The Vineyard And Righteousness

Simile est regnum caelorum homini patrifamilias, qui exiit primo mane conducere operarios in vineam suam. Homo paterfamilias Christus est, cui caeli et terra quasi una est domus: familia autem quasi caelestium et terrestrium multitudo creaturarum, qui quasi tristegam domum aedificavit, id est, inferos, caelum et terram, ut super terram habitarent certantes, in inferno autem victi, in caelo victores: ut et nos, in medio constituti, non contendamus ad eos descendere, qui sunt in inferno, sed ad eos ascendere, qui sunt in caelo. Et ne forte nescias quid debeas fugere, aut quid debeas sequi, utriusque dedit tibi quasi modicum gustum inter lumen et tenebras habitanti: noctem de inferno, lumen de caelo. Nox tibi referat de tenebris inferorum, et lux tibi referat de splendore caelesti. Conducere operarios in vineam suam. Quae est vinea Dei hic? Non homines, sicut alibi: homines enim vineae cultores dicuntur. Vinea enim justitia est, in qua diversae species justitiarum positae sunt, quasi vites: utputa, mansuetudo, castitas, patientia, longanimitas, caeteraque innumerabilia bona, quae omnia generaliter justitiae appellantur. Attendamus ergo, cum quali studio caelestem vineam colamus. Adam enim positus est in paradiso, colere et operari eam: sed quia neglexit eam, projectus est de ea. Et nos positi sumus super colendam justitiam; si neglexerimus, projiciemur de ea, sicut et Judaei projecti sunt: de quibus scriptum est: Appone iniquitatem super iniquitatem eorum, ut non intrent in tuam justitiam. Ruina praecedentium admonitio debet esse sequentium. Si autem et nos sequentes ceciderimus in ipsam, magis veniam merentur illi, qui primi ceciderunt, quam nos qui secundi. Sicut autem mercenarius positus in vinea, si neglexerit eam, non solam mercedem suam perdet, sed etiam desertae vineae exigetur ab eo damnum: sic et nos, si neglexerimus justitiam nobis commissam, non solum nullam mercedem habebimus, sed etiam dissipatae justitiae dabimus rationem. Vinea enim Dei non extra nos, sed in nobis ipsis plantata est. Ideo qui peccatum facit, dissipat in se justitiam Dei: qui autem bona opera facit, colit eam in se. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia XXXIV Source: Migne PG 56.816-7

The kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard... 1 Christ is the householder, to whom the heavens and the earth are as one house, and His family is as the multitude of created things of heaven and earth, He who has established it as a house with three floors, that is, hell, heaven and the earth, so that on the earth dwell those who struggle, and in hell those who have been conquered, and in heaven the victors, so even we who are set in the midst of this should strive to avoid being with those who descend and to be with those who ascend and who are in heaven. And if perhaps you do not know what you should flee, or what you should follow, He gives to you as a slight taste the light and darkness where you dwell, the night as hell, daylight as heaven, night referring to the gloom of hell, and light to the splendor of heaven. 'To hire labourers for his vineyard.' What is the vineyard of God here? It is not men, as elsewhere, for men are said to be cultivators of the vineyard. The vineyard is righteousness, in which many types of righteousness are set, just like vines, that is, meekness, chastity, patience, long suffering, and other innumerable goods, which are all called righteousness in general. Let us look, therefore, to what zeal we should tend the vineyard. For Adam was placed in paradise to tend and work, but because he neglected it he was cast from it. And we have been placed to tend to righteousness, which if we neglect it, we shall be cast out, as even the Jews were cast out, concerning whom it is written, 'Place their wickedness on wickedness so that they do not enter into your righteousness.' 2 The ruin of those who came before should be a warning to those who come after. For if we who follow fail in this, those who failed first will have more cause for forgiveness than we who are second. So the hired man is placed in the vineyard, and if he neglects it, not only will he lose his pay, but he will be thrust out of the vineyard he has damaged, and so if we neglect the righteousness committed to us, not only shall we not have our reward, but we shall give cause for the ruin of righteousness. And the vineyard of God is not outside us but it is planted within us, and therefore he who sins ruins the righteousness of God in himself, and he who performs good works tends it in himself. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 34 1 Mt 20.1 2 Ps 68.28

A Woman Healed

Et circumspiciebat videre eam, quae hoc fecerat. Mulier vero timens et tremens, sciens quod factum esset in se, venit et procidit ante eum, et dixit ei omnem veritatem. Ille autem dixit ei: Filia, fides tua te salvam fecit : vade in pace, et esto sana a plaga tua. Et circumspiciebat videre... Eam quae ex hoc visu et respectu moveretur, quod hoc factum in gloriam Dei publicaret. Gratia et misericordia est in sanctis eius: et respectus eius in electos illius. Mulier autem timens... Corde, timore reverentiae, et tremens corpore, ad maiestatem Deitatis, cuius virtutem iam in se experta fuit.Timor et tremor venerunt super me, per experimentum quod factum esset in se, facitatis miraculum. Venit... Fidei devotione Et procidit ante eum... Poenitentia confitens quod vere Deus esset: quia eam de tam intima et miserabili poena infirmitatis erexerat . Cadens in terra pronuntiat quod vere Deus in nobis fit. Et dixit ei... Confitendo publice omnem veritatem scilicet de de quantitate et prolixitate infirmitatis, et de fide et devotione tangendi, et de perceptione integrae sanitatis. Veritatem Dico in Christo Iesu: non metior, testimonium perhibente mihi conscientia mea in Spiritu sancto. Iesus autem dixit ei. Sicut salutis auctor: ostendens id quod dicitur. Tu es qui vitae et mortis habes potestatem. Deducit ad inferos et reducit. Filia... Iam ad imaginem meam in gratia reformata. Fides tua te salvam fecit, Hoc est, hanc salute tibi meruit. Mulier magna est fides tua: fiat tibi sicut petisti. Vade in pace... Mea, mihi per devotionem reconciliata.  Fides tua te salvam fecit: vade in pace. Pacem meam do vobis. Esto sana... Perseverantia sanitatis perceptae.9 A Plaga tua. Confirma hoc Deus, quod operatus es in nobis. Sic dicitur: Quod vidit Deus cuncta quae fecerat, et erant valde bona. Qui enim fecerat potestate Deitatis, vidit oculo beneplaciti, confirmans, ut manerent: et sic manentia, essent valde bona. Bona enim erant facta: sed valde bona erant perseverantia. Hoc igitur est quod leo de tribu Iuda ostendit contra tentationes in carne, quae in fluxu sanguinis istius mulieris designantur. Sanctus Albertus Magnus, Commentarium In Evangelium Divi Marci, Caput V Source: Here p54-55

And He looked about to see who had done this. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done to her, came and fell down before Him, and she told Him all the truth. And He said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has made you whole. Go in peace, and be healed of your disease.' 1 And He looked about to see... She who was moved by this sight and looking would thus make public what was done to the glory of God. In Wisdom, 'Grace and mercy are among His holy ones and His eyes are on his chosen ones.' 2 But the woman fearing... In her heart with the fear of reverence, and trembling in her body at the majesty of God, whose power she had just experienced in herself. In the hundred and fourth Psalm, 'Fear and trembling came on me,' 3 from the experience of what was performed in her, the miracle of healing. 'Came...' In the devotion of faith. 'And fell down before Him...' In penance confessing that he was truly God, because He had relieved her of such an intimate and wretched a burden of sickness. 'Falling on the earth he shall proclaim that God is truly among us.' 4 And she told Him... Openly announcing the whole truth, that is, the gravity and length of the sickness and the faith and devotion of her touching, and the awareness of the restoration of her health. 'I speak the truth in Jesus Christ, I do not lie, my conscience bears witness to me in the Holy Spirit.' 5  Then Jesus spoke to her, as the author of salvation, revealing what is said in Wisdom, 'You are the one who has power over life and death,' 6 In Kings, 'He leads down into hell and He brings back again.' 7 'Daughter...' Now to my image by grace you have been renewed. 'Your faith has saved you...' That is, your faith merited it. In Matthew, 'Your faith is great, woman. May it be done to you as you have asked.' 8 'Go in peace...' Mine, through which devotion to me you have been reconciled. In Luke, 'Your faith has saved you, go in peace.' In John, 'My peace I give you.' 9 'Be healed...' Persevere in the reception of health. 'Of your disease.' In the Psalm, 'Confirm this, O God, which you have wrought among us.' 10 So it is said in the first chapter of Genesis, 'God saw all that he had made and it was very good.' 11 He who makes with the power of the Deity looks on with a benevolent eye, and gives strength so that they might persist, and so they do, and are very good. For good things were made, but it was very good that they persisted. This, then, is what the lion of Juda showed against the trials of the flesh, which is signified with this woman with the flow of blood. Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Mark, Chapter 5 1 Mk 4.5-6 2 Sirach 3.27 , Job 41.15 3 Ps 54.6 4 1 Cor 14.25 5 Rom 9.1 6 Wisd 16.13 7 1 Kings 2.1 8 Mt 15.28 9 Lk 7.50 Jn 14.27 10 Ps 67.29 11 Gen 1.31

The Cure Of Peace

Mακάριοι οἱ εἰρηνοποιοί... Τί ἐστιν ἡ εἰρήνη πρῶτον νοήσωμεν. Τί ἄλλο, ἢ ἀγαπητική τις πρὸς τὸ ὁμόφυλον συνδιάθεσις; τί οὖν ἐστι ἐξ ἐναντίου τῇ ἀγάπῃ νοούμενον; Μῖσος, ὀργὴ, θυμὸς, φθόνος, μνησικακία, ὑπόκρισις, ἡ κατὰ πόλεμον συμφορά. Ὁρᾷς ὅσων καὶ οἴων ἀῤῥωστημάτων ἀντιφάρμακόν ἐστιν ἡ μία φωνή; Ἡ γὰρ εἰρήνη κατὰ τὸ ἴσον ἑκάστῳ τῶν εἰρημένων ἀντικαθίσταται, καὶ ἀφανισμὸν ποιεῖ τοῦ κακοῦ τῇ ἑαυτῆς παρουσίᾳ, Ὡς γὰρ ὑγιείας ἐπιλαβούσης ἡ νόσος ἐξαφανίζεται, καὶ φωτὸς φανέντος οὐχ ὑπολείπεται σκότος· οὕτως καὶ τῆς εἰρήνης ἐπιφανείσης, λύεται πάντα τὰ ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου συνιστάμενα πάθη. Τοῦτο δὲ ὅσον ἐστὶν ἀγαθὸν, οὐδὲν οἶμαι χρῆναι διεξιέναι τῷ λόγῳ αὐτός· σὺ κατὰ σεαυτὸν ἐπιλελόγισαι, οἷος ὁ βίος τῶν ἀλλήλους δι' ὑποψίας καὶ μίσους ἐχόντων, ὧν δυσάντητοι μὲν αἱ συντυχίαι, βδελυκτὰ δὲ αὐτοῖς τὰ ἀλλήλων πάντα· ἄφθογγα δὲ τὰ στόματα, καὶ ἀπεστραμμένα τὰ βλέμματα· καὶ ἀκοὴ πεφραγμένη τῇ τοῦ μισοῦντος καὶ μισουμένου φωνῇ. Πᾶν δὲ φίλον ἑκατέρῳ αὐτῶν, ὃ τῷ ἑτέρῳ μὴ φίλον· καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου πᾶν ἐχθρὸν, καὶ πολέμιον, ὃ τῷ δυσμενεῖ καταθύμιον. Ὥσπερ τοίνυν τὰ εὐώδη τῶν ἀρωμάτων, τῆς ἰδίας εὐπνοίας τὸν παρακείμενον ἀέρα πλήρη ποιεῖ· οὕτω σοι βούλεται κατὰ περιουσίαν πλεονάζειν τῆς εἰρήνης τὴν χάριν, ὥστε τὸν σὸν βίον θεραπείαν εἶναι τῆς ἀλλοτρίας νόσου. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τους Μακαρισμους, Logos Z', Mακάριοι οἱ εἰρηνοποιοί, ὅτι αὐτοὶ υἱοὶ θεοῦ κληθήσονται. Source: Migne PG 44.1284b-d

Blessed are the peacemakers...1 Let us first consider what peace is. What but a loving disposition towards one's neighbour. What, then, is considered to be the opposite of love? Hate and wrath, anger and envy, bearing resentment, hypocrisy and strife. Do you see how this one word is an antidote for many different diseases? For peace is equally opposed to all the things mentioned and makes the evils disappear by its presence. Just as sickness vanishes when health arrives, and as no darkness remains when light begins to shine, so it is that with the appearance of peace all the passions connected with its opposite cease. I do not think I need describe in detail how great a good this is. You yourself may consider what sort of life they lead who treat each other with suspicion and hatred. Conversations are difficult, all interaction is despised, tongues are silent, eyes are turned away, and hearing is blocked to the voice of him who hates and is hated. Whatever is dear to the one is not to the other, and conversely, whatever is an enemy and a threat to one pleases the one who bears him ill will. Therefore as it is with the pleasant scent of sweet spices that fill the air around with their fragrance, so He wants the grace of peace to abound fully in you, so that your life may heal the sickness of others. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Beatitudes, from the Seventh Oration, on 'Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God.' 1 Mt 5.9

The Soul's Flight

Fugiamus hinc. Potes animo fugere, et si retineris corpore. Potes et hic esse, et adesse ad Dominum, si illi adhaereat anima tua, si post ipsum cogitationibus tuis ambules, si fide, non specie vias ejus sequaris, si ad ipsum confugias. Est enim refugium et virtus, cui dicit David: Ad te confugi, et non sum deceptus. Ergo quia Deus refugium, Deus autem in coelo, et supra coelos: utique hinc illo confugiendum est, ubi pax, ubi requies ab operibus, ubi epulemur sabbatum magnum, sicut dixit Moyses: Et erunt sabbata terrae vobis escae. Epulatorium enim et plenum jucunditatis et tranquillitatis est, requiescere in Christo, et ejus delectationem videre. Qui ergo confugimus ad Deum, ad mundum revertemur? Qui peccato mortui sumus, peccata repetemus? Qui renuntiavimus saeculo et usui ejus, iterum in luto ejus haerebimus? Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Fuga Saeculi, Caput VIII Source: Migne PL 14.590b-c

Let us flee from here. You can flee in the soul, even though detained in the body. You can both be here and in the presence of the Lord if your soul cleaves to Him and you walk after Him in your thoughts, if you follow His ways, not in appearance but in faith, if you take refuge in Him. For He is a refuge and strength, as David says to Him, 'I fled to you for refuge and I was not deceived.' 1 And so because God is a refuge and because He is in heaven and above the heavens, surely we must flee from here to there where there is peace, where there is rest from labors, where we can feast upon the great sabbath as Moses said, 'And the sabbaths of the land shall be food for you.' 2 For to rest in Christ and to look on His delight is a banquet, one filled with joy and serenity. We have taken refuge with God, and shall we return to the world? We have died to sin, shall we seek sins again? We have renounced the world and its use, shall we stick fast again in its mire? Saint Ambrose, On Flight from the World, Chapter 8 1 Ps 76.3 2 Levit 25.6

Interior Peace

Εἶπε πάλιν· ῎Ατρωτος διαμένει μοναχὸς ἀπὸ τῶν βελῶν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ, ὁ ἀγαπῶν ἡσυχίαν· ὁ δὲ συναναμιγνύμενος πλήθεσι συνεχεῖς δέχεται πληγάς Ἀποφθέγματα Των Ἁγίων Γερόντων, Παλλάδιος Γαλατίας Source: Migne PG 65.305c

Again Father Nilus said, 'The monk who loves interior peace will remain invulnerable to the shafts of the enemy, but he who mixes with crowds constantly receives blows.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

An Ignorant Critic

Ἒοικας ἀγνοεῖν ὅσην ὁ ἀπράγμων βίος ἔχει τὴν εὐφροσύνην· τάχα δὲ οὐκ αὐτὸς μόνος , ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ τὸν αὐτόν σοι βίον ἐπανῃρημένοι, ἅτε μηδέποτε ταύτης γευσάμενοι καθαρῶς . Πέπαυσο τοίνυν μὴ μόνον πολυπραγμονῶν , καὶ συκοφαντῶν , ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς συκοφάντας συγκροτῶν. Κινδυνεύεις γὰρ εἰς ἀναλγησίαν ἐκπεπτωκώς , τὴν μὲν κακίαν περιἐπειν, τὴν δ' ἀρετὴν προπηλακίζειν. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Δεύτερον, Ἐπιστολὴ K', Μαρωνι Source: Migne PG 78.469d-472a

You appear to be ignorant of how great the joy is in the life that is far from daily business, and perhaps this applies not only to you, but even to those who live a life like yours, who never taste of that purity. Be done, then, not only with questioning something utterly foreign to you and slandering it, but also applauding those who disparage it. For you are in danger of falling into foolishness, and embroiling yourself in vices, and abusing virtue. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 2, Letter 30, To Maro

Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, And The Song Of Songs

Veranus: Quid ait Salomon in Proverbiss, aut docet in Ecclesiaste, vel Cantico Canticorum? Salonius: In Proverbiis docet parvulum, et per varias sententias, instruit quasi filium. In Ecclesiaste vero jam perfectae aetatis virum imbuit, ut intelligat quia in hujus mundi rebus nihi est perpetuum, nihil gloriosum aut magnum; sed omnia sunt brevia, caduca et vana, quae cerniums. In Cantico Cnticorum jam consummatum virum atque perfectum in omnibus, et variis exornatum virtutibus, sponsi, id est, Domini nostri Jesu Christi amplexibus jungit. Salonius Viennensis, Expositio Mystica in Ecclesiasten Source: Migne PL 53.993d

Veranus: What does Solomon say in Proverbs, and what does he teach in Ecclesiastes, and what in the Song of Songs? Salonius: In Proverbs he teaches the child, and through various sentences he instructs as he would a son. But in Ecclesiastes he instructs the adult man, so that he might understand that nothing in this world is forever, that nothing is glorious and great, but everything is brief, perishing and vain, as we see. In the Song of Songs he joins the consummate man, perfect in all things, and adorned with the different virtues, with embraces to the bridegroom, that is, our Lord Jesus Christ. Salonius of Geneva, A Spiritual Exposition of Ecclesiastes

Knowledge And Toil

Φιλομαθὴς ὤν, γίνου καὶ φιλοπονος· ἡ γὰρ ψιλὴ γνῶσις, φυσιοῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: Migne PG 65.932a

If you are a lover of learning, become also a lover of toil, for he who loves knowledge alone merely puffs up the man. 1 Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works 1 1 Cor 8.1

Two Wisdoms

Nam prudentia carnis, mors est: prudentia autem spiritus, vita et pax: quoniam sapientia carnis inimica est Deo: legi enim Dei non est subjecta, nec enim potest. Ostendit quid dixerit inimica, ne quis putaret ex adverso aliud venire principium, subjungit et dicit, Legi enim Dei non est subjecta, nec enim potest. Ergo facere contra legem, hoc est inimicum esse in Deum, non quia Deo aliquid nocere potest, sed sibi potest nocere, quisquis resistit voluntati Dei, hoc est enim calcem mittere adversus stimulum. Sic est dictum: Legi enim Dei non est subjecta, neque enim potest. Tanquam si diceretur, nix non calefacit, sed resolvi potest et fervere ut calefaciat, sed cum hoc facit, jam nix non est. Sic et prudentia carnalis, cum anima pro magnis bonis temporalia bona desiderare coeperit contemnere, et spiritualia desiderare, desinit esse carnis prudentia, et spiritui non resistit. Ea namque anima cum inferiora appetit, prudentiam carnis habere dicitur; cum superiora, prudentiam spiritus, non quia prudentia carnis substantia est, qua induitur anima vel exuitur, sed ipsius animae affectatio est, quae omnino desinit cum se totam ad superna convertit. Sedulius Scotus, Collectanea in omnes B. Pauli epistolas, In Epistolam ad Romanos, Caput VIII Source: Migne PL 103.71-d

For the wisdom of the flesh is death, but the wisdom of the spirit is life and peace. Because the wisdom of the flesh is an enemy of God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor can it be. 1 He shows why he says 'enemy,' and lest someone think there is some other source for opposition, he adds to it and says, 'For it is not subject to the law of God, nor can it be.' Therefore to act against the law is to be an enemy of God, not because something can harm God but because one is able to harm oneself, that is, whoever resists the will of God kicks about the pricks. 2 So it was said, 'It is not subject to the law of God, nor can it be.' As if he said, snow cannot give off warmth, but it is possible to dissolve it by heating so that it does give off warmth, but when this is done it is no longer snow. So it is with the wisdom of the flesh, that when the soul begins to desire greater goods and condemns temporal goods and desires spiritual things, the wisdom of the flesh ceases, and there is no resistance to the spirit. For when the soul desires inferior things, then it is said to have the wisdom of the flesh, and when it desires higher things the wisdom of the spirit, not because the wisdom of the flesh is something that the soul puts on or puts off, but it is the state of the soul, which ceases entirely when it turns to heavenly things. Sedulius Scotus, Commentary On The Letters of Saint Paul, On the Letter to the Romans, Chapter 8 1 Rom 8.6-7 2 Acts 26.14

A Lack Of Understanding

Quod abscondisti haec a sapientibus, et prudentibus et revelasti ea parvulis. Gratias agit, exsultat in Patre, quod apostolis adventus sui aperuerit sacramenta quae ignoraverint Scribae et Pharisaei, qui sibi sapientes videntur, et in conspectu suo prudentes. Justificata est sapientia a filiis suis. Ubi pulcher sapientibus et prudentibus non insipientes et hebetes, sed parvulos, id est, humiles opposuit, ut probaret se tumorem damnasse, non acumen. Quia haec est clavis, de qua dicit: Tulistis clavem scientiae, hoc est, humilitatem fidei Christi, qua ad divinitatis ejus agnitionem pervenire potertatis, spernentes abjicere maluistis. Sanctus Beda, In Lucae Evangelium Expositio, Liber III, Caput X Source: Migne PL 92.466c-d

Because you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to children. 1 He gives thanks, He exults in the Father, because His coming will have opened the mysteries to the Apostles of which the Scribes and Pharisees were ignorant, they who seemed so wise to themselves and so prudent in their own sight. 'Wisdom is justified by her sons.' 2 Here quite beautifully He does not oppose the wise and prudent with the foolish and dull, but with children, that is, those who are humble, to show that they had condemned themselves by pride not by insight. And this is the key, concerning which He says, 'You have taken away the key of knowledge.' 3 that is, the humbleness of faith in Christ, because you were able to come to the understanding of His Divinity, but you preferred to spurn it and cast it down. Saint Bede, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, Book 3, Chapter 10 1 Lk 10.21 2 Lk 7.35 3 Lk 11.52

Speaking The Truth

Quod dico vobis in tenebris, dicite in lumine: et nolite timere eos, qui occidunt corpus. Quo minus dicatis in lumine, quod audistis in tenebris. Vide quoniam non solum ille transgressor est veritatis, qui palam denegat veritatem, sed etiam ille, qui propter timorem eorum, qui possunt occidere corpus, tacet veritatem. Et quid dicam? Quia propter timorem mortis tacent homines veritatem, et propter miserum ventrem, et propter spem vani honoris, in conspectu infidelium tacent homines veritatem. Utputa, eunt homines ad convivium impiorum sacerdotum, et confugiunt ad patrocinium malorum haereticorum; fit sermo de fide: ille sacerdos impius, vel patronus, blasphemat veritatem tuam, quasi mendacium: fidem tuam, quasi perfidiam, ut aut seducat, aut vulneret conscientiam tuam, et faciat eam infirmam, etsi ad plenum capere non potuerit; tu autem etsi non denegaveris palam veritatem, tamen non contendis cum persona ejus, cujus panem inanem manducas, ut non perdas spem patrocinii, aut rapacitatis: veritatem, quam oportebat te libere defendere, tacens, confundis eam in conspectu inimicorum ejus, ut videatur a te tacente falsa quae vera est. Et quomodo non es tu proditor veritatis? Sed forte dicis: Si taceo veritatem ante adversarios, numquid consentio mendacio eorum? Dic mihi, si princeps aliquis imperatoris, videns civitatem Romanam ab hostibus expugnari, cum possit liberare eam, et neglexit defendere: num ipse videbitur tradidisse, quam potuit liberare, si voluisset? Sic et tu videns veritatem ab impiis expugnari, cum eam potuisses defendere, si loqui voluisses, tacens expugnasti, per hoc ipsum quod compassus es expugnari. Et si propter timorem eorum, qui occidunt corpus, tacere veritatem, sicut praesens scriptura testatur, impietas est: quomodo non sit impietas major, tacere veritatem propter miserum ventrem, et spem vani honoris, et meliorem facere gratiam panis et honoris quam gloriam veritatis Dei? Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia XXV Source: Migne PG 56.762

What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light, and do not fear those who kill the body. 1 Do not refrain from speaking in the light what you have heard in the darkness. See that not only is he a transgressor of the truth who denies the truth but even he who on account of the fear of those who can kill the body is silent about the truth. What shall I say? Because of the fear of death men are silent about the truth, and likewise because of the wretched belly, and then they will not speak the truth because of the hope for vain honours in the sight of faithless men. It is as when men go to a meal held by impious priests, or they flee to the protection of wicked heretics, and a speech is made about the faith, and that impious priest or patron blasphemes the truth as a lie, and your faith as perfidy, so that he either seduces you, or wounds your conscience and weakens it, even if he was not able to seize it completely. And even if you do not deny the truth, however since you do not dispute with this person, whose vain bread you eat so that you do not lose the hope of his protection, or because of your rapacity, because you are silent about the truth you should gladly defend, you cast shame on it in the eyes of its enemies, so that on account of your silence it appears that the truth is a lie. How are you not a traitor to the truth? But perhaps you say, 'If I am silent about the truth before my enemies, do I consent to their lies?' Tell me, if a general of the emperor, seeing a Roman city assailed by its enemies, neglects to defend it when he is able to deliver it, shall he not be seen to have betrayed it, when he was able to save it if he wished? So you, seeing the truth attacked by the wicked, when you were able to defend it if you wished to speak, by your silence also attacked it, because you allowed it to be attacked. And if your silence regarding the truth is because of the fear of those who kill the body, so the present Scripture bears witness that it is wicked. And then how is it not more wicked to be silent because of the wretched stomach, or because of hope for vain honours, and to judge thanks for food and honour as better than the glory of the truth of God? Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 25 1 Mt 10.27

Philosophy And Virtue

Hanc se sectari philosophi quoque profitentur, sed tam illic patientia falsa est quam et falsa sapientia est. Unde enim vel sapiens esse uel patiens possit qui nec sapientiam nec patientiam Dei novit? Quando ipse de his qui sibi sapere in mundo videntur moneat et dicat: perdam sapientiam sapientium et prudentiam prudentium reprobabo. Item beatus apostolus Paulus plenus Spiritu sancto et vocandis formandisque gentibus missus contestetur et instruat dicens: Videte ne qui vos depraedetur per philosophiam et inanem fallaciam secundum traditionem hominum, secundum elementa mundi et non secundum Christum, quia in ipso habitat omnis plenitudo divinitatis. Et alio loco, Nemo se, inquit, decipiat. si qui putat sapientem se esse in vobis, mundo huic stultus fiat ut fiat sapiens. sapientia enim huius mundi stultitia est aput Deum. scriptum est enim: reprehendens sapientes in astutia ipsorum. et iterum: cognovit Deus cogitationes sapientium quia sunt stultae. Quare si sapientia illic vera non est, esse non potest et vera patientia. Nam si patiens ille est qui est humilis et mitis, philosophos autem nec humiles videmus esse nec mites sed sibi multum placentes et hoc ipso quod sibi placeant Deo displicentes, apparet illic non esse patientiam, ubi sit insolens adfectatae libertatis audacia et exerti ac seminudi pectoris inverecunda. Nos autem, fratres dilectissimi, qui philosophi non verbis sed factis sumus, nec vestitu sapientiam sed veritate praeferimus, qui virtutum conscientiam magis quam iactantiam nouimus, qui non loquimur magna sed vivimus, quasi servi et cultores Dei patientiam quam magisteriis caelestibus discimus obsequiis spiritalibus praebeamus. Est enim nobis cum Deo virtus ista communis. Inde patientia incipit, inde claritas eius et dignitas caput sumit. Origo et magnitudo patientiae Deo auctore procedit. Diligenda res homini quae Deo cara est: bonum quod amat maiestas divina commendat. Sanctus Cyprianus, De Bono Patientiae Source: Migne PL 4.623a-624a

Philosophers also profess that they pursue this virtue of endurance, but their patience is as false as their wisdom. For how can he be either wise or patient, who has not known the wisdom nor the patience of God, when He Himself says in admonishment of those who seem to themselves to be wise in the world, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will rebuke the understanding of the prudent.' 1 Likewise the blessed Apostle Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, and sent for the calling and forming of the Gentiles, gives witness and instruction, saying, 'See that no man rob you with philosophy and vain deceit, according to the tradition of men, and according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ, because in Him dwells all the fullness of Divinity.' 2 And in another place he says, 'Let no man deceive himself, if any man among you thinks himself wise, let him become a fool to this world so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. It is written, 'I will rebuke the wise in their cleverness.' And again, 'The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are foolish.' 3 So if their wisdom is not true, nor is their patience. For if he who is enduring is humble and meek, and we do not see philosophers are either humble or meek, but they are greatly pleased with themselves, and because they please themselves, they displease God, it is apparent that there is no patience where there is the insolent audacity of an affected liberty, and the immodest boastfulness of an exposed and half-naked chest. But we, most beloved brethren, are philosophers in deeds and not in words, and we do not display our wisdom in our garments, but in truth; we are more acquainted with the consciousness of the virtues than with the boast of them, not speaking great things, but living them, showing ourselves as servants and worshippers of God in our spiritual obedience, which patience we learn from the heavenly teachings. And we have this virtue in common with God. From Him patience begins, from Him its glory and its dignity arise. The origin and greatness of patience proceed from God as its author. Man should love what is dear to God. The good which the Divine Majesty loves, it commends. Saint Cyprian of Carthage, Treatise On The Good of Patience. 1 Isaiah 29.14 2 Colos 2.8 3 1 Cor 3.18-20

Truth And Division

Et iterum interrogabant eum Pharisaei, quomodo videret... Et modum quaerunt et modum audiunt; unde: llle autem dixit eis: Lutum posuit mihi super oculos meos, el lavi et modo video; breviter repetit, quia ipsi iam ab aliis audierant, sed ad maiorem certitudinem ex ipsius ore requirebant. Et apparet hic constantia caeci, qui veritatem non timuit confiteri, servans illud Ecclesiastici quarto: Pro anima tua non confundaris dicere verum. Dicebant ergo ex Pharisaeis quidam. Tangitur hic tertium, scilicet in reprehendendo dissensio; unde dicit: Dicebant ergo ex Pharisaeis quidam, fatui zelatores Legis; ad Romanos decimo: Aemulationem quidem Dei habent, sed non secundum scientiam. Dicebant: Non est hic homo a Deo, per conformitatem et complacentiam; qui Sabbalum non cuslodit, quod custodiri a Deo praeceptum est, Exodi vigesimo et in pluribus aliis locis. Alii autem dicebant: Quomodo potest homo peccator haec signa facere? Et isti erant magis iiluminati; unde isti habebant aliquid luminis; sed alii obtenebrati; ideo sequitur, quod schisma erat inter eos, id est divisio, iusto Dei iudicio dividentis lucem a tenebris et bonos a malis; propter quod dixit Matthaei decimo: Non veni pacem mittere,sed gladium. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput IX Source: Here, p882

And again the Pharisees asked him how he saw... 1 They seek how and they hear how, hence, 'He said to them, 'He placed mud on my eyes and washed them and I saw.' He relays it briefly because they had already heard it from others, but for greater certainty they sought it from the man's mouth. And here appeared the constancy of the blind man, who did not fear to confess the truth, as in the fourth chapter of Ecclesiasticus, 'For the sake of your soul do not be dismayed in speaking the truth.' 2 Therefore some among the Pharisees said... This touches on the third matter, that is, on the disagreement in reproof, hence it says, 'Therefore some among the Pharisees said,' those foolishly zealous for the Law, as in the tenth chapter of Romans, 'They are zealous for God but not according to knowledge.' 3 They said, 'This is not a man from God,' because of conformity and complacency, 'he does not keep the Sabbath,' which God had commanded to be kept in the twentieth chapter of Exodus, 4 and in many other places. But others said, 'How is he a sinful man who can perform these signs?' And these were more enlightened, hence they had some light but the others were benighted. Therefore it follows, 'There was division among them,' that is, the division which the righteous judgement of God makes between light and darkness and good and evil, because of which it is said in the tenth chapter of Matthew, 'I have not come to bring peace but a sword.' 5 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 9 1 Jn 9.15 2 Sirach 4.24 3 Rom 10.2 4 Exod 20.8 5 Mt 10.34

The Amazed Crowd

Et factum est cum consummasset Jesus verba haec, admirabantur turbae super doctrinam ejus Quaenam turbae miratae dicuntur, cum superius ad eum soli discipuli legantur accessisse? Nisi quia aut turba discipulorum, ex quibus duodecim elegerat, dicitur admirate, quos, pernoctans in oratione, cum dies factus esset accesierat; aut certe cum descendisset, secundum Lucam, et stetisset in loco campestri, ubi et mulitudo plebis fuisse legitur. Tunc utique cum finisset eumdem sermonem quem jam forsitan supra habuerat, miratae dicuntur turbae, et non discipuli. Quia, discipulis fides potius et dilectio congruebat quam admiratio. Admiratio ergo signum est infidelitatis, qui necdum mens bene de virture Dei sentiens, stupet ad ea quae prius necdum crediderat. Prorsus et ideo fiunt miracula, ut mens ad ea commoveatur quatenus incipiat credere, et de illo cui nihil impossibile est, in nullo dubitate. Consummatio igitur sermonis plenitudo et integritas intelligatur doctrinarum, qui nihil imperfectionis habet sermo Christi. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber III, Caput VII Source: Migne PL 120.331c-332a

When Jesus had finished speaking these words, the crowd were amazed at His teaching. 1 How is it that the crowd are said to be amazed when previously it was said that only the disciples approached Him? 2 Either because it is the crowd of the disciples that are said to wonder, from which He chose the twelve, who after prayer through the night, when day had come, approached, or because, as Luke says, He went down and stood in the fields, where it is said the multitude of the people were. 3 Then when He had finished speaking there what perhaps He said above, then the crowd are said to be amazed, and not the disciples. And this is because faith and love are more befitting the disciples than amazement, and amazement is thus a sign of a lack of faith, when the mind does not rightly grasp the power of God, and it is astonished at the things in which it does not yet believe. Therefore when miracles are performed the mind is shaken and begins to believe, even that nothing is impossible for Him, and there is no doubt at all. Therefore the end of the speech is to be understood as the fullness and integrity of the teaching, for the word of Christ has no imperfection. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 3, Chapter 7 1 Mt 7.28 2 Mt 5.1 3 Lk 6.17-20

Tests And Signs

Non tentabis Dominum Deum tuum Tentare Deum, est se injicere periculo, ut experiatur an Deus miraculo eripere velit: cum ex humana ratione promptum habeat quid facere possit. Neque tentemus Deum, sicut quidam tentaverunt, et perierunt ab exterminatore. Si tamen a Deo offerretur signum: petere possemus et deberemus. Et ideo reprehenditur Achaz cui cum diceretur: Pete tibi signum etc, respondit; Non petam et non tentabo Dominum: sic enim signum petere: non est tentare Dominum Sanctus Albertus Magnus Commentarium In Evangelium Mattheum, Caput IV Source: Here p57

You shall not test the Lord your God. 1 To test God is to cast oneself into peril so that one may find out whether God wishes to save one with a miracle, when it is evident from human reason what it is possible to do. 'We should not test God, as those who tested him and perished by the exterminator.' 2 But if it is matter of receiving a sign from God, we can and should seek. And therefore Achaz was reproved when it was said to him, 'Seek a sign,' and he answered, 'I shall not seek and I shall not test the Lord.' 3 For to seek a sign is not to test God. Saint Albert The Great, Commentary On The Gospel of St Matthew, Chapter 4 1 Mt 18.11 2 1 Corin 10.9-10 3 Isaiah 7.12