him, but we follow him not.
But he came before Christ. If any man speak what is true, is he therefore before the Truth itself? Regard Christ, O man, not when He came to thee, but when He made thee. The sick man too might say, ' But I took to my bed before the physician came to me. ' Why, for that very reason has He come last, because thou first has sickened.
20. See then the language of the Psalm. Yet shall My Word be well pleasing to them. But there shall be many who speak against it. Their judges have been s wallowed up
beside the Rock. What then will happen ? They shall hear My Words, for they have prevailed. My Words have prevailed over their words. They have spoken clever things, I true things. To praise one who talketh well is one thing, to praise One who speaketh truth is another. They shall hear My Words, for they have prevailed. How have they
Who of them has been taken offering sacrifice, when such things were forbidden by the law, and has not denied it? Who of them has been taken worshipping an idol, and has not exclaimed, ' I did it not,' and feared lest he should be convicted ? Such servants hath the devil.
prevailed?
Mat. 10, BIut how have the Words of the Lord prevailed? Behold,
16. 2>>.
senrl y0u as sheep in the midst wolves. Fear not forth of
those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul; but fear Him, Who can cast both body and soul into hell fire. He gave them fear, He suggested hope, He kindled love.
fell, and yet stood. And what was the result of so many deaths of martyrs, save that those words prevailed, and the earth being, so to speak, watered by the blood of Christ's witnesses, the cross of the Church shot up every where?
They shall hear, saith He, My Words, for they have pre vailed. How have they prevailed ? We have said already, when they were preached by men who feared not. Feared not what? Neither banishment, nor losses, nor death, nor
' Fear not death,' He saith. Do ye fear death ?
Fear ye, lest a hair of your head perish ? I first rise again in the flesh uninjured. Rightly have ye heard His Words, for they have prevailed. They spake, and were slain; they
I die first.
The blood of Martyrs the seed of the Church. 257
crucifixion : for it was not death alone that they did not Ver. fear; but even crucifixion, a death than which none was------ thought more accursed. It the Lord endured, that His disciples might not only not fear death, but not even that
kind of death. When then these things are said by men that fear not, they have prevailed.
21. What then have all those deaths of the
accomplished? Listen: As the fatness of the earth wver. 7. spread over the earth, our bones have been scattered beside
the pit. Beside the pit have been scattered the bones of the martyrs, that is, the bodies of the witnesses of Christ. The martyrs were slain, and they who slew them seemed to prevail. They prevailed by persecution, that the words of
Christ might prevail by preaching. And what was the
result of the deaths of the saints ? As the fatness of the
earth is spread over the earth, our bones have been scattered
beside the pit. What meaneth, the fatness of the earth is
spread over the earth ? We know that every thing that is
refuse is the fatness of the earth. The things which are, as
it were, contemptible to men, enrich the earth. For it is
said also in a certain Psalm, that the dead bodies of the P? . 79, saints were cast out, and there was none to bury them.
But all these dead bodies became the fatness of the earth.
Just as the earth receives a sort of fatness from things con temptible and refuse, so from that which this world despised,
the earth received fatness, so that from it the crop of the Church should sprout more plentifully. Now ye know, brethren, that the contemptible things of this earth, where
with the soil is enriched, which I am unwilling to name, nor is
it fitting to speak of them, are a kind of nourishment of the
earth, and a sort of fatness : they are, as it were, vile, and are
thrown away. But what hath He done, to use now His own
words? He hath lifledup the needyfrom the earth , and raised^*- 113, the poor from the dunghill, to set him with the princes, the
princes of His people. For he was laid upon the earth, as
a sort of fatness of the earth, he was scattered over the
earth ; so lay Lazarus full of sores, yet was he raised by
angels into Abraham's bosom. Precious in the sight of the P>>- 1'6, Lord is the death of His saints. As it is contemptible to the
world, so is it precious to the husbandman. For he knoweth VOL. vi. s
martyrs
258 In their distress they appealed to God.
Psalm the use thereof, and its rich juice; he knoweth what he
CxlI" desireth, what he seeketh, whence the fertile crop ariseth;
1 Cor. 1, but this world despiseth it. Know ye not that God hath
27 28
ver. 8.
22. For unto Thee, Lord, are mine eyes ; in Thee hare I hoped, take not Thou away my life. For they were tortured in persecutions, and many failed. And because it was of the captivity of persecution that he said, As the fatness of the earth is spread over the earth, our bones have been scattered beside the pit, it occurreth to him that many have failed, many have been in hazard, and as it were in the midst of the tribulation of persecution is sent forth the voice of one praying; For unto Thee, Lord, are mine eyes: I care not what they threaten who stand around, unto Thee, Lord, are mine eyes. More do I fix mine eye on Thy promises than on their threats. I know what Thou hast suffered for me, what Thou hast prIomised me. To Thee,
ver. 9.
chosen the contemptible things of the world, and those which are not, like as those which are, that the things which are may be brought to nought ? From the dunghill was Peter lifted up, and Paul ; when they were put to death, they were despised : now, the earth having been enriched by them, and the cross of the Church springing up, behold, all that is noble and chief in the world, even the emperor himself, cometh to Rome, and whither does he hasten ? to the temple of the emperor, or the memorial of the fisherman ? For, as the fatness of the earth is spread over the earth, our bones have been scattered beside the pit.
Lord, are mine eyes : in Thee have
take not away 23. Keep me from the trap which they have laid for me.
'
my life.
If thou consentest, I
thee. ' In
What was the trap ?
the trap was set the bait of the present life ; if the bird love this bait, it falleth into the trap : but if the bird be able to
Jer. 17, say, ' The day of man have 1 not desired: Thou knowestS his
P<<. 25, eVes sJ'gM not oe withdrawn from God, and He shall pluck
15-
hisfeet out of the net. Keep me from the trap which they have laid for me, and from the stumbling-blocks of them which work iniquity. Two things he hath mentioned to be distinguished the one from the other: the trap he said was set by persecutors ; the stumbling-blocks came from those
hoped,
spare
Only obstinate sinners fall into the devil's nets. 259
who have consented and apostatised : and from both he Ver. desires to be guarded. On the one side they threaten and 9" l0' rage, on the other consent and fall : I fear lest the one be
such, that I fear him ; the other such, that I imitate him.
' This I do to thee, if thou consent not. ' Keep me from the trap which they have laid for me. ' Behold, thy brother hath already consented. ' And from the stumbling-blocks of them which work iniquity.
24. Sinners shall fall into his nets. What then, brethren, ver. 10. is, sinners shall fall into his vets f Not all sinners : certain sinners, who are so great sinners, as to love this life to such
a degree as to prefer it to everlasting life, shall fall into his
trap.
