Holding The Hand

Tenuit, inquit, manum, et dimisit eam febris. Quid putas? Nunquid verbo non potuit eam curare, quia tenuit manum ejus? Vel cur leprosum tangit, et curat verbo; hujus vero tenet manum, e continuo discedit febris? Illum ergo tangit, quod lex vetuerat, ut se supra legem ostenderet, de quo satis jam diximus. Hujus vero tenuit manum, quam mulier contra mandatum extenderat ad arborem, de qua noxium arboris gustum sumeret. Propterea ergo ratio fuit ejus tenere manum, ut vitam resumeret; quia Adam de manu mulieris acceperat mortem. Sic omnia Salvatoris concinunt opera. Justum quippe erat ut quod manus praesumentis admiserat, manus repararet auctoris, et indulgentiam reciperet quae cunctis intulerat mortem. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber V, Caput VIII Source: Migne PL 120.354b

'He held her hand and the fever left her.' 1 What do you think? Is He not able to cure with a word because He took her hand? Or when He touched the leper, and then cured with a word, 2 yet here He must hold the hand of this woman for the fever to leave her immediately? He touched the leper to set aside the law and show Himself superior to it, concerning which we have said enough already. But He held the hand of this woman because the woman had stretched out her hand to the tree against the command, from which she took up the bitter taste of death. 3 Therefore this is the reason He held her hand, so that life would be restored, because Adam received death from the hand of the woman. So all the works of the Saviour harmonise. Certainly it was right that because the presumptuous hand had worked loss, the hand of the Creator should restore, and that she should receive forgiveness who brought death on everyone. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 5, Chapter 8 1 Mt 8.15 2 Mt 8.3, 8.7-13 3 Gen 3.1-6

Taking The Cross

Tollat, inquit, crucem suam, et sequatur me. Quia non satis est tollere crucem, nisi sequaris Christum. Nam et philosophi hujus saeculi sua omnia reliquerunt, etiam interdum et vitia, sectantes mores bonos, et multa passi sunt, sed quia fidem non habuerunt, neque Christum sunt secuti: Putantes se esse sapientes, stulti remanserunt, quia non glorificaverunt Deum, sed evanuerunt in cogitationibus suis, et oberraverunt a vero. Propterea unusquisque qui vult sequi Christum, tollt crucem suam, quia nisi in cruce Christ gloriatus fuerit, et in ae crediderit, crucemque Christi suam esse fecerit, et portaverit post Christum cum Simone, in angaria, eum sequi non potest, quia nemo vacuus Christum sequitur. Idcirco quicunque moritur peccato, non alio modo moriatur, quam secundum carnem, ut dicere possit cum Apostolo, Absit mihi gloriari, nisi in cruce Domini, per quam mihi mundus crucifixus est, et ego mundo. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber VIII, Caput XVI Source: Migne PL 120.570c-d

Let him take up his own cross and follow me. 1 Because unless you follow Christ it is not enough to take up the cross. For even philosophers of this world have forsaken everything, even vices, and sought after good ways, and suffered much, but because they did not have faith, they did not follow Christ. 'Thinking themselves wise, they remained fools, because they did not glory in God, but they were empty in their own thoughts,' 2 and they wandered from the truth. Because of which everyone who wishes to follow Christ should take up his own cross, because unless He glories in the cross of Christ and believes in it, and he makes Christ's cross his own, and carries it after Christ with Simon in trials, he cannot follow Him, because no one empty follows Christ. Therefore, whoever is dead to sin, in no other way dies but according to the flesh, so that it it possible to say with the Apostle, 'May it not be for me to glory unless in the cross of the Lord through which I the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.' 3 Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 8, Chapter 16 1 Mt 16.24 2 Rom 1.21 3 Galat 6.14

The Knowledge Of The Father And The Son

De die autem illa et hora nemo scit neque angeli in coelo, neque Filius, nisi Pater solus. Sed quaerendum est quare ille dicat Filium nescire ista, et solum Patrem scire, cum ipse dicat: Omnia tradita sunt a Patre meo, et item: Omnia quae habet Pater mea sunt, et illud: Ego et Pater unum sumus. Si enim ipse et Pater unum sunt, quomodo nescit Filius quod scit Pater? Sed ut locus iste sobrie intelligatur videndum est quod sit scire, vel quod nescire. Scire Dei est approbare, unde ait Moysi: Novi te ex nomine, id est approbavit. Aliter scire Dei est alios scientes facere, unde Moyses dixit filiis Israel: Tentat vos Dominus Deus vester ut sciat si diligitis eum, quod non ita accipiendum est quasi ait aliquid quod Deus nesciat; sed sciat dicit, id est scire vos faciat quantum in ejus dilectione profeceritis, quod aliter cognosci non poterat, nisi tentationibus probaretur. Si ergo scire Dei est approbare, nescire illius reprobare est, unde in fine saeculi dicturus est impiis: Nescio vos, id est in doctrina et disciplina mea non vos invenio, non vos approbo. Rursus si scire Dei est alios scientes facere, nescire illius est alios utiliter nescientes facere. Et ideo beatus Marcus dicit Filium nescire, quia ipse utiliter facit alios nescire diem judicii, quod non prodest illis scire; si enim homo diem judicii, vel diem mortis cognosceret, aliud tempus deputaret volupataibus, et aliud poenitentiae; voluit quippe Dominus diem judicii omnibus esse occultum, quatenus semper sit suspectus; voluit esse ignotum, ut omnes sint parati et pervigiles. Remigius Antissiodorensis, Homilia I Source: Migne PL 131.870b-d

Regarding that day and hour no one knows, not the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 1 But it must be asked why He says the the Son does not know this and the Father alone knows, when He says: 'Everything has been given to me by the Father,' and 'Everything which the Father has is mine,' and 'The Father and I are one.' 2 For if He and the Father are one, how does the Son not know what the Father knows? But that this line may be understood correctly it is necessary to look into what 'to know' and  what 'not to know' means. God's knowing is approval, whence He says to Moses 'I know you by name,' 3 that is, I approve of you. Along with this God's knowing is to make others know, whence Moses said to the sons of Israel: 'The Lord your God is testing you that He might know if you love Him.' 4 Which must not be understood as if he speaks of something that God does not understand, but saying 'He might know' is a making you know how much you have advanced in the love of Him, which otherwise would not be known, for such a thing is proved by trials. If then God's knowing is approval, His not knowing is reproval, whence at the end of the world it is said to the wicked: 'I do not know you,' 5 that is, 'I do not find you in my teaching and discipline. I do not approve of you.' Again if God's knowing is to make others know, His not knowing is the useful making of the not knowing of others. And therefore the blessed Mark says the Son does not know, because He usefully makes others not know the day of judgement, for that would be of no benefit to them. If a man knew the day of judgement or the day of his death, he could give a part of his time to indulgence, and another part to penitence. But since the Lord wishes that the day of judgement should be hidden to all, to that extent it must always be expected. Thus He wished it to be unknown so that everyone would be prepared and watchful. Remigius of Auxerre, from Homily 1 1 Mt 24.36 2 Mt 11.27, Lk 10.22, Jn 16.15, Jn 10.30 3 Exod 33.12 4 Deut 13.3 5 Mt 25.12, Lk 13.25

The Good One

Et ecce unus accedens, ait illi: Magister bone, quid boni faciam ut habeam vitam æternam? Qui dixit ei: Quid me dicis bonum? Nemo bonus nisi unus Deus. Arguta responsio: non quod non esset bonus ipse, cum esset Filius Dei, et ipse Deus. Sed ita Judaeos revocat per istum, ut intelligant et ipsum Deum, cum sit ipse Deus, boni Dei Filius, et nihil aliud quam bonus Deus. Quia bonus Deus Pater, bonus Deus Filius, bonus Deus et Spiritus Sanctus. Et non tres dii, sed unus bonus Deus. Ac per hoc non dixit, nemo bonus nisi solus Pater, sed nemo bonus , nisi solus Deus; et quod istae tres personae non sunt nisi unus Deus. Verumtamen Judaicus populus unius Dei habens cognitionem, nec Filium Dei, nec Deum trinum in personis, unquam intelligere voluit. Hac ratione Christus laudem sibi oblatam ab eo repulit, quia non quasi Deum bonum veneratus est, sed quasi hominem, bonum eum dicebat. Unde quantum ad Judaeos spectat, qui unum Deum coeli colebant, et Christum Dei Filium non cognoscebant, nemo erat bonus nisi unus Deus. Apud fideles autem sicut unus Deus Pater est bonus, sic et Unigenitus Deus bonus, atque Spiritus sanctus unus Deus bonus, non tres siquidem boni, sed unus Deus bonus, sanctus et justus, et omnia illa quae de Deo essentialiter dicuntur. Idcirco non a deitatis se natura exclusit, sed ipsam naturam bonam Dei utique laudavit. Bonitas ergo in natura est, et non in vitio mendacii; quia omnis homo mendax. Natura vero Dei ipse Filius est, quia ex Deo Patre natus est, et hoc est quod Pater. Et ideo quod ille non credebat adolescens, Christus adjunxit, ut se Dei Filium, non solum bonum ex parte Magistrum, verum etiam Dominum bonum crederet ex toto. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Lib IX, Cap XIX Source: Migne PL 120.659a-d

And behold a man came to Him and said, 'Good teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life? He said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.' 1 A wise answer, and not because He is not God, when He is the Son of God and He is God. But He speaks to the Jews through this, that they might understand that He is God when He is God, the Son of the good God and nothing else than the good God. Because God the Father is good, and God the Son is good, and God the Holy Spirit is good, and there are not three gods, but the good God is one. And here He did not say, 'No one is good but the Father alone,' but 'No one is good but God alone.'  And there are not three persons unless they are one God. However though the Jewish people had the knowledge of the one God, they were never willing to understand the Son of God, nor the persons of the triune God. For this reason Christ rejects the praise that is offered by the man, because when he called Him good he did not honour Him as the good God but as a man. Whence that no one was good unless the one God very much refers to the the Jews who worshipped the one God of heaven and did not know Christ the Son of God. But with the faithful, just as the one God the Father is good, so even the Only Begotten is good, and the Holy Spirit is the one good God, not as if there are three gods, but it is the one God who is good, holy and righteous, and everything which it is proper to say about God. Therefore He did not exclude Himself from the nature of the Deity here but He praised that same good nature of God. Therefore goodness is in His nature, and not in the defect of a lie, because 'every man is a liar.' 2 But the nature of God is the Son, because He is born from God the Father, and this is what the Father is. Therefore what the young man did not believe, Christ added, that He is the Son of God, so that he should not think Him good by the office of teaching only, but that he should deem Him the good Lord in full. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 9, Chapter 19 1 Mt 19.16-17 2 Ps 115.11

Going Before, Following Behind

Qui praecedebant, et qui sequebantur, clamabant dicentes: Hosanna filio David, benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Turbae quae exierant cum eo de Jericho, et viderant mirabilia quae ostendit eis, caecos illuminatos, et Lazarum resurgentem, valde permoti miraculis, et sanitatibus quas praestitit eis, exsultando se forte transfundunt in laudes, ut impleatur ad litteram, quod per prophetam jam supra dixisse meminimus, Gaude valde, filia Sion, jubila, filia Jerusalem; quoniam non sine magna cordis exsultatione populus, et qui praeibat, et qui sequebatur, forte talia clamabat. Nam in his uterque populus intelligitur, qui et ante Evangelium, et post in Christum crediderunt; ipsi namque sunt qui et praecedunt et sequuntur. Omnes tamen unum dicunt, neque aliud qui praecedunt, et aliud qui sequuntur: sed omnes simul clamabant consona voce. Humanam quidem Christi dispensationem laudantes, et divinam praedicabant, in eo quod praedicabant, Hosanna filio David, benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Non enim aliter nisi Deus esset, in nomine Domini venire potuisset. Sed quia Deus homo factus est, mirabiliter restitutionem ejus praedicant, in illa coelesti Jerusalem sancta; in eo quod dicitur Hosanna in excelsis. Quem sane versum turba de psalmo centesimo septimo decimo assumit, qui manifeste de Christo prophetatur, et in synagogis Judaeorum celeberrime ac crebo legabatur: unde et illi populo notior erat. Et ideo assumunt eosdem versus, quibus ostendatur, quod ille, qui tam ibi, quam et alibi, repromittebatur de genere David venturus, jam venerit salvaturus Israel. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber IX, Caput XXI Source: Migne PL 120.704b-d

Those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying, 'Hosannah to the son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' 1 The crowd that went out with Him from Jericho and saw the miracles He performed before them, giving light to the blind, and raising Lazarus, being greatly moved by the miracles and the healing He performed in their presence, and likely exulting in themselves, poured forth praise, as it might be fulfilled to the letter what we recall was said through the prophet, 'Rejoice greatly, daughter of Sion, be joyful daughter of Jerusalem,' 2 because it is not without great exultation that the people who went before and followed behind would cry out such things. And by both these groups one should understand those who believed before and after the Gospel, whence they were going before and they were following. They all said one thing, it was not that those before said one thing and those behind said another, but all at the same time cried out with one voice. Certainly praising the human dispensation of Christ, and proclaiming the Divinity, since they were crying out, 'Hosanna to the son of David, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' For He was not able to come in the name of the Lord unless He was God. But because God was made man, they wonderfully declare his restitution in the holy heavenly Jerusalem, since it is said, 'Hosanna in the highest.' Which verse the crowd takes from the one hundred and seventeenth Psalm, which openly prophesies Christ, and was often and repeatedly read in the synagogues of the Jews, whence it was well known to the people. Therefore they took up those verses by which it is shown that He there, as elsewhere, was the one promised, who was to come from the seed of David, and had now come for the salvation of Israel. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 9, Chapter 21 1 Mt 21.9 2 Zech 9.9

The Eye And Love

Lucerna corporis tui est oculus tuus... Prosequitur autem munditiam cordis nostri, et de exteriore docet metaphorice interioris hominis officium. Quia sicut oculis istis carnalibus omnia corporis membra ordinate ad operationem diriguntur: ita intentione mentis et luce fidei cuncta virtutum genera, ut lucidum corpus perficiant, illustrantur. Ubi non nisi unus et simplex quaeritur oculus, de quo sponsus in Canticis: Vulnerasti cor meum, soror mea, vulnerasti cor meum in uno oculorum tuorum, ubi purissimum cordis ejus lumen expressit. Quia licet plura virtutum genera hinc inde resplendeant, ex uno fidei, qui per charitatem operatur, oculo vulneratur Christus amore dilectionis: nam lucerna lumen in testa est, sic et charitas amoris Christi in fide lucet. Cum autem fides cessaverit, tantum nobis sola charitas. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber IV Caput VI Source: Migne PL 120.305b-c

Your eye is the lamp of your body... 1 He seeks the purity of our hearts and by an exterior metaphor teaches the duty of the interior man. Because all the members of the body are directed in their order about their work by bodily eyes, so by the intent of the mind and the light of faith all the types of the virtues shine to fashion a bright body. When nothing is sought but the single and pure eye, concerning which the spouse says in the Song of Songs: 'You have wounded my heart, my sister, you have wounded my heart with one of your eyes,' 2 there the pure light of her heart is expressed. But because there are many types of virtue that may shine forth from there, it is the one that is faith, which works through love, 3 which is the eye by which Christ is wounded with love, for as the light in the earthen vessel is the lamp, so the charity of the love of Christ shines forth in faith. And for us there will only be love when faith has come to an end. 4 Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 4 Chapter 6 1 Mt 6.22 2 Song 4.9 3 Galat 5.6 4 1 Cor 13.8

The Ways Of Brothers

Fratres enim sumus... Tribus enim modis in Scriptura sancta fratres vocantur: natura, sicut Jacob et Isaac: cognatione, sicut Abraham et Lot; Lot enim filius fuerat fratris sui Aran: gente, sicut omnes Judaei fratres dicuntur, dicente lege: Si attenuatus frater tuus Hebraeus vendiderit se tibi. Et attendendum quanta cura concordiae sancto viro fuerit propter quam custodiendam optionem dedit Lot, ut aut ipse pergeret illo remanente aut certe, si ipse alibi vellet recedere, ipse ibi maneret. Remigius Antissiodorensis, Commentarius In Genesim, Caput XIII Source: Migne PL 131.83b

For we are brothers... 1 Brothers are spoken of in three ways in Sacred Scripture: by nature, as Jacob and Isaac; by relation, as Abraham and Lot, for Lot was the son of his brother Aran; and by people, as all the Jews are brothers, with the law saying: 'If your Hebrew brother falls into poverty and sells himself to you...' 2 And let it be noted how much care there is in this holy man for peace, because of which he gives the choice to Lot, that either he will go and Lot will remain, or if Lot wishes to go elsewhere, he will remain. Remigius of Auxerre, Commentary On Genesis, Chapter 13 1 Gen 13.8 2 Levit 25.23

Gifts And Offerings

Respexit Dominus ad Abel et ad munera eius... Sed quaeri potest quare Deus respexit ad munera Abel, ad Cain vero munera non respexit? Nunquid enim plus placet peculiaris hostia quam sacrificium Deo de fructibus? Sed sciendum quia Deus plus mentes offerentium, quam id quod offerebatur, attendit, et ideo respexit, id est, acceptum habuit et placuit illi munus ejus. Potest et aliud dici, quia avaritia detestatus est in labore Cain. Sunt enim quidam qui plus justo desudant in laborando, non tantum ut habeant sufficientiam, sed ut superflua quaeque et minus necessari congregent. Hunc laborem superfluum vidit Deus in Cain et ideo ad munus ejus non respexit. Ars vero pastoralis simplex est et innocua, quam post Abel sancti Patres habuisse leguntur. Remigius Antissiodorensis, Commentarius In Genesim, Cap IV Source: Migne PL 131.68d-69a

The Lord looked on Abel and his gift... 1 But one may ask: why did God look on the gifts of Abel but not on the gifts of Cain? Shall it be that the offering of one's own animals is more pleasing to God than a sacrifice of fruits? But it must be understood that God looks more on the mind of those who offer, than what is offered, and therefore He looked on, that is, he accepted and was pleased, by his gift. It is possible to say something else, that the avarice that was in the labour of Cain was detested. For there are some who toil more in their labour than the righteous man, so that they might not only have what is sufficient, but that they even gather to themselves what is superfluous and quite unneeded. God sees this superfluous labour in Cain and therefore He does not look on his gift. The art of the shepherd is simple and harmless, which one reads that the holy patriarchs possessed after Abel. Remigius of Auxerre, Commentary On Genesis, Chapter 4 1 Gen 4.4

Baptism And Penitence

Tunc exibat ad eum Hierosolyma et omnis Judaea et omnis regio circa Jordanem, et baptizabantur confitentes peccata sua. Ubi notandum quod ideo confitentur peccata sua, ut digni efficiantur baptismi gratia, secundum quod audierant, poenitantiam agite, appropinquavit enim regnum coelorum. Unde apparet, nullum recte poenitere posse, nisi primum confitaetur peccata sua, et prioris vitae errores damnaverit, ita efficiatur idoneus percipiendae gratiae, et tum demum divinis mysteriorum sacramentis in Christi corpore consecretur. Praeterea ex eo quod Apostolus ait: Quia sine poenitentia dona et vocatio, non incongrue legentibus quaestio generatur. Quia nimirum si sine poenitentia sunt dona mysterii, et nobis in baptismo condonatur remissio peccatorum, videtur non recte ad eum currentibus poenitentia velut indigna praedicari. Sed poenitentiae modus triplex accipitur, dum aliud sit errores vitiorum, et universa diaboli opera per poenitentia abrenuntiando ante ablutionem fontis penitus condemnaeri, aliud post fontem remissionis labi in peccatum, et per poenitentiam iterum renovari. Nec non et illud quod quotidie sancti a talibus purgantur delictis, sine quibus nostra humana mortalitas, aut vix, aut certe minime potest vivere. Quorum prior poenitentiae modus ideo praedicatur, ut homo qui Deum auctorem suum, declinando post ea quae vana sunt, contempserat, et per reatum irae filius factus erat, tandem in semetipsum rediens, pristinos vitae errores rudimento fidei funditus condemnaret. Non enim erat fas duobus dominis servire, imo proprio veniente rectum erat, ut quod infauste tenuerat primum, relinqueret, et puniret in se quidquid in eo male vivebat, quatenus per hoc divinae gratiae capax esset. Verumtamen haec ut ageret non sua libertas, eo quod esset servituti addictus, sed vocantis gratia fuit; quae gratia non solum reis peccata gratis indulsit, sed etiam facultatem agendi quae monebat, dedit; ac deinde meritum, quo perciperet quisque quae promissa sunt, plenius condonavit. Et ideo jure clamat Apostolus: Quod sine poenitentia sunt dona et vocatio, praesertim quod cuncta gratis donantur, in tantum ut etiam ipsa poenitentia Dei donum recte dicatur. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber II Caput III Source: Migne PL 120.154d-155c

Then they came out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and from every region around the Jordan, and they were baptized confessing their sins...' 1 Where one should note that it is by confessing their sins that they are made worthy of the grace of baptism, according to what they heard, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Whence it appears that no one is able to be truly penitent, unless he first confesses his sins and deplores the errors of his earlier life, so that he is made capable of receiving effective grace and by the Divine sacraments of the mysteries consecrated into the body of Christ. And yet the Apostle says: 'Without penitence there are gifts and calling.' 2 which does not without reason question what we have read. Because, indeed, if there are gifts of the mysteries without penitence and in baptism we receive forgiveness for sins, it does not seem right that John said to those who made haste to penitence that they were unworthy. 3 But penitence is understood in three ways: some by penitence renounce and condemn the errors of vices and the works of the devil before the washing at the font; others do so after baptism, so that they receive forgiveness for falling into sin, and again are renewed by penance. Nor is there a day that the holy do not need to be purged from fault, without which we can scarcely, or certainly to a very little extent, live in our human mortality. Of the first way of penitence, therefore, it is declared that the man who has scorned God his creator, later falling into things which are vain, by guilt has been made a son of anger 4 until returning to himself and established on the foundation of faith he deplores the old errors of life. For the service of two masters was not right, but rather with the coming of his true master who had ruled, he should relinquish what he had wretchedly held to and punish in himself whatever he lived with in wickedness, as much as he was able to according to the Divine grace in him. Yet such things were not done by man's own freedom since he was bound in a state of servitude, but by the grace of calling, which grace not only freely dismissed the sins of the guilty, but even admonished as to what should be done. And then there is merit, by which a man seizing on the things promised, makes a full offering. And therefore rightly the Apostle cries out: 'Without penitence there are gifts and calling.' Certainly because everything is given by grace, so that even penitence before God is rightly named a gift. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 2 Chapter 3 1 Mt 3.5-6 2 Rom 9.29 3 Mt 3.7 4 Ephes 2.3

Kings And Heaven

Et venimus, inquiunt, adorare eum. Adorare, quem Deum stella famulante intelligunt. Alioquin Herodem, quem regio cultu renitentem cernebant, primum debuerant adorare. Sed quia divinitus agebantur, ut latentem Deum in cunis, vl inter praesepia vagientem, ad adorandum requirerent, hunc nec regem intendunt, nec eum veneratur, nec aliquid eum esse computant. Quo sane inspirationis affectu et illud gestum dixerim, quod Octavianus Augustus, eo tempore quo totum sibi subditum atque subjectum persenserat orbem, atque populus universus in concione, quod supra memini, dominum eum totius terra voluerit acclamare, nequaquam passus est: sed legibus hoc prohibuit, quod nullus unquam regem ante fecisse legitur. Hinc profecto patet quia vis divina, quae istos devotionis intus agebat affectu, ipsa hunc cohibuit principem, ne sibi applauderet indebite, quod potentatu alterius totus terrarum orbis sub monarchia Romani imperii subdebatur. Sed corybanta Herodes, audiens alium quam se Judaeorum regem requirere, turbatus dicitur, et omnis Hirosolyma cum illo. Moliebatur enim, cum esset alienigena ignobilis genere, legitimus Judeorum rex videri. Unde et omnes codices, teste Josepho, quibus Judaeorum genealogia texebatur, igne cremaverat, ne notarent eum, reticendo, ignobilem, et prosapiae ordinem tribus Judae clarissimum commendarent. Aestimans se itaque nobilem videri posse, si nullis sacrae Scripturae fascibus premeretur. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber II, Caput II Source: Migne PL 120.130c-131a

'And we have come,' they said, 'to adore him.' 1 To adore Him whom they understand to be God by the guidance of the star. Yet Herod, who they noted to be the celebrated one of that land, they should have first adored. But because they were moved by heaven, so they sought to adore the hidden God in the cradle, and crying out in a manager, whence they do not deem Herod to be a king, nor do they venerate him, nor do they reckon him to be anything. Which affection of inspiration and act I would say that Emperor Octavian felt deeply in himself, who in that age had subdued and subjected the whole world, for with all the people gathered together, as I mentioned before, when they wished to acclaim him as the lord of all the earth, he would not allow it, but he made laws to prohibit it, which it is not recorded that any king did before. 2 Whence undoubtedly it is manifest that some Divine power worked on the interior affection of these men, and restrained the prince, lest he celebrate himself unduly, since it was another potentate who subdued the whole orb of the earth beneath the monarchy of the Roman empire. But the maddened Herod, hearing that they sought someone else and not him as the king of the Jews, is said to be troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. For being born of foreign ignoble stock, he yet strove to appear as the rightful king of the Jews. Whence Joseph testifies that he had every book in which the Jews set down their genealogies burnt with fire, lest they judge him, though silently, as ignoble, and commend the most famous line of the lineage of the tribe of Judah. Thus he is only able to think that he appears noble if he is not oppressed by any of the books of Holy Scripture Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 2, Chapter 2 1 Mt 2.2 2 122c

Reckoning The Slain

Tunc Herodes videns quod illusus esset a Magis, iratus est valde. Et mittens occidit omnes pueros qui erant in Bethlehem, et in omnibus finibus ejus, a bimatu et infra, secundum tempus quod exquisierat a Magis. Omnes igitur occidit, ut unus non effugeret. Sed quanti eorum essent,non facile repritur, etsi quorumdam traditio habeat juxta Apocalypsin Joannis centum quadraginta quator millia fuisse. Nam ibidem e omni tribu duodecim millia leguntur ascripti; hic vero ex Bethlehem atque ejus finibus omnes perhibentur occisi. Rursus alii asseverant per viginti locorum spati duo millia infantum occisos fuisse, ita ut in singulis locis centum perempti essent. Quod nos non astruimus. Quia quod in Scripturis sanctis non legimus, melius ignorare quam temere definire credimus. Hoc tantum ad praesens fatemur, quod Deum non lateant cui omnia vivunt, qui pro domino mortis dispendium subierunt. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber I, Caput II Source: Migne PL 120.142b

Then Herod seeing how he was deceived by the Magi was greatly angered, and he ordered all the young boys who were in Bethlehem to be killed, and in all the surrounding region, from two years and under, according to the time he had learnt from the Magi. 1 Therefore he killed them all, that not one might escape. But it is not easy to reckon how many there were, even if it is the custom of some to hold that according to the Apocalypse of John they were one hundred and forty four thousand. For there they read that it is written that from every tribe there were twelve thousand. But here it is said that all those from Bethlehem and all the surrounding region were killed. 2 Again others assert that in twenty places two thousand children were killed, so that in each place a hundred were slain. We cannot confirm this, because we think that it is better to confess ignorance of what is not told in the Holy Scriptures than to make bold statements. For the present this alone we will say, that they are not unknown to God, with whom they all live, all who have undergone the sentence of death for the Lord. 3 Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 1, Chapter 2 1 Mt 2.16 2 Apoc 7.5

Reasons For Killing

Tunc Herodes videns quomodo illusus esset a magis, iratus est valde, et mittens occidit omnes pueros, qui erant in Bethlehem et in omnibus finibus ejus, a bimatu et infra. Verisimile est ergo, quod postquam Herodi magi nihil renuntiaverunt, eum credere potuisse illos fallacis stellae visione deceptos, posteaquam non invenerunt quem natum putaverant, erubuisse ad se redire, atque ita eum, timore depulso, ab inquirendo ac persequendo puero quievisse. Cum ergo post purgationem matris ejus, in Jerusalem cum illo venissent, et ea gesta essent in templo, quae a Luca narrantur, quia verba Simeonis et Annae de illo prophetantium, cum coepissent ab eis qui audierant praedicari, ad pristinam intentionem revocatura erant animum regis, admonitus per somnum Joseph cum infante et matre ejus fugit in Aegyptum. Deinde vulgatis rebus, quae in templo dictae factaeque fuerant, Herodes a magis se sensit illusum, ac deinde ad Christi mortem cupiens pervenire multos infantes, sicut Matthaeus narrat, occidit in Bethlehem, et in omnibus finibus ejus, et hoc a bimatu et infra. Quia crudelitas animi per invidiam et furorem exardescens, modum in nullo tenuit, sed malitia omnes superare contendit. Nam non contenta est sola vastatione Bethlehem, sed et omnes simul ejus fines devastavit, nec etiam parvulae aetatis ullam misericordiam habuit, quin omnes a filio unius noctis usque ad filium duorum annorum pariter occidit. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Matthaeum, Liber I Source: Migne PL 107.762b-d

Then Herod, seeing how he was deceived by the Magi, was greatly angered, and he ordered all the young boys who were in Bethlehem to be killed, and in all the surrounding region, from two years and under. 1 It is therefore likely to be true that after the Magi had not reported back to Herod, that he thought that they had been deceived by their seeing of a misleading star, and after they had not found the boy whom they thought they would, they were too embarrassed to return to him, and thus he who was struck by fear because of the questions about the boy and the seeking of him, was placated. But after the purification of His mother, when they came with Him to Jerusalem, and those things happened in the temple about which Luke tells us, the words of Simeon and Anna making prophecy about Him, when these things began to be told by those who had heard them, the soul of the king was recalled to its former intention, and therefore Joseph was warned in a dream to flee with the child and his mother into Egypt. Then with the things that were said and done in the temple spreading abroad, Herod felt he had been made sport of by the Magi, and desiring the death of Christ, he decided to kill the many infants in Bethlehem of two years and under, and in all the surrounding region, as Matthew says. 2 Because the cruelty of a soul blazes up through envy and anger, he held to no moderation, but strove to overcome all things with evil. For he was not content with the devastation of Bethlehem alone, but at the same time even all the surrounding region, having no pity at all on the little ones, since he slew every one of them, from the son of one night, even to the son of two years. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 1 1 Mt 2.16 2 cf Augustine De Consensu Evang 2.11

Thrones And Kingdoms

Et dabit illi Dominus Deus sedem David patris ejus Et si quempiam movet, quomodo hic sedere dicatur super solium et regnum David, cum ipse David non sederit rex super solium et regnum illius coelestis Jerusalem, neque Christus super hanc terrenam Jersusalem rex sedisse legatur; praesertim cum ipse dicat Pilato: Regnum meum non est de hoc mundo: quia si de oc mundo esset, utique ministri mei decertarent ne traderer Judaeis. Dicimus ergo hanc civitatem Jerusalem, illius figuram coelestis habuisse, et hoc regnum illius schema gessisse. Ac per hoc in eo regno illud jam inerat per figuram, sicut in isto terreno illud coeleste quodammodo fuisse videtur per umbram. Sed umbram jam exinanita cernitur, ut lux vera succederet; et figura tunc viguit, ut veritas interea celaretur, donec plenitudo temporlis veniret. Et ideo sane recte dicimus Christum super solium David sedisse, quia in solio David jam regnam Christi inerat per figuram, super quod eumdem David tunc sedisse, nemo qui recte sapit ambigit. In quod profecto Christus regnum veniens carnem de semine ipsius suscepit, evacuavit futurorum umbras, et sedit super claritatem lucis quae tunc intus in regno latebat; ac per hoc civitas illa non eget sole vel luna, quia lucerna quae diu repromittebatur de semine David, jam in ea lucet; et lux illa ipse est Agnus, diu in figura pro populo immolatus. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Liber I, Caput I Source: Migne PL 120.69b-d

And the Lord God shall give Him the throne of His father David. 1 If anyone is troubled at how it could be said that he sits on the throne and kingdom of David, when David himself shall not sit as king on the throne and kingdom of that heavenly Jerusalem, nor did Christ sit as king over this terrestrial Jerusalem, and certainly He says to Pilate: 'My kingdom is not of this world, because if it were of this world, then my servants would fight lest I be given over to the Jews,' 2 we say then that this city of Jerusalem is a figure of the heavenly one, 3 and this kingdom is a form of the other, and through it one kingdom can be understood as the other, through a figure, as in this world the heavenly one appears as a shadow. But the shadow is now seen without detail, so that when the true light comes, then the figure becomes apparent, while the truth is yet hidden until the fulness of time shall come. Therefore quite rightly do we say that Christ sat on the throne of David, because by the throne of David the kingdom on Christ is given as a figure, upon which throne David once did sit, which no one who thinks rightly doubts. Into which kingdom coming Christ took up flesh from his seed, and dispelled the shadows of the future, and He sits amid the brightness of light which then was hidden in the kingdom, and because of this that city will have no moon or sun, because its lamp, which was promised through the seed of David, now shines in it, and that light is the Lamb Himself, which in a figure was sacrificed for the people. 4 Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 1, Chapter 1 1 Lk 1.32 2 Jn 18.36 3 Apoc 21.2 4 Apoc 22.5

A Bishop And Judgement

Scio integram in pectore pietatis vestrae dilectionem non solum apud me, sed apud omnes amicos firmiter permanere, quae probabitur in adversis, laudabitur in prosperis: in cujus pennis sanitas, in cujus gressibus scala, quam somniavit Jacob patriarcha, ascensio ad eum, qui ait: In hoc cognoscent omnes quia discipuli estis, si dilectionem habueritis ad invicem. Ecce signum discipulatus Christi! Ecce coelestis regni janua! Ecce vitae nostrae fundamentum et culmen! Sed vix ibi creditur firma esse, ubi indicio quolibet non apparet, sive in solatio pauperum, sive in exhortatione ad fratres qui proximi sunt, sive in scribendo ad longinquos corpore, proximos siquidem spiritu. Doleo te, frater! doleo ex intimo cordis moerore propter negotia saecularia, quae impediunt quadam nubium concretione charitatis radios, qui ex pectoris vestri flamma multos irradiare potuissent, si non calignine terrenarum occupationum obscurarentur. Tamen vigilet in corde, et foras temporibus opportunis fulgorem exerat, ut luceat omnibus qui in domo Dei sunt; qui non sunt caeci ad videndum vel surdi ad audiendum. Quid est tui officium nominis, nisi apertum habere os ad omnes in veritatis testificatione, per eum qui ait: Aperi os tuum, et ego implebo illud. Non neglige gratiam quae data est tibi; sed ut magis et magis proficiat, intende. Multae sunt tribulationes justorum; quia inter multos vocatos pauci eliguntur: et quo rariores inveniuntur, eo instantius verbum Dei eis praedicare necesse est. Pene omnes quaerunt quae sua sunt, et pauci, quae Christi esse videntur. Pastores curae turbant saeculares, qui Deo vacare debuerunt. Vagari per terras, et milites Christi saeculo militare coguntur, et gladium verbi Dei inter oris claustra, qualibet cogente necessitate, recondunt: quem, heu, proh dolor! perpauci possident, quamvis plurimi  se promittant eum habere: sed in die certaminis mercenarios se ostendunt, non milites. His consideratis diligentius, dilectissime Pater, teispum considera, circumspice et intende, quis sis, vel quo vadas, vel quid dicas in judicio, in praesentia illius qui te speculatorem posuit populi sui. Alcuinus, Epistola CLI, Ad Arnonem Archiepiscopum Source: Migne PL 100.399b-400b

I know that in the heart of your piety there is secure love not only for me, but that it firmly endures for all your friends, which being proved in adversity shall be praised in prosperity. In His wings are health, and up the steps of the ladder that the Patriarch Jacob dreamed of 1 we make ascent to Him who said, 'By this all shall know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.' 2 Behold the sign of a disciple of Christ! Behold the gate of the celestial kingdom! Behold the foundation and summit of our life! But scarcely can one believe love to be firm where no indication of it appears, either in care for the poor, or in exhortation of brothers who are near, or in writing to those who are distant in body yet near in spirit. I grieve for you, brother! I grieve from the depths of my heart, lamenting because of worldly affairs, which like some thick cloud obscure the rays of charity, the many flames of which you should be able to kindle from your heart, if it were not that darkness chokes them with worldly occupations. But let him be watchful in heart, and outside the events of time lightning shall come, so that all who are in the house of God will be enlightened, 3 those who are not 'blind in vision or deaf in hearing.' 4 What is the meaning of the name of your office unless to open your mouth to all in testimony of truth, through Him who said, 'Open your mouth and I shall fill it,' and 'Do not neglect the grace which is given to you.' 5 which, let it be understood, is that there will be more and more improvement. 'Many are the tribulations of the righteous,' because though many are called, it is few who are chosen, 6 and rarer yet are those in whom the preaching of the word of God is an urgent necessity. Certainly all seek what is theirs, 7 and few, it seems, the things which are of Christ. The cares of the times trouble the shepherds, who should have peace for God. Roaming about the world, even the soldiers of Christ are forced to struggle, and the sword of the God's word is sheathed in the mouth, which under the force of necessity they should draw out, but, alas, for shame, few are able to do this, although many promise to themselves they will, and yet on the day of strife they show themselves mere mercenaries and not soldiers. 8 Think on these things more diligently, most beloved father, consider yourself, look around and observe who you are and where you are going, 9 and what you shall say in judgement in the presence of the One who has established you as a watchman of his people. 10 Alcuin of York, from Letter 151, To Arno The Archbishop 1 Gen 18, 12-, Malachi 4.2 2 Jn 13.35 3 Mt 5.15 4 Isaiah 43.18 5 Ps 80.11, 1 Tim 4.14 6 Ps 33.20, Mt 22.14 7 Phil 2.12 8 Jn 10.12 9 Gen 32.13 10 Ezek 33.6-7

Lights And Lamps

Neque accendunt lucernam et ponunt eam sub modio. Quod si de seipso insinuat, non esse sub obscuro legis, ut quidem volunt, vel sub modio carnis ponendum; tum recte per candelabrum crux passionis, super quam levandus erat, et per lucernam introrsus lucentem divinitas in carne reserata monstratur. Sed tamen circumstantius apostolos et apostolicos viros lucernas esse putamus, quanquam superius gloriosius lux sint vocati, Nimirum quia etsi luci adhaerentes lux esse meruerant, tamen alterius lumine succensi, sicut lucerna alientis pascitur donis, non oportuit sub modio timoris delitescere illos, vel certe sub commoditate praesentis vitae abscondere. Sed accensi lumine veritatis, ponendi erant in candelabro, super quod septem lampades mystice in templo positae, oleo, videlicet Spiritus sancti gratia, jugiter nutriebantur. Cur autem praeeminentius lampas fidei et bonorum operum lucere debeat, patenter insinuat, cum subjungut, ut luceat, inquit, omnibus qui in domo sunt. Videlicet in Ecclesia, quae una et perfecta domus praedicatur. Vel forte luceat omnibus in domo hujus mundi, quae sub uno coelo quasi camera concluditur. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Lib III Cap V Source: Migne PL 120.235b-c

Nor do they light a lamp and place it beneath a bushel... 1 Because if He hints of Himself here, as not being placed beneath the darkness of the Law, as indeed they wish, or beneath the bushel of the flesh, then rightly on the lamp stand of the cross of the passion, upon which He was to be raised, by the lamp shining within, Divinity is revealed in the uncovered flesh. But we may also think that the surrounding Apostles and Apostolic men are lamps, they who just previously were more gloriously called light, 2 certainly because even if adhering to the light they merited the title of 'light', and although kindled by the light of another, just as a lamp is fed with gifts of another, and it was not done so they that should be hidden beneath the bushel of fear, of indeed obscured beneath the comforts of the present life. But lit by the light of truth they were placed on the lamp stand, on which the seven lamps were mystically set in the temple, 3 and were continually nourished with oil, which is the grace of the Holy Spirit. And why the lamp of faith and good works should be preeminent in shining He clearly suggests when He adds that it should shine on everyone in the house. That is, in the Church, which is proclaimed to be the one perfect house. Or perhaps it should shine on everyone else in the house of the world, which is beneath one heaven as in a vaulted room. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 3, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.15 2 Mt 5.14 3 Exod 25.37

Growing And Multiplying

Dixitque ei: Ego Dominus omnipotens: Cresce et multiplicare; gentes et populi nationum erunt ex te; reges de lumbis tuis egredientur; terramque quam dedi Abraham et Isaac, dabo tibi et semini tuo post te; et recessit ab eo. Haec promissio ad spirituale semen Jacob pertinet, sicut de Abraham ante jam dictum est. Omnes enim qui supplantant vitia, et veterem hominem cum acitbus ejus deponunt, mentisque suae oculos ad videndum Deum intentos habent, rite ad Jacob pertinent, cujus fidem et actus imitantur; regesque de lumbis ejus egredientar, hoc est sancti, qui vere reges dicuntur, eo quod veraciter secundum Dei voluntatem semetipsos ac sibi subditos regunt. De ejus semine spirituali, hoc est fidei imitatione in bonis operibus fecundantur. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Genesim, Liber III, Caput XXIII Source: Migne PL 107.616c-d

And He said to Jacob, 'I am the Lord Almighty. Grow and multiply. Nations and peoples of the nations shall come from you. Kings shall come forth from your lions, and the land I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I shall give to you and your seed after you.' And He withdrew from him. 1 This promise pertains to the spiritual seed of Jacob, as it was spoken to Abraham previously. For all who overthrow vices and cast down the old man with his acts, and have the eyes of the soul intent on seeing God, rightly belong to Jacob, and they imitate his faith and deeds. And kings shall come forth from his lions, that is, saints, who rightly are named kings, because more correctly, according to the will of God, they rule themselves and those below them. Concerning his spiritual seed, it is by the imitation of faith they are made fruitful in good works. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On Genesis, Book 3, Chapter 23 1 Gen 35.11-12

The Church And The Devil

Inimicitias ponam inter te et mulierem et semen tuum. Mulierem, hic Ecclesiam dicit, cui diabolus contrarius est. Semen vero mulieris bona opera sunt Ecclesiae, semen serpentis, opera omnis iniquitatis. Haec est enim mulier illa, de qua Joannes in Apocalipsi dicit, quod eam draco perseqeretur, volens eam devorare, postquam etiam fluvium ex ore euo emisit, quia persecutionem gentium contra Ecclesiam suscitavit. Ipsa conteret caput tuum. Id est, Ecclesia conteret caput tuum, id est, initium malae voluntatis, antequam ad opus prorumpat. Unde et in psalmo beatus dicitur qui parvulus Babylonis tenuerit, et ad petram alliserit. Parvuli Babylonis est initium peccati et orgio malae voluntatis. Hi sunt parvuli confusionis qui, antequam proficient, allidendi sunt ad petram, id est Christum. Remigius Antissiodorensis, Commentarius In Genesim, Caput III Source: Migne PL 131.66b-c

I shall set hostility between you and the woman and your seed. 1 'The woman,' he speaks of the Church, against which the devil is hostile. But the seed of the woman is the good works of the Church, and the seed of the serpent is every work of wickedness. Indeed this is the woman of whom John speaks in the Apocalypse, that the dragon shall persecute her, wishing to devour her, and later he pours forth a river from his mouth, because he stirs up the persecution of the Gentiles against the Church. 2 'She shall crush your head.' 1 That is, the Church 'shall crush your head,' that is, the beginning of evil desires, before they burst forth into deeds. Whence it is said in the Psalm: 'Blessed is he who takes hold of one of the little ones of Babylon, and smashes it against a rock.' 3 The little ones of Babylon are the beginning of sin and the source of evil desire. These are the little ones of confusion who before they come forth should be smashed against the rock which is Christ. Remigius of Auxerre, Commentary On Genesis, Chapter 3 1 Gen 3.15 2 Apoc 12.13 3 Ps 136.9

The Father And Perfection

Estote ergo vos perfecti, sicut Pater vester coelestis perfectus est. Ecce ad quod culmen Christus suos provehit, et quam perfectos eos esse debere in charitate denuntiat. Unde, si volumus esse filii, perfectionem sectemur charitatis, quia praecepta custodiendo erimus filii, non natura quidem, sed gratia, per quam in nostro positum videtur arbitrio ut filii maneamus. Ad quod fortassis dicat aliquis: Quomodo mortalis nostrum quispiam tam perfectus poterit esse, sicuti Deus Pater perfectus est, praesertim cum nunquam in eodem statu subsistat? Interea, quisquis hoc requirit, sciat quod non aliud est similem Deo Patri fieri, quam per charitatem, quae diffussa est in cordibus nostris, eamdem similitudinem, in qua creatus est primus homo, ad melius reparari. Quod nemo fidelium negat; nam ad imaginem et similitudinem totius Trinitatis factus est. Idcirco quid mirum si renovatur admodum, ut sit perfectus, sicut Deus perfectus esse dicitur, cui et olim perfectio imaginis ac similitduinis attributa fuit? Sed quia subtilius hanc similitudinem perfectionis quidem requirentes, nescio quam caliginem impederunt, saltem ne ad quod facti sunt remearent**, libeat paulo latius initimare etiam quid philosophi de hoc loquendi genere senserunt. Nam omne quod simile est, per quod quisque alteri similis efficitur, duobus modis consideratur; aut quadam habitudine formarum, aut natura rerum. His quidem duabus partibus omnis similitduo contemplatur. Age nunc quam harum elegeris partem, in qua per similitudinem Dei Patris perfectionem habere queas. Si autem secundum habitudinem formarum pefectus esse elegeris, scias quod in eo nulla habitudo est, nisi quod ipse est; ipse enim illa forma est ex qua omnia formantur. Si vero juxta naturam te similitudinem perfectionis habere dixeris, occurrit illico, quod non alia natura est. Ac per hoc erigendus est interior homo noster, ut quod ille habet per essentiam, nos incipiamus habere per adoptionis gratiam. Ut, sicut relative ad nos ille per adoptionem, qua nos adoptavit sibi filios, Pater noster dicitur, ita et nos per eamdem similitudinem qua sumus filii adoptionis, relative in illa perfecti maneamus. Alioquin quomodo is perfectus dicitur, qui nunquam factus, nunquam initium aut consummationem habere creditur? Perfectus autem Deus, non proprio verbo, sed sicut multis in locis pro nostra infirmitate dicitur, ut per hoc integere Deus bonus et summus praedicetur. Homo vero non esse realiter, sed per gratiam perfectus invenitur; qui si Deo comparatur, quid in eo perfectum erit? Nemo bonus, nisi solus Deus. Quod si nemo bonus, quis nostrum in bonitate perfectus erit? Unde constant quod haec similitudo non pro toto, sed pro parte accipitur. Si autem homo in toto per Deo, vel similis foret, utique Deus esset. Nunc autem quia iuxta quantitatem vel qualitatem deitatis, nihil ei par aut simile esse potest, restat ut pro parte capacitatis suae homo aut angelus perfectus esse dicatur. Non tamen aliunde quam ex ipsa imagine vel similitudine Dei, ad quam factur legitur. Tanto enim perfectior quisque, quanto similior erit. Similis autem vel perfectus, non ex proprietate sui, sed ex gratia diviniae largitatis, et virtutum integritate. Ut, quod Deus habet per naturam, homo incipiat habere per adoptionem, ex participatione bonitatis Dei. Ac per hoc recte quisque perfectus, sicut Deus Pater dicitur, dum integritatem virtutum, et adoptionis donum, quantum per gratiam asseuqi potest, participat. Ut, sicut ille ex sese perfectus dicitur in natura deitatis, ita nos ex eo perfecti dicamur pro parte, in gratia sanctae adoptionis. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Lib III Cap V Source: Migne PL 120.266a-267b

Therefore be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect. 1 Behold, to what height Christ lifts up His own, even announcing that they should be perfect in love. Whence, if we wish to be sons, we should pursue the perfection of love, because in the keeping of His commandments we are sons, not indeed by nature, but by grace, which with it placed in our wills let us remain sons. To which someone will perhaps say: 'How can any of us mortal creatures be perfect, even as God the Father is perfect, when certainly it is not possible that a man may ever exist in that same state?' Why, he who asks this, let him know that to become like God the Father, is nothing but through love, which is diffused in our hearts, to better restore that same image in which the first man was created. Which none of the faithful deny, for as an image and likeness of the whole Trinity he was made. Therefore why is it such a wonder if a man should be renewed so, in order that he might be perfect, as God is said to be perfect, to whom it is attributed that he was once the perfect image and likeness? 2 But because some need more exactitude regarding this likeness of perfection, though I know not what darkness impedes them from going back to what they were made, it is possible to hint a little more broadly about what the wise think about this of which we speak. For everything which is similar, being made so by being similar to another, should be considered so in two ways, either by the appearance of forms, or by the nature of things. By these two all likeness is observed. So now choose one of these by which you will be able to have a likeness to the perfection of God the Father. If you choose to be perfect according to the appearance of form, know that there is no appearance but only what He Himself is, for He is that form from which all things are formed. If however you said that you will choose the likeness of perfection according to nature, it happens there that there is no other nature. And by this our interior man is raised up, so that what God has in essence we begin to have through the adoption of grace. And as He is related to us by adoption, since He has adopted us as His sons and He is called our Father, so we through that same likeness by which we are sons of adoption shall remain in that relation of perfection. Besides how is He named perfect who was never made and is thought to have neither beginning nor end? For God is perfect not in a particular sense, but as it is said in many places for our infirmity, that through this shall be preached the wholly good and flawless God. Man however is not truly perfect, but it is found that he is perfected through grace; for when compared to God, what is perfect in man? 'No one is good but God alone.' 3 And if none of us are good, which one of us shall be perfect in goodness? Whence it holds this likeness is not total, but it is understood as something partial. For if man were totally equal to God, or totally similar, so he would be God. But now because nothing in man is similar according to the quantity or quality of the Deity, what remains is that in a part, according to his capacity, a man or an angel is said to be perfect. But not in any other way than the image or likeness of God, to which it is said man was made. Whoever shall be more perfect, shall be more similar. But this similarity or perfection is not from ourselves, but from the largess of Divine grace, and the wholeness of virtue. Thus what God has by nature, man begins to have by adoption, from participation in the godness of God. Rightly because of this is anyone perfect, as God the Father is said to be, while as much as by grace he is able to attain to it, he participates in the wholeness of virtue and the gift of adoption. Thus, as He in Himself because of the nature of the Deity is said to be perfect, thus we shall be said to be perfect partially, in the grace of holy adoption. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 3, Chapter 5 1 Mt 5.48 2 Gen 1.27 3 Mk 10.18

Grapes And Thorns, Figs And Thistles

Nunquid colligunt de spinis uvas, aut de tribulis ficus? Spina namque quamvis a principio floribus candeat, non ideo uvas affert, quia non manet in vite, etsi videntur uvae pendere super eam. Vitis autem Christus est, et omnia membra ejus palmites. Idcirco solummodo eorum est uvas ferre, opera videlicet Spiritus sancti, quae inebriant mentem. Quas profecto cum videris inter spinas, noveris non ex eis esse; et ideo sic uvam carpe ut spinam caveas. Spinarum autem est, dilacerare tangentem se et disrumpere; quia haeretici verborum aculeis universos dilaniant et affigunt. Porro tribuli nullam dulcedinem ficus ferunt; quia fornicarii et scelerum amatores sine fructu ad tempus florent. Quibus duobus bene omnes, qui de massa perditionis sunt, etsi ad nos veniant, extra nos ad ignem sine fructu futuri figurantur. Undeo primo homini dicitur: Cum operatus fueris terram, spinas et tribulos germinabit tibi. Quas isti miseri in carne et in animo, quia terra sunt, nutrientes, hortos ferre nequeant vineae, de qua Pater agricola est, et omnes palmites propagantur. Neque de tribulis ficus generantur, quos mittit ficulnea grossiores, sed ex sua propagine; quae carnis sunt ex Adam sentiunt, et ea solummodo sectantur. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Lib IV Cap VII Source: Migne PL 120.323c-324a

Are grapes gathered from thorns, figs from thistles? 1 For though in the beginning a thorn bush may be adorned with flowers, it does not thus bring forth grapes, because it is not part of the vine, even if it seems that grapes should come forth from it. The vine is Christ, and all his members are branches. 2 Therefore it is they alone who bear grapes, that is, the works of the Holy Spirit, which inebriate the mind. And certainly when you see them among thorns, you know they are not from them, and so lay hold of the grape and beware the thorn. For it is of thorns to cut and rend the one who touches them, for all the stings of the words of heretics tear and snare. Then thistles do not bear the sweetness of the fig, because the lovers of fornication and crimes do not bring forth fruit in its season. By which two types are contained all who are of the damned mass, even if they do come to us, and who outside of us, without fruit for the future, are shaped for fire. Whence it is said to the first man: 'When you shall work the land, it shall bear thorns and thistles for you.' 3 Which things they feed on who are wretched in flesh and soul, because they are of the earth, and they unable to bear the gardens of the vine, of which the Father is the farmer, 4 and all the branches spread forth. Nor do thistles produce the figs which the greater fig trees send forth, but they produce from their own seed, which know they are of the flesh of Adam, and these things alone they pursue. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 4, Chap 7 1 Mt 7.16 2 Jn 15.5 3 Gen 3.18 4 Jn 15.1

Profit And Loss

Quid autem proficit homini, si totum mundum lucretur, animae autem se detrimentum faciat? Puto quod mundum lucratur qui non abnegat semetipsum, nec tollit crucem suam, et sequitur Christum secundum ea quae dicta sunt, nec perdit animam suam, ut salvet eam in spiritali amore, qui omnes in se carnales concupiscentias habuerit. Quia sicut omnia relinquit, ut Petrus insinuat, qui nihil concupiscit carnale: ita omnia lucratur, et tenet sibi, licet non possit assequi, dum in omnibus ejus concupiscentiis inhiat et versatur; et ideo cui non crucifigitur mundus, ipse deterimentum animae suae facit. Unde et nobis gemina proponiur electio, ut ex proposito maneat uniusjusque retributio. Quid si voluerimus mundum lucrari, perdimus animas nostras; aut si animas nostra voluerimus lucrari, abnegemus et perdamus hunc mundum, ita ut omnes concupiscentias ejus abdicemus. Videat igitur fidelis anima, quid potius eligendum sit, quidve sectandum; quia unum horum aut perdet aut salvabit sibi, quamvis mundum retinere non possit, et sine se nihil habere. Sanctus Paschasius Radbertus Corbeiensis, Expositio In Evangelium Matthaei, Lib VIII, Cap XVI Source: Migne PL 120.572b-c

For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but he loses his soul? 1 I think that he gains the world who does not deny himself, nor does he bear his cross and follow Christ according to the things which  have been said, nor does he destroy his soul that he may save it in spiritual love, but he possesses every carnal desire in himself. Because as he who forsakes everything, so Peter intimates, desires nothing carnal, so he gains everything and holds to himself, though he cannot follow while he lusts and twists about in all his desires. Therefore he to whom the world is not crucified makes the loss of his own soul. Whence even to us there is proposed a twofold choice, and from the proposal there awaits for each one a reward. If we wish to gain the world, we destroy our souls, or if we wish to gain our souls, we forsake and destroy the world, so that we may cast down all its desires. Therefore let the faithful soul see which one it is better to choose, and which one to follow, because one of these destroys and one saves it, though it cannot retain the world and it is allowed to have nothing. Saint Paschasius Radbertus, Commentary On The Gospel of Saint Matthew, Book 8, Chap 16 1 Mt 16.26