The Perils Of The Baptised

Protexisti me a conventu malignantium, a multitudine operantium iniquitatem qui exacuerunt ut gladium linguas suas, intenderunt arcum rem amaram, ut sagittent in obscuro immaculatum. Non hic propheta arma bellica, nec enses, aut jacula, aut tormenta arcum pertimescit. Omnis enim ei in lingua timor est: hujus gladios, hujus spicula metuit. Ab his quidem fide sua tutus est; ait enim: Protexisti me a conventu malignantium: sed arcus homicidae linguae semper intentus est, et acumen gladii in lingua ejus praesto est. Volant autem letales ejus sagittae, et non ambiguum est, quid efficiant: scilicet ut sagittent in obscuro immaculatum. Et proprietas verbi intelligenda est. Non sanctum, non fidelem, non justum, sed immaculatum sagittant, eum cui per sacramentum Baptismi sordes et maculae veterum criminum recens ablutae sunt, nondum tamen firmatae fidei, nondum doctrinis spiritalibus eruditum, nondum contra haec pugnacis linguae arma certantem, sed simplicem, et ex novae nativitatis infantia tenerum. Hunc ergo sine metua contradictionis alicujus, intento jam pridem arcu, per rerum ignorantiam in obscuro positum vulnerabunt. Ait enim, Subito sagittabunt eum, et non timebunt: naturam simplicem, et immaculati novitate imperitam. Hanc enim fallunt, huic occultos laqueos praetendunt, insidiarum secretis latentibus gloriantes. Sequitur enim: Firmaverunt sibi verbum malum, disputaverunt ut absconderent laqueos: dixerunt: Quis videbit eos? Tempus discernitur, et inferendi vulneris, et consilii firmati. Nam eum dicitur: Subito sagittabunt, futuri temporis opus docetur: cum autem: Firmaverunt verbum malum, jam ex praeterito consilium firmatae pridem voluntatis ostenditur. Semper enim excidia adversus fidem praesto sunt, et occultis ac fallentibus insidiis pestiferae adhortationis doli adjacent, quos a raris quibusque conspici opinantur. Et ideo dictum: Absconderunt laqueos , et dixerunt: Quis videbit eos? Si enim haereticus pervertere fidem tentet, incredibile est quantis eam dolis subvertere contendat; si spem aeternitatis nostrae philosophus impugnet, mirum in modum omne bonum praesentis vitae ponet in corpore: omni ingenii sui alacritate ea, quibus doctrinae coelestis institutio subrui possit, uterque scrutantes. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis,Tractatus Super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum LXIII Source: Migne PL 9.410b-411b

'You have protected me from the gathering of the wicked, from the multitude of the workers of iniquity, they who sharpen their tongues like swords, and bend the bow to wound, that unseen they transfix the immaculate man.' 1 Here the Prophet does not fear arms of war, neither swords, nor spears, nor the wounds of the bow. All his fear is in the tongue: this is the sword and shaft he feared. And from these his faith has kept him secure, for he says: 'You have protected me from the gathering of the wicked,' but the bow of the murderous tongue is ever bent, and the tip of the sword on the tongue is ever prepared. For its arrows fly for death and it is not hidden how they work, for 'unseen they transfix the immaculate man.' And let this be understood properly. It is not the holy man, the faithful man, the righteous man, but the immaculate man they shoot, he who by the sacrament of Baptism has recently washed off the dirt and stains of old crimes but is not yet of firm faith, not yet instructed in spiritual teaching, not yet armed for the struggle against the blows of the tongue, but simple from his new birth is like a delicate infant. For this one, then, without fear of reprisal,they have bent the bow, and will wound him by his ignorance of things which are obscure. For it then says: 'Suddenly they will shoot him and they will not fear.' 2 Because of the simple nature and inexperience of the immaculate novice. This one they deceive and for him they have prepared hidden traps, glorying in their snares in secret places. So it follows: 'They have strengthened themselves with wicked speech, they have plotted how to set their traps, they have said: 'Who shall see us?' 3 Time is distinguished, both in the giving of wounds, and in the strengthing by counsel. For when it says, 'Suddenly they will shoot,' it teaches the deed is of a future time, and when it says, 'They have strengthened themselves with wicked speech,' it reveals that in the past they confirmed their wish for the present. For they are always prepared for the ruin of faith and have set nearby hidden and deceiving snares of vile and cunning exhortation, which they think will rarely be perceived. And so it is said: 'The have set their traps, they have said: 'Who shall see us?' For if a heretic is intent on overthrowing the faith, incredible is the amount of cunning with which he strives to subvert it, and if a philosopher impugns the hope of our eternity, wonderous it is how he places every good of the present life in the body, with all his ingenuity swiftly undermining the foundation of the heavenly teaching. One must watch out for both of these. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 63 1 Ps 63.3-5 2 Ps 63.6 3 Ps 63.8