Humility And Meekness

Cum omni humilitate et mansuetudine et patientia. Et tolerantiam multam ponit, ne efferantur, ne superbi sint. Primo posita humilitas, deinde mansuetudo. Humilitas animi dejectio est. Frenum superbiae et immanitatis mansuetudo est. At vero quae sequitur patientia, in eo quod tolerant, si quid adversi evenerit. In prioribus, ne vereantur pati, duo posita, humilitas et mansuetudo. In his quae sequuntur, si passi fuerint, quales sint patientia, inquit. Deinde quod subjungit cum omni magnanimitate. Haec enim magnanimitas in hoc est, ut non solum patientier feras, sed erecto animo semper sis. Denique hoc subjungit, ut si passus fueris patienter, et magnanimiter feras sufferentes omnia quaecumque acciderint portantes invicem in charitate. Potest et ad sufferentes invicem in charitate, referri. Potest tamen integer esse sensus qui sequitur: Solliciti servandae unitatis spiritus in vinculo pacis. Ut spiritus unitatem servetis, aut unum spiritum servetis servandae pacis et in vinculo pacis, hortor vos ut soliciti sitis. Dat tamen rationes quare unitatis spiritus in vinculo solliciti esse debent: Unum corpus, inquit, et unus spiritus. Quia unum corpus est tota Ecclesia et unus spiritus, Ita ut et vocati estis in una spe vocationis vestrae. Et hoc argumentum est ad unitatem spiritus servandam in vinculo pacis, quod ita et isti vocati in una spe: non enim diversam spem habent, sed unam omnes, qui vocati sunt, promissorum Dei. Quae autem promissa sunt, notum est omnibus. Victorinus Afrus, In Epistolam Pauli ad Ephesios, Liber Primus Source: Migne PL 8.1271b-1272a

With every humility and meekness and patience. 1 And much endurance he proposes, lest they are made wild, lest they become proud. First he proposes humility, then meekness. Humility is a lowering of the soul. Meekness is the bridle on pride and brutality. Then what follows is patience, by which they endure, if adverse things should befall. Initially, then, lest they fear to suffer, two things he proposes, humility and meekness. Following these things, if they were to suffer, so they would be patient, he says. Then he continues 'with every magnanimity'. 2 And this magnanimity here is so that not only you suffer patiently, but you always do so with an upright soul. Then he adds, that if you were to suffer patiently, and endure magnanimously, suffering everything which befalls: 'bearing with one another in charity.' 1 And it is possible that 'suffering one another in love,' is all that is referred to. It is possible, however, that the sound sense is in what follows: 'Being anxious to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.' 3 That you attend to the unity of the spirit, or that you attend to the one spirit in the guarding of peace in the bond of peace, I exhort you that you be anxious to do so. Now let reasons be given why they should be anxious for the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. 'One body,' he says, 'and one spirit.' 4  Because one is the body of all the Church and one is the spirit. 'Thus you have been called into the one hope of your calling.' 4 And this is the argument for the guarding of the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, that thus they are called in one hope, not having different hopes, but there is one for all who are called regarding the promises of God. For those things which are promised are known to all. Victorinus Afrus, On the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians, Book One 1 Ephes 4.2 2 Vetus Latina 3 Ephes 4.3 4 Ephes 4.4