Keeping A Secret

Inventa est... A Joseph sicut a viro curioso circa uxorem suam. Habens in utero, id est, gravida post tres menses, scilicet cum de Elizabeth rediisset. Divina voluntate factum est quod virgo noluit annuntiationem angeli marito suo aperire. Si enim puella ei revelaret, non facile sibi crederet, imo aliquam culpam forsitan suspicaretur. Ideo sibi celandum erat, donec angelica demonstratione illum secretum sibi detegeretur... Joseph autem... Cum rem adeo mirabilem inveniat Joseph, in dubium ponitur quid faciat. Cum enim eam castam novisset, et unde malum posset suspicari de ea, nesciret, impium esset si eam diffamaret Ex altera parte justitia non exigebat, ut rei incognitae se copularet, quia aut bona erat aut mala. Si mala erat, rei malae sociari non debebat. Si bona erat, timebat quod non esset dignus. Itaque medium consilium invenit, ut occulte eam dimittat, ut eam dimissam non videatur dimisisse, sed semper loquatur cum ea, et semper procuret eam, et tamen in assidua cohabitatione non recipiat, cum vellet eam dimittere, quia justus erat, occulte, pius nominatur, eam ab infamia defendens, et hoc est, cum justus esset voluit dimittere; cum nollet traducere in publicum, id est, infamare, voluit hoc facere occulte. Ubi nos habemus traducere, Graeci habent propalare. Vel, cum noluit eam traducere in domum suam ad cohabitationem assiduam. Itaque diu cogitavit. In quo notatur animus sapientis, qui nihil temere vult incipere. Anselmus Laudunensis, Enarrationes In Matthaeum, Caput I Source: Migne PL 162.1250a-b

She was found to be with child... 1 By Joseph, as a man attentive to his wife. 'She was found to be with child,' that is, she grew heavy after three months, that is, when she returned from Elizabeth. 2 By the Divine will the Virgin did not wish to disclose the annunciation of the angel to her husband. For if the girl had revealed it to him, he would not easily have believed it, but he would have suspected some fault. Therefore she concealed it from him until that secret was revealed to him by an angelic revelation... 'But Joseph...' When Joseph discovered the wondrous thing, he doubted what was done. For when he knew her to be chaste and he did not know how this wrong could have been done to her, it would have been wicked to defame her. On the other hand justice did not demand that he bind himself to something unknown, whether it was good or evil. If it was evil, he should not associate with it, if it was good, he should fear that he was unworthy of it. Therefore he found a middle course, which was to send her away secretly, so that being dismissed he would not seem to have dismissed her, but he could always speak with her and have care for her, and yet not dwell in close association with her. When he wished to send her away secretly because he was righteous, he is named pious, because he wished to protect her from shame, and that is why as a righteous man he wished to send her away, not wishing to disgrace her in public, that is, to defame her, and so he wished to do so secretly. Now where we have 'disgrace' the Greek has 'make notorious.' So he did not wish to disgrace her in his own house by continual association. Thus he thought long upon it, in which one may note the soul of the wise man, who does not venture to begin anything without consideration. Anselm of Laon, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Chapter 1 1 Mt 1.18 2 Lk 1.39-57